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Department of State's religious freedom report not unbiased - opinio

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  • Department of State's religious freedom report not unbiased - opinio

    Department of State's religious freedom report not unbiased - opinions

    15:28 * 31.07.14


    The US Department of State's 2013 Religious Freedom Report on Armenia
    is estimated as biased and untrue by religious circles and national
    minority representatives.

    What particularly raises controversies is the allegation that minority
    religious groups face discriminations against the backdrop of wide
    privileges granted to the Armenian Apostolic Church.

    "Religious organizations are obliged to preserve and protect their own
    belief instead of engaging themselves in soul hunting. Nobody prevents
    them from pursuing their own belief. Such a statement could have been
    made only by individuals, circles and groups that are interested in
    destabilizing of Armenia and contributing to the Armenian nation's
    internal splitting. What is mentioned there is absolutely untrue,"
    Archimandrite Komitas Hovnanyan told Tert.am, expressing his strong
    disagreement with the findings.

    He said he is more than convinced that increased privileges to
    religious organizations are a major national security threat. "There
    are, so to say, religious minorities whose propaganda is based on
    plans to split the state institution. The youth, for instance, are
    called upon to avoid serving in the military, using weapons or
    protecting their country," he noted.

    Commenting on what the report described as privileges to the Armenian
    Apostolic Church, Mr Hovnanyan said, "The Armenian Apostolic Church
    does not actually have any privileges at all. It just follows that the
    publications on the Armenian Church contain no wrong records. The
    history of Armenian church is taught in schools by secular [teachers]
    not priests," he added.

    Hovnanyan said he believes that countries publishing such reports
    pursue specific interests, adding that Armenian state in turn is
    obliged to protect its own interests in such circumstances. "We must
    not let anyone speculate the concepts of freedom of conscience or
    speech by distorting their meaning. Freedom of conscience implies
    freedom of individual, not violence and coercion into adopting a
    belief of which the nation is not a follower," he added.

    Alexander Amaryan, the president of the Rehabilitation Center for
    Victims of Destructive Sects, agreed that granting wide privileges to
    the non-traditional religious groups is a threat to national security.

    "All the data the Department of State publishes in the report are
    provided by local rights institutions which submit biased reports in
    an effort to extort grants. No other country is as tolerant as
    Armenia, as the laws here never place restrictions on religious
    organizations," he added.

    Amaryan said he thinks that restrictions exist in Europe not in
    Armenia, adding that the national churches in all countries enjoy
    certain privileges. "They all have begun assisting religious
    organizations and later complain about intolerance. That's a bluff,"
    he said, describing the findings as an attempt to exert pressure on
    the Armenian authorities.

    Aziz Tamoyan, the president of Armenia's Yezidi community, also
    disagreed with the allegation that ethnic and religious minorities
    experience discrimination in the country. "We are free; nobody
    prevents us from preserving our national holidays and traditions. On
    the contrary, we here have our own schools, and it is thanks to
    Armenia that our culture develops around the world," he said, adding
    that the Armenian Apostolic Church demonstrates respect for the
    Yezidis' traditions.

    "Why doesn't [the United States of] America care about the
    disappearing Yezidi and Asyrian populations in the north of Iraq? Let
    them think of measures to prevent their Yezidis from changing their
    religion, as they are physically exterminated by Muslims," Tamoyan
    noted.

    The Jewish community's president, Rima Varzhapetyan, also denied the
    reports about restrictions or violations against minority groups in
    Armenia.

    Asked whether the community is concerned about the privileges granted
    to the national church, Varzhapetyan replied, "The Armenian Apostolic
    Church has always proven that it is very tolerant and progressive."

    According to Avetik Iskhanyan, Chairperson of the Helsinki Committee
    of Armenia, the report is based on objective evaluations.

    "Religious tolerance is really quite a serious issue in Armenia, as
    the media all the time conduct a one-sided propaganda. In secondary
    schools, the history of Armenian church is taught in an effort to
    conduct an anti-propaganda against other religious organizations. The
    children who receive such kind of education develop intolerance to
    other religious organizations," he noted.

    Asked whether it isn't normal that the Armenian Apostolic Church has
    privileges as opposed to other religious groups, Ishkhanyan said,
    "International standards allow for granting privileges to a church,
    but that should not amount to a discriminatory attitude to other
    religious organizations. Our laws give the Apostolic Church
    monopolistic rights," he added.

    Asked whether higher privileges for other religious organizations
    would not be a national security threat, Ishkhanyan said he thinks
    just the other way about. "Religious intolerance is a real threat to
    Armenia's security, as it splits up the nation on religious grounds,"
    he noted.

    "Representatives of other religious organizations are oppressed in
    Armenia, because they never see themselves as full-fledged citizens.
    This is really a national security threat, because identifying an
    Armenian with the Armenian Apostolic Church really splits up the
    nation."


    Armenian News - Tert.am

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