U.S. Department of State Human Rights Report 1998
The Constitution provides
for freedom of religion; however, the law specifies some restrictions
on the religious freedom of adherents of faiths other than the Armenian
Apostolic Church.
The 1991 Law on Freedom of Conscience establishes the separation of
church and state, but grants the Armenian Apostolic Church special
status. The law forbids "proselytizing" (undefined in the
law) except by the Apostolic Church, and requires all religious denominations
and organizations to register with the State Council on Religious
Affairs. Petitioning organizations must "be free from materialism
and of a purely spiritual nature," and must subscribe to a doctrine
based on "historically recognized holy scriptures."
A presidential decree issued in 1993 supplemented the 1991 law and
strengthened the position of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The decree
enjoins the Council on Religious Affairs to investigate the activities
of the representatives of registered religious organizations and to
ban missionaries who engage in activities contrary to their status.
No action was taken against missionaries during the year.
In 1997 Parliament passed legislation tightening registration requirements
by raising the minimum number required for registration from 50 to
200 adult members. It banned funding for foreign-based churches from
centers outside the country. The legislation also mandated that religious
organizations except the Apostolic Church need prior permission from
the State Council on Religious Affairs to engage in religious activities
in public places, to travel abroad, or to invite foreign guests to
the country. Despite these mandated restrictions, in practice there
is no restriction on travel by religious personnel of any denomination.
As of year's end, established religious groups had reported no adverse
consequences from the new law. The ban on foreign funding has not
been enforced and is considered unenforceable by the Council on Religious
Affairs. No registered religious group was denied registration under
the amended law. All existing denominations reregistered except the
Hare Krishnas, who reportedly dropped below even the previous 50-member
threshold and hence did not seek to reregister. A few new organizations
registered, in some instances groups created after splits in previous
organizations. One new religious group registered, Pentacostals, bringing
the number of registered religious organizations to 44. However, the
Council continued to deny registration to Jehovah's Witnesses, no
longer on the grounds that the group does not permit military service,
but because illegal proselytism is allegedly integral to its activity.
The President's Human Rights Commission declined to intervene, recommending
that Jehovah's Witnesses challenge their nonregistration through the
courts, as provided by law. At year's end, six members of Jehovah's
Witnesses were in detention and a seventh was free on probation. They
were charged with draft evasion or, if forcibly drafted, with desertion.
Another 20 were reportedly in hiding from the draft. Alternative nonmilitary
service is sometimes available for persons willing to act as teachers
in remote villages, an option not offered to members of Jehovah's
Witnesses. No religious literature was seized, unlike 1n 1997.
According to the law, a religious organization refused registration
cannot publish a newspaper or magazine, rent a meeting place, have
its own program on television or radio, or officially sponsor the
visas of visitors. Jehovah's Witnesses have problems renting meeting
places; lack of official visa sponsorship means that Jehovah's Witnesses'
visitors must pay for a tourist visa.
Source: Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices for 1998, U.S. Department of State.
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