: Kazakhstan: "The first phase of this work has been fully completed"

Expuesto el: Miércoles, 07 de Diciembre de 2011 16:39

"The first phase of this work has been fully completed", State Secretary Kanat Saudabaev told a closed 27 October meeting in Kazakhstan's capital Astana. He identified this "first phase" as including adopting new legislation including the harsh new Religion Law restricting freedom of religion or belief, strengthening the Agency of Religious Affairs (ARA), law enforcement agencies, "special services", and other measures countering "religious extremism". Saudabayev said that "an algorithm of further actions for the planned implementation of the instructions of the Head of State [President Nursultan Nazarbaev]" is to follow, Forum 18 News Service has learned. Among those attending were: one of the Deputy Heads of the Presidential Administration; the head of the KNB secret police; the head of the Syrbar Foreign Intelligence Service; the Interior Minister; the Prosecutor-General; the Foreign, Finance, Justice, Communications, Education and Culture Ministers; the Chair of the ARA; and officials of the Prime Minister's Office, the Tax Committee and the Customs Control Committee.

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Kazakhstan: New draft regulations outline official religious censorship

Expuesto el: Martes, 29 de Noviembre de 2011 10:27

 

Kazakhstan's state Agency of Religious Affairs (ARA) has prepared - but not yet adopted - new regulations to implement the system of compulsory state censorship of almost all religious literature and objects. The Regulations for "expert analyses" will also apply to religious organisations' statutes. Without such ARA approval, religious books cannot be imported (apart from in small quantities) or distributed, and religious organisations will not be able to gain state registration. The draft Regulations - seen by Forum 18 News Service - make no provisions for any challenges to ARA's censorship decisions. They were presented to a closed 27 October meeting of about twenty senior government officials to devise plans for implementing that month's harsh new Religion Law. No one at the ARA was prepared to discuss the Censorship Regulations with Forum 18, or when they might be adopted.

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Kazakhstan: "Inform on a daily basis between 2 pm and 4 pm"

 

Expuesto el: Jueves, 24 de Noviembre de 2011 5:35

State officials in Kazakhstan are continuing to make wide-ranging and intrusive demands for information from religious communities, Forum 18 News Service has learned. The local administration of a district in Almaty has demanded that local communities "inform on a daily basis between 2 pm and 4 pm about measures undertaken by your religious association in the struggle with religious extremism to the telephone number 2351401. In association with this, in case of incidents of incitement of religious enmity and discord or calls for illegal acts by suspicious people, to report immediately on the given telephone number". Unregistered and registered religious communities have told Forum 18 that they are facing raids, threats, and bans on meeting. Meanwhile the Council of Europe has invited Kazakhstan to become a full member of the Commission for Democracy through Law, or Venice Commission. Local civil society activists have called on Kazakhstan to send both recent laws restricting freedom of religion or belief for Venice Commission review, along with a draft National Security Law.

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Kazakhstan: "Those who initiated and adopted such laws will answer before Allah"

Expuesto el: Miércoles, 23 de Noviembre de 2011 10:00

Following the adoption of laws seriously restricting the ability of people to exercise their freedom of religion or belief, Kazakhstan has started closing Muslim and Russian Orthodox prayer rooms in social care institutions. "We're all in shock," Fr Vladimir Zavadich of the Orthodox Church told Forum 18 News Service. "We didn't expect this from our government. Now we fear this will happen everywhere." The Muslim Board has also protested, spokesperson Ongar Omirbek telling Forum 18 "those who initiated and adopted such laws will answer before Allah". Orthodox Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen stated that this took away "the last consolation from those people who, for health reasons, find themselves in a desperate, helpless situation". He described calls to bar priests from such homes, hospices and old people's homes as "inhumane". One Almaty care home staff member told Forum 18 that "faith is often a help for people in difficult times. There was no harm in what the imam and the Orthodox priest did". Elsewhere, two more prosecutions have been brought against Baptists for meeting for worship without state permission.

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Kazakhstan: Not banned, merely "recommends refraining from inviting"

Expuesto el: Miércoles, 23 de Noviembre de 2011 10:00

The organisers of a conference in Kazakhstan have been told that five foreign Protestant guest speakers could not come. Ershat Ongarov of the Agency of Religious Affairs (ARA) wrote stating that the ARA "recommends refraining from inviting" them. This follows an ARA ban on a well-known Russian Muslim author visiting to present his books in bookshops and universities. Ongarov insisted to Forum 18 News Service that religious organisations can invite foreign visitors to religious events under the new Religion Law. "We did not issue a ban on these pastors visiting", but he refused to say how else his letter could be interpreted. Asked whether this was not unwarranted state interference in the freedoms of assembly and of speech, Ongarov laughed but refused to answer. ARA Chair Kairat Lama Sharif has stated that regulations to cover both foreigners and citizens engaged in undefined "missionary activity" and "spreading a faith" would "form a system of measures for prevention and countering of the destructive influence of several non-traditional religious organisations on the process of the spiritual/moral development of Kazakh society".

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Kazakhstan: Prison mosques, churches, and prayer rooms closed down

Fuente: Forum 18 News Service
Expuesto el: Martes, 15 de Noviembre de 2011 9:06
Asunto: Kazakhstan: Prison mosques, churches, and prayer rooms closed down

 

Kazakhstan has recently closed mosques, churches and prayer rooms in prisons, citing two laws restricting freedom of religion or belief before they came into force, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. "Mosques and Russian Orthodox churches were built in prisons in violation of building regulations and the law", Aliya Kadenova of the Interior Ministry told Forum 18. "They are illegal - that's why they are being closed down." She refused to say why, if they had been built illegally, no prison governors had been prosecuted. "How can these Orthodox churches have been built illegally?" Fr Aleksandr Suvorov of the Astana and Almaty Orthodox Diocese asked. "Prisons are zones under the strictest of controls." Muslim Board spokesperson Ongar Omirbek told Forum 18 that "we complained to the state about this - verbally and in writing. But they didn't listen. Prisoners have now been left without prayer rooms." Also some prisoners state that they have been placed in solitary confinement, on the instructions of the KNB secret police, for praying Muslim prayers.

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New Religion Law restricts religious freedom in Kazakhstan/Nueva ley de religión restringe la libertad religiosa en Kazajstán

November 1, 2011

ASTANA, Kazakhstan—Despite serious concern expressed by the international community, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan signed the proposed Religion Law entitled “The Law On Religious Activity and Religious Associations.” The law came into effect after October 25, 2011.

The new law will force all existing religious organizations to submit reregistration documents within one year and will require each organization to have at least 50 members. Without reregistration it will be illegal to publish, import or distribute religious literature within the country. Violations of the law will lead to severe fines and can result in the complete ban of an organization.

Provisions in the new law appear to be open to interpretation, allowing strict oversight of religious activity, obligating missionaries to reregister annually, and granting officials broad authority to approve or decline the importation of religious literature.

A statement issued on October 13, 2011, from the United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) urged “the government of Kazakhstan to work with [the] ODIHR [Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights] to address these concerns in order to ensure that this law does not improperly restrict freedom of religion or belief in any way that is inconsistent with the country’s OSCE commitments and its international obligations.”

There are over 17,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kazakhstan and more than 7.5 million Witnesses around the world.

Media Contacts:

J.R. Brown, Office of Public Information, tel. +1 718 560 5600
Kazakhstan: Polat Bekzhan, tel. +7 727 232 36 62
Belgium: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +32 2 782 0015
Britain: European Association of Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, tel. +44 208 906 2211

TRADUCCION

Astana, Kazajstán-A pesar de las graves preocupaciones expresadas por la comunidad internacional, el presidente Nursultan Nazarbayev de Kazajstán firmó la Ley de Religión propuesta titulada "La Ley de Actividades Religiosas y Asociaciones Religiosas." La ley entró en vigor después de 25 de octubre 2011.

La nueva ley obligará a todas las organizaciones religiosas existentes para presentar los documentos reinscripción dentro de un año y será necesario que cada organización tiene por lo menos 50 miembros. Sin reinscripción será ilegal la publicación, importación o distribución de literatura religiosa en el país. Violaciónes de la ley dará lugar a multas severas y puede resultar en la prohibición total de una organización.

Las disposiciones de la nueva ley parece estar abierto a la interpretación, lo que permite un estricto control de la actividad religiosa, que obliga a los misioneros para volver a registrar cada año, y la concesión de las autoridades amplias facultades para aprobar o rechazar la importación de la literatura religiosa.

En una declaración emitida el 13 de octubre de 2011, de la Misión de Estados Unidos ante la Organización para la Seguridad y la Cooperación en Europa (OSCE) instó a que "el gobierno de Kazajstán para trabajar con [el] OIDDH [Oficina de Instituciones Democráticas y Derechos Humanos] para hacer frente a estas preocupaciones con el fin de asegurarse de que esta ley no se restringen indebidamente la libre libertad de religión o creencia en cualquier forma que sea incompatible con los compromisos de la OSCE en el país y sus obligaciones internacionales. "

Hay más de 17.000 Testigos de Jehová en Kazajstán y más de 7,5 millones de Testigos en todo el mundo.

Kazajstán tiene una lista negra?

Los hombres con barba y las mujeres cabeza cubierta cuidado: Kazajstán polémica nueva ley de la religión no puede haber entrado en vigor todavía, pero los funcionarios celosos ya están tomando medidas enérgicas contra - aunque la legislación no tiene nada que decir acerca de vello facial o la hijab.

Los hombres con barba en el sur de Kazajstán provincia se han ordenado de afeitar, los informes de la prensa sensacionalista Vremya , citando a un hombre que dice que él y un colega fueron convocados a las autoridades locales en el distrito de Suzak y le dijo, "Por el bien de la paz y la tranquilidad en el país afeitarse la barba fuera. ", dijo el gobernador de distrito Berik Meyirbekov Vremya que la orden de afeitarse se había publicado" para que cualquier persona se ve agradable y ordenado, delante de la gente y la sociedad. "

En otra parte una fila ha entrado en erupción en la conservadora ciudad de Shymkent sobre el hiyab en las escuelas, los informes de Canal 31 : Algunas escuelas están exigiendo niñas quitar el velo. Los padres están protestando. La nueva ley no menciona el hijab, por lo que lo lleva es legal en cualquier lugar en Kazajstán - aunque el presidente Nursultan Nazarbayev ya ha expresado su desaprobación .

Más polémico, la nueva ley de la religión prohíbe la oración en las instituciones estatales (de las oficinas gubernamentales a los cuarteles militares y centros de enseñanza) y establece rigurosos requisitos para el registro de asociaciones religiosas.

Que la legislación entre en vigor el 26 de octubre, pero los funcionarios de seguridad ya están tratando de ponerlo en práctica, dice el Foro 18 , un organismo de control con sede en Oslo los derechos religiosos.

Forum 18, dijo que en la ciudad petrolera de Atyrau en Kazajstán occidental - la escena de la actividad extremista que provocó la apresurada aprobación de la polémica ley - una redada en una reunión de oración protestante dejó un joven de 17 años de edad, inconsciente después de que ella se dio un codazo por un oficial de policía. El organismo de control también informó de la breve detención de los Testigos de Jehová en Alma-Ata sobre la base de que la nueva legislación la prohibición de la actividad misionera en la calle.

Tenga cuidado con los más confusión y consternación por la libertad religiosa como la ley entra en vigor la próxima semana.