CEE Story From The Mission Field
An Uncertain Future
May 20, 2005
Freedom of religion took another hit in Kazakhstan last week when their lower house of parliament approved several amendments to the countries already restrictive religion law in the name of “national security.” These include an article that forbids the activity of unregistered religious organizations. That addition puts Kazakhstan in league with two other Central Asian republics, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, whose laws on religion forbid the activity of unregistered religious organizations in defiance of international human rights commitments.
The key word is “unregistered.” In most of CEE, churches must be registered in order to officially exist. Through strict and biased registration procedures, the government is able to control which groups officially have the right to meet. Those groups who are unregistered are considered illegal and are given no protection under the law. Defiance of the law can result in fines, imprisonment, or for foreigners, expulsion from the country.
Although some were encouraged by the fact that already registered local believers apparently did not suffer a direct hit in the last round of restrictions, one of the amendments gave even these groups cause for concern. It stipulates that if any registered organization breaks any law they can be closed down for 3-6 months or banned. Some see this amendment as being too vague and broad, leaving the door open for a church to be closed on a whim. “A religious community could be banned merely for failing to sweep up the rubbish in its courtyard,” said Aleksandr Klyushv, the chairman of the Association of Religious Organizations of Kazakhstan (AROK).
Another amendment states that those leading, taking part in, or financially supporting unregistered or banned religious organizations will face heavy fines. And a third amendment targets missionaries. It stipulates that foreigners who carry out missionary work without appropriate registration will be fined up to 15 times the monthly wage of an average citizen and will also be expelled from the borders of the country. A Kazakh citizen will be incur the high fine as well if he carries out the missionary work.
These amendments further strengthen a religion law accepted on May 4 of this year, which already significantly limits believers' rights. These more-restrictive amendments were not supposed to be presented to the lower house until later in the month, but were brought forward a whole week early. Opponents of the amendments believe the preemptory appearance was to catch deputies off guard and push their agenda through. The new amendments will now go to the Senate for approval.
According to Forum 18 news service, among those who are pushing the new restrictions is the communist party deputy Yerasyl Abylkasymov. He claims that power in the United States and Europe is in the hands of a Jewish-Masonic conspiracy that is trying to dominate the whole world. "They have already conquered Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Kyrgyzstan and now they are sneaking up on Kazakhstan," he said.
Abylkasymov further alleged that Protestant "sects" are controlled and financially supported by the CIA. Although he is pushing for the new restrictive laws, this is merely out of necessity. His preferred solution? “To revert to the days of Genghis Khan, when such ideological saboteurs were hung, drawn and quartered.”
In light of such ambivalence and uncertainty, the Kazakhs need our prayers. “We don’t know what will happen in the future. We want to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts who prayed. We want to ask you to continue to pray,” said Frantz Tissen of the Kazakhstan Baptist Union. Please join us in prayer for the brave believers in Kazakhstan as the battle rages for the freedom to worship.