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2004 USG Repors
International Religious Freedom Report 2004
Moldova
Europe and Eurasia
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The
Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government
generally respects this right in practice; however, the law includes
restrictions that at times inhibit the activities of some religious
groups.
There was no changein the status of
respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report.
The Government continued to uphold its earlier decisions to deny some
groups registration. A number of minority religious groups in the
separatist region of Transnistria that is not controlled by the
Government continued to be denied registration and are subjected to
official harassment.
The generally amicable relationship
among religions in society contributed to religious freedom; however,
disputes among various branches of the Christian Orthodox faith
continued, and there were some reports of Jehovah's Witnesses
experiencing harassment from local town councils, and Orthodox priests
and adherents. During the period covered by this report, there were
several anti-Semitic acts in the separatist region of Transnistria,
including the desecration of a Jewish cemetery and the attempted
burning of a synagogue.
The U.S. Government discusses
religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall
policy to promote human rights. The Embassy specifically raised
concerns about some religious groups' persistent registration
difficulties to the Government State Service on Religious Issues.
Section I. Religious Demography
The country has an area of
approximately 13,000 square miles, and its population,according to the
Statistics Department's annual book for 2003, is 4.2 million. Due to
illegal and fraudulent migration practices, the Migration Department's
best estimates indicate that between 500,000 and one million Moldovan
citizens work abroad. The most prevalent destination countries include
Russia, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece, and more recently Great
Britain and Ireland. The predominant religion is Christian Orthodox.
Ninety percent of the population nominally belongs to one of two
Orthodox denominations. The Moldovan Orthodox Church, according to the
State Service on Religious Issues, has 1,194 parishes; the Bessarabian
Orthodox Church has124 parishes. In addition followers of the Old Rite
Russian Orthodox Church (Old Believers) make up approximately 3.6
percent of the population. The religious traditions of the Orthodox
Church are entwined with the culture and patrimony of the country. Many
self-professed atheists routinely celebrate religious holidays, cross
themselves, and even light candles and kiss icons if local tradition
and the occasion demand. Adherents of other faiths include Roman
Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, Muslims,
Jehovah's Witnesses, Baha'is, Jewish persons, followers of Reverend
Moon, Molocans (a Russian group), Messianic Jews (who believe that
Jesus was the Messiah), Lutherans, Presbyterians, Hare Krishnas, and
some other charismatic Christian and evangelical Christian groups. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) has 2
congregations, and a combined total of approximately 250 members.
According to the most recently available numbers, the Jewish community
has approximately 31,300 members, including approximately 20,000 living
in Chisinau; 3,100 in Balti and surrounding areas; 2,200 in Tiraspol;
2,000 in Benderi; and 4,000 in small towns.
Foreign missionaries represent many faiths and denominations.
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Legal/Policy Framework
The
Constitution provides for fr
eedom of religion, and the Government
generally respects this right in practice; however, the 1992 Law on
Religions, which codifies religious freedoms, contains restrictions
that inhibit the activities of unregistered religious groups. Although
the law was amended in 2002, many of the restrictions remain in place.
The law provides for freedom of religious practice, including each
person's right to profess his or her religion in any form. It also
protects the confidentiality of the confessional, allows denominations
to establish associations and foundations, and states that the
Government may not interfere in the religious activities of
denominations. The law specifies that "in order to organize and
function," religious organizations must be registered with the
Government, and unregistered groups may not own property, engage
employees, or obtain space in public cemeteries in their own names.
There is no state religion; however, the
Moldovan Orthodox Church receives some favored treatment from the
Government. The Metropolitan of Chisinau and All Moldova has a
diplomatic passport. Other high-ranking Orthodox Church officials also
reportedly have diplomatic passports issued by the Government.
The procedures for registering a
religious organization are the same for all groups. In 2002, Parliament
adopted amendments to the Law on Religions. A religious organization
wishing to register must present a declaration of creation, by-laws,
and an explanation of its basic religious beliefs to the State Service
on Religious Issues. The State Service on Religious Issues enters the
religious organization into the Register of Religions within 30 working
days. Under the new procedures, at the request of the State Service on
Religious Issues, a court can annul the recognition of the religious
organization if the organization "carries out activities that harm the
independence, sovereignty, integrity, and security of the Republic of
Moldova, the public order, or are connected with political activities."
The amendments also provide that religious organizations are prohibited
from including in their by-laws any provisions that would violate the
Constitution or any other laws.
The Government has recognized and
registered 21 religious organizations, many of which are umbrella
organizations with sub-entities throughout the country. Althoughthe
2002 amendments to the Law on Religions were intended to simplify the
registration process and make the process essentially automatic, the
State Service on Religious Issues continues to deny the registration
ofsomegroups, such as the Spiritual Organization of Muslims. Members of
this organization repeatedly tried to register with the State Service
on Religious Issues and their applications were denied because the
State Service claimed their documents were not in order. A number of
other organizations have been denied registration or encountered
difficulties in connection with their registration applications.
In 1999, amendments to the Law on
Religions legalizing proselytizing went into effect. However, the law
explicitly forbids "abusive proselytizing," which is defined as an
attempt to influence an individual's religious faith through violence
or abuse of authority. During the period covered bythis report, the
authorities did not take any legal action against any individual for
proselytizing.
In 2002, a new draft Law on
Religions, which contained numerous contentious provisions, was
circulated. The draft law originally contained numerous restrictive
measures. The draft law has since been revised, and it appears that
many of the restrictive articles have been deleted. At the end of the
period covered by this report, the law was in the final stage of
examination by the Government before being sent to Parliament.
In February 2003, a new Law on
Combating Extremism was passed by Parliament and took effect in March
2003. Critics of the law raised concerns that the law could be used to
abuse opposition organizations, which could include religious
organizations or individuals who may support or have political ties to
certain parties. By the end of the period covered by this report,this
law had not been used against any religious organizations.
A new Criminal Code, adopted by
Parliament in April 2002 and in effect since June 2003, includes an
article which permits punishment for "preaching religious beliefs or
fulfillment of religious rituals, which cause harm to the health of
citizens, or other harm to their persons or rights, or instigate
citizens not to participate in public life or of the fulfillment of
their obligations as citizens." Drafters allegedlycopied the passage
almost word-for-word from the previous code, which was passed in 1961
when the country was part of the Soviet Union. No organization was
prosecuted under this new code during the period covered in this
report.
Article 200 of the Administrative
Offenses Code, which was adopted in 1985, prohibits any religious
activities of registered or unregistered religions that violate current
legislation. The article also allows for the expulsion of foreign
citizens who engage in religious activities without the consent of
authorities. The Spiritual Organization of Muslims has reported being
fined under this provision of law for holding its religious services in
a location registered to a charitable organization. The Government
charged that their activities are not in line with the stated
activities and purposes of the charitable organization.
Foreign missionaries are permitted
to enter the country for 90 days on a tourist visa. They experience the
same bureaucratic difficulties in obtaining residence permits and
customs clearances as other foreign workers who wish to stay in the
country for longer periods.
In 2000, Parliament amended the Law
on Education to make "moral and spiritual instruction" mandatory for
primary school students and optional for secondary and university
students. The program was introduced gradually, beginningin 2001, for
first graders, and then in 2002 and 2003 for second and third graders,
respectively. In some schools, there is a class specifically on
religion, although this course is conditioned on a request and approval
by the parents, and the availability of funds to cover the cost of the
course. There are a number of theological institutes, seminaries, and
other places of religious education in the country.
Two public schools and a
kindergarten are open only to Jewish students, and a kindergarten in
Chisinau has a special "Jewish group." These schools receive the same
funding as other state schools and are supplemented by financial
support from the community. However, Jewish students are not restricted
to these schools. There are no comparable schools for other religious
faiths and no reports of such schools for other religious faiths.
Agudath Israel operates a private boys' yeshiva and a girls' yeshiva,
both licensed by the Ministry of Education. The total enrollment of
both schools is fewer than 100 students. Total enrollment for all
Jewish related schools, including those operated by Agudath Israel and
public schools, is approximately 300.
The authorities in Transnistria also
impose registration requirements that negatively affect religious
groups and have denied registration to some groups. In April, a new
draft Law on Religions, which reportedly contained numerous contentious
provisions, was brought before the Transnistrian Supreme Soviet.
Following strong objections from the Orthodox Bishop of Tiraspol and
some legislators, the draft was sent back for revisions. Despite these
protests, the objectionable provisions of the draft law are reportedly
strongly supported by a number of high-level authorities in
Transnistria. It is likely that the Supreme Soviet will consider the
revised version of the draft law in the fall.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom
The Law on Religions contains
restrictions that have inhibited the activities of unregistered
religious groups, and the Government continued to deny registration to
some religious groups.
Unregistered religious organizations
are not permitted to buy land or obtain construction permits for
churches or seminaries. In some cases, members of unregistered
religious groups hold services in homes, nongovernmental organization
(NGO) offices, and other locations. In other cases, the groups obtain
property and permits in the names of individual members. Individual
churches or branches of officially registered religious organizations
are not obliged to register with local authorities; however,the local
branch must register locallyif it wants to make legal transactions as a
legal body,including the ability toreceive donations in its name.
In 2001, the Government declared the
Moldovan Orthodox Church, which is subordinate to the Moscow
Patriarchate, the successor to the pre-World War II Romanian Orthodox
Church for purposes of all property ownership, although no attempt has
been made to seize those properties in the hands of the Bessarabian
Church, which is subordinate to the Bucharest Patriarchate of the
Romanian Orthodox Church. In February, the Supreme Court repealed the
Government's 2001 decision. In April, in response to an appeal
submitted by the Government, the Supreme Court rescinded its February
ruling, making the Moldovan Metropolitan Church once again the legal
successor to the pre-World War II Romanian Orthodox Church. The
Bessarabian Church, which regards itself as the legal and canonical
successor to the pre-World War II Romanian Orthodox Church, does not
accept this decision and has said it will take its case to the European
Court of Human Rights. The Bessarabian Orthodox Church was formed in
1992 when a number of priests broke away from the Moldovan Orthodox
Church, and was only officially recognized in 2002, after years of
being denied recognition. The registration issue has political as well
as religious overtones, since it raises the question of whether the
Orthodox Church should be oriented toward the Moscow Patriarchate or
the Bucharest Patriarchate.
In May 2002, after a long series of
registration denials and legal appeals, the Supreme Court of Justice
ruled that the Government must register the Church of the True
Orthodox-Moldova, a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, which
is based in the United States. The State Service on Religious Issues
failed to implement the decision in the stipulated 30 days and
subsequently asked the Court for a 2-week extension to register the
church. But after 3 weeks, instead of registering the church, the
Service filed an extraordinary appeal with the Court of Appeals. The
Court reviewed the appeal and declared that the Service was not allowed
to file the appeal, since the case was made against the Government, not
the Service. Within a couple of weeks another appeal from the Prime
Minister was filed. In early 2004, the appeal was sent to the Supreme
Court and was under examination at the end of the period covered by
this report. The Church had submitted applications for registration in
1997, 1998, and 2000; the Government rejected these applications on
various grounds.
The Mormons have continuously faced
bureaucratic obstacles and have not yet obtained registration. They
most recently applied for registration in January, and the State
Service on Religious Issues requested further documentation in March.
There has been no further action taken on their registration request,
and the Mormons did not report any resistance or pressure from state
authorities.
The State Service on Religious
Issues has refused registration on numerous occasions to both the
Spiritual Organization of Muslims and the Central Muslim Spiritual
Board of Moldova (the latter associated with the Central Muslim
Spiritual Board of Russia and CIS states). The Spiritual Organization
of Muslims has filed a case against the Government for denying it
registration with the European Court of Human Rights, and the case is
awaiting review. The Central Muslim Spiritual Board of Moldova filed a
complaint locally against the State Service on Religious Issues in
2002. The case was heard by the Court of Appeals, which decided in
favor of the Muslim group in September 2003 and ordered the Government
to register the organization. The Government subsequently appealed the
decision to the Supreme Court, which returned the case to the Court of
Appeals for reexamination. On March 15, the Court of Appeals began
reexamining the case. At the end of the period covered by this report,
the case was still ongoing.
The law provides for restitution to
politically repressed or exiled persons of property that was
confiscated during the successive Nazi and Soviet regimes. In practice
this regulation has been extended to religious communities; however,
the Moldovan Orthodox Church has been favored over other religious
groups. The Church had little difficulty in recovering nearly all of
its property and, in cases where property was destroyed, the Government
offered alternative compensation. The Church has recovered churches,
schools, hospitals, orphanages, and administrative properties. Property
disputes among the Moldovan and Bessarabian Churches have not been
resolved. The Jewish community has experienced mixed results in its
effort to recover its property; however, during the period covered by
this report, there were no pending restitution cases for the Jewish
community.
The Transnistrian authorities have
developed a new textbook that is to be used at all school levels, which
reportedly contains negative and defamatory information regarding the
Jehovah's Witnesses.
Authorities in
Transnistria used registration requirements and other legal mechanisms
to restrict the religious freedom of some religious groups. Evangelical
religious groups meeting in private homes reportedly have been told
that they do not have the correct permits to use their residences as
venues for religious services. In the past, they and other non-Orthodox
groups generally were not allowed to rent property and often were
harassed during religious services.
In 1997, the authorities in
Transnistria announced that they would annul the registration of the
Jehovah's Witnesses. The Jehovah's Witnesses in Transnistria were
originally registered in 1991, and the church was reregistered by the
"Ministry of Justice" in 1994 and 1997. However, in 1997 the
"President's Commissioner for Religions and Cults" sent official
letters to public authorities falsely claiming that the activity of the
Jehovah's Witnesses was banned and that their registration was
annulled. Using the "President's Commissioner's" deceptive letter,
authorities have repeatedly harassed the Jehovah's Witnesses, including
halting the distribution of religious literature and refusing to
approve a property request to build a house of worship. In 2001, the
Jehovah's Witnesses lodged an official complaint withthe "President" of
Transnistria, and in 2002, they lodged a complaint with the Magistrate
in Tiraspol against illegal actions taken by the "President's
Commissioner for Religions and Cults." In July 2002, the "President's
Commissioner for Religions and Cults" sent a letter to various
government departments with instructions to consider the Jehovah's
Witnesses as illegal until the case brought against them had been
finalized. The Jehovah's Witnesses have lodged an official complaint
and a counter lawsuit against the "President's Commissioner for
Religions and Cults." Following several hearings, the Court has decided
to suspend the trial until the liquidation case has been finalized.In
December 2003, the Jehovah's Witnesses were informed that the two
trials would be combined into one trial that would be heard by a panel
of three judges. The case was being heard at the close of the period
covered by this report.
The Baptist community in
Transnistria remains unregistered. In previous years, theBaptists in
Transnistria complained of increasing harassment from the authorities;
however,during the period covered by this report, the Baptists reported
no direct harassment. In addition authorities did not report threats to
destroy the group's church, and the group continued to meet in the same
building.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees.
Abuses of Religious Freedom
The Spiritual Organization of
Muslims has reported regular harassment by the police. Members say the
police often show up at their Friday prayers, which are held at a local
Islamic organization's offices, checking participants' documents and
taking pictures. On March 5, the police raided their meeting place
after Friday prayers, detaining several members and subsequently
deporting three Syrian citizens for not having proper legal residence
documents. The authorities claimed the religious services were illegal
because the organization is not registered, and the place they were
meeting was registered to a charity and was not being used for its
stated purpose.
In several cases, members of
Jehovah's Witnesses reported being detained and fined for preaching
their religion. In the village of Cruzesti, the mayor and residents of
the village physically blocked members of Jehovah's Witnesses from the
public cemetery for not respecting the customs of the Orthodox
religion.
The Jehovah's Witnesses in
Transnistria have reported several incidents of administrative fines
and unjust arrests of their members. In all reported cases, the charges
have been dropped in appeals at the level of the Supreme Court.
Forced Religious Conversion
There
were no reports of forced religious conversion, including of minor U.S.
citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United
States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the
United States.
Abuses by Terrorist Organizations
There were no reported abuses
targeted at specific religions by terrorist organizations during the
period covered by this report.
Section III. Societal Attitudes
The generally amicable relations
among religions in society contributed to religious freedom. The
dispute between the Moldovan and Bessarabian Orthodox Churches is
ongoing; however, the adherents of the respective Churches do not
interfere with others' freedom to worship.
Jehovah's Witnesses from various
regions of the country have complained that their ability to practice
their religion freely has been impeded by local town councils and
Orthodox priests and adherents. They have also reported physical and
verbal abuse by local townspeople at the instigation of local Orthodox
priests.
There were a few reports of negative
press articles about non-Orthodox religions. The Jehovah's Witnesses
have been the target of articles criticizing their beliefs and
legitimacy, and the Baptists in Transnistria claim press reports about
their religion have been negative.
Between March 14 and March 30, more
than 70 tombstones were desecrated in the Jewish cemetery in Tiraspol.
Swastikas and other Nazi symbols were painted on monuments, and many
tombstones were damaged beyond repair. On May 4, unknown persons
attempted to set the Tiraspol synagogue on fire by throwing a Molotov
cocktail onto the premises near a local gas supply. The attack failed
when passers-by extinguished the fire. Transnistrian authorities
believe the attacks were propogated by the same people and claim they
are investigating the incidents.
Section IV. U.S. Government Policy
The U.S. Government discusses
religious freedom issues with the Government as part of its overall
policy to promote human rights. U.S. Embassy officers have met with
leaders and legal representatives of many religious organizations to
discuss registration, restitution, and other problems organizations
have had with the authorities. The Embassy has raise
d concerns about
some religious groups' persistent registration difficulties to the
Government. During the period covered by this report, an Embassy
Officer met with the head of the State Service on Religious Issues
highlighting the International Religious Freedom report, which cited
discriminatory legislation and policy in the country that disadvantaged
certain religions.
The U.S. Ambassador met with leaders
of the major religious organizations, including the Moldovan Orthodox
Church, Bessarabian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, and the
Jewish community. Embassy employees maintain official or social contact
with most of the resident American missionaries. The Embassy has
supported the activities of religious and secular groups, and has
funded several NGO projects to promote tolerance and understanding in
Moldovan society. The Embassy also funded a project on freedom of
religion in post-Soviet societies through the Contemporary Issues
Fellowship. In December 2003, the Embassy forwarded copies of
Holocaust-related documents provided by the Government to the Holocaust
Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
An Embassy representative maintains
regular contact with religious leaders throughout the country,
including in the separatist Transnistria region.