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The picket is continuing that is being conducted by Pentecostals of the "Emmanuel" church on Tver Square across from Moscow city hall, demanding the return of land allocated for construction of a church. About fifty members of "Emmanuel" church are standing with placards and chanting: "Bureaucrats! Return our land," according to reports from the press secretary of the church, Yury Popov. He reports that police officers from the Department of Internal Affairs of the "Tver" district are located nearby. At around 1:00 p.m. a bus with OMON special forces arrived.
The police tried to prevent the picketing with a photocopy of some document and they demanded that the picket be stopped, to which they responded that the paper that was presented had no legal force since the organizers of the demonstration had still received no official notification about moving the place of conducting the picket, and they continued the demonstration. The OMON troops joined the investigation and began demanding that the picket cease within twenty minutes. Otherwise they threatened to fill the bus with picketers. They also tried to explain to them that the picket was being conducted on legal bases. Then the OMON troops demanded that somebody from the mayor's office come out to the square and resolve the dispute.
The vice-chairman of the Committee for Relations with Religious Associations of the government of Moscow, Konstantin Blazhenov, came out to the demonstrators and the OMON forces. He stated that a judicial collision or disagreement was occurring and thereby he subtly acknowledged that the picketers have a right to their action on this site, Yury Popov reported. Yesterday K. Blazhenov expressed this point of view in an interview with a Portal-credo.ru correspondent.
At the present time the Portal-credo.ru correspondent reports that the senior pastor of the "Emmanuel" church, Alexander Purshaga, is conducting negotiations with Blazhenov and an aide to the vice-mayor of the government of Moscow, M.A. Men, on the square in front of Moscow city hall, to the accompaniment of the chanted demands. OMON forces have still not carried out their threat. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2005)
THIRD DAY IN ROW MOSCOW POLICE BREAK UP PROTESTANT PICKET
Portal-credo.ru,
2 June 2005
On the third day in a row, in the afternoon of 2 June, capital police, on orders from the prefecture of the Central Administrative District of Moscow, broke up a legal demonstration by the "Emmanuel" protestant church, whose members are protesting against attempts by capital authorities to confiscate a parcel of land that previously had been allocated to the church for construction of a house of worship.
As the church's press secretary, Yury Popov, reported to Portal-credo.ru, on 2 June OMON troops participated in breaking up the demonstration. Prior to the action believers were given an ultimatum over a loudspeaker suggesting that they voluntarily disperse within one minute. At the present time people who had been standing peacefully with placards are being escorted to a police bus and subjected to personal searches, and the placards have been seized. Everything happening is being documented with photos and video on the part of both police and believers.
To his question about the reason for what was being done the press secretary of the "Emmanuel" church received the explanation that violations had been committed, but what kind was not explained.
The church's senior pastor, Purshaga, administrator, B.G. Azarian, and press secretary, Yu.N. Poopov had already been arrested and taken to the Tver department. A worker from the prosecutor's office was present at the arrest, a tall, young, closely shaven man in a blue raincoat, who did not wish to identify himelf. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2005)
OMON TROOPS ARREST THREE PASTORS FROM ST. PETERSBURG SUBURBS
Portal-credo.ru,
2 June 2005
At the time of the breakup of the demonstration by the "Emmanuel" Pentecostal church on Tver Square across from Moscow city hall on 2 June, OMON troops arrested and transported to the Tver Department of Internal Affairs, as already reported by Portal-credo.ru, the senior pastor of the church Alexander Ananievich Purshaga, the administrator of the church Bakur Azarian, and its press secretary Yury Nikolaevich Popov. Along with them were arrested and transported to the Tver department a pastor of the "News of Hope" church of Zelenogorsk, Ilia Iurevich Astapov, a pastor of a church in Krasnoarmeisk, Alexander Alexandrovich Munilkin, and a pastor of a church in Pushkin (all suburbs of St. Petersburg), who had come to Moscow for support of the Moscow fellow believers, along with five parishioners of the "Emmanuel" church.
This time, according to Yury Popov, the arrest was made without force. All those arrested were politely asked to get on the OMON bus. The breakup of the picket, which also this time was done without violence, and the arrest of the activists was observed with evident satisfaction by the deputy prefect of the Central Administrative District of the city of Moscow, Sergei Anatolievich Vasiukov.
At the Tver district OVD, the passports of all those taken there were seized but, in contrast with previous days, they were not put into the "monkey cage," but simply detained in the OVD building. OMON troops drew up reports but so far the detainees have not received an explanation of what crime was the reason for their being transported to the police station. Thus they do not even have the status of arrested persons so that the three-hour period of an administrative arrest does not apply to them. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2005)
Russia Religion News Current News Items
On 22 May a demonstration of protest "against discrimination against the rights of protestant Christians" was held on Pushkin Square in Moscow. More than 600 believers, mainly members of Pentecostal congregations, as well as representatives of churches of Evangelical Christians Baptists, the Salvation Army, and other protestant denominations, took part in the action, which was supposed to attract the attention of Russian authorities. Those who assembled demanded an end to the arbitrariness of bureaucrats with regard to Russian protestants, which, in their opinion, had become the norm. The occasion for conducting the demonstration was the complex situation in which the "Emmanuel" congregation of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) found themselves. Thanks to bureaucrats of the capital, this church has for a long time been unable to get use of a parcel of land for construction of a house of worship. In the 1990s the greatest problems for "nontraditional" religious associations of Russia were those associated with obtaining state registration. Now the already registered religious organizations are confronting problems in obtaining land or buildings for conducting worship services. Obstacles to obtaining property by religious minorities that are intentionally exacerbated by government workers both in Moscow and in the provinces permit representatives of rights defense organizations to say that today the authorities are cooperating with select religions, "traditional confessions," and are infringing the rights of other religious societies. For commentary on the situation that has emerged around Russian protestants a "NGR" correspondent turned to the president of the Russian Associated Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals), Bishop Sergei Riakhovsky.
--Sergei Vasilievich, recently in Izhevsk arson was committed against a house of worship and in Moscow an action of protest against discrimination against religious minorities has been held. Do these events give evidence of discrimination against protestants?
--Indeed, the situation now is tense. Of course, not everywhere, but in several places the tension is rather strong. Although in a majority of regions religious life is going on normally. Dialogue among various confessions and between protestant churches and structures of state authority is developing. But events of which we have become witnesses in recent months raise many questions for us.
We have a constitution, a law on freedom of conscience, and various official instructions, but there is no special act which would define the relationship of the state to religious associations. In other words, we have a legislative base and methods for its implementation, but there is no chief document that would define the mutual relations between the state and religion.
This document would be called a "Doctrine of state-religion relations." It could clearly prescribe certain priorities in relations between the state and religious associations.
Today every bureaucrat is guided by his own conception of the way of conducting relations with protestants. And it is evident that in the main the interpretation of existing law by government workers is being done to the detriment of protestant churches.
We imagine that in this document the protestants would be described as an element that is alien to Russia. Then we would know that we will be treated negatively everywhere and we would know how to conduct ourselves. And we would arrange our policy in accordance with this.
--Or go underground. . .
--If we should suddenly become an undesirable element, second class citizens, then we could go underground, as was the case previously. You know, throughout the soviet period I was in an underground Pentecostal church, like my father and grandfather. The soviet authorities tried to eliminate protestants. They conducted show trials; they produced special propaganda films. And all for naught; we survived. Despite everything we remained Russian protestants. Besides, the fiercer the persecution, the stronger the church became.
Now there is in Russia a very strange religious policy of the carrot and stick. On one hand, I am a member of the Council for Relations with Religions Organizations in the Russian presidential administration, in which I represent the most active portion of Russian protestants. I was invited to join the Commission on Spiritual Security of the Central Federal Region under the presidential envoy, Georgy Poltavchenko. On the other hand, very often out in the provinces the attitude toward our church takes on a discriminatory character.
--How is this discrimination manifested?
--Primarily ii is manifested in relations of the government and bureaucrats toward protestant denominations. Each government has an interest in developing relations with registered societies and religious associations themselves. It should be the initiator in developing relations with all religious organizations that exist under it. This is a guarantee of security and stability and a guarantee of preventing extremism, including religious extremism. The absence of a declarative document prescribing the nature of these relations leads to the kind of complicated situation that we are now experiencing.
--If I understand you correctly, the discrimination occurs precisely because of the defects of existing religious legislation?
--The imperfection of legislation leads to instability and to those problems that we now have. The law is like a pole; you turn it this way and it goes that way.
Because of the lack of a doctrine of state-religion relations, interpretation of the law on freedom of conscience becomes arbitrary and not in the protestants' favor. In a number of regions the practice of the implementation of the law evokes in us serious concern. Application of law without a clear understanding of the essence of the established relations leads to its violation
--What are some examples of such violation that you could give?
--Take Ekaterinburg. There for six years in a row, with the sponsorship of the government, our services have been picketed and believers and ministers have been beaten. But just as soon as police officers arrested a certain Orthodox "expert on sects," who wanted to give a lecture against "sectarians," everybody began talking about the violation of the rights of a "famous scholar." It turns out that in every separate region, the practice of the implementation of the law is developed in its own unique way. Thus, on one hand, nobody pays attention to the violation of the rights of thousands of parishioners in one of the evangelical churches, but on the other hand all of Russia immediately learns of the arrest by police of a figure who is sowing religious discord. It seems to me that this is evidence of the double standards and dual ethic of bureaucrats with respect to Russian citizens.
--Who, in your view, is interested in such discrimination and how do the authorities view it?
--This happens with the full patronage of the authorities. The prosecutor's office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Federal Security Service, that is, those agencies that should be reacting to discrimination, are often silent. On the part of some representatives of the intelligence services one even hears statements that Russian protestants are a fifth column. I am sure that somebody has intentionally deceived people and has provoked them. In the persons of protestants they continually try to find an enemy. One gets the impression that this is not simply a manipulation of the law in the regions or its uninformed reading; it is something more--a deliberate policy. And in the final analysis this cannot but destabilize both civil society and even the democratic system of Russia. In Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, and Novosibirsk pseudoscientific conferences have been conducted with the participation of bureaucrats and representatives of presidential envoys and they issue statements that the greatest threat in Russia is neopentecostalism and Riakhovsky personally. One continually hears calls to put an end to our activity and denunciations are written to the president and the State Duma.
I am talking here about two things: either everything is going to work out fine or some arrangement is going to be made. I'd be interested in knowing how the president responds to such letters and calls.
--Does it seem to you that in some cases "traditional religions" are intentionally provoking antiprotestant actions?
--It is beginning to seem so to me, when so much mud is being heaped on us. But when I meet with leaders of "traditional religions," such as Patriarch Alexis II, Rabbi Ber Lazar, or Mufti Ravil Gainutdin, then I don't think it. I see people who treat not only their own confession with respect but also others.
At the same time, somebody consciously wants to represent the developing situation as a conflict between us and the Orthodox church. That is untrue! There are no conflicts at all. In addition, recently there was a meeting of the heads of protestant churches with Metropolitan Kirill Gundiaev, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow patriarchate. We agreed upon joint conducting of several seminars that are important for us all.
--How would you comment on the action of protest of one of the protestant churches conducted recently in Moscow.
--I think that the demands of this church, which has been subject now for several years to discrimination on the part of Muscovite bureaucrats, were absolutely legal. And I am not about to close my eyes to this in the future.
I would not want to think that such is the position of the mayor of Moscow with respect to protestants of the capital. But from time to time I hear expressions from individual Muscovite bureaucrats who say openly: "You are protestants and we are not going to let you do anything."
I note that this demonstration that assembled hundreds of persons was a warning. We agreed on the council of pastors of Moscow that if the authorities of the capital will not hear us and change the situation for the better, then the next demonstration will take a different format. I think that equal rights must be granted to all religious organizations that are recognized by the government. If I am mistaken, then let the government revoke our registration. Then we will resolve our own problems in a different way, especially since we have enormous experience which we received in the soviet period. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 June 2005)
Posted on Portal-credo.ru site, 2 June 2005
Russia Religion News Current News Items
Despite assurances yesterday by Moscow authoriteis regarding observance of the law, the senior pastor of the "Emmanuel" Moscow central church, Alexander Ananievich Purshaga, is again behind bars. Along with him at the Tver department are also the administrator and press secretary of the church, although a meeting in Moscow city hall with Mikhail Men was planned.
The breaking up of the demonstration was continuing. Women and children were thrown to the ground, accompanied by curses and threats "to shut them up in the police department." Their placards were confiscated.
A group of believers arrived from St. Petersburg to show support for the picket in defense of the rights of protestant churches. These believers were arrested by police and transported by force to the police department without any explanation of the reasons. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 June 2005)
MOSCOW POLICE CONTINUE ILLEGAL CONDUCT WITH REGARD TO PENTECOSTALS
Portal-credo.ru,
1 June 2005
On Tver Square, opposite Moscow city hall, on 1 June the picket by the "Emmanuel" church of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) was continued. They are protesting against the arbitrariness of bureaucrats of the city administration who are trying to confiscate a parcel of land that had earlier been allocated to them for constructing a church building.
Despite
the assurances of the authorities of the Central Administrative District,
in the person of deputy prefect S.A. Vasiukov, which were given yesterday
that the law would be observed, today's picket was again broken up with
special brutality. Women and children were thrown to the ground, accompanied
by swearing and threats "to shut them up in the police department." Their
placards were confiscated.
This was reported by cell phone from the "monkey house" of the Tver Department of Internal Affairs [OVD] around 11:00 a.m. by the press secretary of the "Emmanuel" church, Yury Petrov. Arrested along with him and taken to Tver OVD was the administrator of the "Emmanuel" church, Bakar Azarian. An hour later the senior pastor of the "Emmanuel" central church of Moscow, Alexander Purshaga, was arrested and taken to Tver OVD.
A meeting at Moscow city hall had been scheduled for noon for Purshaga and other representatives of "Emmanuel" church with Mikhail Men, which did not occur because of the pastor's arrest.
Also arrested on Tver Square and taken to Tver OVD was a parishioner of the church, Tatiana Zaitseva, who came to the demonstration with four young children, the youngest of whom is three years old and the eldest is around twelve. Yury Petrov reported that the children were left at the square.
A group of believers arrived from St. Petersburg to support the picket in defense of the rights of protestant churches. These believers were arrested and transported by force to the police station without explanation of the reasons.
As Yury Petrov reported, who at the present time is located in the building of Tver OVD on Bolshoy Dmitrovka across from the recently burned out Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre, he can hear a crowd of believers on the street in front of the OVD building chanting demands to release the detainees. A crowd of believers also is standing on Tver Square, but they are now without placards and signs, which were seized by police, and they also are chanting their demands.
The
picket has continued in accordance with the notification delivered to the
administration of the Central Administrative District ten days before it
was to be conducted, in compliance with the law. The administration of
the "Emmanuel" church had not received from the administration of the district
any notification regarding a change of the location for conducting the
demonstration, within the time required by law. On 30 May, at the appointed
time, the picketers assembled on Tver Square, but they were dispersed by
police and OMON special forces. Ten persons, mainly elderly people, were
arrested and detained around eight hours at the Tver OVD. So far organizers
of the demonstration have still not received official notification about
changing the place for conducting the picket, despite meeting with the
deputy prefect of the Central Administrative District, S.A. Vasiukov, and
thus they are continuing to conduct the picket on Tver Square. (tr. by
PDS, posted 1 June 2005)
FOUR OF 13 ARRESTED PENTECOSTALS RELEASED; REST DETAINED
Portal-credo.ru,
1 June 2005
Four protestants arrested on 1 June on Tver Square were released after three hours of detention in the Tver district Department of Internal Affairs [OVD] of Moscow. They were the press secretary of the "Emmanuel" Pentecostal church of Moscow, Yury Petrov, administrator of the church, Bakar Azarian, Tatiana Zaitseva, and one other parishioner. The reason for the arrest was participation in a picket, regarding whose conduct the protestants had informed city authorities in a timely manner, a Portal-credo.ru correcpondent reports.
However, the senior pastor of the church, Alexander Purshaga and nine other participants in the demonstration, including one girl, still remain in the department, despite the expiration of the processing time for administrative arrests. It cannot be ruled out that the reason for the release of the four detainees was that Yury Petrov demanded to have an attorney. Parishioners, mainly women and children, of the church gathered around the police department, and they chanted "Free our pastors!" Police workers came out of OVD and threatened the demonstrators that they would take the women into OVD and let the children, aged 4 to 12, go home by themselves. The senior pastor of the church asked his supporters to disperse to protect them from regular lawless acts. However the whole group moved over to Moscow city hall where they joined the forty participants of the picket who were standing without signs and chanting: "Mayor, return our land and put an end to lawlessness!" The picket will continue until 5:00 p.m.
As Yury Petrov affirmed, no oral invitation had been received from the chief specialist of the prefecture of the Central Administrative District, who is responsible for conducting pickets and demonstrations, Elena Poliakova, on Yury Petrov's cell phone. He was named in the notification of conducting the picket as the contact person. The press secretary of the church was prepared to produce in confirmation of his words records of all his conversations from the telephone company.
Senior Pastor Alexander Purshaga refused to meet with Moscow Vice-mayor Mikhail Men at city hall as a sign of protest against the illegal arrest of church members during the conducting of the picket and inaction of city authorities with regard to police brutality. Yury Petrov developed the impression that city authorities want to brush off the legal requirements of the picketers. "Our demands are not being taken seriously," he noted.
On 2 June the picket across from Moscow city hall will be resumed at
11:00 a.m. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 June 2005)
REPRESENTATIVE OF PREFECTURE AFFIRMS PROTESTANTS PROPERLY WARNED
Portal-credo.ru,
1 June 2005
Representatives of the "Emmanuel" church of Pentecostals of Moscow were accused of acts of picketing Moscow city hall, which took place on 31 May and 1 June, by a worker of the prefecture of the Central Administrative District of Moscow who is responsible for organization of demonstration, Elena Poliakova. "They did not come here and they did not receive official notification about the change of the location for conducting the picket," she stated on 1 June, replying to a question from a Portal-credo.ru correspondent about the reason that the organizers of the demonstration did not receive such notification within the three-day period established by law.
As reported previously, activists and parishioners of "Emmanuel" church, led by their senior pastor Alexander Purshaga, for a second day in a row were subjected to adminsitrative arrest. They have been protesting against attempts by city authorities to seize land allocated to the church for construction of a house of worship.
"Comrade Popov," as Elena Poliakova called the press secretary of the church, Yury Popov, "was notified by phone, and not only by phone, that it was necessary to come to the prefecture and receive the answer." According to the prefecture worker, all organizers of events who submit their notifications come to the prefecture, where a copy of their notification receives a stamp and provides information 'when they are supposed to receive the response at the site."
However, Yury Popov told Portal-credo.ru that neither by telephone nor any other means had he been informed about changing the place for conducting the picket. In confirmation of his words he was prepared to present records of telephone conversations on his cell phone, whose number had been indicated in the application submitted to the prefecture. As Yury Popov reported, on 6 June a civil judge will review materials from the Tver Department of Internal Affairs about the supposed conducting of illegal demonstrations by protestants opposite the city hall of the capital. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 June 2005)
PROTESTANT PICKET IN CENTRAL MOSCOW MOVED FROM CITY HALL TO TVER OVD
Portal-credo.ru,
1 June 2005
Around fifty parishioners of the "Emmanuel" church of Pentecostals of Moscow moved after 5:00 p.m,.when the time reported for their picket at Moscow city hall was completed, to the building of the Tver Department of Internal Affairs [OVD] where nine activists of the church, led by Senior Pastor Alexander Purshaga, are being detained. This was reported to Portal-credo.ru by the church's press secretary, Yury Popov.
The picketers, including many women and children, chanted; "Release our pastors!" Representatives of OVD remained in bewilderment, although periodically they have threatened the picketers with new mass arrests. (tr. by PDS, posted 1 June 2005)
INTERVIEW WITH VICE-CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE FOR RELATIONS WITH RELIGIOUS
ASSOCIATIONS OF MOSCOW
Portal-credo.ru, 1 June
2005
Portal-credo.ru: How does the Moscow committee that oversees city hall's religious policy, assess the events occurring in the capital of breaking up of a protestant demonstration and picket and the arrests of participants, including the pastor of "Emmanuel" church, Alexander Purshaga?
Konstantin Blazhenov: The Committee on Relations with Religious Associations of the government of Moscow does not make any evaluations and does not occupy an independent position, since it is a subcommittee of the government of the capital and a part of its apparatus. The only thing that I can say is that everything should be resolved within the bounds of Russian legislation. We know that protestant churches have certain problems. They confront difficulties, but in any case it is necessary to follow the law.
--Can it be said that, for example, the deputy prefect of the Central Administration District of Moscow, S.A. Vasiukov, committed any excesses in his actions with regard to the evangelical congregation by first permitting the picket and then effectively sanctioning its break up?
--It is very difficult to say something in this regard. The law on the procedure for conducting demonstrations and parades is imperfect; it is open to a certain degree of interpretation. I am not an attorney and therefore it is difficult to give an immediate legal evaluation of the situation, but current law can be interpreted in a couple of ways. Each of the sides, both bureaucrats and protestants, has its own interpretation. It is because of this that conflicts with representatives of protestant churches arise.
Interview conducted by Roman Lunkin for Portal-credo.ru,
1 June 2005
(tr. by PDS, posted 1 June 2005)
Russia Religion News Current News Items