washington post 20 sept

Russian Legislators Revive Bill Restricting Religion

By David Hoffman
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, September 20, 1997; Page A20

MOSCOW, Sept. 19 -- The lower house of the Russian parliament today approved for the second time legislation that would restrict the rights of minority religions. Critics said it is nearly identical to legislation that President Boris Yeltsin vetoed in July as unconstitutional.

But this time, Yeltsin has signaled his approval of the revised bill, and observers said he may sign it into law.

With demonstrators carrying placards outside declaring, "You are not masters of our conscience!" the State Duma approved the legislation by a vote of 358 to 6. The 450-member chamber is dominated by Communists and nationalists. The bill now goes to the upper house, the Federation Council, composed of regional leaders, which approved the original measure and is considered almost certain to back the new version next week.

Yeltsin had vetoed the legislation earlier following complaints from human rights activists, the U.S. Senate and the Vatican. The Senate had threatened to cut off aid to Russia if the bill became law.

The legislation has been sought by the Russian Orthodox Church, which appears to view as a threat the activities of many faiths, including cults, sects and established religions that have come to Russia seeking followers after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Patriarch Alexei II, head of the Orthodox church, said recently that "we must completely bar proselytizing" and that "North American standards" of religious freedom cannot be applied to Russia.

After vetoing the legislation July 22, Yeltsin began negotiating with lawmakers over a new version. The patriarch publicly expressed irritation at Yeltsin's veto, saying it had been done under pressure from the West.

Early this month, Yeltsin aides signaled to the parliament that he could support an amended version being worked out in committee; that version was partially based on a draft Yeltsin had submitted to the panel, according to Lawrence Uzzell, who monitors religious freedom issues here for the Keston Institute, based in Oxford, England.

Yeltsin has not said publicly whether he will veto the bill again, but Uzzell said that "it will be much harder for Yeltsin to back off" because he gave his support to the text while it was being hammered out in the parliament.

Uzzell said the revised legislation is no less restrictive than the earlier version. "It's so close to being identical that it's hard to believe the president who proposed this bill is the same man who wrote the veto message of July," he said. "Virtually every one of the objections Yeltsin made in July is still valid."

Yeltsin said the earlier bill violated Russia's 1993 constitution, which states that religions "shall be equal before the law."

The preamble to the legislation approved by the Duma today stated, as had the earlier version, that there are four "traditional" religions in Russia: Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. The revised bill added the words, "and Christianity."

The legislation imposes restrictions on many religions that are not among the "traditional" ones.

Religions that have had a presence here for less than 15 years would face restrictions on their missionary activity, their schools and seminaries, and their right to disseminate religious literature. While waiting to qualify for 15-year status, religious groups would have to register annually with the authorities, a process that often can take months.

If Yeltsin signs the bill, it is not clear whether the 15-year rule would be applied retroactively, or whether the clock would start after the bill becomes law.

Only a few religious groups were permitted to operate during the Soviet era -- when the state was officially atheist -- so many religions in Russia today do not meet the requirement.

Although Yeltsin had said he wanted to work out a compromise to which all religions could agree, Uzzell said a range of religious leaders, including Roman Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals and Seventh-Day Adventists, opposed the bill.

"This bill is in obvious violation of Russia's constitution and of international norms on the equality of all religions," said Sergei Ivanenko of the centrist Yabloko bloc.

But a Communist member, Viktor Zorkaltsev, head of the Duma religion committee, said, "The most important thing is that it improves the position of traditional religions and places under government control those organizations whose activities raise doubts."