Forum 18 News: Belarus, Serbia

12 March 2007

Belarus: When will legal foot-dragging end for charismatic church?

New Life charismatic church in Belarus is no nearer securing the use of its own building and land for worship, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. This is due to Belarusian state procrastination, even though the church ended a hunger strike in October 2006 after a senior state official strongly indicated that a resolution could be reached through the courts. However, "the judge had all the necessary information to make a decision two months ago," the church's lawyer Sergei Lukanin told Forum 18. "There are no objective reasons for this delay." The Higher Economic Court has postponed its ruling five times since December 2006, with the next hearing being due on 19 March. Lukanin points to two possible reasons for the delays. Firstly, the late 2006 gas price dispute with Russia gives Belarus less reason to support institutions associated with Russia, such as the Belarusian Orthodox Church. Secondly, Lukanin thinks, the government is "hoping that international attention will go away." Tight state controls on property use by religious communities - particularly in the capital, Minsk have markedly restricted Protestants and Hare Krishna devotees.

12 March 2007

Serbia: Very slow official implementation of Restitution Law

Serbia's Restitution Law is being implemented only very slowly, Forum 18 News Service has found. Even the "traditional" religious communities, who have automatic legal status, are having problems in making claims, including the Serbia Orthodox Church which suffered more confiscations than other communities. The Jewish community had much property confiscated during the Second World War, but the Law covers only post-1945 confiscations. Slovak Lutheran Church Bishop Samuel Vrbovsky told Forum 18 he is "not too optimistic" about the restitution process. "My only hope is that because the Serbian Orthodox Church has significant property to be returned, we smaller communities will also get our property back as well." The Islamic community has "a long list of confiscated property," but is finding it difficult to exercise its legal rights. Both "traditional" and non-traditional" communities are finding it difficult to assemble the documentation required to prove ownership. As the state has been extremely slow in implementing the Restitution Law, it is not yet possible to judge the fairness of the process.

Source:            www.forum18.org