wfn.org | Bulgaria Moves Closer to Restrictive Religious Law

[BeckettJ@gc.adventist.org]

ANN Bulletin
Adventist News Network
Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters
December 12, 2000
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Bulgaria Moves Closer to Restrictive Religious Law
Sofia, Bulgaria ... [ANN]

Bulgaria moves ever closer to the adoption of a restrictive law on religion,
according to a spokesman on religious freedom for the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in Bulgaria.

"The proposed law supposedly grants religious liberty, but in reality does
not give the actual ability to practice it," says Evelin Velinov speaking in
an interview on November 29. "It's like giving with one hand and taking away
with the other. The law is not really democratic, and favors one religion
over the rest."

The draft legislation had its first reading in February this year, and the
second and final reading is currently under way.

"If this new law comes into force, we will not be able to conduct outreach
activities," explains Velinov. "Many permits will be required. We will not
be able to operate as a church as we wish, especially due to the local
community prejudice that this law will encourage. Already many minority
faiths face hostility and intolerance. Since the Orthodox Church directs
affairs in local areas, religious liberty is practically impossible."

Velinov finds the current accusations of disloyalty and subversion very
troubling. "We are accused of being unpatriotic and agents of foreign
states. The Adventist Church has been known for good works for many years,
and such accusations are groundless. We wish to continue dialogue with the
legislators on this matter of vital concern for religious freedom."

The draft law was the subject earlier this year of an appeal against its
adoption by a broad-based coalition that included Baptists, members of the
Church of God, Congregationalists, Methodists, Mormons, Pentecostals, Roman
Catholics, Adventists, and members of the United Churches. Other
organizations that signed the appeal were Bulgaria's Helsinki Committee (on
Human Rights), the Institute for the Principle of Justice, the Association
for the Protection of Religious Freedom, the Christian Coalition, and the
Tolerance Foundation. 

Some commentators suggest that the passage of this restrictive religious law
would be problematic for Bulgaria's proposed entry into the European Union.
[Jonathan Gallagher]
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