Nagorno Karabakh: Repressive Religious Law

Yesterday, on the eve of Armenian Christmas, the Oslo-based Forum 18 reported that the president of Nagorno Karabakh has signed what it calls a “repressive new Religion Law.” The new legislation gives an effective monopoly to the Armenian Apostolic Church and raises concerns regarding the activities of other religious groups as well as with the fate of religious sites not currently under their jurisdiction.

The main restrictions in Karabakh’s new Law are: an apparent ban on unregistered religious activity; state censorship of religious literature; the requirement for 100 adult citizens to register a religious community; an undefined “monopoly” given to the Armenian Apostolic Church over preaching and spreading its faith while restricting other faiths to similarly undefined “rallying their own faithful”; and the vague formulation of restrictions, making the intended implementation of many articles uncertain.

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The Jehovah’s Witnesses report that when they met Ashot Sargsyan, the head of the government’s Department for Ethnic Minority and Religious Affairs, in November 2008, he told them that as long as he is working for the government they will not get registration. “He said openly he’s a member of the Armenian Church,” they told Forum 18.

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In a potentially significant change from the parallel article in Armenia’s Law, the Karabakh Law removes the specific recognition that registered religious organisations can hold services “in homes and residences of citizens” from the list of suitable places as given in Armenia’s Law.

Article 17 – like the corresponding article in the Armenian Law - specifically gives the Armenian Apostolic Church a “monopoly” of preaching its faith, building new churches, contributing to the “spiritual edification of the people” including by teaching in state-run educational institutions, conducting charitable activity and maintaining permanent religious representatives in institutions such as hospitals, old people’s homes, military units and prisons.

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Karabakh’s new Law gives a place of primacy to the Armenian Church in Article 6, and only this Church is mentioned in relation to the restitution of religious property. This is despite the fact that several mosques still stand – even if badly damaged during fighting in the early 1990s over Karabakh and in subsequent reprisal attacks – in areas controlled by the Karabakh authorities. The mosques have been abandoned since the Azeri and Kurdish populations were driven out during the war.

Another controversial provision comes in Article 22, which is not present in Armenia’s Religion Law. This Article hands the state “control” over the production, distribution and import of religious literature and objects. The Article does not clarify the exact nature of such “control”.

Church Service, Stepanakert Theatre, Nagorno Karabakh © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1994