THE new Religious Denominations Act, passed last year by the
Bulgarian Government, clashes with the country's commitment to respect
religious freedom, according to a report by the United States' Helsinki
Commission.
"Bulgaria's Law on Religions is out of step with the country's human
rights agreements to respect religious freedom," reads the report from
August 15.
It continues to criticise the privileges accorded to the Bulgarian Orthodox
Church and registrations placed on other denominations by the new legislation.
These include a requirement that all other religions must register in court and
apply for a licence to practice in Bulgaria.
The report highlights sections of the act that need further evaluation and legislative
refinement, and suggests ways that Bulgaria, which is a signatory to the
Helsinki Accords, can bring its laws into conformity with the country's human
rights commitments.
"Bulgaria will take over the presidency of the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe next year, but at the same time the country does not
follow the rules of religious freedom," the chair of the Helsinki
Commission, Christopher Smith, was quoted as saying by Deutsche Welle.
"I sincerely urge my Bulgarian counterparts to seriously consider the
recommendations in this report," he said.
The legislation also contradicts the European Convention on Human Rights and
some of Bulgaria's commitments under the pre-accession negotiations with the
EU, according to the former Council of Europe observer on Bulgaria, David
Atkinson.
"The criteria of the European Union are such and we must consider them
since we are on the way to Europe," Atkinson said.
The Religious Denominations Act was passed the Bulgarian National Assembly on
December 20, 2002. At the time it was reported that certain religious
communities were overlooked or were not invited to take part in consultations
during the hurried drafting process.
The Bulgarian Constitutional Court reviewed the act on July 16, 2003. Six of
the court's 12 judges ruled against it and five in favour. Under Bulgarian law,
seven judges must rule against a law for it to be overturned.
Osman Oktai, MP, said the law discriminates against minority religious
denominations in Bulgaria by granting a privileged status to the Bulgarian
Orthodox Church.
Despite this, the head of the Muslim faith in Bulgaria, Selim Mehmed, said that
he would respect the new law because "all of us are Bulgarian
citizens."
Domenico Contestabile, an Italian senator and member of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) visited Bulgaria in June to assess
whether religious freedom and other human rights are being upheld in the
country.
His visit, the first visit of its kind since 2000 when PACE decided to
discontinue religious monitoring of Bulgaria, was in response to the
introduction of the act.