Freedom of Religion in Belarus - Societal Abuses and Discrimination

Societal Abuses and Discrimination

While some members of society tried to promote religious freedom, societal abuses and discrimination based on religious beliefs occurred, and anti-Semitism and negative attitudes toward minority religious groups persisted.

As in previous years, unknown vandals destroyed crosses, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, erected at Kurapaty, an area used by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs to murder more than 300,000 people in the 1930s. In April 2007 vandals attacked the Stalin-era massacre memorial site at Kurapaty, knocking over and breaking six crosses. No criminal investigation took place by the end of the reporting period.

On May 30, 2007, unidentified burglars broke into the St. George Church in Vardomichy, stealing five icons. This was the latest in a string of unsolved church burglaries that resulted in the theft of 16 icons from 3 different churches in 2007. Police did not report any breakthroughs in their investigations of these crimes, which they attributed to a ring of experienced criminals.

There were several incidents of arson during the reporting period. On March 27, 2007, vandals set fire to the Roman Catholic St. Michael Church in Mozyr and drew satanic graffiti on the exterior walls. Ten days earlier, vandals broke a sculpture, crosses, and a window at the church. On March 28, police arrested four members of the satanic group Bloody Moon; the suspects remained in jail, and the investigation was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.

On December 25, 2006, vandals set fire to the Orthodox St. George Church in Mozyr, completely destroying its roof and interior walls. The remaining external walls were covered with graffiti. This was the second time the church had been set on fire in 6 weeks; on November 13, vandals drew satanic symbols on the outside of the church and set it on fire. The four members of the Bloody Moon satanic group who were detained for vandalizing the St. Michael Church in Mozyr pled guilty to setting fire to the St. George Church. They remained in police custody and the investigation was ongoing at the end of the reporting period.

On July 13, 2006, there was a suspicious fire at the Roman Catholic St. Francis Xavier (Farny) Church in Grodno. The fire destroyed part of the main altar and four 18th-century sculptures. Police opened a criminal case, but no further information was available at the end of the reporting period.

Several cemeteries and burial grounds were attacked or damaged during the reporting period. On April 27, 2007, police charged a man with damaging historical property after five 10th- and 11th-century burial mounds were vandalized in Zaslavl on March 10 and 16, 2007. No further information was available by the end of the reporting period.

On February 13, 2007, police suspended a criminal investigation into a January 15, 2007, attack on a Muslim cemetery in Slonim that contains the graves of Russian Muslim soldiers killed in World War I due to failure to find suspects. Vandals overturned six gravestones, destroying two. This was the third attack on the cemetery since 1996.

Independent media reported that on November 20, 2006, unidentified vandals painted "Don't Believe Sects!" on a billboard in Baranovichi that directed persons to the Salvation Church, an affiliate of the Union of Evangelical Faith Christians in the Republic of Belarus. Officials and media opined that drunken teenagers might have been the vandals. The church claimed that this was an organized action.

On November 17, 2006, the New Life Church reported that police refused to institute criminal proceedings in connection with the defacing of their church on the night of October 31, 2006. Alleged members of the National Bolshevik Party, a Russian extremist group, splashed black paint on the church and painted in red "No to Totalitarian Sects!" and the party's symbol.

During the reporting period, there were some positive actions undertaken by private actors to promote greater respect and tolerance among different religions and to promote religious freedom.

On June 18, 2007, the General Secretaries of Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Europe concluded a 4-day forum held in Minsk. It was the first time in the contemporary history of the country that the secretaries gathered in Minsk. They discussed migration, ecumenism, pastoral care, relations with Muslim communities, and the issues facing the Roman Catholic communities in the country, including difficulties with building new churches. On June 15, the secretaries had a successful meeting with BOC Head Metropolitan Philaret.

On May 28, 2007, BOC Head Metropolitan Philaret expressed support for the public organizing committee for the commemoration of the victims of Stalinist repressions.

In February 2007 Roma and Baptist communities worked together to provide the Roma population with gospels in Romany at no charge.

On April 19, 2007, the NGO Christian Human Rights House, in cooperation with the BCD, released "Monitoring of the Violations of Christians' Rights in Belarus," which chronicled repression against Christians during 2006. Christian Human Rights House was created in the summer of 2006 to monitor religious freedom violations and to work to alleviate the repression of freedom of conscience in the country.

On June 17, 2007, more than 500 Protestant communities across the country gathered at churches to conduct prayer services calling for changes in the religion law that they see as discriminatory against Protestant congregations. On April 22, Christian communities, including Protestants and Catholics, some individual Orthodox priests, and the BCD launched a campaign to collect 50,000 signatures on a petition calling for the revocation of the 2002 law on religions and religious organizations. On May 8, the Belarusian Exarchate of the ROC urged believers not to sign the petition, claiming that the law helps maintain peace among religious communities and stability in the country. By the end of the reporting period, the campaign reported collecting thousands of signatures.

On June 4, 2007, independent news services reported that approximately 5,000 Protestants gathered at the Church of Grace in Minsk to pray for persecuted religious activists and for freedom of religion, including the right to pray in private homes. The crowd adopted an appeal to President Lukashenko requesting a review of the 2002 religion law and an end to the arrests of ministers.