09.08.2009

Since the Macedonian Religion Law came into force in May 2008, officials have continued to put into practice the Law's hostility to some of the county's religious communities, Forum 18 News Service has found. Discrimination against the Serbian Orthodox Church and Bektashi Muslim community, and in favour of the state-supported Macedonian Orthodox Church and Islamic Community of Macedonia, continues. Other religious communities appear to have mainly escaped official hostility, with the exception of ongoing problems with acquiring, regaining, expanding and using places of worship.

Which communities are registered?

The Religion Law divides religious communities into three different categories – a church, a religious community and a religious group – without defining what these mean (see F18News 31 March 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1107). Neither officials nor religious communities have been able to explain to Forum 18 what the differences between these categories mean, and in practice it appears that the distinctions make no difference to the communities' religious activity. Unregistered communities are able to carry out religious activities, but not to carry out activities such as running bank accounts which require legal status.

The two large state-disfavoured communities

Of the two large state-disfavoured communities, the Bektashi Muslim community, which claims some 50,000 followers in the country, is applying for registration and hopes to receive this in September 2009. In sharp contrast to this, the Serbian Orthodox Church was refused registration on 28 July. The Church's Ohrid Archdiocese, which covers Macedonia, is led by Archbishop Jovan Vraniskovski. Owing to long-running and bitter legal disputes with the state, which has included his being jailed, he has been unable to be in Macedonia since June 2008 as an arrest warrant has been issued for him (see Forum 18's Macedonia religious freedom survey at http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1094).

Other pressure also continues against the Church. Bishop David (Ninov), who is responsible for legal matters, told Forum 18 on 5 August that "Bishop Joakim is regularly visited by police. We still do not know why except to put pressure on him." On 4 August the Church had a guest from the Moscow Patriarchate but, Bishop David continued, "Bishop Joakim had to call us to say that he was unable to receive our guest in his residence as the police had come again." The police also attend the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Kumanovo and the capital Skopje which, Bishop David said, causes some believers to fear the consequences of police observation. Harassment, for example of attempts to lead services in graveyards, also takes place.

The Interior Ministry offices in Kumanova and Skopje did not answer their telephones when Forum 18 tried to contact them.

Bishop David told Forum 18 that they were refused registration under the name Greek Orthodox Ohrid Archdiocese of Pec Patriarchate. The Macedonian court which heard the case refused registration, the reason given being the opposition of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. This Church – which is not recognised by other Orthodox churches – claimed that the Serbian Church was a "foreigner church" and has no jurisdiction in Macedonia, and so cannot be registered. Forum 18 has been unable to gain any comment from Judge Margarita Tosanova – who made the judgement – as to why the views of one religious community should influence legal decisions on another religious community.

In 2004 the Macedonian Orthodox Church registered the name "Ohrid Archdiocese" as a trademark with the State Office of Industrial Property, although this is not part of this Church's formal name.

Continuing official obstacles to places of worship

Religious communities of all faiths have told Forum 18 that the biggest problems they involve buildings, such as long-running denials of permission to build, extend or establish legal ownership over places of worship. Urban plans are often used as excuses to deny planning permission to religious communities. In addition, the authorities have also demolished "illegal" Serbian Orthodox places of worship (see F18News 31 March 2008 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1108).

Promoting "state faith communities"

As Ana Stojkovic of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of Macedonia observed to Forum 18 on 6 August, "no official explanation has been given why the state and not the faith community is building this religious facility." Similarly, the Helsinki Committee noted that "this decision promotes 'state religion' or more precisely 'state faith communities' in the shape of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Islamic Community of Macedonia. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir, noted at the end of her April 2009 visit to Macedonia that many in the country think "that the two major religious communities in the country wield considerable political influence and are eroding the division between religion and State."

The report in full can be read at this address: http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1335