Religious communities must inform the State Agency if they are holding
meetings in a place other than their legal address, Murzakhalilov told
Forum 18. Also each building used for religious meetings must be registered at the State Agency as a building for public worship. "But the seminary was not registered as a building for public worship but just for education.
Therefore the question arose of why the International Church was meeting in a place not registered for public worship." He said that now the seminary has registered its building for public worship.
Both the NSS and the director of migration told Sands that he cannot
return to Kyrgyzstan. "But my lawyer has been given some verbal comments that I should be able to and could appeal if I can't," Sands told Forum 18.
"The process has been stressful, having to resolve personal affairs, sell
off all our property and pack up after so many years, combined with the
responsibility to manage the transition in the seminary."
Sands told Forum 18 he feels the atmosphere for religious communities in Kyrgyzstan is becoming more restrictive. "Everyone is feeling greater
pressure, with the State Agency for Religious Affairs and NSS visiting
churches during services or immediately afterwards," he reported. "They
take photos of the congregations with their cell phones and ask questions,
and this creates uncertainty and fear."
Asked whether his colleagues from the State Agency took photos of
individuals while visiting religious institutions, Murzakhalilov told Forum
18 that it was possible. "I do not know for a fact, but it is possible that
they may have taken photos of interesting events," he said. "But I am sure
they would have done it with the consent of those people. Agency officials
are supposed to attend those organisations regularly, do monitoring, and
hold analysis."
The new pastor of the International Church is Daniel Danis, a Romanian
citizen who had lived in Bishkek for four years prior to his appointment.
He told Forum 18 on 11 June that he has not been obstructed in taking up
his post as pastor.
Danis noted that before Morrice was asked to leave, the NSS had summoned him twice for a talk. "The NSS told him to leave allegedly for violating the Religion Law," Danis reported. "Even though the State Agency had allowed our church to meet in the seminary building, the NSS still
considered it a serious enough violation to ask him to leave."
Morrice's visa was supposed to expire in the middle of May but at
Morrice's insistence the Foreign Ministry extended it for only ten more
days so he could arrange the details of his travel and his departure, Danis
told Forum 18. "Morrice was told to leave before the end of ten days, and
he did so on 26 May."
Danis told Forum 18 that the International Church, founded in 2001, has
around 150 members, mostly foreign workers in the country and some Kyrgyz nationals.
Moves have long been underway to pass a more restrictive Religion Law. The Presidential Administration rejected a repressive Decree in February that would have restricted freedom of thought, conscience and belief. However, many of Kyrgyzstan's religious communities remain highly concerned by continuing moves to introduce restrictions into the Religion Law
By Forum 18 News Service www.forum18.org Printed with permission
