Basileus
08-24-2007, 12:13 AM
Religious Freedom in Macedonia: Can There Be Only One?
Written by Risto Karajkov
Monday, 20 August 2007
newropeans-magazine DOT ORG /index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6841&Itemid=259
After months of procrastination the
government of prime minister Nikola Gruevski
adopted the draft bill on religious communities
mid July. The prime minister signed the bill and
finally sent it to parliament. This marks the end
of a prolonged phase of negotiations with the
religious groups in the country over the new
legal framework for practice of faith in Macedonia.
Parliament is to discuss the bill this
very summer, and the debate is not expected to be easy.
“I am convinced it would be a modern piece
of legislation, which will bring quality perhaps
in some aspects higher than the regional
achievements to date”, stated foreign minister Antonio Milososki early July.
It did not seem such an arduous task when
the government embarked on it last fall. It soon
became clear though that the job would not be
easy. The reason is - the differences between
the demands the international community and the
major religious groups in the country.
The EU and the US asked Macedonia to pass
legislation which will provide full respect for
religious liberties. In simple term and as a
matter of a basic requirement, this means, a law
which will allow for unrestricted establishment
and registration of religious communities. On the
other hand, the organizations of the major faiths
in the country, the Orthodox, Muslims, and
Catholics early came to a firm consensus that –
there could be not more than one religious organization for one faith.
The government came under pressure to
strike a tricky balance: to meet the requirements
of international integration and maintain correct
relations with major religions in the country.
Clerics got angry when the government told
them Brussels didn’t like the original bill which
protected their sovereign positions.
Prime minister Gruevski himself stepped
into the talks with the Synod of the Macedonian
Orthodox Church (MPC) last November. A first for a prime minister.
“We discussed the different options. I
think there is some progress, but it will take a
lot more”, stated briefly Mr. Gruevski after the meeting.
“We reviewed [the bill], analyzed it. It
remains to work on it further”, stated MPS’s spokesman. Mr. Timotej.
Generic statements denoting essentially different positions.
The deal was worked in silence without
much shared with the public. Neither the
government nor the clerics spoke much.
Nevertheless, some of the pastors of the MPC didn’t hide their resentment.
“Do our politicians think when they bow
before the international envoys”, asked angrily
the archimandrite of Vardar, Mr. Agatangel. “I
neither want into the EU by force, nor am I a
slave to the mystification of membership”, said he.
In the view of the religious leaders, the
West should try to understand the particularity
of the peaceful religious co-existence in Macedonia.
Reality is however more political.
Macedonian public got seriously aggravated
recently over the attempt of a schismatic
orthodox priest to register a Serb church in
Macedonia, with help of the Serbian Orthodox
Church (SPC). The international community got
involved, but the priest ended up in jail.
Part of the Macedonian crisis of identity
is the fact that its church is not recognized by
other Orthodox churches. The political weight of this fact is easily observed.
The Islamic Religious Community (IVZ) has
an issue with some of the Muslim brotherhoods
which operate independently, such as the
brotherhood of the bektashi in Tetovo, which also owns considerable property.
According to some analysts, the anxieties
of the Orthodox and Muslims in Macedonia are
exaggerated. Why should they fear competition by
some minor alternatives if they are confident
with their followers? They should relax their rigid positions.
Last winter the bill was sent for
suggestions and approval to international
institutions, the Venice Commission, OSCE, and the Council of Europe.
End of last year president Branko
Crvenkovski stressed that the bill is vital for
the expected invitation from NATO. According to
him, the support from the US Congress hinged on it.
NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer confirmed this during last month’s
summit in Ohrid, by saying that “religious
freedoms must be respected in Macedonia” if the
country is to hope to join the Alliance. *
Only a couple of days later, the Vatican
also voiced its support for the demands of the
international community. Its chief of diplomacy,
archbishop Dominique Mamberti visited Skopje early July.
“The Holy Seat believes that legislation
will soon be adopted which will be in accordance
with European standards on religious freedoms”, stated archbishop Mamberti.
According to the director of the
Commission for Religious Communities, Mr. Zvonko
Micunski, the text was largely rewritten in
accord with the suggestions by the international reviewers.
The last revision of the critical “article
8” came in the nick of time before the bill was signed by the prime minister.
The original article 8 provided that there
can be not more than one religious organization
for each faith. At the last moment, the
provision was changed to read that “a church,
religious community or group can only be
registered unless previous such groups do not
already exist”. The later registrants can not
have the same name or use the same symbols as the predecessors.
The other last minute big change is that
the registration of religious communities is
assigned to the courts. That is to say, it is
their problem from now on. They will have to
decide who can be registered and who not.
This likely does not console clerics who
can more easily put pressure on politicians who depend on votes.
Analysts point out that the legislation is
a step ahead in terms of religious freedoms
compared to the existing standards in neighboring
countries, two of which – Bulgaria and Greece, are EU members.
Religious leaders by and large keep a
stance that novelties are not necessary in an
areas which already functions well.
“What’s the use of new progressive
legislation, if it disrupts the relations between
the religious groups, and between them and the
state”, says the dean of the faculty of Theology, Ratomir Grozdanovski.
“ I believe that each citizen, each
believer in Macedonia does feel he has full
religious freedom”, says Reis ul Ulema effendi
Rexhepi, the chief Muslim priest in the country.
The government tried to find a compromise
but it did its best to comply with the demands of
the international community. The consigning of
the power of decision to the courts also seems a
reasonable solution for a secular democracy.
Nevertheless, the bill does have to go
through parliament and MPs both go to church and have a constituency.
It will be a hot debate.
Risto Karajkov
Florence, Italy
Written by Risto Karajkov
Monday, 20 August 2007
newropeans-magazine DOT ORG /index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6841&Itemid=259
After months of procrastination the
government of prime minister Nikola Gruevski
adopted the draft bill on religious communities
mid July. The prime minister signed the bill and
finally sent it to parliament. This marks the end
of a prolonged phase of negotiations with the
religious groups in the country over the new
legal framework for practice of faith in Macedonia.
Parliament is to discuss the bill this
very summer, and the debate is not expected to be easy.
“I am convinced it would be a modern piece
of legislation, which will bring quality perhaps
in some aspects higher than the regional
achievements to date”, stated foreign minister Antonio Milososki early July.
It did not seem such an arduous task when
the government embarked on it last fall. It soon
became clear though that the job would not be
easy. The reason is - the differences between
the demands the international community and the
major religious groups in the country.
The EU and the US asked Macedonia to pass
legislation which will provide full respect for
religious liberties. In simple term and as a
matter of a basic requirement, this means, a law
which will allow for unrestricted establishment
and registration of religious communities. On the
other hand, the organizations of the major faiths
in the country, the Orthodox, Muslims, and
Catholics early came to a firm consensus that –
there could be not more than one religious organization for one faith.
The government came under pressure to
strike a tricky balance: to meet the requirements
of international integration and maintain correct
relations with major religions in the country.
Clerics got angry when the government told
them Brussels didn’t like the original bill which
protected their sovereign positions.
Prime minister Gruevski himself stepped
into the talks with the Synod of the Macedonian
Orthodox Church (MPC) last November. A first for a prime minister.
“We discussed the different options. I
think there is some progress, but it will take a
lot more”, stated briefly Mr. Gruevski after the meeting.
“We reviewed [the bill], analyzed it. It
remains to work on it further”, stated MPS’s spokesman. Mr. Timotej.
Generic statements denoting essentially different positions.
The deal was worked in silence without
much shared with the public. Neither the
government nor the clerics spoke much.
Nevertheless, some of the pastors of the MPC didn’t hide their resentment.
“Do our politicians think when they bow
before the international envoys”, asked angrily
the archimandrite of Vardar, Mr. Agatangel. “I
neither want into the EU by force, nor am I a
slave to the mystification of membership”, said he.
In the view of the religious leaders, the
West should try to understand the particularity
of the peaceful religious co-existence in Macedonia.
Reality is however more political.
Macedonian public got seriously aggravated
recently over the attempt of a schismatic
orthodox priest to register a Serb church in
Macedonia, with help of the Serbian Orthodox
Church (SPC). The international community got
involved, but the priest ended up in jail.
Part of the Macedonian crisis of identity
is the fact that its church is not recognized by
other Orthodox churches. The political weight of this fact is easily observed.
The Islamic Religious Community (IVZ) has
an issue with some of the Muslim brotherhoods
which operate independently, such as the
brotherhood of the bektashi in Tetovo, which also owns considerable property.
According to some analysts, the anxieties
of the Orthodox and Muslims in Macedonia are
exaggerated. Why should they fear competition by
some minor alternatives if they are confident
with their followers? They should relax their rigid positions.
Last winter the bill was sent for
suggestions and approval to international
institutions, the Venice Commission, OSCE, and the Council of Europe.
End of last year president Branko
Crvenkovski stressed that the bill is vital for
the expected invitation from NATO. According to
him, the support from the US Congress hinged on it.
NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer confirmed this during last month’s
summit in Ohrid, by saying that “religious
freedoms must be respected in Macedonia” if the
country is to hope to join the Alliance. *
Only a couple of days later, the Vatican
also voiced its support for the demands of the
international community. Its chief of diplomacy,
archbishop Dominique Mamberti visited Skopje early July.
“The Holy Seat believes that legislation
will soon be adopted which will be in accordance
with European standards on religious freedoms”, stated archbishop Mamberti.
According to the director of the
Commission for Religious Communities, Mr. Zvonko
Micunski, the text was largely rewritten in
accord with the suggestions by the international reviewers.
The last revision of the critical “article
8” came in the nick of time before the bill was signed by the prime minister.
The original article 8 provided that there
can be not more than one religious organization
for each faith. At the last moment, the
provision was changed to read that “a church,
religious community or group can only be
registered unless previous such groups do not
already exist”. The later registrants can not
have the same name or use the same symbols as the predecessors.
The other last minute big change is that
the registration of religious communities is
assigned to the courts. That is to say, it is
their problem from now on. They will have to
decide who can be registered and who not.
This likely does not console clerics who
can more easily put pressure on politicians who depend on votes.
Analysts point out that the legislation is
a step ahead in terms of religious freedoms
compared to the existing standards in neighboring
countries, two of which – Bulgaria and Greece, are EU members.
Religious leaders by and large keep a
stance that novelties are not necessary in an
areas which already functions well.
“What’s the use of new progressive
legislation, if it disrupts the relations between
the religious groups, and between them and the
state”, says the dean of the faculty of Theology, Ratomir Grozdanovski.
“ I believe that each citizen, each
believer in Macedonia does feel he has full
religious freedom”, says Reis ul Ulema effendi
Rexhepi, the chief Muslim priest in the country.
The government tried to find a compromise
but it did its best to comply with the demands of
the international community. The consigning of
the power of decision to the courts also seems a
reasonable solution for a secular democracy.
Nevertheless, the bill does have to go
through parliament and MPs both go to church and have a constituency.
It will be a hot debate.
Risto Karajkov
Florence, Italy