15 August 2006

CHINA: Xinjiang - Strict control of China's Uighur Muslims continues

In China's north-western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, control over Islam continues to be much stricter than over other religions, Forum 18 News Service has found. However, the authorities' control over mosques used by Dungans – a Chinese Muslim people - is less strict than over mosques used by Uighurs. Many Uighurs are Muslims, and their religiosity is often closely connected with separatism. Pressure – for example on the texts of Friday sermons, and attempts to force schoolchildren and state employees such as teachers to abjure Islam – is applied more strictly in the north of the region. There is also a ban in Xinjiang on the private Islamic religious education of children. In response, Forum 18 has noted that Uighur parents often take their children to other parts of China, where they can study freely at a medresseh. Islamic movements such as Sufism and Wahhabism are repressed, and the authorities are attempting to assimilate Uighurs through economic inducements. This policy, Forum 18 has found, has made some impact amongst Uighur Muslims.

29 June 2006

OSCE COMMITMENTS: CENTRAL ASIA: Implementation the issue for OSCE – a survey

All Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) states are committed to "respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief," recognising that this is a litmus test of the state of human rights. OSCE commitments to human rights have been reiterated and enhanced. Yet some OSCE states, especially in the eastern part of the OSCE region where Forum 18 News Service works, repeatedly break their commitments and attack religious freedom. Examples include Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which commit persistent and even worsening religious freedom and other human rights violations. Forum 18 here surveys the situation. The question facing the OSCE is: How, concretely, are its repeated commitments to free, democratic, tolerant societies which respect human rights to be implemented, faced with states whose concrete actions directly contradict their commitments?

10 May 2006

UZBEKISTAN: One year on from Andijan

13 May 2006 is the first anniversary of the violent suppression of the Andijan uprising, which the OSCE thinks may have resulted in the deaths of between 300 and 500 people. Forum 18 News Service has been trying to establish whether these events have changed the religious freedom situation. It is hard to isolate Andijan-related events from the ongoing attack on human rights in Uzbekistan, but violations against the religious freedom of people of all faiths have clearly become worse. Much remains unknown about the Andijan events, including whether or not the Akramia group – which was at the centre of the events - is a peaceful religious group. Currently, Protestant Pastor Bakhtier Tuichiev describes the situation in Andijan as very tense. "Rumours are circulating that on 13 May demonstrations will be held." He told Forum 18 that police patrols have been stepped up and that many Muslims are being called in for "preventative talks" with the police and the NSS secret police.

10 May 2006

UZBEKISTAN: Religious freedom survey, May 2006

In its survey analysis of religious freedom in Uzbekistan, Forum 18 News Service finds that serious violations of religious freedom and other key human rights continue. Amongst many serious violations – which breach the country's international human rights commitments - in recent months have been: a complete ban on Protestant activity in north-west Uzbekistan, including threats to children to make them renounce Christianity; Muslim prisoners being barred from saying Muslim prayers; continuing police and NSS secret police raids on religious communities, especially Protestants and Jehovah's Witnesses; massive increases in unregistered religious activity fines; use of interlocking laws and regulations to attack peaceful religious activity by all faiths; and the detention and deportation of Forum 18's Central Asia correspondent. The situation in Uzbekistan is bleak, and it is likely that violations of religious freedom and other key human rights may even become worse.

29 March 2006

NORTH KOREA: Religious freedom non-existent, but much still unknown

Two recent reports based on testimony from North Korean refugees – one by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom - have confirmed earlier findings that religious freedom does not exist in North Korea, that local people are aware of state-sponsored acts of religious persecution and that the only state-approved religion is Juche, or self-reliance, which is closely allied to the cult of the deceased leader Kim Il-Sung. Some interviewees claimed they had witnessed or heard of extreme punishments, even death, meted out to religious believers, others recounted how some religious believers were spared such punishments. Christian organisation Open Doors has noted that North Koreans arriving in China are usually very opposed to religion in general and Christianity in particular as a result of the long-term and regular state indoctrination to which they had been subjected. Visitors to Pyongyang have told Forum 18 News Service that no regular worship takes place at the three official Christian churches in the city and that Buddhist monasteries elsewhere are neglected cultural relics.

8 March 2006

CHINA: Despite new Regulations, religious policy still under strain

One year on from the March 2005 Religious Affairs Regulations their effects are difficult to judge, and repressive actions continue against many communities. China's religious policies are under increasing strain. Even the definition of "religion" – especially a "legal religion" – is debated among officials, and a comprehensive religion law (as opposed to the Regulations) is awaited. The government seems to favour a law focusing on control of religion, but many religious leaders would prefer a law focusing on protecting religious believers' rights. Underlying the debate – and the increasing strain on government policy – is the fact that religious faith and practice of all kinds is rapidly growing in China, making the ideological foundation of religious control increasingly unreal. The key question facing the government is, will it seek to create a better environment for religious practice or will it resist genuine reform? Resisting reform may - sadly and unnecessarily – be the most likely direction of current policy.

8 December 2005

KAZAKHSTAN: Religious freedom survey, December 2005

In its survey analysis of religious freedom in Kazakhstan, Forum 18 News Service notes that the de facto religious freedom situation continues unchanged. Religious communities – notably Protestant Christian and Hare Krishna religious minorities, as well as non-state controlled Muslims - continued to experience state hostility and attacks on their freedom to carry out peaceful religious activity. The passage in 2005 of new "extremism" and "national security" laws significantly worsened the de jure religious freedom situation. However, it is generally agreed within Kazakhstan that the de facto religious freedom situation has not yet significantly worsened. Professor Roman Podoprigora, an expert on religious law, commented to Forum 18 that it will only be some time after the recent presidential elections – in which the incumbent President Nazarbayev was declared the winner – that it will become clear whether state religious policy will become harsher.

18 October 2005

TURKMENISTAN: Religious freedom survey, October 2005

In its survey analysis of religious freedom in Turkmenistan, Forum 18 News Service reports on the almost complete lack of freedom to practice any faith, including denials of the right of legally registered religious communities to worship. In a typical example of this approach - which other religious minorities have also experienced - police raided a legally registered Baptist church in northern Turkmenistan, claiming that "individuals can only believe alone on their own at home." Unregistered religious activity continues – in defiance of international human rights agreements – to be attacked. There has been an increase in attempts to impose a state religious personality cult of President Niyazov on all Turkmen citizens, with mosques being particularly targeted. Turkmenistan continues to fail to implement its international human rights commitments, and also continues to take direct governmental action to deny religious freedom to peaceful Turkmen citizens.

◀ Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next ▶