Armenia Church Wants Fresh Ban on Jehovah's Witnesses!

Voyager

Thursday 18, November 2004

Armenian Church Wants Fresh Ban On Jehovah?s Witnesses

By Emil Danielyan

The Armenian Apostolic Church has urged the government to reconsider its decision to legalize the Jehovah?s Witnesses religious group, again denouncing it and calling for more restrictions on the activities of non-traditional Christian sects.

The issue, extremely sensitive in Armenia, prompted an extraordinary meeting of the church?s Supreme Spiritual Council earlier this week. It was chaired by Catholicos Garegin II.

?The Armenian Church expresses concern to the effect that religious organizations are registered by relevant state bodies as a result of insufficient examinations and unscrupulous adherence to the law,? the council said in a statement released late on Wednesday. ?The activities of totalitarian religious organizations, including the Jehovah?s Witnesses, run counter to our national and state interests and aspirations.?

?The Supreme Spiritual Council expects relevant state bodies to reconsider and regulate the mentioned issues,? the statement added.

The Jehovah?s Witnesses were registered by the Justice Ministry last month after years of pressure from international human rights groups. The move fulfilled one of Armenia?s membership commitments to the Council of Europe.

The U.S.-based sect was outlawed mainly due to its opposition to military service which is mandatory in Armenia. Scores of its young male adherents have been imprisoned for refusing to serve in the armed forces. The registration was made possible by an Armenian law on alternative service -- another condition for Yerevan?s accession to the Council of Europe in 2001.

The Apostolic Church, to which more than 90 percent of Armenians nominally belong, views the presence of the Jehovah?s Witnesses and other non-traditional faiths in the country as a threat to its privileged status upheld by an Armenian law on religious organizations. The ancient church enjoys the exclusive right to publicly and freely disseminate its beliefs.

Still, its governing body said the law must be amended to place additional curbs on the sects which it regards as anti-Christian. Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, also very hostile to the sects, promised to do just that shortly after the legalization of the Jehovah?s Witnesses.

But the church?s reliance on government support was strongly criticized by an Armenian opposition leader. Victor Dallakian of the Artarutyun alliance said the church should only blame itself for the spread of the religious rivals. Dallakian specifically attacked Garegin, reminding reporters of his controversial decision to preside over religious festivity that was held as part of a campaign rally staged by President Robert Kocharian ahead of last year?s disputed presidential elections.

vitty

Someone needs to tell the international humans rights, how the JWs treat there own followers before they help them to become legal in other countries.

ColdRedRain

Like I said before in other 3rd world new Europe theocracy's ideas of banning the JW's: Nobody wins when ideas are banned instead of being allowed to be debunked.

kwintestal

Ban them all!!!

Mind you they'd like that, evidence of the governments turning on religion.

Kwin

Will Power

There is a difference between a religion and a dangerous high control group.

The elder quote "loyalty to the organization is more important than the truth" is their only faith. They give honest religions a bad name.

quit running & hiding WT and face your victims

(that what I'd say)

kwintestal

There is a difference between a religion and a dangerous high control group.

I agree 100%!

What they need to do is to ban certain properties of cults. If it can be reasonably shown that a certain group practices this property, then ban them, ban all the groups that practice them. Then the WTS can't say that they are being singled out and it might make more of a reason to change their practices because it puts the ball in their court.

Kwin

Will Power

The answer is NOT a ban

the answer is EDUCATION and ACCOUNTABILITY

Kwin: what would your (forced) opinion be before you educated yourself ? I'm sure you can guess how loud the cries of persecution will be!

Now that you and your wife know the truth about the truth, your 2 beautiful children have been released from a legacy of company controlled minds - hopefully for the rest of their lives.

One family at a time - and they'll tell 2 friends and so on and so on.

kwintestal

The answer is NOT a ban

So are you saying that there is and should be no government accountablity? That it's not their place to step in and axe a dangerous cult? Wouldn't a responsible government take into account the mental health of it's citizens, and be wise to ban things that would mentally harm them?

I understand that it is much more productive to "tell 2 people". I also know that the JW's would cry persicution, but they wouldn't have as much to stand on if it was a concept that was banned rather then a specific organization. It would also educate it's members more regarding the hurtful practices of the WTS and its effects on peoples mental health.

Kwin

Will Power

talk to anyone who doesn't know anything about JWs and they will side with them on principal - that being freedom of worship. Good people cannot do anything when ignorance is tolerated and censorship is the rule. The people in the positions to enact change must be informed and present their arguments on behalf of an educated public or they will have no backing and go nowhere. The JW uses this ignorance to rally support because they are censored and uneducated. They, like the Malawians are standing up for a fake. The molested victim is being silenced to protect a fake. and on and on

This is especially tough when the WT is made up of double think, double talk lawyers that are funded up the ying yang for ever and ever. Please send money for our WWW it should be please go to WWW.google search jws. here

Too many good people are victims of this self-serving cult.

wp

kwintestal

talk to anyone who doesn't know anything about JWs and they will side with them on principal - that being freedom of worship. Good people cannot do anything when ignorance is tolerated and censorship is the rule. The people in the positions to enact change must be informed and present their arguments on behalf of an educated public or they will have no backing and go nowhere.

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

Kwin

Armenia Church Wants Fresh Ban on Jehovah's Witnesses!

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