YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, ARMENPRESS: Asked during a Wednesday Q&A parliament session whether the authorities should have officially registered Jehovah’s Witnesses religious sect at this time Armenian prime minister Andranik Margarian said the government will work to create such conditions that “if they violate the law we can ban their activities by legal means.”
He said the issue on fighting against extremist religious sects has been in the focus of the authorities for years and “now the government’s Department on National Minorities and Religion is working with the Church, non-governmental organizations and experts to draw up amendments to Armenia’s law on religious groups to make their activities more transparent.”
The prime minister, however, admitted that the government has few levers to influence religious organizations’ activities “unless they breach our laws.” He also added that Armenian Apostolic Church should work hard to win the trust of Armenians and pledged the government’s support. “The government and the Church will soon sign a document that will specify their actions in fighting against sects,” he said.
Jehovah’s Witnesses was registered by the Justice Ministry this week after years of pressure exerted on Yerevan by the Council of Europe and other international human rights watchdogs.
According to Margarian, more than 30 other sects which were registered earlier are no less dangerous.
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