Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev (photo at right) has sent a restrictive new Religion Law to his Constitutional Council for review. But state officials haven't waited for such irrelevant things as legal sanction to harass and persecute religious believers in the country.One Baptist pastor said, "We'll be delighted if the President doesn't sign the law. The Law would introduce harsh persecution." However, he and his fellow Christians who refuse to seek state registration are already enduring unjust repression and punishment for practicing their faith. "We're fined and banned from meeting for worship – they want to close our churches."
As this Forum 18 report explains, the Kazakhstan Constitutional Council is dominated by the President's own "party" as are both houses of parliament which passed the new law. So things do not look good for religious believers there.
...The government continues to repress people exercising freedom of thought, conscience and belief in the country. In the latest problem for Baptist pastor Aleksandr Kerker in Tayinsha in North Kazakhstan Region, court bailiffs seeking to recover the fine he has refused to pay for leading unregistered worship went to his private employer in early January 2009, demanding that he hand over the money from Kerker's wages. "He refused, telling them they should deal with this directly with me," Kerker told Forum 18 from Tayinsha on 8 January. "But he sacked me anyway, saying he can do without such problems. He is not to blame though – he was afraid."
Kerker said he now has no source of income to support himself, his wife and his ten children, six of whom are minors. Bailiffs have already told him they will return after New Year to confiscate a cow, his refrigerator and gas stove.
Kerker defended his right to worship without seeking state permission and insisted that such items should not be confiscated as they are necessities. He said it is not clear when the bailiffs might return to take away the items.
Court bailiff Vladimir Kapareyko denied any responsibility for Kerker's sacking. "It has nothing to do with us," he told Forum 18 on 9 January. "If he had paid his fine this would never have happened." Asked why Kerker is being punished for meeting for worship Kapareyko responded: "They were meeting without state registration – he even opened a prayer house in a private home." Asked what was wrong with that, Kapareyko responded: "We're acting in accordance with the law. We're getting on with our job."...
Other members of the Council of Churches Baptists point to continuing problems. The church in the village of Konaevo near the town of Shu in the southern Zhambyl Region remains sealed. "The authorities said it would remain sealed until we register," church members told Forum 18 from Konaevo on 8 January. "But we will never do this." The authorities sealed the church in May 2008 after it was "banned" by a local court...
