Date: Tuesday 1 February 2005
Subj: Iraq: Seeking freedom and security.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
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IRAQ: SEEKING FREEDOM AND SECURITY
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Roula Khalaf, writing for the Financial Times, correctly points out now that Iraq's "first pluralist elections in 50 years" are over, "the more decisive battle for the future of Iraq is just beginning."
"The primary responsibility of the 275-member national assembly chosen yesterday (30 Jan) - apart from picking the next government - is to draft Iraq's permanent constitution.
"The exercise will have to balance delicately the competing aspirations of Iraq's main ethnic and religious communities and find a compromise between secular and religious forces.
"If successfully achieved it could set Iraq on a more stable course. If badly handled, it could plunge the country into sectarian warfare.
"Among the most contentious issues in the constitutional debate will be the role of Islam in the state and in legislation, and the nature and practice of federalism." (Link 1 – excellent article)
The most immediate serious issue is however, the lack of security faced by religious minorities.
In a 27 December 2004 letter entitled, "To the Muslims in Iraq in Particular and The [Islamic] Nation in General", Osama bin Laden defined the present conflict as "a fateful war between unbelief and Islam, between the army of Muhammad, the army of belief, and the people of the cross..." (MEMRI 30 Dec 2004).
Iraq's "people of the cross" (and this is a religious identity, not an ethnic one), along with other "unbelievers" – Mandaeans, Iraq's remaining Jews, and other religious minorities – need both constitutional and legal guarantees of equality and protection, and the enforcement of those rights on the ground. Failing this, they may need a protected safe-haven.
MANDAEAN LEADERS ASSASSINATED
The Sabian Mandaean Association of Australia (SMAA) reports that attacks against the Mandaean community have intensified since Christmas. (Mandaeans follow the teachings of John the Baptist concerning righteousness and repentance, but reject Jesus as Messiah.) The SMAA notes also that Mandaean leaders are being targeted for assassination. Several Mandaean deacons, significant senior religious leaders, and members of priestly families have been assassinated during early January with the express purpose of shattering the Mandaean community and driving them out of Iraq.
One such assassination reported to the SMAA was that of Mr Riadh Radhi Habib, President of the Mandaean Supreme Spiritual Council, Basra Branch, who was murdered on Sunday evening 16 January 2005.
According the the report received by the SMAA, "Mr Riadh Radhi Habib was walking to his car with his children when he was approached by three Muslims armed with machine guns. The Muslims demanded that Riadh Radhi Habib convert to Islam. Riadh Radhi Habib refused to convert to Islam. The Muslims then fired one shot into Riadh Radhi Habib in front of his children. Riadh Radhi Habib fell to the ground. His children threw themselves on to Riadh Radhi Habib. The Muslims then dragged the children off Riadh Radhi Habib. The Muslims then fired more than ninety (90) shots into Riadh Radhi Habib's body, shooting his body to pieces in front of his children."
The SMAA has provided a long and detailed list of attacks that have been reported them between Christmas and mid-January. These attacks are always accompanied by commands to convert to Islam. Several victims have survived gunshot wounds to the chest. Several others were kidnapped or managed to escape attempted kidnappings only to be forced into hiding. In each of the kidnap cases reported to SMAA, ransom money was not accepted, and in some cases not even requested – the kidnappers demanded conversion to Islam.
The SMAA reports: "On 3 January 2005 Muslims in Baghdad kidnapped the Mandaean ishkander (deacon) Hadi Salem Al-Zohairy. Hadi Salem Al-Zohairy came from a devout Mandaean family; his father also was an ishkander. Initially the Muslims demanded a ransom of US $5,000. However, as the family brought the ransom the family was followed by the police. The motive of the police in following the family is obscure as the family had not contacted the police about the kidnapping. The Muslims then refused to accept any ransom for him but demanded that he and his family convert to Islam. The family [refusing to convert] offered any amount of money for the release of Hadi Salem Al-Zohairy. The Muslims said that they would kill Hadi Salem Al-Zohairy and 's*&# on your money.' The Muslims said that the family would find Hadi Salem Al-Zohairy's dead body thrown in a nearby school. The family went to the school and found Hadi Salem Al-Zohairy still bleeding from five (5) bullet wounds to his head and dying."
Worryingly, the Iraqi police are not always to be relied upon to ensure justice or security for religious minorities. SMAA reports: "On or about 10 January 2005 Muslims approached the Mandaean couple Mr Qusay Nazar Saleh Thamer and his wife Rana in Koorna in Basra and demanded that the Mandaean couple convert to Islam. When the Mandaean couple refused to convert to Islam the Muslims attempted to kill Mr Qusay Nazar Saleh Thamer and his wife Rana. Mr Qusay Nazar Saleh Thamer and his wife Rana then reported the incident to the police. The Muslims then approached the couple again and said that as Mr Qusay Nazar Saleh Thamer and his wife Rana had complained to the police Mr Qusay Nazar Saleh Thamer and his wife Rana must pay money to the Muslims. The police then arrested Mr Qusay Nazar Saleh Thamer for having made a complaint against Muslims."
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CAMPAIGN: "SAVE THE ASSYRIANS IN IRAQ"
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On 24 January, Lord Carey (the former Archbishop of Canterbury), joined Baroness Cox, former Labour leader Michael Foot and other dignatories, along with members of the Assyrian community in London, to launch the "Save the Assyrians in Iraq" campaign at the House of Lords. (Link 2)
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the plight of Iraq's indigenous Assyrian minority, advocate for the rights of Assyrians to be enshrined in the new Iraqi Constitution, and seek guarantees that Assyrians will have security in their historic homeland, the Nineveh Plains around Mosul in Northern Iraq.
This is a wonderful and profoundly worthwhile cause that we must pray will, through the mercy and blessing of God, yield results. The Assyrians have survived centuries of violence in their homeland at the hands of invading, militant and intolerant Muslims. They have also suffered the shameful betrayals of their Allies who broke faith and left them to be massacred. It is about time Christians in the West stood and raised their voices in solidarity with their Assyrian Christian brothers and sisters.
ETHNIC OR RELIGIOUS CLEANSING?
Lord Carey says that Assyrians are victims of a campaign of ethnic cleansing. However, it is clear from the persecution directed against the Mandaeans that the motive for much of the violent persecution is religious, not ethnic. According to the SMAA, "Muslims are targeting Mandaeans both in the cities and in the villages. In Zubair ten (10) Mandaean families have been forcibly converted to Islam."
On 10 January Arabic CNN reported that relatives found the bodies of Assyrian couple, Joseph Tomeh and his wife, dead in their Baghdad house. They had both been beheaded. An article on the Assyrian International News Agency website quotes Dominican Father Mikhael Najib as telling Vatican Radio from Iraq (18 January), "'...there is a true campaign under way against Christians.' He said religious, priests and lay Christians in Mosul have faced numerous threats that have escalated in number and intensity as the Jan. 30 date for scheduled elections in Iraq neared."
It needs to be acknowledged that a religious cleansing is taking place, because a purely ethnic solution, while it would assist the Assyrian community, would still leave Christian (apostate) Kurds and Arabs, and other religious minorities, without freedom and without protection.
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CAMPAIGN: FULL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS
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Iraq's newly elected 275-member Transitional National Assembly has law-making powers and will be responsible for drawing up a draft constitution by 15 August.
The most important Iraq campaign for 2005 should be to advocate for the Iraq Constitution to guarantee full religious freedom for all Iraqi citizens, for religious freedom to be protected by law (no unofficial sanctioning of death for apostates), and for all Iraqis to have equality before the law – no discrimination, no dhimmis, no second class citizens whose lives are worth less, and no "kafir" (unclean). And the basic inalienable human rights of individuals (such as right to life, right to freedom of religion) are not to be granted as condescending favours, but as the legitimate rights of all Iraqi citizens.
Also religious freedom must be defined as: "Everyone [as individuals] has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." (article 18, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
In other words, the provision that no legislation can be enacted if it is contrary to the "universally agreed upon tenets of Islam," must be removed from the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL, interim constitution). This phrase abrogates all that is progressive in the TAL. It certainly abrogates the TAL's offer of religious freedom.
If the "tenets of Islam" are given ultimate authority then more than 22 million Muslims will have absolutely no religious freedom (sharia is the antitheses of religious liberty, mandating death for apostates – those who renounce Islam), society will be plagued with inequality, and women and non-Muslims will face discrimination and persecution. Any commitment to enacting equality (which is contrary to Qur'anic Islam) would however, need to be matched by a commitment to guarantee security. Because, as the history of the 20th Century demonstrates, intolerant and militant Muslims who simply cannot cope with the undoing of the Islamic order, may prefer to slaughter non-Muslim citizens than live with them as equals.
Religious freedom and security for religious minorities (includes converts) must become realities before anyone boasts "freedom". To boast "freedom" is ridiculous when the expression of religious freedom would prove fatal.
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When non-Muslim nations endorse sharia in Muslim nations, they are not acting with tolerance – they are legitimising, and being complicit with, intolerance. Sharia's threat of death to apostates is Islam's bodyguard, its "Berlin Wall" – designed not to keep people out, but to keep them in. One must question why Islam should require such oppressive protective measures.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) The real battle for Iraq comes next: drafting a permanent constitution
By Roula Khalaf, Financial Times, 31 January 2005
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6b3d3a48-732c-11d9-86a0-00000e2511c8.html
2) Carey: Save Iraq Assyrians from Ethnic Cleansing
By John-Paul Ford Rojas, PA 24 Jan 2004
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4040524
Tuesday, February 1, 2005
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Vietnam: HRW report on persecution of Montagnard Christians.
Date: Thursday 27 January 2005
Subj: Vietnam: HRW report on persecution of Montagnard Christians.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
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Vietnam: HRW report on persecution of Montagnard Christians.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of this posting is simply to promote a reading of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Briefing Paper of 10 January 2005 entitled "Vietnam: Torture, Arrests of Montagnard Christians", and subtitled "Cambodia Slams the Door on new Asylum Seekers".
A summary and link to the full text can be found on-line at:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/09/vietna9967.htm
MORE THAN 200 RECENT ARRESTS
According to HRW, more than 200 Montagnard Christians were arrested in the highlands in November and December 2004. HRW is concerned that they were arrested because of religious activity, complaints about land rights, or their contacts with Montagnard advocacy groups overseas.
Multitudes of Montagnard Christians, many of them house church leaders who were organising Christmas activities and celebrations, were arrested apparently because the authorities were concerned that the Montagnards might be organising demonstrations.
As HRW notes, "Those who end up being sentenced to prison terms will likely be charged with 'national security' crimes, such as 'undermining the policy of state and party unity' (article 87 of Vietnam’s Penal Code) or 'undermining public security'. (article 89)."
TORTURE: VIETNAM'S PRISON ABUSE SCANDAL
The HRW report also addresses the issue of torture and abuse in detention. A 25-year-old Mnong man was arrested on 10 April 2004 on suspicion of being an organiser of the 2004 Easter demonstration. He was first beaten and kicked into unconsciousness by the arresting officers, before being taken to the district prison in Dak Mil where police tortured him over three days in an attempt to extract a "confession". The police pulled out a toenail and beat him with batons until they knocked out a front tooth. They threatened him with death and with electrocution (apparently a common torture in Vietnamese prisons). He was eventually transferred to the provincial prison at Dak Nong and placed in solitary confinement, in appalling conditions, where regularly he was severely beaten by interrogators. His suffering was such he was convinced he would die.
One activist with the Dega Church movement who was arrested on his way to a wedding in Dak Doa district, was taken to the district police station where police, in an effort to extract from him names of other Dega Church activists, tortured and beat him for hours. He describes the worst part as being, "...that they forced my three-year-old son to sit on my lap the entire time, even though he was crying uncontrollably." He was released that evening, but the following day, the police surrounded his house to re-arrest him, so he fled. This man has not seen his wife or son since that fateful day as he spent the next two years hiding in the forests of Vietnam before fleeing to Cambodia in April 2004.
Montagnards who flee to Cambodia only to be forcibly returned experience appalling violent mistreatment and torture at the hands of the authorities, as do those who are suspected of assisting their escape or "organising illegal migration" in contravention of article 91 of Vietnam's legal code. Fingernails are removed, fingers and feet are tortured, beatings are severe and bloody, causing shocking injuries.
HRW interviewed a Mnong man from Dak Nong who helped his father, a prominent Dega church activist, hide in the forest and then escape to Cambodia in early 2004. In late April 2004, he was arrested by six police officers as he was returning home from his farm. This man details some of the terrible violence meted out to prisoners, young and old. He was eventually told he would go to jail for eight years, but he managed to escape one day when the prison guards were drunk. He fled to Cambodia in August 2004.
2004 EASTER CRACKDOWN
Section four of the report deals with the authorities' violent crackdown on the 2004 Easter demonstrations by Montagnards in the highlands. The Montagnards were calling for religious freedom, the return of ancestral lands, freedom of movement, and the release of Montagnard prisoners of conscience, i.e. basic human rights.
An ethnic Vietnamese man who watched the events from his second storey apartment described the Easter crackdown as, "...like a war. The police were really mad and really beat the protesters. Some local Vietnamese joined in – they were mad too. The Montagnards only had stones and sticks to defend themselves." Another eye witness told HRW that the police provided a whole truckload of wooden clubs for the Vietnamese to use against the Montagnards. Another eye witness reported that even after the demonstrators had dispersed, the police went around beating "every person they met" and destroying many houses as they went house to house hunting for people.
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
Section five of the HRW report deals specifically with religious persecution. HRW reports that Vietnamese officials are forcing Montagnards to renounce Christianity in public "self-criticism" or "public denunciation" sessions, or in written pledges.
There are 10 officially registered Christian churches in Dak Lak and Gia Lai for as many as 220,000 Christians. All unregistered religious meeting and activity is prohibited. Pastors, whose movements are tightly controlled, are put under immense pressure to publicly denounce Christianity.
REFUGEES
The other issue the HRW report deals with is the issue of the rights of Montagnard refugees. The HRW report examines the Vietnamese authorities' mistreatment of the family members of Montagnard refugees, their mistreatment of Montagnard refugees who repatriate voluntarily, the severe mistreatment and torture of refugees who are forcibly returned as well as those who assist their escape, and Cambodia's responsibility to give refuge to those fleeing persecution in Vietnam.
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The HRW report is compelling and should be widely distributed.
Vietnam is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and should be held accountable. Otherwise these rights covenants are not worth the paper they are printed on.
- Elizabeth Kendal
Subj: Vietnam: HRW report on persecution of Montagnard Christians.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Vietnam: HRW report on persecution of Montagnard Christians.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of this posting is simply to promote a reading of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Briefing Paper of 10 January 2005 entitled "Vietnam: Torture, Arrests of Montagnard Christians", and subtitled "Cambodia Slams the Door on new Asylum Seekers".
A summary and link to the full text can be found on-line at:
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/01/09/vietna9967.htm
MORE THAN 200 RECENT ARRESTS
According to HRW, more than 200 Montagnard Christians were arrested in the highlands in November and December 2004. HRW is concerned that they were arrested because of religious activity, complaints about land rights, or their contacts with Montagnard advocacy groups overseas.
Multitudes of Montagnard Christians, many of them house church leaders who were organising Christmas activities and celebrations, were arrested apparently because the authorities were concerned that the Montagnards might be organising demonstrations.
As HRW notes, "Those who end up being sentenced to prison terms will likely be charged with 'national security' crimes, such as 'undermining the policy of state and party unity' (article 87 of Vietnam’s Penal Code) or 'undermining public security'. (article 89)."
TORTURE: VIETNAM'S PRISON ABUSE SCANDAL
The HRW report also addresses the issue of torture and abuse in detention. A 25-year-old Mnong man was arrested on 10 April 2004 on suspicion of being an organiser of the 2004 Easter demonstration. He was first beaten and kicked into unconsciousness by the arresting officers, before being taken to the district prison in Dak Mil where police tortured him over three days in an attempt to extract a "confession". The police pulled out a toenail and beat him with batons until they knocked out a front tooth. They threatened him with death and with electrocution (apparently a common torture in Vietnamese prisons). He was eventually transferred to the provincial prison at Dak Nong and placed in solitary confinement, in appalling conditions, where regularly he was severely beaten by interrogators. His suffering was such he was convinced he would die.
One activist with the Dega Church movement who was arrested on his way to a wedding in Dak Doa district, was taken to the district police station where police, in an effort to extract from him names of other Dega Church activists, tortured and beat him for hours. He describes the worst part as being, "...that they forced my three-year-old son to sit on my lap the entire time, even though he was crying uncontrollably." He was released that evening, but the following day, the police surrounded his house to re-arrest him, so he fled. This man has not seen his wife or son since that fateful day as he spent the next two years hiding in the forests of Vietnam before fleeing to Cambodia in April 2004.
Montagnards who flee to Cambodia only to be forcibly returned experience appalling violent mistreatment and torture at the hands of the authorities, as do those who are suspected of assisting their escape or "organising illegal migration" in contravention of article 91 of Vietnam's legal code. Fingernails are removed, fingers and feet are tortured, beatings are severe and bloody, causing shocking injuries.
HRW interviewed a Mnong man from Dak Nong who helped his father, a prominent Dega church activist, hide in the forest and then escape to Cambodia in early 2004. In late April 2004, he was arrested by six police officers as he was returning home from his farm. This man details some of the terrible violence meted out to prisoners, young and old. He was eventually told he would go to jail for eight years, but he managed to escape one day when the prison guards were drunk. He fled to Cambodia in August 2004.
2004 EASTER CRACKDOWN
Section four of the report deals with the authorities' violent crackdown on the 2004 Easter demonstrations by Montagnards in the highlands. The Montagnards were calling for religious freedom, the return of ancestral lands, freedom of movement, and the release of Montagnard prisoners of conscience, i.e. basic human rights.
An ethnic Vietnamese man who watched the events from his second storey apartment described the Easter crackdown as, "...like a war. The police were really mad and really beat the protesters. Some local Vietnamese joined in – they were mad too. The Montagnards only had stones and sticks to defend themselves." Another eye witness told HRW that the police provided a whole truckload of wooden clubs for the Vietnamese to use against the Montagnards. Another eye witness reported that even after the demonstrators had dispersed, the police went around beating "every person they met" and destroying many houses as they went house to house hunting for people.
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION
Section five of the HRW report deals specifically with religious persecution. HRW reports that Vietnamese officials are forcing Montagnards to renounce Christianity in public "self-criticism" or "public denunciation" sessions, or in written pledges.
There are 10 officially registered Christian churches in Dak Lak and Gia Lai for as many as 220,000 Christians. All unregistered religious meeting and activity is prohibited. Pastors, whose movements are tightly controlled, are put under immense pressure to publicly denounce Christianity.
REFUGEES
The other issue the HRW report deals with is the issue of the rights of Montagnard refugees. The HRW report examines the Vietnamese authorities' mistreatment of the family members of Montagnard refugees, their mistreatment of Montagnard refugees who repatriate voluntarily, the severe mistreatment and torture of refugees who are forcibly returned as well as those who assist their escape, and Cambodia's responsibility to give refuge to those fleeing persecution in Vietnam.
----------------------------
The HRW report is compelling and should be widely distributed.
Vietnam is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and should be held accountable. Otherwise these rights covenants are not worth the paper they are printed on.
- Elizabeth Kendal
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Zimbabwe: The NGO Bill and the Church
Date: Thursday 20 January 2005
Subj: Zimbabwe: The NGO Bill and the Church
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
As Zimbabwe heads towards elections, the Zanu-PF ruling party continues to silence dissent through repressive legislation.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) requires that all media organisations register with the government-appointed Media and Information Commission and is a tool that enables the Mugabe regime to reduce freedom of speech and control the Press. Several independent newspapers have already been suspended using the AIPPA. The Public Order and Security Act (POSA), another piece of repressive legislation, is used to prevent meetings and activities of any organisation which is critical of Zanu PF.
Another restrictive Bill, Zimbabwe's new Non-Governmental Organisations Bill 2004, proceeded through parliament in early December, passing with 48 votes for and 28 against, and now awaits President Mugabe's signature to be enacted as law. The Daily News (Harare) warns: "Just like AIPPA and POSA, if passed into law in its present form, the NGO Bill will be used to shut down the operations of any NGO which the ruling party believes to be a challenge to its hold on power." (27 Oct 2004)
THE NGO BILL AND THE CHURCH
Jen Redshaw, reporting for South China Morning Post in Harare, Zimbabwe, writes, "Churchgoers fear the law signals the start of a new drive by Mr Mugabe's increasingly authoritarian government to extend its control over the church. David Coltart, an MP for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), calls it 'one of the worst attacks on the independence of the church'.
"Speaking on Friday after a meeting of church leaders to discuss the act, the Anglican Bishop of Manicaland told the South China Morning Post he was worried. 'We are saying no [to the bill],' Father Sebastian Bakare said in a telephone interview. 'It is putting the church in a situation where it will be incapacitated. We can't be confined to the pulpit only.'
"One church official recently told a small meeting in Harare: 'I think it's the beginning of the persecution of the church. We're heading for tough times'." (SCMP 20 Dec 2004)
"DRACONIAN LAW"
The International Bar Association (IBA) has written an analysis of the Zimbabwean NGO Bill 2004. The IBA states in its introduction, "At the outset, it is critical to note that while the preamble to the Bill states that it is 'for the registration of non-governmental organisations, to provide for an enabling environment for the operations, monitoring and regulation of all non-governmental organisations …', an analysis of the Bill suggests that it is a far-reaching and draconian law clearly designed to exert full and complete control over non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other human rights and development organisations in Zimbabwe."
HOW DOES THE NGO BILL THREATEN THE CHURCH?
The NGO Bill takes the most repressive features of its predecessor, the Private Voluntary Organisations Act (PVO) of 1966, and expands it so that virtually all foreign and local NGOs will be within reach of the Bill for the purpose of investigation and discipline by a Council that will be stacked with government ministers.
One of the most significant differences between the PVO and NGO Bills is the NGO Bill's definition of an NGO. Excerpt from Part One the Bill:
---------------------------------
"non-governmental organisation" means any foreign or local body or association of persons, corporate or unincorporate, or any institution, the objects of which include or are one or more of the following—
(a) the provision of all or any of the material, mental, physical or social needs of persons or families;
(b) the rendering of charity to persons or families in distress;
(c) the prevention of social distress or destitution of persons or families;
(d) the provision of assistance in, or promotion of, activities aimed at uplifting the standard of living of persons or families;
(e) the provision of funds for legal aid;
(f) the prevention of cruelty to, or the promotion of the welfare of, animals;
(g) the promotion and protection of human rights and good governance;
(h) the promotion and protection of environmental rights and interests and sustainable development;
(i) such other objects as may be prescribed;
(j) the collection of contributions for any of the foregoing;
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Clearly, numerous Christian ministries, including church and mission based ministries, will be classified as NGOs on account of their provision of humanitarian aid and charity, defence of human rights, prevention of family distress, or even just their collection of contributions for such ministries.
Even if the church/mission/ministry doesn't offer any of the above listed services they may still be classed as an NGO on account of, "(i) such other objects as may be prescribed".
Will a pastor threaten the status of his church by exegeting a text such as Isaiah 58 (for example), which could (theoretically) be classed as "promotion of human rights"? If such an exegesis is followed by taking a collection for a ministry that provides food for the hungry and clothes for the naked (v7), will the church be required to seek NGO registration in order to remain open? Handling contributions collected contrary to the Act is a criminal offence!
This seems far fetched, but the NGO Bill would enable such a scenario. If a particular Christian pastor is publicly critical of the government, then surely that pastor is vulnerable to such repressive measures.
NGO COUNCIL
A Non-governmental Organisations Council will be established. It will consist of five NGO representatives and nine (instant majority) government ministers. All are to be appointed by the Minister. ("'Minister' means the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare or any other Minister to whom the President may, from time to time, assign the administration of this Act".)
The NGO Council is responsible for considering applications for NGO registration (which is compulsory); for investigating NGO activities and administering disciplinary action is necessary; for formulating rules for registration, de-registration, and codes of conduct for NGOs. The NGO Council has extraordinarily wide powers for investigation which will render all NGOs, even those dealing with sensitive information, open to investigation by government officials.
The NGO Council may also investigate "maladministration", which is broadly defined as, "any contravention of any provision of a code of conduct that may be proscribed" (proscribed that is, by the NGO Council that is stacked with government ministers). NGO directors or committees may be suspended for "maladministration", or if the NGO Council deems that suspension is "in the public interest".
The NGO Council may be funded by moneys appropriated by the government through an Act of parliament, by foreign governments, through moneys accrued in the course of operation, and through fees and charges. (So the NGO Council could be partly funded by Libya (for example), while Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (for example) will not be permitted to receive any foreign funds! Section 17 of the NGO Bill states: "No local non-governmental organisation shall receive any foreign funding or donation to carry out activities involving or including issues of governance.") A Registrar for NGOs will be appointed and a Registry of NGOs will be kept.
COMPULSORY REGISTRATION
Section 9 of the NGO Bill states that anyone commencing or continuing to operate an NGO without registration, or seeking financial assistance for an unregistered NGO, will be guilty of a criminal offence and may face a fine, a prison term (maximum 6 months) or both.
Section 9 point 4 of the NGO Bill states: "No foreign non-governmental organisation shall be registered if its sole or principal objects involve or include issues of governance." ("'foreign non-governmental organisation' means any association of persons, whether incorporated or unincorporated, that does not consist exclusively of permanent residents or citizens of Zimbabwe who are domiciled in Zimbabwe". And, "'issues of governance' includes the promotion and protection of human rights and political governance issues".)
Regarding registration of remaining NGOs, NGO directors will have to lodge an application for registration with the Registrar. The NGO then has 30 days to place a notice in a local newspaper advising its details and its intent to receive registration. Anyone then has 60 days to lodge an objection to the Registrar as to why the NGO should not be registered. The Registrar then submits all the information to the NGO Council, which will either grant or deny registration. The NGO Council also has the power to cancel certificates of registration if they consider that circumstances have changed.
ANALYSIS
The International Bar Association (IBA) comments that the Zimbabwean NGO Bill gives the Mugabe regime, through the NGO Council "virtually open-ended powers to control the fate and activities of NGOs".
Of great concern to the IBA is the prohibition on foreign funds. "This raises serious concerns that organisations working on some of the most critical support projects in Zimbabwe – e.g. food distribution, AIDS relief, and political violence reporting – which are at present almost entirely foreign funded, may be closed. The inevitable consequence will be that less information on domestic human rights and governance conditions or activities will be reported on and the government will, as a result, be less accountable to its people.
"The irresistible inferences to be drawn from this analysis are that the Bill has been drafted as a targeted attack on NGOs pursuing objectives adverse to existing governmental policy and on foreign NGO activity in Zimbabwe. The objective is thus to silence dissent in a key component of civil society by excessive regulation and wide-ranging powers to discipline and close down NGO activity."
The IBA concludes that the NGO Bill "is nothing more than a further attempt by the Zimbabwean Government to exert a stranglehold on those perceived to be in opposition to government and government policies.
"The Bill extends the scope of the Government’s assault on sources of opposition and information even further, namely to human rights groups and other organs of civil society. In the ultimate analysis, not only is the Bill in flagrant violation of international and regional human rights standards and norms, it also represents a decisive rejection of the terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which provide for the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly. That attitude can only be described as contemptuous of the rule of law and of regional and international standards of governance and of the protection of human rights. (International Bar Association 24 August 2004)"
Subj: Zimbabwe: The NGO Bill and the Church
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal.
As Zimbabwe heads towards elections, the Zanu-PF ruling party continues to silence dissent through repressive legislation.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) requires that all media organisations register with the government-appointed Media and Information Commission and is a tool that enables the Mugabe regime to reduce freedom of speech and control the Press. Several independent newspapers have already been suspended using the AIPPA. The Public Order and Security Act (POSA), another piece of repressive legislation, is used to prevent meetings and activities of any organisation which is critical of Zanu PF.
Another restrictive Bill, Zimbabwe's new Non-Governmental Organisations Bill 2004, proceeded through parliament in early December, passing with 48 votes for and 28 against, and now awaits President Mugabe's signature to be enacted as law. The Daily News (Harare) warns: "Just like AIPPA and POSA, if passed into law in its present form, the NGO Bill will be used to shut down the operations of any NGO which the ruling party believes to be a challenge to its hold on power." (27 Oct 2004)
THE NGO BILL AND THE CHURCH
Jen Redshaw, reporting for South China Morning Post in Harare, Zimbabwe, writes, "Churchgoers fear the law signals the start of a new drive by Mr Mugabe's increasingly authoritarian government to extend its control over the church. David Coltart, an MP for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), calls it 'one of the worst attacks on the independence of the church'.
"Speaking on Friday after a meeting of church leaders to discuss the act, the Anglican Bishop of Manicaland told the South China Morning Post he was worried. 'We are saying no [to the bill],' Father Sebastian Bakare said in a telephone interview. 'It is putting the church in a situation where it will be incapacitated. We can't be confined to the pulpit only.'
"One church official recently told a small meeting in Harare: 'I think it's the beginning of the persecution of the church. We're heading for tough times'." (SCMP 20 Dec 2004)
"DRACONIAN LAW"
The International Bar Association (IBA) has written an analysis of the Zimbabwean NGO Bill 2004. The IBA states in its introduction, "At the outset, it is critical to note that while the preamble to the Bill states that it is 'for the registration of non-governmental organisations, to provide for an enabling environment for the operations, monitoring and regulation of all non-governmental organisations …', an analysis of the Bill suggests that it is a far-reaching and draconian law clearly designed to exert full and complete control over non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other human rights and development organisations in Zimbabwe."
HOW DOES THE NGO BILL THREATEN THE CHURCH?
The NGO Bill takes the most repressive features of its predecessor, the Private Voluntary Organisations Act (PVO) of 1966, and expands it so that virtually all foreign and local NGOs will be within reach of the Bill for the purpose of investigation and discipline by a Council that will be stacked with government ministers.
One of the most significant differences between the PVO and NGO Bills is the NGO Bill's definition of an NGO. Excerpt from Part One the Bill:
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"non-governmental organisation" means any foreign or local body or association of persons, corporate or unincorporate, or any institution, the objects of which include or are one or more of the following—
(a) the provision of all or any of the material, mental, physical or social needs of persons or families;
(b) the rendering of charity to persons or families in distress;
(c) the prevention of social distress or destitution of persons or families;
(d) the provision of assistance in, or promotion of, activities aimed at uplifting the standard of living of persons or families;
(e) the provision of funds for legal aid;
(f) the prevention of cruelty to, or the promotion of the welfare of, animals;
(g) the promotion and protection of human rights and good governance;
(h) the promotion and protection of environmental rights and interests and sustainable development;
(i) such other objects as may be prescribed;
(j) the collection of contributions for any of the foregoing;
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Clearly, numerous Christian ministries, including church and mission based ministries, will be classified as NGOs on account of their provision of humanitarian aid and charity, defence of human rights, prevention of family distress, or even just their collection of contributions for such ministries.
Even if the church/mission/ministry doesn't offer any of the above listed services they may still be classed as an NGO on account of, "(i) such other objects as may be prescribed".
Will a pastor threaten the status of his church by exegeting a text such as Isaiah 58 (for example), which could (theoretically) be classed as "promotion of human rights"? If such an exegesis is followed by taking a collection for a ministry that provides food for the hungry and clothes for the naked (v7), will the church be required to seek NGO registration in order to remain open? Handling contributions collected contrary to the Act is a criminal offence!
This seems far fetched, but the NGO Bill would enable such a scenario. If a particular Christian pastor is publicly critical of the government, then surely that pastor is vulnerable to such repressive measures.
NGO COUNCIL
A Non-governmental Organisations Council will be established. It will consist of five NGO representatives and nine (instant majority) government ministers. All are to be appointed by the Minister. ("'Minister' means the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare or any other Minister to whom the President may, from time to time, assign the administration of this Act".)
The NGO Council is responsible for considering applications for NGO registration (which is compulsory); for investigating NGO activities and administering disciplinary action is necessary; for formulating rules for registration, de-registration, and codes of conduct for NGOs. The NGO Council has extraordinarily wide powers for investigation which will render all NGOs, even those dealing with sensitive information, open to investigation by government officials.
The NGO Council may also investigate "maladministration", which is broadly defined as, "any contravention of any provision of a code of conduct that may be proscribed" (proscribed that is, by the NGO Council that is stacked with government ministers). NGO directors or committees may be suspended for "maladministration", or if the NGO Council deems that suspension is "in the public interest".
The NGO Council may be funded by moneys appropriated by the government through an Act of parliament, by foreign governments, through moneys accrued in the course of operation, and through fees and charges. (So the NGO Council could be partly funded by Libya (for example), while Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (for example) will not be permitted to receive any foreign funds! Section 17 of the NGO Bill states: "No local non-governmental organisation shall receive any foreign funding or donation to carry out activities involving or including issues of governance.") A Registrar for NGOs will be appointed and a Registry of NGOs will be kept.
COMPULSORY REGISTRATION
Section 9 of the NGO Bill states that anyone commencing or continuing to operate an NGO without registration, or seeking financial assistance for an unregistered NGO, will be guilty of a criminal offence and may face a fine, a prison term (maximum 6 months) or both.
Section 9 point 4 of the NGO Bill states: "No foreign non-governmental organisation shall be registered if its sole or principal objects involve or include issues of governance." ("'foreign non-governmental organisation' means any association of persons, whether incorporated or unincorporated, that does not consist exclusively of permanent residents or citizens of Zimbabwe who are domiciled in Zimbabwe". And, "'issues of governance' includes the promotion and protection of human rights and political governance issues".)
Regarding registration of remaining NGOs, NGO directors will have to lodge an application for registration with the Registrar. The NGO then has 30 days to place a notice in a local newspaper advising its details and its intent to receive registration. Anyone then has 60 days to lodge an objection to the Registrar as to why the NGO should not be registered. The Registrar then submits all the information to the NGO Council, which will either grant or deny registration. The NGO Council also has the power to cancel certificates of registration if they consider that circumstances have changed.
ANALYSIS
The International Bar Association (IBA) comments that the Zimbabwean NGO Bill gives the Mugabe regime, through the NGO Council "virtually open-ended powers to control the fate and activities of NGOs".
Of great concern to the IBA is the prohibition on foreign funds. "This raises serious concerns that organisations working on some of the most critical support projects in Zimbabwe – e.g. food distribution, AIDS relief, and political violence reporting – which are at present almost entirely foreign funded, may be closed. The inevitable consequence will be that less information on domestic human rights and governance conditions or activities will be reported on and the government will, as a result, be less accountable to its people.
"The irresistible inferences to be drawn from this analysis are that the Bill has been drafted as a targeted attack on NGOs pursuing objectives adverse to existing governmental policy and on foreign NGO activity in Zimbabwe. The objective is thus to silence dissent in a key component of civil society by excessive regulation and wide-ranging powers to discipline and close down NGO activity."
The IBA concludes that the NGO Bill "is nothing more than a further attempt by the Zimbabwean Government to exert a stranglehold on those perceived to be in opposition to government and government policies.
"The Bill extends the scope of the Government’s assault on sources of opposition and information even further, namely to human rights groups and other organs of civil society. In the ultimate analysis, not only is the Bill in flagrant violation of international and regional human rights standards and norms, it also represents a decisive rejection of the terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which provide for the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly. That attitude can only be described as contemptuous of the rule of law and of regional and international standards of governance and of the protection of human rights. (International Bar Association 24 August 2004)"