Armenian official replies to public anger at registration of Jehovah's Witnesses

Arminfo news agency (translated by the BBC)

Yerevan, 21 October: There is nothing illegal in the official registration of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious sect, the head of the Armenian government department for ethnic minorities and religion, Granush Kharatyan, told a news conference today.

Kharatyan expressed her surprise at the angry reaction from part of the public caused by the recent registration of this religious sect. In this connection, she said that no-one had protested against the registration and activities of Pentecostalists, Protestants or Jews in Armenia.

"During their ceremonies, Jews call for anti-Christian actions. However, nobody has ever been concerned about them," she said. Also, under Armenia's laws, a religious sect cannot be denied registration unless its charter contradicts the law. The charter of Jehovah's Witnesses fully complies with the law, as the Armenian Justice Ministry itself has said.

At the same time, Kharatyan said that the law on religion signed in 1991 is not completely perfect as it does not ban religious ceremonies hostile to other faiths.

"Our job is not to fight religious sects but oversee them," Kharatyan said. "But you cannot oversee something if there is no appropriate legislation. However, we will withstand this outrage caused by the [registration] of Jehovah's Witnesses."

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