The Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan, at the conference on issues of freedom of religion and beliefs in Armenia, Georgia, and the world, said that the Armenian Constitution guarantees religious freedom and the freedom for any religious organization or religious minority to continue its work. Arman Tatoyan also emphasized the role that the Armenian Apostolic church plays in national values, traditions, and in human rights defense. He is also convinced that discrimination against people for their religious beliefs needs to be eliminated, especially since the Armenian people felt that at the beginning of the 20th century. Armenians are even more required to accept people’s beliefs.
Arman Tatoyan also said that the law on religion in Armenia is being reformed.
The Dutch ambassador to Armenia and Georgia, Johannes Douma, made several noteworthy comments in his speech. He first spoke about Jehovah’s Witnesses and said, “Jehovah’s Witnesses work through propaganda and manipulation, whereas established religions avoid propaganda and proselytizing. Freedom of religion and beliefs is one of the key human rights.”
The ambassador also spoke about how the Prime Minister welcomed the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, Aram I. “A group was established to study, discuss, and find solutions to problems that exist between the state and church.” The ambassador does not like the fact that the Apostolic church suggested that the history of the Armenian Apostolic Church is taught in school. He asked a question of whether it is truly correct to place a separation between Armenian history and the history of the Armenian church. He also said that this places an emphasis on one religion only.
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Nelli Grigoryan
