MOSCOW, July 23 (Interfax) - Yeltsin's decision to turn down the law on the freedom of conscience and religious associations has aroused controversy in Russian political circles.

The Russian Duma's Vice-Chairman Alexander Shokhin of the Our Home faction urged Yeltsin not to limit himself to vetoing the law and propose his own version of the objected provisions.

"Joint work on the law would be ideal, as it would demonstrate that Yeltsin is really interested in opposing uncivilized religious associations," he said in an interview with Interfax.

In his opinion, Yeltsin would have turned down the law without the interference of the American senators and congressmen. "But now the West's lip service has given the opposition an additional chance to criticize the president and blame him for yielding to external pressure," he said.

Meanwhile, prominent Russian human rights activist, Chairperson of Moscow's Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alexeyeva put an accent on the anticonstitutional essence of the vetoed law.

Making her point clear, she quoted the provision which says that in order to be registered local religious organizations must provide proof that they have been in existence in the given territory for at least 15 years.

"In other words, the law gives preference to the Russian Orthodox Church which has actually become Russia's official religion," she said.

She said that the Human Rights Chamber of the presidential political consultative council also opposes this law.

Independent Duma Deputy Ella Pamfilova (the Russian Regions group) has about the same opinion of the law.

"Russia needs such a law. However, it must not infringe on human rights," she told Interfax. She also said that "the freedom of choosing a religion must not be doubted" and proposed that the law be improved and adopted in a coordinated edition.

Mikhail Men, son of well-known Russian priest Alexander Men, a member of the Yabloko faction and the chairman of the All-Russia Christian Union shares this position.

He told Interfax that he welcomes Yeltsin's decision.

"The law was adopted dishonestly. Chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Public Associations and Religious Organizations Viktor Zorkaltsev (Communist Party faction) deceived the deputies," Men said. "He stated that Russia's four main religions - the Orthodox church, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism, support this law in its current form. This is not so," he said.

"The communists, who made strenuous effort to push this law through parliament should have in the first place urged their party to repent for executing priests, destroying churches and persecuting believers," he said.

Meanwhile, Zorkaltsev, in an interview with Interfax, expressed deep regret about Yeltsin's decision. "Russia has been trampled underfoot," he said pathetically.

Even if the law has imperfect provisions, Yeltsin could have signed it and subsequently make the necessary amendments," he said.

Another Communist deputy of the Russian Duma, Chairman of the Security Committee Viktor Ilyukhin was even more categorical.

He told Interfax that Yeltsin's decision to turn down the law provides further proof that Russia has long become a protectorate of the West."

He is convinced that the free and uncontrolled activity of foreign religious confessions in Russia poses a threat to the country's national security. This is a way of zombieing the minds of the younger generation," he said.

The law is called upon to limit Western pressure on the minds of the Russian citizens," he said. He also noted that the Duma will most probably try to override the presidential veto.

This opinion is shared by another leader of the Duma's communist faction Valentin Kuptsov, who told Interfax that the Duma will "easily override the presidential veto."

He described Yeltsin's decision as "the public humiliation of Russia."

He also said that the American congressmen's decision to link economic aid to Moscow to whether or not Yeltsin signs this law is "outrageous interference in Russia's internal affairs."

"One can only regret that the president has not heeded the voice of the Russian Orthodox Church leaders who urged him to sign the law, and yielded to the voices coming from abroad," he said.

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Johnson's Russia List

#1077

23 July 1997

djohnson@cdi.org