“Bureaucrats have chosen a new pressure tactic on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church” – Human Rights activist
January 13, 2017 – The demands of the Krements authorities to demolish the cupola above the cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) is signaling a change of tactics in the ongoing discrimination against the church. The Human Rights activist Oleg Denisov described this phenomenon on his Facebook page. He is the head of the NGO “Public Human Rights Advocacy”.
According to him, the persecution motives against the Ukrainian Orthodox Christians of the Moscow Patriarchate has seen some notable changes. “In 2015 and the first half of 2016, they were primarily disputes in property, when assailants wanted to illegally capture chapels. Today’s motives are primarily guided by a desire to harass”, noted Oleg Denisov.
“In the current state of affairs, no one wants (or can) capture the chapel, but is trying to at least cause some material or property damage in the form of fines or provoking disputes with the authorities”, added the Human Rights activist.
“The heart of such conflicts, as in Krements, is blind hatred founded on religion. It is no longer a case of someone’s attempt to fight for the right to own property, or to conduct the right to “freely self-identify” – they are just indiscriminately trying to cause as much damage as possible. If they can’t seize the chapel, they will at least present a fine or get on their nerves”, concluded the lawyer.
As the Union of Orthodox Journalists (UOJ) reported, the authorities of Krements are demanding the demolition of the cupola of an Orthodox cathedral.
Sources
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=653192954859636&id=100005068111035&pnref=story