Belarus Decree Imposes New Limits On Foreign Religious Workers

Forum 18 today reports that in Belarus, the Council of Ministers last month issued a new decree (full text in Russian) giving the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs complete discretion to refuse-- without giving reasons-- a visa for the travel of invited foreign religious workers to the country. The decree creates a more detailed application procedure for visits, and permits the government to shorten the time for which a worker is invited to that necessary for achieving the purpose of the visit. The Religion Law already allows only registered religious associations to invite workers. The new rules will have their greatest impact on the Catholic and Jewish communities in Belarus. Meanwhile, a petition with over 50,000 signatures is about to be presented to officials asking for liberalization of the country's 2002 Law on Religion.