Bill on Prohibition of Totalitarian Sects Recalled from Parliament of Ukraine

KYIV – Ukrainian deputy Lev Biruk (Yulia Tymoshenko’s Motherland faction) recalled his Bill 6493 on making alterations and addenda to the Law of Ukraine On the Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations regarding religious sects.

According to the Institute of Religious Freedom (IRF), information this will soon appear on the portal of the Supreme Council of Ukraine.

The bill was recalled a few days after information about the proposed alterations was published, which provoked criticism of experts. In addition, concern about the document’s drawbacks was expressed by the participants of the session of the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine of June 9, 2010, and heads of the Christian Churches of Ukraine at the meeting of June 10.

In his statement addressed to the parliament’s speaker, the author of the initiative announced the recall of the submitted bill on the basis of Article 104 of the Law on the Rules of Procedure of the Supreme Council of Ukraine.

On the request of the IRF, the chairman of the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine, Mylhailo Panochko, commented on the recalling of the bill: “Undoubtedly, we approve of such a decision of the deputy Biriuk, who took into account the position of the believing public and heads of the churches.”