Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The United States would like to raise its concern over an issue related to freedom of religion in Turkmenistan.

Four Turkmen Baptists were detained and tortured by KNB authorities in the town of Anau in November.

Despite protests by the United States and others, the four Baptists have continued to be detained and harassed. Three of them have been forced to sign their homes over to the state, and they and their families are now homeless.

The United States is also concerned about the January 4 district court decision that the private home in Ashgabat where the local Pentecostal community meets is to be confiscated without compensation to its owner, its pastor. This decision was based on the city of Ashgabat's assertion that the house had been purchased solely for the purpose of holding illegal religious services and that reconstruction work had been done without the authorization of the city's chief architect.  

Among other OSCE commitments on freedom of religion to which all of us, including the Government of Turkmenistan, have agreed, the 1989 Vienna Document states that we will grant upon request to communities of believers, practicing or prepared to practice their faith within the constitutional framework of their States, recognition of the status provided for in their respective countries; that we will respect the right of these religious communities to establish and organize freely accessible places of worship or assembly; as well as their right to solicit and receive voluntary financial and other contributions; we will respect the right of everyone to give and receive religious education in the language of his choice, whether individually or in association with others; allow religious faiths, institutions, and organizations to produce, import and disseminate religious publications and materials; and we recognize that the exercise of the above-mentioned rights relating to the freedom of religion or belief may be subject only to such limitations as are provided by law and consistent with our obligations under international law and with our international commitments.  We committed to ensure in our laws and regulations and in their application the full and effective exercise of the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. 

We call on the Government of Turkmenistan to adhere to its OSCE and UN commitments and to put a stop to the harassment of religious minorities immediately, and to punish those responsible for torture in the case of the Baptists.  We also call on the Government of Turkmenistan to return the confiscated properties in both the Baptist and Pentecostal cases.

In response to the statement of the Ambassador of Turkmenistan, given the constitutional guarantees concerning freedom of religion he presented to us this morning, it is hard for me to understand why the individuals in question and their practices are not consistent with both Turkmen law and with the commitment that Turkmenistan has made to all of us under the Vienna Document.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate especially the explanation by Turkmenistan about the current review under way on registration procedures.  I think there are a couple of issues that have been identified this morning that deserve a little more discussion.  One is that it is precisely the inability of these groups to register which makes their activities illegal; our commitment to one another is not circumscribed by needing specific numbers of religious members to register.  I think it is a positive sign that this is being reviewed in that light and that those numbers may be lowered, or perhaps eliminated.  I would also, in terms of nomenclature or language, draw your attention to an important point that has been raised by our Turkman colleague this morning, and that is the labeling of a group of people.  Whether you choose to call them a sect or you choose to call them something else, it has the effect of dehumanizing them and can appear to be an attempt by the State to eliminate their rights.  I think we ought to be extraordinarily circumspect in use of such language because it is the type of slippery slope, if you will, which has the effect of marginalizing a group of people based on their belief or religion, the freedom of which we have committed ourselves to respect.

Thank you.