AMBASSADOR GETS POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM MINISTER OF JUSTICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CHISINAU 000312

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB, DRL/IRF, DRL/AE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2018
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KIRF PINR MD
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR GETS POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM MINISTER OF JUSTICE
ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

REFS: A. Chisinau 0248, B. 07 Chisinau 0955

Classified By: Ambassador Michael D. Kirby, for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) Summary: In a March 19 meeting on religious freedom with the
Minister of Justice, Ambassador Kirby received a positive response to
our concerns, and promises that the Ministry would set up a
roundtable with religious leaders and publish templates for
registration procedures. Pirlog frequently criticized the less
inclusive and less democratic aspects of Moldovan society and
bureaucracy, and praised the effects of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation's Threshold Country Program on the judiciary. End
summary.

Reformist Justice Minister Says Law to be Even Better
-------------- --------------


2. (C) Minister of Justice Vitalie Pirlog is young (born in 1974) and
open to reforms. After a long string of Moldovan losses at the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning failure to execute
judgments and violations of press freedom, he publicly criticized
Moldovan courts for their faults, rather than rounding on the ECHR.
Pirlog accepted the Ambassador's praise of the new religion law (Ref
B) and its liberalization of access to public places and theoretical
simplification of registration procedures. He noted that the law had
generally promoted religious liberty against the opposition of those
in society and government who were "not inclusive," and promised
further amendments to bring it closer to Western norms.


3. (C) Responding to criticisms made to the Ambassador by religious
leaders regarding difficulties in implementation of the law, Pirlog
accepted that registration procedures, moved from the Ministry of
Interior to the Ministry of Justice under provisions of the law, were
difficult. He cited the inexperience of his ministry in dealing with
religious issues, the fact that the official in charge of
registration was already in charge of registering NGOs and political
organizations, and that some information had been lost in the
transfer of files between the ministries. Pirlog promised, however,
that one of his deputy ministers would convene a meeting of religious
leaders to discuss their complaints, and that his ministry would
publish guidelines and templates for registration and incorporation,
as it had already done for NGOs. He also noted that his ministry was
striving to make reasons for refusal of registration clear, and to
assist those who were refused to reapply.


4. (C) Pirlog showed that he had been thinking about the issue: he
noted that the Government of Moldova (GOM) had not thought through
the special issues associated with religious organizations, which
have in the past been slotted under the rubric of non-commercial
organizations. He agreed that the GOM needed to acknowledge the
Ambassador's distinction between hierarchical churches, such at the
Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and the more horizontally-organized
Protestant churches. Pirlog affirmed that all religions have a right
to existence in Moldova, noting only that they should follow the law
and respect the rights of their members.


5. (C) Pirlog also showed himself willing to respond to issues of
residence and work permits for foreign religious workers, even though
they fall under the competence of the Ministry of Interior. Told of
a foreign Roman Catholic priest who had been threatened with
expulsion because he was taking away jobs from Moldovans, he grimaced
and said that the Ministry of Interior should set up a mechanism to
eliminate such practices. (Note: the Roman Catholic Church hosts
over 60 foreign priests and nuns to serve its 20,000 parishioners.
Only three Moldovan citizens are ordained priests. End note.) Going
further, he promised to set up a roundtable for all the ministries
that are involved in residence and work permits, in order to push
needed changes in "Soviet" mentality and behavior. Expanding on his
comment, he noted his pleasure that Moldova now has an ethics code
for judges, and will establish one for police. Pirlog stated that
the publication of judicial decisions on the web, a reform instigated
by Millennium Challenge Corporation's Threshold Country Program
agreements, was already having a positive effect by educating judges.


6. (C) Comment: Throughout the conversation, Pirlog agreed that it
was not in Moldova's interests for the Ambassador to have to act as
the intermediary between religious leaders and the GOM, and accepted
his responsibility to undertake the bureaucratic changes necessary to
implement the reforms in the new law. We look forward to the
roundtable of religious leaders convened under his ministry's aegis,
as a first step in moving ecumenism out of the Ambassador's residence
(Ref A) and into public spaces and the corridors of Moldovan power.
However, given the resignation of the entire Moldovan government on
March 19, it is not yet clear that Pirlog will be in a position to
carry out his promises.

Kirby