EVANGELICALS CLAIM NEW LAW THREATENS FREEDOM OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000125

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM EC
SUBJECT: EVANGELICALS CLAIM NEW LAW THREATENS FREEDOM OF
RELIGION

REF: CARACAS 00471

Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffit...



id: 209141
date: 5/28/2009 21:02
refid: 09GUAYAQUIL125
origin: Consulate Guayaquil
classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 09CARACAS471
header:
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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGL #0125/01 1482102
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 282102Z MAY 09
FM AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9832
INFO RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1042
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3498
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0527
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY LIMA 3912


-------------- header ends --------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000125

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM EC
SUBJECT: EVANGELICALS CLAIM NEW LAW THREATENS FREEDOM OF
RELIGION

REF: CARACAS 00471

Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffiths for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


1. (C) Summary: Ecuador's growing evangelical movement is
concerned that a 2008 presidential decree requiring churches
to register with the government and identify their
parishioners is a move to squelch the outspoken movement and
could have implications for freedom of religion. The decree
groups all non-profit social organizations under the same
governing regulations, whereas before churches were governed
by the Ley de Culto (Law of Worship) and NGOs were governed
by a separate set of regulations. The GOE claims this is an
attempt to ensure "more transparency and accountability of
public funds." However, our Evangelical contacts insist that
they have never taken public funds, and should not be subject
to government controls. The pastors believe this change is a
thinly-veiled attempt by the GOE to silence the often
uncooperative Evangelical movement. End Summary.


2. (C) PolOff met May 7 with a group of five evangelical
preachers from the Guayaquil area including Pastor Francisco
Loor, president of the Association of Evangelical Preachers.
They emphasized their fears that elements in the GOE are
attempting to co-opt the oft outspoken evangelical movement
and note that similar models were used in Venezuela (reftel
) and Bolivia. According to Loor, the model is as follows:
Once all churches are registered as NGOs, they will have
certain responsibilities to "periodically report" to the
government. They claim that it is unclear as to what should
be reported and how often. Any NGOs that do not comply with
the law can be dissolved by the GOE and have their property
seized. The seized property will then be turned over to
another NGO with the same goals. With churches now classified
as NGOs, the group fears that this means the GOE will be able
to seize church assets and give them to other churches that
are friendly to the government. Given the evangelical
movement's open opposition to the Correa government (they
campaigned heavily against the new constitution),they
believe this is an attempt on the part of the Ecuadorian
government to force cooperation from a very vocal and
sizeable opposition block. They believe that the very threat
of government seizure is a direct violation of the separation
of church and state.


3. (C) On May 6 Loor and his group of pastors lost a lawsuit
against the government claiming that Presidential Decree No.
982 of 2008 was unconstitutional. However, they are
convinced that the judge was pressured by the government to
rule against them. According to their attorney, the judge on
the case heard part of the trial, and then went on vacation
to Italy. While in Italy, a different judge heard the rest
of the case. When the original judge returned from his
vacation, he ruled against them on his first day back without
hearing the rest of the case. Loor's attorney will appeal
the decision. If the appeal fails, Loor plans to take the
case to the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.


4. (C) When asked why only the Evangelicals are speaking out
against the change, Loor assured PolOff that other religious
groups were concerned as well, but the Evangelicals were the
most outspoken. Among the groups, he claimed, are the
Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. The Roman Catholic Church,
by far the largest denomination in Ecuador, was not subject
to the new decree, as the Vatican has a separate agreement
with the GOE. However, a few of the pastors noted that
concern in the Catholic Church is growing and that, although
not openly opposed to the new regulations, the church was
quietly supporting their opposition. Indeed, in a recent
discussion with the Consul General, the President of the
Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Arregui, said that he was
worried that the new law was the first step in a strategic
effort to stifle dissent. Arregui suggested that Correa
would follow the "Chavez model" of picking fights with the
Church in an effort to erode the prestige and authority of
the Church hierarchy.


5. (C) Ministry of Government and Police Under Secretary Dr.
Ramiro Rivadeneira told embassy officers that the 2008 decree
was an attempt to ensure that the non-profit status that was
granted to more than 2,200 registered religious groups by the
1937 Ley de Culto was actually warranted by the groups'
financial dealings. Rivadeneira stated that the reporting
requirements would be for those groups who received
government funds to report how they were spending the
government's money. All reporting requirements were the same
for both religious groups and NGOs since they were all

non-profit organizations. Rivadeneira claimed that the
Ministry plans on convening religious leaders for a
roundtable discussion to draft a new Ley de Culto later this
year. The new law will address many of the religious
leaders' current concerns and will again separate religious
groups from NGOs.


6. (C) Comment: The Correa government has made several
attempts to regulate the NGO sector (Quito septel),moves
that could be interpreted as possible attacks on freedom of
speech, religion, or association. While the evangelical
movement lost the first round of legal battles, we expect
that its leaders will continue advocating for their autonomy.
Evangelical churches in Ecuador have grown dramatically in
poor sectors of Guayaquil (and elsewhere),and have a great
deal of credibility. Given Correa's fading popularity in
some of these same areas, the GOE will have to act carefully
in implementing the new decree or risk encouraging greater
opposition.
GRIFFITHS

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