Advocate Dr. Viktor Kostov's speech,
presented at a discussion held on February 14, 2020, 11:00,
at the 44th National Assembly, East Hall
Ladies and Gentlemen, Honorable Members of Parliament,
Freedom for All (FFA) is a human rights and publishing group, active since 2004. We work to protect basic human rights and the traditional family.
Here is a brief summary of our joint opinion submitted to the National Assembly in November 2019 on the issue with ROD. Our position is completely critical of the letter and spirit of the Social Services Act (SSA), which has been delayed until 1 July 2020.
We draw attention to the fact that there is still no satisfactory legally reasoned response to our extensive criticisms of the Social Services Law.
The new SSA is tyrannical and anti-democratic legislation of philosophy and concept. The Social Services Act is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitution (CRB).
Read more: The New Social Services Law is Totalitarian and Must be Repealed
A view of one of the parental protests in 2019 against the anti-family policies and laws
2019 was marked by the emergence of a wide family rights movement in Bulgaria. Parents, distraught at the total neglect of their rights, and at the clear putting in opposition to each other their parental privileges and duties, on one side, and the "right of the child," on the other, pushed back against the government policies and new laws.
A brief chronology of the events in 2019:
Protest of evangelical Christians in late December 2018 against the restrictive proposal for changes in the nation's religious law. The sign reads: The Law on Religions Does Not Guarantee National Security (Photo courtesy of the website: actualno.com).
Law for the Amendment and Supplements on Law on Religions, State Gazette, nos. 108 of 29.12.2018, enacted as of 01.01.2019 - A Step Backwards from Freedom of Religion and Conscience
The Law for the Amendments to the Religious Denominations Act (LASLR, adopted in 2002, last amended and supplemented as of 29.12.2018) was published in the State Gazette and entered into law as of January 1, 2019. A detailed analysis and comments are forthcoming. The law was hastily voted in right before the end of the year by the Bulgarian parliament, after months of opposition, letters of concern by foreign officials, organizations and individuals, and street protests and prayer vigils by protestant-evangelical churches.
Our conclusion, quite briefly, is that the vast majority of the most restrictive, utterly totalitarian texts were not accepted in the final version.* This is an extremely important achievement for free civil society and the human rights activists involved, including the evangelical churches and all the religious denominations. Problematic texts, however, do exist in the newly adopted amendments.
Reasons for concern are the provisions that require religious denominations to maintain a registry of their clergymen and provide this to the public authorities for review. This requirement is reminiscent of the Communist Denominations Act, which required the maintenance of such registers to control and exert pressure on ministers and preachers related to their convictions and sermons.
Above: Explaining the threat of the new religious law amendments in a Bulgarian Christian Television talk show
Watch the show on Facebook here.
Update: Analysis of the bills in English added on Nov. 11, 2018. See links at the end.
During the first half of May, the BSP (Bulgarian Socialist Party), GERB (Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria) and MRF (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) parliamentary groups, as a unified group of sponsors, and separately the coalition of nationalist parties, the United Patriots, submitted draft amendments to the Law on Religions.
In October, despite the clear, critical, and united opposition to the totalitarian bill by all faiths in the country, and by our human rights organization, the parliamentarian Commision on Religions and Human Rights (leading) voted for the bill without any hindrances, and the proposal was submitted for voting in entered the plenary session. On October 11 the National Assembly also voted "for" the bill at first reading, accepting the draft law in principle, without any particular debates.
On October 19, 2018, with a report by the leading committee, the two projects were brought together into a single one.
After November 16, 2018, when the extra-parliamentarian discussion on the proposal will be exhausted, there is a serious risk that the draft will be voted at the second reading and become enforceable legislation. Such will still be contrary to the Constitution, international law and the principles of freedom and democracy.
