NGO Rule of Law: We elected the president – not the patriarch
Politicians are not religious actors but secular citizens who should not go beyond their functional duties.
Head of NGO Rule of Law Alexey Starodubov said that the intervention of the state authorities of Ukraine in the religious sphere is a direct violationof fundamental human rights, reports Pershy Kozatsky (First Cossack) channel.
Starodubov said that believers had turned to him for help to organize the sign-in under the Declaration of Resistance to Oppression, a document that declares a protest of concerned citizens against unconstitutional actions of the state authorities of Ukraine against the Church.
“Believers came to me as a head of the Rule of Law organization to seek help in backing up their initiatives,” Starodubov said. “This is very important because it is the will of people who are not indifferent to what is happening in Ukraine.” These are those who consider it wrong to interfere in religious affairs, the affairs of the Church, and want to get a point across to the President and MPs whom they elected that such interference is unacceptable. This is a violation of the Constitution and laws of Ukraine.”
“The point is that in 2014 we elected not the president but the patriarch, not the MPs but the clergy – yet this is not so,” he stressed. “These are secular citizens who must deal with economics and social issues and not go beyond their functional responsibilities.”
“Ukraine is a civilized country and politicians should realize that they have no right to violate fundamental human rights. If your rights are violated – you can sign this Declaration,” summed up the head of the NGO Rule of Law.
To sign the Declaration of Oppression Resistance, please follow at: https://zacerkvu.com.
As the UOJ reported, the Public Organization NGO Rule of Law backed the initiative of the all-Ukrainian civic discussion “Let's protect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church together!”, which was reported on the organization’s official Facebook page. Now every Ukrainian can express his/her disagreement with the intervention of politicians in the religious life of the people.
