Religious freedom report: “Property return to religious groups, a problem in Albania”
15/10/2015 00:00
The Washington Agreement Must Be Reactivated! 06/01 19:04
The 17th annual report on religious freedom of the US State Department
focuses on the discrimination of religious groups in Middle East,
Sub-Saharian Africa and Asia.
As for Albania, the report says not much has been done to return properties to religious groups, after they were confiscated during the communist regime.
The report says hundreds of claims remain unresolved. 890 requests have been made only by the Orthodox church, with more than 50 properties turned into military installations.
The disagreements have made it difficult for some religious groups to take new lands for their religious buildings.
The report has also mentioned the difficulties of the religious group “Evangelical Brotherhood of Albania” to buy properties for religious buildings that have made it impossible for them to organize religious services.
The report says that some religious leaders have challenged the results of Census 2011, by accusing the government of not counting enough members from their community.
They also mention positive developments, such as the discussion organized by the Multi-religious Council of Albania, in which Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Bektashi leaders gathered and released a declaration that condemned the terrorist activities of ISIS.
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