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Afghanistan: Proselytizing charges "need fair investigation"

KABUL, 2 June 2010 (IRIN) - Two international NGOs facing accusations of religious proselytizing in Afghanistan have rejected the charges and an umbrella body has demanded a fair and impartial inquiry into the case.

The government has ordered Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Church World Service (CWS) to temporarily suspend their activities until the case is investigated.

"We demand a fair and impartial investigation to illuminate these allegations," Laurent Sailard, director of ACBAR, a consortium of more than 100 NGOs, including NCA and CWS, told IRIN.

He said the allegations were false and baseless.

"We have never and will never engage in any religious proselytism. Such activities are contrary to our mandate as a humanitarian organization, and we fully respect the religion of the communities we serve," Maurice Bloem, deputy director of CWS, said in a statement posted on its website.

The NCA has also denied the accusation, saying it worked to alleviate humanitarian hardship.

Under Afghanistan's laws, religious proselytizing is forbidden and considered a serious crime.

Officials in the Ministry of Economy (MoE) said formal investigations into the case had begun but could not ensure the process would be fair.

"Everybody knows how our courts and judicial system work," said Sediq Amarkhil, the MoE's spokesman, adding that public perceptions had been distorted by widespread anti-NGO rhetoric.

Blame game

The controversy began after a private TV station, Noorin, showed video recordings of several Afghan men allegedly converting to Christianity.

"We have not accused the two NGOs but have aired a film for public awareness," said Jawed Ibrahimi, an editor of the station, adding that the MoE had accused the NGOs apparently because of the word "church" in their names.

However, MoE officials said both CWS and NCA were accused by the TV presenters and there was no official bias to the NGOs' names.

"We know this channel has its politics and has caused the controversy for political gain," said Amarkhil.

ACBAR has also accused Noorin TV of spreading negative propaganda against NGOs and has filed an official complaint with the MoE.

However, Amarkhil said should investigations prove the NGOs are guilty, their operating licences will be revoked and their officials possibly punished according to Afghan law.

"We have also formed a commission, comprised of several ministries, to decide what should be done with the TV channel if investigations prove the NGOs are innocent," he said.

About 1,547 NGOs, among them 302 international NGOs, are registered with the MoE, which cancelled the licences of 152 national and 20 foreign NGOs in May, saying they had not submitted six-monthly reports to the MoE for two years.

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Topics: Christian, Religious persecution, Religious discrimination, Freedom of religion,