The new annual list of countries that violate religious freedoms in the United States is “illiterate” and “devoid of logic”, according to Roman Silantyev, Director of the Human Rights Center of the World Russian People’s Cathedral (WRPC).
Earlier it became known that the United States has added 10 countries, including Burma (Myanmar), China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, to the list of “violators of religious freedoms”.
In a written statement, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that “the US also puts the Comoros, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia on a special watch list as governments that have participated in or tolerated serious violations of religious freedoms”.
“Again, illiterate people make incomprehensible reports. They don’t even know that Burma has been renamed for a long time, but this hints at the general level of these documents,” told Mr. Silantyev to RIA Novosti.
He noted that earlier the world actively reacted to these American reports, which are made annually, particularly the Russian side.
“But then we realized that a group of friends is rather unprofessional in working out their content and we don’t need to react to it. Especially since it comes from the outgoing administration of (Donald) Trump,” said the expert.
Speaking about who exactly, according to the United States, is being harassed in Russia, he noted that it is not only about organizations such as Jehovah’s Witnesses (the organization is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation), but “Russia was formerly blamed even for the persecution of Wahhabi terrorists”.
“From the point of view of the Americans, only they can bomb the Wahhabis. It is undesirable for others to do this… There have already been many of such reports and various pearls, only the lazy one did not scoff at them,” said Mr. Silantyev.
ORIENT had already remarked upon two years ago regarding the compilation of lists of countries that violate religious freedoms from the United States, and the inclusion of Turkmenistan, where every person and citizen, according to the law, may practice any religion, or not profess any.
That is, to be an atheist.Then the site wrote that this list usually includes countries that pursue independent policy and have their own view on various issues of regional and world problems, which does not always coincide with the view of the US State Department.