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Nedelkovski’s Antisemitism and the Governments interference in religion are mentioned in US report

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Religious groups in Macedonia claim that the government favors the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric, says the annual report of International Religious Freedom in Macedonia for 2016.

The report states that the Constitution of Macedonia prohibits religious discrimination and guarantees religious freedom and religious expression, but also that only five other religious groups are listed in the Constitution. The rest have to be registered and approved by the court.

“The court in charge of registering religious entities rejected one application, accepted another, and had not yet ruled on two more”, the report says, stating that the application for registration of the Muslim Sufi Bekteshi community from Tetovo has been rejected and that the Islamic Religious Community (ICM) complains that the government continues to illegally wiretap its leaders. The State Department states that the smaller registered religious communities and churches that are not included in the Constitution complain that the government has not given them the same treatment.

Civil Society Organizations, such as the Helsinki Committee and smaller religious groups, argue that the government interfered in religious matters and often politicizes religion, the report says. As an example, the report stated that government officials including the previous Prime Minister, Emil Dimitriev, ministers, mayors, and members of parliament of the then ruling VMRO-DPMNE party, participated in a cornerstone-laying ceremony for a large, Russian-style MOC-OA church and complex of related buildings in the Zelezara neighborhood of Skopje, as well as the construction of a 180 foot cross in Butel.

The report also mentions that churches and mosques are often targeted by robberies, and the anti-Semitic comments by journalist Milenko Nedelkovski on social networks, is also mentioned.

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