Hae Kot Saportim Tru Worship Long “Land Bilong Ararat”

Wanfala mature man from Armenia wea garem thrifala pikinini hem standap front long barava hae kot bilong kantri bilong hem. Freedom bilong hem and olketa narawan wea garem sem biliv olsem hem stap long danger. Kot lisin taem hem iusim Bible for explainim samting wea hem bilivim. For minim hao disfala kot case mekem tru worship win long barava nambawan wei long datfala kantri, iumi bae lukluk long olketa samting wea lead go kasem diswan.

ARMENIA stap east saed bilong Turkey and olketa bigfala Caucasus maunten stap long south. Hem kantri wea garem winim thri million pipol. Sapos man stap long Yerevan, wea hem nao kapitol bilong datfala nation, hem savve lukim tufala hae maunten bilong Mount Ararat, wea olketa sei, ark bilong Noah stap long there bihaen long Flood.—Genesis 8:4.a

Olketa Jehovah’s Witness bin duim Christian waka bilong olketa long Armenia start kam from 1975. Bihaen Armenia kasem independence long 1991 from Soviet Union bifor, gavman mekem wanfala State Council for Religious Affairs mekem olketa savve registerim evri organization bilong olketa religion. Bat, disfala council evritaem les for registerim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness, main reason hem from olketa Witness followim Christian wei for no teksaed. From diswan, start long 1991 winim 100 young Witness long Armenia mas go long kot and planti go long prison from Bible biliv bilong olketa abaotem wei for no joinim army.

Datfala Council askem olketa lawyer bilong gavman for lukluk long waka saed long religion bilong Lyova Margaryan, wanfala Christian elder wea waka hard olsem wanfala lawyer long atomic paoa station. Gogo, olketa iusim Article 244 for accusim Brata Margaryan. Disfala Article 244 hem part long old law bilong Soviet Union wea olketa pasim long taem bilong Khrushchev, for stopem and gogo aotem evribit Olketa Jehovah’s Witness and olketa nara grup bilong religion.

Datfala law sei hem wanfala criminal samting sapos man organizem or leadim wanfala grup bilong religion, wea laea for iusim wei for preachim olketa biliv, for ‘switim olketa young pipol for attendim olketa meeting bilong religion wea no register’ and wea ‘mekem olketa member bilong olketa for no duim olketa waka bilong wanfala citizen.’ For saportim diswan, lawyer wea accusim hem showimaot hao olketa pikinini attendim olketa meeting wea brata Brother Margaryan conductim long taon bilong Metsamor. Datfala lawyer hem sei tu hao Brata Margaryan forcem olketa young member bilong kongregeson for no joinim army.

Start Bilong Kot Case

Kot case hem start long Friday, July 20, 2001, long distrik kot bilong Armavir and Judge Manvel Simonyan nao judge bilong datfala case. Kot hia go ahed kasem klosap end bilong August. Taem olketa witness bilong olketa lawyer wea accusim Brata Margaryan givim pruv, olketa gogo talemaot hao olketa member bilong National Security Ministry (wea bifor hem KGB) nao talem olketa for raetem samfala toktok insaed pepa bilong olketa againstim Brata Margaryan and olketa member hia forcem olketa for saenem disfala pepa. Wantaem, wanfala woman gogo talemaot hao wanfala bigman long Security Ministry talem hem for mas sei “Olketa Jehovah’s Witness againstim gavman bilong mifala and religion bilong mifala.” Datfala woman gogo talem hao hem nating really savve long eni Jehovah’s Witness bat hem herem nomoa olketa story wea againstim olketa long television bilong kantri.

Kasem taem for Brata Margaryan story, hem talemaot hao olketa pikinini attendim olketa meeting bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness witim olketa dadi and mami bilong olketa. Hem explainim tu hao wei for joinim or no joinim army hem samting wea man seleva mas disaedem. Lawyer wea accusim hem kwestinim Brata Margaryan for tu-thri day. Brata Margaryan iusim Bible for ansarem evri kwestin abaotem olketa biliv bilong hem and datfala lawyer hem go ahed for chekim olketa Scripture hia long Bible bilong hemseleva.

Long September 18, 2001, judge talemaot hao Margaryan “hem no guilty,” hem talem hao waka bilong hem “no join witim eni criminal samting.” Wanfala report wea showimaot klia evri samting abaotem datfala case kamap insaed long Associated Press. Hem sei: “Wanfala leader bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long Armenia kamap free tuday from wei wea olketa accusim hem saed long preaching waka and wei for forcem olketa young pipol for no joinim army. Disfala kot case go ahed for tufala month, gogo Kot hem sei no inaf pruv stap againstim datfala leader, Levon Markarian [Lyova Margaryan]. Hem feisim wei wea olketa maet putim hem insaed long prison for samting olsem faevfala year. . . . Nomata Constitution bilong Armenia sei man garem freedom long religion, hem hard for olketa niu grup for register and olketa rul wea stap hem saedem tumas Armenian Apostolic Church wea big tumas long datfala kantri.” Long official toktok wea hem talem for niuspepa long September 18, 2001, datfala Organization for Security and Cooperation long Europe (OSCE) hem sei: “Mifala hapi for acceptim samting wea kot disaedem, bat, Office bilong OSCE hem sorre from disfala kot case shud no kamap.”

Kot Case Go Ahed Moa

Nomata olsem, olketa lawyer wea accusim Brata Margaryan askem kot for changem samting olketa disaedem, and disfala mek-tu kot hem go ahed for fofala month. Long start bilong datfala kot, taem Brata Margaryan redy for givim witness, wanfala judge long sekson wea bae judgem hem askem hem firstfala kwestin. Taem Brata Margaryan start for ansa, chairman katem toktok bilong hem and challengem hem. Bihaen datwan, hem nating letem Brata Margaryan finis for ansarem olketa kwestin. Hem no givim eni reason tu taem hem no letem olketa recordim olketa kwestin bilong lawyer bilong Brata Margaryan. Taem datfala kot case hem go ahed, planti pipol bilong religion wea againstim olketa Witness wea fulap insaed long kotrum, olketa go ahed for tok spoelem Brata Margaryan. Bihaen datfala session, planti laea report abaotem datfala kot case and report wea olketa tanem olabaot hem kamap long television, olsem example, olketa mekem hem luk olsem Brata Margaryan hem agree hao hem guilty.

Taem olketa kasem midol bilong datfala kot case, chairman bilong thrifala judge mekem evriwan sapraes taem hem showim wanfala leta from State Council for Religious Affairs wea ask strong for olketa lawyer wea startim disfala kot case for mas duim samting againstim Brata Margaryan. Diswan mekem international pipol wea kam lukluk long datfala kot case for seke fogud, bikos taem Armenia ask for kamap member bilong Council of Europe, hem agree hao hem garem responsibility for “mek sure evri Church or sekson bilong wanfala religion, especially olketa wea ‘no bilong datfala ples,’ savve followim religion bilong olketa and no eniwan shud spoelem olketa.”

Taem kot go ahed for samfala moa week, feeling bilong pipol kamap moa strong. Pipol wea againstim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness go ahed for spoelem and attakim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness insaed and aotsaed long kot haos. Olketa savve kikim leg bilong olketa Witness woman. Taem olketa attakim wanfala Jehovah’s Witness and hem les for faet bak, olketa hitim bone long baksaed bilong hem and hem mas go long hospital.

Insaed long datfala semtaem, olketa appointim wanfala niu chairman for datfala case. Nomata samfala long audience trae for mekem lawyer wea saportim Brata Margaryan for fraet, disfala niu chairman hem kontrolem evriwan, hem talem tu police for aotem wanfala woman from kotrum from hem singaot againstim lawyer bilong Brata Margaryan.

Go Long Barava Hae Kot Bilong Armenia

Gogo, long March 7, 2002, mek-tu kot hia saportim samting wea firstfala kot disaedem. Long day bifor olketa announcem disison bilong kot, datfala State Council for Religious Affairs hem finis nao. Then olketa lawyer wea accusim Brata Margaryan ask moa for changem datfala disison, distaem olketa askem barava hae kot bilong Armenia—datfala Court of Cassation. Olketa lawyer hia askem Kot for startim bak firstfala kot case for “talemaot disison wea sei hem guilty.”

Sixfala member insaed sekson bilong olketa judge, wea chairman hem Judge Mher Khachatryan, hipap long 11:00 a.m. long April 19, 2002. Long firstfala toktok bilong hem for startim disfala case, wanfala long tufala lawyer wea accusim Brata Margaryan talemaot hao hem barava nating hapi long wei wea tufala firstfala kot fail for sei Brata Margaryan hem guilty. Bat distaem judge katem toktok bilong datfala lawyer and fofala long olketa judge kwestinim hem. Wanfala judge tok strong long datfala lawyer from hem trae for mekem Kot teksaed witim hem from insaed pepa bilong hem againstim Brata Margaryan hem raet abaotem preaching waka and wei wea Olketa Jehovah’s Witness no register—tufala samting hia no criminal samting insaed Article 244. Then datfala judge hem sei samting wea olketa lawyer hia duim hem “persecution from olketa accusim Brata Margaryan long criminal samting.” Narafala judge storyim samfala case wea kamap long European Court wea insaed olketa case hia olketa luksavve long Olketa Jehovah’s Witness olsem wanfala “religion wea pipol savve long hem” wea fit for kasem protection from European Convention on Human Rights. Insaed disfala taem, wanfala priest insaed long kotrum hem singaot hao Olketa Jehovah’s Witness divaedem kantri. Datfala Kot orderim hem for stap kwaet.

Then olketa judge kolem Lyova Margaryan for kamap—samting wea pipol no expectim disfala hae kot for duim. Brata Margaryan givim gudfala witness abaotem Christian biliv bilong Olketa Jehovah’s Witness long samfala samting. (Mark 13:9) Bihaen olketa ting raonem disison bilong olketa for lelebet taem, datfala Kot kam bak and evriwan agree hao disison hem “no guilty.” Brata Margaryan barava feel hapi long diswan. Taem olketa raetem disison bilong olketa, datfala Kot hem sei: “Long saed bilong law wea stap, disfala waka [wea Lyova Margaryan duim] hem no wanfala crime, and diskaen wei for accusim man hem againstim Article 23 bilong Armenian Constitution and Article 9 bilong European Convention.”

Samting wea Kamaot From Disfala Disison

Sapos olketa lawyer wea accusim Brata Margaryan win, bae hem openem wei for planti narawan tekem olketa elder bilong olketa kongregeson evriwea long Armenia go long kot. Iumi hope, kliafala disison bilong Kot bae stopem kaen wei for spoelem olketa olsem. Sapos disison hem againstim Olketa Jehovah’s Witness, diswan maet mekem olketa garem tu excuse for no letem Olketa Jehovah’s Witness register. Iumi thankiu tumas hao Kot hem aotem disfala giaman wei for excuse.

Bae iumi faendaot long future sapos gavman bae givim registration long winim 7,000 Witness bilong Jehovah long disfala kantri. Bat long distaem, tru worship hem still stap and hem go ahed for grow long “land bilong Ararat.”

[Footnote]

[Piksa long page 12]

Lyova Margaryan long kot case bilong hem

[Piksa long page 13]

Brata Margaryan and famili bilong hem