DUSHANBE, 10.12.2020 (NIAT Khovar) – The Committee for Religious Affairs, Regulation of Traditions, Celebrations and Ceremonies under the government of Tajikistan expresses its concern over the statement of the US Secretary of State, in which Tajikistan is considered a country of particular concern in terms of religious freedom.

The committee disagrees with this statement and the US State Department’s report, which calls into question the current level of freedom of conscience and religion in Tajikistan. In the past, the committee has stated that such reports have no real basis, are sourced by the unofficial press, and today it strongly expresses the same position.

The committee has repeatedly requested to send a special commission to Tajikistan to review the real religious situation, familiarize with the country’s victories and defeats in this area, and prepare for this basis of real reports. Because if we look at it in terms of justice and reality, Tajikistan has achieved a number of achievements in the field of religion since independence, and ignoring these achievements and including the country in the list of countries, where religious freedom is completely violated, is unfair.

In this regard, the committee, with reference to the organizations and institutions that focus on the assessment of the religious climate in the country, once again expresses readiness for cooperation, because it believes that the way to success is not the submission of one-sided and unrealistic reports and conclusions, but real bilateral cooperation.