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### Viewing cable 09GUAYAQUIL125, EVANGELICALS CLAIM NEW LAW THREATENS FREEDOM OF

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09GUAYAQUIL125 | 2009-05-28 21:02 | 2011-04-29 16:30 | CONFIDENTIAL | Consulate Guayaquil
Appears in these articles: http://www.eluniverso.com/2011/04/22/1/1355/cable-209141.html

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHGL #0125/01 1482102
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 282102Z MAY 09
    FM AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9832
    INFO RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1042
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3498
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0527
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY LIMA 3912

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000125

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2019
    TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM EC
    SUBJECT: EVANGELICALS CLAIM NEW LAW THREATENS FREEDOM OF
    RELIGION

    REF: CARACAS 00471

    Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffit...

    id: 209141
    date: 5/28/2009 21:02
    refid: 09GUAYAQUIL125
    origin: Consulate Guayaquil
    classification: CONFIDENTIAL
    destination: 09CARACAS471
    header:
    VZCZCXYZ0000
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHGL #0125/01 1482102
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 282102Z MAY 09
    FM AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9832
    INFO RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1042
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 3498
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0527
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY LIMA 3912

    ----------------- header ends ----------------

    C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000125

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2019
    TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM EC
    SUBJECT: EVANGELICALS CLAIM NEW LAW THREATENS FREEDOM OF
    RELIGION

    REF: CARACAS 00471

    Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffiths for reasons 1.4 (b) and
     (d)

    ¶1.  (C) Summary:  Ecuador's growing evangelical movement is
    concerned that a 2008 presidential decree requiring churches
    to register with the government and identify their
    parishioners is a move to squelch the outspoken movement and
    could have implications for freedom of religion.  The decree
    groups all non-profit social organizations under the same
    governing regulations, whereas before churches were governed
    by the Ley de Culto (Law of Worship) and NGOs were governed
    by a separate set of regulations.  The GOE claims this is an
    attempt to ensure "more transparency and accountability of
    public funds."  However, our Evangelical contacts insist that
    they have never taken public funds, and should not be subject
    to government controls.  The pastors believe this change is a
    thinly-veiled attempt by the GOE to silence the often
    uncooperative Evangelical movement.   End Summary.

    ¶2.  (C) PolOff met May 7 with a group of five evangelical
    preachers from the Guayaquil area including Pastor Francisco
    Loor, president of the Association of Evangelical Preachers.
    They emphasized their fears that elements in the GOE are
    attempting to co-opt the oft outspoken evangelical movement
    and note that similar models were  used in Venezuela (reftel
    ) and Bolivia.  According to Loor, the model is as follows:
    Once all churches are registered as NGOs, they will have
    certain responsibilities to "periodically report" to the
    government.  They claim that it is unclear as to what should
    be reported and how often.  Any NGOs that do not comply with
    the law can be dissolved by the GOE and have their property
    seized.  The seized property will then be turned over to
    another NGO with the same goals. With churches now classified
    as NGOs, the group fears that this means the GOE will be able
    to seize church assets and give them to other churches that
    are friendly to the government.  Given the evangelical
    movement's open opposition to the Correa government (they
    campaigned heavily against the new constitution), they
    believe this is an attempt on the part of the Ecuadorian
    government to force cooperation from a very vocal and
    sizeable opposition block.  They believe that the very threat
    of government seizure is a direct violation of the separation
    of church and state.

    ¶3.  (C) On May 6 Loor and his group of pastors lost a lawsuit
    against the government claiming that Presidential Decree No.
    982 of 2008 was unconstitutional.  However, they are
    convinced that the judge was pressured by the government to
    rule against them.  According to their attorney, the judge on
    the case heard part of the trial, and then went on vacation
    to Italy.  While in Italy, a different judge heard the rest
    of the case.  When the original judge returned from his
    vacation, he ruled against them on his first day back without
    hearing the rest of the case.  Loor's attorney will appeal
    the decision.  If the appeal fails, Loor plans to take the
    case to the OAS Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

    ¶4.  (C) When asked why only the Evangelicals are speaking out
    against the change, Loor assured PolOff that other religious
    groups were concerned as well, but the Evangelicals were the
    most outspoken.  Among the groups, he claimed, are the
    Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.  The Roman Catholic Church,
    by far the largest denomination in Ecuador, was not subject
    to the new decree, as the Vatican has a separate agreement
    with the GOE.  However, a few of the pastors noted that
    concern in the Catholic Church is growing and that, although
    not openly opposed to the new regulations, the church was
    quietly supporting their opposition.   Indeed, in a recent
    discussion with the Consul General, the President of the
    Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Arregui, said that he was
    worried that the new law was the first step in a strategic
    effort to stifle dissent.   Arregui suggested that Correa
    would follow the "Chavez model" of picking fights with the
    Church in an effort to erode the prestige and authority of
    the Church hierarchy.

    ¶5.  (C) Ministry of Government and Police Under Secretary Dr.
    Ramiro Rivadeneira told embassy officers that the 2008 decree
    was an attempt to ensure that the non-profit status that was
    granted to more than 2,200 registered religious groups by the
    1937 Ley de Culto was actually warranted by the groups'
    financial dealings.  Rivadeneira stated that the reporting
    requirements would be for those groups who received
    government funds to report how they were spending the
    government's money.  All reporting requirements were the same
    for both religious groups and NGOs since they were all

    non-profit organizations.  Rivadeneira claimed that the
    Ministry plans on convening religious leaders for a
    roundtable discussion to draft a new Ley de Culto later this
    year.  The new law will address many of the religious
    leaders' current concerns and will again separate religious
    groups from NGOs.

    ¶6.  (C) Comment:  The Correa government has made several
    attempts to regulate the NGO sector (Quito septel), moves
    that could be interpreted as possible attacks on freedom of
    speech, religion, or association.  While the evangelical
    movement lost the first round of legal battles, we expect
    that its leaders will continue advocating for their autonomy.
    Evangelical churches in Ecuador have grown dramatically in
    poor sectors of Guayaquil (and elsewhere), and have a great
    deal of credibility.  Given Correa's fading popularity in
    some of these same areas, the GOE will have to act carefully
    in implementing the new decree or risk encouraging greater
    opposition.
    GRIFFITHS

    =======================CABLE ENDS============================

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