US human rights defenders: discrimination against UOC is an obstacle for the European choice

In 2017, cases of violation of the rights of UOC believers were included for the first time in monitoring documents of human rights organizations of the United States, said in his blog on the "Correspondent" the head of the NGO "Public Advocacy" Oleg Denisov.

"Tensions and disputes over legitimacy and identity have led to continuous legal battles over property and other issues, and in some cases – to harassment and social exclusion," the international human rights organization ADF International (USA) noted at the 28th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

According to the human rights activist, religious relations should become an untouchable theme for Ukrainian officials.

He explains that beating more than 15 believers of the UOC in vlg. Katerynivka of the Ternopil region by the MIA unit "Ternopil-2", the conflict around the church in vlg. Ptycha of the Rivne region, when, despite the won lawsuits, the community of the UOC was forced to leave the church, beating activists of the flash mob "bring a doll" in the Sts. Peter and Fevronia Church of Zaporozhye because of their behavior, an informational discrediting campaign against the UOC – all these precedents are unacceptable from the point of view of the culture of developed countries.

According to O. Denisov, European and American observers are increasingly convinced that Ukraine is a "wild field", with processes that are not controlled by anybody in society. Any picture in the media, reports from OSCE and UN monitoring missions about what is happening here in reality will alienate a tranquil Europe from Ukraine and as a result, even those doors that are open now will be closed for the country.

He believes that such an understanding will influence all processes, including visa-free travel, financial assistance and other effective solutions for the country.