DUSHANBE, April 30, Asia-Plus — A court in Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district has handed down ruling to suspend activity of the ORA Tajikistan for three months following application of the Ministry of Justice.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Davalt Sulaimonov, the head of the department for registration of political parties and public associations within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said that inspection had revealed that ORA Tajikistan had been engaged in illegal activity in the Khatlon province.
According to him, the organization allegedly violated Article 56 of Tajikistan’s Civil Code. “Under Article 56 of the Civil Code, representative offices and branches are not legal entities, and therefore, they do not have the right to set up their branches and sub-divisions,” said Sulaymonov. “ORA Tajikistan is a representative office of ORA Interntional, headquartered in Germany; however, it has set up its local office in Kulob,” the MoJ official said
Besides, in the Youth Center established in Kulob, in addition to language courses religious propaganda was conducted among teenagers, according to Sulaimonov. He added that if ORA Tajikistan does not remove all the mentioned shortcomings within legally required time, it will be closed.
ORA International is a non-denominational Christian relief and development organization that serves people in need around the world. Its work consists of three main areas: development work; emergency relief; and sponsorship programs. ORA International consists of around 300 voluntary workers in thirty countries around the world.
ORA Tajikistan has been worked in the republic since 1992, when a need was identified to support orphans in the existing system of the state boarding schools for disadvantaged and homeless children aged 7 to 16. In 1996, ORA Tajikistan became involved in developing vocational training and self-sufficiency programs within the boarding school system. Since then, the work of ORA in Tajikistan has greatly expanded. ORA Tajikistan now has projects in the areas of children”s welfare and advocacy, training of social workers and family physicians, drug and HIV/AIDS education, disabilities, and youth centers.
