Address of Metropolitan Volodymyr to the Government of Ukriane

In view of the discussion of the draft Taxation Code by the Ukrainian Parliament Metropolitan Volodymyr addressed the government with review of the stance of the UOC on the section of this draft law concerning identification numbers

PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE
YANUKOVYCH V.F..

HEADS OF DEPUTIES FACTIONS,
PEOPLE’S DEPUTIES OF UKRAINE

Honorable Victor Fedorovych!
Honorable Mykola Yanovych!
Honorable Volodymyr Mykhailovych!
Honorable peope’s deputies of Ukraine!

In the context of the discussion by Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the draft Taxation Code of Ukraine, introduced for consideration by the subjects of the legislative initiative – people’s deputies of Ukraine Katerynchuk M.D., Karmazin Yu.A., Lyapina K.M., Korolevska N.Yu., Matvienko A.S., Tarasiuk B.I., Matrynenko M.V. Stretovych V.M., I’d like to once more expound the stance of tehUkrainian Orthodox Church concerning the given draft law in the section of identification numbers.

The issue of the personal registration numbers was more than once a subject of the detailed discussion at the sessions of the Holy Synod of the UOC. We support both the efforts of the legislative bodies to make the laws of Ukraine correspond to international standards, as well as the reasonable measures of the world community meant to cope with the terrorism, which at the beginning of the third thousand years has turned from the local phenomenon into the all-human threat. At the same time I would like to emphasize that the laws of the democratic state are to serve man, defend his rights and freedoms, and the means of prevention of the world terrorism are to be adequate to the menace emerging. One cannot allow that any grounds would work for abolition of the highest virtue of man – his freedom. The history testifies to fallacy of the ideology that the purpose justifies the means. Therefore the Church, defending the rights of man, takes with understanding the group of believers refusing to accept or not accepting the identification numbers.

Introducing the human codification from the moment of birth and a single unified personal document – the electronic card, stat state in fact sanctions the electronic monitoring and the total control in all spheres of human life. No one can guarantee that the electronic system of control of man and the full dependence of man from it will not be used for the influence on man with the aim of economical, ideological, political and economical manipulation.

At such circumstances man loses the God-granted freedom. Since the draft of the Taxation Code of Ukraine was developed with respect mot only to the international standards but also to the requirements stipulating for the personal information transfer to other states and international organizations, it may happen that not only every person loses his personal freedom, but our state loses its independence.

The Church has warned and continues warning of emergence of such totalitarism and asks:

1) to take into account the expression of will of the believers, expounded in the decisions of the Holy Synod of the UOC of 19.05.1998 and of 29.12.2003 and to provide on this grounds the actualization of the constitution rights and freedoms of the citizens, who refused to accept the identification number by means of introduction to the draft Taxation Code of the legislative provisions stipulating for an alternative from of accounting of the taxpayers (e.g. by passport data), and providing a possibility for the citizens to conduct any payments without identification numbers;

2) To commit the State tax Administration of Ukraine in the person of its local tax inspections to make notes in the passports as for the possibility to make any payments without identification numbers on the grounds of the citizens’ statements, and to annul the identification numbers of the citizens who refused from them. .

With respect,

† Volodymyr,
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,
primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church