E/CN.4/1992/52 page 167 in the past between two religions belonging to Western Christianity. At the time, religious orders whose religious activities were perceived as dangerous for the State or as disturbing the peace among different creeds were banned, as was the establishment of new convents or religious orders. When no clashes were reported for a very long time, the articles on religious denominations were repealed. 143. In its reply, the Government of Australia indicated that incidents of religious violence had occurred because persons practising certain religions had been victims of discrimination or violence on the basis of an imputed link with a particular ethnic background. The Government has established arrangements to investigate and deal with such incidents which include consultation with the leaders of communities that may be the victims of violence. The Government of Egypt stated that there have been "a few limited attempts to exploit criminal incidents with a view to giving them a confessional dimension". 144. Clashes between religious denominations have also occurred when these denominations have been banned for protracted periods. The Governments of Romania and the Ukrainian SSR have indicated that interdenominational conflict has involved property and status disputes between the Uniate (Greek Catholic) and the Orthodox Churches. Although the Romanian Uniate Church has recently been legalized, the Government indicated that the conflict concerning the return of its property has not yet been solved in a satisfactory manner. In the Ukrainian SSR, the revival of the two ancient branches of the Ukrainian Church, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which was banned in 1928, and the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, which was banned in 1946, has reportedly not only led to disputes with regard to church property but has given rise to very serious interdenominational conflict regarding their respective spheres of influence. 145. The Government of Israel indicated in its reply that, in view of its guardianship of the holy places of important religious communities, it occupies a particular position and "sees itself entrusted with the heavy responsibility of protecting religious values, norms and places which are divinely holy for peoples all over the world". Israel perceives the "infrequency with which there are clashes between different communities on the basis of religion as a clear indication of the success of tits] policy of guaranteeing the rights of the various religious communities ...". 146. The Special Rapporteur has noted that the responses to the questionnaire provided by the Governments are frequently in contradiction with incidents of religious intolerance which have been reported to him. For example, attention has been drawn to incidents involving strife between Christian and Muslim religious communities which are said to have occurred in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Serious incidents involving Christians and Muslims have allegedly occurred in Egypt and resulted in the death of a number of persons. Clashes between the Muslim and Hindu communities have reportedly occurred in India, while incidents involving members of different communities which both consider themselves Muslims have taken place in Pakistan. Incidents are also reported to have occurred between two Christian denominations in Northern Ireland.