FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2000

Contact:
Eileen A. Sullivan, Deputy Director of Communications , (202) 523-3240

WHAT:The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will testify Thursday during a briefing before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus entitled "Sudan: The Continuing Human Rights Tragedy." Commissioner Nina Shea will testify on behalf of the Commission.

WHEN:Thursday, September 28, 2000 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE:2358 Rayburn House Office Building

BACKGROUND:The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has found the government of Sudan to be the world's most violent abuser of the right to freedom of religion and belief. The 17-year civil war raging in this African nation has taken some 2 million lives, mostly Christians and followers of traditional animist religions. The Commission believes that U.S. government attempts to enhance religious freedom depend on the effectiveness of our policies in addressing the broader conflict in that nation. The Commission proposes, in its first annual report issued May 1, a comprehensive 12-month plan to significantly strengthen the United States' response to this crisis. The full report can be found on the Commission's Web site at www.uscirf.gov.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress." 

Hon. Elliott Abrams,Chair

• Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh,Vice Chair, Rabbi David Saperstein, Laila Al-Marayati, M.D.Hon. John R. Bolton, Dean Michael K. Young, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, Nina Shea, Justice Charles Z. Smith, Ambassador Robert Seiple, Ex-Officio, Steven T. McFarland, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 14, 2000

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is holding hearings on Monday, September 18 in Washington, D.C. to examine religious freedom in India and Pakistan. The hearings are scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 419.

The witnesses and schedule are as follows:

9:00 - 9:15 Welcome and Introductory Remarks by Chairman Elliott Abrams

9:15 - 10:45 India: Situation Analysis

Panel 1:

Ainslie Embree Professor Emeritus, Columbia University

Arvind Sharma Professor, McGill University

Mumtaz Ali Khan Sociologist

John Dayal Secretary General, All India Christian Council

Panel 2:

Ghulam Nabi Fai Kashmir American Council

Ainslie Embree Professor Emeritus, Columbia University

Vijay Sazawal Indo-American Kashmir Forum

10:45 - 11:00 Break

11:00 - 12:15 Pakistan: Situation Analysis

Panel 1:

Mumtaz Ahmad Professor, Hampton University, Hampton, Va.

Mohan Shahani Attorney, Karachi

The Rev. James Channan Roman Catholic priest, Lahore

Mujeeb Rahman Attorney, Islamabad

12:15 - 1:30 Lunch break

1:30 - 3:00 Policy Options: India and Pakistan

Panel 1:

Marshall Bouton Executive Vice President, Asia Society

Sumit Ganguly Professor, University of Texas

Tamara Sonn Professor, College of William & Mary

Robert Oakley Former Ambassador to Pakistan, National Defense University

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress." 

Hon. Elliott Abrams,Chair

• Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, Vice Chair, Rabbi David Saperstein, Laila Al-Marayati, M.D.Hon. John R. Bolton, Dean Michael K. Young, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, Nina Shea, Justice Charles Z. Smith, Ambassador Robert Seiple, Ex-Officio, Steven T. McFarland, Executive Director

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2000

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom wrote to President Clinton September 6 urging that he raise with India's Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee "the need for his government to take more effective steps to protect religious freedom and the lives and security of persons of religious minorities in India." President Clinton will meet with the Prime Minister in Washington on September 15. The Commission is concerned by an increase in assaults on religious minorities by self-proclaimed Hindu nationalists since Mr. Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power. The Commission recommends that the President "impress on the Prime Minister that promotion of religious freedom is indispensable to healthy relations between India and the United States." The text of the letter follows:

September 6, 2000

The Honorable William J. Clinton
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Re: Meeting With India's Prime Minister Vajpayee, September 15, 2000

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the U.S. Commission On International Religious Freedom, I urge you to impress upon India's Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee during your meetings on September 15, the need for his government to take more effective steps to protect religious freedom and the lives and security of persons of religious minorities in India.

Since the rise to national power of Mr. Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1998, assaults on religious minorities by self-proclaimed Hindu nationalists have substantially increased in a number of Indian states. Christian converts have been intimidated, churches and schools have been burned, nuns raped, missionaries and priests murdered. Muslims continue to be the targets of vandalism and assault, sometimes under the pretext that they are advocates for Kashmiri separatism or agents of Pakistan. The inaction of local authorities strongly suggests complicity. And Mr. Vajpayee's national government has understated and failed to effectively respond to the violence.

All this has apparently convinced the Sangh Parivar, the collective name for India's grass roots nationalist Hindu organizations closely allied to the BJP, that it can foment antagonism and discrimination against non-Hindus with impunity, even when violence ensues.

The Commission respectfully recommends that you impress on the Prime Minister that promotion of religious freedom is indispensable to healthy relations between India and the United States. The BJP should rebuke the intolerant rhetoric of the Sangh Parivar, legally challenge implementation of the state anti-conversion laws, and vigorously investigate and prosecute those responsible for the wave of violence against religious minorities.

We hope that you use this opportunity to engage the Prime Minister in serious discussions of religious freedom and communal violence in India.

Respectfully,

Elliott Abrams

Chairman

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to monitor the status of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad, as defined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and the Congress." src="https://www.uscirf.org/images/layout/subbottomtext1.gif" />