FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 8, 2000

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

For 17 years, the Sudanese government in Khartoum has waged civil war against Christians and followers of traditional African religions in the south. More than 2 million people have died; millions more have been wounded and displaced. The government has deliberately starved civilians and tolerated the kidnapping of southern women and children by slavers.

The U.S. Administration and Congress are seeking effective ways to help end the fighting and the religious persecution that helps fuel it. Debate now rages on Capitol Hill and in State Department corridors over the best approach: Should the U.S. provide food aid directly to rebel groups, bypassing United Nations efforts that depend on Khartoum's cooperation? Should the U.S. allow foreign companies to offer stocks and bonds in its capital markets when the money invested would underwrite projects in countries under U.S. sanctions for egregious violations of religious freedom? Should the U.S. drop its efforts to isolate Sudan and opt instead for a policy of engagement, reopening its Khartoum embassy?

Seeking answers to these questions, the new U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will hold its first hearings on Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Senate Commerce Committee hearing room, SR-253. The hearings are open to the press and public.

Among those currently scheduled to testify:

* Baroness Cox, Deputy Speaker of the British House of Lords who has rescued slaves in more than 20 trips to Sudan;

* Bishop Macram Max Gassis, exiled Roman Catholic bishop of El-Obeid, Sudan;

* Frances Deng, former Sudanese ambassador to the U.S.;

* Gaspar Biro, former United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur for Sudan;

* Christian and Muslim victims of religious persecution in Sudan.

* The hearings are held under authority of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Reporters and producers wishing assistance in arranging interviews with witnesses or Commissioners may contact Communications Director Lawrence J. Goodrich, (202) 523-3240.

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." 

Rabbi David Saperstein,Chair

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 31, 2000

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

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today expressed its profound concern over recent religious strife in Indonesia and urged the United States government to use all appropriate means to help end the fighting that has claimed thousands of lives.

"The recent rampage of looting, pillage, and murder by Christians against Muslims and Muslims against Christians flies in the face of Indonesia's long history of religious tolerance," said Rabbi David Saperstein, the Commission's chairman. "Thousands more innocent lives could be lost if this cycle of senseless violence continues."

Much of the violence is centered in the Maluku islands, once known as the Moluccas or Spice islands. Press reports estimate that up to 2,000 people have died in rioting there since January 1999. While Indonesia as a whole is about 90 percent Muslim, Christians constituted a majority in the Malukus until recently. As the public has grown increasingly frustrated with the government's inability to end the conflict in the Malukus, violence has flared elsewhere, most notably on Lombok Island, a popular tourist destination. Besides the thousands killed, many others have been injured and both Muslim mosques and Christian churches have been reduced to rubble.

As Indonesia is the world's fourth-most-populous nation, and the country with the largest Muslim population, the unrest there could have major consequences for regional as well as national stability.

The Commission called upon the Clinton administration to urge the Indonesian government, as well as civil and religious leaders, to take all possible steps to restore civil order, foster interreligious dialogue, and help the communities reintegrate and rebuild. "If troops are used to preserve stability, the Indonesian government must see to it that they act in accord with international human rights standards," Chairman Saperstein said, noting the criticism the Indonesian military took for its alleged role in last year's killings in East Timor. The US should also consider offering economic assistance for the people of the Malukus, he added.

"Neither Christian nor Muslim can gain from further bloodshed," Saperstein said. "On the contrary: Everybody loses."

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." 

Rabbi David Saperstein,Chair

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

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 12, 2000

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

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom today expressed disappointment with China's move last week to consecrate five Catholic bishops. The Chinese authorities reportedly use a litmus test for such government-approved bishops: They must disavow allegiance to Rome.

"A church is not free when it cannot govern itself and select its own clergy," said Rabbi David Saperstein, the Commission's chairman. "That's especially true when a government demands loyalty to the state instead of spiritual qualifications for office."

Equally troubling, Chairman Saperstein said, was the ordination by bishops associated with the "Catholic Patriotic Association" of Su Changshan as auxiliary bishop for the Baoding diocese in Hebei province. The Vatican-recognized bishop, Su Zhimin, was arrested in 1997 and his whereabouts are unknown. The Chinese government denied taking any "coercive measures" against him, but refused at least one foreign delegation permission to visit him in 1998. The Commission called for the Chinese government to account for Bishop Su Zhimin's detention, well-being and whereabouts.

China's Communist government broke ties with the Vatican when it took power in 1949. Catholics were forced into the "Patriotic Catholic Association," which claims about 4 million members in some 4,600 churches. Vatican sources estimate the number of Catholics in the underground church at 10 million to 12 million. These Catholics worship in underground "house churches," risking harassment, arrest, and torture by the police. Several bishops and priests loyal to Rome are in jail or house detention.

Saperstein noted that China's action in ordaining the bishops was a serious step backwards from efforts over the past few years to improve Vatican-Chinese relations. Press reports quoting church officials say the two sides held secret talks last year over improving relations. "The action to consecrate these bishops appears to be a retreat on China's part from such efforts and was particularly provocative, coming on the same date that the Pope was consecrating new bishops worldwide.

"This is part of an escalating pattern of religious repression in China," Saperstein said. He pointed to the reported arrests of 100 Christian "house church" leaders; the reported arrests of two Catholic bishops since August and death of a priest in police custody; the crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement and sentencing of four of its leaders to long prison terms; and the harassment of Tibetan Buddhist monks and Uighur Muslims. "We urge the United States government to again publicly condemn China's persecution of religion," Saperstein said. He added that the US should also include a condemnation of that religious persecution in the resolution on Chinese human rights violations it will introduce in the United Nations Human Rights Commission this coming March and work vigorously for its approval.

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." 

Rabbi David Saperstein,Chair

• Dean Michael K. Young,Vice ChairHon. Elliott AbramsLaila Al-Marayati, M.D.Hon. John R. BoltonFiruz KazemzadehArchbishop Theodore E. McCarrickNina SheaJustice Charles Z. SmithAmbassador Robert Seiple,Ex-OfficioSteven T. McFarland,Executive Director