| USCIRF

Sep 17, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2001

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has written to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice asking her to urge President Bush "to raise prominently religious freedom concerns" in his upcoming meeting with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri. The text of the letter follows:

September 13, 2001

Dear Dr. Rice:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom urges President Bush to raise prominently religious freedom concerns in his upcoming meeting with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

In the past two years, severe violence among religious communities has become widespread in Indonesia. Of particular concern to the Commission is the violence between Muslims and Christians in the Moluccan Islands, where since January 1999 between 5,000 - 8,000 people from both communities have been killed and 500,000 displaced. While the causes behind the violence are multi-faceted, the fighting almost immediately took on a sectarian character and the ensuing violence has been based principally on religious affiliation. Houses of worship have been pointedly targeted and hundreds of mosques and churches have been destroyed. In addition, thousands of extremist Muslim fighters ("Laskar Jihad") from outside the Moluccas arrived on the Islands soon after the outbreak of the conflict and raised the fighting to more deadly levels.

Since the slaughter began, the Indonesian government has made inadequate efforts to halt the conflict and, indeed, has not given it serious attention. When she was vice-president, Ms. Megawati was appointed by then-President Abdurrahman Wahid to lead reconciliation efforts between Christians and Muslims in the Moluccas, but her efforts proved ineffective and little government action was taken. Moreover, there are numerous reports that the Indonesian military and local police forces have not done enough to stop the fighting and that some elements of those institutions may even be responsible for prolonging or participating in it.

There are other tragic conflicts in Indonesia that are of concern to the Commission, in many of which religion or tension between religious communities plays a significant role. In Aceh, local support for a referendum to determine the region's political status has been met with violence from government forces. Indonesian security forces are also clashing with a movement for greater autonomy in the Papua region. And in Sulawesi, Christians and Muslims are killing each other in gruesome tit-for-tat battles.

The Indonesian government has made some effort to halt the worst violence and promote reconciliation. Such efforts have not been sufficient, however, and the killing has continued.

Moreover, the role of individuals or groups from the Indonesian military in provoking, prolonging, or participating in the fighting has not been adequately addressed.

In light of the continued religion-based fighting in the Moluccas and the spreading sectarian violence in other areas of the country, the Commission recommends that the President offer Indonesia funding for reconciliation programs and the training of Indonesian police and prosecutors in human rights, the rule of law, and criminal investigation, as detailed in chapter IV of the Commission's report of May 1, 2001, a copy of which is enclosed (see also www.uscirf.gov).

The Commission further recommends that you urge President Megawati to make much greater efforts to stop religiously-based violence, including:

to ensure that those responsible for the killings in the Moluccas are brought to justice, including elements from the Indonesian military that may have been involved either in fomenting or exacerbating the fighting;
to make more concerted efforts to pursue serious reconciliation programs between Muslims and Christians, especially in the Moluccas;
to ensure that outside militia forces on the Moluccas, particularly Laskar Jihad forces, are removed from the Islands and disarmed and also that rogue elements in the Indonesian security forces be brought under control;
to take effective steps to promote reform of the military in Indonesia, ensuring that the institution respects the rule of law and civilian control; and
to ensure that all humanitarian relief and human rights organizations are permitted access to areas where sectarian violence has occurred.

We take note of President Megawati's recent statements in which she acknowledges the human rights violations that have been perpetrated by the armed forces against citizens of Indonesia. The new president has also recognized the need for significant reform of the military. We hope that her visit to Washington provides an occasion for serious discussion of religious freedom and the urgent need to take steps to halt the sectarian violence in Indonesia.

Respectfully,

U.S. COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

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."

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Felice D. Gaer

Firuz Kazemzadeh, Leila Nadya Sadat, Dean Michael K. Young, Nina Shea, Rev. Charles R. Stith, Steven T. McFarland,Executive Director

Sep 12, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2001

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

The Senate will soon consider the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with Vietnam, approved by the House of Representatives last week. The agreement will extend Normal Trade Relations status to Vietnam, although this will remain subject to annual review. Given the very serious violations of religious freedom in that country, the Commission in May made a series of recommendations to the Bush Administration and Congress. Primary among these was that U.S. lawmakers should ratify the BTA only after Hanoi undertakes to improve protection of religious freedom or after Congress passes a resolution calling for the Vietnamese government to make such improvements.

The Vietnam Human Rights Act (H.R. 2833) passed by the House last week implements this and other Commission recommendations. Besides expressing U.S. concern about Vietnam's religious-freedom and human rights abuses, the Act authorizes assistance to organizations promoting human rights in Vietnam and declares support for Radio Free Asia broadcasting. The Commission urges the Senate to act likewise.

The Commission believes that approval of the BTA without any U.S. action with regard to religious freedom risks worsening the religious-freedom situation in Vietnam because it may be interpreted by the government of Vietnam as a signal of American indifference. The Commission notes that religious freedom in the People's Republic of China declined markedly after last year's approval of Permanent Normal Trade Relations status, unaccompanied by any substantial U.S. action with regard to religious freedom in that country.

Despite a marked increase in religious practice among the Vietnamese people in the last 10 years, the Vietnamese government continues to suppress organized religious activities forcefully and to monitor and control religious communities. This repression is mirrored by the recent crackdown on important political dissidents. The government prohibits religious activity by those not affiliated with one of the six officially recognized religious organizations. Individuals have been detained, fined, imprisoned, and kept under close surveillance by security forces for engaging in "illegal" religious activities. In addition, the government uses the recognition process to monitor and control officially sanctioned religious groups: restricting the procurement and distribution of religious literature, controlling religious training, and interfering with the selection of religious leaders.

The Vietnamese government in March placed Fr. Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly under administrative detention (i.e. house arrest) for "publicly slandering" the Vietnamese Communist Party and "distorting" the government's policy on religion. This occurred after Fr. Ly submitted written testimony on religious persecution in Vietnam for the Commission's February 2001 hearing on that country.

In order to demonstrate significant improvement in religious freedom, the Vietnamese government should:

Release from imprisonment, detention, house arrest, or intimidating surveillance persons who are so restricted due to their religious identities or activities.
Permit unhindered access to religious leaders by U.S. diplomatic personnel and government officials, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and respected international human rights organizations, including, if requested, a return visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance.
Establish the freedom to engage in religious activities (including the freedom for religious groups to govern themselves and select their leaders, worship publicly, express and advocate religious beliefs, and distribute religious literature) outside state-controlled religious organizations and eliminate controls on the activities of officially registered organizations. Allow indigenous religious communities to conduct educational, charitable, and humanitarian activities.
Permit religious groups to gather for annual observances of primary religious holidays.
Return confiscated religious properties.
Permit domestic Vietnamese religious organizations and individuals to interact with foreign organizations and individuals.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Felice D. Gaer

Firuz Kazemzadeh, Leila Nadya Sadat, Dean Michael K. Young, Nina Shea, Rev. Charles R. Stith, Steven T. McFarland, Executive Director

Sep 6, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2001

Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27

For 18 years, Sudan has been plagued by a civil war that has killed more than 2 million people and displaced more than 4 million. Religion is a major factor in that war, and religious-freedom violations are intertwined with other human rights and humanitarian abuses in Sudan.

In response to the escalation of these abuses, the House has adopted capital-market restrictions and disclosure requirements in its version of the Sudan Peace Act, which will soon go to a conference with the Senate. These provisions, which would give the United States important tools to help end the fighting and restore religious freedom and other rights, were recommended by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent agency established by federal law. The Commission strongly urges President Bush to overrule the opposition of some members of his administration and support the House language. In addition, the Commission calls upon Senate conferees to accede to the capital-market provisions of the House version of the bill.

As the Commission found in its 2000 and 2001 reports, the Sudanese government is the world's most violent abuser of religious freedom. It commits genocidal atrocities against the civilian populations in the southern part of the country and the Nuba Mountains. It has intensified its deliberate bombing attacks on civilian and humanitarian targets, including hospitals, schools, churches, markets, and relief-organization compounds. Recent reports indicate that Khartoum's weaponry has been expanded to include surface-to-surface missiles that are lethal but inaccurate enough to easily fall among civilians. The government frequently has blocked the delivery of humanitarian assistance, denying access to food aid to many facing critical food shortages. Its forces and allied militias continue to abduct women and children into conditions of slavery. It violates the religious freedom of Christians as well as of Muslims who dissent from the government's interpretation of Islam.

The connection between oil development - conducted by foreign oil companies - and the Sudanese government's human rights abuses has become increasingly apparent. The discovery and drilling of oil reserves has led to a "scorched earth" policy to remove civilian populations from areas near oil installations. The government uses the oil facilities' airstrips and roads to stage military operations. The U.S. State Department confirms that oil revenues have allowed the government to increase its investment in military hardware.

In May 2000 and 2001, the Commission forwarded to the Clinton and Bush administrations - and to Congress - a comprehensive set of policy recommendations aimed at ending the fighting and fostering a just peace. Among the Commission's recommendations is a proposal that companies doing business in Sudan be required to disclose the nature and extent of that business in connection with their access to U.S. capital markets. The Commission also recommended that foreign companies engaged in the development of oil and gas fields in Sudan be prohibited from listing their securities in U.S. markets. The House of Representatives included those provisions, drawn from the Commission's reports, when it passed the Sudan Peace Act with only two dissenting votes. The Senate, regrettably, failed to include such provisions in its version of the bill.

The Commission does not lightly recommend restrictions on U.S. capital-markets access, but believes that the horrific conditions in Sudan warrant them. The government of Sudan is committing genocidal humanitarian and human rights abuses. Those abuses are directly connected to oil production. Foreign investment is critical to the development of Sudan's oil fields and maintenance of oil revenues. Expanding U.S. sanctions in the area of capital-markets access specifically targets what is likely the most significant resource the Sudanese government has to prosecute the war.

A moral principle is also involved. Americans and U.S. institutions have a right and a need to know the material risks involved in their investments and whether those investments are facilitating religious persecution. Investors, whether or not they care about human rights violations, should be advised that the company they are investing in has operations in Sudan that are under rebel attack and could be closed or suspended by peace negotiations or multilateral sanctions. Whatever modest burden the disclosure requirement places on companies raising capital on U.S. markets is far outweighed by the value to investors of that information.

The Commission commends the Bush administration for the increased attention it has given to the genocidal tragedy in Sudan. Enactment of the capital-markets provisions of the Sudan Peace Act would give the President and Secretary of State added leverage in getting the Khartoum regime to the bargaining table and negotiating a just end to the war.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Felice D. Gaer

Firuz Kazemzadeh, Leila Nadya Sadat, Dean Michael K. Young, Nina Shea, Rev. Charles R. Stith, Steven T. McFarland,Executive Director

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