Feb 1, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2001
Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom will hold two hearings on Tuesday, February 13 in Washington, D.C., to examine religious-freedom violations and U.S. policy in Vietnam and Indonesia. The hearings are scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Senate Dirksen Office Building, Room 124.
BACKGROUND
In Vietnam, the law provides for the extensive regulation of religious organizations by the state. Leaders and members of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the Hoa Hao sect of Buddhism, the Cao Dai religion, as well as Protestants and Roman Catholics have been detained without charge, imprisoned, heavily fined, harassed, or subject to house arrest or government surveillance.
In Indonesia, current communal violence in the Moluccan Islands has reportedly claimed the lives of 5,000 to 8,000 Christians and Muslims since January 1999. There is evidence that the Indonesian government has not controlled its armed forces or the influx of armed Muslims from other islands, resulting in murder, forced mass resettlement, forced conversion to Islam (including involuntary circumcision), and torture.
The witnesses and schedule are as follows:
9:00 - 9:15 Welcome and Introductory Remarks by Chairman Elliott Abrams
9:15 - 10:30 Vietnam, Panel I: Situation Analysis
Witnesses
Zachary Abuza, Simmons College
Vo Van Ai, Buddhist Information Bureau
Huynh-Mai Nguyen, Hoa Hao Buddhist Church in the United States
Rev. Paul Ai, Former President, Evangelical Fellowship of Vietnam
Fr. Tadeus Nguyen Van Ly, Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam (invited)
10:30 - 10:45 Break
10:45 - 12:00 Vietnam, Panel II: U.S. Policy Options
Witnesses
Virginia Foote, U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council
Catharin Dalpino, Brookings Institution
Larry Wortzel, The Heritage Foundation
Carlyle Thayer, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies
12:00 - 1:15 Break
1:15 - 2:30,Indonesia, Panel I: Situation Analysis
Witnesses
Paul Michael, Taylor Smithsonian Institution
Robert Hefner, Boston University
H.M. Jusuf Ely Yayasan, Jaziratul Muluk (foundation for educational, health, and humanitarian services), Ambon, Indonesia
John Titaley, Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Indonesia
2:30 - 2:45 Break
2:45 - 4:00 Indonesia, Panel II: U.S. Policy Options
Witnesses
R. William Liddle, Ohio State University
Daniel Lev, University of Washington
Sidney Jones, Human Rights Watch
Paul Gardner, Former U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea
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
Jan 26, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2001
Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
WHEN:Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at 4:30 p.m.
WHERE:1530 Longworth House Office Building (5th floor)
WHO:Chairman Elliott Abrams, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and other Commissioners
Dr. Susan Rice, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) and other interested Members of Congress
BACKGROUND:The press conference will follow a briefing of members by Dr. Rice on the situation in Sudan and her recent trip to the war zone. During that visit, Dr. Rice saw first-hand evidence of the atrocities committed by the government of Sudan in the civil war that has raged there since 1983. These atrocities, as catalogued by the Commission, include the bombing of schools, hospitals, churches, and feeding centers; the deliberate starvation of the population in rebel areas by denying permission for relief flights, and the use of Arab tribal militias to attack, burn, and loot African villages, and to kill, rape, and enslave the villagers.
The Islamist extremist government's war against the mostly Christian and animist south has killed more than 2 million people, many through starvation, and displaced more than 4 million, currently the largest displaced population in the world. The situation has been exacerbated by foreign companies' development of oil fields in southern Sudan, which has created new funds Khartoum can draw on to step up the war. The record has led the Commission to label the Sudanese government "the world's most violent abuser of the right to freedom of religion and belief."
The Commission in its May 1, 2000, Annual Report to the Administration and Congress, made a series of recommendations for U.S. policy to help end the war, including a proposal that the U.S. government prohibit any foreign corporation participating in Sudanese oil-field development from obtaining capital in the U.S. market. For their part, several members of Congress have introduced bills to deal with various aspects of the Sudan Crisis.
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
Jan 22, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 22, 2001
Contact:
Lawrence J. Goodrich, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 27
The Chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Elliott Abrams, today congratulated Commissioner Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, on his elevation by Pope John Paul II to the Roman Catholic Church's College of Cardinals. The Pope made the announcement Jan. 21 in Rome.
"Archbishop McCarrick's extraordinary leadership and his commitment to religious freedom and social justice are obvious to all of us on the Commission, as they are to anyone who has worked closely with him," Mr. Abrams said. "We are honored to have him on the Commission, where his knowledge of the world and his deep humanitarianism have meant so much to our work. We are delighted, but not surprised, that the Pope recognized those qualities, first in moving him to Washington and now in making him a cardinal." Archbishop McCarrick was archbishop of Newark, N.J. until January, when he took up his present duties.
As a member of the Commission, Archbishop McCarrick participates in its regular monthly meetings and periodic public hearings and has represented the Commission on trips overseas. He was appointed by Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle (D) of South Dakota under the terms of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which created the Commission. Archbishop McCarrick's two-year term, like that of all Commissioners, expires May 14, 2001, and he is eligible for reappointment.
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" />
Hon. Elliott Abrams,Chair
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