December 1, 2011 | by Azizah Y. al-Hibri and Richard D. Land

The following article appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on November 30, 2011:

On Nov. 6, Burmese soldiers burst into a church in the state of Kachin, burning and looting it, severely beating its pastor, the Rev. Yajawng Hkawng, and kidnapping 50 of its members for forced labor, including women whom they reportedly raped.

Despite the government's recent words and deeds suggesting reform, such stories remain disturbingly common in Burma, now officially known as Myanmar. Rohingya Muslims, for example, are routinely arrested and tortured when they cannot pay extortion money. Hundreds of Buddhist monks are in prison for peaceful criticism of the government, including U Gambira, who has been so badly beaten that his relatives worry about his physical and mental health.

When she arrives in Burma on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton should stress to her hosts the imperative of fundamental reform. Despite some positive steps taken by the new civilian government, including the release of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and 200 other prisoners of conscience and an easing of some Internet controls, Burma remains one of the world's most egregious human rights and religious freedom violators and continues to face economic and political sanctions for its misconduct.

For nearly 50 years, Burma's ruling generals have imposed their will on the nation. The U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma has accused the military of atrocities that amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. The government has repressed democracy, denied ethnic and cultural rights, displaced hundreds of thousands, and used rape, torture, forced labor, conscription of child soldiers and extrajudicial killings to "pacify" its people.

When the nation's military held elections in 2010, the international community and Burma's people viewed them as a fraud aimed at extending its rule. Notwithstanding the civilian government's recent moves toward reform, there are few who doubt that the military remains in control.

As a result, conditions for Burma's diverse religious communities have yet to improve by any measurable degree.

Who can forget either the riveting images of thousands of saffron-robed Buddhist monks leading peaceful 2007 protests -- or the subsequent bloody crackdown? In ethnic minority areas, religious restrictions and attacks on religious leaders and institutions are critical strategies of the military's war against the Karen, Karenni, Naga and Chin peoples. Across the country, the military has removed children from Christian homes for education in Buddhist schools, determined whether Muslims may marry or travel, and even issued new regulations last month requiring religious groups to get permission for "reading the Bible, fasting, prayer ... and [saying] the rosary of the Virgin Mary."

Given Burma's troubled record, the United States, along with the international community, should view contrary steps taken by the Burmese government with a cautious eye. We commend the Obama administration for seeking to assess Burma's current attitudes on reform, but we urge it not to let isolated positive actions obscure the reality of human rights and religious freedom abuses.

The U.S. should urge Burma to match reformist rhetoric with consistent and concrete actions, including the release of all political and religious prisoners, an immediate cease-fire in ethnic minority areas and a commitment to improve its human rights record. Improvements in religious freedom should be a critical benchmark for gauging Burma's intent on genuine reform.

Until there is evidence of change, the international community and the United States should maintain economic and political sanctions. The world must keep challenging Burma to move decisively toward democracy and freedom.

Azizah Y. al-Hibri and Richard D. Land serve as Commissioners of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. They wrote this for this newspaper.

To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contact Tom Carter, Communications Director at [email protected] or (202) 523-3257.

For a link to the article, go to http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_19434696

November 16, 2011 | by USCIRF

Washington, D.C. - The self-immolations of Tibetan monks and nuns are the direct result of China's harsh suppression of Tibetan culture and religion, said the US Commission on International Religious Freedom yesterday. The U.S. bipartisan federal agency urged the Obama administration to further challenge China to review counterproductive policies toward Tibetan Buddhism and to embrace concrete negotiations with appointed representatives of the Dalai Lama. The Administration previously had raised Tibetan issues with China at last week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Hawaii.

"China's infamous campaigns to restrict Tibetan religion and culture are squarely to blame for the despair that drives these horrifying acts of self-immolation,” said Leonard Leo , USCIRF Chair. "The Administration should lead a global effort to stop future deaths and encourage negotiations between Beijing and the Dalai Lama's representatives. The religious freedom of all Tibetans must be protected."

Since March, 2009, eleven Tibetan monks or former monks and three Tibetan nuns have set themselves on fire. Six are believed to have died. Most of the self-immolations occurred at the Kirti Monastery in Sichuan Province and were in response to China's escalating attempts to stifle Tibetan's peaceful political expression and public religious veneration of the Dalai Lama. Many Tibetans also oppose China's compulsory "patriotic education” programs for Tibetan monks and nuns and new laws expanding Chinese control over the selection of Buddhist religious leaders.

"We commend Secretary Clinton's public statements on Tibet at last week"s APEC summit,” said Leo. "We urge the Administration to develop a coordinated strategy and message at this week"s East Asia summit with nations such as Japan, South Korea, India, and Thailand that have significant Buddhist populations.”

USCIRF's 2011 Annual Report to Congress states that "religious freedom conditions for Tibetan Buddhists…remain particularly acute as the government broadened its efforts to discredit and imprison religious leaders, control the selection of clergy, [and] ban peaceful religious gatherings…The Chinese government‘s [policies have] led to significant religious freedom abuses and nurtured deep resentments among Tibetans.”

Further information and policy recommendations can be found at www.uscirf.gov .

November 11, 2011 | by USCIRF

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemns yesterday’s aerial bombing of the Yida refugee camp in the Unity state of the Republic of South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, reportedly by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of the Republic of Sudan. Located approximately 10 miles south of the border with Sudan, the camp holds more than 20,000 refugees who had fled the SAF’s attacks in Southern Kordofan state in the Nuba Mountains region.

According to reports, four bombs were dropped on the camp at 2:55pm local time yesterday. One bomb landed in a schoolyard, but fortunately did not explode. More than 300 students were in class at that time.

“The bombing of innocent civilians in the Yida camp is unconscionable,” said USCIRF chair Leonard Leo . “These civilians fled bombardments in Sudan, only to have bombs follow them across the border into South Sudan. These assaults are clearly an outgrowth of Sudan’s hostility toward religious freedom. They target the innocent, violate South Sudan’s sovereignty, and threaten the fragile peace between the two nations.”

In late October, USCIRF met at the Yida camp with refugees who described Khartoum’s aerial bombardment in the Nuba Mountains and how SAF planes targeted them as they fled south toward Yida. Christian pastors said they were targeted and their churches burned and looted because Khartoum does not want Christianity in Sudan. Refugees witnessed soldiers killing Christians and declaring Christianity to be the enemy of Islam. Muslim refugees were threatened by soldiers in the mosques in which they sought safety and witnessed mosques being destroyed. They claimed that Khartoum does not consider them legitimate Muslims because they are Nuban.

“While Khartoum continues to attack innocent civilians, it is seeking debt relief,” said Leo. “The U.S. government should deny debt relief to Sudan until the bombardments stop and unrestricted, international humanitarian assistance is permitted.”

Authorized and initiated by Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, Khartoum has attacked churches, mosques, schools, and markets in the Nuba Mountains and the neighboring Blue Nile state, but not the Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North (SPLA-N) in these regions. Khartoum also has been denying humanitarian assistance which is needed due to the destruction of crops resulting from the bombing of farms.

According to local sources, more than 230,000 persons are internally displaced in Southern Kordofan, 20,000 from Southern Kordofan have sought refuge at Yida refugee camp, 29,000 from Blue Nile have sought refuge at Tongo refugee camp in Ethiopia, and an unknown number from the two states are in Juba, South Sudan.