FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 13, 2009

The letter urges Secretary Clinton to take a variety of actions, including meeting with Chinese human rights lawyers, publically urging the Chinese government to account for Tibetan Buddhists who are missing, calling for an end to the repression of Chinese Muslims, attending a worship service in an "unregistered" church, and pressing the Chinese to work with the U.S. to bring peace to Sudan.

The text of the letter follows:

February 12, 2009

As you embark on your first diplomatic mission to China, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom urges you to speak as eloquently about religious freedom and related human rights in China as you did about the human rights of women at the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women. Many religious adherents and human rights defenders in China are subject to severe and ongoing repression. In addition to your meetings with Chinese officials, we encourage you to meet individuals who have experienced human rights abuses, including, among others, lawyers and members of unsanctioned religious groups. Given that these individuals are peacefully seeking rights and freedoms guaranteed by Chinese law and international human rights standards, the U.S. should be speaking out forcefully about protecting their freedoms.

As you know, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is a bipartisan, independent federal agency with nine Commissioners drawn from the private sector; three appointed by the President, three by the House of Representatives and three by the Senate. The Commission encourages you to raise some of the following issues during your discussions:

The Release of Human Rights Defenders: Urge that lawyer Gao Zhisheng be released immediately, as well as all other human rights defenders currently detained. In addition, seek assurances from the Chinese government that human rights defenders will be allowed to freely defend vulnerable groups in accordance with Chinese law and China's Constitution, and international human rights standards. The Commission also urges you to meet with Chinese lawyers while you are in China, many whom have suffered arrests, beatings, disappearances, and the loss of legal licenses.

Expanding Religious Freedom in Tibet: Given that the status of religious freedom in Tibet may be worse now than at any time in the Commission's ten year existence, the Commission recommends that you urge the Chinese Government to end restrictions on Tibetan religious practice. We recommend that you urge the Chinese to take immediate measures to account for all monks and nuns taken into custody, killed or otherwise harmed during protests in 2008 and in 2009; abolish laws requiring government approval of Tibetan religious leaders; publicly state that public devotion to the Dalai Lama including the display and veneration of his picture is legal; release all detained monks and nuns; and permit a visit by independent and impartial experts to Geoden Choekyi Nyima, the Dalai Lama's chosen Panchen Lama.

Lift Restrictions on the Religious Activity of Protestants and Catholics and Stop their Arrests and Detentions: The Commission recommends that you urge the Chinese government to end the harassment and detention of "unregistered" Christian leaders, including the reported detention of 637 Protestants in 2008 and the continued detention and disappearance of a reported 40 Catholic bishops and priests. We urge you to consider attending a worship service at an "unregistered" Protestant or Catholic congregation in Beijing.

Stop the Repression of Peaceful Uyghur Muslim Religious Activities and End the Detentions of Religious Leaders: The Commission urges that you raise with the Chinese government the need to end the systematic repression of Uyghur Muslim religious activity, including longstanding campaigns to curb "illegal" scripture reading, political indoctrination of clergy, restricting observation of Ramadan and participation in the Hajj pilgrimage, denying minors the right to practice religion, and the arrest and detention of religious leaders.

Protect North Korean Asylum Seekers: It is important to highlight China's international obligations requiring the protection of asylum seekers, including allowing the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to operate freely outside Beijing. Accordingly, the Commission urges China to stop the forced repatriation of North Korean asylum seekers and end the issuance of fines and the forced closings of Chinese-Korean Churches that assist North Korean refugees.

Become a Partner for Peace in Sudan: As the Sudanese government's major oil partner and arms supplier, urge the Chinese government to use its considerable leverage to end genocide and protect religious freedom in Sudan, including through implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

The U.S. bilateral relationship with China is of course very important. We urge you in your discussions to send the clear message that religious freedom is an essential part of America's strategic foreign policy endeavors.

Your longtime commitment to human rights throughout the world is well-known. We hope you will convey that commitment in China through some of the actions outlined above. We appreciate your attention to the Commission's concerns.

Sincerely yours,

Felice D. Gaer

Chair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 11, 2009

For decades, Turkey's government has attempted to confiscate lands belonging to Greek Orthodox churches. In a current instance, on February 11 a case involving the attempted seizure by Turkish authorities of land on which sits the 1,600 year-old Mor Gabriel Syriac Orthodox monastery will be heard by a local Turkish court. At this hearing, the court will determine if the 270 hectares of land belong to the government or the monastery.

Turkish land officials have attempted to redraw the monastery's boundary lines, claiming that when they were rebuilt by the monastery 15 years ago, the boundaries impinged on other land. Some village leaders have accused the local monks of "proselytism" for communicating their beliefs and language (Aramaic) to their students. Earlier efforts reportedly had been made to declare that the monastery had been reconstructed illegally.

"It is essential for the Turkish government to honor its obligations to uphold freedom of thought, conscience, religious and belief, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," Gaer said. "Moreover, the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne contains very specific protections for religious minorities that the government cannot allow itself to neglect."

Since Turkey became an independent state shortly after World War I, Christian minority populations have been shrinking due to repressive government policies. The population of Syriac Christians has fallen from 250,000 to about 20,000 and the Greek Orthodox minority has fallen from about 200,000 to 2,500.

USCIRF previously has called on the Turkish government to cease efforts to deny members of religious minorities the right to own and maintain property, to train religious clergy, and to offer religious education above high school. In court cases seeking to confiscate land belonging to religious minorities, USCIRF has expressed concern over the absence of the right to appeal judgments by the Turkish state in its confiscation of properties belonging to religious minorities.

In another case indicative of the same problem, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously in the summer of 2008 in a case brought by the Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate that Turkey was in violation of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case concerned an orphanage owned by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the body that leads almost 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, on the Turkish island of Buyukada. USCIRF has urged Turkey to implement this ruling fully and to return ownership of the orphanage to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but Turkey has yet to comply with the ruling of the European Court.