FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2001

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

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has written to President Bush to ask him to raise religious-freedom issues with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt during the latter's state visit to the United States April 2. The request follows the return of a Commission delegation from a visit to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel and the Occupied Territories during the last two weeks of March. The letter was signed by Commission Chairman Elliott Abrams, Vice Chairman Firuz Kazemzadeh, and Commissioner Laila Al-Marayati; the full text follows:

March 28, 2001

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As a delegation of members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, we have just completed a fact-finding trip to Egypt. We are writing respectfully to urge you to raise the issue of religious freedom prominently in your upcoming meeting with President Mubarak.

Among the problems raised with us by members of religious groups are these:

With respect to the Christian community, government permission must still be sought to build or repair a church. Christians are rarely promoted to high levels in the government or military and are frequently discriminated against by private employers in hiring and promotion. Their taxes help pay the salaries of all Muslim, but no Christian, clergy.

Baha'is have been arrested and imprisoned because of their religious beliefs, speciously charged with insulting Islam.

Muslims whom the government arbitrarily deems to be extremist in viewpoint have been fired as school teachers; and all imams (prayer leaders) are hired, monitored, and can be fired at will solely by the government.

Police brutality and torture of detainees continues against certain groups, exacerbating sectarian violence and tension by punishing one group more severely than another.

Islamists are tried in military rather than civil court, which allows the government to extend their sentences indefinitely without due process.

In fairness we note as well that we were told of some improvements in religious freedom. History textbooks for public school children of all levels have been revised this year to include for the first time discussion of the Coptic Christian period.

The government has in recent years granted permission for construction of new churches and repair of older ones far more frequently than was previously the case. And public television is beginning to be more inclusive of non-Muslim themes.

The Commission may issue findings and policy recommendations to you, Secretary Powell, and the U.S. Congress after our delegation returns from the Middle East and reports to the rest of the nine commissioners. But we respectfully urge you to express the concern of the United States that progress on religious freedom for all Egyptians accelerate.

Respectfully,
Elliott Abrams
Chairman

Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh
Vice-Chairman

Dr. Laila Al-Marayati
Commissioner

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" />

The Honorable Paul H. O'Neill
Secretary of Treasury
United States Department of Treasury
Washington, DC 20220

Dear Secretary O'Neill:

On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (the Commission), I am writing to urge you to withhold U.S. support for International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank loans to Vietnam in light of that government's grievous violations of the right to religious freedom. The Commission is a federal government entity created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to monitor religious freedom in other countries and advise the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress on how best to promote it. This evaluation and recommendation of U.S. policy is made pursuant to the Commission's mandate in IRFA, Sec. 202, 22 U.S.C. § 6532.

Despite the increase in religious practice among the Vietnamese people in the last 10 years, the Vietnamese government suppresses organized religious activities forcefully and monitors and controls religious communities. 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 IMF and the World Bank reportedly are considering loans to the Vietnamese government of up to $800 million to further Vietnam's economic reform programs. The proposed loan package would provide up to $400 million during the first two to three years of the program. An additional $400 million would be conditional upon the Vietnamese government making satisfactory progress in the implementation of its economic reforms during the program's initial period. While these loans are part of the two organizations' ongoing assistance to the Vietnamese government, they reportedly would represent the first set of IMF and World Bank loans to Vietnam in five years. Officials of the IMF and the World Bank apparently are hopeful that the respective executive boards would approve the loans in April 2001, with their implementation to follow in May.

The Commission recommends that the United States should withhold its support for IMF and World Bank loans to the government of Vietnam (except those providing for basic human needs) until the government of Vietnam agrees to make substantial improvements in the protection of religious freedom. ¹ The Commission believes that supporting international economic aid that primarily benefits the Vietnamese government without requiring a commitment to substantially improve its protection of religious freedom rewards that government for its human rights abuses and may be interpreted as a signal of U.S. indifference.

The Commission recognizes that Congress has set down policy guidelines for the withholding of U.S. support for IMF or World Bank loans on human rights grounds in both the International Financial Institutions Act of 1977 and IRFA.2 The Commission believes that the severity of the Vietnamese government's violation of religious freedom, and its apparent unwillingness to make sustained improvements in the protection of religious freedom, warrants the use of this sanction. The United States should not withhold its support for loans made for the purpose of providing for basic human needs of the Vietnamese people.

Thank you for your consideration of the Commission's recommendation. Please do not hesitate to contact the Commission's Executive Director, Steven T. McFarland, or myself should you wish to discuss this matter further.

Respectfully,

Elliott Abrams
Chairman

cc: Honorable Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State John Duncan, Acting Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Legislative Affairs Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

¹Indicators of such improvements include:

1. Release from imprisonment, detention, house arrest, or intimidating surveillance persons who are so restricted due to their religious identities or activities.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Permit religious groups to gather for annual observances of primary religious holidays
5. Return confiscated religious properties. Permit domestic Vietnamese religious organizations and individuals to interact with foreign organizations and individuals.

²Sec. 701, International Financial Institutions Act of 1977, 22 U.S.C. § 262d; IRFA § 405(a)(12), 22 U.S.C. § 6445.

The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Powell:

On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (the Commission), I am writing to urge you to raise the protection of religious freedom in Vietnam prominently at the 57th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and with Vietnamese officials during your upcoming trip to that country in July.

Despite the increase in religious practice among the Vietnamese people in the last 10 years, the Vietnamese government suppresses organized religious activities forcefully and monitors and controls religious communities. 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 Commission has looked closely at religious freedom and U.S. policy in Vietnam in the last year. In February 2001, the Commission held a public hearing in Washington, D.C. on Vietnam, and heard testimony from representatives of a number of Vietnamese religious communities, as well as experts on Vietnam and its relations with the United States. In addition, the Commission and its staff have met or otherwise communicated with representatives of the Vietnamese government, Vietnamese religious communities, and human rights organizations with expertise in Vietnam (including Vietnamese-American organizations), as well as academic experts and U.S. government officials. Although the Vietnamese government last year told us that it "welcomed" a visit by the Commission, it later informed us that Vietnam's Commission on Religious Affairs should host such a visit and that they would be unable to do so until at least May - the month when Commission membership changes and a trip is almost impossible.

The Commission invited Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, a Roman Catholic priest based near Hue, Vietnam, to testify at its February hearing and Fr. Ly submitted written testimony. Fr. Ly has been a persistent public critic of the Vietnamese government's failure to protect religious freedom-activity that led to his imprisonment for close to a decade. On March 5, 2001, the Vietnamese official media confirmed that the government has placed Fr. Ly under administrative detention (i.e. house arrest) for "publicly slandering" the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) and "distorting" the government's policy on religion. ¹ Although it is not clear that this action was taken against Fr. Ly because of his written submission to the Commission, the Commission remains deeply concerned that the Vietnamese government may be punishing Fr. Ly for his response to the Commission's invitation. The action of the Vietnamese government is clearly a demonstration of the government's continued suppression, not only of religious freedom, but of other fundamental human rights as well. Moreover, the Commission believes that the United States has the moral responsibility to support those Vietnamese citizens, including Fr. Ly, who have the courage to speak out in the pursuit of ideals that we share.

The Commission will make a number of recommendations on U.S. policy in Vietnam in its second annual report that will be released on May 1, 2001. However, in light of the start of the UNCHR session and the Vietnamese government's actions against Fr. Ly, the Commission is writing to you now to urge that you raise religious freedom and the circumstances of Fr. Ly both in Geneva and during your trip in July. The Commission believes that until religious freedom significantly improves in Vietnam, the U.S. government should initiate or support a resolution to censure Vietnam at the annual meeting of the UNCHR and should engage in a sustained campaign to convince other governments to support it. In addition, the Commission respectfully urges you to use the opportunity of your trip in July to engage the Vietnamese government in serious discussions of religious freedom in Vietnam, and recommends that you impress upon Vietnamese officials that the promotion of religious freedom is indispensable to the continuation of healthy and increasingly close relations between Vietnam and the United States.

Thank you for your consideration of the Commission's recommendations.
Respectfully,

Elliott Abrams
Chairman

cc: Honorable Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State John Duncan, Acting Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Legislative Affairs Office of the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom

¹Associated Press, "Vietnam detains Catholic priest for testimony against U.S. trade pact," March 5, 2001; Steve Kirby, "Vietnam punishes priest who dared to speak out to US freedoms panel," Agence France Presse, March 4, 2001.