FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 14, 2008

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240

WASHINGTON—The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging his administration to make extra efforts to advance democratic reform and respect for human rights in Burma. “U.S. leadership is desperately needed to keep the international focus on demands for democracy and the protection of human rights in Burma,” Commission Chair Michael Cromartie wrote in the letter.

The Commission has found that egregious violations of religious freedom are central to the military junta’s attempts to maintain its power. Following a hearing on Burma that it convened last month, the Commission recommended among other things that the U.S. government establish an interagency taskforce on Burma under the National Security Council (NSC), appoint a Special Coordinator on Burma to further coordinate bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts, and continue its firm support for various UN diplomatic efforts.

The text of the letter follows.

January 11, 2008

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

Dear Mr. President:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom respectfully urges that you make extra efforts to advance democratic reform and respect for human rights in Burma as a major priority of your Administration and implement new policies to address one of the world’s most repressive regimes. Given the brutality of the recent crackdown by the military junta and the reluctance of many countries in the region firmly to condemn the Burmese military’s egregious human rights abuses, the Commission believes that political reconciliation and reform will not be realized without determined U.S. leadership. The Commission commends the steps you have taken recently to support the democratic aspirations of the Burmese people, including bolstering U.S. sanctions on Burma and urging the United Nations to take resolute action in the Security Council.

Last month, the Commission received testimony on the Burmese military’s violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks and its ongoing abuses against Burma’s ethnic and religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians. At the hearing, the Venerable Ashin Nayaka, a prominent Burmese monk, told us that his country is at a critical moment in history. A number of prominent monasteries have been closed, he said, others emptied. Monks have disappeared and the global outcry has waned. In his words, “Strong, effective and timely intervention by the international community is urgently needed. This is a moral crisis that Americans must stand for.” The Commission has found that egregious violations of religious freedom are central to the military junta’s attempts to maintain its power. Thus, the protection and promotion of religious freedom should be a critical component of U.S. diplomatic efforts and any road map for political reconciliation and democratic reform.

U.S. leadership is desperately needed to keep the international focus on demands for democracy and the protection of human rights in Burma. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has said that a return to the status quo ante in Burma is not acceptable. U.S. leadership is therefore crucial to focus international attention on peaceful democratic change and reform in Burma.

The Commission therefore respectfully recommends the following actions regarding Burma for your consideration and implementation.

1. Establish an interagency taskforce on Burma under the National Security Council (NSC), headed by a senior ranking official, to coordinate U.S. government policy and actions on Burma, including sanctions, humanitarian aid, democracy promotion, counternarcotics, trafficking in persons and other policy objectives.

The taskforce on Burma should provide regular briefings to the State Department, the NSC, the White House, and congressional leaders that track the activities and the effectiveness of all departments of the U.S. government in:

• the implementation of sanctions targeting Burma and the leaders of the Burmese government, including those responsible for violations of religious freedom and other human rights;
• strategies for pursuing bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to strengthen international pressure for democratic change in Burma; and
• activities to support non-governmental and humanitarian organizations in the promotion of human rights and national reconciliation in Burma, including among its ethnic and religious minority communities, and in offering relief to Burmese refugees who have fled religious freedom violations and other human rights abuses.

2. Appoint a Special Coordinator on Burma, with the rank of Ambassador, to further coordinate bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts and serve as the Administration’s point person for efforts to bring about political reconciliation and democratic reform in Burma.

The Special Coordinator should be responsible for coordinating diplomatic efforts and building support for:

• the implementation of a common set of sanctions, coordinated multilaterally, including lists of individuals to be targeted for financial sanctions;
• building support among Asian nations, including members of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for effective bilateral and multilateral actions on Burma, including arms embargoes and targeted economic and diplomatic sanctions; and
• U.S. leadership to construct a coalition of democracies to conceive a road map outlining clear steps Burma must take before economic and political sanctions are lifted.

The Special Coordinator should hold consultative meetings with representatives of non-governmental organizations that implement programs involving religious freedom and other human rights in Burma, representatives of the Burmese opposition, and other experts, including the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The Special Coordinator should also be responsible for directing U.S. personnel, including the diplomatic and intelligence communities, to collect information on efforts by the Burmese military to circumvent sanctions and create lists of individuals who bear responsibility for human rights abuses and others who may assist in, or be complicit in, the evasion of sanctions by targeted individuals.

3. In its diplomatic interactions with the government of Burma, the U.S. government should press the government of Burma to:

• reveal the whereabouts of people who are still detained and missing, including the more than 300 monks who led or participated in the protests during August and September, and release unconditionally all persons who have been taken into custody for the peaceful exercise of the right to religious freedom;
• allow unimpeded access to the monasteries by members of the public and allow all monks who were forcibly defrocked to return to their monasteries and resume religious, social, and charitable activities without interference from government authorities; and
• immediately and unconditionally release National League for Democracy Chairman Aung San Suu Kyi and engage in meaningful dialogue with the democratic opposition and with leaders of the country’s ethnic minority groups, leading to a peaceful, time-bound, and effectively monitored transition to civilian rule.

4. The United States should continue its firm support for various UN diplomatic efforts including:

• • granting unimpeded access to the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma and the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Burma;
  • engaging in constructive dialogue with the UN Human Rights Council and its special procedures, especially the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar and the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; and
  • initiating action on a UN Security Council resolution that will include a binding timeframe and offer the UN Secretary General a clear mandate in his interactions with Burmese authorities.

Mr. President, the Commission is convinced that pressing for the protection of fundamental human rights and political reform in Burma will greatly strengthen peace and stability in Southeast Asia. The United States must take a leading role in this effort to demonstrate our resolve that peaceful progress toward democracy and the protection of human rights, including religious freedom, is in the best interest of all nations.

Sincerely,
Michael Cromartie
Chair

cc: Steven J. Hadley, National Security Advisor
Michael Kozak, Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations, National Security Council
Dennis C. Wilder, Senior Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council
Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
R. Nicholas Burns, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
Paula J. Dobriansky, Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs
Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Jonathan D. Farrar, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
John V. Hanford III, Ambassador-at-Large for 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.

Michael Cromartie, Chair • Preeta D. Bansal, Vice Chair • Richard D. Land, Vice Chair • Don Argue • Imam Talal Y. Eid• Felice D. Gaer•Leonard A. Leo• Elizabeth H. Prodromou• Nina Shea•Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 11, 2008

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127

WASHINGTON-The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom urges President Bush to raise the critical issue of ongoing Saudi violations of the freedom of religion and other human rights when he meets with Saudi leaders early next week. According to National Security Advisor Steven Hadley, the president's trip to the Middle East will highlight the U.S. government's "work in the region to combat terrorism and extremism, promote freedom, and seek peace and prosperity." The President should stress that respect for religious freedom and other human rights is an essential component of ensuring a stable, democratic, and peaceful society that guards against terror and extremism.

"President Bush should be emphasizing that the Saudi government must significantly improve its performance in matters of religious freedom and other human rights if it is to enjoy a true partnership with the United States," said Commission Chair Michael Cromartie.

President Bush should call specifically for the release of all religious prisoners in Saudi Arabia, including 17 Ismailis in Najran who have languished in prison for terms ranging from more than seven to 14 years. One Ismaili, Hadi Al-Mutaif, has been imprisoned since originally being sentenced to death for apostasy in 1994 for a remark he made as a teenager that was deemed blasphemous. He is serving a life sentence.

The Commission sent a delegation to Saudi Arabia in May-June 2007 to assess how far the Saudi authorities have progressed in implementing their previously articulated commitments to improve the climate for religious freedom. In July 2006, the U.S. State Department and the Saudi government confirmed a set of policies intended to decrease the grave violations of religious freedom in the Kingdom and the state-abetted export of extremist textbooks and teachers that promote religious hatred and intolerance the world over. Despite the failure of the Saudi government and the U.S. State Department to respond to the Commission's requests for copies of these textbooks, the Commission has recently received some Saudi textbooks from other, independent sources and is currently reviewing them to determine whether they still contain highly intolerant material.

The Commission found that in spite of its pledges to reform, the Saudi government persists in severely restricting all forms of public religious expression other than the government's own interpretation and enforcement of a strict school of Sunni Islam. This violates the rights of the large communities of Muslims from other schools of Sunni Islam, as well as members of the Shi'a community, who comprise 10-15 percent of the population in Saudi Arabia, and the two to three million non-Muslims residing in the Kingdom.

Even private worship is affected by the strictures. Over the past year, dozens of members of the Shi'a community in the Eastern Province have been detained for up to 30 days for holding small religious gatherings in private homes. Nearly a dozen British and American pilgrims, including two minors, were detained and held overnight by members of the Commission to Promote Virtue and Prevent Vice (CPVPV) in Mecca in August 2007 after hours of interrogation and verbal and physical abuse. The pilgrims were detained only after it became known to members of the CPVPV that they were Shi'a.

The Saudi government continues to grant unwarranted power and impunity to the CPVPV, whose members harass, detain, whip, beat and otherwise mete out extrajudicial punishments to individuals deemed to have strayed from "appropriate" dress or behavior. Many Saudis believe that members of the force will never be prosecuted for violations of others' rights, including criminal actions, because they are protected by members of the religious establishment and the Royal family. Despite an increase over the past year in the number of investigations of abuses by members of the religious police, members have not been held accountable and the courts have dismissed several cases that have been prosecuted.

The Saudi government's harsh enforcement of its interpretation of Islam, together with other violations of freedom of religion, adversely affects the human rights of women. The Saudi government has continued discriminatory measures aimed at the destruction, rather than realization, of many of the human rights guaranteed to women. In one of the most recent egregious cases, a woman was convicted and sentenced last fall to 200 lashes and six months in prison because, immediately before she was raped by seven men, she was found alone in a car with a man who was not her relative, which is illegal in Saudi Arabia. She escaped the sentence only because King Abdullah pardoned her, but he also said he believed the punishment for the alleged crime was appropriate.

"The Commission sees an unmistakable gap between Saudi promises and performance," Cromartie said. "President Bush must strongly press the Saudis to ensure that their actions match their words."

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.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 10, 2008

Contact:
Judith Ingram, Communications Director,
(202) 523-3240, ext. 127

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan, independent federal body, is seriously concerned about the riots between the Hindu and Christian religious communities in Kandhamal district, Orissa, which had particularly severe consequences on the minority Christian community: at least five people and possibly more have been killed, dozens injured, and over 500 displaced, including priests, nuns, and other individuals who reportedly remain in hiding. In addition, at least 400 homes and 20 churches were burned. In light of the frequency with which devastating acts of communal violence have occurred in India in recent years, the Commission fully supports the announcement by India's National Human Rights Commission to send an investigative team to Kandhamal to obtain first-hand information on the events there.

"A national-level investigation into the December 2007 violence in Orissa and subsequent prosecution will send a strong message to all that violence committed in the name of religion is never acceptable," said Commission Chair Michael Cromartie. "The reported acts of violence against religious communities in Orissa are serious enough to warrant a national-level investigation and response."

The clashes erupted on December 24, 2007 and are the subject of conflicting reports. According to some sources, hundreds of members of a Hindu extremist group demanding that Christmas celebrations be halted attacked Christian individuals, churches, offices, and residences, destroying homes, looting shops, and injuring a number of individuals, and these actions were soon followed by retaliatory actions by Christians against Hindus. Other sources say the unrest began when Christians attacked a Hindu leader, while yet others allege that Christians erected religious statues at a Hindu religious site.

During the subsequent three days of rioting, 20 churches and an untold number of prayer houses and private residences belonging to both Hindus and Christians were destroyed. Although hundreds of national troops reportedly were sent to the region, the government of Orissa reportedly failed to act quickly-thereby enabling the violence to spread and perpetrators to escape accountability. Members of the minority Christian community allege that local police did not respond adequately to calls for help.

Religiously motivated violence has broken out before in Orissa. In 1999, Hindu extremists in Orissa murdered Australian Christian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, a crime for which the perpetrator remains incarcerated. According to Indian news reports, some Indian officials claim that violence between Hindus and Christians has decreased since the murder. However, international human rights groups report that extremist Hindu groups for years have been conducting a sometimes violent campaign against Christians in Orissa that state government officials have done little to halt.

"The U.S. government should urge the government of India at the very least to ensure that the perpetrators of the recent Hindu-Christian violence in Orissa are held to account and to protect the safety of members of religious minorities in that state," Cromartie said.

The U.S. government should also urge the Indian government to make more vigorous and effective efforts at the national level to stem violence against religious minorities. These efforts should include fulfillment of a 2004 pledge to criminalize inter-religious violence, and engagement in the pre-planning necessary to ensure that law enforcement officials can quell outbreaks of communal violence.

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.