wfn.org | Int'l Leaders Discuss How to Combat Religious

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

Persecution

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: Carol Fouke, NCC News, 212-870-2227
Internet: news@ncccusa.org

NCC5/4/98                 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INTERNATIONAL DELEGATION OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS DISCUSS
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION, BEST STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING IT

 WASHINGTON, D.C., April 30 ---- Sanctions-oriented 
proposals currently before the U.S. Congress that seek to 
end religious persecution abroad instead could "build 
walls, not break down walls" between Christians and people 
of other faiths, and between people of faith and their 
governments.  In fact, the proposals already are 
exacerbating tensions within nations likely to be the 
targets of sanctions.  

That is the report from members of a delegation of 
seven religious leaders from five different regions of the 
world who spent April 27-30 in New York City and 
Washington, D.C., meeting with members of Congress, U.S. 
religious leaders and news media by invitation of the 
National Council of Churches.

"Persecution of religious or any other nature is not 
acceptable," affirmed Bishop Sammy Azariah, delegation 
member who is Moderator of the Church of Pakistan.  "We are 
all working against religious persecution.  But economic 
sanctions oppress the very people who are trying to live 
normally.  

"And the proposed legislation could in fact have a 
negative impact on Christians where our percentages are 
small" (1-1/2 percent in Pakistan in the last census), he 
said.  "The church is making efforts toward improving 
interfaith relations that would be hampered by the passing 
of this legislation."

The NCC and partners worldwide have expressed 
particular concern about the sanctions-oriented proposals 
in the Wolf/Specter Bill (Freedom from Religious 
Persecution Act), which they fear would, in many countries, 
do more harm than good for the very people it seeks to 
protect, said the Rev. Dr. Albert Pennybacker, NCC 
Associate General Secretary for Public Policy.

"We believe sanctions should be a matter of 
thoughtful, multilateral last resort, to be imposed only in 
consultation with the people they are intended to help," he 
said.  For example, churches in South Africa asked the 
international community -- not just the U.S. -- to campaign 
for sanctions - and that was only after years of other 
efforts failed.  "We are not hearing calls today from our 
overseas partners" for unilateral sanctions like those 
proposed in the Wolf/Specter bill, he said.

"We further oppose any `hierarchy' of persecutions, 
asking equal treatment -- for example, by the U.S. 
Immigration and Naturalization Service -- for all who 
suffer any kind of human rights abuse," Dr. Pennybacker 
said.

The seven religious leaders - from Pakistan, Russia, 
Africa, the Middle East and Indonesia - were asked by the 
NCC to address the realities of religious persecution in 
their respective countries, what they see as the likely 
impact of U.S. intervention, and how the United States 
could be most helpful in ensuring religious liberty in 
their countries.

 Christian and Muslim leaders from Indonesia agreed 
that a sanctions-oriented approach is "not wise for us in 
Indonesia."

 "If Washington, D.C., takes strong measures, it will 
create more tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims," said 
Dr. Amien Rais, Chairman of Muhamadiyah, a nationwide 
Muslim community of 28 million Indonesians.  "Economic 
sanctions are dangerous because of the social and economic 
impact on vulnerable people."  But he expressed support for 
more subtle pressures for improvements in human rights, 
such as the International Monetary Fund's "slowdown" in 
transmitting the second installment of its loan to 
Indonesia.

 Indonesia is more than 87 percent Muslim, with 10 
percent of the population Christian.  Said the Rev. Dr. 
Joseph M. Pattiasina, General Secretary of the Communion of 
Churches in Indonesia, "We have to increase the dialogue.  
If (sanctions-oriented legislation) passes, it will 
jeopardize the whole relationship."

 Much more helpful than an approach that shames or 
punishes, the religious leaders said, would be for the 
United States to support people of faith who are working 
together against religious persecution and for better 
relations among faith groups.  For example, the 
International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), Russian 
Chapter, brings together a broad group of religious leaders 
who are appealing to their nation's Constitutional Court to 
rescind what they judge to be unconstitutional portions of 
the new laws affecting religious liberty.

 Said Mr. Anatoly Krasikov, that chapter's president, 
a combative approach by the U.S. government could help feed 
nationalistic, isolationistic tendencies that are 
threatening Russia's fragile democracy.  Instead, Mr. 
Krasikov encouraged the U.S. to establish as many ties as 
possible with Russia, and to recognize the integrity of 
IRLA/Russia's work for a more just law.

 Delegation members raised several other "caution 
flags" concerning the proposed U.S. legislation.  Political 
pressures and U.S. economic interests could make it hard to 
implement fairly, they said.  And while there are indeed 
times when intervention on behalf of persecuted people is 
necessary, the intervention should be multilateral, not 
unilateral.  For example, the U.S. has imposed sanctions 
against the Sudan, but they "are not working because they 
are unilateral," said the Rev. Canon Clement Janda, General 
Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches and 
former General Secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches 
in his native Sudan. 

 "Persecution also feeds on scarcity and poverty," 
said Dr. Pennybacker.  "We must address these questions 
within a developmental context."

Hosting the delegation was the Rev. Dr. Joan B. 
Campbell, General Secretary, National Council of Churches.  
At the group's first meeting, April 27 in New York City, 
Dr. Campbell urged participants to "tell the story of your 
own country and your own people.  We in the NCC can address 
the proposed legislation and try to keep it from being 
unhelpful or destructive.  But there's no way the NCC can 
tell your story.  Only you can."

The NCC, founded in 1950, is the nation's leading 
ecumenical organization.  34 Protestant and Orthodox 
denominations, with a combined U.S. membership of nearly 52 
million, join as NCC members in a broad program of mission 
and service.
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