November 3, 1999
Commission on International
Freedom urges Clinton to act
___WASHINGTON (ABP)--The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged President Clinton and other White House officials to take action against religious persecution in China and Sudan.
___The commission made its appeal in an Oct. 19 meeting with Clinton, National Security Adviser Samuel Berger and White House Chief of Staff John Podesta.
___Rabbi David Saperstein, chairman of the commission, said the panel decided to focus initially on three countries--China, Sudan and Russia. Their report, however, does not call for specific sanctions against Russia at this time.
___China and Sudan were among countries recently listed by the U.S. State Department as "countries of particular concern" because of severe violations of religious liberty. Others listed were Iran, Iraq and Myanmar (Burma). Also listed Afghanistan, a government not recognized by the United States, and Serbia, which is not a country.
___The listing was mandated by the International Religious Freedom Act, which also established the commission. The law also requires the president to take action against listed countries within 90 days or notify Congress if no penalty is to be imposed.
___The commission urged the president to apply his 1997 executive order imposing economic sanctions on Sudan that bar China Petroleum Corp. and other companies from using U.S. stock exchanges to finance Sudan's new oil pipeline. The commission said that pipeline would insulate Sudan from the impact of economic sanctions and "perpetuate the 16-year-old civil war which has already claimed the lives of 2 million Sudanese."
___The commission also urged Clinton to meet with experts on Sudan to design future actions aimed at ending religious persecution there and to send Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to a Nov. 9 congressionally sponsored summit on the Sudan.
___The panel also asked Clinton to "speak out more forcefully and frequently" for religious freedom in Sudan.
___Concerning China, the commission urged Clinton to "raise religious freedom issues as often and as prominently as possible in meetings with Chinese officials." It said China's listing as a country of particular concern "must carry consequences if the International Religious Freedom Act is to be taken seriously."
___Holding China accountable for its reported persecution of religious believers is a touchy topic in Washington because of the U.S.'s political interests in China.
___On Russia, the commission said it would work with the administration to develop new policies to address "the regressive trend toward violations of religious freedom." The commission said the link between religious persecution and "extreme nationalism" in Russia should be weighed as a significant factor in shaping U.S. policy.
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