Adventist Leader Applauds US Congress on the Sudan Peace Act

Washington, D.C....US President Bush signed the Sudan Peace Act, H.R. 5531, into law on October 21, 2002. In a statement released by the White House, President Bush said, "The Act is designed to help address the evils inflicted on the people of Sudan by their government - including senseless suffering, use of emergency food relief as a weapon of war, and the practice of slavery."

Over 2 million people have been killed and 4 million displaced since 1983, and there has been no significant movement for peace. More than 150 reports of civilian bombings were reported, which destroyed human lives, property, infrastructure, and disrupted humanitarian-relief activities.

"The Sudan Peace Act is the fruit of a concerted effort by a disparate coalition of faith groups who are working tirelessly to bring US pressure to bear on the Khartoum government to stop brutal persecution of people of faith in that nation," notes attorney James Standish, director for legislative affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist church.

The Adventist church has been actively working to stop the persecution in the Sudan. The Church's annual World Report on religious freedom lists Sudan among the nations with the most severe restrictions on religious liberty. This past Spring in Geneva, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations Liaison director for the Adventist church, expressed the Church's concern to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights over the horrific violence against Christians and animists in the south of the country.

The Adventist church's South Sudan field (located in Uganda) has a membership of over 4,000 members, while its Sudan Field office (located in Central Khartoum) has approximately over 5,000 members. There are only 5 percent Christians in this population of over 37 million. [Viola Hughes]

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Adventist Church's UN Rep Calls Turkmenistan Situation "Appalling"
October 25, 2002

New York, NY... October 25, 2002. Newly-appointed UN liaison officer for the Adventist Church, Mindi Rahn, identified the human rights situation in Turkmenistan as "appalling."

Rahn was attending a meeting today on Turkmenistan's gross human rights and religious freedom violations organized by the Open Society Institute.

"Persecution even extends to the family members of those who dare to criticize the government," said Rahn. "The situation is truly appalling and is of great concern to all supporters of freedom and human rights. As one participant said, human rights in Turkmenistan are catastrophic."

Turkmen citizens, including the former foreign minister, testified to the bleakness of the current situation. Gross violations included the ban on political parties, ethnic and cultural organizations; detention, imprisonment and even persecution of those who dared to voice their concerns; no freedom of the press (all foreign newspapers are banned); limitations on family visiting relatives; $50,000 fee imposed those who want to wed a Turkmen citizen.

President Saparamurad Niyazov leads the country in what is often described as a dictatorship. Although the Turkmenistan Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the separation of the state from religious organizations, religious freedom in Turkmenistan is a casualty of the repressive nature of the regime.

In 1999, the only Adventist church in Turkmenistan was destroyed by the authorities, and Adventist members have been intimidated and harassed. [Viola Hughes]

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Adventist Church Hosts Religious Freedom Tour Participants
October 22, 2002

Silver Spring, MD. The Seventh-day Adventist Church hosted on October 10 tour participants as part of its ongoing commitment to religious freedom. Under the auspices of the International Religious Liberty Association, visitors included representatives from Eastern Europe, including areas of major concern for religious liberty.

"The reception and dinner provided an excellent opportunity to share information and to become acquainted with both personnel and issues of vital importance," said Dr. John Graz, IRLA secretary general and director of the church's Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty.

Conducting TV interviews with several of the tour participants, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations liaison director for the Adventist church commented on the value of talking directly to representatives from Turkey, Slovenia, and Kazakhstan, among others. "Here we have unprecedented access to government and other representatives who can give us a fuller picture of what is happening in such areas," he added. "Such interviews provide a far greater understanding of the complexities of religious freedom and the continuing importance of stressing this vital human right."

Adventists are among those who are concern over the recent Belarusian draft law, which will impose restrictions on many religious minorities, if passed. According to a professor of Belarusian Center for Constitutionalism and Comparative Legal Studies (who was part of the tour participants), religious communities must have at least 20 members in order to be legally registered. The process of printing religious materials is another complicated process as the new law will require each religious community to be a member of a religious association before permission for printing or bringing in missionaries will be granted.

The October 10 meeting brought together over thirty experts in religious freedom who were touring the United States as part of the Ninth Annual International Law and Religion Symposium conducted by the Bringham Young University's International Center for Law and Religion Studies. [Viola Hughes]

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India: Church Leaders Insist on Religious Freedom in Face of Threatened Legislation
October 21, 2002

Hosur, Tamil Nadu... Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu are calling for religious freedom rights to be upheld in the face of threatened legislation that would "ban conversions."

Recent press reports accusing religious minorities, including Adventists, of offering inducements to converts have led to the introduction of a decree in the state assembly that would criminalize conversions in certain circumstances.

Pastor John Rathinaraj, president of the Adventist church in south India commented that such a decree would have a "great negative impact" on the church's contribution to society. "This proposal is based on false reports circulated in the press," he added. "Despite issuing a denial of these reports, and providing the facts, the church finds that these contradictory accounts are still circulating."

One press article accused the Adventist church of proving clothes, money, employment, and free education as inducements to make people convert. Pastors were said to have convinced those baptized by presenting the benefits they would receive if they accepted Christianity.

Such "allurements" to conversion would be illegal under the proposed legislation and would be punishable by fines and imprisonment for both those who convert and those offering the supposed "inducements."

"In these press reports, false information was given," says Rathinaraj. One newspaper suggested that a mass conversion was conducted by the Adventist church. "In fact this event was a camp meeting on the campus of one of our schools, and most of those baptized were children of church members."

Rathinaraj said that the decree could be used by anyone to attack the church, claiming illegal inducements for conversion. Though serious opposition to the law is expected in the state assembly, it is feared that it may be passed due to the false "conversion" reports in the media. Even Christian education can be targeted as a program of conversion to Christianity.

"The Adventist church defends religious freedom and human rights," Rathinaraj concluded. "We believe in the right to freely choose one's religion, as clearly declared in the Indian constitution, and insist that such basic rights be respected." [Jonathan Gallagher]

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South Africa: Church Leader Appalled at Rise in Child Exploitation
October 21, 2002

Silver Spring, MD... October 21, 2002. Commenting on a recent preliminary report released by the United Nations on the rise of child exploitation in South Africa, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, UN liaison director for the Adventist Church, called on all church leaders and other non-governmental organizations to reach out to the African community in their fight against HIV/AIDS and the exploitation of young children. "The Adventist Church has always advocated for the rights of the child to education and health. We need to pull our resources together now more than ever so that each child will be protected and given the opportunity for a better life," Gallagher said.

United Nations human rights expert, Juan Miguel Petit, completed a visit to South Africa last month to meet with government officials and those from the Department of Social Development and Department of Health. In a preliminary report, Mr. Petit commented that young children are being targeted as sexual partners in order to reduce the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. He also reported that there is a myth among adult individuals who believe that sex with a virgin would cure them of the disease.

For this reason, the Adventist church has established a worldwide AIDS task force, with a special committee under the direction of the church's health director, Dr. Allan Handysides. Handysides reported that in an effort to help combat the rise of HIV/AIDS, one of the initiatives the Adventist church began was a downlink program that launched this past August to educate children in Adventist schools in South Africa. The church also appointed Dr. Oscar Giordano this past May to head up a new Office of HIV/AIDS ministry, which will be located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The office will be staffed in January 2003. Dr. Giordano has served as a medical missionary for the past 11 years in Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, and Madagascar.

The downlink program was made possible via support received by Adventist health professionals in South Africa; to date a total of US$50,000 has been received.

Church administrators in Eastern Africa have also created an HIV/AIDS team to prepare resources for pastors and other church leaders. The team will be made up of staff from the church's health, family, youth, children, and women's ministries departments.

According to this year's United Nations AIDS report, about 3.5 million Africans were infected last year alone, while the number of adults and children living with the disease in sub-Saharan Africa rose to 28.5 million. A total of 2.2 million Africans have died from the AIDS disease.

The Special Rapporteur's full report will be presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva next Spring. [Viola Hughes]

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Adventist Church Concerned At Belarus Parliament's Passage of Restrictive Religion Law

Silver Spring, MD... [PARL news] Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church expressed concern over the October 2, 2002 adoption by the upper house of the Belarus parliament of amendments to the country's religion law. The revised religion law was adopted in the Council of the Republic with 46 votes in favor, 2 against and 4 abstentions. If signed into law by the president, this new bill will ban unregistered religious activity and place severe limits on the activities of minority faiths, especially religious groups that have been active in Belarus for less than 20 years.

"Belarus is not exactly the best example of religious freedom in Eastern Europe," commented Dr. John Graz, director for the Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist church. "Faith minorities have always been restricted in their religious activities. If this new law is adopted, it will create more difficulties for faith communities wanting to print religious literature and for small religious groups to exist."

"While the Adventist church in Belarus is currently registered and we stand a good chance in being re-registered, we may have problems bringing literature in from Russia, for example," says Victor Krushenitsky, director for the Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist church's Euro-Asia region. "If the new law is approved, we would probably be required to obtain permission from a State expertise committee to bring in literature," he added.

While support is claimed for the bill from those of the dominant faith, recent research indicates a majority of the population not in favor of the new restrictions. For example, an October 4 poll by the Independent Institute for Social/Economic and Political Research, indicates that 58% of those surveyed thought all religions should be equal before the law.

"The changes that this bill brings are in the negative direction," comments Artur Stele, president for the Adventist church in Euro-Asia. "But all depends on how local authorities will interpret it, if passed. Our church leadership in Belarus continues to work hard in all regions of the country to represent our commitment to religious freedom. Despite any law that may be enacted, we will continue to operate and remain hopeful for the future."

The Adventist church has operated in Belarus for over 80 years. Internationally the church is known for its commitment to religious freedom and human rights. [Viola Hughes/Jonathan Gallagher]