BUSH OPTIMISTIC ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN SAUDI ARABIA, VIETNAM, ERITREA
J. Grant Swank, Jr.
These three countries are particularized in the latest move by President George W. Bush to provide religious freedom.
"’Freedom of religion does not exist’ in Saudi Arabia. Freedom of religion is not recognized or protected under the country's laws, and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam. . .Frequent instances in which mosque preachers, whose salaries were paid by the government, used violent anti-Jewish and anti-Christian language in their sermons.’" That’s the news from The Washington Times’ Nicholas Kralev regarding the latest government report.
"On Vietnam, the report said ‘respect for religious freedom remained poor or deteriorated for some groups, notably ethnic minority Protestants and some independent Buddhists, though it slightly improved for many practitioners.’ John Hanford, the State Department's ambassador at large for international religious freedom, recently visited Vietnam and was encouraged by the steps the government there was willing to take. In September, Mr. Hanford said he was ‘especially troubled by government-sponsored forced renunciations of faith’ in Vietnam. ‘The sort of issues that made us feel that Vietnam deserved designation would include the number of religious prisoners.’"
"In Eritrea, ‘the government monitored, harassed, arrested and detained members of Pentecostal, independent Evangelical groups, the Eritrean Orthodox Church and Jehovah's Witnesses. There were also numerous reports of physical torture and attempts at forced recantations. There were numerous credible reports that over 400 members of non-sanctioned religious groups had been detained or imprisoned," the report stated.
Mr. Bush continues to move cautiously in the area of religious freedom in other countries. However, Mr. Bush and colleagues state to media that they are increasingly optimistic.
"’We are close to arrangements that respond to issues raised in the report, and we think that, with a little bit more time, we can take care of some of the issues that were problematic for us,’ State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said."
Other countries monitored closely for religious persecution include Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Burma and China.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
These three countries are particularized in the latest move by President George W. Bush to provide religious freedom.
"’Freedom of religion does not exist’ in Saudi Arabia. Freedom of religion is not recognized or protected under the country's laws, and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam. . .Frequent instances in which mosque preachers, whose salaries were paid by the government, used violent anti-Jewish and anti-Christian language in their sermons.’" That’s the news from The Washington Times’ Nicholas Kralev regarding the latest government report.
"On Vietnam, the report said ‘respect for religious freedom remained poor or deteriorated for some groups, notably ethnic minority Protestants and some independent Buddhists, though it slightly improved for many practitioners.’ John Hanford, the State Department's ambassador at large for international religious freedom, recently visited Vietnam and was encouraged by the steps the government there was willing to take. In September, Mr. Hanford said he was ‘especially troubled by government-sponsored forced renunciations of faith’ in Vietnam. ‘The sort of issues that made us feel that Vietnam deserved designation would include the number of religious prisoners.’"
"In Eritrea, ‘the government monitored, harassed, arrested and detained members of Pentecostal, independent Evangelical groups, the Eritrean Orthodox Church and Jehovah's Witnesses. There were also numerous reports of physical torture and attempts at forced recantations. There were numerous credible reports that over 400 members of non-sanctioned religious groups had been detained or imprisoned," the report stated.
Mr. Bush continues to move cautiously in the area of religious freedom in other countries. However, Mr. Bush and colleagues state to media that they are increasingly optimistic.
"’We are close to arrangements that respond to issues raised in the report, and we think that, with a little bit more time, we can take care of some of the issues that were problematic for us,’ State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said."
Other countries monitored closely for religious persecution include Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Burma and China.
For more: http://conservativeposts.us/ <http://conservativeposts.us/>
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