U.S. Urged to Fight Religious Persecution

In the face of anti-Christian violence overseas and a growing list of modern-day martyrs, the nation’s leading evangelical association has urged the Clinton administration to launch a broad range of diplomatic initiatives to fight religious persecution.

For years, various Christian denominations such as the United Methodist Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, as well as para-church organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ International, have agonized over the treatment of Christian believers in some foreign lands.

Most recently, an outspoken evangelical pastor was gunned down in Cali, Colombia, by members of a drug cartel, authorities believe. The victim, the Rev. Julio Ruibal, addressed an audience in Los Angeles last November shortly before his murder.

At the same time, discrimination and mistreatment of Christians has been reported in Islamic countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, as well as in China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam.

An estimated 200 Catholic priests and Protestant pastors are imprisoned in China because of their religious activities, according to Freedom House, a New York-based nonprofit human rights organization.

In the Sudan, the Christian minority has been denied rights and persecuted by the Islamic government, prompting a visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury, primate of the Church of England, to lodge a formal protest and to visit with Christians.

Until now, the United States has handled reports on a case by case basis and, for the most part, used private diplomacy to discourage religious persecution, according to the National Assn. of Evangelicals, which represents more than 10 million Christians in 47 denominations.

After a meeting with the president in the Oval Office on Jan. 16, association President Don Argue said it is time for the Clinton administration to strike “a strong and visible stand” against such persecution. Argue also said the churches must speak out more forcefully.

The Clinton administration has been urged to:

* Cut off aid to countries that fail to take vigorous action to end anti-Christian or other religious persecution. Resumption of assistance would be permitted only after a written finding is made by the president that the countries have taken all reasonable steps to end such persecution and prevent its recurrence.

* Instruct all ambassadors or their representatives to meet regularly with willing church leaders and dissidents in countries where religious persecution occurs.

* Appoint a new special advisor to the president for religious liberty to recommend policy changes to deal with religious persecution.

* Appoint a special advisor to the president for the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to “regularly and forcefully” raise the issue of anti-Christian and other religious persecution at all appropriate commission sessions.

* Direct the U.S. attorney general to inform all immigration hearing officers of mounting anti-Christian persecution and order them to process the claims of escapees with “priority and diligence.” The Immigration and Naturalization Service would also be asked to issue an annual report on religious refugee and asylum claims.

* Issue instructions to consular officials acknowledging the mounting evidence of religious persecution and instructing them to provide diligent assistance when the victims of religious persecution seek refugee status.

Argue said he believes that the administration is committed “to doing something significant about the problem.”

The White House said it is considering the proposal.

Clinton issued a letter to participants at a conference in Washington this week emphasizing his concern about persecution of Christians. “My administration is committed to religious rights everywhere and for all--rights that are fundamental to our goal of furthering the cause of democracy and building a cooperative international community,” the president said.

Until now, however, the federal government, including Democrats and Republicans in Congress, has not taken the issue seriously, said National Assn. of Evangelicals research analyst Richard Cizik. One reason, he said, is that the churches have done a poor job of educating the public about the problem.

“We have to assume some of the blame,” Cizik said. “But we have a sense of moral outrage and we are taking our recommendations, our pleas to this administration” and to congressional leaders.