Kính chuyển, vì có đoạn nói về CSVN. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 26, 2009 USCIRF Comment on State Dept. Religious Freedom Report WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes today’s release of the first International Religious Freedom Report of the Obama administration, and urges the prompt designation of “countries of particular concern” (CPCs) as well as implementation of targeted policies on those countries. ... The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) requires the State Department to undertake an annual review of every country to “determine whether the government of that country has engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom.” Any country meeting that threshold is to be designated a “country of particular concern,” and the U.S. government is required to take action to encourage improvements in each CPC country. IRFA provides a range of possibilities for such action, from negotiating a bilateral agreement to sanctions. “Both Democratic and Republican administrations have underutilized the ‘country of particular concern’ designation,” said Mr. Leo. “As documented in this first report under the Obama administration, religious freedoms are aggressively repressed in the nations that have been designated as CPC countries. But the facts outlined in the report demonstrate just as clearly that countries such as Pakistan and Vietnam meet the CPC statutory requirements and should be so designated.” USCIRF commissioners met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in June regarding USCIRF’s continuing recommendation that she designate as CPCs the following 13 countries: Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. USCIRF also recommended that stronger actions be taken against the eight countries currently listed as CPCs by the State Department: Burma, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, People’s Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan. ............... A USCIRF delegation traveled to Vietnam in May 2009 and came away concerned about the level of police harassment of independent religious activity. USCIRF found the continued detention of religious prisoners of concern and coordinated government policies designed to suppress the growth of certain Buddhist, Hoa Hao, and Protestant groups, as evidence that Vietnam should be designated as a CPC. Since USCIRF returned, there have been detentions of Protestant religious leaders, police raids on Protestant churches and Buddhist monasteries, evictions of monks from monasteries, and violence used to dispel peaceful Catholic prayer vigils at disputed properties. “No more excuses can be made by the administration for not designating Vietnam as a CPC,” said Michael Cromartie, USCIRF Vice Chair. “There is clear evidence of severe religious freedom restrictions and the CPC designation worked in the past to bring out tangible change without hindering other bilateral interests.” USCIRF’s own assessments are presented in greater detail in our 2009 Annual Report, available at http://www.uscirf.gov. ********************************************************************************* OPEN FOR FULL ARTICLE AND VIETNAMESE TRANSLATION BY LE MINH (SYDNEY)   more »