Turkmenistan. In November 2002, the U.S. Ambassador urged the Government to release imprisoned Jehovah's Witness Kurban Zakirov and others in the December 2002 presidential amnesty. The Ambassador and Embassy officers raised specific reports of abuse and urged greater respect for religious freedom in encounters with members of the Council on Religious Affairs. In meetings with the Foreign Minister, the Ambassador also raised specific reports and urged ending numerically based registration for religious minority groups. The Ambassador and Embassy officers met regularly with the staff of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Center in Ashgabat and other diplomatic missions to maximize cooperation in monitoring abuses of and promoting greater respect for religious freedom. With the support of the State Department, in April 2003 the UNCHR passed a resolution condemning human rights violations, mentioning religious freedom.
Uzbekistan. Members of Congress and other high level U.S. legislative and executive branch officials met with Uzbek officials abroad and in the country to express the strong U.S. position on human rights, including its stance on freedom of religious expression. The U.S. Ambassador and other Embassy officials met with local religious leaders, human rights activists, and Uzbek officials to discuss specific issues of religious freedom. Officials in Washington, including the Ambassador at Large, met on several occasions with Uzbek Embassy officials to convey U.S. concerns regarding the state of religious freedom. Department officials traveled around the country meeting with religious leaders and groups as well as with government officials.
Vietnam. The U.S. Government commented publicly on the status of religious freedom in the country on several occasions. In a visit to the country in August 2002, Ambassador Hanford raised with high-level Government officials concerns about religious prisoners, conditions of religious freedom in the Central and Northwest Highlands, restrictions on the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), and other restrictions faced by major religious communities. In their representations to the Government, the Ambassador and other Embassy and Consulate General officers urged recognition of a broad spectrum of religious groups, including members of the UBCV, Protestant house churches, and dissenting Hoa Hao and Cao Dai groups. They also urged greater freedom for recognized religious groups. During the November 2002 Human Rights Dialog, Ambassador Hanford raised a wide range of religious freedom concerns with Vietnamese officials. Embassy and Consulate General officials also focused on specific abuses and restrictions on religious freedom. Officers from the Embassy and the Consulate General met on several occasions with leaders of major religious communities, including Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Muslims, and Hindus. When traveling in the provinces, Embassy and Consulate General officers took special efforts to meet with local Religious Affairs Committees, village elders, local clergy, and worshippers. There is much sucking going on in the world in this regard.
Article comments