[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 132 (Monday, September 29, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10180-S10181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PROTECTING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WORLDWIDE

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to draw the attention 
of my colleagues to an article I recently read on the subject of 
religious freedom. The author, Mr. Philip Peters, a senior fellow at 
the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, offers a keen assessment of the 
tragedy that currently faces Christians who are being persecuted in 
their homelands. In his article, ``Persecution and Redemption,'' Mr. 
Peters makes specific reference to the treatment of Christians and 
other victims of religious persecution living in the former Soviet 
Union.
  It is unfortunate but true that tens of thousands of people in the 
former Soviet Union cannot practice their religion without encountering 
hostility from their government. As the author points out, ``About one 
fourth of Russia's regional governments have laws restricting religious 
activity.''
  I agree with Mr. Peters' assessment that refugees from the former 
Soviet Union ``deserve the support of anyone concerned about Christians 
and other victims of religious persecution around the world.'' I have 
joined with Senators Kennedy, Hatch, and Leahy in urging President 
Clinton to restore the refugee ceiling on refugees from the former 
Soviet Union in fiscal year 1998 to its level in fiscal year 1997.
  Mr. President, I ask that Mr. Peters' article be printed in the 
Record.
  The article follows:

              [From the Washington Times, Sept. 25, 1997]

                       Persecution and Redemption

                           (By Philip Peters)

       This year, Washington has caught on to a fact that human 
     rights activists have known for some time: Persecution of 
     Christians is on the rise around the world. This issue was at 
     the center of the debate on China's trade status, and the 
     State Department issued a special report on it in July.
       Now, the question is whether anything will be done about 
     it.
       New legislation introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. 
     Frank Wolf, the Freedom From Religious Persecution Act, is so 
     laden with new economic sanctions and foreign policy 
     prescriptions that it has drawn the opposition of the Clinton 
     administration, business, and pro-trade groups, and is 
     destined for prolonged debate.
       While that debate goes on, four other senators have 
     proposed a far more immediate and concrete way for the U.S. 
     to help.
       On Sept. 10, Sens. Spencer Abraham, Edward Kennedy, Orrin 
     Hatch, and Patrick Leahy called on the administration to 
     abandon its current plan to cut next year's admissions of 
     refugees from the former Soviet Union. They deserve the 
     support of anyone concerned about Christians and other 
     victims of religious persecution around the world.
       The State Department wants to cut admissions from the 
     former Soviet Union to 21,000, even though 27,000 were 
     admitted this year. The senators propose instead 30,000 
     admissions from the former Soviet Union, with no reductions 
     in planned admissions from other regions.
       This proposal is modest. The Clinton administration has 
     driven refugee admissions down 40 percent, and if the 
     senators' proposal is accepted, total 1998 admissions

[[Page S10181]]

     would be 87,000, far lower than the 100,000-plus refugees 
     admitted annually from 1989 to 1995.
       The senators' letter has ignited a debate among 
     administration aides, who must soon decide on the number of 
     refugees to admit in 1998. They need look no further than the 
     administration's own reports on religious persecution in the 
     former Soviet Union. These reports document that:
       Legislation passed last week by the lower house of Russia's 
     parliament would require the registration of new religious 
     groups, and would require these groups to wait up to 15 years 
     to obtain full legal status. During this period, these groups 
     would be barred from importing or distributing religious 
     materials, and it would be difficult for them to own property 
     or have bank accounts. This bill does not apply to Orthodoxy, 
     Islam, Judaism or Buddhism; instead, it would affect faiths 
     newer to Russia, especially evangelical Christians. President 
     Yeltsin vetoed the bill once but now seems prepared to sign 
     it.
       About one fourth of Russia's regional governments have laws 
     restricting religious activity.
       Russian authorities have made Christian missionary work 
     difficult or impossible in some regions, and they have made 
     recovery of property difficult for non-Orthodox faiths, 
     including the Catholic church.
       As a result, Pentecostals and other evangelical Christians 
     now account for about half the refugees from the former 
     Soviet Union.
       The State Department argues against any increase in refugee 
     admissions. In spite of conditions in the former Soviet 
     Union, it claims that interest in the U.S. refugee program is 
     declining, even though 6,000 more were admitted this year 
     than it proposes to admit next year.
       But even if less than 30,000 admissions slots for the 
     former Soviet Union are needed in 1998, the increase in 
     overall admissions would give the administration greater 
     flexibility to address other crises. This year, the 
     administration exceeded its planned admissions from the 
     former Yugoslavia by 25 percent. If the implementation of the 
     Dayton accords continues to prove difficult, the need to 
     resettle refugees from this region will grow. And, following 
     the historical pattern in other refugee crises, American 
     action to resettle refugees from the former Yugoslavia will 
     cause European and other countries to accent greater numbers 
     of these refugees for resettlement.
       Last year, the House and Senate defeated legislative 
     attempts to slash refugee admissions. The senators' action is 
     one more demonstration of the bipartisan consensus supporting 
     American action to help refugees fleeing oppression. 
     President Clinton should view their proposal as an 
     opportunity to help victims of religious oppression, and to 
     revitalize American humanitarian leadership around the 
     globe.

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