[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 157 (Sunday, November 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2286-E2287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RESOLUTION WITH RESPECT TO GERMAN GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATION AGAINST 
                  MEMBERS OF MINORITY RELIGIOUS GROUPS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ROBERT W. NEY

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, November 8, 1997

  Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I submit for printing in the Record the text of 
House Concurrent Resolution 22 as approved by the Committee on 
International Relations.

                            H. CON. RES. 22


                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

       Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to German 
     government discrimination against members of minority 
     religious groups, particularly those members who are United 
     States citizens.
       Whereas since World War II, Germany has been a friend and 
     ally of the United States;
       Whereas German government discrimination against members of 
     minority religious groups, particularly against United States 
     citizens, has the potential to harm the relationship between 
     Germany and the United States;
       Whereas artists from the United States associated with 
     certain religious minorities have been denied the opportunity 
     to perform, have been the subjects of boycotts, and have

[[Page E2287]]

     been the victims of a widespread and well-documented pattern 
     and practice of discrimination by German Federal, State, 
     local, and party officials;
       Whereas the 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1996 United States 
     Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights in 
     Germany all noted government discrimination against members 
     of the Church of Scientology in Germany;
       Whereas the German State of Baden-Wuerttemberg barred Chic 
     Corea, the Grammy Award-winning American jazz pianist, from 
     performing his music during the World Athletics Championship 
     in 1993, and in 1996 the State of Bavaria declared its 
     intention to bar Mr. Corea from all future performances at 
     State sponsored events solely because he is a member of the 
     Church of Scientology;
       Whereas the Young Union of the Christian Democratic Union 
     and the Social Democratic Party orchestrated boycotts of the 
     movies ``Phenomenon'' and ``Mission Impossible'' solely 
     because the lead actors, Americans John Travolta and Tom 
     Cruise, are members of the Church of Scientology;
       Whereas members of the Young Union of the Christian 
     Democratic Union disrupted a 1993 performance by the American 
     folk music group Golden Bough by storming the stage solely 
     because the musicians are members of the Church of 
     Scientology;
       Whereas the Evangelical Christian Church of Cologne, led by 
     an American clergyman, Dr. Terry Jones, had its tax-exempt 
     status revoked by the German government with the reason being 
     that the church benefits to society were of ``no spiritual, 
     cultural, or material value'';
       Whereas the German government is constitutionally obligated 
     to remain neutral on religious matters, yet has violated this 
     neutrality by supporting and distributing information to the 
     general public that gives the impression that ``sect-
     experts'', who are openly critical of all but the major 
     churches, are in a position to provide the public with fair, 
     objective, and politically neutral information about minority 
     religions;
       Whereas the Jehovah's Witnesses' application for 
     recognition as a corporation under public law, which would 
     have put them on equal legal status with the Catholic and 
     Protestant churches, was denied by the Federal Administrative 
     Court because the church's doctrine of political neutrality 
     was considered to be antidemocratic;
       Whereas government officials and ``sect-experts'' are using 
     the decision denying the Jehovah's Witnesses recognition as a 
     corporation under public law as a justification for 
     discriminatory acts against the Jehovah's Witnesses, despite 
     the fact that a constitutional complaint is still pending 
     before the German Constitutional Court;
       Whereas adherents of the Muslim faith have reported that 
     they are routinely subject to police violence and 
     intimidation because of their ethnic and religious 
     affiliation;
       Whereas the 1994 and 1995 Reports to the Human Rights 
     Commission of the United Nations on the application of the 
     Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance 
     and of Discrimination Based on Religion and Belief by the 
     Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance criticized 
     Germany for restricting the religious liberty of certain 
     minority religious groups;
       Whereas Germany, as a signatory to the Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights, and the Helsinki Accords, is 
     obliged to refrain from religious discrimination and to 
     foster a climate of tolerance; and
       Whereas Germany's policy of discrimination against minority 
     religions violates German obligations under the Universal 
     Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights, and the Helsinki Accords: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) continues to hold Germany responsible for protecting 
     the rights of United States citizens who are living, 
     performing, doing business, or traveling in Germany, in a 
     manner consistent with Germany's obligations under 
     international agreements to which Germany is a signatory;
       (2) deplores the actions and statements of Federal, State, 
     local, and party officials in Germany which have fostered an 
     atmosphere of intolerance toward certain minority religious 
     groups;
       (3) expresses concern that artists from the United States 
     who are members of minority religious groups continue to 
     experience German government discrimination;
       (4) urges the German government to take the action 
     necessary to protect the rights guaranteed to members of 
     minority religious groups by international covenants to which 
     Germany is a signatory; and
       (5) calls upon the President of the United States--
       (A) to assert the concern of the United States Government 
     regarding German government discrimination against members of 
     minority religious groups;
       (B) to emphasize that the United States regards the human 
     rights practices of the Government of Germany, particularly 
     its treatment of American citizens who are living, 
     performing, doing business, or traveling in Germany, as a 
     significant factor in the United States Government's 
     relations with the Government of Germany; and
       (C) to encourage other governments to appeal to the 
     Government of Germany, and to cooperate with other 
     governments and international organizations, including the 
     United Nations and its agencies, in efforts to protect the 
     rights of foreign citizens and members of minority religious 
     groups in Germany.

     

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