[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 24 (Tuesday, March 10, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H918]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   U.S.-LAOS BILATERAL RELATIONS JEOPARDIZED BY RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

  (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member comes before the body to alert 
his colleagues to a troubling situation in the Southeast Asian country 
of Laos. While the Laotian Constitution guarantees religious freedom 
for its citizens, in reality the government restricts freedom of 
religion, especially for Christian denominations. Recently, 40 Laos 
citizens and 5 foreigners, 3 of whom were Americans, were arrested and 
imprisoned. The official reason given for their arrest was ``illegal 
assembly;'' however, the real cause was related to their practice of 
the Christian faith.
  The record of Laos in this regard is troubling. According to the 
State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights for 1997, the Lao 
government has harassed, arrested and jailed clergy members. Members of 
the Lao Christian community are often looked upon with distrust by 
their government as having connections to ``foreign influences.'' There 
are also unconfirmed reports that Christians have been barred from 
joining the Lao People's Revolutionary Party or from securing 
government employment.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, this Member 
sincerely hopes that the United States and Laos can develop warm and 
cordial relations. The potential is there. However, Mr. Speaker, this 
Member, through this forum, now urges the government of Laos to stop 
the growing trend of religious persecution within their borders.

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