|PIC1|WASHINGTON, USA – While the public expression of Christmas is being debated in heated cases across the states, millions of Christians around the world and their religious freedom are literally under attack. Just coming out of International Human Rights Week, the world is witnessing continual and worsening human rights abuses especially during the Christmas season.

"First of all, it's ugly, secondly, it's growing, and third, the mass media seem to generally ignore or downplay its gravity," said the Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Denver, yesterday as he described the anti-Christian persecution and discrimination around the world.

On Wednesday, Freedom House's Centre for Religious Freedom and Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) of the Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom hosted a panel discussion themed "Christmas under Siege around the World" on Capitol Hill. Dr. Richard Land, president of Southern Baptists Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and Lawrence A. Uzzell, president of International Religious Freedom Watch were among the prominent evangelical leaders and religious freedom experts on the panel boards.

Land, who was part of the first panel, touched upon a few of the "Countries of Particular Concern" designated by the U.S. State Department in its annual report on international religious freedom. Identifying North Korea as the "world's most closed society," Land spoke of the absence of freedom and the severe persecution of Christians that have continued on for years, referencing the recently released study Thank you, Father Kim Il Sung by the U.S Commission on International Religious Freedom, on which he serves as a commissioner.

With mention of U.S. envoy for human rights in North Korea Jay Lefkowitz – who returned from a landmark international summit in Seoul on North Korean human rights – Land expressed his anticipation for increased attention to human rights concerns in the country.

We “look forward to the day when human rights and religious freedom is recognized in North Korea," he said as he likened the country to a prison camp with the government as its guards.

|AD|Land, who visited China with the Commission in August, also drew attention to the narrowing freedoms in the communist country.

China had denounced U.S. criticism of its human rights record, which was made on Human Rights Day, Dec. 10.

"From Cuba to China, Belarus to Burma, Uzbekistan to Zimbabwe, and Iran to North Korea, courageous human rights activists remain harassed and imprisoned," said the U.S report.

Dr. Eden Naby, project director of Assyrian Family Records, stepped to the podium in the second panel discussion to address the constant attack on the Assyrians in Iraq and Iran. Assyrians are part of a small minority of Christians in Iraq, which make up 3 percent of the largely Muslim population. Naby expressed concern over religious freedom in Iraq as the country votes for a new full-term parliament and prepares to amend the constitution, which she said is heading toward Shari’a law.

In addition to the briefings on countries that have been recognized as CPC's, Uzzell described the torture occurring in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which many believe should have also been included in this year's CPC list.

Uzzell said it takes "outside pressure" along with pressure to the White House for religious freedom to be taken seriously.

Other countries discussed throughout the panel event include Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Nigeria, Pakistan and Egypt.

"Egypt Christmas also remains under siege," said Fr. Keith Roderick, Washington representative of Christian Solidarity International.

Panel speakers were Land; Chaput; Roderick; Naby; Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern; Uzzell; and Dr. Paul Marshall, senior fellow at the Centre for Religious Freedom.


[Editor's Note: Lillian Kwon reported from Washington DC, USA for this article]





Lillian Kwon
Christian Today Correspondent