GOP Lawmaker Decries Religious Persecution
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republicans used their weekly radio address Saturday to call for legislation monitoring religious persecution around the world.
Calling on Americans to help "prisoners of faith," Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., cited cases of torture in places such as Sudan, China and Tibet.
Wolf drew from his own experiences abroad to underscore the need to protect religious freedom for all people, not just Americans.
"Many around the world are enduring these hardships simply because they practice their faith. They endure mostly in silence and away from the public spotlight and with little hope for a brighter tomorrow," Wolf said.
Wolf used China as an example, saying that the government there has destroyed up to 5,000 monasteries. He also pointed to Sudan, where he said more than a million people have been killed or allowed to starve in a religious war.
"Starvation is that government's weapon of choice liberally spiced with high-altitude bombing, mass murder and even selling Sudanese boys and girls as slaves," Wolf said.
Wolf has sponsored The Freedom from Religious Persecution Act, which would create a White House office for reporting religious persecution worldwide, impose sanctions on governments that carry out religious persecution and improve asylum procedures.
On Saturday, he called again for passage of that legislation, saying it would reaffirm American commitment to protecting the right to worship for people worldwide.
"This nation was founded by men and women who wanted nothing more than freedom to practice their faith without government opposition," Wolf said. "If we don't stand up for the religious rights of people around the world, who will?"
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