SPECIAL BRIEFING ON 2012 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Release of the 2012 International Religious Freedom Report
Special Briefing
Suzan Johnson Cook
Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom
Washington, DC
May 20, 2013

AMBASSADOR COOK: Thank you, Mr. Secretary. It’s an honor to serve you.

Good morning. The 2012 International Religious Freedom Report provides a factual rendering of the status of religious freedom around the world. Religious freedom is essential for a stable, peaceful, and thriving society. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrines the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. This is the standard against which we assess religious freedom and the International Religious Freedom Report. This report seeks to advance religious freedom by shining a spotlight on abuses and violations. As Secretary Kerry said, when a country fails to provide equal protection of religious freedom for all, the groundwork is laid for political instability and sectarian violence. When a government favors one group or set of beliefs and restricts the rights of others, some in society may take that as tacit approval to further target marginalized groups.

As this report makes clear, much work remains to be done. Secretary Kerry just described some of the most troubling trends, and please let me note some others. Thousands of people around the world are jailed because of what they believe or don’t believe. In Iran, more than 116 Baha’is are in prison for teaching and expressing their faith, and many Christians, Sufis, and Sunnis are facing similar treatment. Additionally, a Christian pastor named Saeed Abedini, who is an American and Iranian citizen, was sentenced to eight years in prison just for his beliefs. In Eritrea, people are detained on account of their religious beliefs. Some have reportedly died due to torture or lack of medical treatment. We seek the release of all individuals detained or imprisoned because of their beliefs.

Many governments fail to prosecute the perpetrators of crimes motivated by religious animosity, creating a climate of impunity that fueled further discrimination and violence. In Egypt, the government failed to appropriately investigate and prosecute perpetrators and often did not effectively intervene when sectarian violence arose. In Pakistan, religious minorities continue to encounter societal discrimination and violence, and authorities frequently fail to arrest the perpetrators. As sectarian violence claims more lives each year in Pakistan, over 200 Shia were killed in the first two months of this year alone. In Nigeria, elements of the extremist sect Boko Haram claimed the lives of both Christians and Muslims. The government response has involved gross violations of human rights of a civilian population and deepened impunity.

Governments must fulfill their responsibility to condemn religious intolerance and bring to justice perpetrators of abuses. Just last month, I traveled to China where I pressed government officials to uphold the right to religious freedom for all and to stop abusing this universal right. The government restricts the practices of many groups, including Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur Muslims, unregistered Christian congregations, and Falun Gong practitioners. In 2012, 83 Tibetans chose to self-immolate to protest Chinese policies. The total number now is over 100. We urge governments to protect the rights of all to hold, express, or change their faith without fear.

In Syria, the government targeted faith groups it deemed a threat, including members of the country’s Sunni majority and religious minorities. Such targeting included killing, detention, and harassment. Syria – excuse me – Syria Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi were kidnapped April 22nd by persons unknown, and still remain missing.

Societal intolerance against religious minorities is on the rise. Too often this intolerance finds expression in acts of violence, vandalism, and desecration. In Iraq, extremists target religious ceremonies, leading people not to attend services out of fear for their safety. And sectarian violence directed at Muslims spread to central Burma in March 2013, resulting in casualties, displacement, and the destruction of places of worship.

Anti-Semitic rhetoric persists in some Middle Eastern media and too often appears in public discourse in some countries in Europe, especially where anti-Semitic parties have gained seats in parliaments. We continue to see violent attacks against Jews in Europe, and I look forward now to working with my new colleague Ira Forman, who was introduced to you by Secretary Kerry. I look forward to working with him to combat this pernicious problem.

Anti-Muslim sentiment and discrimination are evident in places as diverse as Europe and Asia. We call on societies and governments to foster tolerance and hold perpetrators of violence accountable.

We also partner with members of international communities to support religious freedom, to protect religious minorities, and to safeguard freedom of expression. We particularly advocate engaging women and youth on religious freedom as their voices are a positive force for change.

Violations of religious freedom easily capture the world’s attention, so I therefore want to highlight some positive developments that tend to fly under the media radar. Although governments’ restrictions on religious freedom remain in Vietnam, the government took a step forward by allowing large-scale worship services with more than 100,000 participants.

Turkey – they loosened its restrictions on religious attire, allowing female students to wear headscarves in certain religious classes and in certain Islamic schools. As you will see and read, the challenges are daunting. But we remain committed to working tirelessly to ensure religious freedom for all.

I thank you and I will be happy to take your questions.

MR. HENSMAN: Ambassador Johnson Cook has a few minutes for a couple questions. Why don’t we start with --

QUESTION: Thank you, Ambassador. The State Department has been issuing these reports for a long time. Apart from shaming publicly these countries, if they can be shamed, have you detected any change in their behavior over the years? And how does the State Department deal with allies like the Secretary mentioned, like Turkey, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, for being practiced in religious intolerance in varied degrees?

AMBASSADOR COOK: Well, for the first part of the question, in some cases there is change and progress. As I noted in the closing, there was progress in certain countries. Specifically, there was also places where the trends are not increasing and not doing well, and they’re going downward. So we look at the countries that – of particular concern that you’re talking about, that continue to have egregious, ongoing, systematic acts. And so we use different tools. Sometimes they’re sanctioned; sometimes they’re put on the CPC list. It depends on what happens. But we hope that people will take small steps for progress, because what we ultimately want is religious freedom for all in every country.

MR. HENSMAN: Lalit.

QUESTION: Thank you for doing this. The Secretary’s opening remarks mentioned about Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists increasingly facing protest and their religious freedom are being attacked in the various countries of the world. Do you know which are the countries? Have you identified the countries where Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists are facing problems in exercising their right to religious freedom?

AMBASSADOR COOK: Well, there are several countries. I think – I will refer you to the report, because there are several countries. We don’t want to highlight one particular one. Is there a country that you have a particular concern about?

QUESTION: I have seen some media reports about Pakistan, Afghanistan, about Hindus in Fiji. Do you know any other country where –

AMBASSADOR COOK: Well, in those particular countries, we certainly are concerned about religious minorities, Hindus as well as others. And so we press the governments – we urge the governments to allow religious freedom for all.

MR. HENSMAN: Samir.

QUESTION: Can you tell us what’s new, what’s different from the previous report? And is there any countries you consider sanctioning them?

AMBASSADOR COOK: Well, this is the report for 2012. So every year – I refer you to the report in terms of how they progress. I would say there are certain countries that we’re looking at, as I cited in the end of my remarks, like Vietnam, who have made progress in terms of having – allowing large places of worship. I think each country has its situations, and there are countries that are doing very well.

I had the opportunity, the fortunate opportunity, to visit Saudi Arabia and China, who have been on the Countries of Particular Concern List, as well as Uzbekistan. And so we’ve tried to make small steps. There are some governments that are not moving whatsoever, and particularly in Saudi Arabia they don’t allow non-Islamic persons to have freedom of religion.

So each year is situational, and we progress and we look at all 199 countries, and I think the report will speak for itself.

QUESTION: So do you see progress by the Saudis?

AMBASSADOR COOK: They don’t allow any non-Islamic persons to have religious freedom, so I don’t see progress there.

QUESTION: Like last report.

AMBASSADOR COOK: Their report is very close to where it was last year, very much so. What happened was, though, I was allowed a visit, and so that’s a beginning. We want to continue to be engaged with them.

QUESTION: Yes, please. Ambassador, the Secretary raised the issue of blasphemy. As a matter of fact, become an issue even in a place like Egypt, for example, when like Coptic Egyptian – beside Coptic Egyptian, even Muslims sometimes face this charge of blasphemy. How we are going to handle this issue or record it or even make a report about it?

AMBASSADOR COOK: Well, at all high levels our government has been involved in Egypt, since you cited that, at all high levels across government. We are very concerned. We want to hold accountability for those who are perpetrators of violence. We want to make sure that there’s protection of religious minorities, including Coptic Christians – especially Coptic Christians. And where there’s possibility of reform of laws, we want that to happen. Egypt, as you know, is dealing with a new constitution. As we see it right now, there’s not much room for religious freedom. But we continue to press the government, and as I said, at all levels – high levels – our government has been intervening there.

MR. HENSMAN: Goyal.

QUESTION: Madam, thank you. Burma’s President is here today in the White House, and so in Pakistan new Prime Minister will be there tomorrow. My question is on these two countries before I will one question. That – do you see any change in Burma? Or what message you think this report will have for the President of Burma today while he in U.S.? And also, as far as Pakistan is concerned, as I said, the new Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif, who is very close to the religious people in Pakistan, do you see any change under his administration since he will be the third-time prime minister of Pakistan?

AMBASSADOR COOK: Okay. Let me just say again, the report is for 2012. On Burma, we didn’t see any improvement in religious freedom. And as long as there’s no improvement of religious freedom, the sanctions will still remain in terms of religious freedom.

In terms of Pakistan, there’s a new government, there’s a new leadership, and I think it remains to be seen how people handle it. As to the question previously, blasphemy is very important to us, and there are many who are being held in prisons still – Asia Bibi and others – about 20 others who are in prison because of their belief. So we have to see what this new government will do. We certainly encourage him and will urge him to again hold accountable the perpetrators of violence and to make sure that there’s protection of religious minorities. And so that’s going to be very important. Human rights is a very high priority for this Administration.

QUESTION: And finally, Madam, on India, how much advice have you taken, as far as this report is concerned, from the international freedom religious commission of the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom? Because this commission has again – once again – addressed and also is urging the State Department that visas should not be issued to Mr. Narendra Modi, who is the chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, who is seeking to come to the U.S. But some of these groups here, including this commission, are still against his arrival in the U.S.

AMBASSADOR COOK: Thank you for your question. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, to whom you referred, is an independent commission, also mandated by Congress but they’re an independent commission. So that their references and suggestions are certainly taken into account when we do our reports, but in terms of what they designate, I refer you to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF.

MR. HENSMAN: Let’s do one last question.

QUESTION: If I could follow-up on Burma, please? The report mentions that there have been these political changes, this sort of opening up of society and the political system somewhat, and yet you see no improvement in the religious restrictions there. And on the contrary, you’ve actually seen a sort of spike of religious violence targeting various groups in that country. And this question might even apply to other countries, in Egypt and so forth, where there have been political transitions that seem to have led to increased religious tension or violence. Is that your sense, and why would that be?

AMBASSADOR COOK: Well, it’s not for me to determine what my sense is. I guess what you’re asking is, why does this continue to happen in these countries? As we said, in Burma particularly, we see societal and economic – some reform there. But as religious freedom, we haven’t seen much reform. At high levels, again, our Secretary went, and our Assistant Secretary and others went there. We continue to try to engage the government on religious freedom, but at this particular time there has not been an improvement there.

We want to look at – I think the immediate cause is looking at what are the root causes, the systemic causes of this, and we will continue as an office to do that for all 199 countries and watch the trends. Again, we take our information from many sources, but we will monitor the situation closely and where possible, where there’s diplomatic engagement possibilities, we will certainly engage.

MR. HENSMAN: Thank you, everyone.

QUESTION: Thank you, Ambassador.

AMBASSADOR COOK: Thank you.

THE 2012 DOOMSDAY PROPHECY NASA VIDEO

FROM: NASA

Beyond 2012: NASA Seeks to Debunk Doomsday Prophecy
As 2012 draws to a close, many websites, books and cable television shows are erroneously predicting the end of the world. These claims range from fears that a rogue planet is heading toward Earth, to solar flares torching our planet.

David Morrison, a senior scientist and astrobiologist at NASA's Ames Research Center is working to inform the public that each of the claims are false and there is no reason that December 21, 2012 will be different from any other day on Earth

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 20, 2012

Photo Credit:  U.S. Bureau Of Land Management

  FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending October 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 369,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 392,000. The 4-week moving average was 368,000, an increase of 1,500 from the previous week's revised average of 366,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending October 13, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 13 was 3,254,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,256,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,269,750, a decrease of 6,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,276,500.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 342,702 in the week ending October 20, a decrease of 20,032 from the previous week. There were 377,156 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending October 13, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,811,504, an increase of 63,421 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,196,554.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending October 6 was 4,917,460, a decrease of 84,525 from the previous week. There were 6,679,024 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2011.

Extended Benefits were only available in New York during the week ending October 6.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,991 in the week ending October 13, an increase of 49 from the prior week. There were 2,824 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 638 from the preceding week.

There were 17,559 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending October 6, an increase of 680 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 38,069, a decrease of 393 from the prior week.

States reported 2,052,957 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending October 6, a decrease of 45,836 from the prior week. There were 2,921,937 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2011. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending October 6 were in Alaska (3.9), Puerto Rico (3.8), Virgin Islands (3.8), California (3.0), New Jersey (3.0), Pennsylvania (3.0), Oregon (2.8), Nevada (2.7), New York (2.6), Arkansas (2.5), Connecticut (2.5), Illinois (2.5), and North Carolina (2.5).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending October 13 were in California (+26,935), Florida (+3,947), Ohio (+1,936), Washington (+1,435), and Alaska (+1,383), while the largest decreases were in New York (-3,395), New Jersey (-1,311), Georgia (-1,285), Massachusetts (-1,141), and Kentucky (-982).

NASA, NASA WEEKLY RECAP FOR AUGUST 31, 2012

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=151447411

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN JUNE 28, 2012

Photo:  Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. Air Force.
FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Combined Force Detains Taliban Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force and ISAF Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban leader during an operation in the Kandahar district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The detained Taliban leader, an improvised explosive device specialist, directed insurgents during attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, officials said.

The security force also detained multiple suspected insurgents and seized several small-arms weapons and ammunition, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force detained several suspected insurgents, confiscated multiple AK-47 rifles, and seized more than 1,000 pounds of opium during a search for a Taliban leader in the Now Zad district of Helmand province. The sought-after insurgent leader directs attacks against Afghan forces and acts as a Taliban enforcer in the district.

-- In the Sabari district of Khost province, a combined force detained a Haqqani leader who'd planned and coordinated attacks and distributed weapons and IED-making components throughout the region.

In June 27 operations:

-- A coalition airstrike killed one insurgent in Ghazni province's Giro district in response to insurgents emplacing IEDs.

-- In separate operations, combined forces detained one insurgent in Khowst province's Terezayi district and detained another suspect in the province's Sperah district.

-- Afghan police and coalition forces killed one insurgent during a firefight in the Bak district of Khowst province.

-- Afghan police and coalition forces detained one insurgent during an engagement in Kunar province's Ghaziabad district.

-- A combined force killed one insurgent during a firefight in the Bermal district of Paktika province.