The first portion
of 2001 has been rich with events and meetings for the IRLA. As we look
forward to the upcoming Congress and symposiums, I want to share with
you a short report about what has been done since the beginning of 2001.
Preparation
for the World Congress in Manila
January 10-18
Don Robinson and I went to Manila to work with our IRLA colleagues on
the upcoming World Congress planned for June 10-14, 2002. It was challenging,
but we accomplished what we needed to while there. We had a training session
of three days; a meeting with the First Lady; and visits to the hotel
and its facilities. It is a beautiful hotel and rooms are available to
us at a very special price. Don and his colleagues have been working hard
to settle on an equitable agreement. Ambassador Bien Venido Tejano was
very helpful. He welcomed us at the airport where we received special
treatment. Our time spent in Manila was most fruitful and we were very
well cared for.
IRLA World
Congress Guest Speakers
The President
of the Philippines, the Minister of Justice, and the President of the
Senate, have already given their acceptance to attend the Congress in
2002. United Nations Under-Secretary-General Joseph V. Reed, Ambassador
Robert Seiple; Bishop Gunnar Stälsett; Professor Roland Minnerath; Professor
Alberto de la Hera, Director of Religious Affairs in Spain; Professor
Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes; Professor Yang Hui-Lin from Beijing; Denton
Lotz, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance; Professor Jeremy
Gunn, Dr. Cole Durham; Attorney Lee Boothby...all are confirmed speakers.
We are waiting to hear from our guests from Malaysia, Indonesia, and other
parts of Asia. Our list is not even completed, yet!
Meeting with
the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Attorney
James Standish,
my associate and Legislative Liaison, and I attended the first meeting
of the year of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom,
February 13. It was interesting to talk with members of the Commission
about the world situation. James and I participated at a hearing on Indonesia
and Vietnam. Having a full-time associate for Washington is very much
appreciated. James studies the government bills and is very active in
Washington.
Liberty Tour
2001
Many of the IRLA
team here were part of the promotional tour for Liberty magazine earlier
this year. Members included Bert Beach, Jonathan Gallagher, James Standish,
and Mitchell Tyner. I traveled to New Market, Virginia and Redlands, California
representing this fine magazine.
The International
Bermuda Conference in Paradise
During March 14-16,
we emigrated to Bermuda for the first International Conference on Religious
Freedom there. We stayed at a most attractive hotel on the water. There
were beautiful islands surrounding us, but we did not have time to visit
the beaches. The conference was opened by the Premier, The Honorable Jennifer
Smith, and the key speaker was Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Ambassador Joseph V. Reed. Among our speakers were Professor Rosa Maria
Martinez de Codes; Rosa Guerreira from UNESCO, Tad Stahnke of the U.S.
Commission of International Religious Freedom; and Arthur Fletcher, the
Father of Affirmative Action in the United States. Also in the program
were Professor Cole Durham; Attorney Lee Boothby; Dr. Bert Beach, and
Attorney Mitchell Tyner. The conference was excellent with many shared
ideas. The Premier of Bermuda invited us to her residence, and the media
coverage throughout the conference was very thorough. Jonathan Gallagher
can be credited for that.
Religious Liberty
within a Religious Dialogue
March 31-April
1, I joined with the John Weidner Foundation members who gathered in Geneva.
We visited different locations where John Weidner, who saved the lives
of nearly 1,000 people during the war by transporting them across the
border, crossed the Franco-Swiss border. A group of French Resistants
and members of the John Weidner Network were part of the meeting. Such
memories motivated us to all the more defend and promote human rights.
Then April 2-7, I was part of the dialogue between the World Alliance
of Reformed Churches and the Seventh-day Adventists. Bert Beach was the
co-chair, and my task was to lecture on religious freedom. I was pleased
to see a special paragraph on religious freedom in the final report.
Jumping to
Korea and China
April 26-May 3
Our IRLA Secretary General for the Northern Pacific Region invited me
to lead a training seminar in Seoul. I also was very pleased to meet the
Swiss Ambassador. May 3-7, Tad Shinmyo and I went to Beijing. A friend
of ours was at the airport to meet us and gave us a great welcome. The
purpose was to meet Professor Yang Hui-Lin of the Renmin University of
China in Beijing. It was a very good meeting during which we discussed
the possibility of an upcoming symposium to be held there. We also met
the leaders of the 3-Self Movement and the Religious Affairs authorities.
It was a most interesting meeting. Authorization was given to speak a
few minutes in the Beijing Church. We later visited the Great Wall and
the Forbidden City. Thanks to our friends there, it was a very useful,
profitable, and most enjoyable stay.
Third Meeting
of Experts in Spain
May 17-20 of this
year, a group of 20 experts invited by the School of Law of the University
of Extremadura in Cáceres, Spain, were gathered in preparation for the
upcoming United Nations Conference of Madrid on Religious Freedom and
Education. Before the meeting, three groups responded to a questionnaire
concerning religion and education; the responses were organized and condensed,
and the findings were distributed to those present at the meeting. It
was a great assemblage. Among the experts were Bishop Gunnar Stälsett,
David Little, Jean-Paul Willaime, Gerhard Robbers, Monsignor Minnerath,
Professor de la Hera, and Professor Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes—they
were, once again, fabulous. We give great thanks to Professor Jaime Rossel
for organizing this event. While there, a Declaration was finalized. You
can read the final document on our webpage at www.irla.org.
Moscow: A Model
for IRLA
From Madrid, Bert
Beach and I went to Geneva to participate in the working group of the
Christian World Communions. I then traveled to Moscow where Professor
Anatoly Krasikov, IRLA Russian Chapter President, and Victor Krushenitsky,
IRLA Secretary General, welcomed me at the airport. A training session
was organized with our correspondents and IRLA national directors from
Kazakstan, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Siberia, and Moldovia. The IRLA
-Russian Chapter's Board Meeting was held May 25. Members of this distinguished
Board include leaders from the religious groups of the Orthodox, Baptists,
Pentecostals, Adventists, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and non-believers
as well. The main items discussed were the elections and the next International
Conference of Moscow. IRLA is a co-sponsor - Cole Durham and Lee Boothby
will represent our Board. It took 15 seconds to reelect Victor Krushenitsky
as Secretary General. Our Russian chapter is a model for its diversity
and its activity.
First Symposium
with the International Centre on Government and Religion
The new Centre
was created as a result of the synergy between IRLA, Andrews University,
and Dr. Humberto Rasi. This Centre was also one of my dreams. The Centre's
director, Dr. Gary Ross, with the support of the IRLA, organized a symposium
on: "Proselytism and Religious Freedom" Wednesday, May 30. You can read
the report of this in-depth meeting by Jonathan Gallagher, found on our
webpage. The Centre will develop branches on several continents in the
near future.
Special Guests
More recent special
Guests of the IRLA were: Reverend Setri Nyomi of the World Alliance of
Reformed Churches; Dr. Denton Lotz, General Secretary of the Baptist World
Alliance; Reverend Dr. Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of the Lutheran
World Federation; Professor Jeremy Gunn; three delegations from Indonesia,
His Excellency Jerome Mendouga, Ambassador of the Republic of Cameroon;
Dr. Nimeiri, former President of Sudan.
Just a Few
Words...
Professor David
Little from Harvard University has accepted the honor of becoming a member
of our Board of Experts. David Little is president of the International
Academy for Religious Freedom, and a former member of a United States
Commission
The newly formed Ukraine Chapter of IRLA will be voted in September
during our Assembly of Members
The International Congress of Lima will
be November 28-30. The Peruvian Chapter will be responsible for that great
meeting
Jonathan Gallagher will attend the United Nations World Conference
Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
Keep in touch with what is happening
by visiting our webpage: www.irla.org. Thank you one and all for the continual
support you give to the IRLA. I have a thought for Gunnar Stälsett, Bishop
of Oslo who will perform the marriage ceremony of the Crown Prince of
Norway: God bless you, dear Gunnar!