06594
November 15, 2006

Uzbekistan added to U.S. list of countries violating religious freedom 

by Chris Herlinger
Ecumenical News International

NEW YORK — Uzbekistan has been added to a U.S. Department of State list of countries of “particular concern” for severely violating religious freedom. 
 
     In its annual report on the status of religious persecution internationally, the State Department added Uzbekistan to a list of countries that includes Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.  
 
     Vietnam, which had previously been designated a country of concern, was dropped from the list. 
 
     John V. Hanford III, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, said on Nov. 13 that Uzbekistan was now on the list because it had “chosen the path of increasing restrictions on religious expression and has refused to engage in meaningful discussions with us on this issue.” 
 
     Hanford said violations of religious freedom in Uzbekistan were “widespread and severe.” He noted that Muslims suffered “harsh repression.” 
 
     In contrast, Hanford said the decision not to re-designate Vietnam was a “significant” announcement and marked the first time that a country had been removed from the State Department list. 
 
     When Vietnam was first added to the list of countries of “particular concern” in 2004, Hanford said the situation for those practicing religion there were “dire,” with forced campaigns against religious practice and harassment against religious believers. He said that the Vietnamese government was now working “to improve conditions for religious believers.” 
 
     But, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a group that bridges both main congressional parties and that is an independent federal agency issuing its own report on religious freedom, criticized the move to drop Vietnam from the list. Its