Again, US Says Religious Freedom Restricted In Nigeria, Iran, Others
The United States Government has again named Nigeria, Iran and Cuba among countries where religious freedom is restricted.
The U.S. Secretary of States, Mike Pompeo, made this claim on Wednesday in his speech at the US Embassy in the Holy Sea, Vatican City.
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The event was tagged ” Advancing and Defending International Religious Freedom Through Diplomacy.”
THE WHISTLER earlier reported that the US Government had on July 11, listed Nigeria and China as countries where people were persecuted for their religious beliefs.
“But there’s also a great darkness over parts of the world where people of faith are persecuted or denied the right to worship:
“In Nigeria, ISIS and Boko Haram continue to attack Muslims and Christians alike; ISIS beheaded 10 Christians in that country just this past December,” the U.S. 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom stated.
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On Wednesday, Pompeo stressed that such trends were still recurring in those countries.
“Billions of people today, people have always seek to worship according to their conscience but sadly authoritarian regimes, terrorists and even secularists, free society are in their different ways trampling on religious freedom all around the world…where religious freedom is restricted; from places like Iran to Nigeria and to Cuba and beyond.
“Nowhere where religious freedom is being under assault today like China, and that’s because the Chinese Communist Party deems itself as the ultimate moral authority,” Pompeo said.
However, he urged religious leaders across the world to be bold and speak against it while living a life of righteousness.
He also stressed that governments of nations must take a tough stand against religious extremism.
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“Today, I urge faith leaders to exhibit moral bold witness for the sake of religious freedom, for human dignity and for peace.
“They should understand that being salt and light they must exercise a bold moral witness and this call to witness extends to all faiths not just Christians or Catholics.
“Although we too can do more when we work hard to shine the light on abuses, punish those responsible and encourage others to join us in this advocacy.
“I call on every faith leader to find the courage to confront religious persecution against their own communities.
“Every man and woman of faith is called to exercise a moral witness against persecution of believers,” he said.
Pompeo also claimed that the US Constitution made provisions for religious freedom.
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“It was important for me to attend this is because the mission of defending human dignity, religious freedom in particular, remains at the core of American policy, and that is because it is at the heart of the American experiment,” he said.
But, China had termed the U.S. disclosures about Beijing as a conspiracy.
Also China’s Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson, Hua Chunying, took a swipe at the US government on Wednesday, alleging that “the so-called forced labor in #Xinjiang is sheer fabrication. People of all ethnic groups, whether in China or the #US, should enjoy equal right to employment. They should not be deprived of the rights to pursue better lives through legitimate work.”
