Arab organization for human rights condemns U.S. religious persecution law
Regional-Egypt-USA, Politics, 5/19/1998

In a statement the Arab Organization For Human Rights condemned Sunday the "Freedom From Religious Persecution Act" passed by the U.S. congress saying that extremist Zionist groups have been promoting the religious persecution law for a year.

The organization also added in a statement that the U.S. law contradicts the UN's charter prohibiting interference in countries' internal affairs. The law provides for automatic punitive measures to be enacted against states that practice or condone religious persecution.

The statement referred to the danger of this law in allowing the U.S. to interfere in the countries' affairs under the pretext of religious persecution.

The organization confirmed that the issue of unity in Egypt, to which the new law touches on, is one of the "red lines" that cannot be forgiven if crossed, saying that the Egyptian Coptics whom the U.S. is claiming are persecuted are the first people who deny such claims that are being used for political objectives.

The statement also said Israel owns the worst human rights record in the world. It praised the stance of the Egyptian church in confronting the U.S. allegation sand urged Arab political forces to confront these allegations.

The U.S. congressional house bill passed aimes at protecting religious liberty by punishing countries by withdrawing financial aid from these countries. The bill passed after being amended and weakened somewhat. A similar bill is in the U.S. senate. Foreign policy expert, and ex-chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Congressman Hamilton of Indiana who voted in opposition to the bill said that this bill would have the opposite intent by harming the people it is suppose to help, adding that the only people who wrote to him in support of this bill are from "inside Washington."