News July 2006

Sir Frederick Goodwin, Queen's Representative for the Cook Islands, with his wife and the Adventist delegation

Visits to Pacific Island Nations Highlight Religious Freedom Concerns

Port Vila, Vanuatu… Visits to several countries of the Pacific during July have highlighted concerns for religious freedom, according to Seventh-day Adventist church representatives. While issues do not reflect the excessive violations of some parts of the world, and generally freedom of conscience is guaranteed in the various island constitutions, concerns remain, says Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations representative for the Adventist church.

"It's important to emphasize the general respect for religious belief in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, and Vanuatu," Gallagher comments. "However in conversation with both state officials and religious leaders we were made aware of some causes for concern, such as the conflict between individual rights and what are seen as community responsibilities. Some minority groups and individuals have definitely been discriminated against, with believers denied the opportunity both to practice and witness to their faith in local situations. This has even led to outbreaks of violence, such as the stoning of church members and the burning of homes."

Local cultural traditions assign much control to local village councils, and majority faiths often exercise influence, adds Pastor Ray Coombe, religious liberty liaison for the South Pacific region. "We have heard first-hand accounts and have examined court reports that give a sometimes disturbing perspective on the limitations of religious practice in the name of communal harmony. While we certainly appreciate the need to work together with the local community, it's disappointing when freedom of conscience it denied and the right to practice religious beliefs is refused."

Coombe and Gallagher had the opportunity of meeting with high-level state representatives in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, and Vanuatu that included the Vice-president of Fiji and the Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa, along with a supreme court justice, a commissioner of human rights, a supervisor of elections, and CEOs of governments ministries, together with church presidents, council of churches leaders, and the head of the Fiji Muslim league.

In this context they urged greater attention to fundamental freedoms, in particular the freedom of belief and practice of religion, and the creation of organizations and mechanisms to help protect liberty of conscience. In Fiji a newly-established committee will examine the possibility of starting a national religious freedom association with broad representation from the various religious communities. [PARL News]

Vice-president of Fiji (2nd L) with Adventist representatives

Dr Jonathan Gallagher presents (L), Pr Sione Moala translates

Adventist Church Visitors Promote Religious Freedom in Tonga

Nuku'alofa, Tonga… Two Seventh-day Adventist leaders visited Tonga July 15-16 to encourage church members to promote religious freedom and to speak on the importance of the separation of church and state.

"We appreciate the constitution of Tonga guaranteeing the right to choose religious beliefs," commented Dr. Jonathan Gallagher from the department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty at the Adventist church's world headquarters in Maryland, USA. "While generally there are good relations between people of faith here, we still need to promote religious freedom, as examples ofdiscrimination and intolerance remain. In our meetings in the churches here this weekend, we have tried to make sure that everyone understands that we all have the right to choose what to believe, and there should never be any pressure."

Dr Gallagher comes from England and is the Adventist church's representative to the United Nations. He explains that the church is committed to human rights and is particularly interested in promoting and defending individual's right to freedom of religion or belief. Dr Gallagher is actively involved at the UN Commission on Human Rights, and is a member of the UN NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Pastor Ray Coombe, the church's director for the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty regional office based in Australia, added that "we have emphasized how important it is to have a clear separation of church and state, so that neither has the power over the other, directing what should happen. In too many countries today the joining of the power of church and state has had terrible consequences, with immense human suffering as people are persecuted for their faith. We hope that our visit here has helped to highlight these dangers and has helped to make sure that religious freedom is made a real issue in Tonga today."

Presentations were made in the Adventist churches in Nuku'alofa and Vaini on Saturday evening and Sunday, under the direction of the secretary of the Tongan Mission of Seventh-day Adventists, Pastor Sione Moala.

Pastor Coombe explains that the visit to Tonga is part of a extended tour through the south Pacific that includes Fiji, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Australia. The hope is that local religious freedom organizations will be established, and plans laid for a future regional religious liberty congress. [PARL News]

Pr Ray Coombe (L) with Pr Sione Moala

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