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Freedom of religion: the dialogue of the deaf between China and the European Union

taken from Asianews

Bernardo Cervellera
In Brussels, European parliamentarians and bishops call for greater attention to persecution, religious freedom and human rights in relations between the EU and other countries, a few steps, meeting with Wen Jiabao and other Asian representatives just about economics. Yet the EU has always been proud to stand as a champion of human rights. The emptying of the words is one of the methods of totalitarianism (H. Arendt).

Rome (AsiaNews) - At the Brussels European Palace yesterday, there have been two important meetings show that deafness - and schizophrenia - with which they operate, the European Union and its partners, especially to religious freedom.

Almost simultaneously two meetings were held: one on the persecution of Christians, wanted by European bishops and members of the European People's Party, and the Asia-Europe, where Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has been the protagonist .

the conference on persecuted Christians, took part - more than MPs Mario Mauro, Italian, Polish and Konrad Szymanski - several witnesses of the persecution: Mgr. Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk (Iraq); TM Joseph, dean of the Newman College, Thodupuzha (India), Kok Ksor, president of the Montagnard Foundation (Vietnam, based in the U.S.), Msgr. Eduard HIIBORO KUSSALA, bishop of Tombura (South Sudan). Present and representatives of several agencies working to support the persecuted communities, such as Aid to the Church in Need "and" Open Doors ".

Szymanski said that "Europe can not remain indifferent to the fact that" 75% of killings related to hate crimes in their own religion affect Christians. " Mauro, in turn, said that "religious freedom is the condition by which all other freedoms are guaranteed. "

A few hundred meters from the first conference was held instead of the ASEM summit, a meeting between EU and Asian countries. The rally was attended by representatives from 46 countries. To the astonishment of some observers, there was talk of the climate, the yuan, terrorism, aid to poor countries, but not human rights. Yet, even without waiting for the adoption of the Written Statement of the Conference on the persecution, the EU claims to always include in its relations with other countries the issue of human rights (and religious freedom, human rights at least as an appendix).

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