John Graz, Director

In March 1998 Pastor Anthony Alexander was arrested and his life was in danger. Why was he arrested? Who was he? We did not know. But we knew that the church has the moral obligation to help and defend its members everywhere in the world. Our conviction is that every power, authority, and government should know that each of our members has 11 million brothers and sisters around the world, in addition to countless millions of friends.

In September 1998 we received a message from Africa: three of our members had been arrested and tortured. The police had accused them of desecrating a Catholic church. Two men were in prison. The media attacked the church for encouraging hatred and religious aggression. Working closely with the division, we knew that we had to work fast to reach the right people, to write the appropriate letters, to set out an effective strategy. God provided our church with an opportunity to create better understanding with the Roman Catholic Church and with government authorities. Using its international network and its access to the United Nations, embassies, governments, and religious organizations, the church quickly focused on these problems. In July 1999 our brothers in Cape Verde were declared innocent by the court and were released.

When 634 Students Said “No!”
In 1999 in Bucharest the minister of education announced that an examination that is a prerequisite for admission to high school would become a once-a-year event. There would be no second examination for those who failed. The last of these tests was scheduled for June 5—a Sabbath. The minister of education did not take the church into consideration; 840 children were concerned that they were being discriminated against because they kept the seventh-day Sabbath.

Our Romanian Religious Liberty Association (Conscience and Freedom) advised the parents. They went to the Bucharest court of appeals, but the case was dismissed. June 5 the test was held. Six hundred and thirty-four young Adventists did not show up for the examination. The faithfulness of these students surprised the authorities and the media. Baptists and Pentecostals expressed their support. The media reversed their traditional anti-Adventist bias. On July 7 at 9:00 a.m. the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Education to schedule a special examination for Adventist students.

Such a wonderful result would have been impossible without God’s intervention, the expertise of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) director in Romania, and the support of many friends in high places.

Unfortunately, when we heard about Gadzimurab and Tabyana Gadziyev, it was too late. Arrested by fanatics in Buinaksk, Dagestan, Russia, they were tortured. Two days later they were driven to the public square and burned alive before 5,000 people who “thundered their approval.” We were too late because we had no information. But our PARL director in Moscow made a strong appeal to the Russian authorities to protect our members living in Dagestan. Seventh-day Adventists received the right to introduce the church to the community through television.

Serving the World Church
The Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty wants to serve the world church in providing:

1. Experts in public affairs and religious freedom.
2. Church “ambassadors” to go before international organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO, governments, religious leaders, churches, and nongovernmental organizations.
3. Reliable sources of information and advice.
4. Loyalty to the church and its organization.
5. Faithfulness to the Adventist message, and awareness of last-day events.
6. A message of hope, not fear.

Areas of Activities
Our department is working in the following areas:

1. Religious liberty: Giving strong support to the International Religious Liberty Association and other networks.
2. Governmental and leadership relations: Visiting authorities and meeting with them at our world headquarters.
3. Interchurch relations.
4. United Nations and United States Congress liaison.

Outcome
The International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA): Much of the work of the department is to boost the activities of the IRLA. We have been working through the IRLA Board of Directors, the Working Group, and the Board of Experts. Our members have attended many important conferences, seminars, and meetings around the world. We have organized the following meetings relating to religious freedom:

• 1997 International Symposium of Budapest
• 1997 World Congress of Rio de Janeiro
• 1998 Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• 1999 First Meeting of Experts in Spain
• 1999 First World Conference on Religious Freedom in New Delhi
• 2000 Second Meeting of Experts on Proselytism and Religious Freedom
• 2000 Sympo-sium on “Religious Freedom After Auschwitz” at An-drews University

These meetings involved religious liberty experts, religious leaders, and government officers, and received a significant echo in the media. Similar conferences were organized with success in Russia, South Korea, India, Romania, Argentina, and the United States.

In 1999 the first issue of Fides et Libertas (Faith and Liberty), a journal of religious freedom for scholars, diplomats, religious leaders, and government officials was published.

Also in 1999 we initiated an IRLA Web page at www.IRLA.org. IRLA was officially recognized by the United Nations Department of Public Information last year, and we expect this year to be recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Diplomatic Relationships
In 1998 we welcomed to our world headquarters 45 dignitaries, from

heads of state to religious leaders to ambassadors. We had the opportunity to meet Presidents Bill Clinton and Carlos Menem, and to attend several meetings at the U.S. Department of State.

CONTINUING DIALOGUE: India’s principal emissaries to the United States visited the General Conference world headquarters in December 1999. Ambassador Naresh Chandra (third from left) and Deputy Chief of Mission Thettalil P. Sreenivasan (left) are pictured with John Graz, director of the General Conference Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, and Bert B. Beach, general secretary of the Council on Interchurch Relations.

It is an ongoing and basic work that helps to build a strong network of friends with whom to share our values and our faith.

Interchurch Relations
Bert Beach has been reelected as secretary of the meeting of Christian World Communions (CWC). He has had this position for 30 years. This opportunity gives him a place in the world Christian hierarchy. Beach has done an outstanding work with the CWC.

In 1998 we had our last formal conversation meeting with the Lutheran Federation. A book was published and sold by Lutherans and Adventists, bringing together all the papers and results of the conversations. Our dialogue with the Lutheran Federation was a rich and rewarding experience.

Several conversations with other religious bodies have been in preparation. These meetings and contacts are a wonderful opportunity to explain our beliefs, testify to our hope, and improve our knowledge of other Christians and their religious beliefs.

The United Nations and the United States Congress
Richard Fenn is our representative to the United Nations in New York and at the United States Congress in Washington. He works closely with other nongovernmental organizations. He is the General Conference representative in Washington to both houses of Congress and the Department of State. He studies new bills, collects information, and gives the church a voice on matters relating to religious freedom. We work in partnership with the North American Division PARL in Washington, D.C.

United Nations—Geneva
The church was able to have representatives speak before the Human Rights Commis-sion during the United Nations (Geneva) sessions of 1998, 1999, and 2000. As the General Confer-ence is officially recognized by the United Nations as a nongovernmental organization, we have the right to share our concerns before the representatives of the world governments at the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Conclusion
Our church has 11 million baptized members and a strong commitment to a specific mission. We need religious freedom and peace “as far as it is possible.” To achieve this task, PARL is working to promote, protect, and defend the church before authorities and powers. We have to improve our skills and train our workers to be in the world, but not of the world. We have to observe the signs of the times and give the right information to prepare our people so that they will avoid both fanaticism and lack of commitment and will be ready to meet the soon-coming Lord Jesus.