Religious Liberty and Foreign Policy

In my opinion, the linking together of national politics and religious persecution is a deadly mix. I have heard repeatedly from friends that I have in the United States how President Bush is an ally in the fight for religious freedom in the world. Some organizations have, accordingly, tended to be very hesitant in criticizing the Bush administration for its unhelpful policies towards Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and China; countries that the US either considers allies or potentially beneficial to US interests.

Let me state for the record that I strongly believe that our support of religious liberty must transcend foreign policy and domestic politics if we are to faithful to God rather than Caesar. I cannot speak for our other offices of The Voice of the Martyrs, but allow me to make the following absolutely clear for The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada: our support of persecuted Christians or reporting of nations will not be influenced by the political winds and foreign policies of our government. We will not hesitate to criticize allies of Canada when and if we believe that their policies are harmful to religious liberty. We will not slant our reporting of persecution in countries which are not friendly to Canada or its allies to make it sound worse than what it is or to justify the military or trade actions of our country. We will not become a spokesman for our nation; we are the voice of the martyrs.