They were finally given a trial at the end of July, won, and were released. We share great joy with the Adventist students in Romania who won in the Supreme Court. The world climate on religious freedom is becoming a serious concern for governments and churches. We had extremists in Islamic countries and the persecution of Christian Chinese in Indonesia. Now we have the killing of Christians in East Timor, the attacks in India by extremists and no improvement in the rest of the world.
Religious minorities are still under pressure in France and Belgium.
The good news is that these dark spots are denounced by the official reports of the United Nations and the U.S. Department of State. The good news is that more people and organizations are aware of the danger to religious freedom. The activities of the International Religious Liberty Association have been improving the presence of our association and its visibility in the world. We commemorated the 50 th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the General Conference auditorium. It was a great commemoration with the New England Youth Ensemble and Pro Musica providing us beautiful music.