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Subject: Persecution report for April 1, 2003.

Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2003 20:05:35 -0700

From: "Bruce Atchison" <ve6xtc@telusplanet.net>

To: "Ted" <thilts@help-for-you.com>

CC: "John M. Lindner" <jml@christianaid.org>

The Voice Of The Martyrs presents these incidents of Christians suffering persecution.

Ethiopia:

Mob destroys eleven homes.

The Voice of the Martyrs learned late last week of another recent attack on evangelical Christians in Ethiopia. On March 12, the homes of 11 evangelical Christians were burned to the ground by a hostile mob in the town of Deneba, 150 kilometres northeast of Addis Ababa. About 26 believers including children are now displaced and in need of emergency assistance. VOM visited this town late last year and witnessed the deep poverty and persecution facing many of the believers there, which, with this event, has been exacerbated. As is usual in Ethiopia, government officials have taken no measures to protect them and bring the persecutors to justice.

Evangelicals, although they make up approximately 20% of the country's population (Operation World), rarely enjoy the same legal rights and protection as Orthodox and Muslim Ethiopians, especially in the rural areas.

Sudan:

Progress and setback in Talisman Energy civil suit.

If accusations against Talisman Energy, one of Canada's largest oil companies, are found to be accurate, the company could be found liable for genocide, U.S. District Judge Allen Schwartz said in a ruling on March 19. This ruling allows a civil suit brought against Talisman by the Presbyterian Church of Sudan to continue. In his 110-page ruling, Schwartz rejected arguments that allowing the case to proceed to trial might embarrass or hinder the foreign relations efforts of the United States which, among other things, has tried to broker peace within Sudan. He noted that the U.S. government has already declared Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism and that President Bush had signed the Sudan Peace Act, which includes a finding by Congress that the acts of the government of Sudan constitute genocide. "Any criticism of Sudan that would arise as a result of the adjudication of this case would be a mere drop in the bucket," Schwartz wrote.

The class action lawsuit against Talisman was filed by the Presbyterian Church of Sudan in 2001 on behalf of the non-Muslim people of southern Sudan. The suit accuses Talisman Energy of collaborating with the Sudanese government to commit human rights violations, including murder, rape, enslavement, and ethnic cleansing. Over the last several years, Talisman Energy has been under intense pressure from religious and human rights organizations because of their oil developments in southern Sudan. Many international reports have shown that oil revenues have been used by the Sudanese government to purchase weapons used against the predominantly Christian and animist people of southern Sudan. After years of criticism, Talisman finalized the sale of their holdings in Sudan to ONGC Videsh Ltd., a subsidiary of India's national oil company, on March 12, 2003. Tragically, however, only two days after his ruling, Judge Schwartz was killed in a driving accident on March 21. Much of the outcome of the trial will depend on the judge who takes over the case.

Sri Lanka:

Pastor stabbed and left for dead.

On March 18, Pastor Sumith Gunasekera of Margaya Church in Embilipitiya was taken from his home by three men claiming to be police. According to a March 25 report from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, Pastor Sumith was taken to a nearby cemetery where he was stabbed and left for dead. Miraculously, he managed to drag himself home and was rushed to hospital where he remained unconscious for several days. Pastor Sumith's family has since been taken to a location away from the village for their safety. A complaint was lodged with the local police, but no action has yet been taken.

Please go to http://www.persecution.net to learn more about persecuted believers and what can be done to help them.

Mission Network News provides this persecution story.

India:

Beaten missionary returns to retrieve his equipment.

More than a month ago, a Gospel For Asia missionary, Titus, suffered a severe beating from an angry mob in Jharkhand, India. The rioters confiscated his film equipment as punishment for trying to show a film on the life of Christ. GFA reports that when Titus went back to the village to get his equipment, not only did the village committee return it unconditionally and in good shape, but also, the mob that beat him expressed great interest in finding out about the message of the Gospel he carries.

Please check http://www.mnnonline.org for missions news and a weekly audio newscast.

Christian Aid Missions has this incident to report.

Nepal:

Five more believers jailed and released.

As reported in the March 12 issue of Missions Insider, three Christian workers were arrested in western Nepal in late February on suspicion of engaging in illegal religious activity simply because Bibles and Christian literature were found in their bags. Now Christian Aid has learned that five more Christians who went to visit the jailed brothers were similarly arrested.

After they had visited the three brothers in jail, they were returning to their homes when police stopped them and checked their bags. There they found Bibles and Christian literature and put them in jail, also. One of them is a church planter; another is the wife of one of the brothers who was jailed in February, and three are believers in a local assembly. Groups had already visited the jailed brothers five different times, but this time the police detained the visitors.

Nepali mission leaders credit the prayers of the saints that the five were released the next day. Meanwhile, hearing for the first three jailed is reportedly scheduled for March 27 or 28. Though the men were doing nothing illegal, authorities have produced one (false) witness who claims they were preaching Christianity and passing out tracts.

Please see www.christianaid.org for information about this organization and how they help indigenous missionaries around the world.

Forum 18 reports the following incidents of persecution.

Georgia:

President pledges punishment for religious violence.

Seven weeks after an ecumenical service was broken up by a mob led by violent Old Calendarist priest Basil Mkalavishvili, President Eduard Shevardnadze attended the re-run of the event on 14 March amid tight security at the Central Baptist Church in Tbilisi. "Today I cannot help expressing my great sorrow and even anger that our unity, mutual respect and liberty of faith have been violated by some aggressors," Shevardnadze told the congregation. "I would like you to believe: the aggressor will be punished." Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, head of the Baptist Union in Georgia, told Forum 18 News Service he believed the service would be "a milestone in the development of the religious life of Georgia". But others remain sceptical of the authorities' promises to end the years of religious violence, for which none of the known perpetrators have been sentenced.

Uzbekistan:

Baptist women are latest secret police victims.

A group of police officers and officers of the secret police, the National Security Service, raided an apartment on 28 February in the town of Khojali. A Baptist who asked not to be named told Forum 18 News Service that ten Baptist women of the local ethnic groups, Kazakh and Karakalpak, had gathered in the apartment for a Christian meeting. They were insulted and held for 27 hours, although a local police officer denied this to Forum 18. "Nobody insulted them and there were no violations of the law by the police," he declared. This is the latest in a series of raids on Protestant Christians in Uzbekistan's western autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan.

For the full versions of these stories, plus other reports of religious rights violations, please check the http://www.forum18.org/ web site.

ASSIST News service has the following story.

India;

Christians around the world urged to protest anti-conversion bill in Gujarat.

Dr. Joseph D'souza, president of the All India Christian Council has asked Christians to pray against and protest the bill, which he described as being against the Indian constitution. In an urgent AICC communiqueé, D'souza said, "Dear partners and friends of the All India Christian Council. This is another urgent and important communication from us that requires your urgent action and lobbying and prayer.

"Right behind the attempt to take the census of Christians in Gujarat, the Government of Gujarat has now tabled the anti-conversion bill. It is being introduced in the Gujarat assembly, and will be passed by the end of next week since the BJP government has a brute majority and will not listen to the voice of freedom, democracy and even the Indian constitution.

"Please note that the Gujarat bill which is again mischievously called the Freedom of Religion bill goes further than the one introduced in Tamilnadu, in that now it requires a person to take the permission of a district magistrate before he changes his faith. All this is ostensibly done to prevent the use of force and fraudulent means of conversion.

"It is clear that it is the State and the BJP which is using brute state force to prevent the Tribals, Dalits and others who want to choose other faiths and liberate themselves from inhuman discrimination. The mass exodus of the Dalits in the last couple of years to other faiths is the main reason for these draconian laws. Above all this law is anti-Dalit and continues their brutal oppression.

"The Dalits have been one of the most dehumanized people in the world numbering over 250 million people."

D'souza said that the All India Christian Council is launching a major appeal in the High Court of Gujarat against this draconian bill.

"We encourage all those who receive this communiqueé to act now and contact those whom you know to register their objection to this violation of the fundamental rights of the Indian citizen guaranteed by the Indian Constitution."

He said that concerned people should write to the Prime Minister of India and also to the President of India. "Each letter counts," he said.

Here is the relevant contact information.

The President of India: His Excellency, The President of India Fax: +91 11 301 7290.

The Prime Minister of India: Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Honourable Prime Minister of India Fax: +91 11 301 6857

The All India Christian Council web site can be found at

http://www.aiccindia.org/ and its president, Dr. Joseph D'souza can be reached at his cell phone which is (706) 888-5924. This is a US number that will be transferred to India.

Please go to the http://www.assistnews.net web site for many interesting Christian articles.

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