You can email us HERE. Click HERE to contact us

Click here for World News and comments with a Christian perspective

   

Subject: PERSECUTION REPORT FOR MARCH 3, 2004.

Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 16:22:04 -0800

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

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

CC: "John M. Lindner" <john@jmlministries.org>

PERSECUTION REPORT FOR MARCH 2, 2004.

The Voice Of The Martyrs provides these bulletins of persecution.

Eritrea:

Underground church taken into custody

While worshipping in secret on February 16, police raided a service of the Hallelujah Church in the Eritrean capital of Asmara, taking Pastor Mengse Tweldemedhane and the fifty other evangelicals meeting together into custody. According to a February 23 report from Compass Direct, the thirty-four men and seventeen women were held at the Adi-Abyto military camp for two days. Four elderly women were then released, but Pastor Tweldemedhane was put into an isolated underground cell where he continues to face intense pressure to renounce his faith and return to the Eritrean Orthodox Church. The rest of the evangelicals were transferred to the Sawa Military Training Camp where they remain in custody. Apparently, local officials had decided that the pastor and twenty-three of his church members had not done their compulsory military training. At last report, forty-six of the Christians were being held in metal shipping containers. Five were very ill and being refused any medical care.

There are now at least 347 Protestant Christians in jail for their faith in Eritrea; some for nearly two years. In May 2002, the Eritrean government banned the twelve independent Protestant denominations, closing all of their churches. Only the Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and Muslim faiths are recognized by the state.

India:

Believers face continuing harassment

On February 24, Gospel for Asia reported on a serious situation facing a pastor and his church in Rajasthan, India. Apparently the believers are being blamed for the death of a local Christian named Samuel. As the church was preparing to hold a funeral for him, a mob stopped the pastor and demanded that he raise Samuel from the dead or they would kill every Christian in the village. The mob then demanded that Samuel's brother perform a traditional funeral ritual which he refused to do. The pastor is asking for prayer for wisdom in this situation.

On February 18, the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported on eight women who were beaten and humiliated in an attempt to force them to deny their faith and return to Hinduism in Orissa, India. A February 20 press release from the All India Christian Council, states that their investigations showedthat local police had not only witnessed the attacks, but had been active participants. The Council is calling for a Judicial Review of this situation, as well as four other recent incidents. Speaking of the eight women, the council said, "They are emotionally shattered.... The tears of the women cry out for justice. Not just the artificial peace that the police and administration are trying to enforce by further terrorizing the Christians, but also a peace where the villagers can all live together while practicing the religions of their choice, a right given them under the Constitution."

Christians in India are concerned about the increasing pressure by Hindu groups, including the ruling BJP party. With elections expected in April 2004, the BJP is hoping to increase its grasp on power, aiming toward a two-thirds majority in order to change the country's constitution. Already the militant Hindu influence of their supporters has been increasing in areas such as the media, school curriculum and anti-conversion laws in several states.

Sri Lanka:

Buddhist monks to run in national elections

When Sri Lankans elect a new government on April 2, religion will play a significant role. The Supreme Council of Monks had been pressuring the two main political parties, pledging their support if the party would enact new laws banning "unethical conversions." When it appeared that neither party would accept these conditions, the monks put forward the names of 260 leading monks as candidates under the Jathika Hela Urumaya Party ("National Heritage Party").

This is the first time that Buddhist monks have entered Sri Lankan politics as candidates and their presence in the political arena is causing concerns among Christians who have been facing severe persecution in recent months. The monks pledge to build a nation based on "Dhamma values" (the basis of the Buddhist worldview) and said that they entered the race because of political corruption and concerns about alleged "unethical conversions." One of the monks running for office, Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera, is regarded by many as the successor to the Gangodawila Soma Thera who recently died amidst controversy. Thera said, in defending the decision to enter politics, that they will give "due place" to other religions and there would be no threat to them. However, many of the acts of aggression against Christians in recent months have been organized and led by Buddhist monks. For more information on persecution in Sri Lanka, click here.

Israel:

Muslim converts face death in Jesus' homeland

Recently Greg Musselman, the Associate Communications Officer for the Voice of the Martyrs, traveled to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian Christians. While there, he learned of how a Muslim convert to Christianity had recently been murdered in Nablus. It is suspected he was killed for becoming a Christian. Greg also spoke with "Mustafa," another convert, who told him that, after becoming a Christian, he received a letter with a bullet enclosed warning him to stop sharing his Christian faith or the next bullet would be for his head. He is routinely taken to Palestinian Secret Police station where he is questioned about the identities of other Christians. Mustafa said, "One day my time will be coming very soon because, to deny the Lord -- I can't. To run away -- I can't. So one of these days these people are going to come for me." He added, "While I know this, I also know that I'm going to be with Jesus Christ. One day I will see Him face to face, and everything I've been through will be worth it."

Another believer, "Ali" (not his real name) has been in hiding for the past two years, sleeping in the open or in a bomb shelter. When he refused to return to Islam by a specific date, a contract was put on his life for fifty thousand shekels ($15,000 Cdn).

Israeli scholar Justus Weiner of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs said that life has become a living hell for Palestinian Christians. He said, "This reminds me of what it must have been for a Jew living in times of persecution, perhaps even during the pogroms or the holocaust, and I was drawn to this as a human being what these people must be going through."

Greg's report from Palestine will soon be available on video. For more information on the situation facing Christians in Palestine, click here.

Please see http://www.persecution.net for ways to help persecuted believers.

Mission Network News presents this bulletin of believers suffering for their faith.

Nigeria:

Islamic militants kill Christians in raid.

Some 49 Christians were killed by Islamic militants in a raid on the Christian town of Yelwa, Nigeria this week. Plateau Police Commissioner Innocent Ilozuoke told reporters how most of the Christian victims had been shot as they ran to a church desperately seeking refuge. The attackers are thought to have mainly been ethnic Fulani Muslims. Local security sources indicate that the merciless guerrilla tactics used in the assault suggest Islamist fighters from Chad and Niger may also have been involved. Police and army units have been sent to the town and order has now been restored.

Local Christians in Plateau State have suffered repeated attacks from ethnic Hausa/Fulani Muslim settlers since September 2001. Hundreds have been killed in the violence. Islamic militants from Chad, Niger and other countries outside of Nigeria have repeatedly been involved. Local Christians believe militant elements within the Muslim community are working to a strategy to drive out Christians and Islamize the whole state.

Please go to http://www.mnnonline.org for missions news and a weekday audio broadcast.

Christian Aid has these persecution incidents to report.

Iraq:

Local evengelicals need our prayers

Saddam Hussein is frequently called a "ruthless dictator." But under Saddam's rule, Christians enjoyed "favor from the king." Much as Daniel was shown favor by Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, Saddam was very protective of the Christian minority in Iraq. He learned that he could trust Christians, relying on the veracity of their word, and their respect for authority. For example, Georges Hormis Sada, written about in the March/April 2003 Christian Reader, was an air vice marshal for Saddam. After he retired from the military, he served as the president of the National Presbyterian Church in Baghdad and also as chairman of the General Assembly of Evangelical Presbyterian Churches in Iraq.

Churches were recipients of Saddam's benevolence, receiving inexpensive building materials, land, and pipe organs. However, the United Bible Society reports that Saddam's regime somewhat restricted the import of Bibles to Iraq between 1985 and the end of his regime. Even so, 1.5 million Bibles and five million New Testaments and other publications were allowed to be brought in.

When Saddam ruled over Iraq, over 50% of the population were government employees. This number included many Iraqi Christians (both nominal and evangelical). Since Saddam's government was toppled, that 50%, both Muslim and Christian, has been largely unemployed. They are now desperate for a means to feed their families and maintain their household.

Since the war has ended, Iraq has been "invaded" by previously-prohibited foreign missions organizations, to start their own ministries. These organizations need to employ Iraqis, from whom they can adopt ready-made ministries. Some are spending a great deal of money to do so and are in competition with each other for the relatively few trustworthy indigenous Christian missionaries who will work for them.

The desperate needs lead to great temptations for these Iraqi believers. Some are working as representatives for three or even four organizations. Some are becoming prosperous - compared to most of the Iraqi population -- from their foreign salaries. One ministry leader has even hired a body guard and a driver.

It seems clear that Christians should help ministries that were doing the job before Saddam's fall, and before large amounts of foreign money became available. These organizations have a previous track record of effective ministry and they urgently need our help without being taken over or colonialized. Christian Aid is assisting such ministries.

Perhaps our greatest prayer concern should be regarding future political developments in Iraq. Shiite Muslims, akin to those in Iran, make up a majority of the population. Long ago they would have set up an Islamic state governed by an Ayatollah had not Saddam Hussein kept them in check. But now that Saddam's restraints are gone, the Shiites are clamoring for "democracy," meaning majority rule by popular vote. Unfortunately, this possibility was apparently not perceived in advance by the U.S. and Britain before they forced a "regime change" in Iraq. Christians there now face the possibility of the Shiite majority taking over and systematically eliminating Christian witness within the country, as they did in Iran.

To help support worthy indigenous ministries in Iraq, use gift code 444-WMN.

India:

Radical Hindus attack churches and homes

Radical Hindus are continuing to attack churches and Christians' homes in Madhya Pradesh state of India. "Our churches and believers' homes have been burned down and attacked by Hindu communal forces," writes one well-known Christian leader. "Christians have deserted their towns and villages and are living in fear for their life. Some of our believers are in prison and others are still being harassed by police. The ruling government (Hindu) is protecting the culprits. None of the perpetrators have been arrested."

One pastor has been targeted by both police and fanatical groups. Police and Hindu radicals have warned them that they will burn their homes down. Their wives and children are spending their nights under bushes. The children are not going to schools for fear of attacks.

In one village a woman, who gave shelter to a missionary working in her area, was gang raped by eight radicals. She has since left the village and is staying with relatives, afraid to speak of the crime.

Another Christian worker and his wife were called to pray for a sick person. They left their four children at home. While away, a mob came and set fire to their home. Fortunately, neighbors noticed the fire early and pulled thechildren to safety. But the missionary lost everything in his home. His children are afraid to go to school.

For several weeks now, Christians have not been able to gather for worship, for fear that they will be attacked. They are being told that they must reject their Christian faith and accept Hinduism or the persecution will continue.

The rehabilitation of pastors and believers is an urgent need, since they lost everything. Christian Aid is receiving contributions for the ministries working in Madhya Pradesh. Use gift code 600-PERS.

Indonesia:

Christians at risk in Irian Jaya

Fears are increasing that the Christian inhabitants of Irian Jaya may soon find themselves in the crosshairs of Muslim militants.

The indigenous people of Irian Jaya are Melanesian and predominantly nominal Christians. For the last 40 years, the territory has been administered as a province of Indonesia. Recently, despite a 2001 decree granting autonomy to the area, it has been subdivided into three provinces against the will of its native inhabitants. Javanese migration to the region has also shifted its religious demography, so that two of the three new provinces may soon have Muslim majorities.

Several individuals implicated in the massacres in East Timor are reported to have subsequently moved to Irian Jaya. Eurico Guterres, sentenced to ten years in prison for his role in the August 1999 referendum massacres in East Timor, has established a new militia - Laskar Merah Putih, numbering over 200 soldiers, in Irian Jaya. Inspector-General Timbul Silaen, East Timor's former police chief, who was accused (but found not guilty) of crimes against humanity and gross human rights abuses there in 1999, is the new police chief of Irian Jaya.

Some sources report that certain Indonesians are trying to provoke an incident to justify a full-fledged military operation against Irian Jaya's Melanesians, with militia and Laskar Jihad support. If this takes place, ethnic cleansing and Christian genocide may well follow.

To assist indigenous ministries in Irian Jaya, use gift code 750-MSF.

Myanmar:

For want of a house...

Lack of housing in Burma is hindering the evangelization of unreached people groups.

According to one native missionary, almost 96% of the Burmese in his areas have never heard the gospel preached once. This might appear to be fertile ground for evangelization. But mission workers are hindered by the lack of housing; accommodations are for rent in the larger cities, but not in smaller towns and villages.

Adding to this problem is the fact that church construction is not permitted in Myanmar. However, houses are allowed. Any dwelling constructed for a missionary automatically becomes a meeting place for a house church, where the good news can be preached and the Holy Spirit invited into hearts of the believers. Construction costs range from about $500 to a little over $1000.

Those who wish to assist native missionaries in acquiring housing to propagate the gospel should contact Christian Aid using gift code 715-WMN.

Please visit http://christianaid.org to read about missions news.

Forum 18 presents these examples of religious rights violations.

Azerbaijan:

Police refuse to protect Adventists facing death threats

Police have refused to protect an Adventist pastor in Nakhichevan (Naxçivan), who has been threatened by local men with death or being driven out of the community. "People phone and come to my house to threaten us but the authorities have refused to help," Pastor Khalid Babaev told Forum 18 News Service. Pastor Babaev fears for the safety of his wife and son, and does not know if it will be safe to hold a service as usual next Saturday. Local Muslims have threatened to sacrifice Babaev as a holy duty and to halt Adventist religious activity in Nakhichevan. If Pastor Babaev holds another service, he has been told that a mob will be collected to attack his house. The police have refused to discuss the threats with Forum 18, or say what they would do to protect church members from the threatened violence.

Belarus:

Unregistered Baptist churches face dismanteling deadline

Police in at least one region of Belarus will halt the activity of a network of Baptist churches that do not wish to register with the authorities if they fail to register by the end of the month under the restrictive 2002 religion law. "Destructive sects" will be "disbanded", Vladimir Marchenko, an official in Brest region, told Forum 18 News Service. He said his December 2003 instruction to local officials and the police "to halt the illegal activity of members of unregistered Baptist organisations" by 1 March was based on a countrywide order from the Justice Ministry. Baptists in Brest region have complained of growing "persecution".

Forum 18 has been unable to find out if similar instructions have been issued in other regions. The crackdown comes amid rising levels of fines on Baptist and other Protestant pastors who have led unregistered religious services.

North Korea:

Mystery of the last hermit kingdom

Although some things are known about North Korea's control over all aspects of its citizens' lives and about its chemical and biological experiments on prisoners, less is known about the country's religious life. Although religious freedom does not exist, there is dispute about how genuine religious practice is at the handful of "show churches" in the capital Pyong yang. Dusty pews suggest that they are not well used. Buddhist temples are mere cultural relics. Parents are reportedly afraid to pass on their faith to their children, as sporadic refugee accounts suggest believers are still punished for practising their faith in secret. It is often as refugees in China that North Koreans first encounter religious life. Refugees repatriated from China have reported that they are interrogated about their contacts with mainly Protestant South Korean missionaries, while the North Koreans have reportedly set up a fake Protestant church in China to lure back defectors. Evidence suggests that any religious revival in North Korea is a recent phenomenon resulting from repatriates sharing their faith. This might prove a challenge to the regime.

Turkmenistan:

Carpit ceized to pay fine

Forum 18 News Service has learnt that officials have seized property from Baptists, in order to pay a fine imposed last year for unregistered worship in a private flat. The prosecution is illegal under international law and breaks the human rights agreements Turkmenistan has signed. The Baptists, Yelena and Vladimir Lemeshko, believe they are innocent of any offence. The local court has refused to give them a copy of the order confiscating their property and officials have refused to talk to Forum 18.

Please go to http://www.forum18.org/ to read about religious rights violations in communist and post-communist lands.

ASSIST News Service (ANS) PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING REPORT.

China:

Crackdown on house churches

On January 2004, top cadres of China's Religious Affairs Bureau and the policy-making United Front Work Department met for the annual National Religious Working Conference.

During that meeting, communist leaders screened a new, four-hour digital video, "The Cross: Jesus in China", written and directed by pro-democracy leader and Christian Yuan Zhiming, and produced by USA-based "China Soul for Christ" http://www.chinasoul.org/). The cadres were also briefed on the new book, "Jesus in Beijing", by journalist and former TIME magazine correspondent in Beijing, David Aikman.

Timothy C. Morgan reports for Christianity Today magazine that "Both the video and book document the stunning growth and vibrancy of Christianity in China. The video has been classified as 'political matter', and Public Security Bureau officers are confiscating CDV copies of the widely distributed series and other Christian literature". (Link 1)

AsiaNews reports, "At a National Religious-Work conference in January, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Jia Qinglin, urged all party groups nation-wide to recommit to supervising religious activities and to guard against the influence of foreign church affiliated groups. He declared that the energy of the people must be directed instead to building up a prosperous society. The State Council has given 450 million yuan (around 56 million euro) to the Religious Affairs Bureau, to build up a team of expert cadres and eliminate unregistered religious groups. Suspicious factions are to be rooted out and replaced by 'patriotic' forces, religious sources said." (Link 2)

CBN News published a report by Gary Lane that included statements by Peter Xu (pastor of the "Born Again" movement) and Tianyun Samuel (Brother Yun, author of the book "Heavenly Man"). Both have been imprisoned several times in China for their Christian activity. Both have found refuge in the U.S.A.

Gary Lane quotes Peter Xu as saying, "The Cross [video] is a look at the growth of the house church movement in China, but the hardliners say it is subversive and undermines national religious policy. They have called for all copies of the DVD in China to be confiscated, and the house church leaders depicted in the video to be detained for questioning." (Link 3)

Gary Lane notes in his report that "Xu's sister Deborah, who was arrested January 24th because of her evangelistic activities, cannot be found. Xu says, 'We don't know where she is.we don't know where she is locked in. Her health is very weak.' Xu asks that Christians worldwide pray for his sister, and other Christians who have been arrested for the sake of the Gospel." (See also WEA RLC Prayer bulletin, link 4)

LEGITIMIZING PERSECUTION

On 19 February, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) published an article entitled, "Temple fire leads to crackdown on religious activity", by Nailene Chou Wiest in Beijing. Wiest reports that fire in a bamboo prayer hall that killed 40 elderly women folk-Buddhist worshippers in Wufeng village, Haining county, Zhejiang province on Sunday 15 February, (see link 5), "has been used as grounds for provincial authorities, citing safety concerns, to clamp down on popular religious activities.

"The crackdown coincides with a new nationwide campaign intensifying the suppression of unregistered religious groups."

The AsiaNews article reports, "The fire in Zhejiang has given justification to officials for the crackdown, citing it as a prime example of the effect of superstition and foolishness. 'The Hianing fire gave Zhejiang provincial bureaus new reasons to stamp out unregistered religious groups in the name of public safety,' a church source in Hangzhou stated." (Link 2)

SCMP reported, "As the families mourned the dead, the Zhejiang provincial department of public security and fire prevention units sent 11 work teams to demolish unauthorised meeting places across the province and condemned the 'superstitious practices' for causing the deaths."

KEEPING THE PARTY PURE

On Thursday 19 February, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) published an exhaustive list of taboo activities that could lead to a party member being expelled. A 19 February SCMP article entitled "Communist Party lists 178 things members cannot do", reports that "Besides the usual political no-nos, like opposing Marxism, Leninism, Maoism and Deng Xiaoping thought, the 178-article list published in the leading People's Daily also included apparently criminal acts such as accepting bribes, extortion and economic crimes.

"Other off-limit activities punishable by internal party sanction include visiting prostitutes, keeping mistresses, gambling, using illegal drugs or joining religious and 'cult' like groups."

The SCMP followed this on 20 February with an article entitled "Cadres face expulsion under new vice rules", which elaborated that the rules cover all party members and even retired leaders. "Party members can now be expelled for a wide range of activities. These include opposing party policy, economic crimes such as accepting bribes, joining religious groups, engaging in adultery or polygamy, watching pornographic shows, visiting prostitutes, gambling and using drugs."

If nothing else, this list of wicked, depraved, punishable sins demonstrates the status of religion in the CCP mind.

Please visit http://www.assistnews.net for Christian-oriented news stories.

Click here for World News and comments with a Christian perspective

   

email: ve6xtc@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca