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Persecution Report for Tuesday, 03Dec2002

Mission Network News reports these examples of Christians being persecuted.

Vietnam:

Many churches closed recently.

In recent days the Voice of the Martyrs has received several reports of renewed intensity in the persecution of highland Christians in Vietnam. VOM indicates 354 of 412 churches have been forced to close in Dak Lak Province. The remaining 58 are also expected to be closed. Nearly 50 pastors have also disappeared. These people are strongly evangelical.

Turkmenistan:

Petition presented from those opposing religious restrictions.

More than 43-thousand people are petitioning for more religious freedom in Turkmenistan. A delegation from Christian Solidarity Worldwide presented the petition to the Turkmen Embassy last week. Officials are praying that this will be the beginning of what could be a long road to freedom of worship in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan is one of the most repressive regimes in the world as believers face harassment, detention and torture. Authorities have been known to raid religious gatherings and have bulldozed places of worship.

Ivory Coast:

Situation still unsafe for missionaries.

Unrest in the Ivory Coast has mission groups uncertain about their future. New Tribes Mission continues to monitor the situation and still considers it unwise for missionaries to return. Officials say while the situation isn’t worse, it hasn’t improved. The decision was made this week to re-evaluate the situation in the middle of next year. NTM asks for prayer for not only the missionaries and their families, but also for the tribal believers as they continue to grow in their faith.

Please visit http://www.mnnonline.org to learn about missions news and to hear a weekday audio broadcast.

The Voice Of the Martyrs has these incidents to report.

India:

Mob beats pastor and missions team.

A local pastor and three members of an Operation Mobilization (OM) team in India were beaten by a mob on November 18. The attack took place in a small town in the state of Goa after they were invited to show the Dayasagar film (the life of Jesus filmed in an Indian context) to a family in their home. While the team was eating with the family following the film, a mob of around 30 people came to the house and dragged the pastor outside. When three team members went to help, they were also badly beaten.They were then interrogated and the windshield of their vehicle was smashed before the police arrived. The police took the pastor and team to the police station for protection and asked them to file a formal complaint. The incident is under police investigation.

Mexico:

Seven wounded; evangelicals blamed.

Evangelical Christians are being blamed for violence that left seven people wounded by gun fire in Los Pinos in Chiapas, Mexico. However, the 27 families who fled the village say that they were not at fault and that the wounded traditionalist Catholic "cacaques" (village leaders) were shot inadvertently by their accomplices. According to a November 26 report from Compass Direct, Juan Lopez Patishtán was being dragged from his home toward a schoolhouse on November 14 when evangelical neighbours heard the screams of his children. When asked what they were doing, the cacaques said that they were going to put him on trial at the schoolhouse. When the cacaques were asked about the charges, they attacked the evangelicals with sticks. Shots were fired from the schoolhouse, the neighbours dropped to the ground and seven of the cacaques were wounded. The cacaques, on the other hand, claim that this was an unprovoked attack against them by the evangelicals, who shot the cacaques. In the confusion, the evangelicals fled to the woods and later walked to the district capital of San Cristobal de las Casas to report the incident. The 27 families later returned to the village and there have been no further reports of violence. There is continued fear for their safety. Pastor Salvador Lopez from San Cristobal says that police offer limited protection and often participate in attacks on evangelicals in the area. "There is no security for us," he said. "We can only trust in help from above."

USA:

Not a hate crime?

On November 13, a Catholic woman, Mary Stachowicz, was murdered in Chicago while trying to convince a homosexual teenager to change his lifestyle. Nicholas Gutierrez, 19, has been charged with first-degree murder, burglary and concealing a murder. However, some have been questioning why this is not being considered under the hate crime laws. According to CNSNews.com, prosecutors say there is no evidence to suggest that Gutierrez should be charged with hate crimes. This concerns many, since it suggests a double standard in the hate crime laws, as well as media reports. According to Peter LaBarbera, Senior Policy Analyst for the Culture and Family Institute, Mary Stachowicz was murdered for sharing her Catholic beliefs. "If a gay man had been murdered for trying to convince someone to be gay, it would be a national news story and be deemed a hate crime," LaBarbera said. "This case tragically displays the intense hatred for Christianity that exists among some in the homosexual community." LaBarbera said the Culture and Family Institute would continue to monitor the coverage of the case.

Please check http://www.persecution.net for more information on persecuted Christians and how they can be helped.

Edmonton radio station 630 CHED reported the following persecution incident.

Canada:

Operation Christmas Child a "front?"

A program that asks students to send Christmas shoeboxes to children overseas is under fire by some parents in Alberta. Operation Christmas Child is run by the evangelical organization—Samaritan’s Purse. Calgary parent Darren Lund says the idea sounds great but is a tool to seek converts among people desperate for help. Parents in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer and Banff have complained the program shouldn’t be allowed in public schools which have children of all faiths.

Martin Schuldhaus, a news reporter for CHED, had this to say when asked about this report. "I spoke with a person from Samaritan’s Purse on Thursday, to which he replied they didn’t ‘personally’ get any complaints in Edmonton or Calgary. So, it looks like those people with grievances went straight to the media. Seems to be isolated incidents. Some parents of public school students are upset that "Operation Christmas Child" is allowed to solicit donations from ‘public’ schools. Samaritan’s Purse is purely voluntary, so the school boards—be it private or public—have the final say." The story is at http://www.630ched.com/news/news_items.cfm?item=20021128052635000 where more information on the broadcaster can also be found.

   

email: ve6xtc@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca