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PERSECUTION REPORT FOR AUGUST 5, 2003.

The Voice of the Martyrs

Vietnam:

Church faces destruction once again

For the past month, The Voice of the Martyrs has been following the plight of the Thu Thiem Evangelical Church in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Their church building was destroyed in 2000 and, when they applied to rebuild it, approval was repeatedly delayed.

Finally in June 2003 they began rebuilding without permission. Authorities stopped them and ordered them to destroy what had been built by July 12. After meeting with the officials from the Religious Department, it was mutually agreed that the approval process had been excessive, but that the building should not have begun without approval. It appeared at that point that the approval process would continue.

For more details, see http://www.persecution.net/pnparchive/arch3.htm and http://www.persecution.net/pnparchive/arch2.htm.

This week the church faced opposition from a different front. When the church applied to the city authorities for a house number, water and electricity, they received a rejection because Pastor Nganh had admitted that he had begun to rebuild the church without permission and had not paid the fine. Pastor Nganh and another church leader met with civil authorities on July 25 and were informed that the order to destroy the building remained in force, despite the meetings held with the Religious Department. Christians in Vietnam now believe the concessions made by the Religious Department were intended only to appease international observers and to bring about an admission by Pastor Nganh which could be used against him.

China:

House church raided; church leaders arrested

While believers met to pray very early in the morning of July 13, officers of the Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) raided a house church in Xiao Shan City in Zhejiang Province, assaulting the Christians and arresting at least three leaders. One of those arrested was Shao Cheng Shen, who helped found the church twenty-five years earlier. Shen is now eighty years old. Also arrested were Wei Min Xu and Chong Dao Gao. Another Christian, Huiliang Wong, is wanted by the PSB but managed to escape through a church window and now remains in hiding. According to a report received by The Voice of the Martyrs, the police produced no arrest warrants of any other documentation. The three men are being held in an undisclosed location and no one has been allowed to see them.

In the past twenty-five years, the church building has been destroyed three times and each time they rebuilt without government approval. During the recent SARS scare, the government ordered them to stop meeting, claiming it was to stop the spread of the disease. Repeatedly the Religious Affairs Bureau has called on the church to register and join the official church, but they have refused, since it would put them under government control in areas such as doctrine and polity.

We would encourage you to register a polite protest with the Chinese embassy in your country. We also encourage you to contact your own government officials, urging them to express their disapproval with this action. For contact information for Canada, the United States, and the UN, go to our web site at http://www.persecution.net/links.htm.If you speak Mandarin, you may also contact the PSB office in Xiao Shan City at 011-86-571-82622514. We encourage you to read our guidelines on contacting government officials at http://www.persecution.net/howto/writegov.htm.

Tajikistan:

Fined for street evangelism

A Baptist Christian in Tajikistan, Andrei Reimer, has been fined the equivalent of $11.00 CDN, five times the minimum wage, for conducting religious meetings in a courtyard and for "talking to passers-by about God." Reimer lives in the suburbs of Khudzhand, the principal town in the northern region of Sogdi. According to a July 29 report from Forum 18, he was fined by the Chkalovsk district court when he refused to provide a written assurance that he would not repeat his preaching. If he does not pay the fine, he may face confiscation of property.

Tajik law does not forbid street meetings or meeting in private homes. In spite of this, many people have faced charges for unregistered religious gatherings.

Mexico:

Bishop calls for end of violence against Evangelicals

Earlier this month, the Catholic bishop of San Christobal de las Casas in Mexico's southernmost state of Chiapas called on "traditionalist" Catholics to end their persecution of evangelical Christians. According to a report from Open Doors, Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel asked that there be no more "destruction nor house-burnings, nor skirmishes, nor the shedding of blood due to religious, political, cultural or economic differences."

For many years, evangelical Christians in Chiapas have faced severe opposition. Despite this pressure, evangelical Christianity has continued to rapidly grow, now reaching thirty-five percent of the state's population.

Egypt:

Teenager kidnapped: forced conversion and marriage threatened

According to the Canadian Coptic Association, on June 30 seventeen-year-old Nermine was kidnapped in front of the Isis Secondary School in Alexandria, Egypt. Shortly afterwards, her father, Samaan Sadek Stephanos, received a phone call, saying that his daughter had been kidnapped and was being forced to change her religion to Islam. Her abductors then planned to have her married to a Muslim man.

The case has been reported to the police. Her father has sent telegrams and faxes to numerous authorities. No one has responded, however. He has not been allowed to advertise the issue in any Egyptian newspaper or on the local television channel. The police are refusing to call this "kidnapping," saying it is an "absence case."

The abduction and forcible conversion and marriage of Christian girls is not uncommon in Egypt. Sadly, the press and authorities generally ignore it when it happens.

Please check http://www.persecution.net for more information on persecuted Christians and how to help them.

Mission Network News has these persecution incidents to report.

Sudan:

Government waging war while talking peace

Marathon talks are at a stalemate between Sudan's rebels and the Khartoum government. After two decades of civil war, Voice of the Martyrs' Gary Lane says there's more at stake than the politicization of peace. On a recent South Sudan visit, he saw fresh evidence of the Christian persecution." It just shows the jihad that is continuing against Christians and animists in the south who refuse to yield to Khartoum's brand of Islam, and to Shari'a law. They've been fighting it for 20 years, two million people have been killed, and they say they will continue to fight until they have a just peace." Lane urges fellow Christians to remember the persecuted church of the Sudan in prayer. "Moses negotiated with Pharaoh. He repeatedly went to Pharaoh and urged him to let the people go. Finally, he did. So, pray that God will change the heart of Omar al-Bashir, the dictator of Sudan, and pray that there will be peace there, a just peace for the people."

Pakistan:

School relocates because of terrorism

Pakistani authorities are holding an Islamic militant leader suspected of masterminding two attacks on Christians last year. The news comes close to the one-year anniversary of the brutal attacks on the Murree Christian School and the missionary hospital. InterServe's Joanna Smith says for security reasons, their staff moved the school out of the area." They were just concerned that there was a pattern of terrorist attacks against Christians and Westerners in the area, therefore they decided for the safety, that they would relocate the school to another area." However, the testimony of the surviving student body speaks volumes to the communities touched by the tragedies. Smith says as the August 5th anniversary approaches, " People should pray that these students who made their testimonies will continue in their faith, and also, pray for the success of the school in their new location." The boarding school, since relocated to Thailand, provides a Christian education to about 120 students.

Pakistan:

Possible political catastrophe could hurt believers the worst

Muslim threats against Christians are widespread. President of Open Doors International's Johan Compajen says the political situation in that country is unsettled, and many believers' lives are in danger." Pakistan is a divided country. The general who is in charge now and thinks that he is the leader, he's only in charge of part of the country. It's a sleeping volcano. It could explode. Churches have been destroyed and burned, people arrested. It's still going on. It's just a part of life for our brothers and sisters." According to Compajen, despite the violence, this isn't a time to retreat. "People are hungry for the word of God, especially the new generation. They are asking many questions. Especially those that have gone overseas studying, they go home and they say, 'hey, something has to change.' So, we better be alert."

Canada:

Prayer urged regarding bill C-250

Christians are being asked to pray as the country's parliament is now in summer recess. At issue is proposed legislation that would consider the Bible 'hate literature' because of its stand on homosexuality. International Bible Society's Stan Kellner, "As individual groups and nations turn away from the word of God as their mooring in life, unfortunately these are some of the very typical things that happen. Now what we have are groups who are saying, 'hey, because the Bible has these particular verses, we can call that hate literature.'" Kellner says the legislation will be considered in the fall. He says now is the time to pray. "You know, as we look in the book of Daniel we're reminded about how God says that I can raise up kings and I can bring them down. Yes, legislation can be a challenge to all of us, but we've seen even here in our United States that, while it doesn't always happen, when groups come together to pray, impact can be made."

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

Christian Aid Mission has these reports of persecution.

Peru:

Mission leader requests prayer in face of terrorism

Terrorists now pose a serious threat in Peru, and one Peruvian mission leader is asking that Christians everywhere band together in prayer to protect God's people from violence.

The mission leader, whose ministry sends missionaries frequently among the Yanesha and Ashaninka tribes of Central Peru, has learned with grave concern about an increase of terrorist activity in that region since March. He said that armed terrorist youths visit isolated villages to give political talks, ask for donations of food, steal medicines from the health post, and forcefully recruit young people and children. On several occasions they threatened a local pastor with death and once beat him up badly because his church members refused to attend indoctrination classes in a nearby village.

Up until early June the Peruvian government had apparently done nothing overtly to respond. Then on June 10th a heavily armed group of terrorists temporarily took over a camp of the Techint gas-line company in the jungles of Ayacucho, stole a large amount of dynamite, and took 71 people hostage. They released the hostages several hours later when the company agreed to pay a ransom.

Reacting quickly, Peruvian armed forces flew commandos into the area to intercept the terrorist band as it fled to its base many miles away. Not long afterwards, other armed forces flew into the jungle areas where the Ashaninkas live, with the aim of eliminating other terrorist camps hidden in the jungle. Military leaders say that they sent over 2,000 men of Special Forces to combat the "small" numbers of terrorists. However, the band that stole the dynamite avoided capture, the dynamite was not recovered, and nothing significant happened to the other terrorist groups.

Besides being targets of terrorism, the Ashaninkas now say the soldiers, also, mistreated them. Fearful of further mistreatment from one and retaliation from the other, many are now leaving their villages in the areas affected by terrorism. This will hinder evangelism and church growth, and adversely affect the well-being of the Ashaninka community.

The mission leader went on to say that Gen. Marco Miyashiro, Head of Peruvian Intelligence, warned publicly that Shining Path terrorists are using not only violence but also are infiltrating labour unions of teachers, truckers, bus drivers, etc., to gain control of the country. He said the nation-wide violent protests that occurred in May were a sampling of what the leftist elements can do through the unions.

Also, according to reports, a top judge has warned that some Shining Path people are working through judicial channels to gain release of many of its members that are still serving jail sentences. Some of them have also moved into neighbourhood organizations to introduce leftist ideas in government programs for the poor.

Newspapers have also published growing evidence the FARC, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is helping the Shining Path. Evidence shows that they are providing training videos, weapons, and instructors. Peru's army and FARC guerrillas have already clashed at the Putumayo River (Peru's border with Colombia).

"And what the newspapers do not report, but we have learned from travelling native workers, is that terrorists have moved into other jungle regions along with drug dealers," the mission leader said.

"Fifteen years ago, when terrorism was bad in Peru, the united prayers of God's people brought an end to the violence. Now we call upon God's people once more to beseech God to put an end to the rapidly spreading violence in Peru, before we have another bloodbath."

To learn how you can assist this ministry working among the Ashaninkas, write insider@christianaid.org and put MI-430 245-SEG on the subject line.

Cambodia:

MP Challenges Bounties Paid to Return Montagnard Refugees

The practice of paying a bounty on fleeing Montagnards has been challenged by a member of the Cambodian Parliament.

On 21 July 2003 Mr. Son Chhay, a member of the Cambodian Parliament, called on the President of the National Assembly, Cambodian Prince Norodom Ranariddh, to investigate and put an end to human rights violations against Montagnard refugees in Cambodia.

Thousands of Vietnamese Montagnards have crossed the border into Cambodia to flee persecution. Yet during the last two years thousands of these have been arrested by Cambodian authorities and turned over to Vietnamese authorities who invariably imprison and torture them. Mr. Son Chhay demanded the Cambodian government "answer, clarify, and stop immediately the activities that violate human rights by the Cambodian authorities because it is inhumane and violates the 1951 International Refugee Treaty, of which Cambodia is a signatory."

Mr. Son Chhay also confirmed that the Vietnamese government is offering Cambodian authorities bounties of one million dong (US$67) for turning over Montagnard refugees to Vietnamese authorities. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the US State Department have all confirmed such serious human rights violations against indigenous hill-tribe Montagnards, many of whom are Christians. In April 2003 Human Rights Watch said many Montagnards face an "escalation of repression" and released "secret" Vietnamese government documents ordering this repression http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/04/vietnam042103.htm. In May 2003 the US International Commission for Religious Freedom stated, "The increased repression of religious freedom has been reportedly sanctioned at the highest levels of the Vietnamese government."

Mr. Son Chhay also demanded that reports by Radio Free Asia about Montagnard corpses being found with their hands tied floating in the Se-San Rver in June 2003 be fully investigated. In April Human Rights Watch also reported Montagnard refugees had been shot and one killed by having his skull crushed after being arrested by Vietnamese police.

Vietnamese soldiers patrol the Cambodian border while internal Vietnamese villages remain under martial law, where soldiers continue rampant human rights abuses. Montagnards are persecuted for practicing Christianity and hundreds have been beaten, tortured and others murdered by Vietnamese authorities. Montagnard women report they have been targeted for coercive surgical sterilization.

Mr. Son Chhay, who also is a member of an NGO with consultative status to the U.N., asked the Cambodian government if it would allow the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to re-establish camps in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces to protect these refugees.

Christian Aid recognizes the plight of the Montagnards and sends assistance to help those dislocated and other victims of persecution. To learn how you can help, write insider@christianaid.org and put MI-430 740-PERS on the subject line.

Please see www.christianaid.org for many exciting missions bulletins.

Forum 18 reports the following religious rights violation.

Russia:

Allegations against Komi Patriarchate diocese ignored, but breakaway Orthodox allegations investigated

Local state officials in Komi are said to be assisting the local Moscow Patriarchate diocese in its dispute with the local Russian Orthodox Church Abroad community, according to the abbot of the Votcha-based breakaway monastic community, Fr Stefan (Babayev). Forum 18 News Service has confirmed that neither the monastery nor its associated parish have received state registration.

Claims have also been made that, in contrast to local state authorities investigation of allegations against both the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and Baptist (See F18 News 22 July 2003) communities, allegations of criminal practices within a local Moscow Patriarchate monastery have not been investigated.

Please check http://www.forum18.org for news of religious rights violations in communist and post- communist lands.

ASSIST News Service provides these reports of suffering believers.

India:

Capuchin brother threatened with crucifixion as attacks on christians continue in Bangalore.

A group of thugs attacked a brother of the Capuchin Fathers and threatened to crucify him. This has been revealed by the All India Christian Council (AICC). The group says that it is all part of anti-Christian violence that is taking place in India by Hindu fanatics.

A spokesman for AICC told ANS that the attack on Brother Prashant of the Capuchin Fathers took place on March 9th when he had gone to Kengeria, a sub-station of the Devegere Parish, Bangalore district, to conduct a prayer service and teach catechism.

"He began his prayer service at 9:30 a.m. and ended at 10:00 am," said the spokesperson. "After the prayer, he came out of the church and was about to leave when one of the Christians invited him to have breakfast and he accepted.

"At that moment, some 20 youngsters in saffron clothing and wearing kumkum (a dot on the forehead), came on motorbikes to where he was eating and took him back to the church. They told him that they were from 'Bajrang Dal'. The fundamentalists, armed with choppers, knives and axes threatened him, accusing him of converting people to Christianity. They then started manhandling him, pushing him around, beating him and abusing.

"Some of the hoodlums entered the church vandalized it, destroying a statue of St. Anthony and also a picture of Jesus, literature and other church items. Some of them grabbed Prashant's bag and took out religious items and began playing with them. They removed his eye-glasses and also his rosary ring. They also took the pictures of Jesus from his bag and tore them, putting the torn shreds on his head. They further yelled abuse at Jesus and Christians.

"Thereafter, they brought kumkum, put it on his forehead and forced him to say, 'Jai Hindu Dharma Ki Jai', which means 'Hail Hindutva'. They then threatened him saying that if he came back to Devegere, they would thrash him thoroughly, strip him and show him how Jesus died on the cross. They told him that they would crucify him in the same manner as Jesus was. They then looted some items from the church and left the place."

The AICC spokesperson then recounted another incident that took place at The Bethel Church located in a remote village in Davangere district, Karnataka State, "The building was constructed three years ago with donations made by Christians, as well as non-Christians from nearby villages and cities who had been helped by prayers of this congregation," said the spokesperson. "The church is led by a woman, M Ganagamma, who became a Christian 14 years ago after she had what she calls 'a personal encounter with Jesus Christ."

"On March 2, 2003, during Sunday worship, tractor loads of Hindu fanatics from VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal, led by one Siddangouda of the VHP, descended on the church, installed idols, wrote graffiti on the walls of the church and demanded that the Christians bow down to the idols and threatened to kill anyone who did not and also those who converted to the Christian faith.

"They then falsely accused church members of receiving foreign money to convert people and the fundamentalists also threatened the church members to refrain from going to the police, or else they threatened that there would be 'dire consequences'.

"The church council, in order to maintain cordial relationships in the village, decided to not go to the police, hoping that local leaders would eventually rid the atrocity, and started meeting for prayer and Bible studies in the deaconess' house, asserting that they would not worship and pray in the presence of idols. They also offered the keys of the church to the fundamentalists."

As a consequence of these incidents and others, the All India Christian Council, which is led by Dr. Joseph D'souza, on June 12, 2003, held a public hearing at Bangalore headed by Justice Balkrishna during which 49 victims of anti-Christian violence in the state this year were deposed.

After receiving the testimony, leaders of AICC decided to immediately start intervening and attempting to resolve the problems in the state.

Subsequently, local government officials and police determined that the Christians did indeed have the right to worship freely in their church building without disturbance. Therefore, on two separate occasions in the week that followed, the police cleared the church building of all idols.

Bangladesh:

Systematic persecution of religious minorities

The Guardian newspaper (UK) has published an article on the persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh. The article, entitled, "Rape and torture empties the villages" by John Vidal (21 July 2003) can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1002200,00.html

Vidal reports, "Serious attacks on and persecution of religious minorities by Islamic fundamentalists are increasing." He continues, "Evidence is emerging that the oppression of minorities is becoming systematic." Vidal quotes a leading Bangladesh lawyer as saying that the revival of fundamentalist Islam "is like a silent revolution. We are returning," he says, "to the dark ages. I think the backdrop is being created for the introduction of strict shari'a laws.

You see extremist right wing fundamentalists infiltrating every professional area, in the appointment of the judiciary, the law, medicine and in education. They are capturing key positions in government, the universities and institutions."

According to Vidal, a serious incident took place in the village of Fhainjana. "A mob of 200 fundamentalists recently looted 10 Christian houses, allegedly assaulting many women and children. Christians were seriously beaten and others molested after refusing to give money to thugs in the village of Kamalapur, near Dhaka."

Vidal reports that many villages are said to be now empty of minorities. One man tells Vidal that all the Hindus have been driven out of his village of Sri Rumpur, near Khulna. "They have all been driven out by people threatening to torture them or demanding money," he says. "People who raise their voices are threatened. It's a kind of systematic ethnic cleansing."

The article also expresses the great concern of one leading Islamic scholar. "'What we are seeing is the Talibanisation of Bangladesh,' Maolama Abdul Awal, former director of the Bangladesh Islamic Foundation, said. 'If we allow them to continue ... (minorities) will be eliminated. Bangladesh will become a fascist country'."

Excerpt from the WEA UN report (April 2003)

Up to 50 Christian families in Chatiangacha village in the western district of Natore, have been targeted for extortion. Reports in the daily 'Janakantha' newspaper of Bangladesh suggest that Islamist fundamentalists are behind a series of incidents during which men arrive on motorbikes and call out the family name of their victims. The family is then usually given between a week and ten days to raise between 150 Pounds and 300 Pounds or the daughter is forced to sleep with the men. The residents of Chatiangacha have complained to Boraignam Jubodol, a right-wing Islamist group, but to no avail. Jimmy Koraiya, who lives in the village, has been visited by the men on motorbikes who have called for his high school-age daughter three times. "What kind of country is this?" he asks. "If I can't give money, I have to give them my daughter."

In Bonparha Market area, also in Natore district, religious minorities are forced to pay huge fines to be released from false charges. The local BNP has also reportedly built a torture chamber to make victims confess to false charges. Islamic fundamentalist groups have used false papers to drive thousands of Hindus and Christians off their land. In the south-eastern Chittagong division, 30 Hindu families have been evicted and one Hindu killed. In other districts, minorities are forced to convert to Islam at knife point. Dr. Deb Lal Dakua, a Hindu from Nazirpur in the southern Pirojpur district, was forcibly circumcised on November 11 by a group of extremists. He was also told to pay 730 Pounds (INR 50,000) within seven days or face death. Minorities are concerned by the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Bangladesh. When the BNP was last in power, between 1991 and 1996, there was considerable violence against religious minorities. During that time, the Jama'at-e-Islami (JI) attempted to table a Blasphemy Bill, which was discriminatory against religious minorities.

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The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) listed Bangladesh as a Country of Special Concern in its annual report to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (April 2003). The WEA UN Report details the same strategy of persecution, extortion, torture, rapes, and killings.

Israel:

Muslim convert butchered in the Holy Land

The body of a Muslim convert to Christianity who went missing in mid-July, has been returned to his family, slaughtered and cut into four pieces by Islamic extremists, according to a report from the Barnabas Fund which monitored the incident.

The man left his friends and family almost two weeks ago heading into a mountainous region of the Palestinian Authority area. He took Christian materials including cassettes, videos and Bibles with him.

After approximately ten days, during which his friends and family received no word from him, his body was returned to them. He had been brutally killed and his body carved into four pieces as a warning to other converts. He leaves behind a wife and two small children. The names and further details of those involved are being withheld by Barnabas Fund for their own safety.

Local Christians in this part of the Holy Land have been involved in supporting converts from a Muslim background who suffer persecution from Islamic extremists in the Palestinian Authority areas. Some of them have also been the target of attacks.

Last year one such Christian received a phone call telling him that a Muslim convert was in a serious condition in hospital; in response he immediately set off in his car. On the way his vehicle was deliberately driven off the road by another car. The phone call later proved to be a hoax designed to lead him into a trap.

In another attempt on his life this same Christian was hospitalized. Local Christians working to support converts from Islam report that Islamic militants in the Palestinian Authority area deliberately target converts. Hamas in particular reportedly receives funding from Iran specifically for this purpose.

According to shari'a (Islamic law) any Muslim male who leaves Islam (apostasies) faces the death penalty.

Barnabas Fund is campaigning for a change in Islamic teaching on apostasy. A petition has been launched, copies of which can be obtained from the address below, or downloaded from http://www.barnabasfund.org/Apostasy/petition.htm.

In Britain's House of Commons 45 MPs have put their name to an Early Day Motion calling for an end to the punishment of apostates.

See: http://www.barnabasfund.org/News/Archive/United%20Kingdom/UK-2003 0702.htm.

See also: http://www.barnabasfund.org/Apostasy.htm

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