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Subject: Persecution reports for 9, 23 & 30 April 2002.

Date: Sun, 7 Apr 2002 20:57:01 -0600 (MDT)

From: ve6xtc@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca

To: Ted Hilts thilts@help-for-you.com

Mission Network News

with stories of Christians being persecuted.

Philippines:

Kidnapped missionaries spotted.

U.S. planes have reportedly tracked down hostages that include an American missionary couple. Filipino media reports indicate Martin and Gracia Burnham may have been separated in the latest bid by the Abu Sayyaf to thwart government rescue operations.We spoke to New Tribes Mission’s contingency spokesman, Guy Sier. While he declined to go on tape, he stated that their local sources have information contradicting the area’s media information. A key issue, Sier points out, is that they haven’t been able to verify the reports or locate the sources behind the story. Not only that, but New Tribes has been battling misinformation from local press since the Burnhams were kidnapped last April. Despite the newspaper stories, New Tribes’ local sources believe the Burnhams, along with a Filipino nurse, are likely still together in Basilan, while the Abu Sayyaf have split into three groups throughout the islands.Sier asks people to continue to pray for the hostages’ safe release.

Kyrgyzstan:

Legislation could hinder missionary activities.

A new draft religion law could be approved by the parliament in Kyrgyzstan. According to the Keston Institute the law would ban non-registered missionary activity.East West Ministry’s John Maisel says laws won’t stop their work. "In countries where you can register legally is to set up a legal entity. We’ve been successful in that in some of the other countries. Although they’re not as restricted or closed as some of the other countries, but with our national leaders we would try to register and operate legally." Maisel says while there is persecution, exciting things are happening. He explains what’s going on in one area. "In this desolated area, all Muslims hostile to the Gospel initially, persecuted for their faith, but now where we started with one about three years ago, there’s over 200 and 20 different cell churches."

China:

A paster demands a public trial.

The Baptist Press reports that a Chinese Christian leader who barely escaped execution in January wants his retrial to be conducted in public this time. 46-year old Gong Shengliang, of the South China Church, is scheduled for a second closed-door tribunal. However, lawyers are fighting for a public trial. Chinese believers are begging the Christian world to pray for them since the government appears to be cracking down on especially evangelistic church groups.

Please check http://www.mnnonline.org for mission news reports and a weekday audio news cast in MP3 and real audio formats.

The Voice Of The Martyrs

reports these persecution incidents.

Indonesia:

Bomb Blast Threatens Peace Process.

A powerful bomb ripped through a Christian district of eastern Ambon, killing 2, injuring 57, and triggering a violent protest by thousands of residents. It is hoped that this incident will not threaten the peace process signed in February between Christian and Muslim factions in the Moluccas. The blast occurred in the late morning, sparking panic and anger among Christians and prompting thousands to converge on the nearby governor’s office, torching parts of the complex. The crowd was dispersed when police fired warning shots over the heads of the protestors. While there is no clear connection yet, this incident follows on a report on March 29 that the Laskar Jihad, an organization of militant Muslims in Indonesia, has affirmed its commitment to continue militant activities, despite the peace agreement. In an interview with the London Arabic-language daily Al-Hayat, the leader of the Laskar Jihad, Ja’far Omar Taleb stated that the goal of the organization is to target both Christians in Indonesia as well as American interests. This organization has been responsible for many of the acts of terrorism against Christians in Indonesia but, under the peace agreement, has been allowed to stay in the Moluccas. The Indonesian government recently extended the deadline for voluntarily surrendering weapons until April 30 to allow for the full implementation of the peace agreement. According to Moluccas Police Chief, Commander Sunarko, many weapons have been surrendered to this point. However, it is virtually only the Christian side that has surrendered any weapons.

Saudi Arabia:

Last Two Prisoners Released.

After many months of uncertainty and delays, the last of a group of foreign Christians have been deported from Saudi Arabia. Last July, 14 Christians from various nations were arrested for taking part in unlawful Christian gatherings. Charges were never laid and several reported being beaten while in prison. Starting in December, the Saudi authorities began to deport them to their countries of origin. However, there have been significant delays for many of them. Last weekend, the last of the group, Dennis Moreno from the Philippines and Worku Aweke from Ethiopia were flown out of Jeddah.

Vietnam:

Montagnard Christians Allowed to Leave.

A group of 1000 Vietnamese refugees in Cambodia have been given the right to leave and seek asylum, likely in the USA. Throughout the past month, The Voice of the Martyrs has been following this continuing story, as Vietnamese authorities were allowed to invade UN refugee camps in Cambodia and forcibly return Montagnard refugees to Vietnam to face torture. Many of the refugees had fled Vietnam because of their Christian faith.

See http://www.persecution.net/pnparchive/arch6.htm for more information on this story.

Due to international pressure, the UN, the Cambodian authorities, and the Vietnamese government have granted the right for these refugees to leave the country to be resettled. This news comes as a relief, since Vietnam had demanded their return and there were several reports of Vietnamese troops gathering at the Cambodian border.

Colombia:

Arrest in Murder of Archbishop.

According to Zenit, a man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Colombian Archbishop Isaías Duarte Cancino. The archbishop, an outspoken opponent of the drug cartels in Colombia, was assassinated as he left his church on March 16. In the wake of the murder, it has also been revealed that at least ten other bishops and priests have received death threats.

Please visit http://www.persecution.net to learn more about the world-wide persecution of Christians and what believers can do about it.

Keston News Service

has these incidents to report.

Azerbaijan:

Police order protestant’s deportation.

On the day Baku’s Protestant Greater Grace church was celebrating Easter, police in the city’s central Sabail district tried to forcibly deport a church member, alleging that she had been conducting religious "propaganda". One of the church’s pastors, Musfig Bayram, told Keston News Service from Baku that police took Nina Koptseva, a Russian citizen who has a residence permit to live in Baku, to the city’s railway station on Sunday morning (31 March), bought her a ticket to the Russian border and tried to place her on the train without any court decision. It was only when she screamed loudly and insisted that if she had to leave she could buy an airline ticket to Russia herself that police halted the attempt and returned her to the cells in the Sabail district police station. Nina Koptseva, a Russian living in Baku by invitation of the Greater Grace Protestant Church, was forcibly deported from Azerbaijan on Monday 1 April, one of the church’s pastors has told Keston News Service. She was taken to the airport and put on a plane to her home city of Moscow, having paid for the ticket herself. Two other women accused with Koptseva of "distributing religious propaganda" have not yet paid the fines imposed on them, while the pastor who accompanied her to the police station, and was then charged himself, will appeal against the fine.

Russia:

Local Baptist missionary harassed.

The local police, a head teacher and Orthodox leader in a small Siberian settlement are restricting the missionary activity of a Russian Baptist, the Council of Churches of the Evangelical-Christian Baptists reports, in a statement received by Keston News Service. Dmitry Mannikov moved to the Siberian region of Khanty-Mansiisk, last year, aiming to evangelise the ethnic Khanty population in the settlement of Ugut. In recent weeks he has been repeatedly called in to the local police department for questioning, but officers have refused to say why he is being charged. The regional administration’s leading specialist on interconfessional relations told Keston that no charge has been brought and that this "misunderstanding between individual citizens" has been resolved.

Please go to http://www.keston.org for details about religious persecution in communist and post-communist lands.

Subject: Persecution report for April 23, 2002.

Date: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 00:38:19 -0600 (MDT)

From: ve6xtc@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca

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

From Mission Network News

come these incidents of believers being persecuted.

India:

New anti-terrorism law may threaten Christians.

India’s parliament has passed a new controversial anti-terrorism bill that may have an impact on Christian work in India. The concern is that security forces could abuse the increased powers provided by the Prevention of Terrorism Bill. Mission India’s Communications Director, Dave DeGroot: "The new anti-terrorism law is designed to protect India from the terrorist activities of certain groups of extremists. The fear of many Christians is that it might be misused to label ongoing Christian activities as some kind of terrorist activity. Opponents have called penalties for violations of the new law ‘draconian’." DeGroot says despite the threat, he expects the evangelistic work of Mission India to continue. "We find that persecution seems to be in hot spots in India. People on the ground will continue to do their work. They really need our prayers. Persecution is getting violent and there are many Christians that fear for their lives in these places."

India:

A flood prevents persecution.

as Muslims and Hindus continue to battle against each other in India, there’s good news from the believers. Bible Pathway Ministries says an orphan ministry they were helping was under severe persecution. On the day of a planned attack against the group, a flood pre-empted the violence. Shortly thereafter, the door opened for them to minister to 800 low caste members. Much of the threatened persecution has been thwarted, leaving the Christians free to evangelize.

India:

Christians affected in Hindu-Muslim strife.

The death toll in Gujarat, India is now up to 500 in the Hindu versus Muslim violence that began eight weeks ago. According to Mission India’s John DeVries Christians in the region are also suffering. DeVries says churches are being damaged, homes are being burned, and some Christians have reportedly been killed. While the U-S government warns against travel to Gujarat, Mission India continues its home rebuilding, literacy and children’s ministries there.

Nigeria:

Missions reach out to persecutes.

Christians are being asked to pray for ministry in Nigeria, West Africa. Missionary Carol McHone is working in the heart of the Islamic region where anti-Christian violence erupted there a few months ago. SIM, in partnership with the local church, is sharing the Gospel and supplying aid to the Hausa and Fulani people. McHone explains her experience with these predominately Muslim peoples. "We’ve heard so much about Islam being very radical. Overall, they say that it’s a peaceful religion. With everything that’s going on around the world, particularly in Nigeria, I don’t think that’s totally true." However, McHone says Islam in the United States is different. "Most Muslims, though it’s a growing sect here in this country, they’re probably not as radical as what we know in traditional Islamic culture and being steeped in that every day.

China:

Numerous persecution reports cause concern.

A missions agency is voicing alarm over the number of persecution reports they’re getting. Bible Literature International believes the Chinese government plans to stifle the country’s Christian influence prior to hosting the 2008 summer Olympics. Due to security concerns, we’ll call our source "Brian". "The Chinese government would probably want to crack down early enough before the Olympics, that it would do two things: first of all, it would minimize any religious contact that people coming into China would have. And secondly, that by the time the Olympics came around, they could rehabilitate their image in the world." An overt government campaign, notwithstanding, "Brian" says the work of the church will continue. "You’re not going to eradicate it, obviously. They’re trying to do as much as they can to eliminate Christianity because, despite some of the good things that have been said about the Chinese government, they’re not friendly to Christianity. Oddly enough, every time they try to do it, they find that it grows more."

Sudan:

Australian churches call for an end to genocide.

A delegation from Australia’s mainstream churches has called for an end to the racial, economic and religious persecution in southern Sudan.The National Islamic Front government, based in Khartoum, is being accused of carrying out a holy war against the southerners, who are mainly Christians. The churches estimate that six million people have been displaced within Sudan.

Venezuela:

Christian workers in danger from Colombian rebels.

New Tribes Missions have decided to relocate a Venezuelan missions base and a boarding school due to a Colombian rebel incursion. They believe that it would be better to move North American expatriates out of danger, as they seem to be a target of the Colombian rebel group. New Tribes’ spokesman Scott Ross says, "It’s probably expedient for us not to have either facilities or people located close to the border area. The country of Venezuela itself is generally a stable country. We just want to move away from the border a bit, where Colombia is involved and the guerrilla movement." Ross says there is much to pray for as the setting for peace continues to deteriorate. "Be praying for peace and calm in that country; safe journeys and travels as our people are loading up their goods and moving to another city; and then the changes: in the family, the children will be looking for different schools, and all of those things that happen when you move."

India:

Christianity spreads in spite of attacks.

The Dalit’s rejection of Hinduism is continuing to open avenues to the Gospel. While radical Hindus continued to attack minority religions, Bibles for the World’s Rochunga Pudiate was recently in Maharashtra State hoping to hold evangelistic meetings. "With all the riots and conflict across India. India is in just terrible turmoil right now. All across the country there’s crisis and riots and like that, so I said, ‘we have to cancel this meeting.’ We don’t want to create more violence". Pudaite says since November, thousands and thousands of low caste Dalits have rejected Hinduism. "One-point-eight million dollars is needed for Bibles to help point them to Christ. Right now there are 18 million telephone subscribers and I’d like to blanket all of them. And, then we can use the voter registrations and go one state after another and blanket the nation and bring a new revolution of the love of Jesus Christ in the land."

Vietnam:

Government targets Christianity among minorities.

Persecution against Christians in Vietnam appears to be the goal of the government. Many human rights groups indicate that there is a concerted effort to oppress these minority groups. President of Open Doors USA Terry Madison explains why. "All of those tribal minorities have three basic strikes against them. Most of them were allied with the United States, you’re a tribal minority group, and you’re a Christian. And, this just leads to all kinds of government harassment and persecution." International Christian Concern reports that the government hopes Christianity will cease to exist by the end of 2002. Madison says just the opposite is happening, but the persecution is having an affect. "Because of the persecution this has made it very difficult for Bible distribution, certainly for us in our training of pastors up there. We have an extensive training course. It’s a three-year course, and I call them ‘seminaries on the run.’ Pray for safety among believers there as they secretly share their faith."

Kazakhstan:

A ministry flourishes in the face of persecution.

Despite reports of persecution of evangelistic Christians in Kazakhstan, there is one ministry that is being cultivated. Bible Mission International’s Mark Reimschisel. "The country with the war next door, as we’re calling it, has really been open to the Gospel, because everyone wants to know what’s going on there. Especially the youth; they’re very interested in world events and what’s happening around them. It’s given the nationals that we’re supporting a real opportunity to share the Gospel." Reimschisel asks that people pray the hearts of young people remain sensitive to the Gospel, adding that the window may be closing. "Any time that there’s a sense of urgency, and there’s a crisis situation, people have questions. The further that we move away from the crisis of the war that’s kind of tapering off in that part of the world, people begin to lose interest.Those eternal things are not as paramount anymore in their minds."

Sudan:

Humanitarian crisis looming in the south.

The Voice of the Martyrs has learned of a potential humanitarian disaster looming in Northeast Sudan. VOM’s partner in the area, Servant’s Heart, reports that recent attacks by Sudan’s government have virtually destroyed the food supplies and seed stock in the region, jeopardizing at least 60,000 Sudanese. In response, the groups will be providing grain to the region before the rainy season starts in late May.Through this compassion ministry, VOM hopes to share the love of Christ.

Please go to http://www.mnnonline.org to learn more about these stories plus hear a weekday news broadcast in MP3 or Real Audio format.

The Voice Of The Martyrs

posted the following information in their weekly prayer alert bulletin.

China:

House Church Pastor Arrested

According to information received by the Australian office of The Voice of the Martyrs, Pastor Li-Dexian, a well-known house church leader in China, was arrested on Thursday April 11, 2002. A trusted courier carried the information to the VOM office in Hong Kong. VOM has reported the frequent arrests and ill-treatment of Pastor Li during the past several years. After a lull of some months the authorities took action again last week. The information indicates that Li-Dexian was conducting an evangelistic meeting on April 4 in Hua Du, Guangdong Province, when representatives of the PSB descended upon the group shouting it was an illegal gathering. Li and his wife, Zhao Xia, together with four others were apprehended and taken away by the police. The six were questioned for some hours after which five were released, but Pastor Li-Dexian was kept in jail. It is expected Li will be held at least until April 25 - the mandatory period that he can be held without a charge. His wife will try to visit him during the week to seek further information. representatives will monitor the situation and how Pastor Li is treated and make information available as developments take place.

North Korea:

Happy Birthday, Kim Il-Sung

April 15, North Korea started extravagant celebrations for the 90^th birthday of deified "Eternal President" Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994. This celebration follows on an elaborate celebration of the 60^th birthday of North Korea’s present leader, Kim Jong-il on February 16, 2002 where his ruling party,army, parliament and cabinet pledging "ardent worship" of this "great guardian of human justice.At the same time as these expensive celebrations, North Korea is verging on disaster with one third of the population surviving solely on international food aid, which is due to run out soon. Also indicative of conditions, surgeries done without anesthesia, and the nation is littered with a gulag of concentration or labour camps where political prisoners are systematically starved and tortured. In its news release of April 17, 2002, the World Evangelical Alliance reports that as many as 100,000 Christians are in these camps for their faith. The severity of the famine has forced North Korea to resume negotiations with South Korea, a nation with a strong church and missionary focus.

Please check http://www.persecution.net for further information plus resources to help do something on behalf of persecuted believers worldwide.

Keston News Service

reports these persecution incidents.

Moldova:

No Easy Registration for Bessarabian Church.

Despite the Moldovan government’s acceptance of the March decision by the European Court of Human Rights that its refusal to register the Orthodox Church of the Bessarabian jurisdiction violated its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights (see KNS 10 April 2002), the Bessarabian Church seems unlikely to gain registration soon. Government officials have told Keston News Service that "certain procedures" - including changing the law and addressing the question of property claimed by the Church - have to be undergone before the Church can gain registration as a denomination and its individual communities as religious organisations.

Kazakhstan:

Relief And Concern in Wake of Religion Law Ruling.

Tatyana Bulimenko, of the presidential administration’s legal department, told Keston News Service on 11 April that President Nursultan Nazarbayev is not going to appeal against the Constitutional Council’s decision that proposed amendments to the law on religion are at variance with the constitution (see KNS 8 April 2002). A number of human rights and religious figures have welcomed the decision, although some have told Keston that they fear the process of trying to amend the country’s religion law could begin all over again.

Russia:

Special report: State Persecution or Protection of Suzdal’s Breakaway Orthodox.

The trial of Metropolitan Valentin of Suzdal and Vladimir, leader of the breakaway Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church (ROAC), on charges of sexual abuse, was adjourned on 13 February in Suzdal District Court, and no date has been set for its resumption. The ROAC was registered in 2000 by Russia’s Ministry of Justice as a centralised religious organisations; until it declared itself independent in 1995 it had been part of the New-York based Russian Orthodox Church Abroad. Metropolitan Valentin had served in the Moscow Patriarchate until 1990, for almost 20 years carrying out the prestigious duty of greeting foreign tourists to Suzdal. The ROAC insists that the case against him was instigated by the Vladimir regional authorities. Fr Andrei Osetrov, defrocked former secretary of the ROAC synod, alleged to Keston News Service that the Suzdal authorities had known since 1988 that Metropolitan Valentin was involved in illegal activities and had been protecting him because of his KGB connections. Keston reports on the accusations and counter-accusations.

Russia:

Officials harass a priest.

Catholic priest Father Stefano Caprio, who is in charge of two parishes in towns near Moscow, has been banned from travelling to Russia, Keston News Service has learned. His visa was taken away from him without warning at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and the Russian consulate in Milan has refused to issue him with a new one. "We have the right to do this, just like any other country, and we do not have to give any reasons," an official at Russia’s Foreign Ministry told Keston in Moscow on 10 April. Two meetings are scheduled today (11 April) to seek to resolve the case. Last month, a Pentecostal pastor from Latvia was also refused entry to Russia.

Moldova:

Concern Over "Disappeared" Church Activist.

Friends and supporters of Vlad Cubreacov, a politician and active layman in the Bessarabian Orthodox Church, have expressed growing concern about his fate in the wake of his disappearance in the Moldovan capital Chisinau late on 21 March. "I know him as a friend and he is a person of transparent integrity," John Warwick Montgomery, a British-based lawyer who represented the Bessarabian Church in Strasbourg, told Keston News Service on 9 April. "His disappearance is terrible." Church leader Metropolitan Petru Paduraru told Keston he believed that Cubreacov had been abducted not just because of his anti-government political activity, but his religious activity also.

Azerbaijan:

"Overzealous" Police Try to Ban Baptist Service.

Just two days after a court in the capital Baku liquidated a Baptist congregation, a local policeman in the small town of Chukhuryurd near Shemakha in central Azerbaijan tried to ban a small Baptist church from meeting, Baptist sources told Keston News Service. Media coverage of the court liquidation, and the long-running media campaign against religious minorities, have led police and local authorities in many regions to try to ban minority faiths from meeting, whether or not they have registration. The 7 April Sunday service in Chukhuryurd eventually went ahead without police interference.

Azerbaijan:

OSCE "Surprised" at Liquidation Of Baptist Church.

Lutz Leichtfuss, democratisation officer at the Baku office of the Organisations for Security and Cooperation in Europe, has told Keston News Service of his "surprise" at the 3 April district court decision to liquidate the Love Church, an Azeri-language Baptist church based in the Azerbaijani capital. Baptist leader Ilya Zenchenko, rejecting the court ruling as "illegal" and "unjust", told Keston of his suspicion that the judge had been told how to rule in the case. The head of the legal department of the State Committee for Relations with Religious Organisations (which brought the liquidation suit) strongly defended the court-ordered liquidation, adding that the church has one month to lodge an appeal against the verdict.

Please go to http://www.keston.org for more information about religious persecution in communist and post- communist lands.

Subject: Persecution report for April 30, 2002.

Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 09:49:12 -0600

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

To: thilts@help-for-you.com

Mission Network News

reports these incidents of believers being persecuted.

India:

Hindu-Muslim clashes threaten Christians too.

Continuing religious riots in Gujarat are beginning to have an impact on the Parliament. Legislators have forced a discussion over the official handling of the violence. But, the situation remains dangerous not only for Hindus and Muslims, but also for Christians. So says a Southern Baptist International Mission Board worker whom we’ll call ‘Mark’. "Buses are burned and people are stoned, and it just becomes a little indiscriminate. In this particular case, it’s not a direct threat against Christians, but any time there’s upheaval and violence, every community is disturbed, including Christians. " ‘Mark’ asks believers to pray for missionaries in the area. "With the kind of tension that’s there in Gujarat, this would have hindered any kind of progress towards relationship building and evangelism for the Gospel. There needs to be prayer for just some relief in the community tensions right now, and especially as it affects the violence in Gujarat. "

Congo:

Missionary plane commandeered.

Travel in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains treacherous. That is due, in part, to the collapse of peace talks in the area. A case in point, Grace Ministries International reports that two of their workers were trying to fly through the area and were unable to complete their travel plans. The military in the area commandeered planes in both Kipaka and Kindu.

Kazakhstan:

President won’t appeal against unconstitutional ruling.

There are reports that Kazakhstan’s President is not going to appeal against the Constitutional Court’s decision on a restrictive religion law. According to Keston News, proposed amendments to the law on religion are at odds with the country’s constitution. A number of church leaders and missionaries have welcomed the decision, although some fear the process of trying to amend the country’s religion law could begin all over again.

Burma:

The Government cancels a Christian convention.

A three-day Baptist convention, due to be held in Burma, has been cancelled on the orders of the junta. The Baptist World Alliance says the Christian community north eastern Burma had planned to celebrate landmark anniversaries for the church when plans fell through. Local sources suspect that the situation stems from, an ongoing power struggle between the junta’s top leaders. At least 80 percent of the population in north eastern Burma are Christians. They suffer religious persecution and oppression from the military regime.

Please check http://www.mnnonline.org for more information about these stories, missions news, and a weekday audio newscast.

The Voice Of The Martyrs

reports these persecution incidents.

China:

Pastor Released from prison.

On April 17, 2002, the Persecution & Prayer Alert reported on the arrest of Pastor Li-Dexian on April 11. For the past several years, VOM has been following the frequent arrests and ill treatment of Pastor Li. After a lull of some months the authorities took action again. We have received a report that Pastor Li was released at 12:00 noon on April 26, 2002.

China:

Church Leaders Kidnapped by Cult members.

Late this week, VOM began to receive reports out of China that the entire leadership of the China Gospel Fellowship (CGF) had disappeared on April 19. This report suggested that the leaders had been arrested by the Chinese Public Service Bureau (PSB). However, it now appears that they have been kidnapped by an apocalyptic cult group called Lightning from the East. Christians in China are extremely concerned for the physical and psychological well-being of the CGF leaders. Lightning from the East teaches that Jesus has returned as a 30-year-old woman who lives in hiding and has written a third testament to the Bible. The cult claims to have 300,000 followers, but the numbers are likely under 100,000. "Conversion" methods are reported to involve abduction, physical beatings and torture, bribes, blackmail, the use of drugs, and forcing the "converts" to debate the Bible for days until they are too confused to realize what is being taught. They prey on house church groups where the lack of trained Bible teachers makes people more vulnerable to their teachings. In November 2001, Time magazine published a story entitled "Jesus is Back and She’s Chinese" on this bizarre religious sect that is preying on China’s rural Christian congregations.

You can find this article at: Click here

Door Closed to Montagnard Refugees ()

For the past several weeks, The Voice of the Martyrs has been reporting on the plight of Montagnard refugees from Vietnam fleeing to Cambodia because of persecution. In March, a number of Montagnards were forcibly repatriated and Vietnam demanded the return of those remaining. Cambodia reluctantly allowed 1000 of them to find asylum in the United States after intense international pressure. The Cambodian government announced, however, that they would no longer receive refugees from Vietnam. On April 15, one hour after Montagnard refugees were moved from a refugee camp run by the UN High Commission for Refugees in the province of Mondulkiri, the camp was sacked and burned while the Cambodian police did nothing. According to Zenit, the chief of police of the area said, "The refugee camp was set alight because there is no need for such structures in Cambodia. " This week, Human Rights Watch released a detailed report on the oppression and torture of Christians among the Montagnard people of Vietnam. In particular, this report documents how Christians have been specifically targeted, equating evangelical Christianity with "anti-government organizing. " In dozens of villages, authorities forced people to renounce their faith and pledge loyalty to the government, sealing their oath by drinking a mixture of rice wine and goat’s blood.

Ethiopia:

Evangelical Christian woman beaten at a Funeral.

Until recently, most of the persecution facing evangelical Christians in Ethiopia took place in rural areas or in small urban centres. However,recent reports received by The Voice of the Martyrs point to a rise of attacks against evangelicals even in the capital city of Addis Ababa. On Tuesday, April 23, VOM’s project coordinator in Ethiopia sent us a report from the Christian magazine "Hiwot" of an incident that took place in late March. On March 30, 2002, Aselefech Debre went to a funeral in an Orthodox Church compound in Addis Ababa. While she was there, deacons and priests got into an argument with a Muslim man who had come for the funeral and they told him to leave the compound. The priests and deacons became suspicious that other non-Orthodox individuals might be there and so they began to interrogate each and every person. Evangelical Christians and Muslims are considered unholy by many leaders of the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia and are forbidden to enter their places of worship. When Aselefech was asked about her faith, she responded saying, "I am an evangelical Christian. " When the priests discovered about her faith,they began to beat her very cruelly with their hands and sticks. She was also stoned and fell down on the ground, totally covered with blood. She could have avoided the hazard situation by simply saying, "I am Orthodox. " However, she was not hesitant to hide her faith. Hundreds of people watched the cruel assault, and though she cried out for help,nobody would respond. Aselefech was finally beaten until she fell unconscious. The people,fearing that she might die, took her to the nearby hospital where it was learned that her arms had been broken and she had received injuries to her head. Aselefech is a married woman with four children.

Please go to http://www.persecution.net to learn more about persecution of believers worldwide and what can be done about it.

Keston News Service

reports these incidents of suffering Christians.

Russia:

No excuse for stripping Catholic bishop’s visa.

Border police at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo-2 airport prevented Roman Catholic Bishop Jerzy Mazur from entering Russia to return to his diocese in Siberia on 19 April, cancelling his one-year multi-entry visa. Bishop Mazur told Keston News Service on 21 April that the only possible pretext for the authorities’ actions ‘a dispute over the name of a region of the diocese‘ had already been resolved, and that he is now waiting for what he hopes will be a decision by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to reverse the ban on him. During Sunday Mass on 21 April the bishop’s cathedral was picketed by 100 Orthodox protesters denouncing what they claimed was Roman Catholic "expansion" into Russia.

Russia:

Orthodox bishop bars Catholic church building?

Authorities in the western Russian city of Pskov have halted the construction of a Catholic church in the wake of a complaint by the local Orthodox bishop, Keston News Service has learnt. Archbishop Yevsevi (Savvin) of Pskov and Velikie Luki appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the region’s administration Yevgeni Mikhailov with a request "not to allow the destroyers of our homeland and nation - the Roman Pope and Catholicism "to triumph on Holy Pskov soil". On 3 April, soon after the archbishop wrote his letter, the city authorities issued an instruction halting the building.

Russia:

Justice department seeks to liquidate Magadan Catholic parish

A legal case in the Russian far eastern town of Magadan is to decide on whether a foreign citizen without a residence permit may lead a Catholic parish. The Church of Christ’s Nativity, headed by Father Michael Shields, has been warned by the justice department of Magadan region that it is contravening Russia’s 1997 law on religion. However the lawyer representing the parish told Keston News Service that the parish is challenging this interpretation of the law at Magadan city court. The majority of Catholic priests in Russia are foreign citizens, and few have managed to obtain a residence permit.

Russia:

Why was catholic bishop expelled?

Varied responses from the Russian state authorities continue to obscure the reasons for the annulment on 19 April of Bishop Jerzy Mazur’s valid visa when he tried to return to his Irkutsk-based diocese from his native Poland (see KNS 22 April 2002). In recent days there have been several high-level condemnations of the measures taken against Bishop Mazur and requests to the Russian authorities for an explanation.

Russia:

Campaign against Catholics?

"Events in recent months demonstrate that an organised campaign is being waged against the Catholic Church in Russia, " maintains a 20 April statement from the head of Russia’s Catholics, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz. The vice-chairman of the Russian government’s Commission for Religious Organisations told Keston News Service that he found the recent incidents involving Catholic clergy "surprising and incomprehensible", but said that as yet he could not comment on whether they represented an anti-Catholic campaign. There have been calls for a restriction on Catholic activity from the Russian parliament, the Duma, but the presidential administration appears to be at least mildly supportive of the Catholics’ position.

Please check http://www.keston.org for more details on these, and other stories.

ASSIST News Service

has these stories to report.

Indonesia:

Britain’s Pop Idol Sir Cliff Richard Adds His Support For The Persecuted Church.

Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service, reports that legendary British singer/songwriter Sir Cliff Richard has added his voice to the campaign in support of the suffering Church in the Indonesian province of Maluku. Australian church workers have enlisted the support of Sir Cliff for "Cry Indonesia", a recording project undertaken among the people of Maluku who have suffered at the hands of Islamic extremists over the last three years. The tragedy in Maluku is one that has taken the lives of 10,000 of the Malukan people and left 600,000 homeless. In what is believed to be the first-ever commercially available recording of the suffering church, "Cry Indonesia", has given a voice for the victims of the conflict. Since January 1999 there has been extensive religious conflict in the Indonesian province of Maluku. This violence has been inflamed by the arrival of thousands of Islamic Jihad warriors who, after undergoing military training on Java, arrived unhindered and en masse in Maluku.

Ethiopia:

Muslim mobs target churches.

Dan Wooding, founder of the ASSIST News Service, writes that a Muslim mob, protesting the actions of Western nations allied to fight terrorism, damaged a Christian church in the eastern Ethiopian town of Asaita in early March. Open Doors with Brother Andrew reports that the attackers carried banners of Osama bin Laden and shouted slogans against the United States and other Western countries. "Our sources said the mob’s leaders had planned to burn down the Mekane Yesus church, an indigenous Protestant church, but police arrived in time to save the building," said Terry Madison, US President and CEO of Open Doors based in Santa Ana, California. "The church’s door and windows were broken, and much of the property inside the building was destroyed, including Bibles, hymnbooks and choir robes. " In addition, Madison says that in Asaita, in eastern Ethiopia’s Wello province, Muslim protesters—many of whom were students -- identified and attacked two Christian evangelists. Molla Tesfay, who has lived and worked in the region for the last two years, is still receiving treatment in Addis Ababa for his injuries. Gureta Ahmad was also threatened by the mob. Police detained Ahmad, claiming concern for his safety. He is still in jail, casting doubt on the true reason for his detention. A local contact of Open Doors said (regarding Ahmad’s arrest), "I do not believe the ‘for his own safety’ because of the duration of his stay in jail. " Madison continued, "Muslim leaders accused Ahmad of proselytizing by distributing Christian literature. He is involved in several Christian projects relating to the Afar people—a Muslim people located in northeast Ethiopia and Djibouti. Some think the violence is connected to an Afar aid project of the Mekane Yesus church. But Afar officials visited the damaged church and assured the aid workers of their support for the aid project. " One Christian leader who has worked on Afar-related projects said, "The persecution in Asaita may have been instigated by Muslim leaders wanting to protect Afars from the witness of Christians working with the aid projects. " Madison urged, "We need to not only pray for the Christians living in Ethiopia—for strength and encouragement—but also for these aid projects, which are sincere attempts to help the Ethiopian people an are critical opportunities to show Ethiopians the love of Christ. " Madison went on to share that this isn’t the first time this year a Muslim mob has retaliated against Christians. "Earlier this year, a mob of protesting Muslims burned the Mekane Yesus church in Kamise, about 40 miles south of Dese in Wello province. The attack coincided with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebration of the Baptism of Jesus. The procession and one of the Orthodox churches were attacked initially, but the large number of Orthodox Christians prevented the attackers from doing much damage," Madison stated.

England:

Witnessing to Muslims banned.

Michael Ireland, Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service in London, England says an attempt to ban the work of an Evangelical missionary couple working among Muslims in London, Europe and Africa for nearly 20 years, has been revived by those who are opposed to their methods. Jay and Judy Smith are missionaries sponsored by the Brethren in Christ World Missions, which appointed Jay and Judy as full-time missionaries to the Muslim world in 1983. They have worked in evangelism among Muslims in England (seconded to Ichthus Christian Fellowship in London), France, and Senegal (seconded to SIM) and are currently working in apologetical and research work among the Muslims of London, England. Jay teaches Muslim/Christian apologetics for those exploring ministry in the Muslim world. He co-teaches various undergraduate and graduate courses on Islam. The apologetical and historical work, which Jay Smith is researching in his current studies for a Ph. D. , is written into a series of tracts and position papers. These are used in discussions at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, London, and in debates and seminars on the university campuses around England. (The tracts and papers are on the Internet, where a lively debate is ongoing between Muslim and Christian students from around the world.

The domain is: http://debate.org.uk

The Brethren in Christ International Fellowship U. K. , began in 1979 primarily as a ministry to African expatriates in London. The group, now known as the Forest Gate Brethren in Christ Church, is still in existence but faces new challenges as they continue to explore the Lord’s leading. In 1992, a new initiative started as one missionary couple, Jay and Judy Smith started ministering to the rapidly growing Muslim population. (In England up to 15 percent of the population is Muslim).

Please go to http://www.assist-ministries.org for more details regarding these reports.

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