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Persecution Report for Tuesday, 11-Feb-2003

Mission Network News reports the following incidents of Christians suffering for Christ.

China:

Government plans to destroy unregistered churches.

The Voice of the Martyrs says a top-secret document they've recently obtained proves the Chinese government wants to destroy unregistered churches. VOM's Gary Lane says the document instructs the local officials to terminate "illegal Protestant activities". "The Chinese government has an ongoing, systematic campaign to infiltrate, and then eradicate, eliminate unregistered evangelical churches in China. This is a document that is really a work plan for Hebei province, which is the largest province in China." Lane says under the plan's provisions, churches can expect more aggression. "Christians in that area have to be on guard that they are targets, there are government spies. The directive was dated August 20,2002, and it said that a secret force would be established to infiltrate unregistered church groups in that area." Lane urges prayer for the continued work of unregistered churches.

India:

Hindu fundamentalists posing greater danger to Christians.

Christians continue to face opposition from radical Hindus, who are gaining political power in that nation.Words of Hope's Lee DeYoung just returned from India where he describes the oppression facing believers there. "More and more states of India are politically passing anti conversion laws. Our partners, who are involved in working in India, are not finding that their efforts in recent months have been curtailed in any increased way because of the threat of persecution, but I would says they're more and more careful." DeYoung travelled to the Hindu holy city of Varanasi where Words of Hope is having an impact through radio. "At least to me there seems to be a real spiritual presence of spiritual darkness, and yet we were very thrilled to hear testimonies from a number people who were listeners to our broadcast in that area, which indicate that their lives have been radically transformed through the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Please go to http://www.mnnonline.org to learn more about missions news and to hear a weekday audio newscast.

The Voice Of The Martyrs reports the following persecution incidents.

Sudan:

Team Returns From Southeastern Sudan.

A multi-ministry, international team has returned from the Blue and Upper Nile regions of southeastern Sudan after conducting an investigation of recent developments in the country and sponsoring a four-day church leaders conference. Representatives from The Voice of the Martyrs, Servant's Heart and Freedom Quest International discovered evidence of atrocities, including the deliberate killing of young children, by troops of the Islamist government of Sudan (GOS) in direct violation of the March 2002 agreement between the GOS and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). In the agreement, the parties agreed, among other things, to discontinue attacks against civilian targets.

The team also discovered that government-backed militias continue to violate the agreed upon cease-fire. Reliable sources also report a significant military build-up in and around Juba, also in violation of the cease-fire agreement. It is feared that the government of Sudan may be preparing a major offensive to coincide with expected US-led action against Iraq, to take advantage of diverted world attention.

The GOS and SPLM are presently meeting in Kenya for peace negotiations. According to Reuters, an agreement was reached yesterday ceding control of any areas captured since October and to allow international observers to investigate any violations of the agreement. However, any optimism from this announcement is dampened by the history of violations, particularly by the Sudanese government. A joint press release with more details on the trip to Sudan will be issued within the next day or so.

Representatives from The Voice of the Martyrs, led by Communications Director Glenn Penner, also conducted a four-day church leaders conference in the town of Yabus. Local Mabaan and Uduk church leaders from the region gathered to receive specific training in discipling young Christians. The church in Sudan continues to grow at an impressive rate, but the majority of church leaders in this region have little or no biblical education. Most churches have few Bibles in their indigenous language. Presently only the New Testament is complete in the Uduk and Mabaan languages.

The Voice of the Martyrs, in partnership with Servant's Heart, anticipates launching a significant two-year theological education by extension course in the Mabaan language in early 2004. Glenn Penner, writing in an e-mail today en-route from Africa, asked for prayer for the necessary arrangements for the development and translation of the study material into Mabaan and that the training of indigenous leadership will progress speedily. "There is a tremendous need for this course," wrote Penner.

Indonesia:

Jihad Leader Acquitted.

An Indonesian court acquitted a leader of the Laskar Jihad on January 30; a decision which has caused concerns among Christians in the country who have faced persecution, destruction and death at the hands of the militant Islamic group. Jafar Abu Thalib faced charges of inciting violence against Christians after a speech last April in Ambon in which he condemned a small Christian separatist group, calling on Muslims to take up arms.

Soon afterwards, armed militants attacked a small village near by, killing 13 Christians. In his ruling acquitting Jafar, the judge ruled that Jafar was merely exercising his freedom of speech. In referring to the separatist group, the judge also justified Jafar's speech saying, "the government is trying very hard to safeguard the unity of the nation. Awards can be given to those who, without reserve, uphold the unity of our country,Indonesia."

Though the Laskar Jihad has supposedly been dissolved, Christians in Indonesia have raised concerns for their safety. According to CNS News, Fr. Cornelius Bohm of the Ambon Crisis Centre views the trial outcome as further indication of the influence of militant Muslims in Indonesia. "The government is afraid of them and gives them a little pleasure every now and then to keep them calm," he said.

Please see http://www.persecution.net for more details about believers suffering for their faith and what can be done to help them.

Christian Aid Ministries reports the following incident.

Indonesia:

2 Christian leaders sentenced.

Two Christian separatist leaders were each sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The two Christians, Alex Manuputty (55) and Samuel Waileruny (45), who were sentenced to three years in prison, had merely encouraged compatriots to raise the flag of a banned separatist movement with barely 100 followers. Christian peace activist Rev. Renaldy Damanik also went on trial Monday (February 3) on the charges similar to those which a leader of the Laskar Jihad militant group, Jafar Abu Thalib, faced. He was accused of carrying weapons in the back of a car and of instigating violent attacks (against Christian communities!) in Central Sulawesi this past August. He is the secretary-general of the Christian Synod in Central Sulawesi and operates the Sulawesi Crisis Centre there. Known for dissuading Christians from reacting in kind to violent attacks by Muslims, he is the much-loved and respected leader of the Christian community.

Damanik's record is far different from Thalib's. In Damanik's case, police stopped a car in which he was riding and asked him to stand aside while they searched it. He did and only the next day did he learn the police reportedly found guns in the car. Damanik was enticed to Jakarta, where he presumed he was being asked to testify as a witness and where he was suddenly arrested and jailed. He was later transferred to the jail in Palu where he received poisoned food while in police custody. Police claimed Monday they found home-made rifles and bullets in Damanik's car and the two cars accompanying him. Damanik denies ownership of the guns and claims they were planted by the police.

After Monday's hearing, the trial was adjourned until February 10 when the defense will present its case.

This story was written with the help of reports from Elizabeth Kendall of World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission www.WorldEvangelical.org/rlc.html and International Christian Concern www.persecution.org.

Stories providing the history of the violence in the Moluccas in which up to 10,000 lives have been lost and over 500,000 persons displaced from their homes can be found in back issues of Missions Insider at the Christian Aid Web site www.christianaid.org. (MI-405 750-PERS)

Please check http://www.missionaid.org for a full version of this article.

ASSIST News Service reports these persecution stories.

North Korea:

North Korea remains atop persecution "World Watch List."

The isolated communist nation of North Korea remains atop the Open Doors "World Watch List" of countries where Christians are persecuted. The annual list ranks countries according to the intensity of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith.

Saudi Arabia holds the second spot on the list followed by Vietnam.

North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam are noted as countries where "severe persecution" is taking place. Other countries listed in the WWL's Top Ten include: Laos, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Somalia and Iran. China is listed 11th.

For years, very little information about the church emerged from the decades of severe oppression. Recent years, however, have seen a relative "flood" of information coming from North Korean refugees fleeing to China to escape famine. They report that the church has not only survived, but even grown, perhaps to 400,000 Christians who worship in secret. But to visibly practice the Christian faith in North Korea today can still result in imprisonment and death.

"Imagine how nearly impossible it is for Christians to survive, and the Christian faith to grow in North Korea as it again ranks first in the hall of shame of countries repressing the free expression of Christianity," says Terry Madison, president/CEO of Open Doors USA. "And yet, despite its cruel punishment and death to believers, indications are that the Church in North Korea continues to grow despite the best efforts of the government to destroy the Church."

Madison adds that Christians need to lift up the needs of our brothers and sisters in North Korea in prayer as well as millions of other believers in countries on the World Watch List.

The desert kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as the guardian of Islam, requires all its citizens to be Muslims. A Saudi who converts to another religion faces the death penalty for apostasy. Even Christian guest workers from countries such as the Philippines and Korea have been imprisoned and deported for quietly practicing their faith, despite government assurances that foreigners can worship privately.

Oppression in Vietnam has increased during the last two years in the Central Highlands and the northwest provinces. The harsh treatment of predominately Christian tribal groups has caused the Southeast Asia nation to rise in the WWL rankings despite some superficial government moves to "legalize" the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South). Compass Direct reported in December that more than 350 tribal churches had been forcibly closed. Recent government resolutions indicate Vietnamese communist officials plan to increase their infiltration of the church nationwide.

"The World Watch List top 15 provides an interesting mix, if you can use the word 'interesting' for countries where our Christian brothers and sisters suffer so much," says an Open Doors spokesman. "Eight are dominated by Islamic regimes, while two countries -- Bhutan and Myanmar (Burma) -- are predominately Buddhist. Communist governments rule four of the top 15. Then there is the Central Asia nation of Turkmenistan, ranked fifth, which has a mainly Muslim population but is led by a former communist named Niyazov whose ruthlessness and demand for adoration have orchestrated a dictatorship not unlike the Kims of North Korea."

Nos. 11-25 on the World Watch list are: China, Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Sudan, Azerbaijan, Yemen, Comoros, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Colombia (conflict areas), Nigeria (north), Cuba, Iraq, Qatar and Libya.

Rounding out the list are Nos. 26-50: Brunei, Morocco, Tunisia, Russian Federation (the Muslim republics of Chechnya, Kabardino, Balkarya and Dagestan), Mexico (southern state of Chiapas), Indonesia, Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Kurdistan, Algeria, India, Mauritania, Djibouti, Nepal, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Eritrea, Kuwait, Syria, Malaysia, Ethiopia, Bahrain, Belarus and Jordan.

The World Watch List is based on evaluations and testimonies obtained by Open Doors indigenous contacts, field workers and from actual members of the Persecuted Church.

An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer persecution for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination for being Christian. Open Doors, founded in 1955 by Brother Andrew, author of the bestselling book, "God's Smuggler," seeks to serve and strengthen the Persecuted Church in the world's most difficult areas through training, literature distribution, community development and personal encouragement.

Israel;

Bethlehem Christians suffer as Iraq war nears.

As Israel reportedly began preparing for a United States led war against Iraq, Christian teachers in Palestinian territories continued spreading the peace and "gospel of Jesus Christ" Thursday, February 6, the Bethlehem Bible College (BBC) suggested.

Although Israeli soldiers stepped up security around Bethlehem, where Christians believe Jesus was born, the "BBC continues to conduct classes when possible," the College said in a statement obtained by ASSIST News Service. "Please pray with us that the spring semester schedule will not be marred by further disruptions," the BBC said.

Despite Chinese, French and German opposition to America's plans to strike at Iraq, there is concern in the region that United States will launch a military campaign, possible even in February.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper quoted Israeli defense sources as saying late Wednesday, February 5, that they expect the U.S. to act "before the end of the month," especially after Secretary of State Colin Powell's speech to the U.N. Security Council earlier in the day.

But the same sources said last night that "this won't be a situation of rocket launches at us every afternoon, like in the last Gulf War. At most, we'll experience one or two rocket attacks - and even that's unlikely."

However institutions such as the BBC are expected to further suffer under curfews, Christians suggested. Founded in 1979 by local Arab leaders, the BBC claims to have an average enrolment of 135 young, native Palestinian-Arab students in various courses, mainly taught in Arabic. "The priority of the College is to prepare local leaders for Christian service in the Middle East. In addition to providing training for its students to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ among their own people, the College renders a powerful and much needed Christian witness in the community at large through various outreach endeavours," the BBC said.

The BBC stressed it is difficult to fulfil its mission in this situation. "The Christmas Outreach Program (for instance), which ordinarily takes place on the last Friday before Christmas, had to be postponed indefinitely due to curfews." "Originally it was hoped that the army would withdraw by New Year and the program could be rescheduled around the time of the Orthodox Christmas celebrations. However the army has not withdrawn and shows no indications that it will withdraw in the near future. The BBC has been obliged to tentatively reschedule the Christmas Outreach Program for Easter."

Yet despite the apparent difficulties the students "still have a sense of humour and they are still able to draw enormous strength from their faith in God," said Chris Galloway, who arrived from New Zealand to teach an intensive two-week class in Human Communications.

Galloway, who is supported by the Christian Tear Fund New Zealand and his church Life Point Assembly in Wellington said he pleased to be in Bethlehem.

"All of (the students) are facing terrific challenges, and I feel a great sense of privilege being with them," he said. Some of their parents or friends have lost land to settlers, the BBC added. It mentioned specifically Tony and Nisreen Nassar as they continue to struggle with the crisis involving the confiscation of their family farm. Prior to the Israeli elections on 28 January, settlers reportedly entered the property and attempted to bulldoze a road, destroying trees and fences.

The BBC and other Christian leaders have urged prayers for the churches in Palestinian territories, at a time when more conflicts are expected ahead and during the expected war against Iraq.

Please go to http://www.assistnews.net to read more interesting and uplifting articles.

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