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Subject: PERSECUTION REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 17, 2003.

Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2004 19:38:35 -0800

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

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

PERSECUTION REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 17, 2004.

The Voice Of the Martyrs provides these persecution bulletins.

India:

Attacks by Militant Indian Hindus Increasing

Several reports in the past week indicate an increasing militancy by Hindu activists against Christians in India. In response, Christians are calling on the government for help. In the state of Madhya Pradesh, Protestant and Catholic groups have joined together in calling for the government to intervene in stopping attacks that are occurring at "regular intervals."

According to a February 10 report in Asia News, militant Hindu groups are conducting anti-Christian rallies that incite hatred against Christians, resulting in attacks against schools, vehicles and churches, burning of effigies, as well as threats against Christians.

In the state of Goa, thirty percent of the population is Catholic. Hindu groups, however, have been campaigning to take over several old Portuguese churches, claiming they were built on the ruins of Hindu temples. According to a report from Compass Direct, a stone claimed to be a part of a Hindu idol was recently discovered in the compound of the Catholic bishop's palace.

According to a February 5 report by Charisma News Service, several churches in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh states have also been attacked in recent weeks. Six local evangelists were also assaulted in Orissa State. Their lives were spared only because onlookers intervened. The men required hospitalization for their injuries.

A delegation of American congressmen recently visited India to better understand the situation facing religious minorities in India. According to a February 5 report by Baptist Press, the congressmen expressed shock at the violence facing Christians and Muslims at the hands of militant Hindu groups. Representative Joseph Pitts promised that their report would be brought to the attention of the U.S. administration in formulating U.S. policy toward India.

For more information on persecution in India, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/india.htm.

Australia:

Vilification Trial Resumes in Australia

The trial of two pastors charged with "Religious Vilification" in Victoria State, Australia resumes on February 12, after recessing on December 19, 2003. When the trial resumes, witnesses for the defense will be heard. A summary of the case, to this point, is available at http://www.persecution.net/news/australia_trial.pdf. VOM encourages you to pray for Daniel Scot and Danny Nalliah, that the truth will be told and that the judge will dismiss the charges against them.

Sri Lanka:

Arrests Made in Attack on Relief Agency

Nine men, including three Buddhist monks, have been arrested following a mob attack on February 9 on the World Vision office in Kebethigollawa, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. According to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, a mob of over a dozen men stormed the building, throwing gasoline bombs at the facility. Arrests for religiously motivated crimes against Christians have been rare in Sri Lanka. However, the President and Prime Minister have both called for action to prevent a continuation of the violence seen in recent months.

World Vision has often been accused of prosyletism by Buddhist nationalists in Sri Lanka. For more information on the plight of Christians in Sri Lanka, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/srilanka.htm.

Indonesia:

Short Term Improvement; Long Term Risk

A report released on February 3 by the International Crisis Group (ICG) suggests that, while there has been some progress in the battle against militant Islamic groups in Indonesia, there remains an "under appreciated longer term security risk," particularly with the rise of a new group, "Mujahidin KOMPAK."

In the wake of violent attacks in the Central Sulawesi province and the bombing of a night club in Bali, eighteen members of Jemaah Islamiyah have been arrested. ICG reports that Jemaah Islamiyah remains active, though their activities are presently focused primarily on religious indoctrination. Mujahidin KOMPAK comes from members of Jemaah Islamiyah who are looking for more aggressive action.

ICG describes Mujahidin KOMPAK as "leaner, meaner, and quicker." It is believed that Mujahidin KOMPAK is responsible for a series of recent attacks against Christians and that they have been trained in militant camps in the Philippines and Afghanistan. In January, security forces discovered more than forty bombs, along with handmade guns and ammunition. It is believed these weapons were to be used in a series of attacks on Christians in Central Sulawesi. The full report from International Crisis Group is available at http://www.crisisweb.org/home/getfile.cfm?id=1086type=pdf.

For more information on challenges facing the Indonesian Church, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/indonesia.htm.

Please check http://www.persecution.net for past persecution stories and how to assist suffering believers.

Forum 18 presents these reports of religious rights violations.

Azarbaijan:

"Traitor" for being Christian?

A deputy head of police has threatened a Baptist Pastor, trying "to drive him out of the town, ban him from visiting and insulted him as a 'traitor' for having adopted Christianity," the leader of the Baptist church in Azerbaijan has told Forum 18 News Service. This is one of many problems Baptists have, including other threats from local police officers and congregations being unable to get state registration.

An Azeri-language Baptist church has been closed down and its pastor banned from preaching and subjected to a harsh media campaign. Also, 50,000 Azeri-language New Testaments have been denied entry to Azerbaijan. Baptists have told Forum 18 of their opposition to attempts to crush the Muslim community of Baku's Juma mosque led by imprisoned imam Ilgar Ibrahimoglu Allahverdiev. The Baptists have been prominent in his defence, pointing out that his arrest "testifies to the intentions of the authorities to restrict even further the religious freedom not only of Baptists but of all believers in Azerbaijan".

Belarus:

Close supervision of religious life is central policy

Forum 18 News Service has definitively found that close supervision of religious life in Belarus by local officials is an integral part of current central policy. It is not either a dwindling vestige of Soviet practice or the result of individual arbitrariness. The evidence for this is contained in a letter which Forum 18 has seen from the vice-chairman of the State Committee for Religious and Ethnic Affairs, Vladimir Lameko.

The letter sharply criticises lower-level state officials for not diligently monitoring religious communities.

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

ASSIST News Service has these persecution bulletins.

China:

Government arrests 3 and church destroyed.

Chinese authorities have arrested three Christian leaders and bulldozed a house church to rubble as part of a widespread crackdown against active Christians meeting in homes across the Communist nation, a key religious rights watchdog announced Friday, February 13.

The well informed Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) said Ms. Qiao Chunling, a 41-year-old resident of Fangcheng city in Henan province, was arrested during a house church service at Guanlin, Luoyang city. "Ms. Qiao is a very important house church leader closely associated with Mr. Li Tian'en, one of the most prominent house church leaders in China," VOM claimed.

Another church leader, 58-year old Ms. Xu Yongling, was detained the next day at Nanyang city also in Henan province. "She was asleep at the home of a local church member when police raided and arrested her," VOM added in a statement monitored by ASSIST News Service (ANS).

Deborah Xu is the sister of prominent house church leader Peter Xu Yongze, who now lives in the United States. She has been arrested many times in the past and is now the leader of the "Born Again Movement? church, which claims to have millions of members throughout China, VOM said. In addition Mr Zeng Guangbo, 35, was arrested January 25 at a house church at Zengzhuang village, Yuanzhuang town in Deng county of Henan province.

Escaping custody

He escaped from custody two days later, and is currently in hiding in China, VOM said. "Zeng is a former military policeman who worked in the Department of Broadcasting and TV in Beijing before he was expelled because of his relationship with Peter Xu's house church in 1988. Since his first arrest, Mr Zeng has become a very active house church leader."

The latest arrest came as VOM received what it described as "shocking" video of an unregistered Chinese church being destroyed. VOM said the video, which was smuggled out of the country, showed how "The Tu Du Sha Church at Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province was bulldozed to the ground last June 26. The church was started around 1930 by Hudson Taylor's group, China Inland Mission, and had grown in size to a weekly attendance of 1,500 members."

Police forces reportedly arrived before 4:00 a.m. expecting the church to be empty. Instead, they apparently found 300 believers gathered for prayer. "The police left, but returned just before 8:00 a.m. with 200 military policemen and more than 40 vehicles. In spite of the protests of church members, the church was completely destroyed. A Chinese Christian covertly videotaped the entire scene, and the video was smuggled out of the country," VOM said.

Unique video

"In our 36 years of ministry, we've never had a video tape like this," said Tom White, VOM's USA Director. "This tape shows how the Chinese government treats Christian groups that refuse to register."

Church analysts say that the Communist authorities have become increasingly concerned as the country is reportedly experiencing the fastest church growth in the world. Yet, the U.S.-based Christian broadcaster Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) has said it is preparing to reach China with the Gospel and that it has made some progress in talks about these plans with Chinese

Communist officials.

To view segments of the video, as well as a complete explanation of the attack, log on to www.persecution.com/china. DVD copies are available to media representatives from The Voice of the Martyrs News Services Office by calling 918-338-8440.

Iraq:

Fallujah attakck kills 21, as Assyrian Christians cry for help

At least 21 people were killed and many others wounded Saturday, February 14, in Iraq's tense Sunni triangle, shortly after the country's Assyrian Christian community warned its churches will become the next target of terrorism.

Reporters said the attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the police station in a daring attack in the troubled town of Fallujah Saturday morning. "Scores of prisoners held at the police compound were reportedly released by the attackers." the Voice of America (VOA) said.

The latest violence, which followed two suicide blasts this week that killed over 100 people, underscored concern among especially minority Christians in the region about what they see as Muslim violence against them and those supporting the U.S.-led coalition. Several Assyrian Christian churches have already received threatening letters and leaflets, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported Friday, February 13.

"Our branch here in Baghdad received a report warning us, 'You have to inform the chairman to take care. We have some information,' added Willeam Warda, the head of the Culture and Information Department of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, grouping many of Iraq's Assyrian communities.

Threats taken "seriously"

"They didn't declare what kind of information, but we depend on the report that we received and we take the subject seriously," he told RFE/RL.

Up to one million Assyrians are believed to be living in Iraq, the only group that still speaks Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language spoken by Jesus and his disciples. Most are in Baghdad and central Iraq, but large communities can also be found in the north and south of the country.

Warda said many Christian churches are responding to the anonymous threats and violence by cutting back the number of services and working only during daylight hours.

"All the churches now are paying attention to these kinds of threats, and they are changing the time [of their services]. Even churches which used to hold meetings for youth and things like this are postponing them and neglecting some lectures for youth and for women, » RFE/RL quoted him as saying.

Muslims deny involvement

But some Iraqi Muslim organizations denied threatening Christians. An official of Al-Hawzaal-Ilmia, a powerful Shi'a movement, said his group condemns unconditionally the threats against the Christian churches, the network reported.

"We heard about the signs that [Christian churches] might be attacked, and we condemn such operations, because Islam respects all sacred places, like mosques, churches, et cetera," said Sheikh Abd al-Jabbar Menhal, a Baghdad representative of the group.

Christians told ASSIST News Service (ANS) that the United States has been slow to employ enough Iraqi policemen and soldiers to improve the security situation for them and other vulnerable groups in Iraq suffering under Muslim extremism.

Iraqi forces desperate

Yet Saturday' attack also showed that Iraqi security forces seem unable to deal with the increasingly sophisticated terrorist attacks. VOA quoted police and hospital officials in Fallujah as saying there may have been up to 50 attackers who took part in the assault. Most of the dead were said to be Iraqi policemen and several civilians caught in the crossfire. The attack came two days after the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East was ambushed in Fallujah at the same compound. NBC Television showed a fierce gun battle between American forces and gunmen who attacked General John Abizaid's convoy with rocket-propelled grenades from nearby rooftops Thursday, February 12.

No injuries were reported, but one soldier told NBC's Nightly News it was difficult to establish whether some of the attackers had been killed or wounded. Analysts say the attacks have been carried out by groups with links to Al-Qaeda or remnants of the old regime, including radical Sunni groups frustrated by their community's loss of prestige and power following the fall of Hussein.

Fallujah has been one of the most troublesome and violent towns in Iraq for U.S. soldiers, as it is an area where former President Hussein drew a lot of support, VOA reported.

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

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