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20-Jan-2004

Subject: PERSECUTION REPORT FOR JANUARY 20, 2004.

Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 20:20:04 -0800

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

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

CC: "John M. Lindner" <jml@christianaid.org>

PERSECUTION REPORT FOR JANUARY 20, 2004.

The Voice Of The Martyrs provides these bulletins of Christians suffering for Christ.

Pakistan:

Car Bombing at Bible Society Injures Eleven

A car bombing outside the Bible Society office in Karachi in southern Pakistan on January 15, injured at least eleven people.

Prior to the attack, police had received notice that the Bible Society office would be targeted and so were on guard when the explosion happened. A motorcycle drove by and a small explosive device, possibly a fire cracker, was thrown at the officers. Several minutes later, while investigating the first explosion, a nearby car bomb exploded. Several vehicles in close proximity were destroyed and one wall of the historic Holy Trinity Anglican Church was seriously damaged. Among the injured are six police officers and two employees of the Bible Society, none seriously.

Pictures of the attack are available through a link at http://www.persecution.net/pnp_se.htm.

This is the first attack of this type against Christians in Pakistan in over a year. No one has yet claimed responsibility.

According to VOM spokesman, Glenn Penner, "I have a deep concern that this is only the beginning of a rising swell of violence against Christians in Pakistan. Islamic militantism is by no means under control in this nation. We need to be praying for the government of Pakistan and praying that Christians will be wise in knowing how to conduct themselves in these increasingly dangerous days."

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

Vietnam:

Trial for Pastor Postponed

Less than twenty-four hours before the General Secretary of the Full Gospel House Church in Vietnam was to stand trial for "interfering with an officer doing his duty," his trial was postponed indefinitely because the trial judge was unable to attend. Christian leaders in Vietnam, however, suspect it was because of pressure from Vietnam's house church leaders, as well as the international attention being given to the trial.

The charges against Pastor Bui Van Ba stem from a police raid on a prayer meeting in his home on August 18, 2003. (see http://www.persecution.net/news/vietnam6.html). While invading the home, police knocked his ailing wife to the floor. She later fainted with severe chest pains. Believers pleaded with police to let him take his wife to the hospital, but they refused. Instead, they turned on Ba and brutally beat him, hitting his head against the concrete wall. Eventually one of the believers was allowed to take his wife to the hospital, but Ba was taken to the police station where he was chained to a post and beaten. He was released the next day, but remains under house arrest.

While Vietnamese believers are rejoicing that the trial has been postponed, they realize that the trial could resume at any time.

They call on Christians around the world to pray with them for justice and religious freedom.

For more information on persecution facing Christians in Vietnam, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/vietnam.htm.

Tajikistan:

Pastor Killed While Praying

Sergei Besarab was on his knees praying and singing in the evening of January 12 when unidentified gunmen with automatic weapons rushed into the yard and shot him point blank through the window of the house of prayer. Besarab was pastor of a young church in the ancient city of Isfara in the mountains of northern Tajikistan. When his wife Tamara heard the shots from another room, she ran to his aid, but he was already dead. Robbery is being ruled out as a motive, as nothing was stolen in the attack.

Reports indicate that the Baptist pastor was shot thirteen times.

An investigation into the killing has been launched.

According to a report from Forum 18 this morning, Besarab had been in prison four times before coming to Christ. Since then, he has been very active in evangelistic work, raising the anger of some. Only a week before his death, the local newspaper, Nasimi Isfara, published an article critical of his ministry and pointing out his criminal past. Tajikistan is predominantly Muslim but the government is officially secular. In the last two years, authorities have taken action against non-registered religious communities, both Christian and Muslim, despite there being no legal requirement to register. The Isfara region is generally considered more devoutly Muslim than the rest of the country.

The area has experienced a clampdown on some Islamic elements since the US-led "War on Terrorism" began. Three prisoners from Afghanistan, held by United States in Guantanamo Bay, were from the Isfara region. As part of a crackdown, more than twenty mosques have been closed down in the area, though critics claim it is an attempt to reduce the influence of the opposition Islamic Renaissance Party.

For more information on Tajikistan, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/tajik.htm.

Laos:

Forced to Flee

Six women and children arrived in Pakse in southern Laos on January 2 after being forced from their village in Attapue Province for refusing to renounce their faith in Christ.

According to a report from Christian Aid Mission, the village chiefs fined them 150,000 kips ($18.00 Cdn - about a month's wage) for believing in Christ. They were ordered to renounce their faith or face the possibility of being shot. Having faced pressure for many months, the families decided to leave the village, saying "the situation is getting very unstable and dangerous."

Last week the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported on arrests in Attapue Province for holding Christmas services (see http://www.persecution.net/news/laos4.html).It is reported that other Christians are in hiding to escape arrest.

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

Sri Lanka:

Huge Anti-Christian Rally Demands Charges Be Dropped

Around five thousand Buddhists converged on the streets of Homagama, Sri Lanka in an anti-Christian rally on January 11. The demonstrators demanded guarantees from the police that those suspected of an attack on a Catholic Church on November 30 not be taken to court on January 12. (See http://www.persecution.net/news/srilanka16.html for more details on the November 30 attack.) Police reportedly agreed to exclude any Buddhist monks. One of the suspects is a monk.

A similar rally is being planned for January 25 to protest against Christian ministries with prominent Buddhist monks scheduled to speak.

This is one of several incidents in Sri Lanka this week reported by the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. In various locations pastors and churches received threats of violence or death. In Pita-Kotte, Kirimatiyana, Wadduwa, Thennekumbura and Matugama homes or church buildings were damaged in attacks.

To read more about persecution facing Christians in Sri Lanka, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/srilanka.htm.

Egypt, Pakistan, India, Turkey, and Turkmenistan:

Updates from Around the World

The following are updates of stories previously reported in the Persecution and Prayer Alert.

Updated pictures are available from the attack on the Patmos Centre in Egypt. See the latest article under Persecution News at http://www.persecution.net/country/egypt.htm.

Authorities appear to be trying to downplay the killing of Pastor Mukhtar in Pakistan. See the latest update on Persecution News at http://www.persecution.net/country/pakistan.htm

Film to be produced calling the murderer of an Australian missionary and his sons in India a "hero." Go to http://www.persecution.net/country/india.html and click on the link under Persecution News.

Court proceedings yield more details on the October 19 beating of a Turkish believer. Update available at http://www.persecution.net/country/turkey.htm.

Baptist church in Turkmenistan fined and threatened with criminal charges. See the latest updated news at http://www.persecution.net/country/turkmen.htm.

Please see http://www.persecution.net for details on these and other stories plus how to help suffering Christians.

Christian Aid Mission reports these persecution incidents.

Vietnam:

Police hound christians to death

Vietnamese police are doing everything in their power to force Christians to deny Christ. While some outwardly conform, many outright refuse. The consequences are staggering.

A report Christian Aid received last week reviewed the atrocities against Vietnamese believers last year. It told how Vietnamese police beat, tortured with electric shock, and even murdered Christians to get them to recant their faith.

"You can't be Christians," the police told a group of Dao tribe believers, "The Dao people know no religion as evangelical Christianity. You must be animists and rebuild the altars of your forefathers."

"Who taught you this doctrine?" they interrogated another local church leader. "Who told you to discard your [pagan] altars?"

Some believers have had their home furnishings destroyed, while others have fled their village to seek refuge elsewhere. Then, like hounds of hell, the Vietnamese police go after them to make them return to their villages to try to force them to become animists.

Despite such unrelenting harassment and torture, the report said that 348 new churches sprang to life last year, bringing the total number of churches in one network to 780. These contained 67,104 Christians, including 14,812 newer believers and 669 who turned to Christ in November.

Yet the persistent attempt of authorities to trash Christians knots the stomach of those who learn about it.

For example, police arrested Mua Bua Senh last spring and severely beat him so badly that he died. During that time his elder brother, Mua Say So, sent seven letters to the central government requesting intervention, but got no response. After his brother died, police then arrested and jailed Mua Say So for "denying he murdered his own brother and making false accusations against the police."

The leader of the village church was next arrested for disagreeing with the government order to ban Christian meetings. He is in jail and his family is not allowed to visit him or send him provisions. A Christian worker and 10 other local church leaders then fled to Laos. That's like leaping from the wok into the fire (see next story).

In another place, villagers ganged up on the police and blocked them from arresting a local deacon. But the police waited for him secretly and when the deacon eventually left his house they bound him and led him away. He was given a 42-month sentence for "resisting government officials on function."

Another deacon went to Hanoi last March and brought back two Hmong hymnals. Police stopped him on the way, detained him 10 days, and fined him 1 million dong (US$65 or about three months' wages).

In November the government ordered Christians in Lai Chau province to "give up the illegal religion" and to stop meeting together. When nobody signed the document, the authorities demolished all the furniture in four places of worship. Then they told the deacons they were not qualified to preach because they did not have systematic Bible training! Police also demolished two other chapels and furniture in two other Hmong churches in the same province.

That same month authorities ordered other Christian families in the area to sign a document saying they deny Christ. While six families absolutely refused to sign, 16 families submitted. They later said, "Our hands signed the paper but our hearts did not deny Christ."

Three deacons in Giap Trung village were arrested and jailed for "disturbing public order." Their "disturbance" was simply to lead local worship.

Amazingly, the great majority of Christians steadfastly refuse to deny their faith. Sometimes they hold meetings between 2 and 4 o'clock in the morning to avoid detection.

To learn how you can help supply the needs of persecuted believers in Vietnam, write to insider@christianaid.org and put MI-501 740-VHM on the subject line.

Laos:

Believers pressed beyond measure

Lao believers are being hunted like animals, and even fleeing their homes doesn't spare them from Lao police, who hunt them down in an effort to suppress all expression of Christianity in the land.

"My heart continues to ache deeply and hurt intensely as I think about the lot of Lao brothers and sisters who are hurting and confused and running for their lives," said a confidential Christian Aid contact last week. He was referring in particular to believers in Sanamsai district of Attapue province in the extreme southeast corner of Laos.

"Four days ago I sat around a table with three believers who had walked over 150 km. (90 mi.) through the thickest woods and mountains for two days and one night just to get to the city of Paske where they might seek refuge because of threats on the lives of them and their families," he said.

Pakse is a large city in southern Laos where there is a larger concentration of Christians. They believe there is relative safety in numbers. Several months ago the police went to a church there to arrest the leaders and close it down. That church had up to 800 believers at one time. The women of the church surrounded the church and told the police they would have to go past them first. The police were reluctant to physically attack the women and so retreated. But the situation remains very tenuous.

Most of the new arrivals recounted horrible tales of their prior arrests and imprisonments, and now their children and relatives are in prison for their faith. One 17-year-old girl arrived in Pakse after being fined 150,000 kips by local authorities and evicted from her home village.

Two other women fled their village after being threatened with arrest and imprisonment for believing in Jesus.

"I talked with a Laotian who several times had been imprisoned in Attepue province for his faith. Now he is being hunted down like an animal so they can put him in the darkest prison cell," the contact said. Many of them have lost their homes and in their flight to save their lives have become separated from their wives, children and loved ones.

Their only crime is believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and refusing to recant. The messenger said he knew 11 believers who were being forced to make bricks in Attapue prison because of their steadfast faith. Their family members are now threatened with imprisonment, causing many of them to forsake homes, gardens, rice fields, animals and land, and trek 250 km. (150 mi.) to seek refuge in Pakse and other towns, arriving with only the clothes they are wearing.

Truly their plight is like those early believers described in Hebrews 11:37b-38: "They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."

Families whose men are in prison or who have left their homes under threat of imprisonment can provide neither for themselves nor for their imprisoned loved ones. Christian Aid is able to send financial help through special channels to meet these needs. Persons wishing to help may write to insider@christianaid.org and put MI-502 730-CFL on the subject line, or contribute on line at www.christianaid.org using the same code.

Laos:

Persecutor dies in wreck

A man notorious for his persecution of Lao Christians died on New Year's Day in a motorcycle accident, according to a report received by Christian Aid.

Mr. Ne, as he was known to local residents, was an official of the Attapue Provincial Police who arrested and imprisoned 11 Christians in late December.

On December 28 he allegedly gathered believers in front of the house church of Kang village, threw all the Bibles from the church into a heap, and then picked up one of them and wrote in it the names of the six villagers he arrested that day. Then he handcuffed the six believers, put them in a van, and took them to Attapue Provincial Prison.

The next day he arrested five more believers from the same district. One believer who avoided arrest said that Mr. Ne and his cohorts tied up one of the Christians by his hands and feet like an animal, threw him into a van, and carted him off to prison.

Four days later, Mr. Ne crashed his motorcycle head-on into a large vehicle and died on the spot in Attapue province.

Believers are wondering if God didn't say, "That's enough!"

Christian Aid is assisting families of persecuted Christians in Laos. To learn how you can help write insider@christianaid.org and put MI-502 730-CFL on the subject line. See also today's lead story.

Laos:

Kang village prisoners released

As this newsletter was ready to be dispatched, news arrived that the 11 Christians who were arrested in Kang village December 27 were released by authorities January 12.

"Yesterday I had the privilege of standing with one of the 11 Christians who were arrested on December 27 in Kang village and imprisoned for their faith. Now he and the other 10 have been released from prison," a Christian Aid contact on the field said Tuesday, January 13. The men told him while they were in prison they shared Christ with 100 other inmates.

The contact also said he was moved by how the Lord "miraculously intervened" to protect those who trusted in Him.

Officials reportedly had ordered a group of 10 villagers to attack two of the main Christian leaders in a certain village with clubs and bars, but the two were not at home at the time. So the group was told to attack the men's wives and children.

However, prior to that the two wives and two other women, one carrying a small baby, decided that it was too risky to stay in the village and left before the villagers could attack them.

The woman who carried the small baby turned back because the going was too rough for the baby. Her fate is not known. The other three walked 250 km. (150 mi.) through the jungle and after six days reached the city of Pakse.

"All they had to do to avoid that long trial in the jungle was to deny their faith," the contact said, "but they went through all that suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ because they wanted to keep their faith."

The contact requested continued prayer for those who have been released and their families, as well as 34 other believers who have take refuge in Pakse and other places. He believes there is still a plan to murder the Christian leaders mentioned above if they return home. It is a very difficult situation. Pray also that hundreds would come to know Christ because of this incident.

For follow-up, see story #2, "Lao Believers Pressed Beyond Measure."

Please see http://www.christianaid.org for missions news and ways to help spread the gospel.

Forum 18 provides the following reports of religious rights violations.

Russia:

Missionary's activity is "extremist", agrees court

In the wake of a 1 December district court ruling in Tatarstan's capital Kazan that a decision denying Baptist church-planter Takhir Talipov a further residency permit should be upheld, Talipov's legal representative told Forum 18 News Service he sees little hope in having the verdict overturned. Fyodor Dzyuba said he had not even bothered to attend a hearing at the Tatarstan supreme court on 10 January. "I knew in advance we had very little chance." The supreme court is due to announce its decision by 20 January. A Kazan district court had accepted an assessment by the local FSB (former KGB) that the missionary work by Talipov, a Russian-born ethnic Tatar, was "extremist" and liable to threaten stability in the mainly Muslim republic.

Uzbekistan:

Authorities trying to close Baptist church

An Uzbek official, who fined Baptist pastor Oleg Bader for running children's camps and a children's club attached to his church, has described the fine to Forum 18 News Service as "completely within the law". The church is being forced to change and re-register its statute by 27January, even though children's work was included in the original statute. The pastor's lawyer has been denied access to the cases documents, and the justice department has refused to tell Forum 18 why this is so. It is feared that, like another church further north, re-registration may be denied and the church declared illegal.

Sources have told Forum 18 that the authorities want to close the church because they do not want Christianity to spread in Khorezm region.

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

ASSIST News Service presents these incidents of persecution.

Iraq:

Muslims urge end to anti christian violence

A group of politicians and intellectuals have urged Iraq's authorities, including Muslim leaders, the U.S. backed Iraqi Governing Council and the American-led coalition, to prevent "Shi'a Muslim groups attacking Christians."

In a statement released by Barnabas Fund, over 200 mainly Muslim intellectuals and political leaders urged officials to stop "attacks on Christians and cease forcing women to wear the veil," ASSIST News Service learned Thursday January 15.

The group also urged Islamic religious leaders to issue fatwas forbidding such "atrocious crimes against humanity and the Islamic [sic] religion".

"Horrific" crimes had been committed against women, forcing them to wear the veil and worst of all was the "terrorising of our Christian brothers", intimidating them to become Muslims, the group said in its statement.

Civilization

"Christians lived in Iraq for two thousand years and contributed greatly to the region's civilization, both before and after the coming of Islam," Barnabas Fund, which monitors religious persecution, quoted the intellectuals and politicians as saying.

It takes courage to make this call in post war Iraq, suggested a forum discussion of the Arab Internet web site Ankawa.com (http://www.ankawa.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=55&topic=6) where the appeal was originally published in Arabic.

"I welcome this call and applaud those who have made it for their courage and concern for the freedoms of individuals to choose their beliefs, even if we may disagree with them," one message said monitored by ANS.

Church leaders

Barnabas Fund said that Iraqi church leaders have also been speaking out against the "increasing persecution Christians are now suffering." They claim missiles were launched against a convent in October of last year, and that Christians have received death threats, with many fleeing from Basra.

The new head of the Chaldean Church, Patriarch Emmanuel III, reportedly said that Muslims and Christians had lived side by side for "countless years in love and charity", but that they were now attacked by extremists from Saudi Arabia and Iran.

United States President George W. Bush had earlier warned of "insurgents" terrorizing the troubled region. Church officials say American intervention is the only way to make sure legislation is not enacted according to Islamic law, or Christians will otherwise suffer even more.

Constitution

Barnabas Fund, which supports persecuted Christians in especially Muslim nations, said the Iraqi Governing Council has nearly finalized a transitional constitution that would have Islam as one of its sources of law, but not the sole one.

"Freedom of religious practice for non-Muslims and equal rights for women would be guaranteed. This is another welcome sign. (But) it remains to be seen whether Iraq's conservative Shi'a community would accept such a constitution," the organization cautioned.

It urged Christians to "praise God for the bold and sincere move by many of Iraq's intellectuals and politicians," and to pray the international community will be encouraged "to ensure Iraq adopts a just system of government" guaranteeing "equality for all citizens no matter what their faith."

Barnabas Fund can be reached at: Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, PEWSEY, Wiltshire, SN9 5DB, UK. info@barnabasfund.org or on the web: http://www.barnabasfund.org

China:

Arrests of north koreans and aid workers

China has carried out further arrests of North Koreans and aid workers, according to the Japanese humanitarian organization Life Funds for North Korean Refugees.

The organization disclosed on Tuesday that its staff member Mr Takayuki Noguchi is being held in Nanning Prison in Guangxi in China. Mr Noguchi, who is responsible for international relations for the organization, was taken into custody in China on December 13. Discreet negotiations to secure his release over the last month have proved fruitless.

Two North Koreans were arrested with Mr Noguchi, the organization said.

One is a woman in her 40s who was born in Tokai Region, Japan and taken to North Korea by her mother. The other is a man in his 50s who was born in West Japan and moved to North Korea in the early 1960s.

The humanitarian group reports that Mr Noguchi has been anxiously pleading for intervention to secure the protection of the two refugees from repatriation. It was confirmed that they were indeed still in China on 12th January. This unusual situation provides encouragement that they could be deported to a safe third country rather than repatriated to face severe penalties in North Korea.

Immediately after the press conference a spokesman for the Chinese Government publicly stated that the investigation is ongoing and that Mr Noguchi could be subject to a sentence of up to ten years imprisonment.

The severity of this potential sentence is supported by recent disturbing developments, the organization said.

China sentenced two aid workers, who had been helping North Koreans, to lengthy prison terms in December, the group said.

Rev Choi Bong-il was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Mr Kim Hee-tae to seven years. These sentences are believed to be the longest given to any aid worker for helping North Koreans.

"They are both shocking and deeply unjust as both men were simply trying to help meet the humanitarian needs of North Koreans," the organization said.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), expressed dismay at the developments.

"The arrest of Mr Noguchi and the sentencing of Rev Choi and Mr Kim are deeply troubling developments. These men have done nothing wrong. Indeed, ironically, they are being punished for seeking to secure the humanitarian protection that China is obligated to provide under international law. Even more worrying is the welfare of the North Koreans and we are extremely anxious that they should not be returned to North Korea, where a terrible fate would await them."

Those wishing to receive more information or a sample letter to register concern should contact CSW on 020 8942 8810 or elizabeth@csw.org.uk.

More information on Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, including the full text of their press statement is available at www.northkoreanrefugees.com, or through contacting the organization at nkkikin@hotmail.com or on (phone and fax) + 81 3 3815 8127.

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

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email: ve6xtc@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca