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Subject: Persecution Report for July 22, 2003.

Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2003 21:33:49 -0600

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

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

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

PERSECUTION REPORT FOR JULY 22, 2003

The Voice of the Martyrs

Cambodia:

Christians Blamed for Drought, Attacked by Mob

A mob of around 100 Buddhists attacked a church in Kok Pring in south-east Cambodia during a service on Sunday, July 13, destroying the cross at the front, breaking windows, and throwing Bibles into puddles of water. The building would have been destroyed if the police had not intervened. According to Hun Neng, governor of the province of Svay Rieng, there were some injuries, but no further details are available. A squad of police officers has been assigned to protect the building and officials have spoken with the villagers about respecting religious rights.

It appears that a three-year drought was part of the reason for the attack. The police chief, Sort Nady, told Associated Press, "They were angry with the church. They said the presence of the church has caused continuous droughts that have prevented them from growing rice" According to a report from Zenit, the mob also accused the Christians of having contempt for Buddhists. Since many of the Christians in Cambodia are Vietnamese refugees fleeing religious persecution in their own country, there are suggestions that strong feelings against the Vietnamese refugees may have also been a factor in the attack.

Vietnam:

Church Spared Destruction

Last week the Persecution and Prayer Alert reported on the Thu Thiem church that was ordered destroyed by the Vietnamese authorities. In June the congregation had gathered to begin reconstruction on a building destroyed in July 2000 but the construction was stopped when the authorities confiscated the building materials. When the church gathered again on the site for a service on July 6, the police surrounded the gathering and demanded that all new construction be dismantled by July 12.

According to the Australian office of The Voice of the Martyrs, the Religious Department in Ho Chi Minh City called the church leaders together on July 10 to discuss the situation. They were able to reach an agreement in which the government acknowledged their mistake in taking too long to consider the application for the new building. At the same time, the church acknowledged their error in building the church on farmland before they received a government permit and Pastor Truong Van Nganh agreed to withdraw the letter of protest he had written. The church is giving thanks to God for His intervention in this matter as well as thanking those who prayed.

Georgia:

Access to Church Blocked for Six Weeks

For the sixth week in a row, members of a Russian-language Pentecostal church in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi were blocked from entering a home on July 13 where the church has been meeting. Shouting abuses against Russians and "sectarians," a mob blockaded the home of Pastor Nikolai Kalutsky for three hours. According to the July 14 report from Forum 18, police prevented serious physical injuries, but they did nothing to remove the blockade. The protestors told Pastor Kalutsky that they were Orthodox and their purpose was to prevent non-Orthodox worship. It is believed the blockade was organized by the Orthodox priest from the nearby village of Dighomi, though he denies any involvement.

In the past four years there have been over one hundred attacks by Orthodox mobs against religious minorities in Georgia. To date, no one has been prosecuted for the attacks.

Please check http://www.persecution.net for more information on Christians suffering persecution and for ways to intervene on their behalf.

Mission Network News presents these stories of believers suffering persecution.

India:

Christians lose court case against anti-conversion law

Believers in India's Gujarat State lost their appeal against a highly controversial anti-conversion law. Media reports indicate the High Court dismissed petitions filed by the All India Christian Council challenging provisions of the bill. The law forces an individual or organization wanting to convert to another religion to seek prior approval from a district magistrate. It also imposes heavy fines and prison sentences on those involved. .

Serbia:

Attacks on evangelicals increasing

The evangelical church in Serbia is seeing increasing attacks. According to the Bible League, a church in a village northeast of Belgrade has been the target of attacks by those who view it as a cult. Church officials say the attacks started several years ago, but have grown more frequent. Attacks come in the form of vandalism. No injuries have been reported. The Bible League is helping the evangelical church establish new churches, but lack of training, direction and resources are hampering their efforts.

India:

Ethnic tribes agree to peace but mission schools still suffers

After months of killings in North East India, the Hmar and Dimasa tribes have agreed to end their ethnic confrontation. But, in the process, thousands have fled the fighting. Not only that, but the violence persists. Bibles For The World's Rochunga Pudaite says it has direct impact on their work. "Most of our schools are not open in the area anymore because the teachers and pastors have become refugees. The schools have been set on fire, and again, the militant are chasing them, and they continue to attack them." Pudaite isn't fazed by the death threats generated by his telling of this story. He says the struggling church must be supported. "People have been giving me quite a good bit of warning even not to come back to India for a while, until this thing is settled but I don't think that's the way to approach this issue. We have to go with our prayer, and we have to go with our confidence that God, whom we worship, is able to deliver us from all kinds of problems and difficulties."

India:

Believers fear government census

Christians in Kerala State say they will not cooperate with a new government survey. They want more clarification on why a Census survey is aimed at the Christian and Muslim places of worship. Bibles For The World's Rochunga Pudaite. "This survey is something that is creating quite a bit of confusion and fear because they're wondering whether this survey is a means of identifying who is a Christian and who is an outstanding Christian who has been getting converts and ultimately, they may be able to attack those individuals." Pudaite says this also highlights the need for prayer" They are being attacked everyday in one place or another right now. We need to pray that number one, God will give them the courage and there will be no fear in their hearts, and number two, God will protect them, as he said he'll give us protection in his word, and then, number three, that the enemy will be defeated."

India:

Government screens out foreign missionaries

While India doesn't issue missionary visas, many Christians are travelling there to help nationals lead the lost to Christ. But that could change. According to reports, customs officials are using internet search engines to find out about those entering the country for religious purposes. Many organizations are removing their names from web sites and taking on assumed names in news stories in order to protect their mission. There's fear many Christians will be refused entry, which would hamper evangelistic efforts.

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

Christian Aid Mission has this incident to report.

Nepal:

Maoist Animosity Does Not Stop Missionaries

Two Nepali missionaries travelling to bring aid to mountain villages were stopped on their return trip and interrogated by Maoist rebels for two hours before being released.

The men were released on the condition that they ask permission from the Maoists before entering the mountain area again.

The believers, one from Kathmandu and one from Chitwan, had visited two areas. One locale had been hit by a violent hailstorm that destroyed crops, creating a food deficiency. The leader of the ministry told Christian Aid that the situation was so bad that "when visiting believers, [ the missionary] feels embarrassed to eat in their homes because they have nothing to feed the guests."

The other area the men visited lacks a worship building. Believers in this community meet in a temporary structure made of plastic sheets and tree leaves. The congregation continues to grow, but with such an inadequate meeting place, the number of those who can come together is limited.

So are the missionaries' aid funds. Despite the threat of Maoists, by faith the missionaries still take gifts to local leaders to help them meet the needs of the suffering people.

Needs remain. The community in need of a church still does not have enough to build. Those suffering the effects of the hailstorm continue to struggle for food. To learn more about how this ministry is helping them, write insider@christianaid.org and put MI-428 702-TLA on the subject line.

Please check http:// www.christianaid.org for many encouraging missions stories.

Forum 18 news has these persecution reports.

Kyrgyzstan:

"End persecution or we seek asylum," Pentecostals tell President

Pastor Vasili Kuzin of the Pentecostal Church of Jesus Christ says his Church's open letter to President Askar Akayev vowing to seek asylum abroad if pressure on the Church is not ended is "a last resort". "We have no other way of attracting international attention to our unfortunate situation," he told Forum 18 News Service. Banned from registering in several towns and with its churches closed down or threatened, the Church now faces a tax demand of more than 100,000 US dollars, although religious groups are tax-exempt. Sharshek Usenov of the government's religious affairs committee rejects the Church's claims. "No-one is persecuting the Church of Jesus Christ and I do not understand what Kuzin aims to achieve with this letter," he told Forum 18.

Uzbekistan:

"Don't report interrogation on the internet," ex-KGB tells Protestant

Interrogated for four hours by an officer of the National Security Service (the former KGB), a member of the Asia Protestant church in Tashkent, Nelya Denisova, was told not to report the interrogation. "Just don't publish an article about our conversation on the Internet," NSS officer Vadim Negreyev told Denisova at the end of the interrogation. "No-one here tortured or raped you! We just had a friendly chat." Vladimir Zhikhar, coordinator of the 27-strong Association of Independent Churches, to which the Asia Church belongs, told Forum 18 News Service members of his church are often called in by the secret police.

Uzbekistan:

Religious freedom survey July 2003

In its survey analysis of the religious freedom situation in Uzbekistan, Forum 18 News Service reports on the government's wide-ranging defiance of its international religious freedom commitments. Unregistered religious activity is illegal and believers are routinely punished even for religious meetings in private homes. Missionary work is banned. Religious literature is censored, while foreign Islamic web sites are blocked. Virtually all religious communities are subject to harsh government control, especially Islam. The leadership of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims is virtually an agency of state authority. The government tries to prevent the spread of Protestant, Jehovah's Witness, Hare Krishna and other religions regarded as non-traditional.

Please see http://www.forum18.org/ for more details on these and other reports of religious rights violations in communist and post-communist lands.

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