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Subject: PERSECUTION REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 24, 2004.

Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2004 14:48:19 -0800

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

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

The Voice of the Martyrs Presents these incidents of Christians suffering for Christ.

China;

House church leaders Arrested

Sources for The Voice of the Martyrs reported this week that three Christian leaders of the "Born Again" house church movement in China were arrested in the last week of January. On January 24, Ms. Chunling of Fangcheng City, Henan province, was arrested during a house church service at Guanlin, Luoyang City. The next day, Mr. Zeng Guangbo, a Beijing military policeman and now prominent leader was arrested at Zengzhuang village in Henan province. He has since escaped and is in hiding.

Also on January 25, Deborah Xu was arrested in Nanyang, Henan Province. While asleep in her niece's home, police entered the home, and led her away in handcuffs. Police also confiscated photos, documents and other materials. Deborah Xu is the sister of Peter Xu Yongze, the founder of the "Born-Again" house church movement which numbers millions of believers. According to one internal source, her case has been assigned to the Department of State Security and local officials have been told to keep silent. There is some suspicion that there may be a connection between these arrests and a recent video documentary released, as well as a new book on the house church movement in China.

Both of these resources ("The Cross" and "Jesus in Beijing") are available from VOM's online catalog.

Go to http://www.persecution.net/newcatalog.htm for more information.

According to one report, there have been as many as fifty arrests since these resources were screened by Chinese authorities during a recent National Religious Working Conference.

The house church movement in China continues to grow rapidly and Chinese authorities have recently increased their efforts to hinder or destroy these churches. Dramatic video footage of the destruction of the unregistered Tu Du Sha Church at Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province in June 2003 was recently obtained by The Voice of the Martyrs and is available at http://www.persecution.net/country/china.htm.

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

Pakistan:

Christian businessman kidnapped and killed

According to All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, a Christian businessman, Irfan Khokar (33), was kidnapped from his place of business in Taxila, Pakistan on the evening of February 8. He was taken to an apartment where he was tied up. It appears that he was shot and killed when he attempted to free himself.

Irfan, along with his father, owned a successful bookstore. His father, BM Khokhar, attributes the killing to religious intolerance and bias against them, because their business was successful. Christian businesses frequently face attacks from militant Muslims who attempt to prevent the businesses from being successful.

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

Pakistan:

Family of Slain Pastor Threatened

After more than a month since the murder of Pastor Mukhtar Masih at a train station in Khanewal on January 7, no one has been arrested. It became apparent shortly after the murder that police were attempting to cover up the incident, calling it a cardiac arrest (For more details, follow the news links at http://www.persecution.net/country/pakistan.htm).

On February 16, Shabbaz Bhatti from the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance informed VOM that Mukhtar's family has been facing threats and harassment. They received a letter stating that Mukhtar's killers were professionals who were seeking opportunities to kill the family as well. His son, Musa Mukhtar, and daughter Nomee have been chased and harassed. His wife, Parveen Bibi, has said that the family fears for their lives, "we need prayers and solidarity from our brothers and sisters in Christ."

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

Sri Lanka:

Police Negligence Apparent in Recent Attacks

A report received on February 18 from the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka outlines several attacks on Christians on February 14-15, including the following:

According to one unconfirmed report, three Christian workers were visiting a Christian's home in Katugasthota, Nuwara, on February 14 when they were forcibly taken to the Buddhist temple. There the monk summoned the villagers who assaulted them. When their pastor and others came to assist, they were taken to the police station where they were held until the next day.

The Apostolic Church in Boraluwewa, Kuliyapitiya, has been under constant threat, as opponents have been attempting to close the church.

On January 28, police advised the pastor worker to not call them if the church is attacked. Nevertheless, when the worker received information that an attack was planned for February 15, he called the police. The police never arrived. Two hours later, a crowd of around one hundred people gathered, destroying the church and the pastor's living quarters.

The worker and his pregnant wife managed to escape but all of their possessions were destroyed. They are now living in a safe house.

A police report was filed and five people have been arrested. However, a neighboring Christian has been threatened and is being prevented from leaving his house to make a police complaint. Pastors and other Christian leaders are unable to visit the site, since villagers are keeping anyone from entering the area.

In Kurundugaha Hathapma, the home where the Calvary Church meets was also attacked on February 15. The homeowner managed to escape with only slight injuries. His wife, however, was trapped in the home where she was threatened with death if they continue to hold services. Many of their belongings were destroyed. Police have been informed and the family has asked for a police guard, but the protection has not been provided.

For more information on Sri Lanka, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/srilanka.htm.

India:

Christian Women Beaten and Humiliated

Eight Christian women, including two teenage girls, were beaten and humiliated in two villages in Orissa State, India on February 6 while the men of the homes were at work. According to a February 17 report from Compass Direct, a mob of over forty, including some of their own relatives, tried to persuade the women in Kilipala and Kanimul to renounce their faith in Christ. When they refused, they were beaten, stripped naked, and forced to walk through their villages before having their heads shaved. Despite calling for help, no one from the other homes in the village came to their aid. Dayal Gangwar, the district superintendent of police, said that the women were recent converts to Christianity.

These attacks come at a time when Christians have been increasingly harassed by militant Hindu activists determined to prevent conversions to Christianity. In five states in India, including Orissa, legislation has been passed to restrict religious conversions. In late January and early February, a series of articles were published in the weekly newspaper, Tehelka, claiming that missionary organizations are working for the CIA as part of a U.S. government "conversion agenda" for India.

The All India Christian Council has called for a summit meeting of Christian leaders on February 28 to decide on an appropriate response to these allegations. Such accusations are not new. In February 2002, a member of the Hindu BJP party, G. Madhusudan, accused missionaries of spying for the CIA. However, the frequency of such allegations appears to be increasing in recent months.

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

Azerbaijan:

Police Accuse Pastor of Being a Traitor

Telman Aliev, pastor of a Baptist congregation in Neftchala, Azerbaijan, has been facing regular abuse and threats from local police since he began coming to the town to lead church services in May 2003. Ilya Zenchenko, head of the Baptist Union in Azerbaijan, told Forum 18 that the deputy head of the local police had threatened to drive Aliev out of town, banning him from visiting and insulting him as a "traitor" for having adopted Christianity.

Asadov denies these allegations, saying that Aliev is free to come to the town to conduct services, but only if the church registers. Though Azerbaijani law does not require churches to register with the government, the Neftchala church would like to register. However, Baptist churches throughout Azerbaijan have experienced great difficulty in doing so. To date, only three Baptist congregations have successfully registered. A senior local official has promised to help the church, saying that police will be summoned and questioned about their harassment. .

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

Sudan:

Peace Talks Resume

Talks to end the longest current civil war in the world resumed February 17 between the government of Sudan and the SPLM in the south. Speaking to AFP, both sides say they are determined to find a permanent resolution. This round of talks, which many hope will result in a final peace agreement, is scheduled to end on March 16. The focus of negotiations is on the status of three disputed areas, Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile, as well as political and administrative power sharing. There has already been an agreement signed on sharing oil revenues and a transition of power in southern Sudan leading to the right to self-determination for southern Sudan by 2008 as well as tentative agreements on the Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile.

There are continuing concerns, however, that the government will stall the talks to prevent a final agreement which could erode their control over the oil-rich resources of southern Sudan, as well as the desire of many to create a strictly Islamic nation.

The twenty-year civil war between the predominantly Muslim north and the Christian and animistic south has killed at least 1.5 million people and displaced as many as four million others. Government forces have regularly attacked civilian targets, including schools, hospitals and churches, along with relief organizations providing aid to the victims of war in southern regions. The Voice of the Martyrs recently completed a major distribution of school supplies for students of two schools in the Upper Nile region of southern Sudan through their Operation Christmas Blessing program.

For more background information on the situation in Sudan, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/sudan.htm.

Please see http://www.persecution.net for background on these stories and methods to help those believers in need.

Christian Aid Mission provides this report of persecution.

India:

Parallytic patient's healing almost kills missionary

It really wasn't Leela's fault. She lives in a region of India that is under control of radical Hindus, who severely oppose Christian missionary work.

Paralyzed for seven years and unable to walk, this village woman was miraculously healed through the intercessory prayer of two Christian missionaries.

However, when one of the Christians later returned to strengthen Leela's faith, he was unexpectedly attacked by a gang of 25 villagers led by the village leader. They severely beat the man of God, breaking three of his ribs. The missionary lost consciousness, was revived with water, and was taken out of the village to be finished off.

Fortunately, the missionary escaped from his captors, hiding in a lake until he could give them the slip. The ministry of these missionaries continues to impact nearby villages.

To help support this type of Christian ministry in India, please reference gift code 600-MSF.

Please go to http://www.christianaid.org to read about missions work.

Forum 18 has the following religious right violations to report.

Belarus:

More Baptist pastors fined

Forum 18 News Service has learnt of further recent incidents in which unregistered Baptist pastors have been fined for holding worship services.

The fines were issued under the Belarusian administrative offences code, which punishes "the creation and leadership of a religious organisation without registering its charter (statutes) in accordance with established procedure." The estimated 29 congregations in Belarus belonging to a Moscow-based Baptist union which rejects state registration on principle have increasingly been targeted in this way since the introduction of the republic's 2002 religion law. The law explicitly states that registration is compulsory for all religious communities.

Uzbekistan:

Ex-KGB'S preventive work with religious minorities

Although believers are frequently tried and fined for conducting unregistered religious activity, which Uzbekistan has criminalised, Forum 18 News Service has discovered that, unseen by outsiders, the National Security Service (NSS, the former KGB) also often engages in "preventive work" with members of religious minorities. NSS officers indicate to believers that they know a lot about them and their community, and interrogate them further about the community's activity and plans in an apparent bid to intimidate and threaten them. Vadim Negreyev - an officer from the NSS national headquarters in the capital Tashkent cited by a number of believers for his role in investigating minority faiths - declined to discuss his work with Forum 18. The NSS engages differently with members of the majority Muslim faith - unregistered communities are immediately closed down as soon as they are discovered.

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

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