You can email us HERE. Click HERE to contact us

Click here for World News and comments with a Christian perspective

   

Subject: Persecution report for March 25, 2003.

Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 17:03:13 -0700

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

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

The Voice Of The Martyrs presents these incidents of Christians being persecuted.

International:

War Backlash Anticipated.

As the world awaits the anticipated war in Iraq, Christians in many predominantly Muslim areas of the world await a potential backlash from an Islamic community that (unfortunately) widely sees the "war on terrorism" as a crusade against Islam. For example, Abbas Ahmed a spokesman for the Al-Azhar University in Cairo has said that any attack on Iraq would be a "strike on Islam."

The Voice of the Martyrs joins the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEF RLC) in calling for prayer and support for Christians in Muslim majority nations, anticipating local violence against Christians, particularly in areas where they are already persecuted. A prominent example is Pakistan. Shahbaz Bhatti, Chairman of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance, fears that militant Islamic groups operating in Pakistan will escalate their attacks against Christians, seeing it as revenge against America. Said Bhatti to the WEF RLC, "These militants consider Christians and other non-Muslims as infidels and apostates and declare that it is a responsibility of every good Muslim to kill infidels."

Other areas where Christians are in particular risk, says the WEF RLC, are areas such as eastern Indonesia, central Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and southern Sudan, where existing tensions could easily escalate, destroying any tentative peace agreements in place.

Pakistan:

Brothers Convicted of Blasphemy Released.

The Voice of the Martyrs has received a report on March 20, from the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) that two Pakistani brothers convicted of blasphemy have been acquitted and released. Saleem and Rasheed Masih were arrested on June 3, 1999 after accusations revolving around a land dispute. In May 2000, they were sentenced to life imprisonment. Today, Justice Rustam Ali Malik of the Lahore High Court gave his decision, six weeks after the case was heard.

Sri Lanka:

A Call for Anti-Conversion Legislation.

The call to introduce anti-conversion legislation in Sri Lanka has been around for many years, particularly in the face of rapidly growing evangelical Christianity in regions of this predominantly Buddhist country. Until now, there has been no action from the federal government. However, according to a report received from the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, legislation modeled after a new anti-conversion law in Tamil Nadu, India is set to be introduced in Sri Lanka's parliament. The proposal has the support of Buddhist, Hindu, and some Catholic groups.

In November 2002, Sri Lanka's Hindu Cultural Affairs Minister, Mr. Maheshwaran, returned from Tamil Nadu promising to introduce legislation similar to that in Tamil Nadu. Since the government's official response has been silence, it is expected that the proposal will be introduced as a private member's bill. It is feared that the introduction of such a bill may be supported by many in the parliament.

Uzbekistan:

Christians Face Charges, Forced Underground

Pentecostals in Muinak, 200 kilometres north of Nukus, the capital of Uzbekistan's western region of Karakalpakstan, fear that two church members, Kuralbai Asanbayev and Rashid Keulimjayev, may again face punishment for meeting together as Christians. According to Forum 18 News Service, Asanbayev's home was raided on March 6 and both men were forced to make a statement to police. When the two were previously arrested in December, they were tortured and sentenced to five days in prison. At the time, the hakim (chief of the district), Jarylkan Tursynbekov, said that even if the church managed to get the 100 signatures needed to register, they would not allow a Protestant church in Muinak.

Protestant Christians in particular have been facing increasing pressure in this country where Islam is the main religion. Church registration is required, but is often refused, forcing Christians to worship in secret. Even in registered churches, "turning believers from one confession to another" and missionary activity are illegal. Meetings are not allowed outside of the regular church building. Pastor Obyedkov of Yangiyul, 30 kilometres south of Tashkent narrowly escaped charges recently for a meeting in the home of a church member. Obyedkov is the pastor of a registered Baptist church.

Please check http://www.persecution.net for more information about persecuted Christians and ways to help them.

Forum 18 News Service, based in Oslo, Norway, has the following persecution incidents to report.

Azerbaijan:

Baptist warned not to hold home meetings

Anzor Katsiashvili, a Baptist in Belokani in north western Azerbaijan, was summoned by the local procurator on 13 and 14 March and warned not to hold religious meetings in his home. "He told me I don't have the right to preach as I'm not an Azerbaijani citizen," Katsiashvili told Forum 18 News Service. "At the same time I've been denied citizenship for the past few years because I preach. It's a vicious circle." However, Ilham Babayev, head of the local passport department, denied that his office had obstructed Katsiashvili's application for Azerbaijani citizenship and local registration. "As soon as he comes in we'll give it to him - tomorrow if necessary," he told Forum 18. Katsiashvili rejects the procurator's claim that he cannot gather fellow believers for religious meetings: "I believe I have the right to preach God's word in my own home."

Kazakhstan:

Interrogations and threats follow charity action.

Nurbai Arystanov, a Protestant who lives in the town of Arys in South Kazakhstan region, was threatened and briefly detained on 5 March by police, who objected to the fact that he was distributing gifts from the Good Samaritan international charity. One local Protestant, who asked not to be named, claimed to Forum 18 News Service that the Arys deputy police chief, Kurmanal Rakhmatulayev, personally interrogated believers who were listed as having received gifts, and confiscated gifts from those who had received them. He also threatened believers that he would plant hashish in the gifts. "It's all nonsense," Rakhmatulayev told Forum 18, denying that he had threatened Arystanov. But, citing Arystanov's lack of a local residence permit, Rakhmatulayev warned: "I will not allow him to operate in our town."

Kazakhstan:

Fines on unregistered religious communities stepped up.

A series of raids on Baptist churches that refuse on principle to register with the authorities and fines imposed on their leaders under the administrative code have highlighted continuing attempts by local officials to punish unregistered religious activity, although Kazakhstan's religion law does not make unregistered activity illegal. Jehovah's Witnesses - who do not refuse registration - report that they have seen 28 administrative cases over the past year against communities that have been denied registration on various pretexts. Ninel Fokina of the Almaty Helsinki Committee told Forum 18 News Service that the religion law has greater weight than Article 375 of the administrative code - under which the fines have been imposed - and therefore officials have no right to "persecute"believers for refusing to register a religious community.

Russia:

Pacific island keeps protestants in check.

A recent regional press campaign of "sensational and accusative" articles targeting the Sakhalin-based Victory Chapel Pentecostal church was spearheaded by the local Orthodox bishop Daniil (Dorovskikh), the church's pastor, Paris Dominguez, a United States citizen, told Forum 18 News Service. Journalist Anna Bilega, who published an article criticising the church, claimed to Forum 18 that a great many foreign missionaries were trying to foist their ideology onto Sakhalin residents and speculated that they might be working for foreign intelligence agencies, but the local authorities "don't do anything, as usual". One local official denied that the authorities shared any views the bishop might have about "sects", yet a regional justice official refused to tell Forum 18 why the Victory Chapel congregation - a member of a registered Pentecostal Union - is among Protestant churches refused registration.

Russia:

Religion looms as electoral factor.

Nine months before Russia's parliamentary elections, there are already signs that some political figures will seek to use religious leaders and institutions to help boost their popularity. At a 28 February conference devoted to the stance of Russia's so-called traditional religious confessions (Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism) towards December's parliamentary elections and the likely influence of voters' religious convictions on the results, Eurasia party leader Aleksandr Dugin maintained that the number of people responding positively to a clear confessional adherence by political leaders has more than doubled over the past four years. A Federation Council representative argued that if a political candidate is convincingly seen to appear morally upright and in favour of the spiritual values of one of Russia's so-called traditional confessions,that candidate is more likely to receive support from the voting majority who perceive themselves as adhering to that confession, regardless of whether its leadership has given that politician explicit endorsement.

Turkmenistan:

Orthodox to be main victims of clampdown?

The clampdown launched in the wake of the apparent assassination attempt on President Saparmurad Niyazov last November will make life more difficult still for Turkmenistan's religious believers. As religious minorities -especially Protestant Christians and Jehovah's Witnesses - had already suffered the brunt of government pressure, it is difficult for their position to get any worse. Protestant Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, HareKrishna devotees, Baha'is, Jews and even the Armenian Apostolic Church had already been denied any public religious activity. With the Sunni Muslim community and the Russian Orthodox under tight state control, it seems that ordinary Orthodox believers are likely to suffer most from the latest crackdown.

Turkmenistan:

Ex-KGB leads raid on Baptist church.

Eight officers raided the Sunday morning worship service on 16 March in the unregistered Baptist church in the city of Balkanabad. A statement from the church reaching Forum 18 News Service reports that the officers were led by Kadyr Meredov, the local officer of the National Security Committee (NSC,the former KGB) responsible for controlling religious groups. "They accused us of holding an unapproved meeting and violating the law on religious cults," the church complained. "They banned us from meeting until we had registered our church with the justice authorities, and warned us that otherwise, a police officer would be present at each of our services." Forum 18 was unable to find out from NSC or procuracy officials why the church had been raided.

Please go to http://www.forum18.org/ to read full versions of these articles and others which involve the restrictions on other religions in communist and post- communist lands.

Click here for World News and comments with a Christian perspective

   

email: ve6xtc@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca