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Subject: Persecution report for October 29, 2002.

Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 21:47:32 -0700

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

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

Mission Network News presents these persecution incidents.

Iraq:

America’s war could cause Christians to suffer.

As a military attack seems imminent in Iraq, an evangelical ministry is asking Christians to pray. According to Open Doors International’s President Johan Companjen, there are many Christians in Iraq, and they could face hardship if war breaks out with the United States." It will be tough because the church the Christians are identified with the west. Most Muslims, they see Christianity as a western religion, which is very unfortunate because it’s not. Jesus was born in the Middle East. That is a misconception that we see and the Christians really fight that every day." However, Companjen believes this could also be a great time for the church in Iraq. He explains." We have learned in Open Doors - almost 50 years of serving persecuted Christians, that a time of crisis is also a time of opportunity. And that’s what we hear often. They say pray for us. Don’t pray that it will go away, but that we will be faithful, that we will be strong, trusting the Lord because this is the time that He does things that we’ve never dreamt of."

Ivory Coast:

Satan suspected behind persecution.

The unrest in the Ivory Coast may be Satan trying to put a stop to evangelism in that African country. Evangelism Explosion’s Ron Tyler says everything was going smoothly with evangelism training before the unrest." Just the week before, we had just trained 25 pastors and church leaders. During that training 40 people came to a profession of faith in Christ. And, as a result of that we’ve had several demands and requests to come and help train. And, as a result of that,we’ve had to hold off on that training." Tyler says this type of attack isn’t surprising to them." We experience all the time in our work and we even tell the pastors when they’re going through the training that be prepared be faced with difficulties when you return home because Satan doesn’t want this ministry to take place in your church." Tyler expects many to come to Christ during this time of uncertainty in the Ivory Coast.

India:

More than just Christians oppose anti-conversion law.

An anti-conversion law in Tamil Nadu State is raising alarm among the evangelical community. Due to the religious implications,members of India’s lowest caste and the Muslim population are joining Christian protests. The Bible League’s Jay Kumar says because it came ‘out of the blue’, the ordinance’s passage is suspect." There are a lot of local nationalist Hindu parties, that just jump on board, once one of their leaders says ‘jump’. They say, ‘how high?’-But, in my opinion, I know there’s some speculation that this ordinance is kind of like a smoke screen." Kumar believes the real issue is a water shortage, but thinks the law is aimed at diffusing tensions. Yet, there is an unintended side effect." The plus side is that a lot of these pastors who previously did not meet together, and who were just kind of doing their own thing, are now meeting together and praying together. They’re saying, ‘This is against us; it’s no longer against me and my ministry. ‘"

China:

Cult members infiltrate the churches.

Heresy and false teaching are huge concerns for Christians in China. Christian workers say various cults are infiltrating the church, and because theological training is lacking, my believers are led astray. The Bridge International is trying to change that by sponsoring 40 full time evangelists in 12 minority ethnic groups. They would like to do more. 40-dollars a month can help train more of these leaders. .

Please see http://www.mnnonline.org for missions news and hear a weekday audio news cast.

The Voice Of The Martyrs has these stories to report.

Pakistan:

Massacre witness faces police harassment.

Earlier this month, The Voice of the Martyrs reported that the only witness able to testify on the execution-style attack on the Institute for Peace and Justice (IPJ) in Karachi, Pakistan on September 25, was in police custody. Though authorities claimed that Robin Piranditta was in protective custody, there were signs of cigarette burns and other indications that he was suffering psychological and physical torture by the police. On October 22, Compass Direct reported that the Sindh High Court ordered that he be released. A court-ordered report said that he had suffered "severe physical and mental torture" and that his detention was illegal. As he was leaving the courthouse, however, he was re-arrested by police. Three lawyers with him at the time were injured, as Piranditta was beaten, kicked, and thrown into a van. He was then formally declared a suspect in the attack. Last night, Piranditta was once again released, as his lawyers files contempt of court charges against the police. According to Fayyaz Leghari, who heads the police investigation into the case, "We have released him, so we have asked him to remain in the city. We will keep a watch on him." Leghari said that they did not have enough evidence to keep Piranditta in custody. Piranditta, a Christian, had worked for IPJ for 16 years. The only other survivor of the attack, Robin Sharif, recently regained consciousness after having been in a coma since the attack. The police hope to interview him within the next few days. Praise God for this latest news on Piranditta’s release and Sharif’s recovery.

Indonesia:

Militant Muslim group disbands?

The militant Islamic group responsible for much of the violence in the Maluku region of Indonesia has reportedly been disbanded. On October 12, a lawyer for the Laskar Jihad announced that they were closing their headquarters and offices and withdrawing their warriors from the Malukus and Central Sulawesi. In an interview reported in the Chicago Tribune, their leader, Jafar Umar Thalib, said, "Our purpose to help our Muslim brothers has been achieved. We are now concentrating on offering only social help to our brothers in the Moluccas,"According to CNN, 700 Laskar Jihad members left Maluku’s provincial capital of Ambon by ship on October 15, returning to their homeland of Java. Others have also been seen leaving. The headquarters for the organization appears to be closed and the official web site is down. One source estimates that there were 3000 Laskar Jihad members who are being withdrawn in stages. While Christians in the area are rejoicing at this news, there is fear that the organization may be simply going underground, making it more difficult for the authorities to track their activities. There have also been speculations circulating around the timing of the announcement. The announcement was made only hours before the devastating bombing that killed more than 200 people in a nightclub in Bali on October 12, bringing international attention to terrorism in Indonesia. There has been pressure by the government against the Laskar Jihad in recent months and many sources in Indonesia are speculating that the organization, which has received unofficial support from some in the Indonesian military, may have been losing that support in the wake of the recent crackdown.

Colombia:

Attacks against priests continuing.

In unrelated attacks within hours of each other, two Catholic priests were murdered in Colombia on October 18. In the early morning, as Father José Luis Cárdenas Hernández, 31, was about the leave his home to jog, he answered a knock on the door and found five men in civilian clothes and armed with long-range weapons. They spoke for ten minutes before Cárdenas was shot five times in the head. Cárdenas was the parish priest for Chalán, 400 miles northwest of Bogotá. Authorities believe that his murder was the work of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). A FARC spokesman has denied this allegation. Later that same afternoon, Monsignor Gabriel Arias Posada, 66, vicar of the Diocese of Armenia, was reportedly travelling to help secure the release of a kidnapped official, Ancízar López, when he and his driver were shot and killed in the town of Anserma. Reports of priests being killed have become common in Colombia recently, in the ongoing strife between the government and rebel groups.

Sri Lanka:

Militant Buddhists strike.

The Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (EASL) reports that an Assembly of God worship centre in Weerawilla in southern Sri Lanka was burned to the ground on October 13. According to the report received by The Voice of the Martyrs on October 21, a group of men set fire to the worship hall as well as the home of a believer who lived nearby. Both buildings were completely destroyed and the Christian lost all his possessions. Earlier that week, VOM also received a report from EASL recounting how a pastor and his family had recently been attacked in their car. Pastor Stephen Yogarajah, his wife, and 11-year-old son all sustained injuries and their car has badly damaged when they were assaulted by a group of 10-15 men in Kodolkela, 12 km from their home town of Chilaw, Sri Lanka. Believers in Sri Lanka often face harassment from militant Buddhist groups in the country.

Please go to http://www.persecution.net for further information on the persecution of believers and what can be done on their behalf.

Keston News Service reports the following religious rights violations.

China:

Russian Prime Minister defends believers.

According to Keston News Service, the Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov has complained to Chinese officials in Shanghai that the use of churches in the city as restaurants was an insult to believers. Officials have promised that they would be instead turned into museums.

North Korea:

Hoped-for Orthodox Church "will be for Russians".

A Russian Orthodox priest who has just visited Pyongyang has told Keston News Service that the proposed new Orthodox church will primarily be for Russians. North Korea severely restricts religious activity, although there are four officially-approved religious organisations, one each for Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants and followers of Chundo Kyo (a faith which combines elements of Christianity and Buddhism). Some commentators believe these organisations are run by people with little knowledge of the faiths they purport to represent and that they hold few public religious events. The potential building of a Russian Orthodox church in Pyongyang follows the warming of relations between the North Korean President Kim Jong Il and Russian President Putin.

Belarus:

U.S. diplomats barred from bulldozed church site.

Two United States diplomats and their translator, a Belarusian citizen, have been barred from visiting the site of the Autocephalous Orthodox church bulldozed by the authorities in the village of Pahranichny on 1 August (see KNS 2 August 2002) or meeting local parishioners. The diplomats were stopped on 9 October by police who claimed they were violating a restricted border zone (Pahranichny is a few kilometres/miles from Belarus’ western border with Poland). All roads into the village were blocked by police, border guards and unmarked vehicles which it is believed contained KGB officers. It is thought that this happened because the diplomats had informed Vladimir Savchenko, chairman of the Hrodna regional administration, that they intended to visit Pahranichny.

Please go to http://www.keston.org to learn more about persecution in communist and post-communist lands.

   

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