Global News from the Frontlines

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COMPASS DIRECT News Summaries

Global News from the Frontlines

August 15, 2003

China

THREE HOUSE CHURCH LEADERS ARRESTED

(Compass) -- On July 13, police raided a house church in Xiaoshan City, China, at 4 a.m. while Christians were meeting for Sunday prayer and worship. At least three church leaders were arrested. Eighty-year-old Shen Shaocheng, who helped found the church more than 25 years ago, Xu Weimin and Gao Chongdao are being held at an unknown location, and their families are not allowed to visit. A week earlier, some 300 Public Security Bureau officers raided an affiliated congregation in Hengpeng village during a Sunday service and demolished the church building. The congregations belong to the “Little Flock” church network, best known for its founder, Watchman Nee, whose writings are widely read by Christians all over the world. Nee was martyred in a labor camp in 1973 and his followers in China still suffer persecution.

Haiti

IS A VOODOO-CHRISTIAN SHOWDOWN COMING?

(Compass) -- In late April, Haiti’s President Jean-Bertrand Aristide declared voodoo an officially recognized religion. Many people in the country welcomed the move, asserting that the African folk religion has been an integral part of Haitian life since the late 18th century. But some evangelical Christians believe official recognition of voodoo threatens their freedom of worship and even their personal safety. They predict a showdown between voodoo and Christianity. “I ask everyone I meet to read the 18th chapter of I Kings, to see what happened between the prophet Elijah and the Baal prophets,” Jean Berthony Paul, founder of Mission Evangelique du Nord d’Haiti, told Compass. A dispute with voodoo leaders over an open-air evangelistic crusade in Cap-Haitien in August 1998 landed Paul and two associates in jail. Other church leaders are less worried, however. “I don’t really see much change happening because of it,” said a veteran missionary from Port-au-Prince. “In fact, the evangelical church has been growing through this.”

India

LAWYERS CHALLENGE ANTI-CONVERSION LAW BEFORE SUPREME COURT

(Compass) -- The president of the Orissa Christian Legal Association, Mr. Pratap Chinchani, has filed a Special Leave Petition with the Supreme Court of India against Orissa state’s Freedom of Religion Act, a 1967 ruling prohibiting religious conversions by fraudulent means and coercion. The law was struck down in 1973 but was ruled valid in 1977. In 1989, the state government introduced requirements and procedures for religious conversion. These prompted the current court challenge on the grounds that the amended rules constitute a violation of the fundamental rights of the citizen. The recent surge of violence by Hindu fundamentalist mobs has worried religious rights advocates, who believe abuses against Christians and other religious minorities are generated by the highly controversial issue of conversion.

India

MISSIONARIES ARRESTED, SCHOOL OFFICIALS ACCUSED

(Compass) -- Police arrested a missionary and four church leaders after Christian groups in Nagaland were accused of forcing people of other faiths to convert to Christianity. Arrested in July in the neighboring state of Arunachal Pradesh, the five Naga missionaries were jailed at Changland on the pretext of participating in insurgent movements. A statement released by the Chakhesang Baptist Church Council clarified that the Chakhesang Mission Society appointed the five workers in 2001 to work among tribal peoples, and that allegations of involvement with terrorist groups were baseless. In another incident, authorities of St. Francis Xavier Primary School in Bangalore were accused in early August of attempting to convert a 12-year-old Hindu girl to Christianity by promising they would make her a doctor. Hindu fundamentalists groups led protests demanding that the government suspend the school’s license. School officials have denied the allegations.

India

POLICE SURVEYS ALARM CHRISTIANS

(Compass) -- When the cauldron of inter-religious tension boiled over in February 2002, Muslims in the state of Gujarat found themselves victims of “database genocide.” Surveys conducted on their community prior to the attacks allowed mobs of Hindu extremists to target more than 2,000 Muslim men, women and children for death in three days of violence, says Human Rights Watch. In April 2002, HRW issued a report documenting state complicity in last year’s violence. Now, Christians in Gujarat are vehemently objecting to unauthorized police surveys of churches, schools and convents because they fear the data could be used in violent attacks against them. Although officials deny that they are collecting statistics on Christians, church leaders say police continue the surveys. “Whenever we write to the National Human Rights Commission or go to court, the (Gujarat) government denies the survey and has it stopped,” said Samson Christian of the All India Christian Council. “Then after a few days, police in some other district begin the process.”

India

HINDU MILITANTS ATTACK BIBLE SCHOOL

(Compass) -- On July 31, a group of about 250 Hindus attacked a church and Bible school in Dabwali, a small town in the Sirsa district, Haryana, India. Students at the Bible school sustained injuries; among them were five female students. A local Bharatiya Janata Party politician and ex-member of the legislative assembly led the group, which consisted mostly of members of the militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad organization. Assailants shouted anti-Christian slogans and accused them of converting people in the area. They also expressed objections to the screening of a film depicting the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Local police failed to protect the Christians from attack and even arrested six Bible school students. The students were later released.

Indonesia

COURT APPROVES GUILTY VERDICT AGAINST DAMANIK

(Compass) -- The Central Sulawesi High Court upheld the guilty verdict reached in June in the trial of Rev. Rinaldy Damanik. The Indonesian pastor and his lawyers are still awaiting a formal confirmation of the verdict from the High Court judges before proceeding with their appeal. Damanik was convicted on June 16 on a weapons possession charge dating back to an incident on August 17, 2002. He was traveling in a convoy of relief vehicles when police stopped the convoy and took Damanik and other members of the group some distance away from their vehicles for questioning. The minister and his defense team claim the weapons were planted in the vehicle as an attempt to incriminate him. The trial of Rev. Damanik has been fraught with inconclusive evidence, charges of police brutality and witness tampering.

Indonesia

HOPES OF PEACE IN POSO MARRED

(Compass) -- Violent incidents reported in July in the Poso region of Central Sulawesi have again marred hopes of peace. On the afternoon of July 10, Julius Ledo Pamini, a 32-year-old Torajan Christian, was shot dead while working on his plantation. The same day, unknown assailants detonated a bomb at a Christian-owned restaurant in Kawua, severely injuring Mrs. Tini Alimin, the owner; her son Grafel; and two male customers, both of whom lost limbs in the attack. In a third incident on July 11, a Christian policeman who had worked with refugee families alongside Rev. Rinaldy Damanik was shot and severely injured while riding his motorcycle home to Lembomao. “Please pray for the situation in Central Sulawesi, which could so easily degenerate into another violent conflict,” said a spokesman in Sulawesi, who asked to remain anonymous. “The Christian community is deeply upset at the injustice of Damanik’s trial and sentencing. Incidents like these are calculated to antagonize the Christians.”

Indonesia

BALI BOMBING UNITES CHURCHES

(Compass) -- Following last October’s bombing of a Bali nightclub, Christians have made an effort to unite in their response to the tragedy. “This has brought a spirit of shame over a large section of the Bali community, with a subsequent opening to the gospel,” said Rev. Annette Hammond of Abba Love Church, Jakarta. “Seventy percent of those affected by the bombing on Bali were Christian or of Christian background. Bali can only be healed in a Christian-led recovery,” said Rev. Jeff Hammond. Public revival meetings in May in Manado attracted crowds of 15,000 to 30,000, according to reports. On the last evening of the event, people brought samples of earth and sand for a symbolic prayer for the healing of their nation. Thousands repented of crimes such as corruption and theft.

Malaysia

HOME MINISTRY IMPOUNDS CHRISTIAN TAPES, CDs

(Compass) -- The Home Ministry of Malaysia has yet to release 1,500 CDs and cassette tapes belonging to a church in Sabah, despite appeals from the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) of Malaysia. Christian singers from the Kadazan Dusun tribe made the musical recordings, which were confiscated in November 2002 because two of the 11 songs contained the word “Allah” and the materials were not marked with the words “For Christians Only.” In its letter of appeal, the NECF explained that the word “Allah” was used in pre-Islamic times and is regularly used in Christian publications. The Malaysian government continues to ban the use of certain religious terms in non-Muslim publications and recordings. A shipment of 1,000 Indonesian-language Bibles was impounded in the last week of April, because they contained the word “Allah.”

 

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Nepal

CHRISTIANS SUFFER ATTACKS, ARREST

(Compass) -- Christians belonging to a small but rapidly growing house church in northern Nepal were attacked by Buddhist and Hindu villagers on July 26, resulting in hospitalization for at least one member. Authorities in the village had repeatedly asked the Christians to give up their faith. When they refused, Buddhist and Hindu villagers retaliated, destroying houses and cornfields belonging to Christians. In another incident in mid June, a Nepali evangelist witnessed an attack on a newly built church in Jhapa district, Beldangi. “There were about 100 believers there, but when the Hindus saw that the church had been built, they came with almost 1,000 people to break down the church. The police also came and took everything away and arrested the three church leaders.” The church in Nepal has seen huge growth in recent years, with its numbers doubling to 400,000 during the 1990s. However, Hindu extremists have reportedly declared that they will shed blood to protect Hinduism.

Nigeria

CHRISTIAN KING DETHRONED FOR REFUSING TO WORSHIP IDOL

(Compass) -- A prominent Christian monarch in southwest Nigeria has been dethroned for his refusal to participate in an animist religious festival. King Oba Samuel Adara Aderiye of Ode Ekiti was nearly lynched when adherents of the cult of Semuregede stormed his palace on July 19 during the cult’s annual festival. The Semuregede chief priest led several hundred worshippers to the palace in the afternoon and demanded that the king participate in sacrifices to idols. When Oba Aderiye, a member the Anglican Communion, declined to do so, the priest declared him dethroned. The crowd then reportedly beat and stoned the monarch to drive him out of the palace. Oba Aderiye took refuge in the city of Lagos. Sources say syncretistic activities have become the norm in many churches in that part of the country.

Nigeria

MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN TENSIONS SIMMER

(Compass) -- Evidence of rising political and religious tension recently surfaced in Africa’s most populous nation. On August 4, armed men disguised in pastoral robes forced their way into the residence of Monsignor Obiora Ike, vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, apparently intending to assassinate the priest. Director of the Institute for Development, Justice, and Peace, Ike has been an outspoken champion of religious liberty. Frustrated in their attempt, the gunmen abducted a domestic worker, who was later released unharmed. The attack came as some church leaders registered protests over appointments of Muslims to the presidential cabinet and demanded that the government convene a national conference to decide whether the country should remain as a single political entity. Finally, police in Jos arrested nine Christian students, all below 15 years of age, who were producing guns in the workshop of the Government Technical College in Bukuru. “We did this to protect ourselves and our brothers and sisters,” one of the students told Compass. “Muslim fanatics killed my parents. We had no choice but to find ways of defending ourselves.”

North Korea

CHRISTIANS JAILED FOR AIDING REFUGEES IN CHINA

(Compass) -- Two South Korean pastors and two laymen, imprisoned in China because of their pastoral and humanitarian work among North Korean refugees, await court decisions on their fate. Rev. Choi Bong Il, a veteran pastor of the Church of Holiness in South Korea, and Kim Hee-tae, 32, a Presbyterian minister, await sentencing. Both were convicted of organizing illegal border crossings involving North Koreans attempting to flee poverty and repression under the regime of Kim Jong Il. Two South Korean lay Christians were sentenced to prison last spring for aiding North Korean refugees who sought to leave China. Awaiting the outcome of appeals, Choi Yong Hun, a real estate consultant, and free-lance journalist Seok Jae-huyn face prison sentences of five and two years respectively. Up to 300,000 North Korean defectors are believed to live clandestinely in China. South Korean, Japanese and Chinese Christians risk their own freedom to provide the refugees with humanitarian aid and teach them about the Christian faith.

Pakistan

ANOTHER CHRISTIAN’S BLASPHEMY TRIAL BEGINS

(Compass) -- Trial proceedings against Christian schoolteacher Pervaiz Masih began on July 17 in northeast Pakistan, two years and three months after the high school principal was jailed for alleged blasphemy. Now 35, Masih has been refused bail since his arrest in April 2001, when teenage boys reportedly claimed he had made slanderous remarks against the Muslim prophet Mohammed while tutoring them two months earlier. But according to a fact-finding report issued two weeks after the teacher was arrested, Masih’s blasphemy accusations were based on “professional biases and rivalry, including religious hatred.” Masih’s family has engaged a Muslim lawyer who is trying to resolve the case at the High Court level. For security reasons, Masih is being escorted by three or four policemen in a separate vehicle from his cell at the Sialkot District Jail to the Daska court hearings, 40 minutes away.

Sri Lanka

BUDDHIST MOBS ATTACK FIVE CHURCHES

(Compass) -- Mobs attacked five churches in southern Sri Lanka on August 2. Initial information from the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (EASL) suggests the organized attack is part of the government’s plan to introduce anti-conversion legislation. Police thwarted an attempted attack on the Methodist church in Rathgama that a crowd of Buddhist monks and youth mounted on July 27. However, the monks returned the following Saturday. They stoned the building, destroyed pews and benches, and beat two church workers so badly that they required hospital treatment. Other churches in the area were attacked on August 2, including the Assemblies of God in Thanamalwila and Lumugamvehera, and the Calvary church in Hikkaduwa. According to the EASL, attackers are attempting to incite Buddhists against the Christian community in order to create an environment of religious disharmony which, in turn, will allow the government to argue convincingly for the introduction of anti-conversion laws.

Vietnam

COMPROMISE ON CHURCH BUILDING CONSIDERED A ‘RUSE’

(Compass) -- A compromise reached between church and government authorities over the construction of a small church building in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) appears to have been a ruse to fool the congregation. “The compromise involved both sides admitting to ‘mistakes’ as a way to move forward,” a long-time Vietnam watcher said. “However, when the church went to register its address, local authorities demanded the church pay a large fine because the pastor had admitted to some mistakes!” The church construction in the Thu Thiem district has a decade-long history of problems, despite the fact that the congregation is a member of the government-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South). Now the church must await the government’s response to its refusal to pay the latest fine. Meanwhile, Christians continue to face repression in Dak Lak province, where over 400 churches were disbanded last year. Government authorities recently refused permission for a Christian family to hold a funeral,l and sources report that more than 200 tribal Christians remain imprisoned in Dak Lak.

Compass Direct is distributed monthly to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith.
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