Release International

Orissa officials stand accused of 'cleaning up' an area which was home to scores of Christian refugees hours before a European Union delegation was due to visit.

The advocacy group the All India Christian Council (AICC) alleges that the authorities forced almost 100 survivors of anti-Christian violence to leave a market in the town of G. Udaigiri, Kandhamal district, just before the EU team was due at the scene. The homeless Christians had been living in the market since the closure of some of the refugee camps set up when extremist violence spread across Orissa in late-2008.

The EU delegation, which toured Kandhamal district on February 4-5, visited refugee camps and met with church leaders, government officials and human rights campaigners.

BosNewsLife news agency reports that the families were forced to leave when market officials and 'uniformed men' locked the pump of the nearby well and told them to 'get out'.

The Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Raphael Cheenath, insists that 'at least 4,400 families' are still living in makeshift shelters or the ruins of their former homes. 'Contrary to the claim of government sources, normalcy has not returned in Kandhamal,' he said.

In a memorandum to the EU, refugees expressed their hope that the Indian Government would step up its efforts to rehabilitate them and pursue justice on their behalf. So-called 'fast-track' courts set up to try those involved in the violence have so far handed down 89 convictions – and 251 acquittals, according to the archbishop.

(Sources: AsiaNews, BosNewsLife, Christian Today, Compass Direct)

• Pray that EU delegates will be rigorous in their pursuit of the truth.
• Pray for the many Christians still living as refugees, too scared to return home.

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