News and Prayer Alert from Release International
Sep 16 2008
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NEWS AND PRAYER ALERT FROM RELEASE INTERNATIONAL
News each fortnight on persecuted Christians around the world 

·        India – ‘Worst ever’ anti-Christian riots in Orissa

·        China – Jailed Christian bookseller’s health failing

·        Indonesia – Students driven from campus told to leave

·        Pakistan – 85-yr-old fights for justice over his murdered wife
 

INDIA

As severe anti-Christian rioting continues in Orissa, India, Christian leaders are calling for the ringleaders to be brought to justice. And they’re anxious that relief aid should not be withheld from Christians who have been driven from their homes.

At least 56 people have been killed and tens of thousands forced to flee as the ‘worst ever riots against Christians’ rock the state of Orissa.

Anti-Christian violence erupted across at least 12 districts after the murder of a Hindu militant leader and four of his disciples on August 23. His followers blamed Christians –  even after Maoists admitted responsibility for the attack.

In what some observers are calling a spate of ‘ethnic cleansing’, Hindu militants are attacking Christians and burning their homes, businesses, schools, churches, even their orphanages. 

In Bargarh district, a young woman was burned alive as she tried to protect children from militants torching their orphanage. The Compass Direct news agency reports that Christians are being forcibly ‘reconverted’ to Hinduism under threat of violence.

Estimates suggest up to 50,000 people are hiding in forests and some 20,000 people have fled to 10 government relief camps. Some reports claim that militants are trying to poison the water at these camps. The Global Council of Indian Christians has recorded ‘at least 56 deaths’ but expects the toll to rise in what it calls the ‘worst ever’ attacks on Christians.

Worst hit is Kandhamal, where Hindu extremist leader Laxmanananda Saraswati was murdered by gunmen last month. More than 400 churches and 500 homes were destroyed in Kandhamal alone in the first four days of violence. 

A spokesman for Saraswati’s group alleged that Christians murdered him in revenge for anti-Christian attacks in Kandhamal in December 2007 which Saraswati reportedly incited.

Latest reports suggest the violence is spreading to other states: a church was burned down in Madhya Pradesh and extremists attacked nuns in Chhattisgarh, seizing four babies in their care.

Amid reports of police inaction, angry judges at India’s Supreme Court ordered Orissa’s chief secretary to sign an affidavit promising to ‘take all steps to protect life and property’. Church leaders have met with India’s president to discuss the crisis.

‘We want the guilty brought to account and are calling for justice for those who have suffered in Orissa,’ Joseph D’Souza, the President of the All India Christian Council told Release International.

‘We hope that there will be no problem in the distribution and quality of relief aid that is so desperately needed,’ he added. ‘Please pray for peace for Orissa and for those who are suffering there.’

(Sources: Compass Direct, Jubilee Campaign USA, The Voice of the Martyrs [VOM] Canada, The Global Council of Indian Christians, World Council of Churches)

·        Pray for an end to the violence and for the return of law and order across India.

·        Ask God to bless and comfort His church in India. 

CHINA

Campaigners are demanding the immediate release of Beijing bookseller Shi Weihan whose health has deteriorated so badly in custody that he is now ‘unrecognisable’.

Shi, still awaiting the outcome of a court appearance four weeks ago, has been denied proper medication and diet for his diabetes since his arrest in March. China Aid says he has lost more than 10kg in weight.

Shi has been forced to sign a ‘confession’ convicting him of printing and distributing a large number of illegal publications, reports Compass Direct. He was first arrested last November and charged with ‘illegal business practices’ linked with Christian publishing – but was released on January 4 due to ‘insufficient evidence’. 

Shi’s bookstore near the Olympic village, which sells only books for which he had official permission, remained open during the Games. His Antioch Eternal Life church, however, was closed in June. Shi’s wife and two daughters are said to be under ‘great strain’. 

Meanwhile, Pastor Zhang ‘Bike’ Mingxuan and his wife, arrested on August 6, were released in Henan three weeks later. China Aid says they spent a ‘forced vacation’ accompanied by officials during the Games. Pastor Zhang, president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, was banned from returning to Beijing before the end of the Paralympics.

(Sources: China Aid Association, Compass Direct, VOM Canada)

·        Pray for the immediate release of Shi Weihan. Ask God to strengthen him.

·        Write to the Chinese embassy in London expressing concern for Shi Weihan: Her Excellency Mrs Fu Ying, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, 49-51 Portland Place, London W1B 1JL. Tel: 020 7299 4049.  Fax: 020 7636 2981

INDONESIA

Hundreds of Christian students and staff forced to flee their college by violent protesters now have nowhere to go after being asked to leave the campsite where they took refuge.

Staff and 600 female students from the Arastamar Evangelical School of Theology in East Jakarta have been living in tents since a Muslim mob raided their college in July (7x7, 2 September 2008).

Now the campsite manager has asked the group to leave and presented them with a bill for more than £16,000. College principal Matheus Mangentang is refusing to leave, saying that the governor of Jakarta had ordered them to stay at the campsite.

At least 20 students were injured when an armed mob attacked during the night on July 25. When rumours circulated locally that students would try to return to the campus, a mob gathered again at the entrance gate, bristling with swords and knives. They dispersed when the rumours proved false.

The police have still not carried out an investigation into the raid, says Compass Direct. Five hundred male students were sent to a ‘transmigrant accommodation facility’ in Bekasi.

(Source: Compass Direct)

·        Ask God to strengthen the faith of students and staff from the Arastamar school.

·        Pray that the local authorities will act quickly to resolve this situation.
 

PAKISTAN

An 85-year-old Christian fighting for justice for his murdered wife has so far been thwarted by anti-Christian bias in Pakistan’s legal system.

Elderly Dara Masih from Kasur has spent weeks trying to bring prosecution against four Muslim men who, he alleges, killed his wife Noban Bibi, 65, with a pickaxe in July.

Release International partner Sohail Johnson of Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan (SLMP) has been supporting Dara in his legal battle.  Sohail claims that police are ignoring Dara’s claims because of his low social status as a Christian – and that Noban’s murderers attacked because they knew they would escape prosecution.

Dara and Noban were first targeted in January when two men stole money and gold from their home in Khraper village. When Masih threatened to take the matter to police, the alleged culprits threatened to kill him. Noban was killed at her home at 2.30am on July 2. 

Dara and SLMP have reported the matter to local police, district police and later the Kasur Superintendent of Police. At every stage, Dara has been told to drop charges. Compass Direct reports that the case has ‘become an issue of pride for local Muslims’.

(Sources: Compass Direct, Sharing Life Ministry Pakistan)

·        Pray for justice for Dara Masih and his late wife Noban.

·        Ask God to protect members of SLMP taking a stand for Christians like Dara.

Through its international network of missions Release International supports Christians imprisoned for their faith and their families in 30 nations. It supports church workers, pastors and their families, and provides training, Bibles, Christian literature and broadcasts. Release International is a member of the UK organisations Global Connections, the Evangelical Alliance and the Micah Network.

ENDS

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

In Release International’s regular news and prayer service on the persecuted Church we are focusing initially on seven principal nations where Christians have faced intense persecution. These are China, North Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam and Sudan – though we may report on others. Our aims are to raise awareness of the persecuted Church and encourage prayer.

We welcome your feedback on this
service.

For further information please contact Release International on 01689 823491 or by email at info@releaseinternational.org 

For more information on Release International please go to: www.releaseinternational.org