Three House Church Leaders Arrested in China

COMPASS DIRECT Global News from the Frontlines

August 15, 2003

Compass Direct is distributed monthly to raise awareness of Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith. Articles may be reprinted or edited by active subscribers for use in other media, provided Compass Direct is acknowledged as the source of the material.

*********************************** *********************************** IN THIS ISSUE

Three House Church Leaders Arrested Followers of Watchman Nee held at unknown location.

Is Haiti Facing a Voodoo-Christian Showdown?*** Tensions could increase after voodoo declared an official religion.

Christian Lawyers Challenge Anti-Conversion Law Before Supreme Court Orissa state ruling prompts religious rights appeal.

Missionaries Arrested in Northeast India School accused of conversion in Bangalore.

Unofficial Police Surveys Alarm Christians After Muslim genocide, will it be their turn next?

Hindu Militants Attack Bible School Police refuse to take action against Dabwali assailants.

INDONESIA

High Court Upholds Verdict Against Damanik*** Pastor plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Hopes of Peace Marred in Poso Violence flares with news of Rev. Damanik’s sentence.

Bali Bombing Brings Unity to Churches Revival meetings attract large crowds.

Rising Violence Endangers Christians Christians fear further church bombings as terror campaign intensifies.

MALAYSIA

Malaysia Impounds Christian Tapes, CDs Home ministry fails to release materials despite appeal.

Political Party Creates Blueprint for Islamic State Memorandum outlines implementation of sharia law.

Christians Suffer Attacks, Arrests Continuing political tension restricts worship and travel.

NIGERIA

Christian Monarch Dethroned for Refusing to Worship Idols Animists, Christians clash during traditional festivals.

Muslim-Christian Tensions Simmer Assassination attempt, confiscated weapons expose seriousness of conflict.

NORTH KOREA

Christians Jailed for Aiding North Korean Refugees Four South Koreans are sentenced for clandestine humanitarian activities.

PAKISTAN

Another Christian’s Blasphemy Trial Starts Jailed schoolteacher faces death penalty.

SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Arabia Deports Eritrean Christian Girmaye Ambaye is released after 20 weeks.

SRI LANKA Buddhist Mobs Attack Five Churches Aggression is designed to force passage of anti-conversion laws.

Filipino Pastor Formally Deported Rev. Alconga is jailed for final four days.

VIETNAM

Compromise on Church Building Considered a ‘Ruse’ Both sides admitted to ‘mistakes.’

Recent Repression of Christians in the Central Highlands

*********************************** Three House Church Leaders Arrested in China Followers of Watchman Nee Held at Unknown Location by Xu Mei

BEIJING (Compass) -- Chinese police raided a house church in Xiaoshan City, Zhejiang province on July 13 and arrested at least three church leaders. According to a China Aid Association press release dated July 24, the raid came at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning while the Christians were meeting for prayer and worship.

Eighty-year-old Shen Shaocheng, who helped found the church more than 25 years ago, was among those arrested. Xu Weimin and Gao Chongdao, two other house church leaders, were also taken into custody. The three men are being held at an unknown location. Authorities have not revealed their whereabouts to their families or allowed them visitors.

The church, which has about 1,500 members, belongs to the “Little Flock,” one of the largest house church “streams” active in China. The Little Flock is best known in the West for their famous 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. The Xiaoshan church has been destroyed three times by the authorities over the last 25 years, but it was rebuilt each time -- even without government permission. During the recent SARS scare, authorities ordered the church to stop meeting. However, members continued to gather.

The local Religious Affairs Bureau has repeatedly tried to convince the church to register and join the government-controlled Three Self Patriotic Movement. Little Flock theology, while urging Christians to be model citizens, stresses the lordship of Christ over the church and strongly resists government attempts to control the spiritual affairs of each local assembly.

More than 300 Public Security Bureau officers raided an affiliated congregation in Hengpeng village during a Sunday service on July 6 and demolished the church building. This church has also refused to register with government religious authorities. The believers continue to meet in their homes and other locations.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Is Haiti Facing a Voodoo-Christian Showdown? Tensions Could Increase after Voodoo Declared an Official Religion by David Miller

MIAMI (Compass) -- In late April, Haiti’s President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former Catholic priest, declared voodoo an officially recognized religion. The decision means, among other things, that marriage ceremonies conducted by voodoo priests now have equal standing with Catholic ones.

According to a BBC report, many people in the country welcome the move. Voodoo, an African folk religion that venerates a mixture of gods and goddesses and Catholic saints, is an integral part of Haitian life, they say, practiced in Haiti since the late 18th century. A common maxim asserts that Haitians are 70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant and 100 percent voodoo.

“We’ve always been the majority religion in Haiti -- it’s never been illegal to be a voodooisant,” Mambu Racine Sumbu, an American voodoo priestess who has been practicing in Haiti for 15 years, told the BBC World Service on April 30. “What President Aristide has done for us, for which we are very thankful, is to facilitate us in obtaining the status that we need to perform legally-binding religious ceremonies.”

But some Haitians -- particularly evangelical Christians -- believe official recognition of voodoo threatens their freedom of worship and even their personal safety. They say a showdown between voodoo and Christianity is imminent.

“The government said they are going to turn the country entirely to voodoo. The Christians say we are going to turn the country totally to the Lord Jesus Christ,” Jean Berthony Paul, founder of Mission Evangelique du Nord D’Haiti, told Compass.

“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. The same thing will happen here.”

Paul has worked in Cap-Haitien, the self-proclaimed “voodoo capital of the world,” since 1970, developing churches, schools, a medical clinic and media ministries. In August 1998, a showdown with voodoo leaders over an annual open-air evangelistic crusade landed Paul and two associates in jail. When local officials learned of plans for the annual meeting, they ordered organizers to cancel the event.

“They said, ‘Last year you made your crusade, you cast away all our spirits. This year, if you do the crusade, we will kill you,’” Paul recounted.

The evangelicals went ahead with the crusade and officials arrested Paul and two other pastors, Jeane Joel and Gregory Joseph.

“They thought they were going to put us in jail for life,” said Paul, pointing out ominously that few prisoners survive Haitian jails. However, Christians around the country mounted massive protests against the arrests, forcing officials to release the pastors after three days.

Since then, Paul says he has received numerous death threats; family and colleagues have urged him to flee the country. “But when they say I must leave Haiti, I cannot. I have a mandate to set Haiti free from the voodoo,” he said.

Not all Christian ministers in Haiti believe Aristide’s presidential backing of voodoo will raise tensions between adherents of the African folk religion and evangelical Christians.

“I don’t really see much change happening because of it,” said a North American missionary who has worked in Port–au-Prince for the past 17 years. “Since 1986, we’ve heard over and over again the terrible thing that’s going to happen to the evangelical church because such-and-such is a leader and he doesn’t want the evangelical church to come out ahead. I haven’t ever seen that happen.

“I don’t see religion as a battle,” he added. “I think we need to win hearts, one at a time, and disciple. In fact, the evangelical church has been growing through this.”

All Christian ministers agree on that last point. Evangelicals currently account for 40 to 45 percent of the Haitian population, according to church spokesmen. They believe the evangelical church in Haiti will continue to grow at a rapid pace, official voodoo notwithstanding.

“There have been some difficulties, some confrontations that could, perhaps, affect the church from this point on,” a pastor from the Dominican Republic who makes frequent visits to Haiti told Compass.

“But the servants of God have not been hindered by that. Instead, they have looked to Christ, who is the only source and stronghold that helps us go forward.”

***Photos related to this article are available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal. (Return to Index) *********************************** Christian Lawyers Challenge Anti-Conversion Law in India Orissa State Ruling Prompts Religious Rights Appeal by Vijayesh Lal

DELHI (Compass) -- Conversion to Christianity is a highly controversial -- and potentially dangerous -- issue in the Indian state of Orissa. In January 1999, Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burned to death by a Hindu fundamentalist mob that accused Staines of converting tribal people.

Catholic priest Arul Doss of Balasore diocese was also murdered in the tribal region of Orissa, allegedly over the issue of conversion.

Orissa is one of five states that have passed so-called freedom of religion laws to prevent religious conversions by fraudulent means and coercion. The other four are Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The Orissa Freedom of Religion Act, or ORFA as the act is commonly known, came into force in 1967. It provoked strong reactions from minority groups, which challenged its constitutional validity. In 1973, the Orissa High Court struck down the act. The court ruled that state lawmakers had exceeded proper constitutional authority in framing the legislation.

However, supporters of the measure appealed to the Supreme Court. In a 1977 ruling, the Supreme Court set aside the judgment of the Orissa High Court and declared the act a valid piece of legislation.

After a lapse of nearly 12 years, the state government introduced requirements and procedures for carrying out the objectives of the act. One of the 1989 requirements stipulated that, if a person intends to change his religion, he must file a declaration before a judicial magistrate, first class, stating that “he/she intends to convert his religion on his/her own will.”

The district magistrate -- or a district collector, who is the equivalent of a notary public -- must forward the declaration to the superintendent of police. The superintendent sends it on to the officer in charge of the local police station, who must check to see if there is any objection to the proposed conversion before permission for the conversion is granted.

The rule prescribes a statutory form on which the applicant must enter all the pertinent information. The law also stipulates that “the concerned religious priest shall intimate the date, time and place of the conversion ceremony” to the district magistrate 15 days before it takes place.

Violation of the act is punishable by up to two years imprisonment and a fine. If the person who has converted is a minor, a woman, a member of a tribal group or low caste, the penalties increase.

The restrictions prompted Satya Ranjan Majhi of the Gajapati Diaspora Welfare Forum and Pran R. Parichha of the India Evangelistic Association to file a writ petition with the Orissa court challenging the act on the grounds that the amended rules constitute a violation of the fundamental rights of the citizen.

Following a year-long period of research and discovery, Pratap Chinchani of the Orissa High Court in Cuttack and president of the Orissa chapter of Christian Legal Association (CLA) presented comprehensive legal arguments on the matter.

However, the Orissa High Court dismissed the writ petition with no discussion of the underlying constitutional issues. That left no recourse but to file another appeal to the Supreme Court of India challenging the Orissa court’s decision.

“In the present scenario, the rules and regulations made by the Orissa government to implement the freedom of religion bill contradicts the freedom of conscience guaranteed in the constitution,” said Rev. Richard Howell, national chairman of the CLA. “(They) are selectively applied against the Christians.”

(Return to Index) *********************************** Missionaries Arrested in Northeast India School Accused of Conversion in Bangalore by Abhijeet Prabhu

BANGALORE, India (Compass) -- Police arrested a missionary and four church leaders after Christian groups in the state of Nagaland were accused of forcing people of other faiths to convert to Christianity.

The missionaries were arrested last month in the neighboring state of Arunachal Pradesh and incarcerated at Changland district jail on the pretext of participating in insurgent movements.

Arunachal Pradesh was one of the first states in India to frame an anti-conversion law.

The Chakhesang Baptist Church Council, one of the tribal councils of the Baptist Church in Nagaland, clarified that the Naga missionaries were appointed in 2001 by the Chakhesang Mission Society to work among the people of the Tutsa Naga tribe in Changland and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The statement also said that Rev. Ara Shijoh was totally dedicated to church ministry, and allegations of his involvement with terrorist groups were baseless.

The Council named the other four arrested: Mr. Ngongseng, president of the Tutsa Baptist Churches Council (TBCC); Mr. Raplom Kanglom, executive member of the TBCC; Rev. Panrap Wangno, pastor of Laiwang Baptist Church; and Rev. Wanpong Sawin, pastor of Town Baptist Church, Khonsa.

A vilification campaign against the people of Nagaland accusing them of being anti- patriotic and indulging in terrorism has influenced government policy against the state for a number of years. Ironically, 98 percent of Nagas are Christian, most of them Baptists. Hindu fundamentalists have accused them of receiving support from fundamental Baptists in the United States.

The Naga International Support Center (NISC), a human rights organization based in Amsterdam, has strongly condemned the arrests of the missionaries and described it “as an attack on Naga Christianity.” The NISC also dismissed the allegations of forced conversion as part of the defamation campaign against Naga Christians.

Meanwhile, Buddhists living along the Assam-Arunachal border are accusing the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) of forcing locals to convert to Christianity.

Over 20,000 Burmese tribal peoples have sought asylum in India, among them the Singphos, Tangsas, Khamtis, Taiphakes and Taikhamians who practice Buddhism and reside along the Assam-Arunachal border. Local leaders allege that the NSCN is on a drive to convert the tribals to Christianity.

“These areas are dominated by the NSCN, who demand money, food and now say all people here must become Christians,” claims Moulang Bhante, Buddhist chief priest of the Myanmarese tribes. “For the safety of our religion, Buddhism, we have to take some safeguards.”

“So far, I know they are visiting some places in Assam,” Wannasara Bhikku, another Buddhist high priest, said. “We came to know they visited Kamba next to Lekhapani camp. They are visiting again and again in Arunachal Pradesh. They force Buddhists to convert to Christianity.”

Local leaders also accuse the NSCN of burning down an animist Rangphra temple in Arunachal Pradesh last month.

In another incident, authorities of the St. Francis Xavier Primary School in Bangalore were accused of attempting to convert a 12-year-old Hindu girl to Christianity in early August. According to allegations, authorities took the girl, a top student in her class, to the Ave Maria hospital on the pretext of conducting a medical check-up.

Once there, she was given an injection, after which she collapsed. The girl was then allegedly hypnotized to say that she wished to join a nunnery and that she hated her parents and her religion.

The girl’s father, K.N. Murthy, said that the school authorities lured his daughter to convert by telling her they would make her a doctor.

School authorities have denied the allegations.

Hindu fundamentalists groups have led protest demonstrations demanding that the government suspend the school’s license.

Observers say that the incidents prove that Hindu fundamentalists are becoming more brazen in their attacks against minority religions, vilifying Christians even in areas like Nagaland and Bangalore, where they constitute a sizeable proportion of the population.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Unofficial Police Surveys Alarm Christians in India After Muslim Genocide, Will it be Their Turn Next? by Abhijeet Prabhu

BANGALORE, India (Compass) -- Are Christians in the Indian state of Gujarat “crying wolf” when they vehemently object to unauthorized police surveys carried out since the beginning of 1999? Not if they go by the experience of their Muslim neighbors.

When the cauldron of inter-religious tension boiled over in February 2002, the Muslims of Gujarat found themselves victims of “database genocide” due to surveys and demographic profiles conducted prior to attacks on their community. More than 2,000 Muslim men, women and children were killed in three days of violence.

Scores of Muslim girls and women were brutally raped before being mutilated and burned to death. Pregnant women had their fetuses torn from the womb and toddlers were hacked to death. As their homes burned, some girls even threw themselves into the fire to avoid rape.

The pro-Hindu Gujarat government blamed the genocide on spur-of-the-moment communal riots, characterized as a “spontaneous reaction” to the “Godhra incident,” in which angry Muslims set fire to a train carrying Hindu activists, killing 58 people.

However, an April 2002 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) entitled “We Have No Orders To Save You” documents state complicity in the communal violence. “The overriding theme of the riots: surprisingly systematic targeting (and) little state intervention” (to prevent the genocide), stated a summary of the 68-page report appearing in the national news magazine Outlook. Evidence surfaced that, prior to the attack on Muslims, district administrators in Gujarat, Delhi and Orissa conducted surveys to assess the activities and whereabouts of Muslim community leaders.

The Outlook article stated: “Between February 28 and March 2, the attackers descended with militia-like precision on Ahmedabad by the thousands, arriving in trucks and clad in saffron scarves and khaki shorts, the signature uniform of Hindu nationalist Hindutva groups.” They were guided by computer printouts listing the addresses of Muslim families and their properties, information obtained from the Ahmedabad municipal corporation, among other sources. Portions of the Gujarati language press, meanwhile, printed fabricated stories and statements openly calling on Hindus to avenge the Godhra attacks.”

According to the HRW report, in many cases the police led rioters to the property of Muslims and either participated in the assaults or stood by as passive observers.

Victims’ calls to police, fire brigades and ambulance services were largely futile. Witnesses said common responses were, “We don’t have any orders to save you,” and “Whose house is on fire, Hindu or Muslim?”

The HRW report also describes how voter lists were used to identify and target Muslims. “The mission was accomplished with clinical precision,” a senior police officer told the Indian Internet news site, rediff.com.

By April 2002, some 98,000 people, most of them Muslims, were living in 100 newly erected relief camps throughout Gujarat.

Gujarat is still seething with communal hatred. The ruling Indian People’s Party (BJP) has allied with pro-Hindu extremist groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the World Hindu Council, whose stated purpose is to ethnically cleanse the “Hindu motherland” of Islam and Christianity, which they consider religions of foreign invaders.

Since 1998, extremist Hindu mobs have burned down numerous churches. A survey on the activities of Christian missionaries similar to those carried out against Muslims preceded attacks on Christians in December 1998 and January 1999.

A judgment by the Gujarat High Court ordered the surveys stopped. Nevertheless, the Gujarat director general of police asked police commissioners in the state to provide information on total population of Christians, addresses and phone numbers of main leaders, the location of Christian missionaries and the amounts and sources of foreign funding they receive.

Police officials also asked for a dossier on all Christians involved in criminal activities or “having a criminal attitude.” Presently, police officers continue to scrutinize Christian organizations despite attempts by human rights groups and the courts to halt such 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.”

Documented cases of recent police surveys involve the Don Bosco School in the temple town of Dakor, Kheda district; the nearby Pushpanjali Society run by the Auxilium Sisters; the Holy Spirit Church which belongs to the Catholic Church Trust in Vatva and the Catholic Ashram in Patan. Father Cedric Prakash, spokesman of the Gujarat United Christian Forum for Human Rights, said the inquiries amounted to “intimidation of the community.”

Meanwhile, high government officials deny that the police are acting with their approval. “The government has not ordered any survey of Christians,” Home Secretary K. Nityanandam told the press on June 13. “If any incident has been reported, it must be part of some routine investigation and not linked to any survey.”

Following the April passage of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Bill, which observers have dubbed the “anti-conversion law” because it restricts persons from changing their religion, Siddharth Varadarajan of The Times of India issued a stinging critique of India’s current political trend in regard to freedom of religion.

“Today, Mr. Vajpayee (the prime minister of India), tells Muslims, Christians and Sikh Indians that ‘we (the BJP) have allowed you freedom of worship.’ Tomorrow, Hindu Indians will be told what they are ‘allowed’ to do.

“Gujarat has thrown a challenge to the country. The writing is on the wall. Either we stand up to defend the rights of all citizens; or we will all go down eventually.”

(Return to Index) *********************************** Hindu Militants Attack Bible School in India Police Refuse to Take Action Against Dabwali Assailants by Vijayesh Lal

DEHLI (Compass) -- On the evening of July 31, the students and staff of a Bible school in Dabwali, Haryana, India, were at prayer when about 250 people attacked them. Led by a local Bharatiya Janata Party politician and ex-member of the Legislative Assembly, the assailants were mostly members of the militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) organization. Assailants shouted anti-Christian slogans and accused the 25-member student body of converting people in the area. They also expressed objections to the screening of a film depicting the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The mob burned Bibles and Christian literature, vandalized the school and smashed furniture. They beat the students, including five females. One girl named Santosh managed to telephone the police, but the mob disappeared before officers arrived at the scene.

When the police did arrive, officers threatened the students and warned them of consequences if the Bible school continued to operate in the town. Santosh showed the officers bruises on her legs from the beatings, but they refused to take action against the attackers.

Police also refused to file a First Information Report, a mandatory requirement for reporting such incidents. Instead, they arrested six of the Bible school students, later releasing them following intervention from local Christian leaders.

Haryana is one of the states in northern India and borders Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Christians comprise 0.08 percent of the total population of 21 million in Haryana, considered to be the Indian state most unresponsive to the gospel. The majority of the Christians there worship in independent and emerging churches, which suffer the brunt of persecution.

Rev. R.E. Howell has operated the Dabwali Bible school for a little over a year. Initially based in Firozpur, Punjab, Howell realized the need for Bible training in Dabwali during a visit to the area in March 2002.

According to Howell, the Bible school has enjoyed good relations with the local community until now. Howell was away from Dabwali on the day of the attack.

Local media reportedly published false details about the incident and spread disinformation against the Christians. The politician who led the attack denies having been part of it and claims the mob did not burn any Bibles. He also alleges that the Bible school students are a menace to the community.

Meanwhile, Rev. Howell has received death threats. Concerned about the safety of the students, he arranged for the female students to return to Firozpur. Students and faculty request prayer for the situation in Dabwali, as it continues to remain tense.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Indonesian High Court Upholds Verdict Against Damanik Pastor Plans Appeal to Supreme Court by Sarah Page

DUBLIN (Compass) -- The Central Sulawesi High Court upheld the June verdict of a trial court that found Rev. Rinaldy Damanik guilty of illegally possessing weapons and sentenced him to three years including time served. 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 to the Supreme Court, according to a key member of Damanik’s defense team.

Once the official High Court ruling is received, the defense team will have 14 days to file its 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 the police stopped the convoy and took Damanik and other members of the group some distance away from their vehicles for questioning.

On the following day, police claimed they had found illegal weapons and ammunition in Damanik’s vehicle. Damanik and his defense team claim the weapons were planted in the vehicle as an attempt to incriminate him.

Several witnesses for the prosecution admitted in court that police had pressured them into giving negative testimony against Damanik. For example, Mr. Rongko, one of the drivers on August 17, said he was intimidated by a police officer named Syahrial, who told him that Damanik was a cold-blooded murderer and a key figure in the Poso conflict. Rongko was then forced to sign a written statement without first reading the document.

Sartob Sambegewe, a key witness for the prosecution, said he was beaten in police custody and his written statement was a product of brutality and intimidation.

Several witnesses claimed Damanik was traveling in a blue SUV with the license plate DN-790E. However, their testimony was discredited by Mr. Taswin, a mechanic who said the blue SUV with the license plate DN-790E was in his shop for serious repairs for three months, beginning on August 13, 2002.

Taswin said Syahrial had applied severe pressure on him to provide a false written statement, saying the car was brought in after August 17, 2002.

At the close of testimony, Professor J.E. Sahetapy, an expert on Indonesian law and a witness for the defense, maintained that the case should be thrown out due to clear proof of witness intimidation and false evidence.

Judge Somanada admitted that the prosecution had failed to present a cohesive case. However, he then proceeded to hand down a guilty verdict and a three-year sentence for Damanik. Some of Damanik’s lawyers, who are Muslims, were criticized by leaders of the Muslim community for their defense of Damanik. They responded by saying they were duty-bound to protect “an innocent man.” The same lawyers are assisting Damanik in the appeal process.

***A photo of Rev. Damanik is available electronically. Please contact Compass Direct for pricing and transmittal.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Hopes of Peace Marred in Poso, Indonesia Violence Flares with News of Rev. Damanik’s Sentence by David Freeman

LONDON (Compass) -- Several violent incidents reported in July in the Poso region of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, have again marred hopes of peace.

On July 10, a Torajan Christian man was shot dead while working on his plantation. Villagers from neighboring Sa’atu and Pinedapa heard the gunshot in the late afternoon and found 32-year-old Julius Ledo Pamini shot in the chest and lying face down in his field.

Not trusting the Poso authorities to investigate the crime fairly, the family took his body to Toraja for autopsy.

On the same day, unknown assailants detonated a bomb at a Christian-owned restaurant in Kawua, severely injuring four people and destroying the restaurant. Restaurant owner Mrs. Tini Alimin and her son Grafel were taken to the hospital along with two male customers. Both men, a Christian and a Muslim, lost limbs in the blast.

In a third incident the following day, a Christian policeman who had supported Rev. Rinaldy Damanik in his work among refugee families was shot and severely injured while riding his motorcycle. A school teacher who had accepted a ride on the motorcycle with Sergeant Petrian Malenge as he was returning to his home in Lembomao village escaped the shooting with cuts and bruises.

Meanwhile, in an example of Indonesia’s unequal justice, Farihin Yasir Ibnu, whom authorities caught earlier this year in Palu harbor in possession of automatic weapons, grenades and thousands of rounds of ammunition, has received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Ibnu will likely regain his freedom in nine months -- before Rev. Damanik, who was sentenced to three years in prison after police allegedly found homemade weapons in a vehicle he used for a mercy mission.

Two recent incidents have added to the uncertainty in Poso. Two young men from Marowo and Bada villages were attacked on May 29 as they were on their way home from working on their cocoa plantation in Kayamanya. Twenty-year-old Jab, a Muslim, was shot and killed by four men in black masks who were using machine guns. Jab’s brother-in-law, a Christian, managed to escape and report the shooting to the police. Jab’s body was recovered the following day.

The two young men had recently returned to Kayamanya, a largely Muslim village, in response to assurances by the authorities that the situation was now calm and those who had fled from their homes should return.

The following week, five Christian houses were attacked with machine-gun fire. Joseph Burunudju, the father of two young children, died of bullet wounds to his chest and stomach. Another man, Darman Posumah, suffered a shattered knee.

The houses were in Kapompa, a Christian village which had been abandoned during the conflict. The men were among a group that had returned to Kapompa to tend the land and take over the new wooden houses supplied through the government aid program.

On July 9, police arrested four men in Poso city on suspicion of participating in the machine gun attacks.

“Please pray for the situation in Central Sulawesi, which could so easily degenerate into another violent conflict,” said a contact in Sulawesi. “The Christian community is deeply upset at the injustice of Damanik’s trial and sentencing. Incidents like these are calculated to antagonize the Christians, who feel that there is no justice for them and could easily take the law into their own hands.”

(Return to Index) *********************************** Bali Bombing Brings Unity to Indonesian Churches Revival Meetings Attract Large Crowds by David Freeman

LONDON (Compass) -- Following last October’s bombing of a Bali nightclub, Christians and churches have made an effort to unite in their response to the tragedy.

Attacks on churches by radical Muslims and the Bali bombing have disturbed the Bali community, reports the Rev. Annette Hammond of Abba Love Church, Jakarta.

“This has brought a spirit of shame over a large section of the Bali community, with a subsequent opening to the gospel,” Rev. Hammond said.

A memorial service is planned for October 2003. A choir of 5,000 Bali Christians will sing during the festival, and a united church service will be conducted in the Bali sports stadium on October 12. “The authorities have realized that all their efforts to bring about a recovery in Bali have failed,” said Rev. Jeff Hammond, who was asked to meet with Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri to arrange the details of the services.

“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.

“What an opportunity to demonstrate that Christians can indeed be a blessing to the nation, and to break the spirit of darkness and gloom over this island. This is how transformation comes about, when a united, praying, loving body of Christ does what is absolutely impossible for anyone else to do,” Jeff Hammond said.

Public revival meetings in May 2003 in Manado, North Sulawesi, attracted large crowds. A series of meetings that began with 15,000 attending on Sunday closed with 30,000 people packing the sports stadium on Wednesday night.

On the last evening, people brought samples of earth and sand for a symbolic prayer for the healing of their nation. They repented of many crimes such as corruption and theft, and many rededicated their lives to Christ.

Hammond says he has never known a time of such opportunity in Indonesia. At the meetings in North Sulawesi, government leaders were “lining up” to share their spiritual experiences and to request prayer.

In Batam, an island near to Singapore, 1,500 Christians recently gathered for a seminar on transformation. Different ethnic groups asked forgiveness of one another. One group confessed to the murder and cannibalism of the first missionary, a German Baptist who brought the gospel to the Batak people of North Sumatra.

“Half the population on Batam have now become Christian and the atmosphere there is electric. People are living in expectancy of God and the mighty work He is doing among them,” said Jeff Hammond.

In Bogor, the heartland of the Sundanese people in West Java, 300 intercessors gathered to hear Poate Mata, a guest speaker from Fiji, who called for unity, reconciliation and forgiveness so that their nation could be healed.

“There is fervency in prayer and a commitment to unity never seen before in the life of the church here,” Jeff Hammond said.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Rising Violence in Indonesia Endangers Christians Christians Fear Further Church Bombings as Terror Campaign Intensifies by Samuel Rinaldo JAKARTA (Compass) -- The bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on August 5 has contributed to fears of a rising wave of terrorism in Indonesia. The attack on the hotel was the fifth bombing incident since January 2003.

The Christian community is a particular target. Members of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, currently on trial for last October’s bombing that killed 202 people in a popular tourist district on the island of Bali, have admitted their involvement in previous bombing raids on churches.

On July 26, police found 18 homemade bombs and 10 kilograms of ammonium nitrate -- materials similar to those used in the Bali bombing -- in a rented house in Gorontalo, Indonesia. This is the third discovery of explosives in two weeks on the island of Sulawesi.

In one of the raids, police also found information on church worship services in Jakarta, raising fears of renewed attacks on Christians.

Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group blamed for the Bali bombings, is believed to have stockpiled approximately four tons of explosives in Indonesia in recent months.

According to reports in the Jakarta Post, almost 200 JI operatives were arrested in recent weeks. However, another 3,000 fully trained JI terrorists are still at large in Indonesia. A key JI member, the master bomb maker Fathurrohman al-Ghozi, managed to escape from his prison cell in the Philippines on July 14.

In a raid in Semarang on July 9, police seized a huge cache of ammunition and bomb- making supplies, including a large supply of firearms, 1,000 manual detonators, 25 electronic detonators, 30 packages (900 kilograms) of potassium chlorate, four boxes (160 kilograms) of TNT and 65 high explosive detonators.

Maps and documents found with the ammunition included worship schedules for the Tiberias Indonesia Church and the Indonesian Bethel Church in Jakarta. Christians now fear a new round of attacks against churches. Members of JI were responsible for a series of church bombings in December 2000 that killed 19 people and injured many others. The attack on Christmas Eve 2001 is also attributed to them.

During a court session at the Bali bombing trial in Denpasar on July 9, Ali Imron, a member of the JI, admitted his involvement in the December 2000 bombings. JI members assembled bombs weighing approximately three kilograms for the attacks on 14 different churches in Batam, Mojokerto and Jakarta.

In a teleconference trial on June 26, three witnesses identified Abu Bakar Ba’asyir as the leader of the JI. According to these witnesses, Ba’asyir approved the December 2000 church bombings. He also wanted to kill President Megawati Sukarnoputri because, in his own words, she gave “too much” support to Christianity. The church bombing a year later occurred in the town of Palu on Christmas Eve 2001, just a few weeks after the signing of the controversial Malino Peace Accord. According to sources, a Muslim signatory of the peace accord ordered the bombing. The man was later convicted and received a six-month jail sentence for his part in the attack.

Hashim Bin Abbas, another key leader of the JI, shares the dream to establish an Islamic state in Indonesia. “The Philippines is our training area, Malaysia is our fundraising area and Indonesia is the place of jihad,” Bin Abbas once said in a press conference. The goal of JI is to build the Negara Islam Indonesia -- a totally Islamic state governed by sharia (Islamic) law.

In the first two weeks of July, police arrested nine suspected members of the JI in Bekasi, Jakarta and Semarang. “These men graduated from the Moro Muslim Military Academy in the southern Philippines,” said Erwin Mappaseng, head of the Criminal Detective Bureau of the National Police. Many other members of the JI are either in court facing trial or in hiding. However, five new men have moved up to take the places of previous leaders in the terrorist network.

As a senior Indonesian official told reporters at the Straits Times, “All indications point to an attempt by the new leadership to try to carry out a Bali-style operation in Indonesia or the region in the next few months, to make the point that they are still alive. We may have arrested several of their members, but the network is far from being crippled.”

(Return to Index) *********************************** Malaysia Impounds Christian Tapes, CDs Home Ministry Fails to Release Materials Despite Appeal by Sarah Page

DUBLIN (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 church and the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF) of Malaysia.

The CDs and tapes 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.”

The Home Ministry also required an assurance from the church that they would not distribute the materials outside Christian circles.

Christian singers from the Kadazan Dusun tribe made the recording, entitled Pujian Momosik II - Sediakan Jalan Bagi Tuhan (“Awakening Praise - Prepare the Way of the Lord”). The project was an initiative of the Maranatha Church in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, who sent the original recording to Kuala Lumpur for duplication. On arrival at the Kota Kinabalu airport, the 1,500 duplicated CDs were seized by officers from the Sabah State Home Ministry. The matter has now been referred to the highest level of the Home Ministry in Malaysia.

In March 2003, the NECF appealed to the Home Ministry on behalf of the church in Sabah, but to date they have not received a reply. In their letter of appeal, NECF explained that the word “Allah” was used in pre-Islamic times and is regularly used in Christian publications. They also explained that Christian publications and recordings are intended for use in churches only.

The letter also stated that Maranatha Church would label the CDs as “A Christian Publication,” and ensure that the CDs and tapes were not distributed to people outside the Christian community.

According to the NECF, churches and Christian organizations are not required by law to include the phrase “For non-Muslims only” in advertisements, promotional materials or publications. However the phrase has been used for some time by Christian groups, leading some to believe that the practice is required by law.

The NECF suggested appropriate phrases to meet the requirements of the Home Ministry are “A Christian event” or “A Christian publication.”

Members of the NECF have since made another appeal. Rev. Wong Kim Kong, the secretary general of the NECF, said on August 6 that the Home Ministry had not yet responded and the materials have not been released.

The Malaysian government continues to ban the use of four religious terms in non- Muslim publications and recordings. These four words are “Allah” (God), “Baitullah” (House of God or Holy Land), “Kaaba” (a holy monument in the heart of Mecca), and “Solat” (worship or prayer).

A shipment of 1,000 Indonesian-language Bibles was impounded in the last week of April because it contained the word “Allah.” The Bible Society of Malaysia is still appealing for the release of these Bibles.

The Home Ministry also banned a total of 35 religious books in the first week of April, claiming they were a “threat to public safety and security.” The books included 12 Christian titles.

After protests from the Christian Federation of Malaysia, the ban on the Iban Bible was lifted, but 11 other titles are still banned from publication and distribution in Malaysia.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Malaysian Political Party Creates Blueprint for Islamic State Memorandum Outlines Implementation of Sharia Law by Sarah Page

DUBLIN (Compass) -- Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), the main opposition party in Malaysia, has finally completed its blueprint for an Islamic state. Although full details have not yet been released, PAS plans to translate and publish the blueprint, called the “Memorandum to the Malaysian People,” in English, Chinese and Tamil in preparation for next year’s elections.

PAS outlined their vision for an Islamic state after repeated challenges from the current prime minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, who claimed PAS had made vastly different promises to Malay Muslims and ethnic Chinese non-Muslim voters.

Mahathir also asked if non-Muslims would be subject to sharia (Islamic) law under the proposed new system.

Rev. Wong Kim Kong, secretary general for the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), noted several key features of the proposed blueprint. First and foremost, sharia would take precedence over federal law and the Constitution of Malaysia. Non-Muslims would remain under the present penal code, but Muslims would be subject to hudud law -- the sharia version of the penal code.

The prime minister would have to be a practicing Muslim; however, other cabinet posts would be open to non-Muslims.

The blueprint also states that non-Muslims would not be classified as dhimmis. This term refers to non-Muslims living in a country governed by Muslim rulers. Dhimmis have limited autonomy and are subject to a specific tax, higher than the tax on non- Muslims.

Haji Hadi Awang, the acting president of PAS, denies creating a blueprint for an Islamic state, calling it simply a “Memorandum to the Malaysian People.”

However, the objectives outlined in the Memorandum clearly call for the establishment of sharia law and the supreme power of Muslims in government. For example, the ulamas or Muslim scholars would have the final say in any legal matters. Sharia law would also override the constitution.

Wong believes these factors would bring an end to true democracy in Malaysia. The opening statement of the Memorandum gives tremendous power to the ulamas to amend laws as they choose.

“Sharia in its historical context and contemporary practices always shows a distinction based on religion and gender,” Wong explained. “This discrimination will be present between Muslims and non-Muslims.” He thinks the new system would also affect religious freedom in Malaysia. “Many of the restrictions imposed under the Islamic state would eventually restrict the freedom of religious practice in our country.

“The PAS proposal is clearly aimed at the coming general election,” Wong added. “The party needs it as a manifesto for the polls. It cannot continue to remain vague and tentative about a concept that forms the core of its struggle. It is their strategy to gather more Muslim votes.”

Wong also explained that the Malays embrace a political Islam, in which politics and religion are intertwined. “When there is a political struggle within the Muslim community, religious issues and freedom can unconsciously become victims of the political circumstances.”

The political situation over the next 12 months is critical. Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi takes over from retiring Prime Minister Mahathir in November. Badawi must meet the expectations of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), a major force in the National Front that forms the current coalition government. If he fails to please UMNO, a new power struggle can be expected.

According to Wong, “This scenario would certainly create a greater opportunity for PAS to reinforce their vision for an Islamic state.”

(Return to Index) *********************************** Christians in Nepal Suffer Attacks, Arrests Continuing Political Tension Restricts Worship and Travel by Sarah Page

DUBLIN (Compass) -- Christians belonging to a small house church in northern Nepal were attacked by Buddhist and Hindu villagers on July 26, resulting in hospitalization for at least one church member. The mob attacked and destroyed houses and cornfields belonging to Christian villagers.

Buddhist authorities in the village had repeatedly asked the Christians to give up their faith. When the Christians refused, the Buddhists joined forces with Hindu villagers in retaliation. The church, which meets in believers’ homes, had been growing rapidly, sources said.

In another incident in mid June, a Nepali evangelist who prefers not to be named witnessed an attack on a newly built church in Jhapa district, Beldangi.

“I went for the inauguration of the church,” he told Compass. “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. They are still in police custody and their families are threatened by mental tortures and threats from the Hindu people.

“We invested a lot of money in that building, and now we have empty hands. But at the same time, we believe that God has his own plans and purposes.”

The church in Nepal has seen huge growth in recent years. Operation World reports a doubling in numbers to 400,000 during the 1990s. However, the same evangelist said Christians in the world’s only Hindu kingdom still experience persecution. “Hindu extremists have declared they will shed blood to protect Hinduism in Nepal.

“Hindu extremists are getting very much involved in destroying churches and attacking Christians,” he continued. “Earlier this year, three Christians were arrested because they were carrying Bibles. After several months of appeals to the government, they were released but had to pay a huge fine. These things are happening because the Hindus have the backing of the government.”

The three Christians he referred to were arrested in February 2003. The men were on their way to visit a Christian family when police officers stopped them and searched their bags. When the Bibles were discovered, the officers arrested the group and charged them with preaching the gospel and trying to convert villagers.

While Nepal’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, those convicted of proselytism face a sentence of up to three years.

The three men admitted they were Christians but denied trying to convert others in the village. Despite their claims of innocence, they were convicted at a hearing in the lower court. However, with repeated appeals to a higher court, the sentence was finally overturned on June 20, and the judge ordered all three released without bail.

Political instability in Nepal has contributed to the restriction of Christian activity. Nepal was plunged into chaos in June 2001, when Crown Prince Dipendra murdered nine members of the royal family before commiting suicide.

The current king has since struggled with factions in the government and Maoist insurgents. In an effort to clamp down on rebel activity, King Gyanendra has placed a ban on freedom of assembly and movement throughout Nepal, causing problems for house churches and traveling evangelists.

A foreign Christian who visited Nepal in February 2003 learned that the Maoists are now taking children to serve as soldiers in the rebel army. “The Maoist soldiers have sent letters to various schools, asking the school authorities to give them children that they can train as fighters. After the letter, they just come and take the children. Because of this, many schools have closed. One pastor and his wife sent their two boys, ages six and eight, to a boarding school in India to keep them safe.” The Christian visitor also met with a Nepali pastor who shared the need for good relationships with Hindu neighbors. His church of approximately 30 members meets once a week for worship and every morning for a one-hour Bible study before going to work.

“We need to be on good terms with our neighbors,” the pastor explained. “If they don’t like what we’re doing, they can report us. We can be arrested or fined for having a Christian gathering.”

However, a Religious Freedom report issued by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in 2002 indicates there are few convictions on the charge of proselytism. An attorney filed a case against the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the United Missions to Nepal (UMN) in 1999. However, hearings were delayed several times. In April 2001, a similar case filed against the UMN was dismissed by the Supreme Court on the following day.

Meanwhile, Christians continue to pray for peace in their nation. A report from BBC news on July 29 said the government hoped to resume peace talks with the Maoists by mid August. To date, the conflict with the Maoist insurgents has claimed at least 7,000 lives.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Nigerian Christian Monarch Dethroned for Refusing to Worship Idols Animists, Christians Clash during Traditional Festivals by Obed Minchakpu

LAGOS, Nigeria (Compass) -- The Christian king of Ode Ekiti and the most prominent monarch in the Gbonyin local government area in southwest Nigeria has been dethroned by animists for his refusal to participate in traditional religious festivals.

King Oba Samuel Adara Aderiye was nearly lynched by adherents of a traditional African religion, according to published reports, when a mob stormed his palace on July 19 during the annual festival of Semuregede.

Oba Aderiye’s subjects have marked the Semuregede festival each year during the monarch’s 13-year reign, imploring pagan deities to grant peace and prosperity to the town.

Although Oba Aderiye, a member the Anglican Communion, customarily participated in certain parts of the festival, he declined to lead animist rituals or offer sacrifices to idols because he is a Christian.

On the afternoon of this year’s festival, the chief priest of the Semuregede cult, Mr. Sunday Oluborode, led worshippers to the palace and demanded that the king participate in sacrifices to idols. When the king refused, Oluborode 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, according to his daughter Jumoke, who spoke with Compas.

“The gods have rejected Oba Aderiye,” Abraham Adebayo, head of the Kingmakers in Ode Ekiti told Compass. He said the king’s refusal to be involved in the rituals made the gods angry, bringing disease, death and failed harvests to the community over the years.

Despite over 100 years of Christianity in southwest Nigeria, observers say syncretistic activities have become the norm in many Christian churches in this part of the country.

In another incident, authorities of the Ikale/Ilaje diocese of the Anglican Church in the state of Ondo wrote a strongly worded letter on July 19 to the animist leaders in the area, calling for a shift of the date of an August fetish festival that coincides with Sunday.

Animist leaders insist on enforcing a ban on church activities on the festival day, which has resulted in past years of violent clashes between the animists and Christians. Last year, Christians died in the fighting and several churches were burned.

“I would strongly appeal to you that the festival be moved from Sunday, our day of worship totally, because there is no way that there will be no clash if it is fixed for Sunday,” Rev. Joshua Ogunele, Anglican bishop of the diocese, wrote in the letter to the animist leadership in Ondo.

“The day could be changed to any date in the week, outside Sunday. You are the organizer of this festival. Do not allow yourself to work against God,” he added

In a response to the bishop’s letter, animists insisted that they would proceed with the August festival as scheduled.

“In order to accommodate Christians (in the community), all the don’ts of the festival must be strictly adhered to by them,” Oba Babatunde Faduyile, the traditional ruler of Ikale community, stated in his letter of response.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Muslim-Christian Tensions Simmer in Nigeria Assassination Attempt, Confiscated Weapons Expose Seriousness of Conflict by Obed Minchakpu

JOS, Nigeria (Compass) -- An outspoken priest of the Nigerian Catholic Church narrowly escaped death when assassins stormed his residence on August 4. Monsignor Obiora Ike, vicar general of the Catholic diocese of Enugu and director of the national church’s Institute for Development, Justice, and Peace, has consistently fought to uphold fundamental religious liberty for all Nigerians.

A press statement issued by a Catholic spokesman said that assassins, disguised in pastoral robes, forced themselves into Ike’s residence at gunpoint.

“They informed the domestic staff that they had a message for the monsignor and threatened to kill them if they did not produce him,” Father Callistas Onaga, deputy director of the Institute for Development, Justice, and Peace, said in the statement issued two days after the incident.

“Only divine intervention and the prayers of the people of God helped save the life of Mon. Obiara Ike,” Onaga added.

Frustrated in their attempt to locate Ike, the gunmen brutalized the domestic staff, abducted one of them and left in a car. They later abandoned the kidnapped worker in an obscure part of the city.

Rev. Onaga said the church notified the police of the attempt on Ike’s life, and officials posted a police guard on the house where he is staying.

The attack came as church leaders in 19 northern states of Nigeria registered protests with the government over appointments of Muslims to the presidential cabinet.

Dr. Peter Jatau, Archbishop of Kaduna and chairman of the north Nigeria chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and Elder Saidu Dogo, secretary general of CAN, issued a joint statement on August 4 stating, “CAN northern states feels aggrieved that states … dominated by Christians are being represented by Muslims in President (Olusegun) Obasanjo’s cabinet.”

Christian leaders in the north are reportedly demanding that the government convene a national conference to provide Nigerians the opportunity to decide whether the country should remain as a single political entity.

An indication of rising tensions in the country surfaced in Jos, the capital of the central Nigerian state of Plateau, when police arrested nine Christian students, all below 15 years of age, for crafting guns at their school, the Government Technical College in nearby Bukuru.

One of the students, who spoke with Compass at the police headquarters where they are being held, admitted that the nine boys produced guns in the school workshop.

“We did this to protect ourselves and our brothers and sisters,” he said. “Muslim fanatics killed my parents. We had no choice but to find ways of defending ourselves,” he said. Over the past four years, religious conflict in Plateau state has set Muslims against Christians, claiming thousands of lives and causing the destruction of hundreds of homes, businesses, churches and mosques.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Christians Jailed for Aiding North Korean Refugees in China Four South Koreans Sentenced for Clandestine Humanitarian Activities by Willy Fautre

SEOUL (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.

For the past seven years, Rev. Choi Bong Il, a veteran pastor of the Church of Holiness in South Korea, a denomination close to the Presbyterian Church, has been involved in clandestine humanitarian and missionary activities in China. Choi has organized partnerships between Protestant churches in South Korea and ethnic Korean churches in China to train church leaders and missionaries.

On April 12, 2002, about 100 armed police surrounded his apartment in Yangji, northern China. Choi refused to open the door because he was in possession of train tickets belonging to North Korean defectors who were about to leave for Mongolia. Using long ladders, the police managed to enter through the window and arrest Choi, whom they charged with organizing an illegal border crossing.

His trial, first scheduled for October 29, 2002, was postponed until December 5, 2003, in violation of Chinese law, which stipulates that the maximum custody period without trial may not exceed six months. It took place in the Autonomous State of Yangbien, where Korean is an official language along with Chinese.

At the trial, Mrs. Oh Kap Soon talked with her husband for about 20 minutes in the visiting room of the prison. “The atmosphere was very tense,” she told Compass. “A guard who could understand Korean was present all the time. We were not allowed to speak about prison conditions or the trial.”

No verdict has been issued on Choi’s case in the eight months since the trial, even though the waiting period for a judgment must not exceed 45 days, by law.

Kim Hee-tae, 32, is an active Presbyterian and a graduate from the church’s Theological Faculty in Seoul. For several years, he defended the rights of Chinese migrant workers who were unfairly treated by South Korean employers.

Last year, Kim enrolled in New York’s Columbia University to pursue studies in social welfare. In July 2002, he decided to go to China for a summer vacation. While escorting six North Korean defectors from Yanji to Beijing, Kim was arrested and charged with organizing an illegal border crossing. Detained for over eight months without trial, he was eventually tried on May 15 in the city of Yanji. He is still awaiting sentence.

Other pending cases involve two South Korean lay Christians, Choi Yong Hun and Seok Jae-huyn, sentenced last spring to five and two years respectively for aiding North Korean refugees who sought to leave China.

During frequent trips to China, Presbyterian Choi Yong Hun, 41, a real estate consultant, became aware of the desperate plight of North Korean refugees. Choi decided to help a group of six refugees leave the country on January 18, 2003. He was arrested while awaiting their arrival at a railway station in the city of Yantai.

“He did not tell us anything about the operation, and I thought it was for his work,” his wife told Compass recently. “I waited anxiously for three days but he did not show up. It was through the newspapers that I heard about what had happened to him.”

On April 22, a Chinese judge sentenced Choi Yong Hun to five years in prison and fined him 30,000 yuan ($4,000) for organizing an illegal border crossing. Jailed in Yantai prison with no visitors or exchange of correspondence allowed, Choi has appealed the judgment.

Last January, South Korean free-lance journalist Seok Jae-huyn called his wife in Japan to tell her he would go to China to cover a “boat-people operation.” He was aboard the Dalien-Yantai ferryboat on January 18 with a number of North Korean defectors when police arrested him.

Tried after four months of detention, Seok Jae-huyn was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 5,000 yuan, despite the fact he was not involved in the boat-people operation but was covering the event as a reporter. He is now awaiting an appeal hearing.

Seok Jae-huyn and his wife, both active in the Presbyterian Church in South Korea, have been married for two and a half years.

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.

North Korean refugees who are forcibly repatriated to their country automatically go to prison. Once there, they are interrogated about contacts they might have had with missionaries in China, aware that they will be executed without appeal if such links are discovered. Criticized by humanitarian organizations for failing to aid North Koreans who flee famine and oppression to China, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has promised to take steps to stop their forced repatriation to North Korea.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Another Christian’s Blasphemy Trial Begins in Pakistan Jailed Schoolteacher Faces Death Penalty by Barbara G. Baker

ISTANBUL (Compass) -- Trial proceedings against Christian schoolteacher Pervaiz Masih finally got underway in northeast Pakistan, two years and three months after the high school principal was jailed for alleged blasphemy against the Muslim prophet Mohammed.

Prosecution lawyers opened their case against Masih on July 17 before the Daska Additional District and Sessions Court. Presiding Judge Khalid Bashir had been forced to postpone the initial trial hearing set for July 9, after some of the prosecution witnesses failed to appear.

Now 35, Masih has been refused bail since his arrest in April 2001, when teenage boys reportedly claimed he had made slanderous remarks against 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.” The report was co-authored by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the Lahore-based Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS).

The five prosecution witnesses present on July 17 included the plaintiff Sajjah Ahmed, along with two boys alleged to have heard the defendant accuse Mohammed of immoral conduct.

Ahmed, a Quran-course teacher in the Chelay Kay village near Sialkot where Masih had opened a private high school, filed a written accusation against Masih with local police on April 1, 2001.

That same night, after obtaining approval from the deputy commissioner of Sialkot, the police arrested Masih at his home, severely beating and kicking him in the process. Charged with violating Section 295-C of the Pakistan penal code, Masih has been jailed ever since, awaiting trial on his alleged capital offense.

Masih’s family has engaged a Muslim lawyer who is trying to resolve the case at the High Court level, according to CLAAS lawyers who obtained power of attorney to defend Masih directly from the prisoner himself. Although the Muslim attorney has failed to attend any of the lower court hearings set on the case, he has reportedly filed a petition before the Lahore High Court to cancel the First Investigative Report (FIR) registered by the police to open the case.

“We were told by Pervaiz Masih that his other lawyer has filed a writ petition in the High Court to quash the FIR,” CLAAS Coordinator Joseph Francis reported after the July 17 hearing. Despite the legal difficulties of applying directly for a High Court acquittal, CLAAS lawyers said they had supported this petition. Under judicial procedures, the lower court trial must be stayed until the High Court rules on the petition.

For security reasons, Masih was 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.

Masih was attacked by another inmate a year ago while asleep in his cell in Daska’s Bukshi Khana Jail. The Muslim assailant slashed Masih’s face with a sharp piece of glass and tore up his Bible and other Christian materials before prison guards intervened.

“Physically Pervaiz is well,” a CLAAS lawyer told Compass. “But mentally, he is feeling the pressure of the case and the atmosphere of the jail.

“The atmosphere at the court is very tense, with a lot of persons standing outside the courtroom,” he commented. When Masih emerged from his July 17 hearing, he “exchanged some hot words” with a member of the prosecution team on the court veranda, the lawyer noted.

“Then the [prosecution] lawyer came, and he was threatening Pervaiz also,” he said, until the police interfered and ordered the defendant’s hecklers to leave the courthouse area.

CLAAS lawyers told Compass they did not expect too much from the judges conducting Masih’s trial in the lower court. “They are afraid of all the pressures,” they noted, “that they will face certain Muslim lawyers or other fanatic characters.” Such judges have in the past failed to examine all the evidence in blasphemy cases, they said, to protect themselves and convict the accused person.

But when such cases are appealed before the provincial High Court, one lawyer said, “Then those judges take the risk, and the person is acquitted.”

In addition to Pervaiz Masih, six other Pakistani Christians are incarcerated on allegations of violating the country’s long-criticized blasphemy laws. Two of them arrested in 2001 are still awaiting trial, while another four sentenced to either death or life in prison are appealing their lower-court judgments.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Saudi Arabia Deports Eritrean Christian Girmaye Ambaye Released After 20 Weeks by Barbara G. Baker

ISTANBUL (Compass) -- After 20 weeks in a Saudi jail for participating in prohibited Christian activities, Eritrean Christian Girmaye Ambaye was deported from Jeddah by plane back to his home country on Saturday, August 9.

A member of Ambaye’s congregation confirmed that he was requested to bring a suitcase of the prisoner’s personal effects to the Jeddah airport on Saturday evening, where he handed it over to Ambaye before the Eritrean boarded his flight back to Asmara. “So it seems he was really going,” the source said.

According to one of his brothers, Ambaye has remained in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, since his arrival on Saturday night. The brother said he did not know where Girmaye was staying, although it is assumed that he is being interviewed by Eritrean authorities regarding the details of his forced deportation by the Saudi government.

“He telephoned from Asmara to us, to tell us he has come from Saudi Arabia,” the brother confirmed from the family home in Mendefera, 25 miles south of Asmara.

Ambaye had been jailed in the Saudi port city of Jeddah since March 25, when local police put him under arrest for witnessing about his Christian faith to Muslim Arabs. He was incarcerated at the Bremen deportation center, where he was told he must leave the country because Saudi Arabia does not allow “Christian proselytizing.”

Ambaye’s deportation from Jeddah had first been said to be stalled over the sale and transfer of a car registered in his name. Later, he was informed of an alleged traffic fine that he had failed to pay.

Although Ambaye signed all the car transfer papers brought to him in early June and still more in the first week of July, in mid July the Eritrean Consulate told him that Saudi immigration computers showed an unpaid traffic fine against him of 950 Saudi rials, just under $300.

Eritrean Consulate sources claimed that Ambaye was resisting deportation, preferring to remain in the jail to share his faith with his mostly Muslim cellmates. Ambaye, however, told Compass on a mobile phone call into his prison cell on July 14 that this was not true. He did want to leave the jail and return home, he said, but he had no money to pay the fine.

Ambaye’s expatriate Christian friends in Jeddah reportedly collected money to pay the fine, clearing the jailed Christian for his release and return to Eritrea. An Eritrean Consulate representative in Jeddah told Compass that a receipt arrived at the consulate on August 3 proving that Ambaye’s outstanding traffic fine had been paid and clearing him for departure on the next direct flight to Asmara on August 5.

But a consulate official who spoke with Compass on the morning of August 9 claimed to be unaware that the Eritrean Christian had not been deported as expected on the previous Tuesday. The consulate switchboard deferred or hung up on all subsequent telephone calls from Compass to the officer monitoring the case.

Now 42, Ambaye became active in an Ethiopian-Eritrean Christian congregation in Jeddah five years ago. He had worked as a tailor in Saudi Arabia since 1987. During the past two years, a dozen other members of his congregation have been jailed and deported by Jeddah police authorities, who keep the church leaders under frequent surveillance.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Buddhist Mobs Attack Five Churches in Sri Lanka Aggression Designed to Force Passage of Anti-Conversion Laws by Sarah Page

DUBLIN (Compass) -- Mobs attacked five churches in the southern district of Galle, Sri Lanka, on August 2. Initial information from the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (EASL) suggests the organized attack on the churches is part of the government’s plan to introduce anti-conversion legislation.

A Methodist church in Rathgama suffered an initial attack on July 27. Christians who saw the crowd of 50 Buddhist monks and a number of young people moving toward the church that morning alerted the police, who arrived on the scene in time to prevent the monks from entering the building. The monks shouted abuse at the Christians and threw stones at the church in retaliation.

The monks then issued an ultimatum to the Christians to tear down their church by Saturday, August 2. If this was not done, they would return with a force of 400 monks and burn down the church themselves. One of the monks also threatened that they would destroy a total of 18 churches in the district.

Police warned the monks not to resort to violence and to present themselves for an enquiry at the police station on August 2. Officers stood guard at the church over the following two days, but protection was withdrawn due to a lack of manpower.

Ten of the Buddhist monks arrived at the police station for the appointed enquiry and were warned not to resort to violence. However after leaving the police station, they headed directly to the Rathgama Methodist church and launched an attack, throwing stones and destroying pews and benches in the church. Monks beat two church workers, Mr. Mahesh and Mr. Richard Silva. The men required hospital treatment for their injuries. A Buddhist monk armed with a shovel chased another church member, Mr. Ariyadasa, threatening to beat him to death. Ariyadasa managed to escape, but the monks later attacked his home and destroyed furniture and other possessions.

A police report was filed on the incidents, but at press time no arrests have been made.

Local Buddhist villagers expressed anger at the attacks and have shown solid support for the church. Since the attack, villagers have posted a nightly guard to watch over the property.

Several other churches in the Galle district suffered attack on August 2, including the Assemblies of God in Thanamalwila and Lumugamvehera. Details of the assaults are still emerging.

A mob led by 10 Buddhist priests attacked and beat Pastor Ranjith of Lumugamvehera on the afternoon of August 2. His sister tried to protect him and also suffered a beating. The monks threatened to attack again and kill the pastor if the Christians failed to close down the church.

In Ganemulla, Christians’ homes were attacked. Another mob led by Buddhist monks attacked the Calvary church in Hikkaduwa.

According to the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (EASL), the spate of attacks marks the beginning of an attempt to incite Buddhists against the Christian community. This would create an environment of religious disharmony which, in turn, would provide an excuse to introduce new anti-conversion laws in the country.

Buddhist and Hindu groups in Sri Lanka have called for the introduction of these laws for several years in an attempt to stop the growth of evangelical churches. Until recently, governments have chosen not to enact such laws.

However in November 2002, Mr. Maheshwaran, the Hindu Cultural Affairs Minister, made a visit to Tamil Nadu, one of five states in India to enact anti-conversion laws. On his return to Sri Lanka, Maheshwaran made a public statement vowing to introduce a bill in Parliament to curb religious conversions.

In subsequent months, Maheshwaran repeated his intentions to introduce the bill to Parliament. A draft bill closely modeled on the Tamil Nadu anti-conversion law has now been prepared, according to the EASL, leading to increased attacks on Christian churches in recent months. [See related story “Three Churches Attacked in Sri Lanka” in Compass Direct, July 2003.]

(Return to Index) *********************************** UAE Formally Deports Filipino Pastor Rev. Alconga Jailed for Final Four Days by Barbara G. Baker

ISTANBUL (Compass) -- Following lengthy judicial delays, the United Arab Emirates allowed Rev. Fernando P. Alconga to be deported back to Manila on July 23, more than nine months after he was arrested in Dubai for illegal Christian activities.

“We have a smile on our lips and tears on our cheeks, just to be here,” Alconga told Compass by telephone from Manila. The Filipino pastor said he, his wife and son were met on the tarmac at the Manila airport by an entourage of officials, including a representative from the presidential palace and a TV camera crew.

After the humiliation of being re-arrested for four days and subjected to a formal deportation, Alconga said he felt “vindicated and honored” upon his arrival in the Philippines.

A Filipino pastor living with his family in the UAE since 1994, Alconga was arrested at a Dubai shopping center last November. After 36 days in jail, he was released on bail and put on trial for “preaching other than the Muslim religion” by giving an Arab Muslim a Bible and other Christian materials.

Although Alconga was found guilty of the charges in a criminal court verdict on April 27, the presiding judge suspended his one-year prison sentence. A month later, the court accepted his lawyer’s appeal to cancel his deportation order. But the case bounced back to the Supreme Court in June when the Dubai prosecutor general filed an objection.

After two postponements, the Supreme Court issued a final ruling on July 12, accepting the prosecutor’s petition to reinstate the original deportation sentence. Alconga’s legal counsel was advised that his client’s “procedural” arrest and detention preceding the actual deportation would be waived. But when the pastor reported to the court on July 19 for his formal sentencing, he was put under arrest until his actual deportation four days later.

“They told me this detention was voluntary,” Alconga said, “but if I did not submit myself to it, my departure would be delayed even further.” Alconga said he was fingerprinted, photographed, given an iris scan, issued a formal deportation card, and then obliged to wear striped prison garb during his four days in a cell at Dubai’s Central Jail.

But he was allowed a string of visitors, including his lawyer, representatives of the Philippines Embassy and even the Philippines Consul himself, who came from faraway Abu Dhabi to visit him, he said.

“But the good thing there was that the prisoners of Christian background were being allowed to have fellowship inside the jail,” Alconga remarked. “So when they learned that I was a pastor, they asked me to lead them.” After one such meeting, he talked until midnight with a prisoner who asked to hear more. “At the end, he prayed to receive the Lord Jesus Christ with me,” Alconga said.

Alconga, 54, said he wore his clerical collar to the airport. He was never handcuffed, and his police escorts treated him very politely. Representatives of the Philippines Embassy met with him during the early morning departure procedures at the airport, where he was joined by his wife and son to board the flight back to Manila.

“I finally had a reunion with my passport at the airport,” Alconga joked, noting that it had been held by UAE authorities since his arrest. Although some officials had implied that Alconga would be under a lifetime ban against returning to the UAE, he said his passport was stamped with an official “Deportation” notice, stating that he could not enter UAE for one year.

Alconga said he believed that his arrest and trial in the UAE, which is considered one of the more tolerant Muslim states in the Arab Gulf, had unified the local Christian community and also enhanced the understanding and prayers of Christians around the world for the Arabian peninsula.

“Since I’ve arrived home,” Alconga said, “I’ve seen that Filipinos are more aware of the difficulties of Christians in the Middle East. And they also appreciate their freedoms, in being more intentional in their spread of the gospel here.”

An ordained Conservative Baptist minister called “Pastor Nanding” by his congregation, Alconga takes up his duties this month pastoring the Fairview Christian Fellowship in the Quezon City suburb of Manila.

(Return to Index) *********************************** Compromise on Church Building in Vietnam Considered a ‘Ruse’ Both Sides Admitted to ‘Mistakes’ Special to Compass Direct

HO CHI MINH CITY (Compass) -- A compromise reached between church and government authorities over the construction of a small church building in Ho Chi Minh City appears to have been a ruse to fool the congregation and international observers, according to a long-time Vietnam watcher.

“The compromise involved both sides admitting to ‘mistakes’ in following the prescribed building permission process as a way to move forward,” the Vietnam watcher said. “However, when the church went to apply to register its address in order to be able to hook up electricity and water, local authorities demanded the church pay a large fine because the pastor had admitted to some mistakes in following the process!”

The church has refused to pay the fine on the principle that both sides admitted “mistakes” and agreed to overlook them and move forward. Christians continue to use the building without city water and electricity, but are more concerned the latest standoff could cause greater problems for the congregation and its pastor, Rev. Truong Van Nganh.

“We hoped this time would be different, but once again the authorities have shown they are either unwilling or incapable of keeping a good faith agreement,” a church advisor said. “When it comes to religious organizations, the government still routinely overlooks its own rules and laws.”

The church construction in the Thu Thiem district of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) has a decade-long history of problems with government authorities, despite the fact that the congregation is a member of the government-recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South), or ECVN(S).

On July 1, 2000, authorities destroyed an initial church construction attempt. As a result, Pastor Nganh, along with activist Mennonite Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang, determined to obtain official approval for the church’s construction by carefully following and testing existing laws. In November 2001, with authorities stalling on the building permit request, Christians threatened a hunger strike in front of city hall. Because the hunger strike occurred on the eve of a visit from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, a building permit was immediately provided.

The building permit, however, included a requirement for an additional engineering permit. A year and a half later, that permit still had not been issued. In May 2003, Pastor Nganh requested a permit for a “temporary” building. According to law, applicants may proceed if officials do not respond within 20 days. When that period passed, the Christians proceeded on June 9 this year with the church construction, which was halted by police order the same day with only the building frame in place.

Nevertheless, the Thu Theim congregation completed construction and in early July began worshipping in their new sanctuary. Then on July 10, church leaders responded to an “invitation” to meet with officials of the city’s Bureau of Religious Affairs. There the compromise was reached that allowed the congregation to continue meeting.

Now the church waits for the government’s response to their refusal to pay the latest fine.

(Return to Index) *********************************** (Sidebar) Recent Repression of Montagnard Christians in Vietnam’s Central Highlands

Fresh reports from the Central Highlands indicate no respite from repression of minority Christians there. Even the tiny fraction of believers that the government concedes are part of the government approved ECVN(S) are often denied freedom to perform basic Christian ceremonies, states a July 2003 report. As reported earlier by Compass, government authorities in Dak Lak province disbanded over 400 churches and their governing committees of elders in late 2002. Christians must meet in secret, often by nuclear family only. Of the well over 400 churches in Dak Lak province, authorities still recognize only two congregations -- the ethnic Vietnamese church of the Rev. Truong Xuan Dieu in Phuoc An, and the Ede minority church of the Rev. Y Siok -- both in Buonmathuot city. Even these two “legal” congregations have to ask government permission for anything out of the ordinary -- such as weddings and Christmas celebrations.

The Rev. Y Ta, chairman of the officially-recognized Dak Lak Provincial ECVN(S) Committee, was recently denied permission to perform a funeral for a Christian believer of his home village, Tan Jut, in Ea Cao commune of Buonmathuot city. The pastor himself, in spite of his position, meets for worship in his village only with his family.

Other incidents of repression include:

 Government authorities of Krong Pak district refused permission for Christian families to hold a funeral and refused to allow them to sing hymns or read the Bible. The bereaved family had to bury their loved one quietly and alone.

 More than 200 Christians are among the Montagnards imprisoned mostly on false charges in Dak Lak province.

 Elder Y Phin of the Buon Ea M’thar Church, Hoa Xuan commune, Ban Don district, was beaten so that the bones in his arm were broken because he refused to falsely confess he was with the Dega separatist movement.

 Elder Ma Knil was arrested in March 2003 because someone who had been arrested earlier reported that he had contact with the Dega movement. He was beaten so badly that he lay unconscious for many hours. He now suffers a mental disorder and speaks unintelligibly. He is still imprisoned in the main Buonmathuot city prison.

 A volunteer evangelist named Ma Lat, 40, of Buon Kbu village, Cu Jut district, was imprisoned for six months. He was badly beaten during this time. Although he has now been released, he is unable to do anything productive.

 Another volunteer evangelist named Ma Sol, 35, of Jat village in Krong Pak district, was also imprisoned for six months and badly beaten during his incarceration. He was forced to sign a document saying that he had not been beaten before he was released. He is confined to one place and also cannot do anything productive.

It is estimated that 10 percent of the 150,000 Christians in Dak Lak have been forced to sign papers “voluntarily” recanting their faith. But after doing so, the vast majority of these seek out church elders to confess and seek reinstatement. Last month, the Christian families of Buon Nien, Ban Don district, were forced to sign papers affirming they had “voluntarily” abandoned their belief in Christianity.

In another worrisome development, government authorities have just constructed a three-story building at the site where American missionaries who were killed during the 1968 Tet Offensive in Buonmathuot are buried. It is feared, though not yet confirmed, that the memorial tomb on the site may have been destroyed during this building project.

The children of the deceased missionaries had asked Dak Lak authorities late in 2002 if they might be permitted to visit their parent’s tomb during Tet (February) 2003, the 35th anniversary of their death. But even the courtesy of a reply was denied. The tomb, though overgrown and unkempt, was still intact when last seen by former Vietnam missionaries who visited the site in early 2001.

(Return to Index) *********************************** *********************************** COMPASS DIRECT Global News from the Frontlines

David Miller, Managing Editor Gail Wahlquist, Editorial Assistant Suzi Quinones, Design

Bureau Chiefs: Barbara Baker, Middle East Sarah Page, Asia

For subscription information, contact:

Compass Direct P.O. Box 27250 Santa Ana, CA 92799 USA Phone: 949-862-0314 FAX: 949-752-6536 E-mail: [email protected] www.compassdirect.org