Global News from the Frontlines
September 24, 1999
Copyright 1999 Compass Direct
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Azerbaijan
SIXTY CHRISTIANS ARRESTED AT WORSHIP SERVICE
(Compass) -- Police and KGB officers forced their way
into a legally registered church in Baku September 5, disrupting the worship
service and arresting some 60 Christians in the congregation. The local
pastoral team of Baku Baptist Church, together with at least a dozen foreigners,
were taken to the police station for interrogations over the next two days.
The pastor and his assistant were sentenced to 15 days in prison on administrative
charges of "resisting the police." During the past month, at least two
unregistered church groups have reported police raids on their worship
meetings. Some 80 percent of Azerbaijan's 7.5 million people are of Muslim
heritage, although many Azeris who have become Christians in this decade
insist they were previously atheists, not Muslims. According to research
compiled this summer, there are 2,250 ethnic Azerbaijani Christians regularly
attending evangelical churches in the country. Before 1993, there were
less than 50 known Azeri Christians worldwide, many of
whom lived abroad.
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Burma (Myanmar)
FORCED CONVERSIONS OF TRIBAL CHRISTIANS ALLEGED
(Compass) -- The Burmese army and Buddhist clergy have
forced tribal Naga Christians to recant their faith at gunpoint and convert
to Buddhism. Speaking on August 20, Mr. Zhahu Tarhuja, from the Nagaland
Baptist Church Council (NBCC) in neighboring India, said the Burmese military
also destroyed some churches, stopped church services, and were using churches
as kitchens. Terhuja said that more than 1,000 Naga Christian tribals in
northern Burma (Myanmar) had fled across the border to India as a result
of the military's campaign. Buddhist leaders, however, questioned the validity
of the reports. Burma has recently cracked down on Christians, fearing
social and political changes in the tribal areas where the military junta
does not have control. Many of the Burma Naga tribal groups were recently
converted to Christianity by Naga missionaries of the NBCC and the Council
of Naga Baptist Churches, both of which have active evangelical missions
aimed at their fellow tribesmen living across the border.
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Chechnya
KIDNAPPED LEADERS OF ORTHODOX CHURCH STILL MISSING
(Compass) -- The embattled Russian Orthodox Church in
Grozny is continuing its services and helping provide charitable aid to
local people in the Chechen capital. The Grozny parish has been without
a priest since July, when Father Zakhary Yampolsky was kidnapped, together
with the acting churchwarden Yakov Ryashchin and another parishioner, Pavel
Kadyshev. Their whereabouts have not been established and there have been
no demands for ransom. The Orthodox Church of Michael the Archangel in
Grozny has continued to help distribute aid sent from outside. In the second
such delivery from Orthodox Christians in Moscow, 25 tons of cargo are
being shipped in consignments to Chechen villages inhabited by Russians.
Relief is then distributed among residents regardless of their nationality.
Parcels are sent to old people's homes and orphanages. A large number of
Russian children have been taken from children's homes in Chechnya to the
Stavropol region of Russia.
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Chechnya
KIDNAPPERS DEMAND RANSOM FOR BAPTIST DEACON
(Compass) -- Kidnappers of a young deacon in the Grozny
Baptist Church are demanding a series of ransom sums in return for sparing
the life of Vitaly Korotun. According to a ransom note sent to Korotun's
home in the Chechen capital of Grozny, his captors have offered to spare
his life in return for
$10,000, and set him free for the sum of $100,000. The
kidnappers gave his family two weeks to pay the first sum, vowing to send
them his head if the money was not paid within that deadline. Korotun,
23, was abducted on August 14. Except for an elderly senile church member,
he was the only man remaining in church. He had become a Christian only
a year ago. The church's congregation of 100 last year has been decimated
to only 40 surviving members, most elderly women now trying to flee the
country in
small groups of three or so.
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China
MORE MASS ARRESTS OF BELIEVERS EXPECTED
(Compass) -- The number of Christian leaders jailed for
their faith in China jumped to over 160 as mass arrests of Protestant house
church teachers and evangelists took place in August. "More mass arrests
are
expected," said a Shanghai house church leader. "We have
known since the spring of an increased level of government monitoring of
our activities -- especially in southern Henan -- and were not surprised
by these recent swoops." The recent arrests began with the arrest of eight
leaders on August 18. On August 22, a house church leader was arrested
in the same area. The following day, police raided a Bible teaching seminar.
Over 60 arrests were made, and 31 remain in jail. The arrests occurred
a few days after Freedom House released its latest list of known Chinese
Christian prisoners, which came to over 112.
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Colombia
DESPITE DEATH THREATS, WORK CONTINUES
(Compass) -- Construction of a farm to feed, house and
train war-displaced Colombians will continue, despite paramilitary death
threats that forced into exile the evangelical pastor-volunteer, Anibal
Arteaga, who coordinated the project. The threats likely came from "paras"
who had demanded "security" money from the town for which he worked. The
mayor of Puerta Libertador could not pay the money. On September 2, Arteaga
and his family fled Puerta Libertador, which lies in a corridor of land
near rival
armed groups. It's unlikely Arteaga will be able to return
to direct the Puerta Libertador project, but his forced departure won't
stop plans for the farm's construction. In June, following violence that
displaced some 2,000 people, the Mennonite organization Justapaz bought
a farm near Puerto Libertador. The organization began teaching cultivation,
food processing, hammock making and other skills to give refugees new ways
to support themselves and begin their lives again. "The work will continue
as planned
because the numbers of displaced people are great and
the widows and needy people are many," said the organization's social worker.
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Colombia
KIDNAPPED PRIEST STILL MISSING
(Compass) -- Representatives of the Catholic Episcopal
Conference's Peace and Reconciliation Commission are searching Colombia's
eastern border region for clues in the disappearance of Monse¤or
Jos‚ Quintero, kidnapped August 15 as he drove with another priest from
a town near TibŁ, where he
is bishop. Claiming responsibility for Quintero's abduction
was an armed leftist rebel group identifying itself as the Simon Bolivar
Guerrilla Coordinator. The bishop's captors still have made no demands,
and clues are scarce. This is Quintero's second stint as a hostage. In
November 1997, ELN militants held him and two town government leaders for
16 days. The bishop's kidnapping was the third attack against clergy in
Colombia's North Santander region in three months. Colombia's kidnapping
rate is the world's highest, owed largely to rebel movements that use ransom
money to fund their almost 40-year war to overthrow the government.
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Egypt
COPTIC MONK MURDERED
(Compass) -- On September 2, a Coptic Orthodox monk was
felled by a rain of automatic weapon fire while inspecting lands belonging
to his monastery in Upper Egypt. An assistant accompanying the monk said
when the shooting stopped, he saw Fr. Aghnatios lying beside him, a small
pool of blood at
his side. The monk died en route to the hospital. The
slain monk's body was laid to rest the same day at funeral services attended
by 2,000 mourners. Within three days of the murder, Egyptian police had
arrested and charged two young Muslim brothers with the attack. Church
sources confirmed that squatter families in the area have illegally seized
small plots around the monastery. Fr. Aghnatios had told the two assailants'
father that he must leave the land they had appropriated; the sons obtained
guns and waited in
ambush to kill the monk.
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Egypt
PROSECUTOR PROBES EL-KOSHEH TORTURE CLAIMS
(Compass) -- The prosecutor's office in Sohag governate
quietly reopened its files on the notorious El-Kosheh case in mid August,
probing allegations by hundreds of Coptic Christian villagers that they
had been tortured during a murder investigation last year in Upper Egypt.
Egyptian authorities have denied the torture claims and the government
dropped all charges against police officers accused by the victims. But
during a state visit to Washington, D.C., in late June, President Hosni
Mubarak faced repeated inquiries about the incident. Then on August 14,
tiny articles in the back pages of the state press announced that the torture
allegations were being re-examined. Meanwhile, Shaiboub William Arsal,
the Christian
villager accused in the murder case, remains in Sohag
City Jail without bail. His trial is scheduled for November 1.
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Hungary
PROPOSED LAW THREATENS MINORITY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
(Compass) -- Most minority religious communities in Hungary
will loose their status if two-thirds of the Hungarian National Assembly
adopt proposed amendments to the country's religion law. Currently, about
80 religious communities registered since the fall of communism 10 years
ago enjoy the same status as the dominant Catholic Church. To be eligible
for registration, a religious community will have to prove 100 years of
existence or a membership of 10,000. The current requirement is 100 members.
Since the proposed changes will be retroactive, it will deprive 80 to 90
percent of the registered religious communities of their legally acquired
status and rights. The ruling coalition, prominent opposition
political leaders and the Catholic Church support the
amendments.
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India
POLICE FILE CHARGES AGAINST TWO CHRISTIAN LEADERS
(Compass) -- Representatives of 15 non-governmental organizations,
including Christian leaders, demonstrated in New Delhi on August 13 to
protest the issuing of arrest warrants for a bishop and minister, who they
said were falsely accused of campaigning for the coming general election.
Retired Bishop George Ninan and James Massey, a member
of the National Commision for Minorities, were accused of using religion
to sway voters away from Hindu parties in the general elections. The controversy
started at an August 5 press conference in Gujarat,when Bishop Ninan stated
that
Christians would vote for secular parties, designating
the Nationalist Congress Party as his personal choice. State police in
Gujarat issued warrants on August 6 for Massey and Ninan following a complaint
from Hindu nationalists. The two were accused of violating a law which
forbids inciting of communal tension on the basis of religion during elections.
Bishop Ninan vehemently denied the charge. The police have not arrested
Bishop Ninan, but they have reportedly asked him to apologize or to take
preemptive bail. The bishop has refused to do either.
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India
GOVERNMENT CLEARS POPE'S VISIT
(Compass) -- The Indian government has cleared a November
5-8 visit by Pope John Paul II in a bid to improve its tarnished image
following last year's unprecedented attacks on Christians. The Vatican
indicated in July that the pontiff would go to India to announce the conclusions
of a synod on Asia
that was held last April. The visit would be part of
the Roman Catholic Church's build-up for the millennium celebrations marking
the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. This would be the
second visit to India by Pope John Paul II. His previous visit was in 1986.
Observers say a visit by the pope would benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janatha
Party (BJP) and will restore, in some measure, the damage caused by the
increasing number and severity of attacks on Christians since the BJP came
to power. The spate of attacks on Christians has dealt a serious
blow to the BJP's claim of providing a secular regime where minorities
would feel secure.
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India
CHRISTIANS PROTEST KILLING OF CATHOLIC PRIEST
(Compass) -- The brutal killing of a Catholic priest,
Father Arul Doss, 35, in Orissa state on September 2 by a gang armed with
bows and arrows has been condemned by Christians at a demonstration in
New Delhi on September 4. Christians in Orissa have also protested the
reported statement of Orissa home secretary Ajit Tripathy, who said that
it would not be possible for the state government to protect Christian
priests working in remote villages. Orissa police chief Dilip Mahapatra
reportedly said that Doss may have been killed because people are being
converted to Christianity. A gang of 15 tribals armed with bows and arrows
murdered Doss as he slept in a church in the remote Jamubani village. The
gang also set fire to a church that was established in the village nearly
three years ago. Police arrested 10 people in connection with the killing.
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India
ANGRY REACTION TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY REPORT
(Compass) -- The Indian government has reacted sharply
to the U.S. State Department's September 9 report on international religious
freedom. In a strongly worded statement issued in New Delhi on September
11, the Indian External Affairs (foreign) Ministry described the report
as "intrusive" in
its internal affairs. Meanwhile, the Hindu fundamentalist
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) dismissed the U.S. report as "cheap propaganda."
The U.S. report notes: "There was a significant increase in attacks against
Christians by Hindu extremist groups. In many cases, the government response
was inadequate." The U.S. report also said that the RSS, in particular,
opposes conversions from Hinduism and believes all Indians should adhere
to Hindu cultural values.
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Indonesia
CLERGY SLAIN IN EAST TIMOR CARNAGE
(Compass) -- At least 19 priests and seven nuns have
been reported killed in East Timor since September 4, when pro-Indonesian
militias slayed hundreds after hearing the result of the U.N. referendum
on August 30, in which 80 percent of East Timorese voted for independence
from Indonesia. The Catholic relief agency Caritas reported their leader,
Rev. Francisco Barreto, had been slain, as had 40 other workers. The Vatican
news agency Fides reported 15 priests slain in Dili and Baucau, and six
nuns in Baucau. The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association
in Jakarta put the total number of dead at 600 by September 10, with up
to 285,000 having fled to West Timor. Army units sent to keep the peace
merely assisted the militias in their reign of terror, angering the international
community at the Indonesian government's failure to maintain law and order
and abide by the result of the referendum. On Sunday, September 12, Catholic
sources in Darwin alleged that the military themselves attacked refugees
in West Timor.
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Indonesia
THE 'OTHER' CAULDRON OF DEATH
(Compass) -- Thirty Christians were massacred by Indonesian
soldiers on the island of Ambon in the Yabok Protestant Church on August
11. On August 12, Catholic and Protestant leaders representing the 200,000
Christians on the island continued to claim that the armed forces sent
to keep the Christians
and Muslims apart were in fact fomenting the strife and
openly siding with the Muslims. "Security personnel have taken sides in
allowing the massing of people and attacks by Muslims crowds. They even
used violence, shooting at Christians huddled in churches and burning the
bodies of Christians who
died at the hands of other security personnel and Muslim
crowds," they reported. In late August, more atrocities were carried out
in the villages in northern Ambon. Earlier mid-July clashes between Muslims
and Christians caused 150 deaths and 300 injuries. More than 300 died in
clashes in January and February. Christians have maintained they are the
victims of a holy war carefully orchestrated by Muslim extremists, since
relations between the two communities on the island have been traditionally
very
peaceful.
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Korea
KOREA WATCHERS HOPEFUL OF REVIVAL IN THE NORTH
(Compass) -- North Korea watchers have expressed hope
that the recent removal of internal travel restrictions within the state
might presage the beginning of a large Christian revival in this heartland
of atheism. "We know that a similar abolition of travel restrictions in
China in the late seventies was what enabled the revival to spread and
grow as evangelists were then free to move around," said a Korea watcher
from Seoul. The removal of travel restrictions is a concession to the famine,
which has left an estimated two million dead since 1995. Before the summer,
North Koreans needed written permission and passes to move from one district
to another. Now they can more freely search for food. No one knows how
many Christians are left in North Korea after decades of fierce repression.
Estimates range from 10,000 to 100,000. Though the constitution was altered
in the 1990s to allow a religious profession, it is nevertheless hazardous
to be known as a Christian in this state.
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Malaysia
WESTERN CHRISTIANS DETAINED
(Compass) -- Malaysian authorities briefly detained a
group of Western tourists in August for illegally distributing Christian
literature in the predominantly Muslim nation. Four or five tourists
had distributed an 80-page book on Christianity to Muslims in the northeastern
state of Penang. It is an offense in Malaysia to propagate any religious
doctrine or belief among Muslims. The Malaysian government considers the
crime more serious if carried out by tourists. In spite of restrictions,
Operation Mobilization's ship "Doulos" has been allowed to anchor at Port
Klang, and the English-language FM radio station announced its visit. The
National Evangelical Fellowship of Malaysia has in the past appealed to
Christians to "take cognizance of the laws of the land" and "fully consult
the leadership of the evangelical fellowship of the nations concerned."
The appeal was made after the Malaysian press quoted an American couple
divulging their strategies to spread the gospel among local Muslims.
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Mexico
INDIANS REGAIN BIBLE SCHOOL
(Compass) -- More than five years after a radical peasant
group in Mexico's Chiapas state took over the Tzeltal Bible School, indigenous
Tzeltal evangelicals were given their center back, at least what's left
of it.
Several buildings are gone. What structures remained
were stripped of furniture, appliances, utensils and dishes. Members of
OCEZ, the Emiliano Zapata Peasant Organization, left the school the first
week of August after a government-brokered accord. Under the accord, OCEZ
members were given more than half of the Presbyterian Bible school's property
and won't have to pay for the damage to the school. In turn, the peasants
vacated the school buildings and land around them. Eleven students and
their families
have moved to the Bible school, which they helped renovate
for the fall session. Classes began September 1.
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Nepal
MOB DESTROYS CHURCH
(Compass) -- A Hindu mob destroyed a Christian church
in Nepal's holy city of Janakpur on Saturday, August 28, one week after
a Nepali man claiming to be a Christian desecrated a Hindu temple in the
city and declared, "God told me to do it." Local Christians released a
statement saying that the man was not a member of any known church or fellowship
and handed him over to the police. Matters proceeded judicially until Hindu
extremist groups began agitating for revenge, resulting in the burning
of Lalgadh Christian Church. None of the congregation was inside, having
been warned of trouble. Hindu extremists then held a "victory" procession
around the city. "This is so unfortunate, because we knew for weeks that
Hindu extremists were planning to burn down our church, but this gave them
the perfect excuse," said a Christian. "Pray that we will be able to restore
calm and that the extremists will not further exploit the situation."
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Nigeria
RIOT COMMISSION INDICTS STATE GOVERNMENT
(Compass) -- A judicial commission investigating the
cause of a Muslim-Christian conflict last May in Kafanchan says the Kaduna
state government ignored security report warnings of potential clashes.
An estimated 200 people died and 260 houses were destroyed during the riot
that occurred after a Muslim was appointed emir over the predominately
Christian area. Following the emir's appointment, peaceful Christian protests
led to cancellation of the emir's installation ceremony. Annoyed by the
cancellation, Muslims resorted to violence and attacked Christians, which
fueled the riots. The judicial commission received 48 memoranda and heard
testimonies from 67 witnesses. Most of the witnesses indicted the
government of the former Muslim military administrator
of Kaduna state. The May Kafanchan crisis was the third such conflict in
the area since 1987. The only way to stop similar conflicts is to
end discrimination and persecution of Christians, said Senator Haruna Aziz
of Nigeria's National Assembly.
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Nigeria
NORTHERN STATE GOES ISLAMIC
(Compass) -- Nigeria's northern Zamfara state has become
the first to declare itself an Islamic state in this West African country,
and implementation of Islamic law is currently underway. State governor
Alhaji
Ahmed Sani said on August 25 the decision to Islamize
the state was necessary because, "Sharia (Islamic) law is the way of life
of a Muslim." The Committee for the Islamization of Zamfara State
has been formed to prepare a bill implementing Islamic law, which will
be sent to the state assembly for ratification. Archbishop of Nigeria's
Roman Catholic Church, Rev. Dr. Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, said the introduction
of sharia would set the country on a path to destruction. Nigeria's population
of approximately 120 million is almost evenly divided between Christians
and Muslims. Muslims predominate in the north, while Christians form
a majority in the south.
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Saudi Arabia
RELEASE OF CHRISTIAN PRISONERS STILL PENDING
(Compass) -- Anxious relatives of two Filipino Christians
jailed by Saudi religious police are being told to expect their release
during September. Romeo Macabuhay was arrested in Riyadh on May 24
on charges of "preaching," apparently based on a photograph found of him
standing behind a pulpit. Meanwhile, the Jeddah-based employer of
Arsenio "Jun" Enriquez, Jr. had approved the final settlement for the 24-year-old
Filipino Christian's release and deportation. Arrested on July 6, the restaurant
worker was
found to have a Bible in his possession and accused of
being a preacher. According to a source in Riyadh, expatriate Christians
have had to scale down the frequency and regular patterns of their Bible
studies and prayer meetings over the past few months because of stepped
up surveillance
against Christians by the muttawa, Saudi's Islamic religious
police.
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***Photos of Romeo Macabuhay and Arsenio "Jun" Enriquez,
Jr. are available
electronically. Contact Compass Direct for pricing and
transmittal.
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Sudan
SHANTYTOWN CHURCH ATTACKED
(Compass) -- Sunday worship services were disrupted in
August for the Catholic congregation at Dorushab, a shantytown on the outskirts
of Khartoum. On August 8, Islamist attackers disrupted the service, throwing
bricks at worshippers and shouting insults. Thirteen of the attackers were
arrested, along with seven Christians from the congregation, all accused
of "disrupting the peace." The arrested Christians were released the next
day. Police prevented Mass from being held the following week. Most
of the
shantytown churches also serve as schools and health
centers for southern Sudanese Christians, displaced in the north during
the 16-year civil war that has claimed nearly two million lives. A number
of these churches have been attacked and destroyed, either by Muslim extremists
or government-ordered bulldozers, over the past few years.
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Sudan
TRIAL PROCEEDINGS LEAN TOWARD CIVILIAN COURT
(Compass) -- Published media reports in the Sudanese
capital of Khartoum during August revealed an evolving dispute among government
authorities over whether the long-stalemated trial of two Catholic priests
and their 24 co-defendants should be held before a military or civilian
court. Fr. Hillary Boma, Fr. Lino Sebit and 24 other civilians, almost
all southern Sudanese Christians, were arrested more than a year ago on
charges of carrying out a series of bomb blasts in Khartoum on the eve
of celebrations planned for the ninth anniversary of Sudan's Islamist regime.
The priests and some of their fellow detainees were "systematically tortured"
during their initial months in prison and three of their number have died
while
under custody.
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Turkey
CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST AUSTRALIAN TEACHER
(Compass) -- Only hours after Turkey's devastating 7.4
earthquake on August 17, Australian Ian McLure was informed that no charges
were being filed against him for his arrest on August 3 for selling Christian
books in a public place. McClure was told he could reclaim his passport
and residence permit confiscated by the security police. Organizers of
the Entel Bazaar, who had rented him space for his bookstand for the past
three years, were fully aware that he was selling Christian and philosophical
books, all legally published in Turkey. An English teacher in Istanbul,
McLure was held for 40 hours and threatened with deportation. A Turkish
Christian arrested with McLure was released within 24 hours without facing
any charges, although he was beaten, cursed and his family
threatened by one of the police officers investigating his case.
__________
***A photo of Ian McLure is available electronically.
Contact Compass
Direct for pricing and transmittal.
**********
Turkey
POLICE ARREST 40 PROTESTANT CHRISTIANS
(Compass) -- Turkish police, accompanied by the crew
of a private TV channel, disrupted the worship services of an established
Protestant church in Izmir on September 12, arresting 40 adults worshipping
in what officials claimed was an "illegal" church. Thirty-five of those
arrested were Turks and five were foreigners. Held for 24 hours, all 40
were kept at security police headquarters overnight for questioning at
the Terrorism Bureau. On the Sunday evening news, Star TV aired an "exclusive"
on the arrests. The
daily Star devoted its entire third page to the trumped-up
case, calling the group a "pirate church" that was meeting secretly and
illegally under the leadership of foreigners. But the Izmir public prosecutor's
office
threw out the allegations, declaring that the church
was meeting legally under Turkish laws. Turkish citizens can register their
change of religion and establish official worship centers recognized by
the government.
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Uzbekistan
PRISONERS RELEASED, CHURCHES REGISTERED
(Compass) -- The surprise release of Uzbekistan's five
known Christian prisoners in mid August has been accompanied by a sudden
flurry of official church registrations across the Central Asian republic.
The five released Christians are Rashid Turibayev, pastor of the Full Gospel
Church in Nukus, and two of his colleagues, Parakhat Yangibayev and Eset
Tanishev, along with Na'il Asanov in Bukhara and Ibrahim Yusupov in Tashkent.
Local Christians called for careful monitoring of the belated registrations
now
underway with the Uzbek government, to insure that many
churches still without official registration are allowed to complete the
process. Without such registration, all their activity is illegal and still
subject to heavy penalties. An August 24 Uzbek embassy release listed 20
religious groups recently registered by the Justice Ministry.
__________
***Photos of Turibayev, Yangibayev, Tanishev, Asanov
and Yusupov are
available electronically. Contact Compass Direct for
pricing and
transmittal.
**********
Vietnam
VIETNAM DENIES DESTROYING FOUR CHURCHES
(Compass) -- On August 20, Vietnam denied a report that
armed officials had destroyed four churches in July and threatened to pull
down any remaining places of Christian worship in the southern Binh Phuoc
province. Religious sources in Vietnam confirmed at least three churches
had been destroyed. The Foreign Ministry Press Department claimed
that Vietnam's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but some people
in Binh Phuoc had built homes without permission. Local officials had forced
the residents to clear the land when they refused to pull down the dwellings
voluntarily.
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World
DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH
(Compass) -- On November 12,2000 Christians worldwide
will once again observe an International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted
Church (IDOP). Surrounded by a growing movement of awareness and activism,
thousands of churches and hundreds of thousands of believers will participate
in this annual event.
Contact the following organizations for IDOP information
and resources. The
websites listed provide links to national offices and
other excellent
participating organizations. Open Doors USA, 949-752-6600,
www.opendoorsusa.org; Prayer for the Persecuted Church
(USA): 888-538-7772, www.persecutedchurch.org; World Evangelical Fellowship,
(Finland): 358-6-8314-805, www.worldevangelical.org.
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