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persecution.org
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persecution, persecution in China, persecution in Vietnam, persecution in
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International Christian Concern
Prayer points -- July 15th 2003
Uzbekistan – Adventist Christians have
been subjected to persecution when officers of the former KGB burst into their
apartments and confiscated leaflets and Bibles, according to church sources.
The actions have been defended by the government, and they have denied that
the materials were ever stolen, despite the fact that it has been confirmed
that they were not returned to the Adventist Christians.
Prayer points: Pray that God will protect the
Adventist Christians from physical danger, and that their materials will be
returned to them. Pray also that the government will prevent such actions
from taking place against the believers by the security forces.
India - Indian believers are concerned
that Christians could be the next targeted group of people to be “ethnically
cleansed” in India, following the Muslim genocide of March 2002. Last year a
census was conducted of Muslim people and followed by genocide of these people
based on the information gathered. There is concern that this could soon be
repeated with Indian Christians because there has recently been an informal
gathering of statistics on Christians in the country, and some believers have
even been visited late at night and asked when they converted. The All India
Christian Council has taken the local police to court to stop the census, but
according to sources, the government hasn’t done anything to prevent it, and
they support the censuses as door to unleash violence against the Christians.
Some acts of violence, such as church burnings, digging up of graves, and
raping of nuns has already begun, and these are things that occurred to the
Muslims before last year’s genocide.
Prayer Points: Please pray that the government will
put a stop to the intrusive censoring of Christians, and that God will protect
the Indian brothers and sisters from the ongoing violence and the threat of
genocide.
Pakistan - Last week ICC’s Pakistani
representative learned that a Catholic priest in the area was gunned down
outside his home. Reverand Father George Ibrahim, 38, was killed outside his
home, reportedly because of his boldness and outspokenness about the need for
local Christians to be treated better. On the evening of July 5th, the priest
went outside to investigate a noise, and he was gunned down by five armed men,
and was later pronounced dead from six bullet wounds. The Reverend Priest had
recently been successful in having his catholic school denationalized, and the
Muslim community did not approve of this action. The Pakistani Christians are
frightened now because in the past common people were harassed and killed, but
now the religious leaders are the target of the fundamentalists. The higher
officials have assured that they will trace out the killers and will try and
end the fundamentalism from the area.
Prayer Points: Please pray that
the Pakistani government will bring Father Ibrahim’s killers to justice, and
that a judicial commission will be established to investigate the accident.
Pray also that this action will not increase persecution against Christians in
the area, and that the believers will be protected from such actions of
violence.
Georgia – Racist vigilantes continue to
persecute Russian-led churches through verbal and physical attacks. On July
13th the vigilantes blockaded the home of Pastor Nikolai Kalutsky, to attempt
to prevent church services from being held. The police prevented physical
beatings, but did not attempt to help the believers in any other way. It has
been over a year since the church has been able to meet because of the
disruptions of the vigilantes, and although the pastor has filed numerous
reports , the persecution has not ceased. Despite numerous attacks and the
fact that the perpetrators are well known by all, no one has been prosecuted
for these crimes, and many believe that the vigilantes have state-sanctioned
immunity.
Prayer points: Please pray that these verbal and
physical attacks will cease so that the Georgian believers can meet together
in peace. Pray also that the government will step up and prosecute the
vigilantes that are continually attacking the Christians.
North Korea - Persecution and human rights
violations in North Korea continue, and because of the closed-nature of the
regime, very little is known about the state of the Church in this country.
However, it is known that the people are forced to bow and worship statues of
late dictator Kim Sung II and his son and predecessor Kim Jong II. Thousands
are imprisoned for their faith, and are daily starved, tortured, and executed
for their beliefs in Christ. Professional beaters are employed by the state
and their only job is to inflict physical pain on prisoners, many times
causing paralyses and even death.
Prayer Points: Please pray that God will deliver the
people of North Korea, and that he will give them the strength to endure the
heinous situation in which they are trapped. Pray that opportunities will
arise for us to provide relief to the North Koreans, and that they will find
ways to escape their lives of imprisonment. Pray that the Word or God will
spread through this nation like wildfire.
Praise Reports:
Laos - Less than two weeks after they were
sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, three people have been released from a
Laos prison. A Lao-American pastor and two European journalists were granted
their freedom by the Laos government after intense international pressure.
The Laos government released them in order to maintain good relations with the
United States, France, and Belgium.