Laos: The Disturbing Prospect For Religious Freedom

(Forum 18) – Between 20 April and 15 May, local officials detained 12 ethnic minority Christians in the southern province of Savannakhet for refusing to renounce their religious belief, the Paris-based Lao Movement for Human Rights reported. In March, district officials in the northern province of Luang Prabang ordered 35 Christian families to renounce their faith, US-based Christian Freedom International reported. When they refused, officials moved in with the families and threatened to stay until they complied with the demand. Just one month earlier, officials in another southern province, Attapeu, issued an ultimatum to local Christians to renounce their faith, leave the village or – if they insisted on staying put and keeping their belief – face death, according to British-based Christian Solidarity Worldwide. These are just the most recent of continuing reports about how Christians in Laos , particularly those who are members of ethnic minorities, have been forced to renounce their faith, with severe consequences for those who refuse.