Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin – No. 230 – Wed 30 Jul 2003

WELCOME to the 19 intercessors who have joined the list this month.

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DURING JULY WE HAVE PRAYED FOR –

MALAWI & KENYA: where Christians had been attacked by Muslims who were angry about their government’s moves to crack down on terrorism. In Malawi five suspected Islamic terrorists had been deported, whilst in Kenya one Islamic preacher had been detained for questioning. The perpetrators of the riots, violence and church burnings have not been apprehended, but the region is now peaceful.

SUDAN: where it was hoped that the sixth round of IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) talks would bring Sudan closer to peace.

The Sudan peace talks held in Nakuru, Kenya, from 6-11 July failed when the Government of Sudan (GoS) rejected the draft peace accord brought to the negotiations by the IGAD mediators. According to the South Sudan representatives, the Sudan Council of Churches and the IGAD mediators, the draft was fair, impartial, balanced, in line with the peace agreement of 12 months ago, and supported by the international community. However, Sudan President Omar el-Beshir told the IGAD mediators to ‘go to hell’, and to come up with a totally new set of proposals. Meanwhile, the GoS has been busy re-supplying its military garrisons in the south, directly violating the ceasefire agreement. Islamists in Khartoum are opposed to any deal that would reduce the scope of Sharia. Peace talks are set to resume on 10 August. Pray for a miracle – for the GoS to want peace.

INDONESIA: where a terror cell, with plans to target churches, was broken in Jakarta and their huge weapons and explosives cache uncovered.

Violence against Christians has increased in Sulawesi recently, as they are being targeted by snipers and bombers. However, in the last two weeks of July, three separate caches of weapons and explosives were uncovered in Sulawesi. Thank God for his mercy.

CAMBODIA: where there was anxiety over Buddhist nationalism and the 27 July elections. Election monitors and international observers were concerned violence could erupt.

The Cambodian elections have been hailed by the media as ‘the most peaceful and orderly yet’. Hun Sen is set to retain power, but the pro-Buddhist nationalist Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) has made considerable gains and is set to win in the capital, Phnom Penh. Both leading opposition parties, the SRP and the royalist Funcinpec party, have rejected the result and are threatening ‘agitation’ amidst a political deadlock. International observers have said that whilst there were some isolated irregularities, they were unlikely to have affected the outcome, and generally the elections were positive and fair. Please pray that the wave of politically motivated religious nationalism sweeping Asia does not get a foothold in Cambodia.

MORE ISSUES DURING JULY – ————————-

PAKISTAN: PRIEST ASSASSINATED

On 5 July in Renala Khurd (180 miles south of Islamabad), six militants entered the home of Father George Ibrahim (38) at 1 am and shot him fatally as he slept. Pervez Masih, his parish assistant was wounded. The priest had been receiving death threats ever since provincial authorities returned the local school to Catholic Church ownership. The All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) labelled the killing ‘a heinous and brutal act of terrorism’. In a 27 July press release, the APMA reported that not only had no one been arrested, the government had not condemned the killing nor did it appear to be taking any interest in the case. The APMA held a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday 29 July to express their concerns regarding security for Christians and other religious minorities. Pray that this yields results.

CHINA: PASTOR GONG & HOUSE CHURCH RAIDS

On 21 July Mr Bob Fu was able to report that Pastor Gong is alive and two of his relatives (including a sister) were recently able to visit him. (One sister was refused permission to visit because some of her speech during her last visit was religious!) Pastor Gong was separated from his visitors by glass. He was very fragile, pale, weak and thin with cheekbones protruding. He was unable to say a single word, but it is not known if this was because he was not permitted to speak or because he was not physically able to speak. An officer did confirm that Pastor Gong had spent some time in hospital. Pastor Gong’s relatives express their great appreciation for your prayers. Please continue to uphold them all before the Lord.

At 4 am on Sunday 13 July, the Chinese Public Security Bureau (PSB) raided a house church prayer meeting in Xiao Shan City, Zhejiang Province. The prayer meeting was broken up, the Christians assaulted, and three leaders were arrested. One of those arrested was Shao Cheng Shen (80), who co-founded the church 25 years ago. The church, with some 1500 members, is linked to ‘The Little Flock’ of Watchman Nee. The two other leaders arrested were Wei Min Xu and Chong Dao Gao. Another Christian, Brother Huiliang Wong (45) who is on the PSB’s ‘most-wanted list’, escaped through a window. The whereabouts of the three detainees is unknown. Please pray for * their physical strength and faith; * advocacy on their behalf to be effective; * their release.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.’ Matthew 5:10 NLT

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The WEA Religious Liberty Commission sponsors this RL Prayer List to help individuals and groups pray specifically and regularly for religious liberty issues, and in particular to uphold the Church where it is suffering persecution.

RL Prayer is moderated by Ron Clough, a commissioner of the WEA RLC and convenor of the Australian EA RLC.

Elizabeth Kendal researched and authored this message.