NEAR THE CROSS
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain,
free to all, a healing stream,
flows from Calvary's mountain.
Refrain:
In the cross, in the cross,
be my glory ever,
till my raptured soul shall find
rest beyond the river.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
love and mercy found me;
there the bright and morning star
sheds its beams around me.
(Refrain)
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
bring its scenes before me;
help me walk from day to day
with its shadow o'er me.
(Refrain)
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
hoping, trusting ever,
till I reach the golden strand
just beyond the river.
(Refrain)
This was the song that our brothers and sisters in China sang as their cross was forcibly taken down. Many exhibited civil disobedience by forming human barriers, sometimes for months, in an effort to keep their cross from being demolished. Some people might look at this and say that it is foolish to risk your life and freedom for two pieces of wood put together. The cross is only a symbol, it's not your actual faith...what does it matter if your church has a cross on top or not? These Christians would say it matters. Are they still Christians without their cross? Yes. Can they still worship God without the cross being there? Yes. But none of those questions are the issue. All the world over, Christians are recognized by the symbol of the cross. An instrument of despair, torture, and death became a symbol of hope, comfort, and life. Now, the government is taking away that symbol. These Christians could have stood by and done nothing, safe in the knowledge that their faith is not dependent on any physical symbols. Instead, they chose to show their government and the world how precious the cross is to believers. Is the cross worth fighting for? These Christians would say 'Yes'.
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China
Government Control: In 2014, the Chinese government took steps to consolidate further its authoritarian monopoly of power over all aspects of its citizens’ lives. For religious freedom, this has meant unprecedented violations against Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, and Falun Gong practitioners. People of faith continue to face arrests, fines, denials of justice, lengthy prison sentences, and in some cases, the closing or bulldozing of places of worship. Based on the alarming increase in systematic, egregious, and ongoing abuses, USCIRF again recommends China be designated a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The State Department has designated China as a CPC since 1999, most recently in July 2014.
Religious Freedom:
The Chinese Constitution states that it guarantees freedom of religion. However, only so-called “normal religions” – those belonging to one of the five state-sanctioned “patriotic religious associations” associated with the five officially-recognized religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism) – can register with the government and legally hold worship services and conduct religious activities. The government and Chinese Communist Party are officially atheist, with more than 700 million persons unaffiliated with any religion or belief. However, religious followers are strong and reportedly on the rise: more than 294 million practice folk religions, more
than 240 million Buddhism, 68 million Christianity, and nearly 25 million Islam. The Chinese government strictly monitors religious activities, including by those recognized by the state, but unregistered groups and their members are especially vulnerable. For example,
although Christianity is state-sanctioned, the government continues to engage in severe violations of religious freedom against both registered and unregistered Catholics and Protestants. Some have characterized the new wave of persecution against Christians that
swept through China in 2014 as the most egregious and persistent since the Cultural Revolution. Nevertheless, the number of religious followers, of Christianity in particular, is considered to be growing. The Chinese communist regime, which celebrated its 65th anniversary in October 2014, views ideologies that promote freedom of speech, civil society, genuine rule of law, and human rights as directly undermining its control. As a result, all-around repression in China worsened in 2014, including the government’s aggressiveness in controlling Tibet, Xinjiang, and even Hong Kong, as well as stricter controls on the Internet and
social media and targeting of human rights defenders, civil society activists, journalists and academics. For example, Pu Zhiqiang, a prominent human-rights lawyer, was charged in June 2014 with creating a disturbance, inciting ethnic hatred, and separatism based on his postings on Sina Weibo, a popular blog service; he was detained just prior to the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square incident. Other human rights defenders also face arbitrary detention, harassment, intimidation, or imprisonment. Another human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, was finally released in August 2014 but remains under constant surveillance and has been denied freedom of movement to seek proper medical care or to be reunited with his family, who fled to the United States.
Religious Freedom Conditions
Protestants and Catholics:
In a striking development, at least 400 churches were torn down or had crosses forcibly removed and/or demolished in 2014, a notable increase over previous years. Most of these incidents occurred in Zhejiang Province and included both underground and state-sanctioned churches, though incidents were reported in other places as well. In Zhejiang Province, these actions can be attributed to the “Three Rectifications and One Demolition” campaign, the provincial government’s March 2013 plan purportedly aimed at building code violations and
illegal structures. Many religious believers in Zhejiang, particularly Christians, regarded the campaign as directly targeting their religion. The city of Wenzhou, home to China’s largest Christian community with 2,000 or so churches, known as “China’s Jerusalem,” saw a particularly high number of demolitions. Registered churches in Wenzhou also faced demolitions, including the Protestant Wuai Church and the Liushi and Longgangshan Catholic Churches. In general, conditions faced by registered and unregistered churches across the country vary widely and are often subject to the inconsistent discretion of local and/or provincial officials. Leaders and members of both registered and unregistered churches have faced increased harassment and arbitrary arrests. Typically leaders of house churches are more vulnerable to these types of charges, but in 2014 pastors of sanctioned churches also faced detention or arrest. The Chinese government generally claimed these actions were to maintain social order, but there were multiple reports that Christians and religious activists were unfairly targeted. In July 2014, Pastor Zhang Shaojie of the Nanle County Christian Church, a registered church in Henan Province, was convicted
on trumped-up charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The government also began classifying house church leaders as alleged “cult” leaders. Pope Francis has opened the door for improved relations with China, reportedly inviting President Xi Jinping to the Vatican. Additionally, the Chinese government granted the Pope permission to fly through Chinese airspace following his January 2015 trip to the Philippines. (In the past, China has refused to allow papal aircraft to fly through its airspace; it is common practice for sitting
popes to send messages to the countries over which they fly.) However, shortly thereafter, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated calls for the Vatican to cut ties with Taiwan and to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs in the name of religion. Moreover, according to a 2015 working plan of the State Administration of Religious Affairs, China still insists on electing and ordaining
bishops completely independent of the Holy See. While China in 2014 reportedly ended its deplorable system of “re-education through labor", other forms of extralegal detention remain, including secretive “black jails.”
Targeting of “Cults”
Under Article 300 of China’s Criminal Law, those who participate in so-called “superstitious sects or secret societies or weird religious organizations” or other similar activity are subject to imprisonment. In 2014, the Chinese government took its broadest steps yet to designate and criminalize some groups as ‘‘cult organizations.” On June 3, 2014, the government published a list of 20 “cults” and began a sweeping crackdown against these organizations. House churches were targeted because they lack any official protection. In September
2014, more than 100 Christians were arrested during a raid on a house church in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, with eyewitnesses claiming that more than 200 officials took part in the raid. As part of the “anti-cult” effort, China’s government issued a directive to
“eradicate” unregistered churches over the course of the next decade, resulting in unregistered church members facing an increased number of arrests, fines, and church closures in 2014.
2015: The campaign to remove crosses has continued into 2015, with all rooftop crosses being banned this past summer. Surprisingly, China's semi-official Christian associations which are supposed to ensure the Communist Party's control have denounced the campaign as unconstitutional and humiliating. It is believed that President Xi Jinping is behind this campaign as a kind of experiment to test the authorities' power and control. The removals have been met with resistance as parishoners kept vigils and tried to block church entrances with trucks. Many churches have re-erected crosses in defiance. About two dozen Catholic officials and priests signed a strongly worded letter calling the new rules unlawful. "The more (authorities) suppress the call for justice, the more it shows they are faced with severe social crisis, that they have little confidence in their ability to rule, and that they are incompetent in dealing with issues."
U.S. Policy:
There are several strategic bilateral and multilateral issues that influence the U.S.-China relationship. For example, the ongoing maritime territorial disputes in the East China and South China Seas impact how the two countries relate to one another as well as with other regional stakeholders in East and Southeast Asia. The relationship is also influenced by the Obama Administration’s Asia “pivot” or “rebalance”, particularly on issues such as trade, the economy, military, and commerce. Mistrust exists on both sides: China is skeptical
of U.S. intentions on Taiwan, the Dalai Lama, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership; and the United States is wary of Chinese cyber-espionage, military modernization, and troubling human rights record. As the United States seeks to integrate China more fully into a rules-based
global economy, China continues to tightly control its domestic and foreign markets, and tension between the two countries remains in their trade relationship. In a noteworthy example of cooperation between the two powers on a global issue, the United States and
China in November 2014 announced a joint agreement to reduce carbon and other emissions in an unprecedented climate change and clean energy plan. The United States approaches foreign assistance to China as a means to support programs that protect U.S. interests, such as promoting human rights and the rule of law, supporting environmental protection, addressing pandemic diseases, and assisting Tibetan communities. These programs are primarily administered through the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development through its regional mission in Bangkok, as well as other U.S. agencies. The Chinese government remains suspicious of any foreign funding, particularly support to local non-governmental organizations. The United States has raised a number of human rights issues with China both publicly and privately, including individual cases. However, human rights advocates urge the United States to do more, and to do so publicly. The United States has publicly expressed concern on several key issues, including: government censorship and crackdowns on press freedoms and free speech, including on the Internet and social media, and often under the rubric of fighting terrorism; the denial of rights to ethnic and religious minorities; excessive detentions and arrests; and Beijing’s proposed counterterrorism law and its potential impact on U.S. technology companies.
In return, the Chinese government has criticized human rights in the United States in light of racial tensions and the release of the U.S. Senate report on torture. China regularly condemns U.S. reports critical of its religious freedom and human rights record, including
the CPC designation assigned by the State Department since 1999. Secretary Kerry re-designated China as a CPC in July 2014, thereby also extended the existing sanctions under section 423 of IRFA relating to exports of certain items.
Info compiled from USCIRF China.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lWsMze7m9k Gao Zhinsheng Update
https://youtu.be/UVV0Zn1rXR8 Cross being taken down
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Laos Revisited: Perceptions of Reality
"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." ~Abraham Lincoln
Saying something is free doesn't necessarily make it so. Rights can be promised on paper in Constitutions, but that does not guarantee them in real life. This is the case for many Christians in Laos. While there is supposed to be freedom to worship, in many rural areas that are governed by the whims of whoever is in charge, these rights are often denied. Your experience as a Christian depends on many things; city vs rural, majority vs minority ethnicity, evangelical vs non-evangelical. One thing that is consistent though is the need for discipleship and leadership training, and a cultural shift to encourage studying the Word of God. As we pray for the Christians in Laos this month, remember to pray that they would treasure the Word of God and place their allegiance in Jesus Christ, and not in the rituals of the Christian faith.
-------------------------
Laos
U.S. Relations: Laos is among the few remaining communist countries in the world and takes many of its cues from neighboring Vietnam, a fellow communist country and close ally. There are multiple channels of cooperation between the two countries, religion among them. Cooperation on religious issues began in 2002 with the signing of a cooperative agreement on religious affairs, and in 2014, Laos and Vietnam re-committed to this arrangement through the year 2020. Unlike Vietnam and Cambodia, Lao relations with the United States were never completely severed during the Vietnam War, though relations were downgraded and notably strained during this period, particularly after the communist takeover in 1975. The relationship has since improved, but the Lao government’s ongoing mistreatment of ethnic Hmong is a source of enduring tensions. Both the Administration and Congress regularly have raised concerns. The Lao government’s lasting wariness of the Hmong stems, in part, from their connection to the United States: thousands of ethnic Hmong were trained and armed by the United States and fought to prevent a communist takeover during the Vietnam War. Many since have fled to Thailand where they live in camps and/or face forced repatriation back to Laos. The United States has resettled approximately 250,000 Hmong refugees and continues to encourage Laos to improve transparency about the conditions of those forcibly returned from Thailand and to implement policies and practices to ensure the Hmong community no longer fears mistreatment. Since restoring full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1992, the United States gradually has expanded its engagement with the country. Bilateral relations are conducted through several mechanisms, including the U.S.-Laos Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue and others focusing on specific sectors, such as trade or investment. This engagement has broadened further in recent years through U.S. support of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), a partnership agreement between the United States, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Burma to cooperate in areas such as environment, health, education, and infrastructure development, as well as women’s and gender issues. The United States provides foreign assistance to Laos in a number of key sectors: public health, the environment and climate change, economic growth and trade, and peace and security, including the removal of unexploded ordnance (from the Vietnam War period). For fiscal year 2016, the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and related agencies are requesting funds through the following accounts: Development Assistance ($11.1 million); International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement ($1 million); International Military Education and Training ($450,000); and Foreign Military Financing ($200,000). The requests also include funds for environment-related capacity-building in the LMI countries. In 2014, the United States officially opened its new Embassy in the capital of Vientiane. The previous Embassy site is being outfitted to house a new American Center. In 2016, Laos is scheduled to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); the United States is a participant of the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit. Leading up to and during this period of amplified regional and international attention on Laos, the United States is in a position to leverage its influential position to encourage Laos to improve conditions for religious freedom and related human rights.
Religious Freedom: Serious religious freedom abuses continue, particularly in ethnic minority areas, and restrictive laws remain in place. The Lao government seems either unable or unwilling to fully curtail religious freedom abuses in provincial areas, where officials and police are suspicious of Protestant growth. Over the past five years,however, religious freedom conditions have improved for the majority Buddhist groups and for other religious groups living in urban areas. The government of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) continued to allow ongoing abuses against religious minority groups, abuses that are most prominent in remote, rural areas. Moreover, the government’s suspicion of Protestant Christianity as a “Western” or “American” construct continued to result in discrimination, harassment, and arrests of Christians throughout the country, particularly in Savannakhet Province, where there were several reports of local officials ordering Christians to renounce their faith. The majority Buddhist community experiences religious freedom conditions that are generally free, as do some minority religious communities, such as animists, Baha’is, and Catholics. However, ethnic minorities tend to experience greater incidences of discrimination and harassment on many levels, including religious freedom. However, the government agency tasked with monitoring religious activity and carrying out government religious policy has engaged with religious groups and with international NGOs to better understand religious freedom and occasionally has intervened in cases of detention or property confiscation. Nevertheless, based on ongoing concerns, in 2015 USCIRF again places Laos on Tier 2, where it has been since 2009.
Although the Lao constitution protects freedom of religion or belief, conflicting government decrees and policies routinely result in religious freedoms limitations. More than two-thirds of the population are Buddhists, while Christians are believed to comprise less than two percent. Animism, ancestor worship, and other traditional beliefs are common among ethnic minorities, and there are several other religious minority groups in the country. The Lao government’s toleration of religious activity continues to vary by region, ethnicity, and religious group. Buddhism, which is deeply embedded in Lao culture and state functions and is practiced by the majority of the population, is now generally free from restrictive oversight. Lao Catholics have been allowed to build churches and, in the past several years, to ordain priests and the first new bishop since 1975. Lao Protestants in urban areas also have reported an increased ability to worship and to re-open, build, and expand some religious venues. The small Baha’i community also reports better working relations with government officials and an expansion of its facilities. Animism is practiced by most rural ethnic minority groups and, while not officially recognized, is often tolerated by provincial officials. Still, there are reports that the government discourages some animist practice viewed as dangerous or “superstitious” and actively promotes Buddhism as an alternative to traditional beliefs. The Lao Constitution provides for freedom of religion, but the Prime Minister’s 2002 Decree on Religious Practice (Decree 92) contains language allowing government control of, and interference in, religious activities. Religious leaders have reported that legally-permitted religious activities, such as proselytizing and producing religious materials, are restricted in practice. The Decree also includes cumbersome approval requirements for any religious activity. Some religious groups are unable to legally register under the Decree and have faced serious problems in the past. The Decree also contains vague prohibitions on activities that create “social division” or “chaos” and reiterates parts of the Lao criminal code arbitrarily used in the past to arrest and detain dissidents. Provincial officials routinely cite the social and familial divisions caused by the spread of Protestantism as justification for serious religious freedom abuses.
Conditions 2013–2015:During the reporting period, provincial officials violated the freedom of religion or belief of ethnic minority Protestants through detentions, surveillance, harassment, property confiscations, forced relocations, and forced renunciations of faith—though there were fewer reports of these abuses this year than last. Local officials in Phin and Atsaphagthong districts, Savannakhet province, attempted to force Protestants to renounce their faith by requiring them to partake in animist ceremonies. In Borikan district, Borikhamsai province, ethnic minority converts to Christianity were ordered to recant their faith or lose their property. In Sanamsai district, Attapeu province, officials forcibly relocated a couple for converting to Christianity. Also in the past year, Lao authorities released Khamsone Baccam, a Protestant leader who was arrested in 2007 for religious reasons, and Protestant pastors Yohan and Vanna, arrested in January 2011 in for holding Christmas celebrations. Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) authorities also reportedly held a series of meetings with registered religious groups seeking input for possible revisions to Decree 92. In 2014, one of the most high-profile acts of discrimination against Lao Christians occurred in the remote village of Saisomboon in Savannakhet Province. A recent convert to Christianity was ill, and when she died in June 2014, her family obtained approval from the village chief to hold a Christian funeral. This approval was later revoked, and the family was forced to hold a Buddhist memorial and burial ceremony. More over, police arrested the family’s pastor and four other Christians for allegedly contributing to the woman’s death. In August 2014, the five Christians were found not guilty of murder. Despite their acquittal, all five remained in custody and faced new charges in February 2015, when a provincial court convicted them of practicing medicine without a license in connection with her death. Contrary to the charges, the five Christians deny administering medicine to the woman, stating instead that they prayed by her side. All five subsequently have been imprisoned and fined. Additionally, in late September 2014, also in Savannakhet Province, a Christian pastor and six parishioners were arrested following a worship service in the pastor’s home. Reportedly, local officials in Boukham Village had banned Christian worship gatherings and used the ban to justify arresting the seven Christians. The Christians spent a week in custody before being released. Also in 2014, the central government banned all celebrations and observances of the Christmas holiday. The move was considered by some to be pointedly directed at ethnic minority Hmong Christians, who have been the target of government harassment for decades. There also were reports throughout 2014 of Christian families being forced from their homes for refusing to renounce Christianity. Six Christian families left their homes in Savannakhet Province following pressure in their village to convert to Buddhism, and another six Hmong Christian families in Bolikhamxay Province were forcibly evicted for refusing to renounce Christianity and convert to animism.
Civilian Freedom: Moreover, limitations on freedom of religion or belief take place in a climate where political space is largely limited. Civil society operates in a highly limited environment, and civil society and independent media face continued harassment and arbitrary arrest for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, or assembly. The suspicious disappearance of civil society leader Sombath Somphone is emblematic. Sombath, a well-known human rights defender, has not been seen since he disappeared in December 2012 after being stopped and detained by police, and the government has produced no meaningful information about his whereabouts. The government also tightly controls the print and broadcast media and recently increased restrictions on expression on the Internet, with new legislation that criminalizes criticizing the government or ruling party or circulating false information online.
_________________________
Saying something is free doesn't necessarily make it so. Rights can be promised on paper in Constitutions, but that does not guarantee them in real life. This is the case for many Christians in Laos. While there is supposed to be freedom to worship, in many rural areas that are governed by the whims of whoever is in charge, these rights are often denied. Your experience as a Christian depends on many things; city vs rural, majority vs minority ethnicity, evangelical vs non-evangelical. One thing that is consistent though is the need for discipleship and leadership training, and a cultural shift to encourage studying the Word of God. As we pray for the Christians in Laos this month, remember to pray that they would treasure the Word of God and place their allegiance in Jesus Christ, and not in the rituals of the Christian faith.
-------------------------
Laos
U.S. Relations: Laos is among the few remaining communist countries in the world and takes many of its cues from neighboring Vietnam, a fellow communist country and close ally. There are multiple channels of cooperation between the two countries, religion among them. Cooperation on religious issues began in 2002 with the signing of a cooperative agreement on religious affairs, and in 2014, Laos and Vietnam re-committed to this arrangement through the year 2020. Unlike Vietnam and Cambodia, Lao relations with the United States were never completely severed during the Vietnam War, though relations were downgraded and notably strained during this period, particularly after the communist takeover in 1975. The relationship has since improved, but the Lao government’s ongoing mistreatment of ethnic Hmong is a source of enduring tensions. Both the Administration and Congress regularly have raised concerns. The Lao government’s lasting wariness of the Hmong stems, in part, from their connection to the United States: thousands of ethnic Hmong were trained and armed by the United States and fought to prevent a communist takeover during the Vietnam War. Many since have fled to Thailand where they live in camps and/or face forced repatriation back to Laos. The United States has resettled approximately 250,000 Hmong refugees and continues to encourage Laos to improve transparency about the conditions of those forcibly returned from Thailand and to implement policies and practices to ensure the Hmong community no longer fears mistreatment. Since restoring full diplomatic relations with Laos in 1992, the United States gradually has expanded its engagement with the country. Bilateral relations are conducted through several mechanisms, including the U.S.-Laos Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue and others focusing on specific sectors, such as trade or investment. This engagement has broadened further in recent years through U.S. support of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI), a partnership agreement between the United States, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Burma to cooperate in areas such as environment, health, education, and infrastructure development, as well as women’s and gender issues. The United States provides foreign assistance to Laos in a number of key sectors: public health, the environment and climate change, economic growth and trade, and peace and security, including the removal of unexploded ordnance (from the Vietnam War period). For fiscal year 2016, the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and related agencies are requesting funds through the following accounts: Development Assistance ($11.1 million); International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement ($1 million); International Military Education and Training ($450,000); and Foreign Military Financing ($200,000). The requests also include funds for environment-related capacity-building in the LMI countries. In 2014, the United States officially opened its new Embassy in the capital of Vientiane. The previous Embassy site is being outfitted to house a new American Center. In 2016, Laos is scheduled to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); the United States is a participant of the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit. Leading up to and during this period of amplified regional and international attention on Laos, the United States is in a position to leverage its influential position to encourage Laos to improve conditions for religious freedom and related human rights.
Religious Freedom: Serious religious freedom abuses continue, particularly in ethnic minority areas, and restrictive laws remain in place. The Lao government seems either unable or unwilling to fully curtail religious freedom abuses in provincial areas, where officials and police are suspicious of Protestant growth. Over the past five years,however, religious freedom conditions have improved for the majority Buddhist groups and for other religious groups living in urban areas. The government of the ruling Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) continued to allow ongoing abuses against religious minority groups, abuses that are most prominent in remote, rural areas. Moreover, the government’s suspicion of Protestant Christianity as a “Western” or “American” construct continued to result in discrimination, harassment, and arrests of Christians throughout the country, particularly in Savannakhet Province, where there were several reports of local officials ordering Christians to renounce their faith. The majority Buddhist community experiences religious freedom conditions that are generally free, as do some minority religious communities, such as animists, Baha’is, and Catholics. However, ethnic minorities tend to experience greater incidences of discrimination and harassment on many levels, including religious freedom. However, the government agency tasked with monitoring religious activity and carrying out government religious policy has engaged with religious groups and with international NGOs to better understand religious freedom and occasionally has intervened in cases of detention or property confiscation. Nevertheless, based on ongoing concerns, in 2015 USCIRF again places Laos on Tier 2, where it has been since 2009.
Although the Lao constitution protects freedom of religion or belief, conflicting government decrees and policies routinely result in religious freedoms limitations. More than two-thirds of the population are Buddhists, while Christians are believed to comprise less than two percent. Animism, ancestor worship, and other traditional beliefs are common among ethnic minorities, and there are several other religious minority groups in the country. The Lao government’s toleration of religious activity continues to vary by region, ethnicity, and religious group. Buddhism, which is deeply embedded in Lao culture and state functions and is practiced by the majority of the population, is now generally free from restrictive oversight. Lao Catholics have been allowed to build churches and, in the past several years, to ordain priests and the first new bishop since 1975. Lao Protestants in urban areas also have reported an increased ability to worship and to re-open, build, and expand some religious venues. The small Baha’i community also reports better working relations with government officials and an expansion of its facilities. Animism is practiced by most rural ethnic minority groups and, while not officially recognized, is often tolerated by provincial officials. Still, there are reports that the government discourages some animist practice viewed as dangerous or “superstitious” and actively promotes Buddhism as an alternative to traditional beliefs. The Lao Constitution provides for freedom of religion, but the Prime Minister’s 2002 Decree on Religious Practice (Decree 92) contains language allowing government control of, and interference in, religious activities. Religious leaders have reported that legally-permitted religious activities, such as proselytizing and producing religious materials, are restricted in practice. The Decree also includes cumbersome approval requirements for any religious activity. Some religious groups are unable to legally register under the Decree and have faced serious problems in the past. The Decree also contains vague prohibitions on activities that create “social division” or “chaos” and reiterates parts of the Lao criminal code arbitrarily used in the past to arrest and detain dissidents. Provincial officials routinely cite the social and familial divisions caused by the spread of Protestantism as justification for serious religious freedom abuses.
Conditions 2013–2015:During the reporting period, provincial officials violated the freedom of religion or belief of ethnic minority Protestants through detentions, surveillance, harassment, property confiscations, forced relocations, and forced renunciations of faith—though there were fewer reports of these abuses this year than last. Local officials in Phin and Atsaphagthong districts, Savannakhet province, attempted to force Protestants to renounce their faith by requiring them to partake in animist ceremonies. In Borikan district, Borikhamsai province, ethnic minority converts to Christianity were ordered to recant their faith or lose their property. In Sanamsai district, Attapeu province, officials forcibly relocated a couple for converting to Christianity. Also in the past year, Lao authorities released Khamsone Baccam, a Protestant leader who was arrested in 2007 for religious reasons, and Protestant pastors Yohan and Vanna, arrested in January 2011 in for holding Christmas celebrations. Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) authorities also reportedly held a series of meetings with registered religious groups seeking input for possible revisions to Decree 92. In 2014, one of the most high-profile acts of discrimination against Lao Christians occurred in the remote village of Saisomboon in Savannakhet Province. A recent convert to Christianity was ill, and when she died in June 2014, her family obtained approval from the village chief to hold a Christian funeral. This approval was later revoked, and the family was forced to hold a Buddhist memorial and burial ceremony. More over, police arrested the family’s pastor and four other Christians for allegedly contributing to the woman’s death. In August 2014, the five Christians were found not guilty of murder. Despite their acquittal, all five remained in custody and faced new charges in February 2015, when a provincial court convicted them of practicing medicine without a license in connection with her death. Contrary to the charges, the five Christians deny administering medicine to the woman, stating instead that they prayed by her side. All five subsequently have been imprisoned and fined. Additionally, in late September 2014, also in Savannakhet Province, a Christian pastor and six parishioners were arrested following a worship service in the pastor’s home. Reportedly, local officials in Boukham Village had banned Christian worship gatherings and used the ban to justify arresting the seven Christians. The Christians spent a week in custody before being released. Also in 2014, the central government banned all celebrations and observances of the Christmas holiday. The move was considered by some to be pointedly directed at ethnic minority Hmong Christians, who have been the target of government harassment for decades. There also were reports throughout 2014 of Christian families being forced from their homes for refusing to renounce Christianity. Six Christian families left their homes in Savannakhet Province following pressure in their village to convert to Buddhism, and another six Hmong Christian families in Bolikhamxay Province were forcibly evicted for refusing to renounce Christianity and convert to animism.
Civilian Freedom: Moreover, limitations on freedom of religion or belief take place in a climate where political space is largely limited. Civil society operates in a highly limited environment, and civil society and independent media face continued harassment and arbitrary arrest for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association, or assembly. The suspicious disappearance of civil society leader Sombath Somphone is emblematic. Sombath, a well-known human rights defender, has not been seen since he disappeared in December 2012 after being stopped and detained by police, and the government has produced no meaningful information about his whereabouts. The government also tightly controls the print and broadcast media and recently increased restrictions on expression on the Internet, with new legislation that criminalizes criticizing the government or ruling party or circulating false information online.
_________________________
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Vietnam Revisited: Subtle Deception
“People trust their eyes above all else - but most people see what they
wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really
there.”
―
Zoë Marriott
Are we willing to face the truth? Many people are not. Many bury their heads in the sand and deny what is occurring, whether in their own life or in the lives of others. They are not strong enough to bear the burden of that truth. But perhaps just as important as facing the truth, is being willing to search for the truth. Life is complicated, and not painted in simple black and white terms. Is it true that Vietnam has made improvements in human rights? Yes. Is it also true that the level of violence against Christians in 2014 has increased? Yes. Is it true that Vietnam has released many prisoners of conscious? Yes. Is it also true that many more prisoners of conscious remain in custody, some for 20 years or more? Yes. Is it true that Vietnam has allowed many more congregations to 'register'? Yes. Is it also true that many thousands of congregations are still denied registration or do not attempt to register at all, which means they are operating 'illegally'? Yes. Is it true that the State Department has achieved different successes in their bilateral agreement with Vietnam? Yes. Is it also true that those successes are inconsistent and that persecution has worsened in some areas? Yes. Is it true that Vietnam serves on the UN Human Rights Council? Yes. Is it also true that Vietnam has a special religious police that is responsible for monitoring, manipulating, harassing, terrorizing, persecuting, abusing, and even killing religious followers? Yes.
In order to know the truth, we can not be deceived by what is seen on the surface or by certain select statistics. Vietnam is still listed as a country of particular concern by the USCIRF, and the World Watch List puts Vietnam as 16 out of 50 of the top countries for religious persecution. Christians in Vietnam need our prayers. We serve a God who sees us and hears us; who not only takes an interest in our lives, but truly cares for us as Sons and Daughters. Now, as Brothers and Sisters to the Christians in Vietnam, we must lift up their concerns and needs, as if they were our own. May we not be silent.
---------------------------------------
Vietnam
Overview: Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by the Communist Party. Its overall human rights record remains poor. Over the past few years, the government has moved decisively to repress any perceived challenges to its authority.
Religion: Accurate numbers of religious adherents in the country are difficult to ascertain, but the majority of Vietnam’s 90 million citizens are Buddhist. More than six million are Catholic, Vietnam’s second largest religious group, and roughly one million or more are Protestant. Other minority religious groups include the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Khmer Krom Buddhists, ethnic Cham Muslims, Baha’is, Hindus and followers of other folk religions and beliefs.
Religious Persecution: The Vietnamese government continues to control all religious activities through law and administrative oversight, severely restrict independent religious practice, and repress individuals and religious groups it views as challenging its authority, including independent Buddhists, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Catholics, and Protestants. This occurs despite some improvements in the area of religious freedom, such as generally wider space for some religious communities to practice their faiths. Notably, the government requires religious organizations and congregations to register with a state-sanctioned entity in order to be considered legal. Individuals remain imprisoned for religious activity or religious freedom advocacy. Based on these severe violations, USCIRF again recommends in 2015 that Vietnam be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). USCIRF has recommended that Vietnam be named a CPC every year since 2001.
The Communist government has moved decisively in recent years to repress perceived challenges to its regime, tightening controls on freedom of expression, association, religion, and assembly. Although the 2013 Constitution goes much further than its predecessor in protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, other provisions create exceptions to those rights. In addition, other laws, decrees, and ordinances collectively restrict religious practices and create latitude for local officials to interpret and implement their own policies without federal influence. This inconsistency leads individuals to fear that the open practice of their faiths will result in harassment, attacks, or arrest. In 2013, the government implemented a new decree on religion (Decree 92) that provides clearer timetables for registration, but expands oversight of religious affairs and makes it more difficult for new religious groups to ever achieve legal status. Moreover, broadly-worded Penal Code provisions, such as Articles 88 and 258, ensnare countless human rights defenders, bloggers, journalists, religious leaders, and other activists whom the government accuses of acting against the state. At least 100-200 prisoners of conscience are detained in Vietnam, some for their religious activity or religious freedom advocacy. In 2015, Vietnam is expected to produce a new law on religion that, as rumored, will supersede the 2004 Ordinance on Beliefs and Religions and Decree 92.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Heiner Bielefeldt visited Vietnam in July 2014, but had to curtail his visit due to state interference that violated the terms of reference agreed upon in advance with the Vietnamese government. His findings, released in January 2015, noted that the “. . . autonomy and activities of independent religious or belief communities, that is, unrecognized communities, remain restricted and unsafe, with the rights to freedom of religion or belief of such communities grossly violated in the face of constant surveillance, intimidation, harassment and persecution.”
Catholics: Father Phan Van Loi testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on March 26, 2014, via video conference because government surveillance and restrictions on his movement prevented him from traveling to give testimony in person. He described the difficulties, obstacles, harassment, and sometimes imprisonment priests and laypeople face when they speak out about their beliefs. He also referenced the limitations and outright prohibitions on the Catholic Church imposed by current laws and government decrees on religion. Local governments refuse to recognize Catholicism as a religion in the three northern provinces of Dien Bien, Son La, and Lai Chau, making it especially challenging for priests and their parishioners to practice their faith in these areas. Catholics continue to experience land confiscations, including parishioners from the Thai Ha Redemp-torist Church in Dong Da District, who protested in Hanoi to object to the government filling in an existing lake on church property. Similarly, Con Dau parishioners near Da Nang City were forced to move their parish cemetery and in some cases have been evicted from their homes, disrupting the entire parish community. While some land rights disputes may be, in part, the result of local-level corruption or development projects, the religious identity of the targeted community and its status as a minority are also often factors. On a positive note, in September, representatives of the Joint Vatican-Vietnam Working Group held another meeting in Hanoi as part of the group’s efforts to restore diplomatic relations.
Hmong Protestants: During 2014, countless Hmong Protestant house churches continued to be denied registration, effectively consigning them to illegal status. In an ongoing effort to limit the freedom of Hmong Christians to practice their faith, local authorities continued to interfere with the way in which Hmong villagers honor and grieve their dead. In addition to destroying storage facilities which house supplies for Hmong funerals, authorities harassed and attacked villagers attempting to carry out funerals in accordance with their beliefs. In March 2014, Hoang Van Sang received an 18-month jail sentence for constructing a new funeral storage facility. Hmong villagers who marched in protest of Sang’s sentence were stopped by police.
Montagnards (Degar): Ethnic minority Montagnards, primarily from Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, continued to face severe ethnic- and religious-based discrimination and violence, prompting some to flee Vietnam. During the year, Montagnards reported the police carrying out beatings, arrests, and forced renunciations of faith. In November, 13 Christian Montagnards fled persecution in Vietnam to seek refugee status in Cambodia, only to suffer harsh conditions while hiding in the Cambodian jungles. A UN team was able to meet with the group weeks later after first being blocked by local officials. Since then, dozens more have fled to Cambodia, and some forcibly returned to Vietnam by Cambodian officials, including small children. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights both have urged the Cambodian government to abide by their international obligations and allow the Vietnamese Montagnards to pursue refugee claims.
Mennonites: A Mennonite Christian center in Binh Duong Province was the site of repeated attacks throughout the year. In June 2014, 76 Mennonite Christians were attacked by more than 300 (some estimate closer to 500) police and security forces; the church itself was vandalized. In November, nine Mennonites, including two pastors, were arrested and the church vandalized once again. Three church employees were arrested, interrogated and beaten in early December. One of those arrested, a pastor, was ordered to end his role as pastor or face criminal charges. The three were eventually released but suffered additional harassment just outside the police station, and attacks on the church continued.
Prisoners: The ill-treatment and imprisonment of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam remains a key human rights concern, despite several releases during the year. Among them are countless individuals who have been harassed, beaten, detained, arrested, and imprisoned for their religious beliefs. Those still imprisoned include: Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, Mennonite Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, and Catholic Intellectual and activist Francis Jang Xuan Dieu, for example. Several prisoners of conscience were released in 2014, including prominent dissident Nguyen Van Hai, also known as Dieu Cay. He was released in October 2014, coinciding with the visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Tom Malinowski to Vietnam. Upon his release, Hai, like Cu Huy Ha Vu in April, was forced to leave the country and was immediately escorted onto a plane bound for the United States before he could inform his family of his release. Three others, Bui Thi Minh Hang, Nguyen Van Minh and Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, all well-known human rights defenders, received multi-year prison sentences in August.
U.S. Policy: The year 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the normalization of ties between the United States and Vietnam. In 2013, the two countries entered into the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, a framework for bilateral cooperation on a number of strategic issues, including trade and the economy, science and technology, defense and security, and human rights, among others. As part of their regular engagement on human rights, the two countries will conduct a session of the U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in Hanoi in May 2015. On January 1, 2014, Vietnam began its three-year term on the UN Human Rights Council. The United States and Vietnam have a strong bilateral trade relationship, with Vietnam serving as a major source of clothing, footwear, furniture, and electrical machinery for the United States. The two are also part of the 12-nation negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional free trade agreement. While the TPP talks are ongoing, the Obama Administration and some in Congress are concurrently pursuing the renewal of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that could grant the president greater flexibility when negotiating and approving trade agreements such as the TPP. Some members of Congress have raised concerns with a number of key components in the TPP, including agriculture, automotive markets, worker rights, environmental protections, and human rights, among others, that are likely to be heavily debated during consideration of TPA. In October 2014, the United States announced the partial easing of the arms ban with Vietnam with respect to maritime security. The State Department cited specific human rights improvements in Vietnam, including the release of prisoners of conscience and the registration of new church congregations. However, critics noted that Vietnam is still detaining numerous prisoners of conscience, including individuals imprisoned for their religious beliefs, and that registration figures pale in comparison to the thousands of congregations that either choose to remain independent or are denied registration, leaving them no choice but to operate illegally. Notably, Assistant Secretary Malinowski visited Vietnam shortly after the announcement and stressed the importance of Vietnam continuing to make progress on human rights. The State Department designated Vietnam as a CPC in 2004 and 2005, but removed the designation in 2006 because of progress toward fulfilling a bilateral agreement to release prisoners, ban forced renunciations of faith, and expand legal protections for religious groups. USCIRF, however, has found that, the progress achieved through the bilateral agreement has been inconsistent and not fully realized, and that religious freedom violations in Vietnam have continued, and in some cases worsened. These ongoing violations in Vietnam serve as a cautionary tale of the potential for backsliding in religious freedoms when vigilance in monitoring such abuses ceases. Accordingly, USCIRF has continued to recommend CPC designation for the country.
Information compiled from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2015 Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vietnam: Hmong Christians 2012
Cults and the Pesecuted Church in Southeast Asia
Hearing on the Persecution of Religious and Indigenous Communities in Vietnam (April 2014) (Interviews start at 8 mins in; Hmong report starts at an hour and a half)
Are we willing to face the truth? Many people are not. Many bury their heads in the sand and deny what is occurring, whether in their own life or in the lives of others. They are not strong enough to bear the burden of that truth. But perhaps just as important as facing the truth, is being willing to search for the truth. Life is complicated, and not painted in simple black and white terms. Is it true that Vietnam has made improvements in human rights? Yes. Is it also true that the level of violence against Christians in 2014 has increased? Yes. Is it true that Vietnam has released many prisoners of conscious? Yes. Is it also true that many more prisoners of conscious remain in custody, some for 20 years or more? Yes. Is it true that Vietnam has allowed many more congregations to 'register'? Yes. Is it also true that many thousands of congregations are still denied registration or do not attempt to register at all, which means they are operating 'illegally'? Yes. Is it true that the State Department has achieved different successes in their bilateral agreement with Vietnam? Yes. Is it also true that those successes are inconsistent and that persecution has worsened in some areas? Yes. Is it true that Vietnam serves on the UN Human Rights Council? Yes. Is it also true that Vietnam has a special religious police that is responsible for monitoring, manipulating, harassing, terrorizing, persecuting, abusing, and even killing religious followers? Yes.
In order to know the truth, we can not be deceived by what is seen on the surface or by certain select statistics. Vietnam is still listed as a country of particular concern by the USCIRF, and the World Watch List puts Vietnam as 16 out of 50 of the top countries for religious persecution. Christians in Vietnam need our prayers. We serve a God who sees us and hears us; who not only takes an interest in our lives, but truly cares for us as Sons and Daughters. Now, as Brothers and Sisters to the Christians in Vietnam, we must lift up their concerns and needs, as if they were our own. May we not be silent.
---------------------------------------
Vietnam
Overview: Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by the Communist Party. Its overall human rights record remains poor. Over the past few years, the government has moved decisively to repress any perceived challenges to its authority.
Religion: Accurate numbers of religious adherents in the country are difficult to ascertain, but the majority of Vietnam’s 90 million citizens are Buddhist. More than six million are Catholic, Vietnam’s second largest religious group, and roughly one million or more are Protestant. Other minority religious groups include the Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Khmer Krom Buddhists, ethnic Cham Muslims, Baha’is, Hindus and followers of other folk religions and beliefs.
Religious Persecution: The Vietnamese government continues to control all religious activities through law and administrative oversight, severely restrict independent religious practice, and repress individuals and religious groups it views as challenging its authority, including independent Buddhists, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Catholics, and Protestants. This occurs despite some improvements in the area of religious freedom, such as generally wider space for some religious communities to practice their faiths. Notably, the government requires religious organizations and congregations to register with a state-sanctioned entity in order to be considered legal. Individuals remain imprisoned for religious activity or religious freedom advocacy. Based on these severe violations, USCIRF again recommends in 2015 that Vietnam be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). USCIRF has recommended that Vietnam be named a CPC every year since 2001.
The Communist government has moved decisively in recent years to repress perceived challenges to its regime, tightening controls on freedom of expression, association, religion, and assembly. Although the 2013 Constitution goes much further than its predecessor in protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, other provisions create exceptions to those rights. In addition, other laws, decrees, and ordinances collectively restrict religious practices and create latitude for local officials to interpret and implement their own policies without federal influence. This inconsistency leads individuals to fear that the open practice of their faiths will result in harassment, attacks, or arrest. In 2013, the government implemented a new decree on religion (Decree 92) that provides clearer timetables for registration, but expands oversight of religious affairs and makes it more difficult for new religious groups to ever achieve legal status. Moreover, broadly-worded Penal Code provisions, such as Articles 88 and 258, ensnare countless human rights defenders, bloggers, journalists, religious leaders, and other activists whom the government accuses of acting against the state. At least 100-200 prisoners of conscience are detained in Vietnam, some for their religious activity or religious freedom advocacy. In 2015, Vietnam is expected to produce a new law on religion that, as rumored, will supersede the 2004 Ordinance on Beliefs and Religions and Decree 92.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Heiner Bielefeldt visited Vietnam in July 2014, but had to curtail his visit due to state interference that violated the terms of reference agreed upon in advance with the Vietnamese government. His findings, released in January 2015, noted that the “. . . autonomy and activities of independent religious or belief communities, that is, unrecognized communities, remain restricted and unsafe, with the rights to freedom of religion or belief of such communities grossly violated in the face of constant surveillance, intimidation, harassment and persecution.”
Catholics: Father Phan Van Loi testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on March 26, 2014, via video conference because government surveillance and restrictions on his movement prevented him from traveling to give testimony in person. He described the difficulties, obstacles, harassment, and sometimes imprisonment priests and laypeople face when they speak out about their beliefs. He also referenced the limitations and outright prohibitions on the Catholic Church imposed by current laws and government decrees on religion. Local governments refuse to recognize Catholicism as a religion in the three northern provinces of Dien Bien, Son La, and Lai Chau, making it especially challenging for priests and their parishioners to practice their faith in these areas. Catholics continue to experience land confiscations, including parishioners from the Thai Ha Redemp-torist Church in Dong Da District, who protested in Hanoi to object to the government filling in an existing lake on church property. Similarly, Con Dau parishioners near Da Nang City were forced to move their parish cemetery and in some cases have been evicted from their homes, disrupting the entire parish community. While some land rights disputes may be, in part, the result of local-level corruption or development projects, the religious identity of the targeted community and its status as a minority are also often factors. On a positive note, in September, representatives of the Joint Vatican-Vietnam Working Group held another meeting in Hanoi as part of the group’s efforts to restore diplomatic relations.
Hmong Protestants: During 2014, countless Hmong Protestant house churches continued to be denied registration, effectively consigning them to illegal status. In an ongoing effort to limit the freedom of Hmong Christians to practice their faith, local authorities continued to interfere with the way in which Hmong villagers honor and grieve their dead. In addition to destroying storage facilities which house supplies for Hmong funerals, authorities harassed and attacked villagers attempting to carry out funerals in accordance with their beliefs. In March 2014, Hoang Van Sang received an 18-month jail sentence for constructing a new funeral storage facility. Hmong villagers who marched in protest of Sang’s sentence were stopped by police.
Montagnards (Degar): Ethnic minority Montagnards, primarily from Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, continued to face severe ethnic- and religious-based discrimination and violence, prompting some to flee Vietnam. During the year, Montagnards reported the police carrying out beatings, arrests, and forced renunciations of faith. In November, 13 Christian Montagnards fled persecution in Vietnam to seek refugee status in Cambodia, only to suffer harsh conditions while hiding in the Cambodian jungles. A UN team was able to meet with the group weeks later after first being blocked by local officials. Since then, dozens more have fled to Cambodia, and some forcibly returned to Vietnam by Cambodian officials, including small children. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights both have urged the Cambodian government to abide by their international obligations and allow the Vietnamese Montagnards to pursue refugee claims.
Mennonites: A Mennonite Christian center in Binh Duong Province was the site of repeated attacks throughout the year. In June 2014, 76 Mennonite Christians were attacked by more than 300 (some estimate closer to 500) police and security forces; the church itself was vandalized. In November, nine Mennonites, including two pastors, were arrested and the church vandalized once again. Three church employees were arrested, interrogated and beaten in early December. One of those arrested, a pastor, was ordered to end his role as pastor or face criminal charges. The three were eventually released but suffered additional harassment just outside the police station, and attacks on the church continued.
Prisoners: The ill-treatment and imprisonment of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam remains a key human rights concern, despite several releases during the year. Among them are countless individuals who have been harassed, beaten, detained, arrested, and imprisoned for their religious beliefs. Those still imprisoned include: Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly, Mennonite Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, and Catholic Intellectual and activist Francis Jang Xuan Dieu, for example. Several prisoners of conscience were released in 2014, including prominent dissident Nguyen Van Hai, also known as Dieu Cay. He was released in October 2014, coinciding with the visit of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Tom Malinowski to Vietnam. Upon his release, Hai, like Cu Huy Ha Vu in April, was forced to leave the country and was immediately escorted onto a plane bound for the United States before he could inform his family of his release. Three others, Bui Thi Minh Hang, Nguyen Van Minh and Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, all well-known human rights defenders, received multi-year prison sentences in August.
U.S. Policy: The year 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the normalization of ties between the United States and Vietnam. In 2013, the two countries entered into the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, a framework for bilateral cooperation on a number of strategic issues, including trade and the economy, science and technology, defense and security, and human rights, among others. As part of their regular engagement on human rights, the two countries will conduct a session of the U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in Hanoi in May 2015. On January 1, 2014, Vietnam began its three-year term on the UN Human Rights Council. The United States and Vietnam have a strong bilateral trade relationship, with Vietnam serving as a major source of clothing, footwear, furniture, and electrical machinery for the United States. The two are also part of the 12-nation negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a regional free trade agreement. While the TPP talks are ongoing, the Obama Administration and some in Congress are concurrently pursuing the renewal of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that could grant the president greater flexibility when negotiating and approving trade agreements such as the TPP. Some members of Congress have raised concerns with a number of key components in the TPP, including agriculture, automotive markets, worker rights, environmental protections, and human rights, among others, that are likely to be heavily debated during consideration of TPA. In October 2014, the United States announced the partial easing of the arms ban with Vietnam with respect to maritime security. The State Department cited specific human rights improvements in Vietnam, including the release of prisoners of conscience and the registration of new church congregations. However, critics noted that Vietnam is still detaining numerous prisoners of conscience, including individuals imprisoned for their religious beliefs, and that registration figures pale in comparison to the thousands of congregations that either choose to remain independent or are denied registration, leaving them no choice but to operate illegally. Notably, Assistant Secretary Malinowski visited Vietnam shortly after the announcement and stressed the importance of Vietnam continuing to make progress on human rights. The State Department designated Vietnam as a CPC in 2004 and 2005, but removed the designation in 2006 because of progress toward fulfilling a bilateral agreement to release prisoners, ban forced renunciations of faith, and expand legal protections for religious groups. USCIRF, however, has found that, the progress achieved through the bilateral agreement has been inconsistent and not fully realized, and that religious freedom violations in Vietnam have continued, and in some cases worsened. These ongoing violations in Vietnam serve as a cautionary tale of the potential for backsliding in religious freedoms when vigilance in monitoring such abuses ceases. Accordingly, USCIRF has continued to recommend CPC designation for the country.
Information compiled from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom 2015 Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vietnam: Hmong Christians 2012
Cults and the Pesecuted Church in Southeast Asia
Hearing on the Persecution of Religious and Indigenous Communities in Vietnam (April 2014) (Interviews start at 8 mins in; Hmong report starts at an hour and a half)
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Belarus Revisited: Law vs Life
"An unjust law, is no law at all." -Martin Luther
Most Christians would say that following the law is the right thing to do; some would even take it further and say that one can't be a Christian and not follow the law. The Bible even tells us to submit to those in authority and follow the laws of the land. Seems straight forward; very black and white. But what do you do if you live in a country where the law prohibits you from practicing your faith? If you are not part of an officially registered church, all of your activities are illegal. Even if you are registered, you still might not be allowed to train your clergy or print and distribute pamphlets or Bibles. What do you do then? Can one knowingly break the law and still be a Christian? While everyone must wrestle with this question themselves, I would say to remember the response of the early church leaders when they were told by those in authority to stop spreading the Gospel. "But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20) "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). In America we have been blessed to have the freedom to share our faith freely. It may not always be well received, but we have the right to share it. We have not been faced with the choice many Christians in Belarus and other countries experience. Do I stay silent and follow the law, or do I speak out and break the law? As we pray for Belarus this month, let's draw strength from their conviction that allows them to say 'yes' to God, even if that means saying 'no' to the law.
----------------------------------------
Belarus
US/Belarusian
Relations: The US has almost no
diplomatic ties with Belarus. In 2007,the Belarus Democracy Reauthorization Act applied US sanctions against Belarus
until such time as they make significant human rights progress. In March 2008, the Belarusian government
requested that the United States withdraw its ambassador and the U.S. Embassy
in Minsk reduce its American diplomatic staff from 35 to five. In response, the
United States requested that the Belarusian ambassador also be withdrawn from
Washington, D.C. Bilateral relations continue to be minimal.
Government: The government of Belarus continues to commit serious violations of the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, both in law and in practice. Belarus has a highly authoritarian government, with most political power concentrated in the hands of President Aleksandr Lukashenko and his small circle of advisors. The Lukashenko regime maintains extensive and intrusive structures to control and restrict religious communities, causing some human rights groups to compare the current religious freedom situation in Belarus to that under the former Soviet Union. In addition, the government has engaged in serious human rights abuses, including involvement in the disappearances of several key opposition figures, the imprisonment of political opponents and journalists, and strict controls on the media and civil society.
Persecution with Property: The government also continues to limit the ability of registered groups to own or use property for religious purposes. Authorities reject requests for property registration from many Protestant churches and other groups officially viewed as new to Belarus; these groups also have faced difficulty in renting property from state proprietors. Moreover, Protestants in particular have reported that securing permission to build new churches is almost impossible. In Minsk, city planners will not grant any such permits until 2030, according to official documents. Protestant churches seeking property permits also report that they are treated as commercial organizations and charged fees set by Minsk authorities that may be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Forum 18 also reports that some of the smaller religious communities continue to face great difficulties in rebuilding premises for worship. In 2009 and 2010, officials continued to harass the New Life Full Gospel Church and threaten to seize its building in Minsk. Court executors delivered an order to vacate the building by August 2009, but the congregation refused to vacate. In January 2010, the government charged the church with polluting the grounds around its building with oil. If convicted, the church could be liable for a fine, plus $91,000 for the alleged damage. If the judgment is not paid, the government can seize the church building as compensation. Other laws, regulations, and directives also restrict the activities of registered religious communities. For example, groups are not allowed to function outside their geographic area of registration. Additionally, if a registered religious community does not qualify as a “central association”—meaning it has not been legally recognized for over 20 years or it does not have enough members—it cannot own media outlets or invite people from outside Belarus to work with the community.
The Privileged Status of the Belarusian Orthodox Church: The 2002 religion law recognizes the “definitive role” of the Orthodox Church in the development of Belarusian traditions, and the historic “traditional faiths,” Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, and Evangelical Lutheranism, without mentioning the Old Believers and Calvinist Churches, both of which have roots in Belarus dating to the 17th century. Since he assumed power in 1994, President Lukashenko has discriminated in favor of the Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC), an Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate Russian Orthodox Church. In June 2003, the Belarus government and the BOC signed a concordat on the Church’s role in public life, thereby further enhancing its privileged position. Despite the concordat, however, BOC instruction has not been introduced into the state education system. In March 2004, the Belarusian government granted the BOC the sole right to use the word “Orthodox” in its title. The Belarusian government has denied registration to several Orthodox churches that do not accept the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate, including the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the True Orthodox Church. Archbishop Jovan of the Holy Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (BAOC), a religious freedom activist, continued to be denied entry into the country in 2009. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is also denied registration, and in recent years its members have had to pay numerous fines for private worship services. However, despite its privileged status, the BOC also has not been immune from government harassment. Belarusian officials have discouraged the BOC from commemorating those Orthodox Christians killed in Belarus during the Soviet period due to their religion. The Belarusian KGB has tried to convince BOC clergy to remove icons of the Orthodox “New Martyrs” from the city of Grodno cathedral, although the local bishop refused to do so. In addition, KGB officers often monitor visitors to the town of Kuropaty, where New Martyrs are among the mass graves; a BOC chapel planned for the site has never been built.
Religion and Public Education: The religion and education laws specify that the state education system is secular, and that state education institutions can work with registered religious organizations only outside school hours. Belarusian official school textbooks continued to promote intolerance towards religions officially considered “non-traditional” to Belarus. One textbook, a chapter entitled “Beware of Sects” included language about Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Another book labeled Protestants and Hare Krishnas as “sects,” although according to the State Department, the authorities promised to change the language in the next edition.
Restrictions on Foreign Religious Workers: In 2008, Belarus further tightened strict government regulations on foreign religious workers. A government official, the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Nationality Affairs, has the sole discretion to decide whether religious activity by foreign citizens is necessary. In addition, that official is not required to provide reasons for denials of a foreign religious worker’s request to visit. Moreover, there is no avenue for appeal of denials. A foreign religious worker must be invited by a registered religious association. The visa application must include relevant work experience, the timetable and syllabus of the relevant religious educational institution and proof of knowledge of the Belarusian and Russian languages, as well as the proposed dates and reason for the visit. The application procedure for visits by foreign religious workers is usually lengthy and highly bureaucratic. Belarusian authorities continue to question foreign religious workers, humanitarian workers, and local citizens on the sources and uses of their funding. There were also credible reports that foreign religious workers were under surveillance by security personnel. Since 2004, a total of 33 foreigners, about two-thirds of whom are Catholics, have been expelled or have been denied extension of their residence permits due to their religious activities. In January 2010, two Catholic priests who had worked in Belarus for several decades reportedly were ordered by authorities to halt religious activities but were not barred from the country. Furthermore, if foreign citizens have not explicitly stated that they plan to participate in religious activities in Belarus, they can be reprimanded or expelled. In February 2009, two Danish visitors to Belarus were detained by police and banned from the country for one year due to their expressions of “ideas of a religious nature,” in the words of the deportation order. Both were attending—but were not leading—a church service in the city of Gomel.
Government control: In addition to the top-ranking official, the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs, each of the country’s six regions employs multiple religious affairs officials, as does Minsk city. Officials from local Ideology Departments and the Belarusian secret police (which proudly retains the Soviet-era designation of KGB) are also involved in religious controls. Religious meetings in private homes must not be regular or large. Houses of worship and any public exercise of religion must have state permission, which is rarely granted for disfavored groups, particularly Protestants. Orthodox and Catholic communities are less affected, partly due to the state’s more positive attitude towards them, but also because they are more likely to occupy historic churches. Unregistered religious activity is usually treated as an administrative offense punished by a fine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(2006)
(2014)
Most Christians would say that following the law is the right thing to do; some would even take it further and say that one can't be a Christian and not follow the law. The Bible even tells us to submit to those in authority and follow the laws of the land. Seems straight forward; very black and white. But what do you do if you live in a country where the law prohibits you from practicing your faith? If you are not part of an officially registered church, all of your activities are illegal. Even if you are registered, you still might not be allowed to train your clergy or print and distribute pamphlets or Bibles. What do you do then? Can one knowingly break the law and still be a Christian? While everyone must wrestle with this question themselves, I would say to remember the response of the early church leaders when they were told by those in authority to stop spreading the Gospel. "But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20) "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). In America we have been blessed to have the freedom to share our faith freely. It may not always be well received, but we have the right to share it. We have not been faced with the choice many Christians in Belarus and other countries experience. Do I stay silent and follow the law, or do I speak out and break the law? As we pray for Belarus this month, let's draw strength from their conviction that allows them to say 'yes' to God, even if that means saying 'no' to the law.
----------------------------------------
Belarus
U.S. Commission
on International Religious Freedom: USCIRF maintains a Watch List of
countries that commit serious violations of religious freedom, though not as serious as some other countries. The
purpose is to provide advance warning of negative trends that could develop
into severe violations of religious freedom, and Belarus has been on that list
since 2003. In the 2014 report, the
USCIRF continues to monitor Belarus, where the government tightly regulates
religious communities through an extensive security and religious affairs
bureaucracy, which has driven some religious groups underground. Officials are
particularly hostile towards religious groups viewed as political opponents,
such as Protestants, and strictly control foreign citizens, including Catholic
priests, who conduct religious activity.
Government: The government of Belarus continues to commit serious violations of the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief, both in law and in practice. Belarus has a highly authoritarian government, with most political power concentrated in the hands of President Aleksandr Lukashenko and his small circle of advisors. The Lukashenko regime maintains extensive and intrusive structures to control and restrict religious communities, causing some human rights groups to compare the current religious freedom situation in Belarus to that under the former Soviet Union. In addition, the government has engaged in serious human rights abuses, including involvement in the disappearances of several key opposition figures, the imprisonment of political opponents and journalists, and strict controls on the media and civil society.
Laws: The country’s 2002 religion law set up severe regulatory obstacles
and major bureaucratic and legal restrictions on the activities of religious
communities. Essentially, the 2002 law prohibits all religious activity by
unregistered groups, limits the activity of religious communities to their
areas of official registration, bans foreign citizens from leading religious
activities, forbids unapproved religious activity in private homes except
small, occasional prayer meetings, denies religious communities the right to
train clergy, and requires official permission for the printing, import, or
distribution of religious materials. The religion law also set up three
categories: religious communities, religious associations, and national
religious associations, with varying legal rights and registration
requirements. A complex registration process requires extensive personal
information about the members of religious congregations. The 2002 Belarusian
religion law is viewed as the most repressive in Europe, particularly because
of its ban on unregistered religious activity. Participation in the activities
of unregistered religious groups may result in a maximum two-year term of
imprisonment. The government maintains an extensive bureaucracy that closely
supervises religious life throughout the country, and continues to harass and
fine members of some religious groups, particularly Protestants and others
viewed as “foreign” or as having a political agenda. In fact, in recent years
there has been an increased use of large court-imposed fines for unregistered
religious activity. Foreign religious workers continue to face many official
obstacles, including deportation and visa refusals. Since registration is compulsory, the religion law
makes no provision for those who do not wish to register, such as the Council
of Churches Baptists.
Challenges to the Religion Law: In 2007,thousands of individuals from diverse religious communities, as well as
nonbelievers, initiated a petition to the Belarusian government to protest the
country’s 2002 religion law and other restrictions on freedom of religion or
belief. In March 2008, the petition gained the 50,000 signatures required for
the document to be considered by the Belarusian government; it was sent to the
Constitutional Court, Parliament, and Presidential Administration. The
Constitutional Court rejected it that same month on the grounds that only the
head of state or other government officials can question the constitutionality
of laws. Parliamentary and presidential authorities also rejected the petition,
claiming that there were no religious freedom violations in Belarus. In April
2008, three human rights defenders were fined the equivalent of two months
average monthly wages for their involvement with the petition.
Persecution with Registration: Some religious groups have repeatedly been denied
registration and in many cases officials do not provide reasons. One frequent
basis for denial is failure to provide a valid legal address, although in some
cases, registration is required before such an address can be obtained.
Moreover, a religious organization cannot be located at a residential address
unless that location has been re-designated as nonresidential. In 2009,
religious groups continued to have difficulty obtaining local government
permission to convert residential property for religious purposes. Another
basis for denial can be the religious group’s alleged failure to limit
activities to a specified location. Without state registration, religious
communities are subject to state harassment of and interference with religious
activities that sometimes result in fines. In recent years, the Belarus courts
have increased these fines and expanded the range of religious groups subject
to them. Until 2006, such fines usually were the equivalent of about $15, and
were imposed on Council of Churches Baptist congregations that refuse on
theological grounds to register with state authorities. However, since 2006,
administrative fines for unregistered religious activity have increased and
members of other groups have been fined. For example, a disabled 68-year old
pensioner, Yevgeny Bakun, was fined in August 2009 the equivalent of $49 for
holding an unregistered Salvation Pentecostal service in his yard in the city
of Grodno. In September, he was issued another fine the equivalent of $245 for
“holding mass events.” In a late 2009 incident, a member of an unregistered
Baptist group in Brest received an administrative fine the equivalent of $63
(reportedly half her monthly wage) for allowing her home to be used for
worship. Although the religion law, at least in theory, allows people to
pray in private homes, it requires that individuals obtain permission from
local authorities to hold rituals, rites, or ceremonies in homes. However, such
permission usually is denied. For six years, Protestant leaders unsuccessfully
have attempted to resolve this situation. Despite confirmation from the
Presidential Administration’s Department for Communication with Citizens that
religious organizations may legally meet in private homes if local state
authorities agree, police on several occasions in 2009 interfered with private
religious meetings and sometimes fined participants. Some registered religious
organizations, however, including Muslims, Lutherans, and Baha’is, have held
worship services at residential addresses without prosecution.
Persecution with Property: The government also continues to limit the ability of registered groups to own or use property for religious purposes. Authorities reject requests for property registration from many Protestant churches and other groups officially viewed as new to Belarus; these groups also have faced difficulty in renting property from state proprietors. Moreover, Protestants in particular have reported that securing permission to build new churches is almost impossible. In Minsk, city planners will not grant any such permits until 2030, according to official documents. Protestant churches seeking property permits also report that they are treated as commercial organizations and charged fees set by Minsk authorities that may be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Forum 18 also reports that some of the smaller religious communities continue to face great difficulties in rebuilding premises for worship. In 2009 and 2010, officials continued to harass the New Life Full Gospel Church and threaten to seize its building in Minsk. Court executors delivered an order to vacate the building by August 2009, but the congregation refused to vacate. In January 2010, the government charged the church with polluting the grounds around its building with oil. If convicted, the church could be liable for a fine, plus $91,000 for the alleged damage. If the judgment is not paid, the government can seize the church building as compensation. Other laws, regulations, and directives also restrict the activities of registered religious communities. For example, groups are not allowed to function outside their geographic area of registration. Additionally, if a registered religious community does not qualify as a “central association”—meaning it has not been legally recognized for over 20 years or it does not have enough members—it cannot own media outlets or invite people from outside Belarus to work with the community.
Restrictions on Religious
Literature: All religious literature is subject
to compulsory government censorship. Religious publishing is restricted to
religious groups with 10 registered communities, including at least one
that was in existence in 1982. This requirement is onerous, since 1982 was
during the Soviet period when few religious groups were allowed to operate.
Some members of religious communities continue to be harassed and fined
for“illegally” distributing religious literature. In April 2009, the
government confiscated Unification Church materials to prevent “violations of
human rights and freedoms” and “risks to individual psychological and physical
welfare.” In May 2009, a Baptist was fined $745, the largest known fine for
unregistered religious activity in Belarus, for operating a Christian street
library and ordered to turn the materials over to the state.
The Privileged Status of the Belarusian Orthodox Church: The 2002 religion law recognizes the “definitive role” of the Orthodox Church in the development of Belarusian traditions, and the historic “traditional faiths,” Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, and Evangelical Lutheranism, without mentioning the Old Believers and Calvinist Churches, both of which have roots in Belarus dating to the 17th century. Since he assumed power in 1994, President Lukashenko has discriminated in favor of the Belarusian Orthodox Church (BOC), an Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate Russian Orthodox Church. In June 2003, the Belarus government and the BOC signed a concordat on the Church’s role in public life, thereby further enhancing its privileged position. Despite the concordat, however, BOC instruction has not been introduced into the state education system. In March 2004, the Belarusian government granted the BOC the sole right to use the word “Orthodox” in its title. The Belarusian government has denied registration to several Orthodox churches that do not accept the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate, including the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the True Orthodox Church. Archbishop Jovan of the Holy Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (BAOC), a religious freedom activist, continued to be denied entry into the country in 2009. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad is also denied registration, and in recent years its members have had to pay numerous fines for private worship services. However, despite its privileged status, the BOC also has not been immune from government harassment. Belarusian officials have discouraged the BOC from commemorating those Orthodox Christians killed in Belarus during the Soviet period due to their religion. The Belarusian KGB has tried to convince BOC clergy to remove icons of the Orthodox “New Martyrs” from the city of Grodno cathedral, although the local bishop refused to do so. In addition, KGB officers often monitor visitors to the town of Kuropaty, where New Martyrs are among the mass graves; a BOC chapel planned for the site has never been built.
Religion and Public Education: The religion and education laws specify that the state education system is secular, and that state education institutions can work with registered religious organizations only outside school hours. Belarusian official school textbooks continued to promote intolerance towards religions officially considered “non-traditional” to Belarus. One textbook, a chapter entitled “Beware of Sects” included language about Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Another book labeled Protestants and Hare Krishnas as “sects,” although according to the State Department, the authorities promised to change the language in the next edition.
Restrictions on Foreign Religious Workers: In 2008, Belarus further tightened strict government regulations on foreign religious workers. A government official, the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Nationality Affairs, has the sole discretion to decide whether religious activity by foreign citizens is necessary. In addition, that official is not required to provide reasons for denials of a foreign religious worker’s request to visit. Moreover, there is no avenue for appeal of denials. A foreign religious worker must be invited by a registered religious association. The visa application must include relevant work experience, the timetable and syllabus of the relevant religious educational institution and proof of knowledge of the Belarusian and Russian languages, as well as the proposed dates and reason for the visit. The application procedure for visits by foreign religious workers is usually lengthy and highly bureaucratic. Belarusian authorities continue to question foreign religious workers, humanitarian workers, and local citizens on the sources and uses of their funding. There were also credible reports that foreign religious workers were under surveillance by security personnel. Since 2004, a total of 33 foreigners, about two-thirds of whom are Catholics, have been expelled or have been denied extension of their residence permits due to their religious activities. In January 2010, two Catholic priests who had worked in Belarus for several decades reportedly were ordered by authorities to halt religious activities but were not barred from the country. Furthermore, if foreign citizens have not explicitly stated that they plan to participate in religious activities in Belarus, they can be reprimanded or expelled. In February 2009, two Danish visitors to Belarus were detained by police and banned from the country for one year due to their expressions of “ideas of a religious nature,” in the words of the deportation order. Both were attending—but were not leading—a church service in the city of Gomel.
Government control: In addition to the top-ranking official, the Plenipotentiary for Religious and Ethnic Affairs, each of the country’s six regions employs multiple religious affairs officials, as does Minsk city. Officials from local Ideology Departments and the Belarusian secret police (which proudly retains the Soviet-era designation of KGB) are also involved in religious controls. Religious meetings in private homes must not be regular or large. Houses of worship and any public exercise of religion must have state permission, which is rarely granted for disfavored groups, particularly Protestants. Orthodox and Catholic communities are less affected, partly due to the state’s more positive attitude towards them, but also because they are more likely to occupy historic churches. Unregistered religious activity is usually treated as an administrative offense punished by a fine.
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(2006)
(2014)
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Cuba Revisited: Inevitable Change
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
A historic moment between the US and Cuba took place this weekend at the VII Summit of the Americas when President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro met in person and shook hands. The Summit of the Americas occurs every three years, and offers the opportunity for countries to jointly define a hemispheric agenda at the highest level to address urgent challenges and propel positive change. This year's theme is “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas", within which will be discussed several sub-themes, among them education, health, energy, environment, migration, security, citizen participation and democratic governance. This is the first year that Cuba has been invited to the talks. Last month when President Obama lifted some of the sanctions against Cuba, he stated that enforcing a policy of isolation had not been successful for the past 50 years, so it was time to try something different. The President is hoping that Americans themselves, as they visit and interact with Cuba, will be the best representatives of reform that the US can offer. In many ways, this is the philosophy of Christianity. God calls us to go out into all the world and make disciples, but we are not to do so by force or coercion. Instead, the power of the Spirit of the Living God within us will be a light that draws others to him. The fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives and the peace that surpasses all understanding should sustain us as we face the challenges of life. The hope we have amidst despair will draw in the lost, and we should always be prepared to give the reason for the hope we have; not by our power or strength, but by God's grace. Change is happening in Cuba, and hopefully Christians will be among the first to stand and call for peaceful cooperation despite our differences. Also, as sanctions are lifted, Christians in America should be finding ways to support the church in Cuba. As we go forward this month, let us remember to lift the Christians in Cuba up in prayer and pray that a spirit of revival would come to them as they slowly connect to the outside world.
--------------------------------------------
Cuba
------------------------------------
President Obama Delivers a Statement on Cuba (Dec 17, 2014)
Cuba goes online - BBC News (April 2014)
A new Cuban revolution? (Sept 2013)
10 US-Cuba Relations Facts
A historic moment between the US and Cuba took place this weekend at the VII Summit of the Americas when President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro met in person and shook hands. The Summit of the Americas occurs every three years, and offers the opportunity for countries to jointly define a hemispheric agenda at the highest level to address urgent challenges and propel positive change. This year's theme is “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas", within which will be discussed several sub-themes, among them education, health, energy, environment, migration, security, citizen participation and democratic governance. This is the first year that Cuba has been invited to the talks. Last month when President Obama lifted some of the sanctions against Cuba, he stated that enforcing a policy of isolation had not been successful for the past 50 years, so it was time to try something different. The President is hoping that Americans themselves, as they visit and interact with Cuba, will be the best representatives of reform that the US can offer. In many ways, this is the philosophy of Christianity. God calls us to go out into all the world and make disciples, but we are not to do so by force or coercion. Instead, the power of the Spirit of the Living God within us will be a light that draws others to him. The fruit of the Spirit should be evident in our lives and the peace that surpasses all understanding should sustain us as we face the challenges of life. The hope we have amidst despair will draw in the lost, and we should always be prepared to give the reason for the hope we have; not by our power or strength, but by God's grace. Change is happening in Cuba, and hopefully Christians will be among the first to stand and call for peaceful cooperation despite our differences. Also, as sanctions are lifted, Christians in America should be finding ways to support the church in Cuba. As we go forward this month, let us remember to lift the Christians in Cuba up in prayer and pray that a spirit of revival would come to them as they slowly connect to the outside world.
--------------------------------------------
Cuba
Basic Info: Cuba is the largest island in the
Caribbean, only 90 miles from Florida, and Spanish is the official
language. Lack of many essentials
(including food) still affect the country, but there is a high standard in
literacy (99.8%), education, and health.
Under the Communist regime, education and health care are free. Tourism is becoming more and more
economically important. The government
has only recently allowed people to have email on their phones, but still no
internet. There are about 300 public
internet centers across the country. However, it's expensive. One hour costs
$4.50, which for a state worker is one week's salary. Smart phones are expensive and are mostly
brought into the country by relatives in America. Since the phones don't connect to the
internet, they are full of offline apps like Wikipedia, games, etc.
Economy: Despite receiving economic
assistance from Venezuela, China, and Bolivia, Cuba is among the poorest
countries in the Caribbean. Only Haiti and the Dominican Republic are
poorer. Widespread poverty has led to a
thriving black market where crime, drugs, and prostitution (including sex
tourism) are prolific. The black market
also sells everything from toothpaste and fresh milk to TV shows. However, just a few years ago, some economic
changes were made. Little by little the
government is issuing permits to legalize things that people have been doing/selling
for years. Around 400,000 Cubans are self-employed, but
not all of them declare their incomes or pay taxes. Many people recognize that a top down system
is not sustainable over time. Many state
employed workers have private jobs on the side.
People still use ration books, and prices in the public market are fixed
by the government and cannot be inflated.
Most of the population lives below the poverty line, and power cuts are
frequent. Local farmers are now allowed
to sell their products on the private markets.
The prices are higher, but the quality is better and there are more
choices. New entrepreneurs are opening
businesses and showing signs of capitalism.
However, many things that we consider to be basic commodities are still
outside the reach of the average Cuban.
Government: Cuba gained its independence from
Spain in 1898. Communism came to power
in 1959 when Castro overthrew a corrupt regime.
Cuba remains one of the last countries to have Communism. Fidel Castro
passed along power to his brother, Raul Castro, in 2008. While the country has seen economic reform,
there has been no civil or political change.
Political opposition is still illegal. More than 500,000 people have
been imprisoned for ideological reasons and over 1 million have become
ideological or economic refugees, many in Florida.
US and
Cuba Relations: Since 1960, the US
has had a trade embargo and sanctions against Cuba. This was done in part because of the strained
relationship between Fidel Castro and the US’s support of Batista during the
revolution, Cuba’s close ties with the USSR, and the worry that Communism would
spread to other countries in the Western Hemisphere. Recently, President Obama
has started talks with Cuba and has lifted some sanctions, but the two
countries have been secretly having talks in places like Canada and the Vatican
for the last year. Pope Francis has been
directly involved in normalizing relations between the US and Cuba. Since coming to office, President Obama has
expressed interest in normalizing relations with Cuba. President Obama’s announcement of lifting some
sanctions came after the release of American prisoner Alan Gross. The US also released 3 Cuban intelligence
officers and Cuba released an additional 53 prisoners of conscience. Plans to re-establish diplomatic relations
include opening an embassy in each country.
There is still an embargo on general tourists, but more Americans can
now travel there, such as: Educational groups, Cultural groups, Journalists,
Medical and Religious organizations, and family visits. The President is also lifting restrictions
making it easier for people to send remittances. Additionally, Americans will now be able to
use American credit and debit cards in Cuba, and open accounts. The President has authorized increased telecommunications
connections between the US and Cuba.
Finally, in April, the US will welcome Cuba at the Summit of the
Americas.
Religion: In the earliest years, the
government strictly controlled all church activities and repressed religious
freedom. Since 1990, some restrictions have
improved. Cuba is now a secular state,
and discrimination against Christians is illegal. However, growing churches are seen as a
threat to the stability of the regime.
The regime has officially sanctioned the Cuban Council of Churches,
whose expression of faith is more closely aligned with the revolutionary
ideals. Catholicism was the main religion before the revolution. While the
majority of people claim to be Catholic, many churches are full of syncretism.
Less than 10% attend mass. Evangelical
churches lost many of its congregation when people immigrated to the US, but it’s
been steadily growing. Hostility has
caused believers to rely on God, and it shows in their prayer life,
individually and corporately. Despite
having limited access to resources (if the church is not aligned with the
government) the church has found innovative and bold ways to minister to its
people. Christians see no conflict
between their faith and being Cuban. Between 1995 and 2010, Protestants have
more than doubled, and many new believers are young people. The government continues to harass and
discriminate against believers. The
regime fears the Church will undermine their authority, like many churches in
Eastern Europe and China have done with Communism in their countries. The government has made it almost impossible
to build new church buildings, but house churches have thrived. Historically, informers have infiltrated
congregations and reported on their activities.
This has caused churches to have more stringent criteria for baptism and
membership. The result has been a
congregation that is more mature and committed, but at the same time
distrustful and suspicious. Many leaders of the church fled after the
revolution, and those who stayed have suffered much. Cuba has a dozen evangelical seminaries/Bible
schools and 2 that are Catholic, but enrollment is limited due to government
interference and a lack of materials.
The government actively supports spiritism as “cultural”. There may be more than 3 million followers of
Santeria and other cults similar to voodoo.
Some critical needs are more Bibles and worship leaders. The state appointed Council of Churches must
approve all Bible translations, which makes getting a good translation harder. Many Christians have a hard time getting a
Bible. Music is an integral part of
Cuban culture and identity. There is a
great need to train Christian musicians and worship leaders.
Info from Operation
World “Cuba” and videos from the blog page.
------------------------------------
President Obama Delivers a Statement on Cuba (Dec 17, 2014)
Cuba goes online - BBC News (April 2014)
A new Cuban revolution? (Sept 2013)
10 US-Cuba Relations Facts
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Colombia Revisited: Spreading Peace
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” -Jimmi Hendrix
Colombia is on the verge of a transformation. For decades, war has ravaged the country side where guerrilla fighters and drug cartels have fought to maintain their territory inside this unstable country. The people who have perhaps suffered the most are the Christians, as they try to speak love and peace to both sides of this armed conflict. Unfortunately, they are often caught in the middle, and sometimes directly targeted for their faith since they refuse to take up arms and fight. Despite severe persecution, the church has grown exponentially. Some evangelical churches have grown 1,000 fold over the last two decades! Prayer nights in the cities of Medellin and Cali have attracted more than 45,000 people each and show great unity among believers. Peace talks between the Colombian government and rebel groups have continued for 2 years with great promise. Rebel groups are disbanding and many civilians are calling for peace within their country. It is possible that an official cease fire will happen in the near future. This would open up vast territories for Christians to minister and plant churches. As we pray for Colombia this month, let us thank God for the faithful witness of the Christians there. Let us pray that Christians will lead the way in extending peace and showing forgiveness as the nation tries to heal and reunite after decades of conflict and death.
-----------------------------
Colombia
Basic Information: Colombia is slightly less than twice the size of Texas and is located on the northwestern tip of South America. The Colombian government has for nearly 5 decades been engaged in armed conflict with anti-government insurgent groups like The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and has struggled with the illegal drug trade. Violence has decreased in recent years due to the demobilization of FARC and a decline in drug production and trafficking. Colombia is rich in natural resources and is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet. It has over 500 rivers, and some of the richest soil in the world, but has struggled with commercial exploitation of its forests. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties. President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon was elected in June 2010 after rising to prominence during the administration of his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe Velez, and was re-elected in 2014. Santos has made seeking an enduring cease-fire with FARC a cornerstone of his presidency.
War: The war that has been going on for 50 years began as an ideological difference. The leftist FARC wanted to overthrow the capitalist government and set up a Communist government. Then in response to that movement, right wing land owners hired their own paramilitary groups to protect their property from the guerrillas. In the 1990's, both the guerrillas and paramilitary groups became involved in drug trafficking and started targeting civilians. Now the conflict is no longer about ideology as much as it is about territory and power. Colombia is the world's largest supplier of cocaine, and it supplies 90% of the cocaine sold in the United States. FARC's main source of funding is the illegal drug trade. Statistics say that more than 220,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict, and 80% have been civilians. This does not include the victims who have been injured or maimed. FARC has buried thousands of land mines in civilian areas. Since 1990, there have been over 10,000 land mine victims in Colombia, the second-most in the world behind Afghanistan. But not all of these deaths can be blamed on FARC. In the past 3 decades, half of the massacres that have occurred were perpetrated by paramilitary groups. However, more than 31,000 former paramilitaries demobilized by the end of 2006 and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia as a formal organization had ceased to function. Though in the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, emerging criminal groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. The capital city of Bogota has an alleged 1,300 gangs that are active in the city. The hope is that a permanent settlement with the FARC will allow the security forces to concentrate on combating the drug and gang threat and protecting the civilian population rather than fighting a protracted battle with FARC rebels. Colombia has one of the highest number of internally displaced people in the world, at 3.7 million. Also 380,000 refugees have fled the country entirely. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its administrative departments.
Peace Negotiations: Since November 2012, the Colombian government and FARC guerrilla leaders have been conducting peace talks in Havana, Cuba. A cease fire was not called during this time, but both groups agreed not to let the fighting in Colombia disrupt the peace talks in Cuba. In December 2014, FARC guerrillas declared an indefinite cessation of hostilities. In response, on January 15th, 2015, President Santos said his government was ready to start talks on a bilateral cease fire agreement. During that time, they have reached agreements on three key topics: land reform (economic andsocial development of rural areas and the provision of land to poor farmers), the rebels' political participation should a peace deal be reached, and the illegal drug trade (all illicit drug production will be eliminated). The issues yet to be resolved are: the rights of the victims of the conflict, the disarmament of the rebels
and last but not least, how all the agreed points will be implemented. Both sides say they committed to seeing this process through. Cuba and Norway are acting as guarantors. Experts are worried that many low level fighters in the guerrillas were recruited as children and have known no other life than one of war and violence. This puts them at risk of joining criminal gangs instead of reintegrating into society. Also, middle ranking fighters who have been involved in the drug trafficking may be lured by high profits into drug cartels if the FARC disbands.
Religion: In 1991, freedom of religion became law in Colombia and evangelical churches began to appear all over the country. They had been prohibited previously. However, according to Open Doors International, more pastors have been killed in Colombia than in any other democratic nation. This is due to the fighting and the violence between the guerrillas and paramilitary groups. Russell Stendal is the American missionary who was held captive by FARC guerrillas and has continued to minister in Colombia for decades. (He also wrote the book "Rescue the Captors".) In an interview, he said that the Paez tribe is one of the largest tribes in Colombia and that the Gospel is growing the most among this tribe despite harsh persecution. He has been able to help some of the Christian refugee camps to set up their own tribal radio station. Christian radio stations allow for Christians to receive comfort and teaching in areas where it is too dangerous to meet together. After saving the lives of some guerrillas, Russell was invited into a restricted area and allowed to set up a transmitter. Solar powered radios are distributed and most are parachuted into guerrilla controlled territory. Around 120,000 radios have been distributed. Russell believes that around 100,000 guerrillas have become Christians. VOM supports a prison ministry, provides a safe house for the families of slain pastors, provides tools to evangelists who serve in hostile areas, and distributes Bibles and Christian literature.
Information compiled from BBC News "Q & A Peace Talks", VOM US and Canada.
--------------------------------
Colombia: Gospel of Peace (2014)
Radio Broadcast Offer Salvation for Colombians (2011)
Parachutes Deliver Hope to the Colombian Jungle (2011)
Colombia: In Search of a New Home (December 2013)
Colombia's Hidden Killers Part I (July 2013)
Part II
Colombia's Resurgence (2014)
Colombia is on the verge of a transformation. For decades, war has ravaged the country side where guerrilla fighters and drug cartels have fought to maintain their territory inside this unstable country. The people who have perhaps suffered the most are the Christians, as they try to speak love and peace to both sides of this armed conflict. Unfortunately, they are often caught in the middle, and sometimes directly targeted for their faith since they refuse to take up arms and fight. Despite severe persecution, the church has grown exponentially. Some evangelical churches have grown 1,000 fold over the last two decades! Prayer nights in the cities of Medellin and Cali have attracted more than 45,000 people each and show great unity among believers. Peace talks between the Colombian government and rebel groups have continued for 2 years with great promise. Rebel groups are disbanding and many civilians are calling for peace within their country. It is possible that an official cease fire will happen in the near future. This would open up vast territories for Christians to minister and plant churches. As we pray for Colombia this month, let us thank God for the faithful witness of the Christians there. Let us pray that Christians will lead the way in extending peace and showing forgiveness as the nation tries to heal and reunite after decades of conflict and death.
-----------------------------
Colombia
Basic Information: Colombia is slightly less than twice the size of Texas and is located on the northwestern tip of South America. The Colombian government has for nearly 5 decades been engaged in armed conflict with anti-government insurgent groups like The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and has struggled with the illegal drug trade. Violence has decreased in recent years due to the demobilization of FARC and a decline in drug production and trafficking. Colombia is rich in natural resources and is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet. It has over 500 rivers, and some of the richest soil in the world, but has struggled with commercial exploitation of its forests. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties. President Juan Manuel Santos Calderon was elected in June 2010 after rising to prominence during the administration of his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe Velez, and was re-elected in 2014. Santos has made seeking an enduring cease-fire with FARC a cornerstone of his presidency.
War: The war that has been going on for 50 years began as an ideological difference. The leftist FARC wanted to overthrow the capitalist government and set up a Communist government. Then in response to that movement, right wing land owners hired their own paramilitary groups to protect their property from the guerrillas. In the 1990's, both the guerrillas and paramilitary groups became involved in drug trafficking and started targeting civilians. Now the conflict is no longer about ideology as much as it is about territory and power. Colombia is the world's largest supplier of cocaine, and it supplies 90% of the cocaine sold in the United States. FARC's main source of funding is the illegal drug trade. Statistics say that more than 220,000 people have been killed since the start of the conflict, and 80% have been civilians. This does not include the victims who have been injured or maimed. FARC has buried thousands of land mines in civilian areas. Since 1990, there have been over 10,000 land mine victims in Colombia, the second-most in the world behind Afghanistan. But not all of these deaths can be blamed on FARC. In the past 3 decades, half of the massacres that have occurred were perpetrated by paramilitary groups. However, more than 31,000 former paramilitaries demobilized by the end of 2006 and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia as a formal organization had ceased to function. Though in the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, emerging criminal groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. The capital city of Bogota has an alleged 1,300 gangs that are active in the city. The hope is that a permanent settlement with the FARC will allow the security forces to concentrate on combating the drug and gang threat and protecting the civilian population rather than fighting a protracted battle with FARC rebels. Colombia has one of the highest number of internally displaced people in the world, at 3.7 million. Also 380,000 refugees have fled the country entirely. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its administrative departments.
Peace Negotiations: Since November 2012, the Colombian government and FARC guerrilla leaders have been conducting peace talks in Havana, Cuba. A cease fire was not called during this time, but both groups agreed not to let the fighting in Colombia disrupt the peace talks in Cuba. In December 2014, FARC guerrillas declared an indefinite cessation of hostilities. In response, on January 15th, 2015, President Santos said his government was ready to start talks on a bilateral cease fire agreement. During that time, they have reached agreements on three key topics: land reform (economic and
Religion: In 1991, freedom of religion became law in Colombia and evangelical churches began to appear all over the country. They had been prohibited previously. However, according to Open Doors International, more pastors have been killed in Colombia than in any other democratic nation. This is due to the fighting and the violence between the guerrillas and paramilitary groups. Russell Stendal is the American missionary who was held captive by FARC guerrillas and has continued to minister in Colombia for decades. (He also wrote the book "Rescue the Captors".) In an interview, he said that the Paez tribe is one of the largest tribes in Colombia and that the Gospel is growing the most among this tribe despite harsh persecution. He has been able to help some of the Christian refugee camps to set up their own tribal radio station. Christian radio stations allow for Christians to receive comfort and teaching in areas where it is too dangerous to meet together. After saving the lives of some guerrillas, Russell was invited into a restricted area and allowed to set up a transmitter. Solar powered radios are distributed and most are parachuted into guerrilla controlled territory. Around 120,000 radios have been distributed. Russell believes that around 100,000 guerrillas have become Christians. VOM supports a prison ministry, provides a safe house for the families of slain pastors, provides tools to evangelists who serve in hostile areas, and distributes Bibles and Christian literature.
Information compiled from BBC News "Q & A Peace Talks", VOM US and Canada.
--------------------------------
Colombia: Gospel of Peace (2014)
Radio Broadcast Offer Salvation for Colombians (2011)
Parachutes Deliver Hope to the Colombian Jungle (2011)
Colombia: In Search of a New Home (December 2013)
Colombia's Hidden Killers Part I (July 2013)
Part II
Colombia's Resurgence (2014)
Sunday, January 4, 2015
North Korea Revisited: Light in the Darkness
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -John 1:5
In the Western world, North Korea is known as a mysterious, illusive, and dangerous place. They are powerful and intimidating, with the rest of the world teetering between appeasement and sanctions. They have the fourth largest standing army on the planet, with more than 1.1 million soldiers. They also have the largest contingent of special forces in the world. Yet for a country so mighty in power, they seem to fear one thing above all others...Christians. It is not enough to execute or send to a concentration camp anyone found guilty of being a Christian. No, everyone in the family is sent; children, grandparents, all three generations. I don't think any country on earth has ever done more to eradicate Christianity than North Korea. Which makes the story of the Bae family that much more miraculous. "These Are the Generations" is the story of the 'Bae' family and how they lived out their Christian faith in the darkest part of the world under impossible circumstances for three generations. At one time it was believed that there were no Christians in North Korea outside of the concentration camps, but the Bae family have proven otherwise. They are part of the remnant that God preserved by His grace who have not bowed before the idols of this world. May we draw strength from their example and learn to shine the light of our faith, where ever we are, no matter how dark it may be.
-----------------------------------------
North Korea
Basic Info: North Korea is a little smaller than North Carolina, and about 70% of the country is mountainous. It is divided from South Korea by the Demilitarized Zone since the end of the Korean War, and is considered one of the most impenetrable barriers in the world. Since the Korean War never officially ended, any North Korean defectors who make it to South Korea are immediately recognized as citizens. As a closed nation, 99.8% of the population is Korean. Also, the government prides itself on racial and ethnic purity. Even Korean immigrants from places like China (people who left Korea under Japanese occupation) are considered 'bad people' and are excluded from public care. The government does not allot them much land or work, and closely monitors their movements. People with 'mixed' blood are called 'dirty'. People are not allowed to travel freely about the country. Anyone who wants to travel must have a travel document, like an internal passport. It can take months to get and cost $100 or more a person. There are guard posts and check points stationed throughout the nation. In order to host anyone from a different town or village, both parties must submit a visitation request and get approval ahead of time. There are 70 bronze statues of Kim Il-Sung with a worth totaling over $1 billion, and tens of thousands of other monuments, towers, and figures spread throughout the country. Throughout the years, different nations have issued economics sanctions against North Korea due to their military aggressiveness. However, these sanctions have little to no impact because about 80% of their economy is underground. They make a billion dollars a year from money laundering and and trafficking in illegal drugs. Weapon sales are not even included in that figure and North Korea is the world's number one seller of missiles. However, much of that money is kept in the inner circle of the Kim family and their close supporters and is not seen by the rest of the population. Also that money is spent on military expenditures and trying to become a nuclear power. The country is heavily dependent on economic aide, especially since food shortages are common. The mountainous region is almost impossible to farm, but it is rich in minerals. They are dug up and sold to Russia or China as raw ore because there are not the necessary facilities to refine it within the country.
Government/Ideology: The entire system is set up around the Kim family and the Juche ideology. Juche means 'self-reliance'. Every week 100% of the North Korean population has to gather together in special building for worshipful services called self-criticism meetings. At these meetings, Koreans sing from a hymnal containing 600 songs of praise glorifying Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. In 1998, North Korea attempted to launch a satellite into orbit to broadcast all Juche hymns all the time, but it fell back to earth. The trinity is present in the Kim family with Kim Il Sung, his wife, and his son Kim Jong Il. Kim Il Sung is the original Kim, and he died in 1994, but North Koreans continue to call him the country's president and regard him as immortal, the god of North Korea. Children even pray to him and believe that he answers them. People in North Korea pray by looking up reverently at the picture of the Kim dynasty leaders that have to be hung on the best wall of every home. (Christians in North Korea cannot bow their heads or close their eyes to pray, or else they will end up in jail or a concentration camp.) As for Kim Jong Il, they say a star appeared overhead when he was born into a humble log cabin in the snowy midwinter. Even after the death of Jong Il, he is still greatly venerated. His son Kim Jong Un is in power now.
History/Religion: Christianity was introduced into North Korea earlier than in South Korea. Just over a 100 years ago, Pyongyang was the site of a revival so large it was known as the "Jerusalem of the East". The revival occurred in January 1907 during a prayer meeting at the largest church in Korea, the First Church of Pyongyang. The missionary William Blair called it the "Korean Pentecost. By 1941, about 300,000 North Koreans identified themselves as Christians. When the Japanese invaded Korea during WWII, many Christians, under the advice of their pastors, did bow at the Japanese Shinto shrines. Not every church did however, and those who resisted were persecuted. After the war, when Korea was divided in half, Christians in the northern province resisted Communism under the Soviet Union. The government first confiscated Christians' finances by the 1946 Land Reform Act. Then in 1949, Kim Il Sung, arrested everyone who attended religious activities. Churches were either demolished or repurposed as Kim Il Sung research centers. Christians who did not flee South were purged as counterrevolutionaries, publicly executed, or imprisoned in labor and concentration camps. In 1959, the government released anti-Christian literature saying Christians were in league with the hated Americans who were at fault for the Chosun War and all the massacres and plunder that had occurred. The Christian church went underground, but not like the underground church in China. The church was not formally organized or networked. There was no pastoral training or oversight. The majority worshiped in secret with only family members present. Parents could not even share their faith with their children, or else the children would be tricked into revealing their Christian identity to the public school teachers. In the early 1980's, the government opened it's first fake church to deceive foreigners into thinking that Christians could still practice their faith. A small group of state trained actors sang hymns, and staged Christmas and Easter celebrations. In the 1990's, ethnic Koreans living in China began going into North Korea to share the Gospel. Then during the March of Tribulation (the great famine) hundreds of thousands of North Koreans escaped to China and Russia where they were told to look for a building with a cross on it. There, Christian missionaries led them to faith in Christ. These Christians returning to North Korea were arrested under the charge of espionage and were either publicly executed or sent to concentration camps. Today, Kim Jong Un is sending out around 40,000 workers to over 40 different countries to bring in remittances. The chances of these workers hearing the Gospel has greatly increased, but they still cannot openly admit their faith. There are about 23,000 North Korean refugees in South Korea. Reliable estimates show that there are around 100,000 underground Christians inside North Korea, but some suggest up to 400,000. There are an estimated 30,000 Christians in concentration camps. North Korea has been listed as the number one persecutor of Christians on the Open Doors Watch List since 2002.
Missions: 1) Radio- Many South Korean Christian broadcasts reach far into North Korea, but most radios are pre-tuned to government stations. Smuggled radios are making their way into the country. Also, the language is not identical. There is about a 40% divergence between North and South Korean dialects. 2) Bibles, the Gospels, and tracts- These are smuggled into the country in various ways as well as floated in by balloons from South Korea. Smugglers are likely to be executed if caught. A North Korean dialect of the Bible is being worked on. 3) Korean Christians from China- Korea is open to Chinese businessmen. Their easy access to the country can be very strategic.
Information compiled from "These Are the Generations" by VOM and Operation World "Korea, North".
------------------------------------------
Life as a North Korean Defector (May 2014)
In the Western world, North Korea is known as a mysterious, illusive, and dangerous place. They are powerful and intimidating, with the rest of the world teetering between appeasement and sanctions. They have the fourth largest standing army on the planet, with more than 1.1 million soldiers. They also have the largest contingent of special forces in the world. Yet for a country so mighty in power, they seem to fear one thing above all others...Christians. It is not enough to execute or send to a concentration camp anyone found guilty of being a Christian. No, everyone in the family is sent; children, grandparents, all three generations. I don't think any country on earth has ever done more to eradicate Christianity than North Korea. Which makes the story of the Bae family that much more miraculous. "These Are the Generations" is the story of the 'Bae' family and how they lived out their Christian faith in the darkest part of the world under impossible circumstances for three generations. At one time it was believed that there were no Christians in North Korea outside of the concentration camps, but the Bae family have proven otherwise. They are part of the remnant that God preserved by His grace who have not bowed before the idols of this world. May we draw strength from their example and learn to shine the light of our faith, where ever we are, no matter how dark it may be.
-----------------------------------------
North Korea
Basic Info: North Korea is a little smaller than North Carolina, and about 70% of the country is mountainous. It is divided from South Korea by the Demilitarized Zone since the end of the Korean War, and is considered one of the most impenetrable barriers in the world. Since the Korean War never officially ended, any North Korean defectors who make it to South Korea are immediately recognized as citizens. As a closed nation, 99.8% of the population is Korean. Also, the government prides itself on racial and ethnic purity. Even Korean immigrants from places like China (people who left Korea under Japanese occupation) are considered 'bad people' and are excluded from public care. The government does not allot them much land or work, and closely monitors their movements. People with 'mixed' blood are called 'dirty'. People are not allowed to travel freely about the country. Anyone who wants to travel must have a travel document, like an internal passport. It can take months to get and cost $100 or more a person. There are guard posts and check points stationed throughout the nation. In order to host anyone from a different town or village, both parties must submit a visitation request and get approval ahead of time. There are 70 bronze statues of Kim Il-Sung with a worth totaling over $1 billion, and tens of thousands of other monuments, towers, and figures spread throughout the country. Throughout the years, different nations have issued economics sanctions against North Korea due to their military aggressiveness. However, these sanctions have little to no impact because about 80% of their economy is underground. They make a billion dollars a year from money laundering and and trafficking in illegal drugs. Weapon sales are not even included in that figure and North Korea is the world's number one seller of missiles. However, much of that money is kept in the inner circle of the Kim family and their close supporters and is not seen by the rest of the population. Also that money is spent on military expenditures and trying to become a nuclear power. The country is heavily dependent on economic aide, especially since food shortages are common. The mountainous region is almost impossible to farm, but it is rich in minerals. They are dug up and sold to Russia or China as raw ore because there are not the necessary facilities to refine it within the country.
Government/Ideology: The entire system is set up around the Kim family and the Juche ideology. Juche means 'self-reliance'. Every week 100% of the North Korean population has to gather together in special building for worshipful services called self-criticism meetings. At these meetings, Koreans sing from a hymnal containing 600 songs of praise glorifying Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. In 1998, North Korea attempted to launch a satellite into orbit to broadcast all Juche hymns all the time, but it fell back to earth. The trinity is present in the Kim family with Kim Il Sung, his wife, and his son Kim Jong Il. Kim Il Sung is the original Kim, and he died in 1994, but North Koreans continue to call him the country's president and regard him as immortal, the god of North Korea. Children even pray to him and believe that he answers them. People in North Korea pray by looking up reverently at the picture of the Kim dynasty leaders that have to be hung on the best wall of every home. (Christians in North Korea cannot bow their heads or close their eyes to pray, or else they will end up in jail or a concentration camp.) As for Kim Jong Il, they say a star appeared overhead when he was born into a humble log cabin in the snowy midwinter. Even after the death of Jong Il, he is still greatly venerated. His son Kim Jong Un is in power now.
History/Religion: Christianity was introduced into North Korea earlier than in South Korea. Just over a 100 years ago, Pyongyang was the site of a revival so large it was known as the "Jerusalem of the East". The revival occurred in January 1907 during a prayer meeting at the largest church in Korea, the First Church of Pyongyang. The missionary William Blair called it the "Korean Pentecost. By 1941, about 300,000 North Koreans identified themselves as Christians. When the Japanese invaded Korea during WWII, many Christians, under the advice of their pastors, did bow at the Japanese Shinto shrines. Not every church did however, and those who resisted were persecuted. After the war, when Korea was divided in half, Christians in the northern province resisted Communism under the Soviet Union. The government first confiscated Christians' finances by the 1946 Land Reform Act. Then in 1949, Kim Il Sung, arrested everyone who attended religious activities. Churches were either demolished or repurposed as Kim Il Sung research centers. Christians who did not flee South were purged as counterrevolutionaries, publicly executed, or imprisoned in labor and concentration camps. In 1959, the government released anti-Christian literature saying Christians were in league with the hated Americans who were at fault for the Chosun War and all the massacres and plunder that had occurred. The Christian church went underground, but not like the underground church in China. The church was not formally organized or networked. There was no pastoral training or oversight. The majority worshiped in secret with only family members present. Parents could not even share their faith with their children, or else the children would be tricked into revealing their Christian identity to the public school teachers. In the early 1980's, the government opened it's first fake church to deceive foreigners into thinking that Christians could still practice their faith. A small group of state trained actors sang hymns, and staged Christmas and Easter celebrations. In the 1990's, ethnic Koreans living in China began going into North Korea to share the Gospel. Then during the March of Tribulation (the great famine) hundreds of thousands of North Koreans escaped to China and Russia where they were told to look for a building with a cross on it. There, Christian missionaries led them to faith in Christ. These Christians returning to North Korea were arrested under the charge of espionage and were either publicly executed or sent to concentration camps. Today, Kim Jong Un is sending out around 40,000 workers to over 40 different countries to bring in remittances. The chances of these workers hearing the Gospel has greatly increased, but they still cannot openly admit their faith. There are about 23,000 North Korean refugees in South Korea. Reliable estimates show that there are around 100,000 underground Christians inside North Korea, but some suggest up to 400,000. There are an estimated 30,000 Christians in concentration camps. North Korea has been listed as the number one persecutor of Christians on the Open Doors Watch List since 2002.
Missions: 1) Radio- Many South Korean Christian broadcasts reach far into North Korea, but most radios are pre-tuned to government stations. Smuggled radios are making their way into the country. Also, the language is not identical. There is about a 40% divergence between North and South Korean dialects. 2) Bibles, the Gospels, and tracts- These are smuggled into the country in various ways as well as floated in by balloons from South Korea. Smugglers are likely to be executed if caught. A North Korean dialect of the Bible is being worked on. 3) Korean Christians from China- Korea is open to Chinese businessmen. Their easy access to the country can be very strategic.
Information compiled from "These Are the Generations" by VOM and Operation World "Korea, North".
------------------------------------------
North Korea has the deadliest level of Christian persecution in the world(Feb 2012)
Secret Worship: N. Korea Defector Tells of Survival - CBN.com
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