Religious Liberty Prayer List – No. 110 – Thu 29 Mar 2001

WELCOME to the 13 intercessors who have joined the list this month.

DURING MARCH WE PRAYED FOR:

* believers who suffer in ‘closed’ countries, where it is difficult to get religious liberty monitors in, and where poverty and a lack of communications make it difficult to get information out. We looked at the recent Open Doors World Watch List of persecuting nations and noted that in many such nations Christians suffer severe persecution, yet we rarely hear of it. Continue to pray for the church in Maldives, Tunisia, Comoro Islands, North Korea, Afghanistan…

* peace initiatives in Maluku to be blessed by God. We also noted that the Laskar Jihad continues to be the main threat to peace.

UPDATE – In horrifying articles during March, several sources attested to the pervasive culture of violence that has afflicted Maluku. Continue to pray that the work of the ‘peacemakers’ will transcend the provocation of violence.

* the Kazakhstan Protestant Forum (27-29 March), when several Christian bodies (including a ministry specialising in human rights law) conferred with the government. Please keep praying for its outcome, with several nearby governments also present.

OTHER ISSUES ARISING IN MARCH:

* SRI LANKA

Persecution is on the rise in Sri Lanka. On Sunday 18 February a church in Hingurangoda district, 125 miles northeast of Colombo, was attacked by some 100 Buddhist extremists wielding swords and iron rods. Three worshippers were seriously injured and another 35 wounded. On Sunday 4 March, a mob of Hindu extremists attacked worshippers in Hangurnaketha. On 6 March the ‘India Abroad News Service’ published extremist Buddhist propaganda claims that ‘foreign and local Christian evangelical organisations’ were converting villagers in remote areas using ‘unethical, coercive and sometimes barbaric methods’. On 15 March the Hingurakgoda worship hall was torched. Around 600 Buddhist extremists then marched, calling for the closure of this ministry in Hingurakgoda. The government has condemned the violence.

* TURKMENISTAN

Shagildy Atakov is a 39-year-old ethnic Turkmen recent believer, Baptist lay preacher, married father of 5 young children. He was arrested in 1998 after he refused to refrain from his preaching and bold witness. He declined an amnesty in January 2001 as it involved swearing on the Qur’an an oath of loyalty to the Turkmenistan president. He has since suffered a heart attack and been close to death due to severe beating, medical neglect and forced treatment with psychotropic drugs. On 1 March, Shagildy was transferred from the prison hospital back to the Seydy labour camp punishment cell. Then on 23 March he was moved right across the country to an ‘enclosed’ prison in Turkmenbashi, with no outside contact. The KNB (formerly KGB) are placing extreme pressure on Shagildy’s wife, Artygyul, to return to Islam, even threatening to confiscate her home if believers continue to meet there.

* LAOS

During March, WEF RLC received a report from South East Asia confirming that 31 Christians are in prison in Laos for their faith and witness. Prison conditions are appalling, with prisoners held in chains or stocks with little food or sanitation. The Laotian government is campaigning aggressively to eradicate the Christian Church which it describes as an enemy of the state. It is coercing believers systematically to sign forms renouncing their faith, with severe penalties for non-compliance. In some provinces, all known Christian meeting places have now been closed, leaving thousands of believers with nowhere to meet openly and legally. This persecution has increased markedly over the past year, seemingly with no relief in sight as the Laotian Communist regime is firmly entrenched.

(PLEASE USE ANY OF THE ABOVE AS A BULLETIN ITEM)

IN ALL THESE SITUATIONS PLEASE PRAY FOR:

* threatened believers to be kept safe physically, emotionally and spiritually.

* successful international advocacy and diplomatic pressure to release prisoners and bring freedom to those oppressed.

* fruitful witness to the persecutors, and for those who suffer to have the gift of forgiveness.

‘But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ amongst those who are being saved and those who are perishing.’ 2 Cor 2:14,15.

—————————————————- Please pass this along to others with attribution to World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) Religious Liberty Prayer List <> —————————————————-

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

RL Prayer is moderated by Ron Clough, a commissioner of the WEF RLC and convenor of the Australian EA RLC. Elizabeth Kendal researched and compiled this message.

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