AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * A BACKGROUND BRIEFING TO PAKISTAN'S INTERNAL PROBLEMS * TWO AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS TRAPPED INSIDE CHINA AS AUTHORITIES SHUTDOWN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES * DROUGHT-PLAGUED STATES IN AMERICA FIGHT OVER WATER * US SENATE PROBE TARGETS TELEVANGELISTS * SPIRITUAL BOMB HITS FIJI * AL-QAEDA GROOMING CHILDREN TO ATTACK BRITAIN ----------------------------------------------- A BACKGROUND BRIEFING TO PAKISTAN'S INTERNAL PROBLEMS Persecution of Christians has long been intense right across Pakistan's highly Islamised and Talibanised North West Frontier Province (NWFP). However Islamic zeal, intolerance and belligerence has escalated dramatically over recent years as the Pakistan Army has been engaged in an unpopular war against Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Heavy troop losses and plummeting morale has led President Musharraf to strike "peace deals" with Taliban and al-Qaeda affiliates in several regions of NWFP. South Waziristan was ceded to Taliban and al-Qaeda control in February 2005 and North Waziristan was ceded in September 2006. Since then the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance has been able to freely consolidate, strategise, recruit, and expand their zone of influence. This year the government signed similar "peace deals" (surrenders) in the NWFP tribal agencies of Bajaur and Mahmoud, as well as Swat district. In all areas under Taliban and al-Qaeda control everything "non-Islamic" is being violently opposed. Whilst the "peace deals" have provided peace for the government and liberty for the Taliban and al-Qaeda, they have brought unprecedented persecution for Christians and all other non-Islamists. Government troops recently stormed the radical Red Mosque in Islamabad. In response, the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance in Waziristan terminated its "peace agreement" with the government and resumed terrorist actions against the Pakistan Army. The Taliban and al-Qaeda appear to be waging an insurgency that is aimed at expanding their control throughout NWFP on their way to Islamabad. Asma Jahangir, Chairperson of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission said "The NWFP presents a disturbing picture of religious militancy that is increasingly manifesting itself in vigilante actions against the population, creating widespread fear. The government has chosen to look the other way when the militants have blown up girls' schools and video shops, threatened teachers, students, doctors, nurses, NGO workers and barbers." Swat district fell under Taliban control when the government struck a "peace deal" with the militants in May 2007. Violence intensified in the Swat valley after the signing of the agreement. Militants who had been consumed with battling the Pakistan Army were freed-up to wage a violent campaign of forced Islamisation across the district: eliminating all practice they deem non-Islamic. Swat Valley is home to around 1,000 Christians, a tiny and vulnerable minority amongst 1.5 million Muslims. Asma Jahangir said that in Swat Valley the education department has asked girls to comply with Taliban demands and wear burqas to school after threats from militants. Jahangir adds that the only Christian missionary school in the area had shut down after receiving threats. Jahangir also reports that security forces have been abandoning their posts after coming under consistent militant attack, leaving people at the mercy of the militants. The "peace deal" signed in Swat in May was scrapped on Friday 21 September when Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked cleric Maulana Fazlullah, announced he was terminating his agreement with the government. Fazlullah's army of some 4,500 militants immediately resumed violence and terrorism, including suicide bombings, against the Pakistan Army. On Wednesday 24 October, the interim caretaker government of the NWFP deployed more than 2,000 paramilitary troops, police and helicopter gunships into Swat Valley "to provide security to the people" and "negotiate" with the militants. On 25 October a powerful bomb blast destroyed an army vehicle travelling through Swat's main town, killing around 30 people including 17 soldiers. Fazlullah's madrassa-stronghold came under heavy attack on Friday 26 October. Fazlullah retaliated by kidnapping six security personnel (3 soldiers and 3 police) and seven civilians whom he accused of being government spies. While some remain missing, others were publicly executed and their decapitated heads were reportedly put on display in a local bazaar. In those areas of NWFP where the government has ceded control to the Taliban, Christians are not only facing unprecedented persecution and forced Islamisation, they are now on the frontline of a battle for Pakistan -- a life and death battle with high-stakes, being waged between the government and the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance. This will push persecution amidst insecurity to unprecedented levels. Thousands are reportedly fleeing the area. The battle for Pakistan commenced with the government conquest of the Red Mosque on 10 July 2007. The al-Qaeda insurgency, which is administered from the Waziristans and aimed at Islamabad, is casting a very dark shadow and sending ill winds sweeping across all Pakistan. Religious liberty and the security of Pakistan's Christians hangs in the balance. Short and medium-term prospects are bleak. Please pray for the Christians of Pakistan. Source: Elizabeth Kendal World Evangelic Alliance R.L. Commission ----------------------------------------------- TWO AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS TRAPPED INSIDE CHINA AS AUTHORITIES SHUTDOWN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES In an unprecedented move against a foreign-owned firm in China, a large Australian company has been raided and attacked by various Chinese government agencies in Guangdong province since August of this year. Mr and Mrs Daniel and Eliza Ng are Australian citizens whose company has been raided by Chinese authorities. The two owners of the Enoch Group were even put under house arrest from October 12 to 25, 2007. Their cell phones were confiscated and they were not allowed to go out of their house. China Aid Association (CAA) says that after intensive investigation and interviews with both the leaders of the company and some government officials in Guangdong province, China Aid learned that the move to shut down the company and freeze the nearly 100 million Yuan ($13 million) in assets and patents, is purely politically motivated. High level government sources told CAA that some of the central government leaders were upset that the Enoch Group has hired a large number of Chinese Christians. The Chinese leaders suspect that the Enoch Group uses its company motto, "love, peace, joy and faithfulness" to promote Christianity. Sources said the rather harsh tactic made against Enoch Group is to send a strong warning signal to other foreign businesses in China owned by Christians. The Enoch group is a well-established ecological company which produces environmentally related products. Mr. and Mrs. Ng are both naturalized Australian citizens, who immigrated from Hong Kong. Enoch group has branches in Australia, Hong Kong and mainland China. The office and factories of the Enoch Group were first raided by a large group of government agents from the Public Security Bureau, Business Management Bureau on August 21. CAA says more than three dozen employees were interrogated like criminals and some were even beaten and detained for hours in the district police station. Valuable company assets including 50 computers, cheque books and sensitive company product formulas were confiscated. On September 13, the government froze both the company's and the Ng's personal assets. On September 22, the Ng's were barred from travelling to Hong Kong from mainland China. On October 12, they were formally put under house arrest with charges of "illegal business management and tax evasion. Plainclothes police are posted on round-the- clock surveillance outside the Ng's house. After 13 days of having their home under siege and subsisting on food randomly provided to them by their guards, a chief police officer came to their home. The Ng's protested the situation to him, requesting permission to leave their home to obtain food. On October 25, they were given permission to leave their home with restrictions of travel. Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Ng have filed petitions and appeals to various Guangdong province officials and the Australian Consulate. So far, they have received no response. "This is clearly a case of religious persecution under the guise of trumped up charges," said CAA's Bob Fu, who has personally known Mr. and Mrs. Ng since 1995. "International investors should be alarmed by the blatant violation of the rule of law in the way this case is being handled." Source: Assist News Service ----------------------------------------------- DROUGHT-PLAGUED STATES IN AMERICA FIGHT OVER WATER The prolonged drought gripping the southeast of America is creating anxiety not seen in previous dry spells. This drought is affecting the region's psyche, and in Atlanta the anxiety level is heightened by local countdowns to the day the water could be gone. The severe drought tightening like a vice across the Southeast has threatened the water supply of cities large and small, sending politicians scrambling for solutions. But Orme, about 40 miles west of Chattanooga and 150 miles northwest of Atlanta, is a town where the worst-case scenario has already come to pass: The water has run out. The mighty waterfall that fed the mountain hamlet has been reduced to a trickle, and now the creek running through the centre of town is dry. Tony Reames, Mayor of the town of Orme said "We can survive. We're 145 people. You've got 4.5 million people down there. What are they going to do? It's a scary thought." Three days a week, the volunteer fire chief hops in a 1961 fire truck at 5:30 a.m. - before the school bus blocks the narrow road - and drives a few miles to an Alabama fire hydrant. He meets with another truck from nearby New Hope, Alabama. The two drivers make about a dozen runs back and forth, hauling about 20,000 gallons of water from the hydrant to Orme's tank. Each night Mayor Tony Reames drives up a dirt road to the community's towering water tank and begins his nightly ritual in front of a rusty metal valve. With a twist of the wrist, he releases the tank's meagre water supply, and suddenly this sleepy town is alive with activity. Washing machines whir, kitchen sinks fill and showers run. About three hours later, Reames will return and reverse the process, cutting off water to the town's 145 residents. The town has received a $377,590 emergency grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that Reames hopes will be Orme's salvation. A utility crew is laying a 2 1/2-mile pipe to connect Orme to the Bridgeport, Alabama water supply. Source: USA Today ----------------------------------------------- US SENATE PROBE TARGETS TELEVANGELISTS Several Christian ministries have been asked to turn over their financial statements and records to a Senate enquiry in America. The six ministries under investigation are led by Paula White, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, Eddie Long, Kenneth Copeland, and Benny Hinn. In multi-page letters to the various ministries, they have been requested to supply audited financial information as well as detailed information on aspects such as executive compensation, and real and personal assets. The investigation has been established following numerous television and print reports and information provided by whistleblowers who claim the ministries are using their tax-exempt status as churches to fund lavish lifestyles. The investigations which have been going on for more than five years, have also been targeting other non- profit organisations as well. Some have been found to have issues in the areas of governance and transparency. An enquiry spokesman said he believes "the responsibility of a Christian church is good stewardship," and that "financial transparency is a must even if it's not legally required." Ken Behr, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), said the ministries should welcome the opportunity to be transparent. He believes it is time for them to understand the role of an independent board of directors and how important financial integrity is -- not only to the government, but also to ministry donors. Source: Intercessors for America ----------------------------------------------- SPIRITUAL BOMB HITS FIJI Over 165,000 people heard a clear presentation of the Gospel with 17,474 recorded decisions for Christ, when Impact World Tour (IWT), a ministry of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), conducted meetings in 16 main cities and communities across Fiji Islands recently. For six weeks, from September 3 to October 13, the team ministered in 24 schools, into three prisons and at gatherings across the nation. Despite it raining on 19 of the 39 campaign nights, Fijians came out to the stadiums and parks and not only stood in the rain, but came forward to give their lives to Christ. Amongst those responding were many Indo-Fijians from other religious backgrounds, the largest unreached people group in the South Pacific. "An Indian pastor shared with me after one campaign night that he knew of four Indian families in his neighbourhood who had given their lives to Christ and he had been approached by another man who had a family of six come to his home to share about Christ and pray for them" said IWT regional director Mr. Cole. "It was like a spiritual bomb going off in some of the high Indian population communities," local pastors told IWT leaders. "There has never been anything like this in our history." Despite the interim Fiji government issuing an emergency edict on the first night of the campaign banning all public gatherings, IWT was able to continue its tour on the strength of an earlier agreement with the interim government. Source: Assist News ----------------------------------------------- AL-QAEDA GROOMING CHILDREN TO ATTACK BRITAIN Al-Qaeda is actively "grooming" children and young people to carry out attacks in Britain, the head of the country's domestic intelligence service said. Jonathan Evans, in his first public speech since becoming MI5 chief said Britain was facing "the most immediate and acute peacetime threat" that his century-old agency has ever known. "As I speak, terrorists are methodically and intentionally targeting young people and children in this country," the security service head said."They are radicalising, indoctrinating and grooming young, vulnerable people to carry out acts of terrorism. This year, we have seen individuals as young as 15 and 16 implicated in terrorist-related activity." He said the number of individuals in Britain with suspected terrorist links rose from 1600 last year to at least 2000 this year. He insisted many were co-ordinated as part of a "deliberate campaign" by al-Qaeda against Britain. "Terrorist attacks against the UK are not random plots by disparate and fragmented groups," he said. "The majority of these attacks, successful or otherwise, have taken place because al-Qaeda has a clear determination to mount terrorist attacks against the United Kingdom. "This remains the case today, and there is no sign of it reducing". Source: BBC
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