AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * MANY KENYANS DIE IN POST ELECTION VIOLENCE * GRIM REPORTS ON MUGABE'S HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN ZIMBABWE * CHINA: OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT * NEPAL VOTES TO ABOLISH HINDU MONARCHY * QUEEN URGES PEOPLE TO TAKE CARE OF SOCIETY'S VULNERABLE * CALLS FOR JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE IN ORISSA STATE, INDIA ----------------------------------------------- MANY KENYANS DIE IN POST ELECTION VIOLENCE At least 30 people have been burned to death in a church in western Kenya, after seeking refuge from the mounting violence resulting from the recent elections. A mob attacked and set fire to the church in the town of Eldoret where hundreds of people were hiding. Dozens more are reported to have been taken to hospital with severe burns. The explosion of violence in one of Africa's most stable democracies and strongest economies has shocked the world and left Kenyans aghast as long-simmering tribal rivalries pitch communities against each other. A leading local newspaper, the Daily Nation, expressed fear that Kenya was on "the verge of a complete melt-down". The violence erupted as outgoing President Mwai Kibaki was declared the narrow winner after a controversial three-day counting process. His challenger, Mr Raila Odinga, said he was robbed of victory by alleged fraud. European Union election monitors said the presidential poll "fell short of international standards." Chief monitor Alexander Lambsdorff said the tallying process "lacked credibility" and that an independent inquiry was needed to resolve the dispute over the election. He called on the Electoral Commission of Kenya to co-operate fully. The observers say an audit of all the voting returns is vital, and called for results from every polling station to be published in newspapers and on the internet. Four Kenyan election commissioners also expressed unease at the result, but the government denied any irregularities. A pastor who witnessed the burning of the Church, said there were about 400 people taking refuge in the church, which belonged to the Kenya Assemblies of God. He said most of the victims were members of the same Kikuyu ethnic group as the re-elected President Mwai Kibaki, which comprises roughly 22% of the country's population. It is also the largest and richest of Kenya's tribes. They had been seeking refuge from members of the Luo tribe, which makes up about 13% of the population, to which Opposition leader Raila Odinga, 62, belongs. A reporter at the scene told of how youths had set fire to the building after overpowering those guarding it. He said there were charred bodies both inside and outside the church. Eldoret has witnessed some of the worst violence since the controversial poll and has a history of inter-ethnic tension. According to the Red Cross, at least 160 people were killed across Kenya after the election result was announced, though the numbers are expected to rise to more than 250 after continued violence. The violence is rare for Kenya, an island of stability that has enjoyed relative calm even as war and chronic political violence wracked neighbouring countries, such as Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. Kibaki's slim margin of victory is a marked difference from his win five years ago in a landslide election. He had run on promises to fight corruption. Since then, he has seen his authority erode amid a number of high-profile corruption scandals in his government. He faced a serious challenge from Odinga, a flamboyant politician, former political prisoner and tycoon who had won the support of the rural and urban communities by promising to share the wealth of the country among all the people. Odinga's party unseated most of Kibaki's cabinet and took more seats in parliamentary polls held the same day. He had led in every opinion poll bar one during the campaign. Britain, the European Union and others including the United States have pointedly avoided congratulating Kibaki, instead calling for reconciliation talks plus a probe into suspected voting irregularities. Source: Compiled by APN from numerous media reports ----------------------------------------------- GRIM REPORTS ON MUGABE'S HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN ZIMBABWE A group of doctors and researchers have published a damning report on the escalating incidents of state-sponsored violence against innocent Zimbabweans. The report has been issued by the Open Society Initiative (OSI) which runs programs for survivors of torture. It raises profound questions about the prospects for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, plus concerns about the harassment of lawyers and doctors dealing with cases of a political nature. According to the report, international medical experts found evidence that the Mugabe regime is systematically utilising torture and violence as a means of deterring political opposition. It documents how victims of state-sanctioned political violence have been tortured and subjected to other human rights abuses, causing devastating health consequences, while millions are forced into exile. Julie Hayes, the African Region director for OSI said: "The victims of torture and political violence we spoke with and examined in Zimbabwe were not only prominent members of the political opposition but also low-level political organisers and ordinary citizens. What it shows is the stark impunity of the Mugabe regime and how it has managed to hide its wrongdoings from the rest of the world. Many have been targeted and brutalised because of their political affiliations or activities. Victims have been detained under inhuman conditions and denied access to medical and legal assistance. All of the individuals we examined had clear physical and psychological evidence of torture. Meanwhile a group of senior global statesmen launched by former South African President Nelson Mandela, have launched a campaign to highlight "continuing human rights abuses" in Zimbabwe as well as Sudan's Darfur region, Chad and Burma. The group is seeking to bring about change in "troubled nations" by working behind the scenes with all concerned - in the case of Zimbabwe including South African President Thabo Mbeki, now mediating crisis resolution talks between the ruling party and opposition. National Director Alois Chaumba of Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission on Justice and Peace said he hoped the campaign would keep a spotlight on Zimbabwe. But Chaumba added the caveat that the strategy of talking to leaders behind closed doors could complicate or frustrate the mission by allowing senior officials in the countries concerned to evade responsibility for abuses in their countries. Source: International News ----------------------------------------------- CHINA: OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT A senior church leader in China has sent an open letter to the president urging him to do more to protect China's hard-pressed church. Zhang Mingxuan, president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, has taken the bold step of publishing his letter to Hu Jintao, which catalogues two decades of persecution. Pastor Zhang writes that he has been harassed, jailed, beaten, even sent to a mental hospital for his faith, since he turned to Christ 21 years ago. Things have been particularly bad since the Communist Party's National Congress in October, he writes. On the day of the congress, officials raided the school and orphanage which he runs threatening staff and children. He was told to shut both premises as well as his church. At the end of his letter, he writes: 'In writing this letter to you, I have fully prepared myself to die. However, I believe both my life and your heart are in the hands of God Jehovah.' Sadly, Pastor Zhang's story is all too common. Sources report that 40 China Gospel Fellowship leaders were recently detained in Fanhu, Hunan. Twenty-one were released within a week but 19 others are being held at the county detention centre. And in Guangdong province the Christian owners of a business were put under house arrest last month and fined heavily and had their business licence revoked for alleged 'illegal religious activities'. Daniel and Eliza Ng's firm had a strong Christian ethos. They now face bankruptcy. Three senior employees have been arrested for 'illegal business management'. Ask God to protect Pastor Zhang Mingxuan and his projects from further aggression. Pray that President Hu Jintao will be moved by his letter. Pray that God will provide for Daniel and Eliza Ng and their staff. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- NEPAL VOTES TO ABOLISH HINDU MONARCHY In a landmark move, Nepal's interim Parliament has voted to abolish the world's last Hindu monarchy, putting its stamp of approval on an agreement between the Maoists and the government to end the current political stalemate. The motion was passed by a majority of 270 votes against three in the 329-member parliament. The decision to declare Nepal a democratic federal republic will, however, be subject to ratification by the Constituent Assembly to be elected by mid April. King Gyanendra will continue to live in the Narayanhiti Palace without any power until after the elections when the fate of the 239-year-old institution will be decided by the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly will rewrite Nepal's Constitution and hammer out the details of a new political structure for the country. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is currently exercising all powers of the head of the state and the executive head. The Parliament has also approved the mixed voting system under which 335 of the total 601 seats will be elected through proportionate voting and 240 through direct voting. The Prime Minister will nominate the remaining members. Nepal's King Gyanendra has already been stripped of most of his powers, including his roles as head of state and army chief, after a 'Peoples' Movement' forced him to end a 14-month direct rule in April 2006. The CPN-Maoist joined the pro-democracy protests against the monarchy last year that forced King Gyanendra to give up direct rule. The Maoists, who were fighting for the abolition of the monarchy, declared a ceasefire, signed a peace agreement and joined Nepal's parliament in January and the government in April this year. The decade-long Maoists insurgency left at least 13,000 people dead in the Himalayan state. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- QUEEN URGES PEOPLE TO TAKE CARE OF SOCIETY'S VULNERABLE In her 50th annual Christmas Day message the Queen urged people to take responsibility for vulnerable individuals excluded by modern society. The 81-year-old Queen said "The birth of Jesus Christ was a tale of a family which had been shut out. The Christmas story also draws attention to all those people who are on the edge of society -- people who feel cut off and disadvantaged; people who, for one reason or another, are not able to enjoy the full benefits of living in a civilized and law-abiding community. For these people the modern world can seem a distant and hostile place. It is all too easy to 'turn a blind eye,' 'to pass by on the other side,' and leave it to experts and professionals. All the great religious teachings of the world press home the message that everyone has a responsibility to care for the vulnerable. Each one of us can also help by offering a little time, a talent or a possession, and taking a share in the responsibility for the well-being of those who feel excluded." The Queen also talked about the changes she has seen in the 50 years since making her first televised Christmas message. "One of the features of growing old is a heightened awareness of change," she said. "To remember what happened 50 years ago means that it is possible to appreciate what has changed in the meantime. It also makes you aware of what has remained constant. In my experience, the positive value of a happy family is one of the factors of human existence that has not changed. The immediate family of grandparents, parents and children, together with their extended family, is still the core of a thriving community." The Queen also paid tribute to the armed forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and hoped that people missing loved ones would find strength and comfort in their family and friends. The Queen ended her message by stating "Wherever these words find you, and in whatever circumstances, I want to wish you all a blessed Christmas." Source: Assist News Service ----------------------------------------------- CALLS FOR JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE IN ORISSA STATE, INDIA The All India Christian Council (AICC), reports that several Christians have been murdered, 65 churches have been burnt down, 600 homes of Christians have been destroyed and hundreds of Christians have been displaced since widespread violence against Christians perpetrated by Hindu extremists in Kandhamal district, Orissa, began on Christmas Eve. The violence originated in a dispute between Christians and Hindus in Bamunigaon village, when Christian shopkeepers were erecting a decorative Christmas arch. On Christmas Eve a large mob marched into the village, where they attacked and burnt the Catholic church building, convent, priest's residence and other church property. They also burnt down a Baptist church and attacked a Pentecostal church. On 25 December, a mob destroyed the houses of many Christians and a bomb was thrown at the residence of the Catholic Archbishop of Bhubaneshwar. At least half of the parishes in the district were unable to celebrate Mass at Christmas for fear of violence. Christians have made representations to the highest levels of government in India, concerned particularly at the failure of adequate protection from the police. In a memorandum submitted to the Vice President of India, Christian leaders called for troops to be deployed to bring the situation under decisive control. They also requested an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, punishment for the perpetrators and negligent government officials, police protection for a Christian fact-finding team, an impartial and proper assessment of the damage and proper compensation for the victims. Indian government leaders have given several assurances that the violence will be brought to an end. Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/ January 19, 2008
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