International Christian Response

LOS ANGELES (Compass)—The People’s Supreme Court in Ho Chi Minh City will hear the appeals of the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach of the Mennonite Church on February 2. Quang and Thach received three-year and two-year sentences respectively—the longest sentences among six Mennonite workers sentenced on November 12, 2004—for charges of “resisting persons doing official duty.” Meanwhile, co-defendants Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Nguyen Hieu Nghia, released in early December, have written accounts outlining the severe abuse they suffered during their imprisonment. “These accounts … are heart-rending reports of non-stop beatings, deprivation and humiliation because of their Christian faith,” a source told Compass. The torture and abuse that Miss Le Thi Hong Lien, 21, suffered has led to her complete mental and physical breakdown, sources say.

DELHI (Compass)—India’s Supreme Court has asked the federal government why Dalits (or “Untouchables”) who convert to Christianity are denied access to a quota system for state employment. Under India’s caste system, about 26 percent of government jobs are reserved for members of Scheduled Castes with the aim of bringing them into the social mainstream. Initially, Dalits converting to other religions such as Sikhism or Buddhism were also excluded; however, the law was amended to provide a job quota for Dalit Sikhs and Buddhists. “Only the Christian community is now excluded,” said senior advocate Shanti Bhushan of the Centre for Public Interest Litigation. Quota rights were denied to Dalit Christians on the grounds that Christianity does not discriminate between castes. However, this argument ignores the fact that Indians live in a society bound by centuries of caste tradition. The court expects a response from the federal government before the end of January.

LOS ANGELES (Compass)—Sixty members of the Rema Charismatic Church in the Eritrean capital of Asmara have been arrested for holding a New Year’s Eve celebration in the home of one of their church leaders. On the night of December 31, police took into custody the hosts of the gathering, Habteab Oqbamichel and his wife Letensae, along with another 23 men and 35 women. They are reportedly being held in solitary confinement the Mai-Serwa military camp. Independent Protestant churches have experienced heavy police surveillance since the U.S. State Department named Eritrea as a “country of particular concern” for its severe religious freedom violations. “There are cars parked outside our homes and offices, following us to the post office or wherever we go,” one Christian commented. According to BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher who was expelled from Asmara in September, the government seems to be “afraid that people who consider their highest allegiance to be [to] God, at some point may not be patriotic and follow the state’s instructions.”

DUBLIN (Compass)—Police in Indonesia pledged today to provide tighter security for churches during Christmas celebrations, after one of their own was arrested in connection with the murder of a Christian official on the island of Sulawesi. Second Brigadier Efendi confessed to his involvement the November murder of Carminalis Ndele, the 48-year-old chief of Pinedapa village, Poso district. “Efendi has engaged in several cases of violence in Poso, including the murder of Carminalis Ndele,” Central Sulawesi police Chief Aryanto Sutadi told reporters from The Jakarta Post. Following Efendi’s arrest, Indonesian police announced plans to deploy bomb squads to comb churches for explosive materials before Christmas services are held. Officials will equip some churches with metal detectors and provide police guards for pastors in South Sulawesi province. Nearly 10,000 officers will be deployed in the cities of Bandung and Medan to tighten security at churches, shopping malls and other public meeting places.