AFGHANISTAN On July 19, 23 Korean Christian aid workers (mostly nurses and teachers) were kidnapped south of Kabul and held hostage by Islamic militants. Subsequently two of the men were murdered and two seriously ill women were released as “a gesture of good will”.
The remaining 19 Korean Christians were later released as a result of negotiations between Korean officials and pro-Taliban militants. To secure their lives the Korean government agreed to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year (210 noncombatants engaged purely in reconstruction), withdraw all Korean NGOs and ban Korean Christians going to Afghanistan for missionary work. Due to the Taliban’s Islamic terrorism, Afghanis will now lose the dedicated service of hundreds of Korean soldiers and humanitarian workers who were there simply to improve the lives of Afghani men, women and children. Pray that our Almighty God will demolish the strongholds of Islamic repression in Afghanistan.
SERBIA Ethnic tensions between Albanians (mostly Muslim) and Serbs (mostly Serbian Orthodox) continue to rise as talks about the province’s future falter. In July allegations of corruption involving the UN special envoy for Kosovo, Marti Ahtisaari, and the Albanian mafia became public. The allegations arose from a UN-sponsored investigation and the Kosovo Liberation Army has since been threatening the UN not to interfere. In mid-August authorities uncovered a massive cache of 93 kilos of explosives in two houses in the vicinity of Pec, 80 km west of Pristina. Two Kosovo Albanians were arrested. Also in mid-August, a group of well-armed prison guards at Kosovo’s top-security Dubrava prison aided the breakout of seven inmates. The escapees included the Saudi-born convicted murderer and terrorist Ramadan Shyti as well as two commanders and other members of the Albanian National Army.
On August 22, the Serbian church and graveyard in Novake, Kosovo, was reduced to ashes. During the Kosovo war Novake was violently “cleansed” of its 90 Serb families. In March 2004 Novake’s 65 families who returned were attacked in a Muslim pogrom and again forced to flee. Twenty-five traumatized families along with their vandalized church and graveyard were all that remained. Now their church and graveyard are gone. Arson is suspected but has not been confirmed. Pray to God to intervene and bring peace to this country.
ERITREA Pastor Leule Gebreab of Asmara’s Apostolic Church “disappeared” on August 12. For weeks nobody has been able to learn anything of his whereabouts and he is believed to have been arrested. On August 19, 10 members of the Full Gospel Church were arrested as they worshipped in a house in Asmara. Some 2,000 Eritrean Protestants are presently suffering for their faith under appalling conditions in prison. Recently a group of 10 single Christian women who had been in prison for some 18 months were separated from other prisoners and taken to Weaa Military Training Centre. Compass Direct reports the women were then ordered to recant their faith and were tortured when they refused. On Wednesday, September 5, Nigsti Haile (33) was tortured to death. She is the fourth Christian to die in custody due to torture.
The March 3, 2007 editorial on Shabait.com, the mouthpiece of the Ministry of Information of the State of Eritrea, condemned the US for criticizing Eritrea’s religious rights. The editorial accused the US of promoting religious liberty only to generate internal division that could be exploited for US political-imperialistic gain. Many third-world, human rights abusing dictators such as Eritrea’s President Isaias Afewerki commonly and wilfully embrace the misconception that Protestant Christianity is an appendage of the US government and serves US economic and geo-strategic interests. However, the reality is Eritrea’s Protestant Christians love their country and only want to worship the Lord and bless their nation.
Pray that even amidst their suffering, Eritrea’s Christian prisoners may experience the presence and love of Christ and be strengthened and enabled by the Spirit of God to both endure suffering and radiate grace. Pray that Christian solidarity, empathy and brotherly love will take root in the Eritrean Church across denominational lines so that spiritual unity may be a fruit of this persecution. Pray that God will awaken more European leaders to the great need for religious liberty advocacy in countries like Eritrea where anti-Americanism and suspicion thwarts US advocacy efforts. |
