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(Charisma News Service) - Tři pastoři v Myanmaru (Barma) byli mučeni před svými kostely v období nástupu „brutálního království teroru“. Takto charakterizuje nynější situaci Christian Concerned for Burma (CCB), nátlaková skupina se sídlem v Thajsku. Pastoři byli mučeni celých pět dní předtím, než byly jejich kostely vypáleny. Zajati byli asi před měsícem v rámci akce, při které bylo nejméně pět tisíc lidí vyhnáno z domovů a šest vesnic vypáleno. Nynější stav mučedníků není znám. Člen záchranného týmu, který nedávno kraj Karenů v Myanmaru navštívil řekl, že velitel vojáků provádějících jednu z podobných akcí řekl vesničanům: „Neuznávám žádné náboženství. Mým náboženstvím je spoušť mého samopalu.“ Vládní oddíly srovnávají se zemí domy a kostely a z minometů a kulometů pálí na vesničany, kteří jsou nuceni prchat ze svých domovů. Věk zabitých je od 2 do 56 let. 6letý hoch přežil poté, co byl zanechán jako mrtvý a podařilo se mu uprchnout. CCB dodává, že armádní útoky letos zesílily, a že Myanmar se pokouší vojenskou silou vytlačit etnické Kareny, z nichž mnozí jsou křesťany, z jejich domoviny. Kromě ničení domů vojáci kradou dobytek, zásoby jídla a oblečení ponechávajíce tak většinu lidí zcela bez prostředků. |
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(Voice of the Martyrs) Muslimská politická strana, která je u moci ve dvou ze třinácti států Malajsie věří, že se jí podaří v těchto státech zavést islámské zákonodárství (šaríja). Oznamuje to Catholic News Service. K tomuto vývoji dochází přes odpor federální vlády a mnoha skupin v zemi. 23. června Parti Islam se-Malaysia potvrdila že v tomto trendu bude pokračovat i přes tento odpor. Kdyby k uzákonění šaríja skutečně došlo, znamenalo by to podstatné omezení práv žen a zavedení takových trestů, jako je kamenování či usekávání rukou. Existence analogických zákonu v jiných zemích, např. v některých státech Nigérie, vede k podstatnému zhoršení postavení křesťanů. |
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(Mission Network News) - Přes 65.000 mladých lidí v Zimbabwe slíbilo před Bohem, že se zdrží pohlavního života před svatbou. Je to důsledek práce Southern Baptist International Mission Board zajišťující kampaň “Námluv skutečné lásky” v oblasti, která patří k vůbec nejpostiženějším pokud jde o AIDS. Misionář Greg Benno se modlí, aby studenti poznali, že tento krok je chrání nejen před nákazou HIV, ale že moc Ježíše Krista je chrání také před hříchem. |
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TURKISH CHRISTIAN ACQUITTED OF SLANDER CHARGES
A Turkish Christian facing up to a year in jail for allegedly making
an "insult against Islam" was acquitted Wednesday, June 26, by a
criminal court in southeastern Turkey. Diyarbakir's Fourth Criminal
Court ordered all charges dropped against Kemal Timur, a member of a
local Protestant Christian congregation arrested two years ago while
distributing New Testaments in the city. "We certainly did not expect
my acquittal to come," Timur said. His lawyer had advised him not to
attend the hearing since it was expected that his accusers would fail
to produce the documents ordered at the last hearing, forcing yet
another delay in the case. This was his seventh hearing since the
trial first began on Jan. 30, 2001. "We had argued at the last hearing
that it was unnecessary for the police witnesses who had been
transferred to another post to be interviewed by the court," said
advocate Kadir Pekdemir. "So the judge changed his mind and dispensed
with their missing depositions, ordering the case dismissed." Timur,
33, called his acquittal a "miracle for me and my family. This is the
Lord's work!" He was accused of making a slanderous comment against
Mohammed in May 1999 when he was detained for 24 hours for giving out
New Testaments on a public street. Meanwhile, the Protestant
congregation to which Timur belongs continues to wait for official
permission to finish its nearly completed church building in
Diyarbakir. Authorities ordered the construction to stop last November
because of "zoning and building code" violations. (Compass)
MYANMAR MILITARY BURNS CHURCHES, TORTURES 3 PASTORS
Three pastors in Myanmar (Burma) have been tortured outside their
churches as military forces step up their "brutal reign of terror,"
reports Christians Concerned for Burma (CCB), a Thailand-based
pressure group. The men were tortured for five days before their
churches were burned, and they were taken into captivity earlier this
month during an operation that saw more than 5,000 people displaced
and six villages burned. The men's condition is unknown. Members of a
relief team that recently visited Myanmar's Karen state said that an
army commander who led some of the actions told villagers: "I don't
respect any religion. My religion is the trigger of my gun."
Government troops have razed homes and churches, firing mortars and
machine guns at villagers who were forced to flee their homes. Those
killed ranged in age from 2 to 56. A 6-year-old boy survived after
playing dead and escaping. CCB added that army attacks have increased
this year as the Myanmar military tries to push the ethnic Karen, many
of whom are Christians, from their traditional homelands. Besides
destroying homes, soldiers have stolen livestock, food supplies and
clothes, "leaving most people destitute." (Charisma News Service)
RELIEF TEAM FINDS OPEN DOORS IN CHINA FOLLOWING HEAVY FLOODS
In China heavy flooding has killed at least 543 people this month, and
officials fear that the death toll will jump when the summer flood
season peaks in July and August. World Vision's Victor Kan says the
ministry immediately sent an assessment team to the region where they
discovered that damaged rice crops could lead to severe food
shortages. "Food is the new urgency now," Kan says. "That's why we
concentrated a lot of our efforts on foodstuffs, mostly rice." He says
the workers are often asked why they're helping. For many of their
workers, it's a matter of sharing the hope of Christ; however, they
need the support of the church body. "We need prayers and also, of
course, physical help, that we can touch on more needs and more people
as we go along." (Mission Network News)
MUSLIM POLITICAL PARTY IN MALAYSIA PUSHES FOR ISLAMIC LAW
A Muslim political party that rules two of Malaysia's 13 states hopes
to introduce sharia (strict Islamic law) in those states, reports
Catholic News Service. This comes despite opposition from the federal
government and many groups within the country. On June 23 the Parti
Islam se-Malaysia confirmed that it would press ahead with plans for
the laws despite opposition. If the laws are passed, women's rights
would be severely restricted, and punishments could include stoning
and amputations. Similar laws by state governments in other countries
such as Nigeria have caused significant problems for Christians.
(Voice of the Martyrs)
BILLY GRAHAM APOLOGIZES TO JEWISH LEADERS ON EVE OF CRUSADE
As he prepared to bring a message of reconciliation to
Cincinnati--where racial tensions have been running high for the last
year--veteran evangelist Billy Graham made efforts to bridge a divide
of his own. He met with local Jewish community leaders earlier this
week and apologized for anti-Semitic comments that he made to
President Richard Nixon in 1972 that were made public earlier this
year in a batch of White House tapes. Although he said he was sorry at
the time, this week's meeting was his first face-to-face apology to
Jewish leaders. Meanwhile, as the 83-year-old evangelist started his
four-day crusade in Cincinnati Thursday, June 27, black activists
planned to escalate their boycott of the city to coincide with the
event. Graham rejected a plea to call off the campaign, stating in a
letter earlier this month that following Christ was the "way to
healing and reconciliation in a divided community." In his first
sermon in nine months Thursday evening--and the first to a Cincinnati
crowd in 25 years--Graham urged people to put aside their differences
and commit their lives to Jesus Christ. At least 2,000 people poured
from the stands onto the field to give their lives to the Lord.
(Charisma News Service/The Cincinnati Enquirer)
65,000 YOUNG PEOPLE IN ZIMBABWE COMMIT TO SEXUAL PURITY
More than 65,000 young people in Zimbabwe have made commitments to God
to be sexually pure until marriage. That's the word from the Southern
Baptist International Mission Board which is capping a two-year "True
Love Waits" campaign in the region that has one of the world's highest
rates of HIV/AIDS. Missionary Greg Benno is praying that the students
will realize they're not only rescued from AIDS, but that the power of
Jesus Christ can deliver them from sin. (Mission Network News)
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Zprávy HCJB 28.6.2002
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