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Two Aborigines opened a court case in Darwin late in February seeking damages from the government for a former government policy under which they were forcibly removed from their parents and raised as whites. The policy, in place from the 1880s to the 1960s was said to have been enacted to solve a serious welfare problem by assimilating aboriginal people of mixed blood into white society, because they would not be accepted in their own community.
A 1997 Australian Human Rights Commission report states otherwise, finding the policy to have been a form of ggenocideh, and noting that there were numerous cases of physical and sexual abuse inflicted on tens of thousands of Aborigines, some of whom were virtual slaves to white families.
The two involved in the present case, Lorna Cubillo and Peter Gunner, will not be pushing the genocide issue, but will instead be stressing the angle that the government failed in it's duty to care for them. A positive verdict could open up possibilities for 700 who are also presently seeking damages and for a potential 30,000 persons who were effected by the assimilation policy.
On January 24, a pastor and 45 parishioners were detained by police in central Henan Province. Pastor Chu Chang'en and the others were charged with gillegal religious activities.h The Informa-tion Centre of Human Rights of Hong Kong said that 140 Protestants in Fangcheng county were detained last November, 10 of whom remain missing.
On January 25 police arrested two priests of the underground Catholic church in northern Hebei Province. A number of other priests and seminarians were also reported taken into custody. U.S. officials have received no response to a request to see Li Qinghua, a priest reported to have been forced to have sex with female agents after being taken into custody last December.
Violence directed at Christians has been escalating since the end of last year. The same weekend as an Australian missionary and his two sons were burned alive in Orissa (see story-gViolence against Christians Spreads,h p. 10, and related stories following), the southern Indian state of Kerala saw it's own violence against Christians as three Christian students were beaten-one hospitalized-while returning home from church. The attackers were apparently from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu volunteer organization from which several Hindu political parties including the present ruling party, the BJP, have emerged.
Other reports of violence: On Feb. 4, a Catholic nun was allegedly raped by men dressed up in saris like women to disguise their intentions.
Two Christian teenagers were killed Feb. 7, the Press Trust of India reported. Police said the two were gathering produce in the forest when they were attacked. Police said the attackers tried to rape the girl before killing her; the boy was killed trying to protect her. It is not known if this attack is linked to other Hindu extremist attacks on Christians.
In Allahabad, India, a Christian missionary couple said they were threatened and ordered to close their school.
Press Release. Attacks on Minority Christian Community in India...excerpts.
The Minority Indian Christian Community is shocked and deeply grieved at the relentless attacks on innocent rural Christians and claims that Christian gmissionariesh are engaged in forcible conversion of tribal people and others into Christianity. Firstly, no foreign missionaries are even allowed visas for missionary work in India. Second-ly, the spread of literacy among the masses, the enlightenment and empowerment of the poor...seem to be tantamount to forcible conversion according to the Hindu Rightist leaders. The main agenda of VHP and Bajrang Dal seems to be to prevent Indian Christian citizens from serving the poor and those oppressed by the caste system.
A senior Indian cabinet minister resigned from the ruling coalition to protest attacks on Christians by Hindu extremists. Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism Minister Madan Lal Khurana said he was resigning because he was ashamed to be part of a government that could not protect religious minorities. gMy head has bowed in shame,h he said. gI am shaken, and I want to atone.h
Lawmaker greconvertsh tribal group from Christianity to Hinduism. On Sunday, Feb. 14, Dilipsingh Judeo, a lawmaker and Hindu activist held a ceremony in which he ceremonially washed the feet of 73 tribesmen who had converted back from Christianity to Hinduism. The ceremony was held at Dindori, 500 km from Bhopal in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Critical of Christian activity in India, especially that of foreign groups, Judeo has spent 17 years on a campaign of the greconversionh of the tribesmen of his state from Christianity back to Hinduism. This year he hopes to reconvert 100,000 people. Christian workers in the region, however, do not see the tribal peoples as originally Hindu, but rather animistic in background.
The region has become more tense in recent days with the increased visibility of religious conversions, as well as the backdrop of attacks in other regions. The Madhya Pradesh Christian Association started a sit-in protest at the state's capital city of Bhopal on Feb. 14.
Over 100 people were killed and nearly 3000 homes were burned in a month-long spree of violence between Muslim and Christians in the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku early this year. Curfews and closed shops kept people indoors and around 20,000 people took refuge at military bases, mosques and churches. Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim nation-90 percent of it's 210 million people belong to Islam. Police have been under orders, upheld by the legislature, to shoot on sight those who are instigating the violence, and civilians have been barred access to the island until the situation calms down. The center of violence, the province of Maluku, in the area known as the Spice Islands, however, has a large Christian population. Civil unrest, spawned by high inflation, unemployment and poverty, has escalated since President Suharto was forced out of office last May.
Nearly 40 people were killed in continuing religious violence during a week-long string of incidents the end of February and the beginning of March in the city of Ambon in eastern Indonesia. Over 150 people have died so far this year (March 5) in the violence.
Rioting was heavy in the city on Saturday night, February 27, as fires were set to churches, mosques and homes. A home-made bomb went off in the middle of the riots causing over a thousand people to cram the ports the next day in an attempt to flee the area. On March 1, Indonesian police, believed by some to be Christians, fired on Moslems leaving a mosque, killing nine. Christians tried to burn down houses in the area as the Moslems were in prayer. The next day, March 2, three more Christians were found dead.
As Indonesia approaches June 7 elections, the number of political parties is growing rapidly. Of particular concern to some Christian groups is the number of political parties based on Islamic ideology. The number of such parties has exceeded 30, and, though it is not a surprising development, with an 86 percent Muslim population, it worries the Christian community. The main concern lies in the question of Islamic law. The major parties in the arena have stated their intention to maintain the secular status of Indonesia, but others are not clear as to their position on the establishment of Islamic law. Particularly against the backdrop of the recent violence, many Christians remain uneasy.
The independence of East Timor has come a step closer to reality, but the voices of the two sides have grown in volume. President Habibie made a statement in January opening up the possibility of independence, overturning the previous Indonesian policy regarding the troubled area. There will be talks between Portugal and Indonesia in March. In East Timor there are some groups who favor independence and others who prefer a more limited autonomy-the option favored by the Indonesian government. The timing and the progression of the process is not yet set, but will become clearer after the talks in March. Factors to consider include the poor resources of the area and the task of dismantling the Indonesian infrastructure now in place.
Christians fear an uneasy future after unsettling developments. The latest in a series of worries for Nepali Christians came on January 5, as the militant Hindu group from India, Shiv Sena, was formally established in Nepal. The group is known for violence and intimidation of Muslims and Christians. The new president of the group, Kiran Budathoki, stated that the main priority of the group would be to oppose the changing of one's religion. Nepal, a Hindu state under it's constitution, penalizes proselytizing and discourages conversion.
Last November two Christian young men were killed in police custody and two others were also reported to have been killed earlier in a similar incident in the same village. Christians are not allowed to enter the area and local Christians are not being allowed to look into the incident.
In early December, a leader in the ruling party, formerly known for his support of religious freedom accused the Christian community of faking miracles, and of entering hospitals and administering the wrong medicines.
Three days before Christmas, a homemade bomb exploded in the sanctuary of St. Patrick's Catholic cathedral in Karachi. One older woman was slightly injured by the bomb planted in the rear of the church. The incident was a possible reaction to the US-UK bombing of Iraq. The church held it's Christmas celebration services as planned, although churches in the area reported lower attendance than normal as a result of the incident. Parish Priest, Fr. James D'Souza emphasized that, gthe teachings of Jesus Christ are that violence doesn't beget violence, but forgiveness.h
Two Christians listed as killed in a blast intended for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, have come under suspicion for the January 3 incident. There is, however, no direct evidence so far about their involvement in the assassination attempt. Some fear a set-up.
As four claim forced confessions in a brutal November murder case, the Christian community questions their portrayal as sincere Christians. In early January the four confessed to the murders of their relative, 70-year old Jan Sabir Bhatti, seven other family members and a young visitor, but later claimed that their confession had been forced under torture. Some members of the Christian community discounted publicized claims of Bhatti's faith. gEveryone knows that he was a witch doctor,h one Christian said. Rev. Daniel Shakir, a Pentecostal pastor based in Nowshera said, gHe converted to Islam...he was a very strange man.h The head of a Christian organization in Peshawa was troubled, as were others, that the incident was first portrayed to Christians in the West as an attack by Islamic extremists against Christians. gIt caused quite a stir, and the government was under a lot of pressure to find the people who were involved in it,h he recalled, g[But] why should Muslims target a guy like him? He wasn't a Christian leader.h
President Joseph Estrada is trying to push forward a bill expanding Moslem autonomy in the Mindanao region. Presently four Moslem provinces in the Southern Philippines make up the autonomous area administered by former rebel Nur Misuari. The new law would expand the region to include 10 additional provinces where Christians outnumber their Muslim neighbors. A provision in the law allows for each state to vote for or against exclusion in the autonomous Moslem region. The Moro National Liberation Front has said that it would accept the law as fulfillment of the terms of an earlier peace agreement. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front still seeks a separate Islamic state which the government is unwilling to give. Farther talks are being planned.
After a break off of talks between the rebels and the government over the kidnapping of two military officers in mid-February, Cardinal Jaime Sin offered to be a mediator between the two groups. The archbishop said that the government and the guerrillas could hold talks on neutral ground in his church offices.
A death penalty verdict is dividing the country in a child rape case. The Catholic church in the Philippines is calling for calm reflection, and urges people to consider the position of the Vatican which opposes the death penalty in all but the most extreme cases. Capital Punishment was suspended in 1987, but restored in 1994 to combat rising crime. A judge has placed a restraining order and execution has been postponed in the case.
Muslim religious leaders declared Valentine's Day off limits to their followers on account of it's non-Islamic origins. Islamic groups were receiving calls from adherents asking whether or not it was proper to celebrate the holiday. The office advised against participation citing possible moral dangers.
An outspoken Catholic Bishop accused the government of rigging elections in Northwestern Province calling for new elections. Bishop Chan Marcus Fernando said that there was a need for new legislation to guarantee free and fair elections. The People's Alliance won the election, taking 30 of 52 available seats, but opposition groups and election monitors contest the results. The province has a large Catholic population.
Hundreds of Christians gathered in the capital city of Colombo on February 8 to pray and march for their brothers and sisters in India. The last few months have seen increased violence against the Christian community of India. The Sri Lankan group gathered first at a church to pray and then walked in a silent procession to the Indian Embassy, handing officials a petition to the Indian High Commission drawn up by various Christian groups .
Jason Hu, Taiwan's foreign minister, affirmed the ties between Taiwan and the Vatican after his three-day visit. He felt that, though the relationship might undergo some changes in the future, the two countries will hold onto their present diplomatic ties. There are 28 countries who recognize Taiwan's Nationalist-ruled Republic of China over Beijing's Communist People's Republic of China, including Macedonia which created ties with the country in January this year.
Beijing says that it is willing to make ties with the Vatican if it renounces it's recognition of Taiwan's sovereignty. The Vatican, on the other hand, remains cool to China's advances as long as restrictions remain that oblige Catholic believers in China to worship at state-sanctioned churches which are not allowed any connection with the Pope.
Amnesty International has called on Vietnam to loosen it's controls on religion. There are six million Catholic and over 400,000 Protestant Christians in Vietnam. Amnesty welcomed the release of two priests from the sect, Congregation for the Mother Co-redemptrix, but called for the release of four others who remain in jail. The six priests received sentences of from 16-20 years for holding training courses and distributing religious books without government permission. An Amnesty International report released in December reports that, gIndividuals whose conscientiously held religious beliefs lead them to follow religious groups which are not sanctioned by the state are subject to harassment, and even arrest and detention.h
The U.N. Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance, Dr. Abdelfattah Amor visited Vietnam in October last year to observe the state of religious freedom in the country. He was denied access to many areas, groups and persons he had intended to see, and he hoped that those he did manage to meet with will not meet up with any trouble. 
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