RLPB 676. Christmas 2022: Who is he in yonder stall?

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 676 | Tue 20 Dec 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

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CHRISTMAS 2022: WHO IS HE IN YONDER STALL?
- the cornerstone, the stumbling block, and the stone of crushing whose kingdom will grow to fill the whole earth.
By Elizabeth Kendal

Please note: This is the last RLPB for 2022. The RLPB will resume with the January Update on 25 January 2023.

Since the RLPB lost its primary sponsor in March 2022, the ministry has relied on donations to cover costs. I want to express my deepest thanks to those who have donated – be that with a one-off gift or through regular financial support – to help keep this ministry operating. Thank-you, for the need for strategic intercessory prayer is growing greater by the day.

Persecution is destined to escalate on many fronts through 2023, particularly in China, India, Iran and Pakistan. Military violence may also escalate against the indigenous, mostly Christian Chin, Kachin and Karen peoples of Burma’s/Myanmar’s periphery, and against the indigenous Melanesian mostly Christian Papuans of eastern Indonesia. Military violence might also erupt against indigenous remnant Christian Assyrians in northern Syria, Armenians in the south Caucuses, and Greeks on Cyprus and in the Aegean, as Turkey’s President Erdogan does whatever it takes to reverse his fortunes and avoid defeat in the June 2023 presidential poll. Emboldened and energised, Islamic jihadists and criminals are expanding and consolidating across the Sahel and into the Gulf of Guinea. Terror and insecurity loom over Nigeria and the Af-Pak region where the Durand line (the British-drawn border, rejected by Kabul and every Pashtun) looks increasingly vulnerable. Lord have mercy!

The RLPB will start 2023 with a major focus on Nigeria’s presidential election, slated for 25 February. Ethnic tensions are rising, leading one analyst to warn that this election (if it takes place) could be ‘centrifugal’. The main presidential candidates are: ‘the Godfather of Lagos’ Bola Tinubu (APC), a Yoruba Muslim from the south-west; Rabiu Kwankwaso (NNPP), a Fulani Muslim from Kano in the north-west; Atiku Abubakar (PDP) a Fulani Muslim from Adamawa in the north-east; and Peter Obi (pictured), an Igbo Christian from the south-east who in May defected from the PDP to lead the Labour Party (LP). While many Yoruba Christians might be tempted to vote along tribal lines, the fact that the APC is bucking convention to run a Muslim-Muslim ticket might cause many to reconsider. Most Christians will probably vote for either the pro-business, anti-Sharia Atiku Abubakar (PDP), or rising star Peter Obi (LP), whose popularity is soaring across the country (including in the north) to the extent that he is now leading in the polls. How the Fulani herdsmen, Islamists and jihadists will respond to the retirement of their champion – President Muhammadu Buhari (APC) – is one concern. How they might respond to an Obi win is another. Please pray for God to intervene in Nigeria so that righteousness, justice, peace and security might be established; and may the Lord sustain, guide and sanctify his imperilled Church through these challenging times.

While a ferocious spiritual battle is underway, it is imperative that we not lose sight of the bigger picture. For through his death and resurrection Jesus Christ has already won the decisive battle. Jesus lives! Jesus reigns! Jesus is, this very day, fulfilling his promises and building his Church! The situation is anything but hopeless! Be encouraged!

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A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT
by Elizabeth Kendal
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On the Sunday before his crucifixion (Palm Sunday), Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey as the people spread their cloaks on the road before him, waved palm branches and shouted praises. Indignant, the religious leaders demanded Jesus make them stop. He responded, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out’ (Luke 19:28-40). Jesus then went into the temple to pray and teach, only to find it full of animals, traders, money-changers and corruption. Rebuking them, he drove them out, explaining, ‘It is written, “My house shall be a house of prayer”, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ Doubly indignant, the religious leaders yearned to destroy him (Luke 19:45-48).

In Luke chapter 20 we find Jesus in the temple, teaching and preaching the Gospel. A delegation of religious leaders interrupts him, asking, ‘Who gave you authority to do these things?’ which is another way of saying, ‘Who do you think you are?’ Jesus doesn’t answer them directly. Rather, he tells the people a parable: the Parable of the Tenants (Luke 20:9-19). While Jesus is not speaking to the religious leaders, he is speaking about them, and they know it. Being experts in scripture, they understand the parable perfectly. They know from Isaiah 5:1-7, that God is the owner of the vineyard and they are the tenants. They know that the servants are the prophets, whom they have abused, rejected and even killed. Finally, God sends ‘my beloved son’ [cf Matthew 3:17] who is likewise despised, rejected and murdered. There is nothing left now for those wicked tenants but judgement.

But the encounter doesn’t end there. When the religious leaders objected, Jesus looked directly at them and said, ‘What then is this that is written: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him’ (Luke 20:17,18 ESV).

Referencing three Old Testament images, Jesus expands the people’s vision from what is past (their rejection of the prophets) and what is imminent (their rejection and murder of the Son of God) to the future: the authority, glory and victory of the Son.

Jesus is the cornerstone. Quoting Psalm 118:22 – ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’ – Jesus makes it clear that despite being despised, rejected and ultimately killed, the Son of God becomes the cornerstone: the first stone laid in the foundation (Isaiah 28:16) of a whole new structure. Jesus is the cornerstone of the universal Church (1 Peter 2:4-8) comprising Jews and Gentiles who will produce good fruit. ‘This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes’ (Psalm 118:23).

Jesus is a stumbling block (Luke 20:18a). In his humility and humanity, Jesus is a stumbling block to many. People look at him and wonder, ‘How can this swaddled baby in a manger, this man eating at the table, this mangled flesh hanging on a cross, be God? How can this be our Saviour?’ Instead of recognising Jesus as the cornerstone and following him, they stumble on him and break into pieces. The reference is from Isaiah 8:11-15. Isaiah has prophesied that, having conquered Israel, superpower Assyria will ultimately spill over the border and flood/invade Judah ‘right up to its neck’ [i.e. to the gates of Jerusalem] (Isaiah 8:5-8). In the face of terror, Isaiah exhorts the people to trust in God who is faithful to all his promises. For those who choose the way of faith, ‘he [God] will become a sanctuary’ [dwelling place]; but for those who reject the way of faith, he will be ‘a stone of offence and a rock of stumbling … many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.’ As a citizen of Australia – which is increasingly looking like John Bunyan’s ‘Vanity Fair’ – I wonder, ‘Is our society any better for its rejection of Christ?’ Clearly it is not! It is more selfish, more perverse, more corrupt, more violent … more broken. The Church too routinely stumbles over the way of faith, preferring the way of works and idols, only to end up stumbling and broken. Lord help us!

Interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
(click on image to enlarge)

Jesus is the stone of crushing (Luke 20:18b), ‘and when it [the cornerstone] falls on anyone, it will crush him’. The reference is to Daniel 2, specifically to Daniel’s interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (v31-45). As Daniel explains, the image/statue in the king’s dream represents the various kingdoms/empires that will come and go. But while kingdoms/empires rise and fall, God will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, a kingdom that will grow to fill the earth … and it all starts with a stone ‘cut out by no human hand’ (v34). In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream this divinely-cut stone strikes the image on its feet, crushing them and causing the whole image to collapse into pieces that are blown away like chaff, leaving no trace. ‘But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth’ (v35).

Dear intercessor, be encouraged. For ultimately, as we ‘speak, pray, give’ and produce good fruit (Galatians 5:22,23), the kingdom of this King of Love will grow to fill the whole earth. No wonder the angel who addressed the shepherds spoke of ‘good news of great joy that will be for all the people’. No wonder the choir of heavenly hosts sang, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’ (Luke 2:8-20).

Who is this in yonder stall, at whose feet the shepherds fall?
Tis the LORD, O wond'rous story,
Tis the LORD, the King of glory.
At his feet we humbly fall,
Crown him crown him LORD of all.

[from the hymn by Benjamin Russell Hanby (1833-1867)]



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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry; to support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com.

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 675. Burma (Myanmar) and Indonesia: December Shocks

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 675 | Wed 14 Dec 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com  
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
For bite-size: follow religiouslibertyprayer on Instagram.

NOTE: Next week’s Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) of 21 December will be the last RLPB for 2022. Being the Wednesday before Christmas, it will comprise simply a short devotion to fuel faith and energise prayer. RLPB will return with a January Update on 25 January 2023.

BURMA (MYANMAR) & INDONESIA: DECEMBER SHOCKS
By Elizabeth Kendal

BURMA (MYANMAR): CHRISTIAN LEADER ARRESTED

Rev Dr Hkalam Samson, 2019.

Junta officials have arrested and are preparing to prosecute one of Burma’s most significant and influential religious leaders and human rights advocates. A former chairman of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), the Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson currently serves as chairman of the Kachin National Consultative Assembly (WMR), a group comprised of Kachin religious, political and civil society leaders. In 2019, Dr Samson travelled to Washington, DC to participate in the International Religious Freedom Ministerial Conference. Invited to the White House, he spoke with President Trump about the Burmese military’s religious oppression of ethnic minorities. Upon his return the military’s Northern Command attempted to open a lawsuit against him but was ultimately forced to drop the case.

Dr Hkalam Samson was detained on Sunday 4 December at Mandalay International Airport as he was about to board a flight to Bangkok where he was to receive medical treatment. He was held and interrogated overnight at Central Military Headquarters, before being put on a flight back to Kachin State. Upon his arrival at Myitkyina Airport, Dr Samson was arrested and taken away by officers of the junta’s Northern Regional Military Command. On Tuesday 6 December the junta’s Security and Border Affairs Minister in Kachin State, Col. Aung Kyi Lin, summoned four KBC officials, explaining that the junta was preparing to prosecute Dr Samson. In a video posted on the KBC’s Facebook page (Wed 7 Dec), Deputy Secretary of the KBC, the Reverend Lahpai Zau Ra explains: ‘We were shown video files of the Bishop’s speeches and told he had committed offences. We were shown points he preached in Bible classes. We were told they were preparing to take action because he is guilty.’ Rev. Lahpai Zau Ra said he did not know which section of the Penal Code Dr Samson would be charged with or where he is being held. Myitkyina residents believe Dr Samson is being held at Northern Command headquarters in the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina.

Myanmar map,
showing location of
Kachin capital, Myitkyina.

The junta has recently escalated its attacks on Kachin State, accusing the state’s ethnic Kachin Independence Army of aiding anti-regime resistance forces. [For background see RLPB 590, Christian Crisis Looms, 24 March 2021.] On Sunday 23 October 2022 Kachin civilians gathered in A Nang Pa region of Hpakant township, Kachin State, to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the formation of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO). At around 8:30pm, junta military jets dropped at least three bombs onto the open-air gathering turning the celebration into a massacre. Junta forces then obstructed roads, preventing the wounded from reaching the hospitals. More than 60 people were killed, making it the deadliest single airstrike since the junta seized power in February 2021. The Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson arranged the funerals and led the efforts to secure emergency medical care for the wounded. The KBC has formed a committee dedicated to working for Dr Samson’s release.

PLEASE PRAY that our compassionate, sovereign Lord would protect, sustain and deliver Dr Hkalam Samson. May God – whose throne is founded on righteousness and justice and who goes forth in love and faithfulness – intervene in Burma/Myanmar to end this horrendous war and deliver his precious Church from genocidal terror. ‘Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you’ (Psalm 89:14 ESV)

Prayer for Burma: Psalm 10


INDONESIA: GREAT LEAP FORWARD FOR ISLAMISATION

On Tuesday 6 December, the Indonesian Parliament passed its revised Criminal Code (Undang Undang Kitab Hukum Pidana, or KUHP). A previous attempt in 2019 triggered enormous protests so, this time, politicians limited public consultation, ignored widespread criticism and rushed it through at short notice. Insiders say Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin (79), a conservative cleric and former chairman of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI), was behind the push to get the revised Code through. [For more on VP Ma’ruf Amin, see ‘Indonesia: from Pancasila to Islamisation’, RLM, 11 April 2019.] Critically, the revised Criminal Code empowers the government at the expense of the people by giving the state a legal weapon it can wield against its critics. For example: the new code criminalises attacking the ‘honour or dignity’ of public officials, including the president and members of the government; and truth is not a defence (Articles 218-220).

While Western politicians, institutions and mainstream media have blasted the Code’s attack on sexual freedom and privacy, they have remained largely silent on the Code’s attacks on freedom of speech, association and religion. Most critically for the archipelago’s religious minorities, the revised Criminal Code recognises ‘any living law’ – such as customary law or Sharia law – operating at the local level (Article 2). It also expands the 1965 blasphemy law from one article to six (Articles 300-305). Apostasy is banned, along with any effort to persuade a person to apostatise. The Indonesian government has defended its stance, insisting it is merely upholding ‘Indonesian values’, as if ‘Indonesian’ is now synonymous with ‘Islamic’.

The law still requires the president’s signature. Even then, it will not come into effect immediately, as it could take up to three years to get the necessary implementing regulations in place. The revised Criminal Code will most certainly be challenged in the Constitutional Court, which unfortunately is not as independent as it used to be. In recent months the parliament – with the president’s approval – recalled and replaced Justice Aswanto after he ruled against laws (deeming them flawed) that the parliament had passed. Would any judge dare defy parliament now?

PLEASE PRAY for God to raise up articulate, principled and courageous religious liberty advocates at every level of Indonesian society. May the Lord redeem this threatening situation for his good purpose. ‘For nothing will be impossible with God’ (from Luke 1:35-38 ESV).

PRAY especially for Muhammad Kece – a former Islamic teacher turned Christian apologist – as he spends his first Christmas in an Indonesian prison. In February, Kece was sentenced to ten years in prison because of his apologetics ministry [see RLPB 639, ‘Apologist Kece Jailed for Ten Years,’ 30 March 2022]. On 6 June, Kece’s sentence was reduced on appeal to six years in prison. His health has been fragile; his faith will be tested. May the Lord sustain and deliver him!


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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BURMA/MYANMAR & INDONESIA: CHRISTMAS IN PRISON

On 5 December Burmese junta officials arrested the Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, one of Burma’s most significant and influential religious leaders. The Kachin Baptist Convention has been informed that the junta is preparing to prosecute Dr Samson over words spoken in speeches, Bible classes and sermons, although it remains unknown what crime he stands accused of. On 6 December, the Indonesian parliament passed a revised criminal code that eviscerates religious liberty. The blasphemy law has been expanded from one article to six; and apostasy is banned, as are efforts to persuade a person to apostatise/convert. In February, former Islamic teacher turned Christian apologist Muhammad Kece was sentenced to ten years jail for his apologetics ministry. Please pray for Dr Samson and Muhammad Kece as they endure faith-testing times.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry; to support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com.

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 674. Syria & Iraq: Christian Crisis in Mesopotamia

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 674 | Wed 07 Dec 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com 
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SYRIA & IRAQ: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN MESOPOTAMIA
By Elizabeth Kendal

According to a recent report by the Catholic charity, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the number of Christians living in Syria has dropped from 1.5 million or 10 percent of the population before 2011, to roughly 300,000 or two percent of the population today. Most Christians in Syria are ethnic Assyrian (the indigenous nation of the Fertile Crescent), Armenian and Greek. The situation is much the same in Iraq, where the Assyrian population has declined from 1.4 million (1987 census) to about 200,000 in 2016, to maybe as few as 100,000 today. According to Iraqi Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of Iraq’s Chaldean Church (Nov 2022), half of Iraqi Christians have emigrated in the last five years and many others are ‘on the waiting list’; indeed, they are leaving ‘at a rate of around 20 families a month’. It is an existential crisis about which the West – who, over the course of at least 170 years, has repeatedly betrayed Christians into the hands of Muslims – prefers to remain silent.

Map source (July 2020)

SYRIA: Most Syrian Christians live with good, albeit fragile, religious security and liberty in government-controlled regions along the north-south Damascus to Aleppo axis, in the Alawite heartland of coastal Latakia, and in the Kurdish-controlled north-east. Very few (if any) Christians remain in Idlib Province in Syria’s far north-west which is controlled by al-Qaeda, infested with jihadists and protected by Turkey.

In government-held areas the greatest threat to the Christian presence is crippling poverty, lack of healthcare and the near total absence of any opportunity to work, rebuild or flourish. This is almost exclusively due to US sanctions, specifically the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act which essentially places all government-controlled areas of Syria in a state of economic siege [see RLPB 580, Loving Syria’s Christians, 16 December 2020]. In June 2020 Joseph Tobji, the Maronite Archbishop of Aleppo, lamented that the US government was ‘willing to do anything, even to sacrifice millions of people, poor people, families’ in pursuit of its goals (e.g. regime change in Damascus). As Melkite Archbishop of Aleppo, Georges Masri, recently confirmed (ACN, 7 Nov), it is due to sanctions that many Syrians now die for lack of medication.

Meanwhile, in the Kurdish-dominated north and north-east, the greatest threat comes from Turkish aggression [see RLPB 654 (20 July 2022)]. On 22 and 23 November, Turkish airstrikes on the Al-Hol camp – which holds thousands of Islamic State (IS) fighters and families – killed eight security officers from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces and enabled the escape of an unknown number of IS families. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the incident and spoke of ‘indescribable chaos’ in Al-Hol. Though Turkey is unlikely to launch a large-scale ground invasion deep into Syria’s north-east, it might settle for unleashing IS against the Kurds. The last thing Syria’s remnant Christians need is a return of IS terror. Meanwhile, Turkey might launch a limited ground invasion west of the Euphrates to seize control of Tel Rifaat (40km north of Aleppo) and Mambij in northern Aleppo Governorate – towns (along with Kobane) Turkey has identified as ‘sources of trouble’. The last thing Aleppo’s remnant Christians need is a return of Turkish forces and their murderous jihadist proxies. Lord have mercy!

Archbishop Bashar Warda 

IRAQ: In Iraq today most Assyrians live either as refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan or as persecuted believers struggling to rebuild their lives in the historic Assyrian heartland of the Nineveh Plains in Nineveh Province, Northern Iraq. Assyrians who return to the Nineveh Plains face enormous challenges, including political marginalisation and violent persecution from land-grabbing Kurds (Sunnis, backed by the Kurdish administration) and Shabaks (Shi’ites, backed by Baghdad and Tehran) [see RLPB 642 (27 April 2022)]. In August, the Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Cardinal Raphael Louis Sako warned that in the absence of major systemic political, social and economic changes, Christians in Iraq are ‘heading towards disappearance’ [RLPB 660 (31 Aug 2022)]. At the 2-3 November G20 Religion forum (R20) in Bali, Indonesia, Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil addressed hundreds of religious leaders. He warned that after 1900 years of existing in the region, ‘we Christians of Iraq now find ourselves on the very edge of extinction’. [For more detail see: RLPB 545, Prayer for Assyria: ‘the Assyrian crisis is our crisis’, 15 Apr 2020.]


PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR MERCIFUL GOD WILL

* protect, sustain, guide and encourage Syria’s suffering and imperilled Christians who, having survived war and remained in their homeland, now find themselves languishing under ‘inhumane’ US sanctions and/or facing the prospect of renewed Islamic terror, foreign invasion and displacement. May the Lord intervene to bring the sanctions to an end. May the Lord intervene to establish peace in Syria. Lord have mercy!

* bless the numerous Christian churches and Christian ministries that are providing services and care to Syria’s poor, sick, hungry, threatened and displaced; may the Lord protect them and supply their every need. Lord have mercy!

* intervene in Iraq to protect, bless and build the Assyrian Church and nation according to his promise: 'The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria, the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance ' (Isaiah 19:25 ESV) (emphasis mine).


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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SYRIA & IRAQ: CHRISTIAN CRISIS IN MESOPOTAMIA

Most Christians in Syria and Iraq are ethnic Assyrian, Armenian and Greek. With their historic heartland in Nineveh, northern Iraq, the Assyrians are the indigenous people of Mesopotamia. The number of Christians living in Syria has declined from 1.5 million before 2011, to roughly 300,000 today. In Iraq, the Assyrian population has declined from 1.4 million (1987 census) to about 200,000 in 2016, to maybe as few as 100,000 today. In Syria the Christian presence is under threat due to ‘inhumane’ US sanctions, as well as Turkish aggression which risks reviving Islamic terror. In Iraq, the threat comes from crippling ethno-religious discrimination and persecution, and Muslim land-grabbing backed by powerful interests in ‘Kurdistan’, Baghdad and Tehran. Church leaders warn that Christians in Iraq are ‘on the very edge of extinction’. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry; to support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com .

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com 

RLPB 673. November Update, incl. Ethiopia and Eritrea, India, Mali, West Papua, Sudan, Uganda, Turkey in Syria

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 673 | Wed 30 Nov 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

To sign up for the RLPB visit www.ElizabethKendal.com
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
For bite-size, follow religiouslibertyprayer on Instagram.

NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE
By Elizabeth Kendal

DURING NOVEMBER WE PRAYED CONCERNING:

* ETHIOPIA [RLPB 670, 9 Nov], where the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have signed an ‘Agreement for Lasting Peace’. Meanwhile, the ethnic-nationalist Oromo Liberation Army (OLA / OLF-Shene) continues to wage a campaign of terror aimed at ethnic cleansing against minority Amharas in the majority Christian north-west of Oromia Region.

UPDATE OROMIA: The condition and whereabouts of nine deacons abducted from the Midre Genet St Mariam Church and the parish council members abducted of Harbu Bose St Michael church – two churches in North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region – remain unknown. Please pray for the captives and for an end to OLA terror.

UPDATE TIGRAY: Rumours abound of TPLF fighters refusing to accept the conditions of the Agreement, in particular, the requirement to disarm. Please pray for God to intervene, to infuse a spirit of / desire for peace among the many fighters who do not support the Agreement. The Nairobi declaration of 12 November – which sets outs how the Agreement (signed in Pretoria on 2 November) will be implemented – provides that disarmament of TPLF forces will be undertaken in tandem with the withdrawal of foreign [read: Eritrean] and non-ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Forces) [read: Amhara FANO] forces. The main threat here is Eritrea, which is not a party to the Agreement. [Eritrea has made peace with the Ethiopian government, not with the expansionist TPLF.] Please pray that all Eritrean troops and FANO militias will withdraw from Tigray Region in a peaceful, disciplined and orderly fashion, and that nothing will get in the way of peace; for the sake of all Ethiopians and Eritreans and the region’s precious, missional Church.

* ERITREA [RLPB 671, 16 Nov], after the authorities arrested and jailed three Catholic leaders who had highlighted Eritrea’s human rights abuses. Abba (Father) Mihretab Stefanos, Abba Abraham Habtom Gebremariam and Abune (His Excellency) Fikremariam Hagos, the first Bishop of the Catholic Eparchy (diocese) of Segheneyti, were arrested on 11,12 and 15 October respectively. Sources believe that all three Catholics are being held at the notorious Adi Abeito prison on the northern outskirts of Asmara. An estimated 500 Christians are imprisoned in Eritrea, most for their faith, some for their human rights advocacy. Some Christians leaders arrested in 2004 remain incarcerated to this day. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

* INDIA [RLPB 672, 23 Nov], where the Supreme Court had ordered the government to submit an affidavit explaining what it intends to do to curb ‘forced’ religious conversions. The next hearing was scheduled for Monday 28 November.

UPDATES

SUPREME COURT: In its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the Indian government said it is ‘cognisant of the gravity and the seriousness’ of the issue of ‘forced’ religious conversion. The government promised that ‘the relief sought in the present petition would be taken up in all seriousness by the Union of India and appropriate steps shall be taken as the Central Government is cognisant of the matter’. According to Telegraph, India (28 Nov), ‘The Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday that religious freedom does not include a fundamental right to convert other people to a particular religion and that it certainly does not embrace the right to convert an individual through fraud, deception, coercion or allurement. The central government said it is “cognisant of the menace” and laws that seek to control such practices are necessary to protect the cherished rights of vulnerable sections of the society…’ Please pray for the Church in India.

CONVERSIONS IN KASHI/VARANASI (UP): According to Hindu nationalist ideology (Hindutva), Indians are members of the Hindu race. For an Indian, therefore, religious conversion into Hinduism cannot be called conversion; rather it is called Ghar Wapsi (Hindi: ‘Returning Home’). Throughout the country, Hindu nationalist organisations are working tirelessly to bring as many Christians ‘home’ as possible. According to the Nagaland Post (17 Nov), a Hindu nationalist Ghar Wapsi campaign had been slated for 6 to 20 November, for people in the 19 districts of the Kashi/Varanasi region in Uttar Pradesh, with the goal of reconverting / 'bringing home' 500,000 people (Muslims, Christians and tribals). Many Christians who convert to Hinduism or identify as Hindus do so for financial reasons; for desperately poor, low-caste and Dalit (untouchable) Indians are only eligible for benefits so long as they are Hindu. For Christians who insist on standing firm the cost of discipleship can be very high indeed. Please pray for the Church in India.


NOVEMBER 2022 ROUND-UP - also this month:

* MALI ABANDONED AS TERROR ESCALATES

(1) GERMAN PRIEST ABDUCTED IN BAMAKO

Rev Hans-Joachim Lohre.
(Aid to the Church in Need)

On Sunday 20 November the Reverend Hans-Joachim Lohre – a German priest who has served in Mali for more than 30 years – disappeared from the Malian capital, Bamako. Lohre – known affectionately as Father Ha-Jo – was preparing to go and celebrate Mass when suspected Islamic militants snatched him, cutting the cross from his neck. It is the first abduction of a foreigner from Bamako since the Islamic insurgency began more than a decade ago. On 23 November Cardinal Jean Zerbo, Archbishop of Bamako, released a statement lamenting, ‘At the moment we have no further news [regarding the Revd Lohre] or contacts with the kidnappers…’ Aid to the Church in Need reports (22 Nov), ‘During a visit to Switzerland, less than six months ago, [Fr Lohre] told local benefactors about the situation in Mali. “The jihadists come in groups, on motorcycles, and the local communities have to make deals with them. They are forbidden from ringing church bells and drinking alcohol, and women are forced to wear the veil”.’ Now, it seems, Fr Lohre is their captive. Please pray.

(2) THE WEST ABANDONS MALI

click on map to enlarge

Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) is escalating its insurgency in Mali. ISGS terror recently forced more than 60,000 civilians from Menaka (in northern Mali near the border with Niger) to flee to Gao, the regional capital. Those displaced tell of massacres, stonings and extortion. Despite the escalation in terror, Western forces are withdrawing, abandoning the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). France has already withdrawn its troops [see RLPB 607, The Sahel: Africa’s Afghanistan? Christians Imperilled (21 July 2021)]. On 14 November the UK joined Sweden in announcing that it will withdraw its troops. In the past week, Germany announced that it will withdraw its troops by May 2024, primarily because Mali has engaged Russia in the fight against the jihadists. With terrorists pushing through Burkina Faso into Gulf of Guinea states, analysts suspect Togo, Benin and Ghana might decide they need to bring their troops home. The security situation in Mali and the wider Sahel is diabolical and rapidly deteriorating; it is a Christian Crisis in the making. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

* PAPUAN PROVINCES (INDONESIA): FURTHER DIVISION

Red: new province of
Southwest Papua

On 17 November the Indonesian government unanimously passed a law to divide West Papua Province (the western region comprising the Bird’s Head Peninsula and the Fak Fak Peninsula). West Papua will be split between Southwest Papua Province, the capital of which will be Sorong; and West Papua Province, the capital of which will be Manokwari. Previously, on 30 June, the Indonesian government passed legislation to divide Papua Province into four administrative units. At that time, analysts warned that the new divisions will ‘serve to accelerate Javanese Muslim colonisation, militarisation and exploitation’, hastening the ‘end-game’ of Papuan genocide [see RLPB 661, Papua: Entering the ‘End Game’, 7 Sept 2022]. As the Lowy Institute notes, ‘The creation of new administrative districts entails the necessity to establish government apparatus, set up military posts, and construct new infrastructure – all of which might exacerbate violent conflict in the region.’ Betrayed and abandoned, exploited and persecuted, the mostly Christian indigenous Melanesians of Indonesia’s Papuan provinces long for self-determination, not only because they desire freedom, but because they hope to survive as a people. Lord have mercy! Please pray.

* SUDAN: PASTOR ARRESTED

On Monday 21 November Pastor Abdalla Haron Sulieman led a prayer service for his ailing mother, Aisha Adam (60), at the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church in El Hasahisa town, Al Jazirah state. Locals told Morning Star News (27 Nov) that during the service Pastor Sulieman’s mother was healed, leading area Muslims to flock to the church requesting prayer for themselves. Furious, Islamic fundamentalists persuaded police to arrest and jail the pastor on a charge of ‘witchcraft’. MSN lists the case as ‘Case No. 6737/2022 under the Sudan Criminal Code of 1991’. NOTE: I (Elizabeth) cannot find any reference to witchcraft in the criminal code. Consequently, I am wondering if the accusation of witchcraft will be tied to something like ‘fabricating false evidence’ or ‘criminal mischief’ or ‘insulting religious creeds’. It will be interesting to see how the court handles this case of a Christian pastor who has not committed any crime at all. MSN reports that after the arrest Sudanese Christians took to social media demanding the pastor’s release and protesting the persecution of Christians in Sudan. Please pray.

* UGANDA: ‘WE ARE SUFFERING FOR PASTORING CONVERTS FROM ISLAM.’

On Friday 18 November Pastor Jude Sitaalo (56) and his wife, Naisiga Sitaalo, were meeting with 10 other church members in the Believers’ Church in Nansonko village, Kibuku District, Eastern Region, when a mosque leader led a group of Muslims to attack the gathering. The attack was in response to an evangelistic event in August in which five young Muslim men put their faith in Jesus Christ. The pastor and his wife received multiple knife wounds. Pastor Sitaalo told Morning Star News, ‘We are suffering for pastoring converts from Islam.’ On 8 November Muslim fundamentalists in Katantala village, Kiboga District, Buganda Region beat Pastor Agaba Ezera and demolished his church in retaliation for his leading 23 Muslims to Christ. Pastor Ezera was hospitalised with leg, back, arm and head injuries – most due to blunt-weapon trauma. He believes he only survived because the militants thought they had killed him. [See Morning Star News, 29 Nov.] Please pray for the Church in Uganda.

* TURKEY IN SYRIA

Background: On 23 May Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that Turkey was preparing to re-invade northern Syria to resume its effort to create a ‘safe zone’ 32km deep along the entire Turkey-Syria border. [For full details see RLPB 654 (20 July).] Because Turkey failed to get the necessary ‘green light’, the invasion did not eventuate. As the US, Iran and Russia all agreed, Turkish aggression in northern Syria would enable a revival of Islamic State [RLPB 655 (27 July)].

Recommended:
David Eubank of Free Burma Rangers
reports from Takl Bukl, south of Derik
in Syria's far north-east.
20 Nov 2022

On Sunday 20 November Turkish warplanes launched a series of air raids across North and East Syria, from Afrin (just 60km northwest of Aleppo) to Kobanî (Ayn al-Arab) in the north, to Al-Malikiyah (also known as Derik) in Syria’s far north-east. These air-strikes – part of ‘Operation Claw-Sword’ – resulted in deaths, injuries and great material damage. Turkey (a NATO member and US ally) also bombed several areas deep inside northern Iraq, including in Sinjar (125km west of Mosul), Dohuk (74km north of Mosul), Qandil (70km north-east of Erbil) and Sulaymaniyah (110 km east of oil-rich Kirkuk). In Syria, the air-raids were followed by shelling. Having blamed Kurdish terrorists for the 13 November terror attack in Istanbul, Turkey claims to be acting in self-defence. All these areas have Kurdish majorities and significant remnant communities of indigenous Armenian and Assyrian Christians. Declaring the air-strikes to be ‘only the beginning’, Erdoğan is yet again threatening to launch a ground invasion into northern Syria. Everyone agrees, a Turkish invasion of northern Syria would enable a revival of Islamic State and risk igniting a whole new war in Mesopotamia. Please pray.

--------------------------------------------

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church.

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

The RLPB is a donor-funded ministry. For more information on Elizabeth's books, global persecution, or how to provide financial support, visit www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 672. India: Supreme Court Seeks Action on Conversions

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 672 | Wed 23 Nov 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
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INDIA: SUPREME COURT SEEKS ACTION ON CONVERSIONS
By Elizabeth Kendal

On Monday 14 November the Supreme Court of India issued an Order to ‘the Centre’ (the Federal government) requesting an affidavit explaining what the government intends to do to curb ‘forced’ religious conversions. The request was made by Justices M R Shah and Hima Kohli to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta (appearing for the Centre) in response to a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) brought by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. Formerly a spokesman for Delhi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Upadhyay admits to having a ‘passion for filing PILs’. As an activist lawyer, Upadhyay has filed over 50 PILs in the past five years, mostly on contentious social and religious issues. He is often accused of working to advance the BJP’s agenda by way of judicial activism.

In his PIL to the Supreme Court, Upadhyay protests that ‘conversion is done by intimidating, threatening, deceiving, luring through gifts and monetary benefits and also by using black magic, superstition and miracles but the Centre has not taken any stringent steps to stop this menace’. Upadhyay insists that, ‘The injury caused to the citizens is extremely large because there is not even one district which is free of religious conversion by “hook and crook and the carrot and the stick”.’ He even insists that Article 25 of India’s constitution only protects the right to propagate ‘Dharma [what is right] not Adharma [what is wrong]’ and ‘Riti [good] (customs) and Pratha [good] (traditions), not Kuriti and Kupratha [evil customs and traditions]’. Echoing a controversial ruling from 1977, Upadhyay insists the right to propagate religion does not include the right to convert. Conversion, he insists, is always predatory, exploitative and malicious. [Full text of Upadhyay's PIL.]

Upadhyay’s PIL to the Supreme Court is reminiscent of his June 2022 PIL to the Delhi High Court where he similarly asked the court to direct the Centre and the Delhi government to frame laws prohibiting forced religious conversions. On that occasion the Delhi High Court countered that ‘conversion is not prohibited … That is the constitutional right’, and rebuked Upadhyay for making such a radical request without providing any data to support his claims of rampant, mass, ‘forced’ conversions. The ruling of the Delhi High Court – which on 25 July, dismissed the PIL – stands in stark contrast to the disturbing words and actions of the Supreme Court.

In their Order to the Centre the Supreme Court Justices state: ‘The issue with respect to the alleged conversion of religion, if it is found to be correct and true, is a very serious issue which may ultimately affect the security of the nation and violate citizens’ right to freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practise and propagate (sic) religion. Therefore, it is better that the Union Government may make their stand clear and file a counter on what further steps can be taken by the Union of India and/or others to curb such forced conversion, maybe by force, allurement or fraudulent means.’ Solicitor General Tushar Mehta agreed with Upadhyay and the Justices, adding that ‘forced’ conversion is ‘rampant in tribal areas’, where, he claimed, people are lured to convert with offers of rice and wheat. ‘In many cases,’ lamented Mehta, ‘the victim would not know he has been the subject matter of a criminal offence… He would say that he was helped.’ Not only are elite Hindu nationalists like Mehta ignorant about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, but as those who believe in karma they are totally hostile to the concept of grace (the central theme of the Gospel from which all else flows), finding it improper, incomprehensible and essentially unbelievable.

Six women (four of whom are Christian) arrested
at the birthday party of a Christian child.
Hindu nationalists accuse the Christians
of using the party as a cover to convert Hindus.
Morning Star News, 3 Nov 2022.

The court ordered the government to respond by 22 November and scheduled the next hearing for Monday 28 November. Doubtless Upadhyay and the BJP are hopeful that where the legislature has so far failed, judicial activism will succeed, and a federal anti-conversion law will be forthcoming. Whether it is successful or not, we must anticipate that this judicial activism from India’s apex court will, at the very least, further stoke the fires of Hindu nationalist zeal, fuelling sectarianism and religious persecution. Those most at risk will be Christians who, by praying with others, teaching, serving, helping, sharing, witnessing [MSN, 6 Nov] or even just meeting together – i.e. essentially doing anything that theoretically could lead to the conversion of another person – risk violent persecution and lawfare.


PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR MERCIFUL GOD WILL

* raise up powerful, influential voices in India – from the Centre to the village – who will expose the dangers of intolerant Hindu nationalism (a modern ideology which politicians exploit for political gain [i.e. to dragnet the vote of the Hindu majority]). May Indians reject the BJP’s noisy politics of division, fear-mongering and hatred in favour of quiet living in unity and peace. May the Lord ‘break the arm’ [the mechanism of action/power] (Psalm 10) of India’s Hindu nationalists. Lord have mercy!

* protect and sustain Indian Christians who risk much to pray with the sick, witness for Christ, help the needy and even just gather together. May Yahweh Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts (the commander of heaven’s angelic armies) send his angels to stand between his precious faithful children and those who would do them harm (2 Kings 6:17).

* comfort and restore Indian Christians who have suffered and are suffering discrimination and persecution linked to intolerant Hindu nationalism. Lord we pray for those who have been dispossessed of their homes, lands and livelihoods; for those who grieve because they have lost loved ones; for those who have suffered trauma and crippling injury; and for those who feel overwhelmed, fearful and anxious in the face of escalating hardship and threat: Lord have mercy! May ‘the Father of mercies and God of all comfort’ (2 Cor 1:3) provide India’s threatened and persecuted believers, families and local churches with everything they need to endure and flourish. Lord have mercy!


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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SUPREME COURT IN INDIA SEEKS ACTION ON CONVERSIONS

Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay is a former BJP leader turned activist lawyer. His PIL (Public Interest Litigation) – which demands a federal anti-conversion law – is currently being considered by the Supreme Court. On 14 November, the court ordered the government to submit an affidavit explaining what it will do to curb ‘forced’ religious conversions. Despite a total lack of evidence, the Justices and the Solicitor General agreed with Upadhyay that ‘forced’ conversion is rampant and dangerous. The court ordered the government to respond by 22 November and scheduled the next hearing for Monday 28 November. No doubt Upadhyay and the BJP are hopeful that where the legislature has so far failed, judicial activism will succeed, and a federal anti-conversion law will be forthcoming. The court’s action will further inflame religious tensions and fuel persecution. Please pray.

------------------------------------------

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry; to support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com.

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 671. The Horror of Eritrea: Three More Christian Prisoners

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 671 | Wed 16 Nov 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
For bite-size: follow religiouslibertyprayer on Instagram.

THE HORROR OF ERITREA: THREE MORE CHRISTIAN PRISONERS
By Elizabeth Kendal

BACKGROUND: In September 2001 the Eritrean government closed all private media. It then rounded up its critics – members of parliament, senior government officials and independent journalists – and silenced them; many simply disappeared. In May 2002 the Eritrean government officially closed all churches other than the Eritrean Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Mekane Yesus (Evangelical Lutheran) denominations. Initially those most impacted belonged to the country’s now-banned Protestant mission churches whose congregations have grown and multiplied. In 2004, after Orthodox leaders criticised regime policy, persecution spread to the Orthodox Church. In 2019, after Catholic leaders criticised regime policy for the second time, persecution spread to the Catholic Church as the regime seized its medical clinics and started a process of seizing its schools.

CATHOLIC BISHOP AND TWO PRIESTS ARRESTED

Map (source) showing Teseney (far west),
the capital Asmara (centre),
and Segheneyti (south).

On 11 October 2022 Eritrean security agents detained Abba (Father) Mihretab Stefanos, the parish priest of St Michael’s Church in Segheneyti, a town some 60km south-east of the capital Asmara, in Eritrea’s Debub/Southern Region. Significantly, Awate.com reports (19 Oct 2022) that the regime recently confiscated the St Michael Elementary school in Segheneyti. On 12 October the regime detained Abba Abraham Habtom Gebremariam, the deputy parish priest in charge of students at the Capuchin Society in Teseney, a market town some 530km west of Asmara in Eritrea’s western Gash-Barka Region. Then, on 15 October, Abune (His Excellency) Fikremariam Hagos, the first Bishop of the Catholic Eparchy (diocese) of Segheneyti, was arrested at Asmara International Airport as he returned from a visit to Europe. A source told Catholic media that the three Catholics stand accused of highlighting Eritrea’s human rights abuses in their homilies/sermons. Sources believe that all three Catholics are being held at the notorious Adi Abeito prison on the northern outskirts of Asmara.

Since the religious repression was launched in May 2002, many thousands of Eritrean Christians (mostly Protestants) have endured incarceration because of their faith. Some leading Christians arrested in 2004 remain incarcerated to this day, including Pastor Haile Naigzhi, a leader in Eritrea’s Full Gospel/Kale Hiwot Church; Dr Kiflu Gebremeskel, a leading figure in the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea and chair of the Eritrean Evangelical Alliance; and Fathers Gebremedhin Gebregiorsis and Tekleab Menghisteab, two Orthodox priests arrested allegedly for being involved in the Church’s ‘Medhane Alem’ (‘Saviour of the World’) Bible study and renewal movement. An estimated 500 Christians are currently incarcerated because of their faith, including Father Kiros Tsegay – an American citizen who has ministered in Florida for 25 years. Father Kiros was arrested in October 2021 while visiting Eritrea to organise a memorial service to mark the first anniversary of his mother’s death. [NOTE: The Biden administration’s deep ties to the TPLF mean it might be best if Florida takes the lead in advocacy in this case.]

Catholic bishop Abune Fikremariam Hagos,
arrested 15 Oct 2022.

For prisoners – be they political or religious dissidents, or citizens fleeing compulsory and unending military service – conditions are extremely harsh. While many prisoners – complete with lice, festering wounds, diarrhea and various infectious diseases – are held in overcrowded cells, others are held in shipping containers or underground pits. Slave labour and torture are routine. Many prisoners simply disappear. The repression is such that Eritrea has earned the reputation of being ‘Africa’s North Korea’.

[Recommended, ‘Eritrea: The Secret State’, a documentary by Australian investigative reporter Evan Williams (screened June 2021).]

Much like North Korea’s President Kim Jong-un, Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki has long tied the regime’s extreme and brutal repression to the lack of peace, the perpetual threat from across the border, and the need to remain on a permanent war footing. However, now that Eritrea’s (and Ethiopia’s) greatest enemy – the Marxist-Leninist separatist and expansionist Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – has been defeated on the battlefield [see RLPB 670 (9 Nov)], Afwerki no longer has any excuse. However, can a leopard change its spots? Of course not! Neither can Afwerki or the regime he leads change their wicked nature (see Jeremiah 13:23). Eritrea still needs a divine intervention.


PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR MERCIFUL GOD WILL

* ‘bind the strong man’ (Satan; see Mark 3:27) so that the brutal regime of President Isaias Afwerki will either change its wicked ways or crumble into the dustpan of history; may it be powerless to resist the desire of the Eritrean people (for liberty) and the will and purpose of God (redemption).

* preserve and sustain his long-suffering precious Church in Eritrea; may she have wisdom to navigate the treacherous path before her and may all her captives be freed. We especially pray for all who have endured incarceration (that they may know healing), and all who are currently incarcerated (that they may be liberated). Lord have mercy!

Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. (Hebrews 13:3 ESV).

* magnify the voice of the Body of Christ, along with that of the increasingly united and active Eritrean Diaspora, so that voiceless Eritreans, including those of Eritrea’s severely persecuted, long-suffering Church, will have a voice that will be heard on earth and in heaven.

* continue to work through Ethiopia’s Christian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the man who brokered peace between the two governments and defeated the TPLF on the battlefield. May the Lord be pleased to use PM Abiy to encourage reform in neighbouring Eritrea, for the sake of Eritrea and all Eritreans, especially her long-suffering persecuted Church.


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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THE HORROR OF ERITREA: THREE MORE CHRISTIANS ARRESTED

Repression and human rights abuses are so severe in Eritrea that the state is often referred to as ‘Africa’s North Korea’. Much like North Korea’s President Kim Jong-un, Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki has long tied the regime’s extreme and brutal repression to the lack of peace and the need to remain on a war footing. The repression began in 2001. Protestant Christians have faced persecution since 2002; the Orthodox Church since 2004 and the Catholic Church since 2019. Since 2002, thousands of Eritrean Christians have endured incarceration; around 500 are currently imprisoned. Conditions are inhumane; slave labour and torture are routine. In mid-October a Catholic bishop and two priests were arrested for highlighting human rights abuses. However, with Ethiopia’s defeat of the expansionist TPLF, Afwerki no longer has any excuse. Please pray.

------------------------------------------

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) is a donor funded ministry; to support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com.

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information see www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 670. The Battle for Ethiopia: From Two Fronts to One

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 670 | Wed 09 Nov 2022
RLPB is published weekly to facilitate strategic intercessory prayer.

Sign up for the RLPB at www.ElizabethKendal.com
View RLPB archives at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.
For bite-size: follow religiouslibertyprayer on Instagram.

THE BATTLE FOR ETHIOPIA: FROM TWO FRONTS TO ONE
- TPLF surrenders; OLA abducts church leaders in Oromia Region
By Elizabeth Kendal

Ethiopia map, showing location of
reported OLA attacks.
(click on map to enlarge)
map source

ETHIOPIA vs OLA: On Saturday night 22 October, gunmen believed to be from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA – formerly known as ‘OLF-Shene’) stormed the Midre Genet St. Mariam Church in Gebre Guracha. Inside the church – which is located around 160km north-west of Addis Ababa in North Shewa Zone, Oromia Region – were priests, deacons and a church administrator who had gathered for an all-night prayer service. One deacon was killed in the attack and 11 others were abducted. By 4 November, one priest and the church administrator had been ransomed. To date, the whereabouts and condition of the other nine captives remain unknown. North of the capital, Addis Ababa, with three sides adjoining Amhara Region, North Shewa Zone (Oromia) is 84 percent Oromo, 15 percent Amhara, 5.3 percent Muslim and 94 percent Christian. A priest from North Shewa Selale Diocese Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) told the Addis Standard (4 Nov) that most of the churches in North Shewa Zone’s eight districts have stopped providing services due to insecurity. According to the diocesan head, members of the parish council of Harbu Bose St. Michael church have also been abducted and the diocese is working with security forces to free them. Another local priest confirms that militants ‘taking hostages and asking for money’ has ‘become more common in this area’.

Religion in Ethiopia
(Click on map to enlarge)
map source

As RLPB has long reported, the Christian Crisis is especially severe throughout Oromia Region’s majority Christian north-west where militant Oromo ethnic nationalists and separatists are waging a campaign of terror aimed at driving out the minority Amhara [see RLPB 652 (6 July 2022)]. On Sunday morning 6 November, OLA militants entered Nekemte, a market town around 330km west of Addis Ababa in East Welega Zone. East Welega Zone is 89 percent Oromo, 10.5 percent Amhara, 8 percent Muslim and 78 percent Christian. Having targeted a military base, the militants opened fire on Ethiopian government soldiers. Days earlier in West Welega Zone, OLA militants took control of Mendi, Kiltu Kara and Leta Sibu towns, looting property and abducting officials. West Welega Zone is 77 percent Oromo, 21 percent Amhara, 19 percent Muslim and 79 percent Christian. The terrorists also ambushed a vehicle as it travelled through Bengua town, 20km west of Mendi town. The vehicle was carrying medical and other supplies as well as students, who were travelling home to Kamashi after sitting their national exam in Assosa. The terrorists looted all the supplies and abducted 16 students, who remain missing as security forces endeavour to locate and free them.

ETHIOPIA vs TPLF: On 2 November 2022 – one day before the two-year anniversary of the TPLF’s massacre of the Northern Command (the massacre which triggered the war) – the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an ‘Agreement for Lasting Peace Through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities…’ [FULL TEXT]. The Agreement is, as one analyst put it, ‘more akin to a complete surrender than a compromise reached between two exhausted warring parties that find themselves in a stalemate or quagmire'. In late August, after the TPLF relaunched its war against the federal government, Prime Minister Abiy sent his forces on the offensive with orders to pursue the TPLF inside Tigray. With Abiy standing firm and the USA largely out of the picture, two months was all it took. Encircled, depleted and without supply, ‘the TPLF had no choice but to swallow the harsh, bitter, and unpalatable terms of the Agreement’.

The Agreement – which now enters the implementation phase – includes a comprehensive Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) program for the TPLF, as the parties recognise that Ethiopia has ‘only one defence force’ [Article 6]. The parties agree to respect the ‘sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’ [Article 2]. Having fought to reclaim their ancestral lands in Welkait and Raya (farmlands the TPLF annexed into Tigray during its nearly 30-year rule), the Amhara are anxious that Articles 5.3 (on the return of the displaced) and 10.4 (on ‘resolving issues of contested areas’) will favour the TPLF at the expense of the original Amhara landowners [see RLPB 651 (29 June 2022)]; this will make for difficult negotiations. While a truce heralds the commencement of a long and difficult peace process, a rebel surrender is a great place to start. We praise and thank God for his mercy in preserving Ethiopia in answer to the prayers of many. The biggest issues facing the federal government now are: implementation of the Agreement – especially the disarmament of the TPLF and negotiations over ‘contested areas’, defeating the terrorist OLA (which is backed by Egypt and Sudan’s Islamist military) and, the most critical issue of all, Constitutional reform to address toxic ethnic nationalism and separatism. All this will take place within the context of the greatest battle of all: the spiritual Battle for Ethiopia (Ephesians 6:12).

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
worship in Afan Omoro (language)
in East Welega, 2016.
(EOTC Channel, YouTube)

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR MERCIFUL GOD WILL:

* intervene to sustain, protect and ultimately liberate the youths, officials and Christian leaders currently held hostage by the Oromo Liberation Army; Lord have mercy!

* grace Prime Minister Abiy and the entire Ethiopian government with wisdom, boldness and resolve to defeat the terrorist Oromo Liberation Army; may every person impacted by OLA terror seek and find their shelter in the Lord.

* sustain and strengthen Prime Minister Abiy and the entire Ethiopian government as they work to implement the Agreement made with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front; may the Holy Spirit, ‘the Lord and giver of life’, soften hearts and direct minds in favour of peace, reconciliation and Ethiopian unity – for the sake of Ethiopia’s mission-focused Church and every lost and needy soul who needs her, be they Ethiopian or otherwise.

* intervene to energise, guide and aid the process of constitutional reform and peace-making for the benefit of Ethiopia and the whole Horn of Africa. Lord have mercy!


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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THE BATTLE FOR ETHIOPIA: FROM TWO FRONTS TO ONE

On 2 November 2022 the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an ‘Agreement for Lasting Peace Through a Permanent Cessation of Hostilities’. Encircled, depleted and without supply, the TPLF had little choice but to surrender. Now the difficult work of implementation (which includes disarming the TPLF) and negotiation (including over ‘contested areas’) begins. Please pray! Meanwhile, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) continues to wage terror across Oromia Region’s mostly Christian north and west, targeting the Amhara minority. Numerous students, local officials and church leaders are currently being held hostage. In North Shewa Zone, security is so bad that churches have ceased services. Nine deacons abducted from a prayer meeting on 22 October remain missing, as do members of a church council abducted around the same time. Please pray.

------------------------------------------

Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate for the persecuted Church. The RLPB is a donor-funded ministry. To support this ministry visit www.ElizabethKendal.com.

Elizabeth has authored two books: Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah Speaks to Christians Today (Deror Books, Melbourne, Australia, Dec 2012) which offers a Biblical response to persecution and existential threat; and After Saturday Comes Sunday: Understanding the Christian Crisis in the Middle East (Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR, USA, June 2016). She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

For more information visit: www.ElizabethKendal.com