Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 194 | Wed 23 Jan 2013
SUDAN: RACIAL-RELIGIOUS GENOCIDE IN THE 'NEW SOUTH'
'Worse than Darfur' -- but who cares?
By Elizabeth Kendal
In 1992, during its war against South Sudan, Khartoum declared a jihad against the 'rebellious' Nuba: the African tribes of the north's Nuba Mountains who along with the southerners were resisting Islamisation and racist Arab supremacy. A government-sponsored fatwa legitimised the jihad by labelling Muslim 'rebels' as 'apostates' and Christians as 'kaffirs [infidels / unbelievers] standing as a bulwark against the spread of Islam', and affirming that 'Islam has granted the freedom of killing both categories'. Nothing has changed -- same genocidal regime, same racial and religious hatred, same jihad, same aim: genocide.
Reporting on the situation across Sudan's 'new south' -- Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile -- Dr Mukesh Kapila, the former UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Sudan (2003-04) laments: 'The ethnic cleansing is largely complete. . . . Rebel areas are depopulated and largely empty.' He says that in Blue Nile, some 450,000 people have been affected with fields and villages being razed as Sudanese radio calls for the region to be 'combed' and cleansed of Africans who are de-humanised as 'black plastic bags'. He reports that in South Kordofan -- where soldiers have been ordered to 'sweep out the trash' (i.e. the Africans) and 'eat them alive' -- displaced families have retreated to remote cave networks where food is scarce. Whilst many are determined to remain, saying 'This is our country', others are simply too weak to attempt the long trek south. It is a journey that is itself incredibly dangerous, for Khartoum wants the Nuba not just gone, but dead -- unable to return. A delegation from HART (Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust) recently confirmed that on 12 December 2012 1700 civilians from Ulu Payam (Kirmuk County) left for South Sudan, only to be attacked en route by SAF (Sudan Armed Forces) ground troops. Many were killed and many children scattered, with only 700 of the original 1700 arriving in Maban, South Sudan.
Dr Kapila adds: 'What I've seen in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile is all that I've seen in Darfur, plus the addition of modern technology. Ten years after, we have precision guided missiles, land mines which I don't remember seeing in Darfur, anti-personnel bombs, cluster bombs which I did not see in Darfur, we see MiG fighters which I don't remember seeing in Darfur, and we have a much more precision-guided approach with distance over the horizon artillery. So this is not just another Darfur; quite possibly, it is worse than Darfur.'
Human Rights Watch estimates that a total of 900,000 African (non-Arab) Sudanese are now affected. Having razed the farms and villages, the regime maintains a blockade on humanitarian aid, using starvation as a weapon of mass destruction. This has long been the regime's preferred method of mass killing: engineering a famine and just waiting as the population turns skeletal and quietly drops into the dust. Khartoum has a long history of this type of warfare -- indeed President Omar el-Bashir has perfected mass murder and his conscience is untroubled. Despite this, the US administration has assured Khartoum that it is not seeking regime change but rather normalising relations. This is because the US believes friendship with Khartoum is in its geo-strategic interests on the spurious grounds that it thinks Khartoum could be helpful in the fight against terrorism. In truth, the West's interests would be better served if it feared the LORD!
Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail of the Anglican Cathedral in Kadugli only survived the ethnic-cleansing of Kadugli (the capital of South Kordofan) because he was receiving medical treatment in the US when Kadugli was invaded and ethnically cleansed in June 2011. This week Bishop Andudu and Dr Kapila will attend the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa to lobby for action to end the suffering in Sudan's 'new south'. They have identified Friday 25 January 2013 'Heads of State meeting on Sudan' as a key test of the AU's 'credibility'. Bishop Andudu is praying the AU will soon take action and send humanitarian aid, implement a ceasefire and send a delegation to the conflict areas. 'That [would] be very helpful,' he said.
HISTORICAL NOTE: In 1913 the newly formed Sudan United Mission (SUM) Australia-New Zealand began sending pioneer missionaries into the Nuba Mountains. The first 'Sudanese Church of Christ in the Nuba Mountains' was planted in 1914. By 1936 there were 33 Australian and New Zealand SUM missionaries working in the Nuba Mountains alongside others who had arrived from various missions (in particular Church Missionary Society) and from the USA. After Sudan became independent in 1956 under a repressive Muslim, Arabist government, the missionaries, sensing their time was limited, redoubled their efforts in Bible translation. By the time the missionaries were forced to leave in 1962, Australian SUM (now Pioneers) missionaries had translated the New Testament into five Nuba languages. Today the Nuba are predominantly Christian. Germany, the USA, New Zealand and particularly Australia, all have strong spiritual ties (does that imply responsibilities?) to the people of the Nuba Mountains. May this centenary year be the year the battle is turned back. Remember - our struggle is not primarily against flesh and blood. (Ephesians 6:12)
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT THE LORD OF HOSTS WILL --
* intervene in Sudan, so that 'the wicked will be caught in the schemes that they have devised' (Psalm 10:2b ESV).
* 'Break the arm [the machinery of action] of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none' (v15); may the machinery of evil -- the government in Khartoum, the Sudan Armed Forces, the military hardware -- be disrupted so that forces of liberty, justice and equality might be able to rise against it.
* show Omar el-Bashir and all who wield power in Khartoum (vv3-13) that YAHWEH reigns and is King forever (v16).
* see the suffering of the victims (Ps 10:14), hear their cry (v17a), strengthen their hearts (v17b) and provide them with justice (v18a) 'so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more' (v18b).
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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RACIAL-RELIGIOUS GENOCIDE IN SUDAN'S 'NEW SOUTH'
According to Dr Mukesh Kapila, the former UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Sudan (2003-04), the ethnic cleansing of Sudan's 'new south' -- Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile -- 'is largely complete'. He comments that due to advances in technology, this war is 'worse than Darfur'. Displaced Africans (non-Arabs) unable to reach the massively over-populated refugee camps in South Sudan have retreated to remote caves. Having destroyed their food supply, the Arab-Islamist regime is blockading all humanitarian aid and using starvation as a weapon of mass destruction. These Africans are predominantly Christian. Christianity in the Nuba Mountains dates back nearly a century to when pioneer missionaries from Sudan United Mission Australia-New Zealand planted the first church there in 1914. Please pray for the Lord to intervene in Sudan.
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Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
"Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today"
(Deror Books, Dec 2012)
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
RLPB 193. Chechnya (Russia): the long-suffering land
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 193 | Wed 16 Jan 2013
---------------------------------
CHECHNYA: THE LONG-SUFFERING LAND
---------------------------------
by guest writer, Anneta Vyssotskaia
Chechnya (or Chechen Republic) is part of the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation. It is located in the Northern Caucasus mountains and borders several other Russian republics and regions: Ingushetia, Northern Ossetia, Dagestan and Stavropolskii. It borders Georgia on the south. The population of Chechnya is now about 1.4 million, over 95 percent of whom are Chechen. Its Russian population was almost 50 percent in 1960s but is now less than two percent. Chechnya became part of the Russian Empire in the mid-16th Century. By the early 19th Century a large community of Russian Cossacks had formed on the territory of modern Chechnya.
Since becoming part of the Russian Empire the Chechen people were almost constantly fighting for their independence, continuing into the Soviet period. In 1944, by Stalin's decree, over half-a-million Chechen and Ingush people were deported forcefully from their land to Central Asia and Kazakhstan under most severe conditions and many perished during deportation. In 1957-58, during the time of Nikita Khrushchev, the Chechen people were allowed to return to their homeland. However, conflict started between the returning Chechen and the Russian population, especially in the area of the capital city, Grozny. Tensions grew after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This resulted in a series of armed conflicts and two wars, leaving behind multitudes of victims and refugees of different nationalities amongst the civilian population. In 2007 Ramzan Kadyrov became the President of the Chechen Republic with the support of the Russian government. In 2009 the Russian troops were withdrawn leaving Kadyrov in charge of Chechnya.
President Kadyrov supports traditional Sunni Islam, the main religion in Chechnya. This includes Sharia law, women wearing traditional Muslim clothes, polygamy and honour killings. Starting in the early 1990s many Chechen people and especially the youth were influenced greatly by radical Islam.
During the Chechen wars many church buildings of different denominations were destroyed, the believers were kidnapped, killed, raped, beaten, tortured or had to flee the country for the sake of their lives. The Baptist church in Grozny once had 300 members but by 2001 there was only a tiny group of elderly widows, others who survived having left the country.
Amongst Chechens, Christianity is considered the religion of the Russian people. It is totally unacceptable for a Chechen to become a Christian or a follower of any other religion. If one family member chooses another religion it is a disgrace for the whole family and brings a lot of persecution on the new convert. Converts are considered to be 'murtad' or traitors of their own religion and people. There are some reports about Chechen people becoming Christians and even pastors and evangelists but they are mainly amongst those who live outside Chechnya. The individual Chechens who become Christians in Chechnya have to remain secret believers because of the threat to their lives.
It is very difficult to obtain reliable information on the overall number of believers and churches in Chechnya. Information is available on the situation with Russian Orthodox churches of which there are several in Chechnya. During the last few years the Chechen government financed restoration of the Russian Orthodox churches destroyed during the Chechen wars. In 2011 the Russian Orthodox church performed a mass baptism of 35 people in the waters of the Terek River. In October 2012 there was a remarkable and significant event: the first full translation of the Bible into the Chechen language was presented to the participants of the Second Peacemaking conference in Grozny. This resulted from 15 years' translation work by the Institute of Bible Translation. Ominously, however, these advances are provoking escalating criticism and ruthless violence from radicalised Islamic extremists.
PLEASE THANK GOD SPECIFICALLY FOR --
* people who continue to seek truth and become followers of Jesus Christ in Chechnya despite all the persecution, asking him to provide his miraculous protection and cover for all his people in Chechnya.
* the individual faithful believers in Chechnya, praying for complete restoration of his Church there.
* the full translation of the Bible into the Chechen language, praying that he will reveal himself to many people in Chechnya through the Bible.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY --
* for peace and restoration of the country and God's healing for all who have been wounded physically and emotionally and that feelings of hatred and revenge will give way to forgiveness and a desire to live in peace.
* that God will raise up a new generation of children and young people who will wish and be able to build a new foundation for all people to live in peace and harmony in Chechnya, and see the importance of religious freedom and respect for people of different nationalities and religious views.
'My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me . . . with words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.' (Psalm 109:1-3 NIV)
~~~~
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE:
------------------------------------------------------------
CHECHNYA, THE LONG-SUFFERING LAND
The people of Chechnya have a long history of fighting for independence. The collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by several armed conflicts and wars. President Ramzan Kadyrov strongly supports Sunni Islam, the country's main religion. However, many younger people have been strongly radicalised by violent Islamist extremists. Christianity is considered the religion for Russians and any Chechen becoming a Christian would be treated as 'murtad' -- a traitor of Islam and Chechnya who should be killed. However, despite threats and difficulties, there are Christians amongst Chechen people, mostly secret believers or living outside Chechnya. Significantly, the first full Chechen translation of the Bible was introduced at a conference in Grozny, the capital, in October 2012. Please pray for God's protection of believers and the growth of his Church.
----------------------------------------------------------
The author of this RLPB, Anneta Vyssotskaia, is a religious liberty advocate with a particular concern for and involvement in Russia and the former USSR.
---------------------------------
CHECHNYA: THE LONG-SUFFERING LAND
---------------------------------
by guest writer, Anneta Vyssotskaia
Chechnya (or Chechen Republic) is part of the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation. It is located in the Northern Caucasus mountains and borders several other Russian republics and regions: Ingushetia, Northern Ossetia, Dagestan and Stavropolskii. It borders Georgia on the south. The population of Chechnya is now about 1.4 million, over 95 percent of whom are Chechen. Its Russian population was almost 50 percent in 1960s but is now less than two percent. Chechnya became part of the Russian Empire in the mid-16th Century. By the early 19th Century a large community of Russian Cossacks had formed on the territory of modern Chechnya.
Since becoming part of the Russian Empire the Chechen people were almost constantly fighting for their independence, continuing into the Soviet period. In 1944, by Stalin's decree, over half-a-million Chechen and Ingush people were deported forcefully from their land to Central Asia and Kazakhstan under most severe conditions and many perished during deportation. In 1957-58, during the time of Nikita Khrushchev, the Chechen people were allowed to return to their homeland. However, conflict started between the returning Chechen and the Russian population, especially in the area of the capital city, Grozny. Tensions grew after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This resulted in a series of armed conflicts and two wars, leaving behind multitudes of victims and refugees of different nationalities amongst the civilian population. In 2007 Ramzan Kadyrov became the President of the Chechen Republic with the support of the Russian government. In 2009 the Russian troops were withdrawn leaving Kadyrov in charge of Chechnya.
President Kadyrov supports traditional Sunni Islam, the main religion in Chechnya. This includes Sharia law, women wearing traditional Muslim clothes, polygamy and honour killings. Starting in the early 1990s many Chechen people and especially the youth were influenced greatly by radical Islam.
During the Chechen wars many church buildings of different denominations were destroyed, the believers were kidnapped, killed, raped, beaten, tortured or had to flee the country for the sake of their lives. The Baptist church in Grozny once had 300 members but by 2001 there was only a tiny group of elderly widows, others who survived having left the country.
Amongst Chechens, Christianity is considered the religion of the Russian people. It is totally unacceptable for a Chechen to become a Christian or a follower of any other religion. If one family member chooses another religion it is a disgrace for the whole family and brings a lot of persecution on the new convert. Converts are considered to be 'murtad' or traitors of their own religion and people. There are some reports about Chechen people becoming Christians and even pastors and evangelists but they are mainly amongst those who live outside Chechnya. The individual Chechens who become Christians in Chechnya have to remain secret believers because of the threat to their lives.
It is very difficult to obtain reliable information on the overall number of believers and churches in Chechnya. Information is available on the situation with Russian Orthodox churches of which there are several in Chechnya. During the last few years the Chechen government financed restoration of the Russian Orthodox churches destroyed during the Chechen wars. In 2011 the Russian Orthodox church performed a mass baptism of 35 people in the waters of the Terek River. In October 2012 there was a remarkable and significant event: the first full translation of the Bible into the Chechen language was presented to the participants of the Second Peacemaking conference in Grozny. This resulted from 15 years' translation work by the Institute of Bible Translation. Ominously, however, these advances are provoking escalating criticism and ruthless violence from radicalised Islamic extremists.
PLEASE THANK GOD SPECIFICALLY FOR --
* people who continue to seek truth and become followers of Jesus Christ in Chechnya despite all the persecution, asking him to provide his miraculous protection and cover for all his people in Chechnya.
* the individual faithful believers in Chechnya, praying for complete restoration of his Church there.
* the full translation of the Bible into the Chechen language, praying that he will reveal himself to many people in Chechnya through the Bible.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY --
* for peace and restoration of the country and God's healing for all who have been wounded physically and emotionally and that feelings of hatred and revenge will give way to forgiveness and a desire to live in peace.
* that God will raise up a new generation of children and young people who will wish and be able to build a new foundation for all people to live in peace and harmony in Chechnya, and see the importance of religious freedom and respect for people of different nationalities and religious views.
'My God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me . . . with words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause.' (Psalm 109:1-3 NIV)
~~~~
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN WHOLE ARTICLE:
------------------------------------------------------------
CHECHNYA, THE LONG-SUFFERING LAND
The people of Chechnya have a long history of fighting for independence. The collapse of the Soviet Union was followed by several armed conflicts and wars. President Ramzan Kadyrov strongly supports Sunni Islam, the country's main religion. However, many younger people have been strongly radicalised by violent Islamist extremists. Christianity is considered the religion for Russians and any Chechen becoming a Christian would be treated as 'murtad' -- a traitor of Islam and Chechnya who should be killed. However, despite threats and difficulties, there are Christians amongst Chechen people, mostly secret believers or living outside Chechnya. Significantly, the first full Chechen translation of the Bible was introduced at a conference in Grozny, the capital, in October 2012. Please pray for God's protection of believers and the growth of his Church.
----------------------------------------------------------
The author of this RLPB, Anneta Vyssotskaia, is a religious liberty advocate with a particular concern for and involvement in Russia and the former USSR.
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