Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 260 | Wed 14 May 2014
KOREA: HOPES FOR PEACE FADE
By Elizabeth Kendal
Koreans desperately need peace, as distinct from a frozen conflict that regularly threatens to blow hot. North Korea boasts nuclear weapons and South Korea boasts support of the US military. If peace could be achieved and the two sides stop threatening each other then perhaps the situation could normalise and efforts to improve the lives of North Koreans would make headway. The alternatives to forging peace are the totally unacceptable status quo with its paranoia and related gross human rights abuses, or conflict with the prospect of the peninsula running red with blood.
As noted in RLPB 248 (19 February) and RLPB 251 (12 March), the North Korean regime's main concern is managing the state monopoly on information in the face of severe challenges posed by new communication technologies, while endeavouring to raise living standards so as to ward off revolt. Whenever the regime feels threatened it intensifies repression and magnifies propaganda. According to a 12 May report in DailyNK (from Seoul), because a wave of executions has failed to stem the inflow and sharing of banned materials, security forces are now conducting surprise night-time raids on homes in Pyongyang. Citizens accused of viewing, possessing or copying banned content -- particularly South Korean DVDs and magazines -- are exiled virtually immediately upon arrest. In the past two months, at least 100 Pyongyang citizens reportedly have been internally exiled, 'disappeared' to remote mountainous areas after night raids. According to the source, 'people are panic-stricken'. Though these exiles might be alive, they have lost not merely their homes, but all that is available only in the capital, such as food rations, water and electricity. The border with China has been tightened significantly to ensure that no South Korean content or recording equipment of any kind enters the state. Restrictions on the entry of journalists and on tourists talking to locals are being rigidly enforced. Needless to say, the Church is gravely imperilled.
All the while, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to consolidate his power. As was noted in RLPB 248, by the end of 2013, four members of Kim Jong-il's 'Gang of Seven' -- an inner circle of elites tasked with guiding and mentoring the young Kim Jong-un -- had been purged while another had been demoted. One of those purged was Kim Jong-un's uncle, Jang Song-taek who was executed on 13 December 2013. Stepping up to fill Jang's role as principal mentor and deputy was Choe Ryong-hae (64),the man Kim Jong-il had reportedly personally chosen to mentor his son, and the man believed to be responsible for Jang's execution. In early May, Kim Jong-un demoted Choe, replacing him with his own long-time minder and protector, Hwang Pyong-so (64). Having shaken off the last of his father's minions, Kim can now rule unchallenged. As one analyst comments, anyone waiting for a collapse of the regime is going to have to wait a lot longer.
On the other hand, tensions are soaring on the peninsula with North Korea firing rockets into the sea and flying surveillance drones over the South. Pyongyang denies it was spying, calling the accusation a 'conspiracy' devised by South Korean president Park Geun-hye, whom it called a 'disgraceful political prostitute'. Kim has referred recently also to US President Obama (who visited Seoul in April and is proposing further sanctions) as a 'wicked black monkey', a 'cross-breed' and Park's 'pimp'. To protest what it calls 'US and South Korean hostility', Pyongyang has threatened to conduct another nuclear test. On Monday 12 May South Korean Ministry of Defence spokesman Kim Min-seo struck back saying, 'North Korea isn't a real country is it? ... It exists solely to prop up a single person,' adding that it would be best if it 'vanished as soon as possible'. On Tuesday 13 May the North's powerful National Defence Commission described President Park and South Korean military officials as 'the root of evil' and vowed to wipe them out entirely with merciless force. Hopes of peace are fading fast.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT --
* the Almighty God will intervene in North Korea to transform the situation radically for the benefit of the Church and for the sake of North Korea's repressed and suffering millions. (See Jonah 4:10-11)
'When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.' (Matthew 9:36 ESV)
* God will give wisdom to fools and patience to hot heads, repentance to persecutors and grace to victims, so that the Church might be spared further calamity and delivered from her adversity to be the light and salt (Matthew 5:13-16) North Korea so desperately needs.
* the Holy Spirit will revisit Pyongyang in mercy and grace, to open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf and set the captives free. (See Psalm 146, Luke 4:14-21 and Isaiah 35:3-7)
[The Great Korean Revival of 1907, which transformed the Korean peninsula, began in Pyongyang, which subsequently came to be known as 'The Jerusalem of the East'.]
'The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein ... Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.' (from Psalm 24)
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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HOPES FOR PEACE FADE IN KOREA
Koreans -- especially North Koreans -- desperately need peace, as distinct from a frozen conflict that breeds paranoia-inspired gross human rights abuses and routinely threatens war. In the North, whenever the regime of Kim Jong-un feels threatened, it intensifies repression and magnifies propaganda. Recently, North Korean security forces have been conducting surprise night raids on homes in Pyongyang, arresting and then exiling anyone suspected of viewing, sharing or copying banned materials, particularly South Korean films and magazines. At least 100 people have been 'disappeared' in the last two months, triggering widespread panic. Meanwhile, tensions between North Korea and the US-South Korea alliance are also soaring; the belligerent, threatening rhetoric coming out of both states is frightening. Pray for the Church in North Korea. Pray for Korea's peace and transformation.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012)
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
RLPB 259. Central African Republic (CAR): may God empower the peacemakers
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 259 | Wed 07 May 2014
CAR: MAY GOD EMPOWER THE PEACEMAKERS
plus: update and comment on the Borno abductions (Nigeria).
By Elizabeth Kendal
In early 2013 the Central African Republic (CAR) government desperately appealed for help as bands of local and international Islamic jihadis backed by Sudan and Iran advanced on the capital, Bangui. But President Bozize had recently signed oil concessions with China, leading the US and former colonial power France to think that regime change in Bangui might serve their interests. They therefore refused assistance and let CAR -- which is French-speaking and 70 percent Christian -- fall to Arabic-speaking local and international Islamic rebels. Only when CAR was in total chaos did France send in peacekeepers. Contrary to reports, the conflict was religious from the very beginning. Likewise, the Seleka Muslim forces did not kill and burn 'indiscriminately'; rather, they targeted Christians and spared Muslims. Compounding the tragedy, many Muslims betrayed their Christian neighbours and welcomed Seleka, anticipating that it would usher in an Islamic order wherein Muslims would be privileged simply by virtue of being Muslim. Some Muslims even joined in the looting of their Christian neighbours. Consequently, all trust has been shattered. With nobody coming to their aid, the traditional village self-defence units known as 'anti-balaka' went on the offensive to liberate CAR from the scourge of Seleka and exact revenge. Whilst Church leaders, with support from some local Muslim clerics, have been leading the call for reconciliation, leaderless rogue anti-balaka and ex-Seleka militias are out of control, making it impossible to break the cycle of violence.
[For full background see Religious Llberty Monitoring, label 'Central African Republic (CAR)'
As was noted in RLPB 258 (30 April) Seleka rebels are still killing and plundering throughout the centre and north-west of CAR. Around 100 people were killed in the past week in dozens of villages across north-west CAR close to the border with Chad. The fighting commenced on 1 May, allegedly after armed men, some reportedly in uniform, plundered Seleka's food reserves. According to the head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Amy Martin, several armed groups are operating in the border area, including Seleka fighters who have formed alliances with armed Fulani herdsmen. Though it is not clear who is committing the violence, the deputy prefect in Markounda, Lucian Mbaigoto, said the killers were speaking Arabic and Fulani. Everaldo de Souza, a priest in Dekoa, told Reuters that ex-Seleka rebels had killed at least seven people in three nearby villages, though he expected the death toll to be much higher. In Mala, terrified citizens sought shelter in the Catholic church until it too was targeted. Yetina Isaac, a resident of Markounda, described how rebels entered homes, killed the occupants and set fire to the houses, burning the frail and the dead. She also reported having seen children 'thrown alive into the fire'.
Muslims in the north are calling for partition and for a separate state. Apart from Sudan and Iran and possibly some other Islamic states, there is no support for that as most recognise that such an entity would simply become a base for international Islamic mercenaries operating mostly at the behest of Sudan and Iran. While Seleka violence is receiving little media coverage, news of 'Christian ethnic cleansing of Muslims' is rife, not just in non-Muslim media, but in Muslim media. For example, Iranian media is warning Muslims that a 'Christian' genocide of Muslims is underway, with echoes of Rwanda. This creates a seriously dangerous climate for Christians. Foreign militants should be expelled, rebels must be disarmed and leaderless rogue anti-balaka need to be reined in or the situation could become much worse. CAR desperately needs peace.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
* fill CAR's Church leaders and evangelists with a fresh out-pouring of his Holy Spirit so they will speak with boldness and authority and lead the nation to Jesus Christ for transformative grace to make peace and reconciliation possible.
* pour out his Holy Spirit in generous abundance on the citizens of CAR, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, healing the traumatised and freeing those held captive to pain and rage. (Luke 4:16-21)
* work powerfully so that this nation, which has been invaded and ravaged by enemies, betrayed and abandoned by friends and torn asunder from within, will seek grace and healing from him who is both willing and able to save.
'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' (Matthew 19:26 ESV)
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. (Psalm 65:5-8a ESV)
-----------------------------------------------
UPDATE & COMMENT ON THE BORNO, NIGERIA, ABDUCTIONS
-- updating RLPBs 257 & 258
In the early hours of Monday 5 May, Boko Haram struck again, abducting eight girls aged 12 to 15 from Warabe village on the outskirts of the Christian enclave of Gwoza town, Borno, near the Sambisa forest and the border with Cameroon. While the Borno abductions have captured international headlines, it is important to realise that the phenomenon is neither new nor unique. In Raqqa, Syria, young girls including Christians are also being seized and forcibly married to Salafi jihadis (see RLPB 250, 4 March). [Salafis imitate Muhammad who took women as war booty and slaves and gave his followers permission to have sex with any woman their right hand possessed (Qur'an, Sura 23:5,6).] As noted in RLPB 258 (30 April), thousands of Christian Pakistani and Coptic (Egyptian) girls are trafficked across religious lines every year, being abducted, converted and married to Muslim men with complicity from local police, courts and government officials all working to hasten the decline of Christianity through the removal of its child-bearers. Even if these Pakistani and Egyptian girls manage to escape they cannot get their religious identity restored because the Islamic state will not permit apostasy (leaving Islam). According to Sharia Law, a Muslim woman may only marry a Muslim man, leaving the forcibly converted girl with no other option than to flee and risk her chances as a refugee. This is what contemporary persecution looks like -- violent and life-destroying. Please pray for the persecuted!
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
------------------------------------------------------------
MAY GOD EMPOWER THE PEACEMAKERS FOR CAR
Central African Republic (CAR) is trapped in violence. While rogue anti-Muslim militias known as 'anti-balaka' are driving Muslims out of Bangui, ex-Seleka Islamic rebels continue to terrorise the centre and north-west. On 26 April ex-Seleka militants massacred 16 people (including three staff) at a medical clinic in north-west CAR. In the past week some 100 people have been killed across dozens of villages in the north-west close to the border with Chad. The killers, who were said to speak Arabic and Fulani, committed appalling abuses, killing civilians, burning homes and reportedly throwing live children into the fires. Iranian media are falsely reporting genocide of Muslims, saying that Christians are killing Muslims with impunity. Unless there is peace, the situation will deteriorate significantly. Please pray for CAR and its Church.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012)
CAR: MAY GOD EMPOWER THE PEACEMAKERS
plus: update and comment on the Borno abductions (Nigeria).
By Elizabeth Kendal
In early 2013 the Central African Republic (CAR) government desperately appealed for help as bands of local and international Islamic jihadis backed by Sudan and Iran advanced on the capital, Bangui. But President Bozize had recently signed oil concessions with China, leading the US and former colonial power France to think that regime change in Bangui might serve their interests. They therefore refused assistance and let CAR -- which is French-speaking and 70 percent Christian -- fall to Arabic-speaking local and international Islamic rebels. Only when CAR was in total chaos did France send in peacekeepers. Contrary to reports, the conflict was religious from the very beginning. Likewise, the Seleka Muslim forces did not kill and burn 'indiscriminately'; rather, they targeted Christians and spared Muslims. Compounding the tragedy, many Muslims betrayed their Christian neighbours and welcomed Seleka, anticipating that it would usher in an Islamic order wherein Muslims would be privileged simply by virtue of being Muslim. Some Muslims even joined in the looting of their Christian neighbours. Consequently, all trust has been shattered. With nobody coming to their aid, the traditional village self-defence units known as 'anti-balaka' went on the offensive to liberate CAR from the scourge of Seleka and exact revenge. Whilst Church leaders, with support from some local Muslim clerics, have been leading the call for reconciliation, leaderless rogue anti-balaka and ex-Seleka militias are out of control, making it impossible to break the cycle of violence.
[For full background see Religious Llberty Monitoring, label 'Central African Republic (CAR)'
As was noted in RLPB 258 (30 April) Seleka rebels are still killing and plundering throughout the centre and north-west of CAR. Around 100 people were killed in the past week in dozens of villages across north-west CAR close to the border with Chad. The fighting commenced on 1 May, allegedly after armed men, some reportedly in uniform, plundered Seleka's food reserves. According to the head of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Amy Martin, several armed groups are operating in the border area, including Seleka fighters who have formed alliances with armed Fulani herdsmen. Though it is not clear who is committing the violence, the deputy prefect in Markounda, Lucian Mbaigoto, said the killers were speaking Arabic and Fulani. Everaldo de Souza, a priest in Dekoa, told Reuters that ex-Seleka rebels had killed at least seven people in three nearby villages, though he expected the death toll to be much higher. In Mala, terrified citizens sought shelter in the Catholic church until it too was targeted. Yetina Isaac, a resident of Markounda, described how rebels entered homes, killed the occupants and set fire to the houses, burning the frail and the dead. She also reported having seen children 'thrown alive into the fire'.
Muslims in the north are calling for partition and for a separate state. Apart from Sudan and Iran and possibly some other Islamic states, there is no support for that as most recognise that such an entity would simply become a base for international Islamic mercenaries operating mostly at the behest of Sudan and Iran. While Seleka violence is receiving little media coverage, news of 'Christian ethnic cleansing of Muslims' is rife, not just in non-Muslim media, but in Muslim media. For example, Iranian media is warning Muslims that a 'Christian' genocide of Muslims is underway, with echoes of Rwanda. This creates a seriously dangerous climate for Christians. Foreign militants should be expelled, rebels must be disarmed and leaderless rogue anti-balaka need to be reined in or the situation could become much worse. CAR desperately needs peace.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL --
* fill CAR's Church leaders and evangelists with a fresh out-pouring of his Holy Spirit so they will speak with boldness and authority and lead the nation to Jesus Christ for transformative grace to make peace and reconciliation possible.
* pour out his Holy Spirit in generous abundance on the citizens of CAR, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, healing the traumatised and freeing those held captive to pain and rage. (Luke 4:16-21)
* work powerfully so that this nation, which has been invaded and ravaged by enemies, betrayed and abandoned by friends and torn asunder from within, will seek grace and healing from him who is both willing and able to save.
'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' (Matthew 19:26 ESV)
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. (Psalm 65:5-8a ESV)
-----------------------------------------------
UPDATE & COMMENT ON THE BORNO, NIGERIA, ABDUCTIONS
-- updating RLPBs 257 & 258
In the early hours of Monday 5 May, Boko Haram struck again, abducting eight girls aged 12 to 15 from Warabe village on the outskirts of the Christian enclave of Gwoza town, Borno, near the Sambisa forest and the border with Cameroon. While the Borno abductions have captured international headlines, it is important to realise that the phenomenon is neither new nor unique. In Raqqa, Syria, young girls including Christians are also being seized and forcibly married to Salafi jihadis (see RLPB 250, 4 March). [Salafis imitate Muhammad who took women as war booty and slaves and gave his followers permission to have sex with any woman their right hand possessed (Qur'an, Sura 23:5,6).] As noted in RLPB 258 (30 April), thousands of Christian Pakistani and Coptic (Egyptian) girls are trafficked across religious lines every year, being abducted, converted and married to Muslim men with complicity from local police, courts and government officials all working to hasten the decline of Christianity through the removal of its child-bearers. Even if these Pakistani and Egyptian girls manage to escape they cannot get their religious identity restored because the Islamic state will not permit apostasy (leaving Islam). According to Sharia Law, a Muslim woman may only marry a Muslim man, leaving the forcibly converted girl with no other option than to flee and risk her chances as a refugee. This is what contemporary persecution looks like -- violent and life-destroying. Please pray for the persecuted!
SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
------------------------------------------------------------
MAY GOD EMPOWER THE PEACEMAKERS FOR CAR
Central African Republic (CAR) is trapped in violence. While rogue anti-Muslim militias known as 'anti-balaka' are driving Muslims out of Bangui, ex-Seleka Islamic rebels continue to terrorise the centre and north-west. On 26 April ex-Seleka militants massacred 16 people (including three staff) at a medical clinic in north-west CAR. In the past week some 100 people have been killed across dozens of villages in the north-west close to the border with Chad. The killers, who were said to speak Arabic and Fulani, committed appalling abuses, killing civilians, burning homes and reportedly throwing live children into the fires. Iranian media are falsely reporting genocide of Muslims, saying that Christians are killing Muslims with impunity. Unless there is peace, the situation will deteriorate significantly. Please pray for CAR and its Church.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Kendal is the author of
Turn Back the Battle: Isaiah speaks to Christians today
(Deror Books, Dec 2012)
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