RLPB 446. North Korea: A Step in the Right Direction

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 446 | Wed 14 Mar 2018

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NORTH KOREA: A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION  
by Elizabeth Kendal

The announcement on 8 March, that US President Donald Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, sent shockwaves throughout north-east Asia and left many analysts and pundits around the world reeling. The announcement is the culmination of a month of fast-moving high level diplomacy which included North-South rapprochement during the Winter Olympics (9-25 February). This was followed by a reciprocal visit by a high-level delegation from the South to the North on 5-6 March, which included dinner with Kim Jong-un himself. It was at the 6 March meeting in Pyongyang that the parties agreed to hold an Inter-Korean Summit in April. If it takes place it will be only the third Inter-Korean Summit ever held -- the previous summits being in 2000 and 2007 -- and the first to take place on the south side of the border. Critically, the South Korean delegation in Pyongyang was tasked with delivering an invitation to President Trump from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, requesting they meet for bilateral talks. To the surprise (and even shock) of many, President Trump immediately accepted. If it takes place it will be historic, for it will be the first time a sitting US president has met with the leader of North Korea since the state was established in 1948.

Understandably, observers are cautious; some are deeply sceptical; others are derisive. Many are yawning, saying, 'We have been here before.' In reality, however, the strategic situation today is entirely different and the persons involved are entirely new and are beginning, rather than ending, their terms. We have a new North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un (35), who, apart from being shrewd and ruthless, is Swiss-educated and a big fan of American basketball and popular culture (meaning he is probably more interested in survival than ideology). We have a new and totally unconventional US president in Donald Trump, inaugurated in January 2017. We also have a new South Korean president, the hugely popular Moon Jae-in (65) -- elected in May -- for whom detente with the North is a priority, essentially because it is personal. Moon's parents fled the North as refugees during the Korean War. He has stated that when peace comes, the first thing he will do is take his 90-year-old mother to visit her home town of Hungnam, an east coastal city 300km north-east of Pyongyang.

As providence would have it, both Presidents Moon and Trump have enacted the same alternating dual-track approach to North Korea: ramping up extreme pressure while intermittently (mostly behind the scenes) offering a way out through dialogue. Portrayed as 'dove' and 'hawk', together they have also made an excellent 'good cop, bad cop' combination. Meanwhile, Kim has advanced his weapons program to the point that the regime now feels relatively secure. Whilst Kim might be willing to talk about denuclearisation, he will not denuclearise [see: RLPB 423 (13 Sep 2017)]. So as not to derail the process, Trump may well settle for a 'temporary' (but in reality indefinite) total freeze, complete with inspections and rigorous monitoring to prevent proliferation. Whilst this would infuriate many in Washington (for whom options seem limited to regime change or bombing), it would create an environment in which the long and arduous process of detente can take place.

click on map to enlarge

With detente would come a vast array of prospects. South Korea is keen to re-engage with the North, in particular to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Park shut down by Moon's predecessor and to resume family reunions. Russia, whose Far East shares a border with North Korea, is also keen to engage, particularly to connect the Trans-Korean railway to the Trans-Siberian railway. Not only would this be huge for north-east Asian trade, but it would also serve as competition to China's Belt Road Initiative (BRI). Russia is also eager to construct a Trans-Korean pipeline to supply natural gas to the peninsula. Enabled by security, these measures could facilitate the North's slow but sure transformation. Most critically, these measures would draw North Korea out of Communist China's sphere of influence and into that of predominantly Christian South Korea, Russia and the US. This would be good news indeed for the Church in North Korea.

For some background and recommended reading see:
North Korea: Reasons for Hope, Religious Liberty Monitoring, 14 March 2018

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT GOD WILL:

* sustain and richly bless the long-suffering and severely persecuted remnant Church in North Korea.

* intervene creatively in the Korean Peninsula, according to his perfect wisdom, in line with his boundless grace, to bring peace, transformation and liberty, to the glory of his name.

* take and use North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as his instruments, for his purpose, in answer to the prayers of many.

'Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.' (Psalm 24:7,9 ESV)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR NORTH KOREA

The 8 March announcement that US President Trump has agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un rocked the world. Understandably, observers are cautious; some deeply sceptical; others derisive. Many are pessimistic, insisting we have seen all this before. Yet, in reality, the strategic situation today is entirely different and the persons involved -- North Korea's Kim Jong-un, USA's President Trump and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in -- are all new and are beginning, not ending, their terms. Detente could pave the way for the slow but sure transformation of North Korea. It could also draw North Korea out from the shadow of Communist China and into the sphere of predominantly Christian South Korea, Russia and the USA to the benefit of the Church in North Korea! Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF), and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She 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).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com

RLPB 445. Mali & Burkina Faso: captives imperilled as battle heats up

Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin | RLPB 445 | Wed 7 Mar 2018

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MALI & BURKINA FASO: Captives Imperilled as Battle Heats Up
by Elizabeth Kendal

Map showing conflict zone

The G5 Sahel Cross-Border Joint Force was officially launched in the Malian capital, Bamako, on 2 July 2017. Its mandate includes combating terrorism. The main terrorist entity in the region is JNIM (Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin / Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims). Formed in March 2017, JNIM is an alliance of four al-Qaeda affiliates. On 1 July 2017 --  i.e., the day before the Joint Force launch -- JNIM released a disturbing video entitled 'The Correct Equation' in which al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, explains the Islamic doctrine of retaliation (Qisas) ['eye for an eye']. It was in that context that JNIM provided proof-of-life of six captives: four Christian aid workers: Gloria Narvaez (Colombia), Sophie Petronin (France), Beatrice Stockly (Switzerland) and Ken Elliot (Australia), along with Romanian expatriate, Mr Iulian Ghergut, and one South African charity worker who subsequently converted to Islam and has since been released. JNIM's message was clear: you kill our people, we will kill your people; we have six of yours right here; hostages you can redeem with cash. [See: RLPB 413 'Captives in Crisis' (5 July 2017).]

Sr Gloria Narvaez,
in better times.

Since the Joint Force became operational in November 2017 violence has escalated markedly. As fighting escalates, so too does JNIM's need for large quantities of cash. On 29 January JNIM released a video featuring captive Colombian nun Gloria Narvaez. Presenting Narvaez as abandoned, JNIM directed its appeal first to Pope Francis and then to Narvaez's family.

During the night of 13-14 February, French troops operating in north-eastern Mali launched co-ordinated attacks on a jihadist base near Tinzaouaten on the border with Algeria. The assault, in which air strikes were followed by helicopter assaults and engagement on the ground, resulted in at least 20 senior jihadists being killed or captured and a large quantity of weapons and documents being seized. Among the dead were six high level JNIM commanders, including JNIM's co-founder and senior leader, Hasan al Ansari. Retaliation was all but guaranteed.

On 1 March JNIM released a short video featuring French hostage Sophie Petronin. A doctor specialising in nutrition and tropical diseases, Petronin founded and ran the medical charity 'Aide a Gao' (Help Gao). She had served the children of Gao, Mali, for 15 years before being abducted on 24 December 2016. Entitled 'S.O.S, Save Old Sophie', the video shows Petronin (72) lying on a cot looking exceedingly frail with an improvised IV infusion bag and medications nearby. Over the images, audio of French President Emmanuel Macron saying 'I will protect you' plays on a loop. The message is clear: Petronin's health is deteriorating; if you want her alive, you will need to ransom her quickly.

Hours later, on Friday 2 March, JNIM staged a devastating terror attack in Burkina Faso's capital city, Ouagadougou. At least eight jihadists armed with grenades and firearms, working in two groups of four or five, targeted the French Embassy and Army headquarters. Army headquarters was also struck with a massive car-bomb. The brazen co-ordinated attacks in the city centre left more than 30 dead and 85 wounded (ICG analysis 5 March]. On 3 March JNIM claimed responsibility and confirmed that the attack was retaliation for the 13-14 February operation that killed JNIM leader Hasan al Ansari.

On Monday 15 January thousands of local residents took to the streets of Djibo in northern Burkina Faso to mark the second anniversary of the abduction of their beloved doctor. The clinic Dr Ken Elliot (82) built and had run with his wife Jocelyn since 1972 -- which is still the only medical clinic in that remote, impoverished region -- has been closed since Dr Elliot's abduction. Before he was taken, Dr Elliot had been hoping to find someone to take over the practice as the Elliots are long past 'retirement' age. Indeed, the four Christian aid workers presently held by JNIM are not merely suffering believers targeted for their faith. Each one represents a frontline Christian ministry that had been taking the very practical love of God into a dark and desperately needy region. How beautiful in the desert are the feet of those who bring good news ... (inspired by Isaiah 52:7).

'We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places' (from Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV).

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT:

* God Almighty will 'bare his holy arm' (roll up his sleeves) 'before the eyes of all the nations, and that all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God' (from Isaiah 52:10); may the Lord intervene to restore security and liberty to the Sahel -- ridding it of the Islamist-jihadist threat -- so Christian ministry might resume in earnest.

* God will sustain -- physically, emotionally and spiritually -- and ultimately deliver JNIM's five remaining hostages: Gloria Narvaez (Colombia), Sophie Petronin (France), Beatrice Stockly (Switzerland), Ken Elliot (Australia) and Iulian Ghergut (Romania).

* God will not permit the devil to have a victory here; may the Lord call, equip and send out workers into this desolate and needy harvest field (see Matthew 9:35-38).

'I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' (Matthew 16:18 ESV)


SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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MALI & BURKINA FASO: CAPTIVES IMPERILLED AS BATTLE HEATS UP

Battles rage between the Mali-based al-Qaeda alliance known as JNIM and the French and G5 Sahel Cross-Border Joint Force troops tasked with combating terrorism in the Sahel. On 14-15 February French troops scored a major victory against JNIM in north-east Mali, killing six of its senior leaders, including its co-founder. On 2 March, having already promised retaliation, JNIM militants co-ordinated attacks in Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou. The attacks, targeting the French Embassy and Army HQ, left 30 dead and 85 wounded. As violence has escalated so too has JNIM's need for cash. Consequently, JNIM -- which is holding four Christian aid workers and a Romanian for ransom -- has released two videos, featuring two of its five hostages. These captives are gravely imperilled. Please pray that God Almighty will intervene.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. She serves as Director of Advocacy at Canberra-based Christian Faith and Freedom (CFF), and is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam at Melbourne School of Theology.

She 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).

See www.ElizabethKendal.com