Christians persecuted in Laos as violations of religious freedom continue
Vientiane (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The communist authorities
in Laos
continue their campaign of persecution against the Protestant community, the
victim of abuse and violations because it is considered "part of the U.S conspiracy"
to overturn the government. In
the past, Christians were subject to imprisonment, blackmail and threats
designed to make them renounce their faith, expulsions and denied the right to study
and medical care. The
many conversions recorded in the recent past, particularly among ethnic
minorities, have pushed the party leader to strengthen the campaign of
repression and only in recent weeks there have been two different cases,
against a newly-converted Christian in a village in the province of Luang Namtha
and 10 families in Luang Prabang.
The
first story concerns a man named Khamla, the only Christian in a village in the
district of Viengphuka, Luang Namtha province. He
is a recent convert, after being cured of a long illness through the fervent
prayers recited every day by a friend in a neighboring district. The
authorities have repeatedly ordered him to abandon the Christian faith. At
his refusal, on 2 March officers faced him with a choice: leave his home and
the village, or renounce his faith. This
is because, said some witnesses, "the authorities want to keep Christianity
away from Viengphuka". At
the moment there is no information about his fate because of strict censorship
on the issue.
Instead the second story dates to mid February, when a deportation order was
issued by officials of the village
of Hueyong, Pakoo
district, Luang Prabang province, against 10 Christian families for a total of
65 faithful. Eight
of 10 families converted just three months ago, but without the
"permission" of religious affairs officer of the area who, therefore,
launched a harsh campaign of persecution.
In
Laos,
a nation led by a communist regime, the majority (67%) are Buddhist, of a total
of six million inhabitants, Christians make up about 2% of the population, of
which 0.7% are Catholics. The
most frequent cases of persecution are against the Protestant Christian
community: in the recent past, AsiaNews has
documented cases of peasants deprived of food for their faith (see AsiaNews 25/02/2011 Food
denied to 65 Laotian farmers to force them to renounce Christianity) or pastors arrested by the authorities
(see AsiaNews 12/07/2011 Fears
for lives of Protestant pastors in prison for six months).
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02/01/2006
