Christians still suffering in Orissa state

Tens of thousands still homeless following 2008 violence.
 (Image courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs Canada)

India (MNN) ― As if being terrorized by Hindu extremists and watching their homes burn to the ground wasn't enough, believers are still waiting for justice and compensation after four years.Voice of the Martyrs Canadasays 10,000 believers are still homeless after radicals destroyed over 5,000 homes and hundreds of church buildings throughout late 2008 and early 2009.

Pray for these suffering believers.

India's Orissa state (now called Odisha State) has always been a hotbed for anti-Christian violence. But it reached a new peak following the assassination of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2008. Saraswati was the leader of India's radical Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). Although a Marxist group claimed responsibility for Saraswati's death, the VHP pinned the blame on Christians and launched vehement attacks.

As the attacks increased in severity and frequency, it became clear to the worldwide community that this situation was beyond violent protests: it was genocide.

Eventually, India's Supreme Court stepped in and ordered authorities to protect believers. Change in leadership at the national level and new protections for religious minorities seemed to bring hope to oppressed believers.

But it's hard to remain hopeful in your fourth year of desperate homelessness.

According to a fact-finding visit by a group of journalists, activists, and writers, there's been no justice for victims and even less compensation for lost homes and churches. And according to AsiaNews.it, India's government isn't planning to pay. Hundreds of churches and Christian facilities destroyed by Hindu radicals will remain in rubble.

What's bright side of this dark situation? You can help.

Pray for persecuted believers in Orissa state. Pray for boldness and strength as they face continuous adversity for their faith.

Give online to VOMC's Relief and Development Fund. Voice of Martyrs Canada helps Orissa Christians rebuild their lives through skills training, micro-loans, and discipleship training for church leaders. VOMC also cares for children orphaned by the violent attacks, providing a safe home, education, clothing, food and medical attention.

Genocide in Syria?

A Syrian protester gestures victory signs behind their
 national flag as they shout slogans calling for Syria's
 President Bashar al-Assad to step down during a protest
 in front of the Syrian embassy in Amman April 17, 2011.
 UPI 

Syria (MNN) ― The U.N. human rights chief Monday urged that Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, according to NBC news.

Dozens of nations have called for Assad to end violence or to step down. As violence continues to rattle Syria, it's becoming clearer and clearer that a transition away from Assad's regime will need to be made one, way or another.

"We can't see the future to know how this transition is going to take place--although it does seem inevitable that there will be some sort of transition at some point," agrees Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs.

But what will such a transition mean for Christians? Throughout the rebellion in Syria, Mission Network News has reported repeatedly on the relative peace Christians have experienced. As violence has been redirected to others, Christians have not been so hunted. Most cannot support Assad's regime but are fearful of what will happen when he falls, says Tom Doyle with E3 Partners.

"What our contacts in Syria are saying is that they are concerned about a potential of a backlash against the church and against Christians, in particular, if an Islamic-leaning group becomes the head of the country," explains Nettleton. "They worry what that will mean for religious freedom."

Catholic bishops have gone as far as to suggest that an all-out genocide could easily take place, reports the New American.

Why the backlash against Christians? "They are seen by the masses as having been aligned with Assad, maybe even protected by Assad," Nettleton explains. "So, anger at the Assad regime becomes anger at Christians."

Nettleton says the word "genocide" may be too strong for what may take place. He says the response toward Syrian Christians depends largely on the outcome of the Assad regime. If it's a violent end where extremists take over, says Nettleton, it doesn't bode well for Christians. If it's a more peaceful transition, Christians may stand a chance at relative freedom.

With so much of the future unknown, Christians are going about their lives responding to God's call. The Syrian church has breached denominational lines in unity throughout this conflict, says Nettleton, which has helped sustain the nation's massive hunger for the Gospel.

"One of the statements that our contact made was, ‘Hey, you can start a house church in a day if you just go out and start talking to people and presenting the Gospel.' There's so much openness to the Gospel message right now."

Pray for hearts to remain open no matter what lies ahead. 

Christian Solidarity International issues Genocide warning for Christians in the Middle East

Burning of mostly Christian-owned
 shops in Zakho, Northern Iraq.
 (Photo courtesy Compass Direct News)

Middle East (MNN) ―Christian Solidarity International (CSI) issued a Genocide Warning last week for endangered religious minorities in the Islamic Middle East.

Todd Nettleton is a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs USA. He agrees that persecution is high for one religious minority: Christians. Nettleton explains, "When you look at elections in Egypt where sixty some-odd percent of the vote went to the Islamic parties, including, in one case, the Islamic party that has been a party of attacking churches and attacking Christians, there is fear among the church about what this means."

However, he wonders at the use of "genocide" to describe what is happening. "I think it is a very strong word. I have not heard that word used by our staff who works in the Middle East region. I haven't heard it used by the Christians who are there. To say there is a threat against them I think is very real, but to say it's 'genocide' goes a bit beyond what we've identified at this point."

That's not to say believers are blind to the hostilities aimed at them. Open Doors USA uses the term "religicide" to describe what's happening in Iraq. Violence against believers has already created a remnant church there. Last weekend, new reports surfaced about Islamic rioters attacking Christian shops in northern Iraq. Compass Direct News also revealed an Al Qaeda plot to bomb churches in Turkey and multiple attacks against Christians in Pakistan and Syria.

The greatest concern is what the future might hold with an Islamist government in charge. Nettleton says Christians worry that "'if we have no way of earning representation at the ballot box because we're such a small minority in the country, what does this mean for us? What will our government do to protect us?' That fear is very real."

CSI is asking President Obama to call on the United Nations Secretary-General to issue a genocide warning, to stop funding institutions in the Middle East that promote religious discrimination, and to commit at least 15% of the funding the U.S. has set aside for promoting democracy in the region towards "combating Islamic supremacism."

However, considering the length of time it took for the Obama administration to fill the International Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Nettleton says, "It will be interesting to see if there is a response from the State Department to see what they do to protect religious freedom in the Middle East, and particularly, the countries that are in the transition process."

Given the pattern in Iraq, could the Middle East be experiencing another exodus? For persecuted Christians, that's not out of the realm of possibility. Nettleton says, "Because these issues are across the region, you can't necessarily go next door to find better treatment and to find protection and to find freedom. For many Christians, they feel like they have to get completely out of the Middle East region in order to have their religious freedom protected and honored."

Nettleton hastens to add that there remains a remnant church in the most difficult areas. Those Christians continue to live out the Gospel and share their hope with others when given the opportunity, sometimes from inside a prison cell. Keep praying.

Clinton's visit has ministry hopeful about Burma reform

Burma (MNN) ― A couple of months ago, Burma appeared to be turning a new leaf. The brutal military rule had finally given way to a civilian government. Desire for reform seemed genuine.

That was October. In early November, several reports came in from Burma about attacks on Christians by the Burmese government.

The back and forth between true reform versus years-old genocide has been confusing over the past few months, and it's been difficult to know whether or not the nation is really ready for change. But a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has provided some hope.

Clinton is the first top U.S. official to visit Burma in 50 years. The Secretary of State had several reasons for her current visit, including a hope to see whether or not the nation is genuinely ready to change, to thus see if the U.S. could strengthen ties with Burma, to encourage the nation to sever ties with North Korea, and to urge an end to the country's genocide.

Vision Beyond Borders assists several refugee camps that are home to those who have fled Burma's ethnic cleansing. VBB's Dyann Romeijn says Clinton's visit is encouraging.

"They're not just talking about the changes that have occurred. They're also talking about more change that needs to happen, and that there needs to be an end to the violence and the ethnic cleansing that is going on," says Romeijn. "They're not just rewarding the government for the small steps that they've made, but encouraging them to take bigger steps to end the violence."

Still, after decades of painful oppression in Burma, could it really be ready to change? Romeijn says they're hopeful.

"We're cautiously optimistic that maybe there is change occurring in Burma. We have had opportunities to talk with our contacts there in Burma: they're cautiously optimistic as well," explains Romeijn.

"I don't think anybody knows exactly how this will go," she adds. "There are some changes. Aung San Suu Kyi has been released, and it looks like she will be running for office, and there are some encouraging things. But at the same time, attacks are occurring as well. So we're just cautiously optimistic."

If the government is ready for reform, it could mean a great deal of relief for persecuted believers. Romeijn says Aung San Suuu Kyi, a former Burmese leader and Nobel peace laureate, is rumored to be a Christian and may make it much easier for the Gospel to spread if she were to take office.

Change does seem to be in the air. The question is: how long will it linger?

At this point, Romeijn says the best thing to do is to pray. Pray for direction for the nation, its leaders, and ministry leaders. Pray that oppression would indeed be coming to an end. At the same time, pray for the safety of believers who are still being hunted by many. Pray that the Gospel would reign in Burma.

VBB has been working in and around Burma for years. To learn more about their outreach, visit visionbeyondborders.org.

Egyptian Christians abroad tell Secretary Clinton persecution is a 'crime against humanity'

By Michael Ireland
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

CAIRO, EGYPT (ANS) -- Egyptian Coptic Christians living in the United States have sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, imploring her to take more action against what they termed a "crime against humanity" facing the Christian population in Egypt from the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to Joseph Mayton, writing for http://bikyamasr.com , the letter, sent on Wednesday (Nov.9) to the State Department, head of the American Coptic Association Monir Dawoud warned the United States government that the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most organized and popular Islamic group, is "attempting to annihilate Christians" and other minority groups in the country.

Copts demonstrating against sectarianism (Photo courtesy Bikyamasr.com).

Mayton says the letter came as Clinton appeared ready to give support to Egyptians as they head to the polls in less than three weeks to elect a new parliament that will be responsible for developing and writing a new constitution in the country, some 11 months after a popular uprising ousted the former government.

Mayton says Dawoud called for international protection of Christians in the country as well as an "Egyptian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" that guarantees the rights of all minorities, the disabled, women and children.

"The constitution should be made before any parliament elections to decide the type of government and President beside giving chances to the new political parties to be at the level of competition with the Brotherhood's party and so allowing all citizens to be represented," Dawoud wrote, adding: "We demand that your aid to Egypt should be conditioned on the justice towards Christians and minorities."

Mayton says the controversial leader, who many Coptic Christians in Egypt say does not speak on their behalf, also accused the Brotherhood of wanting to change the American Constitution based on the Qur'an, Islam's holy book.

"A planned destruction to America is going on," Dawoud said. "The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is deadly serious about waging what it calls 'civilization jihad' against the United States and other freedom-loving nations in order to secure their submission to the Islamic totalitarian political-military-legal doctrine called Sharia. The MB's goal in this country is to replace our great Constitution with theirs, namely the Koran. And they regard this task as one commanded by none other than Allah."

Mayton reports the head of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in the Giza governorate in Egypt, Amr Derrag, said that his party -- an offshoot of the Brotherhood -- wants to guarantee all rights of Egyptians, whether they be Coptic or women.

"Christians were part of the revolution and they deserve the full rights of the Egyptian society," Derrag told Bikyamasr.com at his home on Thursday, denying any "plan" to force out the country's Christian population.

Mayton explains, however, that Dawoud's letter is likely to get some traction in Congress, where repeated calls to stem the popularity of the Brotherhood have been heard.

Mayton reports that a staffer for a leading Republican Congressman told Bikyamasr.com that "many representatives in Washington believe, whether true or not, that the Christians in Egypt are facing a genocide of some kind," adding that this is the result of "the PR campaign being made by the Christian community here in the US."

Dawoud hit home on this fact in his letter, calling on Washington to curtail aid to the country and put stipulations on Congressional aid to Egypt until the situation facing the Coptic community is rectified.

"We demand that your aid to Egypt should be conditioned on the justice towards Christians and minorities," Dawoud said.

"What we are facing today is a Crime against not only the Christian minority in Egypt, but against Humanity, against all what United States stand for, against the constitution that the founders of America have shed their blood for. We appreciate your speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves and defending those who cannot defend themselves, the Christians of Egypt who are facing persecution, impending massacres and ethnic cleansing."

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** Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of th e National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter

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** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Sudan's Islamist/Arabist Regime Renewing Attacks on Refugees, South

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Armed forces of Sudan's Islamist regime have crossed international borders and dropped bombs on two states in the new nation of South Sudan for two consecutive days, including a camp of northern Sudanese refugees from the Nuba Mountains.

Today, Russian-built Sudanese Antonov bombers attacked South Sudan's Unity State's Yida refugee camp, run by the Christian aid organization Samaritan's Purse, reportedly killing 12 people and wounding 20. These refugees from the Nuba include both Muslims and Christians persecuted by Sudan's Arabist regime. The day before, the Sudanese bombed Upper Nile State, also in South Sudan, killing 7 people. At least 15,000 people had sought refuge at Yida, just over the border from Sudan.

Attacks by the Islamist regime began in June on the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan and on Blue Nile State in September. South Sudan President Salva Kiir warns that Sudan may be preparing to invade South Sudan soon. John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project, said the regime in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, is attempting to provoke South Sudan into restarting a war.

McDonnell announced that IRD's Church Alliance for a New Sudan was now working with dozens of other advocates to strengthen U.S. policy to stop Khartoum's genocidal war in a new alliance, "Act for Sudan."

IRD Director of the Church Alliance for a New Sudan Faith J.H. McDonnell commented:

"Khartoum is engaged in a war of extermination in both of these regions. The racist regime has sent militias door to door with instructions to 'cleanse the area,' and 'sweep out the trash,' meaning to kill the black, African Nuba people.

"This is the same pattern of human rights atrocities and genocidal warfare we see in Darfur and, of course, saw in the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, and South Sudan during the decades of war.

"For Nuba Mountain and Blue Nile refugees, this is the return of a horrific nightmare from which they thought they had awakened. How can we who have said, 'never again,' now have to say 'never again,' again?

"Mass graves exist. Aerial bombardment continues. The threats of this ICC-indicted criminal, terrorist regime to neighboring South Sudan's security, as well as to that of the region and the global community are blatant. Sudan's marginalized people want freedom, peace, and true secular democracy."

 
www.TheIRD.org

Sudan: Genocide of Nuba by Starvation

-- a call to pray for the church in Sudan's Nuba Mts.

By Elizabeth Kendal
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 120 Special to ASSIST News Service


AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- [For background see RLPB 113 (22 June 2011) & RLPB 117 (20 July 2011) at Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin]

Daily bombing raids targeting the Nuba populations of South Kordofan have resulted in significant loss of life and destruction of properties, including homes, crops and livestock. While the UN estimates that some 73,000 Nuba have been displaced, the former deputy governor of South Kordofan, Abdel Aziz el-Hilu, estimates the figure is closer to 500,000. Nuba seeking to flee the region are being intercepted and killed at roadblocks. Numerous tens of thousands of Nuba, many of whom are wounded, have been forced to seek shelter in hillside caves where they have nothing to eat but grass and leaves. The rainy season is making survival even more difficult. Furthermore the Government of Sudan (GoS) has sealed off the region so that humanitarian aid cannot get in.

Without intervention, mass starvation will be inevitable.


The GoS has considerable experience in waging genocide. Scorched earth warfare followed by denial of humanitarian aid has been used in the Nuba Mountains (early 1990s), Bahr el-Ghazal (South Sudan, 1998) and Darfur to kill many tens of thousands of Africans in just a few months. Yet while Khartoum is engineering a famine in the Nuba Mountains, it is also congratulating itself for pouring aid worth nearly two million dollars into famine relief in Somalia (Sudan Tribune, 28 July). That too is standard for Khartoum which routinely starves its own people while exporting food and receiving food aid.

[For more on how Khartoum uses starvation as a weapon of mass destruction, see 'Why is Akobo hungry?' By Elizabeth Kendal for Religious Liberty Monitoring, 9 April 2010]

Whilst the GoS's motive is greed and its goal is the theft of resource-rich land, it recruits fighters amongst Arab-Islamists with the language of Islamic jihad. In April 1992 Muslim clerics in South Kordofan issued a fatwa for the GoS that legitimised killing the Nuba as 'apostates' (Muslims not supporting the regime) and 'infidels' (unbelievers) 'who stand as a bulwark against the spread of Islam'. Today the Nuba are again being labelled rebels and infidels, and are being targeted by Islamic jihad to facilitate the ethnic cleansing of this resource-rich region.
Bradford Phillips is the founder and president of Persecution Project Foundation and the director (Sudan) of Voice of the Martyrs. He recently returned from 12 days in the Nuba Mountains. On Thursday 4 August he gave eye-witness testimony to a US House of Representatives subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights. To Phillips 'the issue is genocide'. He is gravely concerned about the humanitarian crisis facing Sudan's largest Christian community.'There are 70,000 to 90,000 people that are probably going to die in the next month to two months,' he warns. Local Nuba told Phillips the GoS views the church as an extension of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement which the GoS deems a 'foreign' force, although it is not. Phillips heard stories of pastors being arrested and horrifically tortured by soldiers seeking to extract the names of church members. Refusing to betray their flock, many pastors have been imprisoned, whilst some have died under torture or been executed.

Also testifying before the House Committee was Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail, the Anglican Bishop of Kadugli. Andudu has been told soldiers searched for him house-to-house. He believes that had he not been in the US for medical treatment he would now be lying in a mass grave. Bisho p Andudu is pleading for intervention.

Like other Sudan experts Brad Phillips is calling for action that would neutralise/destroy Khartoum's Antonov bombers. Dedicated religious liberty and persecuted church advocate Congressman Frank R Wolf pleaded passionately for the Church to stand up and speak up for its persecuted brothers and sisters in Sudan. As Phillips told a CBN interview on 6 August, the most important thing the Church can do is 'intercede through prayer'.
[For more information on the 4 August hearing with links to transcripts and videos, see "Nuba Genocide: U.S. House Committeee hears testimony", By Elizabeth Kendal for Religious Liberty Monitoring, 10 Aug 2011.]

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WILL --

• draw the Nuba and the global Church into dependent prayer for divine intervention; for the LORD will surely rise to show compassion at the sound of our cry (Isaiah 30:18,19). May Khartoum's bombers be neutralised and Omar el-Bashir's arrogant and racist reign of terror be ended. (Psalm 10)

'Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.' (Isaiah 40:10,11 ESV)

• provide displaced Nuba with their every need of shelter, food, healing and protection; may he ease their anxiety, bring rest to their souls and increase their faith.
  
• protect Nuba pastors, hiding them from those who intend to torture and kill them; may those imprisoned be protected and preserved, experiencing God's presence and being assured of his love.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. This prayer bulletin was initially written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC). Elizabeth Kendal's blogs: Religious Liberty Monitoring and Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin

Genocide returns to Southern Sudan

By Ron Brackin Special Correspondent, ASSIST News Service DALLAS, TX (ANS) -- From 2004-2009, I worked with Brad Phillips and the Persecution Project Foundation (PPF), bringing relief and the gospel to survivors of the genocide in Southern Sudan and Darfur. Brad Phillips with Nuba resistance leader Abdelazia Adam Al-Hilu. During more than two decades of fighting, over  two million Southern Sudanese people, most of whom were Christian or animist, were slaughtered. Four million more were displaced. The Nuba Mountains lost 500,000 people, roughly half its population, both Christian and Muslim. And since 2003, the genocide in Darfur  has claimed an estimated 400,000 lives. In 2005, a  Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between north and south. This agreement provided South Sudan with semi-autonomy and eventually a referendum vote on self-determination, which, on July 9, 2011, resulted in the Republic of South Sudan becoming the world's newest nation. SPLA  soldier with corpse In 2009, the International Criminal Court in the Hague issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The following year, another warrant was issued against him for genocide. Both were rejected by his regime in Khartoum, and Bashir remains at large and in power. And recently, Bashir launched another bloody campaign of genocide in the Nuba Mountains. On August 4, Brad Phillips, who also serves as Sudan Country Director for The Voice of the Martyrs, testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights. The following is excerpted from that testimony: Under the CPA, the Nuba people were guaranteed a free election, followed by a popular consultation, whereby elected leaders would interview their constituents and determine what the people wanted with regard to their political future. This consultation process would hopefully pave the way for a regime change or power-sharing arrangement in Khartoum that recogn ized and respected the rights of all of Sudan's diverse communities. As of today, the popular consultation has not taken place. Moreover, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir publicly stated in April this year that if the NCP cannot get its way with the ballot box, it will use "the ammo box." This was a declaration of war and violation of the CPA. Also in April, as an intimidation tactic, NCP-backed forces attacked el Fayit, home to the Nuba SPLM commander and gubernatorial candidate, Abdel Aziz Adam al-Hilu. Twenty-seven members of al-Hilu's family were murdered in this attack. All of this was done before the scheduled elections in May as an attempted provocation to draw the SPLM into war. But they did not take the bait. When the elections finally took place, evidence of large-scale vote rigging was reported. Yet, even with the evidence of voting fraud, Bashir sent down Nafie ali Nafie, special advisor to the president, to declare NCP candidate and indicted war criminal Ahmed Haroun the winner before the end of the mandated verification period. The newly "elected" Governor Haroun then ordered all SPLM/A forces out of Southern Kordofan by June 1.  This order was in direct violation of the CPA, which allows the SPLA to operate in Southern Kordofan up to 90 days after the close of the interim period on July 9th, 2011. Girl paralyzed by shrapnel wouds This attempt by the NCP to cleanse the north of the SPLM/A before the July 9th independence of South Sudan was also carried out in the disputed Abyei region. After massing troops around Abyei, NCP forces invaded on May 20th, forcing most of the indigenous African population out. Some estimates of the number of refugees from this area are as high as 100,000. It became obvious to all watching these events unfold what was happening. It's no wonder that the SPLM refused to disband or leave Southern Kordofan. When the order was not obeyed by the June 1st deadline, the NCP tried to disarm the SPLM by force. This was the beginning of the war on June 5th. On June 6th, the NCP attacked and sacked the capital of Kadugli, murdering potentially thousands of civilians in the subsequent days. The NCP also pulled out an old card from their deck: daily, indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian targets. Using Antonov bombers, MiG fighters, and helicopter gunships, the NCP launched a campaign of terror from the skies. I have included several pictures of bombed locations and civilian casualties for the committee's review. I personally arrived in the Nuba Mountains on July 4th on one of the few private charters flying to the Nuba since fighting ended all UN humanitarian flights. During my visit, I interviewed more than a dozen individuals who escaped from Kadugli, all of who m shared the same basic story: Man with amputated leg "Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) troops went from house to house searching for A. Any Nuba citizen, B. Christians, or C. Members of the SPLM. Anyone fitting this description was either killed on the spot or arrested and never seen again." Fortunately, a few thousand residents obtained shelter at the UNMIS compound. But the compound soon filled, and I heard many stories and accounts of people being killed at the gates of the UNIMIS compound while UN soldiers stood by. I spoke with Reverend Luka Bolis, an Episcopal Priest and Western Regional Chairman of the Sudan Council of Churches, who escaped from Kadugli and told me that "The NCP is targeting the church in this war." Rev. Luka received a call from some friends in Kadugli warning him not to return. They told him the SAF had a list of all church leaders and suspected SPLM sympathizers. Brave Nuba pastors facing arrest, torture, and death (faces blured for security) Rev. Luka's testimony corresponded with others I received from Nuba Christians who were persecuted in the last war by the same regime. Luka said the NCP does not distinguish between a Christian and a member of the SPLM political party. If one is a Christian, he is assumed to be a supporter of the SPLM. Consequently, pastors are specifically targeted as leaders and recruiters of the SPLM. Another pastor I interviewed, whom I will call "Kumi" for security reasons, was arrested by the NIF during the last war and tortured in the most horrific manner to try to force him divulge the names of his church members. His captors pulled out his fingernails and toenails. They hung him by the neck until he passed out. They crushed his testicles. They dragged him behind a tank. They poured gasoline on his hands and set them aflame, and many other cruel acts. Pastor Kumi was then imprisoned for a total of eight years. Although he lived several hours drive away from Rev. Luka and spoke concerning the previous war, his testimony was the sam e: the NCP troops assumed all Christians were SPLM members and all pastors SPLM leaders and recruiters.

Six men singing and praising God, echoed for miles through the mountains.

Yet another church leader I met in a completely different area had a similar story and perspective. "Musa" was stabbed repeatedly and left for dead after NCP troops attacked his church in 1997. Thinking Musa was dead, one NCP soldier cut off his left ear as a trophy. Musa told me that if the SPLM is defeated in the present war, the same persecution will return to the Nuba Mountains because the same regime is still in power in Khartoum.

And this is what I heard over and over again during my trip: the same people who committed war crimes in the Nuba Mountains before are doing it again today.

Commander Abdelazia joins with the church in singing hymns at a spontaneous worship service deep in the mountains.

The only difference in what I saw in 1998 and what I saw last month is that the SPLM has clearly taken the initiative and taken the fight, as it were, to their enemies. Led by Commander Al-Hilu, the people of the Nuba Mountains are fighting back and have won some impressive victories on the ground. And this has occurred without any significant help from the international community. This determined resistance by the SPLM in the Nuba Mountains is a genuine "Popular Uprising" and the only thing that has prevented another Rwandan-style genocide from happening. But time is running out.

The UN ended humanitarian relief efforts in June, and most NGOs operating under the UN umbrella pulled out. All roads to the north have been closed, and the rainy season in South Sudan has affectively closed supply routes to the south until the fall. The daily bombings have terrorized the local population to the degree that normal cultivation is not taking place during this crucial planting season. The Nuba Mountains are isolated, cut off, and f acing a humanitarian crisis within 60 days unless relief flights are allowed to recommence. And this will not happen while SAF MiGs and Antonov bombers and gunships patrol the skies. The NCP refuses to allow UN observers into the Nuba Mountains to document what is happening, which should not surprise anyone.

It is absolutely essential that the international community bring pressure to bear on the United Nations to immediately declare a Humanitarian Emergency in the Nuba Mountains and impose a "no-fly" zone to stop the bombing campaign and allow humanitarian access so that relief flights back into the region may resume.

Photo of me with weapons in a Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLS) camp, Nuba Mountains, 2004.

I will conclude by stating that there is more than enough evidence to justify speedy action by the US and the international community to address the dire situation in the Nuba Mountains. The president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, is an indicted war criminal. The current governor of the Nuba Mountains is Ahmed Haroun, also an indicted war criminal for his role in the Darfur genocide. These men make Libya's Gaddafi look like a choir boy.

There is no justification in my mind for bombing Libya, while doing nothing in the Nuba Mountains. Seasoned reporters from the New York Times, Time Magazine, Aljazeera English, The Independent in Great Britain, and others have visited the Nuba Mountains and brought back testimonies, pictures, and video proving that war crimes are being committed against the Nuba people by the NCP regime. I have included copies of several of these articles with my testimony.

How is it, then, that the US government still claims there is not enough evidence to charge the NCP with war crimes? Why does the US government treat with the NCP and the victims of their crimes with moral equivalency? Based on the history of the NCP, and what we know about what they are doing today in Darfur, in Abyei, and in the Nuba Mountains, it amazes me how the US and the international community could tolerate these killers for so long, yet aggressively pursue other villains who have not killed 1/100th of the people for which Omar al-Bashir and his regime are responsible.

Three million lives-and counting. When will we say, "Enough"?

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The writer of the NYT bestseller, "Son of Hamas", Ron Brackin has traveled extensively in the Middle East as an investigative journalist. He was in the West Bank and Gaza during the Al-Aqsa Intifada; on assignment in Baghdad and Mosul after the fall of Iraq; and more recently with the rebels and refugees of Southern Sudan and Darfur. Ron is the author of other books and has contributed articles and columns to many publications, including USA Today and The Washington Times. He was a broadcast journalist with WTOP-AM, Post-Newsweek's all-news radio station in Washington D.C. and weekend news anchor on Metromedia's WASH-FM. And he served as a congressional press secretary under the Reagan Administration. Visit his website at http://ronbrackin.com or his blog athttp://ronbrackin2.wordpress.com.

Burmese Diplomat Defects to U.S.

Burma (MNN) ― A high-level Burmese diplomat has defected to the United States, fearing democratic change in his country is stillborn.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Kyaw Win is seeking asylum. The Burmese junta repeatedly rejected his efforts to build bridges with the international community, labeling him "dangerous."

Cover photo: Burma's leader,
 General Than Shwe. Story photo:
 Burned-out Karen village.
 (Photos courtesy of Worldwide Impact Now)

Information from the Associated Press confirms this move came about because of his stand on reform issues relating to democracy, human rights, and individual liberties. The second-ranking official at the Burmese embassy in Washington, Win supported an investigation into human rights abuses against the ethnic minorities and warned against continued oppression.

Patrick Klein of Vision Beyond Borders says the timing is interesting. "What I'm reading is that a lot people are defecting from the military. The soldiers don't want to go into these villages and kill any more people. They've been forced to do it by the government, and I think people are starting to stand up and say, ‘We don't want to be a part of this. This is wrong, and we will not.'" That's about 15% of the military that seem to be of the same mind as the former Ambassador Win. 

Vision Beyond Borders partners with a ministry in Thailand that works in the refugee camps. Klein says they're "openly sharing the Gospel with these people. A lot of the Karen are coming to Christ because they see that it is the Christians who are really coming to their aid."

VBB ministry partners estimate that roughly 40% of the Karen are Christians. They're also the ethnic minority and are in the government crosshairs.

We asked Klein why the junta decided to eradicate the Karen. He explains, "They're living on land that the government wants because there are a lot of natural resources there. There's gold, there are gems and timber. Now, they're putting in dams because China needs hydro-electric power. Instead of compensating people and relocating them, it's easier to just go in and wipe out whole villages."

Aside from the obvious physical aspect of this genocide, there is also a spiritual side. Klein says, "From what I'm hearing, the generals are very involved in the occult, listening to astrologers and all these people, and they [the military] are just going in and wiping out the Christians."

Other reports coming to Klein's ears are worthy of war crimes investigation. Klein explains, "We've heard stories of [the military] going to the Buddhist children, giving them arms, and turning them against the Christians, [then] having the Buddhist kids go in and shoot these Christians indiscriminately."

Win says the military is on a campaign to silence "the voices seeking democracy, human rights, and individual liberties." That's no surprise, and it creates a backdrop against which hope shines brightly. As people are drawn to the hope of Christ, Klein says he's confident the Gospel will also spread. He shares about the commitment of a village evangelist they met on a recent trip. "He lost both of his hands and both of his eyes in a landmine that blew up in his face. Yet, he still goes around the village, sharing the Gospel with Buddhist people."

Pray for the strength of Christians to stand firm in their faith, despite the lawlessness around them. Pray that freedom will come to Burma. Pray for ministry opportunities for Christians to share their faith with others