HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATED in
ETHIOPIA & ERITREA
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATED in
ETHIOPIA & ERITREA
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Eastern Orthodox who FAIL to speak out on Persecution of
Other CHRISTIANS now find themselves in the SAME Oppressed
Situation.
HEAD OF ERITREAN
ORTHODOX CHURCH “FROZEN” FROM HIS POST
By Jeremy
Reynalds
Special Correspondent for ASSIST News Service
ERITREA (ANS) - AUG 24/05 - The head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church
has been relieved of all administrative duties and removed from effective
control of the Patriarchate.
Eritrea is located in Eastern Africa,
bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan
(www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/er.html).
Following a
Holy Synod held Aug. 6-7, Patriarch Abune Antonios has been “frozen” from his
post after attempts to unseat him ended in failure, according to an official
letter dated Aug. 9 2005 and leaked to the Eritrean website Asmarino.com
(http://news9.asmarino.com/content/view/494/86).
Human rights
organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide (www.csw.org.uk) reported in a news
release that according to Asmarino.com, the “freezing” of individuals who fall
out of favor with the government is prevalent in Eritrea and is primarily
undertaken as an act of humiliation.
Article 32 of the constitution
of the Orthodox Church, CSW reported, states that its administrative body, the
Holy Synod, is meant to function under the chairmanship of the Patriarch who is
the chief administrator of the church.
However, it appears, CSW
wrote, that Patriarch Antonios will now be confined to a ceremonial role only
and no longer be allowed any input into the day-to-day running of the
Patriarchate. Contrary to the church’s constitution, administrative authority
may now be in the hands of Yoftahe Dimetros, a government-appointed lay
person.
In May 2002, CSW wrote, the government of Eritrea ordered
the closure of all Christian denominations except Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism
and Evangelical Lutheranism, and ended all other religious practices apart from
Islam. However, members of government-sanctioned churches have also experienced
repression, and the “freezing” of the Patriarch is the latest indication of
increasing government intervention in the internal affairs of Eritrea's largest
church.
Since his ordination in April 2004, CSW reported that Patriarch
Antonios is said to have become increasingly critical of the government's
continual interventions into church matters.
For the first time
ever, CSW reported, the traditional Jan. 2005 Orthodox Annual Christmas message
was not aired on national media after the Patriarch allegedly objected to the n
Nov. 2004 detention of three Orthodox priests from the Medhane Alem Church, and
accused the government of interfering in church affairs.
The
Patriarch also opposed requests to close down the church, which is linked to the
Orthodox renewal movement and attracts thousands of young people.
More
recently, CSW wrote that Asmarino.com reported that prior to his removal from
administrative duties, the Patriarch had increasingly begun to challenge the
regime on spiritual grounds, and had objected to government intrusion through
Dimetros in the administration of the Patriarchate.
Dimetros has
become “increasingly infamous,” CSW reported. He “repeatedly clashed” with the
Patriarch as he attempted to force the Orthodox Church to adopt government
inspired policies. Dimetros is also reported to have accompanied an Eritrean
Bishop to the seat of the Egyptian Orthodox Church in July in an attempt to
persuade the Papacy to replace Patriarch Antonios with this
bishop.
Indicating Dimetros’ “current notoriety,” CSW reported that a
July 30 2005 letter from the Eritrean Orthodox Church in America, called for his
“immediate removal from the illegal position he holds,” and his replacement by a
bishop who fulfils the criteria outlined in the church's constitution and “has
the interest of the Church and her sacred mission at heart.”
Mervyn
Thomas, chief executive officer of CSW, said in a news release, “We are dismayed
by this unwarranted intervention in the affairs of the Orthodox Church. The
discourteous treatment of the Primate of a church that is supposed to have
government sanction suggests that in reality the Eritrean regime is attempting
to curtail every expression of Christianity in that country.”
Thursday, August 4, 2005
SITUATION
DETERIORATES FOR 70 ERITREAN
CHRISTIANS
Wedding Celebrants Now
Moved To A Detention Center In
One Of The Hottest Places On Earth
By Michael
Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
ASMARA, ERITREA (ANS) -
Aug 4/05 - Seventy Eritrean Christians arrested at a wedding celebration
in Asmara on May 28 may have been sent to a detention center in one of the most
inhospitable parts of Eritrea.
According to reports received by religious
liberty NGO Release Eritrea, forwarded to ASSIST News Service (ANS) by Christian
Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the 70 Christians had been promised freedom on
condition that they express allegiance to the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic or
Lutheran churches, the only Christian denominations that are sanctioned by the
Eritrean government. Amongst the group is popular gospel artist Essey Estifanos
and several of his friends.
The group is now said to be held in a
detention center in Wi’a, one of the hottest places on
earth. It was used during the Italian colonial era as a place of extreme
punishment; however the current Eritrean government routinely punishes young
people it deems to be rebellious by sending them there.
During the summer
of 2001, 2,000 university students were detained in Wi’a for a two-month period,
and two of them are reported to have died of heatstroke. More recently, in early
June well over a dozen detainees are alleged to have been killed in Wi’a after
guards opened fire on them during an attempted escape. The details of this
incident are currently being investigated by Amnesty International.
Dr
Berhane Asmelash, Director of Release-Eritrea, said: "I am dismayed that in this
day and age a government of an independent nation sees it fit to punish its
citizens under such conditions for any transgression. The fact that the only
crime of these young people is confessing their faith in Jesus Christ makes
their predicament totally inexplicable. I am concerned for their safety and
wellbeing of course; however I am also concerned about the trend of escalation
of severe persecution."
CSW says reports are also emerging of the first
known allegation of a death of a Christian prisoner as a result of mistreatment
in detention.
Kelati Awalom, a committed Christian and a member of the
Rhema Church, had been detained on three separate occasions. On March 17, 2004
he was arrested along with his wife and five children. Although his wife and
three of his children were released on the following day, on this occasion Mr.
Awalom and two of his daughters are said to have remained in detention for three
months.
According to information received by the Eritrean Christian
website Erishalom, while in detention prison guards beat Mr. Awalom so severely
about the head and neck that one of his arms was paralyzed. He is reported to
have suffered from the effects of the beating long after his final release, and
to have died at his home on July 24.
Erishalom has called for a worldwide
day of prayer and fasting for Christian prisoners in Eritrea on August
5.
CSW Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert said: "We are gravely concerned at
the escalation of repression in Eritrea. The voice of the international
community needs to be heard loud and clear by the Eritrean government if we are
ever to see any improvement."
CSW reports that on 22 May, 2002 the
Eritrean government ordered the closure of all churches not belonging to the
Orthodox, Roman Catholic or Lutheran denominations, and an end to all other
religious practices except Islam.
The move came in the wake of increasing
harassment of evangelical and Pentecostal denominations in particular, which the
government equated with Islamists and vilified as non-indigenous, unpatriotic
agents of foreign interests, who were seeking to undermine public morality
and destabilize the country.
Repression has
increased greatly since May 2002. According to one report, in April 2005
almost 900 Christians were indefinitely detained in Eritrea. This number
includes three Orthodox Priests from the church's renewal movement, who have
been held in incommunicado detention since November 2004, and a member of the
Lutheran church, who also serves on the Executive Committee of The Gideon's
International in Eritrea and was arrested in March 2005. Although the government
recently released several of these detainees in an attempt to offset negative
publicity, it is estimated that over 400 Christians remain in
detention.
The 70 Christians most recently arrested were part of a group
of at least 250 people who were detained while attending a wedding function at
Kiwa Hall in Asmara. The authorities also arrested the bride and groom,
detaining them overnight at a newly constructed detention center near Asmara
International Airport.
Please pray for the Christians in this area, and especially those who are detained, and that officials would free them.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
ERITREANS CALL FOR A 'DAY OF CHRISTIAN PRISONERS' ON AUGUST 5
Pope Benedict
XVI Petitioned To Use His Position To Secure Detainees' Release
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News
Service
ERITREA (ANS) -July 23, 2005 - Eritrean Christians
are calling for a worldwide day of prayer and fasting for Christian prisoners in
Eritrea on August 5. And two Eritrean brothers have petitioned Pope Benedict XI
calling on the Pontiff to use his good offices to secure the "release of
illegally detained Eritreans."
A 'Day of Christian Prisoners' has been
organized by www.Erishalom.com, a website run by a coalition of Eritrean
Christians, some of whom work underground in Eritrea, while others are living
abroad.
On the website, Eritrean Christians state: "With the help of the
Living Almighty God whom we serve, three years has passed since Erishalom
Eritrean #1 Gospel Website began serving Eritrean Church
worldwide.
"On this special day, we are calling all to pray and
fast for Christians and Ministers of the gospel who are behind bars of Eritrean
Prisons.
"Through the information we are getting everyday, and the
kind of torment our brethren are passing through for long period with out
justice. we have learnt that the condition of Christians who are detained is
getting worse and worse.
"Therefore, we are calling all to join on
5th of August 2005 in prayer and fasting with Churches found worldwide, and with
different Humanitarian organizations, in one spirit."
In a letter to the
international Christian community, the organizers expressed their urgent need
for help from the worldwide church.
They said: "Throughout the Bible,
whenever Christians are in any kind of difficult situation, the whole Church
would pray as one without ceasing." They have requested similar action on behalf
of Eritrea’s detained Christians.
A Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)
fact-finding team that visited Eritrean refugees in a neighboring African
country heard graphic testimonies of the severe punishments meted out to any
Christians in the armed forces who are caught praying or are found in possession
of Bibles or other Christian material.
CSW reports seeing several
women who spoke of experiencing problems with their wombs following extended
beatings and other maltreatment. Some refugees told of being placed for several
months in special punishment units, including one known as a 'shella,' which is
a two meter by two meter cell that has no light.
At least one
person is reported to have been left in a cramped punishment room for so long
that his legs no longer function. Several people informed CSW that they had been
told their punishment would end if they recanted their
faith.
According to reports received by Eritrean writer Habtoum
Yohannes, prison authorities are now offering to release Christians on condition
that they sign a document entitled 'I Won't Shine,' in which they promise not to
engage in any church-related activities.
CSW says that in 2002 the
government ordered the closure of all churches that were not affiliated to the
Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran or Orthodox denominations, and ended all other
religious practices except Islam.
Some 500 Christians are currently
imprisoned in Eritrea. The most recent arrests occurred on July 8, when 18
Christian college students from Halhale College in the capital Asmara were
detained as they left examination halls after their final exams.
In
a separate incident, Christian university Professor Semere Zayid, was
re-arrested on July 6. In February Professor Zayid had been detained for four
weeks and released, but was obliged to report to the police at regular
intervals.
CSW says: "Many Eritrean Christians have been mistreated
in detention as the authorities have sought to force them to renounce their
faith. Persecution is particularly acute within the armed forces where Christian
gatherings and reading the Bible have been forbidden since the
mid-1990s."
Recent reports from Eritrea also indicate that the
authorities may be arresting the families of young people who have managed to
flee the country. According to a report posted on an Eritrean website,
eyewitnesses have told of the arrests of 700 to 800 parents and relatives, and
of people being
'dragged into army trucks' by officials who insist that
they are responsible for the actions of their children.
Mervyn Thomas,
Chief Executive of CSW, said: "The treatment of Christians and many others in
Eritrea today is morally outrageous. The wider church must heed the call for
help from our Eritrean family to stand with them in prayer."
In the
meantime, the long march from Geneva to Rome of two Eritrean brothers seeking to
highlight the plight of Eritrean prisoners is nearing its conclusion. Tekle and
Samuel Gebregiorgis were set to arrive in Vatican City, where they presented a
petition to Pope Benedict XI calling on the Pontiff to use his good offices to
secure the 'release of illegally detained Eritreans.'
The petition
also calls on the Pope to urge key members and bodies of the international
community 'to set up an independent commission to inspect the conditions in all
the official and unofficial detention centers in the country.'
The
full text of the petition says: "In Eritrea today thousands of people find
themselves in prisons and detention centers throughout the country without due
process of law. They are neither formally charged nor given the opportunity to
defend themselves in a court of law.
"All basic and fundamental
freedoms; freedom of thought, expression, association and worship are severely
curbed. People are arbitrarily snatched from the streets, their work place,
their homes and their place of worship for unknown reasons and detained
incommunicado for an unspecified length of time.
"There are
countless prisons around the country many have never been designed for the
purpose and therefore are not equipped with necessary facilities. Prison camps
and holding places can be:
"-- Dangerously and fatally overcrowded;
as did happen in Adi-abeyto, where compounds that have no sanitation and no form
of protection from the harsh climatic conditions are used to hold thousands
indiscriminately.
"-- Unfit for human habitation; this includes shipment
containers that get oven hot during the day in the sub-Saharan temperatures and
freezing cold at night. Prisoners are only ever allowed out for a maximum of 20
min a day to relieve themselves. Nearly all prisons in the country lack
appropriate sanitation facilities putting prisoners at risk of deadly infectious
diseases.
"-- Appropriate medical care is not available;
prescription dependent prisoners have been deprived of medication. Those
prisoners with long-term medical conditions are particularly at risk as
appropriate follow up and care is not forthcoming. Even the elderly and
vulnerable are held under these harsh conditions.
"-- Some of the
camps are hard labor prison camps, where inmates are required to be engaged in
highly demanding physical work without appropriate monitoring, equipments or
even enough food. Malnutrition is a persistent hazard. A distinction is not made
between those who are physically able and those that are not, those who are
physically and medically unfit are not shown any discretions.
"--
Those who die in detention are buried unceremoniously and their loved ones are
seldom informed.
"-- International and national human rights
organizations are not allowed any form of independent monitoring."
The
petition continues: "Article 19 of the Eritrean Constitution allows for freedom
of conscience, religion, movement, assembly, organization and expression of
opinion. Moreover, in Article 17, the Constitution stipulates the right to a
fair and public trial, the presumption of innocence and the right of appeal. It
also states that anyone arrested should be brought before a court of law within
48 hours of their arrest, while the Eritrean Penal Code states that once
arrested, a person should be charged within 28 days or released."
It
adds: "Eritrea has also acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, all of which contain
provisions for basic human rights that are being trampled by the appalling
situation stated above.
The petition concludes: "We, undersigned,
therefore ask your Holiness to use your good offices to bear pressure on the
Eritrean Authorities to release all illegally detained Eritreans and to also
urge the international community, the UN Security Council, the European Union
and the government of the United States of America to set up and send an
independent Commission to inspect the conditions in all the official and
unofficial detention centres in the
country."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For
more details, please visit: http://www.dhnet-eritrawian.co/ . The
petition can be found at: www.PetitionOnline.com/FreeErit/
Wednesday, June 8, 2005
ERITREA: SOME
900 CHRISTIANS IMPRISONED
By Elizabeth Kendal
World
Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST
News Service
AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- In September 2001 the Eritrean
government closed down all private media, then rounded up its opponents and
critics and silenced them by incarcerating them in 'secret' prisons. Amnesty
International estimates several thousand political prisoners are languishing
incommunicado in detention. The crackdown on churches began in May 2002 when the
government closed and banned all but three state- sanctioned denominations:
Eritrean Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran.
Today some 900 Christians
including 16 pastors are in prison for their faith. The conditions are dire and
torture is routine. This religious repression is partly driven by the
politically powerful Eritrean Eastern Orthodox
Church trying to protect its
influence in the face of significant evangelical renewal
(and people making a more democratic choice). The Eritrean government denies
there is any religious repression, boasting full religious freedom with tight
national security.
These four years of repression, violence and
injustice have also been four years of drought. Today, around 60 percent of
Eritreans rely on food aid. UNICEF reports that more than 40 percent of pregnant
or lactating women are malnourished and between 10 and 20 percent of all
children under age five are acutely malnourished. New laws came into effect on 1
June 2005 to regulate Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and tax their imports,
making it impossible for smaller NGOs to operate. NGOs engaging in 'political or
economic sabotage' will be banned. Eritrea's suffering and isolation will thus
be further compounded.
Compass Direct (CD) reports that on Saturday 28
May, police raided a large wedding ceremony in the Eritrean capital of Asmara,
arresting at least 250 guests, along with the bride and groom (both of the
Meserete Kristos Church) and their wedding party. Members of the
government-sanctioned denominations were later released, while about 70 others
belonging to banned evangelical churches were kept in custody. CD reports that
amongst those arrested were Pastor Gideon of the Meserete Kristos Church,
Immanuel an evangelist from the Kale Hiwot Church, and Esaye Stefanos, a
nationally known gospel singer from the Full Gospel Church. The prisoners are
reportedly being pressured to abandon their evangelical beliefs and join
state-sanctioned churches.
On Wednesday 25 May, Eritreans from
across America along with their supporters gathered outside Eritrea's Embassy in
Washington DC to protest Eritrea's human rights violations. They called for the
release of all political and religious prisoners, and for political,
journalistic and religious freedom to be restored. Eritrean believers at the
rally prayed and worshiped the Lord openly in front of posters of imprisoned
Eritrean pastors. The Director of Jubilee Campaign, Anne Buwalda, comments,
'Almost everyone [at the rally] knew one or more jailed pastor. ... they came
from as far away as Minnesota and Atlanta to attend because of their love for
their pastors.'
Sources believe the wedding arrests were a response
to the Washington protest and the Eritrean government is trying to intimidate
local believers into silence. Retaliatory arrests are intended to send the
message that overseas advocacy and pressure will only make things worse. There
will be a rally outside the Eritrean Embassy in London on Thursday 9 June, to
call once again for religious freedom in Eritrea.
PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY
FOR:
God to comfort, encourage and sustain imprisoned believers,
supplying all their needs, healing their trauma of body, mind and soul, and
filling them with an overwhelming assurance of his presence and
love.
God to raise up powerful advocates and effective measures
to restore justice and religious liberty to Eritrea, so those unjustly
imprisoned can be released and God's word can go out boldly, powerfully and
freely.
the President of Eritrea, Isayas Afewerki - 'The king's
heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he
pleases.' (Proverbs 21:1)
the irresistible Holy Spirit to
revive the state-sanctioned Eritrean Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches,
from the grassroots to the leadership, that repenting they will know unity as
one body, solidarity with the persecuted, and renewed passion for the living
Christ.
'Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O
Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember
mercy.' (Habakkuk 3:2)
FREE AUTHENTIC
ARABIC Van_Dyck 1867 New T estament NOW RELEASED
PDF
Pages & Content appear exactly as they did in This Original New Testament
THERE IS NOT ONE CHRISTIAN NATION ON EARTH WHERE
MUSLIMS ARE PERSECUTED.
Yet in most nations where the majority of the
population are Muslims, there is systematic government persecution of
Christians.
"Everyone has the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in
community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or
belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
--Article 18 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--
Christian Conversions - According to the Bible - Can NEVER be
forced.
Any Conversion to Christianity which would be "Forced"
would NOT be recognized by God. It is in His True and
KIND nature, that those who come to Him and choose to believe in Him, must come
to Him OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL.
Don't Let anyone tell you that Christians support Forced
Conversions.
That is False. True Christianity
is NEVER
forced.
Core Universal Rights
The right to believe, to worship and
witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to
join together and express one's belief