Date: Friday 11 July 2008
Subj: Yemen: Christian arrests may herald new era of persecution.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
YEMEN: CHRISTIAN ARRESTS MAY HERALD NEW ERA OF PERSECUTION
On 18 June Yemeni news source Al Sahwa reported that Yemeni political security forces in Hodiada province had arrested a "missionary cell" of seven people and charged them with promoting Christianity and distributing the Bible. One of those arrested, Hadni Dohni, stands accused of converting to Christianity.
According to Sahwa Net, ". . . the suspects were transferred to Sana'a in order to investigate them to know who support them." (Link 1)
BosNewsLife subsequently reported on 2 July that according to International Christian Concern ( http://www.persecution.org ) the Yemeni Christians were still in detention and at risk of mistreatment and torture at the hands of Yemeni authorities. (Link 2)
Hodaida is Yemen's third largest city. It is the capital of Hodaida Province which is located on Yemen's western Red Sea coast and home to more than two million Yemenis. (See map at link 3)
ARRESTS MAY HERALD NEW ERA OF PERSECUTION
These arrests may well herald an era of more intense and systematic persecution. They came hot on the heels of an Islamist media campaign (foreign, terrorist, and local) that claims Islam in Yemen is under threat due to Christian missionary activities; and at a time when the hugely unpopular, corrupt, abusive, dictatorial regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh is struggling to hold the state together.
MEDIA CAMPAIGN: IN FEAR OF MISSIONARIES AND APOSTATES
On 11 October 2007, Catholic World News reported: "The Palestinian newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi is reporting 2,000 conversions from Islam to Christianity in Yemen.
"Many of the converts are reportedly living abroad in fear for their lives. Yemen adheres to Shari'a law, which forbids conversions from Islam on pain of death.
"The World Muslim League has appealed to Yemen's government to stem the tide of conversions, placing the blame on schools administered by foreigners." (Link 4)
On 13 January 2008, Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported: "On January 13, 2008, Islamist websites posted the first issue of Sada Al-Malahim [Echo of Wars], the e-journal of Al-Qaeda in Yemen. According to its editor, the journal was established in response to a call by Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who urged '[those] who are engaged in Islamic media jihad to strengthen their resolve . . . in the face of the fiercest Crusader attack that the Islamic nation [has ever known]." (Link 5)
Then on 18 February 2008, the Yemen Post reported: "Yemeni Researcher Dr Abdul Qawi Al-Tab'ee warned of the growing organised Christian movement in Yemen, hinting the missionary work of foreign agencies focus on young youth to build its movement and spread Christianity in Yemen.
"This news comes in shock to a country known to be free from Christians as only very few Christian Yemenis exist in Aden, which officials say that they are not of Yemeni root.
"Meanwhile, the Islamic World League in its report warned of growing missionary work in Yemen and indicated that the missionary agencies have managed so far to turn over 120 Yemenis in Hadramout into Christianity. It also hinted these agencies are also active in Eritrean and Somali refugees' camps located in southern part of Yemen.
"The league attributed the success of Christianity campaign in Yemen to the absence of attention by Muslims . . ." (Link 6)
It is difficult to see how the above article, written by Yemen Post staff writer Hakim Almasmari, could fail to cause anxiety and outrage amongst apostaphobic Yemeni Muslims.
Almasmari asserts that Christians use international organisations -- especially those involved in education, health or humanitarian relief and development -- as fronts for their missionary work. He specifically mentions the Jibla Baptist hospital without condemning the 30 December 2002 terrorist attack which claimed the lives of Dr Martha Myers (57), hospital administrator William Koehn (60) and supply purchaser Kathleen Gariety (53), as well as critically wounding pharmacist Donald Caswell. He also fails to mention the great outpouring of grief in Jibla that followed the slaying of the three Christians who, having spent 62 years in Yemen between them, had brought health, hope, joy and friendship to multitudes. As distraught mourner Malka al-Hadhrami told Salah Nasrawi of the Associated Press, "All Jibla weeps for them." The terrorist, Abed Abdel Razzak Kamel (35), a member of a group called Islamic Jihad, confessed to having shot the Americans "because they were preaching Christianity in a Muslim country". (See Link 7)
Almasmari adds that while Christian missionary work is strictly forbidden "books and literature about the Christian faith have been widely noticed to be distributed in the Old City of Sana'a".
HOLDING THE STATE TOGETHER: A DEAL WITH AL-QAEDA AND/OR A FEAR TO BE EXPLOITED FOR POLITICAL GAIN
The 1990 creation of the unified state of Yemen brought together North Yemen which was 66 percent Shi'ite and had traditionally (until a 1962 military coup) been ruled by a Shi'ite Imamate, and South Yemen which was 99 percent Sunni, Marxist and until 1990 was sponsored by the Soviet Union. The already aggrieved religiously conservative Shi'ites then became a 30 percent minority in a Sunni dominated socialist ("apostate") republic. North Yemen's President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, an Arab Socialist revolutionary and nominal Shia, was elected as the president of the unified Republic of Yemen.
It is difficult to imagine a more potentially fraught marriage. Indeed, not long after the honeymoon ended, civil war erupted.
As a secular socialist, Saleh was no admirer of religious fundamentalists -- unless of course they could be exploited and employed to his advantage.
During the 1994 civil war, Saleh, who had to fight against disaffected southerners to keep his country unified, employed tens of thousands of "Afghan" Arabs (Sunni fundamentalist Arab veterans of the 1980s Afghan jihad) in a "jihad" against the "infidel" southern separatists. The government-jihadi alliance crushed the southern separatists, and the previously more open and liberal Aden (capital of the south) was left helpless before an incoming tide of Islamisation. This of course has only caused the disaffection and grief of the more liberal and secular southerners to intensify.
The 1994 civil war marked the beginning Saleh's pragmatic alliance with Sunni fundamentalists and militants, including al-Qaeda. It is an alliance that mirrors the alliance between al-Saud and al-Wahhab: a pragmatic alliance built on quid pro quo deals. Saleh does not interfere with al-Qaeda and al-Qaeda preserves Saleh's socialist dictatorship, at least for as long as it is convenient. Al-Qaeda-perpetrated terror under this arrangement is Government-controlled but it gives Saleh grounds to cry out to the West for funding for his war against terror. However Saleh's relationship with the US in the War on Terror (even if it was/is a confidence trick) gave the Shi'ite rebels of the north grounds to accuse him of being pro-American, the ultimate sin.
When the Shi'ite rebellion erupted in 2004, President Saleh employed his Sunni fundamentalist militants and al-Qaeda puppets alongside his army in his war against the al-Houthi Shi'ite rebels.
Thus Saleh is fighting Shi'ite rebels in the north and liberal pro-democracy and separatist forces in the south, by feeding and partnering with Shi'ite-hating, democracy-hating, liberty-hating, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-infidel, anti-apostate, Wahhabi Sunni fundamentalist militants including al-Qaeda.
This has not resulted in the defeat of the al-Houthi Shi'ite rebellion (which has cost thousands of lives) or the repression of dissent in south. The result has been escalating radicalisation, terrorism, disaffection, rioting and a dangerous broadening of the sectarian conflict as the warring Islamic sects receive support from their co-religionists abroad. Yemen is now in the grip of a Sunni v Shi'ite sectarian conflict which most analysts believe is fast becoming a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
In such an explosive environment it is common for Muslim leaders to try and generate popularity and Islamic solidarity by deflecting hostilities onto a common "enemy": Jews, "Zionists", "Crusaders", Christians, missionaries, apostates. The Jews come first and then the Christians -- as the Muslim war chant goes, "Baad a- Sabt biji Yom al-Ahad": "After Saturday comes Sunday", meaning after we deal with the Saturday people -- the Jews -- we'll deal with the Sunday people -- the Christians.
The Jews have already been dealt with. As reported by WEA RLC News & Analysis in February 2007: "On 10 January [2007] the 45 Jews of al Haid, Sa'ada (north Yemen) received letters from a Shi'ite rebel militia. The letters accused them of promoting vice and demanded that they leave the province. According to the Yemen Observer, the 45 Jews have been forced to flee their homes in fear of their lives." (Link 8)
As fighting flared again in April 2008, the Shi'ite rebels finished the job by destroying the homes abandoned by the al Haid Jews some 15 months earlier. They also looted the former home of Rabbi Yehia Youssuf. Israel absorbed some 50,000 Yemeni Jews who were forced to flee Yemen in the immediate aftermath of the creation of the state of Israel. Some 1,600 Jews left Yemen in the 1990s, leaving a remnant of only around 400 Jews in Yemen today. (Link 9)
Maybe "Sunday" has arrived.
Insecurity, terrorism, separatism, rioting and sectarian conflict are not President Saleh's only problems. He is an unpopular dictator who after 27 years in power still imprisons his critics and rules over a state with high levels of illiteracy, unemployment, poverty and malnutrition.
So Islamic fundamentalists will not be the only ones to benefit from a state-sponsored crackdown on Christian missionary activity and apostasy. The Islamic media, with its anti-Christian propaganda and disinformation, has no doubt made persecution of Christians a real vote-winner. Protecting Islam by arresting missionaries and apostates is one way the embattled Saleh-the-secular-socialist can bolster his Islamic credentials -- important in a Muslim state undergoing radicalisation -- and generate some popularity. Saleh releases convicted Islamic terrorists from prison for similar reasons: not only to keep al-Qaeda happy, but to bolster his anti-US credentials for political gain. While the state's prisons maintain a revolving door for Islamic terrorists, they remain full due to a continual intake of journalists, comedians, singers, dissidents, pro-democracy activists, justice advocates -- and now Christians.
If the arrests are part of a deal with Islamic fundamentalists and/or a grab for grassroots popularity and Islamic solidarity, then we have grounds to expect more arrests and an escalation in very public persecution.
. . and when President Saleh saw how much it pleased the Muslims, he proceeded to arrest more Christians . . . (Adaptation of Acts 12:3)
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Yemeni security arrests missionary cell in Hodaida. 18/06/2008
http://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/view_nnews.asp?sub_no=401_2008_06_18_64109
2) Yemeni Christians Remain Detained; No Americans Among Them
By BosNewsLife News Center, 2 July 2008
http://www.bosnewslife.com/middle-east/yemen/3689-yemeni-christians-remain-detained-no-american
3) MAP. Note -- Hodaida here is spelt Hodaydah. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/atlas_middle_east/yemen_divisions.jpg ).
4) Conversions reported on the rise in Yemen. 11 Oct 2007
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=54102
5) Al-Qaeda in Yemen Launches New E-Journal -- Sada Al-Malahim
13 January 2008 MEMRI
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/4640.htm
6) Researcher Warns Christianity Growth in Yemen
By Hakim Almasmari, 18 February 2008
http://www.yemenpost.net/17/LocalNews/1.htm
7) Yemeni Town Mourns U.S. Missionaries
By SALAH NASRAWI. The Associated Press
JIBLA, Yemen. 31 December 2008
http://www.islamreview.com/news/2002_news.htm
ALSO
Religious Liberty 2003
WEA RLC News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendal, 6 January 2003
8) Yemen: Shi'ite rebellion resurfaces -- Yemeni Jews threatened.
WEA RLC News & Analysis by Elizabeth Kendal, 16 February 2007
9) Yemen -- Empty Jewish homes destroyed. 7 April 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207486208257&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Friday, July 11, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
ISLAMISING PAPUA
Date: Tuesday 8 July 2008
Subj: Indonesia: Islamising Papua
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
Islamising Papua
-- a history of violation, equivocation and the betrayal of Christian people.
On Tuesday 1 July the Jakarta Post reported: "All factions in the House of Representatives have agreed to pass legislation giving a legal basis for the implementation of special autonomy in the new province of West Papua." (Link 1)
NOTE: Papua, Eastern Indonesia, was formerly Dutch New Guinea. It is the western portion of the island of New Guinea and is not to be confused with Papua New Guinea (PNG), the eastern portion of the island. When Indonesia assumed control of Dutch New Guinea they changed the name to Irian Jaya. On 25 December 2000, President Wahid officially endorsed the name change from Irian Jaya to Papua. The province of West Papua (also known as Papua Barat, Irian
Jaya Barat, or West Irian Jaya) is a recent Indonesian government creation comprising the westernmost portion of Papua. (See map)
While the indigenous predominantly Christian, Melanesian Papuans are still the majority in Papua -- although only barely (see Genocide by Demographics) -- decades of government-sponsored transmigration has made the province of West Papua majority Javanese Muslim. Legalising its status as an autonomous province distinct from Papua, will effectively consolidate West Papua's Islamisation and establish it as a vassal of Jakarta.
This unconstitutional and unilateral act is a betrayal of the Papuan people and a violation of the 2001 Special Autonomy Law which was designed to bring confidence, peace and stability to Papua, as well as cultural and religious liberty protection. It will only further exacerbate the frustration, anger and despair of the indigenous Papuans who are helpless to prevent their unique and precious land from being exploited, Islamised and dismembered.
It is flabbergasting that the Indonesian government's appalling abuse of power and human rights receives so little attention in international media or international forums. But then again, the most profound betrayal of all has been perpetrated by the governments of the free and rights-affirming "Christian" West that have themselves betrayed and abandoned the Papuans for political expediency and economic gain.
Whilst the Papuans turned from shamanism and internecine warfare to Christ through the 20th Century, Papua is now being Islamised and the Papuan people are facing genocide. This is not what so many courageous, faithful, pioneering Dutch, American and Australian missionaries sacrificed their lives for.
-------------------------------------------------------
A HISTORY OF VIOLATION, EQUIVOCATION AND BETRAYAL
-------------------------------------------------------
LAW 22/1999 ON REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
In May 1998, protests and rioting forced President Suharto out of office. Vice President B J Habibie subsequently assumed the Presidency and the "New Order" era was succeeded by the so-called "Era of Reform". In line with the spirit of reform the New Order legislation Law No. 5/1974 on decentralisation was replaced with Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Government. (See Link 3)
Law No. 22/1999 provides a five-step legal process for the division of a region into two or more smaller regions. Step One: "With the approval of the respective Regional Parliament, the Head of the respective Region (Kepala Daerah), i.e. the Governor of a Province, the Head of a Regency (Bupati) or a City Mayor (Walikota), sends an official letter to the President." That is, a request, which must have the approval of the regional parliament, goes out from the region (where it emanates) to the President (who then commissions research before considering the request).
LAW 45/1999 ON DIVISION OF PAPUA: A VIOLATION OF LAW 22/1999
In September 1999 the central government in Jakarta directly violated Law 22/1999 by unilaterally issuing Law 45/1999, dividing Papua into three provinces -- West Iranian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and Papua -- against the will of the Papuan people.
International Crisis Group (ICG) explains that after B J Habibie assumed the presidency in February 1999, a delegation of 100 Papuan community leaders travelled to Jakarta to meet with him in a "National Dialogue" on the future of Irian Jaya. Habibie however was shocked to hear them express a desire for self-determination. Unfortunately for the Papuans, their independence movement was growing in strength at the same time as Aceh, Sulawesi and the Molluccas were descending into conflict. Indonesian repression of Papuan independence advocates quickly escalated. On 30 August 1999 the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. It is widely believed that the September 1999 Law 45/1999 was mandated as a divide-and-rule tactic to weaken the Papuan independence movement. (ICG report: Link 4)
Papua's Provincial Parliament (DPRD) immediately rejected Law 45/1999 and demanded that it be repealed. ICG explains: "Partly as a result of the DPRD's rejection, partly due to the multitude of other issues claiming Jakarta's attention, including the transfer of the presidency from President Habibie to the democratically elected Abdurrahman Wahid, the division of the province was never implemented." (ICG, page 3)
During Wahid's presidency, Law 45/1999 drifted into legal limbo -- rejected but not repealed. Meanwhile, as President Wahid advanced good will in Papua his opponents in Jakarta and in the security forces (TNI) accused him of encouraging separatism. To drive home their point, the security forces (which profit from both conflict and their business interests in Papua) increased their provocation of "incidents" and escalated their repression of "separatism".
Eventually the Indonesian parliament (MPR) proposed "special autonomy" be mandated for Papua as a means of winning over the Papuan people. Work began on the Special Autonomy Law in late 2000.
Meanwhile however, escalating violence, much of which was incited by the TNI for economic gain, was heating up around the extremities of the archipelago, and President Wahid's opponents (including Islamists) were exploiting this for political gain. In July 2001, Megawati Sukarnoputri replaced Abdurrahman Wahid as President of Indonesia.
LAW 21/2001 ON SPECIAL AUTONOMY FOR PAPUA
Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua was passed on 22 October 2001. The full text of Law 21/2001 can be found at link 5.
Law 21/2001 did not give the Papuans everything they wanted, but it did give them the right to develop their own cultural institutions and fly their own flag as long as it was not a symbol of sovereignty. It mandated the establishment of a Papuan People's Council (MRP) made up of ethnic Papuans chosen from religious and traditional leaders, both men and women, to be an advisory body to the provincial parliament. Article 76 mandates that any division of Papua have the approval of both the MRP and the provincial parliament. Article 77 mandates that proposed amendments to the law are submitted by the people of the province through their local assemblies to the President.
Independence leader Theys Eluay doubted Jakarta could be trusted. He rejected the special autonomy package and was kidnapped and assassinated by Kopassus Special Forces officers three weeks later.
However, a significant number of the Papuan elite believed special autonomy could be beneficial to all if fully implemented and they should give it a chance.
It was widely assumed that Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua superseded Law 45/1999 on the division of Papua, rendering it null.
LAW 1/2003: MEGAWATI DIVIDES PAPUA
Special Autonomy had been in force for little over a year when, in January 2003, President Megawati Sukarnoputri unexpectedly and unilaterally issued her "Inpres", Law 1/2003 on the Acceleration of the Implementation of Law 45/1999.
As ICG noted in their April 2003 report, "Dividing Papua: how not to do it" (link 4): "A presidential instruction (Inpres) issued in January 2003 to divide Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province, into three parts has done more to create tension and turmoil there than any government action in years. The instruction undercuts a special autonomy law passed by the parliament in November 2001 that assumed the province to be a single territorial unit, and
it has thrown Papua's administrative status into legal limbo. It undermines moderate intellectuals who saw special autonomy as a way of strengthening Papuan institutions and encouraging independence supporters to work within the Indonesian state. It has infuriated many Papuans, pro-independence and pro-autonomy alike, who have a deep attachment to Papua as a single political unit with a distinct history and who see the decree as a divide-and-rule
tactic by Jakarta. All major religious leaders in the province have come out against it." (ICG; page 1)
On 12 November 2003 Dr John Ibo, the then head of the Papuan Provincial Parliament, launched a challenge in the Constitutional Court to test the legality of Law 1/2003.
On 13 November 2003, despite strong opposition from Papuans and others and despite the issue being before the Constitutional Court, Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed the government's division of Papua.
Furthermore, on 14 November 2003, the Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs, Hari Sabarno, installed Brig. Gen. (ret) Abraham Octovianus Atururi as the governor of West Irian Jaya province, despite controversy over its status.
On 15 November 2003, the Jakarta Post reported that Atururi's inauguration "marks the official split of West Irian Jaya from Papua."
For a full report on the consequences of the division of Papua see:
The Islamisation of Papua: the betrayal of a Christian people.
WEA RLC News & Analysis, Friday 21 November 2003
By WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
11 NOVEMBER 2004: COURT RULES LAW 45/1999 UNCONSTITUTIONAL
On 11 November 2004 Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled Law 45/1999 unconstitutional and thus invalid as at the date of the verdict. However, in its legal considerations the Court stated it was of the opinion that the Province of West Irian Jaya, that had been established based on Law 45/1999 and the corresponding implementing legislation, was valid.
Constitutional law expert Sri Soemantri criticised the ruling as "Completely weird", noting, "What then is the legal basis of West Irian Jaya province? If the court declares Law No. 45/1999 violates the Constitution, how can it approve the establishment of a province that has no legal basis?"
Judge Maruarar Siahaan agreed with the verdict (that Law 45/1999 is unconstitutional) but held a different opinion regarding the legal considerations on the result of the Court ruling. He reasoned that the ruling should mean that everything resulting from Law 45/1999 needed to be annulled, and that the existence of the Province of West Irian Jaya should be declared null and void and all corresponding institutions should be dissolved.
The then head of Papua's Indonesian Christian Church, the Reverend Herman Saud, expressed his opinion that the ruling was based on political considerations rather than legal arguments: "The ruling was made to save the central government's honour as it has already set up West Irian Jaya province. It's no secret that the government always intervenes in the legal process."
And so, while Law 45/1999 was deemed "unconstitutional and thus invalid", the province created by that unconstitutional and invalid law was to be considered "valid" simply on the grounds that it had already been established. (Link 6)
JULY 2006: SBY AGREES TO EVALUATE 21/2001 and AMEND ARTICLE 76
The ruling of the Constitutional Court created a new problem. Law 21/2001 -- the Special Autonomy Law that the Papuan's collaborated on and accepted -- granted special autonomy to Papua as a single territorial entity. The now "valid" province of West Papua was not covered by Law 21/2001 and as 45/1999 had been deemed unconstitutional and invalid, the province, while "valid", had no legal basis.
So in July 2006, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) agreed to evaluate the Special Autonomy Law and amend Article 76 which stipulates that the establishment of new provinces must get the approval from the MRP and the Regional Parliament. This however, would be yet another violation of the Special Autonomy Law as Article 77 mandates that amendments are the prerogative of the province, not the central government.
GOVERNMENT REGULATION 1/2008: AMENDING LAW 21/2001
On 16 April 2008, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono violated Articles 76 and 77 of Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua by unilaterally amending Law 21/2001 and dividing Papua by means of a Presidential Decree. According to the Jakarta Post, the decree amended two items: "Article 1(a), which stated Irian Jaya province would officially become Papua province, was replaced with Irian Jaya officially becoming Papua and West Papua provinces. Article 7(a) on the duty of the Papuan legislature to elect the governor and vice governor, was
dropped." (Link 7)
Not only has Special Autonomy failed in Papua, it is now something quite different from what was originally agreed to by the Papuans.
1 JULY 2008: GOVERNMENT VOTES TO LEGALISE PROVINCE OF WEST PAPUA
So Papua now consists of two autonomous provinces: the majority Javanese Muslim province of West Papua, and the majority Melanesian Christian province of Papua. Papua has been divided against the will of the Papuans, in violation of Law 22/1999 on Regional Government; in violation of Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy; and in spite of the Constitutional Court's 11 November 2004 ruling that deemed Law 45/1999 unconstitutional. The Indonesian government has acted
in bad faith towards the Papuans. How can this advance peace, confidence and stability?
The consequences of this betrayal are enormous: it marks the end of Special Autonomy Law 21/2001. Papua is being Islamised and plundered while the Melanesian predominantly Protestant Christian Papuans are being robbed, abused and marginalised.
Furthermore, there is no reason to assume Jakarta will stop now. With the oil and gas-rich province of West Papua thus secured as a vassal of Jakarta, it will surely only be a matter of time before copper and gold-rich Central Irian Jaya is likewise secured. In fact Jakarta could continue this process of land division and law revision until Papua is little more than a poor and remote outpost for displaced and dying Papuans; an outpost that would ultimately be deemed non-viable. Then the genocide will be complete.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) House to pass W. Papua autonomy bill
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tuesday 1 July 2008
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/07/01/house-pass-w-papua-autonomy-
bill.html
2) Papua (Indonesia): Genocide by Demographics
WEA RLC News & Analysis, 20 Dec 2007
By: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
3) Conference "Autonomy for Papua – Opportunity or Illusion?" 4-5 June 03
Local government in Indonesia. The case of Papua, By Harun Alrasid
http://home.snafu.de/watchin/AfP2003alrasid.htm
4) Dividing Papua: How not to do it. ICG, 9 April 2003
http://www.icg.org/library/documents/report_archive/A400941_09042003.pdf
5) HOUSE OF PEOPLE'S REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
BILL OF LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA NO. 21 YEAR 2001
ON SPECIAL AUTONOMY FOR THE PAPUA PROVINCE
http://www.papuaweb.org/goi/otsus/files/otsus-en.html
6) Constitutional Court's ruling on the partition of Papua
By von Petra Stockmann
Watch Indonesia! Information und Analyse, 24 Nov 2004
http://home.snafu.de/watchin/papuapartition_24.11.04.htm
7) President 'breaches' autonomy law. 4 July 2008
Angela Flassy, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
http://old.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20080704.G02
Subj: Indonesia: Islamising Papua
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
Islamising Papua
-- a history of violation, equivocation and the betrayal of Christian people.
On Tuesday 1 July the Jakarta Post reported: "All factions in the House of Representatives have agreed to pass legislation giving a legal basis for the implementation of special autonomy in the new province of West Papua." (Link 1)
NOTE: Papua, Eastern Indonesia, was formerly Dutch New Guinea. It is the western portion of the island of New Guinea and is not to be confused with Papua New Guinea (PNG), the eastern portion of the island. When Indonesia assumed control of Dutch New Guinea they changed the name to Irian Jaya. On 25 December 2000, President Wahid officially endorsed the name change from Irian Jaya to Papua. The province of West Papua (also known as Papua Barat, Irian
Jaya Barat, or West Irian Jaya) is a recent Indonesian government creation comprising the westernmost portion of Papua. (See map)
While the indigenous predominantly Christian, Melanesian Papuans are still the majority in Papua -- although only barely (see Genocide by Demographics) -- decades of government-sponsored transmigration has made the province of West Papua majority Javanese Muslim. Legalising its status as an autonomous province distinct from Papua, will effectively consolidate West Papua's Islamisation and establish it as a vassal of Jakarta.
This unconstitutional and unilateral act is a betrayal of the Papuan people and a violation of the 2001 Special Autonomy Law which was designed to bring confidence, peace and stability to Papua, as well as cultural and religious liberty protection. It will only further exacerbate the frustration, anger and despair of the indigenous Papuans who are helpless to prevent their unique and precious land from being exploited, Islamised and dismembered.
It is flabbergasting that the Indonesian government's appalling abuse of power and human rights receives so little attention in international media or international forums. But then again, the most profound betrayal of all has been perpetrated by the governments of the free and rights-affirming "Christian" West that have themselves betrayed and abandoned the Papuans for political expediency and economic gain.
Whilst the Papuans turned from shamanism and internecine warfare to Christ through the 20th Century, Papua is now being Islamised and the Papuan people are facing genocide. This is not what so many courageous, faithful, pioneering Dutch, American and Australian missionaries sacrificed their lives for.
-------------------------------------------------------
A HISTORY OF VIOLATION, EQUIVOCATION AND BETRAYAL
-------------------------------------------------------
LAW 22/1999 ON REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
In May 1998, protests and rioting forced President Suharto out of office. Vice President B J Habibie subsequently assumed the Presidency and the "New Order" era was succeeded by the so-called "Era of Reform". In line with the spirit of reform the New Order legislation Law No. 5/1974 on decentralisation was replaced with Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Government. (See Link 3)
Law No. 22/1999 provides a five-step legal process for the division of a region into two or more smaller regions. Step One: "With the approval of the respective Regional Parliament, the Head of the respective Region (Kepala Daerah), i.e. the Governor of a Province, the Head of a Regency (Bupati) or a City Mayor (Walikota), sends an official letter to the President." That is, a request, which must have the approval of the regional parliament, goes out from the region (where it emanates) to the President (who then commissions research before considering the request).
LAW 45/1999 ON DIVISION OF PAPUA: A VIOLATION OF LAW 22/1999
In September 1999 the central government in Jakarta directly violated Law 22/1999 by unilaterally issuing Law 45/1999, dividing Papua into three provinces -- West Iranian Jaya, Central Irian Jaya and Papua -- against the will of the Papuan people.
International Crisis Group (ICG) explains that after B J Habibie assumed the presidency in February 1999, a delegation of 100 Papuan community leaders travelled to Jakarta to meet with him in a "National Dialogue" on the future of Irian Jaya. Habibie however was shocked to hear them express a desire for self-determination. Unfortunately for the Papuans, their independence movement was growing in strength at the same time as Aceh, Sulawesi and the Molluccas were descending into conflict. Indonesian repression of Papuan independence advocates quickly escalated. On 30 August 1999 the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. It is widely believed that the September 1999 Law 45/1999 was mandated as a divide-and-rule tactic to weaken the Papuan independence movement. (ICG report: Link 4)
Papua's Provincial Parliament (DPRD) immediately rejected Law 45/1999 and demanded that it be repealed. ICG explains: "Partly as a result of the DPRD's rejection, partly due to the multitude of other issues claiming Jakarta's attention, including the transfer of the presidency from President Habibie to the democratically elected Abdurrahman Wahid, the division of the province was never implemented." (ICG, page 3)
During Wahid's presidency, Law 45/1999 drifted into legal limbo -- rejected but not repealed. Meanwhile, as President Wahid advanced good will in Papua his opponents in Jakarta and in the security forces (TNI) accused him of encouraging separatism. To drive home their point, the security forces (which profit from both conflict and their business interests in Papua) increased their provocation of "incidents" and escalated their repression of "separatism".
Eventually the Indonesian parliament (MPR) proposed "special autonomy" be mandated for Papua as a means of winning over the Papuan people. Work began on the Special Autonomy Law in late 2000.
Meanwhile however, escalating violence, much of which was incited by the TNI for economic gain, was heating up around the extremities of the archipelago, and President Wahid's opponents (including Islamists) were exploiting this for political gain. In July 2001, Megawati Sukarnoputri replaced Abdurrahman Wahid as President of Indonesia.
LAW 21/2001 ON SPECIAL AUTONOMY FOR PAPUA
Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua was passed on 22 October 2001. The full text of Law 21/2001 can be found at link 5.
Law 21/2001 did not give the Papuans everything they wanted, but it did give them the right to develop their own cultural institutions and fly their own flag as long as it was not a symbol of sovereignty. It mandated the establishment of a Papuan People's Council (MRP) made up of ethnic Papuans chosen from religious and traditional leaders, both men and women, to be an advisory body to the provincial parliament. Article 76 mandates that any division of Papua have the approval of both the MRP and the provincial parliament. Article 77 mandates that proposed amendments to the law are submitted by the people of the province through their local assemblies to the President.
Independence leader Theys Eluay doubted Jakarta could be trusted. He rejected the special autonomy package and was kidnapped and assassinated by Kopassus Special Forces officers three weeks later.
However, a significant number of the Papuan elite believed special autonomy could be beneficial to all if fully implemented and they should give it a chance.
It was widely assumed that Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua superseded Law 45/1999 on the division of Papua, rendering it null.
LAW 1/2003: MEGAWATI DIVIDES PAPUA
Special Autonomy had been in force for little over a year when, in January 2003, President Megawati Sukarnoputri unexpectedly and unilaterally issued her "Inpres", Law 1/2003 on the Acceleration of the Implementation of Law 45/1999.
As ICG noted in their April 2003 report, "Dividing Papua: how not to do it" (link 4): "A presidential instruction (Inpres) issued in January 2003 to divide Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province, into three parts has done more to create tension and turmoil there than any government action in years. The instruction undercuts a special autonomy law passed by the parliament in November 2001 that assumed the province to be a single territorial unit, and
it has thrown Papua's administrative status into legal limbo. It undermines moderate intellectuals who saw special autonomy as a way of strengthening Papuan institutions and encouraging independence supporters to work within the Indonesian state. It has infuriated many Papuans, pro-independence and pro-autonomy alike, who have a deep attachment to Papua as a single political unit with a distinct history and who see the decree as a divide-and-rule
tactic by Jakarta. All major religious leaders in the province have come out against it." (ICG; page 1)
On 12 November 2003 Dr John Ibo, the then head of the Papuan Provincial Parliament, launched a challenge in the Constitutional Court to test the legality of Law 1/2003.
On 13 November 2003, despite strong opposition from Papuans and others and despite the issue being before the Constitutional Court, Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) endorsed the government's division of Papua.
Furthermore, on 14 November 2003, the Indonesian Minister of Home Affairs, Hari Sabarno, installed Brig. Gen. (ret) Abraham Octovianus Atururi as the governor of West Irian Jaya province, despite controversy over its status.
On 15 November 2003, the Jakarta Post reported that Atururi's inauguration "marks the official split of West Irian Jaya from Papua."
For a full report on the consequences of the division of Papua see:
The Islamisation of Papua: the betrayal of a Christian people.
WEA RLC News & Analysis, Friday 21 November 2003
By WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
11 NOVEMBER 2004: COURT RULES LAW 45/1999 UNCONSTITUTIONAL
On 11 November 2004 Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled Law 45/1999 unconstitutional and thus invalid as at the date of the verdict. However, in its legal considerations the Court stated it was of the opinion that the Province of West Irian Jaya, that had been established based on Law 45/1999 and the corresponding implementing legislation, was valid.
Constitutional law expert Sri Soemantri criticised the ruling as "Completely weird", noting, "What then is the legal basis of West Irian Jaya province? If the court declares Law No. 45/1999 violates the Constitution, how can it approve the establishment of a province that has no legal basis?"
Judge Maruarar Siahaan agreed with the verdict (that Law 45/1999 is unconstitutional) but held a different opinion regarding the legal considerations on the result of the Court ruling. He reasoned that the ruling should mean that everything resulting from Law 45/1999 needed to be annulled, and that the existence of the Province of West Irian Jaya should be declared null and void and all corresponding institutions should be dissolved.
The then head of Papua's Indonesian Christian Church, the Reverend Herman Saud, expressed his opinion that the ruling was based on political considerations rather than legal arguments: "The ruling was made to save the central government's honour as it has already set up West Irian Jaya province. It's no secret that the government always intervenes in the legal process."
And so, while Law 45/1999 was deemed "unconstitutional and thus invalid", the province created by that unconstitutional and invalid law was to be considered "valid" simply on the grounds that it had already been established. (Link 6)
JULY 2006: SBY AGREES TO EVALUATE 21/2001 and AMEND ARTICLE 76
The ruling of the Constitutional Court created a new problem. Law 21/2001 -- the Special Autonomy Law that the Papuan's collaborated on and accepted -- granted special autonomy to Papua as a single territorial entity. The now "valid" province of West Papua was not covered by Law 21/2001 and as 45/1999 had been deemed unconstitutional and invalid, the province, while "valid", had no legal basis.
So in July 2006, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) agreed to evaluate the Special Autonomy Law and amend Article 76 which stipulates that the establishment of new provinces must get the approval from the MRP and the Regional Parliament. This however, would be yet another violation of the Special Autonomy Law as Article 77 mandates that amendments are the prerogative of the province, not the central government.
GOVERNMENT REGULATION 1/2008: AMENDING LAW 21/2001
On 16 April 2008, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono violated Articles 76 and 77 of Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy for Papua by unilaterally amending Law 21/2001 and dividing Papua by means of a Presidential Decree. According to the Jakarta Post, the decree amended two items: "Article 1(a), which stated Irian Jaya province would officially become Papua province, was replaced with Irian Jaya officially becoming Papua and West Papua provinces. Article 7(a) on the duty of the Papuan legislature to elect the governor and vice governor, was
dropped." (Link 7)
Not only has Special Autonomy failed in Papua, it is now something quite different from what was originally agreed to by the Papuans.
1 JULY 2008: GOVERNMENT VOTES TO LEGALISE PROVINCE OF WEST PAPUA
So Papua now consists of two autonomous provinces: the majority Javanese Muslim province of West Papua, and the majority Melanesian Christian province of Papua. Papua has been divided against the will of the Papuans, in violation of Law 22/1999 on Regional Government; in violation of Law 21/2001 on Special Autonomy; and in spite of the Constitutional Court's 11 November 2004 ruling that deemed Law 45/1999 unconstitutional. The Indonesian government has acted
in bad faith towards the Papuans. How can this advance peace, confidence and stability?
The consequences of this betrayal are enormous: it marks the end of Special Autonomy Law 21/2001. Papua is being Islamised and plundered while the Melanesian predominantly Protestant Christian Papuans are being robbed, abused and marginalised.
Furthermore, there is no reason to assume Jakarta will stop now. With the oil and gas-rich province of West Papua thus secured as a vassal of Jakarta, it will surely only be a matter of time before copper and gold-rich Central Irian Jaya is likewise secured. In fact Jakarta could continue this process of land division and law revision until Papua is little more than a poor and remote outpost for displaced and dying Papuans; an outpost that would ultimately be deemed non-viable. Then the genocide will be complete.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) House to pass W. Papua autonomy bill
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Tuesday 1 July 2008
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/07/01/house-pass-w-papua-autonomy-
bill.html
2) Papua (Indonesia): Genocide by Demographics
WEA RLC News & Analysis, 20 Dec 2007
By: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
3) Conference "Autonomy for Papua – Opportunity or Illusion?" 4-5 June 03
Local government in Indonesia. The case of Papua, By Harun Alrasid
http://home.snafu.de/watchin/AfP2003alrasid.htm
4) Dividing Papua: How not to do it. ICG, 9 April 2003
http://www.icg.org/library/documents/report_archive/A400941_09042003.pdf
5) HOUSE OF PEOPLE'S REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
BILL OF LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA NO. 21 YEAR 2001
ON SPECIAL AUTONOMY FOR THE PAPUA PROVINCE
http://www.papuaweb.org/goi/otsus/files/otsus-en.html
6) Constitutional Court's ruling on the partition of Papua
By von Petra Stockmann
Watch Indonesia! Information und Analyse, 24 Nov 2004
http://home.snafu.de/watchin/papuapartition_24.11.04.htm
7) President 'breaches' autonomy law. 4 July 2008
Angela Flassy, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura
http://old.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20080704.G02
Friday, June 27, 2008
Zimbabwe: 'We are being persecuted.'
Date: Friday 27 June 2008
Subj: Zimbabwe: "We are being persecuted."
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
"Religious freedom" that is conditional on being a member of the State religion is clearly not religious freedom. "Religious freedom" that does not permit conversion is not religious freedom. Likewise, "religious freedom" that is conditional on political allegiance is not religious freedom.
What began in 2001 as government interference in Anglican affairs has developed into religious liberty abuse so severe and violent that "dissident" Anglicans -- that is most Anglicans -- in the capital, Harare, now risk death to meet together. And there is no reason to believe that Mugabe's religious repression and persecution will end with the Anglicans of Harare. If Mugabe manages to steal the election and take control of the Anglican churches of Harare he will doubtless move to control all churches of all denominations nationwide.
As policy analyst Dr J Peter Pham comments, "Mugabe's dealings in recent years with Zimbabwean Anglicans highlight the totalitarian trajectory of his rule." (Link 1)
There is a huge amount of anxiety over what will eventuate after 27 June 08 -- the day slated for the run-off presidential election. With religious liberty already being so seriously violated, what does the future hold? If Mugabe retains power, will everyone who does not worship according to his dictates be deprived of food, incarcerated or murdered? Will Christians who want to worship the Lord be forced to meet in secret "underground" house churches, while the dictator points to State-run cathedrals and says, "You are free to worship there!"
MUGABE SEIZES THE PROPERTIES OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN HARARE
In Harare, thousands of Anglicans have been locked out of dozens of church properties. Why? Because the Anglican Church had the audacity (read: integrity and courage) to stand up to Mugabe's corrupt puppet-bishop, Rev Dr Nolbert Kunonga.
THE ELEVATION AND IMPLOSION OF DR NOLBERT KUNONGA
In 2001, Zimbabwean secret police secured the election of Nolbert Kunonga to the post of Anglican Bishop of Harare. Kunonga had been in the USA, teaching Liberation Theology in the Rev Sun Myung Moon's Unification Seminary in Barrytown, New York.
Dr Pham describes Kunonga's "election" as a "racially-charged campaign targeting the frontrunner for the episcopate, the white vicar-general of the diocese, Canon Tim Neill, who had earned the ire of the regime for denouncing its human rights abuses. (A letter from one government agency once warned the Oxford-trained cleric that he was 'applying for an early passport to hell.') Once enthroned at Harare's Cathedral of St. Mary and All Saints, Kunonga proceeded to turn his diocese into the 'religious' arm of ZANU-PF . . ." (Link 1)
Pham goes on to quote an April 2008 Christianity Today article by Anglican journalist and commentator Canon George Conger, which explains that after his election "Kunonga drove off the diocese's white Zimbabwean clergy and purged its ranks of those deemed disloyal to the regime, causing half of the African clergy to flee abroad. To fill empty pulpits, he began ordaining clergy without theological training – including some members of the secret police, Zimbabwe's vice president Joseph Msika, and two government cabinet ministers". (Full CT article: link 2)
Canon Conger was recently interviewed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National "Religion Report". He told host Stephen Crittenden: "In 2003, a case was brought in Ecclesiastical Court against Dr Kunonga, charging him with a range of crimes from heresy to fraud, to inciting members of the secret police to murder ten of his clergy who were not toeing the line. A church trial was held in 2005 but the trial collapsed because the witnesses were afraid to return to Zimbabwe for fear of their lives." (Link 3)
But by October 2007, as courageous organised opposition was rising, Kunonga knew his power was waning. So, in a politically motivated stunt he moved to separate the diocese of Harare from the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa -- a grouping of dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe -- on the false claim that it was full of homosexuals. Canon Conger explains in Christianity Today: "In an interview with Voice of America on February 25, [Zimbabwean Bishop, Sebastian] Bakare said all of Zimbabwe's Anglican congregations had abandoned Kunonga, as had most of the clergy. There was 'no doubt' the schism was 'politically motivated', he said, as 'Kunonga wanted to deliver the Anglican diocese to ZANU-PF [Mugabe's political party]'."
Subsequently in November 2007 the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa removed Kunonga from his post as bishop of Harare on the grounds of schism. European-educated Rev Dr Sebastian Bakare (66), the former bishop of Manicaland (the region bordering Mozambique) was brought out of retirement to stand in for Kunonga. Kunonga challenged the Church's decision in Harare's High Court.
In January 2008 Harare's High Court upheld the Anglican Church's right to govern its own affairs, but ruled that Harare's Cathedral be shared between Kunonga and Bishop Bakare. On 10 February, Kunonga, in defiance of the court order, barricaded himself inside the Cathedral along with some 40 members of the ZANU-PF youth militia. In early May the Supreme Court dismissed Kunonga's appeal. Furthermore, Kunonga has now been formerly excommunicated by the dean of the Church of the Province of Central Africa.
VIOLENCE EXPLODES
State-orchestrated violence against Harare's Anglicans has since exploded. Mugabe's police have seized all the Anglican property in Harare and marked "dissident" Anglicans as traitors.
A New York Times report dated 16 May describes the violence: "The parishioners were lined up for Holy Communion on Sunday when the riot police stormed the stately St Francis Anglican Church in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. Helmeted, black-booted officers banged on the pews with their batons as terrified members of the congregation stampeded for the doors, witnesses said.
"A policeman swung his stick in vicious arcs, striking matrons, a girl and a grandmother who had bent over to pick up a Bible dropped in the melee. A lone housewife began singing from a hymn in Shona, 'We will keep worshipping no matter the trials!' Hundreds of women, many dressed in the Anglican Mothers' Union uniform of black skirt, white shirt and blue headdress, lifted their voices to join hers.
"Beneath their defiance, though, lay raw fear as the country's ruling party stepped up its campaign of intimidation ahead of a presidential runoff. In a conflict that has penetrated ever deeper into Zimbabwe's social fabric, the party has focused on a growing roster of groups that elude its direct control -- a list that includes the Anglican diocese of Harare . . .
"At St Paul's Church in the Highfield suburb of Harare, the congregation refused to budge and kept singing 'Gloria in Excelsis Deo' when a dozen policemen entered the church on May 4. But the commander radioed for backup, and soon more than 50 riot police officers arrived, the church's wardens said.
"Hundreds of parishioners were then drummed out of the church to the deafening beat of baton sticks banging on pews. People began taking out their cellphones to photograph the policemen who had forced them out.
"The officers then charged into the scattering crowd, batons swinging. 'Even myself, they hit my hand,' said a stunned seamstress. 'They said, "Go back to your homes. You are not supposed to be here".' "
Bishop Bakare tells the New York Times: "As a theologian who has read a lot about the persecution of the early Christians, I'm really feeling connected to that history. We are being persecuted." (Link 4)
Massachusetts Episcopal Bishop M Thomas Shaw recently travelled to Zimbabwe on a "secret mission" to investigate and offer support to Zimbabwe's Anglicans. In an article published on 6 June, Bishop Shaw tells Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe that Anglican worshippers in Zimbabwe are routinely being arrested and beaten, churches are being padlocked by police, diocesan bank accounts have been frozen, and clergy vehicles are being seized.
Paulson reports: "Shaw said Zimbabweans told him that beatings, jailings, and intimidation by police using dogs and batons have become routine elements of Anglican life in Harare, the country's capital. He said one priest told him he has to sleep in a different home each night because of threats to his life; another priest was arrested the day after having lunch with Shaw, apparently for refusing to surrender a parish car. Shaw said he was told about a 9-year-old boy beaten in church, among many other stories of persecution and physical assault by government officials.
"'They [the government] literally have taken over all the [Anglican] property -- people have access to the property during the week, but on the weekends, when church is supposed to take place, if they go into the church to pray or to hold services, there are riot police that are there immediately,' he said. 'They've confiscated rectories. . . . They've tried to confiscate all of the parish vehicles, and it's practically impossible to buy a car or rent a car in Zimbabwe now, because of all the shortages, and so they take a car and they literally paralyse the priest from doing the pastoral ministry and taking care of people.'
"Speaking of a May 18 incident, Shaw said, 'There were between 80 or 90 riot police that came into this church to break up the congregation, and these people refused to leave, and even though it was a very threatening atmosphere, they just stayed there and prayed and sang hymns together for over two hours while the police were threatening them and pounding on pews and there were police dogs.'
"'Sunday I went to this really poor township, and over 400 people were worshipping in this yard of this person's house, spilling out into the road,' he said. 'It was an unbelievable experience. The enthusiasm, the joy that these people have is pretty profound.'" (Link 5)
Today the Anglican churches in Harare are locked to all but those who support Mugabe and his puppet-bishop, Kungona. The situation for "dissident" Anglicans is further complicated by the fact that in mid May, police invoked security laws and broadened the ban of public rallies to included public prayer meetings. Pastor Useni Sibanda, a spokesperson for the group called Churches in Bulawayo, told Ecumenical News International on 20 May, "We were told last week that churches are no longer allowed to hold prayer meetings in the open except on church premises." (Link 6) This is a difficult thing to do when you are locked out of your church.
On 20 June the Anglican Journal reported: "In recent weeks, police have raided offices of human rights and church groups, including the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe, and Ecumenical Support Services, and arrested a number of their workers. After the attorney general refused to prosecute those arrested, they were cleared of charges and released." (Link 7)
THE CHURCH IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS
In early June, the Bishops of the Province of Central Africa issued a "Pastoral Message" in which they express their deep concern and dismay at the marked escalation in violence and called upon the perpetrators of violence to respect the law.
"As bishops we are also pained to hear that members of the Anglican Diocese of Harare are being denied to pray in their church buildings. We are concerned that their right to worship enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe as well as the Article 18 of the UN Charter on Human Rights is being violated. This mirrors the persecution of Christians of the Early Church and in this context we remind the perpetrators that now as then God still triumphs over evil.
"As bishops, we pray that the right of the people of Zimbabwe as spelled out in the constitution be upheld, that the judicial system as a reservoir of integrity, without respect of persons in its judgment and ruling, be guided by the spirit of justice and equity. That the law enforcement agents carry out their professional duties to defend shared values. The political parties respect the will of the people regardless of whether the results of the elections are in their favour or not.
"We offer this prayer for sanity and resolve to bring all people in Zimbabwe to the realisation that we are all God's children, created in His image to love one another.
"As bishops we commend all God's children in Zimbabwe to His mercy that they may live in love, justice and peace.
"In closing we offer this prayer to all:
"Lord, you asked for my hands that you might use them for your purpose.
I gave them for a moment then withdrew them for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice.
I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.
You asked for my eyes to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them for I did not want to see.
You asked for my life that you might work through me.
I gave a small part that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you
Only when it is convenient for me to do so,
Only in those places where it is safe to do so,
And only with those who make it easy to do so.
Father, forgive me, renew me
Send me out as a usable instrument
That I might take seriously the meaning of your cross." (Link 8)
This Pastoral Message and prayer was issued by the Bishops of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa. It was signed by 15 bishops, all of whom have a clearer image and more profound understanding of the cross of Jesus Christ now than they ever did previously. May the hopes of the Zimbabwean Church remain anchored in the knowledge that that cross is now empty, for the cross is not only a symbol of transitory suffering on the path to eternal glory, but of the redemption of suffering itself.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Zimbabwe's Runoff Rip-off
J. Peter Pham, Ph.D. 24 June 2008
http://worlddefensereview.com/pham062408.shtml
2) Thug Bishop
By George Conger, posted 3 April 2008
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/may/1.18.html
3) Zimbabwean Anglican excommunication
4 June 2008, Radio interview with Canon George Conger
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2008/2264468.htm
4) Zimbabwe's Rulers Unleash Police on Anglicans
New York Times, 16 May 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/world/africa/16zimbabwe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
5) Bishop finds flock tormented in Zimbabwe
Boston Globe, 6 June 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/06/06/bishop_finds_flock_tormented_in_zimbabwe/?page=full
6) Zimbabwe police ban open-air prayer meetings
22 May 2008. http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=1928
7) Churches call for prayers as election-related violence escalates in Zimbabwe
Ecumenical News International, 20 June 2008
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/churches-call-for-prayers-as-election-related-violence-escalates-in-zimbabwe/
8) Anglican Communion News Service. 3 June 2008
Pastoral Message issued by the Bishops of the Church of the Province of Central Africa
On the Crisis in Zimbabwe: "I Have Heard The Cry of My People"
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2008/6/3/ACNS4411
Subj: Zimbabwe: "We are being persecuted."
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
"Religious freedom" that is conditional on being a member of the State religion is clearly not religious freedom. "Religious freedom" that does not permit conversion is not religious freedom. Likewise, "religious freedom" that is conditional on political allegiance is not religious freedom.
What began in 2001 as government interference in Anglican affairs has developed into religious liberty abuse so severe and violent that "dissident" Anglicans -- that is most Anglicans -- in the capital, Harare, now risk death to meet together. And there is no reason to believe that Mugabe's religious repression and persecution will end with the Anglicans of Harare. If Mugabe manages to steal the election and take control of the Anglican churches of Harare he will doubtless move to control all churches of all denominations nationwide.
As policy analyst Dr J Peter Pham comments, "Mugabe's dealings in recent years with Zimbabwean Anglicans highlight the totalitarian trajectory of his rule." (Link 1)
There is a huge amount of anxiety over what will eventuate after 27 June 08 -- the day slated for the run-off presidential election. With religious liberty already being so seriously violated, what does the future hold? If Mugabe retains power, will everyone who does not worship according to his dictates be deprived of food, incarcerated or murdered? Will Christians who want to worship the Lord be forced to meet in secret "underground" house churches, while the dictator points to State-run cathedrals and says, "You are free to worship there!"
MUGABE SEIZES THE PROPERTIES OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN HARARE
In Harare, thousands of Anglicans have been locked out of dozens of church properties. Why? Because the Anglican Church had the audacity (read: integrity and courage) to stand up to Mugabe's corrupt puppet-bishop, Rev Dr Nolbert Kunonga.
THE ELEVATION AND IMPLOSION OF DR NOLBERT KUNONGA
In 2001, Zimbabwean secret police secured the election of Nolbert Kunonga to the post of Anglican Bishop of Harare. Kunonga had been in the USA, teaching Liberation Theology in the Rev Sun Myung Moon's Unification Seminary in Barrytown, New York.
Dr Pham describes Kunonga's "election" as a "racially-charged campaign targeting the frontrunner for the episcopate, the white vicar-general of the diocese, Canon Tim Neill, who had earned the ire of the regime for denouncing its human rights abuses. (A letter from one government agency once warned the Oxford-trained cleric that he was 'applying for an early passport to hell.') Once enthroned at Harare's Cathedral of St. Mary and All Saints, Kunonga proceeded to turn his diocese into the 'religious' arm of ZANU-PF . . ." (Link 1)
Pham goes on to quote an April 2008 Christianity Today article by Anglican journalist and commentator Canon George Conger, which explains that after his election "Kunonga drove off the diocese's white Zimbabwean clergy and purged its ranks of those deemed disloyal to the regime, causing half of the African clergy to flee abroad. To fill empty pulpits, he began ordaining clergy without theological training – including some members of the secret police, Zimbabwe's vice president Joseph Msika, and two government cabinet ministers". (Full CT article: link 2)
Canon Conger was recently interviewed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National "Religion Report". He told host Stephen Crittenden: "In 2003, a case was brought in Ecclesiastical Court against Dr Kunonga, charging him with a range of crimes from heresy to fraud, to inciting members of the secret police to murder ten of his clergy who were not toeing the line. A church trial was held in 2005 but the trial collapsed because the witnesses were afraid to return to Zimbabwe for fear of their lives." (Link 3)
But by October 2007, as courageous organised opposition was rising, Kunonga knew his power was waning. So, in a politically motivated stunt he moved to separate the diocese of Harare from the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa -- a grouping of dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe -- on the false claim that it was full of homosexuals. Canon Conger explains in Christianity Today: "In an interview with Voice of America on February 25, [Zimbabwean Bishop, Sebastian] Bakare said all of Zimbabwe's Anglican congregations had abandoned Kunonga, as had most of the clergy. There was 'no doubt' the schism was 'politically motivated', he said, as 'Kunonga wanted to deliver the Anglican diocese to ZANU-PF [Mugabe's political party]'."
Subsequently in November 2007 the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa removed Kunonga from his post as bishop of Harare on the grounds of schism. European-educated Rev Dr Sebastian Bakare (66), the former bishop of Manicaland (the region bordering Mozambique) was brought out of retirement to stand in for Kunonga. Kunonga challenged the Church's decision in Harare's High Court.
In January 2008 Harare's High Court upheld the Anglican Church's right to govern its own affairs, but ruled that Harare's Cathedral be shared between Kunonga and Bishop Bakare. On 10 February, Kunonga, in defiance of the court order, barricaded himself inside the Cathedral along with some 40 members of the ZANU-PF youth militia. In early May the Supreme Court dismissed Kunonga's appeal. Furthermore, Kunonga has now been formerly excommunicated by the dean of the Church of the Province of Central Africa.
VIOLENCE EXPLODES
State-orchestrated violence against Harare's Anglicans has since exploded. Mugabe's police have seized all the Anglican property in Harare and marked "dissident" Anglicans as traitors.
A New York Times report dated 16 May describes the violence: "The parishioners were lined up for Holy Communion on Sunday when the riot police stormed the stately St Francis Anglican Church in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. Helmeted, black-booted officers banged on the pews with their batons as terrified members of the congregation stampeded for the doors, witnesses said.
"A policeman swung his stick in vicious arcs, striking matrons, a girl and a grandmother who had bent over to pick up a Bible dropped in the melee. A lone housewife began singing from a hymn in Shona, 'We will keep worshipping no matter the trials!' Hundreds of women, many dressed in the Anglican Mothers' Union uniform of black skirt, white shirt and blue headdress, lifted their voices to join hers.
"Beneath their defiance, though, lay raw fear as the country's ruling party stepped up its campaign of intimidation ahead of a presidential runoff. In a conflict that has penetrated ever deeper into Zimbabwe's social fabric, the party has focused on a growing roster of groups that elude its direct control -- a list that includes the Anglican diocese of Harare . . .
"At St Paul's Church in the Highfield suburb of Harare, the congregation refused to budge and kept singing 'Gloria in Excelsis Deo' when a dozen policemen entered the church on May 4. But the commander radioed for backup, and soon more than 50 riot police officers arrived, the church's wardens said.
"Hundreds of parishioners were then drummed out of the church to the deafening beat of baton sticks banging on pews. People began taking out their cellphones to photograph the policemen who had forced them out.
"The officers then charged into the scattering crowd, batons swinging. 'Even myself, they hit my hand,' said a stunned seamstress. 'They said, "Go back to your homes. You are not supposed to be here".' "
Bishop Bakare tells the New York Times: "As a theologian who has read a lot about the persecution of the early Christians, I'm really feeling connected to that history. We are being persecuted." (Link 4)
Massachusetts Episcopal Bishop M Thomas Shaw recently travelled to Zimbabwe on a "secret mission" to investigate and offer support to Zimbabwe's Anglicans. In an article published on 6 June, Bishop Shaw tells Michael Paulson of the Boston Globe that Anglican worshippers in Zimbabwe are routinely being arrested and beaten, churches are being padlocked by police, diocesan bank accounts have been frozen, and clergy vehicles are being seized.
Paulson reports: "Shaw said Zimbabweans told him that beatings, jailings, and intimidation by police using dogs and batons have become routine elements of Anglican life in Harare, the country's capital. He said one priest told him he has to sleep in a different home each night because of threats to his life; another priest was arrested the day after having lunch with Shaw, apparently for refusing to surrender a parish car. Shaw said he was told about a 9-year-old boy beaten in church, among many other stories of persecution and physical assault by government officials.
"'They [the government] literally have taken over all the [Anglican] property -- people have access to the property during the week, but on the weekends, when church is supposed to take place, if they go into the church to pray or to hold services, there are riot police that are there immediately,' he said. 'They've confiscated rectories. . . . They've tried to confiscate all of the parish vehicles, and it's practically impossible to buy a car or rent a car in Zimbabwe now, because of all the shortages, and so they take a car and they literally paralyse the priest from doing the pastoral ministry and taking care of people.'
"Speaking of a May 18 incident, Shaw said, 'There were between 80 or 90 riot police that came into this church to break up the congregation, and these people refused to leave, and even though it was a very threatening atmosphere, they just stayed there and prayed and sang hymns together for over two hours while the police were threatening them and pounding on pews and there were police dogs.'
"'Sunday I went to this really poor township, and over 400 people were worshipping in this yard of this person's house, spilling out into the road,' he said. 'It was an unbelievable experience. The enthusiasm, the joy that these people have is pretty profound.'" (Link 5)
Today the Anglican churches in Harare are locked to all but those who support Mugabe and his puppet-bishop, Kungona. The situation for "dissident" Anglicans is further complicated by the fact that in mid May, police invoked security laws and broadened the ban of public rallies to included public prayer meetings. Pastor Useni Sibanda, a spokesperson for the group called Churches in Bulawayo, told Ecumenical News International on 20 May, "We were told last week that churches are no longer allowed to hold prayer meetings in the open except on church premises." (Link 6) This is a difficult thing to do when you are locked out of your church.
On 20 June the Anglican Journal reported: "In recent weeks, police have raided offices of human rights and church groups, including the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance, the Student Christian Movement of Zimbabwe, and Ecumenical Support Services, and arrested a number of their workers. After the attorney general refused to prosecute those arrested, they were cleared of charges and released." (Link 7)
THE CHURCH IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS
In early June, the Bishops of the Province of Central Africa issued a "Pastoral Message" in which they express their deep concern and dismay at the marked escalation in violence and called upon the perpetrators of violence to respect the law.
"As bishops we are also pained to hear that members of the Anglican Diocese of Harare are being denied to pray in their church buildings. We are concerned that their right to worship enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe as well as the Article 18 of the UN Charter on Human Rights is being violated. This mirrors the persecution of Christians of the Early Church and in this context we remind the perpetrators that now as then God still triumphs over evil.
"As bishops, we pray that the right of the people of Zimbabwe as spelled out in the constitution be upheld, that the judicial system as a reservoir of integrity, without respect of persons in its judgment and ruling, be guided by the spirit of justice and equity. That the law enforcement agents carry out their professional duties to defend shared values. The political parties respect the will of the people regardless of whether the results of the elections are in their favour or not.
"We offer this prayer for sanity and resolve to bring all people in Zimbabwe to the realisation that we are all God's children, created in His image to love one another.
"As bishops we commend all God's children in Zimbabwe to His mercy that they may live in love, justice and peace.
"In closing we offer this prayer to all:
"Lord, you asked for my hands that you might use them for your purpose.
I gave them for a moment then withdrew them for the work was hard.
You asked for my mouth to speak out against injustice.
I gave you a whisper that I might not be accused.
You asked for my eyes to see the pain of poverty.
I closed them for I did not want to see.
You asked for my life that you might work through me.
I gave a small part that I might not get too involved.
Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you
Only when it is convenient for me to do so,
Only in those places where it is safe to do so,
And only with those who make it easy to do so.
Father, forgive me, renew me
Send me out as a usable instrument
That I might take seriously the meaning of your cross." (Link 8)
This Pastoral Message and prayer was issued by the Bishops of the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa. It was signed by 15 bishops, all of whom have a clearer image and more profound understanding of the cross of Jesus Christ now than they ever did previously. May the hopes of the Zimbabwean Church remain anchored in the knowledge that that cross is now empty, for the cross is not only a symbol of transitory suffering on the path to eternal glory, but of the redemption of suffering itself.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Zimbabwe's Runoff Rip-off
J. Peter Pham, Ph.D. 24 June 2008
http://worlddefensereview.com/pham062408.shtml
2) Thug Bishop
By George Conger, posted 3 April 2008
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/may/1.18.html
3) Zimbabwean Anglican excommunication
4 June 2008, Radio interview with Canon George Conger
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/religionreport/stories/2008/2264468.htm
4) Zimbabwe's Rulers Unleash Police on Anglicans
New York Times, 16 May 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/world/africa/16zimbabwe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
5) Bishop finds flock tormented in Zimbabwe
Boston Globe, 6 June 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/06/06/bishop_finds_flock_tormented_in_zimbabwe/?page=full
6) Zimbabwe police ban open-air prayer meetings
22 May 2008. http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=1928
7) Churches call for prayers as election-related violence escalates in Zimbabwe
Ecumenical News International, 20 June 2008
http://www.anglicanjournal.com/100/article/churches-call-for-prayers-as-election-related-violence-escalates-in-zimbabwe/
8) Anglican Communion News Service. 3 June 2008
Pastoral Message issued by the Bishops of the Church of the Province of Central Africa
On the Crisis in Zimbabwe: "I Have Heard The Cry of My People"
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2008/6/3/ACNS4411