religious persecution, has ceased its operations amid financial troubles and staff changes, an official said Tuesday, January 28.
"Keston has recently suffered a loss of staff. Lawrence Uzzell resigned as director in December and several of the staff went with him," said Librarian Malcolm Walker, responsible for the priceless archives of the Oxford based Keston Institute.
"Lawrence has now taken up duties as editor of ‘Chechnya Weekly’. As of 18th December we were no longer able to produce ‘Keston News Service’ and our website has not been updated since November," he added.
It is believed to be one of the most serious crises to face the Keston Institute, which was founded in 1970 "to make known the needs of all religious believers and to uphold religious freedom in every case," its website said.
CHRISTIANS SUFFER
News about Keston’s troubles comes as Christians continue to suffer throughout the former Soviet Union. "We have received this morning the text of an open letter to (Georgia’s President) Eduard Shevardnadze from Christian leaders in Tbilisi in which they protest about the violent attack on the service of prayer for Christian unity," said Walker.
The prayer service "was being held in the Central Baptist Church last Friday." Also on Tuesday, January 28, "we have received a communication about pressure on a Baptist pastor, Sergei Kuleshov, in Khabarovsk, who has being trying for four years to obtain permission to build a church in that city," Walker added.
Pressure from Keston, which also cooperated with media outlets lead to world-wide actions for suffering Christians and forced Governments to change laws or free prisoners. Without KNS a perceived important tool for political pressure and valuable information will be lost.
CENTRAL ASIA
"The former Soviet republics of Central Asia feature all too prominently in (KNS) reports" the Keston Institute said in a statement. "State control of religious activity is on the increase in this region. Members of unregistered faiths, in particular Protestant Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses and minority Muslim groups, face harassment, fines, imprisonment and physical abuse."
In addition "Turkmen members of minority faiths are imprisoned for refusing to take part in the compulsory national service and they too face beatings and abuse. Uzbekistan has been using the threat of terrorism as an excuse to crack down on all independent Muslims."
KNS also started reporting on events in China, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea as "non-officially-recognized Chinese Catholic and Protestant churches are repressed and their leaders imprisoned on trumped-up charges, sometimes facing the death-penalty," Keston said.
STILL GRIMMER
"For Lao Christians the situation is grimmer still; the Lao government has begun a systematic campaign to eradicate the ‘Jesus religion’ completely, forcing church leaders to recant their faith at gunpoint and under torture."
Walker told ANS that a delayed Annual General Meeting was scheduled Saturday, February 1, to discuss the problems. "Members will be asked to approve the appointment of Xenia Dennen as the new chairman of our Council of Management."
EXTRAORDINARY MEETING
On March 22 an Extraordinary General Meeting will be held when Michael Bourdeaux, the founder of the Keston Institute, will deliver an address. "Please remember Keston in prayer at this time," Walker urged Christians.
The financially troubled Keston Institute received donations from churches and other institutions, but has refused to accept Government money, citing its need to stay independent.
