new crackdown against churches in the southeastern Asian nation, missionaries said Tuesday, March 29. US-based Christian Aid Mission (CAM), which supports indigenous missionaries, said "eight gospel workers have been arrested" in Hueyhoy village in Laos’ Savannakhet province, "within the last few days."
They were taken into custody on false charges of "possessing weapons," after refusing to heed authorities’ warnings on March 10 "to stop evangelistic activities," CAM said. Officials have not yet reacted to the claims.
TWO IDENTIFIED
CAM identified two of the arrested believers as Khamthan, 59, and Vangthong, 31. "At least six others were arrested and accused of illegal weapons possession," CAM added in a statement to BosNewsLife News Center. Local Christians reportedly say believers have often been charged with social crimes, such as possession of weapons, "in order to divert the real issues behind the arrests and imprisonment."
Savannakhet province, in southern Laos, is a region of much Christian persecution, CAM alleged. It said it has received recent reports of several believers being imprisoned and churches being closed in the troubled region.
In a letter to supporters the organization urged its readers to "pray for protection and encouragement for these eight arrested gospel workers" and to "pray also for their families as they struggle in their absence, and for the persecuted family of God throughout Laos."
MISSIONARY GROUPS
Christian are suffering elsewhere as well in the Communist-run nation of over 6 million people,
human rights watchdogs say. "Various Christian missionary groups are trying to regain a foothold in Laos; the current Laos constitution, however, forbids religious proselytizing or the distribution of religious materials," reported Open Doors, which supports persecuted Churches. "Foreigners caught distributing religious materials may be arrested and held incommunicado or expelled from the country," the group said.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, another Christian rights organization, said recently that Christian villagers have been threatened with death unless they abandon their Christian faith. There are over 35,000 Evangelical Christians in Laos today; 20,000 Khmu, 8,000 Lao, 4,000 Hmong and 3,000 other tribes, according to Open Doors estimates. A small number of Lao – mostly those of the remaining French-educated elite – are Christians.
About 60% of the people of Laos are Theravada Buddhists, and it was long seen as the official national religion. "However, the Department of Religious Affairs ensures that the teaching of Buddhism is in accordance with Marxist principles. All monks now have to undergo political indoctrination as part of their monastic training," Open Doors added. The Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government in 1975, ending a six-century-old monarchy. (With: Strefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, reports from Laos and BosNewsLife Research).
