advocacy group Christian Freedom International (CFI) in the capital Vientiane Thursday, August 11, as part of a government campaign to harass Christians, an official told BosNewsLife.
"As the Christian couple wanted to leave their home with medicines and other supplies [for
impoverished Christians in villages] they were visited by government workers from Vientiane," said Jim Jacobson, the president of US-based CFI.
The names of the couple, who are in their late 30’s, were not released because of security reasons, he said. Officials reportedly searched the home for at least two hours without a warrant.
"They also asked the married couple all kind of strange questions and documents about their
family and children," Jacobson explained in Vientiane. Jacobson said government forces left later Thursday, August 11, but warned they could return.
ARRESTS FEARED
"[Our co-workers] could ultimately be arrested for conducting activities that [the government] would consider counter to the state. It is [part of] constant ongoing harassment that the Lao Christians have to endure just to simply conduct worship and go about their Christian faith," he said.
Lao officials have denied human rights abuses take place in the Asian nation of over six million people. However sources from a rapidly growing underground house church movement told BosNewsLife that several Christians across the country have recently been detained. Some Christians endure torture and serve prison terms of up to 15 years, the group said.
Analysts have linked the reported crackdown to fears within the Communist government that the spread of Christianity will become a threat to the state’s ideology.
WATCHING "CAREFULLY"
Jacobson said he expected CFI to watch the situation carefully. "They [our co-workers] are simply [in Laos] to provide medical care for very needy villages, and I can’t imagine that would be a crime in Laos. If it is, than it is a very sad situation," he added. "It is just a reminder of what it is like to live in a totalitarian state where you are under the watchful eye of the government at all times."
CFI is supporting Christian communities in especially rural areas of Laos with aid that includes sending medical supplies and Bibles to the regions, as well as rebuilding churches and schools among other projects. Christians comprise at least 1.5 percent of the population, while 60 percent are Buddhists, according to estimates.
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