Laos Update

Dear Friends,

The situation for Christians in Laos appears to be deteriorating. Last year
the harsh and secretive communist regime declared Christianity the "number
one enemy of the state." There are currently about 60 Christian believers
imprisoned for their faith, and a recent spate of domestic terrorist
bombings in the wake of an escalating guerrilla war against the government
by the Hmong minority in the outlying mountain areas could cause an even
harsher crackdown on the church.

According to WEF's Southeast Asia correspondent, a substantial minority of
Laos' Hmong people are Christians, as they share a common border with
Vietnam's Hmong tribes, which also have a large number of Christian
converts.  While it is not known if any Christians are active in the
guerrilla war against the Laotian government, it is quite possible that the
government could use the fighting as an excuse for a large-scale roundup of
Hmong Christians, as well as other believers, given the fact that that
Christianity is viewed as the "number one enemy" of the state.

An article in today's South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), says that on
June 6 two people were killed and up to 10 injured when a bomb exploded
aboard a bus in the capital, Vientiane. It is the latest in a series of
blasts that have shattered the sleepy image of landlocked Laos and raised
fears among residents and visitors.

The explosion occurred a day after reports  surfaced of a bomb blast in a
hotel lobby in southern Laos that apparently injured  about 10 people on
May 30. In another explosion reported earlier in Vientiane, 10 to 20
shoppers were injured by a bomb planted at the main indoor market on May 28.

A government official said that "a small group of bad elements" was
responsible for the spate of  bombings. As the Christian populace of Laos
have already been clearly identified by the regime as "bad elements" - and
worse - these events bode ill for them.

To make matters worse, mounting losses at the hands of rebels from the
Hmong minority have forced the government to secure military intervention
by their communist ally Vietnam, diplomats in Vientiane said on June 2,
according to Agence France-Presse. Military transports carrying Vietnamese
troops had been seen on the streets of the country's capital in recent
weeks, the diplomats said, although Hanoi issued an angry denial.

Coming on top of the still-unexplained spate of bomb attacks, which
prompted authorities to announce a nation-wide security alert, the mounting
death toll among the Laotian army in the outlying mountains was beginning
to create a siege mentality among the communist rulers, diplomats said.

Following is an article from the current issue of Christianity Today which
gives more details on the situation in Laos.  The current crisis has the
potential for a widespread and violent persecution of the Laotian church,
and we would ask you to keep these believers in your prayers.

-MA

"Enemies of the State"

Laotian Christians held in wooden stocks for refusing to recant their faith.

By Michael Fischer in Vientiane

June 5, 2000

As each new morning dawns in Laos, Pa Tood, a 46-year-old Laotian church
leader, remains unaware of night or day, deep inside the remote Savannakhet
prison in southern Laos. Pa Tood's refusal to recant his Christian faith,
as demanded by Laotian communists, led to his languishing in prison for
more than a year.

Christians in Laos say even though the courts do not have sufficient proof
to make charges against prisoners, evidence is often fabricated so that
believers can be detained in stocks for long periods.

Pa Tood declined his village headman's offer to bail him out.  "If I wanted
to give up my faith, I wouldn't be here. I don't need your bail," he
reportedly replied.

For such comments, Pa Tood was confined to stocks 24 hours a day, causing
his legs to swell from the strain. He receives water every day, but is
often deprived of food for extended periods. Married and with five
children, Pa Tood has been out of regular contact with his family and
church.

Since 1997 the Lao government has come down heavily on minorities,
including Christians. Last November, three church leaders - Sisamuth, Peto,
and Boonme - were sentenced to five years in jail in Mano Prison, Luang
Prabang. They were accused of "gathering together to create social turmoil"
when in fact, they were meeting to discuss some family concerns.

In January 1998, 44 Christians were arrested at a Bible study in a private
home. The last of the 44 were released in June 1999, after being held for
17 months.
 

Tightening the Screws

The Lao government apparently considers the church a potential political
threat even though less than 2 percent of the population of 5.3 million
people in Laos are Christians.

A detailed report compiled by Thailand-based Christians says 60 Christians
are in prison. Lao government documents show that there is inhumane
detention, closure of churches, forced displacement, and forced written
retractions of faith.

One detainee is a Laotian Army captain, Khamtanh Phousy, who became a
Christian in 1992 and has been in prison since 1996. "The government has
been tightening the screws on the church since it took over power in 1975,
and we have no voice," says a Christian in Vientiane.

As a small, underdeveloped nation, landlocked between Vietnam and Thailand,
Laos gains little international attention.  But Christians worldwide are
beginning to express outrage over the abuse of pastors and church leaders.

"Laos is clearly one of the most dangerous countries for Christian
nationals," says Mark Albrecht of the World Evangelical Fellowship's
Religious Liberty Commission.

"Maximum pressure should be put on the Laotian authorities to stop this
religious persecution," says Wilfred Wong of the Jubilee Campaign, an
interdenominational Christian human-rights group in London.

The Lao People's Democratic Republic is an authoritarian, one-party state
ruled by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP). The communists are
still in control nearly 25 years after taking power on December 2, 1975,
though their ideology has softened somewhat over time. Although the Lao
Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, the LPRP does not tolerate
opposition.

Laos has at least 60 ethnic groups besides the Lao people, who make up only
50 percent of the population. Less than 2 percent of the populace is
Christian. The population of ethnic Laos is nearly 90 percent Buddhist, and
the communist party's Department of Religious Affairs oversees all Buddhist
practice and leadership.
 

Protest Squelched

In a rare public demonstration on October 26, students and teachers in the
Lao capital of Vientiane began a peaceful protest. Police arrested 30
people, 10 of whom are still in detention. Police pressured the detainees
to reveal any connection with the church.

In this climate of fear, the National Front recognizes only three groups:
the Lao Evangelical Church (which is the umbrella Protestant church), the
Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Roman Catholic Church. In May 1999,
United Nations Educational and Scientific Organization Goodwill Ambassador
Phan Thi Kim Phuc wrote to her chief, Fredrico Mayor, expressing concern
that Christians were being unjustly treated in Laos.

She urged Mayor to write to the Lao government to stop the atrocities. The
Lao government subsequently pressured leaders of the Roman Catholic Church,
the Seventh-day Adventists, and the Lao Evangelical Church to provide false
written testimony that there is real freedom of religion.

Last year the Lao National Front declared Christianity as the "number one
enemy of the state." According to Lao Christians, officials told villagers
that those who believe in the "Jesus religion" were bought by foreign
powers (the United States government) and those who follow Jesus were no
longer good Lao citizens.

Instead of buckling under the pressure, a significant number of Christian
leaders steel themselves against harassment and intimidation. A Christian
who recently applied for an official identify card says the card did not
reflect that he had chosen "Christian" as his religious affiliation.

When the believer asked about the mistake, he heard that his being
identified as a Christian would create difficulties.

"I will accept the responsibility for any consequences," he replied. "I
have already spent more than a year in prison because I am a Christian."

(C) Christianity Today.  Used by permission.

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