CSW Response April - July 2017

APRIL-JULY 2017

Response Your insight into religious freedom

“ No matter if the waves are quiet or the sea roars, our hearts rest in God”

Pastor Yang has learned a lot about endurance.

In the past couple of years his church, Living Stone Church in China, has experienced increasing repression by the authorities – and in January 2017, Pastor Yang himself was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on unjust charges. Yet God has encouraged him in the midst of all this.

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Country in focus:

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At Christmas 2014 government officials shut off the church’s power and water supply during a Christmas service. The church’s baptism ceremonies were attended by unexpected guests: several hundred police and security agents, monitoring the whole thing. When Living Stone decided to buy a bigger meeting space, government officials posted a notice urging the public not to take part in the church’s ‘illegal religious activities’. Almost all of the church members have been pressurised to leave the church – they’ve had phone calls from officials, or been called in for meetings, or even visited at home by officials trying to force them to leave the church.

What’s behind this?

On The FRONTLINES

In China all churches are supposed to register with the official association of churches, called the Three Self

CHINA

Patriotic Movement (TSPM). The leadership of Living Stone feels that the TSPM is not a genuine religious body, so they wish to remain independent. But unregistered or ‘house’ churches are vulnerable to government interference – including attempts to control their finances.

What’s more, some lawyers in the congregation have given legal help to other churches facing problems with the local authorities. This has made Living Stone Church even more unpopular with the government.

Pastor Yang Hua

When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Isaiah 43:2 Pastor Yang told us, “Genuine rest has nothing to do with the environment.

No matter if the waves are quiet or the sea roars, our hearts rest in God, just as a weaned child sleeps in its mother’s arms.”

Prison sentences In January this year Pastor Yang was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of ‘divulging state secrets’: this kind of charge is often levelled at activists and those who dare to resist the government.

On 15 February 2017 Zhang Xiuhong, a deacon and the church’s accountant, was sentenced to five years in prison on arbitrary charges of ‘illegal business operations’.

Photo: China Aid

Living Stone Church started in 2009 with just 20 members meeting in one small apartment in Guiyang city, Guizhou Province. Four years later the church had 400 members, and they bought a space in a shopping centre. This drew the attention of the authorities, and since then the church – which now has over 700 members – has increasingly been targeted.

Unshakeable faith

What we’re doing

Leading a church in these circumstances would be a challenge for any leader. Yet Pastor Yang and the others who lead Living Stone Church have an unshakeable faith in the God who spoke these words:

The situation for Christians in China is a mixed picture, but recent years have seen increased pressure on churches.

In Zhejiang Province there have been over 1,000 cases of crosses being torn down and churches demolished.

Meanwhile, Christians who have spoken out against this have been arrested.

We’ve been conducting in depth research on this issue, and taking our information to the highest level of governments and international institutions such as the EU and UN. We won’t stop until every Christian in China can live out their faith safely.

How you can help You can encourage Living Stone Church today, by sending them a card. Pastor Yang’s wife, Wang Hongwu, said that she really appreciates the kindness shown by the people who have written to her.

Send your cards to: #5-5-8 Dongshan Yi Jing Yuan Da Xing Garden Yun Yang District Guiyang Guizhou 550000 People’s Republic of China

Read a poem that Zhang Xiuhong wrote in jail: www.csw.org.uk/ 2017-china-livingstone

Working for freedom and justice in Bangladesh Pushpita’s dedication is truly inspiring. She tirelessly campaigns for the rights of religious minorities in Bangladesh – a country CSW has recently started working on.

After my fact-finding visits, I take my research to the people in power. The CPRMB regularly holds seminars in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, raising awareness of the religious freedom issues in Bangladesh.

I am the President of the Secular Bangladesh Movement UK, and the Campaign for the Protection of Religious Minorities in Bangladesh (CPRMB). I am based in London but I go to Bangladesh regularly, investigating the realities for Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others who are targeted because of their faith. Many people in my family have left Bangladesh because of what they’ve experienced.

Things often seem very difficult. But I’m optimistic! Through dedicated campaigning, working alongside organisations such as CSW, I know we can see change.

It’s very tense in Bangladesh at the moment, with the rise of extremism causing an increase in violence towards religious minorities. Christians and Hindus are seeing their land seized, women and girls raped and their places of worship destroyed. No one should have to go through this – so I fight for everyone’s rights, no matter their beliefs.

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News Update

Pushpita’s research has been invaluable to us – she provides regular updates on the situation and specific cases. Her Hindu faith motivates her to seek justice for all, just as we do – and as a Christian organisation, we believe in the importance of working together with people of other faiths, for freedom and justice, as we pray for God’s Kingdom to be established on earth.

Read more about Bangladesh at www.csw.org.uk/our_work_country_bangladesh.htm

CSW staff at the UN

Around the world Burma Please pray for the family of U No Ki, a prominent lawyer and political advisor, who was assassinated on 29 January 2017. U No Ki was one of the best-known Muslims in Burma and used his position to work tirelessly for religious freedom and constitutional reform in his country.

Sudan Please continue praying faithfully for Rev Hassan and Mr Abdumawla who, as we go to print, remain in prison after being convicted of unjust charges. Rev Kuwa and Petr Jašek were also imprisoned, but both were released in early 2017.

UN In February our application for consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was rejected by the UN Committee on NGOs. ECOSOC consultative status would be a huge step forward for our work, giving us access to key platforms for campaigning including the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. The UK Mission to the UN in New York will appeal the decision – please pray for favour as the final decision is made in April, shortly after you get this newsletter.

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Photo: Carlos Lamelas/C SW

Flags and bright signs adorn a back street. For many, this is their image of Cuba. Photo: Carlos Lamelas/CSW

In the countryside, a man ploughs a field by hand You’ll find Rafael and Maria’s house nestled in a rural part of Cuba’s countryside. In fact, it’s so rural they have no internet connection. One afternoon as these two church leaders were listening to a sermon on DVD, security agents came to their home and arrested them. They were imprisoned for two days with no visitors and were fined around £125.

The reason? They were taking part in ‘forbidden activities’ – listening to a sermon on DVD – during the period of mourning for Fidel Castro. People who know the couple believe that the government was just looking for an opportunity to bring a case against them.

Go beyond the typical tourist images. Experience the untold Cuba through the eyes of people who experience the stark reality of government oppression every day.

Exclusive:

The Untold Cuba

Reverend Yiorvis Bravos Denis and family Reverend Yiorvis Bravos Denis and family holding a sign which reads ‘Stop eviction in Cuba’. Yiorvis is carrying on the work his uncle passed onto him – leading one of the fastest-growing Protestant networks of churches in Cuba. With that work comes ownership of the family home – which also happens to be the headquarters of the movement.

Three years ago Yiorvis and his family were threatened with eviction, and the government nullified ownership of his home. Unless Yiorvis asked for permission to do any church activities, paid rent to the government and acknowledged the government as the actual owner of the property, he would lose his church and family home. Yiorvis stood his ground. Since then, he’s been threatened with eviction again, prevented from travelling outside Cuba and been accused of being in debt to the government for unpaid rent.

Carlos Lamelas The man who took many of these photos, Carlos Lamelas, was imprisoned for four months on false human trafficking charges. He’s a church leader as well as a talented photographer, and the Cuba he captures is one of beauty, colour and vibrancy.

Carlos Lamelas

A woman attends a church service Unregistered churches in Cuba, such as those that belong to a denomination called the Apostolic Movement, can face daily harassment from the government.

View our full photo story online https://csw_uk.atavist.com/the-untold-cuba

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Perspectives

Feature

PRAYER

How do we keep praying when the answer seems far off?

One of the things I value most is faithful prayer: it’s the engine that drives everything else in the Christian life, especially for work like mine in Nepal, where I am a pastor and human rights activist. I believe that overturning unjust legislation is nothing for a God who can move mountains. But it can be hard to keep praying when change seems a long time coming.

The trial of eight Christians from Charikot was an especially difficult time: their trial hearings were delayed so often, and travel to and from Charikot was exhausting and expensive. They’d been charged with attempting to convert children to Christianity, after they distributed a pamphlet telling the story of Jesus.

Our prayers were eventually answered when the eight were freed. But perservering when victory seemed impossible taught me once more this vital lesson: that it’s often when we keep going through the hardest times that we glorify God the most, and our faith is encouraged and strengthened.

Sometimes our prayers take a long time to be answered, and that’s probably one of the hardest things we face as Christians.

Yet throughout history people have faced this issue, and have recorded their experiences. Some of the most affecting Psalms deal with God’s seeming absence from our most desperate situations. Psalm 10 begins ‘Why, Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?’ I’m sure most of us have said something like this to God at one time or another.

Passages like this show us, first of all, that this situation isn’t out of the natural order of life. There will always be times when we have to keep praying despite our doubts. And God is big enough to deal with our doubts when we speak to him honestly.

But Psalm 10 continues: ‘But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand.’ The psalmist reminds us that God sees our trouble and wants us to bring our grief to him so that he can help us bear it.

By committing our fears and doubts to God over and over again – by persevering in prayer when the answer seems a long time coming – we trust our Lord that even when things look desperate He is still sovereign. And often God will deliver the victory we’ve been praying for: just in His time, not ours. I’ll never forget the relief when those eight Christians were released. I was so thankful that God had answered all those prayers. But even if he hadn’t – I know he’d still be powerful.

Pastor Tanka, Nepal Church leader and human rights activist

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Over the years we’ve been working on Burma, we’ve seen many changes: none more dramatic than the elections in 2015, the first reasonably free elections in 25 years.

But while these elections led to a change in government, genuine change will be a slow and lengthy process.

Benedict Rogers

So what does it take to really change a country? We sat down with Benedict Rogers, our East Asia Team Leader, to find out.

Burma: What does it take to change a country?

Can you tell us how you first started working on Burma?

I was living in Hong Kong, working as a journalist and helping to set up CSW Hong Kong, and so got to know about the situation in Burma.

Then I started to visit Burma and became more aware of the issues, particularly with the ethnic groups – which led to me working on Burma for CSW. What drew you to work in Burma?

What caught me was the fact that it’s such a beautiful country with lovely people and a fascinating culture. Yet the gravity of the persecution and inhumanity of some of the stories that I heard – especially because those stories were largely unknown – seemed at odds with this image.

What have been the high points: the moments when you felt that change was happening?

Aung San Suu Kyi’s meeting with then-president Thein Sein in 2011 following her release from house arrest was very exciting. Until then there had been no sign of any real change and the government had pretty much ignored her. And then it was wonderful to see the release of most political prisoners in the months afterwards. Of course the 2015 elections were also a real high point.

However, the military still hold power over three key ministries: home affairs, border control, and defence; and they have 25% of the seats in parliament as well as immunity from being prosecuted for past crimes.

What do you want to happen next?

I would say three main things.

The first is that I’d like to see more voices speak up for freedom of religion, especially more Buddhist monks speaking up against intolerance. Secondly, I’d like to see more progress towards peace with the ethnic groups. And thirdly, reform of the constitution is necessary for all these things: especially for any settlement with the ethnic groups.

This is just some of Benedict’s personal journey with Burma and his analysis of the situation: come to our Pursue Justice 2017 conference on 22 April to hear his seminar on this topic!

Book your free tickets to Pursue Justice www.csw.org.uk/pursuejustice 7

Robert de Berry: Coming to a church near you!

We’re pretty sure that this article is going to make you feel bad. You see, instead of celebrating his birthday with cake, CSW supporter Robert de Berry is planning a sponsored bicycle ride from one end of the UK to the other – raising money for CSW and Release International. He’ll also be visiting churches to speak about CSW and Release’s work.

“I do bike rides like this one every five years or so, and in my 75th year my journey will be approx 750 miles, travelling from Cape Wrath through the Hope Valley in Derbyshire and finishing in Peacehaven in Sussex. We will have speaking engagements along the way to tell local people about the work of CSW and Release International.” Robert de Berry

We’re so grateful to Robert for choosing to celebrate his birthday in such a generous way!

Please call us on 020 8320 0025 for more details about these dates.

MAY Fri 17: Kinlochbervie Church of Scotland, IV27 4RG Thurs 18: Lairg Free Church of Scotland, IV27 4AZ Fri 19: Dingwall Free Church of Scotland, IV15 9HA Sat 20: Inverness Free Church of Scotland, IV2 7YU Mon 22: Kincraig Church of Scotland Tues 23: Blair Atholl Weds 24: Pitlochry Baptist Church, PH16 5BX Thurs 25: Perth Baptist Church, PH1 1QQ Fri 26: South Queensferry Church of Scotland, EH30 9NS Sat 27 & Sun 28: Biggar Parish Church, ML12 6EN Tues 30: Troqueer Parish Church, DG2 7AS Weds 31: St James Church, CA2 5PD

JUNE Thurs 1: Penrith Methodist Church, CA11 7QY Thurs 1: Kendal Holy Trinity, LA9 5AF Fri 2: St John the Baptist Church, LA2 7DD Fri 2: Lancaster St. Thomas Church, LA1 1XX Sat 3: Garstang Methodist Church, PR3 1EL Sat 3: St Peter’s Church, BL1 5RR Mon 5: Heaton Chapel, SK4 2QN Tues 6: Church of Christ, S9 4JT Weds 7: St Stephen’s Church, NG7 5GZ Thurs 8: St. Paul’s Church, LE2 4NX Fri 9: St. Botolph’s Church, NN15 6SR Sat 10: Three Rivers Church, MK40 3TJ Sun 12: Emmanuel Church, HP5 3TJ Mon 13: Cheam Baptist Church, SM3 8QB Tues 14: St Nicholas Church, TN13 1JA Weds 15: All Saints Church, TN6 1ED Thurs 16: Peacehaven Evangelical Church, BN10 8RD

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is an organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

PO Box 99, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3YF, United Kingdom T: +44 (0)845 456 5464 F: +44 (0)20 8942 8821 E: admin@csw.org.uk www.csw.org.uk @csw_uk /cswuk Registered Charity No. 281836

Sponsor Robert’s bike ride. Call 020 8329 0025 and speak to Bill Lowe Come to one of Robert’s speaking engagements!

Check the map for a location near you

All dates are subject to change.

Please call 020 8329 0025 for confirmation.