Stop christian crackdown in SE Asia

"I first noticed china's involvement in controlling dissent in Laos after the U.S. bombed the chinese embassy in Belgrade in April of 1999," said a Western diplomat in a secret interview with WorldNetDaily. The diplomat asked that his name not be used, in fear that it would hinder his ability to help persecuted Laotian Christians in the future.

"About 1,500 Laotians protested the bombing in front of the U.S. Embassy here in Vientiane. The Pathet Lao ordered a media blackout of the event, at the request of the chinese government. You would think that china would be happy about the protest. But they weren't. The chinese thought it might be a stamp of approval for all sorts of public expression. That would destabilize their puppet regime here in Laos."

The diplomat then explained the next massive crackdown, which occurred on October 26, 1999. During WorldNetDaily's first investigative journalism trip to Laos, this reporter, along with other foreigners in Laos, witnessed a grand celebration of the culmination of Buddhist Lent held on the shores of the Mekong River.

Yet not far away, only a few blocks in fact, an equally impressive display was unfolding as the Laos Secret Police Intelligence Unit was arresting a group of anti-Stalinist protestors in front of the presidential palace.

The Vientiane-based Western diplomat told WorldNetDaily, "The Pathet Lao's secret police had arrested at least 50 protestors, some of whom are still in prison, including 10 students," as of this writing.

"Then there is the well-documented arrest of Christian missionaries from America, France and Thailand," he added, referring to the 44 Christians imprisoned in Laos in 1998 from the Evangelical Church of Christ. Most of the 44 were members of the Little Rock, Arkansas-based "Partners in Progress" group. Those imprisoned in this case were officially charged with "creating social division."

"What concerns me more is that china has ordered the Pathet Lao to increase the amount of time that government employees must spend in communist political indoctrination training. You see, it is totally inevitable that more persecution is coming against Christians. And also inevitable that more protests of the government will erupt due to Laos' failing economy."

Other diplomats and sources interviewed by WorldNetDaily in Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Ponsavan said that 46 Christians are being held in Laos without trial. Most of those imprisoned are being held in very harsh conditions.

A European diplomat told this reporter, "There is a connection between the 1997 Asian meltdown and the current crackdown against dissent in Laos. The Pathet Laos saw the protests against the governments in South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand after the '97 crash."

"The Pathet Lao fear massive protests against their regime. The crackdown on Protestant Christian groups appears related to religious crackdowns in China and Vietnam, which are close allies of the communist leadership in Laos," he said.

"Certainly the Pathet Lao keep a special eye on these events [protests and religious meetings] and are briefed by the chinese secret police, pla and also the Vietnamese government at special bilateral meetings on controlling Christians."

Why are Christians so hard to control?

"Because they have a long-term view of life, believe in heaven and freedom and they are not afraid to die for their faith," says Intelligence analyst Don McAlvany in his McAlvany Intelligence Advisor.

Keeping score on the persecution
A representative of a Bangkok-based non-governmental organization, or NGO, told WND that 11 Christians are currently being held in Attapeu province in Laos. Three Christians are currently in jail in Luang Prabang (WorldNetDaily had the chance to visit them), 15 in Saavannakhet, four in Udomsay, seven in Xieng Khouang and six in Houaphan.

The source believes the persecution of Christians in the southern Laotian city of Savannakhet began in November and December of 1998. At that time, Nouhak Phoumsavan, the ex-president of Laos, visited the region and declared it to be a "Christian-free zone."

Phoumsavan ordered the arrest of Evangelical Church leader Pa Tood, who had been arrested twice previously. Pa Tood's relatives told WorldNetDaily he had been "kept in solitary confinement day and night, with his legs in a wooden stockade. The Pathet Lao offered him bail if he would only renounce Jesus Christ as the Son of God and say that Jesus had no healing powers, and never did rise from the dead."

The Pathet Lao government's charges against the groups, shown to WorldNetDaily by European diplomats, said the Christians had been detained because they had a "belief in Jesus religion," and "tried to use the Bible as a means of propaganda for conversion against the communist Party."

Most of those detained belong to the Lao Evangelical Church. These Christians are farmers from the Hmong ethnic hill tribes, although Oy and Bru hill tribes are also represented in those currently in prison for their faith.

The Loatian foreign ministry denies the detentions, especially those of a religious nature. A top-level Japanese trade official in Vientiane told WND, "Christians may well be made the scapegoats for Laos' economic problems. I am not a Christian, but I am saddened to see any peaceful group persecuted. It's a terrible thing. But this is the world we live in. And today the world revolves around trade and money. Everything else is just conversation."

And the chinese involvement in the crackdown?

"Between 1990 and the October 26th incident of 1999, there was not a single incident of protest against the Pathet Lao. I can tell you why. In 1990, three ex-government officials in Laos passed around a petition calling for economic reform. The officials were all imprisoned at the request of the chinese government. The officials were sentenced to 14 years in prison. One of them died while in custody. After that, the people in Laos knew that civil disobedience in even the smallest respect was impossible."

For its part, while china's demand that India surrender the teenaged Buddhist Karpama Lama back to beijing had made global headlines, away from the limelight communist china has been increasing its persecution of evangelical Christians.

For example, in December of last year, beijing outlawed several major evangelical organizations (whose membership reach as high as 3 million) as "evil groups." In that month alone, over 100 evangelical leaders were arrested across China. In Hunan province, six evangelical Christian leaders were sentenced to gruesome logai gulags for leading the "evil cults." Other Protestants have been sent to the gulags for simply organizing a Bible study and/or posting the meeting on the Internet.

Rabbi David Saperstein, the chairman of a U.S. congressional commission to monitor religious freedom and persecution around the globe, has said of china's increasing persection, "In the last few months there has been a clear pattern of escalation."

"china is the largest holder of America's foreign debt. As such, they are America's bank. There is persecution and marginalization of Christians in America going on right now, so we can't expect the U.S. government to help our brothers and sisters being persecuted in china now, or in Laos and Vietnam," says Eunice Xu, of the Hong Kong-based china-Indochine Christian House. Xu was educated in France, and maintains close ties with Christians in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam as well as mainland china.

"If the West believes it can use money, trade and development as a carrot to end the persecution of Christians in Asia, they are very mistaken," added Xu in an interview with WorldNetDaily.

Laos was admitted over two years ago to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, erected in the 1960s as an anti-communist alliance. Yet today it includes Stalinist Laos, communist Vietnam, Marxist Cambodia and fascist Burma.

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