On September 20, 2009, in Andra Pradesh state, suspected Hindu extremists struck a pastor with what appeared to be sharp edged metal rods. They left him bleeding profusely and unconscious on a village road.

Pastor Vanamali Parishudham, 35, was attacked by at least three unidentified men as he returned from Sunday worship, 5km from his home village, Narketpalli. Although he lost a lot of blood, he was taken to the hospital in time to save his life.

Villagers who visited him in hospital told him that the attackers were members of the Hindu extremist group, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who oppose his preaching and the new prayer house he recently opened in Narketpalli.

Thanks to Tears of the Oppressed for this update.

Previous JustAct work on India

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Act now for Complementary Protection

Complementary protection is about helping vulnerable people – people at risk of the most serious forms of harm if returned to their home country.

Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

The Australian Government is attempting to pass a law that will provide further protection to the survivors of trafficking in Australia, to give them protection if being returned to the country they were trafficked from would place their safety in serious danger (such as those responsible for the trafficking targeting them for retribution). The proposed law is called the Migration Amendment (Complementary Protection) Bill 2009.

Find out more and send an urgent email or letter now …

No Sweatshop label and Fairtrade cotton shirts (Anti-Poverty Week)

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It is reported that Yemane Kahasay Andom, aged 43, died on 23 July at Mitire Military Confinement Centre in north east Eritrea. Yemane Kahasay Andom was a member of the Kale-Hiwot church in Mendefera.

In September another of the cases filed against Pastor Edwin Egar, this time for murder, has been dismissed by a court in the Philippines. This is the third such case to have been brought by the authorities against Pastor Egar that has been dismissed for the complete lack of any evidence to connect him to the case.

He is still charged with one more crime and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) is attempting to have the case similarly dismissed. In the mean time, the UCCP is continuing to keep him in sanctuary to avoid him being targeted for further human rights abuses.

So far members of the Victoria and Tasmanian Synod have contributed $1,565 towards the costs of keeping Pastor Egar and Rev Apigo in sanctuary while the cases against them can be challenged in the courts. The donations include $1,000 from Sammy Stamp.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has written to the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania to say that the Australian Embassy in Manila will consider raising the cases of Pastor Egar and Rev Apigo with the Philippines authorities. The Department has also stated that they are examining options for delivering an expanded human rights capacity building program to the Philippines.

On 14 September the Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon. Stephen Smith, announced that the Australian Government would provide $5 million to support the resettlement of Tamils in northern Sri Lanka. The money will be provided to international agencies such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration. The funds will be used to assist in processing the documentation for people who were forced from their homes by the conflict and are held in detention camps to facilitate their return home and assist them with essential items, including food and water for travel and reintegration, and assistance to families hosting displaced people.

Thanks to everyone in the network who wrote to Minister Smith.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee has condemned the blasphemy law in Pakistan, stating that it has become “a major source of victimization and persecution” of religious minorities who are living “in a state of fear and terror”. Their statement says that since the penal code of Pakistan was amended in 19856. “Christians in particular have become targets of harassment and persecutions”.

The Blasphemy Law, where the concept of “blasphemy” is vaguely defined according to the WCC statement, establishes that any person accused is immediately placed in detention and can sentenced to death. From 1988 to 2005, 647 people were accused of violating the law, but cases have increased in recent years. There have been cases based on malicious accusations “often with the motivation to have people imprisoned to gain advantage in business or land disputes.”

The WCC central committee urged the government of Pakistan to repeal the section of the Pakistan penal code (295C) which carries a mandatory death penalty for anyone found guilty of blasphemy.

In October 2007 we requested that you write to the Indian authorities about the discrimination experienced by Christian and Muslim Dalits in India.

For many centuries Indian society was based on the ‘caste’ system – the ordering of social relationships around a hierarchical class system. The caste into which you were born dictated your social standing for life. Members of the lower castes, especially the ‘Dalits’ or ‘untouchables’, have been severely disadvantaged by the social limitations imposed upon them, many being unable to escape the cycle of poverty handed down from generation to generation.

Although the caste system was officially abolished in the Indian Government in the 20th Century, its effects still impact on Indian society. For example, under current legislation, members of the Dalit caste who leave Hinduism for Christianity relinquish their right to access affirmative action measures, such as places in education and government jobs reserved for Dalits. Consequently, their scope for advancement out of poverty has been curtailed. However, Dalits belonging to Hindi, Sikh and Buddhist religions have been freely granted these benefits since the 1950s.

On 25 August the Andra Pradesh State Assembly (State Parliament) passed a resolution calling on the Central Government of India to reduce the discrimination against Christian and Muslim Dalits by extending the benefits of Scheduled Castes to them. One of the partner churches of the Uniting Church in Australia in India, the Church North India, is calling on the churches of India to intensify their advocacy for the rights and well-being of the Dalits.

Reports indicate that around 680 people have been arrested in north India for their involvement in planning, abetting and carrying out the riots against Christians in August and September last year. Approximately 900 cases have been filed with fast-track courts dealing with bringing to justice those responsible for the violence and murders. However, there are reports that Hindu extremists have made death threats against witnesses in the cases.