Orissa extremists are enjoying 'impunity' in India, says head of AICC

|PIC1|The suffering of the persecuted church went from story to reality at the annual conference Christian Solidarity Worldwide conference on Saturday when Christians on the frontline of the fight for religious freedom told their stories of faith against the odds.

Key guest speaker at the conference was Dr Sam Paul, the national secretary of the All India Christian Council, who has just returned from a trip to Orissa where he met victims and visited relief camps and villages ravaged by the violence.

He spoke of the attacks against Christians by extremist Hindus in the north eastern Indian state of Orissa, which have left around 50 people dead and displaced around 50,000 Christians.

The attackers are "enjoying impunity", he told the hundreds of Christians gathered at the Emanuel Centre in central London.

Dr Paul criticised in particular the passing of blame between the state level and national governments and the lack of action to halt the violence, despite Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh calling the attacks a "national embarrassment".

"On the action part very little was done," he said. "It was just a statement from a good man, an educated man. That was it. But there was not a firm will to deal with what is going on."

Dr Paul said that it was "ridiculous" for the largest democracy in the world to allow thousands of its own people to become refugees. They are, he added, being forced to live in poor conditions in makeshift government camps, with little food and only a handful of toilets for thousands of people.

He spoke movingly of Christians who refused to renounce their faith even when threatened with death by extremists or forced to watch their homes be ransacked and burnt down.

"Pray for them that they will be faithful, that they will be comforted and taken care of," said Dr Paul.

He also urged Christians to pray for the attackers and "ask God to minister to their hearts, to turn from violence, and to understand the true and living God".

The conference also heard from Michael Oluwasesin who told CSW supporters of how his wife was brutally murdered in 2007 for confiscating a paper used by a Muslim student to cheat in an exam. She was stoned, stripped, beaten, mutilated and burned beyond recognition.

Later in the day, the conference had a live video link-up with Helen Berhane, a former prisoner and gospel singer from Eritrea. Helen was imprisoned in May 2004 for being an active member of a banned church. She was forced to endure confinement in metal shipping containers without ventilation, light or sanitation. On several occasions Helen's legs and arms were bound together for long periods of time in a notoriously painful torture position known locally as "the helicopter". CSW was actively involved in securing asylum for Helen following her escape from Eritrea.

Premier Radio presenter Cindy Kent hosted the conference. She urged Christians in the UK to be thankful for their religious freedom and support ministries like CSW.

"There are still many places where religious freedom is not a reality," she said. "Think about that as you go to church, as you set off to your service of worship. Just think about what a privilege it is that you can do that here and how many of our brothers and sisters around the world can't do that, and just thank God for that wonderful, wonderful privilege."