15th Annual International Christian Human Rights Conference

The 2004 International Christian Human Rights Conference has seen more than 1,000 delegates attend. The conference which is sponsored by Premier Christian Radio, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Release International, was held on November 6th at Westminster Chapel, London and featured speakers from China Columbia, Eritrea and Sri Lanka who spoke of their works and the persecutions they have endured.

One of the highlighted speeches was from Peter Xu, described in Brother Yun’s “The Heavenly Man” book as “my father in the faith”. Xu shared his experience of being persecuted by the Communist Government of China. He was arrested five times, spending more than seven years in prison where he was tortured nearly to death.

Despite all these suffering, he has endured in silence and remained loyal to the Gospel throughout. He told the officers who prosecuted him, “I can’t sell out my Lord or my friends.”

Xu even said he felt so much love for them at that time, despite his arms being puffed and black, that when his interrogator got out his book to record his confession, he simply told him, “I thank you.” When his interrogator heard that, he did not question him again, but sentenced him to four years in prison.

Peter Xu has gained victory in Christ through the sufferings, now he is the founder of a church in China which today runs into the millions. The church in China has grown from some 800,000 in the 1940s to an estimated 150 million today.

Astrid Zuluaga from Colombia where serious human rights hazards are observed, told the conference very often women were the ones who suffered the consequences of the violence against the church. In the past three years, 120 Protestant pastors have been assassinated along with Catholic priests and bishops who have spoken out for peace.

Zuluaga, the Regional coordinator for the Colombian Commission for Restoration, Life and Peace (CRVP) said, “We have many widows, wives of pastors who have been killed. Some of them have lost their husbands who have been kidnapped and taken to other places and disappeared. Women have seen their children taken away and forced to join the armed groups. Women who still cry out because they don’t know where their sons and husbands are.”

Sri Lanka delegates reported that 140 churches were closed last year. While in Sri Lanka, anti-conversion legislation and constitutional reforms to make Buddhism the state religion were proposed by the Buddhist extremist party in Parliament. Godfrey Yogarajah the General Secretary of the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka highlighted its threat to religious freedom. He also expressed his gratitude to the prayers from worldwide brothers and sisters in Christ.

Representing Eritrea was a church leader named Dr Berhane Asmelash, who is a medical doctor and who served in the church and later came to the UK for theological training. He himself is a victim of persecution that makes him unable to go back to his country. He explained how some Christians are tortured in prison and others exposed to malaria-carrying mosquitos and locked in shipping containers in soaring temperatures.

He took the opportunity to make a prayer request, “People are only released if they agree to renounce their faith. Please pray for the government to reverse the edict and reopen places of worship. Please also pray for those in prison. We need to pray for people to speak out and not just to ignore the situation- they can make a difference.”

The limited religious freedom in Eritrea means the state has only authorised the practice of Christian faith of three Christian denominations, namely Orthodox, Lutheran Evangelical and Roman Catholic.

The conference saw the launch of Don’t Stand In Silence, a joint project between CSW, Release International and Premier Christian Radio. It is aimed at those who are unaware of the extent of religious persecution around the world. Through the personal testimonies of the persecuted Christians, CSW intends to reveal the fact that so many brothers in Christ are experiencing deep pain and sufferings for the sake of the Gospel in silence. CSW invites all Christians around the world to pray for them.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW said, “My desire is to see Christians throughout this nation refusing to stand in silence at the incredible injustices being faced by the worldwide persecuted Church. I believe that on Saturday we made a big step to seeing Christians in the UK providing a loud voice in support of those in our family who have had their voices taken away.”

Another co-organiser, Eddie Lyle, Chief Executive Officer of Release International said, “We want to resource you to speak out for the persecuted church, a church that is growing in these seriously embattled situations. I have said before that I have a problem with the phrase a silent majority. We want you to go from here as a seriously noisy majority.”

Peter Kerridge, Chief Executive of Premier Christian Radio said, "My prayer is that we will motivate Christians around the UK to take positive action to help all they can. We can do so much but we can't stand in silence."