Tag: arrest

Graffiti in Cuba.

¿Por qué los líderes religiosos de Cuba escapan al exilio?

Posted on by cswpress in Al Exilio, Cuba ES, español, Latin America ES

Tras las protestas pacíficas del 11 de julio de 2021, muchos líderes religiosos cubanos y miembros de comunidades de fe se han unido a la mayor ola de emigración en curso, desde el comienzo de la Revolución Cubana en 1959.

El gobierno cubano exige que todos los grupos y asociaciones religiosas obtengan el registro legal del Ministerio de Justicia, pero este organizmo les hace casi imposible obtener dicho registro. Desde la Revolución, el gobierno ha otorgado estatus legal a solo un puñado de grupos, y ha despojado de su estatus legal a algunos que tenían una presencia legalmente reconocida en la isla antes de 1959. Como resultado, la gran mayoría de los grupos religiosos que no tenían presencia legal en la isla antes de 1959 existen al margen de la ley, lo que los convierte automáticamente en objeto de discriminación y hostigamiento.

En los últimos dos años, Cuba ha enviado a cientos de disidentes a prisión, donde los guardias a menudo utilizan su fe como punto de presión para aquellos que tienen creencias religiosas. El gobierno viola regularmente las Reglas de Nelson Mandela, negándose a permitir que los presos políticos reciban visitas religiosas, posean materiales religiosos o participen en servicios religiosos dentro de las prisiones. La fe ó religión de los presos políticos es ridiculizada públicamente con regularidad. Entre el creciente número de presos políticos se encuentran líderes de grupos religiosos no registrados.

Continue reading “¿Por qué los líderes religiosos de Cuba escapan al exilio?” →
Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, one of Myanmar/Burma’s most senior and internationally renowned Christian pastors.

El hecho de que el Reverendo Dr. Hkalam Samson continue en la cárcel es una prueba de que nadie está a salvo en Myanmar

Posted on by cswpress in Asia ES, español, Myanmar ES

Por Benedict Rogers

Cuando escuché que mi amigo el Reverendo Dr. Hkalam Samson, uno de los pastores cristianos más importantes e internacionalmente reconocidos de Myanmar/Birmania, había sido arrestado en el aeropuerto de Mandalay el 5 de diciembre cuando intentaba viajar a Bangkok, varios pensamientos pasaron por mi mente.

En un principio, no me sorprendió, porque la actual junta militar ilegal, que tomó el poder en un golpe de Estado el  1 de febrero de 2021, ha sido aún más brutal, despiadada e inhumana que cualquiera de las sucesiones de dictaduras militares que han gobernado Myanmar durante la mayor parte de las últimas seis décadas.

Por otro lado, debido a sus conexiones internacionales, pensé que su arresto podría simplemente conducir a una breve detención, con fines de interrogatorio. Esperaba que fuera liberado en cuestión de días. Este es un hombre, después de todo, que se ha reunido con el Presidente de los Estados Unidos en la Casa Blanca, o con un Ministro de Estado en la Oficina de Relaciones Exteriores, Commonwealth y Desarrollo del Reino Unido, parlamentarios de todo el mundo y ha asistido a foros internacionales, incluida la Conferencia Ministerial Internacional sobre Libertad de Religión o Creencia en Washington, DC en 2019.

Continue reading “El hecho de que el Reverendo Dr. Hkalam Samson continue en la cárcel es una prueba de que nadie está a salvo en Myanmar” →
Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, one of Myanmar/Burma’s most senior and internationally renowned Christian pastors.

The continued imprisonment of Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson is proof that no one is safe in Myanmar

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, Burma

By Benedict Rogers

When I heard that my friend Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson, one of Myanmar/Burma’s most senior and internationally renowned Christian pastors, had been arrested at Mandalay airport on 5 December as he attempted to travel to Bangkok, several thoughts went through my mind.

On one level I was not surprised, because the current illegal military junta, which seized power in a coup on 1 February 2021, has been even more brutal, ruthless and inhumane than any of the succession of military dictatorships that have ruled Myanmar for most of the past six decades.

On another level, due to his international connections, I thought his arrest might simply lead to a brief detention, for the purposes of interrogation. I half expected him to be released within a matter of days. This is a man, after all, who has met the President of the United States in the White House, a Minister of State in the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, parliamentarians around the world and has attended international fora including the International Ministerial Conference on freedom of religion or belief in Washington, DC in 2019.

Continue reading “The continued imprisonment of Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson is proof that no one is safe in Myanmar” →
A series of political slogan boards erected outside Laomudeng Church in Yunnan, China.

‘The Yunnan Model’ could be an indicator that life is going to get even harder for religious and ethnic groups across China

Posted on by cswpress in Asia, China

Wang Shunping, Nu Sangdeng, San Luobo, Hua Xiuxia and Dong Mengru spent the past nine months in detention.

Their crime? Holding a handful of Christian gatherings and teaching guitar and hymns to a group of young people in their rented home in Fugong County in the Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of China’s Yunnan Province.

Though they were released on bail on 7 May, the charges against them relating to ‘organising and sponsoring an illegal gathering’ are yet to be dismissed.

All five individuals – three men and two women – work among the ethnic Nu community, one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the Chinese authorities; the three men are Nu ethnic preachers. In China, the majority of the Nu live in Yunnan, where a significant history of Western missionary activity has resulted in a large Protestant Christian population alongside the majority religions of Buddhism and tribal animism.

Continue reading “‘The Yunnan Model’ could be an indicator that life is going to get even harder for religious and ethnic groups across China” →
Leaders from the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church at Timkat Festival in Asmara, Eritrea.

The international community must assist in transforming Eritrea’s pathocracy into a genuine democracy

Posted on by cswpress in Eritrea, Sub-Saharan Africa

27 April 1993: Eritrea declares official independence from Ethiopia after a referendum which saw a 98.5% turnout with a 99.83% vote in favour.

The vote took place nearly two years after the defeat of Ethiopian forces in Eritrea in May 1991, which brought with it an end to nearly three decades of civil war. The referendum installed the leader of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF, which later became PFDJ – People’s Front for Democracy and Justice) Isaias Afewerki as president, and it was hoped that he would lead the Eritrean people into a just and democratic future – then-US President Bill Clinton even referred to him as a ‘renaissance African leader’.

Sadly, this did not occur. Afewerki remains the only ruler Eritrea has ever known, and under his leadership the nation’s heroic liberation struggle has been resolutely betrayed due to his obsession with absolute power.

Continue reading “The international community must assist in transforming Eritrea’s pathocracy into a genuine democracy” →