Victims of Anti-Christian Orissa Attacks Arrested, Blamed for Violence

The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has learned that, in what seems like an attempt to cover up religious persecution and protect the perp On February 24, the police arrested Iber Naik, from Kandhamal's Barakhama village, on charges of being the "kingpin" of the violence that began last Christmas Eve and lasted for around 10 days. This is despite the fact that the majority of the victims were Christians who were attacked by Hindu mobs.

The violence, described by Christian leaders as India's worst-ever anti-Christian violence, resulted in the destruction of more than 700 houses and close to 100 churches, besides the killing of six Christians.

As a result of the attacks, some Christians retaliated. One Hindu was reportedly killed and a few houses belonging to Hindus were burned down. Naik is being held responsible for taking part in the death of the Hindu person in an alleged mob killing.

However, Global Council of India's Dr. Sajan George told ICC that it was a well-known fact that the slain Hindu died in an "inferno while indulging in arson indutva fundamentalists ever since the violence started. The Orissa state government claimed that the violence was caused by Maoists and the trouble was not due to religious conversion, The Tribune newspaper reported on January 6. The government had earlier attributed the violence to "ethnic disturbances," according to a report in The Times of India daily on December 28.

In contrast, the report of a fact-finding team of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), which visited Kandhamal from January 6 to 8, said that an anti-conversion campaign had created an "atmosphere of prejudice and suspicion against the Christian community and Christian priests and organizations."

"The role of the Sangh Parivar (family of organizations linked to India's chief Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS) activists and the anti-conversion campaign in fomenting organized violence against the Christian community deserves close scrutiny.

 

 

ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness in the US regarding the problem of persecution, and is an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Department. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.