Laos Detains Devoted Christian Villagers (Worthy News In-depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
VIENTIANE (Worthy News) – There was concern Tuesday about the plight of a Lao church leader and five other Christians who were detained in central Laos amid a crackdown on Christian worship in the openly communist Asian nation, representatives told Worthy News.
”On June 22, 2024 (Laos time), the Tahae village authorities [in Khammouane province]” of two village chiefs and three security officials “arrested Lao church leader Mr. Mum and five other Lao believers,” said Sirikoon Prasertsee, director of the Human Rights Watcher for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF) group.
Lao Christians detained with Mum included Christian men Liang, 40, and Pa, 24, as well as Christian women Laen, 50, Lan, 23, and Khoon, 28, the HRWLRF confirmed Tuesday.
The Christians, who were only identified by one name, “are currently being imprisoned in Xaibouathong district prison,” Prasertsee told Worthy News. It was not immediately clear how long they would be held behind bars.
The arrests came as a setback for Mum, who became a believer in 2019 “after his mom experienced God’s healing,” Prasertsee recalled.
“Others in Tahae village and nearby villages also have exercised their right to religious freedom to accept the Christian faith. The group of believers led by Mr. Mum has grown to approximately 40-50 believers,” he added.
URGING FREEDOM
“They were gathering faithfully in Mr. Mum’s home” for church meetings and worship, Prasertsee said. “The believers in Tahae village had been enjoying their right to religious freedom under the former Tahae village chief since 2019 until recently when there was a change of village government to another person.
The new main village chief was appointed to govern Tahae village, and “the crackdown on Christian freedom and practices became severe that led to the arrest of Mr. Mum and five Lao believers,” the HRWLRF leader said.
His group has urged Laos to release the Christians, saying the Lao Constitution recognizes the right and freedom of the Lao citizens “to believe or not to believe in religions.”
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief,” Prasertsee said.
These are no isolated incidents in Laos, a one-party communist state where the general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party holds ultimate power and authority over the state and government.
Well-informed Christian leaders say Communist authorities heavily monitor Christian activities in some parts of the country and close down house churches for unauthorized worship.
EVANGELICAL CHURCH
Even recognized churches reportedly face difficulties: Roughly 75 percent of all registered Lao Evangelical church congregations must worship in homes, according to Christian rights activists.
However, authorities consider home gatherings “illegal” since worship gatherings are only allowed in approved religious buildings, Worthy News learned.
“Many” unregistered house churches gather under the umbrella of a national registered church, said advocacy group Open Doors.
Laos ranks 21 on the annual World Watch List (WWL) of 50 nations where Open Doors says Christians suffer most for their faith.
Open Doors said the murder of a pastor in October 2022 and other anti-Christian violence rose substantially over the WWL reporting period compared to the previous year.
There has been “a shocking increase even for a place used to physical threats. Christians were kicked out of their communities, their homes were destroyed, and they endured so much for following Jesus.”
MORE PRESSURE
The increased violence comes in addition to the common pressure that Lao believers say they experience. “Converts to Christianity carry additional vulnerabilities. Because they are seen as traitors to their communities who have angered the spirits, they can face pressure and violence from their families and local authorities,” Open Doors.
“Families have been known to stir up the local community, who often expel converts from their homes and villages,” the group
added.
It underscored broader concerns about the country’s human rights record.
Rights activists have also raised the alarm about civic activist Sombath Somphone, who disappeared in 2012, and reports of torture of jailed political and religious dissidents in poor prison conditions.
In addition, rights groups say they are investigating reported military attacks on unarmed civilians, the lack of freedom of expression, and poor protection of refugees and asylum-seekers.
The “extrajudicial killings” by the Lao People’s Army and security forces and the improper use of the death penalty are other areas of concern.
LAO REFORMS?
Lao authorities play down these accusations and make clear that the country signed international human rights treaties.
Most Laotians, including Christians, live in rural areas, with around 80 percent working in agriculture, mainly growing rice, according to official estimates.
Despite economic reforms, the country remains poor and heavily dependent on foreign aid. Laos plans for hydropower to become its most significant source of revenue.
It was unclear how that could help Christians, who comprise less than 2 percent of the nation’s mainly Buddhist population of about 7.8 million people, according to official data.
The country’s neighbors Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia fear the environmental impact of the Lao dam-building projects along the Mekong River, which they jointly share.
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