ASIA/LAOS - Families evicted from villages after converting to Christianity

Saturday, 15 November 2014

Vientiane (Agenzia Fides) - Seven Hmong Christians were arrested in the province of Luang Namtha, northern Laos, on November 2, after converting from animism to Christianity. As Fides learns, after a few days five of the Christians were released after signing a pledge to renounce their faith, while others who refused were transferred to the provincial jail. The charge is that they have "disturbed social peace".
Another episode demonstrates the government's hostility: Six Hmong Christian families have been forced to leave their village in central Laos after refusing to renounce their faith. The six families, (consisting of 25 people) were made to leave their homes in Borikhamxay province’s Khamkeut district because they would not revert to animism as practiced by the majority of residents in their Ko Hai village. They converted to Christianity, the local authorities became unhappy and ordered them to revert back to animism, but they refused and the authorities detained two men from among the families and held them for nearly a month after they refused to renounce Christianity. Once they were released the authorities again tried to force them to believe in animism, but they still refused, so they were forced to leave their homes. Two of the Christian families were evicted from Ko Hai at the end of August, while the other four were sent away in September and resettled in the nearby village of Hoi Keo, near the town of Lak Sao. Families have lost their homes, land and farm they had in the original village. The governor of Khamkeut district, interviewed by Radio France International, claimed to have no knowledge of the forced eviction, that violates the Constitution, but vowed to investigate.
Lao authorities have also long been wary of opposition among the Hmong, many of whom say they face persecution from the government because of their Vietnam War-era ties with the United States. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 15/11/2014)


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