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Church in the WorldCall for protection after six die in attacks on ChristiansIndia Anto Akkara - 5 January 2008Indian Churches have demanded urgent protection after Hindu activists waged a six-day campaign of violence against Christians in the eastern state of Orissa that left at least six people dead, writes Anto Akkara in Delhi. The ecumenical All-India Christian Council (AICC) reported that, apart from the six deaths, 65 churches were burned down, 600 Christian homes destroyed, hundreds of laity and clergy forced to flee to save their lives, and thousands were made homeless in a campaign that began on Christmas Eve. The Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa, rushed to Delhi to speak at a press conference on Monday. There the bishops' conference issued a statement saying that five people had been killed, while six convents and several other church institutions had been attacked and damaged. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath told the press conference that the state administration did little to curb the violence for four days, during which the fundamentalists did "what they wanted". The president of the All-India Catholic Union, Dr John Dayal, said that police had evicted a team of investigators he was leading and escorted them out of the region. He accused the state government of a cover-up, saying: "The [Orissa] Government does not want the facts to come out". Joseph D'Souza, President of the AICC, said that the attacks were "pre-planned" by Hindu extremist groups. This week the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, said that the Government "will not tolerate" efforts to disturb communal harmony, and will take the necessary steps to protect "all citizens". The Orissa Government announced a compensation package for victims of the violence. |
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