Pastor Stabbed to Death After
Refusing to Stop Preaching Christ
9/21/2015
Jessilyn Justice CharismaNews
A
pastor was stabbed to death by a man claiming to be a member of the
secret police, according to reports.
A man identified as
"Mr.
Wansai" allegedly
entered pastor Singkeaw Wongkongpheng's house in Luang
Prabang Province, Laos, claiming he was there to take the life of
the pastor and nothing else. Wansai was accompanied by four other
men.
"(Singkeaw's) strong stance on
practicing his constitutionally guaranteed religious right in
holding and spreading his Christian faith was believed to finally
result in him meeting with his cruel death at the hands of those
who opposed him," said the director of Human Rights Watcher for
Lao Religious Freedom. "He left behind his wife and six children,
four boys and two girls."
Laos' primary religion is
Buddhism, according to the Department of
State, and the
government determines what is acceptable religiously in the
country.
According to a 2010 report, "Local
officials reportedly pressured Protestants to renounce their faith
on threat of arrest or forceful eviction from their villages in
Salavan and Luang Namtha Provinces.
"A small number of Protestants
were being detained for reasons other than their religion, although
religion appeared to have been a contributing factor in their
arrests.
"There were some reports of
societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation,
belief or practice. Conflicts between ethnic groups and between
villagers forced to relocate to new areas were sometimes
exacerbated by religious tensions. Proselytizing and rights to
village resources were particular points of contention. Frictions
also arose over the refusal of some members of minority religious
groups, particularly Protestants, to participate in local Buddhist
or animist religious ceremonies. The efforts of some Protestant
congregations to establish churches independent of the
government-sanctioned Lao Evangelical Church (LEC) continued to
cause strains within the Protestant community."
Our prayers are
with Singkeaw's family and other persecuted Christians as they
fight for their religious freedom.