Despite a law to protect religious freedom, Christians in rural parts of Laos routinely face abuses from Buddhist villagers
An armed Lao policeman is seen in a village near the capital Vientiane in this file image. Christians in Laos face various forms of abuse in rural areas of Buddhist-majority nation. (Photo by Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP)
Christian villagers in a southern province in Laos have expressed frustrations after the local officials allegedly burned Bibles and destroyed a house church during a Sunday worship, says a report.
The authorities led a mob of Buddhist villagers who stormed into a Sunday prayer gathering at a makeshift church in Kaleum Vangke village in Savannakhet province’s Xonboury district on Feb. 5, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported.
The site was being used as a place of gathering and worship by several Evangelical Christian families. During the attack copies of the Bible and other documents were burned and the place was vandalized, Christians alleged. No one was hurt in the attack.
“The village authorities came here and tore down our home at around 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning,” an eyewitness told RFA on the condition of anonymity.
“The authorities, including the village chief, village security guards, and senior members of the village attacked us suddenly and destroyed our place of worship,” the source added.
The incident is the latest in a string of similar assaults and legal moves against Christians in the communist state which passed a national law in 2019 that permits citizens to freely practice their faith.
The law has received very little publicity and is practically not applied in the interior of the country where Christians continue to face discrimination from some provincial officials and local Buddhist villagers who view Christianity as an alien faith.
Laos is a Buddhist-majority nation that recognizes Christianity, Islam, and the Baha’i faith.
A second unnamed eyewitness alleged that the makeshift church in a house was torn down to instill fear and stop Christians from continuing to practice their faith.
“They don’t want our Christian brothers and sisters to worship God,” the second source alleged.
“We’ve reported the attack to the district authorities who said that they’re trying to solve the conflict,” the source added.
The Xonboury district police officials told RFA that they were looking into the incident.
Earlier last month, prominent village members had allegedly summoned six Christian families and asked them to stop practicing their faith and specifically ordered them to stop holding Sunday services, RFA reported.
The village members had reportedly warned the families that they would tear down their building if they failed to comply with their demands, the third unnamed source added.
Religiously charged conflict is not new to Kaleum Vangke village.
In March 2020, Pastor Sithong Thipphavong was arrested from the village and was pressured to recant his Christian faith.
When Thipphavong refused the demands, he was charged and convicted for causing social disorder and breaking up the village’s unity.
He was fined 4 million Laotian Kips (US$193) and was jailed for a year. He was freed in April 2021.
An Evangelical Christian claimed that targeting Christian Sunday prayers is prevalent in rural parts of Laos.
“At the district and provincial levels, our party and government allow us to believe or not to believe in any religion. But at the village level, it is the opposite,” the Christian said on condition of anonymity.
Those who believe in spirits say that the Christian faith is against their tradition and culture, RFA reported citing a source.
“They don’t want Christians to bury their [believers’] dead bodies in their cemetery,” the source alleged.
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