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.
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