McCain vs. Obama: Two Different Candidates
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/369083.aspx
WASHINGTON - The differences couldn't be more striking - and they go well beyond older, white and Republican vs. younger, black and Democratic.
John McCain, more spontaneous and accessible, and Barack Obama, more disciplined and remote, are two unconventional presidential candidates, each with styles all their own.
Contrasts on the campaign trail run the gambit, from the way they stage events and draw crowds to how they court voters and handle reporters.
The two men even carry themselves differently.
McCain, 5-foot-9 and spry at age 71, has a ramrod posture, quick movements and clenched fists; he darts from here to there as if spurred forward by jolts of energy. The combination can make him come across as stiff, despite his remarkably informal and off-the-cuff approach.
Obama, age 46 and lanky at 6-foot-2, seems to glide, his head held high, his gait long and his arms swinging freely at his sides if not buried in pockets. His laid-back mannerisms can seem overly casual, and they belie his highly scripted and picture-perfect appearances.
The divergent personal styles and campaign approaches, particularly during the primary season, offer a glimpse of a possible matchup this fall should Obama win the Democratic nomination over Hillary Rodham Clinton and go head-to-head with McCain, the GOP nominee-in-waiting. At this point, Obama leads Clinton in pledged delegates; it is mathematically difficult for her to win.
For any candidate, mannerisms on the trail can provide insights into how one could behave in office.
Bill Clinton adored glad-handing with voters so much that the Democrat frequently ran late as a candidate; he didn't change as president. George W. Bush was known to josh and needle campaign trail reporters; the Republican does the same with the White House media.
Now, in 2008.
JOHN MCCAIN:
The Arizona Republican, who would be the nation's oldest man to be elected president, was arguably the most open White House candidate in modern history during the GOP primary fight.
That's changing some now that he's the party's likely nominee; he's giving more choreographed speeches behind podiums and with TelePrompTers.
Still, most of the time, McCain is incredibly unscripted. And, that can be dangerous: his mouth - and his temperament - can get him in trouble and give Democrats fodder to criticize. One instance: he jokingly sang "bomb Iran" to the tune of the Beach Boys "Barbara Ann."
Nevertheless, McCain still favors the low-key give-and-take of a town-hall style setting. He prefers to be on the same level as his audience and grimaces under the glare of lights. His only prop is typically a microphone, cordless so he can wander - or pace - in front of his audience and venture into the aisles to hand it to folks.
Witty and quick, he often opens events with a couple of jokes, not all funny. He gives a synopsis of where he stands on issues, a policy-laden monologue setting the stage for a policy-laden discussion thereafter. He tells his crowds to ask anything, calls on people one by one and encourages them to challenge his point of view.
"Follow-ups are allowed," he says, and prods: "Go ahead."
When people stand up and praise his heroism in Vietnam, the former prisoner of war thanks them - and then quickly asks if they have a question. When protesters shout out, McCain puts them on the spot and creates a mini-debate atmosphere.
"Just a couple more. Just a couple more," McCain always pleads when an aide tries to end the questioning. He usually gets his way. And then, when the mike is off, he wades into his audience, shaking hands, and chatting people up. They don't fawn over him, but simply offer words of respect and gratitude for his years of service.
Even now, as he segues into the general election, his venues are intimate - community centers, Veterans of Foreign Wars halls. That's partly out of preference, partly out of necessity; his crowds are far smaller and less energetic than those of his Democratic rivals.
After events, McCain almost always takes media questions. Then, it's back to his bus, where McCain parks himself in a leather captain's chair with a scrum of reporters squeezed in around him, balancing their tape recorders on his knees. He'll spend hours talking with them about anything, sometimes leaving reporters with little else to ask and the candidate pushing: "What else? What else?"
Recently, McCain has spent more time on his plane, and the tighter, louder quarters have limited his access. He says he's not happy about it: "It's a lot more fun on the bus."
BARACK OBAMA:
The Illinois Democrat, competing to be the first black president, has generated an enormous following unseen in decades for a presidential candidate. His appearances tend to be carefully planned. The approach can invite criticism that he's all style and little substance, as well as raise questions about whether he's ready to be in the hot seat.
Giant outdoor rallies, rain or shine, and sprawling events at indoor arenas to accommodate thousands upon thousands have tended to be the norm, with an occasional question-and-answer event for voters.
That was the case in the days leading up to the Pennsylvania primary. Some 35,000 people showed up in Philadelphia one night. The next day found Obama on a whistle-stop tour, where he spoke to tens of thousands more people at five different rallies. A couple of high school gymnasium events followed, and, there, Obama took some questions from the audience.
At each stop, Obama sauntered up on the stage as rock music blared and supporters cheered. A gifted orator, he was usually elevated in the middle of the crowd and a podium was often in place. Even so, he would meander across the stage as he gave his talk about a need to change the ways of Washington and do away with old-style politics. With a natural charisma, he was clearly comfortable being the center of attention and talking to voters. The crowds were always rambunctious, engaging with the candidate as he stood above them.
"This is now our moment. This is now our turn," Obama declared repeatedly in an inspirational tone.
As he spoke, people on all sides of him would yell "We love you!" and Obama would respond with a wave and a smile, or a fingerpoint, "I love you guys, too!" He sprinkled his pitch with, "So, you know what I'm talkin' about" and "that's right" when the crowd cheered in agreement.
Afterward, with his full Secret Service detail in tow and limiting his movements, he worked the metal barriers that kept the crowds at bay, shaking hands, giving out hugs, posing for pictures and signing autographs. Many fans stretch their arms out to try to touch him; some end up in tears.
He was hardly as open with the media; at one point, it had been more than a week since Obama answered the questions of reporters who traveled with him. He did do some interviews with local media, though all but ignored the national media, save for buying reporters a couple of pies at a family style restaurant after greeting voters there.
At one diner stop, Obama bristled when a reporter tried to ask him a question: "Why can't I just eat my waffle?"
In a sign of what may be coming, Obama started taking a different approach this week: he's opted for smaller settings with voters and he's been more available to the media.
ProLife Free Speech Case Still Alive
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/369148.aspx
The battle for peaceful expression of pro-life views goes to a new level in the case of one North Carolina man.
Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund are appealing a free speech case involving the rights of pro-life advocate Dennis Green.
Five years ago, Green was silenced by authorities in Raleigh for peacefully expressing his views on abortion in a public place.
Green was threatened with arrest for violating the city's so-called "permit process" and was warned his sign would be confiscated if he didn't leave the area.
"Christians shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel Nate Kellum. "Raleigh officials clearly violated Mr. Green's First Amendment right to publicly express his pro-life views."
In 2005, ADF filed suit on behalf of Green and then filed a federal appeal in the case in 2007.
But a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled against Green on April 16, last month.
Now, ADF is asking the same court to take another look at Green's case.
"The government can't require citizens to request permission before they exercise their First Amendment rights," Kellum said.
"The policy used by Raleigh officials to silence pro-life speech is clearly unconstitutional. The panel's decision stands in direct conflict with other 4th Circuit decisions, the decisions of other federal circuits, and even the U.S. Supreme Court," he added.
ADF attorneys are asking for either the panel or the full court to rehear the case because of key factual and legal matters the panel overlooked in its decision.
Eccentric Opposition Lawmaker Ousts Labour Mayor of London
http://www.newsmax.com/international/britain_local_elections/2008/05/02/93021.html
LONDON -- An eccentric Conservative lawmaker with a knack for offensive remarks ousted the left-wing mayor of London on Friday in an upset that capped the ruling Labour Party's worst local election showing in four decades.
Boris Johnson defeated Ken Livingstone in Labour's first test at the polls since then-Prime Minister Tony Blair last year handed the reins to Gordon Brown, who has since been dogged by accusations of indecision and incompetence.
Brown humbly pledged to heed the scathing verdict from voters, who voted for opposition candidates in more than 300 municipal council races.
Conservative leader David Cameron said his party's strong gains in the capital and in a longtime weak spot in northern England represented a key moment on the path to ousting Brown at the next national election, to be held before mid-2010.
Johnson, a former magazine editor, becomes the first Conservative to hold a high-profile national post since his party's overwhelming 1997 national election defeat by Labour, then led by Tony Blair.
"I do hope it shows that the Conservatives have changed into a party that can again be trusted," Johnson said, shortly after the result was announced.
Johnson offered lavish praise for his rivals and paid tribute to Livingstone's role in guiding London through the 2005 transit network bombings.
"Let's have a drink tonight, and let's get cracking tomorrow," Johnson _ with a clump of platinum hair standing up _ told supporters, who cheered in delight.
Livingstone _ a staunch leftist who courted Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and faced off with the U.S. Embassy for unpaid congestion charges _ said the blame for his defeat must rest at his door, not Brown's.
Uncombed and often awkward, Johnson is known both his wit and for remarks that are have offended minority communities and others.
He labeled members of the Commonwealth "piccaninnies" _ a derogatory term for black people, referred to Africans as having "watermelon smiles," and likened his party's internal conflicts "to Papua New Guinea-style orgies of cannibalism and chief-killing."
Johnson's scorn has also been directed at gay marriage, which became legal in Britain in 2005. In his book "Friends, Voters, Countrymen," he said that if homosexuals could marry then why not "three men, as well as two men; or indeed three men and a dog."
Ex-party leader Michael Howard ordered Johnson to visit the northern city of Liverpool in 2004 to apologize after he wrote an editorial accusing the city's people of "wallowing" in victimhood after Liverpudlian Ken Bigley, who had been taken hostage in Iraq, was beheaded.
Johnson has cultivated a befuddled, rumpled image and was often seen clumsily pedaling his bicycle to Parliament.
His campaign billboards featured silhouettes of his iconic poses _ scratching his unruly thatch of blond hair, ambling along a road with hands stuffed in wrinkled pockets, gesticulating wildly to make a debating point.
His first key test is likely to hinge on how he handles relations with China. As mayor, he will be expected to attend at least part of the Beijing Olympics _ and his party will hope he is able to avoid offending the hosts.
"Chinese cultural influence is virtually nil, and unlikely to increase," Johnson wrote in one of his several books _ on subjects ranging from sports cars to Ancient Rome.
Results from the 159 local councils which held ballots in England and Wales on Thursday showed the Conservatives gaining 260 seats with Labour losing 333. The Liberal Democrats gained 34 seats.
Most results were announced Friday, but a high turnout in London _ where around 5.5million cast ballots _ meant the count there continued until early Saturday.
The British Broadcasting Corp. projected the Conservatives would take 44 percent of the vote in England and Wales, putting it 20 points ahead of Labour. Brown's party was a point behind the Liberal Democrats, usually the country's third-largest party, according to the BBC.
Brown was credited with overseeing Britain's longest stretch of postwar prosperity and enjoyed a strong start as prime minister when he took the post in June.He claimed to represent substance after the slick Blair years, but a brief honeymoon with voters ended abruptly when he anguished over, and then ruled out, a snap national election in October.
Since then, grumbles over rising food and fuel prices, tax changes that have hit blue-collar workers and the costly nationalization of mortgage lender Northern Rock have conspired to send poll ratings for his Labour Party to a 20-year low.
One Labour peer, Lord Desai, recently quipped that Brown's true role was to show his party how much they missed Blair.
Royal fiancée renounces Catholic faith
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/royal.fiance.renounces.catholic.faith/18543.htm
The fiancée of a member of the Royal Family has renounced her Catholic faith, which effectively allows her future husband to stay in line to the throne.
The Queen’s grandson Peter Philip’s right to the throne was in jeopardy, as the law states that if he married a Catholic it would force him to give up his right to succession to the throne.
An announcement from Buckingham Palace has stated that Autumn Kelly has joined the Church of England, meaning Peter Philip will remain 11th in line to the throne.
A law passed in 1701, which is still active, states that heirs to the throne that marry Catholics cannot be sovereigns.
Buckingham Palace has said, “She was welcomed into the Church of England some time ago.”
Recently MPs have called for equality legislation to be used to abolish the 300-year-old law, which also gives males precedence in the succession line.
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "The government has always stood firmly against discrimination in all its forms, including against Roman Catholics, and we will continue to do so.
"To bring about changes to the law on succession would be a complex undertaking involving amendment or repeal of a number of items of related legislation, as well as requiring the consent of legislatures of member nations of the Commonwealth."
Peter Philip and Autumn Kelly are scheduled to marry on 17 May 2008.
Christian Party loses 'censorship' case against BBC
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.party.loses.censorship.case.against.bbc/18542.htm
LONDON - The Christian Choice Party has lost a case against the BBC in which it accused the broadcasting company of censoring its message concerning Muslims.
The party had filed the complaint “far too late,” a high court judge said on Wednesday, BBC reported. Judge Justice Collins rejected the group’s request for a judicial review and said the Christian Choice should have filed the case before the campaign ad was broadcast on April 23, rather than afterwards.
But Judge Collins also said he did not think the party election broadcast (PEB) by the Christian Choice was libellous, which was a concern of BBC advisers who requested changes to the original broadcast.
In the original film, the Christian Choice criticised a Muslim group for its plan to build a 12,000-capacity mosque in East London.
Alan Craig, the Christian Choice’s London mayoral candidate, had originally described the group behind the mega mosque plan, Tablighi Jamaat, as “separatist,” but then agreed to change the wording to “controversial” after BBC pressed him to change the description to a more moderate view.
Craig accused the BBC and fellow broadcaster ITV of “political censorship,” and argued that the companies violated the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees his right to freedom of expression.
"Nationally and locally, leading Muslims share my objections to the mega-mosque, yet two national broadcasters have attempted to close down the democratic debate, through misplaced concern," Craig said.
The judge said the BBC had indicated that if the case was brought to court before the broadcast it would have "backed down and let them publish as they wished."
“Unfortunately that was not done,” Collins said.
The prosecution lawyer, Paul Diamond, said the case raises issues of the constitutional right of political parties to raise topics of concern.
“There is a serious hindrance of free speech taking place on this,” Diamond said to the judge.
Craig was ordered to pay the BBC $23,428 for legal fees.
The unedited version of the PEB is showing on YouTube.
Israeli police commissioner defends gag order on new charge against PM Commissioner
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5239
Dudi Cohen, in his first statement on the fifth corruption probe launched against Ehdud Olmert, said Sunday, May 4, the good of the investigation takes precedence over the public’s entitlement to information. The team needs space. No individual is above the law.
Olmert’s former personal assistant Shula Zaken is under house arrest after she was questioned on the case for the second time. He too faces further questioning.
DEBKAfile: The political scene is in an uproar amid low expectations of the Olmert government’s life expectancy. The police and attorney general are widely criticized for keeping the case against the prime minister under close wraps by court order. As rumors abound, political leaders are constrained from making decisions on how to proceed for lack of daylight. Many assert that under the pressure of this sort of probe Olmert is not fit to carry on conduct state business.
Foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who is also acting PM, said at a joint news conference with visiting US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice Sunday afternoon: The investigators must be allowed to do their job. I have full confidence in the law enforcement authorities.
This was her answer to a question about whether the new inquiry would affect the negotiations she is holding with the Palestinian leader Abu Ala under US auspices. Livni confirmed that the talks would continue.
Responding to the same question, the US secretary said the investigation was an internal Israeli affair.
In an effort to generate an air of business as usual after he was questioned Friday on a charge described as extremely serious, the prime minister chaired the regular cabinet meeting in Jerusalem Sunday as usual. He will meet Rice again after greeting her when she arrived Saturday night.
Rice: Deal Attainable in 2008
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/369091.aspx
JERUSALEM, Israel - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice believes a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians can still be reached by the end of 2008.
"We continue to believe it is an achievable goal to have an agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis by the end of the year," Rice told reporters following a meeting in Ramallah Sunday with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.
Rice arrived on her latest 36-hour visit to the region Saturday evening.
While Abbas emerged from meetings in Washington last week with U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary Rice "angry and depressed," he told reporters Sunday that "90 percent of the talks have been completed."
Earlier Sunday, Rice met with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak to discuss removing more checkpoints in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
The PA maintains that checkpoints hurt their economy, while Israel says it cannot trust PA security forces to prevent Palestinian terrorists from entering Israel.
Following the meeting, Barak complied by ordering the removal of three more checkpoints, one between Ramallah and the Israeli community of Beit El, a second at the southern entrance to Hebron, and a third north of Nablus (biblical Shechem).
Two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) senior commanders said the removal of these checkpoints will leave Israelis vulnerable to Palestinian terror attacks, as in the past.
Trilateral Talks Monday
Rice may hold trilateral talks Monday with PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Barak, along with PA chief negotiator Ahmed Qureia and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.
Rice is scheduled to hold a second meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert before leaving Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, a senior PA official in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that it is "unrealistic" to expect a breakthrough by the end of the year.
"The Bush administration has lost its credibility as an honest broker," he said. "We will now have to wait for the next US administration."
"President Abbas felt as if he was talking to the wall [in Washington last week]," he said. "Both Bush and Rice refused to discuss details related to the current peace talks with Israel. We were very disappointed," the PA official said.
On Friday, Fayyad told reporters in London that it's unlikely an agreement will be reached.
"The progress that started in Annapolis has been slow and does not suggest the likelihood of meeting the objectives from Annapolis of ending the conflict and launching a Palestinian state," Fayyad said.
British secret service seeks Mossad update on Iran’s nuclear program
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5240
The head of the UK’s MI6, Sir John Scarlett will visit Israel later this month for an update by Mossad chief Meir Dagan on Iran’s nuclear program and other subjects of common interest. The London Times reports that it is understood Israel has made a breakthrough “on intelligence gathering within Iran.”
DEBKAfile reports Israeli transport minister Shaul Mofaz maintained in America last week that Iran may attain full command of the uranium enrichment process before the end of 2008. Israeli officials have consistently challenged the conclusion reached by the US National Intelligence last December that Iran halted its covert military nuclear program in 2003. They have warned while the NIE report tied US hands on a military option, the Iranian program is advancing apace.
The British-Israeli intelligence-sharing process is described by Israeli officials as a “strategic dialogue.”
Khamenei: Iran Won't Halt Nuclear Drive
http://www.newsmax.com/international/iran_khamenei_nuclear/2008/05/04/93344.html
TEHRAN — Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday vowed that Iran would press ahead with its controversial nuclear programme, two days after world powers said they had prepared a new package to end the crisis.
"Have you not tested the Iranian nation? We will continue on our path with power and will not allow the oppressors to deny this nation's right," Khamenei was quoted by the state radio as saying to world powers.
"Threats will not force the Iranian nation to back down," it quoted him as saying on a visit to the southern Fars province.
Khamenei's comments came after the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany on Friday agreed on a new proposal of incentives to Iran in a bid to resolve the standoff over its nuclear programme.
Although no details of the new proposal have been made available yet, Russia said that world powers were asking Tehran only to suspend uranium enrichment during a period of talks.
Iran has defied UN Security Council resolutions that it halt uranium enrichment, which can be used both to generate nuclear energy and make the explosive core of a nuclear bomb.
Although Khamenei made no reference to the new package, his comments are the latest sign from Tehran that it has no intention of giving ground on the key sticking point of enrichment.
The West fears Iran could use uranium enrichment to make atomic weapons but Iran denies this is its aim, insisting it has a right to enrichment to make nuclear fuel as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Saturday again rejected a suspension of enrichment, describing such a move as Iran's "forbidden zone."
"In a meeting with the British foreign secretary (at a conference earlier this month in Kuwait) I said: You know what the forbidden zone is, then be careful not to enter the forbidden zone," he said.
Following Friday's talks in London, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the powers had "reviewed and updated" an offer made to Iran in June 2006, which included economic, security and technological rewards.
Al-Qaida Behind Attack on Karzai, Spy Chief Says
http://www.newsmax.com/international/al_qaida_karzai/2008/05/04/93350.html
KABUL - Al Qaeda in Pakistan was behind last week's assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's intelligence chief said on Sunday.
The head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, Amrullah Saleh, said foreign governments should put pressure on Pakistan to destroy militant bases within its borders.
Taliban gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and small arms at a state parade last Sunday, sending Karzai, his cabinet and military top brass as well as foreign diplomats diving for cover.
Three people were shot dead before Afghan troops killed three Taliban attackers.
Investigations by Afghan security forces showed that at least two officials from the defense and interior ministries were involved in the attack, Saleh said. The officials suspected of involvement have been arrested in recent days.
But he added they had links with al Qaeda in Miramshah, Pakistan's tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, and branded the network the mastermind of the attack, the most brazen by the Taliban since their ouster in 2001.
"Al Qaeda's role and involvement in the attack is very clear," Saleh told a news conference.
"They have bases (in Pakistan). They are supplied financially and logistically. They receive very sophisticated training ... We have always said that pressure on their bases, combined with our intelligence can destroy them," he added.
He said with regret there was "little and sometimes no pressure" on the militants training bases, indirectly referring to Pakistan.
While the Taliban have carried out sporadic suicide bombings in Kabul before, last week's attack, together with a guerrilla-style assault on a five-star hotel in the capital in January, indicate a more sophisticated mode of attack.
The Taliban have vowed to target Kabul this year as part of their campaign to overthrow Karzai's government and drive out the more than 55,000 foreign troops stationed in the country.
Pakistan itself which has seen attacks by militants over the past year says it does all it can to crush al Qaeda and other militants who fled there after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Taliban's government in Afghanistan in 2001.
U.S. Frustrated By Elusive Justice Served to USS Cole Plotters
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354119,00.html
It's been called "the forgotten attack" but it's one of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history.
Eight years after the USS Cole was attacked by a motorboat packed with explosives, all of the six men convicted of the strike have escaped from prison, or been freed by Yemeni officials.
Seventeen sailors were killed and 40 more wounded in the strike, blamed on Usama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.
Jamal al-Badawi, who helped organize the Cole plot, has reportedly escaped from Yemeni prisons twice. He is supposedly back in jail now, but the Washington Post reported that he has been spotted at his home and is apparently able to come and go around town as he pleases.
Another Cole defendant, Fahd al-Quso, reportedly was freed last year.
Two others, described as main plotters, are being held in held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, out of reach of U.S. courts. One other defendant may or may not be in prison in Yemen and the other three others apparently were freed.
Most of those believed responsible were rounded up, put on trial, put in a Yemeni prison. Two years later, most of them tunneled out of prison.
All this frustrates FBI agents who worked the case.
"After we worked day and night to bring justice to the victims and prove that these al Qaeda operatives were responsible, we're back to square one," FBI lead investigator, Ali Soufan told the Post. "Do the [Yemenis] have laws over there or not? It's really frustrating what's happening."
FBI Director Robert Muller flew to Yemen in April, the paper said, to demand that Yemen extradite both men to face charges in New York. So far, Yemen has said no.
Yemeni officials have said that some of the Cole defendants have been let go because they've helped authorities track down other suspected terrorists, or because they've taken part in a "dialogue and reconciliation" program to reform al-Qaeda members.
WEA International Director visits key church leaders in Vietnam
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/wea.international.director.visits.key.church.leaders.in.vietnam/18557.htm
During his first visit to Vietnam since becoming WEA’s International Director, Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe met with key church leaders in Ho Chi Minh City in early April, and invited a number of leaders to come as observers to the WEA General Assembly in Thailand later this year.
Dr. Tunnicliffe found that Christians felt they were benefiting from Vietnams’ laws and regulations on religious freedom reportedly liberalised since 2005. Thankfully, in the last three years, government-sponsored programs to force Christians to recant their faith have virtually stopped.
The first Protestant church since the liberalisation, the Danang-based Christian Mission Church, received full legal recognition in late 2007. A small Baptist denomination followed in January 2008. These two denominations joined the Evangelical Church of Vietnam, both the northern and southern organisations [ECVN(N) and ECVN(S)], to make four fully recognised Evangelical church bodies.
Four other house church organisations have a lower level of registration called “permission to carry on religious activities” nationally. This still leaves several dozen without registration.
Many of those still without are in no hurry to register, having observed the problems of those who did. They say that registration has sometimes been used as a means of government control and interference into internal church affairs.
Unity among Vietnam’s estimated 1.3 million Evangelical Christians remains elusive. Virtually united under the ECVN(S) during the “dark decade” following the 1975 communist victory, the church began to splinter with the development of house churches in 1988 and the growing number of foreign interveners.
The trend was recognised and somewhat reversed with the establishment of the Vietnam Evangelical Fellowship (of house churches) in 1998, representing about 200,000 Christians. The VEF is the one group at present that appears actively interested in furthering Evangelical unity.
Dr. Tunnicliffe complimented and encouraged the VEF to work toward even greater inclusiveness to qualify for WEA membership.
ECVN (S) leaders presented Tunnicliffe with an unprecedented worldwide appeal for prayer for a change in government treatment of their organisation and members. This is more remarkable in that the ECVN(S) has had full legal recognition for full seven years.
The letter appeals for prayer for (1) action on the churches longstanding request for action on the 265 church properties confiscated at the communist takeover, (2) for blatant government interference into internal church affairs, and (3) for redress for the physical abuse in 2007 of a pastor and his congregation in a Mekong Delta town in full view of government officials. In all cases the church has worked quietly behind the scenes to engage the authorities, but has been simply ignored. No action is taken.
“It seems clear that there is a way to go yet before Vietnam’s believers enjoy world-class religious freedom. Vietnam could gain more confidence from religious believers that things were really changing if it would just consistently implement its regulations,” observed Tunnicliffe.
Tunnicliffe was impressed that in spite of these challenges, church leaders he met conveyed a spirit of optimism. They noted that their strong confidence in God came from experiencing His keeping power in very dark times.
Muslim Rebels Expel Over 1,000 Christians from Village
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/muslim.rebels.expel.over.1000.christians.from.village/18540.htm
Muslim rebels drove off more than 1,000 Christians from a southern Philippine farming village and took over their land, the guerillas and a mayor said Friday.
Armed members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) entered the coastal village of Sangay in the town of Kalamansig on the troubled island of Mindanao Wednesday to demand food and rice recently harvested by the farmers, Kalamansig Mayor Rolando Garcia said, according to The Associated Press.
In the past, the armed rebels have demanded food and stayed only briefly in the village, but this time they told villagers to leave and occupied the land. Faced with about 300 armed MILF guerillas, the scared residents fled to Kalamansig town about three hours away by boat while the rebels remained in the village.
"I sent a peacekeeping force there to settle the problem amicably but they were forced to withdraw to avoid bloodshed," Garcia said of the 14-man police team sent to the area, according to AP.
There were no immediate reports of violence or casualties.
Garcia said his town has about 1,200 people in their temporary shelter area who are too afraid to return to their farms, according to Reuters.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the group took over the land because it belongs to them.
For more than three decades, MILF has fought to establish a Muslim homeland in the southern area of the largely Catholic country. Decades of war have killed 120,000 people and displaced two million.
In 2003, the group agreed to a ceasefire with the Filipino government as the two sides held peace talks brokered by Malaysia. But some rebels are frustrated with the long peace talks with Manila, which has stalled since December 2007.
Last week, Malaysia said around 20 of 41 of its peacekeepers would leave on May 10 and the rest would be withdrawn by the end of August because the peace process was not moving forward.
Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has repeatedly said she wants peace, but her cabinet members are opposed to granting large pieces of land to Muslims, according to Reuters. Moreover, politically powerful Christian groups in the south would oppose the deal.
MILF’s Kabula said the group’s leaders did not approve of the land takeover, and that the MILF was in talks with officials to resolve the situation in Sangay. He also noted that the situation was local and the government and rebel negotiators were not involved.
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