Displaying items by tag: Asia

Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for over 200 people accused of links to an outlawed group the government blames for the 2016 failed coup. Security forces are searching for 191 people, 181 of whom were active members of the air forces. Prosecutors also named suspects found on the messaging app ByLock which was used by followers of cleric Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan blames Gulen for the 2016 coup attempt that left 250+ dead and 2,000+ injured. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed American exile, denies involvement in attempting to unseat Erdogan. The latest arrests are part of a renewed push to suppress the group as parliament resumes debating a controversial bill boosting the powers of a neighbourhood watch force - Erdogan’s latest effort to tighten his grip on the country. The legislation would allow 28,000 watchmen to frisk citizens, demand identification, search their cars, and use weapons if needed.

Nepal has a constitutional obligation to guarantee press freedom, but over ten journalists have been threatened for their coronavirus reporting since late March. One victim of death threats is the manager of Radio Janakpur, threatened after his programme described the carelessness of a coronavirus tracking centre established by a local hospital. As he left his radio station he was accosted. He now feels ‘constantly under surveillance’ whenever he goes to Janakpur. A reporter for another radio station and website was accused of sowing fear and spreading fake news after he covered the case of a woman placed in quarantine. While the ruling party and regional officials try to control media coverage and intimidate reporters, the opposition Congress Party also threatens journalists. A website editor was told, ‘You could lose your life for writing such news’, after his site reported a politician for not cooperating in quarantining someone suspected of having coronavirus. 

Hong Kong citizens may be offered UK visas. Boris Johnson has opened the path to what he called one of the ‘biggest changes’ to our visa system, stating he is ready to offer a right to live and work in the UK to any of the nearly three million Hong Kong citizens eligible for a British National Overseas (BNO) passport. The prime minister’s offer would come into play only if China presses ahead with new security laws that strip Hong Kong of its traditional freedoms. Pray for him and Dominic Raab to be wise in all their relations and dealings with China. Pray for peaceful streets in Hong Kong, and for Chinese Christians to be unwavering and protected as they face their government’s current attitude.

130,000 internally displaced Rohingya trapped in detention camps in Myanmar have no future, with little access to land or livelihoods. They depend on foreign aid and die of treatable diseases due to limited healthcare. Shelters, built in 2012 to last two years, have deteriorated. Children only attend basic classes in temporary learning spaces. The authorities are using coronavirus response measures as a pretext to harass the Rohingya, who have told Human Rights Watch (HRW) that military and police forces regularly subject them to harassment and punishment at checkpoints. Police at a checkpoint made a woman do sit-ups for thirty minutes for not wearing a mask; she was then too exhausted to move. People must perform squats at checkpoints with their hands on their ears. HRW said, ‘The reality is dire. Oppressive and systemic restrictions imposed on those remaining in Myanmar may be indicative of ongoing genocide.’

Three women, charged with 'inciting prostitution' for not wearing veils, have been sentenced to 42 years in prison between them. Now, with Covid-19 cases confirmed in prisons across Iran, they are in more danger than ever. Monireh, Yasaman and Mojgan have done nothing wrong; thousands are calling on the head of the judiciary to release them immediately. As an act of peaceful protest, the unveiled women handed out flowers to female passengers on a Tehran metro train. They were filmed sharing their hopes for Iranian women on International Women’s Day. Days after the video went viral on social media, they were charged with sham offences including ‘inciting prostitution’ for promoting unveiling. Prisoners in Iran are at particular risk because they are unable to take the same social distancing and hygiene measures as those outside prison to protect themselves.

More than five years of conflict have left Yemenis hanging on by a thread, their economy in tatters, and their institutions facing near-collapse. The UN chief told a virtual pledging conference they needed to demonstrate solidarity with some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable in Yemen. Pray for UN workers to receive the funding to meet people’s needs in this staggering humanitarian crisis. Across the globe Covid-19 has halted economic activity and threatens social wellbeing. UNESCO says it is now coping with millions in extreme poverty. Pray for the UN to make wise decisions as it addresses the pandemic and mobilises the resources needed for a proactive recovery. In Africa it is addressing the ‘appalling impact’ of Covid-19 on minorities; the virus has a ‘disproportionate impact’ on racial and ethnic minorities, including people of African descent. Pray for human rights to be at the centre of coronavirus response.

Thousands have been killed amid ‘near impunity’ for offenders in the war on illegal drugs since 2016, the UN says. Its report levelled heavy criticism at President Rodrigo Duterte's government. His crackdown has been marked by high-level rhetoric that can be seen as ‘permission to kill’. Official figures show more than 8,000 people killed since he took office: other estimates put the figure three times as high. Most victims are young poor urban males, and police, who do not need search or arrest warrants to conduct house raids, systematically force suspects to make self-incriminating statements or risk facing lethal force. Duterte described the report as ‘a travesty’. Despite the many killings he remains very popular.

Relief and recovery after Cyclone Amphan displaces 3 million in Bangladesh and India

Super Cyclone Amphan, the "strongest storm ever recorded over the Bay of Bengal, hit the border of India and Bangladesh straight like an arrow last Wednesday. Thankfully, Indian and Bangladesh governments had been quick to evacuate some 3 million people to cyclone shelters before the storm made landfall, helping save many lives.

As of May 23rd, the death count was at least 95, around 25 are from Bangladesh and 70 from India. Not discounting the lives that were lost, we are thankful that this super cyclone did not claim hundreds of thousands as is the case with Cyclone Bholo, to which its potential havoc had been compared earlier.

However, despite this win, the cyclone did not depart without first destroying homes, sources of livelihood, and other properties.
 
In Bangladesh and India, around 2 million and 1 million were evacuated, respectively, amidst the challenges of physical distancing and other precautions that needed to be observed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh has 30,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases while India has more than 125,000.

Nevertheless, this tragedy is not yet over. Millions of evacuees are now in make-do communal shelters where physical distancing and hygiene protocols may be compromised. Not to mention, sources of food and provision have been disrupted and damaged.

Agriculture and fishing account for almost half of the jobs in Bangladesh and support more than 70% of the population, according to the Asian Development Bank.

A team from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has conducted a Rapid Needs Assessment. Early findings suggest damage to fisheries especially to smallholder shrimp farmers. Thankfully, most crops had been harvested before the cyclone hit.

Let us pray for the efficient and sufficient deployment of relief for all affected families especially the refugees and most vulnerable among them.

Let us also lift up the UN World Food Program, the Bangladesh and Indian governments, and other humanitarian organizations that are in the position to reach these displaced families with aid.

Protecting Bangladesh

Bangladesh has long known its needs to improve its defences from storm surges like Amphan as these can damage livelihoods in rural areas where more than 80% of its poor live.

In fact, the Bangladesh government started raising funds for its Delta Plan 2100, an eight-decade program that hopes to strengthen its climate resilience, and which had been approved in 2018. Almost a third of Delta's first-phase budget "is earmarked for 23 coastal projects to prevent flooding, including land reclamation and building islands and polders."

However, “The government will have to prioritize the immediate response and recovery effort over longer-term development projects," according to an Asia analyst.

According to Shamsul Alam, the lead author of the Delta Plan, “The coronavirus is one truth we’re facing now and climate change is another,” he said. “We need to handle these two issues in a combined way."

Please pray for the 3 million or more displaced individuals. Many of them are refugees and do not have anyone else they can turn to for help. Pray for hope, healing from trauma, and for God to provide for their every need.

Pray for protection from the spread of the coronavirus. Pray as well for God's intervention for both short- and long-term problems that Bangladesh and India are facing.

Pray for the witness of the Holy Spirit especially to those who are in most need of Him. Pray for opportunities for the gospel to be preached and lives to be touched by God.

Sources:
<https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/19/asia/super-cyclone-amphan-india-banglash-intl-hnk/index.html>

<https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/cyclone-amphan-shows-cost-of-delaying-38-billion-bangladesh-delta-plan/story-SZ40tAZMFvyO33L1vOCwRN.html>

<https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/05/1064832?utm_source=UN+News+-+Newsletter&utm_campaign=933deb7c69-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_23_06_35&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fdbf1af606-933deb7c69-107378854>

Praise God for a successful rescue operation of 360 children, women and men freed from a brick kiln. They had been made to work under debt bondage for the last six months and faced extreme violence when they asked to leave during the COVID-19 pandemic. IJM and its partner supported local officials in the operation to get them finally to safety. This is the third time in five years that authorities have rescued people from this same brick kiln, but in the past the owner has always been released on bail.

Until now, Hong Kong has enjoyed freedoms not allowed on mainland China. On 28 May, Beijing announced it will press on with a national security legislation on Hong Kong’s autonomy that overrides the ‘one-country-two-systems’ principle granted to Hong Kong in 1984. The bill will now pass to China's senior leadership. It could end Hong Kong's unique status and see China installing its own security agencies in the region for the first time. Thousands of protesters have been demonstrating against the bill and China’s new national anthem wording. Chris Patten, the last governor of the former British colony,says that China has betrayed the people of Hong Kong and the UK has a moral, economic and legal duty to stand up for them. Hundreds are in custody for unauthorised assembly. Chinese media reported police using tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannon. Washington has called the laws a ‘death knell’ for the city’s autonomy. See