A South African, conservative Christian political party leader, Rev. Theunis Botha, condemned Archbishop Desmond Tutu's statements last week in favour of assisted suicide, ‘To his support for abortion and same-sex-marriage Bishop Tutu now adds euthanasia (suicide) on the list of things he supports that are totally contrary to the Word of God.’ In an article published last Saturday Tutu cited an example of when assisted suicide should be permissible and said that the case demonstrates that South Africa's laws need to be changed. Desmond Tutu’s endorsement of euthanasia was reported in the British media just days before Britain’s House of Lords debate a controversial Assisted Dying Bill. The proposed new British law would enable doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients who have stated a clearly expressed intention to end their lives. (See also the British Isles Section - item 1 and the Europe Section - item 1)
Despite objections by Syria’s government, the United Nations Security Council voted 15 to 0 on Monday to authorize cross-border convoys of emergency aid for millions of deprived Syrian civilians in rebel-held areas, without prior approval by the Syrian authorities. This strengthens provisions adopted five months ago and signified a rare unanimity among the Security Council members over how to deal with the 4-year civil war in Syria. 10.8 million people need assistance because of the war, and roughly half of them live in rebel-held areas.Up to now the government of President Bashar al-Assad has insisted that all international aid be channelled through Damascus and very little, if any, had been getting to civilians in areas not controlled by the government. His political opponents believe the injustice and unfairness of aid distribution was part of an effort to use the assistance, including medicine, as a weapon of war to sicken and starve rebel-held areas into submission.
Mexico: Children at risk – a humanitarian crisis
17 Jul 2014Unaccompanied children migrants jump onto trains in Mexico to cross the border - as many as 90,000 may have entered the US from Central America this year alone. This week Aljazeera reported that 458 children, including infants, were found living in a rat- and flea-infested refuge in Mexico when police and army troops raided a home known as ‘The Big Family’. Attorney general Jesus Murillo said, ‘There were around 500 children in truly terrible conditions.’ Fox news reported on Wednesday that Dozens of Central Americans who paid $1.50 a head were seen crossing the Suchiate River on inner tubes and wooden boards, in full view of Mexican police and immigration agents. See: and
Pope Francis called for urgent action to protect and care for the tens of thousands of unaccompanied children migrating from Central America and Mexico to the United States. In a letter read by the Vatican envoy to Mexico and heard by foreign ministers of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the pope said a humanitarian emergency demands urgent measures for minors to be protected and duly taken in. Migrants cross into the United States under extreme conditions in pursuit of a hope that in most cases turns out to be vain. US authorities have detained 57,000 unaccompanied minors since October. Mexican authorities have picked up 8,000 child migrants in the first five months of this year - over half of whom were travelling alone. The pontiff called for policies to inform the public of the dangers of the trip north and to promote development of the migrants' countries of origin. (See also item 4 below)
Libya: Government and army call for calm
17 Jul 2014Two years after a revolt that ousted and killed Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, Libya’s weak government is struggling to control its borders, stop the smuggling of weapons and manage regional militias that have refused to disarm. The turmoil temperature rose higher this week as:- the Libya UN Support Mission evacuated all staff citing security concerns; the Ministry of Interior asked residents to stay away from clashes taking place around Tripoli International Airport and on the roads; the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tunis, which processes Libyan applications for Umrah and other visas will close at the end of this week. (the embassy in Tripoli is closed); the Aman Bank in Tripoli closed on Monday because of clashes. Also it is becoming increasingly clear that Christianity is no more welcome in Libya after the Arab Spring than under the rule of Gaddafi . Many Christians have left in the face of violent attacks and the growing strength of both political and militant Islamism.
A Middle East analyst suggests that Hamas’s military wing calculates that world opinion and mounting Israeli frustration will ultimately work to their advantage. Even though Hamas underestimated the resilience of the Israel home front, military capabilities and intelligence they are determined to see their mission through. Hamas forces are still standing and they are still standing by demands they issued on the second day of conflict, with no signs of flexibility. Historically Hamas is a socio-political organization with an associated paramilitary force, its roots are in the Muslim Brotherhood which has been active in the Gaza strip since 1950’s.The name Hamas is an acronym of Harakat al-Muqāwama al-Islāmiyya meaning ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’
After the Associated Press published an article, based on a China Aid press release, reporting the harsh 12-year prison term given to Pastor Zhang Shaojie of China’s central Henan, authorities in Nanle County released two other Nanle County Christian Church members, Zhao Guoli and Wu Guishan, on Saturday, 5 July. Both men had been held in an undisclosed location since their arrest on 15 November, 2013. Their release came days after the Nanle County People’s Court handed down a ten-year prison term for the church’s pastor for a fabricated fraud charge and a two-year sentence for 'gathering a crowd to disrupt public order.' The pastor was also given a fine of 100,000 yuan (US $16,100) (see http://www.chinaaid.org/2014/07/court-sentences-three-self-pastor-to-12.html). Zhao, 38, and Wu, 43 had been detained as they travelled to Beijing to petition authorities there for a better outcome to a land dispute between the church and local authorities.
The United Nations put a damper on ‘gay pride’ festivities last Thursday when it re-affirmed that the natural family is the fundamental unit of society. The Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on 'Protection of the Family' with a traditional definition of the family last Thursday, even as revellers readied themselves to celebrate gay pride weekend. It recognises the importance of the family for society and individuals, and that countries must strengthen and protect the family. The resolution not only echoes language from the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights about the family as the 'natural and fundamental unit of society,' it also states that the family is the 'natural environment' for the education and development of children. The resolution passed by a comfortable margin, with 26 votes for, 14 against, and 6 abstentions. It was greeted by thunderous applause.