Thousands face Christmas as refugees in Orissa: Release International

Up to 20,000 Indian Christians face Christmas as refugees – two years after a wave of attacks by militant Hindus in the state of Orissa, a Christian persecution watchdog reported this week.

Release International warns that many displaced by the worst sectarian rioting in India are still unable to return to their villages for fear of death or forcible conversion to Hinduism.

"Many who were witnesses to the riots face threats and intimidation by mobs gathered outside courtrooms. Up to 75 people were killed in the ultra-nationalist riots and 50,000 were driven from their homes, yet two years on, hundreds of cases have yet to be dealt with effectively by the judicial system," a press statement said.

Release International, which is part of the Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP), is calling for the Indian government to do all in its power to bring about justice, and for churches around the world to remember at Christmas the Indian Christians who were victims of the riots.

Andy Dipper, CEO of Release International, which serves persecuted Christians worldwide, says: "Please pray for Christians in India this Christmas, especially those in Orissa who still face the high risk of attack and marginalization from the Hindu fundamentalists."

According to a statement by the Religious Liberty Partnership, "a large proportion of victims have been unable to return to their villages for fear of death or forcible conversion to Hinduism."

"Victims are continuing to receive threats from the perpetrators of violence. Witnesses are facing intimidation by mobs outside courtrooms, and there is widespread fear. Hundreds of cases have not been registered properly by the police, and therefore will not be subject to investigations or prosecutions."

Release partner John Dayal, Secretary General of the All India Christian Council, described the lack of legal progress as a 'monstrous miscarriage of justice'.

"It has been impossible for victims to be heard. Police investigations have failed miserably, and the courts are taking no steps to protect witnesses or ensure their safety," he said.

Witnesses and victims are so terrified of reprisals that AICC lawyers have had to resort to meeting them in secret in the forests and the few villages where they have been able to return home.

But many who were persuaded to testify were so intimidated by hostile mobs surrounding the courts that they have backed down or changed their testimony. "Clearly the guilty have benefited," says Dayal.

Displacement has also taken its toll on Orissa's children. Many are fearful of attending school, and others have failed their exams because of the severe disruption caused by the riots and displacement.

Rioting broke out in the Kandhamal district of Orissa in December 2007, when Christians were targeted and their property destroyed. In August 2008, violence erupted again after Maoist guerillas killed a prominent right-wing Hindu leader, Swami Laxmananda Saraswati, and four of his followers.

The Religious Liberty Partnership is calling on Christians worldwide to pray for India's Christians this Christmas – especially the thousands displaced in Orissa, who have been unable to return to their homes.