NEW DELHI, India, DEC. 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Earlier this month a report was published on the wave of anti-Christian violence that swept through the state of Orissa in 2008.
The report was the result of public hearings organized by the National People’s Tribunal. They were held in New Delhi for three days last August, which was the third anniversary of the violence. Evidence was taken from 45 survivors of the attacks, along with 15 statements by experts.
During the attacks many churches were destroyed and a large number of women and girls were victims of sexual violence. The attacks led to 50,000 refugees fleeing from their homes, 10,000 of whom are still displaced.
The report said the acts committed amount to a crime against humanity as defined by international law. It strongly criticized the police, the judiciary and the state authorities for their failure to defend Christians and in some cases their collusion with the extremist groups responsible for the violence.
As recent events have shown Christians continue to be in peril. On Dec. 16 Asia News reported that Rabindra Parichaa, a well-known Christian activist in Kandhamal region of Orissa, was found dead under mysterious circumstances. He is the third Christian leader killed this year, the report noted.
Earlier this year two other Christian activists, Saul Pradhan and Michael Nayak were killed in the same area. According to Asia News, local authorities, in cooperation with Hindu radicals, portrayed the deaths as accidents, an explanation disproved once the cases reached court.
