Under pressure

The effort to make peace between North and South Korea is coming at a price for defectors, human rights groups, and missionary organizations based in South Korea.

Defector-led rights groups are finding it harder to raise money since the South Korean government cut funding, according to Reuters. Last month, South Korean President Moon Jae-In’s administration ordered missionary and defector groups halt balloon launches of materials to North Koreans, according to Mission Network News (MNN). Rice bottle launches are still allowed, since they serve a humanitarian purpose.

“We’ve faced restrictions in the past on balloon launching that were temporary and for a time, but it’s pretty clear that this time these restrictions are different. The government has issued a comprehensive ban on balloon launching,” Eric Foley of Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) told MNN.

Foley only began speaking to members of the media after South Korean press asserted that VOM was “anti-North Korea, anti-peace.”

“We felt it was necessary for us to speak up, to clarify, that nothing we do is illegal,” Foley told The Korea Times. He said VOM has launched balloons—including Bibles deemed legal by the North Korean Constitution—in accordance with the laws of both North and South Korea for 17 years.

In April, Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to “cease all hostile acts against each other” as part of the Panmunjeom Declaration—leaflet launches and loudspeaker broadcasts included.

But even before that agreement, many groups in South Korea were struggling to continue their work. The government closed one foundation’s office entirely. It also cut funding for the Association of North Korean Defectors after funding it for 20 years. The International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) and Citizen’s Alliance for North Korean Human Rights also reported difficulties obtaining grants and raising funds.

“There have been no direct restrictions or notices by the government, as far as I know,” Kwon Eun-Kyoung, secretary-general of ICNK, told Reuters. “But I feel that there is definitely ambivalence among some working level government officials and even the press, who don’t proactively talk about North Korean human rights.”

Kim Tae-hee of the Coalition for North Korean Refugees agreed: “As South and North Korea have promoted this ‘mood for peace,’ the defectors and North Korean human rights activist groups feel excluded.”

International Christian Concern regional manager Gina Koh said she’s heard many similar complaints in recent months and senses that defector groups feel disheartened. At a recent event for North Korean freedom held in the United States, Koh heard from Kim Seong Min, the founder of Free North Korea Radio. Kim described the current atmosphere in South Korea as “suffocating” for defectors.

But that doesn’t mean groups are giving up or giving in to the Moon administration’s pressure. Although police blocked a planned balloon launch in May, North Korean democracy activist Park Sang-hak and others secretly launched balloons some days earlier.

Foley said VOM will not stop trying to send the gospel message to North Koreans, but he knows there may be a cost.

“Our job is to do what the Lord calls us to do and accept the consequences,” Foley said. “And that’s the situation that we’re in here now, [and] we’re going to continue to do what the Lord calls us to do.”

Casualties rise in Nigerian herdsmen killings

The death toll from a herdsmen attack last month targeting a majority Christian region in Nigeria’s Plateau state now stands at more than 200 people, according to Christian leaders in the region.

The June attack targeted multiple villages in the local government area of Barkin Ladi and in at least three other areas of the state. State officials initially placed the death toll at 86 people. But in a statement released last Friday, the Rev. Soja Bewarang, state chairman of the Church Denominational Heads and the Christian Association of Nigeria, placed the death toll at 238 people. He condemned the killings as genocide.

Communal clashes between the herders and farmers have persisted across central Nigeria as changing climate conditions drive more herders across the country.

The Rev. Chidi Okoroafor, head of the Assemblies of God church in Nigeria, told Morning Star News that the attackers burned down an Assemblies of God church worship auditorium in Barkin Ladi and killed the head pastor, Musa Choji, along with his wife and son.

The government condemned the attack and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari approved more than $27 million to assist the affected communities. Bewarang welcomed the government’s efforts to commiserate with the affected but called on authorities “to fish out the perpetrators of these attacks and make them pay for their crimes against humanity.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide in a statement said herdsmen across central Nigeria have killed at least 1,061 people in the first quarter of 2018.

Christian Association of Nigeria president Samson Ayokunle in a statement called on Buhari to replace security officials, noting it is “ridiculous” that the government has failed to arrest the majority of the perpetrators. “We are approaching a state of anarchy faster than we can imagine,” Ayokunle said. —Onize Ohikere

Australia tackles foreign interference

The Australian Parliament last week passed two bills to ban foreign interference in the country’s politics and criminalize espionage for a foreign nation.

The new law requires lobbyists for foreign governments to sign up with public registers in a bid for more transparency. The second bill expanded existing espionage offenses and introduced 38 new crimes, including stealing trade secrets for a foreign government, which carries a 15-year sentence. Any attempt to influence Australia’s governmental process with activities like rallies without first declaring links to a foreign government could carry between 10 and 20 years in jail.

The approved bills included revisions after the initial proposed legislation in December penalized aid workers, journalists, and religious workers. It now exempts charities that accept foreign funding and offers legal protection to journalists reporting leaked national security information.

Australian Attorney General Christian Porter pushed for the law to pass before a special election last Thursday in a bid to block foreign agents from increasing interference in democratic processes. Last year, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull cited “disturbing reports about Chinese influence” from security services as motivation to pass the laws. China has repeatedly denied influencing Australian politics. —O.O

Activists mark anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China

Democracy activists marked the 21st anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China with a record-low number of protesters and a strong security presence.

Protest organizers said 50,000 people attended the annual march, which was one of the lowest figures since the protests began in 2003. Police officials said 9,800 people were in attendance at the peak of the activities.

In 1997, Britian returned soverienty of Hong Kong to China after it had been a British colony for more than a century. China accepted Hong Kong under a “one country, two systems” policy that promised some autonomy. But pro-democracy activists continue to protest China’s infringement on the region’s rights. Over the past year, Hong Kong has cracked down and blocked several pro-democracy activists and politicians.

Police also stopped about 20 protestors from approaching an official flag-raising ceremony with the China-backed Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam. Protesters carried a coffin to signify the death of democracy, while chanting for universal suffrage and demanding the release of Liu Xia, widow of Nobel Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. —O.O

Sudan sentence overturned

An appeals court in Sudan overturned the death sentence and imposed a lesser punishment on a teenager convicted of murdering her husband, who she accused of rape.

A Sudanese Sharia court in May found 19-year-old Noura Hussein guilty of premeditated murder after she stabbed her husband. Her lawyers argued Hussein’s parents forced her into the marriage three years ago. Hussein said her husband raped her as his relatives held her down. She stabbed him the second time he attempted to rape her.

The court of appeal rejected the death penalty and dished out a new five-year sentence for manslaughter, along with a $20 fine. The initial sentence sparked outrage and drew more than a million signatories under the hashtag #JusticeForNoura.

EqualityNow, a nonprofit organization working with Hussein’s legal team, welcomed the victory but said “a five-year sentence for defending herself against rape is not acceptable,” adding, “We are looking at next steps to support her.” —O.O