Photo via muzatravel.com

American missionary deported from Kyrgyzstan

On Monday, June 29th, an American missionary, Paul Billings, was informed by the State Committee on National Security that he was being deported from the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, reports Dan Wooding, founder of ASSIST Ministries.

A family member close to the situation wrote, “He was given one week to leave the country even though there have been no known infractions of the law on his part and no warnings given to him.

“In fact, up until that time he had been reassured by the governmental Ministry of Religion that, as a foreign missionary doing religious work in the country, there had been no complaints made against him. No reason for his deportation was given by the security services, only a piece of paper explaining the need for him to leave the country as well as an illegal change made to his one year visa status so as to end on July 6th.”

A Kyrgyz consulate officer has confirmed that the actions taken against Paul Billings pertaining to his visa were "illegal."

Seeking to find an explanation for this deportation, various meetings with government officials were scheduled only to be canceled or unattended by those officials.

The latest on this breaking story is that Paul Billings departed Kyrgyzstan this morning (Friday, July 3, 2009) before a no-entry stamp could be placed in his passport. His children and wife, who is pregnant with twins, have remained behind in hopes that these unjust matters will be worked out.

The church in Bishkek has been fasting and praying for Paul Billings and his situation. The prayers of the saints around the world are coveted during this time concerning this deportation process, for those men who have been involved in this decision, for the church in Kyrgyzstan, and that this decision would somehow be reversed.

Religious freedom has been declining throughout Central Asia. Missionaries are currently being deported; local pastors are being fined and imprisoned.

Forum 18, a non-governmental organization monitoring religious freedom in the region writes, “It is sadly impossible to avoid the conclusion that many states in Central Asia deliberately pursue a policy which violates international religious freedom standards.”

Other articles on the Forum 18 new site reveal that many other missionaries have recently been deported and it is disconcerting to see the direction that the government in Kyrgyzstan is heading, being the most democratic nation in the region.

Paul Billings and his wife Melanie have been serving as missionaries in Kyrgyzstan for almost four years. They have both been granted religious permission by the Ministry of Religion in Kyrgyzstan and have been very open with the government since the beginning of their service there.

During these past few years a church in Bishkek was founded and has grown to about 200 members. It was officially registered before the new law on religion was enacted earlier this year. In fact, it was the last church permitted to be registered under the old law. Since then no other churches have been granted registration, their paperwork being rejected upon submission.

A friend of Billings told ANS, “With presidential elections taking place later this month one would think that President Bakiev would not want a lot of negative press regarding the suppression of human rights in his country.”

A missionary who prefers to remain anonymous told us, “Everyone knows how corrupt things are in Kyrgyzstan and it seems that this is boiling down to an issue of one man abusing his power in order to achieve personal gain. However, it is unknown who is behind him and why no one can do anything to secure justice.”

Another family member writes, “Our only hope is in the Lord, but it is also our desire that the policies of the United States and the actions of the U.S. embassy in Bishkek will continue to place these human and religious rights at the forefront of its endeavors in the region.”

With the recent renegotiation of the U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan it is unknown how much the U.S. embassy will want to pressure the Kyrgyz government on matters of human and religious rights.

“They tried to do that in Uzbekistan after the Andijan uprising in which hundreds, if not thousands, of people were killed. The result was that Uzbekistan forced the removal of the airbase from their country, as well as most of the missionaries and non-governmental organizations,” writes the same family member.

Paul and Melanie Billings and the mission in Kyrgyzstan are not only working in the sphere of religion in Kyrgyzstan, but have been involved in many humanitarian projects as well.

A friend told ANS, “They have repaired an entire wing in the main cancer hospital in Bishkek; they have helped children who have not finished school to get their documents in order and return to complete their studies; they work with local social organizations which provide assistance to orphanages, homeless, and unemployed people; we are currently collecting a container of used medical equipment in the States in order to ship it to Kyrgyzstan and distribute it at local hospitals.

“These and many other projects are all being compromised because of this issue which in fact may be based upon the actions of only one individual.”

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TAGS: USA Kyrgyzstan. American missionary deported persecution religious work

[07/07/2009]

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