Photo courtesy of GFA

Violence in the state of Manipur halts evangelistic film teams

A strike has halted the work of the evangelistic film teams with Gospel for Asia in Manipur, India as students protest what they say is unnecessary violence by police, reports MNN.

Violence in Manipur has been escalating since July, when two people were killed by the police. The police claim to be responding to potential terrorist threats, but the students aren't satisfied. On December 9, they organized a bandh, which is an illegal strike.

The bandh includes a ban on all entertainment, festivals, and the showing of movies. The students will enforce it with violence. The film showings run by GFA teams have faced disruption from related violence since August, but now they must stop entirely. The bandh causes other difficulties, as well, shutting down schools, stores, and public transportation.

The state of Manipur has been rocked by ethnic conflict between two tribes since the 1990s.

Pray for resolution for this situation, so the residents of Manipur can live in peace and have the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

"Life in Manipur is like a lottery," said one person who was interviewed for a local news outlet. "You are alive because you are lucky."

Many in Manipur have come to know the Lord through Baptist missionaries over the last several decades, and today 34 percent of the people are Christians. Pray that a resolution to this situation will bring peace and security to the region, and allow many to hear and respond to the Gospel. Pray that the showing of films would be allowed to resume, and that trials would cause people to seek the true God.

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TAGS: India persecution evangelistic film Gospel for Asia terrorist threats Baptist missionaries

[12/22/2009]

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