ERITREA, AFRICA – Eritrean and Ethiopian friends of Eastern Mennonite Missions recently reported that the Eritrean government has now demanded the surrender of all the property and physical assets of the Kale Hiwot Church in that country.

The order targets possessions of the Protestant church's relief department, which has functioned as a legally recognized non-governmental organization (NGO) for more than 20 years. The government has been closing down NGO operations in Eritrea steadily for the past two years. This sweeping property confiscation includes all church buildings, schools, vehicles, and other assets. The raid closed down several humanitarian aid projects operated by the church, which oversees an orphanage and kindergartens throughout the country.

Local Protestant Christians said, "This is the final act of banning this church." They believe that the pervasive government crackdown launched against evangelical churches over the past four years is being carried out in three deliberate steps.

The first step was to arrest pastors and key church leaders, leaving more than 30 of them jailed indefinitely, without any legal charges filed against them. Then authorities raided and sealed church buildings. Finally, the government is permanently confiscating all property and assets of the outlawed churches.

Since May 2002, the Eritrean government has banned all independent religious groups not under the umbrella of the Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, or Muslim faiths. Dozens of independent Protestant churches have been denied legal registration and outlawed. Everyone caught worshipping outside these government-sanctioned institutions – even in small handfuls in private homes – is arrested, tortured, or subjected to severe pressures to deny their religious beliefs.

Even leaders of the four historically recognized groups are experiencing harsh government restrictions. Ignoring church canons, local lay authorities removed the ordained patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church from his ecclesiastical position in August 2005. Patriarch Abune Antonios has been held under house arrest ever since. There are at least 1,918 Eritrean citizens jailed solely for their religious beliefs, without any access to judicial process.

There are also recent reports of the hospitalization of Helen Berhane, a well-known gospel singer who has been jailed for the last two years. The 31-year-old singer, who is said to be gravely ill, was arrested shortly after she released an album of popular gospel music.

Berhane is reported to have been held for extensive periods of time in shipping containers and underground cells at the Mai-Serwa military camp. She has repeatedly refused to sign a paper recanting her faith, and has refused to promise not to participate in church-related activities.

An EMM staff member who recently returned from a trip to East Africa said, “This is very sad and troubling news. Two years ago I visited the offices and orphanage which have now been closed. I prayed with the Eritrean believers there. Let us continue praying for the Eritrean church at this very difficult time. They continue asking us to pray, not first and foremost that the persecution will cease, but that they will be faithful no matter what they are asked to face.”

EMM’s representative to Africa also urged Christians to pray for peace in the Horn of Africa. Please pray that Christians will have the grace and wisdom they need to be God’s agents of reconciliation and peace in these troubled times.

-Jewel Showalter

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