Lao Officials Destroy Rice Paddies, Expel More Christians
Our friends at Compass Direct are reporting on the persecution of Lao's Christians over the weekend, as officials and some residents of a Katin village destroyed rice paddies farmed by 11 Christian families who used to live in the village. This happened after seven other families were expelled from the community before Christmas.
Residents drained water from the rice paddies, burned fencing that protected the crop from animals and stamped on new seedlings to ensure the rice would not grow, advocacy group Human Rights Watch for Lao Religious Freedom (HRWLRF) reported.
“All 11 families were doing off-season farming on their old rice paddies on communally-owned village land,” a spokesman from HRWLRF told Compass. “If they don’t farm, they will most likely lose the right to work on their land. Also, they need the rice to sustain themselves.”
The fields were destroyed just a few days after the Katin village chief and other village authorities armed with guns entered the homes of another seven Christian families, totaling 15 people, and ordered them to give up their faith.
When they refused, officials marched them out of the village and warned them not to return.