Baluchi minority suffers in Iran and Pakistan

According to political observers and human rights groups, Baluchis in southeastern Iran and southwestern Pakistan continue to suffer from discrimination and lack of access to the benefits of citizenship, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported Thursday.

Baluchis comprise about two percent of Iran’s population with two million people concentrated in Sistan-Baluchistan Province.

Drewery Dyke, Middle East researcher for Amnesty International in London, said Sistan-Baluchistan is “certainly one of the poorest and most deprived provinces in the country. And it has suffered droughts and extreme weather conditions. And certainly – with respect to the situation of women and schooling for girls – there are shortcomings that the state really needs to address.”

Amnesty International reports that suspected Baluchi militants may have been subjected to torture in order to produce forced confessions. Furthermore, Iranian authorities have put special judicial procedures into affect, and there has been an increase in the number of Baluchis targeted. Amnesty International is concerned, however, that enhanced attention to Iran’s nuclear program will push human rights issues off the agenda.

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Mennonite church slated for official recognition in Viet Nam

The Vietnam Mennonite Church will be granted a “Certificate for Religious Activities” in early October 2007, Ekklesia.co.uk reported today. The move comes after church president Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung first began pursuing recognition two decades ago.

According to the terms of the certification, the Mennonite Church will now be able to function throughout the country and organize a national conference within the year. Additionally, if the entire process of holding a conference, and if a constitution and statement of faith are adopted, and officers elected, the church may be granted legal status. With this status, the church will be able to purchase property, open an official training school, and publish materials.

The recognition, however, does not cover all Mennonite churches in Viet Nam. The certificate only recognizes churches associated with Pastor Trung, who has a relationship with about 80 congregations with 5,000 members. The Mennonite church in Viet Nam split in 2004 after some religious leaders were arrested, and, more recently, some congregations have considered themselves independent of either group.

Although authorities have made registration easier in the past year, some rural ethnic minority churches continue to be harassed.

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