Story number 1 for 28 Nov 2001

(Nepal)–In our top story, Nepal’s government has declared a state of emergency and deployed the army to counter a Maoist insurrection. This is the first state of emergency to be imposed since 1960, and follows a bloody weekend of fighting. International Needs Network’s Dave Culross says at this point, Christians in the area are keeping a low profile. “There has been an increasing persecution of Christians outside the major population centers of Katmandu and so forth. Keep in mind that it’s only been since 1990, that there has been any form of freedom officially, in Nepal. There’s been evangelism going on since the ’50’s, but many non-Nepali Christians were in the country under some other umbrella.” Culross says because Christianity flies in the face of the monarchy, it’s a difficult time for believers. “First of all, pray for the Christian leaders, that they would be protected from harm. Pray for them that they would have wisdom in knowing how to deal with the situation. Then, pray that God would rule and overrule in the political outcome.”