Belarus (MNN) — Belarus ordered a security crackdown after
at least 12 people died and more than 200 were wounded in a subway rush hour bombing
Monday night.
Joel Griffith with Slavic Gospel Association says, "The
Belarusian government says that the bomb was apparently radio-controlled.
Police had created some composite pictures of two male suspects using testimony
from witnesses."
The attack struck at Oktyabrskaya station–one of Misnk's
busiest metro stations–at one of the
busiest times of the day. Because of the
obvious intent to harm, authorities
classified as the first terrorist attack since President Aleksandra Lukashenko
came to power in 1994. Griffith says,
"No claim of responsibility yet for this explosion. The President told other officials that he thought foreign
forces were behind the explosion."
Griffith goes on to say, "SGA has a regional ministry center
there. We're just praising the Lord because from what we're able to see, none
of our staff or other Christians there were hurt."
Word
from their partners at the Baptist Union office indicated that it was a
close call, though. "There was a group of believers there from a
church in Belarus who had just used that train 10 minutes before the
explosion." In addition, personnel had planned a rehearsal that
evening at an area church which would have put several members on that train at
the time of the explosion. For whatever
reason, the rehearsal was cancelled. "It just seems obvious that the Lord
really intervened and protected His people during this event."
If the investigation reveals a true terrorist plot, there are
more serious concerns about future safety. On the one hand, it's too early to say if this is the harbinger of
things to come. On the other, "One of the concerns people in the West have
right now is: ‘What will be the reaction of the government to this particular
incident?'"
President Lukashenko already has a firm grip on his government. A security crackdown could be very hard on
those who seem like they're a little different, like political rivals…or even ministries. Griffith says they've seen that before. "It just seems that when governments begin to
crack down on unrest, sometimes the churches are affected by it."
As the investigation unfolds, Griffith urges believers to "keep
that situation in prayer, that the perpetrators of this certainly would be
brought to justice." Pray also that "there wouldn't be a negative impact on the proclamation of the Gospel"in Belarus.
