June (Web-only) 2000

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As attacks on Christian targets in several parts of India assume epidemic proportions, church leaders have complained of efforts to"whitewash" anti-Christian violence as simply a problem of"law and order."India's Christians are shocked and anxious not only over violence directed against them and against church buildings, but also by the frequent support given by politicians to perpetrators of the violence.In one of the latest incidents, an explosion-on May 21 at the concluding ceremony of a four-day convention organized by the Gospel Churches Association of India at Machlipatnam in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh-injured more than a dozen people.Even before conducting an investigation into the explosion, a senior police official ruled out the"hand of outsiders" in the incident, and claimed it was the result of divisions among Christians."The preliminary investigations so far indicated that it does not look like any outsider doing it. It looks to be more of a faction feud among the local Christians," H J Dora, director-general of Andhra Pradesh police told reporters on May 22.However, A. Vijaykumar, president of the Baptist Churches Association of India rejected the police claims. He said the incident was"part of a trend against the Christian community" also visible in other parts of the country."This is a matter of grave concern for us. This is first time that such a thing has taken place in Andhra Pradesh," he told the South Asian Religious News service. (ENI was unable to contact Vijaykumar.)The All India Christian Council (AICC) said in a statement on May 29:"The bomb blast in Machhilipatnam was the handiwork of communal elements, and not the result of an internal strife in the community as the police had said." ...