EU delegation visits persecuted Christians of Orissa

(February 4, 2010) Representatives from the European Union were met by ultranationalist Hindu protesters from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) as they began their visit to the State of Orissa, scene of anti-Christian violence at Christmas in 2008 and the summer of 2009. The European delegation is in India to take stock of the situation in that state but their presence has caused resentment among Hindu extremists who made sure to tell the diplomats to “go back” home. Heavy police presence kept protesters far from the delegates, who are from Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Britain, Finland and Sweden. On Thursday they will meet officials from the state of Orissa and the local police. Then they will travel to Kandhamal, and then fly back to the Indian capital on Friday, the report said. The protest comes after VHP national leaders expressed their opposition to the visit, going so far as to call on the government of Orissa to ban it. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar said that vested interests are not interested in the truth. They are afraid that the truth might come out and that the EU might want to address this problem of anti-Christian persecution in Orissa. In fact, the situation in Kandhamal is still difficult, the prelate said. “Many Christians are still forced to live on the outskirts of villages, not allowed to live in them. Many are also afraid of being forcibly converted to Hinduism because in some places being Hindu is a prerequisite to live in the villages,” the archbishop explained. “Our people continue to live in a precarious situation, in fear. Intimidation by the majority community continues, even if it has lessened somewhat,” Bishop Cheenath said. At present, some of those involved in the violence are on trial, but the real criminals, the perpetrators of communal violence, are still at large” he added