Thursday 9 August 2012

Boko Haram: CAN President writes Clinton

The President of
the Christian Association of
Nigeria, CAN, Pastor Ayo
Oristejiafor, has written a
letter to the visiting American
Secretary of State, Hillary
Rodham Clinton, expressing
CAN’s reservation on the
manner the issues of Boko
Haram and related violence
by Islamist groups against
Nigerian Christians are
being treated by the United
States.
The Letter dated July 7, 2012
which was signed on behalf
of Oristejiafor by Secretary
General of CAN, Rev. Musa
Asake also described as
inaccurate the 2011
International Religious
Freedom report which
catalogued the attacks on
Christians and their places of
worship by the Islamic sect.
According to CAN president,
“Much to our dismay, the
information contained in our
memorandum to the
presidential panel on Post-
Election Violence was not
included in the 2011 State
Department International
Religious Freedom Report.
Our memo presented
widespread incidents of
violence targeting Christians
in 12 northern states in April
last year during the
reporting period of the 2011
report.
“Unfortunately the
destruction of over 700
churches and the systematic
massacres of hundreds of
Christians in 48 hours – the
largest single attack on
Christendom in
contemporary world history
anywhere on the planet-
were not included in your
report. Even more surprising,
the report failed to accurately
describe the horrific
Christmas Day multi-city
church attacks.
“These coordinated attacks
on three states, comprising
Niger, Plateau and Yobe,
claimed over 60 lives and, for
a second consecutive year,
stunned the world. The
report merely mentions the
Christmas Day church
bombing of St. Theresa’s
Catholic church in Madalla,
then fails to communicate
the scope and significance of
the Christmas Day attacks.
“The pernicious persecution,
denigration and
dehumanisation of Christians
in northern Nigeria especially
has been a fact of life for
over a quarter century. It is
therefore disconcerting that
the US report addresses it in
a speculative tone that
undermines the harsh reality
of the masses of orphans
and widows left behind.”

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