US Christians urge Bush administration to stop N–trade with India

A Christian organisation in the US urged the Bush administration to surcease the Indo–US nuclear agreement signed earlier this month, unless violence in Orissa is checked.

President of the Christian Freedom International Jim Jacobson, demanded immediate action by the House of Representatives to pass Concurrent 'Resolution HR–434' that condemns the violence on Christians and calls on the government to take necessary steps to render protection to minorities.

"The violence has caused thousands of Christians to flee for their lives into the nearby forests or refugee camps and to make matters worse, the local government has done nothing to intervene in the crisis," Jacobson alleged.

The radicals in the state are vehemently attacking Christian homes and churches, viciously beating, or even murdering Christian pastors, he charged.

Insisting that chairman Berman of the House of Foreign Relations Committee bring the resolution to the floor of House, Jacobson said, "I call on the chairman Berman and Secretary Condoleezza Rice to act quickly into the matter."

The US Congress introduced HR 434 Resolution recently condemning religious violence in India and urging the government to stop the killing of innocent people, raping of nuns and destruction of churches by Hindu extremist groups in Orissa, Karnataka and other states.

The resolution also criticised the implementation of anti–conversion laws passed for restricting one’s freedom to change his/her religious faith. It noted that the Indian Constitution follows a democratic pattern and hence must protect the fundamental rights of the people.