Christian institutes across the country to close on Friday

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) All Christian educational
institutes across the country will remain closed Friday to
"peacefully protest" the violence against churches and
Christian institutions in Orissa where surge in violent
activities has claimed 10 lives so far, a prominent Church
body has said.

"As a mark of solidarity with the innocent people in
Orissa who have been targeted, all Christian-run schools and
colleges in the country would be closed on Friday," Father
Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops Conference
of India (C.B.C.I.) said.

CBCI office bearers are meeting the Prime Minister later
today to apprise him of the situation in Orissa and demand
immediate relief for the victims.

"We will ask the Prime Minister for payment of immediate
relief to victims and their rehabilitation. We will also seek
for corrective actions so that no more churches or schools are
targeted in the state," Joseph said.

Meanwhile, the All India Christian Council (A.I.C.C.) has
accused the Orissa government for the communal flare up and
said that law was being openly flouted in the state.
"Governance in Orissa state appears to have disintegrated.
Some people have called the violence 'Hindu-Christian clashes'
but this is not accurate. Innocent Christians, mostly of Dalit
origin continue to be attacked by communal organisations which
are mocking the rule of law," A.I.C.C. President Joseph
D'souza said.

"What is at stake is not only the freedom of conscience
of a minority community but the country's secular democracy,
its commitment to human rights and constitutional guarantees,"
he said.