Christian institutes to remain closed to protest church attacks

New Delhi: All Christian educational institutes across the country will remain closed on 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 (CBCI) 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 (AICC) 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," AICC 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.