CHRISTIANS ACCUSED IN AID MISUSE SCAM
Dr. Jai Maharaj
USAID funds are used for conversion programs
By Dr. Hari Bansh Jha, Nepal
Hinduism Today International, January, 1999
via News Plus
http://www.mantra.com/newsplus
The International Organization Adventist Development
Relief Agency (ADRA/Nepal) has generated controversy by
proselytizing in Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. ADRA is the
humanitarian aid branch of the Seventh Day Adventist
Church, an international organization. It has ten million
members and is worth an estimated $15.6 billion. With
5,400 schools, the church has the largest Christian
school system after the Roman Catholics. Critics charge
that it has been violating the terms and conditions for
operating in Nepal by carrying out illegal conversion
activities.
ADRA was the subject of a lengthy two-part critical
report in the August 13 and 14, 1998, issues of the Los
Angeles Times, one of the world's largest and most
prestigious newspapers. In just the last two years, write
investigators Eric Lictblau and Tom Gorman, ADRA received
"US$85 million in federal cash, food and freight, plus
tens of millions more from other nations." "The aims of
the overseas relief effort are no doubt righteous," they
state, "bringing medicine to the sick, food to the
hungry, schooling to the unlearned. But they are
entrusted largely with US public funds to do it, and that
is the nub of many of the problems. Along with that
assistance have come serious questions about how it has
been used -- from accusations of corruption to complaints
of unlawful proselytizing." It is illegal to use US
government money for conversion work, they explain, but
the distinction can be hard to maintain. The article
quotes a relief worker in Africa, "If I'm going to build
a road, I'm going to have it go past an Adventist
church." The article covers global problems with ADRA's
activities internationally and specifically cites the
situation in Nepal as an example of the pursuit of
conversion goals under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Many of the organizations sharing the USAID's $1.4
billion yearly budget are Christian. The agency attempts
to see that the aid is not used for conversion. But the
situation is that villagers do not know better and
believe the aid being given is dependent upon their
converting, even when conversion is not directly demanded
as a condition of the aid.
The specific allegations against ADRA Nepal include the
use of Asian Aid funds to proselytize students by sending
them to study in their colleges in Roorkee and Pune in
India; the conversion of students at the Nepal Adventist
School by insisting they to attend the Banepa City Church
operated in the student's hostel in Banepa; the misuse of
duty-free facility to import recording equipment by
recording Christian materials; and in covert programs of
proselytization.
The matter came to a head a year ago when veteran leader
of the UML political party and former Education Minister
Modnath Prashrit said that ADRA Nepal is carrying on
religious conversion by spending millions of rupees. ADRA
denied all allegations made against the organization.
Following the formal complaint lodged against ADRA with
the Ministry of Health, a committee was formed under the
convenorship of Dr. Durga Prasad Manandhar, Special
Secretary of Ministry of Health. The Committee requested
ADRA to stop raising funds for the Adventist School in
Banepa, shut down its recording studio and in general
adhere to the guidelines set down when the organization
entered the country.
At a press conference convened by the Nepal-based World
Hindu Federation figures were presented showing that by
1998 over 400,000 people in Nepal have been converted to
Christianity, up from 5 in 1951. They claimed that many
of the 81 international non-governmental organizations
working in Nepal engage in conversion to some degree.
They pointed out that the combined budgets of the INGOs
is equal to half of Nepal's total government
expenditures, giving the INGO's extraordinary influence.
Gyanendra Ghale, a disgruntled former employee of ADRA,
presented audio and visual facts during the WHF press
conference in which he showed how USAID grants were used
by ADRA for conversion in Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. He has
dozens of internal documents to back up his charges.
Subsequent to these revelations, the government changed
in Nepal, and the new government was unwilling to imperil
badly needed foreign aid by pursuing the charges against
ADRA -- who tactfully curtailed their more controversial
projects.
It is illegal to convert a person in Nepal to another
religion, but the law is not enforced. A man is liable to
be imprisoned for three years if found trying to convert
a person, six years if successful. But since 1990, no
person has been imprisoned, although hundreds of
thousands have been converted. Networking among the Hindu
organizations will greatly help to expose the
missionaries involved. If not done, the Hindus will have
a great price to pay for their indifference.
CONTACTS
DR. HARI BANSH JHA
DHOGBIGHAT PATAN
GPO BOX 3174
KATHMANDU, NEPAL EMAIL: CETSatCETSdotWLINKdotCOMdotNP
GAYENDRA GHALE
LAINCHOUR, KATHMANDU NEPAL EMAIL: APNEPALatDAPcotMOSdotCOMdotNP
ADRA
12501 OLD COLUMBIA PIKE
SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND 20904 USA
Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the
educational purposes of research and open discussion.
Panchaang for Monday, September 27, 1999:
Pramathin Nama Samvatsare Dakshinaya Jivana Ritau
Kanya Mase Krishna Pakshe Indu Vasara Yuktayam
Ashvini-Bharani Nakshatra Vyaghat-Harshana Yoga
Vanija-Bava Karana Triteeya-Chaturthee Yam Tithau
HATE-CRIMINAL, CHRISTIAN SCUM PREM THOMAS THREATENS MASS-MURDER
Hate-criminal, Christian scum Prem Thomas Threatens to Kill Astrologers
Prem Thomas <pre...@ged.net> , whose
publicly-available contact information
is as follows:
8 Lakeland Avenue
Congers, NY 10920-1708 USA
Telephone 914-268-8634, fax 914-268-5361
has published threats to mass-murder astrologers:
http://www.flex.com/~jai/articles/PremThomasThreat.html
An excerpt:
Prem Thomas has repeatedly published threats to exterminate
astrologers. Here are two exhibits:
=== Exhibit <EIHBx...@nonexistent.com> ==========================
[
[ Path: . . . cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!
[ news.new-york.net!nonexistent.com!not-for-mail
[ From: Prem Thomas <pre...@qed.net>
[ Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian,soc.culture.pakistan,
[ soc.culture.jewish,soc.culture.israel,alt.religion.islam,
[ alt.religion.hindu,alt.culture.hawaii,alt.crime,
[ soc.culture.bangladesh,alt.activism
[ Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 00:58:13 UTC
[ Message-ID: <EIHBx...@nonexistent.com>
[
[ [...] Your friggin' astrology is no more relevant to
[ the 20th and 21st centuries than voodoo. . . .
[ The salvation of the people of the sub-continent
[ lies in the extermination of the blood-sucking vampires
[ of your kind. . . . [...]
[
[ Prem
[
=== End of Exhibit <EIHBx...@nonexistent.com> ===================
Prem Thomas is, evidently, dedicated to eliminating
astrologers from the world -- his posts often contain
the line:
"Organization: Council For The Elimination of Jyotishis From The Planet"
An exhibit follows:
Exhibit
>
> From: Prem Thomas <pre...@ged.net>
> Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 04:33:41 UTC
> Organization: Council For The Elimination of Jyotishis From The Planet
> Message-ID: <3494B325...@ged.net>
> NNTP-Posting-Host: nyack-157.qed.net
>
End of Exhibit
Here are two news items about other criminals like him:
News item 1
"Online hate draws sentence . . .
"A 21-year-old college dropout who became the first
person convicted of a federal hate crime committed in
cyberspace received a one-year jail sentence . . .
"U.S. District Judge Alicemarie Stotler Monday sentenced
Richard Machado to one year in prison and ordered him to
undergo counseling.
[...]
"Prosecutors said he sent e-mail messages to 59 Asian
students at UCI, threatening to 'find and kill every one of
you personally' and signing the missives 'Asian Hater.' . . ."
[...] End of Excerpts
- Reuters, Los Angeles, CA, USA, May 5, 1998.
News item 2
"Email death threat spreads
"A death threat spam that frightened America Online
members last week now has spread to Yahoo Mail.
"The email message, which comes from an America Online
return address, reads as follows:
"'Hello, my name is Andy. I know where you live and I
know where your kids sleep. If you dont [sic] call me within
24 hours im [sic] going to kill your kids.' It lists a phone
number and adds: 'P.S. This is NOT a joke.'
[...]
"'We're working closely with the FBI,' Ryan said. 'This
is a criminal investigation, and we're cooperating fully
with the FBI.'
[...]
"AOL spokesperson Tricia Primrose said AOL has 'no idea'
how many of its members received the threat.
[...]
"Threats made via the Net are not a new phenomenon. Earlier
this year, a 21-year-old Los Angeles man was convicted for
sending racist death threats via email to 59 Asian students at
the University of California at Irvine. The case set a precedent
in that it put online communications on par legally with
telephone calls and postal mail. It also was significant because
it addressed civil rights violations perpetrated online.
[...]
"Online hate speech also has been a subject that has plagued
online services, families, and free speech advocates alike.
- CNET News, July 6, 1998, available at:
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,23868,00.html
Jai Maharaj
Om Shanti
PPT
Congress debates and votes on once every year during budget time wherein
people like Dan Burton threaten to eliminate the US aid to India, and at
which NRIs in USA get all worked up? I sure want to know. JUST WHO THE HELL
ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF US FOREIGN AID IN INDIA?
Pradip Parekh
Dr. Jai Maharaj <address....@web.site> wrote in message
news:Hindu-18...@news.mantra.com...
Shikharni
just what do you intend to do with such readily-available information? you ALL
CAPS last sentence could imply you intend to harm the recipients. please
clarify...
Prem Thomas
astrologer pretending to be "Jai Maharaj" wrote:
> NEWS
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 28, 1994
>
> HAWAI'I
> INDEPENDENT NATION STATE
>
>
> Memorial Silence
>
> This weekend will be a silent one for the Independent Nation State as
> we seek peace and independence for all peoples.
>
> As this Nation dedicates itself further to peace and non-Violence, we
> honor all Veterans with our prayers. No actions will be taken this
> weekend in order to honor all those who have fought and given their lives
> for the cause of liberation.
>
> Asassination may be an "effective tool" (ask the
> Pentagon, U.S. State Department and the White House
> about these things, and numerous other governments)
>
> Perhaps a meeting
> of properly-screened, active and retired CBI officials can be arranged
> outside Bharat (arrangements can be made for a site here in Hawaii, USA)
> to dscuss these issues[the overthrow of the Indian civilian government]
>
> in person. Participation to some extent by U.S.
> law-enforcement officials in an advisory capacity can also be arranged.
> Please contact me by E-Mail for further discussion on this matter.
>
> May all that is undesirable[meaning Indian Christians and Muslims]
>
> leave or become purified[meaning be exterminated or converted]
>
> for our Bharat Mata[India]!
>
He has also referred to Mother Teresa as "Mother Terrorisa",
claimed that Christ came to us to promote violence,
frequently
implied that Christianity is a failed religion, and has in
many
other ways stirred up animosity against Christianity in
general, and Indian Christians in particular. This man is a
demon, a soulless ghoul out to gain pleasure through
genocide.
His reaction to a news story that dozens of Muslim women and
children were killed in a train wreck: "God is great!"
http://x8.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=353985687
http://panacea.phys.utk.edu/~dbd/minifaqs/jai.maharaj.miniFAQ
http://www.wetware.com/mlegare/kotm/html/jaievidence.html
>It would be merely annoying if it didn't provide so much
misinformation to
> new or occassional readers; preventing such misinformation
being the
>only reason anybody ever responds to the jai-bot.
> - Narad, Chuck, "The Jai-Bot explained"
> rec.food.veg et. al., November 1994
Prem
Shikharni
NEPAL, then please refrain from abusing this newsgroup.