Indian Catholic schools shut to protest violence
August 30, 2008 BHUBANESWAR, India (AFP) - Authorities in India insisted Friday they had halted deadly clashes between Hindus and Christians in the east of the country that have exposed the country to stinging criticism.
At least 10 people have died and thousands have fled their homes as a result of the violence in the coastal state of Orissa, with the Catholic church accusing police of failing to protect defenceless priests and nuns. The Vatican and the Italian government have voiced serious concern over the religious violence, and on Friday Catholic schools across India were shut in protest. But Orissa state’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, said the situation in Kandhamal, the district at the epicentre of the violence, was “fast returning to normal.” “Riots in the other districts have been completely controlled,” he said in Bhubaneswar, capital of the state where Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons were burnt alive in 1999 " a crime for which a Hindu extremist was convicted.
However, Roman Catholic officials said nuns and priests still feared for their lives in Orissa.
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