Harassment stepped up in Burundi

A CATHOLIC archbishop has been arrested by the military government of Burundi, in Central Africa, for defying restrictions on daylight worship services.
Archbishop Joachim Ruhuna of Gitaga, along with other priests from his diocese, were arrested for breaking a 19M law which forbids holding religious services between 7am-5pm during weekdays.
The procurator general of the White Fathers missionary order, in Rome, said that about 200 missionaries have been expelled from 1972-82; 100 foreign missionaries have been asked to leave in this year alone; and that there were 10 Burundian Catholic priests in jails at the beginning of this month.
Of Burundi's 4.2 million inhabitants, 60 per cent are Catholic, including the country's military leader, President Jean-Baptiste Bagaza.