Compass Direct News reports that Buddhist villagers in southeastern Bangladesh forced Christians to participate in a Buddhist cremation rite for a deceased family member last weekend and demanded money for a post-funeral ceremony. Uttam Lal Chakma, 55, died last Friday May 15 after a long illness in Dighinala sub-district of Khagrachari hill district, some 400 kilometers 250 miles southeast of Dhaka. A member of Mynasukhnachari Baptist Church in the Babuchara neighborhood, Chakma had converted from Buddhism to Christianity two years ago. Pastor Vubon Chakma and Christian villagers sought to give him a Christian burial the next day, but a hostile group of local Buddhists forcibly stopped them from doing so, according to a local Christian source. The source told Compass that a member of the Buddhist group told family members, “He was born … Read entire article »