BURMA / (Myanmar)
BURMA: CONTINUING LARGE-SCALE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS
Based on reports By Benedict Rogers, Christian Solidarity Worldwide for F18 News
Service
Special to ASSIST News Service
BURMA (ANS) -Sp 5/05 - Amid widespread government religious
freedom violations, Christians among the ethnic Karen, Karenni, Chin and Kachin
nationalities suffer particularly harsh persecution. But
while Burma's ruling military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
promotes the spread of Buddhism in ethnic areas with large Christian or Muslim
populations, it is simply using Buddhism as a political
tool. When Buddhists themselves are not in line with the junta, they become the
target.
The public face of SPDC control of religious communities is the Religious
Affairs Ministry, headed by the minister, Brig-Gen Thura Myint Maung and deputy
minister Brig-Gen Thura Aung Ko. It is normal for key members of the regime to
hold a military rank and the ministry also has branches overseeing religious
activity at a local level across the country. The minister eagerly claims to
foreign visitors that although Burma is a Buddhist country there is freedom for
all faiths.
The SPDC often cloaks itself in the imagery and language of Buddhism when it is
politically convenient to do so. In December 2004, a three-day international
Buddhist summit was held in the capital, Rangoon [Yangon], attended by over
1,000 Buddhist monks from around the world. The junta's Senior General Than Shwe
told the gathering: “We should rid the world of the roots of all evils and sow
the seeds of goodwill, tolerance, kindness and altruism for the sake of peace
and prosperity.”
Yet the SPDC has jailed over 1,400 prisoners of conscience, and is waging war
against ethnic minorities. The junta stands accused of a catalogue of human
rights violations, including systematic use of rape as a weapon of war, forced
labour, forced relocation, forced conscription of child soldiers, human
minesweepers, torture, arbitrary killings, and the destruction of villages,
crops and livestock amounting to crimes against humanity and, in some areas,
genocide. The military junta has also renamed the country Myanmar, as well as
changing the name of the capital Rangoon to Yangon, against protests by the
democratic opposition that the regime has no right to change these names without
consulting the people.
It is extremely difficult to gather reliable detailed information from inside
Burma about religious freedom. An estimated 300 Buddhist monks and novices are
behind bars, according to a new report released by the Assistance Association
for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPP). The report, Burma: A Land Where
Buddhist Monks are Disrobed and Detained in Dungeons, provides further evidence
of violations of religious freedom in the country.
According to the AAPP report, an estimated 600 monks were killed during the 1988
massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators. Two years later, over 7,000 monks and
novices were attacked while receiving alms peacefully on the streets of the
central city of Mandalay in memory of the 1988 uprising. Monks and novices have
been arrested and imprisoned at various times since then, including in 1990 when
the Monks' Union of Mandalay launched an “Overturning the Bowls” campaign of
protest at the military regime. Monks rejected food, religious offerings or
donations from soldiers or their families, and refused to perform religious
ceremonies for military officials or attend ceremonies hosted by representatives
of the regime. This boycott spread across the nation.
A second “Overturning the Bowls” campaign was launched in 2003. When monks
and novices refused to accept alms from military officials visiting their
temple, they were arrested and defrocked. An estimated 300 monks have been
forcibly defrocked in prison.
The AAPP calls in its report on all Buddhist organizations around the world to
“condemn the Burmese military regime for using religion as a tool for
political purposes, and for the State intrusion in Sangha affairs,” and urges
international Buddhist groups to boycott any religious conferences, seminars,
exchanges or visits to Burma until the political situation improves. (The
Buddhist term Sangha in this context means monastic community.)
On January 3 2005, Burmese army troops pulled down a 15-metre (50-foot) cross
built by Chin Christians on a hillside in Matupi, in Chin State of north-western
Burma on the Indian border. This was believed to be the last remaining cross on
public display. Other crosses in towns such as Tonzang, Tedim, Falam, Hakha and
Thantlang have been destroyed in recent years, and the Burma Army has often
forced Christian villagers to construct Buddhist pagodas in place of the
Christian crosses.
According to the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), “the regime is
vigorously pursuing a policy of religious persecution against Chin Christians in
order to expand the influence of Buddhism in Chinland.” The Chin people are 90
per cent Christian, and live near Burma's western border with India. “The
ultimate goal is to gain control of the Chin people by annihilating their
culture, religion and ethnic identity,” the CHRO complained. “The
destruction of crosses, church buildings and persecution of Christian religious
leaders are evidently designed to crush the will and psychology of Chin
Christians.”
The destruction of the last remaining cross led to protests by exiled Chin
Christians in Malaysia and India. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 164 Chin protestors
were arrested in January after demonstrating outside the Burmese Embassy. Chin
Christians delivered a letter to the Burmese Ambassador demanding an end to
religious persecution in their homeland. A similar protest took place a week
later at the Burmese Embassy in New Delhi, India.
While Christians among the ethnic groups along Burma's borders face severe
persecution, Christians in the cities have more freedom. According to one
Burmese church leader in Rangoon, “we cannot say we are persecuted for our
faith - but there are a lot of restrictions”. Churches are restricted on who
they may invite to services, what they may say and where they can meet, but they
do not face the same harassment that churches in Chin, Karen and Karenni areas
face. “We did not see religious people terrorized,” one Western church
leader who recently visited the country told Forum 18 News Service. “People
have freedom of worship but not full religious freedom.”
Religious persecution in Burma is closely tied with ethnic and political
conflicts, which is why the churches in the cities, firmly under the control of
the regime, face less severe problems. “The situation for religious groups is
complicated by the internal political situation,” the Western Christian leader
explained. “Many Christians come from ethnic tribes who are opposed to the
government, which does not make things easy for either side.”
There have been “positive moves” towards improving religious freedom, the
leader adds. In February, 80,000 Roman Catholics gathered for the Second
National Eucharistic Congress of Myanmar, at a Marian Centre in Nyanglebin, in
Rangoon diocese (the first such gathering since 1956). A special message from
Pope John Paul II was read to the assembled crowd by Archbishop Charles Bo of
Rangoon, and the Papal Nuncio to Thailand and Apostolic Delegate for Myanmar,
Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, presided at Mass. A Karen Catholic priest
confirms this. “This is true,” he told Forum 18. “All the bishops in Burma
were there, and many priests and religious men and women were also there. There
were no problems at all.”
The priest, who cannot be named for security reasons, added: “The Catholic
Church does not have many conflicts with the ruling society. Because the Church
inside Burma doesn't get involved in political struggles, the Church right
inside Burma is free to celebrate the feasts.”
After the important Islamic feast of Eid-ul-Adha in January 2005, there were
reports of Muslim Rohingyas in the northern Arakan State being taxed by regime
troops for animals sacrificed in celebration of the feast, as well as being
targeted for financial extortion at Buddhist festivals, and being encouraged by
regime troops to take part in such festivals. For the first time in recent
years, Muslims are said to have been banned from celebrating Eid in the open air
and restricted to celebrating the feast in mosques. There have also been reports
of violence against Muslims instigated by regime-backed Buddhist monks.
The military government retains tight oversight over all religious meetings,
with specific permission required for any special event or for a visitor to
address a religious gathering. Religious leaders are subject to close oversight
and government spies are believed to operate within religious communities. Some
religious literature is published within the country, though under the
authorities' watchful eye. Religious groups that try to maintain contact with
fellow-believers abroad assume that their contacts are monitored by the
authorities.
Rolls-Royce & Multinationals under fire over Human Rights
BANGKOK - Jan 28/05 - Asia Times - Rolls-Royce, a venerated name in British corporate culture, has been put in the spotlight for making a turn that a labor group calls a betrayal of its stated commitment to social responsibility.
The company is being accused by one of the world's leading trade union movements of having business links in military-ruled Myanmar; its name appeared this week in a list compiled by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).
Rolls-Royce is among the new names on the list of 439 multinational companies with economic ties in Myanmar, charged the 28-page document, "Doing Business with Myanmar", that was released by the Brussels-based ICFTU.
Other prominent names from Britain's corporate world on this notorious list include the insurance company Lloyd's of London, the Cambrian Group - a conglomerate of petroleum consultants; pharmaceutical giant
GlaxoSmithKline, and wood industrialist Robbins Timber.
"The main reason why foreign enterprises should not engage in investment or trade with Burma is because of the financial benefits that the junta reaps from these activities," states the ICFTU in its report. "[It] contributes to allowing the military to remain in power and perpetuate their criminal rule over the country." (The country was known as Burma until 1989, when the current junta took over and changed its name to Myanmar.)
The ICFTU's charge against Rolls-Royce is echoed by another critic of Yangon's junta, the London-based Myanmar Campaign UK.
"Through its Singaporean subsidiary, Rolls-Royce has a contract to supply and service aircraft engines for at least one Burmese airline. All airlines in Burma are owned by the regime or their cronies," declares Myanmar Campaign in its "Dirty List" of foreign companies either trading or having investments in the Southeast Asian country.
In contrast, Rolls-Royce declares on its website that it strives to be a responsible corporate citizen. "The Group attaches importance to the pursuit of excellence as a responsible corporate citizen in its operations throughout the world and continues to develop its approach to corporate social responsibility," the multinational states in its online annual report.
Yet the ICFTU is hardly impressed by such explanations. That Myanmar has provoked this push by the ICFTU - which wants foreign companies to halt their investments in the military-ruled country - is due to the litany of human-rights violations occurring in Myanmar that have little parallel elsewhere.
BURMESE DEMOCRACY LEADER ENDANGERED
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
BURMA (ANS) - Friday, Dec 17, 2004- The Christian human rights group, Jubilee Campaign, has received word of an alarming development in the country of Burma. It is that pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu
Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest by the ruling military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), for a number of years, has had her personal security detail removed by the junta's leaders.
“This will make Suu Kyi much more vulnerable to abuse or even assassination, and human rights advocates the world over have become concerned for her safety,” said a spokesperson for Jubilee Campaign. (Pictured: Aung San Suu Kyi).
And as Aung Din and Jeremy Woodrum of the US Campaign for Burma note, "This [the SPDC] is the same regime that nearly assassinated her last year after beating to death scores of her colleagues."
Din and Woodrum went on to say, "The regime's move leaves her extremely vulnerable--who will protect her now that her colleagues are gone? Already [the] UN Secretary General has publicly expressed his 'serious concern' In diplomatic-speak this is very tough and serious language. The situation may be dangerous."
Two Congressional leaders, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA), have already made statements condemning the SPDC's action and calling for the immediate release of Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners being detained by the regime.
The U.S. Campaign for Burma has issued an urgent appeal for others to contact the regime's embassy in Washington, DC, to express the same demand.
BURMESE REGIME CARRYING OUT GENOCIDE CLAIMS NEW REPORT
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
LONDON, UK (ANS) - Dec 17/04- A joint delegation from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) has returned from a visit to ethnic groups on the Thai-Burmese border with evidence of a campaign of genocide perpetrated by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
The report includes first-hand testimonies of forced labour from new Karen and Karenni refugees, as well as details of the situation facing IDPs. It concludes with a brief analysis of the case for genocide and crimes against humanity, and also covers the plight of the Shan.
A spokesperson for CSW said, “Hundreds of thousands of Karen, Karenni and Shan continue to face a humanitarian crisis in eastern Burma. Internally Displaced People in the jungles are denied access to adequate medical care, food and shelter, they face the threat of forced labour, forced relocation, widespread rape, torture and the destruction of villages, crops, rice barns and livestock.”
The delegation, which included members of CSW UK, Australia and New Zealand, visited Karen Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in two sites inside Burma, as well as Karen and Karenni refugees in Thailand. IDPs in one village only had enough food for a few more days, and were facing an uncertain future.
"We want to see the heart of the Burmese government change so we can live in peace," the camp leader told the team. "We hope to return to our villages but we don't know when. While we are together in this camp, we really need provision, especially food and medicine."
Reports continue to emerge of fresh assaults on Karen and Karenni villages by the Burma Army. An estimated 4,781 Karen people have been displaced in recent weeks in the Shwygn/Hsaw Htee area of Naunglybin District, Karen State, and are hiding in the jungle, unable to move during the day.
“There are an estimated one million people internally displaced in Burma,” added the CSW spokesperson. “The Thailand-based Burma Border Consortium estimates at least 526,000 people have been displaced in Karen, Karenni and Shan areas, with 157,000 of these displaced in the past two years. Since 2002, at least 240 villages have been completely destroyed, relocated or abandoned, and a total of 2,500 villages in eastern Burma have been destroyed since 1996.”
The delegation, which included Baroness Cox, Chief Executive of HART and Honorary President of CSW-UK, met leaders of the Shan, Karen and Karenni resistance forces. The Shan people face a particularly severe crisis, with 300,000 internally displaced and at least 200,000 living illegally in Thailand. Unlike the Karen and Karenni, the Shan have been denied refugee camps in Thailand. Instead, those who flee persecution find sanctuary either illegally in Thailand, or in IDP camps in Shan state,
Burma.
"We are in need of material and moral help. We need to make our plight known to the rest of the world," one Shan leader said. "The situation in Shan state is no different from Iraq with regards to the number of casualties, but the difference is that there are no reporters or observers in Shan State. Battles erupt on a daily basis."
Baroness Cox, who has visited the region many times, called on the international community to investigate claims of genocide and crimes against humanity, and to increase pressure on Burma's ruling junta.
She said: "Every time we visit the Karen, Karenni and Shan, we find mounting evidence of gross violations of human rights which we believe may amount to genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva Conventions. We urge the British Government, the European Union and the United Nations to recognize the severity of the situation and take appropriate action. We also appeal to the Association of South-East Asian Nations [ASEAN] to suspend Burma's membership of the organization until significant progress is made towards a transition to a federal democracy and an improvement in human rights. We call for free and open access to all areas of Burma for international humanitarian aid groups and human rights monitors."
NOTES:
Burma has been ruled by successive military regimes since Ne Win seized power in a coup in 1962. The current ruling junta, the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC), held elections in 1990 which were overwhelmingly won by the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.
CSW is an international human rights advocacy organization which has worked with the ethnic groups such as the Karen, Karenni, Shan, Chin and Kachin on Burma's borders for over a decade.
The Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) was established by Baroness Cox in 2003 to focus on providing humanitarian aid to people who are suffering oppression and persecution, and who are neglected by other major aid organizations.
DELEGATES CHALLENGED TO SPEAK UP FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH AT INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN HUMAN RIGHTS CONFERENCE
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
LONDON, ENGLAND
(ANS) -Tuesday, November 9, 2004- About 1,000 delegates to the International Christian Human Rights Conference in London heard several speakers from around the world tell about their experiences with persecution and were challenged not to stand in silence after hearing powerful accounts of the persecuted church.
(Pictured: A general view of the conference held at Westminster Chapel in London. Credit: Christian Solidarity
Worldwide).
Delegates listened to speakers from China, Colombia, Eritrea and Sri Lanka tell them about the work they do and the persecution they endure.
Peter Xu founded a church in China which today runs into the millions. He claimed the church in China had grown from some 800,000 in the 1940s to an estimated 150 million today. He was a fellow prisoner of Brother Yun, the author of the bestselling Heavenly Man book, who describes
Peter as his 'father in the faith.’
He was arrested five times, spending more than seven years in prison. On one occasion he was beaten by a martial arts expert, and then tied by his arms to an iron gate for four hours so his feet were lifted from the ground and it was hard for him to breathe.
Having remained silent up to that point, he told them when he was taken down: "I can't sell out my Lord or my friends." He said he felt so much love for them at that time, despite his arms being puffed and black, that when his interrogator got out his book to record his confession, he simply told him: "I thank you." When his interrogator heard that, he did not question him again, but sentenced him to four years in prison.
Astrid Zuluaga works as a regional coordinator for the Colombian Commission for Restoration, Life and Peace (CRVP). She said that very often women were the ones who suffered the consequences of the violence against the church which had seen 80 pastors and church leaders assassinated during 2002-2003.
She said: "We have many widows, wives of pastors who have been killed. Some of them have lost their husbands who have been kidnapped and taken to other places and disappeared. Women have seen their children taken away and forced to join the armed groups. Women who still cry out because they don't know where their sons and husbands are."
Dr Berhane Asmelash of Eritrea used his medical skills to serve his church and his country and then later as a church leader came to the UK for theological training. Today he is unable to return to Eritrea as it would almost certainly result in his imprisonment and probable torture. (Pictured: Dr Berhane Asmelash is a church leader from Eritrea.Credit: Christian Solidarity Worldwide).
Some 400 people are imprisoned for their faith in Eritrea since an edict in May 2002 banned all but three Christian denominations; Orthodox, Lutheran Evangelical and Roman Catholics. He explained how some Christians are tortured in prison and others exposed to malaria-carrying mosquitoes and locked in shipping containers in soaring temperatures.
He said: "People are only released if they agree to renounce their faith. Please pray for the government to reverse the edict and reopen places of worship. Please also pray for those in prison. We need to pray for people to speak out and not just to ignore the situation -- they can make a difference."
Godfrey Yogarajah is General Secretary of the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of
Sri Lanka and said that in the last year, 140 churches had been closed down. He also highlighted the danger posed to religious freedom by proposed anti-conversion legislation and constitutional reforms to make Buddhism the state religion.
He said: "You are our voice and your prayers and your voice have been an inspiration to us and we thank you for your burden for your persecuted brothers and sisters in
Sri Lanka."
The delegates were challenged to respond to the needs of the persecuted church by saying together the pledge: "I pray that, as a follower of Christ, I will seek to comfort the persecuted and those who mourn. I will remember those in prison as if I were in prison and those who suffer for their faith as if I suffer. I will work for justice and truth. I will not stand in silence. I will tell someone else."
Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW said: "My desire is to see Christians throughout this nation refusing to stand in silence at the incredible injustices being faced by the worldwide persecuted Church. I believe that on Saturday we made a big step to seeing Christians in the UK providing a loud voice in support of those in our family who have had their voices taken away." (Pictured: Delegates to the International Christian Human Rights Conference gather materials and resources. Credit: Christian Solidarity Worldwide).
Eddie Lyle, Chief Executive Officer of Release International said: "We want to resource you to speak out for the persecuted church, a church that is growing in these seriously embattled situations. I have said before that I have a problem with the phrase a silent majority. We want you to go from here as a seriously noisy majority."
Peter Kerridge, Chief Executive of London’s Premier Christian Radio, said: ''It is a great privilege to work with CSW and Release International to draw attention to the plight of so many in the persecuted church. My prayer is that we will motivate Christians around the UK to take positive action to help all they can. We can do so much but we can't stand in silence.''
Delegates also heard from Ben Rogers, author of A Land Without Evil and Advocacy Officer on South Asia for CSW. He spoke on religious persecution in Burma and Pakistan. Mark Butler of Release International and Dr Khataza Gondwe of CSW spoke about the religious violence in Nigeria.
Rev Greg Haslam, minister of Westminster Chapel, introduced the day and worship was led by David Hind of Nottingham Christian Centre. Rev Dr Rob Frost concluded the day by encouraging delegates to respond with action to the persecuted church.
Tuesday, April 5, 2005
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ヘルプ指名手配してキリスト教のボランティアの翻訳作業をキリスト教団体
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THERE IS NOT ONE CHRISTIAN NATION ON EARTH WHERE MUSLIMS ARE PERSECUTED.
Yet in most nations where the majority of the population are Muslims, there is systematic government persecution of Christians.
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."
--Article 18 of the Universal
Declaration of
Human
Rights--
Christian Conversions - According to the Bible - Can NEVER be forced.
Any Conversion to Christianity which would be "Forced" would NOT be recognized by God. It is in
His True and KIND nature, that those who come to Him and choose to believe in Him, must come to Him OF
THEIR OWN FREE WILL.
Don't Let anyone tell you that Christians support Forced Conversions.
That is False. True Christianity is NEVER forced.
Core Universal Rights
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief