Escalating violence could threaten progress

Cover & story image courtesy of
 Vision Beyond Borders.

Burma (MNN) ― Violence could threaten so-called "progress" in Burma. The country is under a state of emergency following rising unrest between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in central Burma.

"It's just continual upheaval for the people over there, and there's little protection for them from their government," says Dyann Romeijn of Vision Beyond Borders (VBB).

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 6,000 driven from their homes in Meikhtila, Burma. The conflict began Wednesday after a disagreement between a Muslim business owner and Buddhist customers quickly turned into a rampage.

Mobs are setting fire to mosques, homes, an Islamic religious school, and many businesses as thousands of minority Muslims take to the streets in fear. About a third of Meikhtila's 100,000 residents reportedly follow Islam, and before the violence started there were some 17 mosques in the city.

Concern grows as the scene begins looking more and more like last summer's violence in the Rakhine state. Sectarian violence between the Buddhist Rakhine people and the predominantly-Muslim Rohingya killed hundreds and displaced around 100,000 people.

When asked if the Meikhtila unrest could develop into a similar situation, Romeijn replies, "Absolutely. That's always possible in Burma. There have been over 2 million displaced over the last 25 years-30 years of the civil unrest."

Over the course of his presidency, Thein Sein has ushered in a series of reforms to move the country toward democracy. But in trying to change the face of Burma, Sein continues to face challenge after challenge. Along with the current unrest in Meikhtila, there's been an upsurge in fighting between the Burmese military and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

Romeijn says that in recent days, "There were 2 churches that were burned to the ground in Kachin state, and there's been a lot of violence against the Christians."

Around 90% of the ethnic Kachin people are Christ-followers.

"Pray that that will have an influence on the Muslims, and the Buddhists, and the Animists, and those around them--that they will see the light of Jesus in the Kachin," requests Romeijn.

VBB works with partners on the ground in Burma to help refugees and orphans. You can help provide food, clothing, medicine, and the love of Christ by clicking here.

"Through all of the conflict and the genocide...it leaves a lot of orphans in that country, and so there's a lot of work to be done," Romeijn says.

Ask God to protect His people in Burma. Pray they would shine the light of Christ as they endure dark and troubled times.

"What the enemy means for harm, God can turn for good. Pray for protection for the people and that God would use that to reach many more," Romeijn asks.

Christians face systemic persecution in Burma

(Image courtesy Vision Beyond Borders)

Burma (MNN) ― Burma doesn't seem to have made as many advances as it first appeared in a year of change. 

This was the conclusion of The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) which released a new report last week. 

According to their findings, Christian Chin from western Burma are denied religious freedom and face coercion to convert to Buddhism. They're not alone. Dyann Romeijn of Vision Beyond Borders says, "The report is specifically about the Chin and the persecution that they face, but we're seeing the same things throughout all the ethnic groups in Burma." 

CHRO exposed a decades-long pattern of religious freedom violations and human rights abuses including forced labor and torture which has led thousands to flee their homeland.

Romeijn says along with the abused Chin are members of the Kachin tribes and the Karen. It's bad for everyone. "All the same policies that were in place before continue; the Kachin in northern Burma are being highly persecuted. About an additional 50,000 have fled into China. In violation of international law, China is forcing those Kachin refugees back into Burma where they'll be slaughtered."

The government is trying to change its public image and has made definite strides toward freedom. But there are dark shadows forming against the bright prospects, explains Romeijn. "We don't want to discount the reforms that have taken place, but at the same time, there's still a long way to go. The religious, ethnic and tribal groups are still being heavily persecuted."

That's been borne out in the 2012 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report. Burma remains on its list of "countries of particular concern" (CPCs). The nation also sits at #33 on the Open Doors World Watch List, --an index of the top 50 countries in the world known for their persecution of Christians.

Vision Beyond Borders says their partners note frequent attacks that are gaining in intensity along the Thai-Burmese border. Oddly, this is the best hope for the Gospel. Their last team visited a Buddhist monastery where they saw clear evidence of community transformation.

Romeijn says, "The monks are seeing it's the Christians that are coming in; they're the ones who are helping to take care of these children; they're the ones helping take the refugees. We're supposed to be the church; we're to be Jesus' hands and feet. And as we do that, God uses the "good works before men" to glorify His name, and we're seeing openness to the Gospel even among the Buddhist monks."

That's where the real change happens. Romeijn sums it up by saying, "You can see some external circumstances change, but unless there is a heart change in a situation, there really is truly no hope for Burma."

More reforms, less progress for refugees

(Image courtesy of VBB)

Burma (MNN) ― In a tightly-controlled nation riddled with severe human rights violations, even the smallest of reforms is a step forward, right?

Perhaps.

But Dyann Romeijn withVision Beyond Borders is waiting to see how Burma's latest press reforms will play out for people affected most by the country's violence: over 500,000 ethnic refugees. The last time MNN spoke with Vision Beyond Borders about Burma's reforms, it was about the negative side effects inflicted upon refugees. Would press reforms cause the same problems?

"It's hard to say at this point," Romeijn states. "A lot of times the government is closing off areas where the violence and stuff is. So I don't know that the [refugees] would have access to the press. That remains to be seen."

The proposed press reforms are Step 2 in the government's 3-stage process to full media freedom. In the first step, publications were allowed to be released without prior censorship. Burma only has one independent television channel; the third step in this process would support the growth of private media.

Although Burma has come a long way over the past year, some issues still need to be addressed. Earlier this month, a UN Specialist assessed the situation in Burma, and while praising the country's progress, noted a significant number of human rights concerns. Romeijn says the governmental changes aren't trickling down to those who are suffering.

"The majority of people in the ethnic areas are not seeing any real change," says Romeijn. "We are encouraged by some of the reforms that are taking place within the mainstream. But again, those that have taken place so far have not affected the ethnic groups, so I don't know how much effect the press reforms will have."

On a positive note, the horrendous trials suffered by Burma's ethnic groups are working to fortify believers and further the spread of the Gospel. Approximately 70% of each the Karen and Kachin people groups follow Christ and proclaim Him as Lord.

"In those ethnic groups, Christianity is spreading; it's continuing to grow," Romeijn reports. "And through the persecution, what we're seeing is a strengthening of their faith. They're just resolute; they're becoming solid in their beliefs."

Romeijn says the biggest contribution you can make is this: prayer.

"That's probably the most important thing people can do," she emphasizes. "All the money in the world will not solve the problems in Burma. They're too deep.

"Only God can touch and reform hearts, and so it truly is through prayer that we'll see a change there."

You can help in practical ways too. Click here to collect items that can be sent to refugees in Burma, like toiletries and medicine. You can support a child or pastor in Burma by clicking here, or go to Southeast Asia on a short-term mission trip with Vision Beyond Borders.

Burma reforms cause unexpected side effect for refugees

Mission Network News: "Burma (MNN) ― Global euphoria over changes in Burma isn't trickling down to the ones it should most affect: the Karen Christian refugees.

There's still a great deal of danger and  mistrust surrounding the camps, which prevents many of the Internally Displaced People from making their way back to home villages in the heart of Burma."

Read more...

EU to temporarily lift Burma sanctions

Burma (MNN) ― At a meeting this coming Monday, the European Union is expected to suspend sanctions on Burma for one year.

According to VOA News, the EU has plans to suspend all sanctions except an arms embargo for the next 12 months. The Associated Press reports the potential for another review by the EU in six months.

"It's a great step, the way that the sanctions were lifted. So that it does encourage more change and more progress," says Dyann Romeijn with Vision Beyond Borders. "I think that the whole consensus is that they'd like to reward the steps that have been made, but also to recognize that the steps that have been made are not enough for the sanctions to be completely lifted and ended."

Violence in Burma has been on a steady decline as the nation has welcomed more and more democratic reform, including the addition of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament. Christians have been a particular target of genocide and other attacks in the past.

"There is still some violence and some persecution against Christians and some of the tribal groups, but even that is decreasing," notes Romeijn. "That needs to end for the sanctions to be completely lifted."

The world is watching now, and the Burmese government seems to be responding. Regardless of what happens, it will take generations for the Burmese people to heal from the oppressive, military rule they suffered under. Vision Beyond Borders remains cautious, but with the EU's close eye on Burma, change seems to be genuine.

Romeijn says the kind of turnaround exhibited in this next chapter of Burma's reform story can only be the result of years of fervent prayer.

"I truly believe that there's no other way this could happen," she says. "We've seen this kind of oppression in many other countries, and you don't see that peaceful transition, which is what people have been praying for."

Under the stipulations given for lifted sanctions, Burma will have to further decrease violence and increase rights. 

Romeijn believes the church will soon be able to tell its story of persecution, but more importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, across the nation.

Keep praying for Burma as they travel down this new road to democracy, perhaps even to Christ. 

Burmese Christians Seek Refuge in India

By Jenny Yang
Special to ASSIST News Service

The mountainous terrain of India's Mizoram State, on Burma's border.

BALTIMORE, MD (ANS) -- For years, I had heard that thousands of refugees from Chin State in Burma were fleeing into Mizoram State, India, to escape persecution at the hands of the Burmese military regime.

We heard these stories from the Chin people who were resettled to the United States through World Relief, pleading with us that their family and friends left behind in Mizoram desperately needed our assistance and protection. This population has been out of sight and out of mind of the international community because access to the Northeast area of India has been restricted for decades by the Indian central government. The Indian government lifted these restrictions in December 2011, which allowed me to participate in an assessment trip to see first-hand the challenges that these refugees face in this remote area of India.

Palm Sunday procession in Mizoram.

Mizoram State is a beautiful, rugged, mountainous area of India where houses hover on stilts over 40 feet ravines and children play alongside windy, unpaved roads. What’s striking to me about Mizoram is not only the physical beauty of the state but the vibrancy of the Mizo people’s Christian faith. Mizoram is the most Christian state in all of India where over 95 percent of the residents are Christians. In fact, the church is the strongest institution in the state, providing much needed social services through hospitals, orphanages and schools.

While the beauty and vibrancy of Mizoram shone, we also met with Chin refugees who are living in the shadows of this beautiful society. The horrific abuses they escaped in Burma are haunting and real. One woman, for example, was a teacher in Burma and one of her 14-year old students was raped by Burmese soldiers. When she reported this abuse to the authorities, they came to her house looking for her and she fled to India to seek safety.

She runs a small tea shop in Mizoram and tries to take care of her parents and brother who was tortured in Burma and escaped to India a few years before her arrival. We also met an 18 year old youth who was forced to porter for the Burmese military over 20 times in his young life, often for weeks at a time, carrying heavy military equipment and supplies with no pay, away from his family.

Chin refugee women sell vegetables in the marketplace to eke out a living.

While these refugees have found some safety in India, the fear that the refugees live with in India is palpable. Without any form of proper protection in the form of documentation, many fear being deported back to Burma where they could be persecuted again. For many Chin refugees, they hope for the day when they can return to a safe, democratic, free Chin state in Burma. In the meantime, the Chin people in Mizoram yearn to be able to integrate into their host country of India.

It is my hope that the international community will come alongside the church in Mizoram to welcome the Chins through protection and humanitarian assistance efforts, and that the U.S. government continues to raise with the Indian government the need to provide protection to this group of vulnerable refugees.

The full 134-page report with findings, recommendations, and photographs and a shorter executive summary can be found at www.chinseekingrefuge.com

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Jenny Yang is Director of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief (www.WorldRelief.org).



 

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Burma: CSW Returns from Kachin State with Evidence of Continuing Grave Human Rights Violations

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

BURMA (ANS) -- A team from Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) returned this week from a three-week fact-finding visit to Rangoon and Kachin State on the China-Burma border, where the CSW team recorded evidence of grave human rights violations.

Kachin people fleeing the violence

CSW told the ASSIST News Service that its team interviewed internally displaced people (IDPs) from Kachin State and northern Shan State, and heard first-hand testimonies of killings of civilians, torture, the destruction of homes, churches and villages. CSW also received reports of rape.

In a report released today (Sunday, February 12, 2012), Burma’s Union Day, which marks the 65th anniversary of the Panglong Agreement, CSW documents these violations and concludes that while “a window of opportunity for change in Burma after decades of oppression and conflict may have now opened,” the situation in Kachin and northern Shan States illustrate that “there is still a very long way to go”.

Kachin nations in traditional costume

Benedict Rogers, CSW’s East Asia Team Leader, said, “There are clear signs of change in Burma, such as the release of significant numbers of political prisoners and the decision by Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) to contest parliamentary by-elections, which we should welcome and encourage. However, the evidence we heard from Kachin people was among the worst we have ever heard. A very high proportion of the people we interviewed had family members killed by the Burma Army. These were unarmed civilians, in their paddy fields or homes, who were not engaged in armed combat in any form. The accounts of torture and other abuses are a cause for very grave concern, and the humanitarian challenges facing the internally displaced people require an urgent and sustained response from the international community.”

CSW was in Kachin State when the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) held a first round of peace talks with the Government of Burma. In the report CSW details the political steps required for a meaningful, lasting peace process, including “a genuine inclusive political process that involves all the ethnic nationalities, the democracy movement and the government, that addresses the desire of the ethnic nationalities for autonomy and equal rights within a federal democratic structure in Burma, and that results in an end to military offensives and armed conflict.”

Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers guard a checkpoint on the way to Laiza (Photo: Jonh San Lin)

Benedict Rogers added, “Today, on Burma’s Union Day, as the country marks the 65th anniversary of the Panglong Agreement, we urge the government of Burma to build on the reforms made so far by introducing institutional and legislative reforms required to lead the country to genuine change. These include amendments to the constitution, repeal or amendment of unjust laws, and a sincere effort to begin a political process that results in a mutually acceptable political solution for all the people of Burma.

“The spirit of Panglong was based on equal rights for all the ethnic nationalities, a degree of autonomy, and respect for ethnic identity, within the Union of Burma. We urge President Thein Sein to recapture that spirit today, and we call on the international community to develop a balanced response, recognizing and encouraging progress while maintaining pressure for real change.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, emailkiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

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Dan Wooding, 71, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books, one of which is his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

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VBB monitors Burma

Burma Army Troops

Burma (MNN) ― While there has been good news about changes in Burma, Vision Beyond Borders is still cautious.

According to a VBB report, "It seems some real changes are taking place. There continues to be some fighting in the outlying tribal areas. Some areas have seen heavy shelling by the military. However, even in these areas, there has been some progress and some encouraging developments."

In the midst of their report telling of bombing and killings, the Free Burma Rangers also told about an encounter between the Karen Soldiers and the Burmese Army that would have been unheard of a few short months ago. The following excerpt is taken directly from their report: 

"28 January, Burma Army troops and KNLA troops shake hands at a road crossing. Ler Mu Plaw, Luthaw, Muthraw district, Northern Karen State. At 1145 hrs on 28 January, Burma Army troops on the Saw Mu Plaw-Baw Ga li Gyi road between Saw Mu Plaw and Ler Mu Plaw, met Karen KNLA troops on the road. The Burma Army called out, 'Don't shoot, we will not shoot you.' The Karen soldiers responded, 'We will not shoot you.' The Karen troops moved out onto the road and talked briefly with the Burma Army troops. The Burma army troops said, 'You can go back to your farms and villages now.' The Karen troops responded, 'We cannot go back to our homes until you leave your camps and this area.' The troops smiled and laughed together, shook hands, and the Burma army troops continued down the road." 

VBB still has some needs as they continue ministry there. They have been given a special opportunity to buy Bibles for a tribal group in a remote area of a closed country. The Bibles are available for $4 each. The ministry has a request for 2,000 Bibles. If funding allows, they can be delivered in March.

They also need people to go. Trips are planned for March and April. Please pray and see if God would have you be part of a team.

Sudan & Burma: Christian refugees in peril

By Elizabeth Kendal
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin (RLPB) 145 
Special to ASSIST News Service

AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- -- this is a call for urgent prayer for imminently imperilled Nuba and Kachin refugees.

SUDAN: NUBA GENOCIDE LOOMS

When Khartoum began ethnic cleansing South Kordofan in June 2011, there were an estimated one million non-Arab, non-Muslim, predominantly Christian Nuba in the state. Today more than half that number have been either killed or displaced. To maximise casualties, the Arabist-Islamist regime of Sudan president Omar el-Bashir (an indicted war criminal) closed the region off to humanitarian aid so as to engineer famine. Now the UN estimates that by March up to 500,000 Nuba will be dying en masse due to famine.

A coalition of Christian, Jewish and interfaith anti-genocide groups are urging the American government to intensify its efforts to convince Khartoum to open a corridor for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Aware this might fail, they are also urging the US administration to consider delivering aid without Khartoum's consent, an act they acknowledge would be fraught with risk. Khartoum insists it will never let aid organisations reward 'rebels'. Furthermore, without citing any evidence, it has accused the aid organisations of arming rebels. Khartoum would surely view any unsanctioned incursion as a hostile and provocative act and doubtless declare it to be a trigger for war. The situation is extremely delicate.

Grave fears are held for some 200,000 starving Nuba refugees slowly making their way south through the Kauda Valley, headed for the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan which is already home to about 24,000 Nuba refugees. Digital Globe images made public by Satellite Sentinel Project (SSP) show that the Government of Sudan has moved Sudan Armed Forces' tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and artillery into the southern end of the valley, creating a fortified 'choke-point' which is preventing refugees from escaping south. SSP images also reveal that the runway at nearby Talodi has recently been extended to handle Antonovs (used as bombers). Satellite images also show new elevated roads being built into the Nuba Mountains, capable of bearing heavy military vehicles in all weather conditions. Images also reveal that helicopter gunships have arrived at the renovated airbase in the capital, Kadugli. Observers believe the regime will want to complete any military offensive and genocide before the onset of the rainy season due in around 8 weeks.

BURMA: KACHIN SITUATION IS DIRE

Behind the regime's smokescreen of token reforms-of-convenience, Burma's ethnic-religious minorities are suffering more than ever. Zetty Brake of Burma Campaign Australia told Radio Australia on 6 February that the situation for these minorities is actually getting worse: conflict is increasing as are human rights abuses, whilst some 60,000 displaced Christian Kachin are still without humanitarian aid. Similarly, the UN estimates that about 55,000 Kachin IDPs (internally displaced persons) in two dozen IDP camps are struggling to survive without basic aid. People are dying of preventable illnesses caused by cold weather and unsanitary conditions. Most of the children suffer diarrhoea and stomach parasites due to dirty drinking water. There is fear that diseases will spread. Women are suffering miscarriages at an increased rate. The situation is dire. Ben Rogers of Christian Solidarity Worldwide recently returned from the Burma-China border saying he heard some of the worst stories of human rights violations that he had ever heard in his almost 15 years of involvement in Burma. Please pray for the Christian Kachin. Also, the Burma Day of Prayer onSaturday 17 March 2012 is a date for church calendars. Seehttp://www.csw.org.uk/prayforburma.htm for resources.

For background on Sudan and/or Burma, or to see this prayer bulletin with links, see the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin blog.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT --

• the God who saved Israel from Pharaoh's army by enabling their escape through the supposedly impenetrable Red Sea, will save the Nuba from el-Bashir's genocidal schemes.'The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.' (Moses, to the trapped and imminently imperilled Israelites on the shore of the Red Sea, Exodus 14:14 NIV)
  
• the LORD of creation, who fed 5000 men and all the women and children present from five loaves and two fish, might magnify all efforts and multiply all provision so that the displaced Nuba and Kachin will not starve. (Matthew 14:15-21) 'I am with you always . . .' (Jesus' promise from Matthew 28:20)
  
• Jesus Christ our LORD, who himself lived as a refugee in Egypt, might speak with empathy into the hearts of all his displaced children in Sudan, South Sudan and Burma, drawing them to him for healing, provision and empowerment. (Isaiah 40:27-31)

SUMMARY FOR BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE
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CHRISTIAN REFUGEES IMPERILLED IN SUDAN & BURMA

The UN estimates 500,000 mostly Christian Nuba fleeing ethnic-religious cleansing in South Kordofan, Sudan, will be dying en masse from famine by March. Furthermore, some 200,000 Nuba are trapped in the Kauda Valley, unable to cross into South Sudan because their escape route is blocked by Sudan Armed Forces. Further to having engineered famine, the Arabist-Islamist regime in Khartoum appears to be preparing for a military offensive. It is extending runways, building roads and bringing in bombers, helicopter gunships, tanks and other military hardware. In Burma, an estimated 55,000 Christian Kachin refugees, driven from their homes by Burmese forces during seven months of war, remain without aid. Children are dying and women are miscarrying -- the situation is dire. These are God's children and our brothers and sisters. Please pray.

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Elizabeth Kendal is an international religious liberty analyst and advocate. This prayer bulletin was initially written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (AEA RLC). Elizabeth Kendal's blogs: Religious Liberty Monitoring and Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin

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Burma’s Christian Civilians Attacked During Christmas

Baptist church in Loije, Burma, where funeral was held
 for 47-year-old Christian the army killed without
 provocation on Christmas Day.(Photo: Kachin News Group)

Government troops kill 47-year-old Christian, destroy church property in Kachin state.

NEW DELHI, January 9 (CDN) — Attacks on Christians in Burma continued into the Christmas season in Kachin state as Burmese Army   troops killed a civilian and destroyed church property despite President Thein Sein’s order to stop the war against insurgents.


A Baptist church in Loije, Bhamo district, held a funeral on Dec. 27 for 47-year-old Maran Zau Ja, who was shot dead without provocation by Burmese Army ’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 321 on Christmas Day, a Kachin source told Compass by phone.


Zau Ja was a farmer who was returning from his sugarcane field with a friend when troops sprayed bullets at them. His friend survived the gunshots.


The two were not armed insurgents of the Kachin Independence Army  (KIA), the armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) that has fought for autonomy in the Christian-majority state since the early 1960s, when then-Burmese Prime Minister U Nu made Buddhism the state religion.


About 90 percent of the roughly 56 million people in Burma, also known as Myanmar, are Buddhist, mostly from the Burman ethnic group. Burmese soldiers see “all Kachin civilians as the enemy,” the Kachin News Group recently quoted a Kachin village elder as saying.


On Dec. 16, troops of Light Infantry Battalion No. 142 burned a building housing the kitchen of a Baptist church in Dingga village, also in Bhamo district, the source added. KIA men and local villagers managed to save the church building, but the fire engulfed five homes.


Earlier, on Nov. 30, Burmese soldiers killed a woman and injured six villagers as they fired mortar shells targeting civilians in Tarlawgyi area in Waingmaw Township, while another battalion burned down 10 homes in Nam Wai village and five more in neighboring Hpa Ke village. (See, “Christian Civilians in Burma Face Deadly Attacks,” Dec. 5, 2011.)


On Oct. 16, about 150 soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 438 stormed Nam San Yang village in the Daw Phung Yang area of Bhamo district and opened fire at members of a Catholic church before the weekly mass. While no one was hurt, the priest and some parishioners were detained. (See , “Burma Army  Targets Christian Civilians in War on Insurgents,” Oct. 28, 2011.)


Thailand-based activist Shirley Seng of the Kachin Women’s Association told Compass that civilians have been living in fear since military action hit Kachin state last June, and that her research team found that women and children were most affected by the war. At least 37 women and girls were raped during the first two months of the conflict, she said – 13 of them killed.


She added that other girls and women continue to be abducted.


“They just disappear after being abducted,” Seng said. “Perhaps they are first sexually abused and then killed or sold to brothels.”


President’s Sham Order
The KIO controls most of Kachin state and runs schools and hospitals and the public distribution system. The Burmese government or Army  has little control outside the state capital of Myitkyina. Since June 2011, however, when the Army  ended a 17-year-long ceasefire with the KIO, government troops were heavily deployed in KIO-controlled areas leading to clashes.


More than 90 clashes have occurred between the Army  and the armed insurgents since President Sein, a former junta general, reportedly instructed the military on Dec. 10 to start no fighting with the KIA.


The president’s order was apparently a mere show, the Kachin source said, adding that deployment of Army  personnel and attacks on civilians were on the rise and helicopters were bringing in ammunition and reinforcements.


“The government made peace with [formerly detained opposition leader] Aung San Suu Kyi and has set a few political prisoners free to gain concessions from the international community on its brutal military offensive against ethnic minority states, primarily in Kachin,” the source said.


After the general election in 2011, believed to be rigged and the first in two decades of junta rule, the military’s proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party came to power and has been trying to showcase reforms in an attempt to end economic sanctions and gain legitimacy.


Little has changed, however, for Burma’s ethnic minorities.


Internally Displaced People
According to local estimates, the military conflict has displaced about 45,000 people.


“It’s a major threat to thousands of displaced civilians who are caught between the warring parties,” Lynn Yoshikawa, an advocate from the Washington, D.C.-based Refugees International, told Compass by email. “The Burma Army  does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, leading to severe human rights abuses. There is not enough assistance, and with winter setting in, displaced people lack enough warm clothes and are more vulnerable to diseases.”


Yoshikawa urged the international community “to put pressure on the military to follow the president’s orders to halt attacks against the KIO and make sure that the UN’s access to areas outside government control is sustained and expanded to meet the growing needs.” International donors should fund the humanitarian response, she added, or else the United Nations World Food Program’s food stocks will run out in February.


In addition to Kachin, six other ethnic minority states – including Christian-majority Chin state and Karen state, which has a substantial presence of Christians – have had armed and unarmed groups fighting for autonomy from the successive military-led regimes for decades.


While Kachin is the current target of the Burma Army , it is feared that other states are also likely to face war in the near future. Ethnic minority areas along Burma’s borders with India, Thailand and China are resource-rich and have strategic importance for the Union government. Burma’s neighbors have invested, and intend to accelerate investment, in power generation and other projects in and around the ethnic minority region.


The ethnic minority states were administered separately during British rule. Some ethnic leaders agreed to incorporate their states into Burma after the Panglong Agreement was signed in 1947 providing for full autonomy, a share of the national wealth and the right to secession to ethnic states. But Gen. Aung San, democracy activist Suu Kyi’s father who was then heading the interim government and led the signing of the agreement, was assassinated months later. Subsequent regimes refused to honor the agreement and forcibly made ethnic states a part of the new country.


The federal government is carrying on with the military offensive on the one hand, and holding “peace talks” with armed ethnic minority resistance groups on the other, the Kachin source said. Minorities are still praying and hoping for peace in the near future, he added.



END

Christmas goes forward despite a time bomb in Burma

Burma (MNN) ― Christian civilians in Burma are facing deadly attacks. 

Those who manage to escape to Internally Displaced People camps have not found the safety they hoped for. There have been repeated attacks near one of the camps where Vision Beyond Borders works.

A recent report from one of their contacts indicated the team escaped a near-bombing. He writes, "We had two back-to-back trips to our orphanages. Just two days before we planned to go, we got the final 'okay' from our 'spy' Thai-Karen soldier to cross the river." However, one week prior to the visit, someone placed a time bomb on one of the boats heading for the camp.

The bomb destroyed that boat and others that were close by. The team took the threat to heart and planned a different route to get to the camp. Instead of doing the 2-hour boat ride and passing 4 Burmese Army camps, they drove 4 hours through the jungle to the river. From there, they carried the supplies to the boat and finally crossed the river to the camp.

VBB's contact goes on to say that two days before they arrived, the Karen and Burmese armies were fighting again. 

Gunfire and mortars could be heard in the dorms. "This was very frightening, especially for our girls and the younger orphans. Our leader called all the kids together in the dorm, and they all prayed while the fighting was going on."

Although there are more than 4,000 Karen refugees in this refugee camp inside Burma--mostly women and children, there were no reported injuries from the fighting nearby. While there, the team had an early Christmas celebration, and the children were thrilled to receive gifts and prayer.

Please pray that God will shine His light of truth on the situation in Burma. Pray for witnessing opportunities for every Christian this Christmas season. At Christmas, oftentimes people are more open and receptive to the Gospel than at other times. Pray for safety, too, for the teams working in the IDP camps. 

Christian Civilians in Burma Face Deadly Attacks

Army burns homes, kills villagers during Clinton visit.

By Vishal Arora

 

Elderly Kachin woman searches
 for shelter after fleeing her village.
(Photo courtesy Compass News Direct)

NEW DELHI, December 5 (Compass Direct News) – As U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Burma’s capital, Naypyidaw, last week in a show of support for authorities’ ostensible reforms to discuss minority rights, government troops killed civilians and burned houses in a Christian-majority state about 450 miles away.

 

On Wednesday (Nov. 30), the day Clinton arrived, Burmese soldiers killed a woman and injured six other villagers as they fired four rounds of mortar shells at civilians in the Tarlawgyi area of Kachin state’s Waingmaw Township, Kachin News Group reported.

 

Another battalion burned down 10 homes in Nam Wai village and five more in neighboring Hpa Ke villa e, both in Dawhpumyang sub-township in Bhamo district, the Thailand-based news agency added. The killing and arson followed two explosions that killed a student and injured another the previous night (Nov. 29) in the state’s capital, Myitkyina. Local residents suspected government agents planted the bombs, a Kachin journalist told Compass by phone on condition of anonymity.

 

The twin blasts rocked the state capital days after a powerful explosion killed seven children and three internally displaced Kachin people and injured 16 other children at an orphanage on Nov. 13 in Myitkyina’s Thida Ward. Two sons and a grandson of a Christian couple who run the orphanage in their home were among those killed, but police arrested the family, alleging they had detonated it, the news agency reported.

 

Kachin people fleeing violence in their villages.
(Photo courtesy Compass News Direct)

The attacks left civilians in Kachin, where an estimated 90 percent of the 1.2 million people are Christians, “terrified,” the journalist said. About 90 percent of the roughly 56 million people in Burma (also known as Myanmar) are Buddhist, mostly from the Burman ethnic group.

 

Ethnic Kachins and six other ethnic minorities in Burma have armed and unarmed groups that are fighting for independence or autonomy from the country’s successive military-led regimes for decades.

 

“But the residents of Kachin are not afraid of the Kachin Independence Army [KIA, an insurgent group],” the source said. “It is the Burma Army they fear.”

 

During Clinton’s visit, which ended on Friday (Dec. 2), her agenda included talking to the military-led government of Burma about the long-time violent repression of ethnic minority groups that make up roughly 40 percent of the country’s population. But Clinton’s visit – first by a U.S. secretary of state since 1955 – was also seen as endorsement of measures the regime touts as reforms.

 

From last year’s general election to the release of Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the Burmese government has showcased several reforms in order to end economic sanctions imposed on the country for over two decades. But the regime’s hostilities toward ethnic minority groups have worsened in recent months, and tens of thousands of exiled pro-democracy activists have not been able to return home.

 

Kachin civilians have faced numerous attacks by the Burma Army since June, when the government ended a 17-year long cease-fire agreement with the KIA, the journalist said. The bomb explosions, he added, were an attempt to brand the insurgents as a terrorist group in the wake of Clinton’s visit. Local residents suspected “government agents” exploded the bombs, as “the KIA never attacks civilians,” he said.

 

Before the Nov. 13 blast, some residents saw two men riding a motorcycle throwing a parcel into the orphanage compound, New Delhi-based Mizzima News reported. The government-backed Myanmar Ahlin daily suggested, however, that orphanage owner Dayawng Tang Gun, who is also a martial arts and music teacher, was making a bomb in his house that accidentally exploded and held him responsible also for previous bombings in the city.

 

Authorities also arrested Gun’s wife, Ja Dim, and their son-in-law, Maung Maung. Police interrogated some of the orphanage’s children and jailed the Christian family. For a few days they were not allowed contact with anyone, but now people can give food to them, the source said.

 

Five of the 16 children who were injured were still in hospital at press time. The 10 deceased were given a funeral by a local friend of the Christian couple, the source added.

 

The blast took place at about 8:30 p.m., soon after the orphanage’s residents held their evening prayer. Gun was away on a work-related trip.

 

The body of an infant was thrown to the back of the house, and some people saw the hands and legs of children on the street, the source said of the scene at the orphanage. Gun’s wife couldn’t find her way out because the house had caught fire, so she climbed upstairs and jumped down, injuring her legs. After their discharge from the hospital, the children were moved to another nearby Christian orphanage.

 

The two bombs on Nov. 29 exploded in a span of five minutes in front of the Kachin National Makau Park in Shatapru Quarter. The first explosion killed Abraham, a Class IX student. The second blast injured a girl who was admitted to Myitkyina Public Hospital.

 

“Local people from households near the blast site were arrested by Burmese authorities,” Kachin News Group reported. Authorities claim that almost all local residents are directly or indirectly part of the KIA.

 

“Kachin people realize that the majority Burman-led government is not only fighting the KIA but also Kachin people now,” the news agency reported.

 

U.S.-based group Partners World recently released a report entitled, “Crimes in Northern Burma: Results from a Fact-Finding Mission to Kachin State,” after collecting information through its local coordinators and eyewitness interviews of at least 200 people affected by the conflict in Kachin State. The report documented torture, extra-judicial killing, civilian casualties, human shielding, unlawful arrest, forced labor, forced relocation, displacement, property theft and destruction allegedly by Burmese soldiers.

 

Palai Nan Naw, an 8-year-old elementary school student and member of a Baptist church from the Nam Lim Pa area, was killed outside of his house on Oct. 8 when soldiers from battalions 74 and 276 opened fire among the civilian population, according to one of the case studies in the report. Pausa Naw Din, 19, a farmer who attended a Catholic church, was also killed the same day in that village. He was running to the street outside of his house to flee from fighting on Oct. 8 when the Burma Army fired at him.

 

The report says the incidents show how the Burma Army “is in contravention of its legal obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.”

 

“Considering the nature and scale of these acts in combination with documented abuses in the broader civil war in Kachin state, the actions of the Burma government and the Burma Army may also amount to other serious violations, including crimes against humanity,” it concludes.

 

www.compassdirect.org

 

END

 

*** Photos of Kachin villagers fleeing the fighting are attached for subscribers, to be used with credit to Compass Direct News. High resolution photos are also available; contact Compass for transmittal.

 

**********

Copyright 2011 Compass Direct News

 

Clinton's visit has ministry hopeful about Burma reform

Burma (MNN) ― A couple of months ago, Burma appeared to be turning a new leaf. The brutal military rule had finally given way to a civilian government. Desire for reform seemed genuine.

That was October. In early November, several reports came in from Burma about attacks on Christians by the Burmese government.

The back and forth between true reform versus years-old genocide has been confusing over the past few months, and it's been difficult to know whether or not the nation is really ready for change. But a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has provided some hope.

Clinton is the first top U.S. official to visit Burma in 50 years. The Secretary of State had several reasons for her current visit, including a hope to see whether or not the nation is genuinely ready to change, to thus see if the U.S. could strengthen ties with Burma, to encourage the nation to sever ties with North Korea, and to urge an end to the country's genocide.

Vision Beyond Borders assists several refugee camps that are home to those who have fled Burma's ethnic cleansing. VBB's Dyann Romeijn says Clinton's visit is encouraging.

"They're not just talking about the changes that have occurred. They're also talking about more change that needs to happen, and that there needs to be an end to the violence and the ethnic cleansing that is going on," says Romeijn. "They're not just rewarding the government for the small steps that they've made, but encouraging them to take bigger steps to end the violence."

Still, after decades of painful oppression in Burma, could it really be ready to change? Romeijn says they're hopeful.

"We're cautiously optimistic that maybe there is change occurring in Burma. We have had opportunities to talk with our contacts there in Burma: they're cautiously optimistic as well," explains Romeijn.

"I don't think anybody knows exactly how this will go," she adds. "There are some changes. Aung San Suu Kyi has been released, and it looks like she will be running for office, and there are some encouraging things. But at the same time, attacks are occurring as well. So we're just cautiously optimistic."

If the government is ready for reform, it could mean a great deal of relief for persecuted believers. Romeijn says Aung San Suuu Kyi, a former Burmese leader and Nobel peace laureate, is rumored to be a Christian and may make it much easier for the Gospel to spread if she were to take office.

Change does seem to be in the air. The question is: how long will it linger?

At this point, Romeijn says the best thing to do is to pray. Pray for direction for the nation, its leaders, and ministry leaders. Pray that oppression would indeed be coming to an end. At the same time, pray for the safety of believers who are still being hunted by many. Pray that the Gospel would reign in Burma.

VBB has been working in and around Burma for years. To learn more about their outreach, visit visionbeyondborders.org.

Human Rights Organization Urges International Community to Highlight Plight of Ethnic Nationalities in Engagement with Burmese Regime

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

SURREY, ENGLAND (ANS) -- A human rights organization is concerned that the plight of Burma's ethnic nationalities is being neglected in the process of engagement with Burma's regime.

In a news release, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) particularly highlights continuing severe violations of human rights, including the use of rape, forced labor, religious persecution, torture and killings in Kachin State. There the Burma Army has been waging an offensive against ethnic civilians since breaking a 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/A) in June.

CSW said recent political developments in Burma suggest some potential welcome indicators of change. They include the decision by the National League for Democracy (NLD) to re-register as a political party, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's announcement that she will run for a parliamentary seat in forthcoming by-elections.

However, CSW reported, reports from the ethnic states, particularly Kachin State, indicate that grave human rights violations continue to be perpetrated by the Burma Army.

According to information received by CSW, nine villagers from Nawng Zang Kung village for internally displaced people, in Nam Jang, northern Shan State, were taken by Burma Army soldiers to a military camp at Nat Tsin Kung, at midnight on Nov. 17.

Four villagers were released the next day, but five were detained and have reportedly been subjected to severe torture.

CSW said Dawshi Roi Ji, 60, the mother of two of the detainees, Zahkung Yaw Zung and Yaw Sau, was taken to the camp and badly tortured. She was released the next day, but taken back to the camp that evening by the local ward official, Sai Aik Nyen. Her situation and that of the remaining detainees remains critical. Other civilians from the local area have fled to China to escape forced labor, harassment and torture.

CSW said the pastor of Banggaw Kachin Baptist Church, Gam Aung, was arrested by Burma Army soldiers in Manwin village at 3pm on Nov. 17, while in a store speaking on the phone. Local sources say no reasons were given for his arrest and his whereabouts are unknown.

CSW is also deeply concerned about the well-being of Sumlat Roi Ja, 28, mother of a 14-month old baby, from Hkai Bang village. She was captured by the Burma Army on Oct. 28, and forced to work as a porter. It is believed she has been held in the Burma Army camp and repeatedly gang-raped. The local Burma Army commander promised her family that she would be released by Nov. 2, but when the family waited for her at a designated location, she did not appear.

According to CSW's sources, Shayu Lum Hkawng, assistant to the pastor of an Assemblies of God church in Muk Chyuk village, Waimaw Township, died on Nov. 7 after severe torture. He had been detained along with the pastor, Lajaw Lum Hkawng, and tied up, after Burma Army soldiers attacked and looted the church the previous day.

The whereabouts of Hpalawng Lum Hkawng, deacon and youth music team leader, who was injured in the attack, is unknown.

CSW's East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said in a news release, “Undoubtedly, as President Barack Obama said last week, there are ‘flickers of progress’ in Burma, and these should be welcomed and encouraged. However, it is vital that in our enthusiasm to welcome some political changes, we do not overlook the very grave human rights violations that continue to be perpetrated, particularly in the ethnic states.”

Rogers continued, “We therefore urge all international actors, particularly US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visits next month, to urge the regime to end its attacks on civilians in Kachin State and all parts of the country, to cease its campaign of rape, forced labor, torture, religious persecution and killing, to declare a nationwide ceasefire, release all political prisoners, and to enter into a meaningful dialogue process with representatives of the ethnic nationalities and the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Rogers emphasized, “The key test for the regime is to match its rhetoric with action, stop attacking its people, and begin a process that will secure peace and protect human rights for all the people of Burma.”

Christian Solidarity Worldwide works for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

For further information, visit www.csw.org.uk.

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Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available athttp://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

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** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Human Rights Violations Continue in Eastern Burma

By Jeremy Reynalds
Senior Correspondent for ASSIST News Service

SURREY, ENGLAND (ANS) -- Serious violations of human rights continue to be committed by the Burma Army in eastern Burma, while humanitarian conditions deteriorate due to a lack of international funding, according to a new report released today by a human rights agency.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said in a news release that last month the group conducted another fact-finding visit to the Thailand-Burma border, visiting Karen refugees in camps on the Thai side of the border as well as internally displaced people (IDPs) across the border in Karen State.

CSW also had meetings with former political prisoners, exiled activists, representatives of the democracy movement, Non-Governmental Organizations and diplomats.

CSW interviewed several recently arrived refugees, who had fled fighting between the Burma Army and ethnic armed groups.

One Karen IDP told CSW, "Whenever the Burma Army comes, they burn villages or shoot people. So whenever the Burma Army comes we run away because we know what will happen if we don't."

Reports of forced labor, looting, extortion and torture remain widespread.

Another IDP told CSW, "We feel very tired in our hearts and minds. We cannot think about what we're going to do. We're very tired."

CSW said conditions in the IDP camp are particularly severe, due to cuts in international support for humanitarian assistance along the border. The IDPs now receive only rice and salt, and the rations have been reduced significantly. They have received no new clothing, blankets or mosquito nets since 2008, and at least ten children under the age of five are suffering malnutrition. People are relying on foraging for bamboo shoots, raw leaves and roots in the forest.

CSW's East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said in a news release, "President Thein Sein and the regime in Burma have made some welcome gestures in recent months, potentially creating the conditions for some changes to be made. However, as long as the gross violations of human rights in the ethnic states continue, and political prisoners remain in horrific conditions in jail, we cannot speak of real change in Burma. It is clear from our visit to the Thailand-Burma border that there is a real need to maintain international pressure on the regime to match its rhetoric with action, and undertake substantial, significant and long-lasting change.

Rogers continued, "This includes a nationwide ceasefire, an end to the attacks on ethnic civilians, the release of all political prisoners, and a more meaningful dialogue process between the regime, the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the ethnic nationalities. If the regime takes these steps, the international community should be ready to respond positively, but until the regime takes these steps, targeted pressure must be maintained. The international community must also respond to the dire humanitarian situation along Burma's borders, by increasing humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced peoples and refugees who have been forced to flee the Burma Army's brutal offensives. The international community has a responsibility to protect people from a dire humanitarian, as well as human rights, crisis."

Christian Solidarity Worldwide works for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

For further information, visit www.csw.org.uk.

 

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Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter,http://www.joyjunction.org He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "Homeless in the City." Additional details on "Homeless in the City" are available at http://www.homelessinthecity.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy Reynalds atjeremyreynalds@comcast.net.

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Burma regime faces calls to release Chin political prisoners

Human rights campaigners have called for the immediate release of ethnic Chin political prisoners held by the military regime in Burma (Mynamar).

They have urged President Thein Sein's government to free a range of people imprisoned for their political activity, including Kam Lam Khup, Kam Khan Khual, Go Pian Sing, Khun Tun Oo, Saing Ngunt Lwin, Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Kyi, U Nyi Puh, and Tin Min Thut.

Seven Chin are believed to have been among the 6,359 political prisoners released on 12 October 2011 as part of an amnesty programme instituted by the Myanmar government - following lobbying from international human rights groups, including Amnesty International Australia and Human Rights Watch.

Burmese refugees have been continuing to flee to neighbouring countries such as India, Thailand and Malaysia.

Last year, Graham Thom, Amnesty International Australia's National Refugee Coordinator, was able to visit the Indian state of Mizoram to talk to Burmese Chin refugees.

The visit was organised by the Centre for Refugee Research at the University of New South Wales as part of a cultural exchange focusing on human rights issues, including gender persecution.

"We heard appalling accounts of the systematic rape by the Burmese military of Chin women and the family’s powerlessness to stop these attacks," he said.

Most Chin refugees enter India across the land border with Mizoram State, and this is where the majority of the refugee population has settled. Mizoram is one of the most urbanised states in India, and refugees generally gravitate towards cities and towns despite coming from largely agricultural backgrounds, reports Refugees International.

* A photo exhibition, 'Searching for Home: Transforming Lives Among the Burmese Chin in Delhi', is showing in Edinburgh through to the end of this month, featuring the work of award-winning photographer Bharat Choudhary. Its official launch is taking place from 5-8pm on Saturday 12 November 2011 at Cafe Camino, located at St Mary's Catholic Cathedral in the Scottish capital (1 Little King Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3JD). More here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/15695

* Burma Assist (Scottish humanitarian group): http://assistingburma.blogspot.com/

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