source: CHRO
About 120 people marched through Delhi last week calling for religious freedom in Burma.
The protest was organised by Chin Churches and Christian Fellowship in response to the destruction of a 23-foot high concrete cross in Mindat, in Burma’s Chin State in July.
The protest was organised by Chin Churches and Christian Fellowship in response to the destruction of a 23-foot high concrete cross in Mindat, in Burma’s Chin State in July.
The cross was erected in 2008 to replace a wooden cross in a 20-acre prayer garden. It was erected with official permission from the local authorities.
However, it was destroyed based an the direct order of the authorities, including the District and Township level Peace and Development Council, the District Religious Affairs Department, and a Mindat abbot from the Hill Region Buddhist Mission, according to Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO).
The Chinland Guardian reports that Rev. Vungh Hau Thang told the gathering, “Although the state’s law has given religious freedom to all citizens in Burma, the military junta is still persecuting the Chin Christians through various forms of repressive measures. They have destroyed our Christian crosses, a symbol of our faith. This destruction in Chin State clearly shows the military”s ruthless attempts in dismantling our Christian faith, and eliminating the Christian Chins by means of systematic persecution.”
CHRO says at least nine crosses have been destroyed or dismantled in Chin State’s nine major townships since 1994. They said, “The SPDC claims to respect religious freedom for all faiths in Burma and yet they are actively pursuing a policy to persecute religious minorities in contravention of their own constitution and other international human rights standards, which they claim to observe.”
No comments:
Post a Comment