Tag: Myanmar

Kachin rebels snub Myanmar ceasefire deal after women’s murders

February 13, 2015 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Baptists, Converts, Kachin, Karen, Marriage, Minorities, Myanmar, Panglong, Rape, Shan, Women

What most people know about Myanmar is that Aung San Suu Kyi has been prevented from becoming its leader, despite her overwhelming popularity. That may finally change in elections later this year. Myanmar is made up of eight major ethnic groups, who all hoped for autonomy after gaining independence after . . . Read More

‘Freedom of Religion’: comprehensive report launch

November 4, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Central African Republic, China, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Maldives, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Qatar, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zimbabwe

A report showing that religious freedom is compromised in nearly 60 percent of countries worldwide is expected to send a signal to governments and religious leaders that this is an issue that can no longer be ignored. The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need’s Religious Freedom in . . . Read More

Buddhist monks seek to monitor Myanmar’s converts

June 2, 2014 Myanmar Buddhist nationalism, Converts, Myanmar

Myanmar is seeking public approval for a new religious-conversion law that would require anyone who wants to change religions to obtain legal permission. The proposed law, put forward by Buddhist monks, would require any Burmese citizen who plans to change religion to wait at least 90 days and seek permission from . . . Read More

Freedom of religion an issue ‘whose time has come’

February 13, 2014 Global News -- No Particular Country Arab Spring, Barack Obama, China, Egypt, Eritrea, Europe, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Middle East, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Sharia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, UN, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Freedom of religion and belief is an issue “whose time has come”, the vice chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said yesterday. During the presentation of two reports on religious freedom at the European Parliament in Brussels on Feb. 12, commission Vice Chairwoman Katrina Lantos Swett said . . . Read More

Myanmar on the road to religious freedom

November 22, 2013 Myanmar Buddhist nationalism, Chin, Myanmar, Rape, Religious freedom

Myanmar is moving towards greater interfaith freedom of expression, but challenges remain, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s Benedict Rogers, writing for the Wall Street Journal. Rogers notes that, while the country has made great strides in recent years, there is an ongoing threat of ethnic and religious violence. However, he . . . Read More

‘Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians’

June 5, 2013 Global News -- No Particular Country Afghanistan, Algeria, Arab Spring, Armenia, Asia Bibi, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Central Asia, China, Communism, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Middle East, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Russia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

This is a book designed to show that “Christians are the single most widely persecuted religious group in the world today” (p4). With that aim, three authors well known in the field of religious advocacy give the reader the ultimate global briefing on the causes, patterns and trends in the persecution . . . Read More

Warning against euphoria over reforms, as military targets minorities

March 11, 2013 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Kachin, Mandalay, Minorities, Myanmar, Rakhine, Yangon

Christians around the world who’ve been praying for Myanmar have been warned against ‘euphoria’ over reform, while Christian and Muslim minorities remain under attack by the military. Sunday March 10 marked the 16th anniversary of the Global Day of Prayer for Burma, which celebrated some progress towards reform, but warned . . . Read More

Myanmar reforms offer no respite for ethnic Christians

May 4, 2012 Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, Baptists, Buddhist nationalism, Chin, Churches, IDPs, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Minorities, Myanmar, Shan

Amid global euphoria over reforms in Burman-majority parts of Myanmar, life has changed little for more than 3 million Christians and other minorities left to suffer from one of the world’s longest running civil wars. Headlines around the world hailed the induction on Wednesday (May 2) of opposition leader Aung . . . Read More

Myanmar’s Christian civilians attacked during Christmas

January 9, 2012 Myanmar Chin, IDPs, Kachin, Karen, Myanmar, Myitkyina, Panglong

Attacks on Christians in Myanmar 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 . . . Read More

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