Feb, 9th 2021 – The church in Myanmar is asking Christians worldwide to pray for them following the military coup.
The country was already in continuous turmoil caused by the longest civil war in the world, which began in 1948.
It affects, among others, the predominantly Christian communities of Chin, Kachin, and Karen. Christians are vulnerable to persecution by both insurgent groups and the army.
The coup means that Myanmar’s Army has taken full charge of the country – and it’s an army firmly committed to Buddhist nationalism, with the Buddhist army, for many decades now, attacking villages in Christian areas and, occasionally, churches.
According to Julia Bicknell, who analyses the Open Doors’ World Watch List, the Army dislikes Christians and does not see them as legitimate Burmese citizens.
“There has been a low-level but continuing campaign against Myanmar’s ethnic and religious minorities in which Christians have been badly targeted,” she says.
“Now the army is in power completely, without all the structures of the parliament, debate and discussion. It means we don’t know what is going to happen to these minorities.”
Open Doors’ local partner Daisy expressed concerns for the 4,000 Internally displaced Christians fleeing in the jungles of Karen State, who have now been further trapped by the political developments.
“Among the displaced are more than 500 Christians including missionaries trapped in Kyaukkyi, Bago region,” she said.