The Myanmar Witness project of the UK-based Center for Information Resilience releases a report revealing the impact of the conflict in Myanmar on church communities in predominantly Christian Chin State.
By Lisa Zengarini
The ongoing conflict between the military junta and resistance forces in Myanmar has taken a heavy toll on Christians and their places of worship in the country’s only Christian-majority state, according to a report. report released this week by an independent advocacy group dedicated to exposing human rights violations and war crimes.
Since the military coup toppled Aung San Suu Kyi on February 2, 2021, airstrikes have been frequent across the Asian country, hitting schools, villages, places of worship and hospitals.
The impact of the conflict on the Christian population
The Myanmar Witness project of the UK-based Center for Information Resilience (CIR) identified and analyzed 10 incidents in which churches were damaged – mainly in airstrikes – between March and August 2023, and found that the conflict following the military coup has a “sustained and long-term impact on the Christian population of Chin State”, who make up 85 percent of the local population.
The state has been at the forefront of resistance against military rule and is believed to have close ties to ultranationalist Buddhist monks.
The report presents five case studies revealing the extent of the damage caused to churches in Thantlang, Falam and Hakha townships in Chin. In some cases, photographs shared online showed buildings with extensive structural damage, including collapsed roofs. In several cases, civilian casualties and destruction of neighboring homes were also reported.
Rebel strongholds and townships under martial law have suffered more attacks, the report says, blaming Myanmar’s air force, which has “overwhelming superiority” over rebel groups, of being responsible. of these attacks.
Matt Lawrence, project director of Myanmar Witness, described the destruction of churches in Chin State as “symbolic and physical”.
“These places of worship are not only protected by international law in times of conflict, but they also hold sacred importance to those who use them,” he said.
At least 100 religious sites destroyed
According to the Chin Human Rights Organization cited by Uca press agency, yesSince the February 2021 coup, at least 100 religious sites, including 55 Christian institutions, have been destroyed.
“The destruction of Christian churches is deliberate with the aim of inflicting psychological trauma on a specific religious and cultural community. This is not collateral damage,” said Salai Za Uk Ling, deputy executive director of the Chin Human Rights Organization.
Christian leaders have repeatedly called for the protection of places of worship, citing the Hague Convention on War, which also calls for the protection of hospitals and educational institutions.
Christians make up 6 percent of Myanmar’s 54 million people, 89 percent of whom are Buddhist.
