A Christian human rights organisation has recently released new evidence of systematic persecution of Christians by Burma’s military dictatorship.
Christian Freedom International (CFI) on Dec. 5 released an interview with an ethnic Karen named Saw Stephen who witnessed and experienced first-hand the persecution of Christians by the Burmese military government against Christians.Stephen, 34, had been trying to serve as a pastor in the Karenni State of Burma since 1996, but faced harassment from the Burmese military junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).
“My first church, Shadow Baptist Church, which I pastored, had over 250 people, but the military government [of Burma] came and destroyed it,” Pastor Stephen told CFI. “This happened in April 1999. The military burned down the houses of the people and came with axes and sticks and destroyed the church.
“They captured me and took me to their military office. They put me under house arrest for four months in a small room. I could not contact my family,” Stephen added.
Following his release, the pastor was reassigned to another church, Law Da Lay Baptist Church in Karenni State, with over 120 families and more than 600 villagers attending the church. However, the Burmese church was again threatened and shut down by the military.
“On Nov. 5, 2003, the military government came in to the village and ordered us to move. They said, ‘If you do not move within one week, you are our enemies.’ They didn’t explain why we have to move,” said Stephen. “The soldiers destroyed our church.”Stephen reported that the church members no longer stay in the villages but instead live in the jungle or take refugee camps in Thailand. He also noted that the Burmese government refuses to allow the construction or rebuilding of churches.
Stephen now lives life on the run: “So now I cannot stay very long in one area. So I go from place to place. It is not safe for me.”
“The Burmese government is anti-Christian,” said Stephen. “They are afraid that Christianity will bring in the Western ways to Burma. It will ruin the Burmese culture they say. They see Christianity as a Western religion. It is the main religion of the West, they say, which is why they hate it and are afraid of it. We have been told by the junta leaders that the people of Burma have to be careful about Christians; the Western policies can come in and overtake us, they say.”
Meanwhile, starvation in Burma is rampant, said Stephen in concluding.
“The people are starving in Burma. I see so many children starving to death. There are so many children dying; they have nothing to eat. They have no food. No one can change Burma. It must be God that changes Burma. Please pray for Burma.”
Michelle Vu
Christian Today Correspondent
