Expansion of martial law to 37 townships ‘is likely a pretext to inflict greater repression.
Newsroom (11/02/2023 7:45 PM, Gaudium Press) — Christians and human rights groups fear that martial law recently imposed by the Myanmar army junta in dozens of townships across the country will trigger more attacks on Christian-dominated areas.
The army-controlled State Administration Council imposed martial law on 37 townships in the regions of Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Tanithargyi and in Chin, Kayah, Karen and Mon states, on Feb. 2 after extending a state of emergency for six more months in the civil-war-hit country.
Military commanders have imposed a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and banned gatherings of more than five people in the 37 townships.
One clergyman from the Sagaing region near Mandalay, who did not wish to be named due to fears for his safety, said on Feb. 8 that the expansion of martial law could pave the way for more attacks on Christian-majority villages under the pretext of implementing the order.
“On my way back from one village, there was fighting in the area and we had to avoid it,” he said.
“Compounded by internet and telecommunication blackouts, [human] rights could significantly worsen in the areas where martial law has been imposed,” the Chin Human Rights Organization said on its Twitter page on Feb.2.
Seven townships in western Chin state and four in eastern Kayah state are predominantly Christian and where armed rebel groups, comprising ethnic locals and Christians, have been engaged in fierce fighting with the army following the military coup on Feb.1, 2021.
“It’s not uncommon in Kayah state to hear gunfire on a daily basis. The sound of artillery shelling was heard for the whole of this morning of Feb.9,” said one local Christian resident.
The resident said more and more people are fleeing and roads in southern Shan state which borders Kayah state have been closed following fighting on Feb.8.
Three historic Catholic villages of Chan Thar, Chaung Yoe and Mon Hla in the embattled Sagaing region are also under martial law and no stranger to attacks from the military.
In one attack on Jan. 15, the army set ablaze the 129-year-old Assumption Church in Chan Thar, which comes under Mandalay Archdiocese, along with hundreds of homes.
The junta has also launched airstrikes and shelled these areas recently, forcing thousands, including women, children and the elderly, to seek refuge in nearby jungles and churches.
However, the ongoing conflicts, stoked by the ousting of the democratically elected civilian government of Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi have seen churches, convents and residences attacked in Christian-majority Kayah, Chin, Karen and Kachin states, claiming many lives, including pastors.
Christians make up nearly 6 per cent of Myanmar’s population of 54 million while Buddhism is the state religion.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCAN News