webmaster posted on November 29, 2011 12:30
In June, 2011, the Burma military renewed attacks against the Kachin people of northern Burma. There are now an estimated 30,000 Kachin living in hiding in the jungles, in camps set up by Kachin Baptist churches, or in 
the borderlands of China. This is in addition to over 700,000 refugees from Burma already living in Thailand, Malaysia, and India.
Reports of human rights abuses are rife. According to Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Women’s League of Burma, among many other sources, the Burma military routinely engages in forced labor, forced portering, torture, rape as a weapon of war—including gang rapes of army battalions against women and girls of all ages, burning villages, shooting civilians on sight (including elderly and children), and more. Additionally, there is religious persecution of Christians—ransacking and burning of churches, beating of ministers, and so forth. Recent reports of the use of chemical weapons in attacks against ethnic minorities are frightening.
In September and November, American Baptist delegations to the State Department, formed out of the Burma Refugees Task Force (ABCUSA) advocated for the rights of refugees from Burma in the U.S. and abroad, and pressed for the U.S. to increase its pressure on Myanmar’s government to stop human rights abuses and engage in dialogue with ethnic minorities in a true democratic process. Although the U.S. news is currently reporting improvement in the situation in Burma, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit certainly offers some small glimmer of hope, the reality is that while they are engaged in diplomatic conversations, the military continues to confiscate property, burn entire villages, gang-rape women, imprison and torture men, and kill civilians.
We are issuing a call to prayer and action on behalf of the peoples of Burma.
Message from Roy Medley, General Secretary,
American Baptist Churches USA
What You Can Do:
• Educate yourself on the situation in Burma. Google “Human Rights Burma”, or begin by visiting these websites: http://womenofburma.org/; http://www.kachinwomen.com/; Human Rights Watch; http://www.chro.ca/; http://www.khrg.org/.
• Explore the relationship between Burma and American Baptists. Click here for resources from AB Women's Ministries.
• Pray for the people of Burma. Put specific prayer requests on your church and women’s ministry prayer list as you follow the news and learn about the situation.
• Have a special time of worship or prayer vigil. Share planning and leadership with members of ethnic communities of Burma living in your own community, if possible; use videos or music available at the sites listed on this page.
• Contact your congress people and urge continued attention to human rights abuses in Burma and increased pressure on the Burma government for real transformation. Visit U.S. Campaign for Burma at www.uscampaignforburma.org for information about the UN Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma, and other advocacy efforts.