(IX) FREEDOM OF BELIEF: DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE
RIGHT TO PRACTICE RELIGION, AND INTOLERANCE
9.1. Background
The population of Burma is predominantly Buddhist, the religion which is practised by the Burman majority as well as some other ethnic groups. Therefore, the military regime has historically associated itself with Buddhism, seeking to control it and to use it for its own political purposes. However, this has not always been possible.
In the popular uprisings of 1988, radical monks played an important part in publicly supporting students demonstrations early on. Consequently, numerous monks were forcibly disrobed, jailed, or killed by the troops. During 1990-91, SLORC dissolved many Buddhist orders, such as the All Burma Young Monks Union, leaving only the nine official Buddhist sects which are tightly controlled by SLORC.
The other religious groups in Burma have long suffered harassment at the hands of the military, who believe that non-Buddhist groups support the ethnic insurgency movements. The military’s tradition of vicious and cynical treatment of Muslims, Christians, and other groups continues in today; the SLORC has only recently applied the same methods to Buddhists.
In Rangoon, the authorities recently issued an order to the Muslim community there that the government needed the burial grounds of Muslims in Rangoon for the development of a city project. SLORC has already confiscated Muslim graveyards, orphanages, and a residential building for aged Muslims, including a mosque, in Mandalay. Leading members of the Muslim community who were managing the trust properties were jailed when they protested.
Christians have also been heavily affected by the government’s “buddhification’’ of the whole of Burma. Military officers have forced villagers, mainly in Chin State, to build pagodas on hill-tops, after removing crosses on churches. Most of the Chin villagers in these areas are Christian. This started about four years ago and is still going on.
The reason many villagers are fleeing the area is to escape the forced labour, as well as to keep their faith and customs despite the SLORC pressure to “buddhify’’. In all non-Buddhist, non-Burman areas, the military continues to define what is “Myanmar’’ by destroying places of religious worship, religious burial grounds (Buddhists usually burn the bodies of their dead), and forbidding or obstructing worship ceremonies.
Examples also show that any religious activities, however, whether Buddhist or not, are always secondary to SLORC rules and needs. Forced labour is demanded on even religious holidays; monks are forcibly disrobed, beaten, and shown disrespect by troops.
Recent tensions within KNU were exploited by SLORC, in order to create divisions within the leadership of a major ethnic resistance group. They successfully turned a Karen army leadership problem into an “internal religious conflict’’, setting the Buddhist Karen soldiers against their Christian brothers, a strategy which led to the fall of the Manerplaw headquarters of the democratic resistance movement in Burma.
SLORC was clearly in charge of this so-called “mutiny” by the Buddhists. Even Buddhist monks trying to mediate the situation were taken hostage by the SLORC-sponsored DKBA, and the Buddhist monk who preached agitation against Christians became the organiser and leader of military actions in the Manerplaw and Kawmoora regions. Clearly, SLORC has little respect for any religion, and manipulates or abuses the beliefs of all peoples to insure their own goal of keeping all Burmese people under their omnipotent and omniscient control.
9.2. Religious Conflict and the Rise of DKBA
Since 1992 there have been reports from villages, particularly in Thaton and Pa-an districts, that local SLORC commanders and Military Intelligence Units are actively spreading propaganda that the Karen National Union is anti-Buddhist, that the Karen Revolution is a Christian revolution and that Karen leaders have told their Christian supporters that as soon as the revolution succeed they will kill all the Buddhists.
[Note: Successive regimes in Burma has practised a “divide and rule” tactic not only in the field of politics but also in the course of religious freedoms to divert the attention of the common people from getting involved in politics or democratic movement. There had been experiences that once the dispute occurred between certain groups, the regime stepped in as pre-planned and cracked down all parties involved in the conflict. Sino-Burmese conflicts in 1967, Muslim-Buddhist conflicts in 1980s and in 1988 just before the 8-8-88 uprising, persecution on the Buddhist monks in the aftermath of 1988 uprising and May 1990 general elections, massive exodus of Muslims in Arakan State in 1991/92 to seek refuge in Bangladesh to avoid persecution of SLORC regime bear the concrete evidences of what has been happening in Burma.]
Villagers were told that SLORC troops did not really want to burn and loot their villages and execute people, but that they had to because KNU was around, so it was all KNU’s fault. They were told not to co-operate with KNU and to pressure KNU into a cease-fire. Despite the villagers’ fear and hatred of SLORC, over time this propaganda gradually began to have an effect for several reasons. Two main factors were the villagers’ complete lack of education, and the truth to the accusation that Christians were promoted over Buddhists in KNU. But perhaps most significant was the fact that KNU had never tried to politically educate the villagers or get them politically involved in the revolution, so they did not even properly understand what KNU was fighting for; instead, they only knew they had to give rice to KNU forces, their sons to the KNU Army, and see their villages burned by SLORC in retaliation to KNU's military operations. They were fed up. Then in 1993 some monks began offering them an alternative: refuse to help KNU, come and stay at “refuges” around monasteries, all your food and other needs will be provided and, best of all, SLORC will not bother you. People began moving to these “refuges”, where they received food and other needs from the monks — who were in turn receiving it all from SLORC. As the villagers did not know where the food was coming from, they started believing the monks such as U Thuzana must have “magic powers”. U Thuzana and the other leaders sent their strongest supporters back into the villages to bring the others and when most people did not want to leave their homes, they started launching a campaign of harassment and intimidation. In late 1994 the situation became more serious, as the monks and villagers were ordered by U Thuzana to disarm KNU soldiers in the villages. The movement became armed. In December, it occupied Thu Mwe Hta monastery at the confluence of Salween and Moei rivers. In 1993-94, a huge new monastery was built there and it was later discovered that a large arms cache had been placed under it — indicating the apparent level of pre-planning which had gone into this sequence of events. At Thu Mwe Hta the group cut off a KNU’s main line of supply and called all KNU Buddhist soldiers and villagers to come and join them. Many KNU soldiers walked away from hilltop positions which they had been defending, underfed and under-supplied, for years. SLORC walked into these positions, including Mae Nyaw Khei ridge, from which they could easily mount an assault on Manerplaw.
The movement became violent. Some KNU soldiers and villagers who did not join them were killed in several villages. KNU sent negotiating teams, including Buddhist monks, to Thu Mwe Hta but they were arrested and held hostage. Their release was negotiated, and on 15 December 1994 an agreement was struck between KNU and the new group. Its leaders had already retreated on 12 December to Myaing Gyi Ngu (Karen name Khaw Taw), near Kamamaung, where they set up headquarters at a monastery with a great deal of weapons stored around it. These leaders tore up the Thu Mwe Hta Agreement and the group at Thu Mwe Hta once again put the river under siege. On 21 December the leaders declared the formation of the “Democratic Kayin Buddhist Organization” (DKBO) and the “Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army” (DKBA), and demanded that KNU hand over Manerplaw. Negotiations at Thu Mwe Hta broke down. SLORC Commander for Special Operations Command Lt-Gen Maung Hla promptly visited Myaing Gyi Ngu and promised DKBA all required weapons and uniforms. SLORC immediately began providing DKBA with uniforms, a badge, food and other supplies — and apparently even wrote several of the DKBA’s political statements, in the opinion of experienced Burmese dissidents who read them. KNU set a deadline of midnight 31 December for the “mutineers” to “return to the fold”. The deadline passed, and a couple of days later Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) began attacking Thu Mwe Hta, which fell within a few days (shortly after KNLA scored a direct hit on the ammunition cache under the monastery hall). The Thu Mwe Hta group withdrew to the Sleeping Dog Mountain area.
SLORC then took over complete control for the offensive. DKBA members were divided up, a small handful assigned to each SLORC unit as guides, and the offensive began on 20 January 1995. By 23 January SLORC established a foothold on the Manerplaw side of the Salween. Using DKBA guides to indicate all the back pathways and KNLA positions, they advanced quickly. KNLA decided to limit its defence to delaying actions, and torched most of Manerplaw before withdrawing. SLORC arrived in Manerplaw on 27 January and raised the yellow DKBA flag. However, on the hill below Manerplaw’s monastery there was a more realistic sign: SLORC soldiers made huge white letters on the ground, visible from the air, reading in Burmese “[ (661) & (10)” [“Tactical Operations Command 661 — Light Infantry Battalion 10”; a battalion in SLORC’s LID 66]. Observers on the Thai side of the river got photos of the lettering, which a few hours later had suddenly been rubbed out and replaced with the English lettering “DKBA”. [Source: KHRG]
9.3. Christian Nagas Forced by SLORC to Adopt Buddhism
Lashi Township in Sagaing Division is a hilly area with difficulty for communications where ethnic Nagas are living. In October 1994, SLORC IB 229 lead by Maj Khin Soe arrived in Lashi Township, told the people there that Burma is a Buddhist country and launched operations into Naga villages and forced the Christian Nagas to convert to Buddhism.
In December 1994, one platoon from IB 229 led by Lt Myat Kyaw arrived at Konkailon village and arrested the Christian evangelist U Maung Hlaing. A pistol was pointed at U Maung Hlaing and he was ordered to convert all the villagers from Christianity to Buddhism. It lasted all night long. The church at Konkailon village was replaced with a Buddhist Pagoda. The event happened on 20 December 1994.
A similar event was also happened in Kuki village. A platoon from IB 229 of SLORC came to Kuki village and arrested the Christian U Pa Khaw. He was released after being forced to sign at gun point that he would accept the Buddhism. Then, 85 villagers were queued up at gun point to sign on a paper stating that they would accept Buddhism. U Pa Kyaw was ordered not to get involved in any Christian missionary.
On 20 January 1995, a column of SLORC troops from IB 229 arrived at Pansat village, bringing a Buddhist monk from Pau Mai village, and ordered the Christian evangelist U Alan Paul to call all the villagers. When the villagers gathered, the military men took the Buddhist monk to the front of the gathering and forced the villagers to worship the monk who recited them sila (precepts). The villagers couldn’t follow the Buddhist scripture language Pali very clearly and then all of them were beaten by the army personnel. The soldiers also destroyed the Cross for the Memorandum for the year 2000 at the entrance of the village.
During the first week of January 1995, the SLORC troops came to Konkailon, Kuki and Nurnitmumpi villages along with the Buddhist monks. They left a monk in each village and forced the villagers to convert to Buddhism. The monks are staying in the churches of the villages and guarded by one section of army personnel in each village. The villagers have to send a pig or a chicken for the monk and the soldiers everyday.
Moreover, the villagers from Sumra, Phon Tharet, Leyon, Chatkaran, Ngakyan, Hinkut, Mitmumi and Pansan villages have been forced by the SLORC to convert to Buddhism. [Source: Vum Son]
9.4. Naga Baptist Council
Most of the Nagas who are members of the Naga Baptist Council (NBC) were also subjected to persecution by SLORC. In March 1995, when NBC called a meeting in Lashi, committee members of the council were detained in Lashi for two days. As a consequence, the meeting was only able to be held beginning on 15 March following the adjournment for eight days.
Moreover, all the government servants in these Naga villages in the Lashi Township were forced to convert to Buddhism. If they refused, they were forced to retire. [Source: Vum Son]
9.5. Religious Persecution of Christian Chins
Chin State is the only State where the people are of one ethnicity. While most of the people in the states and divisions profess Buddhism, Chin Hills is the exception. Even in Kachinland a substantial percent of the population are Buddhists. But not in the Chin State. Christianity and animists are the dominant religions with Buddhists counting to less than 0.01 percent. SLORC, therefore, is introducing its religious persecution. The number of soldiers stationed in Chin State have increased from about 100 soldiers in 1988 to some 7,000 today and there is a battalion in every major town.
The main purpose of the SLORC Army seems to be the "burmanisation" of the Chins. In the last two years Christian Crosses, which were placed as Chin landmarks, were torn down and replaced with Buddhist shrines. Moreover, SLORC has been attempting to divide them by coercing many to become Buddhists. Chin sources report that in Thantlang Township, 10 percent of the villagers have converted to Buddhism because the Buddhist villagers are never called for portering or labour. Buddhists can buy rice at a cheaper price: 300 Ks per pyi for Christians and 100 Ks for Buddhists. Sunday church services are not generally disturbed, but many villagers have been caught by SLORC and taken as porters upon leaving the church. As a result, many villagers are now afraid to go to church. In some villages, SLORC is using the church compound as an army camp. There have also been reports of SLORC using the promise of education to take Christian Chin children from their families, then send them to monasteries and force them to become Buddhist novices. Government schoolbooks are sent to Buddhist monasteries instead of government schools. There are also reports that SLORC is resettling some Burman Buddhists from the Irrawaddy Delta into Chin areas in Tamu Township.
Christians from the northern Chin State send missionaries to the southern part, where most of the people profess animism, under the project of Chin Christianity in One Century (CCOC), The CCOC has been successful in converting the animists to Christianity until two years ago, when SLORC stopped the project. The SLORC Army then launched its religious persecution. They prohibit Christian missionaries and evangelists, including the CCOC from the northern Chin State, from going to the south. The SLORC then sent Buddhist monks to the southern Chin state. The SLORC soldiers on seeing the CCOC workers stripped them off their white uniforms. Some women missionaries had to walk to the next village wearing only their underwear as the Burman soldiers seized all their other clothing.
SLORC soldiers, who are posted in the Chin State, are promised promotions if they marry Chin women, and if they convert the women to Buddhism. The soldiers who are sent to the Chin Hills are young and single. Although these soldiers do not understand the Chin language, Churches in the Chin Hills are full of soldiers during the services. The soldiers attend the churches in order to come in contact with the girls. The same method of burmanisation was practised in the Shan State during the early 1950s, which was one of the reasons for the armed uprising of the Shan. It is possible the SLORC hope that through this kind of racial and religious manipulation, they could make the Chin angry enough to rise up against them.
The Chin people have not rebelled against the central government and the SLORC Army hasn't had any chance to destroy the independence attitude and life-style of the Chin Hills. Given the situation of having cease-fire arrangements with many resistance groups, the SLORC wants to show their dominance to the Chins. They have had to instigate and provoke the Chin to get angry. The instant the Chin show some resistant movement, SLORC is planning and prepared to strike. The mission of the SLORC authorities is to destroy cultural and religious differences inside Burma, and the Chin seem to be targeted. If the trend continues, a religious conflict is unavoidable. [Source: Vum Son/KHRG]
9.6. Religious Persecution and Conversion
Religious persecution seem to be one of the main targets of SLORC. As mentioned earlier the propagation of Buddhism is the main objective of stationing the SLORC Army in the Chin State. They look for clues to protect the interest of Buddhism thereby incriminating the Christian worshippers. Promotions in the SLORC Army or civilian departments were conditioned on conversion to Buddhism. High-ranking Chin officers had to convert to Buddhism before they were given promotion. Prominent among them were Col Van Kulh, Brig-Gen Tuang Za Khai and Col Pau Khan Thang. Whereas they officially kneel and bow before the Buddhist statues, these high-ranking army officers pray in the name of Jesus at home. The SLORC clearly prefers Buddhism, claiming this as the national religion in Burma. [Source: Vum Son]
9.6.1. Pu Pum Khan Thang
In January 1995, an Assembly of God evangelist Pu Pum Khan Thang was arrested in Tiddim. The reason was the MIS confiscated a book at the Tiddim Bazaar and they traced the source of the book to the children of Pu Pum Khan Nang. The children had brought the book for sale at the bazaar. The pages of the could be used as wrapping paper. On the title page of the book, most likely printed in India, was a picture of Jesus on top of a Hindu clergy man in wrestling match. Pu Pum Khan Thang was arrested in Tiddim and bail was refused. He was transferred to Monywa jail, a noted MIS torture chamber, where the victim remains now.
9.6.2. Pastor Pauno
Pastor Pauno was an evangelist with no affiliation. He was free-lancing in the Naga-Hkamti areas. As he was very successful in converting the Nagas, it alarmed the SLORC authorities in the area. Thus the MIS sent out its agents and Buddhist monks in order to study how to counter his teaching. However in a short period of time Pastor Pauno converted the MIS agents and the Buddhist monks to Christianity.
The SLORC authorities therefore arrested him in Hkamti and transferred him to Monywa jail. Why Monywa jail? Because it has the MIS facilities of torture. This is the reason why these religious and political prisoners are sent to Monywa.
Pauno was in contact with jail mates U San Thein and U San Kyi Lwin, who were Christian evangelists from Arakan, and who were arrested in the Chin Hills (Falam) and also jailed in line with SLORC’s religious persecution. U San Thein and U San Kyi Lwin were released at the beginning of 1995 after they served over a three years' term in Monywa jail.
Pastor Pauno was severely tortured that he has lost the will to live. He therefore requested U San Thein and U San Kyi Lwin to pray for his sooner death. [Source: Vum Son]
9.7. Observance of Religious Rites Forbidden for Forced Labourers
Most of local people from Ta Kar village in Mergui were forced to work for the construction of Mergui-Kawthaung Motorway seven days a week. They were not only denied the right to worship but also denied to be spared from working even on Sunday. [Source: KNU]
9.8. Religious Freedom of Expression and Censorship
SLORC has intensified a religious persecution by trying to change some words expressed in the Holy Bible. The Burmese version of Bible is normally printed in India and distributed in Burma. SLORC forced the inking over of the whole twenty-ninth chapter of Proverbs and has forbidden use of the word Toke Tan (the Burmese translation of Proverbs) which is the same meaning of cemetery. SLORC said that if the word Toke Tan could not be dropped, it should not be mentioned whenever preaching, as Buddhist cremate their dead.
Moreover, at a village in Irrawaddy Division, SLORC turned down a proposal for the construction of a Baptist Church with the reason that it could be connected with the political movement. After many appeals had been made by the religious persons who guaranteed that the Church would only be for the religious purpose, SLORC allowed the construction. But on every Sunday, the Church is responsible for advanced submission of the proposed sermon to be preached and numbers of persons supposed to show up. [Source: Inside Source]
U Wai Lin, a Muslim lawyer from Loikaw, Karenni State, was sentenced to five years imprisonment for holding a discussion over the issue of relocating a local Muslim cemetery after being ordered by Loikaw Township LORC. Loikaw-based No. 27 Military Intelligence Unit discovered the meeting of Muslims concerned over the issue and U Wai Lin was arrested. His five-year sentence, handed down in the third week of March 1995, was for violating the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, which gives almost unlimited power to the administrative body to arrest and imprison anybody for security reasons. [Source: ABSDF]
9.9. Oppressive Measures on the Buddhist Monks
Of the 26 Buddhist monasteries with 250 monks in Kawthaung Township, Tenasserim Division, SLORC only recognises the existence of eight monasteries and the monks staying there were singled out for monsoon retreat. [The full moon of Waso is the beginning of the three-month Buddhist Lent, which is the first day to commemorate Buddha's first sermon 2500 years ago. During the Lent period, monks are restricted to their monasteries for a prolonged period of spiritual retreat.]
In accordance with the orders of SLORC, the Central Monks Body, on 8 July 1995, issued an announcement saying that the remaining 18 monasteries would be abolished before the monsoon retreat. The notification was issued only two days before the commencement of the Buddhist Lent.
All the monks staying in other monasteries which were listed for abolition called a meeting and submitted an appeal letter to the Central Monks Body and SLORC, asking for the suspension of the order. The monks requested them to allow their further stay in the monasteries for three months to be able to take part in the monsoon retreat.
The SLORC, however, turned down the appeal and ordered the monks to comply with the order. “If they fail to do so, we have to enforce the order by the use of “force”, said a military authority. [Source: ABSDF]
9.10. Insult on Religion
On 1 February 1995, 40 troops led by Capt Myo Kyaw Lwin and Lt Thein Lwin from SLORC IB 258 tore down the spirit house of Kar Ha village near Mong Nai Township, Southern Shan State, because they wanted firewood for cooking. The soldiers then set fire to the remains of the house. When they had gone some distance from the site, seven of them were suddenly stricken with cramp in their hands and feet. They were sent to Mong Nai Hospital, where they later died. The remaining 33 continued their journey, then clashed with troops from MTA. Capt Myo Kyaw Lwin stepped on a land mine and lost a leg while Lt Thein Lwin was hit in the forehead and died on the spot. [Source: S.H.A.N.]
9.11. Religious Persecution by SLORC/DKBA
At 2:00 p.m. on 29 December 1995, a combined column of SLORC IB 19 and DKBA entered Kheh Pa Hta village, burned houses, shot livestock, entered into the Church, destroyed the Bibles and hymn books and scattered them all around the building. They took their meals in the Church and scattered their rubbish all around. [Source: KHRG]
[See also under “Personal Accounts”, interview 22-25, 31, 51-52, 78-81, 90-91, 96-97, 99, 102, 224, 251, 292-294]
o0o
I. Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
II. Arbitrary Detention and Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances III. Rights of Child
IV. Forced Labour and Slavery V. Forced Relocation and Internally Displaced Persons
VI. Deprivation of Livelihood VII. Minority Protection
VIII. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment or Punishment
IX. Freedom of Belief: Discrimination Against the Right to Practice Religion and Intolerance
X.
Freedom of Opinion and Expression XI.
Freedom of Assembly and Association XII.
Freedom of Movement
XIII.
Abuse of Women XIV.
The Refugees Situation and Forced Repatriation