MANDALAY, Myanmar — Hundreds of minority Christians in Myanmar say they were forced to sign statements vowing to limit their faith and not pray in churches after being detained near the country’s border with China by a China-backed militia group.
The Union of Catholic Asian News reported Oct. 10 that 92 ethnic-Lahu Christians were being held. Rev. Lazarus, general secretary of the Lahu Baptist Convention, said those held would have no other choice than to also sign the documents. Lazarus called the situation “worrisome,” noting that five churches had been destroyed and 52 churches shut down. The United Wa State Army (UWSA), a militant group that grew out of the Communist Party in Burma, has announced that all churches built after 1992 were illegally constructed and must be destroyed. The UWSA has banned the construction of new churches and requires that priests and workers in churches be locals, not outsiders. (TAB)
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