Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hakha (Agenzia Fides) - The government of the Burmese state of Chin (in western Myanmar) has ordered the removal, by 30 January, of a 16-meter-high cross, located on a hill in the city of Hakha. As Fides learns, the ordinance states that the cross, erected in April 2014, was erected illegally. It is Tial Cem, a Christian elder of ethnic Chin, who now has to appear in court and faces a sentence to two years in prison.
According to the organization "Chin Human Rights Organization" (CHRO), the government must withdraw the order and guarantee religious freedom. The Chin Christians who planted the cross refer in fact "of not having asked for an official permit", because they knew "it would not be granted".
CHRO notices "discriminatory restrictions that make it virtually impossible to get permits for non-Buddhist buildings and religious monuments". A 2012 Report entitled "Threats to our existence: the persecution of the Christians of ethnic Chin in Burma", sent to Fides, traces in detail these restrictions and documents the destruction of 13 Christian crosses in the Chin State in recent years.
The case of the cross in Hakha has brought to surface these violations of religious freedom and minority rights, says a statement sent to Fides by the NGO "Christian Solidarity Worldwide" (CSW). Some faithful Chin intend to organize a public protest in coming days, to prevent the removal of the cross. According to CSW, "the destruction of Christian crosses in Chin State has long been a pursued policy of the Burmese authorities, often accompanied by the construction of Buddhist pagodas in their place. If Burma wants to proceed in an authentic path of reform, we need to protect religious minorities and respect the most basic human right of freedom of religion". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 29/01/2015)
