The cardinal, who is also president of the Myanmar Bishops’ Conference, said many religious communities have lost homes, monasteries, and churches due to the violence.
In November 2018, Pope Francis visited the country. According to the archbishop of Yangon, during his visit the pope gave “several messages of love and peace, but unfortunately it didn’t register.” Despite everything, the pontiff, the cardinal added, brought a message of peace between religions and their leaders.
In the face of so much violence, the cardinal made a universal call to bring about peace in Myanmar: “We call on all parties to seek a path of peace. At the beginning of the war, the Church tried to bring together all parties to work for consensus. Recently, the avenues for peace seem to be limited, but the Church continues to reach out to all stakeholders in the hope of bringing peace.”
United Nations warns: ‘Never-ending nightmare’ in Myanmar
In early March, the United Nations (U.N.) expressed its profound concern about the situation in Myanmar, describing the crisis as a “never-ending nightmare” that has inflicted unbearable levels of suffering and cruelty on its population.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk reported in May that the military regime has caused thousands of deaths, including airstrikes in towns and cities, and has arbitrarily detained more than 20,000 opponents, including 3,909 women.
Additionally, the U.N. Security Council in April called for an immediate end to violence, the release of arbitrarily detained prisoners, and improved humanitarian access.
Finally, the U.N. also reported that the humanitarian emergency will worsen this year, with 18.6 million people needing assistance in 2024, a figure 19 times higher than that recorded in February 2021.
The coup d’état in Myanmar
In early 2021, the Asian country’s armed forces (known as Tatmadaw) seized control of the government, alleging election fraud in the general elections of Nov. 8, 2020, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1991, won a landslide victory.
However, these claims of fraud were not supported by independent observers and are seen by many as an excuse for the military to regain control of the country.
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Although Myanmar moved to civilian rule in 2011, the country’s constitution — enacted by the military in 2008 — ensures that the military retains significant control over the government, including control of important ministries and a quarter of the seats in Parliament.
The NLD’s overwhelming victory in 2020 increased the Tatmadaw’s concern about the loss of its political and economic influence. The combination of these circumstances, among several other factors, led the military to overthrow the democratically elected government, arrest Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders, and declare a state of emergency, promising new elections, which have not yet materialized.
Consequently, the coup d’état triggered widespread resistance, mass protests, and an escalation of armed conflicts across the country, thrusting Myanmar into its current, unprecedented humanitarian and human rights crisis.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Ana Paula Morales has master’s degrees in neuromarketing, applied integral communication and theology. She has been writing for ACI Prensa in Mexico since 2022.
Andrés Henríquez is a Venezuelan writer specializing in religion and politics with more than five years of experience in bilingual media. He is a member of the Regnum Christi Federation.
Credit: Source link
