Source: www.csw.org.uk
Date: February 1, 2021
I woke up this morning to some devastating news from Burma, and I want to ask you to join me in praying urgently.
The military has taken power in a coup, arresting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of government, and other key government figures and civilian leaders.
The military is claiming the arrests are because of fraud in last November’s election, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s party won by an overwhelming majority.
However, although there were other issues with the election (including millions being disenfranchised), there’s no evidence of fraud.
‘We must urge all parties to step back from the brink’
There have been serious concerns about Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, not least because of her failure to take strong action on behalf of the country’s oppressed religious and ethnic minorities, or to tackle the genocide of the Rohingyas, a predominantly Muslim people group.
But overall, Burma has made enormous strides in recent years. The election last November was only the country’s second-ever democratic election, after 50 years of direct military rule.
That’s why my colleague Benedict Rogers, CSW’s Senior Analyst for East Asia, said, ‘The events of the past few days and especially the past 24 hours are a desperate step backwards for Burma. If the military reverts to the political repression of a decade or more ago…Burma will return to the dark days of isolation from which it has only recently emerged. It is in no one’s interests, and so we must urge all parties to step back from the brink.’
Please pray:
- That Aung San Suu Kyi and all the others who have been arrested would be released immediately and unconditionally.
- That this coup, instead of being a step backwards, would eventually result in positive changes to Burma’s system of government, and a fairer, more just country where all citizens are truly equal