The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, recently held a hearing on how to advance religious freedom in Burma. Meir Soloveichik is currently the vice chair of USCIRF - an independent, bipartisan U.S. government advisory body created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act.
The Commission uses international standards to monitor freedom of religion or belief abroad and makes policy recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and the U.S. Congress.
February 1 marked the four-year anniversary of the coup in which General Minh Aung Hlaing seized control and ousted Burma's democratically elected government. “Over the past four years, Burma has sunk into a human rights and humanitarian abyss,” said Vice Chair Soloveichik.
“Millions of people are either internally displaced in Burma or outside the country. As refugees, more than 28,000 have been arrested and 6,000 have been killed. The Burmese military had targeted ethnic and religious minorities for more than two decades before the coup, seeking to maintain its grip on power and achieve a Buddhist nationalist vision for Burma.”
After the coup, the Military and the State Administration Council have violently targeted religious communities with arrests, killings, torture, and airstrikes, attacking more than 250 religious sites throughout the country, said Mr. Soloveichik.
“On January 7th, 2024, the military launched airstrikes in Sagaing region, killing 17 civilians, including nine children, as they gathered to worship at St. Peter Baptist Church in Kanan Village. The severity of the offense prompted human rights watchdog Amnesty International to call for the attacks to be investigated as war crimes.”
“In August, the military bombed the Buddhist monastery in the Mandalay region where a displaced person sought shelter. Many were injured, including a seven-year-old girl who had to have both of her legs amputated.”
Burma was re-designated as a Country of Particular Concern by the State Department in December of 2023. USCIRF has recommended that Burma retain this designation.
“As Burma continues to fragment,” warned Mr. Soloveichik, “vulnerable religious communities are further exposed to violence, terror and retaliation for their alleged support for pro-democracy groups.”
The United States said Vice President JD Vance, recognizes that part of “protecting religious freedom initiatives means recognizing in our foreign policy the difference between regimes that respect religious freedom and those that do not.”
It’s time for Burma to extend that protection to all its citizens.
