Church Services Banned in Former Burma Capital

Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009 Posted: 2:23:53PM HKT

Burma's reclusive leader, General Than Shwe, made an appearance at a military parade. He now lives at a newly-built fortress-like complex to the east of the capital. (Photo: AP)

Authorities in the former Burma capital of Rangoon have banned the holding of regular church services, threatening to seal off churches if congregations refuse to comply, according to a Burma newspaper.

The Kyauktada Township Peace and Development Council called a meeting of local church pastors from leading downtown Rangoon churches last Monday warning them to stop conducting worship services in residential apartments.

The nearly 50 church leaders and pastors who attended the meeting were forced to sign more than five papers pledging to cease church services, one of the pastors said to Mizzima. Authorities had sent an invitation to representatives from over 100 churches mostly in the downtown Rangoon area and informed them of the new order.

“They warned us that our churches would be sealed off if we continue worshipping,” said the pastor of a church in Pabedan Township. “The papers also said that we could be punished [and could be jailed] if we fail to obey the order and the church would be sealed off.

An official at the Kyauktada Township Peace and Development Council office confirmed that a meeting was held on Monday but declined to elaborate on the substance of the ensuing dialogue.

“We received the meeting invitation last Sunday,” said the pastor. “Now we don’t know what to do with our Sunday services.”

When Burma’s junta stopped issuing permits to religious organisations and churches for the possession of land and the building of churches long ago, several local churches in Rangoon conducted their worship services in residential apartments, which are often rented or purchased in the names of private owners.

“Since the late 1990s authorities have stopped issuing permits [to churches] to purchase land or construct church buildings,” the pastor said, adding that he bought an apartment in Pabedan Township for use as a public worship space.

This, together with the new order, virtually puts a stop to Christian worship, according to a Christian youth in Rangoon, since most churches there are convened in apartments.

“Eighty percent of the churches in Yangon [Rangoon] are included in the order. Only a few churches have their own land. Most churches use rented buildings, houses and office style rooms for worship places,” he explained.

“We need your prayers for Christian communities in Myanmar,” he added.

Church leaders say that there are at least 100 churches located in residential apartments in downtown Rangoon, including those in Kyuaktada, Lanmadaw, Latha, Pabedan, Bothathaung, Minglar Thaung Nyut, Dagon, Tamwe, Hlaing, Kamayut, Ahlone, Sanchaung, and Bahan Townships.

The order is seen by some pastors as an attempt to stop Christians from regularly meeting. The military junta maintains a tight grip on the population, suppressing democracy, freedom of speech, and even religious freedom in its attempt to sustain its rule. In September 2007, the rulers violently crushed Buddhist monk-led protests, killing hundreds of monks, who are highly revered in the predominantly Buddhist country.

Nathanael Ng
nathanael@christianpost.com