June 20th, 2022
Fighting is taking place between the military council and local defense forces in Karenni State almost every day during the coup period. The soldiers were stationed at the religious buildings.
The religious buildings were hit by the artillery shells and burned down by the military council in the fighting.
According to the list compiled by the Kantarawaddy Times, 15 Catholic buildings, eight Baptist buildings and four Buddhist buildings were destroyed in armed conflicts.
A Buddhist monk from Karenni State said: “The destruction of religious buildings is not good. We don’t like it. The military should not do it. Religion is the building of public culture. All human beings have human rights. All religions have their respective religious teachings. The destruction of these religious buildings amounts to the violation of human rights.”
A leader of the Baptist church said: “According to the human rights norms and the international norms, attacks on the religious buildings must be avoided in the war. For instance, the soldiers should not be stationed at hospitals, religious buildings and schools during the war. This fact is included in the Geneva Conventions. The military violates the laws. According to the international laws, the soldiers have no rights to be stationed at the religious buildings. If possible, immediate action should be taken against those who destroy these buildings. I don’t want to say to pay the damages. I would like to call on them to avoid such cases in the future.”
“We have to pray at the makeshift tents in the forests. Recently, my friend from Hteepawso posted a video about his plight due to the inflow of rain water to the prayer place,” a leader of the Baptist.
“Hitting the churches is very adverse. The church is a holy place. They should not do it. We object to targeted attacks on churches, schools and hospitals by any armed organizations, a Catholic Christan leader says.
Most of the populations in Karenni State are Catholics, Christans and Buddhists.
In addition, 1,093 houses were destroyed by heavy shelling and arson in Karenni State.
Sent by Maw Mi Myar (Kantarawaddy Times)