BWA General Council Resolution 2022.2

The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, July 10-15, 2022:

NOTES on February 1, 2021, the democratically elected leaders in Myanmar were overthrown in a coup d’état by the military (Tatmadaw). Since then, the military junta, also known as theState Administration Council, has ruled the nation.

REGRETS that under the military rule, civil and religious freedoms have been dismantled. The Tatmadaw has furthermore waged a campaign of terror and violence, particularly against minority religions, including Christians, the great majority of whom are Baptists. Since the coup, the military has terrorized communities in Kachin, Karen, Kayah State, Chin State, and Sagaing Region, by burning villages, destroying churches, and detaining pastors and religious leaders.

GRIEVES that this violence displaced tens of thousands of people, and that the Tatmadaw has also disrupted humanitarian aid efforts to suffering people.

BUILDS on previous resolutions about violence, displacement of people, and religious liberty violations of Christians, Rohingya Muslims, and others in Myanmar (e.g., BWA General Council Resolutions 2006.4, 2013.11, 2014.3), and on the historic Baptist work in the nation.

CONDEMNS the coup.

SUPPORTS the November 2021 call of the United Nations Security Council for an immediate end to the violence.CALLS for the establishment of a true democracy that respects the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.

PRAYS for and supports Baptists and other Christians ministering in persecuted communities and among displaced persons.