Watch and Pray for Burma

CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE For immediate release February 21 2003

CSW Calls on Christians and Churches Around the World to Keep Watch and Pray for Burma

DAY OF PRAYER FOR BURMA ON MARCH 8

10am to 4pm, St. John's Church, Waterloo Road, London SW1

In support of the Global Day of Prayer for Burma on 9th March, Christian Solidarity Worldwide together with Release International, Karen Aid, Friends of Burma, Karen Action Group, Committee for the Internally Displaced Karen People, Tear Fund and others are co-hosting a Day of Prayer for Burma.

Time: 10 am - 4 pm

Venue: St. John's Church Waterloo Road, London SW1

Admission: Free

CSW is also calling on Christians and churches around the world to devote the first week of March to keep watch and pray for Burma.

Burma is under the rule of one of the most brutal regimes in the world. Since taking power in a coup in 1962, the military junta (currently known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)) has gone to terrifying lengths to subdue and annihilate the democratic opposition and the country's numerous ethnic groups.

Civilians are regularly used by the military as human minesweepers, bullet shields and forced labourers. Children are abducted and sent to the frontline. Villagers are shot on sight, villages are burnt down, paddy and livestock are destroyed.

As one Shan woman recently told CSW, 'The SPDC troops came, they took whatever they wanted, burnt, killed and destroyed whatever they did not want. They captured our women, used us as porters during day and raped us at night." The SPDC regularly attacks civilian villages in the ethnic areas. Most of these attacks take place in the middle of the night and are most intense during planting and harvest seasons. Close to a million people are living in the jungles deep inside Burma. In the words of a recent human rights report, 'they are constantly hunted, shelled and driven like animals' by the Burmese troops.

Despite the release of pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 6th May last year, the military junta has so far failed to take any genuine step towards national reconciliation.

"Our theme for this year is 'Hope and Healing'. We hope to look towards the future of Burma and consider ways in which we can support the restoration of Burma in prayers and in action," said Benedict Rogers, a journalist and a speaker for the Day. "The Scriptures promise us that when we ask of God, He will make the nations our inheritance, and the ends of the earth our possession (Ps. 2:8). We believe that as Christians around the world stand with those suffering in Burma, the Kingdom of God will impact that nation, bringing justice, freedom, and an end to the gross violations of human rights."

Materials for a week of prayers can be downloaded from CSW website: http://www.csw.org.uk or from http://www.prayforburma.org/Day_of_Prayer/2003/day_of_prayer_2003.pdf