The military dictatorship in Burma has banned Christians from meeting in buildings less than a century old. An order, known as the Higher Policy of the State Peace and Development Council, was issued in early July and is having a significant and wide-ranging impact on Christian communities across the country. More than 80 church buildings have already been closed in the capital Rangoon since June and a further 20 have been shut in Shwe Pyi Tar, a township north of the capital. All church buildings have been forced to close in the southern township of Hlaing Tai Yar, with Christians there allowed to meet in private homes, but ordered not to sing. The authorities were using recent violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims to close churches, but the new law puts even more pressure on believers. The regime has warned church leaders, including those from Rangoon, Mandalay Division, Shan State, Rakhin State and Sagaing Division, that if they defied the order, all places of worship would be closed down. Many churches meet in residential apartments or schools as it is virtually impossible to obtain official permission to construct or repair church buildings, many of which are very run-down.
The Higher Policy also forces churches more than a hundred years old to silence their church bells on Sundays and forbids the placing of crosses on the buildings. Two Christian children's homes, Agape Orphanage House and Agape Orphanage Ministry, both near Rangoon, have also been closed down. At least 17 Christian ministers have gone into hiding and five missionaries are known to have been ordered to leave the country. One minister was arrested and is still missing. The military regime already closely monitors all religious activities and gatherings of any kind with five or more people are officially illegal. The recent crackdowns not only violate international standards on the right to freedom of religion, they also infringe on the freedom of expression, conscience and assembly. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) continues to call on the Burmese government to immediately end the pervasive and systematic human rights violations against religious and ethnic minorities. CSW calls on the regime to open the country to human rights monitors and humanitarian organisations and to allow aid to reach the internally displaced population without conditions.
CSW also calls on the international community to support the Committee Representing the People's Parliament established under Aung San Suu Kyi's leadership. James Mawdsley, who spent more than a year in solitary confinement in a Burmese jail, is to call on the international community to step up support
for the pro-democracy movement in Burma at the International Christian Human Rights Conference on October 6. He said: "The oppression of millions of people in Burma and the appalling violations of their most basic human rights, continues today. "I hope the international community acts resolutely to restrain the excesses of this brutal regime and increase dramatically all its efforts to support those in Burma who are struggling for democracy."