Informarion Sheet A.0077(I/L)

[OKKAR66127@xxxxxxx]

                               Informarion Sheet
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     A.0077(I/L) 					          28-7-97


Response to U.S State Department's Allegation on Religious Persecution
		
		Myanmar is a country priding herself where  all the major religions of the
world flourish side by side in complete harmony and understanding. Successive
Myanmar Governments had encouraged and supported various religions to be able
to practise their faith peacefully. Today, the present Myanmar Government is
not only continuing the same policy but is in the process of promoting and
cooperating with religions of all faiths in Myanmar. But at the same time to
keep all the religions harmonious, certain regulations and measures must be
abided by all religions for their own good. Because of this standard practice
and understanding, Myanmar does not suffer or come across situation where one
religion comes into serious conflict with another. In today's world there are
a lot of examples to be shown regarding religious conflicts in Europe, Middle
East, United States and South Asia are most notable.
		Comparatively in the United States where a few years ago in 1994, there was
an incident in Texas ( Waco ), in which the religious cult leader and his
followers including women and children, some (70) people were killed as a
result of the siege by the federal and state police.

		Not surprisingly, the U.S State Department's allegations on Myanmar for the
so-called religious persecution lacks basic knowledge regarding the situation
and concept of religions in Myanmar. For example, the Department stated that,
?--- In December 1996, the government ordered the removal of Christian,
Chinese and Buddhist graves from the Kyandaw Cemetery in Yangon to make way
for a planned real estate development ?.

		This allegation has been refuted and clarified by the relevant Myanmar
Authorities and can be easily probed if one is really interested in facts.

		For the benefit of those who can be misled by the U.S State Department's
report on this so called religious repression, we will once again present the
actual situation.

		In Yangon at Kyandaw Cemetery there are Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and
Islamic cemeteries all located in one area. A large part of this ground is
Buddhist cemetery sharing other religions having smaller portions. This
cemetery in the olden days used to be at the outskirts of the city. In view
of facilitating a decent and purposeful place of the dead for whom the rites
and rituals observed by different religions a plan has been envisaged by
Myanmar Authorities to initiate a new Multi Religion Square.

		To remedy the situation the government has allocated new burial grounds for
all religions and is also constructing a new orphanage for the (100) orphans
currently staying at a religious edifice in the cemetery grounds. The orphans
will eventually move to a new facility when the construction works are
finished in their (100'x100') compound. This new compound has been donated by
Yangon City Development Committee  taking the responsibility for construction
of a new building in that donated compound.
		The Kyandaw cemetery ground is now being cleared up and will be turned into
a ? Multi Religion Square ? where the respective religions will have the role
to establish, install and decorate religious embraces of long term vision.
This former 
cemetery will not be used for any other purpose but only for the Multi
Religion Square where the (4) religions will establish their respective
objects of burial markings in designated areas. Also the (14) families living
in the religious edifice on the Kyandaw ground were given appropriate
monetary assistance and each family was given a (40'x60') free plot of land
to build new houses and appropriate compensation were also given for the
existing building on the cemetery ground.

		Before implementing this project relevant authorities from all religion
involved were invited to have a cordial and cooperative discussion and
implementation took place after being consented. Foreign ambassadors in
Yangon and Myanmar ambassadors abroad have been informed of the situation and
undertaking by the relevant authorities, hoping the project and its
objectives can be fully appreciated and the negative and destructive rumors
being constantly created to bring misunderstanding and chaos among religions
are to be outrightly and effectively eliminated. Moreover, this project is we
believe one of its first kind in the world itself  where monuments from
different religions will be facilitated in their respective faiths to
symbolize peace, harmony and unity among the (4) different faiths prominent
in Myanmar. We strongly believe this noble project is a thing in element the
U.S should emulate instead of having its State Department with ulterior
motives ridicule or belittle Myanmar's efforts.
		The State Department also blatantly accuses the Myanmar Government of
repressing ethnic minorities such as the Christian Kayins from the Kayin
National Union (KNU). This organization is being funded by western
organizations to create political and economic instability inside Myanmar and
also between Myanmar and her neighboring country. Here again the situation is
made to look like a religious repression but what the State Department failed
to mention is that the majority of the members of the KNU are Buddhists. More
importantly, there are other nationalities in Myanmar who practises Christian
faith such as the Kachins and Chins. These groups are living harmoniously
together with other nationalities who practises different religious faiths.
The Christian 
population there vastly outnumbers that of the KNU. This point alone proves
that KNU's are not victims of religious repressions.
		
Regarding the U.S foreign policy we would like to present a few quotes from
the book, ? What Uncle Sam Really Wants ? ?. The author Noam Chomsky is one
of America's most popular speakers and he dissects U.S foreign policy with
insights like these:

(a)	?---It has become more necessary to recognize what has always been true :
that the prime enemy is the Third World, which threatens to get " out of
control".?

(b)	?---What you do when you have a virus ? First you destroy it, then you
inoculate victims, so that the disease does not spread. That's basically the
U.S strategy in the Third World.?

(c)	?---The U.S has very little popular support for its goal in the Third
World. This isn't surprising, since it's trying to impose structures of
domination and exploitation.?

(c)	?---Contrary to what virtually everyone- left or right- says, the United
States achieved its major objectives in Indochina. Vietnam was demolished.
There's no danger that successful development there will provide a model for
other nations in the region.?  

(e)	?---In October 1991, the U.S once again overrode the strenuous objection
of its allies in Europe and Japan, and renewed the embargo and sanctions
against Vietnam. The Third World must learn that no one dare raise their
head. The global enforcer will prosecute them relentlessly if they commit
this unspeakable crime.?
		
Michael Dobbs-Higginson, the writer is the author of Asia Pacific ; Its Role
in New World Disorder. He is a former chairman of Merill Lynch, Asia Pacific
Region. In one of his articles ?Myanmar-What Is The West's Real Agenda?? he
dissects U.S foreign policy with insights like these :

(a)	?---Looking at Myanmar specifically, why is it that it almost always as
though the western governments seem to be making a special target out of the
current government, totally disproportionate to its recent behavior and the
positive results it has achieved to date.?

(b)	?---From the western point of view, Myanmar could be deemed to be the
weak link in the regional China containment policy, as primarily advocated by
the U.S.?

(c)	?---As long as the current military government remains in power, it is
quite clear that it will formulate its own policy towards China.?

(d)	?---Such attitude is contributing in large part, no doubt, to the U.S
obsessive opposition to the current Myanmar Government.?

 
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