Myanmar (MNN) — Governments around the world have condemned the Myanmar coup. The military took control of the country on Monday, disregarding the democratic process. Now, police have charged the elected leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, as a justification for holding her. The charge? Illegally possessing and importing walkie talkies.

Many leading military officials in Myanmar were also responsible for genocide against the Rohingya people. This comes from a scathing statement released by The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Read more here.

Joe Handley of Asian Access says, “As the military has taken over the country, obviously, that concern is going to rise again. At least with Aung San Suu Kyi and her party in charge you had a buffer, because of the international pressure that was on her government. But in this case, obviously, the military couldn’t care less about that kind of pressure.”

The Gospel among the Rohingya

Asian Access has worked heavily with the Rohingya people over the last several years. Handley says:

“We have been actively helping leaders of the Church in those regions where the Rohingya are most prevalent, on both sides of the border. And we’ve seen remarkable responses to the Gospel. There’s been quite a few Rohingya Muslims that have actually come to faith in Christ. And there are house churches that are forming throughout those communities.”

Handley describes great anxiety in Myanmar. He says this crisis is an opportunity for the Church. “In moments like this, this is a chance for the Gospel to shine. In darkest hours His light can shine bright. Pray for the Church to rise to the occasion.”

Pray the church in Myanmar would broker peace in a tumultuous political time. And pray they would be advocates for the Rohingya people.

Listen to the broadcast (top story)

Direct Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Feb04-2021.mp3

More Information

• This story by Kevin Zeller was originally published on 04-Feb-2021 by Mission Network News:
  https://www.mnnonline.org/news/the-uscirf-condemns-myanmar-coup/
• Download the audio file: https://s3.amazonaws.com/a2-media/audio/4-5min-Feb04-2021.mp3
• Image credits:
  • Cover image shows an armored car patrolling Myanmar after the coup. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain) 
  • Inset: Photo courtesy of FMI

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