CSW says Churches around the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand plan to include special prayers for Burma in their Sunday services.

Protests in Burma began on August 19 when over 400 people demonstrated against the regime’s fuel price rises. Demonstrations have taken place almost every day since then in different parts of Burma. The regime has responded by arresting more than 150 people, including almost all the leading democracy activists.

Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, who spent 16 and 15 years in jail respectively for their leadership of the pro-democracy movement in 1988, are in detention. It is feared they could face jail sentences of up to 20 years.

CSW says: "The regime has also used hired mobs armed with iron rods and bamboo sticks to attack protestors. At least one protestor, Ye Thein Naing, has been denied medical treatment in detention for a broken leg sustained during one such attack. Over 40 other prisoners have gone on hunger strike in protest at the poor treatment he has received."

The Day of Prayer is the latest in a series of international actions planned to raise awareness about the crisis. On Tuesday, September 4, activists including church groups in 21 countries took part in a day of fasting in solidarity with those on hunger strike in Burma.

Demonstrations have been held around the world, and international leaders, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US President George W Bush, have condemned the crackdown. Earlier this week Gordon Brown called on the UN Security Council to address “the grave situation” in Burma urgently, and pledged to discuss the issue with other world leaders.

The military regime in Burma has one of the worst human rights records in the world. Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, remains under house arrest. More than 1,200 political prisoners are in jail. Torture is severe and widespread. The regime is guilty of the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war, forced labor, the forcible conscription of child soldiers, the use of human minesweepers, extra-judicial killings, the destruction of over 3,000 villages in eastern Burma since 1996 and the displacement of more than a million people.

Although Christians are not particularly targeted in the current crack down, the regime is ranked by the US State Department as one of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom. Christians in Burma face varying levels of discrimination, restrictions and persecution, as documented in CSW’s report Carrying the Cross published earlier this year. A copy of the report can be found at: www.csw.org.uk/Countries/Burma/Resources/Carryingthecross.pdf

CSW’s National Director, Stuart Windsor, said: “We are delighted that people across the world will be praying for Burma, but we want to encourage even more people to stand in prayer and solidarity at this time. We hope that churches and individuals who have not yet signed up will include Burma in their prayers on Sunday. It is something all of us can do, at no cost and with potentially great benefit. It will make a significant difference for the suffering people of Burma.”

CSW is a human rights organization which specializes in religious freedom, works on behalf of those persecuted for their Christian beliefs and promotes religious liberty for all.

For more information, please contact Penny Hollings, Campaigns and Media Manager at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045, email pennyhollings@csw.org.uk  or visit www.csw.org.uk.  

** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Lake Forest, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station. His weblog appears at: Michael's Wor(l)d BLOG