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Press Release: CAM Official Report Release on April 13, 2023

May 15, 2023

Washington, DC — On Thursday, April 13, 2023, the Chin Association of Maryland held an official launch event for its most recent report, Two Years After the 2021 Military Coup: The Worsening Situation of Christians Across Burma.

This report is CAM’s third since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup, highlighting key cases of religious persecution aimed at the Chin and other Christian minorities across Burma. CAM thanks the U.S. Institute of Peace for hosting and thanks the speakers, including Bishop David J. Malloy and Dr. C. Jeff Woods, for their remarks.

At the event, CAM Executive Director Zo Tum Hmung and Rev. Ah Le, General Secretary of the Kachin Baptist Churches, USA, presented key findings and cases of religious persecution from the report, which can be accessed below. Coverage related to the event can be viewed at the USIP website, Voice of America’s Burmese service, and Democratic Voice of Burma TV News.

CAM issued the following key recommendations to the Biden administration:

1. Actively impose targeted sanctions against the military officials who have committed atrocities against the people of Burma, including atrocities targeting religious minorities such as Christians in Chin, Kachin, Karen, and Karenni States as well as Sagaing and Mandalay Regions; and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State
2. Designate atrocities against Christian minorities, especially the Chins, as war crimes and crimes against humanity, consistent with the designation of crimes targeting the Rohingya ethnic and religious minority

Below are CAM’s recent presentations on this topic:

1. CAM’s United State Institute of Peace Presentation
2. Statement by Reverend Ah Le, General Secretary of the Kachin Baptist Churches, USA

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The Burmese military’s air strikes on Malsawm village in Chin State, Burma Destroyed the Malsawm Baptist Church

May 10, 2023

Washington, DC — Around 10:30 a.m. local Burma time on May 5, 2023, the Burmese military’s airstrikes on Malsawm Village in Hakha township destroyed the Malawm Baptist Church. Malsawm village is about 35 miles far from Hakha, the capital town of Chin State, Burma.

Sources confirmed with the Chin Association of Maryland (CAM) that there were no military conflicts at Malsawm village between the Chin forces and the Tatmadaw. All the villagers of Malsawm have been displaced.

The Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) issues the following statement:

1. CAM strongly condemns the airstrikes against Malsawm village. The CAM’s January 2023 Report and the air strikes on the civilians at Malsawm village have further proved that the State Administration Council’s (SAC) actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
2. CAM urges the Biden administration to determine the atrocities against the Chins as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
3. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the dead and the Malsawm villagers.

The Burmese military burned homes and other buildings including the Gospel Baptist Church at Chuncung village in Chin State, Burma

May 3, 2023

Washington, DC — Around 6 a.m. local Burma time on May 2, 2023, the Burmese military also known as the Tatmadaw, burned 14 homes and other buildings, including the Gospel Baptist Church and its staff quarters, at Chuncung village, Hakha township in Chin state, Burma. Chuncung village is about 15 miles from the Hakha, the capital of Chin State in Burma.

The credible sources on the ground confirmed with the Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) that the Tatmadaw occupied the Lungphun Baptist Church at Chuncung village, located on the hilltop in the village, and the Tatmadaw has been using the church as its strategic military camp. The entire villages have been displaced.

The Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) issues the following statement:

1. CAM strongly condemns the burning of buildings, including the Gospel Baptist Church, and the occupation of the Lungphun Baptist Church at Chuncung village. The CAM’s January 2023 Report and the burning of residences at Chuncung village have further proved that the State Administration Council’s (SAC) actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
2. CAM urges the Biden administration to determine the atrocities against the Chins as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
3. Our prayers and thoughts are with the Chuncung villagers.

The Burmese military’s air strikes on Tlanglo village in Chin State, Burma Killed Civilians and Destroyed Christian Churches and Residences

April 28, 2023

Washington, DC — Around 2 p.m. local Burma time on April 27, 2023, the Burmese military’s airstrikes killed 2 civilians, injured 8, and destroyed 19 houses, including three churches at Tlanglo village of Thantlang township, Chin state, Burma. Tlanglo village is about 5 miles from the Victoria Camp. The entire villagers have been displaced.

A former pastor of Tlanglo Presbyterian Church and multiple credible sources confirmed with the Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) that the fighter jet dropped two bombs. The churches destroyed were: Tlanglo Baptist Church, Presbyterian Church of Tlanglo, and Believers Church of Tlanglo. The sources further reported that there were no military conflicts at Tlanglo village between the Chin forces and the Tatmadaw.

The Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) issues the following statement:

1. CAM strongly condemns the airstrikes against Tlanglo village. CAM’s January 2023 Report and the air strikes on the civilians at Tlanglo village have further proved that the State Administration Council’s (SAC) actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
2. CAM urges the Biden administration to determine the atrocities against the Chins as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
3. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the dead and the Tlanglo villagers.

The Burmese military’s air strikes on the Webula Town in Chin State, Burma Killed Civilians

April 11, 2023

Washington, DC — Around 11 a.m. local Burma time on April 10, 2023, the Burmese military’s airstrikes killed 9 civilians, including a 9-year-old boy and a retired pastor, at Webula town in Falam township of Chin state, Burma. Webula is about 18 miles south of Falam town.

Multiple credible sources confirmed with the Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) that the fighter jet dropped two bombs that killed 9 villagers, injured 4 individuals, and destroyed 6 houses. The sources further reported that there were no military conflicts between the Chin forces and the Tatmadaw.

The Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) issues the following statement:

1. CAM strongly condemns the airstrikes against Webula town. The CAM’s January 2023 Report and the air strikes on the civilians at Webula town have further proved that the State Administration Council’s (SAC) actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. Therefore, the Min Aung Hlaing-led SAC must be brought to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
2. CAM urges the Biden administration to impose sanctions against Major General Than Hteik, Commander of Myanmar’s Northwestern Command based in Monywa, who oversees the Tatmadaw’s atrocities against the Chins in Chin State.
3. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the dead and the Webula town.

Burmese Fighter Jets Bombed Khuafo Village in Chin State, Burma and Killed 8 villagers including 4 children

March 31, 2023

Washington, DC — Around 10:30 a.m. local Burma time on March 30, 2023, the Burmese military fighter jets dropped at least 12 bombs on the Khuafo village, Thantlang township in Chin State, Burma. Khuafo village is five miles far from Thantlang town.

An eyewitness at the Khuafo village informed the Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) that the bomb killed 8 villagers, injured 11 individuals, and destroyed 16 houses. Multiple sources who were familiar with the situation on the ground also informed CAM that neither the Chin National Army nor the Chinland Defense Forces were present at the Khuafo village at the time of the Tamatmaw’s airstrikes that killed the innocent civilians, including four- and six-year-old boys. The injured included a pastor and the strikes destroyed the Baptist Church and the Believers Church. CAM has not released the name list for protection of the relatives of the deceased and the injured.

The Chin Association of Maryland, Inc. (CAM) issues the following statement:

1. CAM strongly condemns the airstrikes against Khuafo village. The CAM’s January 2023 Report and the air strikes on the civilians at Khuafo village have further proved that the State Administration Council’s (SAC) actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity and therefore, the Min Aung Hlaing-led SAC must be brought to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
2. CAM urges the Biden administration to impose sanction against Major General Than Hteik, Commander of Myanmar’s Northwestern Command based in Monywa, who oversees the Tatmadaw’s atrocities against the Chins in Chin State.
3. Our prayers and thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the dead and the Khuafo villagers.

Statement on the 2023 International Religious Freedom Summit

February 9, 2023

Washington, DC — This year’s International Religious Freedom Summit (IRF Summit) was held from January 31-February 1, 2023, in Washington, DC. CAM has been a Summit Partner for the past three years and prepared a new report to support its presentation, Two Years After the 2021 Military Coup: The Worsening Situation of Christians Across Burma. Chin youth advocate Esther Par presented the report on February 1, highlighting key cases of religious persecution such as the detention of Reverend Dr. Hkalam Samson, a Kachin pastor, and the burning of the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Sagaing Region.

On Feb. 1, CAM briefed officials from the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, the Bureau of Populations, Refugees, and Migration, the Burma Office at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and the Office of Global Criminal Justice on religious freedom in Burma.

CAM issued the following recommendations at the IRF Summit:

1. Urging the Biden Administration to designate atrocities against Christian minorities, especially the Chins, as war crimes and crimes against humanity, consistent with the designation of crimes targeting the Rohingya ethnic and religious minority;
2. Urging Congress to conduct a Fact-Finding mission to the India-Burma border area and Thai-Burma border area related to the protection and humanitarian needs of IDPs and refugees from Burma and related to the atrocities committed by the Tatmadaw.