CWM calls for prayer and solidarity with Myanmar after medical personnel are sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment

by CWM Communications Team

Council for World Mission (CWM) renews its call on its member churches to come alongside in solidarity and intercessory prayer for those suffering from the military coup in Myanmar, following news that 9 female medical personnel aged 25 and below, who are believed to be Christian, have received sentences of 12 years imprisonment in Kalay military prison court in Sagaing, Myanmar.

Zam Zo Zam, Man Lwin Dim, Niang Don Cin, Malsawm Dongi, Lal Tan Luaii, Lal Lun Sangi, Lal Mon Kimi, Van Ruati, and Lal Van Pari are all ethnic Chin people, and were charged under Section 505 (A, B, C), Anti-Terrorism Acts and Natural Disaster Management Law, according to independent local news agency The Chindwin.1

The All Burma Federation of Student Unions, which played a role in the protest movement which saw Ms Aung San Suu Kyi emerge as a leader in 1988, had planned protests across the country last year2. Regrettably, the 9 female medical staff who are part of local anti-junta armed resistance were not among the 6,000 prisoners who were granted amnesty lately.

Presbyterian Church of Myanmar (PCM), a CWM member church, has supported victims of the Spring Revolution through its Covid and Crisis Response Committee (CCRC) and the Agape Hospital, which it operates, to care for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP).

In response to the protracted suffering of the Myanmese, CWM has resolutely stood in solidarity, holding a World Day of Prayer, and sending a Solidarity and Action Grant to PCM. During the prayer service, PCM Women & Youth Secretary Mrs Van Lal Hming Sangi said, “In this situation, Presbyterian women in Myanmar want you to remember Jeremiah’s prophecy from 29:1-14, to pray on behalf of the city that you live in. Jeremiah’s letter exposed the political and social tensions of his time, but also a promise to guide them to their future: ‘I know the plans I have for you.’ We need to pray together earnestly where there is justice for all, especially for those who are the most vulnerable.”

She added that “We believe that God has plans for us, plans for good and not for harm. It is our turn to put in actions our hope for the future. God is always with us, even when it may be difficult to understand.”

CWM also organised a Roundtable Meeting in Singapore for PCM partners to discuss and discern they could strategically support PCM as a global network of churches and ecumenical partners. During the event held from 2-3 August 2022 in Singapore, PCM General Secretary Rev. Ramthanga highlighted the PCM’s current needs of space and buildings for an oxygen generator as part of the pandemic response, as well as the Agape Relocation Project in the Children Development Centre. An upcoming Agape Hospital Working Group Meeting will gather stakeholders in the CWM Singapore office on 13 December to discuss how this project can move forward.

1 https://www.thechindwin.com/myanmars-junta-regime-sentences-nine-medical-team-members-to-12-years-jail-term-in-sagaging-region/

2 https://www.economist.com/briefing/2021/02/06/myanmars-coup-turns-the-clock-back-a-decade?

Dated 7 December 2022

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