Christians from Myanmar celebrate passage of US BURMA Act

Since Myanmar’s latest military coup in February 2021, ethnic Chin, Kachin, and Karen Christians in the US have advocated for democracy in their home country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. 

Last week those efforts paid off, with the historic passage of the Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2022 (BURMA) Act, an American Congressional act that will authorize sanctions against senior officials in Myanmar’s military and state-owned commercial enterprises, support democracy efforts, and provide humanitarian relief.

The military takeover is approaching its second year and has resulted in 1.1 million internally displaced people according to the United Nations. Statistics on how many civilians have been killed vary but could be as high as 7,000 civilian deaths according to the Institute for Strategy and Policy - Myanmar. While many reports have focused on the systematic killings of Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, reports indicate the military government’s widespread torture and abuse of democracy supporters, journalists, civilians, and other religious minorities including Christians.