MANDALAY (UCAN): “I am deeply disheartened to learn about the suffering of thousands of people, especially from villages including Catholics whose homes were burned, properties looted and who have become homeless, displaced and in dire need of food and shelter,” Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay, Myanmar, said in a video message on July 17.
“Their villages are becoming a land of ashes lacking homes, trees and birds. I am also deeply sorrowful over thousands of our brothers and sisters who can’t live in their own homes and instead live in makeshift camps who are facing acute hunger,” Archbishop Tin Win said
“Food, clothing, shelter and healthcare are basic rights of all human beings so they need to be prioritised,” the 60-year-old archbishop said, appealing to concerned parties “not to burn and destroy civilian homes and respect their properties.”
Although the bishop’sx message did not mention the military junta or the State Administration Council, it came as the military junta escalates its attacks on civilians with air strikes and artillery shelling in several villages including the historic Catholic Mon Hla village in Sagaing region.
Their villages are becoming a land of ashes lacking homes, trees and birds. I am also deeply sorrowful over thousands of our brothers and sisters who can’t live in their own homes and instead live in makeshift camps who are facing acute hunger
Archbishop Tin Win
The extent of the damage to civilian homes, a church and convent in the village remains unknown. Thousands of Catholic villagers are seeking shelter in nearby forests and other safe areas as they are fearful of returning to their homes
The military regime is specifically targeting three historic Catholic villages in the Buddhist Bamar heartland of Sagaing in a bid to stamp out growing resistance by people’s defense forces.
The junta has also stepped up its offensives in the Magwe and Chin regions with artillery shelling, air strikes and the burning of houses in several villages that have led to thousands of people becoming displaced.
Archbishop Tin Win raised concerns over people who have been missing and killed in several regions across the country.
“According to the teachings of the Church, human existence and human dignity need to be respected,” he said.
The archbishop noted that Catholic villagers in Mandalay affected by the ongoing conflict have, for decades, been living side by side with Buddhists peacefully and harmoniously.
“They have mutual understanding and respect despite their differences and there have never been religious conflicts in those villages,” he said.
Nearly 100 soldiers stormed the Sacred Heart Cathedral compound in Mandalay and forcibly entered the cathedral, archbishops’ house, parish priest’s residence and clergy center on April 8.
