New Study Finds Myanmar Religious Buildings Damaged

2024-02-07 11:22:00来源：网络

"新研究发现缅甸宗教建筑遭到破坏"

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　　By Bryan Lynn

　　30 January 2024

　　New research provides evidence that attacks by Myanmar's military government have damaged religious centers in the country.

　　Religious leaders and human rights workers say the reported attacks are part of a wider campaign to attack religious communities across the nation.

　　A civil war broke out in Myanmar after the military seized power from the elected government of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

　　Human rights agencies and United Nations investigators say they have found evidence of Myanmar security forces targeting civilians. The evidence includes details about bomb attacks, mass executions and detentions and the burning of private homes.

　　One group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, accuses security forces in Myanmar of killing at least 4,416 people since the 2021 military takeover.

　　The Myanmar Witness project completed the new report on the destruction of religious centers. The project is part of the Britain-based Centre for Information Resilience.

　　Myanmar Witness examined claims of five airstrikes that caused major damage to religious centers over several months in 2023. The attacks happened in Myanmar's western Chin state.

　　Religious buildings are given special protection under international law.

　　Another group, the Chin Human Rights Organization, reported that the military has destroyed at least 107 religious buildings in Chin state since 2021. Those included attacks against 67 churches and five Buddhist monasteries, the group said.

　　A 2023 report by the International Commission of Jurists said 94 Buddhist religious centers and 87 Christian ones had been destroyed or damaged nationwide.

　　The Myanmar Witness group collects evidence including pictures, video and witness accounts found on social media services. The group compares this evidence with satellite images or other methods to confirm human rights abuses.

　　Matt Lawrence is director of Myanmar Witness. He said the main goal of the project is to give evidence of "atrocities" to international groups for further investigation.

　　Many human rights activists have accused the military of aiming for religious buildings.

　　"Bombing churches is much more than just collateral damage," wrote Benedict Rogers. He is a former East Asia team leader for the human rights organization Christian Solidarity Worldwide. He wrote in an email to The Associated Press, "Targeting them is part of a deliberate strategy."

　　Rogers said the military government discriminates against non-Burmese ethnic minorities and non-Buddhist religious minorities.

　　In 2017, the military carried out a counterinsurgency campaign in Rakhine state. The campaign drove almost 740,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority to flee to Bangladesh.

　　The military government offered no immediate comment on the new report.

　　But in the past, military leaders have repeatedly stated that security forces only attack permissible targets of war.

　　I'm Bryan Lynn.

　　The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Bryan Lynn

　　日期：2024年1月30日

　　新的研究提供了证据，表明缅甸的军事政府已经对该国的宗教中心进行了攻击。

　　宗教领袖和人权工作者表示，报道中的攻击是对全国范围内宗教社区进行攻击的更广泛行动的一部分。

　　2021年2月，军队从前领导人昂山素季的民选政府手中夺取了权力，缅甸爆发了内战。人权机构和联合国调查员表示，他们已经找到了缅甸安全部队针对平民的证据。这些证据包括关于炸弹袭击、大规模处决和拘留以及烧毁私人住宅的详细信息。

　　一个名为"政治犯援助协会"的组织指责缅甸的安全部队自2021年军事接管以来至少杀害了4416人。

　　缅甸证人项目完成了关于宗教中心被毁的新报告。该项目是总部位于英国的信息韧性中心的一部分。