"As people of faith, we affirm that such uses of force have never quenched the spirit of people who wish to be free," wrote the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Churches, in a letter Monday sent to U.N. Secretary of General Ban Ki-moon.
Kirkpatrick urged the United Nations, the leaders of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), all the nations of the region, and especially the leaders of the Peoples Republic of China and India "to use their good offices to help bring an end to this unfolding tragedy."
Myanmar is one of the world's most repressive as well as one of the poorest countries in Asia.
The junta is accused of persecuting of ethnic minorities, ordering crosses and churches to be destroyed, permitting child labour and human trafficking. They are also criticised for squashing the freedom of speech, assembly and worship, as well as holding more than 1,000 political prisoners - including Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Furthermore, the military regime is accused of sanctioning sexual violence against women of ethnic minorities.
Nearly half of the reported cases documented against women of the Chin ethnic minority were gang rapes, and at least a third were committed by officers, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
The Chin population in Burma is about 90 percent Christian and is severely persecuted by Burma's traditionally pro-Buddhist military regime.
"We urge leaders of Christian denominations around the world, and individual Christians everywhere, to fulfill their biblical mandate for justice by speaking up and praying for the suffering people of Burma at this time," said Stuart Windsor, Christian Solidarity Worldwide's national director, in a statement.
"This is a momentous and critical time for Burma and it is vital that we seize this opportunity to support the movement for freedom."
Myanmar has one of the world's worst religious freedom records and is repeatedly designated by the State Department as a "country of particular concern" (CPC) - the worst religious freedom violator label. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent U.S. government agency, advised Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in May to again include Burma on this year's CPC list.
