On 1st February, the Myanmar army began a coup against the elected government, arresting government leaders. The coup comes on the back of military claims that there were voting irregularities in recent elections. Many fear Myanmar will return to military rule. The Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, issued a statement on recent events in Myanmar.

By ACN Staff

We were all very saddened to see the unfolding of a military coup in Myanmar. The country had recently begun moves towards democracy. This progress seems, for the moment anyway, to be halted after a military coup overthrew the government on 1st February. On 3rd February, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar issued a statement to be people of Myanmar and the international community. The cardinal began his statement by emphasising that he is a religious leader, and this is what is motivating his statement. He states: “I write not as a politician”. He explains that he has lived through some of the darkest moments in Myanmar’s history and that he issues this statement in love for all of the people of Myanmar.

He first addresses the people of Myanmar. The cardinal tells the people that he too shares their shock at what has happened. He however does state the importance of remaining peaceful:

“I appeal to each one of you, stay calm, never fall victim to violence.  We have shed enough blood. Let not any more blood be shed in this land. Even at this most challenging moment, I believe that peace is the only way, peace is possible.  There are always nonviolent ways for expressing our protests.”

The cardinal laments the lack of dialogue and communication in the country and believes that this is partly responsible for current events. He calls on community leaders to lead a peaceful response to what has happened and calls for religious leaders to pray for peace. He also reminds everyone about the current COVID-19 pandemic, and to keep this in mind as events unfold.

The cardinal then turns his attention to the army (Tatmadaw). He addresses them, telling the army the world is in shock at what has happened. In 2015, when the army began the transition to democracy the world looked on in hope and admiration. Now everyone is trying to figure what went wrong. The cardinal expresses the sentiment of the people to the army:

“We have seen so much pain in conflicts.  Seven decades of shedding blood and the use of violence brought no results.  You all promised peace and genuine democracy. Democracy was the streak of hope for solving the problems of this once rich country.  This time millions voted for democracy.  Our people believe in peaceful transfer of power.”

Cardinal Bo says that allegation of voting irregularities should be solved through dialogue and not through a coup. He says the people a tired of lies, and he questions the army’s commitment to hold more elections. Cardinal Bo finishes his address to the army by calling for peace and asking the army to let the prisoners they took coup go free.

Cardinal Bo then addresses the prisoners, expressing his sympathy for them and praying that they will be released soon. In addressing Aung San Suu Kyi, the cardinal praises her work for democracy in Myanmar and expresses sympathy for the situation she now finds herself in. He says truth will prevail and that God is the ultimate arbiter. He finish the address to her by saying that this has happened partly because of the lack of dialogue in the country.

The cardinal finally addresses the international community and thanks them for their concern but asks that they do not place sanctions on Myanmar as it will only hurt the people. In his own words:

“Sanctions risk collapsing the economy, throwing millions into poverty. Engaging the actors in reconciliation is the only path.”

The cardinal finishes his message stating that peace, reconciliation, and democracy are the most desirable paths for Myanmar to go down.