Churches in Myanmar's Wa State that were shut down last year by the rebel United Wa State Army (UWSA) to suppress Christianity were reopened last week, International Christian Concern (ICC) report says.
UWSA is the military wing of the United Wa State Party and the largest armed ethnic group that has close ties to China.
Starting from September 2018, the ethnic group shut down several churches and religious schools in Wa State. They detained many Christian leaders and questioned their activities.
To weed out religious extremists and stop foreign missionaries from entering the state, the group ensured all the religious leaders were Wa State residents and obtained prior permission from local authorities before conducting any activities.
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), 52 Baptist churches are reopened and back in function in the state.
Reverend Dr. Lazarus, bishop of the Lahu Baptist Convention in Wa State, told RFA's Myanmar Service that "All of our churches finally opened last week, and only a Bible study school is left still closed in Hotaung. We don't know why they will not allow this one to reopen yet. I would like to appeal to them to reopen the school."
According to Father Philip Lasap Za Hawng, bishop of Lashio, four Catholic schools in Panwaing, Maingmaw and Winkhaung townships still remain closed.
"We haven't visited these areas in the Wa region, since the authorities haven't invited us to go there," he said. "I heard that the Wa authorities are using the religious school where priests and nuns once lived for their own purposes."
Father Mariano Soe Naing, director of the Office for Social Communication of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar, told Asia News that at present, no Catholic churches are operating in areas controlled by the UWSA. According to him, many schools and residences in these areas are used for secular purposes.
"We heard that the authorities converted the school in Winkhaung into a police station, and that they bulldozed the school in Maingmaw. We don't know what the latest status of these buildings is," the Christian leader shared.
