Myanmar Woes

http://asianews.it/news-en/Pro-China-rebels-shut-down-Baptist-churches,-arrest-Baptist-pastors-and-expel-Catholic-nuns-45072.html

It is unclear as to whether the anti-Christian policies of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) are emulations of Chinese policy or are in fact being encouraged by Beijing.

Myanmar or Burma has been embroiled in a series of overlapping civil wars since its independence in 1948 and many outsiders have played a part. The US has officially been uninvolved since they airlifted Kuomintang (KMT) remnants out of the country in 1953 but only the willingly blind would believe such a story. The truth is Washington has been deeply involved in the Karen struggle as well as some of the other 'internal conflicts' which continue to plague the Southeast Asian nation.

The Burmese frontiers have been subject to various ethnic conflicts which have been complicated by Great Power struggles, proxies and mercenaries. Thailand, long the US proxy in the region has played its part to be sure but there are also French, British, Russians and of course the Chinese.

The Burmese battlefield is complicated and further confused by the fact that the US has at times sold weapons and given aid to the Burmese government in their fight against communism. This aid has sometimes been used to counter groups such as the Karen... who have also been recipients of Washington's aid.

It's instructive because it must also be remembered that US foreign policy can at times be self-contradictory as multiple factions and even ideologies are often at work. And of course others are out to make money and on that note it must be remembered that Myanmar represents one of the vertices of the Golden Triangle, the region renowned for its opium production. The internationalisation of the Golden Triangle and the heroin trade makes for a lengthy tale and it can only be described as labyrinthine in complexity. But it began with US interests in clandestine funds and Washington's relationship with the defeated KMT in the years subsequent to Mao's 1949 victory in the Chinese Civil War.

And seventy years later, though the politics are no longer quite the same, nevertheless China, the West, drugs and proxy war still comprise a considerable part of the equation.

Sadly, the Christians who live in these lands have been caught in the middle of all this and are pawns in the struggle. And once again it is to be lamented that Christian groups within these theatres are viewed as natural allies of the United States and as such are viewed as potential proxies and possible traitors.

In the 19^th century Tsarist Russia played a similar game on the Ottoman frontier utilising the Armenian population. The backlash was horrific as massacres and pogroms and eventually genocide were perpetrated against the Armenians. They paid a terrible price for Moscow's schemes. The Turks and Kurds who carried out the genocide, not to mention The Young Turks who ordered and organised it bear the brunt of the guilt... but those that create the conditions (and for political gain at that) also bear some guilt. Great powers will create and utilise an ideological veneer. For the Tsar it was to help the Christian populations of the East and perhaps some were sincere in that regard, genuinely desiring to help these downtrodden populations of 'ethnic Christian' peoples.

And yet, can anyone deny that political ambition did not play a role, even a substantial role at that? Power is dangerous and scheming fools in suits and air conditioned offices and posh clubs often forget just how violent people will turn to hold on to what they have... and in other cases they (understanding the larger picture of their immediate situation) know that a fall from power will lead to great bloodshed. When an outsider intervenes there will be blood and so they would rather it's someone else's. It's not that hard to understand.

I lament the suffering of Christians in places like Myanmar and India but even more I lament the state of American Christianity and the way in which the United States is equated with Christianity to many people around the world. One wishes it was not the case.