This coming week, a new report detailing the actions of the Burmese regime against Christians will be released in London. It’s called “Carrying the Cross,” an investigation conducted by Christian Solidarity Worldwide. One news account describes the report as
“shocking,” but anyone who has followed our countless reports here at CBN News over the past 15 years would not be surprised by CSW’s findings.

When I testified before the U.S. Congress in 1997, I detailed how the Burmese government was persecuting its own citizens--Karen and Karenni Christians. One of the other panelists at the hearing said the Burmese government was an “equal opportunity oppressor” and was violating the human rights of just about everybody—Buddhists, Muslims, Animists and pro-democracy activists. Why then, I asked, do Burmese troops attack Christian villages and destroy their churches and schools while leaving Buddhist temples and monasteries undisturbed?

According to Assist News Service, “Carrying the Cross” is a comprehensive analysis that details Burmese government tactics ranging “from churches in Rangoon finding it difficult to obtain permission to renovate their buildings, to pastors in Chin state being killed.”

During my many visits with ethnic Karen, Karenni, Shan and Chin in Burma and Thailand, I heard countless stories of atrocities and persecution. Men told about the raping of their wives and daughters by Burmese Army soldiers. Mothers explained their sons were forced to join the army or serve in the jungle as porters for government troops. There are many stories of fire, death, injury and destruction and the daily threat of stepping on landmines placed by the Burmese Military. Many are detailed by the Free Burma Rangers. Click here for more info: http://freeburmarangers.org/

Meanwhile, Nobel Peace Prize winner, pro-democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. More than 1400 Burmese political prisoners are still in prison. Their crime? They’ve called on the government to honor the results of the pro-democracy landslide election victory of May 1990.

Last week at the ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, East Timor Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta told CBN News Asia Correspondent Lucille Talusan the problem of Myanmar (Burma) may hurt the effectiveness and credibility of ASEAN if it allows it to linger. You may watch the entire interview by clicking here: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/89202.aspx

Horta has advocated engagement and a lifting of economic sanctions against Burma to affect change. But that approach would only validate the regime’s behavior, not bring an end to its abuse of the Burmese people. Engagement with an unlawful, dictatorial regime is a bit like continuing to join a friend for weekly dinners after you’ve discovered that he regularly beats his wife and children.Your presence at the table reinforces his belief that his behavior is acceptable. In this case, friends of the Burmese regime—mainly China, Russia and South Africa (they recently voted against a UN Security Council resolution calling on Burma to improve its human rights record) need to be pressured to stop dining with their friend, the abuser. Perhaps Burma’s leaders will alter their behavior after they spend many nights dining alone. If not, maybe regime change will be the only alternative.