Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) officials are trying to negotiate a settlement with the military after it tried to arrest its secretary in Myitkyina over what KBC called a misunderstanding.
Rev Dr Hkalam Samson, chair of KBC, told KNG that the army misunderstood the words in a statement it released about the pandemic. The chairperson said that the Burma Army (BA) probably translated some words as “terrorist military group”. Because the KBC secretary Rev Tu Mai had signed the statement, the army came to its headquarters in the Kachin State capital on August 26 to arrest him.
Hkalam Samson said the chairperson of the Kachin State Administration Council Khet Htein had instructed them to discuss the matter with BA through the Kachin Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG), but the military acted before this was possible.
Four police and several administration officers went to the KBC headquarters at 5pm and left when they could not find Tu Mai.
In an eight-point statement released on August 7, KBC urged its members to pray for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and all those in trouble while calling on the state leaders to restore justice in the country.
After the February 1 coup, religious leaders from various churches and Christian organisations organised a prayer service calling for peace in Burma. The military junta arrested three Christian pastors for leading the prayer service and jailed them in Putao.
