Dr. Sasa Addresses the Parliament of the World’s Religions Conference in Chicago, USA, Calling for the Defense of Freedom and Human Rights.

Dear brothers and sisters attending the Parliament of the World’s Religions Conference in Chicago, USA, and esteemed luminaries including the honourable UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres,

I am speaking to you from a country in crisis, representing a people in peril whose freedom has been stolen by a genocidal military junta, placing their lives at risk every day. I stand here on behalf of a people whose children face the threat of bombings at their school desks, and whose women and children have been violently uprooted from their homes.

My homeland is Burma, also known as Myanmar. I come before you as an individual charged with high treason, carrying a death sentence imposed by the brutal genocidal military junta that attempted a coup in February 2021. These charges are a mark of honour, for my only “crime” was lending my voice and face to the brave people of Myanmar, who have endured immense suffering over a prolonged period. I am also speaking for people who have hope. Myanmar has hope. I have hope. The people of Myanmar have rejected the unlawful military coup. Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, individuals from all walks of life. We stand united against those who wish to subjugate us, to force us into empty lives, to serve their evil greed. We say no to this. We say yes to lives of dignity. We say yes to freedom. We say yes to defending human rights and federal democracy.

In the face of this brutality and inhumanity, let me reference the words of a Buddhist leader, a senior Abbot, who, in the presence of a genocidal Military Generals last weeks, chose to speak not as a collaborator, but as a truthful man of faith. He distilled all Buddhist teachings into three simple principles: refraining from evil, doing good, and purifying one’s heart.

As a believer whose faith is rooted in scripture, I am reminded of the Hebrew scriptures and the prophet Isaiah, who, in chapter one, implores us to cleanse ourselves from wrongdoing and champion justice. A similar message resonates in the Gospels and the teachings of St. Paul, emphasising that avoiding evil and doing good necessitate extending goodness to those in need. These three great faiths converge on this common teaching.

This holds paramount importance for my country, Burma. In the past 30 months alone, the people of Myanmar have faced the genocidal military junta, which has perpetrated over 4,400 innocent lives lost and unjustly incarcerated 24,000 individuals, including 800 children, Myanmar President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Their actions have reduced more than 70,000 homes to ashes, including place of worship, schools, and hospitals. This marks an immeasurable scale of pain, suffering, death, and destruction for the people of Myanmar, displaced nearly 2 million people and pushed over 18 million people into dire circumstances necessitating life-saving assistance. Consequently, more than 48 million citizens of Myanmar now live below the poverty line. The genocidal military junta employs religion, starvation, disease, rape, and hate speech as tools of destruction, with the most tragic example being the genocidal attack against the Rohingya Muslim population.

I would like to echo the words of Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Burma: “The people of my country, and all countries, have a moral obligation to protect and promote the dignity of all human beings. To demonise others is to live without peace. Compassion and mercy are the two eyes of my nation.”  Remaining silent in the face of injustice is not a solution, nor is it acceptable.

Over the past 30 months, as the genocidal military junta inflicts death, destruction, pain, and suffering upon the people of Myanmar, the National Unity Government (NUG) has resolutely responded to this crisis. Amidst this darkness, the NUG has erected more than 4,500 schools throughout the country, established over 160 hospitals, and implemented 250 mobile clinics. Moreover, the NUG has trained and deployed more than 300 battalions of freedom fighters, who, in collaboration with our allies, currently control over half of Myanmar’s territory.

We have left no stone unturned in our local, National, and international efforts, welcoming the ASEAN five-point consensus (2021), the UN Security Council Resolution 2669 (2022) on Myanmar, and the US NDAA Burma Act (2023). However, concrete outcomes on the ground remain essential. We fervently appeal to each of you to stand beside us, alongside pro-democracy forces and those championing freedom and democracy in Burma. On the global stage, we implore you to urge your governments and the international community to impose sanctions on Burma’s brutal military junta, severing their access to international financing, weaponry, and political recognition.

Today, I beseech you all to speak for peace, tirelessly labor for freedom, and engage in the crucial duty of religious leaders to denounce hate speech and the misappropriation of religion to validate violence. Peace is a constant possibility – peace with justice. Likewise, freedom, human rights, and democracy remain attainable to make this world a better place for all, achieved when we stand together as one. The people of my homeland have suffered long under the weight of division perpetrated by the genocidal military junta. Our unified rejection of this division speaks volumes.

The language of faith is one of peace accompanied by justice. Hope resides in me, in my homeland, and within the hearts of those who stand alongside us. I beseech you to share in this hope, to lift Burma in your prayers. Prayers have the power to make positive change. Please pray for peace in Burma and amplify the voices of the forgotten victims of this conflict crisis. Be our voice, for at present, our voice remains unheard in the world. Become the voice of Myanmar, the voices of the voiceless within your countries, within your churches, within your communities. Once more, I extend my profound gratitude for this invaluable opportunity. May God’s blessings grace each of you abundantly. 

Sincerely, 
Dr. Sasa

Union Minister
Ministry of International Cooperation 
The National Unity Government
Republic of the Union of Myanmar