US agency urges Myanmar to scrap proposed religion laws

By admin-s Last updated Jun 12, 2014

(Business Recorder) – Draft laws in Myanmar aimed at protecting the country’s majority Buddhist identity by regulating religious conversions and marriages between people of different faiths have “no place in the 21st century” and should be withdrawn, a US government agency said on Wednesday.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom said the laws risked stoking violence against Muslims and other religious minorities, including Christians.

If the laws are passed, it said, Washington “should factor these negative developments into its evolving relationship with Burma (Myanmar).”

The US State Department said it had serious concerns about the pending legislation and had expressed them to the government of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.

State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki told a regular news briefing that any measure that would criminalize interfaith marriages “would be inconsistent with the government’s efforts to promote tolerance and respect for human rights.”

The chairman of the commission, Robert George, called the proposed law against religious conversions “irreparably flawed” and said it would contravene Myanmar’s international commitments to protect freedom of religion or belief.

“Such a law has no place in the 21st century, and we urge that it be withdrawn,” he said. The law as published in draft form last month would require those seeking to change their religion to obtain permission from panels of government officials.