The World Council of Churches executive committee, in a public statement, expressed grave concern over recurrences of military coups in Myanmar and Sudan.
“The military coups in both countries have been accompanied by the arbitrary arrest and detention of civilian political leaders, human rights defenders and journalists, lack of due process for those arrested, the disproportionate and deadly use of force against protestors, and restrictions on independent media and access to information…” reads the statement. “The actions by the military leaders of Myanmar and Sudan constitute an unconscionable assault on the democratic transition and on the people of both countries.”
Both countries had been beacons of progress for their respective regions, the WCC executive committee noted. “The restoration of civilian rule, and a return to the path of legal and institutional reform for the fulfilment of the people’s aspirations to democracy, the rule of law and human rights, therefore carries importance far beyond the borders of these two countries,” reads the statement.
The WCC executive committee is meeting—in-person for the first time in two years—from 12-17 November at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.es of military coups in Myanmar and Sudan.
