Military Regime Leader Attends Christmas Celebration At His Residence, Myanmar Archbishop Reaps Criticism

JAKARTA - Myanmar's Catholic leader drew criticism on Friday after photos emerged of him cutting Christmas cake with the leader of the military regime, after a series of violent attacks on civilians, including churches.

Myanmar's Archbishop Cardinal Charles Maung Bo met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday to listen to Christmas carols and talk about peaceful and prosperous affairs, local media said, citing CNA from AFP Sept. 24.

Cardinal Bo, who was ordained a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015, later posted a photo from the gathering on his Twitter account, showing the two together cutting a Christmas cake.

One photo published by state media showed them sitting together in front of a Christmas tree, while another showed Min Aung Hlaing handing over a donation of 20 million kyat (11,200 US dollars).

"When Christian churches were burned, even he (Bo) accepted to meet him (Min Aung Hlaing)," one user posted on social media under the report of their encounter.

"People shouldn't go and pray where he lives."

"This doesn't represent Catholics. Why do you cut the cake with a murderer like that?" write another.

Meanwhile citing the Global New Light of Myanmar, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attended a joint Christmas wishing ceremony to mark Christmas 2021 at the home of Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon Catholic Archdiocese, near St. Mary in Botahtaung Township, Yangon County yesterday evening.

Also present at the ceremony were SAC members Admiral Tin Aung San, General Maung Maung Kyaw and Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun, Joint Secretary Lt-Jen Ye Win Oo, Minister of Unity, senior military officers from the Commander's Office. Chairman, chief minister of Yangon Region, Commander of Yangon Command, mayor, Cardinal Charles Bo, Archbishop of Yangon Archdiocese and officials, Catholic nuns, Catholic youth team and Christian city elders.

The Senior General and his party were welcomed by the Cardinal and the officials. Later, the Senior General and Cardinal held separate meetings to discuss peace and prosperity matters.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February, with more than 1,300 people killed in a crackdown on dissent according to local monitoring groups.

Anti-coup militias have sprung up across the country to fight the junta, with some of the bloodiest fighting taking place in Christian-majority areas. Meanwhile, the United States said in October it was "deeply concerned" about reports that security forces had committed human rights abuses and destroyed more than 100 homes and churches in the Christian-majority state of Chin.

The Myanmar Coup. VOI editors continue to unify the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Civilian casualties continued to fall. Readers can follow news about the Myanmar military coup by this link.