Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Rights groups fear Burmese pastors ‘forcibly disappeared’

NewsBob Allen  |  January 18, 2017

Human rights organizations have expressed alarm over the disappearances of two Baptist pastors in Myanmar who may have been detained for their role in showing journalists a Catholic church allegedly damaged by government airstrikes targeting ethnic Kachin rebels in the country historically known as Burma.

Pastor Dumdaw Nawng Lat, 65, and his nephew Langjaw Gam Seng, 35, an assistant pastor, were last seen Dec. 24.

Pastor Dumdaw Nawng Lat, 65, and his nephew Langjaw Gam Seng, 35, an assistant pastor, were last seen Dec. 24.

Pastor Dumdaw Nawng Lat, 65, and his nephew Langjaw Gam Seng, 35, an assistant pastor, were last seen Dec. 24 after being summoned to an army base in northeastern Burma supposedly to assist with the release of civilians detained there.

On Jan. 3, representatives of the Kachin Baptist Convention and family members filed a missing-persons report and say the government and the military have ignored their pleas to help find the two men.

“We have sent letters to the president’s and the commander-in-chief’s offices about the disappearance of our two pastors and we have not received anything from them yet,” said Samson Hkalam, general secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention, quoted by the Associated Press. Samson said local police also failed to respond to inquiries by the two men’s families.

Human rights groups believe the disappearance is connected to the two men’s role in helping journalists document the destruction of civilian structures in Mong Ko in the Northern Shan State bordering China, Laos and Thailand.

The government has denied detaining the two men, claiming ground reports indicate they were taken by the Kachin Independence Army, ethnic rebel forces at war with Burma’s military junta since a 17-year cease-fire collapsed in 2011.

Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights and Amnesty International all issued statements seeking information about their whereabouts.

“The disappearances raise grave concerns for the safety of the two men and witnesses to the incident,” Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights said in a joint statement Jan.17. “The Burmese government and military should immediately address these issues and allow the visiting United Nations human rights expert to visit the area.”

Amnesty International issued a separate call urging people to write to Myanmar authorities to order an immediate investigation into the men’s disappearances and release them if they are in custody.

“The apparent enforced disappearance of these two Christian leaders has created a climate of fear and terror in Northern Shan State,” said Matthew Smith, chief executive officer of Fortify Rights, a nonprofit human-rights organization based in Southeast Asia.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit NGO established in 1978, said the nature of the two men’s disappearance “means the military has some serious questions to answer.”

“This is a crucial case for Aung San Suu Kyi and other government leaders to demand cooperation from the army, which has continued to resist civilian authority,” Robertson said.

Suu Kyi – the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner who once spent 15 years under house arrest by the government — was elected state counsellor of Myanmar, a position similar to prime minister, in 2015.

Burmese Baptists go back more than 200 years, with the arrival of American missionaries Adoniram Judson and Ann Hasseltine Judson in 1813. In recent decades that history has come full circle for Baptists in U.S. cities receiving refugees from Myanmar’s long-running civil war.

American Baptist Home Mission Societies appointed two missionaries to serve Burmese refugees in the U.S. in 2013. A delegation of the Kachin Baptist Convention led by Samson visited the headquarters of American Baptist Churches USA in 2015.

Central Baptist Theological Seminary, a school in Shawnee, Kan., connected to both the ABC/USA and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, offers a doctor of ministry program in Burma in collaboration with the Myanmar Institute of Theology and sponsors cultural exchange visits for students and faculty.

Tags:Myanmar
More by
Bob Allen
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • The Black community needs allies who listen and act, scholar says

      News

    • When a Mexican cartel kidnapped a Baptist pastor, they got more than they bargained for

      News

    • Women of childbearing age are least likely to see strict abortion laws as best deterrent against abortion

      News

    • Progress on sexual abuse in the SBC? Not so fast

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Pope orders online release of WWII-era Pius XII Jewish files

      Pope orders online release of WWII-era Pius XII Jewish files

      June 24, 2022
    • Demolishing schools after a mass shooting reflects humans’ deep-rooted desire for purification rituals

      Demolishing schools after a mass shooting reflects humans’ deep-rooted desire for purification rituals

      June 24, 2022
    • Has American conservatism abandoned the Christian right?

      Has American conservatism abandoned the Christian right?

      June 24, 2022
    • In Colorado, a GOP rarity: An abortion rights candidate

      In Colorado, a GOP rarity: An abortion rights candidate

      June 24, 2022
    Read Next:

    Maybe seminaries should offer a class in mergers and acquisitions

    AnalysisMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • The French Dreyfus Affair and Trump’s Big Lie

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Women of childbearing age are least likely to see strict abortion laws as best deterrent against abortion

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Independence Day: Not to celebrate but to reflect

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • U.S. State Department calls out Russia, China, Afghanistan, Myanmar for extreme religious freedom abuses

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Two viruses threaten the life of the Southern Baptist Convention: Male hierarchy and dominion theology

      AnalysisEllis Orozco

    • Progress on sexual abuse in the SBC? Not so fast

      OpinionDavid Clohessy and Christa Brown

    • Pranoto, Shaw, Smith and Younger join BNG board of directors

      NewsBNG staff

    • Uyghur American elected chairman of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • When a Mexican cartel kidnapped a Baptist pastor, they got more than they bargained for

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The Black community needs allies who listen and act, scholar says

      NewsPat Cole

    • Maybe seminaries should offer a class in mergers and acquisitions

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Reflections on my mother’s funeral: The heart has reasons

      OpinionDavid Ramsey

    • Georgia Baptists hit snag on sale of 16-year-old headquarters property in suburban Atlanta

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • When ‘orthodoxy’ won’t hold: The SBC and the rest of us

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • At Faith and Freedom conference, evangelical Christian voters once again abandon their concern for marital fidelity

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Annual report on Baptist women in ministry finds some gains but serious losses due to COVID

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Seven suggestions for preventing conflict before it happens

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • Church-state separationists join Justice Sotomayor in blasting the Supreme Court’s ruling in a Maine school voucher case

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • The gospel according to mammals

      OpinionTyler Tankersley

    • Conservative clergywoman claims United Methodist system unjust

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • How God used Jay Bakker to teach me about race and loving all people

      OpinionMaina Mwaura

    • In Africa, inflation and a food crisis threaten not just the economy but people’s lives

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • When a teenager gets kicked to the curb by Christian parents

      OpinionDan McGee and Linda Francis Cross

    • American support for abortion rights at highest level since 1995, Gallup says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Women of childbearing age are least likely to see strict abortion laws as best deterrent against abortion

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • U.S. State Department calls out Russia, China, Afghanistan, Myanmar for extreme religious freedom abuses

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Pranoto, Shaw, Smith and Younger join BNG board of directors

      NewsBNG staff

    • Uyghur American elected chairman of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • When a Mexican cartel kidnapped a Baptist pastor, they got more than they bargained for

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The Black community needs allies who listen and act, scholar says

      NewsPat Cole

    • Georgia Baptists hit snag on sale of 16-year-old headquarters property in suburban Atlanta

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At Faith and Freedom conference, evangelical Christian voters once again abandon their concern for marital fidelity

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Annual report on Baptist women in ministry finds some gains but serious losses due to COVID

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Church-state separationists join Justice Sotomayor in blasting the Supreme Court’s ruling in a Maine school voucher case

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Conservative clergywoman claims United Methodist system unjust

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • In Africa, inflation and a food crisis threaten not just the economy but people’s lives

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • American support for abortion rights at highest level since 1995, Gallup says

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • New platform of Texas GOP is laced with Christian privilege

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Author explores contradiction of evangelical support for prison ministry and tough-on-crime laws at same time

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • One year later, awareness of Juneteenth is growing

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Churches in Russian-occupied sections of Ukraine face desperate conditions

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 6-17-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Many voices call for prosecution of mob who lynched and burned Christian student in Nigeria

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Religious Liberty Council elects two BJC board members

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Still no external review of North American Mission Board finances

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Attempt to dismantle SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission fails

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Brian Foreman named CBF’s coordinator of congregational ministries

      NewsBNG staff

    • Most Americans hang out with people who are a lot like them

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The French Dreyfus Affair and Trump’s Big Lie

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Independence Day: Not to celebrate but to reflect

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Progress on sexual abuse in the SBC? Not so fast

      OpinionDavid Clohessy and Christa Brown

    • Reflections on my mother’s funeral: The heart has reasons

      OpinionDavid Ramsey

    • When ‘orthodoxy’ won’t hold: The SBC and the rest of us

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Seven suggestions for preventing conflict before it happens

      OpinionBill Wilson

    • The gospel according to mammals

      OpinionTyler Tankersley

    • How God used Jay Bakker to teach me about race and loving all people

      OpinionMaina Mwaura

    • When a teenager gets kicked to the curb by Christian parents

      OpinionDan McGee and Linda Francis Cross

    • Unzipped: How (not) to commute

      OpinionEric Minton

    • When it comes to leading corporate prayer, are we really all in this together?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Is America racist at heart?

      OpinionEugene G. Akins III

    • Note to self: Get rid of resting jerkface

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Don’t keep sweet: Why white Christians need to celebrate Juneteenth

      OpinionErica Whitaker

    • Letter to the Editor: The importance of establishing best practices for pastoral searches

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Hymn Stories: ‘Will You Come and Follow Me’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • A Bubba-Doo’s regular loses a loved one

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • The oxymoron of being both anti-abortion and pro-gun

      OpinionEarl Chappell

    • My trip to the seamy world of horseracing

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • In the news this weekend: This is what it means to take God’s name in vain

      OpinionErin Albin Hill

    • Sympathy does not defeat white supremacy

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • What Kenobi has taught me about God

      OpinionRob Lee

    • Is ‘fascism’ the right name for the Trumpist hard right in America?

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • God in three persons, blessed Trinity

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • Bill Self in 1984: ‘Babylonian Captivity of the Convention’

      OpinionBill Self

    • Pope orders online release of WWII-era Pius XII Jewish files

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Demolishing schools after a mass shooting reflects humans’ deep-rooted desire for purification rituals

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Has American conservatism abandoned the Christian right?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • In Colorado, a GOP rarity: An abortion rights candidate

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A church was ordered to rescind its gay deacon. Now it weighs its next step.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Can the Church Still Enact Justice When a Pastor Sues His Accusers?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Republican Lauren Boebert jokes about AR-15s and Jesus — and yes, she’s a ‘real’ Christian

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • This World Refugee Day, rising white nationalism meets the largest refugee population in history — which is no coincidence

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How evangelical Christians are sizing up the 2024 GOP race for president

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Abortion bill, confederate holiday removal signed by Edwards

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Buddhist leader in Bhutan fully ordains 144 women, resuming ancient tradition

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Banning Nancy Pelosi from Communion May Have Backfired

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How Franklin Graham pushed a domestic abuse victim to return to her husband

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Poor People’s Campaign holds major DC rally to combat poverty

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • An Elite Christian College Has Become The Latest Battleground In America’s Culture Wars

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Wiccan celebration of summer solstice is a reminder that change, as expressed in nature, is inevitable

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Camino pilgrims help rural Spain’s emptying villages survive

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What Antisemitism Looks Like When It Is Carved into Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Humanist chaplains guide nonreligious students on quest for meaning

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • On Juneteenth, Jewish communities are reckoning with their own attitudes on race

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • UK sanctions Russian Orthodox head; decries forced adoption

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • California again seeks to pass human composting bill as Catholic bishops oppose it

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Boise police can’t charge pastor who said LGBTQ people are ‘worthy of death’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ukrainian archbishop pushes against papal statements, says causes of war ‘lie within Russia itself’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Bishop punishes school over Black Lives Matter, Pride flags

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS