LurkerBaba
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Christians among the Chin ethnic group in western Burma are facing religious persecution as they are being coerced into converting to Buddhism as part of a government drive to "Burmanize" the population, an exiled Chin rights group said Wednesday.
"President Thein Sein's government claims that religious freedom is protected by law but in reality Buddhism is treated as the de-facto state religion," said CHRO Program Director Salai Ling.
But the Chin have long faced restrictions on freedom of religion as part of what the CHRO referred to as an "unwritten forced assimilation policy known as 'Burmanization'" which seeks to ethnically, culturally, linguistically, and religiously homogenize the ethnic minority areas of the country.
CHRO Advocacy Director Rachel Fleming said that the training schools "facilitate a forced assimilation policy under the guise of development," appearing to offer a way out of poverty at a high price for Chin students.
Chin Christians Persecuted