(Today's Prayer) Myanmar's general election is a source of controversy... Behind the scenes, there are Rohingya who were even deprived of their ballots.

As Myanmar held its first election under military rule on the 28th (local time), the stories of Rohingya refugees who were denied the right to vote are being highlighted.

Foreign media outlets, including The Star, reported that while the Myanmar military government is promoting the goal of this general election as the restoration of democracy and peace, the 1.1 million Rohingya refugees who have been stripped of their voting rights are once again excluded from that peace.

The Rohingya, who live in Rakhine State in western Myanmar, have suffered decades of discrimination and oppression by the Myanmar government. They were excluded from the 135 official ethnic groups listed in Myanmar's Citizenship Act of 1982 and were stripped of their citizenship. They were even denied the right to vote in the 2015 general election. Survivors of the military's massacre in 2017 were driven from their homes and fled to Bangladesh and other countries.

"How can you call an election an election when people are being driven out and there's a civil war going on?" Kabir Ahmed, a 51-year-old Rohingya refugee, told AFP. Elections are not being held in 65 of the 330 districts under rebel control.

They dream of a life back home and democracy. "If I had citizenship, I could get an education, vote for the people I want, and dream of a better future," said 18-year-old Muhammad Rahim. "I just wait for the day I can go back to Myanmar."

Source: Nate News

 “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”[e] says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. (Malachi 2:16)

Despite Myanmar's military government holding general elections after 4 years and 10 months, we hear that the Rohingya people, who have endured decades of discrimination and oppression by the Myanmar government, were still denied the right to vote in this election and continue to suffer.

While the Myanmar military government claims the restoration of democracy and peace as the purpose of this election, voting did not even take place in areas controlled by rebel forces. Lord, have mercy on Myanmar, suffering from prolonged civil war and discrimination.

Amidst this, the Rohingya people—forced from their homeland by religious discrimination, oppression, and massacres in Buddhist-majority Myanmar—now live as refugees scattered across neighboring Islamic nations like Bangladesh. Though stripped of citizenship and voting rights in Myanmar, they still yearn for life in their homeland.

Lord, grant salvation to the Rohingya and all suffering souls in Myanmar, that the Rohingya may now become a people who look forward to heavenly citizenship.

May the Myanmar church guard its spirit to serve the Rohingya people while meditating on the love of Jesus' cross, crying out under God that all human life is equal in the face of the Myanmar government's neglect of the Rohingya.

Just as clothing hides abuse, the military regime openly commits oppression and persecution while seeking to seize control of Myanmar. May the global church become a channel to inform the international community of the Rohingya's hidden plight, weakening the military's power.

Raise up the Myanmar people and the Rohingya to become a strong people within God's kingdom, preparing the way for the Lord's return alongside all nations! Thus, may the Myanmar people rise as the main force sending the ASEAN million-strong army!