The United States State Department has accused Burma's governing junta of being guilty of systematic religious persecution against members of the dominant Buddhist community as well religious minorities throughout the country.

In Friday's release of its 10th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice again identified Burma as one of eight "Countries of Particular Concern." Burma has been classified as such in each of the ten years of publication.

With specific reference to the monk-led protests of 2007, the report calls out the generals on their attempt to "systematically restrict efforts by Buddhist clergy to promote human rights and political freedom."

Citing the numerous raids of monasteries in the weeks and months since the Saffron Revolution, in addition to the physical abuse suffered by several members of the clergy at the hands of government security forces, the State Department chastises the junta for severely curtailing religious freedom of expression and association.

"Members of the Sangha were not allowed to preach sermons pertaining to politics. Religious lectures could not contain any words, phrases, or stories reflecting political views," according to the study's findings.

Meanwhile, adherence to a form of Buddhism in accordance with the interests of the military government continues to be a goal of the regime as well as a means of personal advancement for those deemed to be dutifully toeing the line.

Though crediting the government with apparently no longer subscribing to a policy of forced conversion, the reports authors spare no corner in their disclosure of the numerous means through with the regime seeks the conversion of non-Buddhists to Buddhism.

Potential benefits to be enjoyed by obliging Buddhists within Burma's tightly controlled social network are said to include favoritism for promotion within government and military ranks as well as a loosening of restrictions on proselytizing religious doctrine when compared to the working environments of adherents to other systems of belief such as Christianity and Islam.

The report does acknowledge that government promotion of Buddhism to the detriment of minority religions is well-entrenched in the annals of modern Burmese history, with attempts under the democratically elected government of Prime Minister U Nu an expanding component of the fabric of Burmese politics in the latter 1950s and early 1960s.

However, in a relatively new development, the study finds that there is a growing prejudice on the part of the state against citizens of South Asian origin, of which followers of Islam comprise a significant percentage of the population.

Meanwhile, "Christian groups continued to have trouble obtaining permission to buy land or build new churches in most regions," according to the findings.

Burma's Rohingya Muslims are singled out for their persistent targeting by the regime, a population that is still not even eligible to obtain National Registration Cards indicating they are in fact a component of Burmese society.

Additionally, "Since 1988 the Government permits only three marriages per year per village in the primarily Rohingya townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung in northern Rakhine State," discloses the study, "and each marriage requires the approval of the Regional Military Commander."

In Washington D.C., Rice told reporters, "The United States will continue to actively promote religious freedom as essential to human dignity, a robust civil society, and democratic development."

"But we are concerned by efforts to promote a so-called defamation of religions concept, which has been the focus of numerous resolutions passed at the United Nations," continued the Secretary of State. "Instead of protecting religious practice and promoting tolerance, this concept seeks to limit freedom of speech and that could undermine the standards of international religious freedom."

China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Vietnam are also singled out in the report as countries of "significant interest" to the United States in the realm of religious persecution. Each of these five countries is a member of United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon's 'Group of Friends' regarding U.N. initiatives targeting the crisis prone Southeast Asian country.