Burmese Monks Urged to Boycott State-run Exams

Irrawaddy
by Yeni
November 27, 2007

Burmese monks are being urged in an anti-government pamphlet to boycott annual regime-organized examinations to show solidarity with protesting monks who were dispersed by the authorities and pro-junta thugs in the September demonstrations.

In their statement, the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks called on Buddhist monks to "respect the devotion of the monks who were arrested, disappeared and died in the movement for 'patam nikkujjana kamma'—meaning a boycott of alms from members of the military regime."

The statement urged monks not to take part in the annual examinations that follow courses of study in Burmese monasteries.

In a separate statement, the underground network also called on the state-sanctioned Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, which oversees the country's clergy, to take the responsibility of finding out and making public the numbers of monks who were arrested, disappeared or died during the military government's crackdown.

According to a copy of the leaflet received as an e-mail by The Irrawaddy, the group said the boycott organized by monks and their chanting of the Metta Sutta (the Buddha's words on loving kindness) on the streets of Rangoon and other cities in September did not transgress the code of conduct for Buddhist monks.

"By not promoting violence, our action was not against the law,” the statement said. “But the junta has brutally raided about 60 monasteries by looting the possessions of monks and ruthlessly beating the monks."

The junta has announced that, as of October 5, it had detained 533 monks, of whom 398 were released after sorting out what it called “real monks” from “bogus ones.” Monks and dissidents believe, however, that many more were detained or disappeared.

Ashin Kawvida, one of the leading monks in the September protests, who subsequently sought refuge on the Thai-Burmese border, told The Irrawaddy he was concerned about the safety of many young monks who took an active role in the demonstrations and who are still in hiding.

"If an ordinary person is arrested, family members and friends can get information about what is happening to them, but that’s not the case with monks,” he said. “Many monks came from the rural areas to study at the monasteries in the cities."

In India, meanwhile, about 1,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and students are staging a demonstration against Burma’s military regime in the Buddhist holy town of Bodh Gaya, in Bihar state—where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment in the 6th century BC.

The demonstration, in which Buddhists throughout the world are being urged to unite against the junta, will last three days, accompanied by an indefinite sit-in at
the famous Bodh Gaya temple, said a Reuters report.