Burmese Authorities Demean Monks with Nickname

Narinjara
12/7/2007

Sittwe: Burmese military authorities in Arakan State have been widely referring to monks with the nickname "orange", rather than using the appropriate term, said one monk from Sittwe.

"The authorities now call us 'orange', and no longer officially call us 'monks' in Arakan State, and it is an extreme insult to our religion," the monk said.

He gave as an example of how the nickname is being used by saying that if three monks were to travel from Buthidaung to Sittwe by ferry, the authorities would refer to them as 'three orange' traveling to Buthidaung.

Members from many organizations backed by the Burmese military government, such as the USDA, fire service, police, and veteran groups, are now widely using the term orange to refer to monks in Arakan State.

Ashin Inda Shaka from the western Burmese border area said that it is part of a government plan to destroy the monks' image in Burma, and to devalue their status in the eyes of the Burmese people.

Burmese military authorities have been trying to destroy the reputation of monks in several ways, including sometimes publicizing accusations that monks have sexually abused women, he said.

Such activities not only damage the image of monks, but also the image of Buddhism around the world, and we are unable to accept such attacks on monks by military authorities in Burma, he added.

It has also been learned that many elder monks in Burma are now worried about the state of Buddhism and Buddhists in Burma, as the religion will be threatened with extinction in the future if the government continues to attack monks.#