Agence France Presse
Wed 5 Dec 2007
A young monk whispers to street vendors in the hope of finding the hottest contraband in Yangon — video recordings of religious sermons by two of Myanmar’s most respected Buddhist leaders.
“I don’t dare to sell those VCDs. I’m afraid I’d be arrested. You can ask at the shop over there,” one woman tells him, pointing him to a nearby vendor.
The next shopkeeper glances around and then reaches into his shoulder bag to pull out the illegal disc, which shows a series of sermons and parables that Buddhists here interpret as sharp criticism of the ruling military junta.
Buddhist monks were at the forefront of pro-democracy protests in September, which were the biggest threat to military rules in nearly two decades.
Soldiers and police stamped out the demonstrations with a bloody crackdown that left at least 15 dead and 3,000 injured.
Now many monasteries are empty as the monks fled persecution by seeking shelter in villages or by taking off their robes and hiding among the general population.
For residents of Yangon, Myanmar’s main city and former capital, the disappearance of the monks has profoundly disrupted their daily lives.
Buddhism is the state religion, followed by about 90 percent of Myanmar’s 54 million people who every day are in the habit of offering alms, mostly food, to monks who roam the streets from dawn.
There are about 500,000 monks in Myanmar, according to the government. Of these, some 300,000 or 60 percent of the total live in Mandalay, the second largest city.
Boys older than five years old enter monasteries for at least one week and again when they turn 18 and legally become an adult.
The daily ritual of giving donations to monks is an important part of religious practise for the people of Myanmar — a way of receiving spiritual instruction as they chat with the monks during their rounds.
But much of that spiritual life has evaporated since the crackdown on the demonstrations as the monks are no longer the ubiquitous presence they had been for centuries.
– ‘You can find sinful people in hell’ –
Residents say the illegal videos are helping to fill that void.
“Now the senior monks are taking up that role of giving religious services to the people through these videos. This is a very responsible thing for them to do,” one Yangon resident told AFP.
Unable to speak directly to their followers in public, two senior monks — Nyanissara and Kawvida — have recorded their sermons on a video disc titled “The end of sinful people”.
In the sermon, they discuss the legend of a ruthless emperor who violated the teachings of the Lord Buddha, which resulted in him, and his followers, being sent to hell.
“When people do evil and act as if it were good, their karma becomes very fragile. That sin will lead to their destruction,” Nyanissara says in the video.
“You can find sinful people in hell. Many more people will be going there. Those already in hell are waiting for them,” he says.
Nyanissara is a founder of the respected Sagaing Thitagu World Buddha University in northern Myanmar, which is popular among foreigners who come to Myanmar, the former Burma, to study the religion.
His lecture is widely seen here as a rebuke to the junta, and a warning that security forces will pay a price in the afterlife for the beatings of monks during the protests — an unpardonable act in this devoutly Buddhist country.
Political activists have also been turning to video recordings to keep public anger focused on the crackdown by distributing compilations of international news footage that shows soldiers and police beating the protesters.
The VCDs are spreading through Yangon despite tightened security, because people can make copies at home and pass them on to friends in private.
“We have to keep reminding people about the junta’s brutality. These images can remind people how much we paid for the September movement, which isn’t over yet,” one activist said.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
ABYMU tells junta to stop arresting monks, sealing monasteries
Htein Linn
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
December 5, 2007 - Disgusted with the Burmese military junta's relentless persecution of monks, the India based All Burma Young Monks Union today called on the regime to stop persecuting religious leaders and to reopen Buddhist monasteries it has sealed as a vendetta in connection with the September monk-led protests.
Continuing with the crackdown on those involved in the September protests led by monks, the Burmese military authorities have arrested several hundred monks and sealed monasteries including Maggin monastery in Rangoon's Thingankyun Township, forcing monks and novices to shift to other places.
The ABYMU, during a protest rally held on Wednesday in New Delhi, said the Burmese junta in its crackdown on monks and novices, who took part in the recent protests, is destroying, defaming and doing incalculable damage to the Buddhist religion. The group demanded that the junta immediately stop arresting and torturing Buddhist clergy and to reopen all monasteries it has sealed.
"The junta is continuing to arrest monks and seal monasteries, leaving the monks and novices with no place to live. We protest against the junta's blasphemous acts in sealing the Maggin monastery and trying to send off its abbot to his own native place," the ABYMU Chairman, U Pyinnawarah, told Mizzima.
Authorities on November 29 sealed Maggin Monastery, which is also famous for sheltering HIV/AIDS patients who come from rural areas for treatment in Rangoon. It forced the abbot of the monastery, U Nandiyah and another monk, six novices and two laymen to leave the monastery.
The authorities are planning to send the abbot to his native home town in Magwe division, central Burma.
"This only shows that the junta can brutally suppress not only Buddhism but also all other religions. So, we cannot just sit and watch these acts. I urge all democratic forces to join hands and stand against this evil government," added U Pyinnyawarah.
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
December 5, 2007 - Disgusted with the Burmese military junta's relentless persecution of monks, the India based All Burma Young Monks Union today called on the regime to stop persecuting religious leaders and to reopen Buddhist monasteries it has sealed as a vendetta in connection with the September monk-led protests.
Continuing with the crackdown on those involved in the September protests led by monks, the Burmese military authorities have arrested several hundred monks and sealed monasteries including Maggin monastery in Rangoon's Thingankyun Township, forcing monks and novices to shift to other places.
The ABYMU, during a protest rally held on Wednesday in New Delhi, said the Burmese junta in its crackdown on monks and novices, who took part in the recent protests, is destroying, defaming and doing incalculable damage to the Buddhist religion. The group demanded that the junta immediately stop arresting and torturing Buddhist clergy and to reopen all monasteries it has sealed.
"The junta is continuing to arrest monks and seal monasteries, leaving the monks and novices with no place to live. We protest against the junta's blasphemous acts in sealing the Maggin monastery and trying to send off its abbot to his own native place," the ABYMU Chairman, U Pyinnawarah, told Mizzima.
Authorities on November 29 sealed Maggin Monastery, which is also famous for sheltering HIV/AIDS patients who come from rural areas for treatment in Rangoon. It forced the abbot of the monastery, U Nandiyah and another monk, six novices and two laymen to leave the monastery.
The authorities are planning to send the abbot to his native home town in Magwe division, central Burma.
"This only shows that the junta can brutally suppress not only Buddhism but also all other religions. So, we cannot just sit and watch these acts. I urge all democratic forces to join hands and stand against this evil government," added U Pyinnyawarah.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
US Senate Hears Testimony of Venerable Ashin Nayaka on Burma
Narinjara
12/5/2007
Dhaka: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom on Tuesday heard the testimony of Venerable Ashin Nayaka, who is a leading member of the International Burmese Monks Organization and a visiting professor at Columbia University, on the issue of oppression in Burma and the situation after the monk-led protests.
Ashin Nayaka said, "The senate hearing was held at the Raybum House office building from 2:30 to 4:30 on 3 December, 2007, and I spoke about many things of Burma after the Saffron Revolution."
He also said that he discussed the issue of religion in Burma, the repression of the people by the military, and US police options for Burma after the recent so-called Saffron Revolution that was led by monks.
During the hearing, he also stated before the commission that the very existence of monastic life is being destroyed by the military regime in Burma, and that the country will face bloodshed again if the international community, including the UN Security Council, can't find a collective and effective strategy to stop this evil regime from its arresting and killing.
He also said that as long as the UN Security Council could not make the regime engage in meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the democratic opposition led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for a peaceful transition to democracy, the spiritual revolution of the monks and people will continue, and another brutal crackdown will be unavoidable.
Ashin Nakaya spoke out about the military government's killing of monks, who are highly respected by the people in a country where Buddhism is the major religion. The junta has emptied monasteries, which are not only places of worship and religious functions, but also for education, maintenance of culture, and caring for HIV/AIDS patients and orphans - duties which the regime has neglected. Burma's military regime has forcibly disrobed monks, beaten them, and assaulted them severely.
Today, he said, we know that several leading monks in Burma are still on the run. We do not know with any accuracy how many monks have been killed, or how many were forcibly disrobed. We do not know how many are in prison, or how many monks have been taken to secret locations. There is a terrible secrecy and silence over Burma.
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to the freedom in our country and the freedom in our own hearts. All these things Americans value and cherish. Freedom for the people of Burma cannot be denied. The cost of that freedom is the only question in Burma," He said to the senate.
The venerable monk thanked President Bush and the First Lady, the United States Congress, and the American people for their support of the Burmese people in their struggle, and asked President Bush to make Burma his legacy of freedom.
12/5/2007
Dhaka: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom on Tuesday heard the testimony of Venerable Ashin Nayaka, who is a leading member of the International Burmese Monks Organization and a visiting professor at Columbia University, on the issue of oppression in Burma and the situation after the monk-led protests.
Ashin Nayaka said, "The senate hearing was held at the Raybum House office building from 2:30 to 4:30 on 3 December, 2007, and I spoke about many things of Burma after the Saffron Revolution."
He also said that he discussed the issue of religion in Burma, the repression of the people by the military, and US police options for Burma after the recent so-called Saffron Revolution that was led by monks.
During the hearing, he also stated before the commission that the very existence of monastic life is being destroyed by the military regime in Burma, and that the country will face bloodshed again if the international community, including the UN Security Council, can't find a collective and effective strategy to stop this evil regime from its arresting and killing.
He also said that as long as the UN Security Council could not make the regime engage in meaningful and time-bound dialogue with the democratic opposition led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for a peaceful transition to democracy, the spiritual revolution of the monks and people will continue, and another brutal crackdown will be unavoidable.
Ashin Nakaya spoke out about the military government's killing of monks, who are highly respected by the people in a country where Buddhism is the major religion. The junta has emptied monasteries, which are not only places of worship and religious functions, but also for education, maintenance of culture, and caring for HIV/AIDS patients and orphans - duties which the regime has neglected. Burma's military regime has forcibly disrobed monks, beaten them, and assaulted them severely.
Today, he said, we know that several leading monks in Burma are still on the run. We do not know with any accuracy how many monks have been killed, or how many were forcibly disrobed. We do not know how many are in prison, or how many monks have been taken to secret locations. There is a terrible secrecy and silence over Burma.
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to the freedom in our country and the freedom in our own hearts. All these things Americans value and cherish. Freedom for the people of Burma cannot be denied. The cost of that freedom is the only question in Burma," He said to the senate.
The venerable monk thanked President Bush and the First Lady, the United States Congress, and the American people for their support of the Burmese people in their struggle, and asked President Bush to make Burma his legacy of freedom.
Junta to confiscate houses at eastern gate of Shwedagon
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
December 3, 2007 – The Burmese military junta will soon confiscate houses near the eastern gate of Burma's most famous Buddhist shrine, Shwedagon Pagoda, and relocate residents, a monk in Rangoon said.
The Monk, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the junta has decided to empty the area, east of Shwedagon, and clear all residents, as many of the residences reportedly supported the monk-led protests in September.
Several residents have also reportedly been arrested for taking part during protests in August and September.
"On September 26, authorities fired tear gas in the vicinity of the eastern gate of Shwedagon. The people living in the ward were enraged and responded with violence, throwing stones at the soldiers," a 33-year-old monk said, explaining why the local people supported the monk-led protests
Despite reconnecting several telephone lines, which authorities had cut-off in September, the phone lines of monasteries located near Shwedagon, including Ma Har Wi Thote Dar Yone and Nyaung Tone, remain disconnected.
"They [the junta] even sealed-off the Maggin monastery, so they have proven that they dare to confiscate the people's residences," the monk said.
December 3, 2007 – The Burmese military junta will soon confiscate houses near the eastern gate of Burma's most famous Buddhist shrine, Shwedagon Pagoda, and relocate residents, a monk in Rangoon said.
The Monk, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the junta has decided to empty the area, east of Shwedagon, and clear all residents, as many of the residences reportedly supported the monk-led protests in September.
Several residents have also reportedly been arrested for taking part during protests in August and September.
"On September 26, authorities fired tear gas in the vicinity of the eastern gate of Shwedagon. The people living in the ward were enraged and responded with violence, throwing stones at the soldiers," a 33-year-old monk said, explaining why the local people supported the monk-led protests
Despite reconnecting several telephone lines, which authorities had cut-off in September, the phone lines of monasteries located near Shwedagon, including Ma Har Wi Thote Dar Yone and Nyaung Tone, remain disconnected.
"They [the junta] even sealed-off the Maggin monastery, so they have proven that they dare to confiscate the people's residences," the monk said.
Myanmar monks prepared for another bloodbath: exiled monk
AFP - Tuesday, December 4
WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Myanmar's Buddhist monks are prepared to face another bloody confrontation with the ruling military junta if the international community fails to force the generals to accept democratic reforms, an exiled monk with links inside Myanmar said Monday.
US-based Ashin Nayaka, a key member of the International Burmese Monks Organization, said monks were a "symbol of hope" for reforms in Myanmar but were "forcibly disrobed, assaulted and killed" by the junta.
"If this continues unaddressed, further bloody confrontation is unavoidable," he told a hearing of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a non-partisan panel appointed by the US president and leaders of Congress.
"The very existence of monastic life is being destroyed by the evil military regime and it will face bloodshed again, if the international community, including the UN Security Council, cannot find a collective and effective way to stop this evil regime from killings and arrests," he said.
At least 15 people died and 3,000 were jailed when Myanmar's military and police broke up pro-democracy protests, which saw Buddhist monks lead 100,000 people in the streets of Yangon on successive days.
Nayaka, a visiting scholar at Columbia University, said he had been working closely with U Gambira, the leader of the Alliance of All Burma Buddhist Monks and key leader of the September protests arrested by the junta last month.
He expressed regret that pressure by the international community on the junta had eased even as serious questions remained over the number of monks forcible disrobed, imprisoned and killed following the protests.
"Where has the global outcry gone? This should be of grave concern for all governments worldwide. This is a moral crisis that Americans must stand for," he said.
The United States, which has long imposed a trade and investment ban on Myanmar, has twice tightened sanctions since the clampdown on protests.
It ordered an asset freeze on key junta figures and blacklisted seven companies and five individuals allegedly linked to those companies and the regime.
Aung Din, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma, urged Washington to appoint a full-time sanctions coordinator for Myanmar as it did in the late 1990's against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's regime accused of genocide.
This would enable coordination of global sanctions against Myanmar's junta, he said.
Citing the Australian government which had targeted financial sanctions against 418 Myanmar citizens, including 40 businessmen, he asked the US government to impose restrictions on more Myanmar businessmen who provided money to the junta leaders and their families.
Jared Genser, president of human rights group Freedom Now, raised the prospect of Washington imposing sanctions, such as those used against a Macau bank accused of money laundering for nuclear-armed North Korea, on a Southeast Asian state-owned bank suspected of links to Myanmar's military rulers.
The move against Banco Delta Asia in Macau underscored US financial clout and reportedly compelled North Korea back to the negotiating table.
"Anecdotally in conversations with diplomats in ASEAN countries, I know there is a deep concern about the prospects of the United States doing to a state-owned bank what happened to Banco Delta Asia in Macau because of its laundering of North Korean funds," Genser told the hearing.
He did not name the bank.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - - Myanmar's Buddhist monks are prepared to face another bloody confrontation with the ruling military junta if the international community fails to force the generals to accept democratic reforms, an exiled monk with links inside Myanmar said Monday.
US-based Ashin Nayaka, a key member of the International Burmese Monks Organization, said monks were a "symbol of hope" for reforms in Myanmar but were "forcibly disrobed, assaulted and killed" by the junta.
"If this continues unaddressed, further bloody confrontation is unavoidable," he told a hearing of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, a non-partisan panel appointed by the US president and leaders of Congress.
"The very existence of monastic life is being destroyed by the evil military regime and it will face bloodshed again, if the international community, including the UN Security Council, cannot find a collective and effective way to stop this evil regime from killings and arrests," he said.
At least 15 people died and 3,000 were jailed when Myanmar's military and police broke up pro-democracy protests, which saw Buddhist monks lead 100,000 people in the streets of Yangon on successive days.
Nayaka, a visiting scholar at Columbia University, said he had been working closely with U Gambira, the leader of the Alliance of All Burma Buddhist Monks and key leader of the September protests arrested by the junta last month.
He expressed regret that pressure by the international community on the junta had eased even as serious questions remained over the number of monks forcible disrobed, imprisoned and killed following the protests.
"Where has the global outcry gone? This should be of grave concern for all governments worldwide. This is a moral crisis that Americans must stand for," he said.
The United States, which has long imposed a trade and investment ban on Myanmar, has twice tightened sanctions since the clampdown on protests.
It ordered an asset freeze on key junta figures and blacklisted seven companies and five individuals allegedly linked to those companies and the regime.
Aung Din, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma, urged Washington to appoint a full-time sanctions coordinator for Myanmar as it did in the late 1990's against Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's regime accused of genocide.
This would enable coordination of global sanctions against Myanmar's junta, he said.
Citing the Australian government which had targeted financial sanctions against 418 Myanmar citizens, including 40 businessmen, he asked the US government to impose restrictions on more Myanmar businessmen who provided money to the junta leaders and their families.
Jared Genser, president of human rights group Freedom Now, raised the prospect of Washington imposing sanctions, such as those used against a Macau bank accused of money laundering for nuclear-armed North Korea, on a Southeast Asian state-owned bank suspected of links to Myanmar's military rulers.
The move against Banco Delta Asia in Macau underscored US financial clout and reportedly compelled North Korea back to the negotiating table.
"Anecdotally in conversations with diplomats in ASEAN countries, I know there is a deep concern about the prospects of the United States doing to a state-owned bank what happened to Banco Delta Asia in Macau because of its laundering of North Korean funds," Genser told the hearing.
He did not name the bank.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Military presence at monk food offering
Dec 3, 2007 (DVB)–Authorities in Moegok township, Mandalay division, tightened security around a local monastery and pagoda out of concern that a gathering of monks for a food offering could turn into another protest.
Around 400 monks attended the breakfast offering at Thati Phatan monastery on 30 November, according to a local resident.
Local authorities were worried about the large number of monks assembling at Thati Phatan and feared they would move on to Chanthar Gyi pagoda, a well-known pagoda near the monastery.
The local resident said the authorities had called in security forces because they did not want the gathering to lead to renewed demonstrations.
“They were worried that the monks would go out into the town and protest again,” he said.
“So they sent in military trucks and soldiers in body armour to the areas surrounding the monastery and set up roadblocks on the way to the monastery and were checking everyone.”
Local officials had also visited the monastery several times on 29 November to try to pressure the head monk, 75-year-old U Thu Nanda, not to hold the offering.
Thati Phatan monastery is located on the east side of Moegok township, and has about 18 monks and novices.
Reporting by Nam Kham Kaew
Around 400 monks attended the breakfast offering at Thati Phatan monastery on 30 November, according to a local resident.
Local authorities were worried about the large number of monks assembling at Thati Phatan and feared they would move on to Chanthar Gyi pagoda, a well-known pagoda near the monastery.
The local resident said the authorities had called in security forces because they did not want the gathering to lead to renewed demonstrations.
“They were worried that the monks would go out into the town and protest again,” he said.
“So they sent in military trucks and soldiers in body armour to the areas surrounding the monastery and set up roadblocks on the way to the monastery and were checking everyone.”
Local officials had also visited the monastery several times on 29 November to try to pressure the head monk, 75-year-old U Thu Nanda, not to hold the offering.
Thati Phatan monastery is located on the east side of Moegok township, and has about 18 monks and novices.
Reporting by Nam Kham Kaew
Burmese Buddhist Monks Outcasts in their Own Country
Irrawaddy
by Shah Paung
December 3, 2007
Burma is a Buddhist country. But, under this military government, it no longer offers a place or security for Buddhist monks.
This was confirmed again by the latest cruel action by the regime in closing Rangoon’s Maggin monastery and evicting its monks, lay people and the HIV/AIDS patients in its treatment center and hospice.
Among the nine evicted monks was 80-year-old U Nandiya, father of the monastery’s abbot, U Indaka, a former political prisoner detained once more in an unknown location.
U Nandiya is also being detained by the Burmese authorities, and it’s reported that he will be sent back to his home town, Myothit, in Taungdwingyi Township, Magwe Division. Three novices will also reportedly be sent home. A member of the State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee, the official council of monks, will accompany them.
The monastery’s six HIV/AIDS patients are being cared for in a “safe house” staffed by volunteers of a group led by Phyu Phyu Thin until she was forced to flee and go into hiding from the authorities.
According to the 88 Generation Students group, U Nandiya is been held under guard at Maha Theik Pan Kyaung in Rangoon’s Yankin Township of Rangoon.
The group said that on Sunday the authorities also arrest a lay person, Aung Zaw Win, when he inquired about the fate of the evicted monks.
The crackdown on Buddhist monks, in which more than 3,000 were arrested during and after the September demonstrations, is clearly continuing. Several monks reportedly died in the crackdown and many are still in prison.
The authorities are now reported to be hunting down monks who are following a call by the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks for a boycott of the annual state-run examinations. The boycott is intended to show solidarity with the monks who participated in the September demonstrations.
Soe Tun, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, said from his hiding place: “Our religion and our entire nation have been insulted [by the regime actions].”
He also accused the State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee of failing in its duty to tackle problems arising in relations between the monasteries and the state.
“From village to national level, the Sangha Mahanayaka has a duty here, but now it only follows government orders,” Soe Tun said.
by Shah Paung
December 3, 2007
Burma is a Buddhist country. But, under this military government, it no longer offers a place or security for Buddhist monks.
This was confirmed again by the latest cruel action by the regime in closing Rangoon’s Maggin monastery and evicting its monks, lay people and the HIV/AIDS patients in its treatment center and hospice.
Among the nine evicted monks was 80-year-old U Nandiya, father of the monastery’s abbot, U Indaka, a former political prisoner detained once more in an unknown location.
U Nandiya is also being detained by the Burmese authorities, and it’s reported that he will be sent back to his home town, Myothit, in Taungdwingyi Township, Magwe Division. Three novices will also reportedly be sent home. A member of the State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee, the official council of monks, will accompany them.
The monastery’s six HIV/AIDS patients are being cared for in a “safe house” staffed by volunteers of a group led by Phyu Phyu Thin until she was forced to flee and go into hiding from the authorities.
According to the 88 Generation Students group, U Nandiya is been held under guard at Maha Theik Pan Kyaung in Rangoon’s Yankin Township of Rangoon.
The group said that on Sunday the authorities also arrest a lay person, Aung Zaw Win, when he inquired about the fate of the evicted monks.
The crackdown on Buddhist monks, in which more than 3,000 were arrested during and after the September demonstrations, is clearly continuing. Several monks reportedly died in the crackdown and many are still in prison.
The authorities are now reported to be hunting down monks who are following a call by the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks for a boycott of the annual state-run examinations. The boycott is intended to show solidarity with the monks who participated in the September demonstrations.
Soe Tun, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, said from his hiding place: “Our religion and our entire nation have been insulted [by the regime actions].”
He also accused the State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee of failing in its duty to tackle problems arising in relations between the monasteries and the state.
“From village to national level, the Sangha Mahanayaka has a duty here, but now it only follows government orders,” Soe Tun said.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Myanmar's missing monks still a mystery months after crackdown
By DPA
Nov 30, 2007, 10:23 GMT
Bangkok - Two months after Myanmar's brutal crackdown on peaceful protests in Yangon led by Buddhist monks, the former capital is noticeably short of monks, a senior US diplomat said Friday.
'Prior to September, almost any place you looked in Rangoon (Yangon) there were 25 to 50 monks, they were everywhere, but now you only see one or two,' said Shari Villarosa, charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
For two weeks in September, Myanmar's saffron-robed monkhood led peaceful demonstrations in Yangon to protest the country's deteriorating economic conditions under the authoritarian military regime that has ruled the predominantly Buddhist nation for the past 45 years.
The protests ended on September 27, after the army unleashed a brutal two-day crackdown on the monks and their lay followers that left at least 15 people dead, according to official figures.
Other estimates place the death toll above 100. It is unknown how many monks were arrested and died in the crackdown.
What is known is that the ruling junta has forced monks out of Yangon, leaving many monasteries and temples with skeleton staffs.
In some cases, the junta has closed down monasteries altogether.
Authorities on Thursday shut down the Maggin Monastery in Yangon, where many of the dissident monks had stayed, Villarosa confirmed at a press conference held in Bangkok.
'The big question out there is where are all the monks,' she said. The US diplomat recently visited Moulmein, the home of more than 13,000 monks on Myanmar's southern coast, and encountered a similar scarcity of them there.
Myanmar military authorities have told diplomats that the monks have 'gone home,' but Villarosa said, 'we believe a considerable number have been arrested.'
There is no official figure for the number of monks in Myanmar, but prior to the September crackdown, there were believed to be close to 500,000 monks and novices.
Besides cracking down on monks and closing their monasteries, Myanmar's military has also continued to make arrests of dissidents in the aftermath of the September crackdown.
'We get reports on almost a daily basis of people people picked up,' said Villarosa. 'It raises questions about the sincerity of the military in pursuing a genuine dialogue leading towards national reconciliation.'
In the aftermath of the crackdown, under considerable pressure from the international community, Myanmar's military supremo Senior General Than Shwe vowed to start a dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but demanded that she agree to drop her support for sanctions against the regime.
Nov 30, 2007, 10:23 GMT
Bangkok - Two months after Myanmar's brutal crackdown on peaceful protests in Yangon led by Buddhist monks, the former capital is noticeably short of monks, a senior US diplomat said Friday.
'Prior to September, almost any place you looked in Rangoon (Yangon) there were 25 to 50 monks, they were everywhere, but now you only see one or two,' said Shari Villarosa, charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
For two weeks in September, Myanmar's saffron-robed monkhood led peaceful demonstrations in Yangon to protest the country's deteriorating economic conditions under the authoritarian military regime that has ruled the predominantly Buddhist nation for the past 45 years.
The protests ended on September 27, after the army unleashed a brutal two-day crackdown on the monks and their lay followers that left at least 15 people dead, according to official figures.
Other estimates place the death toll above 100. It is unknown how many monks were arrested and died in the crackdown.
What is known is that the ruling junta has forced monks out of Yangon, leaving many monasteries and temples with skeleton staffs.
In some cases, the junta has closed down monasteries altogether.
Authorities on Thursday shut down the Maggin Monastery in Yangon, where many of the dissident monks had stayed, Villarosa confirmed at a press conference held in Bangkok.
'The big question out there is where are all the monks,' she said. The US diplomat recently visited Moulmein, the home of more than 13,000 monks on Myanmar's southern coast, and encountered a similar scarcity of them there.
Myanmar military authorities have told diplomats that the monks have 'gone home,' but Villarosa said, 'we believe a considerable number have been arrested.'
There is no official figure for the number of monks in Myanmar, but prior to the September crackdown, there were believed to be close to 500,000 monks and novices.
Besides cracking down on monks and closing their monasteries, Myanmar's military has also continued to make arrests of dissidents in the aftermath of the September crackdown.
'We get reports on almost a daily basis of people people picked up,' said Villarosa. 'It raises questions about the sincerity of the military in pursuing a genuine dialogue leading towards national reconciliation.'
In the aftermath of the crackdown, under considerable pressure from the international community, Myanmar's military supremo Senior General Than Shwe vowed to start a dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but demanded that she agree to drop her support for sanctions against the regime.
Monastery Closure Makes Mockery of Junta’s Buddhist Claims
Irrawaddy
by Wai Moe
November 30, 2007
The Burmese junta often claims it believes deeply in Buddhism and encourages the growth of the faith. It’s a claim that has the Burmese people shaking their heads in disbelief in view of the junta’s latest crackdown, on Rangoon’s Maggin Monastery.
The monastery was forced to close by soldiers on Thursday. No responsibility was taken by the authorities for the resettlement of the monks and lay people ejected from the compound.
The Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks condemned the action as an “assault” on Buddhism and called on all Buddhists in Burma to defend their faith against regime actions they said threatened its survival.
In the Burmese ruby-mining town of Mogok, Mandalay Division, about 300 monks attempted to march from their monastery to a pagoda on Friday. They were stopped by the authorities.
Phyu Phyu Thin, a prominent Burmese activist, who used to work at Maggin Monastery’s treatment center and hospice for HIV/AIDS patients, told The Irrawaddy that the authorities in Rangoon had denied a request by the oldest monk at the monastery, the 80-year-old father of its detained abbot, to allow the monks and other residents one or two days to leave.
“The authorities forced monks and everybody else from the monastery,” Phyu Phyu Thin said. “The monks had to leave their belongings on the street. People who live near the monastery tried to help the monks move their things, but authorities stopped them giving any assistance.”
One resident said the authorities had warned that legal action would be taken against anybody found helping the evicted monks or giving them shelter. People who went to help the monks were warned to stay away.
The 80-year-old monk spent the day on the street, until he was granted refuge at a monastery in Thingangyun Township in Rangoon. But he can only stay there temporarily.
One resident of Thingangyun Township said he was sad because Buddhist monks were being displaced in a “Buddhist land”.
The renewed harassment of monks drew condemnation from the US State Department.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that the junta's "repression belies the regime's claims to cooperate fully with the United Nations, which has repeatedly sought an end to the detention of political activists."
He said continuing arrests "bring into serious question" Burma's commitment to talks on moving toward democracy.
"Apparently, it was ordered closed. No one knows why," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Burma, told on Friday reporters in Bangkok, Thailand. "Arrests are continuing. We are getting reports on a daily basis of people being picked up," Villarosa said.
Maggin Monastery has been raided by soldiers four times since the September demonstrations. Its abbot, U Indaka, a former political prisoner, is still being detained at an unknown location.
In 1990, he was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment and defrocked for his role in a "patam nikkujjana kamma"—the boycott of alms from members of the military regime, which followed the junta’s raids on monasteries in Mandalay. He was released in late 1994.
Maggin Monastery also sheltered a hospice and treatment center for HIV/AIDS patients who came from all over the country to seek help there.
by Wai Moe
November 30, 2007
The Burmese junta often claims it believes deeply in Buddhism and encourages the growth of the faith. It’s a claim that has the Burmese people shaking their heads in disbelief in view of the junta’s latest crackdown, on Rangoon’s Maggin Monastery.
The monastery was forced to close by soldiers on Thursday. No responsibility was taken by the authorities for the resettlement of the monks and lay people ejected from the compound.
The Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks condemned the action as an “assault” on Buddhism and called on all Buddhists in Burma to defend their faith against regime actions they said threatened its survival.
In the Burmese ruby-mining town of Mogok, Mandalay Division, about 300 monks attempted to march from their monastery to a pagoda on Friday. They were stopped by the authorities.
Phyu Phyu Thin, a prominent Burmese activist, who used to work at Maggin Monastery’s treatment center and hospice for HIV/AIDS patients, told The Irrawaddy that the authorities in Rangoon had denied a request by the oldest monk at the monastery, the 80-year-old father of its detained abbot, to allow the monks and other residents one or two days to leave.
“The authorities forced monks and everybody else from the monastery,” Phyu Phyu Thin said. “The monks had to leave their belongings on the street. People who live near the monastery tried to help the monks move their things, but authorities stopped them giving any assistance.”
One resident said the authorities had warned that legal action would be taken against anybody found helping the evicted monks or giving them shelter. People who went to help the monks were warned to stay away.
The 80-year-old monk spent the day on the street, until he was granted refuge at a monastery in Thingangyun Township in Rangoon. But he can only stay there temporarily.
One resident of Thingangyun Township said he was sad because Buddhist monks were being displaced in a “Buddhist land”.
The renewed harassment of monks drew condemnation from the US State Department.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that the junta's "repression belies the regime's claims to cooperate fully with the United Nations, which has repeatedly sought an end to the detention of political activists."
He said continuing arrests "bring into serious question" Burma's commitment to talks on moving toward democracy.
"Apparently, it was ordered closed. No one knows why," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Burma, told on Friday reporters in Bangkok, Thailand. "Arrests are continuing. We are getting reports on a daily basis of people being picked up," Villarosa said.
Maggin Monastery has been raided by soldiers four times since the September demonstrations. Its abbot, U Indaka, a former political prisoner, is still being detained at an unknown location.
In 1990, he was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment and defrocked for his role in a "patam nikkujjana kamma"—the boycott of alms from members of the military regime, which followed the junta’s raids on monasteries in Mandalay. He was released in late 1994.
Maggin Monastery also sheltered a hospice and treatment center for HIV/AIDS patients who came from all over the country to seek help there.
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