Five Buddhist monks staged a rare protest in Burma’s second largest city
on Tuesday, saying they wanted the government to release all political
prisoners, end a longstanding ethnic armed conflict and allow freedom of
speech.
They gathered at the famous Maha Myatmuni pagoda in Mandalay to announce
their demands written in banners which they unfurled and put up at the
building, drawing at one stage about 500 fellow monks and onlookers.
The monks, in their maroon-clad robes, and the authorities engaged in a
standoff until the abbot of the nearby Masoeyein monastery mediated and
persuaded the group to continue their actions at the monastery compound.
Police in plainclothes and military personnel deployed at the scene, a female eyewitness said.
Their action came a day after a widely anticipated release of a second
batch of hundreds of political prisoners did not materialize, presenting
a new test for President Thein Sein’s nominally civilian
administration, which took power from the former military junta in March
after historic elections, held a year ago.
About a month ago, over 6,300 prisoners, including more than 200
political detainees, were released under a government amnesty program
although key dissidents remain locked up, drawing criticism from
international observers and opposition parties.
Tuesday’s monk protest is believed to the first since the Saffron
Revolution of 2007, when marches by monks calling for reforms were
brutally suppressed by the Burmese army. At least 31 people were killed
and thousands were thrown in jail.
“Our first demand is for the release of our monk brothers, then an end
to civil war—especially in Kachin State right now—and the third is to
allow us the freedom to speak and write to begin our peace movement,"
Ashin Sopaka, the leader of Tuesday’s protest, said.
He said his group had originally consisted of 10 members but the other five monks backed out fearing a violent reprisal.
“Now we are left with five, but we have a lot of people joining us here
[in support]. For now we are just calling ourselves the Monks Who Want
Peace,” he said before moving to the monastery.
The security guards at the pagoda disconnected the electricity when they
learned that the monks had occupied the building but the protesters
used a generator to maintain power supply, thanks to fellow monks who
delivered the equipment and members of the public who provided fuel.
Local support
Another protester, U Maga, told RFA that the group had received
encouraging support from the local community who updated them on
developments outside, including movement of military and police
personnel.
"There are laypeople and other monks waiting outside and contacting us.
They will provide everything that we need, including water, engine oil,
and food, and they said they will follow our instructions,” he said.
Another protester, Ashin Zawtipala, estimated the crowd at more than 500
people at the height of their protest campaign, saying they were
prepared for the worst.
A male eyewitness said the local community in Mandalay had been stirred by the monks’ decision to speak out.
"It had been some time since we’ve seen this kind of movement in Mandalay, and people are glad to see it," he said.
Ko Ko Gyi, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy’s
Mandalay chapter said the monks’ actions were meant to raise public
awareness of the political issues at stake in Burma’s future.
"This can't be considered a ‘protest.’ The monks are also voicing their
support for the ongoing discussions between [prodemocracy leader] Aung
San Suu Kyi and the higher authorities."
Protest relocates
A female eyewitness said she spoke with one of the monks as they left
the pagoda to the Masoeyein monastery, where about 1,000 monks live.
“While they were moving to the monastery on foot, we followed them and I
asked a monk about the situation. He said negotiations had not gone
well. One authority after another, including senior monks, came to talk
with them,” she said.
None of the monks living in the monastery joined the five who continued
their protest in the building’s compound. A few hundred people made
their way there and remained with the monks.
"Now we are all in the monastery at Old Masoeyein where the five monks
will continue preaching to us. We have all followed them.”
Witnesses said that the Masoeyein abbot agreed to a request by the
public to resume talks on Wednesday at the monastery, where the monks
will be permitted to hold discussions for three days.
It is not clear why the authorities did not release the political
prisoners on Monday as expected before President Thein Sein leaves to
attend an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit later
this week in Indonesia.
But reports said the move was put off at short notice by the powerful
National Defense and Security Council and that the authorities are now
expected to decide any releases on a case-by-case basis instead of in
large groups.
Thein Sein’s government has launched several reforms, including dialogue
with the opposition, lifting of strict media controls, an offer to
discuss peace with ethnic armed groups and passing of laws giving
workers the right to strike and opposition parties to re-register
themselves.
Aung San Suu Kyi told a rare press conference on Monday marking the
first anniversary of her release after years of detention that she was
"encouraged" by the reforms so far but called for more changes,
including release of all political prisoners.
Reported by Ko Ko Aung, Ingjin Naing, Nyan Win Aung, and Tin Aung
Khine for RFA’s Burmese service. Translated by Khin May Zaw. Written in
English by Joshua Lipes.
