Friday, September 28, 2007
Monks in the vanguard for regime change
By Brian McCartan
Sep 28, 2007, Asia Times Online
THREE PAGODAS PASS, Thailand-Myanmar border - Images of tens of thousands of red-robed monks have been broadcast across the world as Myanmar's Buddhist clergy ups the ante in what has become the largest demonstrations against military rule since the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 1988.
Monk-led marches on Monday numbered more than 100,000 in the old capital Yangon, while demonstrations with clergy in the vanguard in other major cities tallied in the tens of thousands. Exile-run media reports claim that as many as eight monks have been killed in the violence, which started on Wednesday when soldiers for the first time opened fire on the protests in Yangon.
Early Thursday, soldiers raided Yangon's Ngwe Kyar Yan and Moe Guang monasteries, where they allegedly opened fire, physically assaulted and arrested an estimated 70 monks. Soldiers are now positioned at the front of temples to enforce the government's recent ban on gatherings of more than five people, and the number of protesters has reportedly dropped from Wednesday's figure.
That the leadership of what has evolved into a nationwide popular protest is in the hands of a religious institution that is generally perceived as above worldly concerns may seem odd to outsiders, but this is not the first time Buddhist monks have taken to the streets in Myanmar calling for political change. Indeed, there is a long tradition of political militancy in the monasteries of Myanmar.
Dating to the days of British overlordship in what was then known as Burma, monks have played a pivotal role in politics. Several of Burma's anti-colonial revolts were, at least partially, organized and led by the clergy. Prominent Buddhist anti-colonial leaders included the Venerable U Ottama and the Venerable U Wisara.
U Ottama organized the first anti-colonial activities under the General Council of Buddhist Associations in 1918, started the use of boycott campaigns and became the first Burmese citizen to be imprisoned by the British colonial authorities for a political speech he made in 1921. U Wisara died during the course of a 166-day hunger strike against the colonial regime.
The Saya San rebellion of 1930-31, which became the largest armed revolt against the colonial system in Burma, had a strong Buddhist element to it as well. Monks were actively involved in organizing the rebels of an insurrection that lasted more than two years, required almost 10,000 British troops to subdue and resulted in the deaths of about 10,000 Burmese, including the movement's leader, Saya San.
Monks were again actively involved in the pro-democracy uprising that swept the country in 1988. While most of the demonstrations were organized and led by university and high-school students, monks were crucial in maintaining discipline and giving their movement an important sense of moral legitimacy - though there were also reports of monks participating in retaliatory violence. When the killing began on August 8, 1988, many monks were among those gunned down by soldiers.
In October 1990, as a protest against the killings, disrobing and arrest of monks during the 1988 crackdown and continued harassment thereafter, monks in Mandalay declared an alms boycott against the generals and their families. The then-State Law and Order Restoration Council launched a crackdown and monasteries were raided and as many as 300 monks were forcibly disrobed and imprisoned.
Several of the ethnic insurgencies that have long fought against the government have also enlisted prominent monks as leaders. One, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), is still, at least officially, run by a Karen monk named U Thuzana. Although it is inclusive of Christians, U Thuzana has seen that the DKBA maintains a strong Buddhist slant to its policies. Meanwhile, the Pa-O resistance movement based in Shan state was also initially led by a Pa-O Buddhist monk, U Nay Mee.
Karmic arbiters
In recognition of the centrality of the Buddhist clergy, or Sangha, in Myanmar society, the ruling generals have tried to be frequently seen making contributions to building monasteries and pagodas and donating money and gifts to prominent monks. State-run media almost daily contain images and stories of military officers visiting monasteries and handing over gifts of cash and religious materials or conferring religious titles. The donations and conferring of titles is a rather materialistic attempt at co-opting the Sangha while attempting to portray to the public an image of moral legitimacy.
Tellingly, however, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is currently run by a military officer, Brigadier-General Thura Myint Maung. Scores of monks who have run afoul of the regime for expressing their political views in recent years have been disrobed and imprisoned. Of the current estimated 1,100 political prisoners, at least 90 of them are monks.
In Myanmar's Buddhist culture, men are expected to become a monk at least once in their lives, usually before they marry as well as after the death of their father. The clergy also plays animportant and overarching social-welfare role, often filling the gaps left by the lack of government-administered services. Young men often join the monkhood to gain access to education provided free of charge by the monasteries.
Because of the lack of opportunities elsewhere in Myanmar's mismanaged and tightly controlled economy, monasteries are also filled with disaffected young novices. The monastic environment itself provides a convenient place to discuss issues, including politics, and to hear the complaints and grievances of the common people who come to their temples seeking advice and religious solace. This has over the years made the monasteries a boiling cauldron of potential anti-government dissent.
The current protests, of course, were initially set off by a very worldly concern: a huge rise in the prices of fuel in mid-August that has significantly inflated the costs of basic goods and services. The initial demonstrations were spearheaded by known activists and former political prisoners.
But after a September 5 confrontation between the clergy and soldiers in the town of Pakokku in north-central Myanmar, in which several monks were badly beaten or arrested and soldiers fired warning shots, the Sangha has led what has morphed into a nationwide protest movement.
When the government failed to apologize for the assault, on September 18 monks declared a boycott on accepting alms from soldiers and their families, an act of defiance known in Myanmar as "overturning the alms bowl". That is why many monks marching in the demonstrations have carried their alms bowls upside down in a symbolic gesture.
This is a particularly powerful gesture, since it denies the soldiers and their families the ability to make merit - a very important part of life in religiously devout Myanmar. The involvement of the monks has given the protest movement a hard political bent, a significant evolution of the initial protests that were in response to fuel-price hikes.
The initial clergy calls for a government apology for soldiers' actions against monks at Pakokku has in recent days shifted to broader demands for dialogue between the government and opposition political parties, the release of political prisoners, and humanitarian demands for adequate food, shelter and clothing for the population.
Characteristic of most of the protests has been the willingness of ordinary citizens to march on either side of the monks in an effort to protect them from possible government violence. In one incident on Wednesday in the Yangon suburb of Ahlone, civilian protesters reportedly sat down around the monks and began praying even as the soldiers started to shoot.
With Wednesday's killing of several monks at Sule Pagoda in Yangon, the protest's demands have shifted again, with some monks now making calls for full-blown regime change. Video and photos of the marches placed on Internet weblogs showed agitated monks shouting slogans and brandishing poles on which they had tacked the Buddhist flag. Other demonstrations featured Buddhist flags raised together with banners emblazoned with the fighting peacock - a symbol of the pro-democracy opposition movement.
Now that the first shots have been fired, with as many as eight monks killed across the country and soldiers stationed in front of temples and monasteries, the issue has become whether the monks can sustain their protest movement. The power of Buddhism is strong in Myanmar, and the symbolism of soldiers gunning down monks could galvanize a broad-based insurrection.
Many hope that foot soldiers will balk at the next round of orders to open fire on monks, though there have been no signs yet of military desertions or breakdowns in the chain of command. What is clear is that the monks have captured the popular imagination, and with the clergy's brave example, people could soon be convinced that now is the time to take the nation's fate into their own worldly hands.
Brian McCartan is a Thailand-based freelance journalist. He may be contacted through brianpm@comcast.net.
Sep 28, 2007, Asia Times Online
THREE PAGODAS PASS, Thailand-Myanmar border - Images of tens of thousands of red-robed monks have been broadcast across the world as Myanmar's Buddhist clergy ups the ante in what has become the largest demonstrations against military rule since the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 1988.
Monk-led marches on Monday numbered more than 100,000 in the old capital Yangon, while demonstrations with clergy in the vanguard in other major cities tallied in the tens of thousands. Exile-run media reports claim that as many as eight monks have been killed in the violence, which started on Wednesday when soldiers for the first time opened fire on the protests in Yangon.
Early Thursday, soldiers raided Yangon's Ngwe Kyar Yan and Moe Guang monasteries, where they allegedly opened fire, physically assaulted and arrested an estimated 70 monks. Soldiers are now positioned at the front of temples to enforce the government's recent ban on gatherings of more than five people, and the number of protesters has reportedly dropped from Wednesday's figure.
That the leadership of what has evolved into a nationwide popular protest is in the hands of a religious institution that is generally perceived as above worldly concerns may seem odd to outsiders, but this is not the first time Buddhist monks have taken to the streets in Myanmar calling for political change. Indeed, there is a long tradition of political militancy in the monasteries of Myanmar.
Dating to the days of British overlordship in what was then known as Burma, monks have played a pivotal role in politics. Several of Burma's anti-colonial revolts were, at least partially, organized and led by the clergy. Prominent Buddhist anti-colonial leaders included the Venerable U Ottama and the Venerable U Wisara.
U Ottama organized the first anti-colonial activities under the General Council of Buddhist Associations in 1918, started the use of boycott campaigns and became the first Burmese citizen to be imprisoned by the British colonial authorities for a political speech he made in 1921. U Wisara died during the course of a 166-day hunger strike against the colonial regime.
The Saya San rebellion of 1930-31, which became the largest armed revolt against the colonial system in Burma, had a strong Buddhist element to it as well. Monks were actively involved in organizing the rebels of an insurrection that lasted more than two years, required almost 10,000 British troops to subdue and resulted in the deaths of about 10,000 Burmese, including the movement's leader, Saya San.
Monks were again actively involved in the pro-democracy uprising that swept the country in 1988. While most of the demonstrations were organized and led by university and high-school students, monks were crucial in maintaining discipline and giving their movement an important sense of moral legitimacy - though there were also reports of monks participating in retaliatory violence. When the killing began on August 8, 1988, many monks were among those gunned down by soldiers.
In October 1990, as a protest against the killings, disrobing and arrest of monks during the 1988 crackdown and continued harassment thereafter, monks in Mandalay declared an alms boycott against the generals and their families. The then-State Law and Order Restoration Council launched a crackdown and monasteries were raided and as many as 300 monks were forcibly disrobed and imprisoned.
Several of the ethnic insurgencies that have long fought against the government have also enlisted prominent monks as leaders. One, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), is still, at least officially, run by a Karen monk named U Thuzana. Although it is inclusive of Christians, U Thuzana has seen that the DKBA maintains a strong Buddhist slant to its policies. Meanwhile, the Pa-O resistance movement based in Shan state was also initially led by a Pa-O Buddhist monk, U Nay Mee.
Karmic arbiters
In recognition of the centrality of the Buddhist clergy, or Sangha, in Myanmar society, the ruling generals have tried to be frequently seen making contributions to building monasteries and pagodas and donating money and gifts to prominent monks. State-run media almost daily contain images and stories of military officers visiting monasteries and handing over gifts of cash and religious materials or conferring religious titles. The donations and conferring of titles is a rather materialistic attempt at co-opting the Sangha while attempting to portray to the public an image of moral legitimacy.
Tellingly, however, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is currently run by a military officer, Brigadier-General Thura Myint Maung. Scores of monks who have run afoul of the regime for expressing their political views in recent years have been disrobed and imprisoned. Of the current estimated 1,100 political prisoners, at least 90 of them are monks.
In Myanmar's Buddhist culture, men are expected to become a monk at least once in their lives, usually before they marry as well as after the death of their father. The clergy also plays animportant and overarching social-welfare role, often filling the gaps left by the lack of government-administered services. Young men often join the monkhood to gain access to education provided free of charge by the monasteries.
Because of the lack of opportunities elsewhere in Myanmar's mismanaged and tightly controlled economy, monasteries are also filled with disaffected young novices. The monastic environment itself provides a convenient place to discuss issues, including politics, and to hear the complaints and grievances of the common people who come to their temples seeking advice and religious solace. This has over the years made the monasteries a boiling cauldron of potential anti-government dissent.
The current protests, of course, were initially set off by a very worldly concern: a huge rise in the prices of fuel in mid-August that has significantly inflated the costs of basic goods and services. The initial demonstrations were spearheaded by known activists and former political prisoners.
But after a September 5 confrontation between the clergy and soldiers in the town of Pakokku in north-central Myanmar, in which several monks were badly beaten or arrested and soldiers fired warning shots, the Sangha has led what has morphed into a nationwide protest movement.
When the government failed to apologize for the assault, on September 18 monks declared a boycott on accepting alms from soldiers and their families, an act of defiance known in Myanmar as "overturning the alms bowl". That is why many monks marching in the demonstrations have carried their alms bowls upside down in a symbolic gesture.
This is a particularly powerful gesture, since it denies the soldiers and their families the ability to make merit - a very important part of life in religiously devout Myanmar. The involvement of the monks has given the protest movement a hard political bent, a significant evolution of the initial protests that were in response to fuel-price hikes.
The initial clergy calls for a government apology for soldiers' actions against monks at Pakokku has in recent days shifted to broader demands for dialogue between the government and opposition political parties, the release of political prisoners, and humanitarian demands for adequate food, shelter and clothing for the population.
Characteristic of most of the protests has been the willingness of ordinary citizens to march on either side of the monks in an effort to protect them from possible government violence. In one incident on Wednesday in the Yangon suburb of Ahlone, civilian protesters reportedly sat down around the monks and began praying even as the soldiers started to shoot.
With Wednesday's killing of several monks at Sule Pagoda in Yangon, the protest's demands have shifted again, with some monks now making calls for full-blown regime change. Video and photos of the marches placed on Internet weblogs showed agitated monks shouting slogans and brandishing poles on which they had tacked the Buddhist flag. Other demonstrations featured Buddhist flags raised together with banners emblazoned with the fighting peacock - a symbol of the pro-democracy opposition movement.
Now that the first shots have been fired, with as many as eight monks killed across the country and soldiers stationed in front of temples and monasteries, the issue has become whether the monks can sustain their protest movement. The power of Buddhism is strong in Myanmar, and the symbolism of soldiers gunning down monks could galvanize a broad-based insurrection.
Many hope that foot soldiers will balk at the next round of orders to open fire on monks, though there have been no signs yet of military desertions or breakdowns in the chain of command. What is clear is that the monks have captured the popular imagination, and with the clergy's brave example, people could soon be convinced that now is the time to take the nation's fate into their own worldly hands.
Brian McCartan is a Thailand-based freelance journalist. He may be contacted through brianpm@comcast.net.
Labels: Burma
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