The resistance of the monks : Buddhism and activism in Burma

121 Pages·2009·2.793 MB·English

by  Lintner, Bertil

Burma H U M A N
The Resistance of the Monks
R I G H T S
Buddhism and Activism in Burma W A T C H
The Resistance of the Monks

Buddhism and Activism in Burma
Copyright © 2009 Human Rights Watch
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 1-56432-544-X
Cover design by Rafael Jimenez

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September 2009 1-56432-544-X

The Resistance of the Monks
Buddhism and Activism in Burma
I. Summary and Key Recommendations....................................................................................... 1
Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 26
II. Burma: A Long Tradition of Buddhist Activism ....................................................................... 27
Buddhism in Independent Burma During the Parliamentary Period ...................................... 33
Buddhism and the State After the 1962 Military Takeover .................................................... 38
III. The Role of the Sangha in the 1988 Uprising and After the 1990 Election ............................. 44
The Mandalay Monks Uprising of 1990 ................................................................................ 48
Box: Monks Who Were Wounded on August 8, 1990, in Mandalay ....................................... 49
IV. Aung San Suu Kyi and Buddhism ......................................................................................... 54
V. The SPDC and Buddhism ....................................................................................................... 59
VI. The Reemergence of Buddhist Political Activism in Burma ................................................... 63
VII. The September 2007 Crackdown ......................................................................................... 81
BOX: Chronology of Events, August-September 2007 ........................................................... 91
VIII. Cyclone Nargis and Its Aftermath ....................................................................................... 94
IX. International Networks ........................................................................................................99
Burmese Monks in Sri Lanka ............................................................................................. 101
X. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 103
XI. Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 107
To the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) ........................................................ 107
To the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee ................................................................... 107
To Key International Actors, including the United States, China, India, Japan, the European
Union (and its member states), ASEAN (and its member states), and the United Nations (and
its agencies) ..................................................................................................................... 108
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................... 109
Appendix I: Terminology and Abbreviations ............................................................................ 110
Appendix II: Letter to the Penang Sayadaw U Bhaddantapannyavamsa from the Burmese Foreign
Ministry, October 27, 2007 ...................................................................................................... 112
Appendix III: Statement by Sasana Moli, the International Burmese Monks Organization, May
2008 ........................................................................................................................................ 114
I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Human Rights Watch | September 2009
The regime’s use of mass arrests, murder,
torture, and imprisonment has failed to
extinguish our desire for the freedom that
was stolen from us. We have taken their
best punch. Now it is the generals who
must fear the consequences of their
actions. We adhere to nonviolence, but our
spine is made of steel. There is no turning
back. It matters little if my life or the lives
of colleagues should be sacrificed on this
journey. Others will fill our sandals, and
more will join and follow.
—Buddhist monk and protest leader U Gambira,
November 2007.
I’m being watched all the time. I am
considered an organizer. Between noon
and 2 p.m. I am allowed to go out of the
monastery. But then I’m followed. I had to
shake off my tail to come to this meeting
today. I’m not afraid, not for myself. I’m
not afraid to tell foreign journalists what
happened. And I’m prepared to march
again when the opportunity arises. We
don’t want this junta. And that’s what
everyone at my monastery thinks as well.
—Buddhist monk, U Manita, Burma, July 2008.
[S]omething was achieved [in September
2007]. A whole new generation of monks
has been politicized. We’re educating
them. We’re still boycotting the military.
We are not accepting gifts and offerings
from them. One of the reasons why the
regime will fall is globalization. No country
can be isolated like before. Look at
Indonesia, that regime fell. Now it’s a
democracy. We want the UN’s Security
Council to take up the Burma issue, that
the UN investigates what really
happened…. But China and Russia can use Morning prayers at a monastery on the outskirts of Mandalay.
© 2009 Pat Brown/Panos
their veto. Please tell the world what’s
happening in our country!
—Buddhist monk U Igara, Burma, July 2008.
2 The Resistance of the Monks
THE RESISTANCE OF THE MONKS
Buddhism and Activism in Burma
Human Rights Watch | September 2009 3
A monk collects alms in a suburb of Mandalay.
© 2009 Pat Brown/Panos
4 The Resistance of the Monks
Since the Burmese army’s brutal
military crackdown on Buddhist
monks and other peaceful
protestors in September 2007,
a constant refrain has been,
“What happened to the monks?”
This report attempts to answer that question. It tells the story
of many among hundreds of monks who were arrested and
beaten, and the more than 250 monks and nuns who remain
in prison today, often with decades remaining on their
sentences. It tells the story of large numbers of monks who
left their monasteries, returning to their villages or seeking
refuge in other countries. And it tells the story of monks who
remained, many of whom live under constant surveillance.
Human Rights Watch | September 2009 5