Myanmar Army woos monks

As every year in mid-April, except in 2020 due to the coronavirus, Myanmar (formerly Burma) and its neighboring countries plunged last week in the most important annual Buddhist holiday, the New Year or

Thingyan

. Known as the Water Festival, due to the custom of throwing it to purify sins, the current situation, with the country on the verge of collapse after the February riot, has buried any celebration: instead of water, protesters splashed the streets of some cities with red paint as a symbol of the more than 700 lives taken by military repression. Opponents of the military regime took the opportunity to criticize the generals seeking to appropriate Buddhist traditions while trying to legitimize their power by seducing respected monks, divided after the coup.

“The military regime does not own the

Thingyan.

Power is in the hands of the people, ”proclaimed Ei Thinzar Maung, a spokesman for the civil disobedience movement, which has been calling for mass strikes since the February 1 coup, on Facebook. The woman urged Burmese Buddhists - about 90% of the country's 54 million citizens - to pray in groups and participate in symbolic acts of protest. Thus, instead of the usual rituals of cleaning the representations of Buddha in the temples, the protesters commemorated the New Year by carrying protest banners, staining the streets red and calling silent days in some cities.

It was their way of maintaining the protests and respecting tradition without resorting to celebrations, as a sign of respect for the more than 700 fatalities, including 46 children, due to the repression of the security forces since the coup, according to the Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (AAPP). Some attacks that do not stop. Just over a week ago, more than 80 people lost their lives in Bago, some 80 kilometers northeast of the country's largest city, Yangon, when the army and police violently dispersed the demonstrations called there. Tension increases in regions where guerrillas made up of ethnic minorities operate. In the southern state of Karen, more than 24,000 civilians have fled in recent days due to clashes between rebel groups and the Tatmadaw,as the Burmese Army is known, which carries out aerial bombardments in the area.

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The monastic body, or

Sangha

, plays an instrumental role in granting legitimacy to the Government. And the military leadership, headed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Min Aung Hlaing, is fully aware of this. The new strongman of old Burma dedicates time and funds to the cause; In the weeks leading up to the coup, the general, who is partly responsible for financing the construction of the largest Buddha statue in the capital, Naypydó, increased the pace of visits and donations to major monasteries. Shortly after taking power, he announced the reopening of large pagodas in Yangon and Mandalay, the country's largest cities, closed due to the pandemic. And after the military parade held in that city on March 27, the day of the Armed Forces, he rushed to visit the nearest pagoda,while the military killed more than 100 people throughout the country.

Although the military junta keeps some Buddhist leaders on its side through incentives, there are divisions among the monks and within Mahana itself, the powerful government-appointed committee of 47 abbots, over a draft document leaked in mid-March. calling for an end to violence.

“The monastic dome may be on the side of the Tatmadaw, but many lower-ranking monks would like to join the civil disobedience movement and protests.

Ordinary monks are experienced in protests and sympathize with people who take to the streets, ”says Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

Dissent in the committee of abbots

The disagreements within the Mahana were evident as a result of the leak of the document, unsigned, and that it was not officially published. On Armed Forces Day, a representative of the Buddhist committee attended a religious ceremony attended by Min Aung Hlaing, which was interpreted as a possible retraction. “More than support for the board, your attendance could indicate neutrality. The Mahana has always tried to maintain a semblance of unity, especially in political matters. Their position is difficult, as they are under the baton of the Ministry of Religion, and their relationship with the Army has been defined by a constant power struggle, ”observes Melyn McKay, an anthropologist and specialist in Myanmar.

The alleged divisions seem to influence when it comes to seeing fewer monks in the streets than on previous occasions, such as in the revolts of 1988 or in 2007, called the saffron revolution because of the color of the robes of the monks, who were then protagonists of a movement. motivated by a crisis more economic than political. Added to the particular situation generated by the coronavirus, which keeps many monks in detention, is the lack of leadership. "There are monks who would like to participate in the protests and feel powerless because there is no leadership within the monastic body, which by tradition prefers to follow central guidelines to take its own initiatives," says Peter from Myanmar, the fictitious name of a monk who asks to speak from the anonymity.

"The belief that the Tatmadaw is the only one who can safeguard Buddhism is widespread in some Buddhist communities," adds the religious. The civil government of Suu Kyi, the country's de facto leader from 2015 until the coup, was considered by some monks as a threat to their interests, given the prospect of greater religious plurality (with 4.6% of Christians and 3 , 9% of Muslims, in addition to other faiths, in the country).

However, the lesser presence of monks in the protests does not seem to be a determining factor in their success or failure. “Their participation has more of a psychological impact on the Army, rather than being decisive in mobilizing people. That will already exists and is not going to disappear ”, points out McKay. The religious, for his part, notes: "The monks or religious leaders can add more strength to the movement, but this generation is not going to wait for them to take the leading role seen in past movements."