Myanmar troops have converted to Buddhism in order to gain legitimacy War Stories

Plans are under way for Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s military commander and leader of last year’s conspiracy, to build the world’s largest statue of the Buddha – part of an effort to create a legacy as a Buddhist defender.

But, last year, troops under his command killed nearly 1,500 people in a crackdown on rivals who violated Buddhism ‘first and foremost principle: abstinence from murder.

”Their Buddhism is a false religion, they should not be called Buddhists. We do not kill other people. What they are doing now is very different from Buddhism, “said Agga Wantha, a 30-year-old Mandalay activist who has been leading protests against the coup.

They just claim to be Buddhists but are doing this to take over the country.

Min Aung Hlaing has turned to the methods used in the past to try to justify the 90 per cent Buddhism country that has been under military control for the past 60 years.

This meant alliances with high-ranking monks as well as constant reminders of the Buddha’s high-ranking officials, even though the violent campaign continues.

Bowing, compassionate and warm world

In late October, the army launched a a burning campaign in Thantlang, northwest of Chin State, destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands to flee their homes.

A few days later, Min Aung Hlaing visited a convent in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, and knelt down to offer a helping hand. Among the monks they met were Bhamo Sayadaw, chairman of the Sangha Maha Nayaka State Committee, a government-sponsored organization of monastic monasteries overseeing Buddhism and religious leaders in Myanmar.

Military leadership visits to prominent monks are published daily in the state-run newspaper as part of humanitarian efforts. A report from the United States Institute of Peace last month showed that public protests in favor of Buddhism have increased nearly fourfold since the seizure.

“Soldiers have been very clever in their marketing. If you are a monk in a group you have a deep respect for the people. That is why the military wants to use them because it is a very effective tool for them to destabilize the people, “said Sai Thet Naing Oo, Myanmar’s ambassador to the Pyidaungsu Institute for Peace and Dialogue, which works to bring together political terms.

“As a result, despite the many other things they may be doing, Min Aung Hlaing always takes time to visit famous monks.”

‘Almost everyone hates’

The military has faced stiff opposition since ousting civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and his party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in an attack that it said was necessary because of corruption in government. November 2020 elections.

The powerful opposition movement began immediately, with protests and mass protests leading to the formation of a militia group, called the People’s Defense Force (PDF), which is now cracking down on militias throughout the region. the world.

Foreign powers have also criticized the regime, with the United States and the European Union imposing sanctions on a number of military leaders and businesses. At the United Nations, the country continues to be represented by an NLD government-appointed ambassador.

Because of widespread homelessness and lack of support around the world, the military is desperate for help, according to Richard Horsey, a Myanmar adviser to the International Crisis Group.

In early September, military officials announced the release of Ashin Wirathu, a monk renowned for his Buddhist ideals, in particular. his hatred of the Muslims.

Horsey says that although the military has stayed away from Wirathu and “has not dropped 100 percent behind the Buddhist nationalist ideology”, it wants to maintain strong sects.

“They don’t have many friends. They want to keep or find any friends they can afford where almost everyone hates them, “Horsey told Al Jazeera.

“Obviously patriotic Buddha is one of the most playable cards, one of the most accessible places, and that is what they have been sending tokens, even though they have done nothing.”

Attempts by the military to use Buddhism and Buddhism as a legitimate method have also spread throughout the world.

Min Aung Hlaing is in a relationship with Sitagu Sayadaw, left, after being spotted at a ceremony in Naypyidaw in 2017, who had previously defended the military for his brutality at Rohingya. [File: Hein Htet/EPA]

When the deputy prime minister of Min Aung Hlaing, General Soe Win, traveled to Russia in September to look for a military alliance, he was accompanied by Sitagu Sayadaw, an opposition monk known for his extremist ideology. Horsey explains that part of the verdict was probably a “trustworthy story” and that traveling with the monks “shows that you have religious support”.

Sitagu, a staunch supporter of the government, was one of the leading monks in the 2017 “corrective action” of thousands. many Muslim Rohingya were killed and hundreds of thousands fled to neighboring Bangladesh. Sitagu defended the military’s actions, saying that “non-Buddhists are not human beings and killing them is justified.” The destruction of the Rohingya is now a matter of a investigation into homicides.

Although the military may not be embracing the entire Buddhist world, it seems to have begun again the old way of closely monitoring his attacks in predominantly non-Buddhist areas of the country.

“You see the wars going on today in many non-Buddhist areas. It [the military] do not say that they are attacking a group of people of another religion, but you can see who is heading. He allows their actions to speak for them, “Sai Oo told Al Jazeera, referring to the recent terrorist attacks in Chin State, where 85 percent of Christians and Kayah, the largest Roman Catholic group in the country, live.

Religious prejudice

The military has also used Buddhism to undermine the legitimacy of the dissenters, launching an all-out assault on the growing opposition group and leaders in prisons.

Newspaper headlines denounce the PDF fighters for killing the monks, saying that “terrorist groups deliberately kill Buddhist monks, as many claim.”

Prior to the uprising, the military had also denounced Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD as “non-Buddhist” to thwart religious leaders’ support by raising fears of a free and nationalist government, according to Horsey.

The revolt has continued since the beginning of the coup. In a statement in August, Min Aung Hlaing said “Buddhist devotees have been disappointed by their belief in Buddhism for the past five years”, referring to the time when the NLD government was in power.

But these falsehoods, even if dug by some of the monks, especially its courageous members, paints a stark contrast to the minority religions in Myanmar.

Salai Za Uk Ling, deputy director general of the Chin Human Rights Organization, a non-satirical Christian organization, said that even when Aung San Suu Kyi was in office, Buddhism was widespread. politics.

“Christianity is considered a foreign religion in the world [Myanmar] and Christians have long been considered citizens of the second class. “Under the civilian government we have not seen anything change according to the policy – the policy seems very clever, but there have been no real, concerted efforts to eradicate the causes of discrimination against minority religions,” said Za Uk.

“And what we see here under the current military force is just to promote these long-standing principles.”

However, even though the NLD has a similar view on Buddhism, the military campaign against Aung San Suu Kyi and now the opposition seems to have been affected.

Some monks say that the military is violating Buddhist laws and indiscriminately violating and bombing the October attacks on the town of Thantlang, Chin State. [File: Chin Human Rights Organization via AP Photo]

In ancient times of political upheaval, monks were often at the forefront of the protests. In 2007, “.Saffron Revolution“, so-called monastic robes exploded as a result of rising oil prices and for one month thousands of monks flooded the streets across the country.

But monk and protest leader Agga Wantha says the absence of monks in the anti-sectarian movement is not because religious leaders support the military. Instead, he says, many monks have not been able to participate in public because of the COVID-19 epidemic, and their participation is overshadowed by high-ranking monks allied with the military.

“Ever since the military, Min Aung Hlaing has offered bribes and given the opportunity to have the monks stand by him but we do not want the common people to think that we do not support the military. [protest movement]. As monks, we also do not support the military’s takeover of the country, ”said Agga Wantha.

However, as the military relies on religion and its alliances with religious leaders to strengthen their power, the military begins to attack Buddhists in Myanmar who are clearly not in favor of religious affiliation. which kills its people.

“We too are suffering from their influence. When we meet them on the street they shoot us and if we have an accident, we are also arrested, ”said Agga Wantha. “This is not what we do as Buddhists so we will continue to hold demonstrations.”