Page 2 of 2 Monks in the
vanguard for regime change By Brian McCartan
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 an
important 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.
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