The Myanmar junta’s slaying of a senior Buddhist figure and subsequent coverup have spurred Burmese monks at home and in exile to launch a religious boycott against the regime.
Known as “pattanikkujjana” in Pali, a Buddhist monks’ boycott involves refusing alms from those who have committed offenses against the Sangha (clergy) or religious principles, while also refusing them religious rites likes funerals and weddings.
Burmese monks have declared several boycotts against military regimes in recent history, notably in 1990 after soldiers beat monks on the anniversary of the 8888 uprising and again in 2007 when they cracked down on monks leading demonstrations against price hikes that turned into the “Saffron Revolution”.
On Sunday, a group of 25 monks from Chaung-U Township, Sagaing Region declared a fresh boycott over the junta’s killing of Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa, a retired member of the State Sangha Nayaka Committee, the highest Buddhist authority in Myanmar, and abbot of Win Neinmitayon Monastery in Bago Region.
The boycott quickly spread to four more townships in the resistance stronghold, as well as Myaing township in Magwe Region. Exiled monks also declared solidarity with the alms strike.
The victim was shot dead by junta troops last week as he traveled in a car near Tada-U Airport in Mandalay Region. The junta initially pinned the crime on resistance groups but was forced on Wednesday to admit that its troops killed the 78-year-old Buddhist abbot after a monk who survived the attack exposed the truth.
A monk from Chaung-U, who participated in the 2007 Saffron Revolution, stated that successive junta regimes have committed violence against monks and have now escalated to the point of killing a senior religious figure.
The boycott was called in response to the abbot’s loss and for the monks killed, arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the junta since the 2021 coup, he added.
“They have killed many members of our religion and there is no end in sight. So, we are joining with the people by launching another [alms] boycott,” the monk told The Irrawaddy.
The junta has killed at least 43 Buddhist representatives, mainly monks, and arrested over 100 including prominent monks, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Monks from Sagaing’s Depayin, Salingyi, Taze and Sagaing townships said they expect monks from other cities and Sangha organizations to join the boycott soon.
As condemnation of the killing grew, junta boss Min Aung Hlaing on Monday sent his religious affairs and culture minister to read his ‘apology’ to monks at the slain abbot’s monastery in Bago. The statement blamed the victim for allegedly failing to comply with security measures.
A monk leading the boycott in Depayin township denounced the statement, saying the junta chief hadn’t even bothered to apologize to monks in person over the significant loss for the religious community.
He said the so-called apology also shifted blame to the victims by claiming the vehicle transporting the abbot had no religious emblems and was speeding with windows closed in an area where resistance forces were operating.
A genuine apology would have included a pledge of accountability and appropriate punishment for the shooting and coverup, followed by a promise to prevent further such incidents, he added.
“Without all of those, the apology was insincere and dishonest.”
The monk said the regime has failed to publish the apology in the same junta-controlled media channels that had spread the coverup.
The boycott would last for as long as the junta continues to assault and kill Buddhist monks and officials, he said.
A Sangha divided?
Fellow monks in the rest of the country have largely remained silent on the boycott – so far.
The Sangha is revered as the country’s supreme moral authority and has taken a leading role in political struggles ever since the fight for independence from British rule.
But it has mostly stayed on the sidelines since the February 2021 coup, with some prominent monks even currying favor by expressing support for the junta leader and his generals. Among them is Sitagu Sayadaw, a confidante of Min Aung Hlaing who attended the slain monk’s wake last week and urged the Buddhist clergy “to tolerate, forgive and let bygones be bygones as the country would be in serious trouble if the government [the regime] and the monks are not united.”
The old monk’s comments sparked public outrage and were condemned as “unacceptable” by the religious community.
The monk said that successive military rulers had sown divisions within monastic communities. Which explained why the Sangha has been less active in the anti-regime movement since the 2021 coup compared to its previous solidarity against injustice.
Military rulers have formed various religious organizations and enacted religion-related laws to split the Sangha, while offering material rewards and titles to monks they favor, causing further division.
Moreover, from 2011 to 2016, Thein Sein’s military proxy administration promoted anti-Muslim rhetoric from ultranationalist monks who claimed that Myanmar’s Buddhist foundations were under assault. This tapped into a widespread fear among ordinary people but also among Buddhist monks that Myanmar needed to be vigilant against fundamentalist influence. The rhetoric succeeded in boosting support for the military and opposition to the Thein Sein government’s successor, the more liberal Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) administration.
“This is why some prominent and junior monks still support the military during this revolution. However, those who genuinely value truth are still with the people,” said the Depayin monk, who is in hiding due to his involvement in the anti-coup movement. He urged those who support the junta to recognize that military regimes have never hesitated to kill monks or be violent toward them.
“There is no need to feel disheartened [over monks supporting the junta]. The monks who value truth will continue to participate and support the people until this tyrannical system is completely eradicated,” he said.
