YANGON — The government will take legal action against the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ba Tha, if it does not remove its signboards across the country by Saturday, according to state media.
The State Buddhist Sangha authority—also known by its Myanmar acronym Ma Ha Na—banned Ma Ba Tha, a hardline nationalist group, from operating under its current name on May 23 and ordered it to take down its signboards by July 15.
In an announcement published on Saturday in state-run newspapers, the government said the group’s members from Mandalay and Hpa-an of Karen State have been failing to follow the orders despite Ma Ba Tha leading monks agreeing to the restrictions.
“As the Ma Ba Tha members’ failure to follow the order would harm the dignity of Ma Ha Na and the state stability, the legal action would be taken inevitably,” read the announcement.
