"...Buddhism has traditionally been synonymous with Burman nationalism. The idea of ultra- Burman nationalism has been used by the military regimes to unite Buddhists in solidarity, and to oppress non-Buddhists. Constant rhetoric, such as the saying ‘Buddha Bata, Myanmar Lumyo? meaning, ‘To be Myanmar is to be Buddhist? is used by the junta to justify their actions and this ideology remains at the centre of the SPDC?s political philosophy. Consequently, the SPDC has maintained efforts to assimilate all ethnic minority groups into the mainstream Burman society to create a single national identity under the policy of ‘one race, one language, one religion?. Under this ideology, the SPDC promotes Buddhism over all other religions. Evidence of this is seen in the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which contains the Department for the Protection and Propagation of Sasana (Buddhist teaching). Buddhist doctrine features heavily in the state mandated curriculum for all official elementary schools, where students are required to recite Buddhist prayer daily. Moreover, the SPDC continues to operate two Sangha universities, in Rangoon and Mandalay, to train Buddhist monks under the control of the State Monk Coordination Committee. In 2008, there were no official reports of forced conversion of non-Buddhists, however many students and poor youth were pressured heavily by local authorities to convert to Buddhism. Job placement in the public sector and advancement in the military was largely dependent on whether one was a practicing Buddhist or not. Furthermore, one?s religious affiliation was a requirement for all identification cards that citizens and permanent residents were required to be in possession of at all times. In 2008, the military continued to abuse Christians and Muslims and their right to religious freedom. It was reported that members of these religious minority groups were occasionally used for forced labour to serve the military regime. In some cases forced labour was used to destroy mosques, churches or graveyards in order to build Buddhist pagodas.7 Sometimes these Buddhist pagodas would even be built using forced labour in areas with a low Buddhist population even though, the Religious Affairs Ministry claims to only allow the construction of religious monuments in situations that ?depends upon the population of the location.” However, this rule seemed to be ignored for the building of Buddhist sites in non-Buddhist areas. Christians and Muslims nonetheless, still experienced trouble when applying for permission to build or repair their own religious sites. In many cases, Christians and Muslims were eventually able to obtain the necessary permits to build, but only when the groups in question had paid bribes to the authorities. There were also occasions when these groups simply had their applications denied for various reasons, such as that the church did not have a proper property permit. At other times, church or mosque leaders were given informal permission to commence construction, only to have SPDC authorities change their mind and destroy the buildings after they had been completed. This raises the question of whether or not in these cases the authorities processed the applications solely in order to collect the bribes required to have the petitions granted.8 In addition to oppressing religious minority groups in 2008, the SPDC increased its control over Burma?s Buddhist population. Even though there are approximately 400,000 monks in Burma, there are only nine state-endorsed monastic orders that are permitted to operate under the SPDC sponsored Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (SMNC). Furthermore, independent monastic orders are illegal since the establishment of the 1990 Sangha Organisation Law. These laws have since been used to control the Sangha and limit its rights to expression and assembly. For example, abbots are not allowed to deliver instruction on any topics which could be related to politics and monks are restricted from joining together in opposition to the government. Violations of this law, as witnessed during the September 2007 ‘Saffron Revolution?, result in grave consequences. Monks who were accused of participating in the protests were defrocked in jail, where they were not allowed to shave their heads or eat their meals in accordance with the monastic codes. Monks were thus treated as laypersons and common criminals; treatment which comprises one of the gravest offences one can commit within the Buddhist religion..."