"Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing donated to non-Buddhist religious communities because of the need for unity in the country, a military spokesperson said. Led by Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, members of the Myanmar military visited and made donations to Christian and Muslim religious groups in Naypyitaw’s Pyinmana Township on Sunday. “Now is the time that our country needs to be united. Particularly, we need political cohesion, social cohesion and religious cohesion today. [The Myanmar military] has done what is necessary for that,” Tatmadaw spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy, explaining the rationale for the Tatmadaw’s handing out of donations to non-Buddhist religious organizations. The families of Tatmadaw army, navy and air force members have made communal rice donations, as per Buddhist ritual, to Buddhist monasteries, nunneries and homes for the aged annually since 1996, but this year they also donated to 11 Christian churches, 13 mosques and an Arabic school in the township, in addition to Buddhist organizations..."