The BurmaNet News February 18, 1997

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"Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies"
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The BurmaNet News: February 18, 1997
Issue #642

HEADLINES:
==========
BURMA RELIEF: BORDER UPDATE
THAILAND TIMES: FOREIGN MINISTER PRACHUAB SLAMMED
AFP: KAREN FLEE AS MYANMAR FORCES STEP UP ATTACKS
BUDDHIST RELIEF MISSION: SLORC'S ABUSES OF BUDDHISM
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BURMA RELIEF: BORDER UPDATE
February 17, 1997
<brelief@xxxxxxx>

According to informed sources, DKBO are already there where the proposed
refugee camp is to be located.  The site is entirely unsafe, even with
protection from vigilent armed Thai border police.    

(From earlier Bkk Post article) "A new refugee camp will be built in Umphang
district, Tak, to serve 6,500 Karen refugees who had just fled several KNU
bases overrun by Burmese government troops earlier this month...The new
refugee camp will be located on a 400-rai plot of land at Ban Nupho
village in Tambon Mae Chan, Umphang. It is 13 kilometres from the
Thai-Burmese border and easy for Thai authorities to secure, Mr Pongpayom said."

**********************************

THAILAND TIMES: FOREIGN MINISTER PRACHUAB SLAMMED FOR BURMA REMARK AT ASEM
MEETING 
February 17, 1997

BANGKOK ; Foreign Minister Pra chuab Chaiyasarn yesterday came under fire
for his remark that the West should urge Burmese opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi to soften her position with the military regime.

Confederation for Democracy chairman Weng Tochirakarn was the first to
criticize the foreign minister for his comment at the recent Asia-Europe
Ministerial Meeting in Singapore.

"He has given the impression that Thailand is in favor of dictatorships.
Prachuab obviously wants to ingratiate himself with Burma's junta," Weng said.

The activist said although Prachuab might have expressed his personal view,
he was representing the Thai government and had acted irresponsibly, said
Weng. He added that Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh should strongly
reprimand Prachuab for his remarks.

Prachuab had told reporters attending the Asia Europe Ministerial Meeting in
Singapore on Saturday that the West should ask Suu KYI to tone down her
stance against the Slorc and to cooperate in their efforts to draft a new
charter.

Weng said Prachuab's comment was outrageous, adding Thailand should have
encouraged a dialogue between SUU KYI and Burma's junta, officially known as
the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc).

Prachuab should put the long term interests of the Burmese people above the
short term interests of the Thai government, he said.

He added that THAILAND, having experienced dictatorship of the National
Peace Keeping Council, should be well aware of the fact that such regimes
have no future, and that a policy of constructive engagement with a doomed
regime is futile.

Prachuab also came under attack from Suriyan Thongnuiad, the secretary
general of the Students Federation of Thailand, who said the Thai government
should not use the nation's current economic crisis as an excuse to kowtow
to the Slorc in order to forge business ties.

"The Thai government is in a prime position to pressure the military regime
to make changes. Instead all it has done is support the Slorc's destruction
of the Burmese people," said the student leader.

*****************************************************************

AFP: KAREN VILLAGERS FLEE AS MYANMAR FORCES STEP UP ATTACKS
February 17, 1997 (abridged)

MYANMAR government forces have swept through territory held by ethnic Karen
just across the Thai border as routed rebel guerillas scattered into the
jungle, rebel sources said yesterday.

Clashes between troops of the Yangon junta and fighters of the Karen
National Union (KNU) and allied pro-democracy groups continued in the area
opposite the Thai province of Tak in the past 24 hours, KNU joint secretary
Mahn Sha said.

The fighting was heaviest in Azin, about 15 km from the border with Tak's
Umphang district, and some 440 km from Bangkok, he said.

Thousands of villagers have fled from Azin and neighbouring areas as forces
from Myanmar's State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) pushed
westwards towards Thailand, border sources said.

Karen villages close to the border came under heavy shelling on Saturday by
Slorc troops from Maekati, about 15 km from here, they said.

Witnesses reported that refugees were driven from a site near the border on
Saturday afternoon by 81mm mortar fire. Nearly 1,000 people, including monks
and villagers leading livestock, passed the area in four hours, they said.

They fled to the Thai village of Bueng Keung, where 3,500 Karen and 1,500
Myanmar Muslims from Karen state have already taken refuge, the Thai army
border task force in Tak said.

The task force's information office said yesterday that the number of
refugees in Umphang had swollen to 22,000, including 11,300 new arrivals
since the latest assault.

Temporary shelters were being prepared for an expected total of 13,000 new
arrivals, the Thai military office said.

Some 80,000 Karen refugees were housed in a string of Thai camps along the
border as of Jan 31, but more than 7,000 of them were rendered homeless a
few days later when two camps were burned and looted in cross-border raids
to the north of Umphang district by a breakaway Karen group allied with the
Slorc.

Governor of Tak province Pongpayome Vesaputi said yesterday that the four
existing camps close to the border in Umphang district will be replaced by a
single camp housing all the refugees.

"The new refugee camp will be about 13 km from the border", where the
refugees could feel more secure against cross-border attacks by the Slorc or
its Karen allies, Mr Pongpayome said. The new camp was to be built by the
Karen themselves.

Em Marta, a former KNU foreign minister, said: "The resistance will continue
as there is no alternative. Negotiations with Slorc did not succeed. It will
be a fight to the end." -- AFP

***************************************

BUDDHIST RELIEF MISSION: SLORC'S ABUSES OF BUDDHISM
12 February, 1997
brelief@xxxxxxx

The Almsbowl Remains Overturned-A Report on SLORC's Abuses of Buddhism in
Burma by Buddhist Relief Mission

Introduction
The military regime in Burma, the State Law and Order Restoration Council
(SLORC), has, since its beginning in 1988, presented itself as the preserver
and protector of Burmese culture, including Buddhism.  The regime's
propaganda, laws, and actions, however, make a cruel mockery of that pious
facade.

In this brief report, Buddhist Relief Mission will present evidence of
SLORC's continued abuse of Buddhism and the Buddhist Sangha.  This evidence
should be of interest not only to Buddhists, but also to followers of all
faiths who are concerned about religious freedom and the protection of human
rights.

The publication of the report is particularly timely in light of the very
recent attacks of the so-called Democratic Buddhist Kayin Army on three
refugee camps in Thailand.  Given the overwhelming evidence, only a small
portion of which is presented here, there should be no question that this
"army" is at least directly supported by SLORC if not actually a branch of
the SLORC army. 

Finally, the report contains important material never before published. The
Southeast Asian Information Network (SAIN) has just pierced the wall of
silence that SLORC has erected about members of the Sangha in its gulag.
This report reveals the names of several monks who have died in custody, as
well as the names of others who have been secretly condemned to death by the
SLORC.  Material evidence, including photographs, of some of SLORC's crimes
against the Sangha cannot be released at this time, for fear of revealing
the identity of SAIN sources inside Burma.

Overturning the bowl 
On August 8, 1990, in commemoration of the second anniversary of the
democracy uprising, more than 7,000 monks and novices walked through the
streets of Mandalay, solemnly and peacefully accepting alms from the people.
Soldiers confronted the monks and opened fire, killing two monks and two
students and wounding seventeen others.  One novice disappeared. Following
this massacre, the Monks' Union (Sangha Sammagi) of Mandalay, led by Ven. U
Yewata, declared pattam nikkujjana kamma, "overturning the bowl," against
the military.  This refusal to accept alms is used as a rebuke to laypeople.
According to  vinaya, the rules of conduct for Theravada Buddhist monks, a
layperson who has committed any of eight offenses should be ostracized.
These eight are:  striving for that which is not gain, striving for that
which is not benefit, acting against a monastery, vilifying and making
insidious comparisons about monks, inciting dissension among monks, defaming
the Buddha, defaming the Dhamma, and defaming the Sangha, the order of
monks.  If a layman acts in any of these ways, the Sangha should refuse all
contact with him.

This powerful religious boycott, which began in Mandalay spread like
wildfire across Burma, causing alarm and trauma to the ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC).  By October, the religious sanctions
against the military families had reached Rangoon.  Throughout the country,
monks were refusing alms from military personnel and their families and
refusing to attend religious services organized by SLORC.  Although the
purpose of the boycott was compassionate?to help the evil doers to repent of
their deeds, to forsake their wrong ways, and to return to the true path?the
military leaders did not accept the reproach.  Saw Maung, Chairman of SLORC,
and Tun Kyi, Mandalay Division Commander, declared that their actions were
completely justified and that they were not afraid of going to hell.

SLORC's response to the monks' boycott
SLORC retaliated to the monks' boycott by staging a massive clampdown on the
Sangha.  Monasteries were surrounded by armed troops, and monks were trapped
inside.  Electricity, water, and communication lines were cut, and monks
were prevented from going on their daily alms rounds.  After
maintaining the blockade for one week, armed troops entered the monasteries
and arrested the leaders.  People living near some of the monasteries were
also forced to move, and their homes were destroyed.  More than 350
monasteries were raided, and more than 3,000 monks and novices were
arrested.  Twenty monasteries were seized and expropriated. 

On October 19, Ven. U Yewata himself was arrested.  Most monks were accused
of possessing anti-SLORC literature, including articles by the National
League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi's party which had won the
election in May.  Three young monks were arrested for allegedly having
written inflammatory poems in their diaries and notebooks.  In a crude
attempt to smear the Sangha Sammagi movement, some monks were even charged
with gambling, illegal possession of jade or heroin, and rape.  When Khin
Nyunt, the head of Military Intelligence, explained these arrests on State
radio, however, he only accused the Mandalay monks of working with the
defunct Communist Party of Burma.  

On  October 20, a decree was passed  (SLORC Order 6/90) banning all
independent Sangha organizations?historically important agents of political
change in Burma.  Another decree (SLORC Order 7/90), passed the following
day, authorized army commanders to bring monks before military tribunals for
"activities inconsistent with and detrimental to Buddhism."  These tribunals, 
whose procedures fall far short of international standards on fair trials, 
can impose punishments ranging from three years' imprisonment to death.

Continued Abuses
The persecution of monks and the desecration of monasteries and pagodas have
continued unabated throughout Burma.  There have been reliable reports of
torture of monks in prison, and those released have reported seeing stacks
of hundreds of monks' robes in the prison, clear evidence that many monks
have been disrobed.  

A former prisoner has described how monks are treated in the notorious
Insein Prison, in Rangoon:  

	It is estimated that there are nearly 200 Buddhist monks in Insein prison
alone. . . . The monks have asked to wear robes in prison, but the prison
authorities took off their robes and now the monks only wear white prison
uniforms.  In addition, the monks are not referred to by their monk names,
only ordinary names.  When the prison authorities call them, they do not use
the word U, which is a respectful prefix to a name.  The monk Meggin Sayadaw
is over 70 years old, but the warden calls him, "Hey, Shwe Tha Aye" in a
very rude way.
 	However, all the monks are very patient, but they did not accept their
forced and unlawful disrobing.  They have been staying in prison in
accordance with all the traditional principles of a Buddhist monk.  They do
not eat dinner (Buddhist monks are not allowed to eat after noon) and early
morning meals are not provided.  This means that they can only eat one meal
a day (lunch).  No monks in prison are allowed to preach the Buddhist Dhamma
and the prisoners are not allowed to pay obeisance (with palms raised
together on the forehead) to monks.  (Cries from Insein, pp 66-67)


Although SLORC tries to remove all evidence of monks being arrested, Amnesty
International has compiled a list of  75 monks, "arrested in October
and November 1990, solely for exercising their rights to freedom of
expression and association."

Southeast Asian Information Network (SAIN) has obtained reliable news of the
death in custody of the following Burmese monks, most in the concentration
camps where they were sentenced to hard labor:  
?	Ven. U Sandawara, Weyanbonthai Monastery, Mandalay, Secretary of the
Sangha Samaggi; died in Swunpayabo concentration camp.
?	Ven. U Vimala, Masoeyein Monastery, Northern Mandalay, Member of the
Sangha Samaggi; died in Swunpayabo concentration camp. 
?	Ven. U Weyawdana, Hti Lin Monastery, Mandalay; died near Myittkyina in
Kachin State.
?	Ven. U Oketama, Mandalay, Vice-President of the Sangha Samaggi; died in
Swunpayabo concentration camp.
According to SAIN, the following monks have received death sentences:
?	Ven. U Kawiya, Phayagyi Monastery , Mandalay. He is a member of Galonni
(Galonni was originally an active Buddhist association opposed to British
imperialism, which was reestablished in 1988 in Mandalay as an organization
of monks and laypersons.)  Ven. U Kawiya is an extremely effective speaker,
and during the Democracy summer of 1988 he spoke almost every day at Maha
Muni Pagoda. 
?	Ven. U Kalyana, Mandalay, Member of Aung San Kyei Ni (Aung San Red Star)
Association.
SAIN has also learned the identities of two monks in prison in Myin Chan,
near Pakkoku.  They are Ven. U Zawtika, from Yelei Village, Nwa Hto Biyi
Monastery, and Ven. U Thondhaya.

The clash between the Burmese military dictatorship and Buddhism
Since the vast majority of the people are Buddhist, the military
dictatorship in Burma has from the beginning tried to associate itself with
Buddhism, seeking to control the Sangha and to use it for its own, often
dubious and chauvinistic, purposes.  Given the strong moral principles of
Buddhism, the democratic and independent nature of the Sangha, and the
Buddha's injunctions to be skeptical and self-reliant, these attempts have
proved very difficult and bitter.  

In order to call himself Buddhist, a person should, at the very least, take
refugee in the Triple Gem, Buddha (the Teacher), Dhamma (the Teaching), and
Sangha (the Order), and accept the pancasila (the Five Precepts).  These
Five Precepts are: (1) to abstain from taking life, (2) to abstain from
stealing, (3) to abstain from adultery, (4) to abstain from lying, and (5)
to abstain from taking alcohol or drugs which cloud the mind.

Morality, in the Buddha's teaching, is essential for leading a harmonious
life, not only for the Sangha, but also for the rest of society.  Buddha
never said, "One rule is for the individual and another for society."  Nor
did he say, "Ethical principle is different from political principle."  

Although the members of SLORC are shown for hours at a stretch on TV,
ostensibly performing pious acts and making grandiose offerings, such as
TV's and refrigerators, to senior monks and important monasteries, these men
in green uniforms are unable, either privately or officially, to keep the
five precepts.  In carrying out its campaign of terrorism, SLORC has
ruthlessly killed thousands of people in Burma and massively stolen from
them.  Rape is used as military strategy.  Lying is official policy in
public addresses and through the state-controlled media. There is
incontrovertible evidence that SLORC both promotes and profits from the sale
of narcotics, especially heroin.

According to the testimony of  a Rakhine monk from the western state of
Arakan,  the donations SLORC makes are routinely extorted from the people:
	Sometimes, military officers say they want to meet with the Buddhist
monks.  They demand the people to prepare things so they can donate these to
the monks.  Usually the Buddhist people must give 100 or 200 kyats as
donation from their pockets. These officers give 20,000 or 30,000 kyats to
the monastery, but we know this is not from their pockets.  They demand all
this money from the people.
  
The same monk has explained how SLORC further controls the use of these
donations:
	SLORC has formed Sangha organizations in the villages, townships, and
districts.  All monks have to obey the orders of the organization, whether
or not they belong.  Buddhist monks can't do anything without the permission
of  SLORC.  For example, new buildings in the monasteries or even extensions
to old buildings can be constructed only with the authorization of the
township or district Sangha organization.

Even traditional religion ceremonies need prior permission from SLORC.  The
Kentung and Tachilek Township Law and Order Restoration Council in Shan
State, for example, has ordered that permission must be obtained before any
religious ceremony can take place in the township.  The people here have
traditionally celebrated their novitiate and ordination ceremonies with a
procession through all the wards.  Getting permission for this ceremony now
requires a registration fee of two hundred kyats.  It is also necessary to
supply information such as who will lead the procession, how many people
will be there, what music will be played, the type of band, and a tentative
route for the procession. It is very difficult for the people to know these
things beforehand.  Many have complained privately that this order has
greatly restricted religious ceremonies in the township.

Buddhist ceremonies which invigorate the lives of the community are, under
SLORC, routinely postponed by government projects, including forced labor.
Soldiers often say, "If your wife [or your husband] is dying, let it be.
Finish your work for us first; then you can organize the funeral."  The
Rakhine monk quoted above has also observed how SLORC demands obedience even
from monks: "On all Buddhist holidays, we monks have to go first to the
military camp to perform the ceremony for them.  Only after we finish the
function there can we perform the ceremony with our people."

SLORC's disrespect for all religion
Some people have claimed that SLORC's policy toward ethnic minorities is
one of "Buddhification."  In Rangoon, for example, the government has
destroyed Muslim cemeteries to make way for city projects and confiscated
Muslim orphanages, old people's homes, and mosques.  Muslim leaders who
complained have been jailed. SLORC's discrimination and violence against
Muslim Rohingyas in Arakan resulted in hundreds of thousands of refugees
pouring into Bangladesh. 

In Chin State the military has forced Christian villagers to remove crosses
from hilltops and to replace them with pagodas.  There are many charges of
Christians being forced to convert to Buddhism.  In 1994-95 SLORC lured Chin
children from their Christian parents with promises of education in Rangoon.
When the parents tried communicate with their children or to find
information about them, they were denied all access.  Later they discovered
that instead of having been placed in schools, their children had been put
in Buddhist monasteries, with their heads shaven and dressed in novices'
robes.  

The interpretation of "Buddhification" however, does not, account for the
ruthless oppression of the Mon, the original Theravada Buddhists in
Southeast Asia, or of the Shan, the Pa-o, and the Rakkhine who are also
overwhelmingly Buddhist.  It would be more accurate to say that SLORC is
attempting to "Myanmarize" or "Burmanize" all the ethnic minorities,
regardless of their religion.  Burman Buddhists are just now experiencing
what ethnic minorities, Buddhists and others, have suffered much longer.  

In Tenasserim Division a mass relocation operation was begun in May 1996.
Twenty-five thousand people were forcibly moved from their villages to new
areas under SLORC control.  Most of the Karen villagers were Christian, but
some were Buddhist.  In the first week of June, troops from LIB 101,
commanded by Major Myint Lwin, arrived at Pyin Ka Doe village and gathered
all the villagers in the monastery.  The army demanded that everyone move,
and they threatened to burn the village.  When Ven. U Thammanya, the abbot
of the monastery, attempted to negotiate with the troops, soldiers slashed
his face.  Later he was severely beaten by other soldiers.  The entire
village, including the monastery, was burned to the ground in October. 

Obviously, SLORC has no real respect for any religion.  The military
manipulates and abuses the beliefs of all people of Burma in order to
maintain their total control of the country and its wealth.  

Relations between laymen and monks
The third element of the Triple Gem is the Order of the Sangha, or monks.
This is the repository of the Buddha's teaching.  Monks are regarded as of
good and wise conduct and as worthy of respect and offerings.  Monks
regulate their lives by the 227 disciplinary rules  of the vinaya which
apply equally to all.  The  vinaya is, in effect, a religio-political
constitution, established more than 2500 years ago and  still valid today,
dealing with the Sangha and its relations with the laity. Within the Sangha,
all monks are treated as equals, ranked only by seniority, which is
determined by the date and time of ordination.  A monk is expected to
display courtesy and respect to senior monks, but, ultimately speaking, each
monk is an individual ascetic who has vowed obedience only to the local
sangha of which he is a part.

Within the Sangha, authority is decentralized.  Matters relating to the
Sangha, such as new buildings, accepting new candidates, and punishment of
monks for breach of discipline are discussed among the members, and
decisions are made according to the will of the majority.  All members have
equal rights and opportunities to determine and to administer affairs.  This
basic principle of democracy, extended in Buddhist philosophy and practice
to society and the nation, is precisely what irritates and frightens the
Burmese military junta.

Since monks hold the highest position in society, all Buddhists pay respect
to any member of the Sangha.  A lay person, even a king or a deva (heavenly
being or god), should pay respect even to a novice.  For a king, a general,
or a soldier to command a monk to do anything is out of the question.

As mentioned earlier, after the boycott in Mandalay, SLORC banned all
independent monks' associations.  The only Sangha organizations recognized
are the Sangha Mahanayaka Committees, senior monks given the task of
establishing rules maintaining discipline and generally overseeing all
Sangha affairs.  In addition to the State Sangha Mahanayaka Committee, there
are local Sangha Mahanayaka Committees.  Whereas the members of the Sangha
Mahanayaka Committees are all elderly and learned monks, they should be
highly respected and venerated.  Since, however, it is well known that the
committees are controlled by SLORC, they are no longer held in the same
esteem by the people.  The regime, of course, wishes to include as many
senior monks as possible within the ranks of the committees, and monks are
pressured to join, even though they are reluctant to do so.  Until a monk
joins, his monastery is kept under strict surveillance.  He may be subject
to vilification by SLORC propaganda and attempts to ostracize him.  Once he
relents and joins the committee, the pressure eases.  SLORC may then shower
his monastery with lavish gifts, but he loses his independence and the
respect of the people.

SLORC has also infiltrated many monasteries in an attempt to check any
dissent or resistance.  A monk from Masoeyein, a famous monastery  in
Mandalay, reported that another monk had confessed to being a SLORC agent.
After graduating from the university, this monk had agreed to become a monk
in order to spy on the monks for SLORC.  After the army fired on monks in
1990, however, he regretted his role and confessed to the other monk.  

SLORC's penetration of the Sangha has extended outside Burma as well.  A
Burmese- Bangladeshi monk reported that in February 1995 he had met a monk
with an Burmese passport in Thailand who claimed to be from Kyeuklekyi
Temple in Rangoon, but was not at all familiar with how a monk should
behave.  This bogus monk was outspoken in his support of SLORC, but it is
well known that most of the monks in that monastery staunchly oppose the regime.

In a further attempt to gain legitimacy and respect, SLORC organizes
elaborate ceremonies to award titles to monks.  In the past, these titles
were granted only to very learned monks and carried great honor.  Now,
however, they are viewed as either a reward for submission or bait with
which to lure senior monks.  Ven. U Kawida, a famous teacher, also from
Masoeyein, was offered the title of Agga Mahapandita, one of the highest
awards, and even a professorial post at the Sangha university, even though
he was known to be opposed to SLORC's interference in religious activities.
Refusing to submit to the regime's hypocrisy, he refused the award.  Later,
he was arrested and forced to resign from the monkhood.  

Another renowned teacher, the late Ven. U Dhammananda, who taught for many
years at Wat Tama Oh  in Lampang, Thailand, was unable to resist combined
Thai and Burmese pressure to receive the same title.  Reluctantly, he
returned to Rangoon for the ceremony to accept the title, as he later put
it, "from the butchers of my brother monks."  In the official SLORC-produced
tape of the award ceremonies, when Ven. U Dhammananda at one point turned to
speak to another recipient,  the sound was immediately and completely
suppressed for the time he spoke.  As soon as he had finished, the
soundtrack resumed.  We must wonder what it was that SLORC censored out.

Violation of the Ordination Procedure
In 1996 SLORC perpetrated another deed which displays the regime's
interference in and complete lack of understanding of the Buddha Sasana.  On
September 29, official Myanmar television reported that SLORC was accusing
the NLD of  trying to divide the "loyalty of the Sangha" by sending its
members to various monasteries to befriend the monks.   It was further
announced that SLORC had issued decrees banning the ordination of any NLD
member.  The  Sangha Mahanayaka Committee was instructed to contact all
levels of  LORC offices if any NLD member sought ordination. 

According to Buddhist Law, only the assembled Sangha, in this case a minimum
of five fully ordained monks, has the authority to determine whether or not
any individual can be ordained a monk. No layman, not even a member of the
Department of Religious Affairs, nor any monk, not even a member of the
Sangha Mahanayaka, has the right to exclude any ethnic group, caste,
occupation, or community from ordination.

In the ordination ceremony, the candidate approaches the assembled Sangha in
a humble manner, pays respect, and requests ordination.  The candidate is
asked, "Do you have a disease such as leprosy, consumption, or epilepsy? Are
you a human being? Are you a man? Are you a free man? Are you without debts?
Are you in the royal service? Do you have your parents' permission? Are you
a full twenty years of age?  Are you complete as to bowl and robes?"  If the
answers to these questions are acceptable, the ordination can proceed.
Political affiliation is not included in the stumbling blocks (antarayike
dhamme) which can prevent ordination.  

Should any monk object to a certain candidate, he must provide the Sangha
with a valid reason for his feelings or be reprimanded (and perhaps even
punished) by the Sangha for his bias.  If he has a good reason, his
objection will be taken into consideration by the Sangha.  Such a case will
be decided by the majority of the Sangha involved. 

On another occasion in Burmese history, a ruler, King Mindon, tried to
dominate the Sangha.  This king is usually considered a pious ruler who was
quite knowledgeable about Buddhism, but in this case, he took it upon
himself to interfere.  The monks of the capital did not to object to these
intrusions into Sangha affairs, for fear of losing the king's favor or of
being persecuted.  (We must remember that the king was an absolute monarch.) 

One monk, however, the revered Bhamo Sayadaw, severely criticized his fellow
monks in Mandalay for meekly submitting to the king's interference. When the
Mandalay monks continued to  remain silent, he denounced them. When the king
heard about this, he was angry, but  knowing that Bhamo Sayadaw had an
extremely sharp tongue (something like Zargana in robes), he politely, but
threateningly, warned the Sayadaw about commenting on the new rules.  Bhamo
Sayadaw replied acidly, "A man who dwells between two mountains [an ascetic]
does not need advice on how to live from a man who dwells between two
thighs" [referring to the king's wives].

Since King Mindon, as all Burmese Buddhists know, was a good and pious
king, this disagreement, after taking many interesting twists and turns,
ended peacefully with the king making abject apologies to Bhamo Sayadaw.
Unfortunately the current military dictators, are neither good nor pious,
with the direst of consequences for the Sangha

Pre-SLORC abuses of Buddhism
Suppression and manipulation of Buddhism did not begin with SLORC.  Ne Win,
who assumed power in the military coup of 1962, recognized early that
Buddhism, because of its independent nature and because of Burmese monks'
traditional involvement in political affairs, was a grave threat to his
dictatorial rule.  

In 1965, when monks refused the government's attempt to gain control over
the Sangha at Hmawbi, Ne Win arrested more than seven hundred monks.  Some
of these were shamefully abused and imprisoned.  

In the demonstrations which erupted in Rangoon when the military blocked a
proper funeral for U Thant (Secretary-General of the United Nations) in
1974, several monks were bayonetted and shot, and six hundred more arrested.  

In 1976, Ne Win launched a media campaign against Ven. U La Ba, a brave and
persistent critic of the military government.  The trumped-up charges,
including murder and cannibalism, were obviously meant to shock the populace
and to defame the Sangha.  

In 1978, many more monks and novices were arrested, disrobed, and
imprisoned.  Some were even sent as porters to the front line of the civil
war.  Valuable monasteries were closed and their property seized by the
government.  That same year, Ven. U Nayaka, a senior and respected monk,
died in jail after being brutally tortured.

Throughout Ne Win's rule, military propaganda became increasingly strident,
relentlessly lauding the military and claiming that soldiers sacrificed
everything for the country while monks were shameless parasites.

Monks in the forefront of the 1988 democracy movement
In 1988, monks, advocating non-violence and peaceful protest, were again at
the forefront of the massive demonstrations for democracy .  According to
authoritative estimates, more than 10,000 people, including 600 monks, were
killed by the army during August and September.  In many cases, soldiers
stripped dead monks of their robes and secretly disposed of the bodies.
Following the coup by Gen. Saw Maung on September 18, when SLORC was
established, hundreds of monks fled to the jungle along the borders.

Any monk who had been involved in the demonstrations, but who remained in
Burma, was subject to surveillance, harassment, and arrest.  A young monk in
Mandalay, Ven. U Koweinda was arrested in June 1989 and sentenced to 10
years in prison.  In 1990,  his sentence was extended to 15 years because he
was suspected of being the leader of a riot which had broken out in Mandalay
Prison.  At some point he was transferred to  Katha Prison in Sagaing
Division.  (The SLORC often moves prisoners around like this to prevent
their being traced.) All Burma Young Monks' Union, an association of monks
who have fled Burma,  has confirmed that Ven. U Koweinda died there in
October 1994.  Since he was only in his thirties, it is suspected that he
died from torture or maltreatment. 

In July 1989, a senior monk in Mandalay, Ven. U Kawainda, who had been one
of the leading advocates for human rights in 1988, was also arrested.  SLORC
accused him  of being a member of the Burmese Communist Party, but he
persistently denied the accusation.  On September 9, 1991, BBC reported that
this monk had been tortured to death. 

On July 6, 1989, the army committed the unprecedented desecration of setting
up barricades on the platform of  sacred Shwedagon Pagoda and searching all
pilgrims.  In an incident provoked by the soldiers, eleven monks and
seventeen students were killed.  Subsequently, the pagoda was closed for
five days.  

More monks punished for  overturning the bowl 
In SLORC's repression following the monks' boycott in 1990, one of those
arrested was Ven. U Thu Mingala.  This highly respected monk, abbot of one
of the monasteries at Kaba Aye in Rangoon, is one of only five monks in
modern Burma to have memorized the entire Buddhist canon.   After his
arrest, he was harshly treated and sent into internal exile in Kachin State.
Although he was not allowed to wear his monk's robes during his
imprisonment, he continued to observe vinaya as far as possible.   When he
was finally released and returned to Rangoon in 1995, he resumed wearing his
robes with no loss of seniority. 

Another senior monk, Ven. Jotika, a professor at the Sangha University in
Rangoon, who was more than 70 years old, was also arrested after the
boycott.  Although he was suffering from intestinal cancer, he was denied
medical treatment and shackled to his bed, where he died in December 1992.

We cannot estimate how many other monks and novices have been similarly
arrested, disrobed, imprisoned, or tortured.

New controls on monasteries and pagodas
The military government in Burma has shown a marked lack of respect toward
Buddhist monasteries when considering any urban development.  In 1987, there
were many cases where monastery property was confiscated without any
compensation to make way for other projects.  The Moulmein Monastery,  near
the Rangoon railway station, was confiscated to build a school.  The
Seinyaungkyi Monastery, near Shwedagon Pagoda, was confiscated to build a
government office.  About twenty other monasteries in Rangoon were
confiscated to build the Thowanna Stadium.  In 1989, several temples near
Kyeikkassen Pagoda were confiscated to build a hospital.  The abbot of one
of these monasteries, Wiluwon Monastery, was forced to flee to the Thai
border in l990 and is now taking shelter in a foreign country.

In Burma, monasteries and pagodas are administered by boards of trustees.
Their responsibility is to maintain the facilities, handle finances, and
carry out projects in the name of the patron monks.  Traditionally, this has
been task of pious, highly respected men from the local community.Beginning
in about 1986 and rapidly increasing under SLORC, trustees have been
appointed from the ranks of retired military officers, many of whom appear
ignorant of proper monastery etiquette and awkward in a religious setting.
Under this new system of trusteeship, there has been not only a marked
decrease in religious activities but also much less accounting for the
donations from generous Burmese believers.  Some pagodas have begun charging
foreigners an entrance fee in hard foreign currency.  One can be sure that
such "donations" are not being used for "upkeep,"  but are instead lining
some green pockets.  

While Burmese are not yet being charged entrance fees to Shwedagon, trustees
of the pagoda recently refused a senior member of NLD access to the pagoda
platform.  On January 18, 1997, acting on information from SLORC, they
prevented U Tin Oo from proceeding up the pagoda stairs, claiming he wasn't
going for "purely religious reasons."

The Tooth Relic and forced labor
For the past two years Burma has been the scene of an inauspicious
extravaganza.  In 1994, the People's Republic of China lent SLORC a relic, a
tooth of the Buddha.  This sacred relic, accompanied by a vast entourage
from Beijing, was displayed throughout Burma.  Of course, there is no
accounting for the millions of kyats received in donations during the tour.
One irony is, of course, that the Communist Chinese are avowed, implacable
enemies of Buddhism, oppressors of their own Mahayana Buddhists, and
publicly committed to the destruction of Esoteric Buddhism in
Chinese-occupied Tibet.  

Now SLORC is building a pagoda to enshrine a replica of the relic.  Much of
the work is being done by forced and prison labor.  One former convict has
reported that at first he and fellow Buddhist prisoners welcomed the
opportunity to make merit by laboring on the construction of this pagoda.
They quickly realized, however, how harsh the working conditions were.
Despite the hellish Mandalay heat, prison authorities did not allow the
workers any rest time.  Labor on the pagoda continued seven days a week. The
prisoners' worksites were isolated from outsiders, especially foreign
tourists.  Prisoners were forced to work, often in manacles, from 7:00 AM to
5:00 PM, with only a lunch break.  Local people sympathized with them and
attempted to give them cheroots and food, but this was not allowed.  If
prisoners were found communicating with outsiders, they were beaten. 

In addition to prisoners, every household in Mandalay has had to provide
labor.  Hundreds of ordinary citizens, including women, school children, and
the elderly, have been forced to work on this relic pagoda.  These people
are brought by truck each morning and taken home just before the prisoners
are transported back to jail.   Civilian workers have to bring their own
food and tools.  This labor is entirely unpaid.  

Furthermore, wealthy residents and business people of Mandalay have been
ordered to donate money for the pagoda.  School children and civil servants
have been required to give monthly donations.  Another irony is that people
are being forced to contribute toward a pagoda which is being built on
confiscated land by forced and unpaid labor.

Across the country, in Sittway, Arakan State, another notorious SLORC
project is being carried out in the name of the religion.  Hundreds of
prisoners as well as local citizens are being made to work on the
construction of a Buddha Museum.  Working conditions there are so extreme
that people are calling it Dhukka Museum or "Museum of Suffering," instead
of Buddha Museum.The Burmese military frequently argues that donating labor
is a traditional form of Buddhist merit-making that others cannot understand
or judge.  They have repeatedly claimed that donations and labor for the
Tooth Relic Pagoda and other projects have been willingly given by people
across the country.  There is, however, incontrovertible evidence that these
projects have caused great suffering to the people and that they are forced,
brutal, and detested. 

SLORC's creation of a Buddhist army
SLORC has done incalculable harm to Buddhism through its own creature, the
Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA).  DKBA was formed in December 1994
with the help and support of SLORC.  DKBA presented itself as an alternative
to the Karen National Union (KNU), and it initially attracted a significant
number of rank-and-file Karen soldiers who were tired of being ill-fed and
ill-supplied at the frontlines while KNU leaders in Manerplaw lived
relatively well.  The soldiers were also frustrated at the lack of
opportunity for Buddhists in the Christian-led hierarchy of the KNU.  Many
villagers initially supported the DKBA, listening to its promises of finally
breaking the cycle of civil war and SLORC retribution against their
villages.  SLORC deceived the DKBA, however, by promising that if they
helped destroy the KNU, Karen State would be theirs.  

Several monks are said to be "spiritual" leaders of this group.  A monk
named U Thuzana has played a major role in attracting people to the DKBA and
actually gives orders to DKBA commanders.  In an interview with The Nation,
one of his deputies, another monk named U Yanika stated, "Tons of the
weapons belonging to the KNU are hidden inside the refugee camps inside
Thailand. We want those weapons, and, if the Thai army cannot give them to
us, we will go and get them ourselves."  He admitted that the raids would be
intended to force the refugees to return to Burma, and he threatened more
violence unless all the Karen refugees return to SLORC-controlled Burma soon.

How can these monks advocate violence and still be monks?  According to the
vinaya, they cannot.  The Buddhist Monastic Code is quite clear: "Should any
bhikkhu [monk] intentionally deprive a human being of life . . . , then he
is defeated and no more in communion."

To deprive a human being of life includes: killing by direct contact,
killing at a distance, killing by arranging something which will kill,
killing using magical knowledge, killing with supernatural power, and
commanding.  Commanding means inciting another person to commit a murder.  A
monk commits the same offense if he assists in a murder or a suicide, which
would include not only finding an assassin, but also procuring weapons for
the would-be murder or suicide.

DKBA soldiers have said that when they go to Myaing Gyi Ngu, DKBA
headquarters and  U Thuzana's monastery, they are also required to "drink
the monk's medicine," vowing to be loyal and to fight the DKBA's enemies to
the death.  Sometimes this is water that contains a bullet or knife-tip,
with the idea that should the vow be broken, that weapon will return to kill
the soldier himself.

The DKBA has the deplorable distinction of being the first army in history
that has dared call itself Buddhist.  Buddhism, which preaches non-harming
of living beings, has never been spread by means of the sword.  For Buddhism
there is no righteous anger, let alone a righteous war, so a Buddhist army
is a gross contradiction in terms.  

After playing a key role in the fall of the KNU headquarters, the DKBA,
with monks as its leaders, has carried out a terrorist campaign against
Karen refugees.  They have abducted both Buddhist and Christian Karens from
camps, forced Christians and animists to "convert" to Buddhism, burned
thousands of refugee houses, and harassed and threatened the 74,000 Karen
refugees on Thai soil.  Thai border police, Thai tourists, ordinary Thai
farmers, and Karen refugees?Christian, Buddhist, and animist alike?have died
at the hands of the DKBA.  In early 1996,  a large DKBA force attacked a
Thai Karen Buddhist monastery at Mae U Su, north of Mae Sot near the paved
road which parallels the border.  In the late night attack, the DKBA
soldiers shot and killed a Buddhist monk and two other people.  Then they
ransacked the monastery before retreating across the Moei River into Burma.  

At the end of January 1997, Burmese and DKBA forces entered Thailand to
attack three refugee camps, burning hundreds of homes and killing three
people.  Many of the soldiers were speaking Burmese, not Karen.  As of this
writing, that combined SLORC/DKBA threat continues.  With thousands of
troops poised to move again against the helpless refugees, a major SLORC
offensive and further shelling is feared. 

The bowl is still overturned
Pattam nikkujjana kamma is not a permanent condition.  If the person who
has been ostracized by the act gives up that wrongdoing and returns to good
behavior, the Sangha should settle that kamma, by "righting the bowl."  Once
the Sangha has righted the bowl, monks can again associate with that person,
receive almsfood, and accept his invitations and offerings. 

In spite of the massive amount of carefully documented evidence of SLORC's
human rights violations which has been compiled and presented in reports by
the United Nations, the US State Department, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty
International, and other reliable observers, the military regime adamantly
denies any wrongdoing.  Despite the great harm it has done to Buddhism,
SLORC has never approached the Sangha to beg forgiveness.  On the contrary,
the regime continues arresting, torturing, and killing monks; confiscating
monasteries; creating dissension; and defaming the Triple Gem.  SLORC has
never repented for carrying out its evil acts of religious oppression in the
very name of Buddhism. 

Monks in Burma have paid a tremendous price for opposing the regime, for
trying to end the dictatorship, and for speaking the truth.  Some have died.
Many have suffered imprisonment and torture.  Those who could no longer
endure the situation inside have fled to Burma's borders.  The All Burma
Young Monks' Union  and the Overseas Mon Young Monks' Union are both active
on the Thai border.  The former also has branches in Bangladesh and India. A
few monks have found safety in foreign countries, but because of the close
relations between SLORC and the Thai government, trying to practice the
religious life can also be very precarious for Burmese monks in Thailand.  A
monk who has neither a Myanmar passport nor aThai monk's card can be
arrested and deported, despite his genuine eligibility for asylum as a
political refugee.

As evidenced by the number of young monks who joined the students in
demon-strations in Rangoon in December 1996, there are still many monks who
deplore the military dictatorship but are unable to protest.  At this time,
their only prudent course of action may be silence and patience.  The
alternative would be martyrdom.

Despite the appearance of calm in the country and of submission by the
Sangha which SLORC wants the world to believe, the Sangha's judgment in
overturning the bowl remains valid and just.  The military regime is an
unrepentant outcast to be ostracized by Buddhist monks of all sects, to be
shunned and opposed by Buddhist laypersons, and to be condemned by all.

For SLORC, the almsbowl remains overturned.

Buddhist Relief Mission
Supporting the Buddha Sasana Worldwide
266-27 Ozuku-cho, Kashihara, Nara 634, Japan
Tel: (07442) 2-8236 ? Fax: (07442) 4-6254
Ken and Visakha Kawasaki, Directors

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