The Buddhist nationalist group formerly known as Ma Ba Tha once again struck a defiant tone this week, releasing a statement proclaiming: “No matter which names the association has adopted, no changes will be made in terms of the standpoint of the association.”
“Whether the Ma Ba Tha continues or ceases to exist depends entirely on the policies of the NLD government,” said Nandar Hla Myint.
The statement comes after a 23 May order by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee for the group to cease using the Ma Ba Tha name and banner.
Advocates of interfaith harmony say a renaming of the hardline Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha, and plans to formally inject its ideology into Burma’s political sphere, will do little to staunch — and may even exacerbate — the underlying religious intolerance that the organisation has been accused of fomenting.
The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee has announced a mid-July deadline that, if enforced, would effectively put an end to the public profile of the Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha.
“If the Sangha do not respond to us, we will cast the petition across the whole of Rangoon. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll take our campaign to Mandalay and other areas.”
A Burmese monk infamous for his bilious anti-Muslim tirades has been banned from giving sermons for a year by the country’s top Buddhist body, an unprecedented slapdown to man whose hate speech has galvanised religious tensions.
Mainstream Buddhist clerics are among the growing chorus of voices speaking out against the divisive activities of Buddhist nationalist group Ma Ba Tha.
Religious Affairs Minister Thura Aung Ko criticised monks for “wasting time” on social media, calling it “a platform for the ignition of religious and racial tensions”.
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The storm centers on a statement Chief Minister of Rangoon made to exiled Burmese while in Singapore recently.
Five Buddhist monks were acquitted of a religious defamation charge on Thursday in the latest hearing in the high-profile Mahasantisukha Monastery case.
A prominent Buddhist monk banned from holding public sermons in Burma has led religious talks in Japan.
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Government accounts of promises and apologies are false, say monks who were detained following Leptadan fracas.
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Deposed religious affairs minister Hsan Hsint has had a sedition charge added to legal proceedings filed against him by the government.
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Deposed Religious Affairs Minister Hsan Hsint appeared in court on Thursday to face a hearing for his forthcoming trial following charges for misappropriation of state funds.
Nay Myo Zin and Win Cho were released from Insein Prison on Tuesday, having spent 84 days locked up for organising an unauthorised demonstration in downtown Rangoon.
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Religious Affairs Minister Hsan Hsint was removed from his position due to his “mishandling” of the Mahasantisukha Monastery raid and also faces charges.
Five disrobed monks from Rangoon’s Mahasantisukha Monastery have been released on 20 million kyat bail each from Tamwe Township Court on Friday afternoon after facing a hearing on charges of defaming religion.
Uttara, a Burma-born UK passport holder, along with four other monks – Paññāsara, Neindira, Tazeina and Sondrasiri – are taken to court charged with religious offences.
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Five monks detained during a Tuesday night raid on the Mahasantisukha Monastery were de-robed and brought to court on Friday, according an officer at the Tamwe police station.
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Monks and staff residing at the Mahasantisukha Monastery are accused of violating religious property law and will face charges, the Ministry of Religious Affairs warned in a press conference on Wednesday.
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Rangoon’s Mahasantisukha Monastery is raided by Religious Affairs officials and riot police. The monastery is at the heart of a land dispute between the clergy and a renowned dissident abbot.
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Proposed interfaith marriage laws reveal the link between ethnic sectarianism and gender inequality in Burma, writes Dr Nyo Tun.
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Religious leaders pledge to cooperate with each other to stop communal violence.
Ashin Pyinyar Thiha, who met with Secretary Clinton last month, told he must leave his monastery in Rangoon by state-formed Sangha Committee
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