Lead Story Mandalay Division News Religion
Dutchman faces 2 years for insulting Buddhism
Klaas Haijtema, 30, is alleged to have walked into a dharma hall during chanting, with his shoes on. He then pulled out the plug connected to the speaker.
Lead Story Mandalay Division News Religion
Klaas Haijtema, 30, is alleged to have walked into a dharma hall during chanting, with his shoes on. He then pulled out the plug connected to the speaker.
Interview Lead Story News Religion Rohingya
Following a week in which Wirathu has been roundly criticised for a foul-mouthed tirade against a UN envoy, DVB interviews him exclusively and asks him if he regrets it.
Analysis Contributor Lead Story News Religion
Those taking offence might also be prompted to reflect on the centrality of the idea of non-attachment and understand that their resentment is a hindrance upon the Buddhist path.
Analysis Contributor Lead Story News Religion
Many believe that Buddhism has a pure history in which misdemeanors, carnage, war and hostility has been committed by everyone — except the Buddhist. This is why the recent violence in Sri Lanka and Burma elicits such shock.
Contributor Lead Story News Society
The term ‘ethnocentric Buddhism’ points to the notion that Buddhist identity is intrinsically linked to national identity, says scholar Dr Paul Fuller.
Two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested and hit with charges for defaming the Buddhist religion in Rangoon on Tuesday after they were caught disguising themselves as monks
In Myitkyina, Kachin state, a 5-year-old child was injured in his head after being hit with a slingshot fired from a military vehicle at around 8 pm last night while[…]
The closure of the Islamic schools and subsequent imprisonment of Muslims involved in their operation has been described as “clear religious discrimination, and blatant violation of freedom of religion” by one human rights advocate.
Analysis Contributor Lead Story Politics
Renaud Egreteau argues that potential dissidents within the National League for Democracy are unlikely to gain influence in the near term.
Thousands of Buddhist monks gathered in Mandalay on Sunday for an event partly organised by a scandal-hit Thai temple whose abbot is wanted for questioning on money-laundering allegations.
The Union Election Commission rejects a proposal by Burmese nationalists seeking to establish a political party with an explicit goal of furthering their agenda, with the electoral gatekeeper saying its decision was made based on the country’s Political Parties Registration Law.
Lead Story Mandalay Division News Religion
Following criticism from nationalists, the NLD has launched an inquiry into controversy surrounding an interfaith prayer event in Mandalay Region, where Buddhist novices were pictured sitting on the floor while leaders of other faiths were afforded chairs.
“At the age of 10, I got my tattoos,” says Ma Lha Sen.
Arakan Lead Story News Politics Rohingya
If there’s one thing that unites Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the army that once tried to crush her, and the majority of people in mostly Buddhist Burma, it is their vehement dislike of Rohingya Muslims, seen as a threat to national security.
Maung Thway Chon, the would-be chairman of the PUP, said, “Our policy is anti-Bengali and to lead in the development of Buddhism.”
Lead Story News Protest Religion
A spokesperson for the religious affairs ministry said that local and township chapters of the Sangha Maha Nayaka have been instructed to stop the protests.
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.
Supporters have rallied behind embattled journalist Swe Win after a defamation complaint was filed against him on behalf of extremist monk Wirathu.
International Relations Lead Story News Religion
Around 100 Buddhist monks and nationalists in Burma staged a protest against Thailand on Friday, denouncing the government of the neighbouring country for its actions against a temple that has defied orders to hand over a wanted monk.
Thai police on Tuesday called off a raid to arrest a prominent Buddhist monk wanted for suspected money laundering after devotees barricaded entrances to his sprawling temple complex in a Bangkok suburb.
Ethnic issues Lead Story News Religion
Christians around Burma say they are no better off under the democratically elected government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, despite promises made in the lead-up to the historic 2015 general election to protect the nation’s’ four major faiths.
Ethnic issues Interview Lead Story News Women's Issues
Chin human rights activist Cheery Zahau speaks to DVB about what is needed to empower women in the workforce.
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”.
The nationalist monks opened a Rangoon school that teaches students how to become ‘decent citizens’ who protect Burma’s majority race and Buddhist religion.
Hundreds of football-mad Burmese fans were able to catch a glimpse of this year’s Premier League champions during a brief stopover in Rangoon that included a visit to the city’s famed Shwedagon Pagoda.
A member of the rival USDP, Thura Aung Ko is an unlikely NLD ally, but as a minister in the newly formed cabinet, he vows to put country before party.
Lead Story News Opinion Religion
The influence of Burma’s controversial Buddhist nationalist organisation Ma Ba Tha is being felt across the border in neighbouring Thailand.
Watch today’s top stories with Angus Watson
Patriarchal attitudes, bureaucratic indifference, and little support from society leave women feeling powerless.