Ashin Pyinna Thiha, the dissident monk, gets officially denouned as "inobedient" for his anti-government stance.
A prominent Buddhist monk in Rangoon, who actively supports democracy activists, and recently met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Burma, is now under increasing pressure from the official Buddhist monkhood, and looks set to be defrocked.
The news of Ashin Pyinna Thiha's potential humiliation has sent shockwaves across the city, and protesters have gathered at his monastery to show their concern.
A few months ago, Ashin Pyinna Thiha of the Sadhu Pariyatti Monastery, turned his monastery Kyeemyindine Township in Rangoon into a venue for popular political events that were even attended by foreign diplomats. More recently he hosted an event marking the 20th anniversary of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Before his recent meeting with Clinton, the abbot delivered a sermon at the office of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Mandalay in Upper Burma, calling for national unity and emancipation from injustice.
The speech was made in September, but a recorded video of the event recently spread among the Burmese public, in which Pyinna Thiha said he had been forbidden by the State Sangha Committee—which is the authoritative council of Buddhist monks backed by the government—from delivering public speeches due to his anti-government stance.
Apparently citing this video, the 47-member State Sangha Committee issued a statement on Monday that the abbot was “disobedient,” within the monk community, and he was to be evicted from his monastery in Rangoon. They also stated that the monastery could no longer be used for any political events.
In an interview, the abbot only responded to the statement by saying, “The days of arbitrariness are gone. Things must go democratic.”
However, he currently remains in his Rangoon monastery though police had reportedly set up a presence around the compound.
The news has sent a chilling sense of anxiety and frustration around the former capital. Burmese blogs have responded actively, and much resentment seems to rest on the premises that there was a growing acceptance at home and abroad that the days of repression were starting to fade under the country's quasi-civilian government, which had relaxed control over the society in a number of areas.
At 1 pm on Thursday, about 300 lay supporters of the abbot, including leading officials of the NLD, gathered at his monastery in Rangoon due to their concerns that he would be forcibly defrocked.
“We have come here to see that this situation is settled smoothly,” said a Rangoon democracy activist who attended.
Credit To: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22662
The news of Ashin Pyinna Thiha's potential humiliation has sent shockwaves across the city, and protesters have gathered at his monastery to show their concern.
A few months ago, Ashin Pyinna Thiha of the Sadhu Pariyatti Monastery, turned his monastery Kyeemyindine Township in Rangoon into a venue for popular political events that were even attended by foreign diplomats. More recently he hosted an event marking the 20th anniversary of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Before his recent meeting with Clinton, the abbot delivered a sermon at the office of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in Mandalay in Upper Burma, calling for national unity and emancipation from injustice.
The speech was made in September, but a recorded video of the event recently spread among the Burmese public, in which Pyinna Thiha said he had been forbidden by the State Sangha Committee—which is the authoritative council of Buddhist monks backed by the government—from delivering public speeches due to his anti-government stance.
Apparently citing this video, the 47-member State Sangha Committee issued a statement on Monday that the abbot was “disobedient,” within the monk community, and he was to be evicted from his monastery in Rangoon. They also stated that the monastery could no longer be used for any political events.
In an interview, the abbot only responded to the statement by saying, “The days of arbitrariness are gone. Things must go democratic.”
However, he currently remains in his Rangoon monastery though police had reportedly set up a presence around the compound.
The news has sent a chilling sense of anxiety and frustration around the former capital. Burmese blogs have responded actively, and much resentment seems to rest on the premises that there was a growing acceptance at home and abroad that the days of repression were starting to fade under the country's quasi-civilian government, which had relaxed control over the society in a number of areas.
At 1 pm on Thursday, about 300 lay supporters of the abbot, including leading officials of the NLD, gathered at his monastery in Rangoon due to their concerns that he would be forcibly defrocked.
“We have come here to see that this situation is settled smoothly,” said a Rangoon democracy activist who attended.
Credit To: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22662
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