‘It will never stop’: Burmese monk
2008-09-17
Following are excerpts from an interview with the Venerable U Aggha, spokesman for the International Burmese Monks Association, based in New Delhi, ahead of the anniversary of the 2007 Saffron Revolution:
Because [Burma's government] crushed last year's Saffron Revolution with violence to resolve the situation, they may assume that they have won a victory. In reality, they didn’t win. The Sangha movement will never stop, and it will never retreat.
This year, in addition to being stricken by poverty and to facing all kinds of difficulty, the country has suffered terribly due to a natural disaster, Cyclone Nargis, which caused widespread devastation. Not only that, the dictatorial military government, with a view to sustaining their rule, continued with the referendum for their constitution without any consideration for the suffering of millions of people.
Now, they are going ahead with elections in 2010. I want to say that the people of Burma today are facing difficulties and poverty so severe that they cannot be expressed. These conditions cannot be compared with the conditions that existed last year.
During the Saffron Revolution, young monks stood up for the people, who were really suffering, and the dictatorial military government crushed them. Even as this was happening, the [government-controlled] Sangha Maha Nayaka, the supreme Sangha governing council, did nothing and watched with folded arms. They did not try to pacify the rulers or restrain them from their actions.
So from that time until now, we, the young monks, have been refusing to provide religious services to the SPDC [the State Peace and Development Council, the ruling junta]. This also means that we will not accept any donations from the SPDC.
But the Sangha Maha Nayaka council, without any concern for the lives of the many young monks who have been sacrificed, still accepts donations, assistance, and help from the dictatorial military government. When the government asks them to issue rules and regulations, they just nod their heads and accede to the requests. I want to say that these actions are not good.
Because [Burma's government] crushed last year's Saffron Revolution with violence to resolve the situation, they may assume that they have won a victory. In reality, they didn’t win. The Sangha movement will never stop, and it will never retreat.
The people of Burma today are facing difficulties and poverty so severe that they cannot be expressed."
Young monk
This year, in addition to being stricken by poverty and to facing all kinds of difficulty, the country has suffered terribly due to a natural disaster, Cyclone Nargis, which caused widespread devastation. Not only that, the dictatorial military government, with a view to sustaining their rule, continued with the referendum for their constitution without any consideration for the suffering of millions of people.
Now, they are going ahead with elections in 2010. I want to say that the people of Burma today are facing difficulties and poverty so severe that they cannot be expressed. These conditions cannot be compared with the conditions that existed last year.
During the Saffron Revolution, young monks stood up for the people, who were really suffering, and the dictatorial military government crushed them. Even as this was happening, the [government-controlled] Sangha Maha Nayaka, the supreme Sangha governing council, did nothing and watched with folded arms. They did not try to pacify the rulers or restrain them from their actions.
So from that time until now, we, the young monks, have been refusing to provide religious services to the SPDC [the State Peace and Development Council, the ruling junta]. This also means that we will not accept any donations from the SPDC.
But the Sangha Maha Nayaka council, without any concern for the lives of the many young monks who have been sacrificed, still accepts donations, assistance, and help from the dictatorial military government. When the government asks them to issue rules and regulations, they just nod their heads and accede to the requests. I want to say that these actions are not good.
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