22:12
Ulama
[The following first-person report below (not the pictures) was first
published in Third World Resurgence No. 275, July 2013, pp 36-38.]
U
Wirathu – The extremist monk
IT
was not so long ago that Myanmarese Buddhist monks dressed in saffron robes
organised brave protests and peaceful processions against the brutal military
junta led by General Than Shwe. It was dubbed the Saffron Revolution. In 2007
their Gandhian non-violent resistance was watched with awe and commanded the
respect of millions around the globe.
These
images etched in our collective memory are hard to square with an ugly new
reality in Myanmar - the sight of Buddhist gangs setting Muslim communities
ablaze. Some monks have played a vanguard role in instigating...
