Download Burma has recently been thrust into the international spotlight.
Following the landslide victory of the National League for Democracy in the April by-election and Aung San Suu Kyi finally taking a seat in parliament – Burma is being hailed as Asia’s newest democracy.
But the government continues to limit the public, and sometimes political, activities of Burma’s Buddhist monks.
After the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monks must now obtain government permission to give a public speech – including details of its content.
Prominent monk Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha is banned from giving any speeches and was recently evicted from his monastery in Rangoon.
Citra Dyah Prastuti travels to Hmaw-Bi Township on the outskirts of Rangoon to meet him.
It’s a two-hour drive on a public bus from downtown Rangoon to Hmaw-Bi Township.
After being evicted from Sadu Pariyatti Monastery in Rangoon last December, Buddhist monk Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha resettled in the village.
He lives in a small, open bamboo house on a deserted rice field.
Last September, the Ministry of Home Affairs banned Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha from giving public lectures.
He had angered the government because he allowed his monastery to hold a ceremony to re-ordinate 40 monks released from prison in the January amnesty.
As the only monk who met United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Burma, Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha is viewed as highly political.
“I’m doing politics for the national interest. I will never be silenced for any injustice. I’m not doing this for myself. I now live in a bamboo house, but I never regret any of my actions. My people are in misery. I’m just following what Buddha did – to sacrifice for others. If I think I’m right, I will not be afraid to state my mind. I don’t know what fear is.”
The Sangha Council – a board of senior monks accused that some say are in cohorts with the government – recently extended this monk's ban for another year.
And after he delivered a sermon at the office of the National League for Democracy, or NLD, he was evicted from his monastery.
“It was an ordinary speech, not a sermon. I talked about simple things, that young people should stay united. Like bamboo trees, they never should stand alone; they stay and grow in a group. A strong storm cannot destroy them. That’s unity. Young people must also use their eyes and ears so they can develop themselves and protect the future from the dictatorship.”
Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha is not the only Burmese monk whose activities are restricted.
Abbot Thu Mingala, from Mingala Monastery, was also banned from giving public speeches last December.
Local rights groups report that up to one thousand political prisoners are still behind bars in Burma – including several monks.
Buddhist monk and activist Ashin Gambira was also said to be harassed by the regime after he was released in the government’s mass amnesty.
“In Buddhism, one has to say the right thing as right, and wrong as wrong. As a monk, people donate food, shelter and the robes, everything is donated by the people. When the people are suffering, monks must stand for them and speak up. It’s a responsibility of the monks. For example, during the Nargis cylone that ruined the country, monks shouldn’t just pray in front of Buddha statues, but should give them water if when they are thirsty. We must show our love and kindness physically. I’m happy to teach this to my students.”
He might be out of the big city, but Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha says he is still being watched.
“I’m still under police surveillance, but they don’t harrass me now. When they started to ask me about my new monastery, I contacted the Democratic Voice of Burma and stated that I would continue building this. And that I’m not afraid of prison.”
The Democratic Voice of Burma, or DVB, is a Norway-based independent media organization that promotes freedom of expression in Burma.
It is heavily monitored by the government.
A new one-story brick building is under construction and is being funded by donations from Ashin Pyinnyar’s followers and students.
Ko Lin Zaw Htun, is in-charge of the construction.
“The very first building is designed for Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha so he can have a new shelter.”
He’s planning to build a bigger monastery in the village to accommodate hundreds of his students from Rangoon.
25-year-old Ashin Eain Daka is in his second year at the monastery and says he is committed to following his teacher.
“One of my favourite teachings from Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha is if you’re a monk, you have to walk for all people, for all beings. He’s still under surveillance, and so are we, his students. I don’t care about the authorities. They’re doing their business and we’re doing our business.”
Sitting on his chair and chewing betel leaf, Ashin Pyinnyar shares his ideas about building the nation with his students.
“The government needs to loosen the restriction and work together with Aung San Suu Kyi and her party members from the NLD. Our people are getting poorer and poorer every day, and our economic situation is very bad. Reform is urgently needed. Democracy is the only way to open and develop society. But people have to be patient. The country is now moving to the good side.”
On the wall of his bamboo house, there’s a huge poster of Burma’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
“She has a lot of qualities to adore. She’s the hope of all the people in Burma. You can see the honesty in her eyes. She will never do anything for her own interest, just like her father. She’s now 67 and I’m 47... But I feel like she’s my own mother. She’s very adorable.”
Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha is still banned from giving public speeches.
But he hopes to regain his freedom once the Sangha Council is reformed.
“Older monks in the council don’t have the capacity to rule all the monks in Burma. They have to retire, and they should be replaced by new monks with fresh minds. The council should be free of government influence so it can be an independent body.”
The three-storey Sadu Pariyatti monastery in Rangoon is now abandoned.
But as 37-year-old Ashin Thuriya says, there are plenty of young monks ready to join Ashin Pyinnyar Thiha in his new compound.
“He’s a very good in delivering lectures, he’s a great teacher. He’s also very brave to speak the truth and resist anything that oppresses him.”
