黑料社

In a monastery in central Myanmar, a Buddhist monk, Wathawa, rallies his militia with a cry: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 our spirit like?鈥�

鈥淭he spirit of iron!鈥� shout a group of rifle-bearing men, loyalists of the military junta that seized power last year, now fighting to crush fledgling pro-democracy groups.

The scene, from a video posted online by army-linked media, would have seemed unimaginable to previous generations in the overwhelmingly Buddhist nation. Now, it underscores the close alliance the military has forged with the Buddhist hierarchy.

Myanmar鈥檚 Buddhist clergy previously sought to topple successive military dictatorships that kept citizens impoverished and isolated. Monks were part of the 1988 uprising that brought Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to prominence. Thousands thronged the streets during 2007 anti-government protests known as the Saffron Revolution.

Many are now supporters of the new junta.

The change reflects a years-long effort by the military to build stronger ties with Buddhist leaders by lavishing them with gifts and cultivating a shared ultranationalist and often Islamophobic vision, according to 11 people familiar with the monastic system, including three current or former monks and four researchers. Three spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of military reprisals.

In recent years, ultranationalist monks incited violence against Muslims in Myanmar, including riots that killed 25 people in 2013 and army-led attacks against the Rohingya minority.

As the new junta suppresses opponents, religious leaders have been largely absent from the widespread resistance to last year鈥檚 army coup, which ended the decade-long democratic experiment that brought Suu Kyi to power.

Some monks, like Wathawa, who claims to have thousands of armed followers, are serving to rally militia fighters against armed pro-democracy groups that emerged after the military crushed peaceful protests with deadly force.

Troops have burned more than 100 villages and killed civilians in attacks the United Nations has called probable war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In public comments and state media broadcasts as recently as November, the military has acknowledged forming militia in some villages 鈥渂ased on their demands鈥�, but has denied arming monks. It denies targeting civilians, saying its operations are against 鈥渢errorists鈥�. A military spokesman did not respond to Reuters鈥� requests for comment about its relationship with the militia.

Engineering a separation

Wathawa and other ultranationalist monks have appeared marching alongside soldiers, carrying weapons, in images published by local media and verified through open-source investigation by UK-based monitoring group Myanmar Witness, which also geolocated militia training happening at his monastery in Kantbalu, in central Myanmar.

Wathawa, who like many monks goes by one name, confirmed his leadership of militia fighters in a phone interview with Reuters, calling resistance forces 鈥渁 bunch of thugs鈥�.

He said he founded the militia, which operates out of Kantbalu, to stabilize the region and protect locals. Accusing resistance forces of killing civilians, including monks, and 鈥渄oing nothing but destructive things鈥�, he said, 鈥淚 am doing what I can. It is not wrong that I founded the militia.鈥�

Pro-democracy forces acknowledge killing suspected military informants, but deny targeting civilians.

鈥淭here is no guarantee for our lives,鈥� Wathawa said. 鈥淓ven though I鈥檓 talking to you today, tomorrow might be the day I die.鈥�

Not all of the country鈥檚 several hundred thousand monks support the junta. Almost every week, dozens gather to protest in monasteries in the Buddhist heartland of Mandalay, despite surveillance and crackdowns. Several disrobed and joined armed resistance groups.

Htavara, a monk who led Saffron Revolution protests and now lives in exile in Norway, said monks who participated in the violence against the junta鈥檚 opponents were violating the first precept of their religion.

鈥淜illing living things is an unforgivable crime in Buddhism,鈥� he said.

The country鈥檚 top Buddhist authority, known as the Ma Ha Na, has been silent on the crisis. Its chairman met with army chief Min Aung Hlaing shortly after the coup. The organization did not respond to a request for comment about militant monks and whether it supported the junta.

Among the venerated religious leaders loudly backing the junta is Sitagu, a once beloved figure who took part in the 1988 uprising. Now he is a regular companion of Min Aung Hlaing, whom he calls 鈥渂enevolent king鈥�, flying with him to Russia. During the military鈥檚 2017 expulsion of the Rohingya, he justified the killing of non-Buddhists in a sermon that asserted their lives were worth less.

In one recent video from a trip to Russia 鈥� President Vladimir Putin is one of the junta leader鈥檚 few remaining allies 鈥� Sitagu can be seen beating drums alongside Russian monks and chanting, 鈥淧eace and glory to the great country of Russia鈥�.

In a message to Reuters, Sitagu said he was 鈥渄eeply saddened by the current situation in Myanmar, especially by the difficulties that people are facing鈥�. He said he did not favor 鈥渁ny parties鈥� and that it was his desire that 鈥渢he people and the nation prosper鈥�.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on a visit to Myanmar in August, said he backed the military鈥檚 attempts to 鈥渟tabilize鈥� the country. In an emailed response to Reuters, Russia鈥檚 embassy in Myanmar provided details of Sitagu鈥檚 trip and said Russia-Myanmar ties were 鈥渄eepening in many directions鈥� including trade, investment, education and energy. 鈥淭his will benefit the peoples of the two countries in the long run,鈥� it said.

The displays of bellicosity by some monks have led to a rare backlash in Myanmar. Online memes and expletive-filled posts against military-supporting monks are now common.

Ten people interviewed by Reuters in cities including Yangon and Mandalay, among them a grocery store owner and a director of commercials, said they had changed the way they donated to monks. Some were scrutinizing monks more closely to avoid aiding those that support the junta, while others had eschewed the centuries-old tradition completely.

鈥淚t is the start of the change,鈥� said Naung Naung, a student from the central Magwe region, referring to the increasing willingness of Myanmar residents to question the religious establishment.

Until recently, everyone in the country recognized 鈥渄ictators as dictators鈥�, said one monk from Kantbalu, the same hometown as Wathawa. 鈥淧eople and monks were on the same side.鈥�

In response, he said, the military organized a 鈥渟eparation鈥�, in part by cultivating patronage relationships with monks, particularly the most influential.

Furthermore, the military instilled hatred against other religions, he said.

Masters and followers

After the monks joined protests, the military started offering special privileges to religious leaders, through a patronage practice known as 鈥渕asters and followers鈥�, said Nickey Diamond, a Burmese academic from Mandalay who has written about religion and nationalism in Myanmar. His account was echoed by the monk from Kantbalu and another academic, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Myanmar monks teach laypeople who in turn provide them with essentials such as food and clothing. But monkhoods that built strong relationships with the military were awarded gifts like land, cars, and monasteries, said Diamond, without identifying the beneficiaries.

鈥淲hen the Saffron Revolution happened, the military feared it, and attempted to divide the force,鈥� he said, referring to the regime鈥檚 opponents.

Meanwhile, a virulent strain of Buddhist nationalism was being propagated within the country鈥檚 monasteries, its origins traceable to an official within the previous military dictatorship who wrote and distributed xenophobic, anti-Muslim tracts.

The books, which told sensationalized stories about misdeeds of Muslims and the marriage of Muslim men to Buddhist women, 鈥渂rainwashed monks to be Islamophobic鈥�, said the monk from Kantbalu, whose account of exposure to anti-Muslim texts echoed those of several others interviewed by Reuters.

鈥淢y life has been spent in prestigious monastic Buddhist centers in Myanmar,鈥� he said. 鈥淪ince I was 14 years old, I read books that condemned other religions.鈥�

In the mid-2010s, an ultranationalist movement, Ma Ba Tha, advocated boycotts of Muslim-owned businesses, called for discriminatory race and religion laws, and was implicated in waves of deadly violence against Muslims. At the time, the group denied inciting violence and said it was only against Islamic extremists.

鈥楳any militia鈥�

Min Aung Hlaing, the general who overthrew Suu Kyi in February 2021, has tried to cultivate an image as a protector of the nation鈥檚 majority Theravada Buddhist religion, in the style of a long line of warrior-kings.

The day before he seized power, he placed the first stone in a seated Buddha statue he says will be the world鈥檚 largest. He is also seeking donations for the world鈥檚 largest Buddhist pagoda 鈥渢o show the world that Theravada Buddhism is shining brightly in Myanmar鈥�, according to state media.

State news broadcasts displaying military support for Buddhism increased four-fold in the nine months immediately after the coup, according to an analysis by the United States Institute of Peace, a U.S.-funded institute that analyzes conflicts overseas. Min Aung Hlaing has sought to justify the coup by claiming Suu Kyi failed to protect 鈥渞ace and religion鈥�.

Despite standing beside the army as it oversaw the deadly 2017 purge of 730,000 ethnic Rohingya, the Suu Kyi government later attempted to rein in ultranationalist Ma Ba Tha monks who publicly endorsed the violence. Ma Ba Tha was disbanded and Wirathu, a monk who toured the country inciting hatred of Muslims, was jailed for sedition.

Since last year鈥檚 coup, Suu Kyi and most of her government have been jailed on multiple charges, while Ma Ba Tha monks including Wirathu have been freed. The junta has not said why they were released. Wirathu鈥檚 spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

In videos posted online, Wathawa, known locally as 鈥淢a Ba Tha monk鈥� because of his ties to the group, praises Min Aung Hlaing as the 鈥済reatest leader鈥� to rule Myanmar. He says he has personally founded 鈥渕any militia鈥� to fight pro-democracy groups and has more than 4,000 followers.

Taiga, a spokesman for the Taze People鈥檚 Defense Force, a resistance group, who goes by one name, said the figure was lower and that Wathawa鈥檚 group forcibly recruited from villages. Reuters was not able to independently verify the recruiting tactics or the size of the militia鈥檚 membership.

He said his group would be prepared to kill monks if they were in battle with the junta, 鈥淭here are good and bad monks鈥� We consider an ally of an enemy to be an enemy, whether he is a monk or not.鈥�

In one video, Wathawa can be seen beating villagers for supporting resistance fighters.

鈥淚t will never be possible for them to win over the military in the near future, or ever,鈥� Wathawa told Reuters by phone.

Questioned further, the phone line went dead, and he did not answer subsequent calls. He did not respond to questions about the beatings.

State media broadcasts have shown military commanders showering Wathawa and his militia with cash and food donations.

In November, junta media announced the military had honored Wirathu with an award for 鈥渙utstanding performance鈥� and Wathawa a prize for 鈥渟ocial excellence, first grade鈥�.

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