Myanmar monks flee monasteries, junta

updated 5:53 a.m. ET Nov. 12, 2007

BANGKOK, Thailand - The monasteries of Myanmar used to teem with saffron-robed Buddhist monks, revered as spiritual guides and moral authorities in a country in the grip of a repressive military regime.

Then the junta turned its troops on the monks, beating them in the streets for leading pro-democracy protests. They also raided their monasteries, leaving bloodstains on the floors, chasing anyone who had participated in the rallies.

Now, nobody knows how many of Myanmar’s more than 500,000 monks are left in their monasteries.

The junta has not disclosed how many monks were put behind bars since the upheaval of Sept. 26-27. In its last tally, on Nov. 6, the regime said nearly 3,000 people had been released, leaving 91 still in custody. But diplomats and dissidents say the figures are a fraction of reality and an unknown number of monks have been detained since then.

The picture that emerges, after scores of interviews with monks, abbots and other people in Myanmar, is that monasteries around the country have been depleted — particularly in the biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, where protests were staged.

Many monks have slipped over borders or are hiding in their hometowns and villages. To avoid being caught in a nighttime raid on their monasteries, some stay with friends, despite Buddhist rules that forbid a monk and a lay person to sleep under the same roof.

Parents keep kids out of monasteries
In this devoutly Buddhist country, every male citizen has to be a monk for at least a short time.

But many parents are keeping their children out of the monasteries for their safety, several abbots said in interviews.

The junta has lifted a nighttime curfew, restored Internet access and ended a ban on assembly. But monks remain targets. The junta said recently it was still pursuing four monks who led rallies.

One of them, U Kovida, spoke to The Associated Press from the Thai border, asking that his location be kept secret for fear Thai authorities would send him back.

“At the moment you will hardly find a monk in Yangon. Monks are running away from danger. They are being arrested and sent to labor camps, tortured and killed,” said U Kovida, 24.

The junta has not commented on allegations of abuse.

Kovida is officially accused of having hidden 48 blocks of TNT in his monastery before moving them elsewhere. He was hunted for three weeks by authorities and arrived at the border Oct. 18. He says the allegations are false.

“Whenever they want to arrest a leading monk, they have to make up some story because they know people have such great respect for monks and Buddhism,” he said.

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