The Resistance of the Monks - Human Rights Watch

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Buddhism and Activism in Burma

September 22, 2009

This 99-page report written by longtime Burma watcher Bertil Lintner, describes the repression Burma's monks experienced after they led demonstrations against the government in September 2007. The report tells the stories of individual monks who were arrested, beaten and detained. Two years after Buddhist monks marched down the street of the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, hundreds of monks are in prison and thousands remain fearful of military repression. Many have left their monasteries and returned to their villages or sought refuge abroad, while those who remained in their monasteries live under constant surveillance.

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Table of Contents

• The Resistance of the Monks
• Map of Burma
• I. Summary
• II. Burma: A Long Tradition of Buddhist Activism
• III. The Role of the Sangha in the 1988 Uprising and After the 1990 Election
• IV. Aung San Suu Kyi and Buddhism
• V. The SPDC and Buddhism
• VI. The Reemergence of Buddhist Political Activism in Burma
• VII. The September 2007 Crackdown
• VIII. Cyclone Nargis and Its Aftermath
• IX. International Networks
• X. Conclusion
• XI. Recommendations
• Acknowledgments
• Appendix I: Terminology and Abbreviations
• Appendix II: Letter to the Penang Sayadaw U Bhaddantapannyavamsa from the Burmese Foreign Ministry, October 27, 2007[195]
• Appendix III: Statement by Sasana Moli, the International Burmese Monks Organization, May 2008