(Bloomberg) — Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has issued a rare apology to a prominent Buddhist monastery after its abbot was killed by security forces last week, a development that could lead to widespread protests among the monks who traditionally lead the military. supports.
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Minister of Religious Affairs and Culture Tin Oo Lwin read out the junta chief’s letter in a live broadcast on the Win Neinmitayon Monastery’s Facebook page late Monday. Investigations are ongoing and “action will be taken seriously,” he said.
The apology is an attempt to defuse tensions as some within the Buddhist clergy plan protests after the 78-year-old head monk was shot dead by security forces in a village in central Myanmar last week. Junta-controlled media initially blamed resistance groups for the abbot’s death, but a senior monk traveling with him said regime security officials were responsible.
Monk protests began on Monday in two townships in the Sagaing region – a major monastic center near Mandalay. The monks have significant influence in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar and tend to support the junta over pro-democracy groups.
Min Aung Hlaing this month donated a fleet of luxury cars to members of the country’s highest Buddhist authority to help them carry out their religious duties, state media reported.
Sitagu Sayadaw, a senior monk with close ties to the junta head, told mourners at Win Neinmitayon Monastery to “forgive and forget” the killing.
“If the government and the monks cannot work together, our country will face many problems,” he said in a speech on Facebook.
Sayadaw Bhaddanta Munindabhivamsa, the monk killed by junta forces, was a former member of the Buddhist leadership council, but he has publicly condemned the military coup that toppled the Aung San Suu Kyi-led government in 2021. He was the head of one of Myanmar’s largest governments. monasteries, and his funeral will take place on Thursday.
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