YANGON: Hundreds of monks and supporters of Myanmar’s ultra-nationalist Ma Ba Tha movement gathered in a Yangon monastery Saturday, in a defiant meeting days after Buddhist authorities banned their network, which has been accused of stoking Islamophobia.
The monk-led movement grew in strength under the country’s previous military-backed government, peddling a brand of Buddhist nationalism that aggravated religious unrest mainly targeted at minority Muslims.
But after months of distancing itself from the radical group, Myanmar’s top Buddhist clergy on Tuesday ordered the Ma Ba Tha to cease all activities by mid-July or face prosecution.
The threat did not deter hundreds of maroon-robed monks, nuns and followers from attending a weekend summit at a Yangon monastery decorated with Ma Ba Tha banners.
“Our journey is not at the end... We need to keep calm and think about how we can move forward,” leader Tilawka Biwuntha told a crowd that spilled outside of the vast temple hall.
“If you write Ma Ba Tha, you can erase the words. But no one can erase Ma Ba Tha from your heart,” the monk added, during the opening ceremony of the two-day gathering.
The shut-down order was the latest blow to a movement that flourished under the former quasi-civilian government but has faced mounting pressure ever since Aung Suu Kyi’s civilian administration took over in March 2016.
Earlier this year the ruling clergy, a body known as Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, banned Ma Ba Tha’s most notorious monk Wirathu from preaching for a year.
The firebrand monk, who attended Saturday’s gathering, is known for scathing sermons and Facebook posts that helped foment the idea that Buddhism in Myanmar is threatened by Islam — despite Muslims making up only around 5 percent of the population.
In recent months Buddhist hard-liners have shut down religious events across the country and forced two Yangon schools accused of illegally doubling up as mosques to close their doors.
Police arrested several nationalists this month after a fight broke out in a Muslim neighborhood of Yangon when dozens of people raided a house believed to be hiding Rohingyas — a Muslim minority maligned by many Buddhists.
Myanmar’s hard-line monks gather despite ban
Myanmar’s hard-line monks gather despite ban
Indonesian army deploys snipers on key highway to safeguard Eid exodus
- Nearly 144m Indonesians to take part in annual homecoming rush
- About 161,000 security personnel deployed to oversee their safety
JAKARTA: Indonesia's military and police will deploy special task forces, including snipers, to the main travel route in Sumatra to manage security during the annual homecoming rush, when millions of people will commute between cities and islands to observe Eid Al-Fitr with family.
Locally known as “mudik,” the Eid exodus is one of the world’s greatest seasonal migrations, with travelers braving enormous traffic jams, thousands of kilometers, and exhaustion to make it home for the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
Out of nearly 144 million Indonesians, or over half of the total population, who are expected to take part in the annual tradition this year, millions will take the highways of South Sumatra province, where security measures are heightened to oversee the safety of the travelers.
“We are deploying snipers to support security operations during the 2026 Eid homecoming period,” Maj. Gen. Ujang Darwis, chief of the military command in the province, told reporters.
“The National Police will be working together with us to ensure safety for the public, our officers will strengthen security throughout the exodus route and anticipate any potential crime.”
The snipers will be located along the Kayu Agung-Palembang-Betung highway, a key route for travelers to reach Sumatran cities from Lampung, a transit province connecting Java and Sumatra islands, he added.
Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has said that South Sumatra has “a strategic position” as the “main hub for connectivity” on Sumatra island.
Across Indonesia, 161,000 security personnel are being deployed in 2,746 locations in the country as part of national security measures during the annual homecoming period, which will officially start on Friday.
More than 76 million Indonesians are expected to travel with private cars, while 24 million will be using motorbikes and another 23 million are traveling by bus.
Authorities are expecting the exodus to peak next Wednesday, when almost 22 million people will hit the road early to reach their hometowns before the first day of Eid.
Heightened security measures along Indonesia’s main roads will be in place until the end of the long holiday on March 25.
