YANGON: Myanmar’s government has denounced an influential Buddhist nationalist group after failing to speak against it strongly while others were accusing it of using hate speech and inspiring violence against Muslims.
The Ma Ba Tha organization’s charismatic leader, the monk Wirathu, responded Wednesday by calling the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a “dictatorial woman.” The Sangha Council, a state institution that oversees Buddhist monastic discipline, declared Tuesday that it did not recognize Ma Ba Tha as a member of the country’s Buddhist order.
Last week, the government’s minister for Yangon, Phyo Min Thein, said the group shouldn’t exist, rejecting Ma Ba Tha’s demands on official policy toward the Muslim Rohingya minority. The group planned, then called a protest against the minister.
Most politicians have been reluctant to criticize the group because its nationalist message seemed popular in overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar. Even Suu Kyi disappointed admirers of her decades-long nonviolent struggle for democracy by failing to crack down on the group, which has been blamed for stirring up deadly violence.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party took power in March, and she was named State Counselor.
Myanmar govt flays radical Buddhist group
Myanmar govt flays radical Buddhist group
WHO says low taxes are making sugary drinks, alcohol more affordable
- The WHO has called for higher taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks multiple times in recent years
- “Health taxes are not a silver bullet, and they’re not simple,” said Ghebreyesus
NEW YORK: Sugary drinks and alcohol are not being sufficiently taxed and remain affordable, making it harder to tackle the chronic health problems caused by these beverages, according to two reports from the World Health Organization.
The WHO has called for higher taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened drinks multiple times in recent years, arguing it would help cut consumption of the products which contribute to diseases such as diabetes, as well as raise money at a time when development aid is shrinking and public debt is rising.
According to a report from WHO, sugary drinks have become more affordable in 62 countries in 2024 compared with 2022. In a separate report, the health agency said beer has become more affordable in 56 countries during the same period.
“Health taxes are not a silver bullet, and they’re not simple. They can be politically unpopular and they attract opposition from powerful industries with deep pockets and a lot to lose, but many countries have shown that when they’re done right, they’re a powerful tool for health,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus.
Last year, the health agency launched the “3 by 35” initiative to push countries to raise the prices of sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco by 50 percent over the next 10 years through taxation.
WHO expects the tax initiative to raise $1 trillion by 2035, based on evidence from health taxes in countries such as Colombia and South Africa.
Soda makers such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, and Mondelez, which manufactures Oreo cookies, have faced scrutiny from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pushed the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, recommending that consumers avoid highly processed foods and eat more protein and less sugar to achieve a healthy diet.
