Skip to footer

The saffron color of power in Myanmar

The military’s Feb. 1 coup has focused not only on pro-democracy civilian leaders but Buddhist monks, whose moral and spiritual legitimacy holds sway over who rules in Myanmar.

|
AP
Buddhist monks march during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 16.
  • By the Monitor's Editorial Board

More than two weeks after a military coup in Myanmar, over 100,000 protesters were again on the streets Wednesday demanding a return to democracy. For days, the variety of the crowds has been as impressive as their size. Demonstrators include comedians, cyclists, civil servants, teachers, railway workers, farmers, members of the old royal court, and even women dressed as Disney princesses (to inspire young girls to participate). Yet in the eyes of the coup leader, army Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the most worrisome protesters may be saffron-robed Buddhist monks.

In largely Buddhist Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, monks were in the front lines of protests in 1988 and 2007 that finally led to the military granting a partial democracy in 2011. In ancient days, the monastic order, or sangha, merely had to hint that a king was illegitimate and he was gone. The power of monks to shape public opinion comes from their daily ritual of receiving alms from believers, walking barefoot door to door with shaved heads carrying begging bowls.

They are seen as selfless, above worldly ways, and dedicated to relieving human suffering. This allows them to call for compassionate rulers who are peaceful and meet the needs of all the people. It also may account for the peaceful nature of the protests.

Their moral and spiritual authority could once more bring the military to heel. The army is taking no chances. Since the Feb. 1 coup, a number of leading monks, such as well-known U Thawbita in Mandalay, have been arrested and sentenced. (These pro-democracy monks are opposed to some in their religious community who call for suppressing non-Buddhists in Myanmar, such as the Muslim Rohingya.) They may be less popular than Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, but during the protests, multicolored Buddhist flags are waving beside the red banners of her political party.

Both the military and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi have competed to persuade the monks of their righteousness. She is now under arrest. Most of the monks are not. Their people-centered humility in service to democracy may again sway the future despite the army’s threats of violence against the protesters. Power in Myanmar doesn’t always come out of the barrel of a gun.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to The saffron color of power in Myanmar
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2021/0217/The-saffron-color-of-power-in-Myanmar
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe