Calls for Tatmadaw troops to withdraw from pagodas in Arakan ahead of Thingyan

By DMG 03 Apr 2021

Arakan State residents have called on the Tatmadaw to withdraw its troops from pagodas and temples during Myanmar’s New Year festival, Thingyan, so that Buddhists can freely practice religious activities at those sites. 

It is common for Buddhists in Myanmar to visit pagodas and other shrines over the Thingyan holiday as the country welcomes the New Year each year in April, in accordance with the lunar calendar. 

The military, meanwhile, has deployed troops at a number of hilltop pagodas in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships, according to locals. 

Local people have been unable to visit Thin Kyit Taw Pagoda in Mrauk-U over the past two years due to the fighting between the military and the Arakan Army (AA), said Pauk Taw Pyin village resident U Kyaw Win Tun. 

“During Thingyan, which is the Arakanese traditional festival, I would like to visit the pagoda and keep the Sabbath [Uposatha] there. But for civilians to climb that hill, soldiers must withdraw first, otherwise nobody will dare to climb,” he said. 

Tatmadaw troops are similarly deployed at Kyein Taung Pagoda in Minbya, said community elder U Sein Tun Hla.  

“Everyone wants to visit the pagoda on the hill and keep the Sabbath and do good deeds during Thingyan. But we’ve not been able to have that chance for two years,” he said.   

Soldiers are also deployed at Kyauktaw Taung Pagoda in Kyauktaw, said former Arakan State lawmaker U Maung Maung. 

“Though fighting is not taking place now, no one can say clashes will not take place during Thingyan. There are military deployments on the hill. I don’t think residents will be able to engage in religious activities freely,” he said. 

Arakan State Administrative Council member Colonel Min Than declined to comment when asked whether the military would fulfill the locals’ request. 

During a visit to Tin Nyo displacement camp in Mrauk-U Township on March 18, the commander of the Tatmadaw’s Western Command, Major-General Htein Lin Oo, said he would make sure local people can visit hilltop religious sites freely. 

Thingyan was hardly celebrated in Arakan State in 2019 and 2020 due to ongoing conflict between Myanmar’s military and the AA, which lasted roughly from December 2018 to November 2020. The military regime’s Arakan State Administration Council is preparing to celebrate Thingyan on a limited scale this year. 

Some civil society organisations in Arakan State have urged Arakanese people not to overindulge in Thingyan revelries amid the junta’s lethal crackdowns on anti-regime protesters across the country.