Myanmar: Radical Buddhist groups more popular than expected

You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.

Myanmar | 29 July 2017

Following the banning of the radical Buddhist movement Ma Ba Tha (MBT), supporter groups have sprouted up all over the country to collect signatures in support of the banned group, according to The Irrawaddy reporting on 21 June 2017. UCA News quoted a senior MBT representative on 5 July 2017 stating that the movement"s mission, logo and plans remain the same despite re-branding. The Mandalay Chapter of MBT has appealed against the ban, as reported by The Irrawaddy on 13 July 2017. Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "The emergence of groups supporting the MBT movement show that views about Burmese Buddhism being in danger are more wide-spread than the government may first have thought. It also shows that the persecution faced by Christians and other religious minorities also comes from society in general and not just from the radical fringe. It remains to be seen whether these developments mean that Ma Ba Tha is flouting the government ban. However, another interesting question widely discussed is whether or not the government is in a position to implement any potential fines or other forms of punishments. The test may be coming faster than the government intended."