Statement of the ABYMU

[mingla@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Statement of the All Burma Young Monks' Union regarding the current action
against the Buddhist monks of Burma by the SLORC military regime

        After the Buddhist monks uprising which started on March 16, 1997
and which was sparked  by reports that an  important Buddha's image of the
Maha Myatmuni Pagoda Mandalay had been vandalized and the gems enshrined in
it were stolen, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the
military regime of Burma, has escalated its oppression aginst the Buddhist
monks by more arrest and forcibly disrobing the monks. the SLORC failed to
solve the problem to the satisfaction the members of Buddhism, and, in
addition it vilely created a  religious conflict between the Buddhists and
Muslims.

1. In connection with the uprising, the SLORC has:
(a) Arrested, up to now, over 400 Buddhist monks particularly in Rangoon and
Mandalay and forcibly disrobed them in the prison;
(b) Threatened to take action against  the Buddhist monks who " fail to
abide by the Buddhist Sanghas' precepts ";
(c) Banned, all over the country, the Payiyatti Snagha examination of the
monks for indefinite period, that has never been done before;
(d) Forcibly sent the Buddhist monks studying at the Payiyatti schools back
to their native places;
(e) Rounded up the Buddhist monks who has been demanding for the
announcement of the date of Payiyatti examination, by June 20, 1997.

2. Therefore, the All Burma Young Monks' Union strongly protests and opposes
the above mentioned actions of the SLORC.

3. In addition, the Buddhist monks are demanding the SLORC: --
(a) To officially expose the vandalization of the important Buddha's image
of the Maha Myatmuni Pagoda;
(b) To announce the exact number of detained Buddhist monks during the 1988
uprising, during the 1990 Pattam Nikkujana Kamma boycott, and during the
recent 1997 March Buddhist monks uprising relating to the Maha Myatmuni
Pagoda case;
(c) To unconditionally release all the detained monks.

4. The ABYMU fully supports these demands.  The ABYMU would like to remind
the SLORC that there is no other way but to comply with the demands by the
Buddhist monks of Burma and that continued violence against the Buddhist
monks would only bring more disastrous consequences.

        Unite all Buddhist monks!
        Join hands with all the people!


All Burma Young Monks' Union
July 16,1997



================================================================================
RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION CENTRE OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY FOR A NEW SOCIETY
================================================================================