Interview with ABMA member Ashin Issariya

Tuesday, 17 August 2010 16:59 Alexandra Rösch

(Mizzima) – September will mark the third anniversary of the brutal crackdown on Burma’s peaceful Saffron Revolution. Since then, many monks have been arrested, forcibly disrobed, imprisoned and placed in labour camps. Others have taken to hiding to avoid similar fates, while still others have fled to neighbouring countries. Alexandra Rösch recently spoke with Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of the Saffron Revolution, about the current situation of Burmese monks and his thoughts on the approaching election.

What is it like for Burmese monks in Thailand?

As you know, I’m living in Mae Sot (in Thailand in close proximity to the Burmese border), and there are many Burmese migrants and refugees here. Monks from Burma can come here easily.

For Burmese monks who come to Thailand it is very difficult to find a place in a Thai monastery. Most Thai monasteries don’t accept Burmese monks. Many monks have told me…they apply to live in a Thai monastery, but are rejected. The abbot will give a lot of reasons for this. For example, ‘This monk is not good, it will not be good for other monks if he stays here.’ But the true reason is that Thai monks think they might have problems with Thai or Burmese authorities.

Some monks eventually go back to Burma, but those who cannot go back have to go to a refugee camp if they cannot find a monastery to accept them.

In Thailand it is not allowed for a monk to stay in a layperson’s house. So, monks have to be very careful. They cannot go out in the evening because they might be followed by the police, who would find out they are not living in a monastery. For this reason they also cannot take part in the morning alms round to collect food.

You are a founding member of the All Burma Monks Alliance. What is the position of the All Burma Monks Alliance regarding the upcoming elections?

The All Burma Monks Alliance has never accepted this election because it is based on the 2008 constitution. If you accept the election, you have to accept the constitution. It is not a democratic constitution. Political parties have never had a chance to organize or to speak out freely. The military regime will only change the colour of their clothes. They may change their uniform, but it has nothing to do with democracy.

Burmese people need to boycott the election one hundred percent. On Election Day they should not vote at all. I encourage them to stay home and ignore the election. Or, better yet, is if they demonstrate in the streets against the election. But they should not vote at all. This will show that we do not accept the legitimacy of the election.

Only talking is not enough. We have to do something. We have to work for our country. For example, we need to speak out that we do not accept this 2010 election whenever we talk and wherever we are. We need to write it on paper, on the money, on the wall, everywhere. At this moment too many people are only saying it in a monastery or in a house. We need to act and work hard!

Do you, as well as monks still inside Burma, receive support from other monks who are now living further abroad?

Only a few monks abroad are actually working with us. Maybe when they are so far away they start to forget about our struggles. I have many contacts with monks inside Burma. I try to support them and help in any way with information, money or whatever they need. But, the monks living in America or other countries don’t support us. We have no contact. I want to say to them, in this time all monks need to unite. Unity is very important.

What is the situation for monks still inside Burma?

The situation in Burmese monasteries is increasingly difficult these days. The military tries to control everything. Especially the senior monks are under strict and constant supervision. The regime wants to know exactly which monks are working for democracy, which monks are politically active. Senior monks are obligated to give this information to the regime. This brings them into a very dangerous and difficult situation. Even if they want to support politically active monks they cannot do so easily.

Some senior monks are also in hiding because of this. Some monks…give up their robes and wear lay peoples’ clothes in order to stay inside the country. Others have to flee and go to Thailand, India or Bangladesh. So it is very, very difficult now.

However, many monks are still finding ways to boycott the regime. Many of the monasteries don’t accept offerings from officers of the military regime. But, some senior monks are too afraid to decline an offering from the regime because if they do so the monastery can be closed and the senior monks can be sent to jail. In the years since the Saffron Revolution around 60 monasteries have been closed in many different parts of the country. Because of this, some monks accept their donations even though they don’t want to.

What are some of the other measures the regime employs in attempting to control monks?

I am still in close contact with leaders of the monks, political leaders and also student leaders. Since 2007, every time they go out they are followed by military intelligence agents and asked a lot of questions. This makes it very difficult for a monk to move around. There are different ID cards for monks from different divisions. These ID cards are checked all the time.

Also, inside the monasteries there are informers dressed as monks. The military regime wants to know exactly who is politically active. They are afraid of the monks. They know the monks are able to organize a lot of people to demonstrate again. They know that most people listen to the monks, and that is a great threat to the regime.

If it becomes too dangerous for a politically active monk to live inside the country because he is constantly followed or someone has found out they are politically active, they have to flee the country. The military regime will try to identify his monastery. They will come to the senior monk and ask a lot of questions. When this happens, the senior monk will usually tell his disciple to move to another place.

What should the Burmese people be doing now?

We have to try to make a new, clear path for our country to improve. We have to try to demonstrate again.

Now everyone sees things in terms of ‘Before the Election’ and ‘After the Election’. Most of the people in our country are very poor. They do not have enough money to buy food. Because of this we know there should be demonstrations again, but we don’t know when they will happen. From the Saffron Revolution we learned it is not enough if the only leaders are monks. We need the leadership of the next uprising to be made up of monks, students and democratic politicians. We are working on creating a situation so that the next demonstrations will be even larger and more effective than 2007.

(Ashin Issariya escaped to Thailand in October 2008. While operating inside Burma he was known by his alias, King Zero. One year ago he predicted an impending uprising in Burma even greater than that witnessed in 2007.)