The Junta and the Monks
Buddhist nationalism has been a central tenet of Myanmar’s politics since independence. A new alliance against the military dictatorship could finally change things.
In 2007, mass protests overtook Myanmar, sparked by the military dictatorship’s abandonment of fuel subsidies. Grievances regarding high commodity prices soon gave way to full-throated calls for democracy. Buddhist monks took a starring role in the protests, marching through Yangon and Mandalay in the thousands with alms bowls upturned, symbolizing their rejection of material support […]