NEOLIBERALISM VS. BUDDHISM IN THAILAND

(Bop Htaw: September 5, 2003-Bangkok)

The Land of Smiles is certainly living up to its name as the host to the upcoming APEC meeting to be held in October. According to a CNN report, a Thai Police Chief proudly declared, "Every square inch of Bangkok is being checked -- right down to the drainage pipes.” Authorities are scouring the country for any one who may pose a threat and have stepped up forced repatriation of over one hundred Buddhist monks to Burma in the third week of August. Young Buddhist monks were rounded up at the temples around Bangkok and shipped back to Burma by the Ministry of Interior.

The monks are accused of “illegal entry” to the kingdom because they do not hold valid documents or visa stamps. After being thrown back across the border they make their way on foot though dense jungle to their native birthplace in Mon State and other areas in Burma, an arduous and dangerous journey. The Thai/Burma border is notorious for being the worst place in the world for human rights abuses.

Mon Buddhist monks laid the foundation of Buddhist society in Southeast Asia, the architects of not only Mon and Burmese, but Thai society as well. But now Burmese and Mon monks are targeted despite a centuries old tradition in Thailand, which allows Burmese monks to seek training in Thailand. There are two factors responsible for the crack down on Buddhist monks.

Firstly, the Royal Thai Government assumes that Buddhist monks holding monk ID cards issued by local senior Abbott are illegal migrants. Furthermore, the government fears that they could start trouble and would pose a threat to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in October. However, local Buddhist monks have no interests in the business dealings of the capitalist leaders and their partnerships.

“We are not interested in their work, it has nothing to do with us,” remarked a deported young monk.

A well-known Thai senior Buddhist monk, Rev Phuthta Essara, strongly objects to the move by the Thai government saying, “For several centuries no monk has ever had to obtain visa stamps to teach and learn Buddhism in the Kingdom.” “Monks practice selflessness and devote their energy to serve the community for harmony and peace of mind”, explained the Abbot.

Following the message by Rev Phuthta Essara with respect to the remaining Mon monks in Pathumthani, it appears the crack down may have slowed a bit, but some anticipate it will resume. Sources say, “There are over one hundred temples to be searched by the Task Force for further operations and the commandos are geared up to dispel the myth that Thailand is a soft target for terrorists.” Western analysts report that Thailand has a large illegal migrant community and is surrounded by weak states.

Illegal migrants are neither troublemakers nor stakeholders of APEC; rather they are victims of the capitalist led regional governments. The official banner of the Thai Government states: Welcome APEC delegates (Thailand) to the Beautiful Heart of Asia. But the message to Buddhist monks is clear: Buddhists principles were important in the past, but now our Asian leaders welcome Neoliberalism from the West.

Burmese monks are in Thailand because they are silenced from participating in anything that resembles ‘politics’ in Burma by the Rangoon regime, banned from publishing books for studies in their own language, for example in Mon, while the regime opening supports those who hold higher positions, ones who accept bribes, and ones who are pro-regime. Thousands of non-Burman monks fled to the Kingdom after the 1988 nation-wide uprising for further studies in Buddhism, while many completed post secondary studies at various universities in the Kingdom.

They break no common laws and are excluded from participating in rebuilding their country by the Royal Thai government. Buddhist monks have great abilities and skill in influencing moral responsibility and should be allowed to partake at some level in the “National Reconciliation” process. Leaving it to those politicians who have had such a negative and immoral impact on our society is a serious breach of tradition for the Buddhist community.

But in Thailand, they have posed no security threat nor sought to undermine government interests. However, a few jobless migrant workers, living in a desperate situation felt they had no other alternative and sought the help of senior monks for shelter in the temples. With over 600,000 people displaced in Burma, children from Mon State and southern Burma flee to the border for sanctuary. Rev Uttama, senior Monk of Sangkhlaburi Mon village allows young boys to become novices or monks for security; they are trained to assist him in community affairs in temples, an act of compassion and centuries of societal well-being for the community.

In 1985, when the Rangoon government banned state examinations in the Mon language, it posed a serious cultural threat that forced thousands of monks to flee to the border area.

When Gen Ne Win seized power from the civilian government, a few anti-Ne Win monks joined hands with ethnic leaders and fled to the rural area. Some felt they had to join the Mon armed forces to protect their culture and a few fled to Bangkok.

“If they deport and arrest my fellow monks, I invite them to come and arrest me first,” he declared to an immigration officer on the phone. As a well-respected Mon monk by the Royal Thai family, Rev Uttama has given back to the Thai community, well into his 90s, he still instructs and guides Buddhist meditation chants to many visitors, especially Thai citizens who visit him regularly for good health and fortune. Many of his fellow monks have established new temples in rural areas and the border areas in Kanchanaburi to further serve the Thai community.

There is a solution to the problem: The Royal Thai government could issue monks ID cards for studies in Thailand with conditions. However, a sense of discrimination against the Buddhist monks is a great evil according to the Pali text: San-gha- be-da-ka-kan. Good men and women wouldn’t let it happen in their lifetime.

Illegal entry is an ongoing issue in Thailand, the Thai employment sector demands unskilled labor from neighboring countries, with Burmese making up the largest percentage. Burmese migrants would return home tomorrow if they could, but the ailing economy back home offers no food on the table and state sponsored discrimination by the Burmese military and government on ethnic nationalities is not an option. Burmese monks will return home one day when they are able to teach and learn in their own language and establish their own temples when a democratic government is installed.