MONKS ARRESETED FOR CURFEW VIOLATIONS

(By Kyaw Zwa Moe / Irrawaddy: January 20, 2004)

About 100 monks in Rangoon have been arrested for breaking a curfew imposed
by the government at the end of October, said sources inside and outside Burma.

The military government has ordered monks across Burma not to leave their
monasteries between 7 pm and 4 am to avoid possible religious conflicts with the Muslim population. The curfew was imposed following small clashes between Buddhists and Muslims throughout Burma after about a dozen Muslims were killed during a religious riot in Kyaukse, Mandalay Division, on Oct 19. The riot in Kyaukse was reportedly sparked when three Muslims cut the head off a Buddha image in the town, but local Muslims deny their involvement.

Since the curfew was imposed more than 100 monks have been arrested for
curfew violations, said the Thai-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAAP).

Authorities arrested ten young monks from the Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery in
Rangoon on Nov 22, said Tate Naing, secretary of the AAPP. He added that
sources inside Burma report that all the arrested monks are being detained in Insein Prison, outside Rangoon. Some of the monks are being hospitalized in the prison's hospital because they were beaten during their arrest, said Tate Naing. The arrested monks are immediately sent to Insein Prison and disrobed there. -Abbot from Rangoon

According to the AAPP, the arrested monks are from about ten monasteries in
Rangoon, including Ngwe Kyar Yan, Tha Yet Taw, and Aung Chan Tha. An abbot
from a monastery North Okkalapa Township, Rangoon, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said monks are being arrested without investigation if spotted outside their monastery after 7 pm. "The arrested monks are immediately sent to Insein Prison and disrobed there," he said. "They are later sentenced to at least two years."

In November, monks from several Rangoon monasteries staged protests against
the curfew, but no arrests from those demonstrations have been reported.

The US State Department lists predominantly Buddhist Burma as a "country of
particular concern" because of the military government's restrictions on religious freedom. The International Religious Freedom Report for 2003 says restrictions on religious practice is a problem worldwide, but cited Burma, China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Vietnam as the worst offenders.