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.
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(STR / AFP / Getty Images)
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 […]