Myanmar’s Monks, Leaders of Past Protests, Are Divided Over the Coup - The New York Times

Myanmar’s Monks, Leaders of Past Protests, Are Divided Over the Coup - The New York Times

Myanmar’s Monks, Leaders of Past Protests, Are Divided Over the Coup

Some senior members of the Buddhist clergy have given their blessing to the generals in power. But hundreds of lower-ranking monks have been jailed for protesting.

Monks in Mandalay, Myanmar, protesting in February against the army’s takeover. “C.R.P.H.” refers to opposition politicians whom the military had prevented from taking office.Credit...The New York Times





By Hannah Beech
Published Aug. 28, 2021Updated Oct. 18, 2021


Day after day, despite a raging pandemic and the threat of snipers’ bullets, a small band of Buddhist monks in burgundy robes gathers in the city of Mandalay in Myanmar. Their acts of dissent last only a few minutes, hasty candlelight vigils or flash-mob protests in the shadow of a monastery with gilded eaves.

The clerics’ demand is lofty: men in uniform, men who protest a bit too loudly that they are pious Buddhists, must exit politics. The military has dominated Myanmar for the better part of 60 years, most recently by staging a coup against an elected government and killing more than a thousand people for daring to oppose its power grab.


Hannah Beech has been the Southeast Asia bureau chief since 2017, based in Bangkok. Before joining The Times, she reported for Time magazine for 20 years from bases in Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Hong Kong. @hkbeech