Monks in Rakhine State’s Thandwe township have refused to take down a Ma Ba Tha signboard, even after the state Sangha announced the nationalist organization must disband and cease all activities.
The signboard in Thandwe was erected at the Pa Yeik Monastery, according to U Tay Zanika, a Thandwe sayadaw.
“Let them come and take it down if they don’t want it. We don’t have any plans to take it down. We will continue to keep it as is,” he said.
The State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee announced in May that no individual or group will be permitted to operate under the name Ma Ba Tha – the Myanmar language acronym for the Committee to Protect Race and Religion, a hardline group infamous for prominent members’ anti-Muslim speeches. The group was given a July 15 deadline to take down any posters or signboards bearing its name.
When asked whether a new signboard will replace the faded, barely visible one in Thandwe, U Tay Zanika said, “We can only give the answer on whether we will replace it under the name Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation [a rebranding of Ma Ba Tha] after holding a monk conference. The monk conference will be held with monks from Thandwe township at the Thein Kone Monastery before the full moon day of Wakhaung [August 2].”
He insisted that Ma Ba Tha’s Thandwe township chapter has carried out several charitable activities, including providing assistance to the public during floods, tornadoes, and the sinking of Aung Takon 3 ferry in Kyaukphyu.
“Ma Ba Tha is not an organization that is involved politics. It won’t be disbanded no matter who tries to make that happen. It will always exist,” U Tay Zanika added.
