YANGON: Thousands of Myanmar’s nationalist monks and their supporters prayed, clapped and held speeches at a large rally in the country’s biggest city on Sunday, in a show of growing clout of radical Buddhists ahead of a Nov 8 election.

Religious tensions are running high in Myanmar ahead of the parliamentary poll billed as the country’s first free and fair election in 25 years, largely stoked by the Ma Ba Tha, an organisation led by the hardline monks who called the rally.

It was a climax of their campaign to celebrate their successful push to establish four so-called Protection of Race and Religion Laws seen as targeting women and the country’s Muslim minority.

The monks have emerged as a powerful force in the run up to the poll, sharply criticising Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy for opposing the laws.

“Today is the victory. Ma Ba Tha tried for many years to enact the laws to protect the country, people, nationalism and religion,” said Nyanissara, a senior monk at the organisation.

Published in Dawn, October 5th , 2015

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