Thread: Burma : Prominent Historian Monk Arrested in Sittwe

^ depends who you mix with DD; visit one of your well to do Sino-Thai friends in Bkk, and you'll very likely see them again - maybe the Thais have come up with an idea of how to 'reclaim'/'score a glorious victory' over the Ayudhaya spoils...

Burmese in Japan Stage Protest
8/18/2010


Burmese living in Japan staged a protest on Tuesday in front of the Burmese embassy in Tokyo,Japan

Dhaka: Nearly 100 Burmese living in Japan staged a protest on Tuesday in front of the Burmese embassy in Tokyo, Japan, demanding the release of a well-known Arakanese historian monk and 11 Arakanese youths, in addition to the release of seized artifacts and 100 relocated Arakanese orphans.

The protest was led by Arakanese political party, Arakan League for Democracy (Japan), and took place after the Burmese military junta recently arrested a well-known Arakanese historian monk and sentenced 11 Arakanese youths to 3 to 9 years in prison.

Ko Kyaw Than Hlaing, who is a member of the group, said, "We staged our protest in front of the Burmese embassy in Tokyo from 4 to 5 pm, against the military junta who arrested our respected monk and sentenced 11 youths to 3 to 9 years. The arrest and sentence of our people by the junta are baseless and unjust. So we demanded the release of them immediately."

The protesters stood in front of the embassy holding many posters and portraits of monks during the protest, and shouted many slogans demanding the release of the monk and the 11 youth.

"We also demanded that the military government send back the 100 Arakanese orphans to Arakan State from Burma proper, return the many precious ancient Arakanese antiques to Arakan, and re-open the orphanage that was sealed off by authorities," he said.

The Burmese military authority arrested well-known Arakanese historian monk Ashon Pyinya Sara in Sittwe on 27 July on several accusations, including abuse of religious principles.

After the incident, the military authorities closed and sealed off the orphanage led by Ashon Pyinya Sara and sent 100 orphans to undisclosed locations in Burma proper. At the same time, the authority seized many precious ancient antiques, including ancient silver and gold Arakanese coins, Buddha statues, and palm-leaf inscriptions that had been collection by Ashon Pyinya Sara over the years.

The Maha Muni Buddha Vihara orphanage is located at suburban Sittwe, the capital of Arakan and it was biggest orphanage in Sittwe.



On 11 August, 2010, the authority sentenced 11 Arakanese youth who have been detained since 2009 to three to nine years in prison on several charges in a trial held in the notorious Insein Prison court, during which no evidence of their guilt was presented before the court.

The youths, all aged around 20 years old, were arrested in Rangoon and Arakan State on 4 September, 2009, on multiple charges, including possession of explosives, connections with outside organizations, and crossing the border illegally.

After the incident, not only Arakanese people but also others throughout Burma were displeased with the junta's actions against the monk and the youth.

During the protest, a leading member from the Arakan League for Democracy (Japan), gave a statement to the Burmese ambassador related to the arrest and sentencing of the monk and youth.

In the statement, the organization demanded the military authority release the monk and 11 youth, as well as return the precious Arakanese antiques and send back the 100 orphans to their orphanage in Sittwe.

narinjara.com

Authority Bans Public at Ashion Pyinya Sara Trial
9/1/2010



Sittwe: The military authority banned the public from attending the trial of Arakanese historian monk Ashion Pyinya Sara's trial that was held on Monday in the Sittwe district court, despite previously allowing the public to be present when the monk was produced before the court.

A relative of the monk said, "We went to the court to hear the trial of U Pyinya Sara on Monday, but the authorities did not allow us to attend the hearing."

Ashion Pyinya Sara was arrested by the Burmese military authority on 27 July. Since then, the monk has been brought before the court three times. All previous times, members of the public were able to sit in the courtroom to hear the trial.

"Many armed security police were deployed at the entrance gate of the court compound as well as inside the courtroom on the day. The police officials barred us from entering the courtroom to hear the trial, but the police did not disclose why they authority was banning the public from the trial," he added.

On 17 August, during the second day of the trial, the government's main witness, Daw Mala, stated before the judge that the monk had not lived with her and that that the monk was innocent of the charges. She confessed to accusing the monk of cohabitation in order to get money after the complainants, U Tun Thein and Aung Win Kyaw, offered to pay her two million kyat if she accused Ashion Pyinya Sara of living with her.

News about Daw Mala's confession spread wide and many people realized the accusations against the monk are baseless.

"The authority worried the information from the trial would leak out if the public was allowed to attend the court. So the authority barred the public from attending the hearing. It further proves the charges against Ashion Pyinya Sara have been fabricated by the authority," the relative said.

Ashion Pyinya Sara is a well-known Arakanese historian who has written many articles related to the ancient kingdom of Arakan and Arakanese literature. The authority, however, sees this as behavior contrary to the solidarity of the union. U Pyinya Sara also refused to cooperate with the military authority when they proposed he work for the military government.

It was learned that many people believe the arrest of Ashion Pyinya Sara is related to politics and his behavior against the military government.

U Pyinya Sara is now being detained at the Sittwe prison and authorities have filed seven charges against him. Among them is one serious charge of disrupting the stability of the state.

narinjara.com

15 Abbots Appeal to Western Command on Behalf of Arrested Monk
9/11/2010



Sittwe: 15 abbots in Arakan State have appealed to the newly appointed Western Command Commander Brigadier Soe Thein to act justly and fairly toward arrested Arakanese historian monk Ashon Pyinya Sara, said one abbot.

"We sent the five-page appeal letter with the signatures of 15 monks to the Western Command Commander on 7 September, requesting they treat U Pyinya Sara justly and fairly in accordance with the law. U Pyinya Sara had many charges filed against him after he was arrested. Some charges are unrelated to his arrest and some are unacceptable. So I requested the Western Command Commander to reduce some of the charges and to try him justly in accordance with Burmese law," he said.

Among the monks to joined the appeal, 13 are from well-known monasteries in Sittwe while another two are from Ponna Kyunt and Min Bya Townships.

"We have no plans for future campaigns for his release if the authority does not follow our request. We sent the appeal as we have a duty to carry out such activities for Ashon Pyinya Sara. So we wrote the appeal letter to the highest authority in our state. The authority will consider what they will do about Pyinya Sara after they receive our appeal," the abbot said.

In Buddhist law, a monk may be dispelled from the monkhood if he abuses the precepts by living together with a woman.

"The authority told us at first the reason for his arrest is that U Pyinya Sara was living with a woman, but later the authority charged him with several other crimes beyond that. So it is unacceptable. Because of that we requested the Western Command Commander to consider the arrest of U Pyinya Sara on the many charges against him," the monk said.

In the appeal letter, the abbots explained that U Pyinya Sara is a historian monk who also carried out social works by keeping many orphans in his monasteries. He began establishing the orphanages in 1989 and has sacrificed for 20 years for the orphans staying there. So the abbots urged the Western Commander to consider his good behavior and to think about withdrawing some of the more unjust charges, such as the charges for disrupting the stability of the state.

U Pyinya Sara was arrested by authorities in Sittwe on 27 July, 2010, in a raid. When they raided the orphanage, the army authority seized many precious antiques from the library, including ancient silver and gold Arakanese coins, Buddha statues, and palm-leaf inscriptions that had been collected by Ashion Pyinya Sara over the years.

U Pyinya Sara is now being detained at the Sittwe prison and authorities have filed seven charges against him.

narinjara.com

Police foil meeting for arrested monk
Friday, 24 September 2010

A meeting in support of arrested monk Ashon Pyinya Sara organized by monks in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, was foiled by police on Monday.

Speaking to Narinjara, a monk said, "We attempted to assemble at the monastery where Ashon Pyinya Sara was living for a meeting to discuss his arrest, but the meeting was postponed after police stopped the programme."

Police from Min Gan police station in Sittwe halted the meeting saying that the monastery was not allowed to be used for such meetings on the orders of high authorities.



"Around 10 monks arrived outside the monastery for the meeting but abandoned the plan after the police threatened to arrest us if we did not follow their orders," the monk said.

The meeting was organized by the abbot of Vasali Dhama Pala Monastery in Sittwe, to discuss the latest situation of Ashon Pyinya Sara, being detained in Sittwe prison.

"The abbot invited some monks, who are close to him, to discuss the affairs of arrested monk Pyinya Sara, because his trial will be completed soon and the judge will give his verdict. Before the verdict is passed, we should do something for his release - so we arranged the meeting," the monk added.

Ashon Pyinya Sara is an Arakanese historian as well as an abbot of an orphanage named Mahamuni Buddha Vihara and he was arrested by military authorities on 27 July on seven charges.

Ashon Pyinya Sara wrote many articles related to the ancient kingdom of Arakan and Arakanese literature. The authorities however, see this as behaviour contrary to the solidarity of the union. U Pyinya Sara also refused to cooperate with the military authorities when they proposed he work for the government.

It was learnt that many believe the arrest of Ashon Pyinya Sara is related to politics and his attitude towards the military government.

U Pyinya Sara is now being detained at the Sittwe prison and authorities have filed seven charges against him. Among the charges, trials in six of the cases have been completed, while the charge in the final case is misappropriation of funds donated by foreign countries. A verdict is expected to be given in the case next week.

bnionline.net

Ashion Pyinya Sara Sentenced to 8 Years and 3 Months in Prison
9/30/2010



Sittwe: Arakanese historian monk Ashion Pyinya Sara was sentenced on Wednesday to eight years and three months in prison by a district court of Sittwe, reported a source close to the monk.

The Sittwe District deputy judge, Daw War War Tun, passed the verdict and sentence at 11 am on Wednesday.

Ashion Pyinya Sara was sentenced to three years for possession of foreign currency under Act 24 (1), three months for possession and distribution of obscene material under Act 295, and two years for insulting the religion under Act 406.

Another three years were added to the sentence for charges of destruction, damage and defiling of a place of worship or sacred object, which covers criminal breach of trust under Act 292. He was also fined 10,000 Kyat for charges under a municipal act.

The Burmese military authority arrested the well-known Arakanese historian monk Ashion Pyinya Sara in Sittwe on 27 July on several charges, including abuse of religious principles.

After the arrest, military authorities closed and sealed off the orphanage led by the monk and sent 100 orphans to undisclosed locations in Burma proper. At the same time the authorities seized many precious antiques, including ancient silver and gold Arakanese coins, Buddha statues, and palm-leaf inscriptions that had been collected by Ashion Pyinya Sara over the years.

The Maha Muni Buddha Vihara orphanage is located in suburban Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, and it was the largest orphanage in the city.

narinjara.com

Ashion Pyinya Sara's Case Being Appealed to Naypyiday Court
1/21/2011

Sittwe: The amended arguments for the case of Ashion Pyinya Sara, who was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison by the district court, have been recenly submitted to the Naypyidaw court after the appeal to the state court in the capital Sittwe was rejected, said Daw Aye Nu Sein, the defense lawyer in the case.



"We submitted our amended arguments for his case to the Naypyidaw court on 13 January as our appeal to the state court was dismissed with brief remarks. We can not accept the harsh sentence for an acquittal case against him by the district court here," she said.

She said that the amended arguments for the case were being submitted to the court in accordance with Burmese laws.

"According to the Burmese laws, the court will summon me to give arguments about why the case should be heard in that court. After examining my arguments, the court will decide whether to continue to hear the case," she added.

"I went to Tharet Prison to see Ashion Pyinya Sara on 12 January. Even I, his lawyer, was allowed only five minutes to see him. Only the prison authority knows why they have to be so strict for him. But I found him in good health," she added.

Ashion Pyinya Sara was sentenced to his current prison term and a fine of 10,000 kyat on charges of possessing illegal foreign currency and blue movies, misuse of religious buildings or premises, and misuse of funding, despite that he was originally arrested on charges of breaking religious laws for having sex with a female.

He was arrested on 27 September, 2010, and sentenced to prison by the district court in Sittwe on unjustified accusations.

After his arrest, the army took away 100 orphans from his Mahamuni Orphanage and moved them to undisclosed locations in Burma proper. They also took the Arakanese cultural antiques he had collected over the years.

narinjara.com