With the opposition National League for Democracy’s (NLD) landslide victory in Myanmar’s Nov. 8 election, the enduring popularity of its leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was confirmed. The results also constituted a strong popular rebuke of military rule, as the former generals of the incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) suffered an embarrassing defeat.
But another group was also revealed to be less politically powerful than expected: the Buddhist nationalist organization known as Ma Ba Tha, or the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion. Led by Buddhist monks who espouse a particularly vocal brand of anti-Muslim nationalism, Ma Ba Tha had spent months lobbying for the enactment of legislation and policies aimed at “protecting” Buddhism.
Before the election, many observers were predicting that Ma Ba Tha’s growing clout could impact the electoral outcome. The organization had already proven itself to be a political power player, securing by mid-2015 the passage of four “Race and Religion Protection” bills restricting interfaith marriage, religious conversion and Muslim birthrates. Today, however, the monks of Ma Ba Tha have fallen out of the headlines.
Ma Ba Tha Weakened
As the NLD prepares to take the reins of government, Ma Ba Tha is in a decidedly weaker position than it was before the vote. And the dramatic reversal of fortune is thanks, in large part, to the group’s own choices during the campaign.
Though Buddhist monks are technically barred from direct participation in Myanmar politics, in the months leading up to election day, the monks of Ma Ba Tha intervened repeatedly. Prominent Ma Ba Tha leaders, including the notorious Wirathu, called on supporters to vote for candidates who would safeguard Buddhism and traditional Burmese culture. In many instances, they made it clear that this meant the ruling USDP. (Courtesy of Asia Sentinel)
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