A Buddhist monk and spiritual leader of an ethnic armed group stoked religious tensions last week when he and his followers built a pagoda on the property of an Anglican Church in Hlaingbwe Township, at Kondawgyi village in Karen State.
The monk, U Thuzana, is also an influential figure within the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the predominantly Christian-led Karen National Union, a fellow ethnic armed organization.
Hundreds of his supporters this month brought bricks, cement and other building materials to construct the pagoda. Some among the group were members of the DKBA and wore military uniforms while building the shrine.
This was not the first time U Thuzana, 73, has used provocative measures to “proselytize.” The monk believes that these types of actions will generate good karma, according to a Karen Buddhist leader in Hpa-an, the state capital. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
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