NarinjaraNews, March 10 ,2023

Local Rakhine people are calling for the withdrawal ofMilitary Council troops from sacred pagodasand temples in Rakhine State, as the fighting has stopped in the regionfollowing a ceasefire agreement.

 The presence of Military Council troops in the historicalpagoda precincts caused inconvenience forlocal Buddhists who wanted to visit and perform rituals on religiousdays. They voiced their concerns about the difficulty of accessing the pagodas.

The Military Council troops are currently stationed at the31-Realm Pagoda in Buthidaung, which hasprevented residents of nearby villages such as Nwar Yoan Taung, San Go Htaung,Shi Shar Taung, and Ou-Yin Tharfrom returning home. These villagers are still displaced and forced to live elsewhere. One resident of Nwar YoanTaung expressed their desire for the military to vacate the pagoda area now that the conflict inthe region has ended.

“Wehave witnessed the shelling and burning of our villages, forcing us to flee tosafety. But now, we yearn toreturn to our homes. However, such repatriation demands extensive rehabilitation, demining of the surrounding areas, and the withdrawal ofsoldiers stationed near the pagoda. Moreover,soldiers shall not be stationed within the pagoda premises during the truce”,the villager said.

Residents of these villages have been forced to flee theconflicts and seek refuge in refugee campssuch as Lan Ma, Mya Taung, and Yan Aung Myay in Buthidaung. They have beenliving there for an extended period of time.

During 2019, 2020, and 2022, Military Council troops weredeployed to several famous pagodas and their surrounding areas in Rakhine State including31-Realm Pagoda in Buthidaung Township, Kyauktaw Pagoda and Mahamuni BuddhaImage Square in Kyauktaw Township, Aung Mingalar Pagoda in Pan Myaung village in Minbya Township, Kyein TaungPagoda in Minbya, and Maha ZeyarTheidi Aung Taw Mu Pagoda on Mru Hill near Say Ti Pyin Village in RathedaungTownship.

The Aung Mingalar Pagoda, situated on a mountain in Minbya,is still occupied by Military Council troops,preventing local villagers from accessing the site, a villager said.

“ Aslocals, we have repeatedly requested that they leave, but unfortunately,nothing has changed. With Thingyan (Myanmar New Year) fastapproaching, we are eager to visit the pagodanear our village and perform gooddeeds”, he told Narinjara.

Military Council soldiers are still stationed in thepremises of Kyauktaw Pagoda, but pilgrims are still permitted to visit the site.

However, during the 5-day Pagoda Festival, held from March3rd to 7th, the Military Council troops garrisoned in Mahamuni Buddha Imagecompound temporarily withdrew, allowing the pilgrims to visit the image without any disturbance, locals said.

At Kyein Taung Pagoda in Minbya, the Military Council troopspermit pilgrims to enter only for a limited time on Saturdays and Sundayseach week, a Minbya local said.

 “Thevisiting hours to the pagoda are restricted from 8:00 AM to 4:00 or 5:00 PM,and while there are no physicalinspections of the pilgrims, photography of the surrounding scenery isprohibited”, he explained.

 Despite repeated requests from monks and local residents, noaction to withdraw military deploymentsfrom the squares of pagodas and stupas has been taken.

 The board of trustees of the Maha Zeyar Theidi Aung Taw MuPagoda, located at the foothill of Mrunear the Saytipyin-Kyaukpanu Inndin highway in the western part of RathedaungTownship, has submitted a formalrequest to refrain from deploying Border Guard Forces (BGF) at their site.

 In their letter dated February 19th, the board of trusteesexpressed their desire to uphold the stabilityof the region by continuing their efforts to promote Buddhism, and theyrequested that no armed organizations be stationed on thepremises of the pagoda.

 Locals have raised concerns over the presence of soldiers inreligious buildings, even though an informalceasefire between the Military Council and the Arakan Army (AA) has been inplace in Rakhine State for aboutthree months

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