By Kurulu Kariyakarawana
Myanmar’s Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka are to launch a massive protest campaign tomorrow, the 60th anniversary of Myanmar’s independence, against the country’s military junta’s brutality towards, and torture of, monks.
The protest campaign will commence as a peaceful march starting from Galle on January 4th. The procession is scheduled reach Colombo on January 8th, when the monks hope to hold a demonstration in front of the United Nations office in Colombo.
The campaign, organised by the Myanmar Student Monks Association in Sri Lanka (MSMASL), will be backed by over 100 Burmese Buddhist monks who are currently engaged in educational activities in the country.
A spokesman for the MSMASL told the Daily Mirror that the student monks had initiated this long distance peaceful walk, in order to raise awareness of the plight of their people and, more specifically, the harassment, torture and injustice that their fellow monks undergo in Myanmar at present.
“We want to help achieve freedom and peace for the people of Myanmar and the whole world, including the peace movement of Sri Lanka,” he said.
“So far about 35 Buddhist monks have been assassinated, and over 200 imprisoned, by the military junta ruling the country, since the massive protest held by the monks on September 16th. against the soaring commodity prices of the past few months,” the monk said.
The peace walk will commence from Galle on January 4th, and is scheduled to reach Hikkaduwa the same night.
It will leave Hikkaduwa on the 5th, and proceed to Aluthgama.. On January 6th, it will leave Aluthgama for Kalutara.
On the 7th, the procession will leave Kalutara for Moratuwa. It will leave Moratuwa on January 8th, and will go up to the UN office in Colombo in the afternoon.
The MSMASL invites all parties interested in this worthy cause to join the peace walk.
