A video of a Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) member demolishing a Buddhist pagoda on Laukkai Point 2202 Hill (Sin Oo Kin Hill) with a hammer has emerged on social media.
The video clip, which lasted only a few seconds, showed a MNDAA member, probably of officer rank, with a pistol strapped to his waist, climbing the pagoda and smashing it with a hammer.
The demolition of a Buddhist pagoda has also drawn criticisms.
“Even if cultural heritage items do not belong to you, you must protect them if they are in your own region. No matter what religion those who are demolishing pagodas belong to, can’t they value this as a cultural heritage? During the war, people of various religions were upset when religious buildings were damaged by shelling. But since this is during the battle, it is a form of damage due to various reasons. As a Buddhist, I am quite saddened to see the pagoda being destroyed like this. I continue to worry about other towns and villages,” said a businessman from Shan State (North).
This issue should not have happened. A pagoda is a symbol of Buddhism, which is one of the major religions in the world. They are raising the issue with not only the Bamar ethnicity but also religious hatred, said U Kyaw Zeya, a former parliamentarian.
U Kyaw Zeya said, "For them, this action is no longer just a matter for the Bamar people. It is a religious hatred, not just ethnicity anymore. These are the sad things among the ethnic groups of the union. I don’t want to make any other comments. It’s not just war, but religion and bloodshed. This doesn’t bode well for the country.”
A resident of Mandalay said, "Seeing the video footage of this pagoda being destroyed is similar to the destruction of Christian churches by ISIS, which is designated as a terrorist group in the world. Even though I am a Buddhist, I was saddened by ISIS’s destruction of Christian churches. I am saddened to see the pagoda I worshiped destroyed. I feel angry too. I want to question why they are fighting.”
Similarly, on December 21, 2023, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) destroyed the Martyrs’ Monument in Namkham, Shan State (North).
In northern Shan State, since October 27, 2023, the forces of the Northern Alliance, MNDAA, TNLA and AA (Arakan Army) attacked the security camps and the fighting is still going on.
There have been criticisms saying that the “Wa” group and China are involved to some extent in the fighting.
China has called on both sides to maintain peace and stability in the border region and hold talks after making a ceasefire as soon as possible. Mediated by China, a State Administration Council delegation and the three Northern Alliance groups met twice in 2023 and have planned to meet these days.
When asked by Eleven Media Group about the opinion of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar regarding the issue, an official from the Chinese embassy said at around 9.15 pm on January 8, “I do not know the details of the video. The case happened in Myanmar. The people of Kokang are also Myanmar citizens. As this is Myanmar’s internal affairs, it is not appropriate for the embassy to comment. But religion should be respected no matter where it is,” he replied on January 8 at around 9:15 p.m.
