Kadu monks teaching IDP children face death threats from local council leader

Mizzima

Buddhist monks from the Kadu ethnic minority who are providing humanitarian aid to displaced families and teaching native literature in Sagaing Region’s Banmauk Township are preparing to flee the region following explicit death threats.

The Kadu Youth Federation confirmed that the religious leaders are seeking emergency relocation to major urban centres due to escalating security risks.

An official from the Kadu Youth Federation told Mizzima that the monks have come under threat after negotiating and appealing to various local armed groups on behalf of IDPs seeking to return home following long-term displacement, as well as due to their efforts to teach and preserve Kadu literature.

“The monks had to engage with both the Shanni Nationalities Army (SNA) and the People’s Defence Force (PDF). Because they helped IDPs who wanted to return home and organized Kadu literature classes, a man named Ko Myo Thein Oo, who represents the self-proclaimed ‘Maing Thon Council,’ threatened them,” the official said.

“He (Ko Myo Thien Oo) reportedly stated that monks could be arrested or killed for failing to focus on their religious duties and warned that action would be taken against them if they continued teaching literature,” the official said.