Case 02-2015 Resolution: Myanmar and ex-president Thein Sein

Monday April 25, 2016

The International Buddhist Ethics Committee & Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights,

Recalling the principles of Buddhist law, the human rights and fundamental freedoms established by international instruments such as the ancient legal code (Vinaya) adopted by the spiritual commune (sangha) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations;

Whereas fundamental freedoms and human rights of the Buddhist people and the rest of tribal peoples, among which the Rohingya people is found, include civil, political and cultural rights without any discrimination;

Aware that the Rohingya people has a cultural distinction from the rest of the population, such as their linguistic autonomy, and that it is not because they are immigrants but rather they are tribal communities who have enjoyed their culture for hundreds of years;

Extremely worried about testimonies that come from Myanmar which include violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Rohingya people, such as international crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, which seek the physical extermination and cultural suppression that this people traditionally has enjoyed;

Deploring the consequence of such events, whose effects have been practices of discrimination, apartheid, sexual violations, concentration camps, persecution and mass murders, which resembles the international crimes carried out by Nazism;

Considering that the lives of thousands of families of Rohingya people have been destroyed and this fact has triggered a massive exodus of refugees to neighboring countries, which initially refused to accept them, thus losing the lives of thousands of people;

Examining that these events violating the Buddhist Law and International Law were carried out by the military government of Myanmar and its former President Thein Sein, who intervened spiritual communes (sanghas) of the Buddhist people through illegal acts, in addition to infiltrate into them through fake monks as is the case of Mr. Ashin Wirathu in order to legitimize discrimination and genocide through Buddhism;

Given that the military regime of Myanmar and the former president Thein Sein are no longer in power and now a civilian is governing, as a transitional step to a genuine democratic system that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Reaffirming the Judgment of May 1, 2015 the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights against the government of Myanmar and its ex-president Thein Sein for the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity;

Being appalled by the fact that the ex-president Thein Sein is currently looking to become a Buddhist monk in order to seek immunity or spiritual legitimacy for his crimes against the Rohingya people;

1. Affirms that Buddhist Spirituality fully respects the principles of Human Rights, being the first movement in the history of humankind that has regulated, in practice and theory, a defense of the inherent dignity of human beings and the rest of nature as an essential way for the peaceful evolution of the world and the construction a global civilization based on the Law (Dharma).
2. Makes a call for respect on human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Rohingya people, by having to be protected their distinctive tribal lifestyle and their right to self-determination both in Myanmar and in the countries where it is located;
3. Solemnly establishes that any violent practice that threatens the life of human beings and nature should never be associated with Buddhist Spirituality;
4. Expresses the hope that tribal peoples are fully respected by every State in Asia, a continent where most of its members is found;
5. Deplores as illegal the civic and military acts of Myanmar that have been established to control and interfere with the determination of Buddhist spiritual commune (sangha), continuously violating their rights through laws such as the Emergency Provisions Act of 1950, the Unlawful Association Act of 1908 (amended in 1957), the State Protection Act of 1975 (amended in 1991), the Law Concerning Sangha Organizations of 1990, the Village Act of 1908, the Towns Act of 1907, the Order 6/90 of 1990 and Order 7/90, which have served to expel or imprison monks with socially engaged Ideas.
6. Declares that the acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity carried out by the ex-president Thein Sein of Myanmar make him a person not eligible for spiritual ordination as a monk within Buddhism according to the legal code (Vinaya), so it is ordered the restriction on Thein Sein to belong to the spiritual commune (sangha), and having being declared as expelled in case that the ordination has already been carried out. This prohibition can be found in the Mahavagga.
7. Appeals to all members of the Buddhist people to follow an exemplary lifestyle, following the ethics of detachment and compassionate wisdom (karuna-prajna) that Gautama has developed throughout his entire life.