Myanmar’s most influential monk Sitagu Sayadaw has rejected Bagan’s recent Unesco World Heritage Site designation as an Islamic takeover of the ancient Buddhist kingdom.
Also known by his monastic name Ashin Nyanissara, the 82-year-old made the controversial claim during a speech in Mandalay division’s hill top town of Pyin Oo Lwin on Saturday (July 27).
“How could they give Bagan to them, using their money for our Buddhist heritage?” he told his followers, referring to the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC).
His research, said the monk, had unearthed that the US stopped funding Unesco in 1984, after which the organisation became political and “favoured a lot of countries over others.”
“So it can be assumed that without the Americans’ help, the funding would be close to none,” he added. “Where do all the funds come from? The OIC.”
The Myanmar proposal to list Bagan was approved along with other attractions from across the world at a meeting of the UN’s cultural body in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Sitagu Sayadaw cited the choice of location, “and not the UN headquarters in New York,” as proof the “oil rich tycoons from the Arab States” controlled Unesco.
“These people are regarding Bagan as an international landmark, while it should be solely ours to keep,” he said.
“Who funds my monastery? Donors from Pyin Oo Lwin. Be careful, that’s all I want to say and you should all think about it. We should be proud of our heritage and maintain it ourselves. Not give it away.”
Sitagu Sayadaw’s missionary society runs meditation centres across the United States. He sits on interfaith councils, and has met world leaders such as President Barack Obama and Pope Francis.
Most people in Myanmar welcomed Bagan’s inclusion on the coveted list nearly a quarter of a century after it was first nominated—an abortive effort that was partly because of shoddy restoration efforts done under the military junta.
The Unesco designation is seen as recognition of the site’s historical and cultural importance, as well as an opportunity to boost the country’s tourism industry.
But Sitagu Sayadaw’s rejection of the listing fans a hardline nationalist conspiracy of an Islamic plot to conquer Buddhism.
Along with a group of other revered monks, he supported Myanmar’s 1988 pro-democracy uprisings, which were met by a brutal military crackdown.
Over the years, Sitagu Sayadaw has grown closer to the military. As hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were fleeing violence in Rakhine state two years ago, he told an audience of army officers that “Muslims have almost bought the United Nations.”
The army and monkhood, he said, “could not be separated."
