Staunch supporters of Myanmar’s military, including a number of prominent ultranationalist monks, held a rally in army stronghold Pyin Oo Lwin on Tuesday calling for the removal of coup regime leader Min Aung Hlaing as commander-in-chief.
The rally, ostensibly held to protest the destruction of a Buddhist pagoda in northern Shan State by a member of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army—part of an ethnic alliance that has been waging a major offensive against the junta since late October—soon turned into a very vocal vote of non-confidence in Min Aung Hlaing’s leadership.
According to pro-regime social media accounts, the gathering was attended by some 3,200 people, including military veterans, members of the military proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party, junta-appointed ward and village administrators, and a number of monks notorious for their rabidly anti-Muslim views.
Among the Buddhist clerics. . .
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