Prominent Historian Monk U Pyinya Sara Arrested in Sittwe

July 30, 2010

.Sittwe: Burmese military authorities on Tuesday arrested prominent Arakanese historian monk Ramar Waddy U Pyinya Sara in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, on accusations that he abused Buddhist religious principles, said another monk from Sittwe.

Speaking to Narinjara over the phone, the monk who wished to remain anonymous said, “A combined force of police and officials from the religious department arrested him at his monastery in Sittwe on the morning of Tuesday on accusations of breaking religious principles.”

U Pyinya Sara is a well known Arakanese historian as well as a leading abbot of the Buddha Vihara Mahamuni orphanage, where more than 100 orphans live and receive an education.

“I went to police station No. 1 to inquire about his arrest but the police official could not provide me with the real facts of his arrest. I was unable to see him at the police station as the authorities are not detaining him there,” said the monk.

The authority brought him to an unknown location in Sittwe after his arrest.

A trustee in the monastery said, “The authority told us the reason for his arrest is that he was living with a woman against the religious law. But I do not believe the accusations of the authority and strongly believe his arrest was related to politics.”

As U Pyinya Sara is a respected historian, he always reveals the history of Arakan through articles published in journals and magazines. The authority, however, sees this as behavior against solidarity of the union.

It was learned that residents of Sittwe are eager to know the reason behind the arrest of U Pyinya Sara after reports of his arrest began spreading in the city.

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