Myanmar Scraps Real Estate Projects Under Pressure From Monks

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Myanmar Scraps Real Estate Projects Under Pressure From Monks

Buddhist monks objected to the developments, which were planned to be built near the Shwedagon Pagoda

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar—Myanmar’s government on Tuesday scrapped five planned real-estate projects in its largest city, Yangon, including a high-profile US$300 million luxury condominium with international backers, after months of pressure from nationalist Buddhist monks.

The developments, which would have been built near the iconic Shwedagon Pagoda, the country’s holiest Buddhist site, were abruptly suspended earlier this year though they had all received prior approvals from the Myanmar government. Construction had started on some of them.

The cancellation of these projects, announced late Tuesday on state television, underscores the rising influence of powerful monks in the Buddhist-majority country, fast seeping into politics and business ahead of landmark elections later this year.

In a note explaining the cancellation of the projects, Zaw Than Thin, secretary of the central government, said the government had to respond to the concerns of monks and others worried about harm to religious buildings.

Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/myanmar-scraps-real-estate-projects-under-pressure-from-monks-1436289375

[clockman]

Interesting development!

[trogers]

A case of spiritual wealth vs material wealth.

[rijit]

Interesting development!

Any links?

rijit

[billd766]

A case of spiritual wealth vs material wealth.

Would those monks belong to the same religeon that is persecuting Rohingyas?

Silly me, I thought that the Buddha gave away everything he had and led a peaceful life with his TRUE followers, and that TRUE Buddhists followed his precepts.

It just goes to show what I know about "organised religeons".

[Katipo]

Any counter-weight to the military controlled government has to be good.

[RaoulDuke]

How refreshing to see a government actually say no to big money. Greed and corruption are rampant in every corner of the globe, and I would say that organized religion is the lesser of two evils in a case like this. There are plenty of other places in Yangon to build a luxury condo where one can look down upon hoards of impoverished people. Many cities throughout the world have certain historically significant areas where development is strictly limited, and this area should certainly be one of those protected zones.