While many monks participated in the anti-government protests of
1988, the 2007 so-called Saffron Revolution is perhaps the most wellknown
contemporary mobilization of Myanmar’s monks and nuns
(although the recent nationalist movements threaten to eclipse it in
fame). In September 2007, in response to the regime’s decision to remove
fuel subsidies, which in turn led to further economic hardship for
Myanmar’s already struggling population, activists took to the streets in
protest throughout the country. When many of those activists were arrested,
some monks began to protest. The monastic response expanded
rapidly when a few protesting monks in the town of Pakokku were
beaten by security forces. The ensuing marches lasted for days, swelling
in numbers until eventually tens of thousands of monks and nuns were
engaged, particularly in Yangon and Mandalay. The protesting monastics
marched to and prayed at Aung San Suu Kyi’s home—where she remained
under house arrest—and refused to take alms from members of
the military, thus demonstrating their opposition to it.12 Eventually the
security forces began to brutally crack down on the protesting monks,
raided monasteries, and jailed, injured, or killed many.1