For Democracy & Human Rights

Japan Buddhists pull sponsorship of Myanmar summit after regime shake-up

Nov 12 (AFP) - A Japanese group has withdrawn sponsorship of a Buddhist summit in Myanmar next month over concerns about the junta's hardline shake-up, but Yangon said it would go ahead with the event on its own.

Japan's Nenbutsushu sect has held the World Buddhist Summit every two years in a Buddhist nation. The event was due to be held December 9 to 13 in Yangon, where a new convention hall has been built for it and temples and hostels spruced up.

But the summit organizer said most participants, including main sponsor Nenbutsushu, refused to attend after the junta last month sacked reformist prime minister General Khin Nyunt and put him under house arrest.

"People were concerned that this was a coup d'etat or an undemocratic change of government," said summit headquarters spokesman Kazuo Takayama.

"Including Myanmar and Japan there were 20 nations expected to attend," he said. "Most of the countries later said they were unable to come."

"The goal of the summit is to spread world peace, coexistence and mutual understanding through Buddhist teachings," he said.

"With this many people saying they will not come, we decided it would be difficult to attain the goal."

Organizers approached Myanmar's government on October 30 to cancel the summit, and later learned Yangon would hold it without its participation. They are also asking Myanmar not to call the event the World Buddhist Summit.

Myanmar's new premier was quoted by state media as saying that the summit would go ahead from December 9-11, cutting it two days short.

"After putting much time and effort into making elaborate preparations, the job is almost done and the summit will go ahead smoothly as scheduled," state press quoted Lieutenant General Soe Win as saying Monday.

A source from Myanmar's religious affairs department said about 2,500 delegates had been expected but the numbers were now expected to be much lower.

"We will not call it the fourth summit any more," the source told AFP. "Of the 40 countries invited, 10 of them have said they will attend," the source said without detailing which ones.

But he said most of those who were not expected to attend were from Japan or Japanese-related organizations.

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