A monk close to them said, “One monk from Sitta Thuka monastery was sent to Ann Town and another monk from Ten Kho monastery was sent back to Mrauk U as the authority suspected they were involved in leading recent attempts by monks to stage anti-government demonstrations.”

The monk from Sitta Thuka monastery was identified as U Pai Nyathuka and the second monk from Ten Kho was identified as U Tayza Dhama.

“I heard U Tayza Dhama and U Pai Nyathukha had not been allowed by authorities to travel anywhere from their towns after arriving home, and some intelligence agents are closely watching them,” the monk said.

According to a monk source, the authority forced the monks to return home after suspecting that they are leaders of the monks in Sittwe and have the capacity to lead monks in public demonstrations.

The monk said, “Other monks in Sittwe are also worried because they may face the same action in the future if they attempt to stage anti-government demonstrations. But monks in Sittwe are not afraid and are trying to stage demonstrations in the streets of Sittwe.”

Monks in Sittwe made at least three attempts to stage protests in the last two months, but each time were foiled by the authorities before they could begin.

The army authority is also still beefing up security in Sittwe and many armed forces continue to be deployed at key places in Sittwe, especially at temples and monasteries.

“The authority is unable to deploy the security forces in Sittwe forever, and one day we will have the chance to carry out our program. We are enthusiastically awaiting the opportunity to carry out our anti-government program in Sittwe,” the monk concluded.