The military council is reportedly threatening and ordering government staff and local residents from various townships in Magway Region to mandatorily attend the Man Shwesettaw Pagoda Festival in Minbu Township. The festival, which runs for 75 days from February 2 to April 17, has seen low attendance, prompting higher authorities to issue directives to the Magway Region military council to increase public participation at the Buddha Puzaniya festival at the Man Shwesettaw Pagoda.
Following these directives, the Magway Region military council has been forcing government employees and their family members to attend the festival in groups organized by township and department. According to a schoolteacher from Magway city, the authorities are providing travel expenses and transportation for staff members, implementing a rotation system for attendance. The staff are also being granted leave days to facilitate their participation in the festival.
The Magway Region General Administration Department has also issued orders requiring residents from villages within Minbu Township to attend the festival. Village and ward administrative bodies are organizing people through hundred-household and ten-household leaders to attend the festival in groups. Despite the military council’s construction of over 300 accommodation rooms and approximately 350 shop stalls for the festival, the lack of public attendance has led to these coercive measures to gather crowds. The forced attendance reflects the military council’s desperate attempts to create an appearance of normalcy and public support, even as they resort to threatening and pressuring civilians and government employees to participate in religious events.
