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 the military council to issue directives to the Magway Region military council to increase public participation at the Buddhist religious event.
The Magway Region military council has been organizing government employees and their family members to visit the festival in groups arranged by township and department. They are providing travel expenses and transportation while also granting leave for staff members, according to a schoolteacher from Magway city. Additionally, the Region General Administration Department has instructed residents from villages in Minbu Township to attend the festival, with township, village, and ward administrators organizing and leading groups of civilians to the event.
Despite constructing over 300 accommodation rooms and approximately 350 shop stalls for the Man Shwesettaw Pagoda Festival, the military council is forcing local participation due to poor attendance. Village administrators, along with hundred-household and ten-household leaders, are compiling lists of villagers and organizing group visits with arranged transportation, according to a local resident from Minbu. Despite these coercive measures by the military council to pressure civilians, reports indicate that festival attendance remains low. The military council’s actions reflect their continued pattern of forcing civilians to participate in their organized events, regardless of public interest or willingness to attend.
