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 special directives to the Magway Region military authorities to increase public participation at the Buddhist ceremonial event.
The Magway Region military council is pressuring government employees and their family members to attend in groups, providing travel expenses and transportation arrangements. They have implemented a rotation system for township offices and various departments to visit the festival, with leave days being granted for attendance. According to a schoolteacher from Magway city, departments are being organized to visit on assigned dates. Additionally, the Magway Region General Administration Department has instructed village and ward administrators to gather and escort residents from villages within Minbu Township to the festival.
Despite the military council constructing over 300 accommodation rooms and approximately 350 shop stalls for the Man Shwesettaw Pagoda Festival, the event has failed to attract visitors, leading to forced attendance by local civilians. Village administrators, along with hundred-household and ten-household leaders, are compiling lists of residents and organizing transportation for mandatory festival attendance. This forced participation has disrupted the daily lives and work routines of local residents, who must abandon their regular activities to attend the festival. The military council’s coercive measures highlight their attempts to create an appearance of normalcy and public support through forced participation in religious events.
