A draft law was circulated at the opening ceremony, entitled ‘Suggested Law to Protect Nationals’ and carried the subheading, “Let’s all take part in the preservation of nationality and religion.”

Amongst a large list of legislations, it proposed forbidding Buddhist women from marrying Muslim men and converting to Islam. Perpetrators could face 10 years in prison if the proposed law is enacted.

Speaking to Mizzima at a press conference following the summit’s opening ceremony, Dr. Dhammapiya, a monk and a professor at the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University who was acting as a spokesperson for the event, said that he had not seen the draft until the morning of the conference.

“In a democracy anybody can marry anybody, but no one can force you to convert to another religion,” he said when questioned about how the law would fit into Myanmar’s democratic reform process.

Wirathu, a monk who has been accused of promoting a violent wave of Buddhist nationalism, also attended the summit and expressed his enthusiasm for the proposed law that he believes would “protect” Buddhist women.

Wirathu is the leader of the ‘969’ movement, a Buddhist sect that is rumored to be behind the anti-Muslim riots in central Myanmar and Shan State earlier this year.

Similarities were drawn between Malaysia, Singapore, where there are inter-faith marriage restrictions, and China, where a single-child policy is in place.

The monks will discuss the draft law at Dhammaduta Chekinda Yama Forest Monastery before making an official statement on the results of their debate on Friday.

More than 200 people were killed and 120,000 people were displaced in violent clashes that erupted between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State one year ago. Since then inter-communal violence has erupted in other areas across Myanmar.

Last Tuesday, a Muslim man was jailed for 26 years for setting a Buddhist woman on fire in Lashio—an act that led to the latest outbreak of Buddhist-Muslim communal violence in Myanmar.

Yangon-based Peace Cultivation Network, a Muslim NGO, refrained to comment on the proposal when contacted by Mizzima. The organization will hold its own press conference on sustaining Myanmar’s peace on Friday.