Hundreds of people attended a rally held in Nay Pyi Taw at the weekend to support a draft law banning inter-faith marriage between Buddhist women and non-Buddhist men.
The rally, near the Upadathandi Pagoda on February 23, was organized by the Myanmar Organization for the Protection of Nation and Religion.
In a message to the rally, the Venerable U Wirathu, from Mandalay’s Masoeyein Monastery, said that without such a law there would be no security for the Myanmar race and Buddhism.
The chairman of the Theravada Dhamma Network, U Maung Maung, said signatures of support for the draft law had been collected at the rally and would be sent to the parliament.
Some members of the crowd held posters denouncing members of parliament who oppose the draft law.
Those at the rally included a 40-year-old woman who said: “We need to teach our offspring and protect our race and religion.”
Another participant, a woman from Tharyagon village, said she had attended the rally at the request of the village headman.
“After listening to what was said, I realize that they want to organize us,” she said.
The draft law was first distributed at a news conference held after a seminar at a monastery in Hmawbi Township, north of Yangon, on March 12, 2013.
It stipulates that a non-Buddhist man who wants to marry a Buddhist woman must first convert to Buddhism.
The draft provides for any non-Buddhist man who fails to comply with the law to be liable to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Amyotha Hluttaw MP Daw Khin Wine Kyi (Yangon Region, National Democratic Force) has offered to submit the final version of the draft law to parliament next month.
