Burmese military junta authorities in Arakan State have produced a video related to last year's Saffron Revolution and presented it on Sunday to senior monks in Sittwe, said an abbot.

The video show was presented by authorities during a typical ceremony to offer food to 18 senior monks at Wai Zanyardar hall in Lawkananda temple in Sittwe.

"During the show, the authorities explained to us that the arrested monks in Sittwe and other parts of Burma during the Saffron Revolution were not real monks, but were impostors. They also showed some monks sitting with women and collecting money from people for their personal interest," said the abbot.

Many senior officials from several government departments and well-known businessmen in Sittwe attended the food offering ceremony on the invitation of the authorities so they also watched the video.
"I do not know who shot the video documentary of the monks, but I suppose some parts of the documentary are not real, and some were phony," the abbot said.

Moreover, the abbot said that they "were watching the video without complaining," because the abbots were afraid the authorities would take action against them if they asked questions. During the food offering ceremony, the authorities also tried to persuade the abbots to oppose monks who are preparing to stage demonstrations in Sittwe against the government.

In Sittwe, monks were preparing to stage demonstrations on August 8 and 9, but the protests were foiled after authorities received a tip-off before they could get organized on the streets.

Since then, the authorities have been deploying many armed personnel, including soldiers and riot police at key places in Sittwe to prevent any future demonstrations. Since Sittwe is a city that has witnessed significant anti-government sentiment and protests, it is believed that the video was produced with the intention of persuading monks from Sittwe not to support any demonstrations against the military regime.