Many monks in Sittwe were banned by the Burmese military junta authorities from attending the full-moon religious festival held in the city yesterday, said a monk.

"Every year in the past, over 1,000 monks would participate in the festival. But this year only 100 monks took part in the festival because the authorities did not allow more monks to do so," he said.

In Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, people have historically held the religious festival with a large number of monks in attendance on full-moon day of Wa Kyut at the Winkabar grounds.

At the festival, monks from monasteries in Sittwe form a procession and ceremonially accept offerings such as food and other items from the people.

"The authorities allowed just two monks from each monastery to attend the festival this year. It did not allow the rest of the monks to attend. So just a few monks had the opportunity to participate in the festival," the monk said.

In Sittwe, there are over 300 monasteries with anywhere between 10 to 1,000 monks living in residence and studying at each one.

The authorities also did not allow the typical performance by a troupe of artistes during the evening of the full-moon festival on grounds of security.

"The authorities always worry about security in Sittwe because monks in Sittwe could stage a demonstration anytime against the military government," the monk said.

During the day of the full-moon many army personnel were deployed throughout Sittwe, in the wake of rumours that monks were going to stage a demonstration against the regime.

One eyewitness said, "Over 100 armed personnel were deployed at the Mizan intersection in Sittwe on Monday night. It was intended to obstruct monks if they staged a demonstration on the full-moon day of Wa Kyut."

Many Buddhist families in Sittwe were disappointed by the authority's prohibition on monks attending the traditional religious festival, he added.