
(UCAN): Myanmar’s military junta plans to demolish a historic cathedral and 19 Buddhist religious sites as part of its ongoing effort to excavate the site of a 16th-century city, according to a leaked document sent to religious leaders.
The junta plans to expand excavations in the ancient city of Toungoo-Ketumati to include areas that are currently home to 16 Buddhist monasteries, one Buddhist nunnery, a Buddhist retreat centre, a pagoda, and the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Taungngu, according to the official letter, which is now circulating on social media.
Archaeological excavations are already underway in Toungoo, also known as Ketumati, the first capital established by King Mingyi Nyo in 1510 as the centre of the Toungoo dynasty, which ruled most of Myanmar for more than 200 years. It is located in Toungoo Township in Myanmar’s Bago Region.
The August 10 letter signed by Khin Maung Aye, deputy director of the junta’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture, was sent to the chief Buddhist monk of the Sangha Committee in Toungoo Township. It said that the religious sites are situated within the areas of the ancient city’s walls and moat.
The junta plans to expand excavations in the ancient city of Toungoo-Ketumati to include areas that are currently home to 16 Buddhist monasteries, one Buddhist nunnery, a Buddhist retreat centre, a pagoda, and the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Taungngu
The excavation and preservation of the northern wall and moat of the ancient city remains a “priority,” and “religious buildings located within the cultural zone” should remove whatever they should remove, the letter said.
Church officials also said that they have been informed of the junta’s excavation plans, which pose a threat to the city’s cathedral.
Father Xavier Wine Maung, the cathedral parish priest, said that “parishioners are shocked.”
The church “holds great personal significance” for the community where generations were baptised, married, and prayed over before their burial, and are shocked to learn that it will be demolished.
“They come to me and ask, ‘What should we do if this happens?” Father Wine said, adding that he has “no clear answers.” The Catholic community “is powerless to defend their beautiful cathedral.”
The current cathedral was constructed in 1987, replacing the structure that was rebuilt in 1945 after the original 19th-century building was destroyed in World War II
He said, “My only hope is to plead for leniency, asking them to save at least the main church building. It doesn’t matter if they demolish other buildings in the compound.”
Baptist pastor, Samuel Saw, of the Hallelujah Church in Taungoo, said, “I’m very sad because it’s a historic Catholic church that’s been part of this area since Christianity began to grow here.”
The cathedral’s history began after the Second Anglo-Burmese War [1852-1853], when the British took control of most of Lower Myanmar, including Pegu [Bago] and Taungoo. They established the current location of the cathedral and built a church for Christian soldiers of the British and Indian armies.
The British transferred the estate occupying 1.4 hectares to the members of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions who arrived in Myanmar in 1869, according to Father Wine.
My only hope is to plead for leniency, asking them to save at least the main church building. It doesn’t matter if they demolish other buildings in the compound
Father Wine
The Apostolic Prefecture of Eastern Burma was established in 1870. It became the Vicariate Apostolic of Taungoo in 1890, and a diocese in 1955.
The current cathedral was constructed in 1987, replacing the structure that was rebuilt in 1945 after the original 19th-century building was destroyed in World War II, the priest said.
Among the 16 Buddhist monasteries facing demolition, the biggest is the Nandawon Dhamma Yeikthar Monastery, which sits on a one hectare site.
“The junta is not a legitimate government,” according to Buddhist monk, Venerable Min Thonnya, a writer and leader of the 2007 Saffron Revolution that protested against the government’s economic policies.
Venerable Min, who lives in exile said that the junta has no authority to engage in such activities.
He said that projects involving national heritage should be carried out with “the full consent of the people,” pointing out that people and their buildings need to be properly surveyed, and damages should be fairly compensated; displaced residents should be resettled.
Data shows that the junta’s war against resistance groups since the 2021 coup has led to the destruction of several religious sites.
According to the independent research team Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica, airstrikes damaged at least 302 religious buildings nationwide between February 2021 and December 2024.
The National Unity Government (NUG), the government-in-exile formed by a group of elected parliamentarians and government members ousted in the coup, said the military junta head, Min Aung Hlaing, deliberately targets religious places.