သာသနာအာဇာနည္ သူရဲေကာင္း

U Gosita

One year ago Buddhist monk U Ghosita was arrested at Yangon International Airport on his return from a trip to Taiwan. U Ghosita had a valid passport and had not committed any immigration violations or any other crimes.

U Ghosita is the abbot of Leik Pyar Kan monastery, Nga Htat Gyi pagoda. He managed two branches of The Best Friend Library inside Burma: one at his monastery in Yangon, and another in the city of Kungyangon, where he was born.

His monastery had been under surveillance since the Saffron Revolution in 2007. While he was in Taiwan the Burmese military police came to his monastery, asked for him, rummaged through all of his belongings, and confiscated a computer, but could not find anything related to politics.

Ashin GhositaEven though he heard about these events and his friends strongly recommended him not to return to Burma, he decided to go back to continue his work. He has always put the needs of his country and his people before his own in a very brave and active way.

U Ghosita is now over 30 years old. He graduated from Dhama Siriya and was a teaching monk in his monastery. He took care of around 40 student monks whom he taught Pali language and the Buddha’s teachings, and had also been running an orphanage in his monastery.

Before his arrest, he had been teaching Buddhist Dhamma and English every summer in his home village, where usually more than 100 students attended his classes.

Following the Cyclone Nargis disaster in 2008, U Ghosita gave shelter to victims in the monastery school and organized food, water, and medicine for the people. He was taking part in reconstruction and rehabilitation work in areas affected by the cyclone. With help from his contacts in Taiwan and other supporters outside the country, he was able to receive donations and organized the construction of a new schoolhouse.

According to the charges filed against him by the Burmese authorities, the court in Insein Prison sentenced the Buddhist monk on February 17, 2010 to three years in prison for violating the immigration laws, two for illegal association, and two for using foreign currency. The day he was arrested, the security forces detained seven other monks along with him. Ghosita, however, is the only one who has been convicted.

U Ghosita is now imprisoned in Yamadin prison. His parents and friends who have visited him say he is doing well so far, but everyone who knows him wishes for his release as soon as possible.