Kachin peace marchers departed for Laiza from Myitkyina on June 21 carrying a Buddha statue and a Christian cross made of bullet shells collected during their journey to Laiza.

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Kachinlandnews Portal at Laiza, Kachin State

Religious symbols made of bullets departed for Laiza

By KLN

Published on June 21, 2013

Kachin peace marchers departed for Laiza from Myitkyina on June 21 carrying a Buddha statue and a Christian cross made of bullet shells collected during their journey to Laiza. The group included 6 monks and 37 Buddhists and Muslims laymen, said a source in Myitkyina.

The statue is 12-inch tall and made of 13 peittha (about 3.6 lb) of bullet shells and the cross is 12-inch tall.

U Win Cho, a leader of peace marchers, said “Laiza residents agree to keep the cross at Laiza Catholic Church but we are not very sure about the Buddha statue. If the residents are not prepared to accept the statue, we will bring back and deliver it to Maj General Min Aung Hlaing”. He said the intention of making a cross and a statue is to cause repentance by seeing the value of bullets used during the battles and to see their transformation from bullets to religious symbols.

Kachin locals who are mostly Christians expressed their objections to bringing religious symbols to Laiza as they are concerned of political problems in Kachin region turned into a religious one.

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