Buddhist monks scuffled with soldiers on Monday as thousands of orange-robed clergy met for a seminar to support the front-runner for the post of Thailand’s supreme patriarch.
The row over the appointment mirrors Thailand’s turbulent politics, with the abbot who is front runner – Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangkhlacharn – linked to the powerful but divisive Dhammakaya temple.
Critics say the temple is closely linked to Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former premier at the heart of the country’s political rupture, and accuse it of trying to dominate the Thai faith.
Among those bitterly opposed to the abbot’s appointment are influential Buddhist nationalists who loathe Thaksin.
On Monday around 3,000 monks from the self-appointed “Buddhist Protection centre of Thailand” gathered on the capital’s outskirts for a seminar in support of the abbot’s promotion to patriarch.
Tempers flared as soldiers blocked their path to the National Office of Buddhism – the body that oversees the religion – where devotees had donated food.
