In a speech at the Defence College of Kalaw on 21 June the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said defending of the nation is not only related to the military matters, but it also involve protection of natural resources, culture, social and race and religion. Protection through the military means would be a narrow perspective; a comprehensive defence perspective is much broader than that. In addition, he said, “Myanmar is a country where 85 per cent of the population are members of Theravada Buddhism and we have many monks who are competent in worshiping and teaching Buddhism. Such a nation is rare on earth, many other Buddhist countries are learning from us. So without indulging to religious extremism we will have to do things in a correct manner is necessary to protect our race and religion. We need to pass on our religious values and teachings to the coming generations. Following his speech on the importance of protection of race and religion, supporters of Ma Ba Tha held a blood donation ceremony at a military hospital in Yangon. The blood donation at 1000-beded military hospital was held to mark the 48th birthday of U Wiratu, who is the figurehead of the group, which is calling for extreme actions against the members of minority religions as a way of protecting race and religion. Reference: Facebook page of the office of the Commander-in-Chief https://www.facebook.com/Cincds/posts/997137060407159