Myanmar's ex-president Thein Sein joins monkhood

Nay Pyi Taw, April 5: Days after Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party assumed office in Myanmar in a historic transition of power, former president Thein Sein has joined the Buddhist monkhood.

Thein Sein, a former army general who ruled Myanmar for five years, was ordained on Monday, the information ministry revealed in a Facebook post.

The post, which was accompanied by a photograph of Sein with his head shaved and wearing saffron robes, said he will now spend five days at the Dhamma Dipati Monastery outside Pyin Oo Lwin, a hill town near Mandalay.

Temporary stints in the monastery are common in the Buddhist-majority nation.

Sein's term as president ended on March 30, when the new civilian administration led by President Htin Kyaw was sworn in following the NLD's sweeping victory in the historic November 2015 general elections.

IANS