Violent riots in Burma. Buddhists against Muslims

[MinhDinh]

Burma’s Spring Turns Deadly as Riots Shake the Town of Meiktila
by Peter Popham Mar 24, 2013 4:45 AM EDT
Is Burma going backwards? At least 20 have died in clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in the town of Meiktila, shaking the country’s fragile progress. Peter Popham reports.

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In a scene resembling the apocalypse, smoke and flames rise above the shattered ruins of houses and a mosque. Refugees, children among them, scatter in panic, carrying whatever they were able to retrieve from their homes. Dead bodies lie abandoned in the streets. These are not scenes from the Syrian civil war, but from Burma—a country the West has been applauding as it takes baby steps toward democracy.
Myanmar relief camp

Muslim residents look out from a temporary relief camp after their evacuation from riot-hit Meiktila, central Myanmar on March 22, 2013. (Soe Than Win/AFP/Getty Images)

It was all going so well. One year and a half ago, after 50 years of brutal military dictatorship, this overwhelmingly Buddhist nation of 60 million people between India and China suddenly began to change. After the country’s new president had a one-on-one meeting with pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, there were a flurry of reforms: censorship was relaxed, political prisoners freed, trade unions legalized. Suu Kyi herself fought a by-election last April; she and dozens of her party colleagues were elected in remarkably fair elections.

But now all that progress risks being undone. The outbreak of violence between Buddhists and Muslims in the town of Meiktila, in the center of the country, has already taken at least 20 lives and perhaps many more. And with the police unable to restore order despite an emergency rule decree, the army could be drafted in. A country tasting freedom for the first time in half a century could again see the feared military back in charge of the streets.

The violence is particularly disturbing because Meiktila has no special reputation for problems of this sort. Last year there were several outbreaks of violence between Buddhists and Muslims from the Rohingya community in the far west of the country, on the border with Bangladesh. In a spate of killing and ethnic cleansing, many Muslims were killed and thousands lost their homes. Although the violence was condemned around the world, Aung San Suu Kyi refused to back the Rohingyas. Dependent on the votes of millions of Burmese Buddhists in the general elections scheduled for 2015, she appeared reluctant to support the claims of a community that millions of Buddhists regard as illegal immigrants—even though they have lived in Burma for centuries.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/24/burma-s-spring-turns-deadly-as-riots-shake-the-town-of-meiktila.html

Burmese Bin Laden: Is Buddhist Monk Wirathu Behind Violence in Myanmar?

Sectarian clashes have erupted in the central Myanmar city of Meikhtila, where mobs of Buddhists, some led by monks, have attacked a Muslim neighbourhood leaving at least 20 people dead.

Myanmar's President Thein Sein has declared a state of emergency and the government has deployed between 600 and 700 police officers to try to quell the situation. Local reports say that at least five mosques have been burned down since violence started.

Journalists are fearing for their lives after sword-wielding Buddhist monks forced them to hand over the memory cards in their cameras.

The tensions were triggered by a row in a Muslim gold shop, but there are two different accounts of what happened. The first account is that the shopkeeper attacked Buddhist customers and that sparked the violence.

The second report is that the shopkeeper was selling fake gold and the customers refused to buy it, prompting the furious reaction of the Muslim man.
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But independently of the accounts, the question is why a row in a gold shop triggered riots on such a large scale. Religious violence in the Western Rakhine state last year shook the fragile steps taken by progressive president Sein, who has initiated a path of reforms after five decades of authoritarian military rule.

"Even before violence against Rohingyas, there was an organised anti-Muslim sentiment encouraged by some organisations," Burma Campaign UK's director Mark Farmaner told IBTimes UK.

"Buddhist monasteries have been distributing leaflets that were critical of Muslims on various things, and that has been going on for months."

Religious and political leaders in Burma, who are very respected and influential, are sensitive over these issues but "afraid to talk directly for fear it could lead to more tension", says Farmaner.

"They talk about it in general and do not address the anti-Muslim prejudices," he argues. "The space they left is filled by anti-Muslim organisations."

He maintains there were individual reports, around 10, of monasteries around Rangoon and in the Rakhine state distributing anti-Muslim leaflets.

The shadow of controversial monk Wirathu, who has led numerous vocal campaigns against Muslims in Burma, looms large over the sectarian violence in Meikhtila.

Wirathu played an active role in stirring tensions in a Rangoon suburb in February, by spreading unfounded rumours that a local school was being developed into a mosque, according to the Democratic voice of Burma. An angry mob of about 300 Buddhists assaulted the school and other local businesses in Rangoon.

The monk, who describes himself as 'the Burmese Bin Laden' said that his militancy "is vital to counter aggressive expansion by Muslims".

He was arrested in 2003 for distributing anti-Muslim leaflets and has often stirred controversy over his Islamophobic activities, which include a call for the Rhohingya and "kalar", a pejorative term for Muslims of South Asian descent, to be expelled from Myanmar.

He has also been implicated in religious clashes in Mandalay, where a dozen people died, in several local reports.

Sectarian tension between Rakhine state's 800,000 Rohingya and their Arakanese Buddhist neighbours exploded in June 2012, after allegations that a gang of Rohingya men had raped an Arakanese woman.

The Muslims were lynched in response, sparking days of rioting. More than 200 people died and 100,000 Muslim were left homeless, if not displaced in concentration camps.

"Violence never stopped in the Rakhine state, it occurs every single day with harassment of local security forces," says Farmaner. "People are worried that it could turn into large-scale violence again.

"As FCO minister Alistair Burt said, we need to address the cause of hostility. Authorities talk of these clashes as isolated incidents, missing the big picture.

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/449323/20130322/myanmar-clashes-wirathu-buddhists-muslims.htm
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[MinhDinh]

I am a muslim and thought I would put this out there. My very closes brothers or friends are from here. Unfortunately it seems that the riot's in Burma, and the majority against muslims isn't being shown in the news that much.

I feel that when it comes to wrong doings towards muslim's bar Palestine, the world doesn't really show that much media attention. I don't want to be one of those who play the 'card' but it does feel like it to me.
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Hit the G spot.

[Ollie1995]

Religion...
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Theory Passed - 18/7/13 MOD1 Booked - 24/9/13

[unitynotsocri...]

just remember it was the peace loving bhuddists of Sri Lanka who morterd civillians in their war of genocide against the hindu's living in the north of the island.........ohm no not Padiham,near Burnley
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[MinhDinh]

[Ollie1995]

[ThoughtContro...]

Anything with "Spring" in the framed title needs treating with caution.

Two things as always:

1. Follow the money - Who funds who?

2. Cui Bono?
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Prize cunt
--
"In a world of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act" - George Orwell

[stigger]

[Im-a-Ridah]

A tough one for the liberals and socialists this, which minority do they favour?

[daemonoid]

[Hetzer]

The only 100% guaranteed way to know you got it right is to believe in nothing but yourself and what comes out of your own head.
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[ThoughtContro...]

[daemonoid]

[cimbian]

[Rogerborg]

[Polarbear]

I really would have thought the human race would have grown up by now and got over their superstitious fears and worries that need to be addressed by worshiping some superbeing that is responsible for everything that happens.

But sadly that doesn't look like happening for a few generations yet.

I would say that wherever I have worked all over the world, where there are large groups of different religions in a country, there is conflict, hatred, mistrust and dislike. Even the so called wonderful multi religious country of Malaysia is not so tolerant when you dig underneath the propaganda dished out by the people in power.

It's rarely on a personal level, people usually get on fine with each other irrespective of what icon they support (except Arsenal and Spurs worshipers) but once the group collective kicks in they are worse than any street gang.
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[Visitor Q]

Strikes me a bit like the civil war in the South of Thailand. That's in top 10 most violent civil wars off the last 10 years, and ongoing... people blown up or executed a few times a week. They even blew up my Mc Donalds in Hat Yai

Buddhist majority (and rule), Muslim masses from Malaysia living near to the border who want to be Malaysian (and Thailands dirty little secret that it does love a bit of hatred toward the minority races/tribes/darker skinned members of its own race.

That never ever got reported on either, largely because it was 100% confined to about 4 or 5 of Thailands 100 or so regions, and never spilt over seas.

Perhaps, like Thailand, they also try to play it down to not freak out tourists or embarrass the country.
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From September 2014 to January/February 2015 I will not be using any English, nor reading any. As such, I won't be on here. PM at will, but I won't be checking/posting unless in emergencies. Certainly not for the first couple of months. Please berate me savagely if I break that rule...

[Visitor Q]

[Hetzer]

[daemonoid]

[charlie74]

religion, sometimes you can get closer to your maker sooner than you expected

my thoughts.

were all thats left of the waste of the creation of the universe, formed from the dust and matter left from the last big bang,
hence the phrase "dust to dust"

everything we know is just debris collected together over billions of years

if god did start everything with the words let there be light, he then ticked it off as job done and buggered off to do something more interesting

[Hetzer]

[Knightsy]

Let them fight it out I say. Reason doesn't apply when imaginary sky daddies are involved.
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09' Versys 650 | 07' FJR1300A

[MinhDinh]

Just an update.

The group of Buddhists who have campaign years before against Muslims has warned of another attack soon.
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Hit the G spot.

[stigger]