Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
Archive ends October 20`16
Source/publisher:
Various sources via "BurmaNet News"
Date of entry/update:
2015-03-08
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Religion in Burma - general, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 13,000 results (August 2017; 25,400, September 2017)
Source/publisher:
Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-20
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Description:
About 57,700 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher:
Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-20
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Description:
Link to the Arakan State section of OBL
Source/publisher:
Online Burma/Myanmar Library
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-02
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Ethnic cleansing is the systematic deliberate removal of ethnic or religious groups from a given territory with the intent of making it ethnically homogeneous. The forces applied may be various forms of forced migration (deportation, population transfer), intimidation, as well as mass murder and genocidal rape.
Ethnic cleansing is usually accompanied with the efforts to remove physical and cultural evidence of the targeted group in the territory through the destruction of homes, social centers, farms, and infrastructure, and by the desecration of monuments, cemeteries, and places of worship.
Initially used by the perpetrators during the Yugoslav Wars and cited in this context as a euphemism akin to that of Nazi Germany?s "Final Solution", by the 1990s the term gained widespread acceptance due to journalism and the media?s heightened use of the term in its generic meaning..."
Source/publisher:
Wikipedia
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-17
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - global, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 33,500,000 results (4 April 2013)
Source/publisher:
Google
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
About 670,000 results (4 April 2013)
Source/publisher:
Google
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-02
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Followed by several other videos on similar lines
"In Myanmar, different groups of Buddhist monks are battling with how to deal with the country?s minority Muslim population. While some advocate peace, others, such as the extremist Ma Ba Tha, are stoking up hatred and violence. The Guardian visited Myanmar to investigate how the monks? actions are threatening to destabilise the country?s newly established democracy"
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian"
Date of publication:
2017-09-08
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-09
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Individual Documents
Description:
"The Rohingya have been systematically driven out by the Myanmar government leading to the fastest growing humanitarian crisis in recent years.
Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app..."
Source/publisher:
Vox
Date of publication:
2017-09-25
Date of entry/update:
2019-07-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
more
Description:
"Like 90% of countries around the world, every year Burma (now Myanmar) marks the day its corner of the world was supposed to have changed for the better. Here it?s January 4th, when the country gained its independence from Britain. As arbitrary as it can sometimes feel, Independence Day is at least a good opportunity for reflection. Even more so when it?s a nice round number like 2018, which marks exactly 70 years of independence for Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2018-01-08
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, NLD Government 2016-, Multiple periods of Burmese history
Language:
more
Description:
"In these last few months the world has been transfixed by Myanmar as the latest, and possibly most devastating, Rohingya crisis unfolded on its western shores. Erstwhile admired for its transition from a military dictatorship to an inclusive democracy headed by a domestically-revered and internationally-acclaimed icon, Myanmar had already faltered on its path to glory when deep social divisions began to surface in the form of deadly communal conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims. As the firebrand monks continue their anti-Muslim hate campaigns and a new Muslim militancy emerges on the Rakhine landscape, a certain level of popular support seem to be there for the Army?s latest ?clearance operations? against the Muslim Rohingyas ? despite showing proof of horrific civilian abuse and resulting in unprecedented refugee flight..."
Source/publisher:
TEACIRCLEOXFORD
Date of publication:
2018-01-11
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
more
Description:
"In Myanmar, rumours abound about the assault and coercion of Buddhist women. What makes this trope of everyday storytelling—often factually inaccurate—so resistant to ?debunking”?
Based on more than four years of in-depth qualitative research, we argue that rumours are durable because they resonate with, and allocate blame for, the suffering and stagnation of the 1990s and 2000s.
We see these dynamics at play in support for the four ?Protection of Race and Religion” laws. Drafted with assistance of Buddhist organisation Ma Ba Tha, they were passed in the final months of the U Thein Sein government and remain a thorn in the side of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?s National League for Democracy government..."
Gerard McCarthy & Jacqueline Menager
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2017-07-12
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Religion in Burma - general, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Laws and decrees related to women (commentary), Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to population (commentary)
Language:
English
more
Description:
"From 2012 to 2014, Myanmar suffered violence between different communities, most of it involving Buddhists attacking Muslims. It ranged from localised, fleeting, inter-group violence, to large scale, apparently well-organised, state-supported killing and destruction of property of a targeted group, running over a number of days. The most serious and protracted violence, which left hundreds, perhaps thousands of people dead and over a hundred thousand displaced, was in Rakhine State, on Myanmar?s western seaboard, bordering Bangladesh. There, its objects were people variously identified as Rohingya, or Bengali Muslims. Large-scale anti-Muslim violence followed in Mandalay Region and Shan State; smaller incidents, some isolated, others sequential, occurred elsewhere.
Collective violence is a feature of uncertain times. In Myanmar too—and before it, Burma—it has tended to occur amid rapid political and economic change. As in other religiously, culturally and linguistically heterogeneous countries where a politically oppressive state loosens a highly coercive grip, people there have found themselves wanting for genuinely democratic institutions to express and manage conflict. Mundane and seemingly apolitical events instead have been converted into moments of short-lived but intense violence in which people living in proximity have divided sharply into groups, with one attacking the other..."
Nick Cheesman
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2017-04-24
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Religion in Myanmar is a sensitive issue, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
The impact of religion on Myanmar society and politics was the focus of a panel exploring anti-Muslim sentiment at the 2017 Myanmar Update at ANU. A lively discussion offered new perspectives on religious participation, before concluding with an optimistic paper on the collection of positive inter-religious memories.
First, Thawng Tha Lian?s paper approached the role of the Christian church in Myanmar?s political transition, with a focus on Chin State. He argued that for Chin people, churches are uniquely placed to play a role in the nation?s democratic project, due to their strong social, legal and financial standing. This paper cited the experiences of church leaders in negotiations with armed groups and the government, as well as in ceasefire monitoring. Barriers to religious leaders? participation in politics were also identified, however, including recent instances and memories of religious oppression by the government..."
James T Davies
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2017-03-24
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Religion in Burma - general, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The International Committee of the Red Cross? Jürg Montani highlights the need for medium-term thinking to complement immediate humanitarian action in the context of Myanmar?s ongoing conflicts.
In 2016 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) marked its 30th anniversary in Myanmar. This ongoing engagement reflects both humanitarian needs created by long-running violence and insecurity in this Southeast Asian nation, and the reality that the ICRC faces in many long wars where emergency relief and development assistance must be provided concurrently, not sequentially.
Humanitarians can ? and do ? respond to long-term humanitarian needs alongside more urgent needs, in the same neutral and impartial way that relief assistance is provided. But the tendency remains to view humanitarian action as ?emergency? responses, and long-term activities as ?development work?. This is despite the fact that long-term action can certainly be considered humanitarian when it addresses structures that threaten human survival..."
Jürg Montani
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2017-04-04
Date of entry/update:
2017-12-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, International non-governmental organisations (INGOs) present in Burma
Language:
English
more
Description:
"... the many smaller noticeboards that have sprung up with increasingly frequency across the country. These are written in Burmese only, often use the colourful Buddhist flag as a background - and declare that particular village or township to be "Muslim Free."
As part of IWPR?s two-year anti-hate speech project in Myanmar that ran until this July, we documented and reported the increasing incidence of these signs. Many of them further clarified that "Muslim Free" meant that Muslims were not allowed to stay the night, nor own any property there. Some went up at riverboat stations, denying Muslims access.
We asked the authorities if they knew who had put these signs up, and why they weren?t being removed. We never got a satisfactory answer.
IWPR also found photos of these signs on Facebook, being shared and applauded by users who urged their own communities to take note and follow suit. Incendiary comments and ethnic slurs were typical. Muslims were described as dogs and vermin who had no place in the country and were threatening the state?s very existence..."
Alan Davis
Source/publisher:
Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) via Refworld
Date of publication:
2017-09-12
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Extreme Buddhist nationalist positions including hate speech and violence are on the rise in Myanmar. Rather than ineffective bans on broad-based groups like the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion (MaBaTha), the government should address underlying causes and reframe the debate on Buddhism?s place in society and politics."....Executive Summary:
The August 2017 attacks by al-Yaqin or Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which the Myanmar government has designated a terrorist organisation, have pushed Rakhine state into renewed crisis. They also are being used by radical Buddhist nationalists in the rest of the country to promote their agenda. While dynamics at play in Rakhine are mostly driven by local fears and grievances, the current crisis has led to a broader spike in anti-Muslim sentiment, raising anew the spectre of communal violence across the country that could imperil the country?s transition.
Since the start of the political liberalisation in 2011, Myanmar has been troubled by an upsurge in extreme Buddhist nationalism, anti-Muslim hate speech and deadly communal violence, not only in Rakhine state but across the country. The most prominent nationalist organisation is the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion (commonly referred to by its Burmese-language acronym, MaBaTha), made up of monks, nuns and laypeople. The government has focused considerable effort on curtailing this group and pushing the top Buddhist authority in Myanmar to ban it. Yet these efforts have been largely ineffective at weakening the appeal of nationalist narratives and organisations, and have probably even enhanced them. However uncomfortable it may be, a more nuanced understanding of the sources of social support for MaBaTha, as opposed to simplistic one-dimensional portrayals, is vital if the government and Myanmar?s international partners are to find effective ways to address the challenges posed by radical nationalism and reduce risks of violence..."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (ICG) Asia Report N°290
Date of publication:
2017-09-05
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Burmese Buddhism and Society
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
434.62 KB 1.01 MB
more
Description:
"Aye Thein argues that the international influences on ?Buddhist extremism” have been overlooked...
This article further develops an idea I had briefly discussed in an earlier piece written for New Mandala in February 2017. A recent phenomenon in Myanmar, which has been called by different names by commentators depending on their preference, has put the country in the international spotlight. It has been characterised, among others terms, as ?Buddhist nationalist”, ?ultra-nationalist”, ?militant Buddhist” and ?Buddhist extremist”, the latter being used in the title of this article. MaBaTha or the Organisation for the Protection of Race and Religion, being the largest of the groups described by these various terms, has triggered a good deal of scholarly and journalistic attention...
?
Aye Thein
Source/publisher:
teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2017-09-01
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Burmese Buddhism and Society
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Ethno-nationalist monks have resisted a state bid to restrict their views and activities targeting Muslim and other religious minorities ...The rising confluence of armed groups and nationally prominent Buddhist monk extremists introduces a disturbing new dynamic to Myanmar?s religious-political conflicts that, despite official efforts to curb the Ma Ba Tha and its message of hate, seem likely to get worse before they get better..."
Justine Chambers
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2017-08-13
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The ultranationalist Buddhist organization, the Ma Ba Tha also known as the Association of the Protection of Race and Religion, has received considerable pressure during the past two weeks. Criticism of the group likely stems from its role in promoting hate speech and inciting violence against Burma?s Muslim minorities, which it had not experienced under the previous government of Thein Sein..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Partnership
Date of publication:
2016-07-18
Date of entry/update:
2016-08-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The state?s top Buddhist authority has said it will rein in the activities of hard-line nationalist monks participating in the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion ? also known as Ma Ba Tha.
Nationalists hold a protest in Mawlamyine, Mon State, yesterday.SuppliedNationalists hold a protest in Mawlamyine, Mon State, yesterday.Supplied
?Some of Ma Ba Tha?s ideas are aligned partially with those of Mahana [the Sangha] because they are under our guidance. But some Ma Ba Tha members are intense on religion and race and go against the committee?s stance,” said State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee general secretary U Sandi Marbhivamsa..."
Ei Ei Thu, Aung Kyaw Min
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2016-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2016-06-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Nach Jahren der Militärdiktatur ist Myanmar zum
weltweiten Vorzeigeprojekt geworden: Wahlen und
Marktöffnung sorgen, so heißt es, für Demokratie
und Menschenrechte. Doch die Nachrichten aus
dem ehemaligen Burma passen nicht zu diesem
Bild: Muslimische Minderheiten, insbesondere die
1,3 Millionen Angehörigen der Rohingya, fühlen
sich massiv bedroht. Radikale buddhistische Mönche,
die sich in der Mabatha, der »Organisation zum
Schutz der Nation und der Religion«, zusammengeschlossen
haben, warnen vor einer »schleichenden
Islamisierung« ihres Landes und fordern dazu auf,
Muslime gesellschaftlich zu isolieren. Der vordergründig
ethnische und religiöse Konflikt spielt auch
für die Parlamentswahlen am 8. November 2015
eine zentrale Rolle..."
Dominik Müller
Source/publisher:
Stiftung Asienhaus, (Burma Briefing 8/2015)
Date of publication:
2015-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2016-01-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, "Burma Briefing" (Asienhaus)
Language:
Deutsch, German
more
Description:
?Documents obtained by Al Jazeera?s Investigative Unit expose the inner workings of the Myanmar government, providing ?strong evidence” of genocide against the Rohingya minority?...
?Strong evidence? of genocide in Myanmar, finds Al Jazeera investigation...
Exclusive evidence obtained by Al Jazeera?s Investigative Unit reveals government has been triggering communal violence..."
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera with Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2015-10-26
Date of entry/update:
2015-10-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Individual videos and films on Burma in English and other non-Asian languages
Language:
English (some in Burmese or Rohingya with English sub-titles)
more
Description:
Executive Summary: "In mid-2012 incidents of communal violence began to occur in various locations across Myanmar. Communal violence had occurred previously in Rakhine State but had not transpired to this scale in other states and divisions across the country. Both inside and outside of Myanmar communal violence was framed as ?inter-religious? and dominant narratives emerged describing Buddhist groups attacking Muslim communities or as Buddhist as the victims of Muslim aggression. These narratives work to reinforce animosity between Buddhist and Muslim groups and fail to provide enough information to adequately understand the dynamics surrounding this violence.
This publication elevates voices of communities from six locations that experienced communal violence and paints a broader and more informed picture of the situation. Using CPCS?s listening methodology, conversations were held in November 2014 with 220 community members from Meiktilla, Mandalay Region; Lashio, Shan State; Mandalay, Mandalay Region; Shwebo district, Sagaing Region; West Bago, Bago Region; and Sittwe, Rakhine State. Community members discussed their experiences and opinions in light of their experience of communal violence and their hopes and desires for peaceful co-existence in the future...The violence that occurred was not motivated by inter-religion animosity in communities. Although listeners did not ask what caused violence or why it happened, these points emerged as some of the most important subjects that communities wanted
to discuss, and also as robust themes across all conversations in all locations. Community members differentiated between those who belong to religious groups and those who belong to extremist religious groups. They recognised that most community members had no affiliation with extremist religious groups and further reinforced feelings of harmonious inter-religious coexistence.
Communities emphasised political, government or military involvement in the violence but had limited information about who or which institution, whether government, military or a particular political party, were involved. Communities felt strongly that the violence was instigated from outside of their communities, and was unrelated to feelings of religious animosity in the communities. This sentiment was based on witnessing strangers who were inciting violence by rallying mobs or spreading hate speech, as well as on the inability or unwillingness of security forces to manage the violence, or to address criminal activities using the legal system..."
Source/publisher:
Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
Date of publication:
2015-09-08
Date of entry/update:
2015-09-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
856.91 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Abstract: "Anti-Muslim
sentiment
is
not
a
new
phenomenon
in
Myanmar
but
it
is
deeply
rooted
in
its
pre-independence
history.
Throughout
the
military
junta
in
Myanmar,
the
escalation
of
anti-Muslim
hate
speech
aimed
to
instigate
Buddhist-Muslim
riots
in
order
to
deflect
the
people?s
anger
and
exasperation
away
from
the
military
regime.
Since
1988
when
the
military
ruled
Myanmar,
anti-Muslims
hate
and
dangerous
speech
have
been
mainly
circulating
in
the
print
media,
and
nowadays
particularly
on
social
media
in
Myanmar
although
most
of
the
people
in
rural
areas
cannot
access
the
internet.
Anti-Muslim
hate
speech
and
propaganda
such
as
pamphlets,
leaflets,
DVDs,
VCDs,
CDs,
posters
and
others
have
been
distributed
in
some
parts
of
Myanmar
right
before
outbeaks
of
mass
violence
against
Muslims
such
as
the
anti-Muslim
riot
in
Mandalay
(1997),
the
anti-Muslim
riot
in
Taungoo
(2001),
and
the
anti-Muslim
riot
in
Meikhtila
(2013).
Based
on
interviews
and
documents
such
as
pamphlets,
leaflets,
DVDs,
VCDs,
and
CDs,
and
sermons,
as
well
as
interviews
given
by
nationalists
and
nationalist
Buddhist
monks,
this
paper
analyses
speech
acts
that
promote
anti
-‐
Muslim
sentiment,
which
is
a
precondition
for
instigating
anti-Muslim
violence.
This
pap
er
argues
that
promotion
of
anti-Muslim
sentiment
has
always
escalated
shortly
before
the
outbreaks
of
mass
violence
against
Muslims
in
Myanmar.
The
contribution
of
this
paper
is
to
call
attention
to
a
dynamic
that
could
lead
to
atrocities
against
Muslims
in
Myanmar.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015.
Ye Myint Win
Source/publisher:
International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - incidents and the humanitarian situation, International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 23-26 July, 2015
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
354.37 KB
more
Description:
" Wimala Biwuntha is a pint-sized monk with boyish features who could barely see over the lectern during his recent sermon to a mesmerized crowd at a Rangoon monastery. Yet his stature in Burma grows daily, thanks to his stark message to fellow Buddhists: ?We are digging our own graves.”
Wimala?s sermon in the low-rent suburb of Insein was billed as an ?introduction to the Buddhist logo”. To warm up the crowd, a catchy pop tune called ?Song to Whip Up Religious Blood” was played at high volume on a continuous loop on the monastery?s loudspeakers. ?Buddhists should not stay calm anymore,” ran the lyrics..."
Andrew R.C. Marshall
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2013-06-27
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The Buddhist extremist movement in Myanmar, known as 969, portrays itself as a grassroots creed.
Its chief proponent, a monk named Wirathu, was once jailed by the former military junta for anti-Muslim violence and once called himself the "Burmese bin Laden."
But a Reuters examination traces 969?s origins to an official in the dictatorship that once ran Myanmar, and which is the direct predecessor of today?s reformist government. The 969 movement now enjoys support from senior government officials, establishment monks and even some members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), the political party of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Wirathu urges Buddhists to boycott Muslim shops and shun interfaith marriages. He calls mosques "enemy bases."..."
Andrew R.C. Marshall
Source/publisher:
Reuters
Date of publication:
2013-06-29
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Everything seems peaceful in Moulmein, the Mon state capital on the southern coast of Burma, in spite of the profusion of ?969” logos plastered around the city. In a gold shop in the central market, the sticker ? a religious symbol that represents the three jewels of Buddhism — figures prominently above a small shrine devoted to Buddha.
?It is to remind people that this is a Buddhist shop, so Buddhists can buy here, but Muslim customers are also welcome,” explains the shopkeeper.
The now infamous symbol is also being used to promote an extreme form of religious nationalism in Burma and has been linked to a recent surge in anti-Muslim violence, which claimed over 40 lives and devastated thousands of homes across the country in March. Its most vocal advocate and the self-proclaimed ?Burmese bin Laden” ? monk Ashin Wirathu ? has made international headlines for his role in fuelling Islamophobic propaganda under the guise of the ?969” campaign..."
Carlos Sardina Galache
Source/publisher:
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
Date of publication:
2013-05-10
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
Summary:
"Myanmar?s transition to democracy has been marred by violence between Buddhists and Muslims. While the violence originally broke out between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, it subsequently emerged throughout the country, impacting Buddhists and Muslims of many ethnic backgrounds. This article offers background on these so-called "communal conflicts" and the rise and evolution of Buddhist nationalist groups led by monks that have spearheaded anti-Muslim campaigns. The authors describe how current monastic political mobilization can be understood as an extension of past monastic activism, and is rooted in traditional understandings of the monastic community?s responsibility to defend the religion, respond to community needs, and guide political decision-makers. The authors propose a counter-argument rooted in Theravada Buddhism to address the underlying anxieties motivating Buddhist nationalists while directing them toward peaceful actions promoting coexistence. Additionally, given that these conflicts derive from wider political, economic, and social dilemmas, the authors offer a prescription of complementary policy initiatives."
Matthew J. Walton, Susan Hayward
Source/publisher:
East-West Center
Date of publication:
2014-10-27
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.98 MB
Local URL:
more
Description:
"...Myanmar has been the site of serious conflicts between Buddhist and Muslim communities, particularly in Rakhine State where at least 146,000 persons have been displaced since the first riots in June 2012. This violence has prompted international organizations dedicated to early warning of mass violence to issue alarms, but the dynamics of this conflict are understood differently in Myanmar. In May, three Nobel laureates called violence and persecution of Muslims in Myanmar ?nothing less than genocide.” A few days later, U Zaw Aye Maung, the Rakhine Affairs Minister for Yangon Region, was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying, ?if genocide was taking place in Rakhine State, then it was against ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.”
Such a statement is not simple intransigence in the face of external criticism. It illustrates a conception of victim and violator that is diametrically opposed to the one made visible in international discourse. In Myanmar?s domestic context, such a conception is closer to the norm than otherwise. Other state authorities use similar rhetoric. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, meanwhile, told the BBC in October 2013, ?Fear is not just on the side of the Muslims, but on the side of the Buddhists as well. There?s a perception that Muslim power, global Muslim power, is very great.”
Over the last seven months, we have been conducting a ?Listening Project? seeking to understand how people talk about concerns for their local communities and country. In this research, conducted across six regions in Myanmar, we have regularly noted discourses that construct Muslims as an existential threat, in which Buddhism is vulnerable and needing protection lest Islam supplant it as the majority religion. Fear of a Muslim takeover is based on a conception of Islam as intrinsically violent, justified with arguments that are strikingly reminiscent of discourses common in the United States and other countries since September 11th 2001. People regularly raised examples of alleged violence by Muslims in Myanmar as well the actions of ISIS and Al Qaeda. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was pilloried by non-Burmese observers for her 2013 interview, but in situating domestic fears in a global context she was descriptively accurate. Fear in Myanmar is not (only) of a small minority within Myanmar, but of a global threat felt to be both surrounding the country and growing within it..."
Matt Schissler, Matthew J Walton, Phyu Phyu Thi
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat"
Date of publication:
2015-08-06
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, The Southeast Asia Refugee Crisis
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Disturbing images and reports of decrepit vessels crammed with Rohingya people from Myanmar adrift in the Andaman Sea have featured prominently in Western newspapers and media websites of late. In April, a Thai government crackdown on human trafficking prompted smugglers to abandon their human cargoes at sea, leaving dozens of boats packed with migrants drifting aimlessly for weeks. Almost without missing a beat, media and rights groups condemned Myanmar for creating this humanitarian crisis ? in the process reviving the old narrative of the pariah state.
The perpetual refrain about desperate attempts by Rohingya (or ?Bengalis,” as they are widely called in Myanmar) to flee persecution by powerful Buddhists does not give the full picture ? in fact, this narrative of one-sided victimhood will help neither readers who wish to understand the roots of the crisis nor the Rohingya themselves.
The people who call themselves Rohingya are a Muslim minority originally from Bangladesh but with a longstanding presence in Myanmar?s western Rakhine state. Some Muslim families can trace their history in Rakhine to the 16th century. When Mughals invaded Bengal in 1575, many Muslim Bengalis sought refuge in neighboring territory, where ethnic Rakhine people had been living and reigning independently for more than three thousand years..."
Mariana Olaizola Rosenblat
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat"
Date of publication:
2015-07-08
Date of entry/update:
2015-07-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The immediate Rohingya migration crisis ? of gangster criminality, vessels set adrift, people starving and bodies exhumed ? is galvanising action among those who can?t accept such evil. Efforts to avert these humanitarian tragedies must be supported. But we cannot ignore the source of the problem right here in Myanmar, where northern Rakhine State has become inhospitable to its Muslim population. It does not help that Rakhine State remains the second-poorest administrative division of Myanmar, and lacks almost all social and physical infrastructure. Seeking to placate a vocal and sometimes violent Rakhine Buddhist element, the Myanmar government has disavowed responsibility for the Rohingya.
The fact that many thousands of Rohingya voted in Myanmar?s 2008 constitutional referendum and then again in the 2010 general election makes it hard to accept at face value the claim that they are ineligible for the privileges granted to the country?s other ethnic and religious minorities.
What really sets them apart is their Islamic faith, Bangla language and physical appearance. They are judged harshly as foreigners who can never belong among Myanmar?s official national race groups, of which there are 135..."
Nicholas Farrelly
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2015-06-08
Date of entry/update:
2015-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
CONCLUSION:
"To conclude, the right to freedom of religion is still
a very novel concept in Myanmar?s newly emerging
political and social milieu. Against the backdrop
of Myanmar?s so-called political liberalisation in
2011 and sectarian conflicts that ensued in 2012-
13, the nationwide Buddhist nationalist movement
led by Ma-Ba-Tha and the 969 movement?s leaders
has emerged and grown. An increasingly populist
stance by the ruling Thein Sein administration
has emerged, amidst calls by popular democratic
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other activists
to amend the constitution and to reduce the
military?s involvement in politics. Moreover, due
to political and moral sensitivities posed by Ma-
Ba-Tha and led by senior Buddhist monks, the
opposition, except women?s rights groups and
human rights networks, have been largely silent
about the race protection bills. Due to dominance
of the military representatives (25%) and the ruling
Union Solidarity and Development Party in the
parliament, when the four bills are debated and
voted by lawmakers, the liberal opposition may not
have a final say in their passage. In an environment
of increasingly intense political competition over
various issues between the ruling USDP and the
NLD (led by Aung San Suu Kyi), both of whom
are eyeing the 2015 elections, Ma-Ba-Tha and its
influence is expected to grow.
If passed, the four race protection bills to restrict
religious conversion, polygamy, interfaith marriage
and population growth demanded by Ma-Ba-Tha
are expected to affect interfaith relationships and
freedom of religion especially of minorities. This is
because the bills ultimately aim to ensure Buddhist
dominance in Myanmar on the pretext of promoting
religious harmony.
That said, hate speech which has been widespread
across Myanmar since sectarian Rakhine riots
in June 2012, has been accepted as a serious
impediment to Myanmar?s democratization by
many activists, commentators and to some extent,
by the government itself. The Panzagar movement
led by former political prisoner and blogger Nay
Phone Latt with the slogan of ?End Hate Speech
with Flower Speech” has provided a warning to the
larger Myanmar society. However, whether those
civilian activists including Nay Phone Latt are able
to counter the enormous influence that Buddhist
Sangha has in Myanmar society is yet to be seen. The
fact that a section of people accept that hate speech
is dangerous137 does not mean that the ?flower
speech” campaign will result in the elimination of
these messages, nor will it tackle deeper issues for
which only the state, and Myanmar people as a
whole, can be deemed responsible.".....In addition to the Myanmar section, we include a link to the full report
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Resource Centre
Date of publication:
2015-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - global
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
731.29 KB
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Description:
Executive Summary:
"• Race,
or ethnicity,
compounded
by
religion, was a powerful theme in the Burmese
nationalist movement in the 1920s, 30s
and ?40s.
Burmese nationalists
felt their country
was twice
colonised,
first by the British, and secondly by South Asians.
As Burma was
governed as an Indian province until 1937, South Asian immigrants and capital freely
flowed into the colony.
As a consequence,
Buddhism was said to be in danger
particularly
from rapid growth of the South Asian
Hindu and Muslim
populations.
Political activists,
including Buddhist monks, are repeating this old cry today.
• The issue of race was compounded by the necessity of integrating the ethnically and
linguistically diverse northern border regions
of Myanmar
which had been indirectly
ruled
together with the directly ruled central and
southern parts of the country at the time
of independence in 1948.
This was
further complicated
by the special provisions made in
British law for ethnic representation in the directly ruled areas.
The upshot
was
continuing armed strife
up to today.
• During the first period of parliamentary government, under Prime Minister U Nu, race
became
an
issue upon which deals could be done and offers of concessions made in
exchange for political support.
The military socialist regime of General Ne Win failed to
depoliticise the race issue.
The
current
2008 constitution merely compounds earlier
efforts to appease political demands made in the name of ethnicity.
• With the re-establishment of constitutional government since 2011, these
recurring
themes
have
come back in
both domestic and international guises, threatening to
endanger the effort to re-establish a viable political system.
The so-called Rohingya issue
is now being used to fuel political discord.
• Only by depoliticising ethnicity and race will it be possible to maintain political order and
reasoned politics.
As human rights are confused with group aspirations in modern
discourse,
this will be extremely difficult but if an effort to remove race from discussions
of public policy
is
not attempted, the result could be disastrous for the development of the
constitutional order."
Robert H. Taylor
Source/publisher:
"ISEAS Perspective" - Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
Date of publication:
2015-03-02
Date of entry/update:
2015-05-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, General studies (covering various periods and themes)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
181.86 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
Executive Summary: "This policy report examines the riots that shook Mandalay on July 1-2, 2014, killing two men, one Buddhist and one Muslim, and damaging scores of properties in Muslim neighborhoods. This was the latest in a series of attacks that have fueled religious tensions across the country, strengthened ultra nationalist forces, and undermined the democratic opening. The report has three sections: I. The extended executive summary describes how the Mandalay riots were instigated by hidden hands - hardliners linked to the former junta - and recommends steps to avoid the trap of religious violence. II. Section II provides further analysis and context, describing how the former junta?s ?roadmap to democracy” laid the tracks for the political transition, and how the outbreak of communal conflict in Rakhine led to anti-Muslim riots in Meiktila, Lashio, Mandalay, and surrounding areas. III. Section III presents additional information about the Mandalay riots, based primarily on witness accounts, including from the widows of the murdered victims..."
Source/publisher:
Justice Trust
Date of publication:
2015-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-04-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf
Size:
5.93 MB
more
Description:
Executive Summary:
"This policy report examines the riots that shook Mandalay on July 1-2, 2014, killing two men, one Buddhist and one Muslim, and damaging scores of properties in Muslim neighborhoods. This was the latest in a series of attacks that have fueled religious tensions across the country, strengthened ultra nationalist forces, and undermined the democratic opening.
The report has three sections:
I. The extended executive summary describes how the Mandalay riots were instigated by hidden hands - hardliners linked to the former junta - and recommends steps to avoid the trap of religious violence.
II. Section II provides further analysis and context, describing how the former junta?s ?roadmap to democracy” laid the tracks for the political transition, and how the outbreak of communal conflict in Rakhine led to anti-Muslim riots in Meiktila, Lashio, Mandalay, and surrounding areas.
III. Section III presents additional information about the Mandalay riots, based primarily on witness accounts, including from the widows of the murdered victims..."
Source/publisher:
Justice Trust
Date of publication:
2015-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2015-04-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.4 MB
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Description:
"How should we interpret the current state of anti-Muslim Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar that has emerged as one of the greatest threats to the country?s still-uncertain political transition? Compared with previous moments, the last few months have been relatively quiet, with no riots or bloodshed. U Wirathu?s summit meeting with Bodu Bala Sena leaders in Sri Lanka was cause for concern, but it is still unclear what cooperation might actually materialize between Buddhist partisans in the two countries. Large demonstrations in several cities in favor of four pieces of religious legislation proposed by monks that unfavorably target Muslims have kept the issue in the headlines, but given other pressing constitutional and legislative concerns, there seems to be no rush in Parliament to pass them.
Matthew J. Walton
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-11-16
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Burmese Buddhism and Society
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The West has been wondering what has gone wrong with Buddhism in Myanmar since 2012 and the violence primarily by Buddhists against Muslims. Yet I want to suggest that this is the wrong question, and that the West needs to take a look in the mirror. The West?s skewed view of Buddhism as a ?peaceful? religion, combined with the stereotypical view of Islam as inherently ?violent?, are a core part of the problem.
Over the past month several reports and a barrage of media reports have surfaced in an attempt to explain the violence against Muslims in Myanmar. Yet implicitly such reports often promote the ?real? teachings of Buddhism as a ?peaceful? religion, and this adds to the Western stereotype of Islam as somehow ?violent?.
Let me illustrate this by taking a different perspective to some of the issued raised by Contesting Buddhist Narratives. This report prioritises understanding Buddhist fears and concerns, represented in the irrational ranting of the monk (and former convicted criminal) U Wirathu, who is mentioned or quoted from at least 25 times in the report. Yes, we need to understand all aspects of the conflict, but we have paid so little attention to Muslim communities in Myanmar, and this lack of information continues to fuel stereotypes about both Buddhism and Islam. This obscures Muslims? concerns and fails to acknowledge that Muslims have serious fears too..."
Melissa Crouch
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-11-17
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Burmese Buddhism and Society
Language:
English
more
Description:
After deadly violence between Buddhists and Muslims, Dateline asks if monk Ashin Wirathu?s anti-Islamic teachings are behind the tension.
Source/publisher:
SBS Dateline
Date of publication:
2013-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2014-11-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Buddhism is marked by concern for the welfare of all ?sentient” creatures. But when it is harnessed to ethnic intolerance and extreme nationalism, it can turn violent..."
Barbara Crossette
Source/publisher:
\"The Nation\"
Date of publication:
2013-04-03
Date of entry/update:
2014-10-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The Buddhist Society of the world has awoken to the ground realities of
subtle incursions taking place under the guise of secular, multicultural and
other liberal notions that are directly impacting on the Buddhist ethos and
space. These incursions are being funded from overseas and have made its
impact globally and are subtly spreading into the local situations. Both the
Bodu Bala Sena (of Sri Lanka) and 969 movement (of Burma) in realizing the
impeding dangers have felt that it must now come forward to derive practical
and meaningful ways to address these burning issues which cannot be left
for politicians to deal with. We feel that in the light of the same incursions
taking place in the Buddhist countries that remain it is now opportune a time
for the Buddhists of the world to get together and derive a national and
international plan to address these issues without delay...".....In the meantime, the old BBS website has gone offline and the new one, http://bodubalasena.net/ seems not to contain the text of the MOU - in English, anyway
Source/publisher:
Bodu Bala Sena website
Date of publication:
2014-10-01
Date of entry/update:
2014-10-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Burmese Buddhism and Society
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
73.48 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"I struggle to comprehend the lack of international response to the sheer hell for Rohingya people whether in squalid Bangladesh camps or in Burma. President Thein Sein and other Burmese Government members, welcomed around the world, continue a well-orchestrated, well-documented plan to destroy every aspect of Rohingya men, women and children?s lives. Individuals are treated as not entitled to be recognised as fellow human beings. The old Nazi phrase ?life unworthy of life? comes to mind.
On 21 May, 2014 the Burma Border Guard Police threw the bodies of two Rohingya men they had murdered across the border. The Bangladesh Guard promptly threw the bodies back into Burma.
On the same day, the Burma Border Guard Police entered Bangladesh, fired on four Rohingya refugees working in a makeshift camp, killing 16 year old Mamed Shaffique. Mamed?s father has not found his son?s body which was taken by the police.
Police need not fear reprisals for their actions. Rohingya are seen not as really human, not deserving to live. No police will be charged with the murder of a defenceless young boy. Mamed?s family, denied any human dignity, cannot perform a proper burial of their son. Mamed was one of 400,000 Rohingya undocumented refugees living in unofficial camps unsupported by the Bangladesh Government, the UN, or international organisations. Another 30,000 documented Rohingya live in official UNHCR camps. For the past 36 years, Rohingya have fled severe persecution in Burma, the largest mass movements in 1978, 1991-92, and 2012.
In 2008, the UNHCR (High Commissioner for Refugees) launched a special initiative on ?protracted refugee situations? seeking durable solutions and improvements to lives of long-term refugees. Refugee groups identified as needing special attention included: Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan; refugees in Croatia and Serbia; Eritrean refugees in eastern Sudan; Burundian refugees in Tanzania; and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. All these situations were complex, but UNHCR focused on the most challenging to address, the protracted situation of Rohingya refugees.
The States of Denial: A Review of UNHCR?s Response to the Protracted Situation of Stateless Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh concluded that Rohingya were unwanted in Bangladesh and other countries. They suffer discrimination, exploitation, and severe persecution, including but not limited to, forced labour, extortion, restriction on freedom of movement, absence of residence rights, denial of citizenship, inequitable marriage regulations, land confiscation, limited access to education and other public services in Burma. Rohingya have no place to go. UNHCR lives with the daily paradox of its mandate and earnest desire to help refugees, together with the reality of its inability to alleviate the root causes of their suffering, Burma?s continued pervasive persecution of Rohingya and denial of citizenship.
The UN Special Rapporteur mandate on the situation of human rights in Myanmar was established in 1992, for three reasons, one of which was the continued human rights abuses and such severe restrictions of Rohingya, that tens of thousands were forced to flee the country. UN bodies since have acknowledged what amounts to a state policy of deportation and forcible transfer of Rohingya and the abuses that contributed to it. The UN Global Centre for Responsibility to Protect (14 February 2014) warned that ?stateless Rohingya and other Muslims continue to face a serious risk of mass atrocity crimes?.
On May 24, 2014 Nurul Amin, an eight year old boy, returned home with firewood he collected in a nearby Maungdaw Township forest. An out-post army officer stopped him, as he passed by and seized the boy?s wood. When Nurul began to cry asking that his firewood be returned, the officer severely tortured him and then sent him to the Village Administration Office. The boy?s relatives collected the injured boy, who being Rohingya, was denied any medical care or treatment. ?The police or other government officials do not think the Rohingya as a human being, otherwise they will not do such things against Rohingya people?, said Anis a local businessman..."
Nancy Hudson-Rodd
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-06-15
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"On Wednesday morning reports began to surface of serious unrest and mob behavior overnight in Mandalay. One blog report in particular demonstrates the dangerous nature of conjecture and rumour, and their role in the violence.
The post reports that ?two notorious Muslim brothers widely known as the Mandalay-Mafia kidnapping and violently raping a Burmese-Buddhist girl who works for them?. The brothers are further indicted as ?wealthy Bengali-Muslim brothers who own a string of teashops and restaurants in Mandalay City as a cover for their illicit drug trafficking operations?.
The website reports enough geographic details, quantifies crowd numbers and dates to give the report a veneer of authority. Reporting that the rape of the young girl occurred on 30 June 2014 on the road to Naypyitaw, where the young girl was ?pushed out? on the roadside and found by police officers at the traffic lights near Myinyadanar Ward in Pyinmana. Police then started searching for the ?two Muslim brother rapists who were now hiding in their home-base Mandalay City?.
On their return to Mandalay, ?more than a thousand Buddhist crowd led by monks gathered at their flagship teashop Sun-Caf? at the intersection of 82nd Street and 28th Street and demanded justice?. Monks demanding justice, this gives the crowd the moral high ground, but both monks and morally charged language like ?justice? have been constantly deployed in Myanmar?s recent communal violence to devastating effect.
The chronology of the article is confused. First it is reported that the Buddhist crowd gathered and were met by ?a large group of Mandalay Muslims worrying about the severe impact on their businesses and their lives were already gathering at the Sun-Caf? to demand the Muslim-Mafia brothers behave or they themselves would kill their fellow Muslims?. Implying the Muslims are now turning against themselves and cannot even control one another.
Later in the article it is claimed that the groups outside Sun-Caf? were actually a group of 500 ?Bengali-Muslims? who were quarreling amongst themselves, with one side allegedly there to ?protect their Muslim brothers? and the other side to ?drive the bad Muslim-Mafia out of town?. The facts are not important to this article, nor to many others. What is important is the cautionary tale: that Muslims are raping Buddhist women, and Muslims are threatening Buddhists? livelihoods and safety.
And to draw some final ethnically charged symbolism into the event: ?Two Buddhist were reportedly killed by Muslim sword while a few policemen were also badly injured?. Again, the onus is placed on the Muslim instigators: they are killing Buddhists and injuring the peace-keeping police.
As yet, it is unclear if even the basic details are true. Aside from that reported by blogs that are known to be inflammatory and U Wirathu himself, there seems to no authority giving credence to the story of the girl in the police station. Where is the police statement? The tea shop owners? family claim they never even had a maid. At best this creates conflicting narratives that reinforce pre-existing biases.
And if the basic details are true, the framing of the incident within days by the blog and U Wirathu clearly highlights a series of pre-existing grievances and stereotypes about Muslims frequently deployed in the ongoing religious tensions. The symbol of the maid and the white luxury sedan are two — they appear as banal facts but when put in the context of Muslim, and particularly the idea of a ?mafia? and links to drug trafficking, they speak directly to concerns about wealth inequality. Muslims are rich and can afford such luxuries, it suggests, but they are also nefarious and amoral — always searching for a fight.
This blog post and other Burmese commentary are tragic demonstrations of some endemic problems in Myanmar?s information culture. The role of rumour and conjecture in the Mandalay conflict cannot be overlooked, and those promulgating such rumours are responsible for a significant amount of Myanmar?s current unrest."
Anonymous
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-07-03
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Did the Mandalay incident occur spontaneously, or is it part of Myanmar?s broader political puzzle? What is certain, is that successive governments in Myanmar have stoked ethnic tensions in the past for political leverage, such as Ne Win?s anti-Chinese campaign in the 1960s. Considering ultra-nationalist Buddhism has enough grassroots support to sustain itself, and that the government has already taken MaBaTha?s agenda in parliament, the political puzzle is likely to remain an issue beyond the 2015 general election."
Olivia Cable
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-07-18
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Anyone who is paying attention to Myanmar right now should be deeply saddened by the recent violence in Meiktilla.[1] And, understandably, many are expressing mounting concern over the rise of virulently anti-Muslim Buddhist nationalism across the country, characterized in violent Facebook comments or incendiary speeches like those of U Wirathu.[2]
We risk missing just how concerning the recent violence in Meikitalla is, however, if we focus only on the most extreme speech. There is extremely hateful speech, to be sure, just as there have been recent attempts to counteract it and call for peace.[3] It is also likely, as prominent 88 Generation leader Min Ko Naing recently pointed out, that there are those systematically seeking to encourage and profit from such violence and religious tension.[4]
But it also needs to be noted that these virulent sentiments connect to a less violent, but nonetheless concerning ? and, I believe, widespread ? lack of understanding and trust between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Burma; the tensions are religious, not limited to questions of citizenship and ethnicity. This has to be recognized, because it helps explain how the more venomous statements find purchase; only recognizing this helps explain things like the rapid spread of the ?969? movement[5]or seeming national indifference to the violence in Rakhine State and central Burma. This in turn highlights why there is strong potential for more violence, countrywide. And it helps highlight the need for interfaith cooperation and reconciliation that a) moves quickly to counter-act rumours and misinformation campaigns, b) addresses specific sources of mistrust and conflict and c) finds other lines of connection and solidarity through which Buddhist and Muslim communities can strengthen ties..."
Matt Schissler
Source/publisher:
\\\"New Mandala\\\"
Date of publication:
2013-03-27
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"The late political scientist Samuel Huntington?s "Clash of Civilizations" thesis has sometimes been dismissed by critics as mistaken and inaccurate. But in today?s Myanmar, many proud pro-democracy activists are convinced that cultures do indeed clash and can be inherently incompatible when forced to co-exist.
Specifically, many of them reject the notion that the alleged rising persecution of Muslims in Myanmar is symptomatic of a mindless suspicion or misunderstanding on the part of the Buddhist
majority. Privately they say the friction signals a deep and justified anxiety over an encroaching alien culture..."
William Barnes
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2014-06-13
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"...
In northeast Asia, Mahayana Buddhism (Greater Vehicle) was eventually diluted by local customs and philosophies. Centuries later, as Islam spread east and Hinduism revived on the Indian subcontinent, Theravada (Lesser Vehicle) worship shrunk back to Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, with its legacy in much of the rest of Asia reduced to a few abandoned stupas and statues.
Jump forward to the 21st century and certain monks are calling for a fight against what is possibly the terminal phase of this long-term decline. In Sri Lanka, the most visible of these "religio-nationalist" Buddhist groups is known as the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Strike Force), which was officially inaugurated in July 2012. In Myanmar, there is the comparably extremist 969 Movement, so called because it claims to represent the numbers of attributes associated with the Buddha, his teachings and the clergy.
The triggers for both groups? sometimes violent attacks are usually rumors of a Buddhist being raped or murdered by Muslims. Or sometimes a new mosque or church is under construction in a Buddhist majority area with a growing minority presence. From there, fighting often escalates into hours of vandalism and intimidation; in worst cases, the initial spark results in days of arson and mass killing..."
Tom Farrell
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2014-06-13
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Faith-based violence, in most instances, is actuated by irrational fears of insecurity. The followers of a particular religion resort to violence when they perceive their religion to be under attack.
Religious fundamentalism can be restrained by cultivating tolerance of diversity through education and by the state playing a role of independent arbiter. But where the state identifies itself ith one or other religious group, its obligation to treat all citizens equally is seriously compromised.
The role of religion in society as a unifying or a disruptive force hinges on the cultural homogeneity of the society and the historical relationship between the communities inhabiting the land. Where feelings of mistrust and suspicion existed, religion has been used to further deepen divisions.
Nowhere is this more evident now than in the perpetration of barbaric acts against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Hundreds of Muslims have been killed and more than 100,000 forced to flee their homes. Eighty percent of the population of the country consists of Buddhists, and Ashin Wirathu, the monk leader of the violent "969" movement, has attempted to justify lynching of Muslims in the name of defending Buddhism against the encroaching influence of Islam..."
Nauman Asghar
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2014-06-11
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"After a brief lull in Buddhist-Muslim conflict in Myanmar, there are reports of renewed violence and unrest in western Rakhine State, where Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhines remain forcibly separated. A law that would restrict inter-religious marriage is gaining in popularity, while Buddhist monks associated with the 969 movement continue to preach anti-Muslim sermons.
At the same time, they rely on a particular interpretation of Buddhist teachings to deny responsibility for the violence
committed in the name of 969 and the protection of Buddhism. However, others have argued for a different interpretation of Buddhist philosophy rooted in the teaching of ??right speech?? and an awareness of the effects of our actions on others..."
Matthew J Walton
Source/publisher:
\"Asia Times Online\"
Date of publication:
2013-08-23
Date of entry/update:
2014-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Burmese Buddhism and Society
Language:
English
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Description:
"The government of Myanmar?s President Thein Sein, so active in its efforts to assure Western governments and investors that the new Myanmar will never return to the dark days of the previous ruling military junta, has so far wholly failed to prevent the contagious spiral of brutal attacks on Muslim communities carried out in town after town by suspiciously well-organized Buddhist gangs.
Thein Sein?s periodic appeals for ??an end to communal violence" are less than convincing given the absence of any government measures or plan to stem the anti-Muslim tide and prevent the next outbreak. Leaflets and magazines denigrating Muslims are
being churned out every day across the country.
Extremist Buddhist monks, meanwhile, continue to spread a perniciously xenophobic version of Theravada Buddhism through inflammatory sermons directed against a Muslim minority that comprises only 5% of the population in this predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million..."
Tom Fawthrop
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-07-01
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
more
Description:
"A special commission in Myanmar is now drafting legislation that if passed would effectively limit the rights of certain minority groups. At the request of the speaker of the parliament, President Thein Sein earlier this month formed a commission charged with drafting legislation on two laws: one concerning restricting religious conversions and another on controlling population growth.
Although the official notification creating the commission does not mention religion, both laws are directed against the country?s minority Muslim community. The first will severely limit the conversion of Buddhist women to Islam and the second will restrict Muslim families to no more than two children.
A wide spectrum of Burmese society will be questioned "in a transparent manner" by the commission, while any proposed
legislation should be in conformity with the constitution, diverse beliefs, national unity, and Myanmar culture, according to the notification. Regulations of other countries will also be examined in the process, the notification said..."
David I Steinberg
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2014-03-18
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to nationality, citizenship and immigration (commentary), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
English
more
Description:
Conclusion:
"Anti-Indian and anti-Muslim sentiments and violence are not a new phenomenon in
Myanmar, with riots and killings having occurred regularly since the British colonial
period. At this delicate moment of transition, the risks of these old enmities resurfacing
is serious. Both legitimate grievances and bigoted intolerance can now be
expressed more openly using modern technology and this allows extremist views,
including by some in the Buddhist clergy, to be spread more rapidly and widely. Following
intercommunal clashes in Rakhine State in 2012, Myanmar has seen anti-
Muslim violence in several towns and villages in the central part of the country, leaving
dozens dead and thousands displaced.
The response from the authorities has been far from adequate, but there are indications
that government leaders and the police recognise the seriousness of the situation
and are taking steps to tackle it. President Thein Sein has condemned the violence
and stated that he has a ?zero-tolerance? policy, but problems remain in translating
these words into reality on the ground. In the most recent incidents, police appear to
have been responding more quickly and more assertively, minimising destruction and
casualties. Buddhist perpetrators are being prosecuted and imprisoned more quickly
and in greater numbers.
A security response is not sufficient, however. In order to effectively address the
problem, political, religious and community leaders need to condemn extremist
rhetoric. Those who are spreading messages of intolerance and hatred must not go
unchallenged. Otherwise, this issue could come to define the new Myanmar, tarnishing
its international image and threatening the success of its transition away from
decades of authoritarianism."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (ICG) Asia Report N?251
Date of publication:
2013-10-01
Date of entry/update:
2013-10-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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pdf
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366.64 KB
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Description:
REGIME?S PERSECUTION AND
DISCRIMINATION OF ROHINGYA
CONTINUES:
One year on, Rohingya IDPs face
ongoing hardship;
Extrajudicial killings, arbitrary
arrest, and other abuses against
Rohingya continue;
Regime fuels anti-Rohingya
discrimination;
UN slams Naypyidaw over human
rights violations against Rohingya...
ANTI-MUSLIM VIOLENCE
SPREADS UNCHECKED:
Regime idle as Anti-Muslim
violence spreads;
U Wirathu proposes restrictions on
interfaith marriages;
Regime backs U Wirathu;
Muslims, Buddhists jailed over
religious violence...
TATMADAW FLOUTS
AGREEMENTS, TARGETS KIA,
SSA-N, TNLA, AND NMSP:
Tatmadaw offensives damage
peace prospects in Kachin conflict;
Limited aid for 100,000 IDPs;p
Despite agreements, Tatmadaw
attacks against ethnic armed
groups continue...
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY
DENIED; ARBITRARY ARRESTS
& IMPRISONMENT ON THE RISE:
Peaceful Gathering Law enables
ongoing suppression of activists;
Arbitrary arrests and imprisonment
under repressive laws continue;
Women human rights defenders
targeted;
Proposed new laws to introduce
more restrictions.
Source/publisher:
ALTSEAN-Burma
Date of publication:
2013-09-28
Date of entry/update:
2013-09-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
ALTSEAN-Burma archive, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
English
more
Description:
"The following text is an edited transcript of a Public Lecture delivered at the HDB Hub Auditorium on December 15th, 2004 and organised by The Muslim Converts? Association of Singapore (Darul Arqam).
The paper deals with the question of the role of religious values in a plural society. Dr Chandra Muzaffar emphasised that it is important to reflect upon the role of religion in a contemporary soceity because there has been a religious resurgence in various parts of the world in the last thirty or forty year. Evidence suggests that religious resurgence has not been helpful in many multi-religious societies. The speaker attempts to explain the reason behind the somewhat negative impact of religious resurgence."
Chandra Muzaffar
Source/publisher:
Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura
Date of publication:
2004-12-15
Date of entry/update:
2013-09-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
461.74 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"In this report, PHR documents how persecution of and violence against the Rohingya in Burma has spread to other Muslim communities throughout the country. PHR conducted eight separate investigations in Burma and the surrounding region between 2004 and 2013. PHR?s most recent field research in early 2013 indicates a need for renewed attention to violence against minorities and impunity for such crimes. The findings presented in this report are based on investigations conducted in Burma over two separate visits for a combined 21-day period between March and May 2013"
Bill Davis, Andrea Gittleman, JD, Marissa Brodney, Holly Atkinson, MD.
Source/publisher:
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
Date of publication:
2013-08-20
Date of entry/update:
2013-09-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English, Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ (executive summary)
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.7 MB
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Description:
Religious and racial hatred simmers in the once repressed southeast Asian country of Myanmar...
Optimism for the country?s reforms is fast fading as tensions between majority Buddhist and minority Muslim communities have left over 250 people dead and displaced more than 140,000.
..
In the newly liberated media, free speech has quickly turned to hate speech, drowning out moderate voices. Some say powerful interests are igniting decades of suppressed prejudice in order to derail the country?s transition to democracy.
Unless leaders and moderate voices are willing to speak out, only the loudest and most extreme voices will be heard. Unless the country can come to embrace its diversity, and see it as a strength, peace and stability could remain elusive. Pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi famously wrote about freedom from fear, but can Myanmar now free itself from hate?
Aela Callan
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera (101 East)
Date of publication:
2013-09-06
Date of entry/update:
2013-09-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"The now ubiquitous emblems of the radical anti-Muslim 969 campaign glare at you from Burma?s shop fronts and taxi windscreens. Bootleg DVD sellers hawk discs featuring the sermons of prominent 969 monks alongside the bestselling Korean soap operas. But despite the obvious prominence of the campaign, its radical teachings promoting segregation of Buddhists and Muslims are far from being embraced by everyone.
The Irrawaddy spoke to a 969 leader, MyananSayadaw U Thaddhamma, and an anti-969 monk, U Pantavunsa, to learn more about this controversial movement..."
Kyaw Phyo Tha
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2013-06-19
Date of entry/update:
2013-07-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Description:
READ ONLINE...
ABSTRACT:
"Ethnicity is one of the primary lenses through which scholars view conflict in Bur-ma/Myanmar. In this paper I examine the dominance of the majority ethnic group in Myanmar,the Burmans, and the ways in which Burman-ness functions as a privileged identity. I draw fromthe theoretical framework of Whiteness and White privilege in critical race theory to argue that,although there are important analytical differences between race and ethnicity, we can conceptua-lise Burman-ness as a form of institutionalised dominance similar to Whiteness. I support this ar- gument by documenting the ways in which Burmans are privileged in relation to non-Burmans,while still, in many cases, seeing themselves as equally subject to government repression. Thisanalysis of Burman privilege (and blindness to that privilege) is particularly relevant given the fact that the political reforms implemented by Myanmar?s new, partly civilian government since2011 have opened new opportunities for (mostly Burman) activists while coinciding with in-creased military violence in some non-Burman border regions of the country."...
KEY
WORDS:
Burma, Myanmar, ethnic conflict, Burman, privilege, Whiteness
Matthew Walton
Source/publisher:
?Journal of Contemporary Asia", 43:1 (2013):
Date of publication:
2012-10-19
Date of entry/update:
2013-07-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Recent incidents of anti-Muslim religious nationalism in Sri Lanka and Burma, ostensibly in defense of the Theravada Buddhist faith held by the majority, have opened fresh wounds.
Growing violence appears in danger of spinning completely out of control in Burma, most lately in the town of Okkan on the outskirts of Rangoon, where a Buddhist mob burned as many as a dozen homes and ransacked a shop shouting ?Let?s destroy the property of Muslims.” Two mosques were desecrated and Qurans were torn to pieces.
Some of these are violent events with alleged government or Buddhist monastic (sangha) backing. Others appear spontaneous, beyond the control of state and Buddhist hierarchy. Either way, they are destructive and troubling. Buddhism is revered as a faith of healing and mercy, but like all religions, it can promote contradictory elements of triumphalism and intolerance..."
Bruce Matthews
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2013-05-03
Date of entry/update:
2013-07-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"The recent conflagrations of sectarian violence in Burma have shocked the country and the world, having left thousands displaced, scores dead, and millions of kyat of property damaged.
They have also left a series of fragmented analyses, as commentators struggle to make sense of the slaughter. On one hand, some – incapable of seeing beyond a ?big-bad Burma state? paradigm – believe that the state is behind the current violence, and/or that disgruntled generals are orchestrating attacks from behind the scenes to legitimate the military?s institutional role. On the opposite end of the spectrum others argue that a deep-seated racism, fomented under the long years of the military regime, is now being ?unleashed? as the military relaxes controls.
Both of these perspectives draw from evidence that is partially correct – the military-state has spurred internal divisions and likely has orchestrated violence in the past; there is racism in Burma society against dark-skinned people. But neither encompasses the entire story.
The Buddhist-monk-led anti-Muslim campaign that has generated much collective hatred cannot be construed as emerging from a conspiratorial state elite. Likewise, such hatred cannot be imagined outside of the context of state institutions which insist upon eternal racial and religious differences: ID cards demand that babies at birth be given either – but not both – a ?Muslim? or a ?Burmese? identity; state-enforced birth-limits directed only at certain Muslim communities present them as second-class citizens and demographic threats.
But understanding the spontaneous explosions of violence requires a consideration of the socio-economic context in which these attacks are occurring. Increasing economic stratification can help explain the growth in anxieties generated by concerns over resource distribution. The exclusion of perceived foreigners can be interpreted as an inter-class attempt to construct a community of legitimate claimants to this finally-growing – but unequally distributed – pie..."
Elliott Prasse Freeman
Source/publisher:
Democratic Voce of Burma (DVB)
Date of publication:
2013-07-12
Date of entry/update:
2013-07-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
115.3 KB
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Description:
"...The proposed ideas of U Wirathu and his ?969? movement to boycott Muslim businesses and restricting
marriage of Buddhist women to men of Muslim faith are unconstitutional and ill-conceived.
It is a well-known fact that there is a widespread anxiety and anger in Buddhist communities. This
anxiety and anger drives the growing support for U Wirathu and his 969 movement. The threat
perception in regard to Islam and its impact on Myanmar?s society cannot be simply dismissed as
primordial hatred or psychologized as self-victimization as if it were a matter of a collective
psychological development disorder. To avoid a further escalation and overcome this crisis, it is
important to acknowledge the existence of anger and anxieties in Buddhist communities and to
understand the underlying economic, social, and cultural problems. Only when the root problems are
understood, can they be factored into sustainable, peaceful, and political solutions..."
Dr. Tun Kyaw Nyein & Dr. Susanne Prager Nyein
Source/publisher:
"Mizzima"
Date of publication:
2013-06-28
Date of entry/update:
2013-06-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
204.32 KB
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Description:
"...The propagation of the "Muslim threat" discourse serves the Myanmar government in various ways. It may justify the enduring political and security role of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar?s military), the militarization of regions deemed unstable, and the ongoing monitoring, control, and oppression of civilians in the name of upholding national security. The military-dominated Union Solidarity and Development Party may seek to take advantage of the so-called threat to argue that it is best-placed to safeguard security and stability in the country ahead of 2015 elections.
Anti-Muslim sentiment may also serve to foment Buddhist nationalism, benefiting the Buddhist-Burman majority state institutions. The government may seek to harness burgeoning notions of Buddhist solidarity, which are consolidated in opposition to a common enemy or "other" (unambiguously described by U Wirathu as "evil Muslims") to legitimize its rule and dilute the reality of its own failings.
Plainly put, Muslims in Myanmar may offer an alternate scapegoat on which the proverbial mob can project their grievances. The state-led discriminatory attitudes, polices and treatment of Muslims, particularly the Rohingya, seem designed in part to uphold the maxim of the judge in Cormac McCarthy?s Blood Meridian, who states: ?What joins men together is not the sharing of bread but the sharing of enemies.?"
David Hopkins
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-05-09
Date of entry/update:
2013-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Many outside observers have been shocked to see Buddhists in Myanmar leading recent violent actions against Muslims. Our recollections of tens of thousands of Buddhist monks chanting loving-kindness while demonstrating peacefully against the former military government in 2007 clash with recent images of monks using their sermons to advocate for a boycott of Muslim businesses and in some cases even leading mobs to destroy mosques and physically attack Muslims.
What would lead a Buddhist monk like U Wirathu to exhort his followers to practice discrimination rather than follow the Buddha?s example of compassion for others? And what motivates the rapid spread of the anti-Muslim 969 Buddhist boycott campaign in
Myanmar? The symbolism and actions of the 969 campaign are deeply embedded in Burmese Buddhist culture and can invoke seemingly contradictory interpretations and responses. Yet the current government response, focused on strengthening rule of law, inadequately recognizes these dynamics and ignores the pervasive need for a reappraisal of the role of Buddhism in Myanmar?s transition to a modern, democratic state..."
Matthew J Walton
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-05-20
Date of entry/update:
2013-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Anti-Muslim violence
swept through central
Burma in spring 2013,
reportedly sparked by
an argument at a gold
shop and the killing of a
Buddhist monk in the town of Meiktila
in Burma?s Mandalay Division, on
March 20, 2013.
During the next three
days, attacks spread to neighboring
townships, as armed groups of men
from the majority Buddhist population
reportedly set fire to more than 1,500
homes,
destroyed more than
a dozen
mosques and three madrassas, and
killed more than 100 people
among
the minority Muslim population.
Investigators with Physicians for Human
Rights (PHR) dispatched to the region
immediately following these events
interviewed survivors of a massacre of
students and teachers in Meiktila on
the morning of March 21. PHR investigators returned to the region in late
April to conduct additional in-depth
interviews and corroborate testimony
from survivors, eyewitnesses, and fami-
ly members of those killed. For their security, the names and identifying details
of many of these informants have been
changed or withheld.
This report includes the most detailed
narrative to date of the attack on
Muslim students, teachers, and neighborhood residents in the Mingalar
Zayyone quarter of Meiktila, as compiled from interviews with 33 key informants, including 14 eyewitnesses. The
accounts include testimony that local
police stood by and watched while
hundreds of people went on a rampage
of violence and destruction, including
the killing of unarmed Muslims, and
that some Buddhist monks incited and
even participated in the attacks.
The anti-Muslim violence in Meiktila
provoked an international outcry, and
local prosecutors initiated proceedings.
Three Muslims were quickly convicted
of theft and assault in April in connection with the dispute at the gold shop,
and six Muslim men were arrested in
May on charges related to the killing
of a Buddhist monk in Meiktila. As of
mid-May, however, no one else had reportedly been charged or convicted for
assault, murder, or arson in a massacre
that left dozens of people dead, thousands displaced, and many of Meiktila?s
Muslim homes, mosques, schools, and
businesses destroyed.
At a time when the United States and
European Union have been lifting sanctions against Burma and strengthening
economic ties, PHR hopes this report
will refocus attention on a horrific
example of religious violence that has
become far too common in Burma in
the past several years, as PHR has documented. Unless more of that country?s
political and religious leaders firmly denounce such attacks and take concrete
steps to hold perpetrators accountable
and promote reconciliation, Burma?s
recent slow progress toward greater
freedom, openness, and peace could
be derailed"
Richard Sollom, Holly Atkinson
Source/publisher:
Physicians for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2013-05-20
Date of entry/update:
2013-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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pdf
Size:
909.97 KB
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"OKKAN TOWNSHIP—A Buddhist mob advanced on War Yon Daw village with swords, stones and machetes, trapping any Muslims who were unable to escape.
Moe Kyaw, 59, was caught by the mob in the attack on Tuesday afternoon in War Yon Daw, where Buddhists began attacks on Muslim communities on Tuesday, along with his family of five. The mob attacked his home from two sides, chasing the family down the street and hacking at them with their blades before burning down the house.
?As we ran away they hit us with knives and machetes. All of my family has suffered,” he said. ?My wife?s younger sister and my two daughters are missing. We haven?t had any information about where they are.”
Moe Kyaw, a proud patriarch, broke down in tears as he recounted how the mob sliced at his head with swords, cutting his hands as he raised them to protect himself.
?We know all of the attackers? names. This is the first time that I?ve had a problem with my neighbors,” he said. ?We respect Buddhists, even though we are Muslims.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2013-05-02
Date of entry/update:
2013-05-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"OKKAN — At least one Muslim village was set alight on Wednesday evening as violence continued to spread in Okkan Township north of Rangoon and Burma?s latest round of anti-Muslim violence claimed its first casualty.
The violence in Okkan on Wednesday followed a day of attacks on Muslim communities on Tuesday, when four villages were razed and a number of Muslims attacked with machetes and sticks.
Zaw Zaw Naing, a Muslim from Okkan who was badly beaten by a Buddhist mob on Tuesday, died at Rangoon Hospital on Wednesday. Nine injured Muslims from Okkan remain in hospitals in Rangoon, Taik Kyi and Okkan townships.
?We did not do anything wrong to the Buddhists,” Moe Kyaw, an elderly Muslim man who was wounded in the head and hands by a Buddhist mob, told The Irrawaddy from his bed in Okkan Hospital. ?But they tried to kill my whole family.”
At least two mosques and two madrasas have been destroyed since Tuesday along with more than 100 houses. In Kyawe Poan Lay village, The Irrawaddy can confirm at least 49 houses, a mosque and a madrasa were destroyed on Tuesday..."
LAWI WENG & DANIEL PYE
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2013-05-01
Date of entry/update:
2013-05-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"This report includes a situation update submitted to KHRG in December 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Hpa-an District, including a meeting that took place on December 7th 2012 on the grounds of the M--- village monastery in Noh Kay village tract, T?Nay Hsah Township. During this meeting, attended by 41 villagers from P---, A---, W--- and M--- villages, a monk presented a document with four rules regulating relations between Buddhist and Muslim villagers, which prohibit Buddhists from selling land to Muslims, prohibit Buddhist women from marrying Muslims and require Buddhists to buy goods from Buddhist shops only. Furthermore, the document states that those who do not follow the rules will be "punished effectively"; a photo of the document is included below. Information in this report suggests that the events described are seen by villagers as connected to events in Rakhine State, given the dissemination of a CD containing footage from Rakhine State amongst local villages prior to the rules being released. Further, the community member suggests that such meetings have taken place in other villages and townships, and that the relationship between Buddhist and Muslim villagers has deteriorated, with a reduction in trade and communication between the groups. A different KHRG community member also described the dissemination of similar documents by a monastery to Border Guard Force soldiers and local monks in K?Ter Tee village, Papun District; see "Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho and Dwe Lo Townships, September to December 2012," KHRG, March 2013..."
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2013-04-04
Date of entry/update:
2013-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
249.97 KB
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Description:
"Eyewitnesses to a massacre at an Islamic school say it was carried out by Buddhists, and many contend it stems from a coordinated effort with ties to the top...
Mon Hnin, a 29-year-old Muslim woman from Meiktila, in central Myanmar, spent the night of March 20 with her daughter and mother-in-law hiding in terror in the bushes on the fringes of her neighbourhood.
A wave of murderous anti-Muslim riots led by Buddhist extremists had exploded earlier that day in the dusty town with a population of 100,000 people, located 130km north of the capital, Nay Pyi Taw. Like the houses of many other Muslims in the town, the one belonging to Mon Hnin, whose name has been changed for security reasons, had been destroyed by a Buddhist mob in the Mingalar Zay Yone quarter and she and her relatives had to take refuge in the first place they could find..."
Carlos Sardina Galache
Source/publisher:
"Bangkok Post", Spectrum
Date of publication:
2013-04-14
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"This 153-page report describes the role of the Burmese government and local authorities in the forcible displacement of more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Burmese officials, community leaders, and Buddhist monks organized and encouraged ethnic Arakanese backed by state security forces to conduct coordinated attacks on Muslim neighborhoods and villages in October 2012 to terrorize and forcibly relocate the population. The tens of thousands of displaced have been denied access to humanitarian aid and been unable to return home..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
2013-04-22
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Religious freedom: reports of violations in Burma, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
5.01 MB
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Description:
Thousands watch YouTube videos of 45-year-old ?Burmese Bin Laden? who preaches against country?s Muslim minority...His name is Wirathu, he calls himself the "Burmese Bin Laden" and he is a Buddhist monk who is stoking religious hatred across Burma.
The saffron-robed 45-year-old regularly shares his hate-filled rants through DVD and social media, in which he warns against Muslims who "target innocent young Burmese girls and rape them", and "indulge in cronyism".
To ears untrained in the Burmese language, his sermons seem steady and calm – almost trance-like – with Wirathu rocking back and forth, eyes downcast. Translate his softly spoken words, however, and it becomes clear how his paranoia and fear, muddled with racist stereotypes and unfounded rumours, have helped to incite violence and spread misinformation in a nation still stumbling towards democracy..."
Kate Hodal
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2013-04-18
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
Anti-Muslim violence hits
Meikhtila...
Attacks spread to Pegu
Division...
Rangoon tense...
Thein Sein warns of ?use
of force?...
Regime authorities fail to
intervene...
UN cites possible regime
complicity...
Int?l community
expresses concern, calls
for regime to take action...
Buddhist Monk U
Wirathu and ?969?
spearhead anti-Muslim
campaign...
Chronology of events.
Source/publisher:
ALTSEAN-Burma
Date of publication:
2013-04-17
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - incidents and the humanitarian situation, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, ALTSEAN-Burma archive
Language:
English
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Description:
"Anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar, which last year had seemed confined to the western state of Rakhine, has exploded across the country. Mobs of Buddhists, some with ties to the militant 969 Movement, have attacked Muslims in the towns of Meiktila, Naypyidaw, Bago, and most recently, in Yangon, the largest city. Many Muslims in Yangon, Bago, and other large towns are afraid to go to the mosque, enter shops catering to Muslims, or show displays of their faith outside their homes or stores. At least 100,000 Muslims have been made homeless in the past two years, and hundreds have been killed.
Many Muslim leaders had been warning of such attacks for months. Although the government had tried to tell donors, investors, journalists, and foreign diplomats that the violence in Rakhine state in 2012 was an issue localized to that area, in reality even last year there had begun to be attacks on mosques and some Muslim shops in other parts of the country. A number of donors and investors believed this reassurance because of the enormous opportunities in Myanmar, one of the last giant emerging markets to open up..."
Joshua Kurlantzick
Source/publisher:
Council on Foreign Relations (USA)
Date of publication:
2013-04-09
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Recent violence in Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims in the central town of Meikhtila (also spelt Meiktila) and areas beyond, which has left a reported 43 people dead, as many as 12,000 displaced, and more than 1,000 homes and building destroyed, has raised concerns over the stability of the country?s current democratic transition and the imposition of martial law in the troubled area has raised the specter of a return to direct military rule.
The communal riots of the past year in Myanmar?s western Rakhine State between Buddhist Rakhines and Muslim Rohingyas have now expanded into a broader Buddhist versus
Muslim framing that has spread dangerously across the country.
Buddhist campaigns against Muslims, such as the increasingly visible Buddhist nationalist ??969?? movement, seem to have inflamed tensions in Meikhtila and prompted outside observers to worry about the role of monks in encouraging discrimination and even violence against Myanmar?s minority Muslim population. [1] While Buddhist nationalism has long had the potential to be turned against non-Buddhist groups, Buddhism?s influence on politics and public opinion requires careful analysis in Myanmar?s contemporary context..."
Matthew J Walton
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-04-02
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Burma/Myanmar?s radical "969 movement" has been central in the recent brutal pogroms against minority Muslims that have left at least 40 dead and 12,000 displaced. The Buddhist monk-led group, however, cannot be understood outside of the interface between President Thein Sein?s government and the country?s racist society at large.
Nor can it be explained without examining the respective roles of a) the State, which in effect offers the country?s neo-Nazi Buddhists impunity, b) Thein Sein?s inaction, even amid indications of ethnic cleansing against minority Muslims, and c) the Aung San Suu Kyi-led opposition?s moral bankruptcy throughout the crisis. The orgy of violence has raised several important questions about the country?s direction and hopes for reform..."
Maung Zarni
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-04-09
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Recent communal violence in Myanmar has underscored the risks that unresolved ethnic and religious issues represent to the long-term sustainability of recent political and economic reforms. While the former military regime is to blame for perpetuating ethnic and religious bigotry, many of those military officers-turned-politicians together with the democratic opposition now have an opportunity to reshape these crucial relations.
The violence that erupted in central Myanmar town of Meiktila on March 20 represented the first large-scale anti-Muslim riots outside of Rakhine State since 2001. Mosques, homes and shops were burnt and destroyed in an orgy of violence that left at least 42 people dead, according to official statistics. Scores more were
seriously injured and thousands have been left homeless..."
Brian McCartan
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-04-05
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"...Ethnic hatred has been unleashed in Myanmar since 49 years of military rule ended in March 2011. And it is spreading, threatening the country?s historic democratic transition. Signs have emerged of ethnic cleansing, and of impunity for those inciting it.
Over four days, at least 43 people were killed in this dusty city of 100,000, just 80 miles (130 km) north of the capital of Naypyitaw. Nearly 13,000 people, mostly Muslims, were driven from their homes and businesses. The bloodshed here was followed by Buddhist-led mob violence in at least 14 other villages in Myanmar?s central heartlands and put the Muslim minority on edge across one of Asia?s most ethnically diverse countries.
An examination of the riots, based on interviews with more than 30 witnesses, reveals the dawn massacre of 25 Muslims in Meikhtila was led by Buddhist monks - often held up as icons of democracy in Myanmar. The killings took place in plain view of police, with no intervention by the local or central government. Graffiti scrawled on one wall called for a "Muslim extermination."..."
Jason Szep (Additional reporting by Min Zayer Oo.; Editing by Andrew R.C. Marshall, Michael Williams, Bill Tarrant.)
Source/publisher:
Reuters
Date of publication:
2013-04-08
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"
Government urges citizens to avoid inciting violence after religious riots claim 32 lives over the weekend in Meikhtila.
Myanmar?s government has warned that religious violence could threaten democratic reforms after anti-Muslim mobs rampaged through three more towns in the country?s predominantly Buddhist heartland.
In an announcement on Monday night on state television, the government pledged to make "utmost efforts?? to halt the violence and incitement of racial and religious unrest.
"We also urge the people to avoid religious extremes and violence which could jeopardise the country?s democratic reform and development,?? it said.
The mobs destroyed mosques and burned dozens of homes over the weekend despite attempts by the government to stem the nation?s latest outbreak of sectarian violence..."
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera
Date of publication:
2013-03-25
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"WHEN Myanmar?s newly installed president and former soldier, Thein Sein, kick-started the country?s political transition two years ago, he hoped to usher in a clean and steady advance towards some sort of orderly democracy. Now, however, things are starting to turn out rather differently.
Unwittingly, it seems, in relaxing decades of tight army control over the country, Mr Thein Sein and his reforming ministers have breathed life into some of the uglier forces in Myanmar society that authoritarian rule kept suppressed, notably sectarian violence. (In the past, when such violence took place, it was the prerogative of the armed forces to conduct it.)..."
Source/publisher:
"The Economist"
Date of publication:
2013-03-30
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Over the past week there has been more inter-communal violence in Myanmar, this time in the country?s heartland – with the worst incidents in the town of Meiktila, between Mandalay and the capital Naypyitaw. The incident started with a brawl in a gold shop and rapidly escalated into large-scale Buddhist-Muslim clashes that left nearly 50 people dead and over twelve thousand displaced, according to the latest government figures. Other credible estimates put the number of displaced even higher.
The Muslim community was the hardest hit, as it has tended to be in previous such clashes. More than three-quarters of those displaced were Muslims. Many of their homes were destroyed, and a number of religious buildings (mosques and madrassas) were burned down. Although a state of emergency and a visible presence of the security forces on the streets has restored calm, it will be weeks or months before the displaced can rebuild their homes and lives. And, given that most have lost everything – and are in fear of further attacks – there is uncertainty about how many of them would have the means or the confidence to return to their former neighbourhoods..."
Jim Della-Giacoma
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group
Date of publication:
2013-03-28
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English, Burmese
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Description:
"The following incident report was written by a community member trained by KHRG to monitor human rights abuses in Dwe Lo Township, Papun District, and is based on an interview with a Muslim villager named Saw W---. Saw W--- is a resident of M--- village, situated 20-minutes on foot from K?Ter Tee village, where the incident happened. In the interview, the villager detailed events taking place around the time of September 10th 2012, regarding deterioration in the relationship between Muslim and Buddhist villagers, including a reported attack on a mosque. Further, the community member details the Border Guard Battalion #1013 Company Commander Saw Bah Yoh?s issuing of an order prohibiting villagers from buying products from or selling to Muslims and how, after the KHRG community member documented the incident, a Tatmadaw Operations Commander based near K?Ter Tee called a meeting to encourage Buddhist and Muslim villagers to live beside each other peacefully. The community member describes the dissemination of these pamphlets by a monastery to Border Guard soldiers and local monks in K?Ter Tee in a separate situation update, "Papun Situation Update: Bu Tho and Dwe Lo Townships, September to December 2012," KHRG, March 2013.
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2013-03-07
Date of entry/update:
2013-03-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
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276.87 KB
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"Earlier this year a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered in western Myanmar. The authorities charged three Muslim men.
A week later, 10 Muslims were murdered in a revenge attack. What happened next was hidden from the outside world.
Bloodshed pitted Buddhists against minority Rohingya Muslims. Many Rohingya fled their homes, which were burned down in what they said was a deliberate attempt by the predominantly Buddhist government to drive them out of the country.
"They were shooting and we were also fighting. The fields were filled with bodies and soaked with blood," says Mohammed Islam, who fled with his family to Bangladesh.
There are 400,000 Rohingya languishing in Bangladesh. For more than three decades, waves of refugees have fled Myanmar. But the government of Bangladesh considers the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants, as does the government of Myanmar. They have no legal rights and nowhere to go.
This is a story of a people fleeing the land where they were born, of a people deprived of citizenship in their homeland. It is the story of the Rohingya of western Myanmar, whose very existence as a people is denied.
Professor William Schabas, the former president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, says: "When you see measures preventing births, trying to deny the identity of the people, hoping to see that they really are eventually, that they no longer exist; denying their history, denying the legitimacy of their right to live where they live, these are all warning signs that mean it?s not frivolous to envisage the use of the term genocide."
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera via Youtube
Date of publication:
2012-12-09
Date of entry/update:
2012-12-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Individual videos and films on Burma in English and other non-Asian languages
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