Thousands of people, some wielding sticks,
flooded Myanmar's second-largest city Friday as tensions spiked during the
funeral of a victim of sectarian clashes that have raised fears of spreading
violence.
MANDALAY,
Myanmar: Thousands of people, some wielding sticks, flooded Myanmar's
second-largest city Friday as tensions spiked during the funeral of a victim of
sectarian clashes that have raised fears of spreading violence.
A
procession led by scores of motorcycles carried the coffin of the 36-year-old
Buddhist man through the heart of Mandalay, as anger grew following unrest in
which a Muslim man was also killed.
The
violence on Tuesday and Wednesday saw mobs wielding air guns, swords, rocks and
other weapons go on a rampage through the central metropolis.
It was
the latest in a string of deadly religious clashes that have plagued the nation
for two years, prompting warnings that the country's fragile transition to
democracy could be imperilled.
Authorities
imposed an overnight curfew on Thursday to quell the riots, which left 14
people injured. Police arrested nine people in connection with the unrest.
An AFP
reporter at the scene said there was a relatively light security presence in
central Mandalay despite the large crowds.
The
wife of the victim, who was attacked on Wednesday evening, told AFP that she
could not understand why the father of her three children was targeted.
"They
killed him brutally," she said as she prepared for the funeral.
A
friend of the dead man, who was with him at the time of the attack, showed AFP
injuries on his hand that he said were slash marks from a "sword"
used by a group to kill his friend.
"I
will hold a grudge for the rest of my life. If anything happens like this again
I will not hesitate to be involved," said Htwe.
A
funeral for the dead Muslim man, a popular local bicycle shop owner, was held
Thursday, hours after he was killed while on his way to attend early morning
prayers.
Mandalay
has not suffered communal unrest on this scale before.
Police
sources told AFP they were boosting security measures as a precaution in other
cities, including the commercial hub Yangon which has a diverse population of
religious and ethnic minorities.
Unrest
broke out on Tuesday after an accusation of a rape of a Buddhist woman by two
Muslim men from a local tea shop was spread on the Internet, prompting a crowd
of hundreds to gather near the business, hurling stones and damaging property.
"The
violence happened because of hate speech and misinformation spread
online," an official from the president's office, who asked not to be
named, told AFP.
People
in the community expressed concerns that such attacks may happen again.
Aung
Win Tun, a Muslim in Myanmar, said: "The government must educate the
people… The people have to accept multi-culturalism, the people have to respect
others.
“Because
with social media, people can access social media easily. There are a lot
rumours in social media, people cannot think properly whether it is true or
not.”
Social
media users were unable to access Facebook for the second straight evening,
amid speculation that Myanmar had blocked the site to curb the spread of
inflammatory comment online.
No one
from the authorities was able to comment on the issue and the official
spokesman, who posts his official updates via Facebook, did not respond to
requests for information.
So far
the police have arrested about 10 people involved in the attacks.
The
state authorities are still not sure as to when they will consider lifting the
curfew.
Zaw Min
Oo, deputy police chief of Mandalay region, said: "The previous attacks
are criminal acts. Don't view this as a strictly religious issue. The situation
has now calmed down. We will get the two communities to have a dialogue and we
will create more awareness.”
Sectarian
clashes have left at least 250 people dead and tens of thousands displaced
since fighting first broke out in Myanmar's western Rakhine state in 2012.
Most of
the victims have been Muslim and clashes have often erupted as a result of
rumours or individual criminal acts.
Radical
monks have been accused of stoking religious tensions, while the security
forces have been accused of failing to prevent attacks.
Prominent
hardline cleric Wirathu, who is based in Mandalay, posted a link to online
allegations against the tea shop owners on his Facebook page just hours before
the latest unrest flared up.
He has
since ramped up the tension with allegations that the city's mosques have
called for "jihad", with hundreds of people poised to launch an
attack.
But in
an interview with AFP he dismissed suggestions that his online posts were
inflammatory.
"Muslim
organisations are the ones responsible for this and are more able to stop it
from happening again," he said, accusing the community of shielding the
two men from the tea shop.
Kari
Hasan, the head of downtown Shaeshaung mosque, said the Muslim community had
become a target of hate speech and had been let down by the authorities.
"If
something happens they suddenly say it is because of Islam. With the new
government we expected good things but we only get bad things," he said.
Opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi blamed the authorities for the worsening violence and
warned of the dangers of unsubstantiated reports.
"The
authorities should properly handle those people who are spreading rumours.
Without rule of law, more riots will come," she told Radio Free Asia,
according to remarks posted on the broadcaster's website.
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