Calm appeared to be returning to Myanmar on Sunday
following a flare-up in sectarian violence at the weekend after security forces
fired on rioters who burned nearly 500 homes and stormed businesses and a
hospital – five days after 10 Muslims were killed by a mob that attacked a bus
carrying them from a religious ceremony.
State-run
television reported that at least seven people were killed and nearly 20 were
wounded on Friday in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships in the western state of
Rakhine.
High
quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with
others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our
Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to
buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e0e98f24-b2af-11e1-9bd6-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1xMqOfPhd
It was
not clear whether the deaths were caused by military action, but official media
reported that a curfew had been imposed in the region and gatherings of more
than five people had been banned. Myanmar naval ships had been sent to secure
the coastal area along the Bay of Bengal while military were helping police
restore calm to the area, the reports added.
The
reports, also carried in the state-controlled newspaper Myanma Ahlin, went
further than any state media so far in acknowledging long-running tensions
between various ethnic and religious groups. Myanmar is overwhelmingly Buddhist
but large parts of some states feature an ethnic and religious mix.
Analysts
have said the atmosphere of growing openness under the reformist government of
President Thein Sein, which took power early last year, has encouraged more
debate and as a result, the venting of tensions. Public gatherings were
forbidden under the previous military regime and issues involving ethnic and
religious differences were regarded as too sensitive to report.
While
Maungdaw township was said to be calm on Sunday morning, Reuters cited a local
independent Buddhist group reporting more violence and deaths overnight in
villages near the border with Bangladesh.
The
population in the two troubled districts of Rakhine is 90 per cent
Muslim-minority Rohingya, many of whom originally came from neighbouring
Bangladesh in search of work and a better life. Tensions with the local
Buddhist population have been driven partly by hostility towards the immigrants
and partly by religious issues.
Most
Rohingya are stateless, recognised as citizens neither by Myanmar nor
Bangladesh, according to the UN, which estimates there are about 800,000
Rohingya in three border districts of Rakhine state.
Friday’s
violence was triggered by the rape and murder of a young Buddhist girl last
month, allegedly by three Muslim youths. State media reported on Saturday that
the youths have been put on trial.
Official
media did not identify the rioters. The Associated Press reported that local
residents said the rioters were Muslims, while the dead appeared to be
Buddhist, judging from their names.
In an
unusual move, Myanmar’s information ministry, once better known for suppressing
rather than disseminating news, said on its website that temporary refuges had
been set up at monasteries to shelter those who lost their homes in the
attacks, and that the government had flown in medical staff to tend to the
injured.
According
to AP reports, more than 150 people from Rakhine state and some Buddhist monks
held a ceremony in Yangon on Saturday at Shwedagon Pagoda – Myanmar’s most
important Buddhist pagoda – to pray for the murdered girl and those killed in
the weekend violence.
Gwen
Robinson
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment