A few weeks ago I warned that a witch-hunt may begin in western Burma
after a group of influential monks in the town of Sittwe instructed Arakanese
to seek out and harass local Muslims.
Following a meeting in October at
a local monastery, the monks had circulated a document calling on Arakanese to
“expose sympathisers of Bengali Kalars [Kalar is a derogatory term for people
of South Asian descent] as national traitors along with photos and spread the
information to every township”.
It came in the wake of months of
fighting between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Arakan state that has
resulted in discoveries of mass graves and apartheid-like segregationist
measures.
Now two photos have emerged that
apparently show this witch-hunt to be well under way. Two Arakanese men are
pictured being paraded around with placards around their neck. One man,
allegedly from the town of Myebon near Sittwe, wears one sign that reads “’I am
a traitor and slave of Kalar”.
A caption beneath the photo that
was circulated on Facebook says, “A man who buyssells groceries to Kalars in
Myebon on public display (a lesson for all Arakanese people to take)”. The
photo is dated from August this year.
A second, undated photo shows a
different man with a placard that says, “I am a traitor”. Furthermore, it
appears he has been forced to wear a woman’s longyi on his head. Burmese males
consider the wearing of female garments to be culturally insulting, and a
potential threat to the standing of males in society (more on that here).
The date and location of the
second photo cannot be confirmed, although both are consistent with a now documented
drive in Arakan state (and other parts of Burma) to weed out those who are seen
to be helping the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who have borne the brunt of the
ethno-religious violence between Buddhists and Muslims that began in June.
There’s something chillingly
medieval about the whole affair – both what it means for Arakanese who continue
to interact with Muslims (who until June co-existed comparatively
harmoniously), and of course for the Muslim community itself, which now exists
mainly in camps and urban ghettos. Judging by the expression on the men’s
faces, public humiliation has become an effective weapon in this conflict.
And as has been mentioned time
and again, the role
that monks have played in whipping upthis anti-Muslim fervour never ceases
to shock.
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