KTMphil
Senior member
• Two people are dead after violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar
• Radical Buddhist monks appeared to play a role in inciting mobs, says rights researcher
The newspaper said eight separate conflicts took place in the region over two nights, involving gangs of as many as 450 people, some armed with weapons including swords, firearms, knives, rods and "incendiary materials," citing officials.
One of the victims was Muslim and one Buddhist, officials said. Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country, with Muslims estimated to account for about 5% of the population.
Myanmar has witnessed several outbreaks of violence targeting Muslims in recent years as the country emerges from decades of authoritarian military rule, threatening the country's fragile political reforms.
Extremist Buddhist nationalist elements, such as the 969 Movement, have been accused of fanning the flames of hatred, and pushing for discriminatory laws including a proposed ban on interfaith marriage.
Radical Buddhist monks, including the 969 Movement's spiritual leader, Ashin Wirathu, appeared to have played "a pivotal role" in contributing to the latest unrest, said David Mathieson, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Anger against the Muslim tea shop owner, a Muslim, had escalated after Wirathu had circulated a report of the alleged rape on his Facebook page, and called for a harsh government response to "jihadist Muslims."
There had been a significant monk presence among the mob, said Mathieson.
"The area where this happened is 5-10 minute drive from where Wirathu's monastery is," he said. "This really is his heartland."
Activists in Myanmar have campaigned against online hate speech on social media, particularly anti-Muslim rhetoric which they blame for contributing to the violence against the minority.
Religious violence has left hundreds of people dead and close to 150,000 homeless since unrest broke out in in the western state of Rakhine in June 2012, with the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority bearing the brunt of the violence. Outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence have occurred elsewhere in the country as well.
Aung said nine people had been arrested over the violence. Five were Muslim and four Buddhist, he said.READ MORE: Aung San Suu Kyi's silence on the Rohingya
Source : CNN
• Radical Buddhist monks appeared to play a role in inciting mobs, says rights researcher
The newspaper said eight separate conflicts took place in the region over two nights, involving gangs of as many as 450 people, some armed with weapons including swords, firearms, knives, rods and "incendiary materials," citing officials.
One of the victims was Muslim and one Buddhist, officials said. Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country, with Muslims estimated to account for about 5% of the population.
Myanmar has witnessed several outbreaks of violence targeting Muslims in recent years as the country emerges from decades of authoritarian military rule, threatening the country's fragile political reforms.
Extremist Buddhist nationalist elements, such as the 969 Movement, have been accused of fanning the flames of hatred, and pushing for discriminatory laws including a proposed ban on interfaith marriage.
Radical Buddhist monks, including the 969 Movement's spiritual leader, Ashin Wirathu, appeared to have played "a pivotal role" in contributing to the latest unrest, said David Mathieson, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Anger against the Muslim tea shop owner, a Muslim, had escalated after Wirathu had circulated a report of the alleged rape on his Facebook page, and called for a harsh government response to "jihadist Muslims."
There had been a significant monk presence among the mob, said Mathieson.
"The area where this happened is 5-10 minute drive from where Wirathu's monastery is," he said. "This really is his heartland."
Activists in Myanmar have campaigned against online hate speech on social media, particularly anti-Muslim rhetoric which they blame for contributing to the violence against the minority.
Religious violence has left hundreds of people dead and close to 150,000 homeless since unrest broke out in in the western state of Rakhine in June 2012, with the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority bearing the brunt of the violence. Outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence have occurred elsewhere in the country as well.
Aung said nine people had been arrested over the violence. Five were Muslim and four Buddhist, he said.READ MORE: Aung San Suu Kyi's silence on the Rohingya
Source : CNN
