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Tag: Myanmar

  • Religious Tensions Bristle In Myanmar Village After Mosque Destroyed

    Religious Tensions Bristle In Myanmar Village After Mosque Destroyed

    Scores of police have been deployed to guard a village in central Myanmar where religious tensions are running high after a Buddhist mob destroyed a mosque, authorities said Saturday (Jun 25).

    It is the latest flare-up of anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar, which has seen sporadic bouts of religious bloodshed since 2012, with a surge of Buddhist nationalism presenting a key challenge for Aung San Suu Kyi’s new government.

    The most recent violence erupted this week when an angry mob of around 200 Buddhists rampaged through a Muslim area of a village in Bago province following an argument between neighbours over the building of a Muslim school.

    Own Lwin, the local police chief, said the atmosphere remained tense Saturday with around 100 police officers deployed to keep the peace.

    “Last night, 50 police guarded the village to prepare for rumours that there might be more unrest. Now we have arranged a police force of up to 100 officers,” he told AFP, adding that no arrests have been made over the destruction of the mosque.

    Win Shwe, the mosque’s secretary, told AFP that Muslim residents fear for their safety and are planning to move to a nearby town until the tension cools.

    “Our situation is not safe and now we are planning to leave the village…We still feel afraid,” he told AFP.

    Strident anti-Muslim sentiment has fomented across Myanmar in recent years, with outbreaks of violence threatening to unravel democratic gains since the former junta stepped down in 2011.

    The worst religious violence struck central Myanmar and western Rakhine State, which is home to the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, tens of thousands of whom still languish in displacement camps after rioting.

    Hardline monks and Buddhist nationalists fiercely oppose moves to recognise the Rohingya as an official minority and insist on calling them “Bengalis” – shorthand for illegal migrants from the border with Bangladesh.

    Suu Kyi, a vocal champion for human rights, has been criticised for not taking a stronger stance on the Rohingya or the abuse they face.

    This month the UN warned that violations against the group could amount to “crimes against humanity”.

    The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, now leading Myanmar’s first civilian government in decades, has asked for “space” while her administration seeks to build trust between religious communities.

     

    Source: ChannelNewsAsia

  • Aung San Suu Kyi Asks US Not To Use ‘Rohingya’

    Aung San Suu Kyi Asks US Not To Use ‘Rohingya’

    Myanmar recognizes 135 ethnic groups within its borders. But the people who constitute No. 136? They are the-people-who-must-not-be-named.

    Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s first democratically elected government since 1962, embraced that view last week when she advised the US ambassador against using the term “Rohingya” to describe the persecuted Muslim population that has lived in Myanmar for generations.

    Her government, like the previous military-led one, will not call the Rohingya people by that name because it does not recognize them as citizens, said her spokesman, Mr U Kyaw Zay Ya, a Foreign Ministry official.

    “We won’t use the term Rohingya because Rohingya are not recognized as among the 135 official ethnic groups,” said Kyaw Zay Ya, who was at the meeting. “Our position is that using the controversial term does not support the national reconciliation process and solving problems.”

    The stance does not bode well for the Rohingya or for rights activists who had hoped that Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, would reverse discriminatory policies that have marginalized the Rohingya and prompted many to flee.

    “She is not saying anything about the Rohingya people in Myanmar and their rights to religion and education and health care,” said Aung Win, a Rohingya community leader in Rakhine state. “As a Nobel Peace Prize winner, why is she so silent?”

    The US Embassy confirmed that the newly arrived ambassador, Scot A Marciel, had met with Ms Suu Kyi but would not comment on their discussions.

    Her position on the name has taken on great significance as her party, the National League for Democracy, establishes the country’s first nonmilitary government in decades. Barred by the military-drafted constitution from serving as president, she holds the posts of state counselor and foreign minister, among others, but she is the country’s de facto leader. The new government took over in March.

    The Rohingya in Myanmar, Muslims in a primarily Buddhist land, are denied basic rights, including citizenship, freedom of worship, education, marriage and freedom of travel. More than 100,000 who were driven from their homes by violence in 2012 are in resettlement camps. Many fled on dangerous sea voyages.

    Many nationalist Buddhists reject the name Rohingya and call them Bengalis, implying that they are interlopers from Bangladesh, a position also taken by the former military government.

    The US Embassy recently drew criticism for using the word Rohingya in a statement expressing condolences for the deaths of at least 20 people whose boat capsized on April 19 off the coast of Rakhine.

    Nationalist Buddhists challenged the new Myanmar government to protest the Americans’ use of the word and staged a demonstration outside the United States Embassy in Yangon.

    At an April 28 news conference, Marciel responded by saying that it was standard practice around the world to let communities decide for themselves what to be called.

    “And normally, when that happens, we would call them what they want to be called,” he said. “It’s not a political decision; it’s just a normal practice.”

    Suu Kyi’s decision to raise the issue with Marciel the next day was an apparent concession to the extremists and was welcomed by the nationalist Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, also known as Ma Ba Tha.

    “We don’t want that word because they are not our nationality,” said Thaw Bar Ka, a leader of the group. “And now I read the news that the Foreign Ministry agrees with us. It’s really good. At first, I thought the new government would be useless on this issue.”

    Rights advocates expressed disappointment that Ms Suu Kyi was not willing to go against popular opinion and support a dispossessed people.

    “It’s dismaying that the new NLD-led government is continuing this wrongheaded effort to police the language of Yangon-based diplomats about the Rohingya,” said Mr Phil Robertson, deputy director for Asia at Human Rights Watch.

    Mr Kyaw Zay Ya said Suu Kyi had not ordered the Americans to stop using the word or threatened consequences if they did.

     

    Source: TODAY Online

  • Kebakaran Besar Musnahkan Kem Pelarian Muslim Rohingya

    Kebakaran Besar Musnahkan Kem Pelarian Muslim Rohingya

    Satu kebakaran besar memusnahkan sebuah kem pelarian Muslim Rohingya di wilayah Rakhine, Myanmar. Ia menjejas sekitar 450 keluarga Muslim Rohingya yang tinggal di kem tersebut.

    Menurut Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UN), kira-kira 50 tempat perlindungan rosak teruk, menjejas 2,000 orang. Sisa-sisa atap kayu dan atap besi yang bengkok dapat dilihat melalui asap tebal yang muncul selepas kebakaran itu berlaku.

    Kawasan perkhemahan itu dihuni oleh sekitar 100,000 anggota kaum Rohingya.

    Kebakaran itu dipercayai bermula dari sebuah dapur. Angin yang kencang menjadi punca api merebak dari rumah ke rumah, di kawasan yang kering itu.

    Seorang pegawai polis memberitahu AFP bahawa api itu dapat dipadamkan selepas ia membakar rumah 448 keluarga.

    Sekitar 140,000 penduduk, sebahagian besarnya dari golongan minoriti Rohingya, kini tinggal di kem-kem seperti itu setelah mereka melarikan diri daripada keganasan agama, melibatkan penganut muslim Rohingya dan penganut Buddha pada tahun 2012.

    Konflik tersebut memecah belahkan wilayah Rakhine dan masyarakatnya berdasarkan agama dan melemahkan ekonomi tempatan.

    Source: Berita Mediacorp

  • Would Myanmar Nationals Want A Government Like Singapore’s?

    Would Myanmar Nationals Want A Government Like Singapore’s?

    I read with amusement how Myanmar nationals are hoping for change and that the Myanmar junta would be replaced by a government like Singapore’s PAP.

    People from third world countries like Myanmar, Philippines and Malaysia admire the Singapore government for the outer facade it presents: strong Sing dollar currency, non-corruption (we Singaporeans know better how truly corrupted the Singapore government is the legal way), safe (unless you offend the wrong group), ample employment opportunities, number of shopping centers (oh you be surprised they gauge how wealthy a country is by the number of shopping malls it has) and etc. These foreign nationals mistakenly believe that Singapore is a pride of Asia and that an “Asian” country can be as good as any first world countries.

    Unfortunately, due to the vast gap in understanding democracy and the real definition of a first world country, they fell under the false impression Singapore is an ideal country which they wish their government would be like so. Perhaps in their eagerness against the very evils of their own governments, they sought relief from a new country where its government constantly lie about non-corruption, citizens-first and with-you-for-you war cries. They teared along when they heard Lee Kuan Yew died; knowing nothing of the evils the dictator did. Singapore is their utopia and Singaporeans who complain were told they are more than happy to trade their Prime Ministers for Lee Hsien Loong.

    Blinded and frustrated by the sorry state of affairs in their homeland, foreigners who praise the Singapore government are honestly those with very shallow and backward mindsets, with their understanding of governance and societies at superficial levels and knowing nothing about macro-economics, political dynamics, sustainability, positioning and the very dangerous consequences of having the kind of leadership Singapore has. In their point of view, Singapore is on the right track and there is nothing to worry about Singapore and even so for the next 50 years. Including new citizens and PRs, they were not brought up through the Singapore system and were largely ignorant of the sacrifices and trade-offs of being a Singaporean.

    After all, people who reached maturity do not make flippant suppositions like trading their Prime Ministers for Lee Hsien Loong. Take up the Singapore citizenship, Lee Hsien Loong will make sure you take back your words. Till then, good luck hoping for change in Myanmar.

    Alex

     

    Source: www.tremeritus.com

  • Muslims From Violence-Hit Rakhine Show Support For Aung San Suu Kyi

    Muslims From Violence-Hit Rakhine Show Support For Aung San Suu Kyi

    THANDWE, Myanmar – Muslim supporters of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Saturday they hoped a government lead by her National League for Democracy (NLD) would improve their lives in Rakhine State, where many still face discrimination after violence in 2012 and 2013.

    The Muslims have put their hopes in the NLD even though the party did not field a Muslim candidate on its lists of over 1,100 hopefuls standing in the Nov. 8 election and has been criticized for not speaking out against their marginalization.

    The campaign ahead of what is billed as Myanmar’s first free and fair election in 25 years, which started a month ago, has seen a spike in tensions stoked by anti-Muslim hardline Buddhist group Ma Ba Tha, which has sharply criticized the NLD.

    On Saturday, Suu Kyi spoke in Thandwe, where in October 2013 five Kaman Muslims were murdered during a flare-up in religious violence.

    Many Muslim residents of Thandwe and surrounding villages who came to see Suu Kyi said they still supported her and hoped the NLD would help to end their discrimination and foster reconciliation between Buddhists and Muslims.

    “We have a little hope,” said Win Naing, 41. “We don’t have equal rights. I hope that if Mother Suu wins the election, we will get equal rights,” Win Naing said.

    Another supporter, Tun Win, 48, from a village outside Thandwe, said Muslims faced bullying from Buddhists and that many Muslims had been denied national identity cards by the government, curbing their freedom of movement. He hoped the NLD would make obtaining them easier.

    “They say, ‘go to Yangon,’ but we can’t because we don’t have any identity cards,” he said. “We come and go around here and it is like a prison.”

    Suu Kyi made no mention of the violence in Thandwe during her speech on Saturday. During a speech in the nearby town of Tongup on Friday she also did not mention the 2012 killing of 10 Muslims, who were pulled from a bus by a mob in the town.

    While avoiding references to specific incidents, Suu Kyi made broader points about religious tensions and violence.

    “It is very important that all people regardless of race and religion living in our country must be safe,” she said. “We can have peace in our country only if the people feel safe both mentally and physically,” she said.

    Unlike the marginalized Rohingya Muslims, who also live in Rakhine, the Kaman from Tandwe are one of Myanmar’s 135 recognised ethnic groups. The Rohingya live predominantly in Sittwe and northern Rakhine, where 140,000 were displaced by violence in 2012.

    Suu Kyi will not visit Sittwe or northern parts of Rakhine during her three-day trip through the western state. The Nobel peace laureate has been criticized for saying little about the Rohingya’s plight.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com