Buddhist Monks Incite Muslim Killings in Myanmar

 

The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said he had received reports of “state involvement” in the violence. Soldiers and police sometimes stood by “while atrocities have been committed before their very eyes, including by well-organized ultra-nationalist Buddhist mobs,” said the rapporteur, Tomas Ojea Quintana. “This may indicate direct involvement by some sections of the state or implicit collusion and support for such actions.”

 

Ye Htut, a presidential spokesman and deputy minister of information, called those accusations groundless. “In fact, the military and the government could not be concerned more about this situation,” he said.

 

Authorities imposed martial law on the afternoon of March 22, the third day of violence. By then, only three people had been arrested, all of them for carrying weapons, a police official said. As they began to make more arrests, the unrest ended the next day. A total of 1,594 buildings were destroyed, the regional government said.

 

It started up a day later in Tatkon on the outskirts of the capital Naypyitaw. The riots then swept south to Bago Region, erupting along a highway just north of Yangon. By March 29, at least 15 towns and villages in central Myanmar had suffered anti-Muslims riots. In Yangon, some Muslims prepared for violence by Buddhists, shuttering shops and leaving to stay with relatives elsewhere.

 

On April 2, 13 Muslim boys died in a fire at a Yangon religious school. Many grieving relatives say they believe the blaze was deliberately set. The floors were surprisingly slick with oil during the blaze, they said. Yangon officials say it was caused by an electrical short circuit.

 

Some speculate the violence may be orchestrated by conservative forces pushing back at reformers. Or that crony businessmen linked to the former junta hope to knock Muslims out of business and create an economic vacuum in the heartlands that only they can fill. This last theory resonated with some Muslim businessmen such as Ohn Thwin, 67.

 

“This is both religious anger and economics,” he said, surveying the remnants of his 30-year-old metalworking shop at a popular corner of Meikhtila, a strategic city where three highways intersect. Like many Muslims, he can trace his ancestry back several generations. And like many, he runs a profitable business and has dozens of Buddhist friends, including one who helped him escape the violence.

 

Across town, about 2,000 people cram into a two-story high school, one of several makeshift refugee camps housing about 11,000 of the town’s Muslims, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Many more squeezed into a nearby stadium.

 

It’s unclear if the Muslims whose businesses were destroyed will be able to reclaim their prime real estate. Ye Myint, the region’s chief, said they may be moved to new areas—a policy that backfired in Rakhine State, where segregation has only led to further communal violence.

 

“Once we have achieved a time when there is peace, stability and the rule of law, then we look into resettlement,” said Ye Myint.

 

The high school feels like a jail. Muslims inside cannot leave at will. Friends and relatives are kept waiting outside. Police block journalists from speaking with Muslims—even through a gate.

 

“I can’t sleep at night. I keep thinking there will be another attack,” said Kyaw Soe Myint, 40, who was waiting to see his 10 cousins inside before a guard shooed him away. “We’re living with fear.”

 

The identity of those arrested is unclear. But according to police, among those detained was the gold shop owner.

 

Aye Aye Naing, owner of the hair clip, remained shocked by the violence. “I feel sad for the Muslims who have been killed,” she said. “All humans are the same; it’s just the skin color that is different. We have friends who are Muslims.” She said she doesn’t know what became of her hair clip.

 

---