Buddhists attack mosque, Muslim shops in Myanmar Police deployed more than 600 officers after a crowd of about 300 Buddhists including 30 monks began throwing stones near a tea shop owned by a Muslim man Buddhist mobs have damaged a mosque and Muslim shops in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. Police fired shots to disperse crowds as Buddhists and Muslims faced off in the streets on Wednesday. The violence flared after a rumor was spread on social media that a Muslim had raped a Buddhist woman. Ashin Wirathu, a notorious Buddhist monk based in Mandalay, had posted the alleged rape on his Facebook page. Wirathu, who has described himself as Myanmar’s “Bin Laden”, has been accused of stoking anti-Muslim tensions, and is a key leader of a group called 969. The group’s followers claim Myanmar is under threat from Islamic expansion, and have called for a boycott of Muslim-owned businesses. As tensions rose in Mandalay on Tuesday evening, a mob of Buddhists reportedly formed in a Muslim area of town and began attacking shops and burning vehicles. Local media reported that three people were injured in the disturbances and there are unconfirmed reports that a Muslim man was shot. Myanmar has been blighted by repeated eruptions of sectarian violence since June 2012. Around 280 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced, mostly Muslims. The initial riots flared in western Rakhine state, where a stateless Muslim minority known as the Rohingya made up most of the victims. But clashes have since spread across the country. The violence has tarnished the image of Myanmar’s new reformist government, which took power in 2011 following five decades of military rule. Myanmar police fired rubber bullets on Wednesday to disperse crowds of Buddhists and Muslims facing off in the streets of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, police said. Police deployed more than 600 officers after a crowd of about 300 Buddhists including 30 monks began throwing stones near a tea shop owned by a Muslim man at 11 p.m. (1630 GMT) on Tuesday, according to a statement released by Mandalay police. “One policeman, three Buddhists and one Muslim were injured by stones in the incident,” the statement said. “Two of the three injured Buddhist men are receiving treatment in Mandalay hospital and the rest got treatment as outpatients.” Police said they fired three rubber bullets in an attempt to control the crowd, which dispersed at around 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday after monks helped convince people to leave. Police stood between the groups of Muslims and Buddhists and tried to drive the Buddhists away, the witness told Reuters. “The police and the crowd fought each other and the crowd threw stones at the police,” he said, asking not to be named out of concern for his safety. He said the Buddhist mob ransacked shops and burned vehicles before police managed to restore order, but that at 6 a.m. Buddhists were still driving through the neighbourhood shouting at residents. A journalist walks amongst the burnt-out remains of houses damaged in a sectarian violence at Shwe Lay village, outside of Thandwe in Rakhine state, October 2, 2013. reuters/Soe Zeya Tun A journalist walks amongst the burnt-out remains of houses damaged in a sectarian violence at Shwe Lay village, outside of Thandwe in Rakhine state, October 2, 2013. reuters/Soe Zeya Tun Muslims in Mandalay, Burma, are under attack. Burma’s second-largest city has been quiet for two years, but for the last two nights, its Muslims have been terrorized throughout the night by Buddhist mobs lead by some extremist monks. They have already destroyed several Muslim businesses and a mosque. This can escalate if we don’t take immediate action. Experience has shown us that the Burmese security forces are far more likely to intervene in a case like this when your timely phone calls make the Burmese government aware that the world is watching. We have done this successfully in the past. The chief administrator of Mandalay is a former head of military intelligence who has well-known hostilities towards Muslims. He let the Meiktila massacres take place in March 2013, although he was informed about what was happening. Please Make Two Calls Right Now Call the Burmese embassy and remind them that it is the responsibility of the government to protect all citizens including Muslims (202) 332-3344. Call the Secretary of State’s office and request that he also put pressure on Burma (202) 647-4000. Eyewitness Reports from Mandalay We have the following three eyewitness reports from Mandalay: “Mob gathering near Thiri market and started singing Burmese National Anthem ...This is my country, this is land and we own this land implying that Muslims are foreigners. They used these songs when attacking in Meiktila last year.” “On 22nd street motor bike riders came - this is the same kind of tactic used in attacks on other cities. No one is stopping them. They are going around attacking.” “Muslims are in constant fear … “Some people are in the the Joon Masjid ... blockading themselves and protecting the masjid. The police is outside, but we know police and security forces are not to be trusted …” Good News While the Islamophobe monk Wirathu lives in this city and is encouraging attacks, a few good monks have taken up the effort to calm down the attacking crowds. There are always a few good people who make a difference. Blame the Victims Just as mob attacks against Jews in Europe often began with rumors of Jews kidnapping children, attacks on the Muslim community in Burma are always preceded by a rumor about some Muslim doing something wrong. Rumors today spread faster with the help of social media; last night’s attack was provoked by bloggers and hatemongering Buddhist preacher Ashin Wirathu who posted rumors about a Muslim raping a Buddhist on Facebook. There used to be 5 million Muslims in Burma. Now only 3 million are left. The UN considers Rohingya Muslims in Burma to be the most persecuted minority in the world.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:00:01 +0000
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