Politics Interfaith marriage ban gains support A proposal to ban marriages between Buddhist women and non-Buddhist men in Myanmar has been gaining support in recent weeks. The proposal, drafted by monks close to the radical Venerable Wirathu, was drafted several weeks ago and if put in place would make it a requirement for Buddhist women to seek official state permission before marrying someone of another faith. The proposal also states that the man must become Buddhist before the marriage can take place. New bills in Myanmar can only be put forth by parliament members, however, the monk and his followers hope to show to parliament that there is widespread support for this interfaith marriage ban with apparently three million signatories so far. Venerable Wirathu is the leader of the radical Buddhist 969 movement that began in 2000. Clashes between Muslims and Buddhists have been a threat to the peace building plans of the new Myanmar government. Deep seated tensions between the two groups have resulted in numerous violent episodes including bloody riots in Meikthila that killed more than 40 and displaced thousands earlier this year. The fear that the monk’s teachings will push more Islamist groups to turn to armed means is also increasing with a homemade-bomb blast on Sunday that occurred just meters away from Venerable Wirathu as he was giving a sermon in Mandalay. President Thein Sein has put forth a zero-tolerance policy for those who instigate ethnic violence but attempts at quelling the tensions have still been largely ineffective.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Jul 2013 04:46:24 +0000
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