By Brian Lanciault
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar– About 1,000 anti-Muslim rioters burned shops and homes in yet another outbreak of religious unrest in Myanmar. The former army-ruled nation has grappled with spreading religious violence since civilian rule was fully restored in 2011.
Police fired multiple warning shots as the mob set property ablaze and attacked fire engines that were attempting to put out fires in a village at Kanbalu, in the central region of Sagaing. According to a Ministry of Information statement, “the local security forces stepped in to stop a group of approximately 1,000 people as they tried to torch a house. But the crowd kept shooting with slingshots and the situation became uncontrollable.”
The unrest erupted after a man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rape a Buddhist woman on Saturday evening, according to some sources. A crowd of about 150 people and three Buddhist monks gathered at the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them. When the authorities refused, the mob lashed out, attacking Muslim property in the area. The crowd grew in size and ferocity as the night went on.
Attacks against Muslims – who make up at least 4% of the population – have exposed deep chasms in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, casting a shadow over widely praised political reforms since instated since the end of military rule in 2011. This latest bout of violence is the first anti-Muslim incident reported in Sagaing, but signals that the unrest is continuing to widen.
It began in the west of Myanmar last year and has spread across the country since bloody riots broke out in the central town of Meiktila, where dozens were killed in March. Last week watchdog, Physicians for Human Rights, warned that Myanmar risked “catastrophic” levels of conflict with “potential crimes against humanity and/or genocide” if authorities failed to stem anti-Muslim hate speech and a culture of impunity around the clashes. Rights groups have accused authorities of being unable or unwilling to contain the unrest, which has left about 250 people dead and more than 140,000 homeless. Myanmar has rejected these claims.
Many of the incidents have featured retaliatory violence against Muslim communities in response to accusations of seemingly isolated criminal acts. An unnamed police official, said the latest conflict broke out after the suspect allegedly approached a 25-year-old woman, “grabbed her hand and attempted to rape her.”
No injuries have been reported in the violence, but the ministry statement said at least 20 homes were destroyed as well as over a dozen shops and a local mill. Fire engines battled the blazes and the ministry said security has been reinforced since early yesterday, in hopes of restoring peace in the region.
A radical Buddhist monk, Wirathu, who has been accused of stoking the unrest with anti-Muslim and nationalist speeches, posted a message about the incident on his Facebook page. He blamed Muslims in general for the unrest.
Two outbreaks of similar violence in the western state of Rakhine in June and October last year left about 200 people dead, mainly Rohingya Muslims. In March, sectarian strife in Meiktila killed at least 44 and thousands of homes were set ablaze.
The U.N. rights envoy to Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, slammed the government last week for allowing an aggressive crowd to surround his car and beat on the windows during a visit to Meiktila. He said the incident gave him “insight into the fear residents would have felt when being chased down by violent mobs”.
Myanmar responded, stating that the envoy was not in any danger.
For more information, please see:
BBC — Burma violence: Rioters burn Muslim homes and shops — 25 August 2013
Reuters — Order restored after fresh Myanmar religious unrest — 25 August 2013
Al Jazeera — Twelve arrested after fresh unrest in Myanmar — 25 August 2013
Gulf Times — Rioters burn shops, homes in fresh Myanmar unrest — 25 August 2013
