April 11, 2013
The News PK
Jared Ferrie
An ultra-nationalist Buddhist creed is becoming more visible in
Myanmar’s commercial capital, Yangon, after monks from the
apartheid-like movement helped stoke a wave of anti-Muslim violence in
the central heartlands.
Many Muslims in the city say they are living in fear after dozens of
members of their faith were killed in March by Buddhist mobs whipped up
by monks from the “969” movement, a name that refers to attributes of
the Buddha, his teachings and the monkhood.
Calm has been restored in Meikhtila and other volatile central areas
after authorities imposed martial law and dispatched troops. A Reuters
examination of the violence showed it was well-organised, abetted at
times by police turning a blind eye.
But concerns linger among Muslims in Yangon, a city of about 4 million
people undergoing rapid change during Myanmar’s transition from 49 years
of oppressive military rule that ended in March 2011.
Fears simmer after 13 boys died in a fire in an Islamic school on April
2. Officials blamed faulty electrical equipment but many Muslims believe
the fire was started deliberately.
“At night-time nobody sleeps,” said Mohamed Irshad on his way home from
midday prayers at a mosque in Mingalar Taung Nyunt, a mostly Muslim
neighbourhood. “We have a guard, because some time they might come to
attack.”
Another worshipper, Ruhla Min, said the imam warned his congregation not
to be provoked into violence, but to be patient and stay calm. “We
prayed for peace,” Ruhla Min said.
Some of the radical “969” monks have spoken in Yangon in recent weeks and recordings of their speeches are widely available.
Among the best selling speakers is Wirathu, who was jailed for inciting
anti-Muslim riots in 2003 and released last year when the government
freed hundreds of political prisoners.
Kyi Lwin, who sells DVDs in central Yangon, said the movement was not
anti-Muslim but meant to “build a fence” around Buddhism and discourage
Buddhists from interacting with Muslims who may try to convert them. The
speeches convinced him not to buy goods from Muslims or eat at their
restaurants, he said.
Ma Than Htwe said she had put a “969” sticker on her juice stall because
some people thought she looked Muslim and that was losing her business.
Muslims account for 5 percent of Myanmar’s 60 million people but have a
much greater representation than their numbers would suggest among the
wealthier merchant class, feeding resentment among some of those who
remain impoverished despite the political and economic transformation
under way.
“If you talk to people about their economic life, it hasn’t really
changed. They are still struggling to survive,” said Aye Chan Naing,
executive director of Democratic Voice of Burma, a media group. “Monks
openly preach about taking businesses back into Buddhist hands. That
appeals to a lot of people.”
A Muslim, he worries about the spread of prejudice and the failure of
the government to educate people about the danger. But he also warns
against tarring all monks with the same brush.
“There were lots of Buddhist monks not condoning this violence, but
preaching peace and reconciliation. Even in Meikhtila, there were quite a
lot of Buddhist monks and locals helping the Muslims,” he said.
Ye Htut, a presidential spokesman and deputy minister of information, noted that Myanmar has more than 500,000 monks.
“Only the handful had some extremist idea. The majority of Myanmar
people and monks are against these actions,” he said in an email to
Reuters. “There are many cases in which monks and the community save the
lives of Muslims.” Even so, some people worry that violence could
derail reforms. An easing of rules on freedom of speech, for instance,
has allowed political debate but also unleashed anti-Muslim sentiment.
In a televised speech on March 28, President Thein Sein warned
“political opportunists and religious extremists” not to instigate
violence and said he would not hesitate to use force to protect lives
and property.
At least 110 people were killed in attacks on Rohingya Muslims in two
bouts of violence in Rakhine State in the west in 2012, according to the
government. Tens of thousands of Rohingya, who are denied citizenship
by Myanmar and are stateless, are now effectively segregated in camps.
Hostility against the Rohingyas is longstanding, especially in Rakhine
State where an estimated 800,000 of them live. In contrast, Yangon is a
diverse city dotted with Buddhist pagodas, Islamic mosques, Christian
churches and Hindu temples.
On one bustling street corner, Zaw Min, a Buddhist book vendor, sat next
to his friend of 10 years, a Muslim who sells TV remote controls.
The men spend most of their days side by side on plastic stools, but
their complicated friendship is emblematic of the uneasy relationship
between the two communities.
Zaw Min said they often defend each other when a customer starts an
argument. But prominently displayed on his sign is a “969” sticker and
he says he wouldn’t buy anything from a Muslim unless there was really
no alternative. When asked to comment, his Muslim friend simply shook
his head without looking up.
Zaw Min said Buddhists should support Buddhist businesses that will use
their money to make donations to monks and contribute to the
construction of monasteries. “If there is a fight between religions, I
will fight for the Buddhist religion,” he said.
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