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Bangladesh rebukes US spy chief Gabbard over religious violence remarks

Myanmar is cracking down on Buddhist extremism, aiming to curb ethnic and religious tension that saw two mosques destroyed and scores of Muslim residents fleeing their villages in recent weeks. 
 
Nobel Peace Prize winner and government leader Aung San Suu Kyi has come under criticism from human rights activists and lawyers for not cracking down on the perpetrators of the attacks aimed at the Muslim minority. 
 
In an apparent response to the criticism, the government has made a surprisingly decisive move against an organisation of radical nationalist monks, known as the Ma Ba Tha, threatening legal action if it spread hate speech and incites violence. 
 
Today the government launched a taskforce to prevent violent protests as part of a broader push to stop religious violence. 
 
Religious tension simmered in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for almost half a century of military rule, before boiling over in 2012 in the west of the country into clashes between Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. 
 
Violence between Muslims and Buddhists in other areas followed in 2013 and 2014. 
 
President Htin Kyaw said in a statement the taskforce will not only move against violent protesters, but also investigate and hold accountable anyone inciting violence. 
 
&quot;We do not want to disturb peaceful protests, but we do not allow violence while protesting,&quot; said Zaw Htay, spokesman of the state councillor&#39;s office occupied by Suu Kyi. 
 
A government-appointed body that oversees Myanmar&#39;s Buddhist monkhood, the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, issued a statement this week, saying it had never endorsed the nationalist and anti-Muslim Ma Ba Tha. 
 
In June, a group of 200 villagers destroyed a mosque and injured a Muslim man in central Myanmar after a dispute over the construction of a Muslim school. 
 
In a separate incident in northern Myanmar in early July, nearly 500 Buddhists burned down a Muslim prayer hall. Police arrested five in connection with the attack, media said. 
 
In both incidents, Muslim residents fled from their homes fearing more widespread violence. 
 
Some 125,000 Rohingya Muslims displaced by the 2012 violence remain in camps in the west. 
 
(Reuters)

Myanmar has threatened legal action against radical Buddhist organisation, Ma Ba Tha, if it spreads hate speech and incites violence

Myanmar is cracking down on Buddhist extremism, aiming to curb ethnic and religious tension that saw two mosques destroyed and scores of Muslim residents fleeing their villages in recent weeks. Nobel Peace Prize winner and government leader Aung San Suu Kyi has come under criticism from human rights activists and lawyers for not cracking down on the perpetrators of the attacks aimed at the Muslim minority. In an apparent response to the criticism, the government has made a surprisingly decisive move against an organisation of radical nationalist monks, known as the Ma Ba Tha, threatening legal action if it spread hate speech and incites violence. Today the government launched a taskforce to prevent violent protests as part of a broader push to stop religious violence. Religious tension simmered in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for almost half a century of military rule, before boiling over in 2012 in the west of the country into clashes between Rohingya Muslims and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. Violence between Muslims and Buddhists in other areas followed in 2013 and 2014. President Htin Kyaw said in a statement the taskforce will not only move against violent protesters, but also investigate and hold accountable anyone inciting violence. "We do not want to disturb peaceful protests, but we do not allow violence while protesting," said Zaw Htay, spokesman of the state councillor's office occupied by Suu Kyi. A government-appointed body that oversees Myanmar's Buddhist monkhood, the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, issued a statement this week, saying it had never endorsed the nationalist and anti-Muslim Ma Ba Tha. In June, a group of 200 villagers destroyed a mosque and injured a Muslim man in central Myanmar after a dispute over the construction of a Muslim school. In a separate incident in northern Myanmar in early July, nearly 500 Buddhists burned down a Muslim prayer hall. Police arrested five in connection with the attack, media said. In both incidents, Muslim residents fled from their homes fearing more widespread violence. Some 125,000 Rohingya Muslims displaced by the 2012 violence remain in camps in the west. (Reuters)

After violence, Myanmar moves to curb religious extremism

Myanmar police have arrested five villagers for burning down a mosque last week, an officer said today, as authorities look to contain religious violence in the Buddhist-majority nation. 
 
Anti-Muslim sentiment has fomented across Myanmar in recent years, sporadically erupting into bloodshed and threatening to damage democratic gains in the former junta-run country.&nbsp; 
 
In the past two weeks, Buddhist mobs have ransacked two mosques in separate towns, sending Muslim residents fleeing to other villages for safety. 
 
Myanmar`s state security forces, which are overwhelmingly Buddhist, have faced criticism for slow or incomplete investigations into previous acts of religious violence.&nbsp; 
 
But today they said they had arrested five people linked to the attack on a mosque in northern Kachin State last Friday. 
 
&quot;We have arrested four men and a woman. They (were part of the group) who destroyed the mosque,&quot; Moe Lwin, a police officer from Lone Khin, the affected village, told AFP. 
 
&#39;It is not very easy to take legal action against all people concerned&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The group allegedly joined the armed Buddhist mob that stormed the prayer hall and burned it to the ground last week.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It is not very easy to take legal action against all the people concerned with this case as there were many people there on that day,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
But no arrests have been made in the central Bago village where another mosque was ransacked last month, according to a local Muslim leader. 
 
&quot;I can see the people who destroyed the mosque walking in front of me every day in the village,&quot; Win Shwe, the mosque`s secretary, told AFP. 
 
Bouts of religious violence have left scores dead&nbsp; 
 
Bouts of religious violence in Myanmar have torn communities apart and left scores dead in recent years, with the worst bloodshed hitting western Rakhine state in 2012.&nbsp; 
 
Rakhine remains almost completely divided on religious grounds, with the one-million-strong Muslim Rohingya facing heavy restrictions on their movement and discrimination from a government that denies them citizenship.&nbsp; 
 
Carving out a solution for the stateless minority, who are reviled by increasingly strident Buddhist nationalists, has posed a steep challenge to the new administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi.&nbsp; 
 
The veteran rights activist has come under fire for failing to take up the group&#39;s plight as she seeks to avoid stoking further unrest over the sensitive issue. 
 
UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said the body was particularly concerned by reports that police were at the mosque on Friday but had failed to take action to prevent it being destroyed. 
 
&quot;We call on the government to investigate both these incidents, as well as the responses by local authorities, in a prompt and thorough manner,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;These acts of mob violence could fuel a further cycle of hostility in the country, and we urge immediate steps be taken to prevent further incidents of religious intolerance.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

In the past two weeks, Buddhist mobs have ransacked two mosques in separate towns

Myanmar police have arrested five villagers for burning down a mosque last week, an officer said today, as authorities look to contain religious violence in the Buddhist-majority nation. Anti-Muslim sentiment has fomented across Myanmar in recent years, sporadically erupting into bloodshed and threatening to damage democratic gains in the former junta-run country. In the past two weeks, Buddhist mobs have ransacked two mosques in separate towns, sending Muslim residents fleeing to other villages for safety. Myanmar`s state security forces, which are overwhelmingly Buddhist, have faced criticism for slow or incomplete investigations into previous acts of religious violence. But today they said they had arrested five people linked to the attack on a mosque in northern Kachin State last Friday. "We have arrested four men and a woman. They (were part of the group) who destroyed the mosque," Moe Lwin, a police officer from Lone Khin, the affected village, told AFP. 'It is not very easy to take legal action against all people concerned' The group allegedly joined the armed Buddhist mob that stormed the prayer hall and burned it to the ground last week. "It is not very easy to take legal action against all the people concerned with this case as there were many people there on that day," he added. But no arrests have been made in the central Bago village where another mosque was ransacked last month, according to a local Muslim leader. "I can see the people who destroyed the mosque walking in front of me every day in the village," Win Shwe, the mosque`s secretary, told AFP. Bouts of religious violence have left scores dead Bouts of religious violence in Myanmar have torn communities apart and left scores dead in recent years, with the worst bloodshed hitting western Rakhine state in 2012. Rakhine remains almost completely divided on religious grounds, with the one-million-strong Muslim Rohingya facing heavy restrictions on their movement and discrimination from a government that denies them citizenship. Carving out a solution for the stateless minority, who are reviled by increasingly strident Buddhist nationalists, has posed a steep challenge to the new administration led by Aung San Suu Kyi. The veteran rights activist has come under fire for failing to take up the group's plight as she seeks to avoid stoking further unrest over the sensitive issue. UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said the body was particularly concerned by reports that police were at the mosque on Friday but had failed to take action to prevent it being destroyed. "We call on the government to investigate both these incidents, as well as the responses by local authorities, in a prompt and thorough manner," he said. "These acts of mob violence could fuel a further cycle of hostility in the country, and we urge immediate steps be taken to prevent further incidents of religious intolerance." (AFP)

Five arrested in Myanmar for burning down mosque

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