Rakhine/Rohingya violence escalates in Burma
The ‘Central Mosque’ is a beautiful building on the main street of Sittwe – the largest city in Burma’s Rakhine State. It is an exotic construction and I was fortunate to have a good view of it from the hotel we used on our last visit.
Its fanciful towers rise well above a protective wall and the palm trees and thick foliage which occupy part of the grounds.
Unfortunately, reports are now filtering through from Sittwe about an attack on the mosque by “one thousand” Rakhine Buddhists yesterday afternoon. Houses on the site used by the imam and other workers were destroyed and according to several accounts, the main building or “musallah” used for prayers has been damaged – but still stands I am told.
It’s just the latest round of violence between ethnic Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State – a continuation of hostilities which stretch back to early June, after an alleged rape of a Buddhist woman by three Rohingya men. Still, the attack on the ‘Central Mosque’ tells us two critical things.
First, the government’s attempts at keeping the peace – primarily by segregating the two groups – is not working. Secondly, it suggests that the conflict is spreading – in fact, it could now be better described as a regional conflict.
The government’s segregation policy consists of a couple of things – moving the Rohingya who lost their homes in early June out of Sittwe and into rural refugee camps – and prohibiting other Rohingya from leaving their villages or communities.
What this approach has not done is introduce any sort of reintegration and reconciliation policy. Without dialogue – and any attempt to settle longstanding grievances (like the call by Rohingya for Burmese citizenship) underlying tensions will be left to fester.
Just as concerning though is the fact that this conflict has spread into nearby Bangladesh – a country that is predominantly Muslim but contains a number of different ethnic Buddhist groups – including Rakhine Buddhists. Last week a dozen or more Buddhist temples and monasteries were burnt down in what many have seen as a revenge attack by Muslims upset by the treatment of Rohingya in Burma – and I am told by sources that two of the temples destroyed were Rakhine temples.
The Bangladesh government blamed the destruction on “radical Islamists, Rohingya and members of opposition parties;” but wagging the finger won’t calm things down. Only far-sighted leadership and statesmanship by the region’s politicians will do that.
It was a decision yesterday by the Burmese Army to intervene in Sittwe that ultimately saved much of the “Central Mosque”. But they won’t get much credit for their actions when news of the event starts to travel.
There are 10 comments on this post
Unfortunately for you , the violence DID NOT escalate and no further genocide, pogrom, ethnic cleansing, Kristallnicht or any other doomsday scenario to invite all out kill each other blood and gall is required. No pictures of hacked bodies here either.
There was fire affecting two of five wooden buildings in the mosque compound deep inside of unknown origin and was put out by the security forces and the Fire trucks with no violence involved.
Please try to make points in responsible manner rather than calling for emotional scene which will truly escalate the violence and no one will benefit.
Is it really good to see people kill each other? Please be not so blood thirsty.
What is the motive behind publishing false news? I know it this is not true.
If this news is from Rohingya side, my sympathy to Rohingya people will be less and less.
This new is not true totally.I am from Sittwe in there is no such incident.
I would never support or condone internecine and inter-religious violence (the latter seems to undermine the very idea of religion in my eyes) and I acknowledge that rape is sometimes carried out by different groups upon others. That said however, how many times in how many countries do we hear of rape carried out by Muslim men, ‘some’ of whom ‘sometimes’ seem to view non-Muslim women as fair game.?
We have long heard of systematic rape of women in the Sudan for instance with reports suggesting that the primary aim is to spread Islam by spreading their seed in such a way. Likewise in Britain a recent court case has, finally, acknowledged the schooling and rape of young ‘white’ non-Muslim girls, often vulnerable children as young as 13, by predatory Muslim men (married with children of their own…do their wives condone it?) who would never allow anything similar to be done to their own daughters. Indeed they often don’t even want them consorting with non-Muslims at all, even quite innocently in a purely friendly way.
Once again I wish to stress that this can happen in reverse, but it usually seems to be radicalised or just plain immoral elements within Islam who are…
(continued) ‘…within Islam who are primarily in the wrong. Where is the universal, vocal, public condemnation of such heinous actions from within such overall Islamic comunities? Likewise it has been far too muted and conditional in relation to terrorism.
Just to be clear, I am not a member of any right-wing hate group or anything similar. I seek peace and reconciliation and coexistance between communities everywhere, religious or otherwise. I just don’t like rape and violence. I understand Muslims – sometimes with a degree of justification it must be said – feel put upon, but that excuses nothing.
Rape happens in all societies but we cannot simply turn our eyes away from the fact that some Muslim men do commonly use it as a method of subjugating or just forcibly ‘converting’ people through dint of their birth to Islam. It is thoroughly medieval behaviour, belongs to the past and should stop. If they will not stop doing it then they should be stopped and the law should make it so.
Meanwhile universal condemnation is the minimum requirement of everyone, regardless of nationality, social status or religious leaning. Those that think otherwise are guilty of wrong-doing even…
First of all rape should be condemned in all societies and the criminals need to be bought to justice. It is disgusting when ethnic cleansing is taking place one brings up other issues which are no doubt very serious to divert the main point. Where else in the world do we have religious figures (Buddhist monks) organizing protests against people of other religions. Imagine Imams were doing this you would have the whole world (quite justifiably) up in arms. Credit to the Bangladesh government for taking swift action but we need to see actual perpetrators but to justice and not fall guys unlike Burma.
This report of Channel 4 is serious and it should be applauded. The West as welcoming Burma back into the international community should must take a firm stance against violence against minorities which ever religion of ethnicity they belong to. It should be robust and insist that Burma takes back all the Rohingyas (including the 200 000 plus in Bangladesh) and the many more in Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia.
I think we should all stand up against injustices who ever commits them and not make this a religious issue. Human life is sacred.
(continued) …guilty of wrong-doing even if only by association. I repeat that this includes Muslim women who either support it openly in realtion to non-Muslim women or afford it their silent, passive acquiescence.
Who is responsible for this false news? Is that channel 4 from UK?
I am Burmese. I am reading both side of news. I was surprized to see so many false news on Rakhine riots, fake photos. dubbed photos. Both Rakhine and so called Rohingya people have very limited access to internet. So, all fake pictures are spreading around.
Both side are responsible for attack because they don’t have education. No group is minority. In Maungdaw, muslim 95% and only 5 % Rakhine. See, who is majority?
what we need to do is, accept all help including OIC and try to make peace between 2 communities with the leadership of religious leader from both side. No more violence.
This report should be withdrawn. It is spurious. There was no such attack. But the report is now all over the Middle East. Such is the propaganda power of the extremist lobby.
Many Muslims in Burma are fed up with this ‘Rohingya’ campaign. Even in Arakan there are many who don’t want to be labelled “Rohingya’ which only causes them grief and misery.
Channel 4 should issue an apology for having been misled.
I am working with independent human rights defenders, with many sources on the ground, some of which are also independent workers. These events are happening, and are worse than people can imagine. Some of the comments posted here will be from the Burmese government PR crew who are paid to conceal their crimes. Channel Four is the only main stream news channel around that is reporting this unfolding tragedy with honesty and expressing the seriousness that this topic urgently requires.