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U.N. Says Muslims Were Massacred in Tense Myanmar Region Report of Violence Clashes With Myanmar’s Account
(about 11 hours later)
HONG KONG — Symbolically, this is supposed to be an important moment for Myanmar in its transition to democracy. In taking over the annual rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this month, it assumed a responsibility the government considers prestigious. After five decades of military dictatorship, Myanmar is moving on several fronts to shore up its international image, hosting the Southeast Asian Games, a regional sporting event, in December and releasing what it said was the last of its political prisoners. HONG KONG — The United Nations report this week that rampaging mobs in western Myanmar killed at least four dozen people, mostly Muslims, not only contradicted the government’s official stance. It also put a spotlight on the country’s continuing religious and ethnic strife and what some say is a flawed government response even as Myanmar tries to burnish its international image.
But now the country’s leaders find themselves under an unwelcome spotlight after, United Nations officials say, rampaging mobs in western Myanmar killed at least four dozen people, many of them Muslim, this month in the latest spasm of violence to afflict the area. Symbolically, this is supposed to be an important moment for Myanmar in its transition to democracy. In taking over the annual rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this month, it assumed a responsibility the government considers prestigious. And after five decades of military dictatorship, Myanmar has been moving on several fronts to shore up its international image, hosting the Southeast Asian Games, a regional sporting event, last month and releasing what it said was the last of its political prisoners.
The Myanmar government has been criticized for its failure to aggressively investigate and prosecute the killings of Muslims ever since sectarian violence in June 2012 triggered a series of attacks across the country. But human rights groups say that with this latest round of anti-Muslim violence, the government now appears to be trying to cover up the problem. But the United Nations report on the violence in northern Rakhine State earlier this month is almost certain to add to criticism of the government for its failure to aggressively investigate the killings of Muslims ever since sectarian violence in June 2012 triggered a series of attacks across the country.
The area where the attacks occurred, northern Rakhine State, has been rived by tensions between its Buddhist population and a group of Muslims known as Rohingya, with frequent bursts of violence driving more than 100,000 Rohingya from their homes and leaving at least 200 of them dead. The majority of Myanmar’s population is Buddhist, but Muslims outnumber Buddhists along the border with Bangladesh, a demographic trend that is partly behind the tensions. Human rights groups say that with the latest round of anti-Muslim violence, the government now appears to be trying to cover up the problem.
Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said Thursday that the latest violence started on Jan. 9 when eight Rohingya men were killed in Du Chee Yar Tan village, near the border with Bangladesh. Four days later, after the reported kidnapping and killing of a police sergeant, the local police stood by as Buddhists seeking revenge used swords, knives and sticks to attack the Rohingya, killing 40 more men, women and children, officials said. The area where the attacks occurred, northern Rakhine, has been torn by tensions between its Buddhist population and Muslims known as Rohingya, with frequent bursts of violence driving more than 100,000 Rohingya Muslims from their homes and leaving at least 200 dead. The majority of Myanmar’s population is Buddhist, but Muslims outnumber Buddhists along the border with Bangladesh.
The attacks were first reported by The Associated Press, but government officials have denied the accounts of a massacre of Rohingya. “We have had no information about killings,” a government spokesman, Ye Htut, said last week. He also has suggested that the claims of violence against the Rohingya were being used to cover up or play down the killing of the police officer. Last week, the government-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar printed an article stating in the headline that The A.P. “falsely reports violence occurred in Rakhine State” and saying that the agency’s reports “seemed to instigate” the unrest. Navi Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said Thursday that the latest violence started on Jan. 9 when eight Rohingya men were killed in Du Chee Yar Tan village, near the border with Bangladesh. Four days later, after the reported kidnapping and killing of a police sergeant, the local police stood by as Buddhists seeking revenge used swords, knives and sticks to attack the Rohingya, killing 40 more, officials said.
The latest violence erupted after monks from an extremist group known as 969, descended on the area and began giving sermons calling for the expulsion of all the Rohingya, according to accounts from local media. The attacks were first reported by The Associated Press, but government officials have denied the accounts of a massacre.
Ms. Pillay called for an aggressive investigation of the attacks by Myanmar’s government, urging it “to carry out a full, prompt and impartial investigation and ensure that victims and their families receive justice.” “We have had no information about killings,” a government spokesman, Ye Htut, said last week. He also has suggested that the claims of violence against the Rohingya were being used to cover up or play down the killing of the police sergeant. Last week, the government-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar published an article stating in the headline that The A.P. “falsely reports violence occurred in Rakhine State” and saying that the news agency’s reports “seemed to instigate” the unrest.
The latest violence erupted after monks from an extremist group known as 969, descended on the area and began giving sermons calling for the expulsion of all the Rohingya, according to local media accounts.
Ms. Pillay called for an aggressive investigation by Myanmar’s government, urging it “to carry out a full, prompt and impartial investigation and ensure that victims and their families receive justice.”
“By responding to these incidents quickly and decisively, the government has an opportunity to show transparency and accountability, which will strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Myanmar,” she said.“By responding to these incidents quickly and decisively, the government has an opportunity to show transparency and accountability, which will strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Myanmar,” she said.
The violence against Muslims has been widely publicized in Muslim countries, including in Indonesia and Malaysia, important members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The government has sought to play down the issue and announced earlier this month that it would not allow the issue to be put on the agenda during its chairmanship. The violence against Muslims has been widely publicized in Muslim countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, important members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The government has sought to play down the issue and announced earlier this month that it would not allow it to be put on the agenda during its chairmanship.
Anti-Muslim feelings run deep in Myanmar, partly because the Rohingya, who number around one million and are the largest Muslim group in the country, are considered illegal immigrants. The Rohingya issue is deeply emotional among the Buddhist-Burmese majority, who link it to the legacy of colonial times, when large numbers of Indians were brought into Burma by the British. The Myanmar government refuses to use the term Rohingya, preferring to call the group Bengalis. Anti-Muslim feelings run deep in Myanmar, partly because the Rohingya, who number around one million and are the largest Muslim group in the country, are considered illegal immigrants. That sentiment, among the Buddhist-Burmese majority, is a legacy of colonial times, when large numbers of Indians were brought into Burma by the British. The Myanmar government refuses to use the term Rohingya, preferring to call the group Bengalis.
The group Human Rights Watch said Friday that police officials in Rakhine had issued an order allowing for the arrest of all Rohingya males over age 10.The group Human Rights Watch said Friday that police officials in Rakhine had issued an order allowing for the arrest of all Rohingya males over age 10.
“In the event such an order has been issued, it should be rescinded immediately and authorities should act to ensure the safety of the entire population in the area,” the group said.“In the event such an order has been issued, it should be rescinded immediately and authorities should act to ensure the safety of the entire population in the area,” the group said.
While President Obama highlighted the plight of the Rohingya during his visit to Myanmar in November, the country’s leading politicians, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning rights leader, have largely been quiet on the issue. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is considered a potential candidate for president in the 2015 elections. While President Obama highlighted the plight of the Rohingya during his visit to Myanmar in November 2012, the country’s leading politicians, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning rights leader, have largely been quiet on the issue. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is considered a potential candidate for president in 2015.