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Communal tensions bristle in Myanmar after Buddhist militants destroy mosque

[email protected] (Agencies)
June 25, 2016

Yangon, Jun 25: Scores of police have been deployed to guard a village in central Myanmar where religious tensions are running high after a Buddhist mob destroyed a mosque, authorities said Saturday.

myanmarIt is the latest flare-up of anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar, which has seen sporadic bouts of religious bloodshed since 2012, with a surge of Buddhist nationalism presenting a key challenge for Aung San Suu Kyi's new government.

The most recent violence erupted this week when an angry mob of around 200 Buddhists rampaged through a Muslim area of a village in Bago province following an argument between neighbours over the building of a Muslim school.

Own Lwin, the local police chief, said the atmosphere remained tense Saturday with around 100 police officers deployed to keep the peace.

"Last night, 50 police guarded the village to prepare for rumours that there might be more unrest. Now we have arranged a police force of up to 100 officers," he told AFP, adding that no arrests have been made over the destruction of the mosque.

Win Shwe, the mosque's secretary, told AFP that Muslim residents fear for their safety and are planning to move to a nearby town until the tension cools.

"Our situation is not safe and now we are planning to leave the village...We still feel afraid," he told AFP.

Strident anti-Muslim sentiment has fomented across Myanmar in recent years, with outbreaks of violence threatening to unravel democratic gains since the former junta stepped down in 2011.

The worst religious violence struck central Myanmar and western Rakhine State, which is home to the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, tens of thousands of whom still languish in displacement camps after rioting.

Hardline monks and Buddhist nationalists fiercely oppose moves to recognise the Rohingya as an official minority and insist on calling them "Bengalis" - shorthand for illegal migrants from the border with Bangladesh.

Suu Kyi, a vocal champion for human rights, has been criticised for not taking a stronger stance on the Rohingya or the abuse they face.

This month the UN warned that violations against the group could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, now leading Myanmar's first civilian government in decades, has asked for "space" while her administration seeks to build trust between religious communities.

Comments

Bopanna
 - 
Monday, 27 Jun 2016

How I wish this happens in India too. No one wants unclean Muslims and their terror teaching mosques in their country. Why would a peaceful community like Buddhists start violence ,? The Muslims must have instigated them....

Satyameva jayate
 - 
Sunday, 26 Jun 2016

Ha ha......and these Buddhist call themselves non violent and peace loving....bloody ...criminals .... terrorists ....
What would happen if it was a temple.......

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News Network
February 9,2020

Karwar, Feb 9: It has now come to the knowledge that a Karwar youth identified as Abhishek (26) who is on board a cruise ship that was turned away at a Japan port has reached out for help. The vessel was carrying coronavirus infected tourists onboard.

On Friday, Japan had reported 41 confirmed cases in the vessel which is currently docked at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Tokyo. Abhishek works as a steward in Diamond Princess ship owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The reports say that he is not infected by the virus. Around 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship. The total number of Indian nationals is not yet confirmed.

Abhishek who hails from Canara Bank colony in Karwar in Karnataka on Saturday morning through a video call appealed to the Indian government to evacuate him from the ship and deport to India, while the company, where he works, has said the Indian Embassy in Japan is in continuous contact with the concerned authorities in Japan

Abhishek in his call to parents said “I am scared of the ship as the people are quarantined and the ship is isolated. Please contact government officials to evacuate me from the ship and deport me to India.”

Father of Abhishek, Balakrishna B talking to ToI said the Karwar district administration and the company he is working with have asked not to panic. The deputy commissioner (DC) of Karwar said Japan is performing normal procedures to contain the spread of the deadly virus which killed over 600 people across the world.

Indian embassy in Japan in its statement mailed to the parent of Abhishek said “As you are aware that the Diamond Princess cruise ship is presently under quarantine for a period of 14 days from Feb 5 due to positively tested cases of coronavirus onboard. All passengers and crew members on board have to follow the health and safety regulations put in place by the Japanese ministry of health, labour and welfare”

The embassy official, Anil K Kalra further said the office is in constant touch with the Japanese authorities who have assured that all passengers and the crew members of the ship are being taken care of and kept under health monitoring and there is no cause to worry. The official said “we are trying to reach out to all Indian nationals onboard to know about their well being and assure all possible help at this difficult juncture.

DC of Karwar, Harish Kumar K urged the parents not to panic and his office has sent a letter to state the government that will be forwarded to the ministry of external affairs. Japan is doing standard operating procedures to contain the virus and as of now, Abhishek is secure and safe.

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coastaldigest.com news network
February 20,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 20: German software group SAP said on Thursday that it had temporarily shut down its offices across India for sanitisation after two employees in its Bengaluru Ecoworld office tested positive for H1N1 virus.

"Two SAP India employees based in Bangalore (RMZ Ecoworld office) have tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Detailed contact tracing that the infected colleagues may have come into contact with is underway," SAP India said in an emailed statement.

The company said its offices across Bengaluru, Gurugram and Mumbai have been closed for extensive sanitisation. All employees based in these locations have been asked to work from home till further notice

SAP India also advised its employees to seek medical advice if they or their family members have any symptoms of cold, cough with fever.

H1N1 or swine flu can spread through air. Its symptoms are cough, fever, sore throat, running nose, body ache, headache, chills and fatigue.

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News Network
August 4,2020

Bengaluru, Aug 4: Police barricades, yellow banners, walls with a fresh coat of paint and the sounds of bhajan mark parts of Ayodhya as the city awaits its big day Wednesday, when the first brick will be laid for the Ram temple.

Ayodhya is decked up for the bhoomi pujan that will be attended at the Ram Janmabhoomi by 175 people, who figure in a select guest list of seers and politicians topped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Concerned over the spread of coronavirus, the authorities are encouraging others not to come to the temple town, asking them to mark the occasion by celebrating at their homes. The groundbreaking ceremony will be telecast live.

Roads leading to Ayodhya display hoardings with the picture of the proposed Ram temple and of Ram Lalla, the infant Ram, the deity now housed in a makeshift temple.

Around the town’s Hanumangarhi area – named after a well-known temple which Modi will visit on Wednesday – both police sirens and ‘bhajans’ in praise of Ram are heard.

Most of the shops in the locality wear a new look, with their fronts painted in bright yellow. A large number of policemen were deployed there on Tuesday. Some sat in the sweet shops, waiting for their next instructions.

Roads leading into the area are barricaded. Yards of yellow cloth and marigold garlands were being hung on poles.

Even on the day before the event, security checks on vehicles heading to Ayodhya begin from adjoining Barabanki district itself on the Lucknow-Ayodhya road. Policemen take down details, including mobile numbers of the travellers.

Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar said the focus of the force is on maintaining the Covid-19 protocol.

“So we are not going to allow any outsider to enter Ayodhya city,” he said. Prohibitory orders are also in force and not more than four people will be allowed to gather.

“The markets and shops will remain open but with strict adherence to the Covid protocol,” he said. Outsiders will be stopped from entering the city, but Ayodhya residents will be allowed in if they produce any identification document.

“We are also carrying out random checks on people living in Ayodhya to ensure that no outsiders are staying here,” he said.

The city’s temples and mosques will remain open, but no other religious event – except for the bhoomi pujan – will take place on Wednesday.

Pickets have been set up at sensitive points in the city.

Sub-inspector Ram Chandra Yadav and constables Avnish Kumar and Ankit Chaudhary man the Terhi Bazar Chauraha picket near the Ram Janmabhoomi site.

"We are here for the past some days, and were on duty on the Rakshabandhan day. Duty comes first and only after that come other things in life, like festivals," Yadav said.

Mayank Gupta, who runs a restaurant, was handing out food packets to policemen, his customers.

"For the last two months, I have been providing tiffin to them twice a day. There are around 100 policemen to whom I supply tiffin," Gupta said.

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