State media issues correction after publishing racial slur
Burmese state media has issued a retraction for the use of racially offensive language in its official appeal for calm after sectarian violence saw ten Muslims brutally killed by an angry mob on Sunday in Arakan state.
A government statement published in the New Light of Myanmar on Tuesday warned against "anarchic and lawless" acts, but attracted a virulent backlash for referring to the victims as "kalar" – a racial slur for Muslims or persons of Indian appearance.
In a correction published today, the government paper urged readers to refer to the victims as "Islamic residents".
Dozens of people took to the streets in Rangoon yesterday to protest growing anti-Muslim violence and accused the government of fanning the flames of sectarian tensions. Political leaders and civil society groups appealed for calm and called on the government to issue an apology.
"The newspapers should not stoke this conflict. Are they trying to suggest that one race is more violent than others?" said ethnic Arakanese MP Aye Maung from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party.
Religious tensions have flared in Arakan state after three Muslim men were accused of the gang rape and murder of an ethnic Rakhine girl. It culminated in a bloody massacre on Sunday, when an angry mob set upon a bus filled with Muslim pilgrims and beat ten of them to death before setting the vehicle ablaze and defiling their corpses.
The violence has once again brought to the fore allegations of entrenched racism in Burmese society, particularly targeted against Muslims and the much-persecuted Rohingya minority group – dismissed as "illegal Bengali immigrants" by the government.
Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi today finally threw her voice into the debate, calling for the perpetrators to be held to account in accordance with the rule of law. She added that "the majority of the people in a society should have sympathy for the minority."
"Maybe some people wouldn't like me saying this but I have to say what I must say regardless of whether they like it or not. When you are the majority in a society, then you are the strong party. If you are strong then you must be generous and sympathetic. I would like to see all people in Burma get along with each other regardless of their religion and ethnicity."
In the past, Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy has carefully steered clear of discussing Burma's Muslim minority, especially the Rohingya, which is seen a hot-button political issue that risks alienating many of its supporters.
A joint statement issued by several Rohingya and human rights groups on Monday also called for religious tolerance and reconciliation.
"The government is fully responsible for the law and order situation in the whole country. It should not make the Muslims scapegoats, but it has full responsibility to protect the rights, honour and dignity of all citizens," they said.
Tags: Arakan state, aung san suu kyi, muslims, New Light of Myanmar
On Wed, Jun 6, 2012 at 4:08 AM, Abid Bahar <abid.bahar@gmail.com> wrote:
News | June 6, 2012, 8:11 amMurder of Muslims in Taungup due to Lack of Legal Protection
Taungup: The killing of ten Muslims in a mob attack on a bus in Taungup in southern Arakan State was the result of a lack of protection by law enforcement said a local resident who witnessed the attack.
"If the army or police had controlled the mob, they would have been able to save the victims. They knew the situation well, but the did not do anything to control the mob or protect the victims. The attack did not happen instantly. They were just in the situation of pulling and pushing for a long time. As the authorities did not do anything to control the situation, the incident eventually happened," said the resident.
He added that army and police personnel were just behind the mob while the attack was happening.
"I don't know how the problem would be tackled by the authorities. The police and the army were there when the mob was beating the victims, but they did not do anything to control the mob or protect the victims. The attack happened right in front of their eyes. So, it was just a matter that the law enforcers did not do what they should have done during the attack," he added.
Another eyewitness, a woman from Taungup also confirmed that the police and soldiers were at the scene when the attack happened.
"The policemen and soldiers were there on the spot when the attack was happening, but they did not prevent the attack and did not say anything to the youths to stop their attack on the victims. They were just watching the attack with their hands folded," said the woman.
Residents said "local authorities were aware of the situation and had the means to prevent the attack. The mob was very noisy along the road as it followed the Roma Thitsar Bus that departed from its station in downtown Taungup carrying the victims. The mob was able to stop the bus outside of town because some of them had followed the bus on motorcycles" they added.
According to an unconfirmed report, "The bus was said to have been driven into the compound of the immigration department on the road as the mob followed it, but responsible officials in the department forced the bus to back out, saying they could not take any responsibility because the bus was carrying Muslims."
U Khin Hla, Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Taungup, told the VOA Burmese program that "the Muslims were killed due to the lack of law and order in his hometown."
"I think such an incident happened due to the lack of law and order because it happened in broad daylight just around 4:30 pm, and it was also not just an incident in which a man hacked and killed another and ran away. On the contrary, I think the officials who are working for the rule of law and order in the country are very responsible for such an incident," said U Khin Hla.
When contacted by Narinjara, Daw Saw Mra Razar Lunn, Chairperson of the Rakhine Women's Union, she also said, "I think the lack of rule of law is to blame for [such violence]. The authorities are responsible to carry out the rule of law in the country, so the people, regardless if they are Buddhist or Muslim, are able to live together peacefully. Anyone who commits a crime action should have taken against them in accordance with the existing laws."
Taungup is situated as the main gateway for travel to central Burma from Arakan State. The authorities are said to have sowed anti-Muslim sentiment among the people of the town in order to help prevent Muslim migration and settlement into central Burma from the region.On Tue, Jun 5, 2012 at 9:59 PM, Abid Bahar <abid.bahar@gmail.com> wrote:
RROHINGYA MASSACRE PICTURES
Link:
http://www.rohingyablogger.com/2012/06/rohingya-chronicle-vol.htmlTheinternationalcommunitymustinterveneimmediately,andprovideprotectiontovictimsofhateinBurma
__._,_.___
