Calls grow for end to Myanmar sectarian unrest
Tensions erupted following the recent rape and murder
of a Buddhist woman:
MYANMAR: International pressure mounted for an end to religious
violence raging in western Myanmar, where armed police on Tuesday
patrolled a flashpoint region devastated by rioting and arson.
The United States urged an immediate end to the deadly sectarian
unrest, which has forced the United Nations to evacuate foreign workers
from Rakhine state, now under a state of emergency.
At least seven people have died since Friday, according to officials,
in a cycle of apparent revenge attacks between Buddhists and Muslim
Rohingya that presents a major test of fragile reforms since army rule
ended last year.
Rights organisations fear the real toll could be much higher with one
advocacy group which works with the Rohingya, The Arakan Project, saying
dozens of people had been killed. AFP could not verify that information
and its team of reporters has been unable to visit many of the affected
areas for security reasons.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday called for “all
parties to exercise restraint”, adding the “the United States continues
to be deeply concerned” about the situation.
The United Nations has begun pulling out more than 40 workers --
including foreigners -- and their families from a base in Maungdaw, an
area home to large numbers of Rohingya where clashes have also been
reported.
Warning that the violence is running “out of control”, New York-based
Human Rights Watch called for international observers to be deployed in
Rakhine to “put all sides on notice that they were being closely
watched.” “The government needs to be protecting threatened communities,
but without any international presence there, there's a real fear that
won't happen,” said Elaine Pearson, HRW's deputy director.
Gunfire echoed across the outskirts of the state capital Sittwe on
Monday as groups of men, who appeared to be ethnic Rakhine Buddhists,
roamed the streets wielding sticks and knives. A dusk-to-dawn curfew has
been imposed.
Rakhine, a predominantly Buddhist state bordering Bangladesh, is home
to a large number of Muslims including the Rohingya, described by the
United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.
The Myanmar government considers the Rohingya to be foreigners, while
many citizens see them as illegal immigrants and view them with
hostility, describing them as “Bengalis”. An AFP reporter witnessed
heavy security overnight in Sittwe, as rumours swirled among nervous
residents that groups of Rohingyas were approaching the heart of the
city, despite the security lockdown.
Rioting has seen hundreds of homes torched across the state, forcing
both Buddhists and Rohingya to flee seeking safety. Bangladesh border
guards Monday turned back eight boats carrying more than 300 Rohingya
Muslims, including weeping women and children, as it attempts to prevent
a influx of refugees reaching its shores. Tensions erupted following the
recent rape and murder of a Rakhine woman, allegedly by three Muslims.
AFP
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