Communal violence stirred up by bigotry and intolerance: Thai editorial

[webfact]

EDITORIAL
Communal violence stirred up by bigotry and intolerance
The Nation

Violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims are unlikely to end unless the Myanmar government reins in the extremists that orchestrate them

BANGKOK: -- The move by Myanmar over the weekend to lift an emergency decree imposed in areas that have seen sectarian clashes between Buddhists and Muslims was welcome news. But President Thein Sein and his government in Nay Pyi Taw need to do much more to bring sustainable peace to the country's various ethnic and religious groups.

A state of emergency was imposed on March 22 after communal violence in the townships of Meiktila, Mahlaing, Wundwin and Thazi in the Mandalay region.

Riots originally erupted in Meiktila on March 20 after a quarrel between a Buddhist couple and Muslim gold-shop owner. The private conflict escalated after a group of Muslim men reportedly pulled a Buddhist monk off a motorbike and burned him to death. A Buddhist mob took revenge by going on a rampage and destroying nearly all the mosques in town, as well as setting hundreds of houses ablaze. The mob later attacked and looted an Islamic school, where 36 teachers and students were killed.

The violence claimed 44 lives. The authorities arrested several suspects, mostly Muslims, as being responsibility for the violence.

The emergency order imposed a 10pm-to-4am curfew and barred the public assembly of groups of more than five people. It also allowed local authorities to seek military assistance to help bring violent situations under control. The order expired on May 20, but was then extended to July 19. The authorities now say, "As peace and stability has already been restored in [the] townships, the proclamation of the emergency order was revoked as of July 20."

The current situation might appear calm, but tensions linger and the conflict between some adherents of the two religions is still far from over. The root cause of disunity in Myanmar society remains a festering sore. In fact, only two months after the Meiktila incidents, similar violence occurred in Shan State, in the small town of Lashio, which left scores of casualties.

Tension and conflict between Buddhist and Muslim communities happened originally in western Rakhine State, where Muslim Rohingya clashed with local Buddhists, leaving hundreds of people dead and thousands displaced. Negative attitudes toward the Rohingya - whom the Myanmar authorities and the Buddhist elite regard as aliens - fanned out to include Muslims of ethnic background around the country. Most of the responsibility for this falls upon extremist Buddhists. Their campaign against Muslims has been conducted systematically and consistently. It might be an exaggeration to call such action a campaign of "ethnic cleansing", but neither is it right to ignore it.

Rather than rejecting or dismissing international reports on this issue, Thein Sein and his government should be concerned. So far they have regarded commentary on the subject as a mere smear campaign against the government. The authorities should look at the situation with an open mind and endeavour to find the real cause of the problem and seek a solution accordingly.

Reports conducted by commissions under the instruction of the president have failed to address the issue at its cause. There is hardly any need to say that such commissions and reports rarely suggest anything useful for reconciliation. Lifting the emergency as a first step is the right thing to do, but it might not be enough to bring lasting peace.


-- The Nation 2013-07-23

[CelticBhoy]

Wow. Makes the bigotry problem back home look amiable.

The powers that be have their work cut out for them.

[Bluespunk]

The private conflict escalated after a group of Muslim men reportedly pulled a Buddhist monk off a motorbike and burned him to death.

Did this actually happen? It wouldn't be a justification for the violence that followed, but was it just a rumour spread to encourage others to commit the atrocities that followed the gold shop argument.

Edited July 23, 2013 by Bluespunk

[Bluespunk]

Wow. Makes the bigotry problem back home look amiable.

The powers that be have their work cut out for them.

The powers that be have stood aside and done very little on a number of occasions in Burma already.

[NongKhaiKid]

What gets me is that when all of this started months ago " The Lady " declined to condemn the violence saying she didn't know enough about it. Hard to believe she isn't on top of everything that happens in the country.

She has simply become a typical politician and not likely to upset her power base the Buddhist majority.

I would have expected more from her.

[Bluespunk]

What gets me is that when all of this started months ago " The Lady " declined to condemn the violence saying she didn't know enough about it. Hard to believe she isn't on top of everything that happens in the country.

She has simply become a typical politician and not likely to upset her power base the Buddhist majority.

I would have expected more from her.

You're right there, her response to say the least, was disappointing.

[Tatsujin]

Nice to see the tolerance and understanding that religions (supposedly) espouse being so admirably displayed as usual.

[hansnl]

I am not a religious man.

I leave anyone to his or her beliefs.

But.......

There are more or less moderate religions and there are religions that must be spread by the sword.

Look around the world.

Anywhere there are problems, you will find the religion that must be spread by the sword..

[NongKhaiKid]

Nice to see the tolerance and understanding that religions (supposedly) espouse being so admirably displayed as usual.

The Islamic world is in turmoil as usual and as the former spiritual leader of Jemma Islamia said " democracy has no place in Islam ".

Consider then in parts of Britain Sharia Law is being allowed in domestic matters all with the blessing of Dopey Dave Cameron and the PC brigade.

This is a religion that locked a woman up in UAE for having sex outside of marriage after alleging she had been raped. Luckily she has been pardoned after international pressure.

Before anyone climbs into me, I have no time for any religion other than my favourite football team.

[robblok]

I am not a religious man.

I leave anyone to his or her beliefs.

But.......

There are more or less moderate religions and there are religions that must be spread by the sword.

Look around the world.

Anywhere there are problems, you will find the religion that must be spread by the sword..

Only in this case it seems the Buddists are the one doing the fighting.

[simple1]

I am not a religious man.

I leave anyone to his or her beliefs.

But.......

There are more or less moderate religions and there are religions that must be spread by the sword.

Look around the world.

Anywhere there are problems, you will find the religion that must be spread by the sword..

In this case you are incorrect. Buddhist nationalisnm, led by monks in Myanmar, is a major concern. Buddhist lynch mobs have killed more than 200 Muslims and forced more than 150,000 people, mostly Muslims, from their homes to date; look up Group 969. In addition Rohingya (Muslims) had their citizenship revoked in the 1980s. The UN and other agencies identify the Rohingya as the most repressed minority group in any country worldwide with current estimates of more than 800,000 in Myanmar who are still stateless.

Buddhist nationalism in majority Buddhist countries such Sri Lanka, Myanmar & Thailand is an increasing cause of concern with non nationalist Buddhist leaders.

Edited July 23, 2013 by simple1

[Bluespunk]

I am not a religious man.

I leave anyone to his or her beliefs.

But.......

There are more or less moderate religions and there are religions that must be spread by the sword.

Look around the world.

Anywhere there are problems, you will find the religion that must be spread by the sword..

Only in this case it seems the Buddists are the one doing the fighting.

More like slaughtering.

[simple1]

Nice to see the tolerance and understanding that religions (supposedly) espouse being so admirably displayed as usual.

The Islamic world is in turmoil as usual and as the former spiritual leader of Jemma Islamia said " democracy has no place in Islam ".

Consider then in parts of Britain Sharia Law is being allowed in domestic matters all with the blessing of Dopey Dave Cameron and the PC brigade.

This is a religion that locked a woman up in UAE for having sex outside of marriage after alleging she had been raped. Luckily she has been pardoned after international pressure.

Before anyone climbs into me, I have no time for any religion other than my favourite football team.

In Thailand In Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Songkhla provinces, Sharia law is allowed for settling family and inheritance issues under a 1946 law

[nakhonandy]

I am not a religious man.

I leave anyone to his or her beliefs.

But.......

There are more or less moderate religions and there are religions that must be spread by the sword.

Look around the world.

Anywhere there are problems, you will find the religion that must be spread by the sword..

In this case you are incorrect. Buddhist nationalisnm, led by monks in Myanmar, is a major concern. Buddhist lynch mobs have killed more than 200 Muslims and forced more than 150,000 people, mostly Muslims, from their homes to date; look up Group 969. In addition Rohingya (Muslims) had their citizenship revoked in the 1980s. The UN and other agencies identify the Rohingya as the most repressed minority group in any country worldwide with current estimates of more than 800,000 in Myanmar who are still stateless.

Buddhist nationalism in majority Buddhist countries such Sri Lanka, Myanmar & Thailand is an increasing cause of concern with non nationalist Buddhist leaders.

These people may call themselves Buddhist but no true Buddhist would condone this.

[NongKhaiKid]

Nice to see the tolerance and understanding that religions (supposedly) espouse being so admirably displayed as usual.

The Islamic world is in turmoil as usual and as the former spiritual leader of Jemma Islamia said " democracy has no place in Islam ".

Consider then in parts of Britain Sharia Law is being allowed in domestic matters all with the blessing of Dopey Dave Cameron and the PC brigade.

This is a religion that locked a woman up in UAE for having sex outside of marriage after alleging she had been raped. Luckily she has been pardoned after international pressure.

Before anyone climbs into me, I have no time for any religion other than my favourite football team.

In Thailand In Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Songkhla provinces, Sharia law is allowed for settling family and inheritance issues under a 1946 law

I will only say that Britain, and probably any country, cannot allow two sets of laws to exist. Yes, in Britain the law of Scotland is different and goes back to 1707, no I wasn't around then, but in essence it's the same. Britain is now allowing migrants to arrive, make money, claim welfare and slowly allowing them to live as if in the countries they couldn't wait to leave. No society can be divided like this.

I do not like much of Thai law and customs but I live here, keep my head down and accept that I have to accept it.

[simple1]

Nice to see the tolerance and understanding that religions (supposedly) espouse being so admirably displayed as usual.

The Islamic world is in turmoil as usual and as the former spiritual leader of Jemma Islamia said " democracy has no place in Islam ".

Consider then in parts of Britain Sharia Law is being allowed in domestic matters all with the blessing of Dopey Dave Cameron and the PC brigade.

This is a religion that locked a woman up in UAE for having sex outside of marriage after alleging she had been raped. Luckily she has been pardoned after international pressure.

Before anyone climbs into me, I have no time for any religion other than my favourite football team.

In Thailand In Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Songkhla provinces, Sharia law is allowed for settling family and inheritance issues under a 1946 law

I will only say that Britain, and probably any country, cannot allow two sets of laws to exist. Yes, in Britain the law of Scotland is different and goes back to 1707, no I wasn't around then, but in essence it's the same. Britain is now allowing migrants to arrive, make money, claim welfare and slowly allowing them to live as if in the countries they couldn't wait to leave. No society can be divided like this.

I do not like much of Thai law and customs but I live here, keep my head down and accept that I have to accept it.

I agree Western countries should only be one rule of law, whether it is Civil or Criminal. Thailand is a very different scenario regarding the privileges and status of Muslims & is outlined at the following Thai government website that I suggest you read prior to posting any further comments:

http://www.thaiembassy.org/riyadh/th/organize/29025-Muslim-in-Thailand.html

[thhMan]

I am sorry...

I am one of those people that do not understand Muslim... I am sure they have their good points, but so far all I seem to hear is hate.... Sure other religions have had their hate times and I agree that they have nothing to be proud of either, but this is not the 1600's.

How nice the world would be without the dictatorship of religion

[Bagwan]

Re Sharia law in the UK.

I see benefits for Sharia law being practiced in civil matters. Recourse to civil law is very expensive for the State and the protagonists, and usually the only winners are the lawyers. If two Muslims cannot agree does it not make sense for Muslims to sort the problem out according to their own customs? A judgement by a UK judge (or judges) may not satisfy either party. I would suppose that going against the decision of the elders would make one as popular as a pork chop in a synagogue. I am of course totally against immigrants setting up their own 'states' in their host country and those that cannot assilimilate to their new environment would simply be handicapping themselves.

There can be only one criminal law and that applies to ALL. Even members of the Royal family have been hauled up before the beaks and fined, Princesses Di and Anne being notable examples. A driver of an official car with the Home Secretary in back was fined for speeding.

[notmyself]

These people may call themselves Buddhist but no true Buddhist would condone this.

One is always hard pressed to beat a good no true Scotsman logical fallacy at any time, or on any day of the week.

The No True Scotsman fallacy involves discounting evidence that would refute a proposition, concluding that it hasnt been falsified when in fact it has.

If Angus, a Glaswegian, who puts sugar on his porridge, is proposed as a counter-example to the claim No Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge, the No true Scotsman fallacy would run as follows:

(1) Angus puts sugar on his porridge.

(2) No (true) Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.

Therefore:

(3) Angus is not a (true) Scotsman.

Therefore:

(4) Angus is not a counter-example to the claim that no Scotsman puts sugar on his porridge.

http://www.logicalfallacies.info/presumption/no-true-scotsman/