Hundreds of Buddhists protest against aid agencies in Myanmar’s Rakhine
Posted on December 21st, 2017
YANGON (Reuters) – Hundreds of Buddhists took to the streets in western Myanmar on Sunday to protest against aid organizations they accuse of giving support to Muslim Rohingya militants, police and a protest leader said.
Buddhist monks and members of the Rakhine ethnic group held demonstrations in 15 towns, including the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe, demanding that aid agencies leave the western state immediately, Htay Aung, a self-described leader of the protests, told Reuters by phone.
We will protest again and again until we get our demands. If the government fails to act, that is their responsibility,” he said.
Tensions have risen once again in Rakhine since seven Buddhists were found hacked to death in the mountains in the north of the state in July.
The government said it had discovered forest encampments that proved Muslim extremists” were responsible for the killings, and the military sent additional forces to the area this week.
At one suspected militant camp last month, biscuits originating from the United Nations’ World Food Programme were discovered. Ethnic Rakhine Buddhists have long accused U.N. and other aid organizations of favoring the Rohingya with aid.
CRACKDOWN
The state was plunged into violence in October, when Rohingya insurgents killed nine border police, sparking a crackdown in which government security forces were accused of raping, killing and torturing Rohingya civilians.
About 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims live in Rakhine, but are denied citizenship and face restrictions on their movements and access to basic services. About 120,000 remain in camps set up after deadly violence swept the state in 2012, where they rely on aid agencies for basic provisions.
Pictures shared online of Sunday’s protests showed saffron-robed monks holdings signs reading, We don’t need terrorist supporter group,” and calling for the U.N. and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) to get out”.
Htay Aung said the protesters demanded that the government rid the state of Muslim militants, quickly verify the citizenship credentials of Muslims and allow Rakhine Buddhists to form armed militias.
Police Major Cho Lwin estimated that about 600 people protested in Sittwe.
The protest went ahead today peacefully,” he said, adding that police had stepped up security and blocked roads leading to aid offices.
Reuters obtained the text of note sent by the U.N. on Wednesday to the 300 or so U.N. staff in Rakhine, as well as INGOs, warning of rising hostility to international agencies in the state.
Editing by Simon Lewis and Andrew Roche
December 23rd, 2017 at 6:47 am
Luckily for Myanmar they have patriotic leaders to save their country, culture, Burmese race and Buddhism from
the relentless breeding mussies. Everywhere mussies go they multiply and multiply and multiply with their BABY
MACHINE WIVES (in some cases up to seven). Within a short time the whole place is awash with mussies. This is the
dirty, disgusting trick crafty mussies used to turn old Buddhist iran, afganisthan, pakesthan, maldives, bangladesh,
malayasia and indonesia. They multiplied and multiplied and outnumbered the natives. Well, it worked in the olden
days thanks to people didn’t have any knowledge of the multiplying … until it came to your doorstep. But today’s tv
internet, mobile phone age people get to know multiplication straight away. So this multiplication going to end up in
blood bath. That’s what happened in iraq, syria, pakesthan, libya, afganisthan, yemen etc.etc. RELIGION OF
VIOLENCE IS ALSO THE FASTEST BREEDING RELIGION.
Mussies breed, breed and breed and say their goats will help. Apart from them, everyone else know these gods do not exist. Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution proved beyond anybody’s doubt. If you don’t believe Charles
Darwin try to spell god backword.
In the end poor Sri Lankan govenment has to
intervene and produce food, schools, housing, jobs, roads, hospitals, land etc. etc. etc etc. But the crafty mussies keep breeding and breeding and now ancient Buddhist temples, tea estates, wildlife sanctuaries etc etc are not safe from mussie …. since this menace needs more space. Human rights monkeys object when countries take steps to
protect their livelihoods from this breeding menace. When it happens to these human rights monkeys’ countries it
is of course different!