Myanmar clamps down after religious unrest

* Military government might use the unrest to distract attention away from national politics, says opposition official
* Religious influx could prompt Bangladesh to deploy extra security forces along its


YANGON: Myanmar has tightened security around mosques and Buddhist monasteries, fearing more religious unrest after at least nine people were killed in rioting two weeks ago, witnesses said on Friday.

The military government has confirmed what it called disturbances “between people of different faiths” and said there had been casualties and property damage. It gave no details. “The details cannot be made public yet since the investigation is still ongoing,” it said on Thursday.

Witnesses said the violence began two weeks ago when Buddhists and Muslims clashed in Kyaukse, 30 miles (50 km) south of Mandalay, the second largest city in the predominantly Buddhist country. They said nine people were killed on October 19 when a fire set by an angry Buddhist mob destroyed a mosque and several houses in Kyaukse. The cause of the riot was not known. Authorities slapped a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Kyaukse and arrested leading Buddhist monk Weik Seitta on October 26, witnesses said. The next day, about 1,000 monks staged a protest in Mandalay against his detention and four monks were wounded when police broke up the demonstration, witnesses said.

“Monasteries and mosques in Mandalay have been kept under constant surveillance ever since,” one source in Mandalay told Reuters. The city is home to roughly 300,000 Buddhist monks. Heightened security has also been seen around religious buildings in Yangon, the capital.

Distract attention: “We are worried that the government might try to use this unrest to distract attention away from national politics”, one Myanmar opposition official told Reuters. United Nations human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro plans to visit Myanmar today (Saturday), but it is unclear whether he will be able to see detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Pinheiro, who will spend a week in the country, was expected to push for the release of all political detainees and the re-opening of opposition offices, diplomats said on Friday.

“I think the government has little choice but to let him see Suu Kyi. If they cannot meet the UN’s demand to release her, they have to agree to officials meeting her,” one said. Suu Kyi, 58, was detained earlier this year at a secret location following a May 30 clash between her followers and pro-government supporters.

Bangladesh fears influx: The religious clashes have prompted Bangladesh to deploy extra security forces along its border with Myanmar amid fears of a fresh influx of Muslim refugees. Bangladesh, which shares a 320-km (200-mile) border with the former Burma, is still home to nearly 20,000 Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. About 250,000 refugees fled alleged military persecution in 1992, but most have returned home. “A new influx would aggravate the situation and may cause tension between Bangladeshis and the Rohingyas, who are frequently blamed for rising crime and a growing job crisis,” one Bangladesh official told Reuters in Dhaka. —Reuters

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