[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index
][Thread Index
]
Statement of BYVA-Japan
- Subject: Statement of BYVA-Japan
- From: tinkyi@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 21:55:00
BURMA YOUTH VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION - JAPAN
RM 102, COURT TANGENT A-ll, 2-12-1, KOMAGOME, TOSHIMA-KU, TOKYO 170
Statement Regarding the Recent Unrest in Mandalay and Rangoon
There have been a number of reports this week of protests involving Buddhist
monks in Mandalay, Rangoon and several other cities in Burma. According to
official reports, Buddhist monks are avenging the attempted rape of a Buddhist
girl by Muslim men. While BYVA can neither confirm nor deny the truth of these
reports, we believe these conflicts are political, not merely religious, in
nature. We wish to point out the following:
* Successive military regimes in Burma have instigated communal violence to
deflect public anger against their failed policies, to weaken the opposition or
to provide an excuse for increased repression. In 1967 the government blamed
Burmese of Chinese ancestry for food shortages resulting from its
nationalization policy; rioters ransacked and looted Chinese homes, and many
Sino-Burmans were killed. The government may have been behind a conflict
between Buddhist monks and Muslims in Taunggyi and Prome during the 1988
anti-government uprising. And recently, the current regime has exploited a
religious rift among the Karen ethnic group and turned Buddhist Karen against
Christian Karen.
* Burma's Buddhist Youth Wing says officials made up the rape story to cover up
protests over deaths in prison of 16 monks.
* Even SLORC says the unrest was a politically motivated attempt by agitators to
stall Burma's entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Even if the official reports of the religious unrest were accurate, it is
obvious that the military government is ultimately to blame. SLORC has pursued
divisive policies that favor soldiers over civilians, Buddhists over Christians
or Muslims, Burmans over ethnic minorities and cultivated a climate of fear,
poverty and ignorance, a powderkeg for religious and ethnic violence. Contrary
to the military government's repeated claims that it is the sole unifying force
in Burma, we believe that SLORC's greatest fear is unity among Burma's peoples.
We believe that the only hope for peace in Burma is the establishment of a
democratic government that respects the rights of all Burmese, regardless of
race or religion. We therefore repeat our demand that the SLORC engage in a
dialogue with the democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi and with the
leaders of the ethnic minorities.
Signed by,
Khin Maung Zaw
( Chairman )
(on behalf of Executive Committee)
** Published by Information Committee**