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Myanmar government denies U.S. char



Subject: Myanmar government denies U.S. charges of forced Buddhism 

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<font size=4><b>Myanmar government denies U.S. charges of forced Buddhism
<br>
<br>
</font></b><font size=3>By GRANT PECK <br>
<br>
BANGKOK, Thailand (September 11, 1999 11:03 a.m. EDT
http://www.nandotimes.com) - The government of Myanmar on Saturday
dismissed as unfounded charges by the U.S. State Department that it uses
force to propagate Buddhism, the dominant religion, and denies human
rights and political freedom to some Buddhist monks. <br>
<br>
The charges were made Thursday in the State Department's Annual Report on
International Religious Freedom, published for the first time this year
to meet the mandate of a new law. <br>
<br>
The government &quot;systematically restricted efforts by Buddhist clergy
to promote human rights and political freedom, and, according to multiple
detailed credible reports, government authorities in some ethnic minority
areas coercively promoted Buddhism over other religions,&quot; said the
report's section on Myanmar, also called Burma. <br>
<br>
A statement by the Myanmar government spokesman said it &quot;is
regretful that the U.S. State Department is not aware that Buddhism does
not force-promote its faith.&quot; <br>
<br>
&quot;It is against the fundamental belief of Buddhism to do such things
and in Myanmar, Buddhism is practiced devotedly,&quot; said the
statement, faxed to The Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand. <br>
<br>
It also said that under Buddhist law, monks are supposed to refrain from
political and commercial activities. <br>
<br>
The State Department took particular note of allegations of abuses
against the Christian Chin ethnic minority. <br>
<br>
&quot;Government security forces continued efforts to induce members of
the Chin ethnic minority to convert to Buddhism and prevent Christian
Chin from proselytizing by highly coercive means, including religiously
selective exemptions from forced labor, and by arresting, detaining,
interrogating, and physically abusing Christian clergy,&quot; it said.
<br>
<br>
It also claimed that members of the Muslim Rohingya minority in Arakan
State, on the country's western coast, &quot;continued to experience
severe legal, economic, and social discrimination.&quot; <br>
<br>
The Myanmar government statement charged that &quot;without substantial
evidence, it is improper to accuse other nations or governments just
based on hearsay. There is an American idiom which is quite appropriate
for this case: `People living in glass houses should not throw
stones,&quot;' it said. <br>
<br>
</font><font size=2><b>Posted on 9/11/99, 07:04 PM CST.
</font><font size=2 color="#0000FF"><u>Email this story to a
friend</font></u><font size=2 color="#000000">.<br>
</b>Source:
</font><font size=2 color="#0000FF"><b><u>Nando</font></b></u><font size=2 color="#000000">.<br>
Posted by: <b>ShweInc NEWs<br>
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