Burma, AKA Myanmar, is a little-known front in the war between Islam and Everything Else. Nevertheless, it is a front which seems to be becoming more active as of late. Western Burma is called home by a Muslim minority known as the Rohingya, a group with a previous track record of jihadist tendencies. Despite the usual mainstream equivocations on display in this mainstream media piece such as ‘sectarian tensions’ et al, it won’t take much to figure out which side most likely instigated this latest episode of violence. From “State of emergency declared for western Myanmar,” AP via Yahoonews, 11 June 2012:
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) “” Myanmar’s president has declared a state of emergency in a western state where sectarian tensions between Buddhists and Muslims have unleashed deadly violence. He warned that if the situation spun out
of control, it could jeopardize the democratic reforms he has been instituting since taking office last year.
It is the first time Thein Sein has invoked the measure since becoming president. A state of emergency effectively allows the military to take over administrative functions for Rakhine State, a coastal region that borders Bangladesh.
The move follows rioting on Friday in two Rakhine areas that state media say left at least seven people dead and 17 wounded, and saw hundreds of houses burned down. The unrest spread on Saturday and Sunday, though order was said to have been restored in the areas shaken by Friday’s
violence.
In a nine-minute speech televised nationally Sunday night, Thein Sein said that the violence in Rakhine State was fanned by
dissatisfaction harbored by different religious and ethnic groups, hatred and the desire for vengeance.
“If this endless anarchic vengeance and deadly acts continue, there is the danger of them spreading to other parts and being overwhelmed by subversive influences,” he said. “If that happens, it can severely affect peace and tranquility and our nascent democratic reforms and the development of
the country.”
The accounts in state media blamed Friday’s rioting in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships on 1,000 “terrorists,” but
residents’ accounts made clear they were Muslims. The unrest seemed to
be a reaction to the June 3 lynching of 10 Muslims by a crowd of 300
Buddhists. The lynch mob was apparently provoked by leaflets discussing
the rape and murder last month of a Buddhist girl, allegedly by three
Muslim men.
The rape by Muslims is alleged, but the lynching by Buddhists isn’t.