By United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights |
March 28, 2013
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights
situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, today expressed serious
concerns over the spread of violence between Muslim and Buddhist
communities in Myanmar and urged bold steps by the Government to
counteract this frightening trend.
“The Government must take immediate action to stop the violence from
spreading to other parts of the country and undermining the reform
process. This includes stemming campaigns of discrimination and hate
speech which are fuelling racist and, in particular, anti-Muslim feeling
in the country. And it involves holding to account those responsible
for acts of violence and destruction against religious and ethnic
minorities,” the Special Rapporteur said.
“The warning signs have been there since the communal violence in
Rakhine State last June and the Government has simply not done enough to
address the spread of discrimination and prejudice against Muslim
communities across the country, and to tackle the organised and
coordinated mobs that are inciting hatred and violently attacking Muslim
communities,” he added.
Last week saw violence between Muslim and Buddhist communities in
Mandalay region in central Myanmar that left 12,000 persons displaced
and unconfirmed numbers dead. Subsequently, a curfew and state of
emergency has been imposed in four townships in Mandalay region. There
are reports of violence spreading to Bago and Yangon. In June and
October last year, inter-communal violence in Rakhine State, Northwest
Myanmar, left 120,000 internally displaced and, according to Government
figures, nearly 200 dead.
Mr. Ojea Quintana welcomed calls from Government leaders, including
the President’s televised address to the nation earlier today, for
compassion, tolerance, understanding and empathy amongst people of all
faiths in Myanmar. He also notes the President’s warning to “political
opportunists” and “religious extremists” not to misuse religion to
incite hatred. However, he believes State authorities need to do much
more. This includes addressing allegations that some State officials,
including local politicians and administrators, have been encouraging
discriminatory views and inciting hatred.
The Rapporteur also expressed concern about religious leaders or
their supporters publicly spreading hate speech, including through
social media. “I have seen worrying footage of religious leaders,
including Buddhist monks, seemingly advocating religious intolerance.
The Government must clearly distance itself from such incitement to
hatred, and instruct its officials to do likewise. Although Myanmar is a
majority Buddhist country, the Government must promote tolerance of all
faiths and religions.” Furthermore, journalists attempting to cover the
violence in Mandalay have reportedly been attacked and threatened by
armed mobs, and the Rapporteur highlighted the obligation of the State
authorities to protect journalists.
While noting the President’s statement that the security forces will
be used to protect the life, liberty and security of the people, the
Rapporteur warned against a heavy-handed approach that sees strong
military action as the only way to restore public order, and urged a
more holistic approach to address the root causes of inter-communal
tensions.
In addition, Mr. Ojea Quintana revealed, “I have received reports of
State involvement in some of the acts of violence, and of instances
where the military, police and other civilian law enforcement forces
have been standing by while atrocities have been committed before their
very eyes, including by well organised ultra-nationalist Buddhist mobs.
This may indicate direct involvement by some sections of the State or
implicit collusion and support for such actions.” Other allegations
received by the Special Rapporteur have indicated that the military and
police may be arbitrarily detaining people based on religious and ethnic
profiling.
“Tackling discrimination is fundamental to establishing the rule of
law, and impunity for acts of violence and discrimination must no longer
be tolerated,” he said. “The military and police must now be held to
account for human rights violations committed against ethnic and
religious minorities.”
While acknowledging the strong stance taken by the President’s
Office, the Rapporteur called on other institutions such as Parliament,
the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission to play their
role in protecting constitutionally guaranteed rights, including
freedom of religion. He also emphasised the role of civil society and
political parties in tackling prejudice and discrimination against
ethnic and religious minorities, and praised the work of 88 Generation
leaders such as Min Ko Naing, who had travelled to Meikhtila following
the violence and worked to ease tensions and promote understanding.
In the Special Rapporteur’s latest report to the Human Rights Council
earlier this month*, he warned that the crisis in Rakhine State could
spread to other parts of the country, and issued a number of
recommendations to the Government aimed at addressing the widespread
discrimination and prejudice against ethnic and religious minority
groups in Myanmar, including lifting restrictions on discriminatory
practices against Muslim communities, and reviewing the functions of the
border security forces.
(*) Report and Myanmar Government response to report available here.
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