Buddhist-Rohingya clashes: Economy the real trigger?
YANGON (Myanmar): The conflict between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine province may have been touted as the reason behind the attack on Bodhgaya's Mahabodhi temple, but the issue of the Rohingyas is seen less as a clash between religions and more of an ethnic and economic problem within the rapidly developing country whose military government started the process of democratic reforms two years ago. The reforms initiated by former military general-turned president Thein Sein which have led to the release of National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the lifting of sanctions imposed by the US are now translating into huge foreign investments in the country which is a largely untapped reservoir of natural gas and other resources. "For a vast majority of people, there was frustration at seeing economic opportunities slip by during the military regime," says U Thura Ko Ko, chief representative of the Texas Pacific Group Fund which advises foreign investors coming to Myanmar. "With the country opening up now, there is competition for scarce land and resources. I would therefore say that the fundamental cause of tension in areas like the Rakhine region is largely economic."
For many others in Yangon, Myanmar's former capital, dotted with colonial-era buildings, breathtaking Buddhist pagodas and an air rich in expectation at their country's trudge towards democracy, the reluctance to view the clashes in Rakhine through the prism of religion is evident. 24-year-old doctor Thurein Hlaing Win voices what many young people feel about the problem. "The issue is not Buddhists versus Muslims at all. The attacks on Rohingyas are simply intended to drive them away as the local people in the region, even the government, views them as intruders." It's a sentiment reiterated by monks at the Sitagu Buddhist Center on the outskirts of Yangon, which is one of the most prominent Buddhist institutions in the country. "Why bring Buddhism into it? It's a local issue that has been going on for so many years," says a senior monk at the center.
However, despite the denials, it's not easy to dissociate religion from the Rohingyas. This was brought home to many Myanmarese when Time magazine did a cover story on the Rakhine unrest last month with a picture of Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu -- who is involved in the '969' movement that targets Muslims -- along with the provocative headline 'The face of Buddhist terror .' Although the Myanmarese government promptly banned the issue, protesters within the country unified at the notion of equating Buddhism with terror.
Meanwhile, for the Rakhine people at the heart of the issue, it is the assertion of their ethnic identities that continues to be the predominant reason for the tension in their region. U Aye Maung of RakhineNationalities' Development Party, whom this correspondent met, in between a parliament session at Myanmar's official capital, Naypyidaw, was quite unapologetic about the tensions. "The conflict is between us ethnic Rakhine people and those who want to become the local people of the region. We don't even refer to them as Rohingyas since that means one who returns from Rakhine state. They are referred to simply as Chittagongians and as long as they continue to claim they are an ethnic group of the country, the conflict shall remain."
For many others in Yangon, Myanmar's former capital, dotted with colonial-era buildings, breathtaking Buddhist pagodas and an air rich in expectation at their country's trudge towards democracy, the reluctance to view the clashes in Rakhine through the prism of religion is evident. 24-year-old doctor Thurein Hlaing Win voices what many young people feel about the problem. "The issue is not Buddhists versus Muslims at all. The attacks on Rohingyas are simply intended to drive them away as the local people in the region, even the government, views them as intruders." It's a sentiment reiterated by monks at the Sitagu Buddhist Center on the outskirts of Yangon, which is one of the most prominent Buddhist institutions in the country. "Why bring Buddhism into it? It's a local issue that has been going on for so many years," says a senior monk at the center.
However, despite the denials, it's not easy to dissociate religion from the Rohingyas. This was brought home to many Myanmarese when Time magazine did a cover story on the Rakhine unrest last month with a picture of Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu -- who is involved in the '969' movement that targets Muslims -- along with the provocative headline 'The face of Buddhist terror .' Although the Myanmarese government promptly banned the issue, protesters within the country unified at the notion of equating Buddhism with terror.
Meanwhile, for the Rakhine people at the heart of the issue, it is the assertion of their ethnic identities that continues to be the predominant reason for the tension in their region. U Aye Maung of RakhineNationalities' Development Party, whom this correspondent met, in between a parliament session at Myanmar's official capital, Naypyidaw, was quite unapologetic about the tensions. "The conflict is between us ethnic Rakhine people and those who want to become the local people of the region. We don't even refer to them as Rohingyas since that means one who returns from Rakhine state. They are referred to simply as Chittagongians and as long as they continue to claim they are an ethnic group of the country, the conflict shall remain."
Source http://m.timesofindia.com/world/rest-of-world/Buddhist-Rohingya-clashes-Economy-the-real-trigger/articleshow/21012754.cms
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