Clashes Continue to Cause Chaos!

Three people have been pronounced dead as violence continues to erupt in the western Rakhine State in Burma. Many hundreds of homes have been burnt to the ground since Sunday when Muslims and Buddhists clashed. Relations have been tense between the two communities since June when thousands of homes were burnt and hundreds died.

It is alleged that the violence began earlier this year in May when a group of three Muslim men raped and murdered a Buddhist woman. The three men were soon arrested and sentenced to death. In a violent response to this incident, ten Muslims were killed and this sparked further disputes between the two groups. The incident in Rakhine is the latest in this string of reprisal attacks as the Muslims and the Buddhists continue to blame each other over previous bouts of disruption.

Within the State of Rakhine, the Buddhist people make up the majority of the population and the Muslims are largely considered as illegal immigrants. Ever since August of this year, a commission has been established to attempt to resolve the issues between the two communities in order to put a stop to the violence. Burmese translation services have been used in order to fully communicate with the Muslims who are Rohingya.

It is estimated that approxiamately 800,000 Rohingya live in western Burma and according to the United Nations they are one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world. The Rohingya language is an Indo-European dialect that is linguistically similar to the Chittagonian language spoken in Bangladesh.

For the moment it seems there is no end in sight to the hostility between the Muslims and the Buddhists who live in Rakhine. All attempts by the government commission to intervene have been completely prevented by people on both sides who are refusing to give their cooperation on any level. Without the participation of those involved the State is apparently helpless to assist those who have been affected by the brutal events.

Source: Mizzima