Students lead anti-Bengalis rally in Myanmar

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Hundreds of Buddhist university students have rallied against Muslims in a flashpoint city at the centre of communal tensions in western Burma, a protest leader says.
The protest in Sittwe, capital of Rakhine state, followed overnight violence in nearby towns as a fresh outbreak of unrest between ethnic Rakhine and  Bengalis stretched into a third day.
At least three people died and hundreds of homes were torched on Monday in clashes between the two sides, according to officials, with a further 50 properties set ablaze on Tuesday morning.
Rakhine state witnessed widespread violence in June that left dozens dead, tens of thousands displaced and prompted rights groups to warn of a humanitarian crisis.
The illegal immigrant Muslim are viewed  from neighbouring Bangladesh by the government and many Burmese - who call them "Bengalis".
More than 800 students joined the rally on Wednesday to call for an end to "studying with terrorist Bengalis", and for the removal of Muslim villages on the road to the university, student protest leader Wai Yan told AFP by telephone.
It was the latest in a series of protests by Buddhists in Burma against the stateless,   illegal immigrant  Bengalis who have long been considered by the United Nations to be one of the most persecuted minorities on the planet.
Tensions remain at boiling point across Rakhine state with a curfew in force in many areas, while tens of thousands of  Bengalis languish in basic camps, some behind barbed wire in Sittwe, since June's flare-up of violence.
Rights groups say the Bengalis are becoming increasingly desperate as a campaign to force them out of the country intensifies, with Buddhist monks taking a lead role in whipping up sentiment against them.
Fresh violence, including the torching of homes, took place overnight in two towns, a Rakhine state spokesman said.
"There were clashes yesterday (Tuesday) night and houses were burnt in Myebon and Kyauk Phyu towns," Myo That told AFP, adding that he did not know if there were any casualties.
"They took the chance to attack each other at night when it was dark."

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Renewed violence in Arakan state

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An injured Rakhine Buddhist man lies on a bed at the hospital in Sittwe, capital of Myanmar's western Rakhine state, after he was injured the day before in communal violence in the Mrauk U district of the state, on October 23, 2012. (AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities in Myanmar have imposed a night-time curfew in two towns in north-western Rakhine state after fresh clashes between the region's Buddhists and illegal migrant Muslim (Bengalis) broke out.

According to the LA Times, the clashes began on Sunday. At least two people are dead and hundred of houses have been lit on fire, state media said on Wednesday, however the death toll has been put higher by other sources.

This most recent wave of violence is some of the worst in the region since June, when skirmishes gained international attention following the alleged rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men, the Associated Press reported. At least 70,000 people have been displaced and dozens killed since then.

According to the AP, Rakhine state has been home to fighting between the two groups for decades. About 800,000  illegal migrant Muslim (Bengalis) live along Myanmar's border with Bangladesh. Neither Bangladesh nor Myanmar, also known as Burma, recognizes the illegal migrant Muslim (Bengalis)   as citizens.

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After years of secrecy, Myanmar holds landmark news conference

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Myanmar President Thein Sein talks during a press conference at Presidential House in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012. (AP / Khin Maung Win)

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar -- Myanmar's reformist president on Sunday held his first press conference for local press, a milestone after years of secrecy and censorship by the former military regime.
Thein Sein didn't break any stunning news when he answered about 30 questions from local press and foreign correspondents on subjects ranging from fighting with ethnic rebels in the north to amending the country's military-fashioned constitution.
His mere appearance, however, told the story about his country's turn from secrecy and paranoia to relative openness. The press conference in the capital Naypyitaw ran 20 minutes past its scheduled 2-hour length.
The 67-year-old ex-general, who served as prime minister under the previous ruling junta, looked tense as he started answering questions but soon relaxed enough to reveal a little-known sense of humour.
Explaining why he was holding the pioneering press conference, he told of being interviewed many times during his recent visit to the United States and said he had the hardest time answering questions on the inquisitorial BBC program, HardTalk.
After surviving that experience, he said, he's no longer afraid of meeting with the media. But he added that he feared he would also be criticized by Myanmar's media if he didn't come out to talk at home after giving so many interviews abroad.
Thein Sein avoided revealing too much, speaking only in general terms even about critical matters such as the fighting in Kachin state, which reflects a deeper, long-running problem of how much autonomy to give the large ethnic minorities living in border regions.
In what many see as an example of the government's weakness compared to the still-influential military, his orders last year for the army to cease its fighting against the Kachin Independence Army were ignored.
"To get a cease-fire agreement is our government's goal," he said when asked about the matter. "It's the people's desire to get peace and we are doing our best for the people's desire."
He was also asked whether he plans to contest the 2015 election for a second presidential term. He replied that he has been thinking only of his current term.
Thein Sein was asked if he would give opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, his ally in the reform program after being freed from house arrest, a role in his government. Through his reform program, Thein Sein lured her National League for Democracy party back into electoral politics, and it should pose a major challenge to his party in the next polls.
Whether or not she takes a role in government depends on her, Thein Sein said.

source: ctvnews

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Calls for Better Working Conditions in Burma

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As Burma’s political, economic and social spheres continue to gradually open up there has been increasing dissatisfaction among workers and those who have been denied a voice for the past several decades. This is evident by the recent case where workers rallied for improved working conditions in a wood furniture factory in Rangoon.
On October 8 workers at the Tawwin Family Co., Ltd’s Finished Products and Furniture Factory in Myaungdagar Industrial Zone in Rangoon conducted a rally in front of the company’s office calling for better working conditions. According to reports, the rally was merely a delegation of workers attending a negotiation session between the company and the workers with no marching, chanting or placards. After the protest, the workers were charged by the police for participating in an illegal demonstration.
With the recent passing of new labour laws and regulations which have allowed workers limited ability to strike and join and form trade unions, workers have increasingly begun taking to the streets to improve their wages and living conditions. However, this expression of democratic rights by workers has also been met with repression and heavy-handed responses by the government, including the recent case.
While strikes and labour stoppages have been occurring in a number of industries, there has been increasing moves within the furniture and wood sector in Burma to establish unions and ensure the protection of workers’ rights. The BWI will continue to work with trade unions within Burma to promote the growth of union membership in the wood, forestry, building and construction sectors and to ensure workers receive protection and support when expressing their democratic and human rights.

http://www.bwint.org/default.asp?Index=4474&Language=EN

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U.S. sees "open channel" with Myanmar on human rights

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Michael Posner, the State Department's top human rights official, led the U.S. team at the talks in Naypyitaw.

Andrew Quinn Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has concluded its first set of human rights talks with Myanmar and is confident it now has an "open channel" to discuss political prisoners and other sensitive subjects as ties improve, the State Department said on Wednesday.

Michael Posner, the State Department's top human rights official, led the U.S. team at the talks in Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.

The talks come as the Obama administration dismantles longstanding sanctions to reward Myanmar's leaders for political and economic reforms.

"The results of the dialogue were assessed to be very positive and we look forward to continuing these discussions with Burmese authorities," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news briefing.

"We weren't sure whether the Burmese would be open to addressing all of those issues, and they were," Nuland said.

"We are confident that we have now an open channel with the government of Burma to discuss human rights and to continue to work on bringing them where they want to be in terms of human rights standards for their government."

The U.S. delegation also included Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Vikram Singh and other U.S. military officials, a signal that the Pentagon also is watching closely as Myanmar begins moving out of the shadow of China, long its chief regional ally.

RAPID CHANGES

The United States has seen ties warm rapidly with Myanmar since a quasi-civilian government took office there in March 2011, ending five decades of military rule.

The new government has launched rapid reforms, including an overhaul of the economy, an easing of censorship, the legalization of trade unions and protests, and the freeing of political prisoners.

The United States has responded with diplomatic and economic gestures, sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Myanmar last year and easing sanctions.

Myanmar released its latest group of political prisoners last month, just before Myanmar President Thein Sein and veteran pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visited the United States on separate trips.

"We have all spoken out about the need to get to zero in terms of political prisoners and we're continuing to work with the government of Burma on that," Nuland said.

The United States has also expressed concern over ongoing fighting with ethnic minority groups and violence against ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, as well as the government's continued military ties with North Korea.

Activists say the United States has pressed Myanmar consistently on human rights but warn that a surge in economic and other ties could may push the issue down the priority list.

"The simple fact is that U.S. policy toward Burma is no longer just about human rights," said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

"Now human rights is just another sector that is part of the dialogue and there are other folks at the table, from the military to the business community, who have their own wish lists. As a result it is that much harder to focus the pressure."

(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

 Copyright © 2012, Reuters

source:  chicagotribune

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U.S. to invite Myanmar to joint military exercises

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Thai soldiers carry national flags as they participate in the opening ceremony of the annual joint ''Cobra Gold 2010'' (CG10) military exercise at U-tapao airport in Rayong province in this February 1, 2010 file photo. The United States will invite Myanmar to the world's largest multinational military field exercise, a powerful symbolic gesture toward a military with a grim human rights record and a milestone in its rapprochement with the West. Myanmar will be allowed to observe Cobra Gold, which brings together more than 10,000 American and Thai military personnel and participants from other Asian countries for joint annual manoeuvres, officials from countries participating in the exercises told Reuters.

Credit: Reuters/Chaiwat Subprasom/Files

 

 

(Reuters) - The United States will invite Myanmar to the world's largest multinational military field exercise, a powerful symbolic gesture toward a military with a grim human rights record and a milestone in its rapprochement with the West.

 

Myanmar will be invited to observe Cobra Gold, which brings together thousands of American and Thai military personnel and participants from other Asian countries for joint annual maneuvers, officials from countries participating in the exercises told Reuters.

"This appears to be the first step on the part of the U.S. to re-engage Myanmar militarily and to wean it away from its reliance on China," said Jan Zalewski, an analyst covering Myanmar for IHS Global Insight, a research firm.

Washington's rapprochement with Myanmar's military is part of a carefully calibrated re-engagement under the umbrella of humanitarian dialogue, the sources said, constituting one of the boldest rewards for Myanmar's new semi-civilian government after 49 years of direct military rule.

It is also seen as a first step towards U.S.-Myanmar military-to-military ties, cut off after 1988 when soldiers opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in a crackdown that killed or wounded thousands and led to the house arrest of democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi.

Thailand, co-host of the exercises, lobbied for Myanmar's inclusion, the sources said.

It could prompt charges that Washington is moving too quickly in seeking to rehabilitate a military accused of continued human rights violations in ethnic regions such as Kachin State where tens of thousands of people have been displaced in 16 months of fighting.

Refugees fled forced labor, killings, rape and torture by the Myanmar military, reported Human Rights Watch in June.

"Burma's military continues to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is shocking that the United States would invite them to military exercises," said Mark Farmaner, director of advocacy group Burma Campaign UK.

HISTORIC U.S. TIES

The invitation follows a visit this week by a delegation led by Michael Posner, the U.S. State Department's top human rights official, to Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, also known as Burma. The U.S. team also included Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Vikram Singh and other U.S. military officials.

The talks on the Myanmar side were led by Deputy Minister for Defense Commodore Aung Thaw. Myanmar state media reported that the "two sides held talks on levels and operations of defense institutions of Myanmar and U.S. and exchanged views on future dialogue and bilateral cooperation".

U.S. officials in Bangkok and Washington declined to comment.

"If there is a decision to move forward with military-to-military operations with Burma, then we are going to be prepared to support that the best we can," the head of U.S. Pacific Command, Navy Admiral Samuel Locklear, told journalists in Bangkok on Tuesday.

"Nothing has been finalized," said Thanathip Sawangsan, a spokesman at Thai Defense Ministry. He said a decision would be made at the end of October.

The invitation is another illustration of the Obama administration's pivot this year from Iraq andAfghanistan to focus national security resources on the Asia-Pacific region.

Cobra Gold takes place in Chon Buri, a province east of Bangkok where the United States built up a massive military presence during the Vietnam War. It began in 1980.

Last year, about 10,000 U.S. military personnel took part, along with about 3,400 Thais. Five other countries participated — Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. And nine countries sent observers, including China.

"In the past, Myanmar has always been unhappy about this Cobra Gold, thinking that it was directed against them and was like a step towards invasion," said Dr Tin Maung Maung Than, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and an expert on Myanmar's military.

Even when it was a dictatorship, Myanmar sent more officers to the United States than to any other country. More than 1,200 officers trained there between Myanmar's independence from Britain in 1948 and General Ne Win's military coup in 1962, according to Maung Aung Myoe, author of "Building the Tatmadaw: Myanmar Armed Forces since 1948."

Ne Win's coup ushered in nearly half a century of isolation and misrule, but the United States maintained military ties as a bulwark against the spread of communism from neighboring China.

Some 255 Myanmar officers graduated from the United States from 1980 to 1988 under the International Military Education and Training programme, more than from any other country, said Maung Aung Myoe. The programme was halted, and U.S. sanctions were imposed, after the junta crushed the 1988 uprising and refused to honor the results of a general election won by Suu Kyi's party two years later.

AMERICAN REMAINS

Re-engagement began in earnest with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's historic visit to Naypyitaw in November last year. Clinton said she spoke with President Thein Sein about recovering the remains of U.S. servicemen who died in Myanmar during World War Two, noting that "the search for missing Americans once helped us repair relations with Vietnam".

During World War Two, nearly 1,000 Americans and 600 planes were lost over Myanmar due to bad weather and Japanese guns while flying from India to China. About 730 Americans remain unaccounted for, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

The Hawaii-based unit Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) ran three missions in Myanmar before its patron, former spy chief Khin Nyunt, was purged by ex-dictator Than Shwe in 2004. After Clinton's visit, the United States and Myanmar governments began talks about resuming the missions.

In August, a team of military intelligence officers from Myanmar visited JPAC to learn about remains recovery techniques and to discuss operations in Myanmar, said the U.S. Defense Department. JPAC's plans to resume missions in Myanmar remain "very tentative," its media chief Jamie Dobson told Reuters.

British efforts to re-engage with the Myanmar military have also begun. Retired general Sir Mike Jackson, one of the British Army's most prominent figures, met Myanmar's deputy commander-in-chief General Soe Win in Naypyitaw on September 21. They "frankly discussed promotion of ties" between the British and Myanmar militaries, reported the state-run Myanmar News Agency.

(Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

 source: Reuters

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NTT opens branch office in Rangoon

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NTT Communications Corporation (NTT) has announced a subsidiary has opened a branch office in Burma to work with local carriers to provide ICT solutions to multinational companies to expand their telecommunications operations.

The branch is the first to be launched in Burma by a foreign telecommunications company, said a NTT statement released on Wednesday.

NTT currently provides ICT solutions, including cloud, international and local networks, data centers, system integration and security, to multinational companies in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

NTT is a long-distance and international communications and ICT solution provider ranked the No. 1 telecommunications company in the world (ranked 29th in the Fortune Global 500 list of 2012), according to its company website.

With the addition of the Burmese branch, NTT network of subsidiaries and offices has expanded to seven cities in five countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region.

NTT Communications Group has subsidiaries and offices in 87 cities in 31 countries/regions around the world.

http://www.mizzima.com/business/8244-ntt-opens-branch-office-in-rangoon.html

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Newspaper Defends Cartoon Criticizing Military

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2012/10/newspaper-defends-cartoon-criticizing.html [/postlink]

A cartoon by former Irrawaddy cartoonist Harn Lay depicting the role of Burma’s military in the country’s ongoing peace process. (Photo : Myanmar Times)

 

A day after coming under fire from a military-owned newspaper for publishing a cartoon critical of Burma’s armed forces, The Myanmar Times has defended the move as part of its effort to encourage public debate.

The cartoon, by former Irrawaddy cartoonist Harn Lay, depicts a member of Burma’s civilian government releasing doves of peace, while a man in military uniform shoots them down.

A biting commentary on the ongoing conflict in Kachin State at a time when the Burmese government is negotiating peace deals with a host of ethnic armed groups, the cartoon first appeared in The Myanmar Times on Oct. 8.

It was not until Tuesday of this week, however, that Myawaddy Daily, owned by Burma’s armed forces, responded with a commentary criticizing the cartoon for creating “misunderstandings” about the army’s role in the peace process.

The commentary, penned by an author writing under the name Maung Pyi Chit, warned against publishing cartoons on such sensitive issues, and urged The Myanmar Times not to repeat its “mistake.”

Contacted by The Irrawaddy via email on Wednesday, Thomas Kean, the editor of the English edition of The Myanmar Times, said that he welcomed the feedback from the military, but stood by the decision to run the cartoon.

“The military is free to express their views—in fact, I welcome that—and we should be free to express ours,” he said.

He added, however, that “if we were to be punished for publishing this cartoon then my opinion on that would probably change.”

Kean said that The Myanmar Times, which publishes once a week on Mondays, recently added editorial cartoons to “try to encourage as wide a range of views as possible” to its opinion section. He added that the cartoon did not necessarily reflect the views of The Myanmar Times.

While defending his decision to publish the cartoon, Kean also offered some advice to the military on how to address what it deems to be misperceptions of its role.

“A senior military official should hold a press conference” rather than running an article in a military-owned newspaper under a pseudonym, said Kean. “If the military does this—holding press conference outlining why they believe the cartoon is unfair and misrepresenting of what is really happening—then I think it will change public perceptions about its activities much more quickly.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut wrote on his Facebook page that as a former military man himself, he agreed with the opinions expressed in the Myawaddy commentary.

Harn Lay, however, said that he was unmoved by the commentary, adding that he would continue contributing cartoons in the same vein in the future.

Noting that he actually drew the cartoon half a year ago, he said that it is still an accurate depiction of the situation in Kachin State.

“Six months later, there is still no end to fighting, so I contributed this cartoon to The Myanmar Times to use as they wanted.”

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/16718

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Burma’s President Thein Sein announced on Monday that he will not allow the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to open an office in the country

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Myanmar’s government said it would not allow the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to open a liaison office after thousands of Buddhist monks and laymen marched Monday to protest the plan.

Sectarian tensions have been running high in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state after clashes broke out in June between the Buddhist Rakhine community and Bengali Rohingya Muslims, leaving nearly 90 people dead and displacing tens of thousands. Muslim mosques and Buddhist temples were burned down during the unrest, and tensions still exist.

Myanmar and the OIC agreed last month to open an office in Yangon to provide aid for Muslims displaced by the fighting, and the OIC sent a team to investigate the violence.

On Monday, the website of the Information Ministry cited the President’s Office as saying “the opening of the OIC office will not be allowed as it is contradictory to the aspirations of the people.”
The anti-OIC protests were held in four cities in Myanmar, including Yangon, the country’s largest city, where about 5,000 people turned out. Some said they were marching to safeguard Buddhism.
Holding banners reading “We don’t want OIC” and “Long live Buddhism,” the protesters marched from the landmark Shwedagon pagoda to the city center, shouting slogans against the OIC and converging at Sule pagoda in downtown, paralyzing traffic in the area.

Similar protests were staged in the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe and Myanmar’s second-largest city, Mandalay.

Reflecting widespread public opinion, the head of an influential privately owned news magazine, Weekly Eleven, said there was no need for an OIC office because “we are not a member of the OIC and we are not an Islamic country.”

“If the OIC wants to provide humanitarian aid, they can do so through NGOs or the U.N.,” Than Htut Aung told The Associated Press. “The opening of an OIC office amounts to inflaming further tension between Rakhine people and the Bengalis, and we will not allow the opening of an OIC office in Myanmar.”

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Japan leads Myanmar aid talks / Aims to support reform efforts, promote investment opportunities

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 Japan played a leading role in helping Myanmar to settle its outstanding debts at a meeting of donor nations for the impoverished country held Thursday in Tokyo, aiming to support reform efforts and promote investment by Japanese firms.
As Myanmar's largest creditor country, Japan helped to clear the debt that has crippled the country's economic recovery by urging debt relief among other donors.
Moreover, it also pledged at the meeting the resumption of low-interest loans.
"It is essential to support Myanmar's reform efforts and help it rejoin the international community as soon as possible," Finance Minister Koriki Jojima said at the meeting held alongside the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
Win Shein, Myanmar's finance and revenue minister, said in acknowledgement that Japan had paved the way for the settlement of the country's outstanding debts. He expressed gratitude on behalf of the people of Myanmar.
According to a senior finance ministry official, Japan served as "an agent for Myanmar," convincing major creditors such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to settle delinquent loans next January.
Through the resumption of loans, the government further intends to accelerate the development of infrastructure such as power grids and roads to encourage the expansion of Japanese firms.
Myanmar, for its part, "expected broad-based support, including human resource development, from Japan," said an official of a Myanmar-based business association, as the country tries to reduce dependence on China, which poses major political risks.
Known as "the last frontier in Asia" due to its rich natural resources, which include natural gas, Myanmar is also attracting foreign capital in search of cheap labor. The cost of manufacturing labor in Yangon, its largest city, is only one-eighth of that in Beijing and one-quarter of that in Bangkok.
Its gross domestic product per capita is also the lowest among members of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations. However, if the economic reforms proceed, it is expected to achieve seven to eight percent in annual economic growth.
Little foreign capital had been invested under the junta, which had been hit by economic sanctions from the United States, European countries and others.
Japan has developed a special relationship with Myanmar. It accepted students from the country during the junta's rule, a move which had fostered strong positive sentiment toward Japan.
Whereas China accounted for 34.3 percent of total foreign direct investment during the period from 1989 to March of this year, Japan accounted for only 0.5 percent, according to the Japan External Trade Organization.
Meanwhile, Thailand and South Korea have recently expedited their direct investment.

Etsuo Kono and Takeshi Nagata / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
Nagata is a Yomiuri correspondent in Bangkok.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/business/T121012003854.htm

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INTERVIEW-Vital for Myanmar to re-engage with lenders - Brainard

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Lael Brainard

By Lesley Wroughton
TOKYO, Oct 13 (Reuters) - The United States will support Myanmar's efforts to fully restore relations with global lenders like the World Bank as long as the Southeast Asian nation pursues political and economic reforms, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Saturday.
The U.S. Congress last month approved a bill that will allow the Obama administration to waive a ban on U.S. participation in providing development loans from the World Bank to Myanmar, also known as Burma.
In an interview with Reuters Television, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs, Lael Brainard, said the United States was in the beginning stages of lifting an import ban that would have huge benefits for Myanmar's economy, which suffered under decades of military rule and isolation.
"As the reform process continues we will be able to do more," Brainard said. "We think it's very significant for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, as well as the International Monetary Fund, to be able to re-engage with Myanmar as they undertake these very significant reforms."
Re-engaging with the global lenders will also open the door for creditor nations to write off Myanmar's bilateral debts through the Paris Club, Brainard said.
While the United States is not part of that effort, Brainard said it was important that the donor community work together to ensure Myanmar proceeds with democratisation.
Japan this week said it would start to waive most of Myanmar's debt arrears of more than $6 billion as of January. Tokyo has also said it will help clear the arrears to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank that have prevented Myanmar from borrowing from the institutions.
"In the months ahead we will work closely with Japan and other major countries that have an interest in Burma's reform process," Brainard said.
"We are not among the bilateral lenders, but we think it is important for the donor community to work together and to match the action-for-action framework as they proceed on reforms."
She said it was vital that everyone in Myanmar benefit from the changes. Foreign investors have rushed to tap one of Asia's last frontier markets, a country that borders the booming economies of India, China and Southeast Asia with an abundance of oil, gas, timber and precious stones.
Added to that are cheap labour and opportunities in tourism, manufacturing, banking and heavy industry.
Brainard said U.S. companies were keen to invest in Myanmar, although more work needed to be done by the government to improve the environment for foreign businesses.
"They are going to need to work on transparency, governance, on their rule of law, so it is going to be the beginning of a process that will take some time," she said, "but our business community is enthusiastic and, of course, we are very enthusiastic to be re-engaging with this part of the world."
Separately, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the institution was working with the government to sort through Myanmar's debt arrears to the Bank.
He said it was vital that a development plan for Myanmar be compiled by the government, which has a better grasp of its own needs for better services and infrastructure.
"We are working with them to get a full understanding of the nature of the arrears and we are very anxious to move forward together with other donors," Kim said at the conclusion of IMF-World Bank meetings. "There is great concern about providing basic services to the people and so we will follow Myanmar's lead."

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We cannot accept the OIC here

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Several thousand monks took to the streets of Burma's second-largest city on Friday to protest against a world Islamic body's efforts to help Muslim in strife-hit Rakhine state, organisers said.
Holding banners reading "No OIC in Myanmar", the monks gathered in Mandalay to urge the government to block a plan by the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference to open an office in the country.
"We cannot accept the OIC here. We will continue our protest until they give up," one of the demo leaders, Thaw Bi Ta said.
"The OIC is not working for human rights but for Muslim rights. We have our suspicions about them. They never reject Muslim extremists," he said.
"We want peace between all ethnicities and religions. We have no problem with Muslims in the country."
Sectarian tensions are running high following Buddhist-Bangali clashes in June in western Rakhine which left dozens of people dead and forced tens of thousands more to seek refuge in temporary shelters.
There have been a series of protests against the OIC and Burma's 800,000 stateless Bangali, who are described by the UN as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.
Friday's anti-Muslim protest was the second in recent weeks in Mandalay involving monks, who were at the vanguard of a 2007 pro-democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the former junta.
The monks said they planned to stage a countrywide protest on Sunday if the government did not respond to their demand.
Members of the OIC, the top world Muslim body, toured Rakhine last month after accusations from rights groups that security forces opened fire on Bangali during the sectarian unrest, prompting concern across the Islamic world.
Speaking a dialect similar to one in neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar's Muslim are seen by the government and many Burmese as illegal immigrants.
The tensions in Rakhine have spread to neighbouring Bangladesh, where police said last week they had arrested nearly 300 people in connection with a wave of violence targeting Buddhist homes and temples.

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Myanmar;Rakhine People, Monks Protest OIC

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2012/10/myanmarrakhine-people-monks-protest-oic.html [/postlink]

 

 

People protest in the street in Sittwe on Wednesday afternoon. (PHOTO: Rakhine Straight Views)

More than 500 Arakanese Buddhist women took to the streets of Sittwe on Wednesday to protest the government decision to allow the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to open an aid office in Arakan State.
A spokesperson for the OIC, however, told The Irrawaddy that the office was not intended as a flagship for the Bengali  cause, and that it would provide humanitarian aid to both Buddhist and Muslim communities in the form of food and shelter.
Dr. Aye Maung, the chairman of Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), said that his party would accept all the help and humanitarian aid that was provided to those affected by the sectarian violence in the region. He stressed, however, that the RNDP objected to an OIC office in Arakan State capital Sittwe, and suggested that the group base its operations out of either Rangoon or Naypyidaw.
The 57-member OIC is a mostly Muslim bloc of nations which includes all the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia. It encompasses some 1.6 billion people worldwide.
The OIC signed an MoU with the Burmese government on Aug. 11 to permit the group to open an office for humanitarian purposes in Rangoon and Sittwe. A delegation from the OIC then traveled to Arakan State in September to inspect the aftermath of communal clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in the strife-torn region.
Approximately 200 women began demonstrating on Wednesday afternoon in central Sittwe wearing t-shirts with slogans reading “No OIC.” As the protest gained momentum, an estimated 300 more women joined in.
“We are protesting because we heard that the OIC is coming to our country. We do not want them based here,” said protester Nyo Aye.
She told The Irrawaddy that the Buddhist women demonstrators supported the 1982 Citizenship Law, which fails to recognize the Bengali  as an indigenous ethnic group of Burma.
“The Bengali Muslims [Rohingyas] are illegal immigrants,” she said. “They should be sent to other countries.”
The demonstration took place just a day after some 500 Buddhist monks held a similar protest in Sittwe in front of the Bangladeshi consulate. A spokesman for the monks said they were demanding that the Burmese government rescind its offer to the OIC to open an office in Arakan State, because it would be used only to support Muslim people.
The Buddhist monks also delivered a letter to the Bangladeshi consulate calling for Dhaka to investigate and take action against those who destroyed Buddhist temples and pagodas in southern Bangladesh recently.
On Monday, Buddhist monks held a demonstration outside the US embassy in Rangoon where they voiced similar sentiments and offered their condolences to the US for the death of its ambassador in Libya last month.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, prominent Buddhist monk Ashin Ottama, who led the protest in Sittwe, said, “We will not let the OIC open an office in Arakan State even if the government has already agreed it.”
A delegation from the OIC met with representatives of Burma’s Ministry of Border Affairs in Rangoon during the second week of September. According to Dina Madani of the Muslim Minorities and Communities Department at the OIC in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Burmese ministry agreed to cooperate with the OIC in its humanitarian role and in establishing offices in the country.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday from OIC headquarters in Jeddah, Ms. Madani said, “We are laying the groundwork to open our offices in Burma by cooperating with non-government organizations that deal with humanitarian affairs. We will hopefully open our offices soon.”
In response to a question about the protests by Rakhine women and Buddhist monks, Ms. Madani said, “That’s unfortunate. But it’s certain people’s opinion, not the Burmese government’s.
“The OIC is only coming [to Burma] for humanitarian affairs,” she said. “We will help both sides—Buddhist and Muslim. There should be no discrimination when it comes to humanitarian affairs.
“I wanted to tell them [the protesters] that we are reaching out to both societies. We want to be partners in peace-building and trust-building. We are not there to discriminate on whether they [partners] are Buddhist or Muslim.
“Without dialogue, there will be more conflict. I do not think the people want this,” she said.
In the meantime, RNDP Chairman Aye Maung said that his party would raise an objection in Parliament to the OIC offices.
He said that the Arakanese people would accept help and humanitarian aid “from any organization and from any country,” but that it was unnecessary for the OIC to open an office in the region.
“We are afraid that the OIC will influence religion and politics in Arakan State,” he said. “It could even threaten the rule of law in our country.”
He reiterated that his party and the majority of Rakhine Buddhists at large would not object if the OIC opened offices in Rangoon or Naypyidaw in coordination with other members of the international community.

Source;Irrawaddy

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Suzuki Motor plans return to Myanmar with assembly plant

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Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to build a factory in Myanmar that will produce 20,000 to 30,000 cars a year and push development of one of the world’s largest industrial complexes, sources said.
Suzuki is expected to invest several billion yen in the assembly plant, which is tentatively scheduled for completion by 2015, the sources said on Oct. 8.
Companies around the world are looking to invest in Myanmar to cash in on the country’s expected high economic growth in the coming years. Suzuki’s plant will become one of the largest production centers in Myanmar among foreign manufacturers.
According to the sources, Suzuki plans to build the plant on 40 hectares in the suburban Thilawa district of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and will establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in the country. In the initial years, the plant will manufacture several thousand cars a year.
“From now, we will check the land to see whether the ground conditions have no problems. Then we will make the final decision (on the new plant),” a Suzuki executive said.
Myanmar wants to develop the Thilawa district, located about 25 kilometers from central Yangon, into a huge industrial complex. The government plans to designate the area as a special economic zone that will offer eased regulations and tax breaks for foreign companies.
The Japanese government is supporting the project, and a company jointly set up by Myanmar and Japanese organizations will start developing the special economic zone as early as next spring to improve infrastructure, including facilities for electricity, water and sewerage.
Suzuki executives have already inspected the planned site and are positive about construction of the plant there.
“We have business experience of about 10 years in Myanmar,” a Suzuki executive said.
In 1999, Suzuki started producing and selling passenger cars and motorbikes in the Southeast Asian country through a company jointly set up by the carmaker and Myanmar’s Ministry of Industry.
However, the approval period for the joint company expired in late 2010. The company was liquidated and operations of the plant were halted.
In 2011, however, Myanmar shifted from military junta rule to policies of reform and an open economy.
In response to the move, Suzuki applied to the Myanmar government for a resumption of operations at the joint company’s plant.
However, the Myanmar government rejected the application and instead asked the automaker to establish a large plant in a different location. The government’s request led to Suzuki’s plan to build in the Thilawa district.
About 2.3 million cars are registered in Myanmar, with most of them imported from Japan.
Myanmar has no large domestic automobile manufacturer, and carmakers from India and China are the only ones engaged in small-scale production in the country.
Among Japanese automakers, only Suzuki had a production stronghold in Myanmar.
Foreign companies had refrained from making large-scale investments in Myanmar because infrastructure, such as roads and power stations, were poor under the military junta-controlled government.
But now, foreign companies are flocking to the changing country, which has a population of about 62 million and labor costs that are only a quarter of those in Thailand.
In addition, labor costs are rising sharply in China due to a shortage of workers. Given these risks, foreign companies operating there are considering investing in another country under the “China plus one” policy.
Japanese companies are increasingly moving to set up factories in countries other than China because of the strained relations between the two countries after the Japanese government nationalized the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Sept. 11.
On Oct. 11, Japan will sponsor an international conference in Tokyo to support Myanmar. Lenders, including the Japanese government and the World Bank, are expected to announce additional loans to the debt-ridden Myanmar government.
Japan wants to offer the loans to the Myanmar government as early as possible for the development of the Thilawa district, a key project subject to Japan’s support measures.
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

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S.Korea, Burma Pledge to Deepen Economic Ties

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Burma's president is drumming up support for more investment in his country as it emerges from decades of military rule.
Burmese President Thein Sein was met by an honor guard and flag-waving children at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul Tuesday before meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.
The two leaders agreed to strengthen economic cooperation and to pursue gas development and power plant construction.
Earlier, The Burmese president met with officials from small and medium-sized businesses, encouraging them to take another look at Burma.
"At present due to political and economic developments in our country there are opportunities as well as challenges in foreign investments. In this regard, SMEs in [Burma] should be prepared to face challenges as well as effectively utilizing investment opportunities. Thus we look forward to receiving necessary assistance and co-operation from Kbiz [Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business]," he said.

The United States and other countries have been lifting trade sanctions against Burma in response to reforms by the country's military-backed government, making the resource-rich southeast Asian nation a prime candidate for investment and development.
Just last week, a South Korean firm signed a deal to build a 500 megawatt power plant in Rangoon.
But while Burma is eager to attract foreign investment, potential investors have raised questions about the pace of reform and access to the country's natural resources.
In New York last week for the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, Burmese President Thein Sein said there is reason for caution.
"There is danger of business people ending with some control in administrative matters," he said. "That's why it's important not to have a negative impact on our sovereignty. It's also important not to destroy our environment. We don't want our natural resources to be extracted leaving nothing behind."
President Thein Sein's three-day visit comes about five months after Lee became the first South Korean president to visit Burma in almost 30 years.
Before Lee, the last South Korean president to visit Burma was Chun Doo-hwan, who narrowly escaped a 1983 assassination attempt in Rangoon by North Korean commandos.

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Seoul to boost investment, aid to Myanmar

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By Kim Young-jin

President Lee Myung-bak and Myanmar President Thein Sein agreed Tuesday to begin negotiations on a pact that would safeguard bilateral investments, during talks in Seoul that sought to boost economic cooperation.

Such a pact would guarantee investments made between the two sides, Cheong Wa Dae said. In addition, the two leaders pledged to increase cooperation in energy, resources development and infrastructure in the Southeast Asian nation that recently implemented sweeping democratic reforms.

Lee and Thein Sein pledged to continue working closely on existing gas and power plant projects in Myanmar.

They also signed an agreement on development aid, with Seoul pledging to help Myanmar develop a state think tank on economic development.

Thein Sein’s three-day visit, which began Monday, came after Lee’s historic visit to Myanmar in May, during which he sought to reach out to the country rich in gas and mineral resources. He was the first Korean president to visit there since North Korea’s 1983 terrorist bombing of a Yangon memorial that killed 17 South Koreans, including Cabinet ministers.

Thein Sein has been praised internationally for his reforms that follow almost a half century of military rule. During the first summit, he also said that his government would refrain from weapons purchases from Pyongyang.

In addition to reserves of iron ore, zinc and nickel Myanmar is seen as having great growth potential in human resources and as a foothold to larger markets in China and India.

Seoul has resumed development assistance to Myanmar, which was halted in 2005 for human rights abuses of the regime at the time. Korea is striving to play a bridging role between advanced and developing countries and to share its development experience abroad.

Lee has frequently cited Myanmar’s reforms as an example for Pyongyang. But the two countries remain a study in contrasts as the international community has embraced the former’s democratic reforms while Pyongyang faces increasing isolation over its nuclear weapons program.                        

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Myanmar monks protest in unrest hit state

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YANGON

 

SITTWE

 

Myanmar: Hundreds of Myanmar monks took to the streets Tuesday in a violence-torn western state to protest against local Muslims and against violence targeting Buddhists in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Flanked by police and hundreds of onlookers, maroon-robed clerics demonstrated outside the Bangladesh consulate in the Rakhine state capital Sittwe chanting "Stop insulting Buddhism" and "No need for violence", according to a witness.

Some held banners that read "Kalars get out" as they marched through the city, one of several Rakhine areas racked by deadly unrest between Buddhists and Muslims. Kalar is a derogatory term for Muslims.

Around 400 clerics took part in the rally, watched by more than 1,000 local people, according to a police officer in Sittwe.
"The monks marched peacefully. Security has also been increased here," he told AFP by telephone.

Sectarian tensions are running high in Rakhine following clashes between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya which erupted in June, leaving dozens dead and forcing tens of thousands to seek refuge in temporary shelters.

The state remains under emergency rule and while the protest was not thought to had been officially sanctioned, authorities did not prevent the monks from marching.

Protesters called for the expulsion of a Muslim-majority community from the city and for Bangledesh to do more to protect Buddhists.

Leading monk Pyinnya Zaw Ta said an open letter would be read out "to call on the Bangladeshi government to give full security to the Buddhist minority inside their country".

Bangladesh police said last week they had arrested nearly 300 people in connection with a wave of violence in the southeast of the country in which Buddhist temples and homes were damaged and set on fire.

The monks also protested against the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) opening an office anywhere in Myanmar.

Members of the OIC toured Rakhine state last month, after accusations from rights groups that security forces had opened fire on Muslim Rohingya during the unrest prompted concern across the Islamic world.

Speaking a dialect similar to one in neighbouring Bangladesh, the estimated 800,000 stateless Rohingya in Myanmar are seen by the government and many in the country as illegal immigrants.

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Suu Kyi eyes job

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The Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has declared her willingness to serve as president and her party's intention to amend the constitution to allow her to do so. Ms Suu Kyi said yesterday it was her duty as leader of the National League for Democracy party to be willing to take on the presidency if that is what the people want. Burma's next election is in 2015. ''I'm a leader of a political party. As a political party leader, I also have to have the courage to be president. If that is what the people want, I will do so,'' Ms Suu Kyi said.

AP

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/suu-kyi-eyes-job-20121008-279ne.html#ixzz28o8BrwEB

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Obama signs Myanmar finance bill into law

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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law a measure making it easier for the United States to back international financial institutions which support Myanmar's reform drive.
The legislation, passed by Congress last month, comes as the United States lifts financial and other sanctions on Myanmar, to reward a political opening engineered by President Thein Sein after decades of military rule.
The US Treasury said that the move will support "stronger institutions to ensure sound economic policy and good governance in Burma" and would support development and help reintegrate the isolated state into the global economy.
At the order of the US president, American representatives will be empowered by the law to support financial assistance from international bodies for Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.
"Implementation of this law will provide the United States with the ability to shape the policies and activities of these institutions in a way that advances reform, good governance, transparency and accountability in Burma," said Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin.
Obama's action came a week after the United States announced that it would ease a ban on imports from Myanmar, lifting its last major trade embargo against the former pariah state.
The move, which will have to be carried out in conjunction with Congress, comes just over a week after democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi started a historic visit to the United States by calling for an end to sanctions.
Washington lifted sanctions on American investment in Myanmar in July, enabling a major US trade delegation to visit the country.
Global corporate giants from Coca-Cola to General Electric have already begun to vie for a share of an expected economic boom in the country.
The United States has also lifted 2007 sanctions on Thein Sein and parliament speaker Shwe Mann.
The Obama administration has been delighted by political developments in Myanmar under a new quasi-civilian regime that is the successor to the long ruling junta.
Sweeping changes have seen Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest, elected to parliament and included tentative ceasefires with several of the country's major armed ethnic minority groups.
Copyright © 2012 AF

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Violence in Mumbai – Assam and Burma Killings of Muslims

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The way things were happening for the last few weeks it was not surprising that violence on such scale took place in Mumbai. It was, as if, in store. Large-scale propaganda was going on that Muslims are being killed all over the world. There is conspiracy to kill Muslims everywhere. On Bodo-Muslim clashes and about Rohingiyah Muslims in Burma prayers were being organized in mosques and SMSs were circulating about it. Urdu newspapers were carrying articles saying there is world-wide conspiracy to kill Muslims. Articles simply appealing to emotions, not to reason.

 I have not seen any sober and analytical article in the Urdu press in Mumbai. The Muslim leadership was creating a psychology of victimhood in the minds of Muslims and pent up emotions were waiting to explode with some triggering event. The photographs about killing of Muslims in Burma had greatly disturbed the Muslim youth. All photographs, I must say, were not authentic but they were circulated on large scale and ignited emotions.

 Muslim leadership, which hardly does anything for the real welfare of the community, always has an eye on such sensitive situations and wants to grab the opportunity to enhance its own interests. Also, mosques were used to announce about the rally giving it further religious colour. Those who go to mosques to pray, in large numbers, particularly in the holy month of Ramadan, are gullible and the moment religious colour is given to an issue they become extra-sensitive.

 These religious leaders and also some non-religious leaders of Muslims neither fully understand the problem nor do they care to know the facts on the ground. They simply make it a case of conspiracy against Muslims. In Azad Maidan too, where the Mumbai rally was organized despite knowing that huge crowd was there with all sorts of people, speakers made highly emotional speeches, especially attacking media for not covering killing of Muslims in Burma. Then what more do you want to incite emotions for anything to happen.

 It was not only a question of managing the crowd. It was an utterly irresponsible act on the part of the leadership of the rally. If they had expected only 1500 persons to attend and 50,000 turned up, the leaders should have clearly understood that the situation can get out of control any time as they were simply dealing with raw emotions. A wise leadership would not have allowed highly emotional speeches in the midst of such huge and diverse crowd and fuel emotions further.

 It is also not correct to say that they expected only 1500 people to turn up as they were making announcements inside mosques on Friday and also posters were put up. It means they aimed at attracting large crowds and made efforts to mobilize them and succeeded in it. The ideal thing would have been to have a dharna by about 1000-1500 seriously interested people for a day long event and then they could have met the Chief Minister or the Home Minister. There was no need at all for such a huge rally.

 And if at all such a huge rally was organized why such emotional speeches were made? They should have understood the sensitivity of the problem. But then if they did, how can they be Muslim leadership without arousing religious sentiments? In fact, as far as Assam is concerned, hardly anyone of those who actively organized the rally knew anything about the nature of the conflict except that Muslims were killed.

What was the history of Bodo-Muslim conflict in Assam? Bodos are not killing Muslims because of their Muslimness but the fundamental problem is of land. Bodos are in conflict with other communities also like Adibashis, Santhals and others and they have come in conflict with all these communities in the past. Though it is not true that Bangladeshis are migrating in large numbers (this is largely the Sangh Parivar propaganda). Unfortunately Bodos, in order to fulfill their ambition of Bodo-land and for evicting Bengali Muslims and other ethnic communities from the four districts of Bodo Territorial Council, are using this false propaganda for their own purposes. One can, of course, blame the Congress Government for giving Bodos BTC to buy peace with militant Bodo outfits. They should not have done so without taking other ethnic communities in the area in confidence and giving them proper representation as demanded by our democracy and constitution.

As for Rohingya Muslims, it is the military government of Myanmar which is to be blamed. I visited Rangoon after the recent riots and interviewed a large number of Rohingya Muslims. No such problem existed until 1981. They were treated as regular citizens and had voting rights. It was the military government of Myanmar which suddenly and without any proper reason, took away their papers from them and tried to expel them from Rakhine district of Western Myanmar. It treats these Muslims as “foreigners” and wants Bangladesh to settle them in its territory which is totally unjust. Rohingya Muslims have been in that province for centuries and there is no case to describe them as outsiders. Most of them had settled there during the Muslim rule. The military government of Myanmar has been killing Burmese of other provinces too and killed several Buddhist monks also during pro-democracy demonstrations.

 It is true that some Buddhist monks have issued pamphlets against Rakhine Muslims to show solidarity with their co-religionists which they should not have done. But then like others Buddhists, monks also are getting politicized as their pro-democracy demonstrations show. But in both cases (i.e., Assam and Rohingya), it is not part of any worldwide conspiracy to kill Muslims as it is being propagated.

 In Mumbai violence, media came under attack for no reason except that provocative speeches were being made against media. It was quite ill-advised. A wise leadership would rather try to win over media rather than antagonize it this way. Also, one cannot tar the media with the same brush. Print and electronic media have different ideological and commercial approaches. A blatant attack is totally wrong and even if a section of media is ideologically against or indifferent to Muslim problems, the solution does not lie in attacking its journalists or OB vans. At best, it is foolish.

Urdu newspapers often write that let Ulama-e kiram (honourable Ulama) guide the Muslim Ummah and give it a lead. How can one expect Ulama to provide leadership when they hardly have any knowledge of the modern world and for whom provoking religious sentiments is part of their orientation. It is not to say that all Ulama are like this but a large number of Ulama - and this has been proved repeatedly in political matters – behave either in opportunistic or emotional manner.

And let us remember all this happened in the holy month of Ramadan. The ulama never tire of telling us that the aim of this month of fasting is that we become more patient and able to control our anger and we must devote ourselves entirely to ‘ibadat, i.e.s acts of worship, compassion and charity. What was then the hurry to take out this rally in this holy month when no fresh incidents were taking place? The Assam situation had come under control and what was urgently needed was to collect money, clothes, shoes and medicines for those in relief camps in those four districts.

In the holy month of charity they could have concentrated on collecting relief for those unfortunate four lakh people who are rotting in relief camps in most unspeakable conditions in Assam’s BTC and adjoining areas. Some Bodos too have been killed in retaliatory actions and quite a few Bodos are also living in relief camps in as bad a condition as Bengali-speaking Muslims. As good and compassionate Muslims, in this month of charity they should adopt an inclusive approach and collect relief for Bodos too. This is what the Holy Qur’an also requires them to do.

 If instead of making it a conspiracy against Muslims, if they had condemned killing of Bodos too and prayed for all it would not have acquired such emotional proportions. Also the rally should not have been exclusively a Muslim affair but a rally with the support of all sections of Indian society, i.e., Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and all others - besides Muslims - to strengthen our secular character. It was not only exclusively Muslim but organized by Raza Academy - representing Barelvi Muslims betraying a a sectarian approach. Deobandis were to organize separately a day after but that event was postponed because of violent turn which the earlier rally took.

If we have to be against violence, and it should be our serious commitment, we have to be more and more inclusive. Whenever sectarian approach is adopted, it becomes easier to resort to violence and if it is inclusive of all sections it is not only more democratic but also likely to be more non-violent. Sectarian approach results in a competitive approach while an inclusive approach is always a cooperative approach.

 The police is now saying the violence was pre-planned which may result in harassment of many Muslim youth. It is shameful that some rallyists molested women constables and seized revolvers from them. The police may take revenge for this. Let us hope police does not do so. But one must say the police had shown a lot of restraint and Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik himself had come and spoken from the platform appealing to Muslims to show restraint in this holy month of Ramadan.  Let us hope wiser counsel will prevail and peace would not be disturbed.

(Secular Perspective)

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