Jammu: Hindus Under Attack from Muslim Mob & Secular Media Trying to Hush-up the News

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2013/08/jammu-hindus-under-attack-from-muslim.html [/postlink]

Photo; Kashmir riots

August 9, 2013 Jammu: After today’s Eid Namaz an armed mob of 20,000 Muslims marched toward Hindus & attacked them. Many Hindus were severely injured & some are critical. While this was happening, another mob attacked & burnt shops & housed owned by Hindus. Serious arson, looting & murders went on for long since the morning Namaz. Until afternoon there was no help from the Govt. Then came police but of no use. Many Hindu youth are in hospitals with bullet injuries in arms & abdomen. In the afternoon Govt sent Army there but with no orders to shoot at sight on the killers. The mob went on rampage. Army kept on doing flag march & the info from there is that the 20,000 strong mob even looted army weapons. 

 VHP International Working President Dr Pravin Togadia said, “VHP demands immediate action on all 20,000 in the mob that attacked minority Hindus there. It also should be found out that who really led such a big mob when there should have been security in the valley after Pakistan’s attacks on the LOC. Such big violence against Hindus continued all day long & how nobody intervened to really protect the Hindus?” VHP also demands resignation of the J&K Home Minister for his role in the Kishtwad attacks on Hindus. Those who are injured should immediately get adequate compensation. Those whose houses were burnt should be given compensation a the market rate of the house & all materials to rebuild their houses. Hindus whose shops were burnt should be given compensated with the losses of their goods & shop establishment as well as for the loss of probable business. In 1990 similar violent tactics were followed by the Kashmiri Separatists to kill & chase away Hindus from Kashmir. Now they have come ahead & on the border of Jammu in Kishtwad, Rajauri, such attacks have been taking place. It is the sole responsibility of the state & the Union Govt to protect each Hindu in J&K failing which the Hon. Supreme Court should take suo motto note & order the army to shoot at sight on those who attack Hindus there. VHP & Hindu Human Rights Commission Team assisted by a retired police officer, an eminent lawyer, other Hindu organizations & a social worker will visit Kishtwad soon as soon as the curfew is lifted. The team should be given all cooperation as Minority Commission is supposed to get. The report will be made public. VHP, Bajrang Dal in Jammu have protested today & demanded immediate action to protect Hindus & punish the attackers. (Remember, Being Secular is synonymous to Being Anti-Hindu).


Sameer Gupta
Director,
International Unity for Equality

 

http://www.iufe.org/2013/08/jammu-hindus-under-attack-from-muslim.html

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Syrian Rebels to Assyrians: Convert to Islam to Keep Your Jobs

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2013/08/syrian-rebels-to-assyrians-convert-to.html [/postlink]

Posted GMT 8-4-2013 18:13:12 

Al Thawrah, Syria (AINA) -- Accounts by Assyrian refugees from al-Thawrah(also known as al-Tabqah) reveal the real face of the Islamist undercurrent within the Syrian opposition. Furthermore, these accounts serve as a stark and chilling reminder of what has already been suffered by non-Muslim communities in Iraq since 2003.

On February 11, rebel fighters from the al-Nusra Front took control of the city and its strategic dam, the largest of its kind in the country. They also seized control of the three quarters that housed dam workers - many of whom were Christian Assyrians. Whilst they allowed the dam's original staff to remain in the city in order to continue its operation, management and upkeep, those who were not Sunni Muslim were not afforded the same privilege.

"Everything is now in Jabhat al-Nusra's hands," complained one Assyrian refugee, "All the Muslims stayed there, but if any Christians want to go back they have to become Muslim or else they will be killed."

Christians report their property being stolen, their homes being confiscated, and their possessions being sold on the black market in order to buy weapons and ammunition. In many of these cases, those forcefully dispossessed were not even allowed the chance to take with them any of their personal belongings.

According to the jihadist Islamist ideology espoused by such forces as the al-Nusra Front, the properties and possessions of such "infidels" are halal (fair game), and it is not a sin to plunder them.

They also threatened Christians with death if they did not comply with strict Islamic laws. "They would call and text me on my cell phone, ordering me to do as they say, or else they would kill me! Can you imagine it?" said a Christian man from al-Thawrah, who had lost all he owned, and is now internally displaced with his family. "Even though I have left they still call me from there to bother me, so I keep my phone switched off unless I really need to use it."

The gruesome story (AINA 4-3-2013) of an Assyrian man from al-Hasakah Governorate, allegedly shot by rebels in an execution-style murder just outside al-Thawrah in April 2013, still sends shivers up the spines of those who knew him. He used to earn a living transporting people between al-Hasakah and al-Thawrah, until his car was confiscated by al-Nusra fighters. "They told him that he could buy it back from them, so he returned to his village to bring them the money," one refugee related, "He should have stayed put and thanked God that they hadn't killed him then and there, but he didn't listen to reason and left with the money they'd requested. No one ever saw him alive again. How will his wife and four children support themselves now?"

Whilst this case has been well-documented, many of the Christian refugees from al-Thawrah insisted that certain details be excluded from their testimonies since, being a small community, they were fearful of being identified and subsequently suffering the consequences. They are also too frightened to provide too much information over the phone or on the internet because they believe that these are being monitored by elements within Syria's opposition.

For most of them, staying in Syria is no longer a viable option either. To leave for Turkey or Lebanon, on the other hand, is also fraught with its own perils. "All the roads are full of rebel fighters," lamented another Assyrian refugee who refused to disclose his location, "It's really dangerous. We have lost everything," said the head of an Assyrian household displaced from al-Thawrah, "There is nothing for us over there now, nothing to return to. We just need help to get out of here and settle in a country that's safe."

http://www.aina.org/news/20130804131312.htm

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Extremist Bengali Muslim Settlers Attack Nine Indigenous Villages In CHT 500 hundred houses burnt down, 6 killed, dozens injured, several missing 3 August 2013.

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2013/08/extremist-bengali-muslim-settlers.html [/postlink]

Primary reports from the local sources said hundreds of Bengali Muslim settlers carried out arson attacks on nine villages of indigenous people in Taidong area under Matiranga Sub-district of Chittagong Hill Tracts. 500 houses of indigenous people were burnt to ashes. Six indigenous people were killed and dozens of indigenous people were injured in these attacks. Several indigenous people, especially women and children, were reportedly missing. The villages attacked are: Sarveshwarpara, Vagapara, Manadaspara, Tanimong Mogpara/Achlong Marmapara, Krishna Dayal Karbaripara, Tanga Mahajanpara, Rambabu Dhebapara, Turabaripara and Vishwamemberpara. Tanimong Mogpara/Achlong Marmapara mostly populated by Marma Buddhists was reported to be the worst affected. No details were available by the time of compiling this report.

Settlers looted valuables and house-belongings of indigenous people. Six indigenous people killed are: 1. Bhupati Mohan Chakma 2. Arun Mohan Chakma3. Vanabhojan Chakma4. Suresh Chakma5. Revati Chakma6. Danguri Chakma. Some 2000 indigenous people have gone homeless and fled to Indian border for shelter as refugee. Asian Center for Human Rights in its press release issued today urged New Delhi to direct Indian border security forces to provide shelter to the fleeing indigenous refugees from Bangladesh until the situation improves for their return and the Government of Bangladesh to take immediate measures to ensure safety and security of the affected indigenous peoples. 11 village leaders of the affected indigenous people, including an elected member of Union Council, were taken under the custody of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel. They were reportedly tortured instead of providing them with security and safety. Political parties of the indigenous people -- PCJSS and UPDF -- in their press releases issued today condemned the communal violence and demanded appropriate punishment of the persons involved in the violence and proper compensation and rehabilitation of the indigenous people affected in the violence. UPDF has called a strike in Khagrachari on 5 August to protest the attacks. Some victims of attacks said hundreds of settlers backed by patrols of BGB personnel set fire on the houses of indigenous people. Islamic religious groups backed by a vested group of Bangladeshi military are being blamed for these attacks. Their “aim” is to “grab lands” of indigenous people, said the press release of Asian Centre for Human Rights.

According to a news-report published in the CHT News Bangla on 1 August, hundreds of extremist Bengali Muslim settlers of Taidong, Matiranga tried to fuel communal violence against indigenous people in the area forcing over 250 indigenous families of five villages to flee to jungles near Indian border in panic for shelter.

They gathered at Taidong bazaar on 31 July at about 11 p.m. with axe, sharp knife and other fighting tools and loudspeakers announcing “terrorists have come... terrorists have come” (i.e. armed groups of indigenous people have come—a pretext to organize themselves against indigenous people). On 1 August at about 1 pm they organized themselves and marched towards the fives nearby indigenous villages -- Headmanpara, Bogapara, Pomangpara, Tanakkapara and no 3 Kalindra Karbaripara --shouting racist slogans against the indigenous villagers. Out of 250 indigenous families, 127 families were reported to have returned to their homes today morning on assurance of security and safety given by BGB personnel. 130 indigenous families did not return to their homes yet. Communal tension was looming large in the area. It may be mentioned settlers imposed two CHT-wide strikes and blockades on 10-12 June 2013 and on 28 June 2013 to oppose the CHT Land-disputes Resolution Commission Act to be passed in the Parliament for resolution of land-disputes between indigenous people and settlers as agreed upon in the 1997 CHT Accord.

Over a half million settlers were moved from various plain areas of Bangladesh into CHT under a stated sponsored population transfer program in the 1980s. It caused eviction of hundreds of thousands indigenous people from their lands and thus it gave rise to land-disputes between the two communities.

Such communal violence forced 70,000 indigenous people to cross over to Indian State of Tripura as refugees in the late 1980s. They were repatriated to CHT in 1998 under a package agreement reached between the refugee leaders and the Government of Bangladesh.

https://www.facebook.com/wontharnu999

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JIHAD IN THAILAND: MUSLIM TERRORISTS CREATE ARSON TSUNAMI IN SOUTH THAILAND

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2013/08/jihad-in-thailand-muslim-terrorists.html [/postlink]

Yala

Violence and chaos hit deep southern provinces Friday, with a corporal killed in Yala and arson attacks in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces.

Pattani

Violence and chaos hit deep southern provinces Friday, with a corporal killed in Yala and arson attacks in Yala, Pattani and Songkhla provinces.

These horrible reports from Chai, our man in Thailand, are coming in daily now. Brutal, vicious, relentless, and yet we hear nothing in the media ...... Ramadan Mubarak, indeed.

One solder killed and seven others injured in bomb blast, Friday, August 2, 2013 after a night of arson and explosions (here).

Today is Friday, the Muslim 'Holy Day'. A great many non-Muslim businesses in Thailand's south shut down every Friday to comply with the Muslim terrorists' demands that all businesses close for the Muslim holy day: whether the businesses are owned by Muslims or not.

The price for not shutting down is becoming too dear to pay, so many Buddhist businesses shut down not out of respect, but out of fear. Atlas Shrugs covered this economic terrorism most recently with your story 'THAILAND: JIHADISTS DEMAND ALL BUSINESSES CLOSE EVERY FRIDAY'http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2012/09/thailand-jihadists-demand-all-businesses-close-every-friday.html

For about twenty Buddhist-owned businesses that didn't shut down last week, yesterday was the last time they will ever open.

Last night Muslim terrorists started burning Buddhist businesses that normally remain open on Friday. So far the newspaper stories say a dozen businesses were burned last night, but the radio news reports double that number including factories and small family owned shops. In Thailand the newspapers always seem to take a while to catch up to the radio news that is more immediate.

This is another major strategic attack, coming the day after so many bombings and shootings in the South that were obviously coordinated to take place on the same day.

The exodus of Buddhists from the southern provinces continues. No doubt another dozen families and businesses that were victims of last night's terror attacks will be heading north soon. It's easy to leave when you have nothing left.

Here is the latest online news story, but again it should be noted that the radio news is reporting double the number of arsons throughout the southern provinces:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/362709/12-fires-set-in-far-south

12 fires set in far South
Published: 2 Aug 2013 at 09.57

At least 12 fires broke out at private businesses in Yala, Songkhla and Pattani provinces early Friday, causing no casualties but raising suspicion of arson by militants.

The first blaze was reported to Yala’s Muang police station about 3am, after a fire broke out at Teck Bee Hang Co in tambon Thasarb of Muang district. Police and fire fighters went to the factory, where they found the blaze had originated in a warehouse storing rubber blocks, behind the main factory. Five fire trucks were called in, and it took almost three hours to control the fire.

The second case was reported at 3.15am at the same police station, reporting a fire at the base of a mobile phone signal pole on Road 409, also in tambon Thasarb.

Five minutes later, Muang police station was notified about a fire at P Parawood Co, in tambon Sateng of Muang district. Five fire trucks were sent to the scene and brought the blaze under control in 30 minutes.

About the same time, a fire broke out at Yala Tharnthong Co in tambon Budi, another rubberwood factory. The fire caused minor damage as workers were able to control it before it spread.

At 3.40am, Lam Mai police station in Muang district received a report of a fire that set ablaze a forklift and trucks inside a factory producing rubber inner tubes.

Fire minutes later, also in Lam Mai, a fire was discovered at Union Plastic LP. The fire began inside the company's facilities, but fire fighters were able to control the blaze, with only minor damage reported.

Meanwhile, police also received reports of three fires in separate locations in Songkhla province, two at furniture shops in Thepha district and one in Saba Yoi district.

Another three fires were reported at shops in Pattani province - two in Khok Pho district and one in Nong Chik district.

None of the fires resulted in death or serious injury, police reported. Officers said they suspected that all the incidents were the act of arsonists involved in the violence in the deep South.

Posted by Pamela Geller on Friday, August 02, 2013 at 04:24 AM in Thailand Jihad | Permalink

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AHRDO report on Conflict and Violence in Arakan State, Myanmar

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2013/08/ahrdo-report-on-conflict-and-violence.html [/postlink]

PRESS RELEASE          

Conflict and Violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar

The violent conflict in Arakan is shrouded by history, and historic claims, and is misidentified and therefore misunderstood by many. And, with a massive amount of misinformed, and even fraudulent and manipulative media shaping the sympathy and perception of the conflict, assumptions have been made which are – in objective reality – quite erroneous. The Rakhine Buddhist people have been unfairly and unjustly vilified and demonized, and blamed and accused of that which they themselves have endured and suffered from.

Arakan Human Rights and Development Organization (AHRDO) has compiled a large and comprehensive report about the conflict and violence in Arakan (a.k.a. Rakhine State), in the western part of Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar), titled:

Conflict and Violence in Arakan (Rakhine) State, Myanmar (Burma):

What is Happening, Why and What To Do

- has been released, as of August 1, 2012, to bring focused attention to the history behind the conflict, and the roles that the British, various leaders of Burma, (U Nu, General Ne Win and others) the U.N. and the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) have played, and also bring attention to past and present parallel situations in southern Thailand, Bangladesh, Assam State of India, and China. The report makes clear the historic origin and development of the issues, how and why violence erupted in June and October of 2012 – as it has numerous times in the past – and the dynamics of the two faiths of Islam and Buddhism that are locked in struggle.

Much of the international media, NGOs, human rights groups, outside observers, and even the United Nations saw the June and October 2012 violence and ensuing refugee needs identified rather simply as the ‘Rohingya Refugees Fleeing by Boat Issue’ and that led to a simple ‘Rohingya Should Be Granted Citizenship’ appeal. And with that it is assumed, seemingly without question, that:

1)    the Rohingya are actually indigenous to Arakan (as the Rakhine Buddhist are)

2)    that the Rohingya actually are the victims of reasonless prejudice

3)    that granting them citizenship should be unquestioned, and would alleviate     the conflict and violence.

However, we clearly show, in the following report, that this massive conflict in Arakan has been mis-identified, and assumptions have been made which are – in objective reality – quite erroneous. And we show that there is a massive amount of manipulative and fraudulent media which has vilified and demonized the real victims of this conflict – the indigenous Rakhine Buddhist people.

There is also a massive amount of information both from historic realities, and from victims with human stories, as well as comparisons with other related conflicts, that will show the reality that the Buddhist Rakhine people are under a real and brutal campaign by Bengali Muslims, who have poured across a porous border and aspire o seize their centuries old cultural homeland and turn it into an Islamic State, without other people or religions tolerated.

Crucial to understanding the situation is knowing the history of the last 150 years in and around Arakan, and especially the history since WWII times. This report aims to show the real human suffering and tragic losses of the indigenous Rakhine Buddhist people. We have, in this report, many interviews with Rakhine elders, laborers, farmers, monks, teachers, authorities, mothers, widows, etc. All paint a terrifying picture of fears, violence, intolerance, fanaticism, and hopelessness.

We hope and request that the press, world leaderships, regional governments, human rights and aid organizations, and all those who are active or involved with the Arakan situation to please read, examine, and allow that the reality may be quite different than that which has been portrayed.

This Report has been made under the leadership and guidance of Aung Marm Oo, the Executive Director of AHRDO and Rick Heizman, the main writer of the report.

Media Contact:

Aung Marm Oo- INFO@arakanhrdo.org Or AMO@arakanhrdo.org

Mobile: + 95 (0) 941000497

Rick Heizman- rickmusic4@gmail.com Or earthviewmusic@yahoo.com

+ 95 (0) 973151193

- See more at: http://moemaka.com/archives/36960#sthash.TjLRgUnO.dpuf

Arakan Violence Report by AHRDO
Download the full 177-page report here:

Zwe Thit (Rammarmray)

Arakan Violence Report by AHRDO

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Egypt: Security forces abandon Coptic Christians during deadly attack in Luxor

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2013/07/egypt-security-forces-abandon-coptic.html [/postlink]

On 5 July 2013, four Coptic Christian men were killed by local residents in the Nagah Hassan district of Dab’iya village, some 18 kilometres west of Luxor.

© Amnesty International

Security forces stood by and failed to intervene during a brutal attack on Coptic Christians in Luxor, Amnesty International said in a briefing published today. During the sectarian violence, security forces left six besieged men –four of whom were then killed and one hospitalized – to the mercy of an angry crowd.

In an attack lasting 18 hours on 5 July, four Coptic Christian men were killed and four others were seriously injured. An angry mob armed with metal bars, knives, tree branches and hammers attacked Christian homes and businesses in Nagah Hassan, 18 km west of Luxor, after the dead body of a Muslim man was discovered near the homes of Christian families. Despite local residents’ and religious leaders’ repeated calls for help, security forces on the scene made only half-hearted attempts to end the violence and sufficient reinforcements failed to arrive.

“It is outrageous that this attack was left to escalate unhindered in this way. Amnesty International has documented a series of cases in the past where Egypt’s security forces used unnecessary force or live fire during demonstrations, yet in this case they held back even though people’s lives were threatened,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“A thorough, impartial and independent investigation must be conducted into the events in Luxor and the grossly inadequate response of the security forces to the attack.”

The violence began at 3am, shortly after the Muslim man was found dead in the vicinity of Christian homes. His family blamed the death on a local Coptic Christian. By mid-day more than 100 Christian homes had been attacked, with scores of them looted or torched. Local residents reported calling the police and army’s hotlines throughout the day in vain. Local religious leaders also approached other security officials.

“The attack went on for 18 hours, and there was not a door on which I did not knock: police, army, local leaders, the Central Security Forces, the Governorate. Nothing was done,” said Father Barsilious, a local priest from Dab’iya.

In one incident, security forces evacuated women and children trapped inside a house surrounded by an angry mob but left six men behind, apparently following demands from the crowd that the men remain. Four of the abandoned men were later stabbed and/or beaten to death and another required hospital treatment. Three other Christian men were hospitalized in separate violent incidents. One woman said she had begged police officers to save her sons who were left behind, but they ignored her pleas:

“I kissed the police officer’s hands and legs and begged him to protect my two sons and take them out… he completely ignored me and said he would only take women and children…. I buried my two sons in one day,” she said.

Other female relatives said they had given men their abayas (gowns) to try to disguise them as women so that they could escape.

Discrimination against Coptic Christians has been prevalent in Egypt for decades. Under President Hosni Mubarak at least 15 major attacks on Copts were documented. Sectarian violence continued under the Supreme Council of Armed Forces and following the election of President Mohamed Morsi. At least six attacks on Coptic churches or buildings took place in 2013 during the final months of deposed President Mohamed Morsi’s administration.

Investigations by the Luxor prosecution are ongoing. At least 18 men remain detained on charges of murder, attempted murder, destruction of property and ‘thuggery’, amid reports that some were beaten by security forces upon arrest.

“The continued sectarian violence in Egypt is an irremovable stain on the record of successive governments which have repeatedly failed to end attacks on minorities. Immediate steps must be taken to ensure the safety of Coptic Christians and other minorities,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“The latest attacks will test the new Egyptian authorities’ political will and their ability to break the pattern of inaction and injustice once and for all.”

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Meet the American Supporting Myanmar's Controversial Pro-Buddhist Movement

[postlink] https://burmacampaignjapanteam.blogspot.com/2013/07/meet-american-supporting-myanmar.html [/postlink]

He's a self-proclaimed "white American national" who has no family connections to Myanmar and has never visited the country. He's not an expert on its politics either, he tells me -- which becomes clear later in our conversation when he draws a blank on the name of Aung San Suu Kyi, likely the most famous Burmese person alive today, whom he calls a "prime minister candidate" (she's actually planning on staging a run for the presidency).

But something about the 969 movement -- the controversial pro-Buddhist campaign that many hold responsible for the violence that has racked Myanmar in recent months -- has captured the imagination of this man. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, working his day job in the "technology sector," he has taken it upon himself in his spare time to set up both a website -- 969Movement.org -- and a Twitter account devoted to defending the movement in the face of what he says is widespread misinformation. 

In a Skype interview with Foreign Policy on Wednesday, he declined to give his name, saying "I still have some safety concerns about being involved in all this."

"Where I see myself ... is promoting the values and the intention of the 969 movement to the English-speaking world," he says. "To a more globalized audience."

The 969 movement is often described in news coverage as a nationalist, anti-Muslim organization. It encourages Burmese Buddhists to patronize Buddhist shops -- specifically shops bearing 969-distributed stickers -- and to shun interfaith marriage. It's also well known for the vehemence of its leaders' rhetoric: "You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad dog," U Wirathu, the charismatic monk often described as the face of the movement, has reportedly said about Muslims. It's the kind of divisive rhetoric that many argue has contributed to the sectarian clashes and mob violence that has rocked Myanmar over the past year, killinghundreds, displacing thousandsm and destroying hundreds of acres of property. Some claim that the movement is receiving tacit backing from the state.

But the Californian is skeptical of the 969 movement's role in this violence. Those doing the translating for Western media organizations aren't neutral observers, he says, but rather people with an anti-969 agenda. What he sees in 969 are the seeds of a global pro-Buddhist movement that can give Buddhism and its values a collective voice.

"What Buddhists need today, in the 21st century is a united message and presence that exists in the public sphere," he says. Just as there have been efforts to build pan-Arabism, he says, "Buddhists should have a nation too."

The message that Buddhists are under threat and need to stand up for themselves has found resonance in other Buddhist countries in South and Southeast Asia, but it's unusual to find an American pushing for a movement toward a more political Buddhism and supporting a campaign that's been widely criticized outside of Myanmar. (His connections to the 969 movement, it should be noted, are only ideological -- at least so far. He's reached out to the leadership in Myanmar for their blessing, but has yet to hear back, he says.) In addition to supporting the 969 movement, he's also the founder of a website called BuddhistDefenseLeague.org.

The man says he was raised in a Christian family, but developed an interest in Buddhism as a teenager. He began practicing more seriously a few years ago, he says, and "the peace ... it's given me -- I take it very seriously." He found videos of Wirathu on YouTube, and found that the monk appealed to him. "Even as a small man, he appears to have a great deal of charisma.... I look forward to meeting him one day."

He says he was prompted to start his website and Twitter account in response to a controversialTime magazine issue that put Wirathu on the cover, above the headline, "The Face of Buddhist Terror."

"It was one-sided, disrespectful of my religious beliefs. I thought, I could do something about this."

His site includes a section that seeks to dispel 969 "myths" ("There have been many attacks against Buddhists in Myanmar that have gone unreported in the Western media. Myanmar, like many other countries in the world, has a long history of Islamic terrorists killing, raping, and destroying.") and short blog posts on why, for example, it's important to shop at Buddhist stores to support monks ("By displaying a sticker or poster, a business and home could indicate that it was owned by a Buddhist and that they supported the 969 values of Buddhism. For the first time Buddhists in Myanmar were able to recognize who their money was supporting"). His Twitter feed is a steady stream of debate with those who are offended by his backing of an organization they consider hateful, or who accuse him of making misleading characterizations of the movement.

"To re-frame '969' as a peaceful push for getting Buddhist voices heard ... is a complete distortion," Maung Zarni, a Burmese dissident in exile who is currently a fellow at the London School of Economics, said in an email to Foreign Policy. The creator of 969Movement.org "is not really in touch with the extremely troubling and ugly ideological and material impact of the 969 [movement] as it is understood and framed by its fast-growing adherents."

The website has only been up for about two weeks; the Twitter account has just a few dozen followers. But the creator says he's already received emails from supporters -- mainly in Southeast Asia, though also a few Buddhists in the United States. He's been in talks with another Buddhist website about producing a pro-969 magazine, and he hopes to win over more supporters in the United States by distributing the kinds of stickers that Buddhists in Myanmar place on their cars, motorcycles, and store windows. His plans eventually include founding a non-profit. Only then, he says, will he reveal his identity.

He doesn't expect that it will be easy to find support in the United States. "Most Western Buddhists believe what they read in the Western media, and will not be supportive of it," he says.

But the time has come, he says, for Buddhists around the world to take a stand on behalf of their religion and culture.

"I feel like we're at an important threshold right now," he says. "Either we stand up, as Buddhists, and accept these criticisms, of being divisive, and setting ourselves apart -- because it's true, we are not like other people, we have different values and different traditions" -- or Buddhism may "lose the fight."

"Bullies like to pick on an easy target," he said. "That might not be politically correct for the Dalai Lama to hear."

Posted By Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer 

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/12/meet_the_american_supporting_myanmars_controversial_pro_buddhist_movement

Www.969movement.org

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