Video shows Burmese police standing by as Buddhists attack Muslims
Footage emerges of police failing to prevent violence in Burma as EU prepares
to lift all sanctions permanently
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 April 2013 09.45 EDT
WARNING: this video contains violent scenes. Link to video: Burma violence:
police look on as Buddhists wreck Muslim shop
Video footage has emerged showing Burmese police standing by
as Buddhist mobs wielding sticks and swords attack Muslims in Meikhtila – where
last month more than 40 people were killed and 12,000 displaced – on the same
day that the EU is expected to permanently lift all
sanctions against the country.
The footage, apparently shot by police officers, shows Buddhist crowds looting
and ransacking a Muslim jewellery shop, cheering when Muslims are attacked, and
setting fire to mosques and
houses. Later, a man who has been set alight and is believed to be
Muslim can be seen lying in the road, surrounded by a crowd of people.
"Pour water on him," a man in the crowd commands. "Let him die," shouts
another. "No water for him."
Both Buddhist monks and police can be seen through much of the footage – the
monks often taking part in the violence, the police watching immobile
as it progresses.
The footage emerged on the day the EU is expected to permanently lift the
remaining sanctions against Burma – which include travel restrictions on around
500 Burmese individuals,
an asset freeze of 1,000 companies, and bans on EU investment in certain
sectors such as timber and mining – in recognition of the country's
"remarkable process of reform".
Sanctions had been suspended since April 2012, although the arms embargo
remained – and is expected to remain – in place.
A series of political and economic reforms have taken place in Burma
since the president, Thein Sein, took office in 2011, such as the
release of some political prisoners, the opening up of its economy and
the easing of media restrictions.
EU ambassadors last week agreed
to permanently lift sanctions in order to "open a new chapter in [the
EU's] relations with [Burma]", according to an official document seen
last week by Reuters. Full ministerial approval is expected on Monday.
Yet rights groups – as well as parliamentarians for the Association of
South-east Asian Nations (Asean), of which Burma is a member – say that
permanently lifting sanctions would be a mistake.
They point to EU benchmarks set out last year that were to be met if the
sanctions were
to be lifted completely, ranging from the unconditional release of all
political prisoners to recognition of the stateless Rohingya and the end of
conflict in areas such as Kachin state.
"International pressure has played a considerable role in encouraging reformers
within the government in [Burma] to support the democratic steps we have
witnessed over the past two years," said Eva Kusuma Sundari, president
of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus. "A careful balance
needs to be struck between encouragement and continued pressure.
Permanently lifting EU sanctions now would be sending the wrong
message."
The new video footage also corroborates claims by Human
Rights Watch (HRW) that security forces in Rakhine state, western Burma, failed
to protect ethnic Rohingya Muslims in June and October last
year, when 200 were killed and more than 100,000 forced to flee after
intercommunal violence spread through the region.
"While the state security forces in some instances intervened to prevent
violence and protect fleeing Muslims, more frequently they stood aside
during attacks or directly supported the assailants, committing killings and
other abuses," said an HRW report released on Monday.
The
failure to protect Burma's minority Muslims by the primarily Buddhist
officials – and in some cases, the officials' complicity in the crimes
themselves – has directly contributed to the religious violence that has since
swept through the nation, from the mobs swarming the streets in
Meikhtila to the anti-Muslim "969" campaign promoted by the militant Buddhist
monk Wirathu, HRW's Phil Robertson told Reuters.
"What happened in [Rakhine] has helped spark radical anti-Muslim activity,"
Robertson said. "People are allowed to incite and instigate [violence]
in a co-ordinated campaign – this is the lesson taken in by others."
The democracy icon and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has come
under repeated fire for her silence on the issue, told students at Tokyo
University last week that she was "not a magician" and that
"differences take a long time to sort out".
Meanwhile, the
International Crisis Group will on Monday night present Thein Sein with
its top award for peace – lauding his "visionary leadership to effect
profound social, economic and political changes" in Burma – a move that
has been derided by rights groups and analysts alike.
Pro-interfaith groups and individuals promoting peace in Burma were also
targeted on
Monday by a group called the Myanmar Cyber Army, which shut down a
number of Facebook pages and maintains a list of pages it has attacked. On it
group members have left comments including "Amazing!" and "Great! We are
Myanmar [Burma]!"
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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