Buddhist extremists agitate against dissenters – prominent voice against religious intolerance faces prison sentence

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns about an increase of religious intolerance against other faiths in the predominantly Buddhist country of Burma (Myanmar) and demands leading politicians to take a clear stand for the country's multi-religious character. "Today, it is the Muslims who are being marginalized and attacked in Burma. Tomorrow, the Buddhist nationalists could be agitating against the Christians or the Hindu," stated Ulrich Delius, the STP's Burma-expert, in Göttingen on Sunday.

The human rights organization welcomes the fact that Yanghee Lee, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, is demanding more human rights for the country's Muslim population – as he did on Friday night at the end of a ten-day visit to the country. Because of the United Nations' commitment for the rights of the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority, Lee's visit was overshadowed by protests of radical Buddhists. On Friday, at the end of a two-day human rights dialogue between the US and Burma, US Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski – who is responsible for human rights issues too – also warned about a "dangerous religious intolerance".

"Burma's leaders must finally take a stand against the exclusion of other faiths," said Delius. "Neither should Aung San Suu Kyi, who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, ignore the increasing Buddhist nationalism for reasons of populism. Buddhist extremists are spreading their hate slogans more and more blatantly, creating a climate of religious intolerance that is a serious threat to the country's democratization."

The STP is also very concerned about the case of the Burmese journalist Htin Lin Oo, who is facing a long-term imprisonment because of his public calls for tolerance. On October 23, 2014, during a literary festival, the writer and former spokesman of Aung San Suu Kyi's "National League for Democracy (NLD)" had held a two-hour speech in which he also called for more religious tolerance on the side of the Buddhists. Buddhist nationalists had posted parts of the controversial speech in social networks, causing a wave of hatred. Thus, the author was reported for "hurting religious feelings". He lost his job as a spokesman of the NLD and is now in custody, waiting for his trial. A bail was refused. Even the author's apology to Buddhist monks was of no effect. Around 89 percent of the Burmese population are Buddhist, while Muslims and Christians account for about 4 percent each.

Ulrich Delius, head of STP's Asia department, is available for further questions: Tel. 0551 49906 27 or asien@gfbv.de.

Header Photo: Digital Democracy/Flickr