Dalai Lama to Burmese monks : Enough anti- Rohingya violence
Yangon ( AsiaNews / Agencies) -
The Dalai Lama has appealed to Burmese Buddhist Monks asking them to act
according to the principles of the Buddha, avoiding violence or targeted
attacks against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar. "When
resentment or anger towards your Muslim brothers and sisters emerge - said the
Tibetan spiritual leader , during an annual peace conference held recently in
Prague, Czech Republic - please , remember [ the principles ] of the Buddhist faith . " He
added, "to be sure" that in following the teachings of the
Enlightened One, the Burmese monks will "protect their Muslim brothers and
sisters who are increasingly victims."
The
Burmese Buddhist monks became involved in a campaign against the Muslims, with
protests and, in some cases, direct attacks against the community or individual
groups. In
particular, the anti- Rohingya violence in the western state of Rakhine erupted
in June 2012 caused at least 200 deaths - especially among the Muslim minority
- and more than 140 thousand displaced people.
In
recent days, the Burmese religious marked the sixth anniversary of the "Saffron
Revolution" , which flared up between August and September of 2007 and was
violently repressed by the junta , with more than 30 deaths and hundreds of
monks arrested . For
years, religious people rejected offers by the military and would not provide
their functions and celebrations in protest against the brutal repression. Leaders of the Burmese Buddhist movement confirm
that the ban will not be lifted "as long as there will be no official
apology" from the authorities. Among
the aims of this sixth anniversary of the massacre, the promotion "of
nationality and religion , peace and national reconciliation and a significant
progress on the democratic path of Myanmar."
Meanwhile,
the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi , on her
recent European tour, touched on the issue of violence against minorities in
Myanmar. The
"Lady " points the finger at the current Constitution - written by
the military dictatorship and ratified in a farce referendum in 2008, an
emergency text due to Cyclone Nargis - emphasizing that it must be
"modified" to eradicate the roots of conflicts. "
The ethnic problem - said the parliamentary leader of the National League for
Democracy ( NLD) - will not be solved with this Constitution, which does not
meet the aspirations of the ethnic nationalities ." She
adds that minorities must be guaranteed " safety first ", because
" they feel that they do not have equal access to justice".
In
the last two years, violence between Buddhists and Muslims have raised tensions
between the different ethnic groups and religious denominations that define
Myanmar, especially in the western state of Rakhine where clashes have broken
out between native Arakanese and Rohingya Muslims. The rape and murder of a
young Buddhist woman sparked a spiral of terror, which caused hundreds of deaths and houses
destroyed,
and displaced at least 160,000 people, many of whom have sought refuge outside
Myanmar, trying to escape attacks by the 969 Movement, a Buddhist extremist
organisation. According to United Nations estimates, there are at least 800,000
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. For the Myanmar government they are illegal
immigrants, which is why they are victims of abuse and persecution.
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