Burmese Buddhists against Qatar mobile phone company: "Boycott Muslims"
Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Burmese nationalist movement led by a group of Buddhist monks, intends to launch a boycott campaign against the mobile operator Ooredoo. The reason being that the company is based in Qatar, an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Arab Gulf country. Interviewed by the newspaper The Irrawaddy , Monk U Parmaukha confirms that a public campaign will start soon in Yangon , which aims to discourage citizens from buying Ooredoo SIM cards, or even answering calls from a mobile belonging to the Arab company.
Clashes between the Buddhist majority and the Muslim minority in Myanmar are an ongoing problem, especially in the western state of Rakhine where there has been a veritable persecution of the Rohingya. Since June 2012, the area has been the scene of violent clashes that have left at least 200 dead and 250 thousand displaced people. According to UN estimates there are still 800 thousand people in Myanmar belonging to the Muslim minority, who the government considers illegal immigrants and who are therefore subject to abuse and persecution.
The tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in Arakan Rohingya have been stoked by a recent government decision to hold a referendum on the controversial draft law on religious conversion before it goes before parliament. The text - considered discriminatory by the Catholic Church and civil society - was presented by a formation of extremist Buddhist monks, who are fighting for the protection of "race, religion and belief ," and provides strong limits on conversions and religious freedom.
The sectarian and ethnic divisions now risk impacting the economic sphere, with targeted campaigns to boycott companies and foreign products, especially those from Muslim-majority nations. U Parmaukha from Magwe kyaung Tike monastery in Yangon, reports that a nationalist youth group will distribute sheets and cds calling for a boycott of the Qatari company.
"The campaign aims to protect the integrity of the Burmese nation and religion - says the Monk - because we doubt that we will be free to talk on the phone, if the operator comes from an Islamic nation". He adds that over the weekend the monastery will host a conference, aimed at supporting the campaign to boycott the Qatari company, while similar initiatives will soon be extended to other areas of Myanmar. "The government - he warns - needs to think before giving permission to Islamic-related companies to run their business in the country ".
Ooredoo is one of two foreign companies authorized to sell products related to mobile telephony in the former Burma, one of the few countries in the world where - until a few years ago, under the ruling military junta - phones were mysterious objects and networks almost absent . The aim is to ensure a coverage of 30% of the country between late July and early September .
.png)
05/03/2020 14:35
