Islamist extremism reaches Myanmar
Myanmar police said on November 26 that they arrested three Muslims for planting home-made bombs around Yangon and were investigating their links to what they called “terrorists” in Rakhine state, where the Myanmar army is cracking down on the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Two self-made explosive devices went off inside the regional government office compound on the night of November 25, the third such attack to hit Myanmar’s normally peaceful commercial hub in just over a week. There were no casualties, but the explosions spread unease in the country’s largest city, which is not frequently targeted by attacks despite Myanmar being home to several insurgencies.
They come at a time of heightened tension after weeks of deadly violence in western Rakhine.
Police arrested the men on in Yangon’s central Thingyangyun township after questioning a woman who had been at the site of other explosions. She was not taken into custody.
“The three suspects have already been arrested with a bomb-making kit. They are Muslims,” police said, adding that they “admitted they made the other explosives.”
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is being criticised for not standing up against the violence against Muslims in Rakhine state amid regional street protest.
There were rallies in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as a protest march in Bangkok in front of the Myanmar embassy by Rohingya. Thousands of Bangladeshis marched on November 25 in Dhaka to protest the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Some even accused Suu Kyi of “ligitimising genocide.” A UN official said Rohingya in Burma were being “ethnically cleansed” with Rohingya alleging that government soldiers have killed and raped civilians.The military action – launched in response to coordinated attacks by armed men on border posts in October – has left scores of people dead.
The fact that Suu Kyi did not speak out in support of the Rohingya “is baffling to an international audience that persists in casting her as a human rights icon”, said David Mathieson of Human Rights Watch in Myanmar.
Others said she should not be blamed alone because she apparently had no control over the Myanmar army.
Myanmar police said on November 26 that they arrested three Muslims for planting home-made bombs around Yangon and were investigating their links to what they called "terrorists" in Rakhine state, where the Myanmar army is cracking down on the Muslim Rohingya minority. Two self-made explosive devices went off inside the regional government office compound on the night of November 25, the third such attack to hit Myanmar's normally peaceful commercial hub in just over a week. There were no casualties, but the explosions spread unease in the country's largest city, which is not frequently targeted by attacks despite Myanmar being...
Myanmar police said on November 26 that they arrested three Muslims for planting home-made bombs around Yangon and were investigating their links to what they called “terrorists” in Rakhine state, where the Myanmar army is cracking down on the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Two self-made explosive devices went off inside the regional government office compound on the night of November 25, the third such attack to hit Myanmar’s normally peaceful commercial hub in just over a week. There were no casualties, but the explosions spread unease in the country’s largest city, which is not frequently targeted by attacks despite Myanmar being home to several insurgencies.
They come at a time of heightened tension after weeks of deadly violence in western Rakhine.
Police arrested the men on in Yangon’s central Thingyangyun township after questioning a woman who had been at the site of other explosions. She was not taken into custody.
“The three suspects have already been arrested with a bomb-making kit. They are Muslims,” police said, adding that they “admitted they made the other explosives.”
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is being criticised for not standing up against the violence against Muslims in Rakhine state amid regional street protest.
There were rallies in Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as a protest march in Bangkok in front of the Myanmar embassy by Rohingya. Thousands of Bangladeshis marched on November 25 in Dhaka to protest the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Some even accused Suu Kyi of “ligitimising genocide.” A UN official said Rohingya in Burma were being “ethnically cleansed” with Rohingya alleging that government soldiers have killed and raped civilians.The military action – launched in response to coordinated attacks by armed men on border posts in October – has left scores of people dead.
The fact that Suu Kyi did not speak out in support of the Rohingya “is baffling to an international audience that persists in casting her as a human rights icon”, said David Mathieson of Human Rights Watch in Myanmar.
Others said she should not be blamed alone because she apparently had no control over the Myanmar army.
