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Southeast Asia
Buddhist-Muslim Tensions Spread as 8 Detainees Die in Indonesia
2013-04-07
[NY Times] Simmering religious and ethnic violence in Myanmar spread beyond its borders on Friday when a brawl broke out at an immigration center in Indonesia between Moslem and Buddhist detainees, leaving 8 dead and 15 maimed, officials said.

A group of 117 Rohingya refugees and 11 Buddhists accused of illegal fishing, all from Myanmar, were being held together in the same area of a government detention center in Belawan, a port city in North Sumatra Province, when fighting erupted just after midnight, said Herianto, a front man for Indonesia's Department of Immigration in Jakarta.

"There were eight fishermen killed," said Mr. Herianto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. "The injured detainees were Rohingya," a Moslem ethnic group in Myanmar.

The disturbance erupted around 12:45 a.m., with the detainees using metal and wood from broken chairs to attack one another, according to Sabarita Ginting, an immigration office spokeswoman in Medan, the bustling provincial capital.

The police subdued it by midmorning, Indonesia's Metro TV and Detikcom news portal reported.

The News Agency that Dare Not be Named, quoting the local police, reported that the clash began when a Moslem Rohingya confronted a Buddhist fisherman about sectarian violence in Myanmar.

The government of Myanmar said it would seek more information about the deaths. "I am not clear why the Indonesian authorities put those groups in the same place during this tense period," said U Zaw Htay, a director with President Thein Sein's office.
Probably because they're foreigners. If they're all "Burmese" just toss 'em in together.
Vivian Tan, a regional spokeswoman for the Office of the United Nations
...an organization whose definition of human rights is interesting, to say the least...
High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, said the detention center's detainees were usually a mix of foreign asylum seekers, refugees like the Rohingya and people enjugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
for illegal entry, like the Buddhist fishermen.
Posted by:Fred

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