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| Southeast Asia |
| Myanmar court convicts 2 Muslims over violence |
| 2013-06-21 |
| [ISLANDPACKET] A court in Myanmar has found two Musselmen women guilty of sparking a recent outbreak of sectarian violence, one of them by bumping into a Buddhist novice monk. Myint Thein of the pro-government National Unity Party, who attended their trial, said Wednesday the two women in the central township of Okkan were convicted of "insulting religion." Both were sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor. A police officer in Okkan, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed the sentences. The verdicts may be seen as offering support for contentions by human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights,mind you... groups that Myanmar's court system is biased in favor of the Buddhist majority. Although the vast majority of victims of the violence in the past year have been Musselmens, most of those convicted of serious offenses in connection with the unrest have been Musselmens. Sectarian violence began in western Rakhine state last year, when hundreds died in festivities between Buddhists and Musselmens that drove about 140,000 people, mostly Musselmens, from their homes. The violence had seemed confined to that region, but in late March, Buddhist-led violence - fueled by the killing of a monk after a Buddhist mob burned down several Musselmen-owned shops - swept the town of Meikthila in central Myanmar, killing at least 43 people. |
| Posted by:Fred |