Yangon, Sat June 9, 2012 | Eleven Media Group
(Eleven Media Group)- Dozens of
Rakhine people were killed amidst the Rohingya terrorist attacks in
border town of Maungdaw in Rakhine State, the western part of Myanmar on
Friday.
Due to the violence, hundreds of houses and buildings
were burnt down by mobs, said the reporter Ko Win Maung of the Eleven
Media at the scene.
The death toll in the incident has reached 20
to 30 until the night of 8 June and the injured persons nearby villages
of Maundaw Township have been taken to Maungdaw hospital.
The
onset of the violence on 8 June was that the Rohingya Muslims who
returned from the mosque yesterday afternoon started throwing the stones
to the Rakhine houses and buildings in Maungdaw Township, according to
the Eleven Media reporter whose house was also blazed amidst the
violence.
As the riots could not be controlled, the police forces
took security measures in the town where Muslims are majority and
Rakhine people are minority. Rohingya mobs were setting fire on the
nearby villages of Rakhine ethnics, said a Buddhist monk who resides in
Maungdaw Township.
Due to these unrests, the State-owned media
aired the announcement of Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code
(Curfew) which states people are not to go outside between 18:00 pm and
06:00 am in Maungdaw and Buthedaung townships.
In contrary to the
reporting of foreign media, the army did not fire at the mobs, but just
warning shots to the riot to help the security measures of police
forces, according to the EMG reporter in Maundaw Township where the
clashes are happening.
Highly prominent journalist Dr. Than Htut
Aung, Chairman and CEO of the Eleven Media Group said, “Up to now, the
handling of army in this violence is smooth and flexible. It was
reportedly known that the military fired only the warning shots.
Although the case seemed to be the problem between the Muslims and the
Buddhists, there may be some incitements behind the incident.”
As
the Rohingya mobs are approaching to enter the town and nearby
villages, the security forces are taking places there and conducting
warning fires to them.
“The situations in Maungdaw Township are
very serious. The problem should be solved by legal procedures. We do
not accept anarchic actions. Security forces concerned should settle the
problem systematically. We must control the situation not to spread. If
the problem becomes bigger, it is possible to result in series of
cases. I warned the possibility of problems in Maungdaw after the case
of Sittway. These attacks would seriously threaten to Arakanese people
not only in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, but also in some areas
with minority of them. The government has responsibilities to calm down
the worries of these people. In the future, the security of border area
in Rakhine State should be taken by Rakhine people, and that of Shan
State by Shan people. Paramilitary forces should be organized to
safeguard the security of respective areas. The government should allow
more security plans. We will also submit these plans to the parliament.
If this incident is similar to massacre of 1942 which was intentionally
plotted, the persons behind the curtain are responsible for the
consequences. Security persons, international figures and religious
leaders should not neglect the case. They should cooperate in solving
this problem,” said Chairman Dr. Aye Maung of the Rakhine Ethnics
Development Party.
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