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        Burma Monk Protests Against Rohingya Denounced by Rights Groups

   by Daniel Schearf

   BANGKOK --  For a third day, Buddhist monks in Burma are leading
   demonstrations supporting deportation of Muslim minority Rohingya,
   raising concerns of rights groups. Sectarian clashes between Rohingya
   and Buddhists in Burma's Rakhine state this summer left 90 people dead.

   Burma this week is seeing its largest Buddhist-monk-led demonstrations
   since a 2007 democracy uprising.

   Hundreds of monks began marching Sunday through Burma's second-largest
   city, Mandalay, dressed in traditional saffron and orange colored
   robes. But this time the monks were supporting President Thein Sein's
   call for a Muslim minority, the Rohingya, to be segregated and
   deported.

   Human Rights Watch Deputy Director for Asia Phil Robertson says the
   monks' moral authority raises the stakes in the sectarian tensions.

   "The fact that these monks just several years ago were protesting for
   democracy and human rights, and are today now protesting for exclusion
   and potential deportation of a particular ethnic group causes some
   concern that the government in Burma may in fact listen to these kinds
   of voices," he says.

   Buddhist monks supported students and political activists during the
   2007 uprising.  So many monks were involved that it became known as the
   Saffron Revolution. It was put down by military force.

   Rights activists note the disturbing irony of monks marching in support
   of President Thein Sein, who was then acting prime minister.

   "It was very sad to see such kind of actions taken by the monks who
   have been heavily oppressed and killed in many cases in 2007 during
   Saffron Revolution," says Soe Aung, a spokesman for Forum for Democracy
   in Burma.

   This summer violent clashes broke out between Buddhists and Rohingya in
   Burma's western Rakhine state. Sectarian riots began in June after
   Rakhine Buddhists murdered a busload of Muslim Rohingya over an alleged
   rape. At least 90 people were killed, thousands chased from their
   homes, and villages burned to the ground.

   Human Rights Watch says security forces stood by, and in some cases
   participated, in the violence. Authorities deny the charges and have
   appointed a commission to investigate the incident.

   But Robertson says there are questions whether the commission can
   independently investigate the clashes in Rakhine state, also called
   Arakan.

   "There cannot be a whitewash, there needs to be accountability in
   addition to a sort of far-sighted vision for a way that both of these
   groups will be able to live in peace in Arakan state," says Robertson.

   The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees rejected the
   government's proposal to resettle the nearly one-million Rohingya.

   Burma refuses to grant citizenship to the Rohingya, despite some living
   there for generations, and brands them as illegal migrants. They have
   few rights in Burma and the United Nations considers them one of the
   world's most persecuted minorities.

   Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized for not
   speaking up enough for the Rohingya, despite a campaign promise to
   support reconciliation with ethnic minorities.

   Robertson says on this issue the NLD leader's voice could provide a
   clearer direction for society to follow.

   "I think that she should put her weight behind the issue," says
   Robertson. "You know, this is the time to do it. This is the time to
   step up and demonstrate leadership. And, we hope she will do it."

   Robertson says the international community needs to see the Rohingya
   issue as the first test case for a multi-ethnic Burma.

   Burma has 135 legally recognized minorities under a 1982 citizenship
   law that left out the Rohingya.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/burma_monk_protests_against_rohingya_
   denounced_by_rights_groups/1501226.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/burma_monk_protests_against_rohingya_denounced_by_rights_groups/1501226.html