| by B.Raman
( October
27, 2012, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Since the afternoon of October
26,2012, there has been a lull in communal rioting between the Buddhists and
Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine State (Arakan ) of Myanmar.
The rioting
broke out on October 21,2012, reportedly following demonstrations by some Buddhists against allowing the OIC to
open a humanitarian relief office in Yangon. The Rohingya Muslims wanted the
office to be opened.
Despite
opposition from some Buddhists, the Government of President Thein Sein has
continued to accept humanitarian relief from the OIC countries for distribution
to both the communities. It has been reported that two planeloads of
humanitarian relief material arrived at Yangon from Turkey on October 25.
 |
The Chinese have been concerned over the spread of the violence to Kyauk Phyu, where a Chinese company has been constructing a port and a gas/oil pipeline to Yunnan to reduce China’s dependence on the Malacca Straits for energy supplies to China.
According to
Government sources, when the rioting broke out on October 21, the security
forces found themselves to be inadequately numbered and had difficulty in
controlling the situation. Reinforcements have since reached the State and the
security forces are now in a better position to deal with the situation.
While official
statements continue to estimate the total number of fatalities as about 60, the
local “Irrawaddy Journal” and the Xinhua
news agency of China have estimated the total number of fatalities till the
evening of October 26 as 112.
According to
local sources, the steep increase in fatalities is partly due to the security
forces repeatedly opening fire on the rioting mobs from both the communities.
It has been reported that nearly about
2600 houses have been burnt down.
Following
expressions of concern by Western and UN sources that if the riots continued it
could threaten the process of reforms initiated by President Thein Sein and
weaken his position, the National League of Democracy (NLD) of Aung San Suu
Kyi, which was maintaining a discreet silence till now on the situation, has
bestirred itself and urged the
Government to send more reinforcements to the affected areas of Mrauk U,
Minbya, Rathedaung, and Kyauktaw townships, north of the state capital of
Sittwe, and southern Rakhine’s Kyauk Phyu city and Mebyon.
A member of the
“Committee of the Rule of Law and Tranquility,” which is chaired by Suu Kyi, proposed at the Lower House in
Naypyidaw on October 26 that the situation
be discussed in Parliament. Following a debate, Parliament approved a
proposal to deploy more security forces to the region.
The Chinese
have been concerned over the spread of the violence to Kyauk Phyu, where a
Chinese company has been constructing a port and a gas/oil pipeline to Yunnan
to reduce China’s dependence on the Malacca Straits for energy supplies to
China. Chinese officials have expressed the hope that the Thein Sein Government
will be able to maintain stability in the area. So far, there are no reports of
any threats to the Chinese working in the Rakhine State for oil and gas
exploration, port and pipeline construction and the construction of a railway
line to Yunnan.
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd),
Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director,
Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate of the Chennai Centre For
China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com
Twitter @SORBONNE75)
 Since the afternoon of October 26,2012, there has been a lull in comm...){kind=link}