The
Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Ministry
of Foreign Affairs
Press
Release on Situation in Rakhine State
The Government of the Republic of the Union
of Myanmar is building a peaceful, modern and developed nation, setting
priority to ensure peace and stability and the rule of law.
At the time the Government is tirelessly
working to achieve peace and stability and rule of law in the entire country,
two incidents that affected peace and security occurred in Rakhine State with
the rape, robbery and killing of a young woman by three youths in Yanbye
township on 28 May and the subsequent killing of ten persons in a passenger bus
in Taungup township on 3 June. In the two cases, the first victim was a Rakhine
Buddhist female and the latter case, victims were Muslim males.
Following the two incidents, riots broke out
in Sittway, Maungtaw and Buthidaung townships where rioters torched and
destroyed houses, shops and guest houses and committed killings. Because of the
riots, 77 people from both communities lost their lives and 109 people were
injured. A total of 4822 houses, 17 mosques, 15 monasteries, 3 schools were
burnt down.
The Government tried to immediately restore
stability in places where riots broke out since the very beginning of violence
in Rakhine State. Similarly, the Government has taken necessary measures to
stop spreading of violence and to restore peace. The people have been informed
of the situation with full transparency.
To expose the truth and to take legal actions
to the perpetrators involved in the lawlessness and anarchist acts in Rakhine
State, a 16-member Investigation Committee chaired by the Deputy Minister of
Home Affairs was formed on 6 June 2012.
On 11 June, President U Thein Sein delivered
a statement to the nation concerning the incidents in Rakhine State. In his
Statement, the President appealed to the people of Myanmar to cooperate and
work together with the government and requested all to realize every aspect of
the situation with magnanimity and promised that the government would attach
great importance to the rule of law. The President’s Office declared State of Emergency
in the Rakhine State to stop the violence and restore law and order on 12 June
2012.
In reviewing the incidents in Rakhine State,
it is found that lawlessness was spread due to mistrust and religious
differences that had created hatred and vengeance against one another. As the
victims of violence are both from Buddhist and Muslim communities, it is very
clear that the riots are not linked to religious persecution. Myanmar is a
multi-racial and multireligious country where people of different faiths have
lived together in peace and harmony.
Cabinet members and officials of the Union
and State Governments, representatives of various civil societies have visited
the riot affected areas and engaged with the resettlement and rehabilitation,
distribution of relief goods to the peoples in the relief camps.
The Government took legal actions against the
perpetrators of the criminal acts. At the same time the government is taking
measures under existing laws and rules to make sure such phenomena and incident
do not happen again.
The Government has built 89 relief camps in
those townships for the total of 14328 Rakhine people and 30740 Muslim people
who were affected by the violence. As the situation of law and order in Rakhine
State is improving, people sheltered in those relief camps are gradually
returning to their places.
As part of efforts for reconstruction of houses,
which were burnt down in Maungtaw and villages in Maungtaw Township, Ministry
of Border Affairs will build 202 houses, UNHCR will build 222 and the CARE
Myanmar, an INGO, will build 128 houses. UNHCR has sent 400 tents so far for
the refugees in Maungtaw Township. In order to provide shelters in Sittway and
villages in Sittway Township, Rakhine State Government has pledged to build temporary
170 tents while UN agencies and INGOs led by UNHCR to build 600.
World Food Programme (WFP) has spent around USD
600,000 on providing four dry provisions to refugee camps and so far a total of
1515 tons of provisions have been sent to the camps. Over 2100 tons of
provisions have already been stored at the warehouses of WFP.
UNHCR and INGOs have already provided 6818
sets of different kinds of household utensils and 2412 sheets of tarpaulin to
the refugees in Rakhine State. Furthermore, cash and kinds worth of more than
Ks. 3 billions for relief and rehabilitation for the victims of both sides have
been received from well wishers within the country and abroad.
The Government has exercised maximum
restraint in order to restore law and order in those particular places in
Rakhine State. As such, Myanmar strongly rejects the accusations made by some
quarters that abuses and excessive use of force were made by the authorities in
dealing with the situation.
The unfortunate incidents are confined to a
few townships in Rakhine State as it constitutes an inter-communal violence
relating only to the some portion of the population in the State.
In light of the true circumstances and
situation, Myanmar totally rejects the attempts by some quarters to politicize
and internationalize this situation as a religious issue.
Peace and stability is indispensable for the
on-going democratization and reform process in Myanmar. National solidarity and
racial harmony among different nationalities is vital for the perpetuation of
the Union. Myanmar is a multi-religious country where Buddhists, Christians,
Muslims and Hindus have been living together in peace and harmony for
centuries, hence those recent incidents occurred in the Rakhine State are
neither because of religious oppression nor discrimination.
The authorities have taken necessary measures
with great care and with magnanimity. The Government is cooperating with
religious and community leaders, political parties and social organizations to
resolve the issue. The overall situation is now returning to normalcy.
Nay Pyi Taw
30 July 2012.
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