Myanmar Muslims hide amid deadly sectarian clashes

           
Terrified Muslim families hid in forests in western Myanmar on Wednesday, one day after fleeing a new round of deadly sectarian violence that erupted even as the president toured the divided region. The discovery of four bodies brought the death toll from the latest clashes up to at least five. 

Tuesday's unrest near the coastal town of Thandwe, which saw Buddhist mobs kill a 94-year-old woman and four other Muslims and burn dozens of homes, underscored the government's persistent failure to stop the sectarian violence from spreading.

Rights groups say President Thein Sein, visiting the region for the first time since clashes flared there last year, has done little to crack down on religious intolerance and failed to bridge a divide that has left hundreds of thousands of Muslims marginalized and segregated, many of them confined by security forces in inadequately equipped camps for those who fled their homes.

Thein Sein arrived in Thandwe on Wednesday, the second day of his visit to Rakhine state, and was to meet religious leaders from both communities.

While Thein Sein has condemned the violence in Rakhine state before, critics say his security forces have not done enough to contain it. They also say his government has failed to crack down on radical monks who have instilled hatred and fear of the nation's Muslim minority, arguing they pose a threat to Buddhist culture and traditions.

In a message to religious leaders that ran in Myanmar's state-run newspapers Wednesday, Thein Sein said the sectarian unrest threatens the government's reform process "and tarnishes the national image internationally."

"The constitution of Myanmar fully guarantees freedom of religion as the fundamental right of citizens," Thein Sein said. "We all should never misuse this noble idea of freedom of religion, or use it as a springboard for any kind of extremism or for fueling hatred."

Thein Sein has been widely praised for overseeing an unprecedented political opening in the Southeast Asian nation since the army ceded power two years ago to a nominally civilian government led by retired military officers.   


AP