Political Violence in Myanmar

Unfortunately, Myanmar citizens have experienced political violence for many, many years. They are said to have had one of the longest running civil wars because many conflicts have united into a conglomerate,  what is known as the Burmese Civil War. In the past two years The Kachin Conflict reconvened after a 17 year ceasefire. The Kachin Independence Army is fighting against the Myanmar Army for the purpose of creating a separate Kachin state. Matthew Smith, a consultant to Human Rights Watch told CNN reporters that the government appeared to have recently stepped up attacks on Kachin fighters, both sides fight to gain resources or control over certain areas. (http://www.cnn.com)

Myanmar also experiences political violence defined by non-action on the part of the government, due to either lack of will or lack of capacity. Non-action against the Buddhist mobs terrorizing the small Muslim population in the state. (90 percent of the country's 55 million people are Buddhist, and 4-8 percent Muslim.) (http://www.nytimes.com) I thought Buddhists were peaceful, but I guess I was wrong.

Yangon, formerly Rangoon is a city in Myanmar bloated with religious zealots of every faith, even Hindu and Christian. Buddhists have been the historical majority in the area, and they feel threatened by the prevalence of Muslims hence the sectarian violence. Historic grievances about Muslims trying to take over the country plague Buddhists with fright and cause them to commit acts of extreme violence. "969" is a Buddhist propaganda movement to promote anti-Muslim sentiment in Yangon and around Myanmar. In their promo DVD they tell you to beat Muslim women into submission until they convert to Buddhism. (ny times video) "After decades of peaceful coexistence with the Buddhist majority in the country, Muslims say they now constantly fear the next attack." The violence has left around 200 Muslims dead over the past year. (http://www.nytimes.com) Does this extremism have no end?

(http://articles.philly.com)