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Showing posts from June 3, 2013

Buddhists battle Muslim minority as Myanmar convulses

A mother cradles her child amongst the 1,400 strong crowd of displaced Muslims in Lashio. To see more photos click on the box below. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) Pittsburgh Post Gazette  ‎ June 2, 2013 LASHIO, Myanmar -- When a huge mob of Buddhist thugs crawled on the roof of Ma Sandar Soe's shop, doused it with gasoline and set it ablaze, the Buddhist businesswoman didn't blame them for burning it to the ground despite seeing it happen with her own eyes. Instead, her wrath was reserved for minority Muslims she accused of igniting Myanmar's latest round of sectarian unrest. "This happened because of the Muslims," she declared, sifting through charred CDs in the ruins of her recording studio. As Myanmar grapples with its transition to democracy, its Muslim minority is experiencing its perils in vivid, bloody fashion. Hundreds have died since last year as victims of sectarian strife. In the country's latest round of Buddh