The Stateless Rohingya Blog

People arrive at a stadium, a safe place for Muslims amid riots in Meikhtila March 22, 2013. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun   By BAI March 27, 2014 Statement by Members of the European Burma Network A year on from anti-Muslim violence in Meiktila, members of the European Burma Network express their deep concern that not only does hate-speech remain largely unchallenged within Burma, but prejudicial laws proposed by those promoting hatred against Muslims have been endorsed by the President, and are likely to become law. Those displaced by anti-Muslim violence in Meiktila remain in camps, unable to return home. The failure to tackle anti-Muslim prejudice means it is unlikely they would safely be able to return even if homes were rebuilt. Proposed laws currently being drafted by Thein Sein’s government at the request of Parliamentary Speaker Shwe Mann include a law restricting the ability of non-Buddhists to marry Buddhists, and a law expected to restrict the numbe...

Carrying belongings Muslims refugees get off a vehicle as they arrive at a rescue camp in Meikhtila about 550 kilometers (340 miles) north of Yangon, Myanmar, Friday, March.22, 2013. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win) BBC News:  May 21, 2013 Six Muslim men have been jailed for their role in religious clashes in the Burmese town of Meiktila in March. One of the men was jailed for 34 years for killing a monk; the others received sentences ranging from two to 14 years for crimes including unlawful assembly and religious disrespect. At least 43 people - mostly Muslim - died in the violence that erupted after an argument at a Muslim-owned shop. So far no Buddhists have been convicted in connection with the deadly clashes. The monk was knocked down from his motorbike by a group of Muslim men, beaten and killed, according to reports. Apart from the monk, Meiktila's violence was almost entirely directed against the Muslim minority. It sp...