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Statement of BYVA-Japan



BURMA YOUTH VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION - JAPAN
RM 102, COURT TANGENT A-ll, 2-12-1, KOMAGOME, TOSHIMA-KU, TOKYO 170

Statement Regarding the Recent Unrest in Mandalay and Rangoon

There have been a number of reports this week of protests involving Buddhist 
monks in Mandalay, Rangoon and several other cities in Burma.  According to 
official reports, Buddhist monks are avenging the attempted rape of a Buddhist 
girl by Muslim men.  While BYVA can neither confirm nor deny the truth of these 
reports, we believe these conflicts are political, not merely religious, in 
nature.  We wish to point out the following:

* Successive military regimes in Burma have instigated communal violence to 
deflect public anger against their failed policies, to weaken the opposition or 
to provide an excuse for increased repression.  In 1967 the government blamed 
Burmese of Chinese ancestry for food shortages resulting from its 
nationalization policy; rioters ransacked and looted Chinese homes, and many 
Sino-Burmans were killed.  The government may have been behind a conflict 
between Buddhist monks and Muslims in Taunggyi and Prome during the 1988 
anti-government uprising.  And recently, the current regime has exploited a 
religious rift among the Karen ethnic group and turned Buddhist Karen against 
Christian Karen.

* Burma's Buddhist Youth Wing says officials made up the rape story to cover up 
protests over deaths in prison of 16 monks.

* Even SLORC says the unrest was a politically motivated attempt by agitators to 
stall Burma's entry to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Even if the official reports of the religious unrest were accurate, it is 
obvious that the military government is ultimately to blame.  SLORC has pursued 
divisive policies that favor soldiers over civilians, Buddhists over Christians 
or Muslims, Burmans over ethnic minorities and cultivated a climate of fear, 
poverty and ignorance, a powderkeg for religious and ethnic violence.  Contrary 
to the military government's repeated claims that it is the sole unifying force 
in Burma, we believe that SLORC's greatest fear is unity among Burma's peoples. 

We believe that the only hope for peace in Burma is the establishment of a 
democratic government that respects the rights of all Burmese, regardless of 
race or religion.  We therefore repeat our demand that the SLORC engage in a 
dialogue with the democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi and with the 
leaders of the ethnic minorities.


Signed by,


Khin Maung Zaw
( Chairman )
(on behalf of Executive Committee)


** Published by Information Committee**