Mass Arrest Of More Than 1,000 Burmese In Malaysia

(The news article direct from the INTER AKSYON on 06 June 2013.)

A factory raided and Burmese workers detained.

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian police said Thursday they had detained more than 900 Myanmar nationals in a security sweep after at least two were killed last week in clashes believed to be linked to sectarian violence back home.

The two dead were likely Myanmar Buddhists killed during a spate of violent incidents in Kuala Lumpur since May 30, said Amar Singh Ishar Singh, the Malaysian capital's deputy police chief.

He added that two other people were in critical condition and the attacks were "believed to be the result of violence in Myanmar."

"The operation is to send a clear message to stop this nonsense and not bring the violence over to Malaysia," he told AFP.

He gave no details on the attacks but Malaysian media reports -- which said as many as four may have died -- have suggested Buddhists came under attack from their Muslim countrymen seeking vengeance over violence back in Myanmar.

Burmese Buddhists hand-cuffed together.

Deadly sectarian strife pitting Myanmar's majority Buddhists against the Muslim ethnic Rohingya minority has flared since last year in the country's western state of Rakhine. Muslim-majority Malaysia says it is home to more than 80,000 Myanmar nationals, many of them Rohingya fleeing alleged persecution by Myanmar's Buddhist authorities and, more recently, the Rakhine violence.

Amar said more than 250 of those detained in Malaysia were handed over to immigration authorities as they lacked proper documentation. The rest were released and no formal arrests have yet been made as investigations continue, he said.

Burmese Buddhists on KL streets are herded and arrested.

Myanmar on Tuesday called on Malaysia to take action against those responsible for the attacks and protect Myanmar citizens. U Maung Hla, who heads the Burma Refugee Organization in Malaysia, said violence between exiled Myanmar communities here was not uncommon and was "sometimes due to religion."

The Rohingya have been described by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities. About 800,000 are estimated to live in Myanmar, which denies them citizenship, rendering them stateless. Malaysia does not grant Rohingyas refugee status but has turned a blind eye to the steady arrivals.

In April, Human Rights Watch accused Myanmar of "a campaign of ethnic cleansing" against Rohingya, citing evidence of mass graves and forced displacement affecting tens of thousands. Myanmar denies the charge.

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Selayang Markets Now Being Surrounded by Police

Even the Burmese Buddhist girls are nabbed off the streets.

Since 11 pm on June 5 Malaysian police supported by the armed paramilitaries has surrounded the Selayang Markets in KL and arrested more than a thousand Burmese nationals working there both legally and illegally.

Not just Selayang but also other places where Burmese are known to have congregated such as Ampang, Cheras, Sungai Paloh, and Kalang have also been raided by Malaysian police and hundreds of Burmese nationals have been arrested. Penang Island is also going to be included in the Operasi Round-up Burmese Buddhists.

According to the Malysian Police the Operasi is just to stop the recent brutal killings of Burmese Buddhists by the Bengali-Muslims in KL before the whole thing getting out of hand and international condemnations pouring in.

But most Burmese in Malaysia believe that instead of finding the Bengali-Muslim culprits and taking actions against them the Malaysian government is taking the side of Muslims and pressuring the Burmese Buddhists to leave Malaysia.

All the places raided by Malaysian police are popular gathering places for Burmese Buddhists in KL such as Kota Raya building or Little Burma. The police have even forcefully entered all the shops and restaurants operated by Burmese Buddhists and arrested wholesale the Burmese customers and Burmese workers.

Selayang markets killings of burmese Buddhists.

A body from the carwash killings was being bagged.

Epicenter of Burmese-Buddhist killings is around the Kampung Baru
Burmese Buddhist monastery in Kuala Lumpur.

Myanmar Defense League - MDL's Boycott Malaysia Campaign.