(Compilation of translated
posts from various Burmese blogs last week.)
 |
| Riots in Ngapali - Burma's Paradise. |
City of Thandwe the gateway to Burma’s
famous Ngapali Beach is the last Muslim stronghold still standing in the
majority-Buddhist state of Arakan after 2012 anti-Mulsim riots devastated other
Muslim communities there.
Thandwe escaped the atrocities and
destructions fallen on the Muslim communities all over Arakan last year just
because of the sheer number of Bengali-Muslims defending their heavily-invested
beachfront resorts and tourist trades there.
In Thandwe the Bengali-Muslims clearly
outnumbered the native Yakhine-Buddhists and they completely control the pristine
Ngapali Beach and most hotel and resorts on the beach.
But the town is now tethering on the
edge as a small riot broke out on June 30 and July 1 after a 17 year-old
Yakhine-Buddhist girl from Taung-goke was brutally raped by two Bengali-Muslims
at the bus-depot where she was waiting for a Bus to go back home.
Young Buddhist Girl Was Abducted And Gang-Raped
 |
| Raped-victim Su Su Mon, aged-17. |
According to the Myanmar Defense
League’s report while 17 year-old Su Su Mon was waiting for a bus to Taung Goke
a group of Bengali-Muslims on motorbikes abducted her from the bus depot in the
late evening of June 29.
They then forcefully took her to the wooded-base
of Nandawtaung Hill and there two Muslims raped her repeatedly that night. They
took her out of the town next morning and repeatedly raped her again. They then
bashed her in the head and tried to kill her.
But she managed to run away from them
and later she was found and rescued by the searching Yakhine Buddhist youths
led by Thein Zan who can be contacted at 09-4217- 54293.
Rape and attempted killing were
reported to the police and two Bengali-Muslim rapists were arrested. Accused
rapist Naing Thu was arrested at around 3 pm on June 30 and the second rapist
Min Naing (a) Bayluwa (a) Nga Pyu was caught on July 1.
The victim was brought back to Taung
Goke on July 2 by the police and her family. But her situation deteriorated there
and she was admitted into Taung Goke Hospital.
 |
| Two Bengali-Muslim rapists from Thandwe-Ngapali. |
Taung Goke is the only Muslim-free town in the whole Yakhine State and
last year the town folks there killed ten Muslims from Thandwe travelling
through their town after the news of Muslim gang rape and murder of young
Yakhine-Buddhist girl Thida Htwe reached Taung Goke.
And to get to Thandwe or Ngapali from Burma Proper every vehicle has to go through Taung Goke unless flying in. Now people in Taung Goke were really
angry at the Thandwe Bengali-Muslims for the deliberate revenge attack on one
of their young girls.
 |
| Map of Arakan-South. Thandwe with Ngapali Beach is at the bottom. |
Riots Began At Thandwe By the news of Victim Being Hospitalized
 |
| Burnt-down Muslim houses in Thandwe. |
The disturbances began at about 5 in
the evening of June 30 as the disturbing news of brutal rape and attempted
murder of the young Yakhine-Buddhist girl spread like wildfire among the
already-enraged Buddhist populace of Thandwe.
Soon the armed groups from both
Buddhist and Muslim sides started clashing on the streets of Thandwe. By 7 pm
two restaurants were burning and the bus-depot run by Muslims was attacked and
destroyed.
At least 5 Muslim houses from
Dwar-ra-waddy Ward were burnt down and a couple of Buddhist houses were burned
down also. But the local army battalion entered the town and by 9 pm the
dusk-to-dawn curfew was declared and security was tightened all across the town
and all the entrance and exit routes were blocked by police and soldiers.
Rich Muslim Families Are Leaving Thandwe
 |
| Burned-down Yakhine-Buddhist houses in Thandwe. |
According to the locals a plane load of
rich Muslim families were seen leaving the town on July 1 after the race riots
burned down some Muslim houses and businesses. Even though the security forces
are now maintaining law and order in the town on the fringes people from both
sides were still armed and roaming the streets looking for fights.
Yakhine State government has now
confirmed that the two accused rapists are Muslims and also added that both are
now moved to more-secure Thandwa prison from the Thandwe Police Station after
200 strong Buddhist crowd circled the station to lynch them. Both have now been
charged with first degree aggravated rape and assault with weapons.
Large groups of armed Yakhine-Buddhists
from Taung Goke are now heading towards Thandwe and security forces are so far
successfully blocking them from entering Thandwe. At the time of this report the
normally very-busy Thandwe-Taunggoke vehicular road is still closed by the army
for all motor vehicles.
Revenge Attacks For 2012 Killing of Ten Thandwe Muslims?
 |
| 2012-killings of 10 Thandwe-Muslims by Taung-goke Yakhine Buddhists. |
Taung Goke is the only Muslim-free town
in the whole Yakhine State and last year the town folks there killed ten
Muslims (including three Imams) from Thandwe travelling through their town
after the news of Muslim gang rape and murder of young Yakhine-Buddhist girl
Thida Htwe reached Taung Goke.
Rumors are that the wealthy Muslim
Imams from Thandwe Mosques are giving their Muslim youths 10,000,000 kyats
reward for every Taung Goke Buddhist girl or woman raped and killed.
Two Bengali-Muslim rapists also confessed
that they heard the victim calling to Taung Goke from the Bus Depot and figured
out she must be from Taung Goke. So they abducted and raped her at knifepoint
to claim the reward.
 |
| Deserted Thandwe-Taunggoke Road. |
They then went to their mosque and
claimed the reward from the Imam. But the Imam told them that the rape alone
was not enough for the huge reward and they still needed to kill the girl. So
they took the girl out of the town and tried to kill her but she managed to
escape.
Yakhine-Buddhists from both Thandwe and
Taung Goke are also enraged by the news that the woman doctor who examined the
rape victim at Thandwe Hospital is a Muslim and she was rumoured to have falsely
reported that no evidence of sexual penetration was found and Thandwe police
would be forced to let the rapist go.
The result is that more than 200
Yakhine-Buddhists ending up surrounding the police station and the police was forced
to transfer the accused rapists to more-secure Thandwe Prison just outside of
the town.
At the time of report the Thandwe-Taunggoke road is reopened but still it is not safe to travel to either Thandwe or Ngapali Beach as security situation is still fragile in both Taung Goke and Thandwe for foreign tourists and Burmese to go there.
 |
| Sorry, No Bengali-Muslims accepted in Taung-goke. |
 |
| A Saudi-funded mosque in Thandwe near Ngapali Beach. (The red sign urged "Obey the law and be safe and happy".) |
