Muslims in a province of Burma have been ordered not to have more than two children in an attempt by the government to stop Buddhist attacks on Muslims.
State officials said the two-child limit in the state of Rakhine would ease
tensions between Buddhists and their Muslim Rohingya neighbours.
Local officials said the new measure was part of a policy that will also ban
polygamyin two Rakhine townships that border Bangladesh and have the
highest Muslim populations. The townships, Buthidaung and Maundaw, are
about 95% Muslim.
The measure was enacted a week ago after a
government-appointed commission investigating the violence issued
proposals to ease tensions, which included family planning programs to
stem population growth among minority Muslims, said Rakhine state
spokesman Win Myaing. The commission also recommended doubling the
number of security forces in the volatile region.
"The population
growth of Rohingya Muslims is 10 times higher than that of the Rakhine
(Buddhists)," Win Myaing said. "Overpopulation is one of the causes of
tension."
Sectarian violence in Burma first flared nearly a year
ago in Rakhine state between the region's Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim
Rohingya. Mobs of Buddhists armed with machetes razed thousands of
Muslim homes, leaving hundreds of people dead and forcing 125,000 to
flee, mostly Muslims.
Since the violence, religious unrest has developed into a campaign against the country's Muslim communities in other regions.
Containing the strife has posed a serious challenge to President Thein Sein's
reformist government as it attempts to institute political and economic
liberalisation after nearly half a century of harsh military rule. It
has also tarnished the image of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who
has been criticised for failing to speak out strongly in defence of the
country's embattled Muslim community.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/25/burma-muslims-two-child-limit
State officials said the two-child limit in the state of Rakhine would ease
tensions between Buddhists and their Muslim Rohingya neighbours.
Local officials said the new measure was part of a policy that will also ban
polygamyin two Rakhine townships that border Bangladesh and have the
highest Muslim populations. The townships, Buthidaung and Maundaw, are
about 95% Muslim.
The measure was enacted a week ago after a
government-appointed commission investigating the violence issued
proposals to ease tensions, which included family planning programs to
stem population growth among minority Muslims, said Rakhine state
spokesman Win Myaing. The commission also recommended doubling the
number of security forces in the volatile region.
"The population
growth of Rohingya Muslims is 10 times higher than that of the Rakhine
(Buddhists)," Win Myaing said. "Overpopulation is one of the causes of
tension."
Sectarian violence in Burma first flared nearly a year
ago in Rakhine state between the region's Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim
Rohingya. Mobs of Buddhists armed with machetes razed thousands of
Muslim homes, leaving hundreds of people dead and forcing 125,000 to
flee, mostly Muslims.
Since the violence, religious unrest has developed into a campaign against the country's Muslim communities in other regions.
Containing the strife has posed a serious challenge to President Thein Sein's
reformist government as it attempts to institute political and economic
liberalisation after nearly half a century of harsh military rule. It
has also tarnished the image of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who
has been criticised for failing to speak out strongly in defence of the
country's embattled Muslim community.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/25/burma-muslims-two-child-limit