A wave of violent clashes that swept Myanmar’s restive Rakhine State (formerly known as Arakan) in late September left at least five Muslims dead and many members of their community injured and displaced. The epicenter of the violence was the city of Thandwe, which was targeted by a Buddhist mob (Mizzima News [Yangon], October 3). For some time now, Buddhist nationalist groups in Myanmar have opposed Muslim businesses and social practices, creating a sense of mistrust and antagonism between the two communities that frequently erupts in violence.
Vehemently opposing the Human Rights violation report submitted by the UN Human Rights Commissioner Navnanethem Pillay, the Sri Lankan (SL) government has recently rejected her call for establishing ‘an international inquiry mechanism to investigate further the alleged rights violations (both Human Rights and Humanitarian Law) and for monitoring any domestic accountability process in Sri Lanka.