Sad to say, but the Maha Chulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (MCU), a public Buddhist university in Thailand, is playing with fire.
The Dhammakaya Temple, whose abbot is in hot water with the law, reportedly gave an award to a radical anti-Muslim monk from Myanmar, also known as Burma, in recognition of his promotion of Buddhism in his country.
Prachathai news website quoted a Buddhist scholar, Somrit Luechai, as saying the kind of welcome that the Thai monks gave the controversial Burmese monk, Ashin Wirathu, has surprised and frightened him.
Somrit pointed to the anti-Muslim movement that Wirathu pushed in Burma and suggested that such action and activities have no place in Thailand.
The scary part is that "it seems as if this is normal", Somrit wrote.
Photos of Thai monks welcoming Wirathu were posted on social media with the words "We Love Wirathu".
According to Prachatai, on the same day, Lalita Harnwong, a Thai historian lecturing at Maha Sarakham University who also posted the same set of pictures on her Facebook page, wrote "the behaviour of Dhammakaya and CMU in opening their arms to welcome Wirathu shows the xenophobic logic and thoughts of certain Buddhist groups in Thailand". (Source of The Nation)
March 20, 2016
Myanmar: Beauty hides repression
Ethnic cleansing. Concentration camps. Military road blocks.
Not topics you google when planning a winter getaway.
In January, my husband and I joined the small wave of tourists flowing into Myanmar as it emerges from its decades-long banishment as a pariah state. Our Lonely Planet guidebook was six years out of date, so we bolstered our research with Wikitravel and TripAdvisor.
As we planned our trip to the little-travelled Rakhine State, there was barely a whisper on the common travel sites about persecution against the minority Rohingya Muslims.
The information is out there, of course. But in our search for information about historic sites, beaches and good hotel rooms, we had not consulted Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International. (Courtesy of vancouversun.com)
Not topics you google when planning a winter getaway.
In January, my husband and I joined the small wave of tourists flowing into Myanmar as it emerges from its decades-long banishment as a pariah state. Our Lonely Planet guidebook was six years out of date, so we bolstered our research with Wikitravel and TripAdvisor.
As we planned our trip to the little-travelled Rakhine State, there was barely a whisper on the common travel sites about persecution against the minority Rohingya Muslims.
The information is out there, of course. But in our search for information about historic sites, beaches and good hotel rooms, we had not consulted Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International. (Courtesy of vancouversun.com)
No justice for Rohingyas?
ARTICLE 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh categorically states that “To enjoy the protection of the law, and to be treated in accordance with law, and only in accordance with law …”, is not only the inalienable right of every citizen but also of “…of every other person for the time being within Bangladesh”. The Article further goes on to state that “no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with the law”. In other words, the supreme law of the land has accorded what the government terms as the right to access due process and equal protection of the law to the Undocumented Myanmar Nationals (UMN) currently staying in Bangladesh.
This important Article of the Constitution was premised on principles enshrined in a number of international instruments. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enjoins, “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law” (Article 6), that “all are entitled to equal protection against discrimination” (Article 7), and that “Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals…” (Article 9). (Courtesy of The Daily Star)
This important Article of the Constitution was premised on principles enshrined in a number of international instruments. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enjoins, “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law” (Article 6), that “all are entitled to equal protection against discrimination” (Article 7), and that “Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals…” (Article 9). (Courtesy of The Daily Star)
Australia 'goes soft on egregious human rights abuses in Myanmar'
The Turnbull government wants to downgrade United Nations monitoring of human rights in Myanmar despite reports of ongoing repression by the country's military, which retains impunity from abuses.
Australia's stand at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva comes as rights groups accuse Myanmar government forces of committing serious violations during renewed fighting with several ethnic armies in remote border areas, including forced labour, torture and ill-treatment and sexual violence against woman.
Fighting since November in the remote hills of north-eastern Myanmar with the Shan State Army - North has displaced at least 10,000 villagers. (Courtesy of smh.com.au)
Australia's stand at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva comes as rights groups accuse Myanmar government forces of committing serious violations during renewed fighting with several ethnic armies in remote border areas, including forced labour, torture and ill-treatment and sexual violence against woman.
Fighting since November in the remote hills of north-eastern Myanmar with the Shan State Army - North has displaced at least 10,000 villagers. (Courtesy of smh.com.au)
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