Myanmar President Thein Sein declared Emergency in West Myanmar

Myanmar President Thein Sein declared emergency in West Myanmar on 10 June 2012. The government’s move came following a wave of sectarian violence between the Buddhists and Muslims in the past week which left seven people dead and hundreds of properties ravaged in Rakhine state of west Myanmar.

Conflict in troubled Rakhine state blazed after a Buddhist woman was killed in May 2012, followed by an attack on a bus carrying Muslims. The clashes began on 4 June 2012 when a violent mob attacked a bus in Taungup, Rakhine province, apparently mistakenly believing some of the passengers were responsible for the earlier rape and murder of a Buddhist woman.

Rakhine state is named after the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist community, which is in the majority in the state. The state also has a sizeable Muslim population, including the Rohingya minority. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group and are considered to be the refugees who have illegally entered Myanmar from neighboring Bangladesh.

The state emergency imposed in the western state can upset the country’s initiatives taken in the direction of democracy. The former military ruled country has been trudging the path of political reforms over the past two years.

The process of political reforms accelerated in Myanmar after Thein Sein’s Union Solidarity and Development Party stormed to the power in March 2011after its massive victory in the election held in the country after 20 years. Despite largely being controlled by the military, the Thein Sein’s government showcased enough willingness to introduce real political reforms in the country. In a reconciliatory move the government had released hundreds of prisoners from the jail in January 2012. The move was followed by a by-elections in the state in April 2012, which witnessed pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party NLD for the first time since 1990 capturing 43 out of 45 seats.