axPresident Obama’s exhortation to Burmese President Thein Sein who is in Washington these days to contain the spread of violence against Myanmar Muslims, known as the Rohingya is welcome. It is comforting that an American President is now making a necessary enquiry into the plight of Rohingya Muslims, which will stand sharply in contrast to the silence on Palestine, Kashmir and other Muslim lands undergoing oppression and occupation.
One impact is that the world is now going to believe that turmoil in Rohingya is not just fiction as earlier a section of the media was quick to squelch reports of the growing antagonism. And secondly, those inside Myanmar who have been perpetrating hate speech and killings would now know that a determined President of a powerful nation is seriously upset over the crimes perpetrated by them. While President Obama has done the right thing by standing up for a hapless, beleaguered people, this time Muslims, genuine hope for the situation to return to the normal has arisen. As of now, the Muslim minorities are running from pillar to post to save themselves; in most of the public places, they risk running into bigoted mobs who are commonly seen with clubs and sticks. Ashin Wirathu, a monk who calls himself the Burmese bin Laden is openly spreading violence. Many victim families who have fled the country are in a desperate quandary and need immediate rescue. The kind of racial hatred being incited is doing incalculable harm to all that Buddhism stands for. Those like Ashin who have been fanning hatred are false representation of a peaceful creed whose cardinal principle preaches non-violence.
A renewed wave of violence has the country in its throes. It has claimed lives of many dozens of innocent Muslims. Racial hatred must be suppressed because already the kind of herd mentality witnessed in Myanmar is spreading into Sri Lanka where fresh attacks are being reported.