Police beefed up for riots
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The police and security forces are being beefed up in order to cope with the recent spike in incidents of mob violence, said President Office's spokesperson Ye Htut.
The authorities had been increasing their security capacity and strengthening their communication, weapons and technologies aimed at handling riots in Myanmar, said Ye Htut, speaking after President Thein Sein held a meeting with the Interfaith Friendship Group and Myanmar National Human Rights Commission in Yangon on Sunday.
The government will also cooperate with international organisations to train police officers in how to handle riots, he said, pinpointing anti-Muslim mob violence in Mandalay Region that killed 43 people in March.
“When rioting occurred in Meikhtila, the police only had a few hundred officers to call on. [In such numbers] they cannot handle a 500- or 600-strong crowd without proper riot-control equipment,” said Ye Htut. He also called on the public to cooperate with the police in their attempts to quell rioting.
Authorities had so far failed to capture those responsible for instigating a wave riots across the country over the last year, he added.
Communal violence has claimed 256 lives since the civilian-led government took office. Authorities have charged 1,500 suspects for the violence, with 541 so far convicted and sentenced to prison.
