Amid curfew, calm returns to Mandalay

Several parties pointed their fingers at social media for triggering the sectarian violence. Photos from the riots have been uploaded widely and shared on Facebook. Myanmar has more than 1 million Facebook users. Following a six-hour block on Thursday, Facebook users on Friday also encountered difficulties accessing their pages from 7pm-9pm. 

 “The Myanmar Police Force did not order the blocking,” MPF chief Brigadier General Win Khaung said in a phone interview with Daily Eleven. “We didn’t give the order and Facebook is not within our control.”

However, Ayeyawaddy news agency quoted Win Khaung as saying that MPF had ordered the blocking to stop the spread of rumours and incitement to hate.

Union Parliament Speaker Thura Shwe Mann noted that religious conflicts are not a normal occurrence and he believed that there must be someone behind this commotion. 

On Thursday, curfew was imposed at six townships of Mandalay after a Buddhist mob attacked a tea shop owned by a Muslim man, after he was accused of raping a Buddhist woman. Two were reportedly killed in the incident and hundreds were arrested.

The cemetery where the funeral service of the dead victim, Tun Tun, took place suffered from an arson attack on Friday.

Yesterday, the Mandalay Peacekeeping Committee sought suggestions from revered Buddhist monks to neutralise the situation in Mandalay.

Senior monks from various monasteries in the city attended the meeting yesterday. It took place at a monastery, located between the 26th and 90th Streets, which is near the site of the riot.

“Prayers alone cannot address conflicts. It is important that the committee takes steps to restore peace,” said Galon Ni Sayadaw, a Buddhist monk. He also urged the committee to find the persons who incited the violence, while the authorities should further impose curfew and the government and social and media organisations should join forces in bringing about peace.