Contesting Buddhist Narratives 9 Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was scheduled to soon arrive in the city as part of its campaign for constitutional change (Mathieson 2014). In addition to these major instances of unrest, there have been numerous smaller episodes across the country, including in the former capital of Yangon (Lawi Weng 2014). In many cases of communal violence over the past couple of years, The Mandalay riots were local security forces, particularly the police, have appeared unable or unthought to have been willing to intervene to stop violence spurred by rumors posted on and rioting. In some cases, they have U Wirathu’s Facebook page been accused of participating in the violence (International Crisis Group 2013). Moreover, various reports have indicated evidence of a degree of organization among rioters that implies pre-planning, and government, religious, and civil society actors make frequent references to undefined “dark forces” responsible for driving this violence. Local residents often claim that the riots were led by people from outside, and that prior to the events there were no significant religious tensions between neighboring Buddhist and Muslim communities (Wade 2013).8 Though some have accused elements of the military or economic elite of orchestrating these events in order to turn back the reform movement, there is no direct evidence tying the events to either current or former members of the military or government.9 However, the continued instability is a threat to the current democratic reform process because it could be a pretext for martial law and the resumption of direct military rule (Stoakes 2013). It is notable, and hopeful, that in Mandalay and elsewhere stories did emerge of effective community policing, Buddhists sheltering Muslim neighbors from attacks, and religious and community leaders coming together to refute rumors and restrain militant elements of their own communities. These positive illustrations of indigenous community resilience against communal violence will be discussed later in this paper.