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‘Burmanisation’ of these minorities.37 This marginalisation has had a significant impact on the tensions between ethnic groups in Myanmar, and played a key role in the conflict. The educational system adheres to this hierarchy with the curricular often neglecting the study of religions other than Buddhism, and imposing ethnic discrimination (for example, the teaching of ethnic nationality languages was prohibited in 1962).38 Another divider, closely related to the inequality between ethnic groups, is the opposing interests between these different groups. First we must acknowledge that there are economic and political factors that fuel conflict between groups, as is true for conflict between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. The Rohingya Muslims are not only seen as a threat to the Rakhine Buddhists’ own identity, but as competitors for the state’s resources. The oppression from the state and the competition of natural resources create opportunities for violent confrontations between Buddhists and Muslims, similar to the tensions between Thai-Buddhists and Malay-Muslims in Myanmar’s neighbouring country, Thailand.39 The primary focus for this study is the exploitation of these tensions to encourage mistrust of Muslims. One of the reasons for the scepticism and fear is the awareness that few South and Southeast Asian countries remain Buddhist states. Areas that once belonged to the ancient Brahman-Buddhist kingdoms such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are now recognized as Muslim states. Fundamentalists (such as Wirathu, who will be discussed in the next section) warn that the Buddhist identity of Myanmar is under threat and argue that the country’s Muslim community 37 Oxford Burma Alliance, ‘Ethnic Nationalities of Burma’. 38 Lwin, Thein, (2015) ‘Languages, Identities, and Education – in Relation to Burma/Myanmar’, English.Panglong.org, available at: http://english.panglong.org/wpcontent/uploads/2011/12/images_docs_lwin-language-aritcle-english-15thoct11.pdf [November]. 39 Horstmann, A., (2004) ‘Ethnohistorical Perspectives on Buddhist-Muslim Relations and Coexistence in Southern Thailand: From Shared Cosmos to the Emergence of Hatred?’, Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, Vol. 19, No.1. - 22 -

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Religion, hate speech and social media in Myanmar: Analysing methods of intervention

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English

Topic

Hate Speech
Rohingya Crisis

Author(s)

Bethany Davis

Date Published: Dec 1, 2015

Abstract: Myanmar is home to one of the longest running intrastate conflicts in the world, involving a series of ethnic and religious clashes that have caused harm to all parties involved. The ideology of a homogeneity based on Buddhism and the Bamar ethnicity has marginalized minority groups, which make up a third of the population, and has particularly affected the Rakhine state’s Buddhist and Muslim communities, the latter of which are subject to what international human rights organizations are calling an ethnic cleansing. Since the government relaxed restrictions to the access of foreign websites, the social media site Facebook has become a popular means to disseminate misinformation and rumours, and this has created mistrust and hatred against Muslims across the country, heightening the polarization between Buddhist and Muslim groups. This study will combine conflict analysis with the assessment of different approaches of countering hate speech to propose which methods of intervention are most suitable for this situation in Myanmar. Lederach argues that to counter hatred and avoid reoccurrence of violence, deep alterations of the parties’ relationships is needed. This idea forms the basis for chapter three which examines educational methods, interfaith projects and social media campaigns to both prevent and change negative attitudes towards the religious ‘Other’. It argues that education and awareness campaigns are more effective than the implementation of legal regulation as we need to combat the underlying issue. In addition to secondary sources, this study involved field research to collect information about how the youth are influence by hate speech and counter hate campaigns in Myanmar.

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Religion, hate speech and social media in Myanmar: Analysing methods of intervention

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