M.MAS 1/12/17 Case study 3 Background The following two cases concern two separate but related events in the same region. Both cases are part of a growing controversy and antagonism over the right to slaughter cattle, an issue that has drawn particular attention in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta.34 Over the last few years, 969, Ma Ba Tha, and similar organisations have been purchasing the rights to slaughter cattle in the Delta, in order to prevent the animals being slaughtered. In the past these permits have tended to be awarded to Muslims, who slaughter the cattle as a business (to sell the meat), and also as part of religious custom on the occasion of religious festivals. The case studies were written based upon interviews with two Buddhist activists and one Christian activist, all of whom are residents of the region, spend time in the affected areas and were involved in some way with the events described. These individuals cautioned against further inquiries into the cases for two reasons: cow slaughter is still a sensitive issue, and renewing inquiries after some time has passed since the events could prompt new suspicions. That illegal activity was involved, with possible knowledge of local government authorities, also made inquiries additionally delicate. The events These events took place after a 969-affiliated group had purchased the permit to control cattle slaughter in the local area. Although Muslims no longer had the permit for cattle slaughter, some Muslims reportedly continued to slaughter cattle illegally and paid money to the municipal authorities so that they would turn a blind eye. At some point after the 969-affiliated group took over the permit, two individuals connected to the group visited a Muslim-owned slaughterhouse to investigate whether cattle were being slaughtered without a permit. The men were beaten up when they tried to do so, and hospitalised. In addition, monks from the local 969 group attempted to arrest Muslims for illegal slaughter and confiscated beef from the slaughterhouse. The area is inhabited by Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians. After this incident, rumours spread across the wider area through social media and phones that Muslims had beaten up a monk, that the monk was in the hospital with head wounds, and that Muslims were going house-to-house killing people with knives. Leading 969 monks from elsewhere came to the village, and the situation became tense. Interviewees also said that the authorities from the General Administrative Department office in a nearby town had come to the village when they first heard the news; however, they didn’t feel they had authority to act. Soon after, the interviewees said that the army or police came and declared what the interviewees described as “martial law.” This included measures such as preventing people within the village from going outside after dark. People in the area began to worry that they might face shortages of basic food supplies, as the village required difficult travel to other trading centres and the increased restrictions disrupted trade. When the rumours started spreading, a civil society leader who had been working with farmers in the area was contacted by at least one local resident about the case. He went straight to the village to find out what was going on. The police were checking cars on the road and there were soldiers, firemen, and local Pyithu Sit militias standing guard, an obviously expanded security presence from the norm. The civil 34 Swe Win, “Protecting Cows - a Buddhist Tradition Revived?,” Myanmar Now, September 17, 2015, http://www.myanmar-now.org/news/i/?id=95b1414d-bd48-4531-84e5-1f069be1075f; Swe Win, “With Official Help, Myanmar’s Radical Buddhists Target Muslim-Owned Businesses,” Myanmar Now, September 17, 2015, http://www.myanmar-now.org/news/i/?id=9ba61afc-285d-49bd-8f73-8b9efaf941c0. 11/24