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These outlets can be available to people in Myanmar, though only to those who can afford the technology. The platform not only educates people but has the power to make people heard. For example, Ted held a conference in Uganda for the youth ‘because *they+ wanted to have young people from Africa be heard.’138 Pandith believes that there is power in the voices of society who want to push back extremism; we just need to give them a platform. Helping the non-traditional actors such as the youth demographic is important in debunking the idea of us and them. Giving a voice to Myanmar’s non-Bamar ethnic and religious groups could help strengthen their credibility as members of society and create an awareness of their presence. Burma News International (BNI) is a group of small ethnic media outlets (many of which are based in Thailand) aiming to establish their collective voice. Though the environment is still considered to be unsupportive of ethnic media, many believe this will help bridge the divide between the Bamar and other ethnicities.139 One important point to consider when discussing these ideas for campaigns in Myanmar is religion. Throughout chapters one and two we have acknowledged that religion is involved in many aspects of conflict in Myanmar; as chapter one addressed, religion can alter the social behaviour of society, and the existence of strong religious/ethnic identity groups can help in marginalizing the ‘subordinate’ religious Other. Drawing on Gopin’s ideas, the involvement of religion within peacebuilding initiatives could be beneficial and may promote better interaction between religious communities.140 Using Buddhist values social media campaigns such as compassion, and drawing on specific teachings from scriptures could be key to encouraging religious groups to engaging in a positive interaction towards both their own faith and practice, and the religious Other. Examples of Anti-Hate Campaigns 138 Pandith, (2013). 139 Dolan, T. & Grey, S., (2014) ‘Media and Conflict in Myanmar: Opportunities for Media to Advance Peace’, United States Institute of Peace, available at: http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/PW92.pdf [November 2015] p.22. 140 An-Na’im, A., (2002) Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa, Zed Books: London, p.3. - 58 -

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

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Language

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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