By Dr. Habib Siddiqui

When history is twisted, humanity loses. No country epitomizes this notion to the hilt better than Buddhist-majority Myanmar where history is twisted not only to deny human rights but also to justify genocidal campaigns against religious minorities.
There is no historical record of Buddha ever visiting any part of Arakan and Burma, and yet the popular Mon and Myanmar oral tradition, including the chronicle Sasanavamsa, and the belief of the Arakanese Rakhines suggest that the Buddha visited their king and left behind an image of himself for them to worship. The Sasanavamsa mentions several visits of the Buddha to Myanmar and one other important event: the arrival of the hair relics in Ukkala (Yangon) soon after the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Modern historiography, of course, dismisses these stories as fabrications made out of national pride, as the Myanmar had not even arrived in the region at the time of the Buddha.

Myanmar is a country of many nations: many races and ethnicities – Shan, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Rohingya, Rakhine, Mon, Karen, Chinese, Indians – and many religions, e.g., Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism and Hinduism. To insist that Myanmar is the country of the majority Bamar (Burman) – who practice Theravada Buddhism – at the exclusion of the minority religious communities would be a deliberate attempt that ignores and denies the history of the ‘other’ peoples to this landmass.

The government of Myanmar has signed a peace deal with the rebels of the ethnic Wa guerrilla group, according to state media.

The Kyemon Daily newspaper said on Saturday that the agreement was reached on Friday between the rebels and a government peace delegation that travelled to the remote Wa region in Shan state, which borders China.

The five-point agreement includes a clause calling for regular meetings between the two sides whenever military issues arise.

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) also made a commitment not to secede from Myanmar, also known as Burma, in the document.

In addition, Myanmar’s military and the UWSA agreed to return to positions they occupied before a recent standoff.

The Wa, who have a fighting force numbering as many as 30,000, reached a peace agreement with the central government in 1989, but recently tensions escalated after the Myanmar military surrounded Wa territory.

By Lisa Misol, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Lisa Misol is a senior researcher on business and human rights with Human Rights Watch in New York. The views expressed are her own.

Emerging from diplomatic isolation and Western economic sanctions, Myanmar wants to be the “it” destination for foreign investors.

Last month, foreign business leaders flocked to the capital, Naypyidaw, for the World Economic Forum on East Asia, a regional version of the powerhouse gathering. Major global brands have been enticed by Myanmar’s largely untapped potential, and the momentum is still picking up: General Electric, the first American company to sign a deal after U.S. sanctions were lifted last July, formally launched its Myanmar office in late May. On June 4, Coca-Cola opened its first bottling plant in the country in 60 years, on the heels of Carlsberg and Heineken. Then, on June 27, Myanmar’s government awarded highly anticipated licenses to extend cell phone and Internet service to telecommunications firms from Norway and Qatar.

More investors are lining up. In the petroleum sector, dozens of companies from around the world reportedly bid on 30 sought-after offshore oil and natural gas fields last month. A shortlist has not been announced, but prominent American, Asian, and European oil firms are seen as likely contenders. At least 20 more fields are to be offered next.

By Eko Armunanto

A Buddhist monk Wirathu calling himself Burmese bin Laden was recently labeled on the cover of Time magazine as the Face of Buddhist Terror. He is the Buddhist monk accused of stoking religious hatred across Burma, said NBC News contributor MacGregor.
Briefly describing what’s in its printed version entitled “The Face of Buddhist Terror,” TIME says “His face as still and serene as a statue’s, the Buddhist monk who has taken the title ‘the Burmese bin Laden’ begins his sermon. Hundreds of worshippers sit before him, palms pressed together, sweat trickling silently down their sticky backs. On cue, the crowd chants with the man in burgundy robes, the mantras drifting through the sultry air of a temple in Mandalay, Burma’s second biggest city after Rangoon. It seems a peaceful scene, but Wirathu’s message crackles with hate: Now is not the time for calm.”
Sparked widespread protests across the country, Burmese government banned the TIME magazine portraying Ashin Wirathu as the Burmese bin Laden. Circa said Wirathu leads the radical Buddhist group 969 which says that the country’s Muslim minority threatens national security and racial purity. Violence against Muslims has resulted in 250 deaths and displaced 150,000 people in the past year.

Syed Nahas Pasha

UK Shadow Minister for International Development, Rushanara Ali, MP, has urged the British government to apply pressure on the Burmese authorities to address the humanitarian crisis in Burma and put human rights at the heart of their reforms process.

Burmese president Thein Sein will soon begin his official tour of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and France, it was announced yesterday.

Ali expressed worries about the humanitarian crisis in Burma’s Rakhine State and the human rights abuses against the Rohingya, a Muslim community, and other minorities in Burma.

She acknowledged the progress the Burmese government had made towards political and economic reforms since President Thein Sein took office. But, she said, the international community should not ignore the considerable work the Burmese government still needs to do.

Rushanara Ali, MP, who recently visited Burma, said, “Since inter-communal violence first broke out last year, Rohingya Muslims have been forced into segregated settlements and their movements have been restricted, stripping them of their livelihoods and rendering them reliant on aid. Displaced people are living in constant fear of violence, abuse and harassment both from the security services and from fears of a further attack from sections of the Rakhine population.

She urged the UK and the international community to press the President to make real commitments to bring those responsible for inter-communal violence to justice.

“There are growing concerns regarding the disparity between the President’s words and his actions as Burma’s human rights record remains poor,” she said. “There can be no impunity for those committing human rights abuses in Burma.”