Two arrested in Kachin state after Muslim shops attacked

Hpakant jade-rich town in western Kachin State.

Two people were arrested last week after two Muslim owned shops were burned in Kachin state's Hpakant region. According to press reports the two individuals detained were Buddhist.

Located in the far west of Kachin state, Hpakant's lucrative jade mines draw thousands of workers and business people from across Burma. Hpakant, which was once sparsely populated, is also home to a sizable community of Muslim traders who have migrated there from other parts of the country over the years.

On Thursday evening a group of about 30 people threw stones at Muslim owned homes and shops. "We couldn't do anything except watch while they destroyed our shop... we will leave for a while. We have no idea how we should move forward," said one Muslim woman who spoke to Agence France Presse.

The women told reporters she believed the trouble makers were not from the area.

The anti-Muslim violence in Hpakant follows similar incidents that broke out earlier this year in Mandalay division’s Meiktila and Okkan, near Rangoon. Although most Kachin are Christian, Kachin state is home to a large Buddhist population.  There are also significant Muslim and Hindu communities across the state.

Mosque dismantled last year in Hpakant

In April of last year construction of a Muslim mosque in Hpakant was halted when a group of monks and their supporters intervened and proceeded to dismantle the partially built structure.

According to eyewitnesses, a group of about 30 monks and dozens of their followers came to the construction site in the Shan Kone quarter of Seng Tawng town at 4 pm on  April 12 2012. The group initially demanded that the construction of the mosque be halted. The group then set about taking down what had already been built. Within about 8 hours most of the building was destroyed, according to witnesses. The site of the mosque was then placed under guard by Burma army soldiers who failed to intervene to stop the mosque's destruction.

The monks and their supporters were apparently upset that the mosque was being built without proper permits and decided to take matters into their own hands, according to local residents who spoke to the Kachin News Group shortly after the incident took place.

In Burma government authorities often delay or refuse to allow proposed churches and mosques legal authorization to begin construction. Many existing churches and mosques are in legal limbo because proper permits cannot be obtained.

Since a ceasefire between Burma's central government and the Kachin Independence Organization ended in June 2011 Hpakant has seen periodic bouts of fighting between the KIO and government forces. Thousands of people have been displaced in the area and many Hpakant residents remain in temporary IDP camps.

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