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Traces of Racial and Religious Extremism

December 27th, 2022  •  Author:   Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica  •  2 minute read
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Ultranationalists and religious extremists have been spreading misinformation and disinformation that Buddhism is being tarnished and that Burmese people will be annihilated by other races and religions. They claim that Buddhism did not prosper when the National League for Democracy (NLD) was in power. This paper explains the distribution of fake news and hate speech discriminating against the Christian community, the Rohingya people and the Muslims. This paper further discusses that during the Spring Revolution, ultranationalists propagandize the army and their related community as the defender of Buddhism, the Burmese people and Myanmar whereas the opposition is portrayed as traitors to the country and the offenders of Buddhism. Furthermore, the transition of ultranationalists and religious extremists into political parties, education, media and armed groups in this current context and the utilization of ultranationalism as a political weapon are reviewed.

The public and political stakeholders must ensure that the racial and religious conflicts of the past are not repeated and that justice and protection are provided for the victims swiftly and effectively. The oppression that leads to racial and religious superiority must be abolished not only through legal means but through a cultural and ideological transformation of the society as a whole. Therefore, not to violate state-level racial and religious extremism, this paper explores the legal mechanism for the leading political factions of the Spring Revolution.

This paper hopes that during and post-Spring Revolution, it is possible to achieve a society where an individual’s existence and beliefs are not discriminated against, oppressed, threatened or terrorized, where the instigations of such behavior are alerted, where diversity is valued and respected and where peaceful coexistence is possible.


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