Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday urged the government to take action against people using religion to stir tensions as campaigning intensifies for landmark polls next month, AFP reported on Oct. 24 2015.
The former junta-ruled nation has seen sporadic outbursts of deadly unrest in recent years, largely targeting minority Muslims who face increasing political exclusion as the influence of Buddhist nationalist monks grows.
Campaigning in her rural constituency of Kawhmu on Saturday, Suu Kyi addressed the thorny issue of minority rights when a Muslim villager expressed a wish for equality if the National League for Democracy (NLD) sweeps to power as is widely tipped.
“As our party respects the rule of law, I can say that we will treat all equally,” Suu Kyi said after her speech to some 1,000 party supporters gathered in the village of Upper Wartheinkha.
The Nobel laureate repeated recent claims that her political opponents were using religion in the Buddhist-majority nation to divide people ahead of the November 8 polls.
But this time she went a step further by questioning why the army-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was not enforcing the law banning the use of religion in political campaigns.
“The government needs to safeguard the law for people to be able to live peacefully. We have to question the ruling authorities on why they’re not taking proper action,” she said.
International powers including the U.S. have raised fears that surging religious tensions in Myanmar could spark conflict ahead of polls seen as a crucial test of its transition towards democracy after decades of military rule.