US criticises ‘intolerance’

WASHINGTON: Rising religious intolerance threatens the unity of Myanmar, a senior US official said as the former pariah state prepares for landmark Nov 8 elections.

The top US diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Russel, criticised the election commission’s disqualification of dozens of parliamentary candidates, mostly minority Muslims, and the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of stateless Rohingya, who were allowed to vote in previous elections.

Mr Russel said the current government needs to “push back against the infusion of religious intolerance in the political scene”.

Myanmar is predominantly Buddhist and has seen an upswing in religious nationalism. Sectarian attacks and discrimination against Muslims have marred the nation’s shift from decades of direct military rule — a democratic transition that has received strong diplomatic support from Washington.

Mr Russel, who visited the Southeast Asian nation last week to discuss the election preparations, spoke of a “worrisome trend toward allowing the voices of religious extremism to speak unchallenged, to use hate speech”. He noted that the government of President Thein Sein has striven to forge peace with ethnic armed groups — a nationwide ceasefire may be signed by next month — and it would be ironic if the country also known as Burma now became divided along religious lines.

“The election process, like the peace process, is part of Burmese people’s quest to create a national identity whether it’s under the label of Burma or Myanmar. They can’t do that if the religious minorities are vilified and excluded,” he told reporters after addressing the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank. But despite the problems, Mr Russel said the elections can be a significant step forward.