Religious Ultra-nationalism In Burma/Myanmar: Discrimination, Racism And Conflict In An Era Of Disciplined Democracy
Monday 01 February, 2016
12 - 1:30pm, $0/Rsvp
New York University, Puck Building
295 Lafayette Street, Floor 2
Since 2013, religious conflicts in Burma/Myanmar have threatened to destabilize nascent political, economic and social reforms. The rise of Buddhist ultra-nationalist groups that vilify Burma’s Muslim minority has sparked communal violence and deepened social divisions even as a new, democratically elected government will assume power in March. How much do growing religious tensions in Burma limit progress on democracy and human rights? How powerful are the voices of Islamophobia? Will an Aung San Suu Kyi government prove more capable of promoting religious tolerance than the outgoing administration?
David Scott Mathieson is the Senior Researcher on Burma for the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. Previously based on the Thailand-Burma border where his research focused on the long-running civil war in Burma, the narcotics trade, and refugee issues, he has worked for Human Rights Watch since 2006 and has worked on several reports and investigations including the 2007 crackdown on peaceful protests in Burma, child soldiers, internal displacement and refugees, persecution of the Rohingya Muslims, and other issues. Since 2013 he has lived in Rangoon, Burma.