The Christian residents of a village in Magway Region were barred by their local administrator from holding a pre-Christmas prayer in a private home after their Buddhist neighbors complained about the plan.
Kan Thar village tract administrator Pyone Lwin sent a letter to resident Kyaw Myint on Dec. 9 saying: “I have decided to ban the pre-Christmas prayer that is scheduled to take place at the house of U Kyaw Myint and Daw Aye Khine after receiving a complaint from villagers who are worried the celebration could cause potential religious conflict in the village.”
A photo of the letter captured by Facebook user GS Mang has circulated on social media since yesterday, eliciting sarcastic comments about religious intolerance in Myanmar.
In late November, Myanmar’s military chief Senior general Min Aung Hlaing told Pope Francis that “Myanmar has no religious discrimination at all” and that there is also “no discrimination between ethnic groups in Myanmar.”
In September, the deputy director of the government of Kayin State issued an order saying Muslims were prohibited from traveling without first reporting their plans to local administration offices. The deputy director said the reason was to “avoid unnecessary conflicts that may arise, similar to Rakhine State.”
Zaw Htay, a spokesperson for State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, echoed that reasoning when asked about the travel restriction.
Earlier that month, the Burma Human Rights Network reported that there were at least 21 villages across Myanmar where residents, with permission from local authorities, had banned Muslims from entering.
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