Burma curfew amid rising religious tensions

By BBC Burma analyst Larry Jagan

The Burmese Government has imposed dusk-to-dawn curfews in several towns to prevent violence between different religious communities.

There are signs that tension between Muslims and Buddhists is growing in the wake of the attacks in New York and Washington and the US bombing of Afghanistan.

In one incident last week, more than 40 Muslim shop owners had their properties destroyed when some 200 visiting Buddhist monks went on a rampage, a senior Burmese Islamic leader told the BBC.

The government says it is not going to tolerate ethnic violence and has also begun to enforce travel restrictions on Muslims.

Extremely tense

Government spokesman, Hla Min, told the BBC the government had imposed the curfew, as a precautionary measure.

Bin Laden tee-shirts are popular in Indonesia but banned in Burma

He admitted that there had been some problems in the town of Prome but he said the authorities had quickly restored order. A senior Muslim leader told the BBC the military had indeed intervened, but not before 40 shops owned by Muslims were destroyed.

Diplomatic sources say there is also an informal curfew operating in at least two other towns where there has been unrest in the past.

International aid organisations with contacts in Rakhine state, where the greatest concentration of Muslims are, say there is an extremely tense atmosphere.

Travel restrictions

They say the government is so concerned about the situation getting out of hand they have imposed travel restrictions on Muslims there.

Last week, without warning, the government limited the number of people crossing the border between Burma and Bangladesh to 10 - usually hundreds cross the border daily. Senior Islamic leaders say Muslims must apply for travel permits to move outside their area of residence.

The official spokesman told the BBC these travel restrictions were being enforced to prevent - as he put it - hate crimes and religious harassment of any kind happening.

He also said the government was concerned to prevent illegal immigrants of dubious background coming into the towns and cities and causing what he called an unnecessary security problem.

Bin Laden ban

The Burmese Government is anxious prevent violence against Muslims erupting at the moment. They fear it could lead to Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad being less supportive.

Burma's generals are so sensitive that Osama Bin Laden tee-shirts - mass produced in neighbouring Thailand and sold extensively throughout Thailand and Malaysia - are not on sale in Burma.

There is no actual ban on the product, a Burmese businessman told the BBC, but cross-border traders would not dare try to import them for fear of the authorities' reaction.