Visiting human rights officials warned Myanmar on Friday that using religion to divide the population is like "playing with fire" and new laws proposed by the government could inflame sectarian tensions, AP reported. The country risks being exposed to "dangers that it is not prepared to face," the top U.S. human rights envoy, Tom Malinowski, said as he wrapped up a six-day visit that included high-level dialogues on rising Buddhist nationalism and recent arrests of peaceful protesters. His visit coincided with that of the U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, who shared many of his views. Myanmar only recently emerged from a half-century of brutal military rule and self-imposed isolation. The optimism that accompanied changes brought by the introduction of a quasi-civilian government three years ago â€" from the release of hundreds of political prisoners to the freeing up of the media â€" has been replaced by disappointment about stalled reforms. That includes an outdated legal system, the refusal to amend the junta-era constitution, and a failure to secure a nationwide cease-fire with rebel armies. New fighting has broken out in recent days between the army and ethnic insurgents in Kachin state and hundreds of villagers have been displaced. Discrimination against the long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, however, tops the list of human rights concerns. Denied citizenship by national law, the country's 1.3 million Rohingya are effectively stateless. More than 240 have been killed by rampaging mobs and another 140,000 are now living in dirty, crowded camps in Rakhine state, where they have little or no access to adequate medical care and schooling. -- SPA 19:14 LOCAL TIME 16:14 GMT تغريد
