Update: 18 Rohingya to stand trial in killing of Buddhists, here.
But from most news accounts you would never know that the Buddhists were hit the hardest when clashes broke out in a detention center in Indonesia. And, get this! there were 100 Rohingya to 11 Buddhists! Wait till that news gets back to Burma!
In fact, this is the Reuters story that only indicates that eight were killed, but leaves the impression that the long-suffering Muslims (always the victims!) took the brunt of the attack. You would have to read carefully to know that the Buddhists were the illegal aliens, and the Rohingya are the more acceptably-labeled “asylum seekers” although in fact they are also illegal aliens arriving in Indonesia (see the photo).
Buddhists and Muslims have been clashing in Burma (Myanmar) and the mainstream media has been trying exceptionally hard to make the Rohingya the underdogs. See our Rohingya Reports category (137 posts!) and you will see what I mean.
However, AP spells out in more detail what happened when the two factions clashed in a detention center where they had been housed together. The out-numbered Buddhist fishermen were in detention for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters, the Rohingya are there looking for asylum.
From AP at Yahoo News (hat tip: Janet):
BELAWAN, Indonesia (AP) — Sectarian and ethnic tensions running high in Myanmar boiled over far outside the country’s borders Friday, when Buddhist fishermen and Muslim asylum seekers from the country brawled with knives and rocks at an Indonesian immigration detention center, leaving eight dead and another 15 injured.
The melee broke out in North Sumatra province, where more than 100 Rohingya migrants — most intercepted off Indonesia’s coast after fleeing their homeland in rickety boats — and 11 Buddhists accused of illegal fishing were being housed together, said local police chief Endro Kiswanto.
He said witnesses told police the clash started early Friday after a Rohingya Muslim cleric [how convenient that they have their own cleric in the detention facility!–ed] and a fisherman got into a heated debate about sectarian violence that erupted last month in central Myanmar when mobs of armed Buddhists torched Muslim-owned homes and shops, killing dozens and forcing thousands to flee.
The argument apparently started after the Rohingya migrants saw photos showing destruction caused by the recent violence, said Yusuf Umardani, detention center chief. Insults were traded, and the cleric was allegedly attacked by a fisherman. When the cleric screamed, his friends jumped in to help. From there, the rumble broke out so quickly, security guards were too late to stop it.
“The violence took place so fast, and it was completely unexpected because they had been living peacefully here so far,” Umardani said. “Most of the dead victims suffered severe head injuries. Eight Buddhists were killed, and 15 Rohingya were injured. Three other Buddhists escaped unharmed, Kiswanto said.
Local police spokesman Col. Raden Heru Prakoso said 18 Rohingya detainees have been named as suspects.
For new readers:
Last May the US Conference of Catholic Bishops called for the US to take in more Rohingya “refugees” here. Some have already gone to New Hampshire, here. Earlier the IRC (a federal contractor) began resettling Rohingya in Atlanta. That is where DeKalb County officials recently told the State Department—enough already!