ConflictBarometer_2015

ASIA AND OCEANIA
Additionally, Tholath Ibrahim, who had been Defense Minister
under Nasheed, was sentenced to ten years in prison for
his involvement on April 10. On May 1, clashes erupted between
the police and approx. 10,000 opposition supporters,
leaving two policemen and several others injured. A total
of 200 protesters, among them AP President Sheik Imran
Abdulla, were arrested. After Nasheed's sentence had been
commuted to house arrest on July 19, he was transferred
to prison again on August 23. The police dispersed ensuing
opposition protests.
Yameen claimed to have been subject to an assassination attempt
when an IED exploded on his speedboat on September
28 and injured three people. Yameen suspected Vice President
Ahmed Adeeb to be behind the attack, who was then
arrested on October 24 on Yameen's orders. However, the US
Federal Bureau of Investigation asked to examine the case
later stated it could not find traces of an IED. On November 4,
Yameen declared a state of emergency for 30 days claiming
a threat to national security as security forces allegedly had
found arms and IEDs close to his palace in Male. A few days
later, Yameen lifted the state of emergency. On November
27, thousands of opposition supporters started a 72-hour
protest in Male demanding the release of Nasheed and 1,700
oppositional detainees. The police injured several protesters
with pepper spray and tear gas, among them former ministers
and high-ranking members of MDP.
The UN, USA, India, and several European countries repeatedly
criticized the developments in the Maldives.
mmu
MYANMAR (BUDDHISTS ROHINGYAS /
RAKHINE STATE)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2012
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Buddhists vs. Rohingyas
subnational predominance, other
The violent crisis between the Buddhist majority and the
Muslim Rohingya minority over subnational predominance in
Rakhine State continued.
On February 1, three military personnel and five members
of the nationalist-Buddhist ''969 movement'' robbed a Rohingya
neighborhood in Anak Parang, Rathidaung Township,
Rakhine State. The attackers injured six Rohingya protesting
the incident.
The next day, the Assembly of the Union adopted a law guaranteeing
temporary registration certificate holders, most of
whom being Rohingya, the right to vote for a referendum
on constitutional reforms. After protests against this law
were held by Buddhist monks throughout February in several
towns in Rakhine State and Yangon Region, President Thein
Sein announced that the permissions would expire on March
31. On July 5, the government started to issue new identity
cards to the former holders of temporary registration certificates
or ''white cards.''
In the course of the year, four bills proposed by the Buddhist
ultra nationalist group ''Association for Protection of Race
and Religion'' (Ma Ba Tha) were approved by the Assembly of
the Union. For instance, these laws restricted inter-religious
marriage and religious conversion. Human rights groups considered
them to mostly affect ethnic and religious minorities
negatively. Throughout the year, refugees from Myanmar and
Bangladesh stranded in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
For instance, in May, at least 3,500 Rohingya and Bangladeshi
fled their countries. Many of the Rohingya refugees had been
confined to camps under inadequate basis of existence.
After the UN and the US put pressure on Myanmar to solve the
root causes of the refugee problem, hundreds of Buddhist
monks and activists staged a protest against the Rohingya
and international criticism in Yangon Region on May 27. The
Deputy Foreign Minister Thant Kyaw stated that the government
was not willing to discuss the migrant movements if it
was considered a Rohingya issue since this ethnic group did
not belong to the Burmese people. On November 10, the
government officially rejected key recommendations, such
as improving Rohingya's rights, made by the UNHRC during
its Universal Periodic Review. tno
MYANMAR (KIA, KIO / KACHIN STATE)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 1961
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
KIA, KIO vs. government
autonomy, resources
The limited war over autonomy and the control of jade, ruby,
farmland, and timber between the Kachin Independence
Organization (KIO) and its military wing Kachin Independence
Army (KIA), on the one hand, and the government, on the
other, continued. In mid-2014, the conflict had spilled over
from Kachin State to neighboring Shan State, where several
armed groups, especially the Ta'ang National Liberation Army
(TNLA)continued to align their forces with the KIA [→ Myanmar
(MNDAA / Shan State)].
During fighting in the first half of the year, at least 80 people
were killed, over 200 injured, and more than 3,000 forced to
flee their homes.
For instance, on January 15, fighting erupted between KIA
fighters and the Burmese military, Tatmadaw, in Hpakant,
Kachin, after KIA had temporarily abducted the Kachin State
Minister for Transport. At least ten people were killed, 30
injured, and more than 2,000 people fled the region due
the fighting that saw the use of heavy weaponry including
artillery shells and bombs.
From May 6 to 26, fighting between KIA and government
troops were observed on a daily basis near the abandoned
village of Nam Lim Pa, Kachin. The military employed both
air force and approx. 1,000 troops on the ground. Exact
casualty numbers remained unknown. On July 14, Tatmadaw
launched an attack against KIA in Kaung Kha village in Muse
Township, Shan. The army fired artillery shells into the settlement,
leaving one civilian dead, two injured, and approx. 140
displaced. On September 8, the Union Peacemaking Working
Committee held exploratory talks over a nationwide peace
agreement in the capital Naypyidaw. Meanwhile, KIA and
TNLA forces clashed with Tatmadaw troops in Muse Township's
Mong Paw, Shan, causing approx. 200 villagers to flee.
On October 6, Tatmadaw troops fired 60 mm and 120 mm
artillery against KIA militants in Hpakant, Kachin. The fighting
resulted in several injured people on both sides. Between
November 16 and 19, the military used one fighter jet, two
helicopters, and ground troops to expel KIA members from
their 8th Brigade headquarters close to Mohnyin, Kachin.
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