RNDP warned against ‘spreading racism’

Published on Friday, 28 December 2012 11:09

The Union Election Commission has warned Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) not to publish any “racist” article.
The commission chairman summoned RNDP leaders to their office in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, on Monday to convey the message, said sources.
The commission chief also demanded an explanation for publishing the pictures of Thida Htwe, who was allegedly killed by three Muslims on May 28 in Rakhine state, in a calendar and forbade the RNDP leaders to organise a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the fall of the Rakhine Empire on December 31, said Zaw Aye Maung, Rakhine National Affairs minister for Yangon Region.
RNDP chairman Dr. Aye Maung said the party would reconsider the use of racist language in their party newsletter.
He claimed that the calendar was intended to raise funds for a monastery named after Thida Htwe at the request of her parents.
Aye Maung said denied that December 31 would be celebrated by the party itself.
The party leaders have been warned of being prosecuted for failing to provide “formidable explanations” for their actions, said Zaw Aye Maung. “And the chairman accepted our explanations up to a certain extent.”
The two bouts of clashes in the Rakhine state in June and October left nearly 200 people killed and over 100,000 displaced.