We must draw a line between politics and religion

We must draw a line between politics and religion - Thein Sein

Published on Friday, 02 August 2013 18:19

In the practice of religious freedom, it is necessary to draw a line between politics and religion, Myanmar's President Thein Sein quoted a speech by independence hero, General Aung San, in his monthly nation-wide radio address on Thursday.

General Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) made the comment in his speech at the middle terrace of the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon on January 20 1946, during a National Conference of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League.

"On the topic of communal and religious violence, I would like to quote General Aung San as saying that freedom of worship is a fundamental right of our citizens and in promoting truthfulness, loving kindness and the right way to live through right actions cannot be a deterrent to progress of our society. But our society must never tolerate thoughtless, ruthless and abusive violent acts in the name of religion," said the President.

"He (General Aung San) also warned us that we must always condemn and prevent any religious hate speech. We must draw a line between politics and religion. Mixing the two could impact on the natural phenomenon of religion. His speech is full of valuable lessons to draw for our current situation," the president recalled.

In the speech, Thein Sein also talked about political and economic issues during his visits to Britain and France from 14 to 20 July and changes and developments over the past month.

Thein Sein said July was a tough month in Myanmar's political history, which gave tragic lessons as the country builds a better future.

"We have seen how violent attempts to control political problems or crises and how the acts by radical politicians without any respect for fundamental democratic values such as diversity of opinion and freedom of expression could have long-term detrimental impact on our society," said Thein Sein.

He then spoke of the need to always remember July 19, the day General Aung San and other leaders of the country's independence movement were assassinated.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/08/02/we-must-draw-a-line-between-politics-and-religion/