U.N. special envoy visits Meikhtila to meet refugees

U.N. special envoy visits Meikhtila to meet refugees

Published on Sunday, 01 September 2013 01:24

U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Vijay Nambiar visited refugee camps in riot-hit Meikhtila in central Myanmar on August 29 and met with refugees in the camps. He also visited sites that were devastated during the March 20 violence in the town.

He visited a Bengali mosque in Yadanamannaung Ward of the town and met with Muslims there.

Myint Htwe, a Muslim from the mosque told him that three damaged mosques in town have now been restored and Muslim residents are making their regular prayers in the mosques, adding that local authorities beefed up security measures at prayers' times and other damaged mosques are also under restoration currently.

And the U.N. special envoy went on to visit other Muslim religious buildings in another ward named Wonzin and asked questions. At there, an Islamic religious teacher told Nambiar that Muslim youths were killed during the violence and Buddhist monks also saved many Muslim lives, and he should meet the abbot of Yadanaoo Monastery who looked after more than 800 Muslims in his monastery during the March violence, and Buddhist neighbors also looked after runaway cattle owned by Muslims.

Nambiar also met Buddhist refugees in camps shooting questions to the refugees who replied that they have been living the refugee camps for five months now facing difficulties for living, and requested quick rehabilitating. 

The U.N. special envoy made an hour meeting with leaders from different religions to discuss peaceful living together at a government building in the evening that day and left for Nay Pyi Taw at 5:30pm. 

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/09/01/u-n-special-envoy-visits-meikhtila-to-meet-refugees/