Nickey Diamond (Ye Myint Win) is a Ph.D. candidate at the Working Group “Social and Political Anthropology” of Prof. Dr. Judith Beyer. His Ph.D. research is devoted to studying “Anti-Muslim Hate Speech in Myanmar”. Supervisors: Professor. Dr. Judith Beyer
This study aimed to provide a better understanding of the violence perpetrated
against Muslims to... more This study aimed to provide a better understanding of the violence perpetrated against Muslims to understand the rationale, nature, process, structure, dynamics and characteristics of the violence, and to identify human rights violations and the state’s failure to fulfill its obligations to protect the citizens from violence as provided for in the international legal frameworks such as CEDAW and CRC already ratified by the Myanmar Government. This was a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with key informants selected using the "snowball sampling" method in Meikhtilar and Mandalay. Brass (2004) "institutionalized riot system," identifying the three elements of violence as "Preparation, Activation, and Explanation.” (IRS) was applied to analyze the anti- Muslim violence examining only the "Preparation and Activation" of anti-Muslim Violence. In the preparation and activation, the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech which are imperative preconditions for instigating anti-Muslim violence, and the people’s perception of what causes violence were analyzed respectively. This study provided a case and exploration of the way anti-Muslim violence has proceeded from entrenched anti-Muslim sentiment promoted in recent years by a radical faction of nationalist Buddhist monks but dating back to the colonial-era Burma. It substantiated the theory of a nexus between the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and institutionalized anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar. This study also argues that promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech has always escalated shortly before periodic outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims in Myanmar.
Impunity has been a major cause of the atrocity crimes committed by the Myanmar military, and acc... more Impunity has been a major cause of the atrocity crimes committed by the Myanmar military, and accountability is generally seen as a central component of R2P. This article traces the changes of attitudes towards R2P-related measures in Myanmar. After 2017, voices gradually emerged from within Myanmar civil society in support of R2P, influenced by international efforts to ensure accountability and documentation. However, this support mostly came from ethnic minority groups. In the broader population and political leadership, calls for R2P were met with general hostility. Since the February 2021 coup, there has been a dramatic change of attitudes towards R2P, at least within the protest movement. However, the growing calls for R2P often reflect a desire for international military intervention that is unlikely to happen. Moreover, domestic efforts to hold the military accountable are now even more unlikely. International action to push for accountability is therefore still needed.
Anti-Muslim sentiment is not a new phenomenon in Myanmar but it is deeply rooted in its pre-indep... more Anti-Muslim sentiment is not a new phenomenon in Myanmar but it is deeply rooted in its pre-independence history. Throughout the military junta in Myanmar, the escalation of anti-Muslim hate speech aimed to instigate Buddhist-Muslim riots in order to deflect the people‟s anger and exasperation away from the military regime. Since 1988 when the military ruled Myanmar, anti-Muslims hate and dangerous speech have been mainly circulating in the print media, and nowadays particularly on social media in Myanmar although most of the people in rural areas cannot access the internet. Anti-Muslim hate speech and propaganda such as pamphlets, leaflets, DVDs, VCDs, CDs, posters and others have been distributed in some parts of Myanmar right before outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims such as the anti-Muslim riot in Mandalay (1997), the anti-Muslim riot in Taungoo (2001), and the anti-Muslim riot in Meikhtila (2013). Based on interviews and documents such as pamphlets, leaflets, DVDs, VCDs, and CDs, and sermons, as well as interviews given by nationalists and nationalist Buddhist monks, this paper analyses speech acts that promote anti-Muslim sentiment, which is an imperative precondition for instigating anti- Muslim violence. This paper argues that promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment has always escalated shortly before the outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims in Myanmar. The contribution of this paper is to call attention to a dynamic that could lead to atrocities against Muslims in Myanmar.
This study aimed to provide a better understanding of the violence perpetrated
against Muslims to... more This study aimed to provide a better understanding of the violence perpetrated against Muslims to understand the rationale, nature, process, structure, dynamics and characteristics of the violence, and to identify human rights violations and the state’s failure to fulfill its obligations to protect the citizens from violence as provided for in the international legal frameworks such as CEDAW and CRC already ratified by the Myanmar Government. This was a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with key informants selected using the "snowball sampling" method in Meikhtilar and Mandalay. Brass (2004) "institutionalized riot system," identifying the three elements of violence as "Preparation, Activation, and Explanation.” (IRS) was applied to analyze the anti- Muslim violence examining only the "Preparation and Activation" of anti-Muslim Violence. In the preparation and activation, the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech which are imperative preconditions for instigating anti-Muslim violence, and the people’s perception of what causes violence were analyzed respectively. This study provided a case and exploration of the way anti-Muslim violence has proceeded from entrenched anti-Muslim sentiment promoted in recent years by a radical faction of nationalist Buddhist monks but dating back to the colonial-era Burma. It substantiated the theory of a nexus between the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and institutionalized anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar. This study also argues that promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech has always escalated shortly before periodic outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims in Myanmar.
Impunity has been a major cause of the atrocity crimes committed by the Myanmar military, and acc... more Impunity has been a major cause of the atrocity crimes committed by the Myanmar military, and accountability is generally seen as a central component of R2P. This article traces the changes of attitudes towards R2P-related measures in Myanmar. After 2017, voices gradually emerged from within Myanmar civil society in support of R2P, influenced by international efforts to ensure accountability and documentation. However, this support mostly came from ethnic minority groups. In the broader population and political leadership, calls for R2P were met with general hostility. Since the February 2021 coup, there has been a dramatic change of attitudes towards R2P, at least within the protest movement. However, the growing calls for R2P often reflect a desire for international military intervention that is unlikely to happen. Moreover, domestic efforts to hold the military accountable are now even more unlikely. International action to push for accountability is therefore still needed.
Anti-Muslim sentiment is not a new phenomenon in Myanmar but it is deeply rooted in its pre-indep... more Anti-Muslim sentiment is not a new phenomenon in Myanmar but it is deeply rooted in its pre-independence history. Throughout the military junta in Myanmar, the escalation of anti-Muslim hate speech aimed to instigate Buddhist-Muslim riots in order to deflect the people‟s anger and exasperation away from the military regime. Since 1988 when the military ruled Myanmar, anti-Muslims hate and dangerous speech have been mainly circulating in the print media, and nowadays particularly on social media in Myanmar although most of the people in rural areas cannot access the internet. Anti-Muslim hate speech and propaganda such as pamphlets, leaflets, DVDs, VCDs, CDs, posters and others have been distributed in some parts of Myanmar right before outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims such as the anti-Muslim riot in Mandalay (1997), the anti-Muslim riot in Taungoo (2001), and the anti-Muslim riot in Meikhtila (2013). Based on interviews and documents such as pamphlets, leaflets, DVDs, VCDs, and CDs, and sermons, as well as interviews given by nationalists and nationalist Buddhist monks, this paper analyses speech acts that promote anti-Muslim sentiment, which is an imperative precondition for instigating anti- Muslim violence. This paper argues that promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment has always escalated shortly before the outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims in Myanmar. The contribution of this paper is to call attention to a dynamic that could lead to atrocities against Muslims in Myanmar.
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Thesis Chapters by Nickey Diamond
against Muslims to understand the rationale, nature, process, structure, dynamics and characteristics of the violence, and to identify human rights violations and the state’s failure to fulfill its obligations to protect the citizens from violence as provided for in the international legal frameworks such as CEDAW and CRC already ratified by the Myanmar Government. This was a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with key informants selected using the "snowball sampling" method in Meikhtilar and Mandalay.
Brass (2004) "institutionalized riot system," identifying the three elements of violence as "Preparation, Activation, and Explanation.” (IRS) was applied to analyze the anti- Muslim violence examining only the "Preparation and Activation" of anti-Muslim Violence. In the preparation and activation, the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech which are imperative preconditions for instigating anti-Muslim violence, and the people’s perception of what causes violence were analyzed respectively.
This study provided a case and exploration of the way anti-Muslim violence has proceeded from entrenched anti-Muslim sentiment promoted in recent years by a radical faction of nationalist Buddhist monks but dating back to the colonial-era Burma. It substantiated the theory of a nexus between the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and institutionalized anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar. This study also argues that promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech has always escalated shortly before periodic outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims in Myanmar.
KEY WORDS: MYANMAR / INSTITUTIONALIZED ANTI-MUSLIM SENTIMENT / ANTI-MUSLIM VIOLENCE / HATE SPEECH
Papers by Nickey Diamond
against Muslims to understand the rationale, nature, process, structure, dynamics and characteristics of the violence, and to identify human rights violations and the state’s failure to fulfill its obligations to protect the citizens from violence as provided for in the international legal frameworks such as CEDAW and CRC already ratified by the Myanmar Government. This was a qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with key informants selected using the "snowball sampling" method in Meikhtilar and Mandalay.
Brass (2004) "institutionalized riot system," identifying the three elements of violence as "Preparation, Activation, and Explanation.” (IRS) was applied to analyze the anti- Muslim violence examining only the "Preparation and Activation" of anti-Muslim Violence. In the preparation and activation, the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech which are imperative preconditions for instigating anti-Muslim violence, and the people’s perception of what causes violence were analyzed respectively.
This study provided a case and exploration of the way anti-Muslim violence has proceeded from entrenched anti-Muslim sentiment promoted in recent years by a radical faction of nationalist Buddhist monks but dating back to the colonial-era Burma. It substantiated the theory of a nexus between the rise of institutionalized anti-Muslim sentiment and institutionalized anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar. This study also argues that promotion of anti-Muslim sentiment and hate speech has always escalated shortly before periodic outbreaks of mass violence against Muslims in Myanmar.
KEY WORDS: MYANMAR / INSTITUTIONALIZED ANTI-MUSLIM SENTIMENT / ANTI-MUSLIM VIOLENCE / HATE SPEECH