Mandalay residents said that the military junta had pasted papers with the words inciting the Arakan (or Rakhine)-Burmese (or Myanmar) ethnic hatred to conflict in crowded places and scattered them on some main roads in Mandalay on February 12.
The military junta distributed those papers in Mandalay City, in crowded places such as 41st Street, 35th Street, residential buildings and the main streets near Mandalay University.
“They (people from the military) paste papers to electric pylons and brick walls. Since they are from the military, they just calmly pasted them and spread them. It’s not about religious things anymore. It’s just a test to cause a racial riot,” a man from Mandalay told MPA.
They wrote on the papers, ‘All Rakhine shops should leave Mandalay’, ‘People are warned not to buy and visit Rakhine restaurants and shops in Mandalay’, ‘All Rakhine shops are not wanted in Mandalay’.
“The purpose of the military junta is to deliberately incite ethnic conflict. But now, I don’t think such an action is useful. Because the public can see the current situation, it will not be successful. It shows how small-minded the military is,” said a CDM student who attended the Mandalay University of Dentistry.
The military junta, which is losing the war in northern Rakhine State, started spreading hate and conflict incitement on social networks; similarly, it did it again in Mandalay City.
“Whenever the military suffers many losses, pasting papers are not good and it shouldn’t use and title Mandalay residents. It’s really bad using the people of Mandalay for its benefit.I’m afraid of that we won’t be good in relations between each other (between people of Mandalay and people of Rakhine). But people understand who it did,” remarked a female private employee who lives in Chanmyaetharsan Township.
The Arakan Army (AA) managed to destroy three warships of the Junta’s Navy on February 7th and 8th, according to its reports.