5:30 PM
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Monday, 15 October 2012 14:20
NAYPYIDAW:
Myanmar's president blocked a world Islamic body from opening an office
in the country, an official said Monday, bowing to rallies against
government efforts to help Muslims in unrest-hit Rakhine state.
"The
president will not allow an OIC office because it is not in accordance
with the people's desires," said an official from Myanmar leader Thein
Sein's office, after thousands of monks held the latest protests against
the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in two major cities on
Monday.
The official, who asked not to be named, declined
to comment on an agreement signed with the OIC, the top world Muslim
body, which confirmed to AFP last week that it had obtained the green
light to open an office in the country.
Thousands of monks
protested in the country's commercial hub Yangon and second-largest
city Mandalay on Monday, with another demonstration in the town of
Pakokku in Magway region in central Myanmar, according to organisers.
"We cannot accept any OIC office here," Oattamathara, a monk leading the Mandalay protest, told AFP.
Sectarian
tensions are running high following Buddhist-Rohingya clashes in June
in western Rakhine which left dozens of people dead and forced tens of
thousands to seek refuge in temporary shelters.
Members of
the 57-member OIC toured Rakhine last month after accusations from
rights groups that security forces opened fire on Rohingya during the
sectarian unrest, prompting concern across the Islamic world.
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