Myanmar lifts state of emergency as calm returns to Mandalay

Myanmar on Saturday lifted a state of emergency imposed four months ago in the Mandalay region to control sectarian violence that claimed at least 44 lives, according to dpa. President Thein Sein said "peace and stability has already been restored" in the townships of Meiktila, Mahlaing, Wundwin and Thazi in the central Meiktila District, in a statement that ran in The New Light of Myanmar newspaper. The emergency was declared March 22 after an anti-Muslim riot broke out, sparked by an altercation between a Buddhist couple and a Muslim shop owner. The violence quickly spread to neighbouring towns, claiming at least 44 dead, according to the government. Other sources suggested the death toll may have exceeded 100. Staurday's decision followed the sentencing of 25 Buddhists and seven Muslims to jail for their participation in the violence. After decades of military rule, Myanmar entered a new phase of democratic transition in 2010. But significant political reforms initiated by Thein Sein have been tainted by clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities not seen since the country's attempt at democracy during 1948-62. Last year, communal violence claimed up to 167 lives in the western state of Rakhine, and displaced up to 140,000 people, most of them Rohingya Muslims. At least three anti-Muslim riots have broken out in central and northern Myanmar this year, the worst in Mandalay. The predominantly Buddhist country has a Muslim minority representing about 5 per cent of the population, according to government estimates.