Myanmar 'playing with fire'

A top American diplomat yesterday decried growing religious intolerance in Myanmar and warned the use of faith for political ends was "playing with fire" in a crunch election year for the former junta-run country.

His comments came as hundreds of monks staged a rally in Yangon blasting the United Nations' rights envoy for perceived bias towards Rohingya Muslims, in the latest show of strength for Buddhist nationalists.

"We expressed a concern that the use of religion in particular to divide people -- whether it is done for political or for any other purposes -- is incredibly dangerous, particularly in an election year," Tom Malinowski, a senior state department human rights envoy, told reporters after a six day mission to the country.

The delegation voiced fears "this really is playing with fire and exposing the country to dangers that it is not prepared to handle," he added.

Myanmar has seen surging Buddhist nationalism in recent years and spates of violence targeting Muslim minorities that have raised doubts over its much vaunted reforms after decades of harsh military rule.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, was denounced by crowds of monks in the main city of Yangon as she concluded her second official visit to the country yesterday.

The UN envoy warned that inter-religious violence remains a "significant problem" in Myanmar, particularly in unrest-torn Rakhine state, where she said continuing acute tensions between Muslims and Buddhists could have "far-reaching implications".

"The election is a very critical time in shaping the future of Myanmar and the situation in Rakhine is still in a state of crisis," she told reporters.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has large minority religious groups, particularly Muslims and Christians, who are both estimated to account for around four percent of the population, although many believe the number of Muslims could be higher.

Religious intolerance, sporadically spilling into lethal bloodshed, has spread across Myanmar since 2012, when unrest between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists ignited Rakhine state.