Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in Burma on the recent violence against Muslims in Mandalay and the growth of Buddhist extremism in that country.

On 3 July, I expressed my concern about the violence which took place in Mandalay, and called for restraint. The British Embassy in Rangoon has discussed the incident with the Government of Burma and we continue to monitor the situation. More broadly, we remain deeply concerned by the violence directed against Muslim and other minority groups in Burma and have been consistently clear that we look to the Government to ensure the security of all communities. Through the EU the UK is supporting a project to develop the capacity of the Burmese police force, including in Mandalay, so they are better trained to respond to such incidents in line with international standards. We are also providing funding to support organisations that run interfaith dialogue, which will be important in bringing communities together.