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AFP
Yangon
Myanmar police on Thursday arrested a prominent Rakhine Buddhist MP for allegedly provoking ethnic violence, state media and his party said, after a deadly riot highlighted simmering tensions in the troubled state.
The arrest came after seven people were killed and a dozen injured when police opened fire on a crowd of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists trying to seize a government office late Tuesday.
The violence erupted as anger boiled over after the cancellation of a local ceremony in Mrauk U, a town just a few dozen kilometres from the epicentre of a military crackdown against the country's Rohingya Muslim community.
State-backed media reported that charges have been filed against lower house MP Aye Maung following a speech on Monday in which the nationalist politican attacked the government for thinking the Rakhine are"slaves"and said it was the"right time"for the community to launch an armed struggle.
"Dr Aye Maung was arrested and taken from his house about 1:00 pm (0630 GMT) this afternoon,"Arakan National Party general secretary Tun Aung Kyaw, said.
