Dr. C.R. Abrar
The Daily Star
December 1, 2012

After years of indifference the Rohingya issue has drawn interest nationally as well as internationally. While the recent plight of the members of the community has attracted huge international attention and compassion, it generated a negative reaction among the government circles and also in a section of the influential media in Bangladesh.

The policy of denying entry and shelter to the Rohingyas has so far been justified on legal and practical grounds. While these may appear to be logical, a close scrutiny lays bare the gaps in such line of reasoning, an issue that has been treated by this author previously (The Daily Star, June 26).

While an individual or an institution is at liberty to subscribe to certain opinions, one would expect those to be grounded in reason. This anticipation would be more so from those who hold high position in statutory bodies, particularly those mandated to uphold human rights. One further wishes that when intolerance and prejudice become pronounced, against a vulnerable community without protection, institutions such as the National Human Rights Commission would plead for compassion and empathy, and extend support to those who stand up for their rights and dignity.

The NHRC Chair's statement at the recent RMMRU dialogue on the Rohingyas was disappointing for several reasons. They were contradictory, not based on proper interpretation of refugee law, and overtly partisan. At the outset, he questioned the intent of "the drawing room-centric intellectuals for putting the government and the state named Bangladesh in the dock."

Referring to 1971, several participants noted that Bangladesh had a moral compulsion to provide asylum to the Rohingyas. The Commission Chair strongly disagreed with such position on grounds that "the context of 1971 is very different from the one Rohingyas are facing today." He went on to explain that after the war ended in 1971; the millions of Bangladeshis who went to India returned home. As against that scenario the Rohingyas have remained in Bangladesh since 1990s. He claimed Bangladesh had set a unique example of allowing integration after illegal infiltration and there was no such example anywhere else in the world.

There is a major flaw in this line of reasoning. Bangladeshis came back because the successful end of the war ensured that not only the brutal Pakistani army regime and their cohorts were defeated and deposed but also that a new state was born with the professed aim to protect its citizens. A pertinent question is, what would have happened if the war had dragged on for years, our neighbour did not have any geopolitical and strategic interests to pursue and its patience in hosting Bangladeshi refugees wore thin? As against 1971 scenario, the sources of oppression of the Rohingyas are still controlling the state apparatus in Myanmar, their citizenship issue has remained unaddressed, and not only has the state shunned their claims to protection, Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has refused to take any responsibility. Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that the Rohingyas continue to flee Arakan and those in the squalid camps and outside in Bangladesh refuse to go back.

The Commission Chair observed that, "today the Rohingya children are taking benefits in our schools, colleges and in workplaces." In frustration, he posed the question, "but do we want that these things increase?"

One wonders whether the Chair is aware that under the Convention of the Rights of the Child, Bangladesh is obliged to ensure access to education to any child on its territory. Needless to say, acquiring education and skills would allow the community members to stand on their feet and help them anchor in their country of origin once they return.

Nothing can be further than the truth to claim that Bangladesh has set an example by "providing integration even after illegal infiltration." In the face of beefed-up security in the recent months, the Rohingyas outside camps are living in constant fear of deportation. By government diktat three international NGOs were barred from providing basic services to the unregistered Rohingyas in the makeshift camp. It is not difficult to find examples where, in protracted refugee situations, host countries allowed integration of refugees, in varying degrees -- Palestinians in the Gulf states, Tibetans and Tamils in India and Afghans in Pakistan.

The NHRC Chair cautioned the audience, that "the groups that you are favouring and supporting and for whom the international community is exerting pressure (on the government) had close connection with the recent Ramu incident." However, almost in the same breath, he observed that the Rohingyas "have been used … by some of our leaders or political parties. But ultimately the consequence is that our nation has to bear this burden. We have to repay for their ill deeds."

In his reaction to a comment by the law advisor of the last caretaker government, who argued that common people of Bangladesh favoured allowing entry to the Rohingyas instead of floating in the high seas, the Rights Commissioner said that he had contra evidence that "if asked, the whole of Bangladesh will opine in unison that not a single Rohingya should be allowed to infiltrate into Bangladesh."

The Chair rightly acknowledged that the Rohingyas "are in danger and they need our assistance. …This is our ethical, moral and legal compulsion. …As a student of International Law I should say that we have to ensure asylum to anyone who seeks it. The next step is to recognise him as an asylee (sic) and ensure him the services and benefits that we can afford." Despite such clear understanding of the efficacy of claims to asylum of the incoming Rohingyas and the responsibility of the host government, instead of shaping public opinion for a just cause the Chair rationalised that one "can never expect that a democratically elected government to forcibly carry out tasks contrary to expectations of common people." "That is the harsh reality…Considering the political atmosphere in which we live, it would be logical and consistent with the greater interests of the state," he reasoned.

The Commission chief vented his frustration that some people were "trying to put the country on the dock especially at a time when the whole nation is going through a critical phase. There is no scope to dismiss the fact that trial of war crimes is not a separate matter at all. Everything is now linked to this." His final salvo was reserved for the organisers. He said: "At this very moment, this is a newly acquired agenda of our intellectuals to denigrate and put the government on dock. We have to be careful of this."

One wonders if it falls within the mandate of the NHRC Chair to protect the government from the alleged ill designs of motivated quarters. My own understanding is: human rights stands above group, party or country's interest. It is universal and inalienable. One wishes the Chair reflects on his own posting of NHRC website homepage, “shobar upore manush shotto." He is very right; human beings are truly above everything.

The writer teaches at Dhaka University and coordinates Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit. He is the President of Odhikar.

TODD PITMAN
Associated Press
November 30, 2012

SIN THET MAW, Myanmar (AP) -- Guarded by rifle-toting police, immigration authorities in western Myanmar have launched a major operation aimed at settling an explosive question at the heart of the biggest crisis the government has faced since beginning its nascent transition to democracy last year.

It's a question that has helped fuel two bloody spasms of sectarian unrest between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims since June, and it comes down to one simple thing: Who has the right to be a citizen of Myanmar, and who does not?

A team of Associated Press journalists that traveled recently to the remote island village of Sin Thet Maw, a maze of bamboo huts without electricity in Myanmar's volatile west, found government immigration officials in the midst of a painstaking, census-like operation aimed at verifying the citizenship of Muslims living there, one family at a time.

Armed with pens, stacks of paper and hand-drawn maps, they worked around low wooden tables that sat in the dirt, collecting information about birth dates and places, parents and grandparents - vital details of life and death spanning three generations.

The operation began quietly with no public announcement in the township of Pauktaw on Nov. 8, of which the village of Sin Thet Maw is a part. It will eventually be carried out across all of Rakhine state, the coastal territory where nearly 200 people have died in the last five months, and 110,000 more, mostly Muslims, have fled.

The Thailand-based advocacy group, the Arakan Project, warns the results could be used to definitively rule out citizenship for the Rohingya, who have suffered discrimination for decades and are widely viewed as foreigners from Bangladesh. Muslims in Sin Thet Maw echoed those concerns, and said they had not been told what the operation was for.

"What we know is that they don't want us here," said one 34-year-old Muslim named Zaw Win, who said his family had lived in Sin Thet Maw since 1918.

So far, more than 2,000 Muslim families have gone through the process, but no "illegal settlers have been found," said state spokesman Win Myaing.

It was not immediately clear, however, what would happen to anyone deemed to be illegal. Win Myaing declined to say whether they could deported or not. Bangladesh has regularly turned back Rohingya refugees, as have other countries, including Thailand.

Few issues in Myanmar are as sensitive as this.

The conflict has galvanized an almost nationalistic furor against the Rohingya, who majority Buddhists believe are trying to steal scarce land and forcibly spread the Islamic faith. Myanmar's recent transition to democratic rule has opened the way for monks to stage anti-Rohingya protests as an exercise in freedom of expression, and for vicious anti-Rohingya rants to swamp Internet forums.

In the nearby town of Pauktaw, where all that remains of a once-significant Muslim community are the ashes of charred homes and blackened palm trees, the hatred is clear. Graffiti scrawled inside a destroyed mosque ominously warns that the "Rakhine will drink Kalar blood." Kalar is a derogatory epithet commonly used to refer to Muslims here.

Myanmar's reformist leader, President Thein Sein, had set a harsh tone over the summer, saying that "it is impossible to accept those Rohingya who are not our ethnic nationals."

But this month, he appeared to change course, penning an unprecedented and politically risky letter to the U.N. promising to consider new rights for the Rohingya for the first time.

In the letter, Thein Sein said his government would address contentious issues "ranging from resettlement of displaced populations to granting of citizenship," but he gave no timeline and stopped short of fully committing to naturalize them.

The operation observed by the AP in Sin Thet Maw appeared to be part of an effort to resolve the issue.

By law, anyone whose forefathers lived in Myanmar prior to independence in 1948 has the right to apply for citizenship. But in practice, most Rohingya have been unable to. They must typically obtain permission to travel, and sometimes even to marry.

Discrimination has made it hard to obtain key documents like birth certificates, according to rights groups. Many Rohingya, having migrated here during the era of British colonial rule, speak a Bengali dialect and resemble Muslim Bangladeshis, with darker skin than other ethnic groups in Myanmar.

The road to naturalization grew more difficult with a 1982 citizenship law that excluded the Rohingya from a list of the nation's 135 recognized ethnicities. Since Bangladesh also rejects them, the move effectively rendered the Rohingya living in Myanmar stateless - a population the U.N. estimates at 800,000.

The issue is so fraught that even the word "Rohingya" itself is widely disputed. Buddhists say the term was made up to obscure the Muslim population's South Asian heritage; they do not accept the Rohingya as a separate ethnic group, and instead call them "Bengali" - a reference to the belief they are in fact Bangladeshis who entered illegally.

While some Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations and have documents to prove it, others arrived more recently. There is little distinction between these two groups, though. During the last official census in 1983, the Rohingya were excluded.

In places like Sit Thet Maw, Rakhine Buddhist elders believe they are on the front line of a population explosion, and they are worried.

Some 70 years ago, there were about 1,000 Buddhist and 100 Muslim inhabitants here, according to Said Thar Tun Maung, a 59-year-old Rakhine who works as a local government administrator. Today, the Buddhists are a minority: They number just 1,900, compared to 4,000 Rohingya residents.

Tun Maung blamed the demographic changes on higher birth rates among Muslim families, and the illegal arrival of new migrants hunting for fertile farmland and good fishing. Several thousand more Muslims arrived in October after Rakhine mobs burned their homes in the town of Kyaukphyu, swelling the Muslim population here even further. The refugees' presence is considered temporary - they are currently camped along the beach beside their ships.

"This is our land," Tun Maung said. But "it's slowly being taken away from us, and nobody is doing anything to stop it."

The AP team that visited Sin Thet Maw observed four-man government teams conducting interviews with dozens of Muslim families. The Rohingya live in a separate part of Sin Thet Maw that is completely segregated from the Buddhist side of the village by a wide field running hundreds of meters (yards) inland.

Most of those interviewed had temporary national registration cards that were issued by authorities ahead of elections in 2010 in an apparent effort to secure their support. The cards granted the Rohingya the right to vote, but they were stamped with a major caveat that read: "Not proof of citizenship." Most also showed government-issued forms on which their family members had been registered.

There was one question, though, that the officers did not ask - the one that mattered above all the rest. It was represented on the forms by a blank line beside the entry: "Race/Nationality."

After each interview, the officers filled in the empty space with the words: "Bengali," or, "Bengali/Islam."

The consequence of such answers is unclear. One officer, Kyi San, said only: "We're collecting data, not making decisions on nationality."

But several Muslims interviewed by the AP complained that officers refused to classify them as Rohingya, declaring that "the Rohingya do not exist." One man said he was beaten after refusing to sign a form identifying himself as Bengali.

"Being Bengali means we can be arrested and deported. It means we aren't part of this country," said Zaw Win, one of the Muslims who had been interrogated. "We are not Bengali. We are Rohingya."

Associated Press writers Aye Aye Win and Yadana Htun contributed to this report.

PHUKET: An alarming report from Dan Rivers of CNN this week said in summary: ''We have come to Rahkine state in Burma (Myanmar) to report on the latest threat to the Rohingya. What we have found is shocking. 

''I was expecting the displaced persons camps to be grim - but I wasn't prepared to see children starving to death. This isn't journalistic hyperbole. Thousands of kids are starving to death.''

Concerns about children dying in camps come as ethnic cleansing in Burma forces teenage boys and men to take to the sea in barely seaworth vessels to sail past Phuket seeking sanctuary.

The nightmare of malnutrition, deaths at sea and possibly genocide is taking place on what, in a small world, can be categorised as Phuket's doorstep. 

NOW this media release comes from UNICEF:

UNICEF scales-up response, calls for stronger combat against child malnutrition in Rakhine State

Rakhine State - While precise information about nutrition levels in Rakhine State is still difficult to obtain, UNICEF is very concerned about the extent and severity of child malnutrition, which has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict.

Child nutrition levels were not good prior to the outbreak of the Rakhine conflict in June, and subsequent population displacement and the security situation has hampered access to affected children.

UNICEF is scaling up its ongoing efforts to reach children across ethnic lines in need with life-saving nutrition interventions.

''We are working with the government and other partners for unabated access and for additional funding to address the key issue of child malnutrition in the Rakhine state to reverse the risk faced by the children affected by conflict,'' said UNICEF Representative Bertrand Bainvel.

On November 20, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Burma has launched an additional US$41 million Revised Response Plan for Rakhine. The Revised Plan will support urgent humanitarian aid to 115,000 internally displaced persons, living in camps with little or no access to basic services, up till June 2013.

A joint rapid nutrition assessment, carried out in Sittwe in early July indicated a 23.4 percent prevalence of Global and 7.5 percent of Severe Acute Malnutrition in the locations where displaced people are congregated. 

Findings indicated that some 2000 acutely malnourished children were facing a high risk of mortality, with 650 of these children in a severe condition and in urgent need of therapeutic feeding, and an additional nearly 9000 children in need of micronutrient supplements. 

A further 2500 children were likely to develop acute malnutrition if adequate food, healthcare and water and sanitation was not provided.

UNICEF has been working with the Government and partners to examine the nutritional status of children in Sittwe, both to confirm the initial estimates of the severity of the situation and to ensure that those in need receive help as a matter of priority. 

In late October, of 4066 children examined using the Middle and Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) measurement screening method, 413 were found to be severely acute malnourished and 649 moderately malnourished. 

All these children were treated but they require ongoing nutritional support and UNICEF expects there are more children in similar situations that have not yet been identified and reached.

In response to the situation, UNICEF, through the State Health Department, provided Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food and supplementary food for 6-59 months old children along with micronutrient supplements and continued to promote young child feeding practices including breastfeeding and complementary feeding.

At the point when the second outbreak of unrest broke out in Rakhine in October, expert estimates suggested around 2900 acutely malnourished children were at high risk of mortality; 930 of these children were in severe condition that required therapeutic feeding and some 2000 children were suffering from Moderate Acute Malnutrition and in need of supplementary feeding. 

A further 12,000 children aged 6-59 months old and some 5,400 pregnant and lactating women were in need of micronutrient supplementation. Some challenges in terms of access still exist, with 29 percent of IDP population still unreachable by partners as of October.

More resources are urgently needed to continue and strengthen the nutrition response including for assessments, case identification, referral, monitoring and surveillance. 

Therapeutic feeding must be provided urgently to save the lives of 930 severely acute malnourished children identified thus far and urgent supplementary feeding is needed for the 2000 moderately malnourished children is essential to stop them from falling into severe acute malnutrition. 

Micronutrient supplement must be provided to a further 5400 pregnant and lactating women and 12,400 under-five children to avoid serious malnutrition deficiency and the risk of consequent mortality.

The various organisations working to provide nutrition aid estimate that to respond to the need of a total of 115,000 IDPs for one year, total funding of some US$1.28 million is required . With around $400,000 already secured by partners, the immediate nutrition funding gap is $880,000.

Over the past decades UNICEF adopted a community-based nutrition intervention approach to address persistent child malnutrition in Rakhine, the second poorest state in Myanmar, in the host communities as well as in the displaced population. 

The already vulnerable situation was exacerbated by ethnic conflict that started in June this year.

UNICEF is committed to supporting the health, education, protection rights and prospects of all children in Rakhine State and across Myanmar, based on its humanitarian principles of neutrality and impartiality.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. 

For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

Dr Tun Aung and Family were arrested because they are among very few educated Rohingya who have access to modern technology to inform the world about ethnic cleanisng and genocide in Arakan Burma. Read his case profile here

He is 65 years old and a patient of Pituitary Tumor and received Nauru surgery twice, one in 1997 and again in 2004 because of the recurrence of tumor. The condition remains serious and still under vital medication and suffering from serious side effect of the medicines. He has very limited eye vision due to the tumors on both sides of the eyes. He recently received varicose vein surgery on his both legs.

Please Sign Petition here

Mahan Min Khant
RB News
November 29, 2012

Maung Daw  - On 26/11/12, paramilitary officer of (3) mile NaKaSa headquarter, MaungDaw has compellingly ordered to Mr. Ayub Khan (f) Mr. Du Du Mya, head of Myo-Thu-Gyi village track to arrange five pairs of drought cattle to harrow the lands of NaSaKa and Na-Ta-La villagers and to put altogether (5) manual workers. The NaSaKa has been arranging every year a free labor facility such odds and ends in fields which were confiscated from Rohingyas for 20 years ago for NaTaLa villagers --who were feebly brought from Burma proper and are intentionally being implanted among Rohingyas villagers since 1992 -- to get reek and then mole the affairs of Rohingya Muslims villagers to and --- create mess at the same time to play coordinated filthy political game on Rohingyas in accord with government directions from time to time.

The order of NaSaKa head to arrange five or six pairs of drought cattle to harrow and (5) additional manual labors for every time by Myo Thu Gyi village and Thaung-Pyine village to their requirement, no one knows how many days the Rohingya villagers have to supply such a potent and uncompensated tough labor to the NaSaKa and Na-Ta-La villagers in coming days.

On 28/11/12, NaSaKa forces of 3 miles, MaungDaw Township summoned Mr.Zakaria (f) Mr.Abdul Amin, age 27 years, who is running a shop in MaungDaw market, without any reason and kept in its custody at (3) mile NaSaKa station and as of now no family member has got any exact information and they are gravely concerned about his safety and security in NaSaKa custody.

AIPMC, which is formed of parliamentarians from ASEAN member states, said it welcomed the UN resolution’s statement “expressing particular concern about the situation of the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State” where a humanitarian crisis is unfolding.

“Tens of thousands of displaced Rohingya Muslims are suffering under continued persecution and remain too fearful of further attacks to return to their villages, many of which have been burned to the ground by Rakhine mobs. Those who do remain are too afraid to leave their enclaves,” AIPMC said.

“The UN’s Rakhine Response Plan, which was revised this month, is facing a shortfall of over $40 million, there is an urgent need to provide humanitarian assistance to Rakhine State. There is a very real threat that children will soon start dying in large numbers from disease and malnutrition,” said Ms Sundari.

According to UNOCHA, there are more than 400,000 IDPs in Myanmar: some 115,000, chased from their homes in Rakhine State on ethnic grounds since inter-communal violence broke out in June, as well as over 235,000 displaced by conflict in Karen state and more than 75,000 displaced by the ongoing war between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army in the country’s far north.

AIPMC Vice President Kraisak Choonhavan spoke out against the prejudices in Burma directed at the Muslim Rohingya community.

“The government’s denial of the very legitimacy of the Rohingya ethnic group constitutes a major barrier to finding a long-term solution to the inter-communal problems in Rakhine State and betrays an inherent ethno-nationalist superiority complex of the predominantly Buddhist-Burman government of Myanmar,” he said.

“The immediate concern is rightly the need to get urgent humanitarian assistance to those displaced by the recent violence, but the greater fear is that if the government, ethno-nationalist political parties as well as elements in the Buddhist clergy continue to label these people as ‘Bengali’ interlopers with no rights, then this violence could spread so much further, putting the safety, dignity and lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk,” he said.

The irony is that there no Bengalis among them as they are out and out Rohingyas and Kamans. However, torturing, harassing and forcefully making them to say something unreal is a method of genocide and expulsion of these people that the government and Rakhine terrorists have been using for quite a long time.

The question is what RNDP members are doing with Police and Immigration and others? They are neither from neither governmental bodies in Burma nor from the military. They are just members of a political party that doesn’t hold any authoritarian power. So, all in all, it is no longer secret to anyone that it is a state-sponsored ethnic cleansing in cooperation with Rakhine extremists from RNDP intended to annihilate Rohingyas and Kamans from Arakan.

During her recent trip to India, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited her alma mater the Lady Sri Ram College, where activists protesting the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are reported to have told Ms. Suu Kyi “to come out of her cocoon and take a stand on the Rohingya issue.” Some political analysts have described the Rohingya issue as a test of Suu Kyi’s ‘credentials and commitment’, her Buddhist faith and even as the true proof of her being worthy of the Nobel Peace prize . It is time to take a step back and look at Myanmar, take in the big picture and focus on Suu Kyi and the challenges that confront her.

Ms Suu Kyi today, is a popular leader of Myanmar. After winning 43 of the 45 parliamentary seats contested in the by-elections held in April this year, she is expected to gain control of the government after the elections scheduled for 2015; about three years from now. The world has been delighted to see Ms. Suu Kyi in the Myanmar parliament. She is an international symbol of courage and non-violent opposition to the military rule, having struggled bravely for human rights and political freedom while under house arrest for almost 15 of the 21 years from 20 July 1989 until her most recent release on 13 November 2010.

US president Obama, during his first trip abroad post re-election remarked in Bangkok last week, “Democratic transition in Burma is an ongoing process and the process needs to be in the spotlight.” Ms. Suu Kyi idolized by her people and the world, has what it takes to leverage this attention and bring about real and lasting change in Myanmar.

However, Ms. Suu Kyi cannot assume that her overwhelming popularity in Myanmar today will remain intact over the next few years and see her through to the elections in 2015. Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), needs to have a clear understanding of the country's priorities and come to grips with these issues at the earliest. Ms. Suu Kyi, on the other hand, will have to evolve from being a resistance icon to a national leader; a challenging prospect.

According to the International Crisis Group, ethnically, Myanmar is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Consequently, since independence it has experienced a complex set of conflicts between the central government and ethnic minority groups seeking autonomy. Ethnic minorities constitute about one-third of the population and occupy roughly half of the country in terms of area. At present, despite almost all ethnic groups having accepted the Union of Myanmar and their demands being limited to increased local authority and equality within the federal state structure, the country is not beyond strife.

UNHRC data indicates that there are 777,859 refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs of Myanmar- origin displaced to its neighbours. There are a further 1,147,275 persons including 808,075 stateless persons within the country itself. The Myanmar refugee population in India is mainly from the Chin ethnic minority group, with a smaller proportion of Kachins, Rakhines, and Bamars.

Over 140,000 Myanmarese, mostly Karen, Karenni, Mon and Shan, among others are presently confined in camps in Thailand. Many have been displaced since the mid-1980s. In addition, there are probably at least 300,000 refugees outside these Camps in Thailand, including 250,000 Shan refugees. Suu Kyi has visited Mae La refugee camp on the Thai border, telling thousands of people that their plight has not been forgotten. She has also visited the town of Mahachai, outside Bangkok, home to Thailand's largest population of Myanmar migrants.

It is in this country, torn by internal conflict and racked by armed ethnic insurgencies of various scales and intensities that Suu Kyi is trying to make the shift from opposition leader to a party, parliamentary and a national leader. Further as a Member of Parliament, Suu Kyi is now carries the cross of being part of Myanmar’s state establishment. Suu Kyi alone cannot solve the complex ethnic problems of Myanmar that have existed for decades. Her ultimate challenge will be to keep the country unified while addressing the demands of the minorities.

She has also to revitalise the grass root-level infrastructure of her party, the NLD. She has to find common grounds with the Military that would support the necessary amendments to the present Constitution without which she cannot assume leadership in the Myanmar.

Suu Kyi’s stance on the Rohingya issue has been influenced by three key factors: the public opinion in her own constituency, the collective view of her party, and the mainstream opinion in Myanmar. Incidentally her constituency, the rural township of Kawhmu, is known to have an extremely anti-Rohingya stance. Yet there is a requirement of articulating a coherent policy for the future, policy that diffuses the situation in Rakhine State and allows for humanitarian aid to flow in to refugees.

Staying on the Rohingya issue, Suu Kyi in one of her interviews to the media in New Delhi made three important points. One, the immediate step is for the violence to stop, effect de-escalation of the situation and allow access to humanitarian aid. Second, both communities have resorted to violence hence restrain has to be exercised by all stakeholders. Rhetoric and provocation has not helped either side. Third, was regarding the responsibility of Bangladesh on the issue.

A Danish Immigration Service fact finding mission in 2011 found that the Bangladesh government was concerned about the ‘pull factor’ related to the Rohingya’s exodus to Bangladesh. This was the reason the government did not want to provide support to development activities aimed at improving the living conditions of the Rohingya. A Joint Initiative by five UN agencies to develop for Cox’s Bazar, a two-year, $33 million development plan to strengthen education, health, livelihood ect could not get the Bangladesh Government’s approval. If Pakistan and Iran were to adopt a similar position on Afghan refugees, their plight would have been akin to the Rohingyas.

Suu Kyi’s endorsement of the Rohingya struggle at this stage will not get the Rohingyas what they want but for Suu Kyi anything more than balanced position on the Rohingya issue will definitely impact her position adversely in 2015. So let’s be fair and grant ‘Daw Suu’ some political manoeuvre space and her rightful place in Myanmar history.

The author is an independent strategic analyst. He can be contacted at m_gulati_2001@yahoo.com

Mahan Min Khant
RB News
November 28, 2012

“In accord the section of an act 436/512, the following listed persons (Rohingyas) from Maung-Daw Township are regarded as absconders from the law by the Judge of Buthidaung township court and that of the court lawyers”

The Union government, Rakhine state government and entire RNDP party members’ manipulated outburst has affected the whole Rakhine state where there are more or less Rohingyas and Kaman people -- the tortured, burned alive, forcefully evicted, dislocated, looted, oppressed, displaced, mass dead in sea water, and multi designed helplessly sufferers are almost all Rohingyas if compared to some Rakhine fake victims who are being stationed in some well arranged camps as merely to show up.

Though, some Rakhine Buddhists people were surely faced with fatality as they intruded and fought with Rohingyas in respective townships --- for instance AnaukPyin village, Rathedaung Township and Yinthay village in Mrauk-Oo Township -- in all about the state for the last six months. No one can deny the evidences while these have even been shown by the satellite photos for further proofs and reminder.

We, the entire Rohingyas people have been simply cheated by the series of statement (how to handle the case of Rakhine state) of President Thein Sein from time to time. U Thein Sein’s occasional statements and announcements in regard the violence and chaos in Rakhine state through radios and official directives have totally been ridiculous and insensible to meet the organized cooperative and destructive effort of the whole Rakhine assailants against the innocent Rohingyas people’ lives and that of the social livelihoods. If president was an honest person and wished to suppress the chaos, he would have done it with in couple of days as did in 2007 against the saffron revolution. Instead, he does drift the subject to prolong into more mess for nonsense chit-chat from every corner of the world.

All Rakhine perpetrators who have blissfully and obediently involved in chaos-- torching the Rohingyas villages and killing innocent people-- be arrested soon and put in long term jails in several prisons of the country in accord the laws. As almost all entire Rakhine mass people have dutifully involved in the massacre of the Rohingyas innocent people, no Rakhine ladies and gentlemen would abscond from an un-arrested if each Rakhine individual involvement is thoroughly investigated. Almost all Rakhine are guilty-less in the last chaos.

Before and after the one sided attack was launched on Rohingyas in accord their preplanned harmonized action, soon all relevant perpetrators from local and abroad have set up to propagate the attack through their several local journals and oversea Burmese programs such as VOA, RFA, BBC and DVA as if the chaos was run by Rohingyas.

To recoil from their (state government, Rakhine state government, RNDP party and mass Rakhine people) sadism and brutal inhumane activities committed on Rohingyas along Rakhine state for the last six months, the respective governments’ tools such as township courts Judges and the lawyers have knowingly designed their own laws to arbitrarily arrest innocent Rohingyas people from each township to shoulder the wrongdoing of the Union government, Rakhine state government, RNDP and mass Rakhine people to over innocent Rohingyas.

The following Rohingyas from MaungDaw Township are being warranted to arrest by the Judge of Buthidaung Township under section of an act 436/512. 

Details are as the following mentioned.

“The Rohingya hold themselves- within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do. There’s no excuse for violence against innocent people”  The President of the United States, Barack H. Obama speech on Rohingya issue at Rangoon University. However US based broadcasting services such as VOA (Voice of America) and RFA (Radio Free Asia) censored the president’s historic speech in the Burmese language broadcasting session. Why did they censored? Where is the media ethic?

Since 1962, when General Ne Win coup Burma with his military forces and grab the power of the nation; the brutal dictator Ne Win was strongly back by the communist China. Therefore, people of Burma have felt China has swallowed their country. Whenever there were upraising against the regime, Burmese army brutally cracked down and China was always backing by the side of Burma at UN. After many years passed by the situation is fell in to chocking level that the people of Burma expecting United States and Western countries to help them escape of their impoverished suppressive lives. In the conscious and unconscious mind of Burmese people hoping that the US is the savior and the impression of United States is humongous also.

The economic embargo implied on Burma by US and Western countries, the collapsed of the Burmese economy to the ground and the regime could not stand loyal to the China’s policy to stay inward and supply only to china with raw materials and county’s natural resources. Therefore, they started shifting to gain US and The West favor to open the trading opportunities. For that reason, the regime has transformed themselves form military clothed person to civilian and also transformed command control centers to parliament. Once the transformation was completed, the extended their hands and praise to The West with cruel intention for their survival purposes as if they are listening the people voice and wishes that people of Burma desire to defeat China’s economic and political influence with the power of The United States.

Soon after President Thein Sein opened up the county and create relationship with US and The West , Buddhist Extremists, The underground Monks’ Gang, Nationalists and the hardliners within the government of Thein Sein and the regional governments started strategic planning for the Muslims population of Burma to be extinct to build the greatest Buddhist Nation. This plan is the dream of Burmen’s great pioneer Master Hmine ( Tha Khin Ko Daw Hmine) . Ko Daw Hmine was the founding father and famous influential leader of Doh Ba Ma Asi-A-Yone (We, Burmese Association ). General Aung San, the independent leader of Burma was one of the member at the beginning of the movement of the organization. Therefore, the network of the Buddhist extremists and nationalists started Anti-Muslims propaganda to gain trust of US and the West showing that Muslims are the common enemy to them as well without knowing that west does not have this policy. In order to promote the Nationalistic and Buddhist Dominated agenda, they proposed the local news agency to create more news on US Ambassador to Burma is about to convert to Buddhism. This is to confuse the people of Burma mostly targeting to the uneducated population. That way, people will impress Buddhism more and monk will gain trust of the people.

Secondly, Buddhist extremists and nationalists created the story as they traditionally did as Muslims men raping a Buddhist woman knowing that this kind of story is sensitive to all society. This provocation can lead to huge violence against Muslims all around Burma and people may have justifiable reasons to kills Muslims and driven out from their homes. They have believed mistakenly that doing so will result in US favor and trust towards Burma. Therefore, the extremists implemented the plan by burning Muslims houses and making the Muslims displaced from their lands and hundreds of innocent Muslims were killed.

When the international community demanded to stop the violence and declare that harming innocent people regardless of religion, color of their skin and where they came from is a crime against humanity, they calmed down showing that things are getting to a normality however , the continuation of anti-Muslims propaganda to drive out the Muslims from Burma is still going underway.

The famous monks, A Lo Daw Pyei, Shwe Nya War and Wira Thu publicly organize their fellow Buddhists to attack against Muslims. Pro Democracy Monk Shwe Nya War ( currently in Canada ) claimed in his YouTube post on October 28, 2012 that his superior monk A Lo Daw Pyei was in meeting with the senior US official in Burma and explained what they are doing and US official listened carefully and kind of agreed upon their actions . The Monk has misinterpreted the officials respectful attitude on religious leader. However, this misinterpretation have become political tools for extremists to create second round of violence happened in Rakhine State as it was under US endorsement. By looking at this process, pictures taken or videos of the extremist leaders meeting with senior foreign officials are being abused as a tools for violence.

On the other hand, they have organized the media wings such as local and foreign based Burmese media employees to promote their agenda by creating the same voice. That is to say, all media must voice that Muslims in Burma are invaders from Bangladesh and not to use the term “ Rohingya” for the Muslims people who are originally form Rakhine State of Burma. Due to the limited access to the unrestricted , fair and ethical media, Burmese people usually listen and depend on the foreign based media stations such as VOA, RFA, BBC-Burmese and DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma) to learn what the US and The West said about Burma. Telephone, Internet access, Social media such as FaceBook, Myspace and Linkedin other social network are not commonly used nationwide. In addition , most of them grown up under very poor level of education for generations and rural life style media access is over word of mouth.

Since the beginning of the violence until now, Burmese session of the foreign based broadcasting services such as RFA-Burmese, VOA- Burmese, BBC- burmese and DVB locate in US and Western countries firmly stand on the side of Buddhist Extremists and Nationalist. The Burmese language services bias on reporting that Muslims of Burma are invaders, illegal- immigrants and infidels from Bangladesh. In addition, Burmese broadcasting services all around the world reported Muslims torched their own houses and killing Bhuddists and run away to from the land they lived for many years .In reality on the ground is totally opposite. Buddhists extremists burn down the whole compound of Muslim houses and villages, killing Muslims and forcing the Muslims to flee from the villages.

Now it comes to the level that, the foreign based Burmese media VOA, RFA running under support of US and DVB , BBC running under western governments fund started censoring the speech of the President of the United States at Rangoon University in their Burmese translation of the speech. Even though, the western media corporation hired contracted Burmese employees to work in the US and EU countries to promote democracy and human rights in Burma, however, these media wings of the extremists intruded into the pro-democracy foreign media corporation and abused media tools to prevent poor Burmese population to go near the truth. It is an insult to the nations funding them.

Htay Lwin Oo

Leading Activist

Myanmar Muslim Civil Rights Movement (USA)