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Trisha Marczak
Mint Press News
March 31, 2013

For months, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International have been calling on the United States to address what has been considered one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises in the world today. Due to the inaction of global media outlets and the U.S. government to address the near-genocide of the nearly one million Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Burma, hacktivist organization Anonymous is taking the lead, using social media to drive its point to the masses. 

Taking a stand against the government’s actions, Anonymous took down multiple Burmese government websites March 24, linking its action to “Operation Rohingya”— a global online campaign gaining international attention on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, intended to draw attention to the government’s ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population. As of March 25, the campaign had dominated Twitter, generating outrage among users. 

On the list of targeted government websites were the president’s office, the ministry of education, the ministry of foreign affairs and the central bank, among others. 

In a video published March 25, a day after the hacktivist activities, Anonymous addresses the brutality of the situation, illustrating the plight of the Rohingya Muslims, whom have been subject to death, rape, starvation, the burning of homes and slave labor at the hands of the Rakhine Buddhist ruling party. 

“It’s important the information we’re going to share with you goes viral as quickly as possible,” the Anonymous video begins by stating. “The ethnic Rohingya people of Myanmar, Burma in Southeast Asia are about to be massacred.” 

The video goes on to describe life for the Rohingya in Myanmar, where the government refuses to recognize the more than 800,000 Rohingya people as citizens. They are denied basic rights, including education and health care, and are considered by the government to be “subhuman.” The Rohingya have never been welcome in Myanmar, creating a divide between Buddhists nationalists who review the Rohingya population as outsiders. 

In June, tension between the two groups escalated when reports circulated regarding the rape and death of a young Buddhist girl, allegedly by the hands of three Rohingya men. As a result, 10 Rohingya men were killed, setting in motion a back-and-forth conflict with the government on the side of the mainstream Rakhine Buddhist population. 

Carrying out message of human rights organizations 

The message spread by Anonymous is not far from what leading global humanitarian organizations have been reporting for the last year. In August 2012, it was estimated by HRW that nearly 100,000 Rohingya had already been displaced, with hundreds killed in a conflict labeled as the worst incident of sectarian violence the small country had ever seen. 

In an August interview with Mint Press News, Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch painted the picture of the ethnic targeting of the Rohingya population, highlighting that they are the world’s most persecuted people, as they’re denied legal status in all countries, including Myanmar, despite a heritage that dates back generations. 

“The Rohingya have lived in the Arakan state for centuries and know no other home — having been born and lived there all their lives,” Robertson said. 

Despite their unreasonable situation, he claimed their state of living has been kept outside of the spotlight, allowing the government to carry on its action without international repercussions. 

“The international community has to renew its push on the Burmese government to end the access blackout, permit international media and monitors into the region, and initiate a full and independence investigation of the violence, holding all responsible no matter their rank or position,” Robertson said in an email. 

That is what Anonymous is now calling for, using its social media presence to draw attention to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. On Twitter, the hashtag #OpRohingya and #RohingyaNOW are trending, creating a social media firestorm that’s generating outrage. 

It’s the hope of activists that such action will serve as a lobby power against the U.S. government, making the issue too large to ignore. 

“We call on the Anonymous collective to stand with those for whom no one else will stand,” its statement says. “We will call on Anonymous and all supporters of human rights to stand against this great injustice, to give the Rohingya a voice, before they are completely eliminated.” 

U.S. turning blind eye to potential ‘genocide’ 

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Burmese President Thein Sein in September, applauding his nation for moving toward democratic reform and rewarding it (and the U.S.) by lifting sanctions on the country. 

“In recognition of the continued progress toward reform and in response to requests from both the government and the opposition, the United States is taking the next step in normalizing our commercial relationship,” Clinton said during September’s visit. 

As reported by Reuters in July 2012, the lifting of sanctions would allow U.S. oil companies to carry out exploration in Myanmar, an untouched oil resource in the Asia region. 

In November, President Barack Obama traveled to Burma to applaud the nation on its shift to democracy. While he briefly mentioned the plight of the Rohingya to a civilian crowd, it did not impact the U.S. easing of sanctions. 

“If the atrocities in Arakan had happened before the government’s reform process started, the international reaction would have been swift and strong,” Brad Adams, Asia director for HRW said in a press release. “But the international community appears to be blinded by a romantic narrative of sweeping change in Burma, signing new trade deals and lifting sanctions even while the abuse continues.” 

See the Anonymous video below


RB News 
March 31, 2013

Maung Daw, Arakan - On March 12, 2013, a 15-year-old abnormal Rohingya child from the village of Waccha, (Nearby Alay-Than-Kyaw), Maung Daw, was abducted by NaSaKa (Border Security Force) from the commandment area (7). Now, NaSaKa is demanding humongous amount of money for his release. 

“Asmat Ullah S/o Umzul Haque is an abnormal child. He is just 15. NaSaKa from the commandment area 7 abducted him on 12th March 2013. He has not been released yet as his parents are unable to pay the money demanded by NaSaKa. He has not committed any crime. He was just abducted to extort money from his parents as doing so is so usual these days” said local Rohingya to RB News. 

Major Aung Naing Oo is the commander of the NaSaKa area 7 and under his commandment; Rohingyas are facing arbitrary arrests and with extortion of huge amount of money. Besides, a 25-year-old Rohingya youth from Tharay-Kunbaung, Maung Daw, was arrested by NaSaKa from the same area under the false accusation of using Bangladesh Phone Network (i.e. Bangladesh Sim Card). 

“On Thursday, 28th March 2013, at night, Jawat Ullah S/o U Rabi Ullah was arrested by NaSaKa from the camp 14, commandment area 7 under the false accusation of using Bangladesh Sim Card. Arresting Rohingyas by so accusing is so regular these days. And his family is unable to pay the amount demanded by the in-charge of the camp. So, he has not been released yet” said a Rohingya from Maung Daw. 

NaSaKa normally keep many Rohingyas in detention under different accusations and release them after the extortion of money. Sadly, they are not even sparing the above-mentioned abormal child and the youth from poor family background and it is believed that the detainees will be released after their demand has been fulifilled. 

On top of having been being tortured by NaSaKa, Rohingyas have to endure the troubles caused by Special Investigation Branch (SaSaSa). On 28th March 2013, the incharge of SaSaSa, U Aung Kyaw Thein, beat and arrested Kayfayat Ullah S/o Noor Ahmed, 26, from Alay-Than-Kyaw, Maung Daw. 

“Kayfayat Ullah was arrested under a forged case of taking part in the riot at the Bazaar of Alay-Than-Kyaw on 12th June 2012. He was beaten by the in-charge of SaSaSa on the spot and is now detained in the cell of SaSaSa. The in-charge demanded Kyat 500,000 from the family of Kayfayat Ullah. The next day, the family of Kayfayat Ullah got him released after paying Kyat 400,000. 

“Few days before this case took place, the elder brother of Kayfayat Ullah had faced with a similar arrest, torture and detention. He, too, had to bribe Kyat 400,000 to U Aung Kyaw Thein for his release” said a villager.

Many Rohingyas and Kamans lost their lives to the terrorist attacks by Rakhine extremists in Maung Daw, Rathedaung, Akyab (Sittwe) and other parts of Arakan state in early June 2012. 

Although Rohingyas have no arm-groups, Burmese domestic media and the former major and director of the president’s office, Zaw Htay alias Hmuu Zaw, via his Facebook Page spread a wrong propaganda and portray Rohingyas as if they were invading Arakan state and committing Genocide against Rakhines. Consequently, the violence against Rohingyas and Kamans took place twice: first round in June 2012 and second round in October 2012 respectively. 

Though the death toll announced by the Central Government of Myanmar happened to be only 180 people, in actual fact, there were untold numbers of Rohingyas and Kamans killed in the violence. Besides, hundreds of the victims escaping the violence died even in the sea. The violence has displaced more than 120,000 people who have now to live in the camps that are dire and worst in all angles. 

INGOs have been aiding them as much as possible and likewise, Turkey in cooperation with the government is also planning to build some cheap and temporary houses for these vulnerable people. However, on 7th March 2013, Rakhine extremists held protests in Sittwe and other townships and demanded to even cancel the mentioned resettlement programs. 

There have been rumors since last February that Rakhine extremists will trigger yet another round of violence against Rohingyas sometime in between March and April 2013 (i.e. during the period of Myanmar traditional water-festival). We have investigated through our internal reliable source to confirm its degree of reliability and found out that Rakhine extremists have already planned and programmed to massacre Muslims in Arakan state once in last week of March and the next in the second week of April. 

Eye-witnesses tell RB News that NaTaLa Rakhine Extremists, in Maung Daw, northern Arakan, have been being trained on how to use guns and swords since last February. Moreover, there were 300 Bama officers in Sittwe Security Force and now they have been replaced by Rakhine Security Officers. The trainings have also being given to them according to a reliable source. 

Although the forthcoming violence in the last week of March has been now widely known in Rakhine community, Rohingyas and Kamans are still totally unaware of it and will most likely be attacked all of a sudden. As before, there are plans to create false stories and spread wrong propaganda by the domestic media and the former major and director of the president’s office, Zaw Htay alias Hmuu Zaw, will take up his usual role of fooling naive Burmese people. 

Therefore, with a view to protecting the lives of the innocent civilians and the losses of their properties in the hands of the politically self-centered and vested-interest groups, we, by writing this highly alert letter, plead to the Government of Myanmar and International Government Bodies to seriously take this matter into consideration and to control the situation in advance. 

With Hopes, 

RB News Team
March 8, 2013

Ibrahim Shah
RB Article
March 30, 2013

“A plea to world inhabitants to rescue Rohingya from the lively killings of Rakhine extremists” 

According to ‘The Declaration of Universal Human Rights’, we learnt that every human kind has the right to claim about his/her own identity as their ancestry. It is a major crime to force somebody to acknowledge wrongly about his/her identity. In accordance with, the analysis on the “History of Arakan and her people” we meet with the two main indigenous races namely: the Mohammedans, Rohingya from northern Arakan and the Mogh, Rakhine in the southern part but it is so disgraceful today that the intruders Myanmarese led by late Burmese King Bowdawphaya captured the sovereign power of the Arakan territory since 1784 AD, changed mostly the ancient names of Arakan properties such as temples, shrines, mosques, streets, rivers, etc and eventually deny officially the existence of Rohingya . 

Since 1784 the sovereign Rakhine territory, formerly Arakan was hit by devilish storm of colonization repeatedly until today. According to reliable geographical and historical backgrounds, the Rohingya people have been living fundamentally and centrally in western part of Myanmar, northern Rakhine state mainly in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, western part of Rathedaung, Sittwe Townships massively and also there are some living scattered around the whole country Myanmar. The Rohingya is one of the distinguished races of Myanmar with own ancient tradition, celebrated culture, popular heritage, rich grammatical language, glorious religion, unique fashion, typical uniform and surprisingly distinction from other races because they protect strictly from eradication their ethnic race by others both politically and racially. If we focus watchfully throughout the Myanmar most of the ethnic races could not saved themselves from the brutality of dominant group, majority Myanmarese and mostly the Myanmarese made transformed into Myanmarese by forcibly marriage to non-Myanmarese only aiming to rebuild chauvinistically the country with only one race --- Myanmarese. 

Apparently, it is in fact, injustice to rule perpetually the whole state with double standard according to the circumstances of respective territories by racially differentiation. Mostly in ethnic minorities areas it is being perpetuated the racially differentiation even with national registration card: i.e. first step. For Mon, Mon + Burma, after some years later, as second step, put only Burma after Mon deleting; with such strategic planning the Myanmarese already built up the whole country with only one race Myanmarese. If we see watchfully throughout the state from top to bottom in all kinds of official posts, only meet with one race Myanmarese in any higher ranks and the rest ethnic races perceive desperately flavor of lower class posts. 

To perceive and become purity from the accusation created by Myanmar chauvinists and Rakhine racists against Rohingya it is extremely necessary for perfect explanation about the term Rohingya so here by it is highlighted briefly with illustration of rooted evidence from an authentic primary source; evidently it is recorded the existence of Rohingya in to Arakan by European Historian in 1799 as such: Francis Buchanan, “A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire”. And it is the first historical document mentioning the Rooinga, today’s Rohingya without any corruption. And later Rohingya is officially announced from parliamentary government of prime minister U Nu in 1951 and later in 1954 the president U Ba Swe also said that the Rohingya are a race like other races in Burma and have equal rights. Rohingya are allowed to broadcast radio programs in Rohingya language, currently Rohingyalish by this systematical schedule: from 15 May 1961 to 1 October 1965. 

Unfortunately, the devilish mentor, world worst dictator general Ne Win violently deprived the full citizenship rights imposing a discriminatory law, Act 1982 citizenship which affected mainly and fundamentally to Rohingya . Since his dictatorship, he clearly cleansed up preferring racism of Buddhism most of Rohingya brilliant students, illustrious religious scholars, experienced politicians including writers and national singers. 

Furthermore, there is imposed restrictions for higher education, marriage, population growing rate, domestic and international travelling, religious functions, communication, transportation, traditional ceremonies, politics, health, living standard, etc. Later since 1990, instigated racism chauvinistically to Buddhist officials gradually and at last in 2012 every Buddhists families are put mindset of racism of Buddhism by one of Buddhist monk chiefs Virathu from Mandalay region,central Burma directly sponsored from president Thein Sein. Thein Sein was a former military high rank officer and later become civilianized president of Myanmar in 2010 .it is to be described with great anxiety that he implements all the rest procedure to eradicate ethnic minorities mainly Rohingya that remained during the dictatorship of his predecessor senior general Than Shwe. 

While democratic reforms are gradually adopted forward, only aiming to eliminate the Rohingya from feeling of taste of flavor of democracy the regime chief boldly took the multiple- sword: slaughtering innocent people of Rohingya. On 8th June 2012, the deliberately happened collision was created with severe preparation mainly containing modern weapons, in which, attempted to completely genocide the entire Rohingya for the last time ever. The most wicked and the most powerful organizer of that genocide was President Thein Sein. Due to suddenly approaching misfortune unto them, their criminally formed stragical plan of Rohingya genocide was became miscarriage and at once he, president Thein Sein proposed immorally and impudently disobeying the democratic rules in last July 11 to UNHCR chief Mr. Gueteress to congregate the Rohingya building a camp as temporary shelter until any third country simply welcomes. 

Again, through resumption of the perpetration Genocide against Rohingya in last October, to implement the conspiracy for eradication Rohingya, the Buddhists extremists and regime of president thein Sein with RNDP victimized the whole Rakhine state only strictly Rohingya and become IDPs more times than the first time over crowded. And ceased external-shooting dramatically to show international communities that the regime itself restoring peace and harmony within Rakhine and Rohingya but alternatively they long breathed it i.e. sophisticated preparation for finally onetime diminish plan. 

To be continued. 

Ibrahim Shah is a Rohingya activist. He can be reached via Twitter: @ibrmshah. The writings, here, are of his own and do not reflect the editorial policy of RB.


Bangkok Post
March 30, 2013

The murderous communal riots that have wracked Myanmar for nearly six months are edging closer to the country's most important cities, and to strong notice abroad, particularly in Muslim-majority countries. 

The government faces serious security questions from civil rights activists at home and overseas, including its knee-jerk reaction to declare a state of emergency and call in the army at every riot. 

The deaths, injuries and property destruction pose security threats to the government of President Thein Sein, and especially to its fragile attempt to transform Myanmar from a military-ruled tyranny into a functioning, free state. 

Democracy requires free speech, but free speech is putting Myanmar at risk at the moment. Extremists, especially anti-Muslim radicals, have dominated and taken control of the country's community message. Unless government and decent civil society responds soon, Myanmar faces a downward spiral of violence with unpredictable but disastrous consequences. 

The proper solution to offensive free speech is more free speech. That is not working and may not work in post-tyranny Myanmar for critical reasons. 

The most important problem is the abject failure of the government, opposition and civil society to engage the extremists. 

Thein Sein has been quick to bask in praise for what he claims are "reforms without parallel in modern times", but he has refused to condemn even murder and ethnic cleansing by Buddhists in Myanmar. 

Even Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has merely called for new laws that she thinks may protect minorities, without serious criticism of killing and mass arson. 

The army, which once controlled radicals with prison, torture, threats and ruthless intimidation, has completely abandoned that role. So far, it has stepped in to restore order when directed by the president, but has been totally inert as a proactive force. 

Thus, the militants and extremists have not only gained control of the microphone, they also are using free speech without serious challenge to their message. 

The other major failing of free speech in Myanmar is an inability to counter the extremists, currently controlling the microphones _ and the internet. 

The seasoned Myanmar reporter James Hookway, in a report for The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, pictured pro-violent groups like the scurrilous Buddhist 969 Movement as dominating the Myanmar internet channels, and forcing out moderate messages. 

But while the 969 group does dominate some internet forums, the truth is there's little to dominate. 

Myanmar's hate and xenophobia are not controlled by militant messaging and microphone control. They are fuelled by a lack of means to communicate. 

An excellent and credible in-depth survey of Myanmar's communications turned up a pitiful and pitiable lack of means to counter the hate speech with free speech. 

Newspapers and magazines remain untrustworthy. TV and radio are unavailable to reasonable voices. 

But it is precisely in new information and communications technology (ICT) where reasonable voices have no chance in Myanmar. 

Three million of the country's 60 million people have mobile phones. Four million have no access at all to the internet, and a measly 1% of the country has an internet subscription. All three mobile phone operators are effectively government-controlled. 

In short, the extremists have the only voice. Militant monks like Sayataw Wira Thu of 969 are not effectively countered anywhere _ not by the government, by civil society or the media including the internet. 

As a result, this is a forking moment for free speech in Myanmar. The government and citizens have to decide whether the "free speech" of the extremist monks and nationalists can continue to foment violence, murders and ethnic cleansing. 

Until high-ranking authorities expose the hate, and an effective internet-based media can affect public opinion, the government may be forced to revert to the old way of controlling hate speech, by the prison system. That would scratch the veneer of democratic reforms, but probably would stop the blatant and murderous attacks on minorities, especially Muslims. It is a tough call for the self-styled world-class reformer, but Thein Sein must face the hard choice soon, before racial and communal riots get entirely out of hand.

Hameed Shaheen
Kashmir Watch
March 30, 2013

ISLAMABAD - The OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) has activated its administrative apparatus to provide relief to Myanmar-uprooted Muslims. The OIC Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, announced on Saturday in Jeddah that the his organization is planning to hold a meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers on 14 April 2013 to discuss the issue of violence against Muslims in Myanmar, says an emailed press release.

In his speech at the Contact Group meeting on Rohingya held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah on Saturday, Ihsanoglu announced two messages, the first was directed to Muslims in Myanmar stressing that the OIC will stand in support of their cause, and that the Organization and its Member States are following up the issue and are ready to take all necessary measures and actions to deal with it. In his second message, Ihsanoglu addressed the government of Myanmar and stressed that it should put an end to the Buddhist extremists and hate campaigns, as well as ethnic cleansing that they had launched against Muslims in the country, pointing out that the OIC will take up this issue to international forums to find a full solution to it.

Ihsanoglu said that the OIC has called for the convening of this Contact Group meeting in its headquarters in Jeddah due to renewed acts of violence against Muslims in Myanmar by Buddhist extremists, which resulted in the killing of dozens of Muslims, burning of their homes, in addition to setting fire to mosques and schools and displacement of hundreds. He warned against the spread of violence, which had began in Arakan State, west of the country, and spread to other regions and cities.

Ihsanoglu called on the countries members of the Contact Group to establish contact channels with the international community to implement the recommendations of the Extraordinary Mecca Islamic Summit held last August, stressing the Group's ability to move and have an effective impact. Ihsanoglu expressed the Organization's willingness to coordinate positions in order to provide necessary support to improve the situation of Muslims in Myanmar in order to restore all their legitimate rights and to return to their land.

The Secretary General pointed out that the meeting should seek to gain the confidence of the Rohingya people, and that the international community should fulfill its promises that are not for compromise or bargain.

Asad Naeem
Business Recorder
March 30, 2013 

ISLAMABAD: Expressing concern of Pakistanis over the recurrence of communal riots in Myanmar, President Asif Ali Zardari has called upon his Myanmar counterpart President U. Thein Sein to use all the resources to prevent violence and protect the lives of minority Muslim community.

In his letter to President U. Thein Sein, the President said that he was deeply saddened at the eruption of yet another wave of violence in Meiktila Town of Mandalay Region and expressed the concern of the people over communal riots that have resulted into the loss of life and property as well as desecration of places of worship.

Following is the text of President's letter to President U. Thein Sein; "Excellency,

I am deeply saddened at the eruption of yet another wave of violence this time in Meiktila Town of Mandalay Region, Myanmar. The people of Pakistan are concerned at the recurrence of communal riots resulting in loss of life and property as well as desecration of places of worship.

I appreciate Your Excellency's personal efforts and that of the Government of Myanmar to defuse the situation. We have confidence in Your Excellency's leadership in restoring communal harmony that is so essential for strengthening of democratic process.

I request, as a friend of Myanmar, to kindly use all your resources to prevent violence and protect the lives of minority Muslim community. As you would kindly agree that peaceful co- existence of communities in Myanmar would be an essential element to make the transition of democracy a success. Let me assure you that Pakistan fully supports your efforts to strengthen democracy in Myanmar.

I wish Your Excellency, the Government and the people of Myanmar success in restoring peace, stability and economic progress in the country.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest considerations.

Channel 4 News
March 29, 2013

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Two years ago, Burma’s military junta stepped down, handing the keys to a softly spoken soldier called Thein Sein. 

The newly installed president promised an orderly transition from pariah state to democracy – and what a great story it was.

Government ministers began to dismantle the architecture of the authoritarian state – the release and recent election of long-time dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi served as headline events. In the process, President Sein won the heartfelt thanks of his people – and the admiration of much of the international community. 

Yet this transition has unleashed forces that the country’s leaders are struggling to control. 

They currently find themselves in the midst a national emergency – a firestorm of ethnic hatred between Buddhists and Muslims in central parts of the country. Over the last week or so, 40 people have been confirmed dead and 12,000 Muslims have been forced to flee their homes – and the violence is edging closer to the country’s largest city, Rangoon. 

Last night Thein Sein went on national television to plead with his people; “We must rise above sixty years of historical bitterness, confrontational approaches, and a zero-sum attitude in solving our differences,” he said. There was more to this than a simple call for calm – the country’s transitional leader was threatening to bring back the army. “In general, I do not endorse the use of force to solve problems. However, I will not hesitate to use force as a last resort to protect the lives and safeguard the property of general public.” 

Commentators have blamed much of the trouble on the relaxation of social controls. People are largely free to say what they want in Burma, whether it is in the press or online, and this freedom has been used to whip up sectarian and ethnic tensions. 

More importantly however, the crisis has also been caused by a lack of leadership at the top – the unwillingness of people like President Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi to take a clear ethical and political position when other Muslim groups – like the Rohingya – were being burnt out of their homes last year in Burma’s north-east. 

Some 200 Rohingya were killed last year and 120,000 now live in squalid camps in Rakhine State. Prevented from working or travelling, many thousands have tried to escape in rickety fishing boats – an option that serves only the desperate. 

In response, the government and Burma’s political opposition have looked the other way. President Sein suggested deportation as a “solution”: “We will send (the Rohingya) away if any third country would accept them.” It was an incredible – and barely credible proposal – no other country would accept the one million Rohingya who live Burma. 

Aung San Suu Kyi refused to get involved, arguing simply that “both sides are to blame” and urging a “return to the rule of law”. 

However, in their actions and their statements both leaders have failed to lead. They have failed to check and challenge long-standing prejudices and enmities that exist in Burma – stirred up in part by the military generals who have now departed the scene – and they have failed to paint and sell an inclusive notion of Burmese citizenship to every member of this multi-ethnic and religious population. 

Perhaps they are starting to get the message now. Last week, Ms Suu Kyi told reporters that that she viewed the most recent bout of violence, “as a threat for the whole country as it can spread easily.” President Sein found room in his speech last night to say this: “it is our firm belief that an inclusive democratic society based on equality for all citizens will ensure peace and stability, especially in our country made up of various ethnic nationalities, religious beliefs, and cultures.” 

Despite the hope and optimism that most people feel for this nation, its leaders and its institutions are proving weak and ineffectual – and the cost of continuing failure could be dire.
Photo: Muslim Rohingya walk around the Bawdupha Internally Displaced Persons camp on the outskirts of Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar's western Rakhine state. (Soe Than Win: AFP)
ABC/AFP
March 29, 2013

The UN has warned tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in squalid, flood-prone camps in western Myanmar face "imminent danger" from looming monsoon rains.

An estimated 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims have languished in insanitary camps since violence flared last year with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, leaving scores dead and whole neighbourhoods in ruins.

John Ging from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is calling on Myanmar's government to take action now "to prevent a predictable tragedy".

"The gravity and urgency of the situation cannot be overstated," he said.

"Community and religious leaders also have a major role in promoting a culture of peace and mutual respect in multicultural and multi-ethnic Myanmar."

The monsoon season is expected to start in May and Mr Ging is urging the government to release new land for camps and to help rebuild community relations after spreading anti-Muslim violence in central Myanmar this month.

His comments follow allegations by rights groups that humanitarian aid to the Rohingya is being restricted by Myanmar's authorities.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, says curbs on relief to the camps are creating a "crisis that will become a disaster when the rainy season arrives".

Mr Robertson says Myanmar's leaders seem intent on keeping the Rohingya segregated in camps rather than planning for them to return to their homes.

He also warns heavy rains are likely to spread waterborne diseases among vulnerable camp residents.

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders has said a lack of clean drinking water in the camps has caused skin infections, worms, chronic coughing and diarrhoea, while many malnourished people are going without urgent medical care.

'Enough Shelter'

Earlier this month, Myanmar presidential spokesman U Ye Htut told Australia Network's Newsline program the shelter at the camps was adequate.

"I think most of the people are still living in the camp but they have enough shelter and food supply for the rainy season," he said.

His comments followed UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana's report which recommended the Rohingya be integrated into communities "to avoid a humanitarian disaster" during the rainy season.

Thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar in recent months on rickety boats, mostly believed to be heading for Malaysia.

Myanmar views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship.

The country's Rakhine state suffered two bouts of deadly sectarian violence last year between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.

The fighting has divided the community and led to Rohingya Muslims being separated into temporary camps.

In central Myanmar, the country's Muslims have been targeted by violence led by Buddhist mobs since March 20. 

At least 40 people have been killed and mosques burned in several towns, prompting the government to impose emergency rule and curfews in some areas.
Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana. UN Photo/Pierre-Michel Virot
Mizzima News
March 29, 2013

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, on Friday issued a statement from Geneva expressing his “serious concerns” about the spread of violence between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Myanmar and urged the Thein Sein government to take “bold steps” to counteract what he called a “frightening trend”. 

“The Government must take immediate action to stop the violence from spreading to other parts of the country and undermining the reform process,” Quintana said. “This includes stemming campaigns of discrimination and hate speech which are fuelling racist and, in particular, anti-Muslim feeling in the country.”

The UN envoy was undoubtedly referring to the emergence of Buddhist extremists, in many cases led by monks, who stand accused of masterminding the violence. A group calling itself “969”, which appears to be spearheaded by a Buddhist monk named Wirathu, has inundated social media with anti-Muslim vitriol and called for a boycott of all Muslim businesses.

“The warning signs have been there since the communal violence in Rakhine State last June, and the Government has simply not done enough to address the spread of discrimination and prejudice against Muslim communities across the country, and to tackle the organised and coordinated mobs that are inciting hatred and violently attacking Muslim communities,” Quintana said.

He called for Myanmar’s authorities to hold to account those responsible for acts of violence and destruction against religious and ethnic minorities.

Quintana also alluded to allegations that some State officials, including local politicians and administrators, have been encouraging discriminatory views and inciting hatred.

“The Government must clearly distance itself from such incitement to hatred, and instruct its officials to do likewise,” the UN envoy said. “Although Myanmar is a majority Buddhist country, the Government must promote tolerance of all faiths and religions.”

Quintana went on to say that he had received reports that the military, police and other civilian law enforcement forces had stood by “while atrocities have been committed before their very eyes, including by well organised ultra-nationalist Buddhist mobs.”

He called for Myanmar to also hold to account those military and police officers who were responsible for tolerating attacks against Muslims.

Quintana praised the work of 88 Generation leaders, such as Min Ko Naing, who had travelled to Meiktila following the violence and worked to ease tensions and promote understanding. 

In the Special Rapporteur’s latest report to the UN Human Rights Council earlier this month, he warned that the crisis in Rakhine State could spread to other parts of the country, and issued a number of recommendations to the Government aimed at addressing the widespread discrimination and prejudice against ethnic and religious minority groups in Myanmar, including lifting restrictions on discriminatory practices against Muslim communities, and reviewing the functions of the border security forces.
A man salvages items in the courtyard of a partially-destroyed mosque after sectarian violence spread through central Myanmar, in Gyobingauk. (Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP)
Eric Randolph
The National
March 29, 2013

BANGKOK // He emanates the soft-spoken calm expected of a Buddhist monk, but the venom that Sayadaw Wirathu directs at Myanmar's Muslim population has led many to see him as one of the chief instigators of the violence that has convulsed the country in the past two weeks.

Wirathu, a monk based in the northern city of Mandalay, has described himself as "the Burmese Bin Laden", even though he is stridently and noxiously anti-Muslim.

The misnomer notwithstanding, Wirathu has become a key figure in a growing movement of extremist Buddhists who have taken advantage of increased freedom in Myanmar to foment communal tensions.

A video that circulated on the internet this week shows Wirathu addressing a crowd and declaring, "We Buddhists let them freely practise their religion, but once these evil Muslims have control and authority over us they will not let us practise our religion.

"These Islamists have been buying land and buildings all over the country. They use that money to get our young Buddhist women."

His inflammatory speeches are seen as one of the sparks for the violence that erupted last week in the town of Meikhtila, where Buddhists and Muslims have coexisted peacefully for generations. Mobs of armed Buddhists, some led by monks, rampaged through Muslim areas for two days, destroying homes, shops and mosques. At least 40 people have been confirmed dead and 12,000 others have been forced to flee their homes to temporary camps.

The government of President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency last Friday and sent the army to the town in a bid to restore calm. But further anti-Muslim attacks were reported in three nearby towns over the weekend and spread into several towns in Bago township on Monday and Tuesday. Curfews were imposed on three more townships north of Yangon on Wednesday following further reports of violence.

At first, the attacks were said to have begun with an argument between locals in a Muslim-owned gold shop in Meikhtila, but many believe they were deliberately orchestrated.

After visiting the devastated town over the weekend, the UN's top adviser in Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, told reporters: "There is no doubt much of this violence was planned. It seemed to have been done, in a sense, in almost a kind of brutal efficiency."

Released in 2012 after serving a nine-year prison sentence for inciting anti-Muslim violence, Wirathu has been at the forefront of a new campaign calling for a boycott of Muslim businesses, with stickers appearing on shops and vehicles across the country. The campaign takes the name 969, a reference to the nine qualities of the Buddha - six of his teachings and nine of the monkhood.

The campaign's use of religious terminology obscures its fiercely nationalist heart, which is fueled by unsubstantiated fears that Muslims are out-breeding the ethnic Burmese and infiltrating political parties, including the opposition National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

"NLD offices in most towns are now run by the bearded Muslims," Wirathu said in his February speech. "As NLD becomes powerful … they approach Aung San Suu Kyi. When she came back from United States or Europe that Muslim guy always picked her up with his fancy car, always. Even coming to Mandalay she used same guy and same car. They've got her. They've surrounded her."

Wirathu began to draw wider attention last year for his diatribes against the stateless Rohingya Muslims in the south-west of the country, who bore the brunt of communal clashes that left at least 180 dead and 120,000 displaced. In his interpretation, the Rohingya burned down their own houses to earn a place in internationally-funded aid camps.

Myanmar's burgeoning communal tensions threaten to undermine its transformation from an international pariah to the new darling of the world's business and diplomatic community.

The easing of repression and censorship has given extremist groups more political space to operate and promote their causes, analysts say.

"The democratic opening has allowed groups with grievances the opportunity to advance their interests. This is not unique to Myanmar," said Aung Naing Oo, of the Myanmar Peace Centre in Yangon.

He said the situation was complicated further by increased attention on security forces. In the past, Myanmar's police would likely have responded with brutal heavy-handedness to control the unrest.

But the Mandalay division government, which oversees Meikhtila, was heavily criticised after a brutal response to environmental protests against a copper mine in nearby Letpadaung in November, when police were accused of using white phosphorus grenades against protesting monks and civilians.

"The tactics against copper mine protesters backfired, and I have heard the Mandalay government did not want to use force this time around," Aung Naing Oo said.
Mosques and houses belonging to Muslims have been destroyed in the violence
BBC News
March 28, 2013

Burmese President Thein Sein has warned that he will if necessary use force to stop "political opportunists and religious extremists" from fomenting hatred between faiths. 

It was his first public comment on the violence, which began last week. 

At least 40 people have been killed as a result of discord between Buddhists and Muslims since 20 March. 

On Tuesday curfews were imposed on three towns as attacks on Muslim communities got closer to Rangoon. 

"I would like to warn all political opportunists and religious extremists who try to exploit the noble teachings of these religions and have tried to plant hatred among people of different faiths for their own self-interest. Their efforts will not be tolerated," the president said in a national televised address. 

'Last resort' 

"In general, I do not endorse the use of force to solve problems. However, I will not hesitate to use force as a last resort to protect the lives and safeguard the property of the general public," he said. 

"All perpetrators of violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." 

The president said that "conflicts and difficulties" would inevitably arise during Burma's transition to a democracy. 

He called on police to "perform their duties decisively, bravely and within the constraints of the constitution and by-laws". 

Correspondents say that police in the central town of Meiktila in Mandalay region - where the communal violence began last week - have been criticised for failing to act quickly enough to stop the rioting, in which houses, shops and mosques were burned down. The trouble broke out after a reported argument at a gold shop. 

Violence last week also broke out in the Bago region north of Rangoon, with Muslim religious buildings, shops and houses being damaged. 

At least 12,000 Muslims are thought to have fled their homes because of the unrest. 

In similar violence in Rakhine state last year, nearly 200 people were killed and tens of thousands forced from their homes. 

The conflict that erupted in Rakhine involved Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, who are not recognised as Burmese citizens and have complained of frequent persecution.
A mosque in Nattalin, Bago was destroyed by Buddhist mobs (Photo: Irrawaddy)
Jethro Mullen
CNN
March 28, 2013

Riots broke out in central Myanmar on Wednesday, authorities said, as police struggled to stop groups of Buddhists from setting fire to mosques and Muslims' homes.

The violence comes after a state of emergency was declared last week in the area where clashes between the two communities first broke out, leaving at least 40 people dead.

In Natalin township, rioters destroyed eight houses, 12 shops and one mosque, police said.

In nearby Zigon township, 40 houses and one mosque were destroyed, they said.

Police said they fired rubber bullets at rioters there. Some people were injured and admitted the hospital.

The riots prompted new restrictions.

Officials put dusk-to-dawn curfews in place in Natalin and Zigon, state-run TV reported late Wednesday, raising the total number of townships where a curfew is now imposed to nine.

Officials on Tuesday put curfews in place in the townships of Gyobingauk, Okpo and Minhla, the New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper, said.

Police had reported arson attacks on Muslim properties in those three townships in recent days.

U.S. authorities have issued a warning to U.S. citizens in Myanmar amid the unrest that began last week in the city of Meiktila, in the central Mandalay region, and spread to other towns.

The situation has fueled fears in the commercial capital, Yangon, prompting stores to close in a popular shopping district Monday.

The U.S. Embassy told U.S. citizens to avoid the Mingalar Market and Yuzana Plaza part of Yangon, the same area where the stores were shuttered.

A state of emergency

During the clashes in Meiktila, which were reportedly set off by a dispute between a Muslim gold shop owner and two Buddhist sellers, rioters set fire to houses, schools and mosques, prompting thousands of residents to flee their homes.

The government declared a state of emergency in the city Friday, allowing the military to help reinstate order. But as the situation there appeared to calm, authorities reported arson attacks by groups of Buddhists in other towns in the region over the weekend.

The unrest highlights the fragility of ethnic relations in Myanmar, also known as Burma, as it emerges from decades of military repression. Authorities have released thousands of political prisoners and pursued peace talks with rebel groups in the past two years.

President Thein Sein, who has overseen the country's initial moves toward democracy, vowed Monday "to take action against those who led the violence and got involved in it and to expose those who flamed the conflict under the pretext of religion," the New Light of Myanmar reported.

The U.N. humanitarian agency says that the Myanmar government estimates that more than 12,000 people have been displaced by the unrest.

"They're barricaded in schools and in a monastery," said Ashok Nigam, the U.N. resident coordinator in Myanmar. "They're currently receiving humanitarian assistance provided by the government."

A Buddhist monk was reported to be among those killed when the violence initially erupted in Meiktila last week. But Win Htein, an opposition lawmaker for the area, has said that he believes the majority of the victims were Muslims.

"Most of the Muslims' houses were destroyed and burnt down," he said Tuesday. "Very few are left."

Authorities have found dozens of bodies amid the wreckage left by the riots.

Police confiscated weapons such as swords and machetes from groups of Buddhists -- some of them monks -- who were roaming the streets last week, officials said.

Win Htein said Tuesday that the situation was improving in Meiktila, but that he was concerned that some young Buddhists were "organizing their own security" despite government warnings not to carry weapons.

Growing insecurity

Unsubstantiated rumors of unrest in other parts of the country such as Yangon are spreading via text messages and social media, stoking fears among residents.

"People are feeling totally insecure, totally not safe," said Aye Chan Naing, the founder of Democratic Voice of Burma, an independent news website based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, less than 200 kilometers from the border with Myanmar.

In one example, Si Thu, a Buddhist employee of the United Nations who lives in a mainly Muslim neighborhood of Yangon, said Tuesday he was moving his family to stay at a relative's home elsewhere in the city.

"I can't think of any political or religious aspects now," he said. "I only know about how to protect my family."

The New Light of Myanmar suggested that such rumors are being "circulated by those with ill will who want to harm peace and stability."

The clashes in Meiktila and elsewhere have drawn expressions of concern from U.N. and U.S. officials.

The sudden boiling over of tensions between Buddhists and Muslims in central Myanmar follows sectarian troubles that killed scores of people in the west of the country last year.

Those clashes, in Rakhine state, took place between the Buddhist majority and the Rohingya, a stateless ethnic Muslim group.

Most of the victims in that unrest were Rohingya. Tens of thousands more were left living in makeshift camps, and many of them have since joined those who attempt each year to flee to Thailand and Malaysia in flimsy boats.

CNN's Kocha Olarn, Dana Ford and Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report. Journalist Pho Wai Lin also contributed.
Children at an unregistered Rohingya refugee camp in southeast Bangladesh. Photo by no_direction_home
Heather Marsh
VICE
March 28, 2013

Last Sunday, the internet was temporarily shaken up by a campaign designed to highlight the plight of the Rohingya people of Burma. On Twitter, the hashtag #RohingyaNOW was a worldwide trend for more than two hours, peaking at the top spot. Two in-person demonstrations were held (and live-streamed), one for several hours in front of the CNN building in LA. Plus, an article about the campaign made the front page of Reddit. 

Most dismissed it all as a cute trick, a one-day initiative amplified by Anonymous, Occupy collectives, and human rights activists around the world wanting to raise awareness. Instead, it was a milestone in a campaign that has been running for many months, an idea we have had for years and an introduction to our next phase. 

Since the second Rohingya massacre in October, the Burmese people have watched the world ignore or misrepresent what many experts are calling a genocide. President Thien Sein has been on a world tour, where he has been met with open arms, receiving a 21-gun salute in Australia and getting $5.9 billion of international debt canceled. Canada has opened its first-ever Burmese embassy, and multinational resource corporations are queuing for contracts. No one is in the mood to bring up genocide, even when a third massacre was openly planned for this month. 

The difference social media can make in public awareness was highlighted last fall, as the violence in Gaza was covered in great detail, but violence in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma almost not at all. The activists behind the latest campaign believe in grassroots journalism where everyone can speak their own story. If a population of 800,000 people are in refugee camps and villages that look like concentration camps and are completely cut off from communication, what then? They die silently? Not if the internet can help it. 

On March 10, we started a crowd-sourced campaign to help boost grassroots journalism in Burma. We have used crowd-sourced funding to purchase airfare for two established independent journalists familiar with the Rohingya story. They flew there, and we are now working to get as many long-distance interviews with locals set up as possible. In the last week, the campaign for Rohingya has expanded against violence in the rest of Burma as well. 

I spoke with journalist Assed Baig about why we felt it was necessary for him to go to Burma in person and what he has seen. 

“As a 'westerner,' I have certain privilege and protection,” says Baig. “I am working with local journos. Using their expertise and crediting them without landing them in jail. We need to report in context, socially, historically, and take in the balance of power. We shouldn't wait for death to take place before we report, we should shine a light on shit that is going to go down. Call power to account. Be the voice of the voiceless. Sounds cheesy, but it is true.” 

Baig says he is “of Kashmiri origin, working-class background, had to work damn hard to get where I am today. My mum still doesn't speak English!” And he has experienced media bias. It is important to give people their own voices. “They report themselves, and we listen. They are not 'poor brown people,' these are real people, with names, lives, feelings, and they have a right to be heard.” 

Baig is referring to Meiktila refugees who fled to Mandalay to escape the violence. He was given pictures of the massacre in Meiktila by people who were there, from their own cameras. “There are pictures of charred remains. People driving and walking past. Their family members have fled so there is no one to bury them or even identify them.” Baig also spoke to a fourteen-year-old who saw people beaten to death and then burnt, as he and others hid in some houses and watched the slaughter. 

A 17-year-old student told him about running for his life in Meiktila. He told him, “We saw the younger children falling over, the older kids had to help them. “I’m not sure where some of my other friends are.” Baig showed him the pictures he had from a local journalist. Some were teenagers. Two had massive gashes on the back of the neck, as if hit by a machete. They all had been lying out for three days before someone took the picture. The boy touched the screen and struggled to speak. “That’s my friend,” he said, “and this one, those are Osama and Karimullah.” The rest of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. 

These are the stories we set out to tell, but Baig has found others. A convoy led by monks has set out from Yangon and is en route to Meiktila. On board are students and others, Muslims and Buddhists together, bringing food, water and good will to the displaced people still camped in the Meiktila stadium and elsewhere. Buddhists and student groups from Mandalay city launched a rescue operation saving hundreds of lives in Meiktila when the violence started. People who have lived peacefully side-by-side for years are helping each other and standing up against extremism and intolerance. 

Rights organizations and witnesses have accused the military of complicity or participation in the last two massacres. Many sources in Burma have worried the violence is being incited to justify a return to military rule, a specter that reared its head this week with martial law surrounding Meiktila. Baig quotes a Muslim in Yangon who said, “The military want to assert their power, and want to prove they are the ones that can restore order. They are using us as to prove their point.” 

Heather Marsh is an activist working within the #RohingyaNOW movement. 

Follow Heather on Twitter: @GeorgieBC

Follow Assed Baig on Twitter: @AssedBaig


The Economist
March 28, 2013

Sectarian violence was not supposed to be part of Myanmar’s bright new direction

WHEN Myanmar’s newly installed president and former soldier, Thein Sein, kick-started the country’s political transition two years ago, he hoped to usher in a clean and steady advance towards some sort of orderly democracy. Now, however, things are starting to turn out rather differently.

Unwittingly, it seems, in relaxing decades of tight army control over the country, Mr Thein Sein and his reforming ministers have breathed life into some of the uglier forces in Myanmar society that authoritarian rule kept suppressed, notably sectarian violence. (In the past, when such violence took place, it was the prerogative of the armed forces to conduct it.)


On March 20th, provoked by a small argument in a gold shop, a Buddhist mob rampaged through the central Burmese town of Meiktila, killing over 30 people and injuring about another 70. The Buddhists burned mosques and Muslim homes before marching many of the terrified survivors out of town. The intercommunal violence has so far displaced over 12,000 people.

Meiktila, between Mandalay and the new capital of Naypyidaw, was put under a curfew, together with three nearby townships. But the violence quickly spread to other areas, creeping always closer to Yangon, the old capital and commercial centre. On March 25th mosques and houses in Okpho and Gyonbingauk townships were attacked, just 125 miles (200km) north. In Yangon itself rumours of imminent and co-ordinated attacks by Buddhist youths have swept through Muslim districts for weeks. People have been stockpiling rice and other food, anticipating a prolonged siege. So far, only sporadic attacks have taken place. But Yangon is on edge, and Muslim shopkeepers lock up at the first hint of trouble.


This violence in the Burmese heartland follows on from, and is clearly inspired by, the massacres of Rohingya Muslims around Sittwe, the capital of the western state of Rakhine, that happened last year. About 180 were killed and over 100,000 Rohingyas made homeless in two bouts of ethnic cleansing. Those Rohingyas now live in squalid refugee camps, under curfew and prevented from travelling into Sittwe, let alone to anywhere else in Myanmar. Cut off from their sources of income and livelihoods, many attempt each day to flee to neighbouring countries in rickety fishing boats. Some make it, but others drown. Still more fall victim to traffickers.

In Sittwe recently, mobs of Buddhist bigots and extreme Rakhine nationalists exercised their newly gained freedoms by marching through town past the charred remains of Rohingya houses and mosques. They screamed hatred at Muslims and denounced countries such as Turkey that want to aid the helpless refugees. Buddhist monks, heroes of the 2007 “saffron revolution” that tried to unseat the old military regime, egg on the crowds and help organise the protests. This is the looking-glass world of the new Myanmar. Now it is only the once-reviled army that stands between minority Muslims and the bloodlust of Buddhist chauvinists.

In Rakhine animosity towards Muslims goes back a long way, and now that central political control is loosening, old scores are being settled. Local Rakhines regard all Rohingyas, who are denied citizenship, as illegal “Bengali” immigrants, even though Rohingyas were in Rakhine not only before the British came, but even before Burmese rule.

Elsewhere in Myanmar ethnic Burman Buddhists have always resented the descendants of Indian Muslims who arrived on the coat-tails of the British in the 19th century to take all the best jobs and, to their mind, swamp the local cultures. In the early 20th century over half of the population of the booming commercial hub of Yangon were South Asian. A British administrator, J.S. Furnivell, coined the term “plural society” to describe the extraordinary diversity of races and religions in Burma’s cities under British rule: Bengali Muslims jostled alongside Iraqi Jews and Armenian Christians.

The indigenous Buddhists, however, lost out, so the first thing the generals did when they seized power in 1962 was to exact revenge by nationalising businesses and forcing hundreds of thousands of Indians back to India or what then was East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. The 2.5m people of Indian origin who remain are stigmatised and vulnerable; most have no citizenship. In this sense the Buddhist mobs are finishing off what the Burman chauvinist generals started in the 1960s. Piled on top of ancient resentments, more recent prejudices circulate via the internet and social media and feed into the ideologies of Buddhist-chauvinist groups, some of which are implicated in the Meiktila violence. So much for a plural society.

Immersed in their reform agenda, the country’s politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition National League for Democracy, have been taken by surprise. But even a correct response to the violence carries risks. A government commission into last year’s brutalities in Rakhine state is due to be published soon. If, as is expected, it recommends some sort of legal security for the Rohingyas, though just short of citizenship, that could spark another round of anti-Muslim rioting across the country. Mr Thein Sein and Miss Suu Kyi will need to show moral leadership in the face of Buddhist chauvinism. The alternative could be ugly.



Azhar Vadi 
Cii News
March 27, 2013

“There are reports of many people dead. It’s very difficult to give an exact number,” said Mabrur Ahmed from the Restless Beings organisation looking into human rights issues and violations in Myanmar (Burma). “But I can give you an example of one such massacre that took place. A mob of Buddhists extremists came inside a madrasah (Islamic school). They killed 8 Moulanas (Islamic scholars) and along with that they killed and burnt 28 madrasah students, young boys, as well. “ 

Attacks against Muslims in the country have in the recent past been directed at ethnic Rohingyas, a community that the Burmese government does not recognise as legal citizens. Last year, 5000 were killed by rampaging Buddhist gangs, drawing worldwide attention to their desperate situation. So serious and gruesome were the mass killings that the United Nations labeled the Rohingya as the most oppressed people in the world. 

But this week’s attacks in the town of Meikhtila have shown a worrying new development. “These Muslims who were killed in Meikhtila were Burmese citizens. They have been established in Burma for hundreds of years if not thousands of years. So these are not foreigners, these are their own people,” explained Ahmed. 

The violence has now taken on a dangerous, general anti-Muslim sentiment and has no longer been confined to just a Rohingya issue. “The monks are leading with this. And specifically there is a particular monk who is an ex-prisoner, he has an army background. He is called Wirathu and he is openly and aggressively anti-Muslim. He has accused Muslims of having mixed motivations for being part of the greater society in Burma and has incensed a lot of this violence,” said Ahmed 

In the last week 18 000 people have been displaced. While Ahmed said that Muslims have tried to defend themselves and have refused to give up their lives without a fight, they have in no way provoked the Buddhists. 

“The reason why this attacked happened is almost unknown. We have been trying to trace the reason as to why this has happened. The best explanation we can come up with, was that there a disagreement between a Muslim gold shop seller and a Buddhist customer who went and reported this to his monastery and it somehow managed to spiral,” he said. 

Using the apartheid South African example, Ahmed described the situation in Burma as something much worst. “We are talking about Nazi Germany where people were indiscriminately killed because they did not fit the bill of Aryan Germans. That’s what we are talking about in Burma.” 

The government has shown total apathy to the crimes carried out by the Buddhists citizens. There are reports that security authorities stood by and watched the unfolding violence and only acted after two days following an order from central authorities. 

Narrowing it down to the Rohingya again, Ahmed said. “The president of Burma, Thein Sein said the only solution is that the Rohingya are shipped out to third countries. Now that’s not ‘like’ ethnic cleansing. That is ethnic cleansing. The head of the state is saying you people are not welcome so throw you out to another country. And the history of these people shows that they have been in that country for 1200 year. To put that into context, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was living 1400 years ago.”

    • Rohingya Exodus