By Australia News Network

September 11, 2013

A boat with more than 200 Rohingya men onboard has been found at a beach in southern Thailand, after fleeing ongoing and escalating violence at home.

The Phuketwan Tourism News reports that the men were found on a beach in Satun province, with thousands more expected to follow in coming months.

The boat has arrived well ahead of what is considered as the safe sailing season, which is only due to start in late October.

Three other boats are reported to have set off from Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state but their locations are unknown.

Local police have been holding the Rohingya while waiting for the Thai army to step in.

Desperate situation

It is unclear what will happen to the men as Thailand's immigration centres and prisons are already full with other Rohingya who have been arrested in the last 8 months.

But with the sailing season imminent, it is expected Thai authorities will continue to be confronted by more boats as conditions at home worsen.

Late last year, violence broke out between Buddhists and the Rohingya, a Muslim minority, in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

The fighting displaced 140,000 people, according to the United Nations.

It is estimated at least 35,000 Rohingya men, women and children fled the country by boat last season and some estimate that number could triple this year.

Thailand says it protects all Rohingya in custody, but there are reports 8 prisoners have died in prison, while many have become victims of human trafficking.

The Thai government now says it will take up to a year, compared to the 6-month deadline it initially set, to decide on what to do with the Rohingya being held in the country.

The decision is favoured by hardliners, who say it would send a strong message to other Rohingya that they cannot make Thailand their home.

ABC Australia

July 30, 2013

East Timor's foreign minister says a boatload of asylum seekers en route to Australia was not forcibly pushed away from his country in early July.

The group of 95 mostly Rohingyas from Myanmar arrived on East Timor's south coast from Indonesia, having managed to get close to Darwin before their damaged boat drifted north.

They have claimed repeatedly to have sought asylum and assistance from East Timor, which was denied.

It is a claim Foreign Minister Jose Luis Guterres told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific is not correct.

"I was in Australia when this incident happened and I was informed by the secretary of state for security that, in fact, the government of Timor-Leste helped them fix their boat and we haven't received any requests for asylum from nobody," he said.

"And once the engines were repaired, we all agreed with them to go back to place of their origin."

The country of origin is considered to be Indonesia, and they were sent to nearby Wetar Island on July 11 and to even smaller Liran on July 14.

It is now believed they have been returned to Sulawesi in Indonesia.

In an interview on Radio Australia on the July 22, and via a written statement, the group's spokesman Zaw Win claims to have asked for asylum for the Rohingyas on three occasions and was, at times, threatened by police.

"We have sympathy, we have solidarity for all those that have been persecuted in their countries because of religion or because of political options," Mr Guterres said.

"But I have to say to you that no one has requested political asylum in Timor-Leste."

Foreign Minister Guterres says East Timor honours its commitments under international law.

"We have to proceed according to the laws and the convention on refugees," he said.

"Our own constitution guarantees and recognises that for people that are persecuted, the state can give them political asylum."

Aid groups claim access denied

Calls to the Red Cross and the UN's International Organisation for Migration in Dili 10 days ago confirmed reports that the group was kept in isolation in East Timor and aid organisations were denied access. 

When the group moved to Indonesia, the IOM and the UNHCR in Jakarta did not return calls.

Sisto de Santos from the East Timor NGO Human Rights Law and Justice, or HAK, confirms he was unable to access the refugees.

"The local police in East Timor refused us to meet directly with the people and be confident they didn't violate these conventions," he said.

Foreign Minister Guterres acknowledges East Timor is obliged under the refugee convention to assist asylum seekers, and says the group was never detained.

"So I don't know why they complain about being granted access, because these people have been free all the time," he said.

Former president Jose Ramos Horta felt strongly enough about the issue to write an article in which he said he was very saddened by the incident.

Mr Ramos Horta raised the issue with the foreign minister on a recent trip to Africa.

"Yes, the former president asked me if it's true that we refused asylum to them and I said 'no, no-one requested asylum from us and we did according to our means'," Mr Guterres said.

"I do support the initiatives of Prime Minister Rudd and the president of Indonesia to convey international confidence in dealing with this issue.

"No-one wants to have children or women or men dying in the high seas just because they want to look for a better life, or they are persecuted, and they want to go to Australia."

The latest unconfirmed report is that the group was bound to arrive in Sulawesi late Monday night, possibly with the assistance of UN migration organisation, the IOM.

ABC Australia

July 19, 2013

Human rights activists have called into doubt the Myanmar president's promise to free political prisoners following the detention of a prominent rights lawyer.

President Thein Sein made the pledge during a visit to London this week.

It is part of a series of democratic reforms initiated by his civilian government since taking power in 2011.

However, Amnesty International says a prominent Rohingya lawyer, U Kyaw Hla Aung, was detained in Myanmar's Rakhine state on the same day as the presidents announcement.

The rights group has accused Myanmar police of targeting the 74-year-old because of his work as a Rohingya human rights advocate.

Shibab Ahamed, the country director of ActionAid Myanmar, says while Thein Sein looks to be implementing his reforms, there are still areas of concern.

"So I think that it looks like political prisoner in Myanmar and Muslims are treating probably differently," he said.

The commitment from Thein Sein is to free all political prisoners by the end of the year.

Bangladesh capital Dhaka has cracked down on migration from neighbouring Myanmar, closing its border, refusing to support asylum seekers and turning back boats.

Surakatun and her family have been eating boiled leaves and rice for the past three days.

It's a normal lunch at the unofficial refugee camp in Kutupalong - once the pots are empty, that's it.

"My husband is old now so if I don't go out and beg we go hungry," she said.

Like everyone in the camp, Surakatun is a Rohingya who has fled violence in Myanmar - she would rather endure this harsh existence than go back there.

"If you see your daughter being dragged in front of you and being violated sexually would you bear that? Would you allow that to happen?" she said.

In June and October last year, violence broke out between Buddhists and the Muslim minority Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

According to the United Nations, the fighting displaced 140,000 people.

Myanmar President Thein Sein rejects that the violence in Rakhine state was fuelled by religion or ethnicity - he says his government is trying to help the communities there coexist in harmony.

The Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for 200 years, but Thein Sein's government does not recognise them as citizens.

They are regarded as Bangladeshi immigrants, but authorities in Dhaka do not recognise them either.

Jing Song, UNHCR Bangladesh spokeswoman, says Rohingya are denied the basic rights afforded to citizens.

"When you are living in the country, the rights are given by the country, by your government," she said.

"Where you are stateless it means you don't have access to the basic rights like the rights to employment, the rights to education, the rights to medical care - you have lots of restrictions."

Thirty thousand Rohingya get aid agency assistance in official refugee camps.

However, the government refuses to recognise the remaining 200,000 who fend for themselves in one of the many "unofficial" camps.

To discourage the Rohingya from coming, last year the Bangladeshi government banned aid agencies in the camp and started turning away boats

"We are repeatedly urging the government to open border to people who are coming to seek safe haven - we all know what is happening in the Rakhine state," Jing Song said.

"There could be economic reasons but also the fundamental reason is lack of access to basic rights so it is an international standard to open the border, not to push back people."

People inside the camp don't get any official support when it comes to food, health, or shelter and they desperately need it.

Houses are covered with garbage bags, so when the monsoon rains come they flood very easily.

There are only a handful of toilets to service a population of 50,000 people.

Despite the government crackdown, Rohingya keep coming - newly arrived refugees Zakir, and his 20-year-old daughter Yasmin live in the camp.

Before fleeing Myanmar four months ago, Yasmin was working as a language teacher for the UNHCR when violence broke out.

"The UNHCR people were being targeted and blacklisted and already many of them had been arrested," Zakir said.

"The authorities have gone to the homes of the UNHCR workers to look for them, so I was afraid my daughter would get arrested because she worked for UNHCR."

As one of the poorest nations on earth, Bangladesh can barely look after its existing population, let alone others from neighbouring countries.

Each day last year, 23,000 people were forced to flee their homes, twice as many compared with a decade ago.

Adil Kham, a human rights advocate, says legislation cannot stop the movement of people.

"Human history is the history of migration - people migrate and the laws can't stop that," he said.

Like Bangladesh, India has reason to be worried about a potential influx of asylum seekers - it's already home to one third of the world's poor.

To counter this, India is building a fence along the border and hopes to eventually have the entire 4,000 km frontier walled off.

People still find ways to get across, bribing border guards or sneaking across in the dark.

The fence has also created a new problem - over the past decade, killings have been widespread on the borderline.

"This is the bloodiest border I think in this world context," Adil Khan said.

"It is more bloody than Palestine-Israel border and I think it is more bloody than the Mexico-USA border, so it is the bloodiest border and we can call it the killing fields."

In the past, the Bangladesh government has criticised India for its decision to try to fence off the entire border.

Now, Bangladesh has decided to build a fence too, but this one will be along the border it shares with Myanmar.

"Fencing the people, it's like putting people in a kind of prison," Adil Khan said.

"This is not a solution, the solution is how you can have a more friendly relationship with the people."

Rohingya asylum seeker Zakir is now trying to bring his wife and the nine children he left behind in Myanmar to Bangladesh.

"I am afraid. I am really concerned, they are all young children," Zakir said.

"Our house is on the west side of the hills so they have to walk across those hills to come to Bangladesh, it takes at least four hours to cross."

He isn't sure if the Bangladesh government will have built its fence by the time he has enough money to get them across.

But in his eyes, no physical barrier changes the resolve of someone so desperate.

"No matter how difficult it is at the border, people will still cross because they are desperate," Zakir said.

"No matter how difficult the route is, they have to save their lives."

(Video Credit: ABC Australia)

Zoe Daniel

ABC News

June 13, 2013

There are new allegations that the Thai navy is involved in the human trafficking of Rohingya Muslims trying to flee religious violence in western Myanmar. The ABC has tracked down Rohingya Muslims in Malaysia who claim they were intercepted, brutally beaten and then sold to traffickers by the Thai military.

ASHLEY HALL: There are new allegations that the Thai navy is involved in the human trafficking of Rohingya Muslims trying to flee religious violence in western Myanmar.

Earlier this year, the ABC reported eyewitness claims that the Thai military had been involved in the shooting of Rohingya who had arrived on the shores of Thailand by boat.

Now the ABC has tracked down Rohingya Muslims in Malaysia who claim they were intercepted, brutally beaten and then sold to traffickers by the Thai military.

South East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel reports.

ZOE DANIEL: His story is frighteningly familiar. He fled religious violence and anti-Muslim sentiment in western Myanmar, but on his journey to Malaysia the boat he was on reached Thai waters and was intercepted by the Thai navy.

ZAFAR AHMAD (translated): The navy arrested us and took us to an island, they took us into a forest, then they took our clothes so we had only underwear. They beat us and asked us why we came to this country. A few days later, another boat arrived and the people on it joined us.

ZOE DANIEL: Zafar is a Rohingya asylum seeker. He says the boats then had their engines removed and, under the Thai navy's push back policy, more than 200 passengers were put back on board and towed out to sea, then left to drift.

Seemingly, one boat made it all the way to Sri Lanka, making headlines when it landed. Ninety-six people had died on the way due to lack of food and water.

His boat made it back to Thai shores, towed in by a fisherman, but then the passengers were captured and sold by villagers.

ZAFAR AHMAD (translated): We spent 12 days on the sea and 12 people died before the fishing boat helped us. Then Thai Muslims gave us food while we were in the jungle but after that they sold us.

ZOE DANIEL: Earlier this year PM revealed allegations that shots were fired and at least two asylum seekers were killed after a boatload of Rohingya was intercepted by the Thai navy off Phuket.

The navy denied shooting people who had jumped into the water in an attempt to escape, along with further allegations that the navy had sold captured Rohingya to human traffickers.

But now we've tracked down more Rohingya men who make similar trafficking claims.

AN SARRULLA (translated): The navy allowed us to the shore, they spoke Thai, I did not understand. We asked for food. I don't not know if they understood but they beat us instead.

NURUL AMIN (translated): The navy beat me the whole night and then I was handed over to some Thai people in the morning. I was beaten a lot. I was then transferred again to traffickers and they beat me almost 12 times.

ZOE DANIEL: An and Nurul are new arrivals to Malaysia. If true, their claims confirm that trafficking involving the Thai navy continues, despite repeated denials by Thai authorities.

AN SARRULLA (translated): They were in uniform. They had guns in their hands. We did not know then, but we knew about it later: that we were sold.

ZOE DANIEL: Thousands of Rohingya have been living in camps since fighting broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state last year, many heading to Malaysia because it's a Muslim country.

Thousands are also in detention in Thailand, being held in appallingly squalid conditions. The Thai government has said they can't stay more than six months.

Yet they continue to come.

Nineteen-year-old Shabin describes fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh, before taking a known route to a docked ship that runs a business in human cargo because it was the only way out.

SHABIN ISLAM (translated): We were beaten on the ship, it was a trafficking ship. We had to stand in the sun in the day time. We could only sit at night. If we wanted to sleep, we would be hit by a stick and wire. The traffickers tied us with rope on our necks. We, 32 people, were tied together. They were afraid we would run away.

ZOE DANIEL: The ship was eventually stopped by the Thai navy and the passengers handed over to yet more traffickers. Those who got away paid their way out. It's believed those who couldn't pay were sold on as bonded labourers.

In Bangkok this is Zoe Daniel for PM.

June 2, 2013

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.

Zoe Daniel

ABC News

March 11, 2013

There are mounting allegations the Thai military is trading Rohingya refugees from Western Burma to human traffickers.

Last week PM broadcast allegations that Thai military officers shot and killed Rohingya off the Thai coast but there is also continued accusations that Thai officials are involved in selling Rohingya to brokers, who then sell them on as bonded labourers.

The ABC has also discovered that unaccompanied children, who are arriving on the boats and others who have arrived with a parent, have been left alone in shelters while their parents are locked up.

Unsupervised in the shelters the children are vulnerable.

Seven children have already disappeared from a shelter and there is concern they may have fallen prey to human traffickers.

It is something that is difficult to police amid continuing accusations that Thai authorities are caught up in the trafficking business.

A man in hiding, who agreed to speak to the ABC, maintains that the Thai navy intercepted the boat he was on and then facilitated a handover to a broker.

"The navy asked if we had food to eat and where we were from," he said. "They said don't tell anyone the Thai navy has seen you."

He says the navy directed the boat to land at Ranong on the Thai coast where it was met by a human trafficker who 'bought' the human cargo. 

He explains he was beaten when he tried to escape.

"I was punched and my hands were tied up," he continued. "They burnt me on the back."

While his friends and family raised more than $1,000 to pay the broker for his freedom, he says dozens more remain in the camp.

"They said why don't you give us money, we bought you, why did you try to escape?"

A recent military investigation found no Thai officers were involved in human trafficking.

Fleeing by boat

Unwanted in western Burma, where violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has seen the Rohingya attacked, they have been forced to flee by boat and are now isolated.

Dozens of women and children at shelters in Thailand are recovering from their arduous journeys and are now isolated.

"Our houses were burnt down, so there are 16 families that came from our village," Rohingya woman Rujambibi told the ABC.

Since the violence flared in Burma's Rakhine state last year, some 5,000 to 6,000 Rohingya have arrived in Thailand.

They have described scenes of fiery terror in the villages they called home as they were burnt out of town.

"When we were on the boat the food finished in two days," said Nulu, who got on a 15-day boat journey with her three children and 110 other people.

"There was raw rice but we couldn't cook it, there was no water."

Incredibly, Nulu gave birth to her fourth child on the boat; an already stateless boy, born in transit.

But at least her son has his mother; 10-year-old Anamuddin fled to the boat alone after his house was burnt and his mother and six siblings were killed.

"Rakhine people slashed her," he said. "Shot her and burnt the house."

Anamuddin says he took a boat in the hope of finding his father who left to find work in Malaysia five years ago.

"I went just like that," he continued. "I just followed others. I didn't have my mother or anyone left."

Eleven-year-old Marmoth, who lost his mother during the violence, is also looking for his dad who has been taken into detention by Thai authorities. He and his younger brother are alone.

Meanwhile, there is now concern for the safety of four Rohingya men who told the ABC last week that Thai officers had fired on refugees off the country's coast, and killed two of them.

Villagers who were sheltering the men say they went to the local mosque to watch television on Sunday night and have not been seen since.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Burmese refugees being trafficked

There are mounting allegations that Rohingya refugees from Western Burma are being traded by the Thai military to human traffickers when they reach Thailand.

EMMA ALBERICI, PRESENTER: There are mounting allegations that Rohingya refugees from Western Burma are being traded by the Thai military to human traffickers when they reach Thailand.

Last week the ABC broadcast accusations that military officers were shooting and killing Rohingya off the Thai coast.

Now, there are persistent allegations that Thai officials are involved in trading them to brokers who then sell them on as bonded labourers.

The ABC has also discovered that some children who are arriving on boats have been left alone in shelters while their parents are placed in detention.

South-East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel reports.

ZOE DANIEL, REPORTER: At this shelter in Southern Thailand, dozens of women and children recover from an arduous journey. Stateless Rohingya, they're unwanted in Western Burma, where violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has seen the Rohingya attacked, banished, now isolated in camps. Having fled the violence by boat, now they're isolated here instead.

RUJAMBIBI, ROHINGYA ASYLUM SEEKER (voiceover translation): Our houses were burnt down, so there are 16 families that came from our village.

ZOE DANIEL: About 5,000 to 6,000 Rohingya have arrived in Thailand since the violence flared in Burma's Rakhine state last year. They describe scenes of fiery terror in the villages they called home as they were burnt out of town.

Nulu got on a boat with her three children and 110 other people to flee. On a 15-day journey, they ran out of food and water in two.

NULU, ROHINGYA ASYLUM SEEKER (voiceover translation): When we were on the boat, the food finished in two days. There was raw rice, but we couldn't cook it. There was no water.

ZOE DANIEL: Nulu gave birth to her fourth child on the boat, an already stateless boy born in transit. But at least her son has his mother.

10-year-old Annamudin fled to the boat alone after his house was burnt and his mother was killed.

ANNAMUDIN, ROHINGYA ASYLUM SEEKER (voiceover translation): They slashed her, shot her and burnt the house.

ZOE DANIEL: He watched his home burn. He believes his six siblings all died in the fire, so he took a boat in the hope of finding his father who left to find work in Malaysia five years ago.

ANNAMUDIN (voiceover translation): I went just like that. I followed the others. I did not have my mother or anyone left.

ZOE DANIEL: He records a message to his father on my phone in the hope that we can help find him.

ANNAMUDIN (voiceover translation, mobile phone video): We are lonely at night and cry. We are bitten by mosquitoes. There is no mosquito net. When we are sick, we cannot explain to them we need medicine. They do not understand.

ZOE DANIEL: 11-year-old Marmot is also missing his dad. His mother was also killed in the violence. Now his father's been taken into detention by Thai authorities and he and his younger brother are alone.

MARMOT (voiceover translation): I miss my father and I want to see him.

ZOE DANIEL: Unsupervised in the shelter, the boys are vulnerable. Seven children have already disappeared from here and there's concern they may have fallen prey to human traffickers.

It's something that's difficult to police amid continuing accusations that Thai authorities are caught up in the trafficking business. In hiding, this man maintains that the Thai Navy intercepted the boat he was on and then facilitated a handover to a broker.

MAN (voiceover translation): The Navy asked if we had food to eat and where we were from. Before they let us go they said, "Don't tell anyone the Thai Navy has seen you."

ZOE DANIEL: He says the Navy directed the boat to land at Ranong on the Thai coast where it was met by a human trafficker who bought the human cargo. He was beaten when he tried to escape.

MAN (voiceover translation): I was punched here and my hands were tied up. They burnt me in the back here. They tied my feet and I yelled. They beat me up for two hours. I was not able to speak, so they stopped hitting me and another broker came to stop it and said, "Don't beat him anymore. He will die."

ZOE DANIEL: Friends and family raised more than $1,000 to pay the broker for his freedom. Dozens more remain in the camp.

MAN (voiceover translation): They said, "Why don't you give us money? We bought you. Why did you try to escape?" Then they hit us.

ZOE DANIEL: A recent military investigation found no Thai officers are involved in human trafficking.