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For Immediate Release 
27 September 2016 

BURMA: CSW URGES RAKHINE STATE GOVERNMENT TO HALT PLANS TO DEMOLISH ROHINGYA MOSQUES

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today calls on the Rakhine (Arakhan) State Government, Burma, to halt plans to demolish more than 3,000 buildings associated with the Rohingya population on the pretext that they have been built illegally. This includes 12 mosques and 35 madrasas in the Muslim-majority townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung.

The demolition order was announced on 18 September by Rakhine State’s Security and Border Affairs Minister, Colonel Htein Lin, and later confirmed by Maungdaw District General Administrator U Ye Htut. The Myanmar Times reports that at a press conference on 24 September, Colonel Htein Lin said that buildings in Maungdaw will be the first in Rakhine State to be examined for their legality and that no demolitions have started yet.

In a joint statement on 23 September, local and international Rohingya Muslim groups stated that the plans have “caused consternation to the entire Rohingya community,” adding that “this demolition project is part of their [Rakhine State Government’s] long-drawn-out annihilation and ethnic cleansing policy of the defenceless Rohingya people.”

The statement calls for a halt to the demolition plans, for the protection of religious sites and for the right to freedom of religion or belief to be upheld. Other calls include for basic freedoms to be restored to the Rohingya Muslim community in Rakhine State, the lifting of aid restrictions and the restoration of internally displaced persons to their homes and properties.

The Rohingya in Burma were stripped of their right to vote in Burma’s 2015 election, excluded from the most recent national census, and continue to be denied their legal right to citizenship. In a statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council in May 2016, CSW urged the government of Burma to repeal the 1982 Citizenship Law and guarantee the right to freedom of religion or belief for all.

Recent years have seen a dramatic escalation of human rights abuses, repression, discrimination and violence against the Rohingya. An estimated 150,000 people have been displaced and are living in camps which have been described by senior United Nations officials as having some of the worst conditions in the world. Over 100,000 Rohingya, more than ten percent of the population, have fled the country in the face of increasing repression, of whom thousands are believed to have drowned fleeing by boat.

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “We are deeply concerned by the proposal to destroy mosques and madrasas in Rakhine State and urge the government of Burma to desist from any such action. Destroying these buildings would only further stoke tensions in the country and fuel the persecution of an already severely marginalised and dehumanised people group. We call on the government of Burma to uphold and protect freedom of religion or belief for all. We also urge the government to lift the block on humanitarian aid access to parts of Rakhine state, as well as Kachin and northern Shan States, and to ensure that all those displaced by conflict receive the humanitarian aid they urgently need. For that reason, we have launched a new phase of our Real Change for Refugees campaign – Real Change Burma.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Senior Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk. 

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.



 Burma: CSW urges President Obama to encourage further reform, raise religious freedom and ethnic conflicts as priorities for official visit 16/11/2012


Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) urges US President Barack Obama to raise constitutional and legislative reform, religious freedom and the need to end conflicts and begin a peace process with ethnic nationalities, during his official trip to Asia on 17 November, which will include a visit to Burma.

CSW is also calling on President Obama to press for the release of all remaining political prisoners in Burma. According to media reports, earlier this week the Burmese government released more than 450 prisoners as a goodwill gesture ahead of President Obama’s visit, however there are concerns that no political prisoners are among them.

Reuters reports that President Obama is expected raise the issue of ongoing ethnic violence in Burma’s Rakhine State “directly with the leadership”. US Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), along with 20 other members of the Senate and House, have written a bi-partisan letter to President Obama urging him to underscore current human rights atrocities in Burma that threaten future peace and stability.

CSW urges President Obama to press the Burmese government to intervene decisively to end the violence in Rakhine and Kachin states and allow unhindered access for international aid and humanitarian assistance to the affected areas. A peace process and political dialogue between the government and ethnic nationalities must be established in ethnic states where there are ongoing conflicts. Religious freedom is also a concern in the predominantly Christian Chin State, where the Chin are often discriminated against or ill-treated on the dual basis of ethnicity and religion. A recent report by the Chin Human Rights Organisation outlined a decades-long pattern of religious freedom violations, including more than 40 separate incidents of torture or ill-treatment.

The Burmese government should also be encouraged to continue with constitutional and legislative reform in the interests of democracy, including the repeal of the 1982 Citizenship Law, which effectively stripped the Rohingya of their citizenship and rendered them stateless.

Mervyn Thomas, CSW’s Chief Executive, said, “We welcome President Obama’s visit as a valuable opportunity to deliver some very clear and key messages to the Government of Burma: that the reforms already underway deserve recognition and encouragement, but that there is still a very, very long way to go. Until the conflict in Kachin State and the violence in Rakhine State end; until there is a genuine peace process with ethnic nationalities, involving a political dialogue to find a political solution to decades of civil war; until the citizenship of everyone born in Burma is respected and protected; until all prisoners of conscience are released; and until there is freedom of religion or belief for all people in Burma, we cannot speak of true and lasting change. The situation is fragile, and we urge President Obama to use his visit to promote peace and human rights for all the people of Burma. We welcome the letter by members of the US Congress, and hope that the President will take up the issues raised as a priority during his visit. There are two dangers at the moment: premature euphoria, and entrenched cynicism – both of which could undermine the chance of genuine change in Burma. President Obama has a unique opportunity to really make a difference for the people of Burma who have suffered so much for so long.”


For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visitwww.csw.org.uk.


Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
Notes to Editors:

1. Violence in Rakhine State between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya ethnic minorities erupted in June, lasting several weeks, before flaring up again in late October. Although violence has been committed by both communities, the Rohingyas have been the primary victims of what increasingly appears to be a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing. The violence has claimed hundreds of lives and left over 100,000 people displaced. Mosques have been attacked, and religious clerics arrested.


01/11/2012

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is calling on the international community to invoke the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ principle, in light of the Burmese Government’s failure to end the conflict in Arakan State, western Burma, between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.

Under the principle of ‘Responsibility to Protect’, which is aimed at halting Mass Atrocity Crimes such as ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, the international community has a responsibility to help states fulfil their responsibility to protect their citizens.

In the past week, thousands of homes in Arakan State have been destroyed, hundreds of people killed and over 100,000 displaced. Mosques have been attacked, and religious clerics arrested. Although violence has been committed by both communities, the Rohingyas have been the primary victims of what increasingly appears to be a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Reports indicate that some elements among the security forces are acting in collusion with Rakhine mobs, attacking, arresting and killing Rohingyas, and it is widely believed that elements of the government are directing a policy to eliminate the Rohingyas. CSW urges the international community to put pressure on the Government of Burma to allow international observers to maintain a presence in the affected areas. CSW also calls for urgent humanitarian aid, and for unrestricted access for UN agencies and international Non-Governmental Organisations to the affected areas.

The Rohingyas are among the most persecuted peoples in Burma. In 1982, a new Citizenship Law removed their citizenship and rendered them stateless. Violence erupted in June, lasting several weeks, and broke out again last week.

Andrew Johnston, CSW’s Advocacy Director, said: “This crisis is a cause for very grave concern, and poses a serious threat to peace and democratisation in Burma. The recent violence is especially troubling because it appears to have escalated into a wider anti-Muslim campaign, with Muslims generally, not only Rohingyas, facing attacks. There is an urgent need for international action and aid to bring an end to this violence which has caused so much death, destruction and displacement. Longer-term, questions of citizenship and inter-racial and inter-religious harmony and reconciliation must be addressed, but right now the priority must be restoring peace and providing urgently needed aid to the affected areas.”


For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visitwww.csw.org.uk.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working f
or religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
Notes to Editors:

1. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 63/308, adopted on 14 September 2009, agreed to continue in consideration of the responsibility to protect, recalling paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome, which stated that: “Each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” and that “The international community, through the United Nations, also has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means...to help to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.”

Source here
For Immediate Release
12 June 2012


CSW URGES BURMESE GOVERNMENT TO STOP VIOLENCE IN WESTERN BURMA

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today called on the Government of Burma to end sectarian violence in Arakan State, western Burma immediately and take steps to address the underlying causes.

In the past week, horrific violence has erupted between the majority Buddhist Rakhine (or Arakanese) people, and the predominantly Muslim Rohingyas in northern Arakan State, leaving hundreds of homes burned and many people dead.

According to Rohingya sources, mosques have been burned, homes destroyed, women raped and people killed. Many Rohingyas have reportedly been shot dead by the security forces and by Rakhine militias. The precise death toll is unknown, but is rising daily. Rohingyas have issued urgent appeals for international intervention to prevent “genocide”.

On Sunday, President Thein Sein declared a State of Emergency in Arakan State, and yesterday the United Nations announced it was withdrawing its staff from the area. The British government issued a travel warning.



Benedict Rogers, CSW’s East Asia Team Leader, said, “The reports coming in on a daily basis in recent days are shocking and horrific. The scale of the tragedy is only just becoming apparent, and has not been properly reported by the media. This appears to be a racially and religiously motivated pogrom against the Rohingyas, although it is clear that Rakhine communities are also suffering from the eruption in violence. We have grave concerns about the UN’s decision to withdraw its staff – now is the time for international monitors and aid organisations to be on the ground, to provide independent reporting and verification and provide much-needed humanitarian assistance to the communities devastated by this violence. We urge the international community, including the UN, the European Union, the United States, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and India to take this crisis extremely seriously and to pursue every possible action to prevent further killings and destruction. Steps towards inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue and reconciliation will be needed to address the underlying factors, but for now the priority has to be to end this spiralling cycle of devastating violence.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visitwww.csw.org.uk.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
.
Benedict Rogers
East Asia Team Leader
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
PO Box 99
New Malden
Surrey
KT3 3YF

T: +44(0)2083290041
F: +44(0)208 942 8802

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.





7 June, 2012

CSW CONDEMNS RELIGIOUSLY-MOTIVATED VIOLENCE IN BURMA AND CALLS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, TOLERANCE AND HARMONY

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today condemned rising religious intolerance in Burma, and the killing of ten Muslims in Arakan State on 3 June, and called on the government, democracy movement and all the people of Burma to work to improve inter-faith relations, protect religious freedom and promote religious harmony.
Tensions escalated in Arakan State after three Muslim men were accused of raping and killing a Buddhist Arakanese (Rakhine) woman. A mob of Arakanese Buddhists attacked a bus carrying Muslim pilgrims. The mob beat ten people to death, set the bus on fire and defiled some of the corpses.

Yesterday, Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), met representatives of the Muslim community and condemned the attacks, calling on the Buddhist majority to protect the rights of minorities.

The recent outbreak of anti-Muslim violence follows a steady increase in racist propaganda against Muslims generally, and the Rohingya people in particular. The Rohingyas are an ethnic minority in Arakan State, who have been denied citizenship despite living in Burma for generations.

CSW’s East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said: “The reports and images of the attack on Muslims last Sunday are horrific and shocking. People of all religions and none are appalled by such brutality and intolerance and no one who cares about human rights can stay silent. Burma is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation and as it continues its struggle for democracy and human rights, it must work to build a nation in which people of all religions and ethnicities are included, involved and given a stake. Religious freedom is a core human right, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and yet in Burma Buddhist monks have been jailed, Christian churches attacked, crosses destroyed, and Muslims subjected to inhumane discrimination and violence. We call on the government, the democracy movement and the people of Burma to stop rising racism, end intolerance and unite with religious minorities to promote inter-faith dialogue, harmony and religious freedom for all.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Matthew Jones, Public Affairs Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, on +44 20 8329 0063, email matthewjones@csw.org.uk or visit www.csw.org.uk.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is an organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.


Benedict Rogers

East Asia Team Leader
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
PO Box 99
New Malden
Surrey
KT3 3YF
T: +44(0)2083290041
F: +44(0)208 942 8802

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide has welcomed the European Union’s decision to suspend sanctions against Burma for a year.

The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council moved to temporarily suspend economic sanctions against the country in light of recent reforms, including the release of political prisoners and a historic by-election which saw a landslide victory by the pro-democracy party of Aung San Suu Kyi.

“As a means to welcome and encourage the reform process, the Council will suspend restrictive measures imposed on the government, with the exception of the arms embargo, which it will retain,” it said.

“The Council will monitor closely the situation on the ground, keep its measures under constant review and respond positively to progress on ongoing reforms.”

The EU said it still expects the unconditional release of remaining political prisoners and the removal of all restrictions placed on those who have already been freed.

It also called for “substantially improved” access for humanitarian assistance, especially for those affected by the conflict in Kachin State and along the eastern border, as well as moves towards improving the welfare of the predominantly Muslim Rohingya people.

The Rohingya live in northern Arakan State but are denied citizenship and are subjected to severe restrictions and persecution.

CSW said human rights abuses and attacks on ethnic civilians by the military were “widespread and systematic”.

It received reports that local officials last week destroyed a clock tower with a Christian cross in the village of Mualbem, in the Tedim Township, Chin State. The clock tower was built in 2009 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Assemblies of God church in the village. It is not clear why the structure was destroyed.

The EU said it would continue to monitor the situation in Burma closely, a decision welcomed by CSW’s East Asia team leader Benedict Rogers.

“We welcome the EU’s decision to suspend sanctions for a year, rather than lift them completely," he said.

“This sends a clear message to the Burmese government that the changes which have taken place so far are recognised and welcomed, and that the international community stands ready to support the reform process, while at the same time making it clear that much more needs to be done before sanctions can be completely lifted.“There is also a clear message that if the reform process stalls or reverses, sanctions can be re-imposed.”
 
Credit Here :

On 13 March the Burma Army ransacked Sin Lum Pang Mu Baptist Church in Pang Mu village, located in Bhamo district.

According to Reverend Jangmaw Gam Maw, pastor of Pang Mu Church, soldiers from the 33rd battalion of the Burma Army’s 88th Infantry Division burned bibles, destroyed church property, and stole a video player, loudspeakers and villagers’ belongings. The soldiers claimed that the property belonged to a Kachin Independence Army outpost. They also took money from the church donation boxes.

The pastor and over 1,000 church members from Pang Mu village had abandoned the village for Mai Ja Yang IDP camp on 19 November 2011.

Sin Lum Pang Mu Baptist Church

On 10 March, Burma Army soldiers disrupted a Christian conference and threatened a Member of Parliament (MP) at gunpoint in western Burma’s Chin State, according to the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).

More than 1,000 delegates from 80 local branches of the Mara (Chin) Evangelical Church at Sabawngte village, in a remote area of Matupi township, southern Chin State, had gathered for the conference, which had official permission. CHRO reports that several Burma Army soldiers disrupted the meeting and rebuked the village headman for not reporting the event to the army camp. When Pu Van Cin, an MP from the Ethnic National Development Party, saw the soldiers confronting the village headman and tried to intervene, he was threatened at gunpoint.

Benedict Rogers, East Asia Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said, “These incidents illustrate that there is still a very long way to go in Burma’s reform process, and for that reason, the international community should be cautious about lifting too many sanctions too quickly. We have seen very welcome progress in Burma at some levels in recent months, but the Burma Army continues to perpetrate grave violations of human rights in the ethnic areas, which include religious discrimination and persecution of minorities. Religious freedom is a fundamental value in any democratic society, and so if the Burmese government is serious about reform, it must protect religious freedom. We urge the international community to monitor the situation closely. While it is certainly right to ease some sanctions in recognition of the progress made, we urge the European Union, the United States and others to do so gradually, step by step, in proportion to the developments on the ground, and to retain some measures until further genuine change is secured. In Rangoon and the urban areas there is atmospheric change, but not yet substantial institutional, legislative and constitutional change that will make reform irreversible. In the ethnic areas, crimes against humanity continue. We call upon President Thein Sein and all reform-minded officials in the Burmese government to take action to end the military’s abuses, and to protect human rights, including religious freedom, for all.”

For further information or to arrange interviews please contact Kiri Kankhwende, Press Officer at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on +44 (0)20 8329 0045 / +44 (0) 78 2332 9663, email kiri@csw.org.uk or visitwww.csw.org.uk.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is a Christian organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice.

source here

As the Foreign Secretary William Hague concludes his visit to Burma today, Christian Solidarity Worldwide welcomes his assessment that although there is “momentum for change” in Burma, that “much more is needed to be done” before EU sanctions are lifted.

Mr. Hague told reporters, "It is not possible to say a country is free and democratic while people are still in prison on the grounds of their political beliefs. It is vital that they be released if [sanctions] are to be removed."

During his two-day visit, the Foreign Secretary met with government officials, Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of ethnic political parties which are not banned by the government.

CSW wrote to Mr Hague ahead of his visit, the first by such a senior British official since 1955, requesting him to use the opportunity to “urge the regime to stop attacking ethnic people, declare a nationwide ceasefire, release all political prisoners, and engage further in a meaningful process of dialogue with the ethnic nationalities and the democracy movement led by Aung San Suu Kyi”. These steps “must be priority benchmarks of progress”.

The letter highlighted specific incidents of rape, forced labor, torture, killings and attacks on churches in Kachin State, as well as the continued detention of Buddhist monks, including U Gambira, one of the leaders of the 2007 pro-democracy protests, and continuing discrimination against the Muslim Rohingya.

CSW's East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said, "William Hague's visit to Burma was an historic opportunity to deliver a clear message to the regime, that if they introduce genuine, substantial and long-lasting reforms, end the systematic and widespread violations of human rights, especially the attacks on ethnic civilians, and release all political prisoners, the international community will be ready to respond positively. Until that happens, pressure must be maintained, while encouraging every step towards reform and welcoming every indication of progress. That is absolutely the right message to deliver at this crucial and potentially very exciting time for Burma. The Burmese government's words about reform are very welcome, but they must be matched by action."
Credit Here


    • Rohingya Exodus