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5.6.2018

Maungdaw, Arakan State -- The Myanmar government is building flat houses for (Rohingya) Hindus on the farm lands owned by (Rohingya) Muslims in northern Maungdaw, according to reliable sources.

About fifty 24×18 flat houses are now being constructed for the Hindus on the lands confiscated from the Muslims. A source from the Hindu community has added that these flat houses are financially sponsored by the Indian Government.

A human rights activist based in Maungdaw said "Rohingya Muslims and Rohingya Hindus share no history of conflicts. But I see this arbitrary action by the government to build flats for the Hindus on the farm lands owned by the Muslims as opening up a new front of conflict in Arakan State on the religious line. Naturally, some owners of the lands may view the Hindus as encroachers which will result in hatred.

"And this will create the violence in Arakan state more complex in the future. But the more the conflicts in the state, the longer the military can keep the control over the region."

There are Hindu villages in the downtown and the outskirts of Maungdaw. These villages didn't come under attack as the Myanmar armed forces carried out violence against Rohingya Muslims on 25th August 2017 and afterwards. However, the Myanmar Government shifted the Hindus to Sittwe (Akyab) and some others to the 'Maungdaw High School (1)' at 'Myoma Kayindan' village making them pretend as 'Displaced People.'

After they were shifted away from their homes, the Myanmar military and Border Guard Police (BGP); and the Rakhine extremists jointly burned down some Hindu homes nearby 'Dael Fara', a Muslim hamlet at 'Myoma Kayindan' village, which was also burnt down (by the same military and BGP; and the Rakhine extremists). After that, the government has placed some Hindus temporarily on their burned home-ground by erecting make-shift camps. In September last year, the Myanmar government dressed up some of them as Muslims and staged a fake event to portray that 'Muslims are torching their own homes'. Then, the Myanmar Government Spokeperson, Zaw Htay, took to social media to spread propaganda which was exposed later.


"Now, India is sponsoring flat houses for the Hindus and the Myanmar government is building them on the Rohingya farm lands. However, the remaining Rohingya in Myanmar feel hopeless and helpless as they are not getting any help despite that thousands of them have been killed and hundreds of their villages burnt down. On top of that, their lands are being confiscated," said a Rohingya Muslim in Maungdaw asking not to be identified.

[Report by MYARF; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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RB News
May 20, 2018

Maungdaw -- Two Rohingya women have been detained by the Myanmar Police over the allegation of illegally returning to the country from the Bangladesh Refugee Camps, according to reliable sources.

The women were detained by the Myanmar anti-trafficking police on May 12, while crossing the bridge of Shujah (Shwe Zar) village in northern Maungdaw.

However, it has been learnt that the women were simply returning home from Bangladesh after having emergency medical surgeries and treatments (in Bangladesh).

"4 months ago, Ma Sufaira, 22, d/o U Mohammed Nasim, from 'Maung Ni hamlet of Myoma Kayintan village,' suffered from bone-fracture in her arm and went to Bangladesh for surgery. The doctor fixed the bone by inserting steel-plate and asked her to re-visit him after 4 months to remove the plate.

"Now, 4 months after, on May 12, as Sufaira along with her sister was returning from Bangladesh after having the 2nd surgery to remove the steel-plate, their taxi was stopped by the anti-trafficking police led by Captain San Min while they were crossing 'the Shujah (Shwe Zar) Bridge' under the allegation of returning home from the refugee camps illegally. The police arrested the 2 women and released the taxi driver after extorting Kyat 100,000. They (the women) have been detained in the Maungdaw Police Detention since then," said a local in Maungdaw.

Our attempts to reach to the Maungdaw Police for comments on this have remained unsuccessful.

However, further reports have verified the CLAIM -- that the 2 women were not the refugees in Bangladesh camps but returning their home after having medical treatments and surgeries in Bangladesh -- with the FACT that they took part in the 'Census (Head-counts)' conducted by the authorities against the Rohingya population in Maungdaw District in 2018 (after over 700,000 people fled to Bangladesh to escape from genocidal violence against Rohingya in 2017).

Furthermore, 2 Rohingya men -- U Yunose, 48, s/o U Khin Maung and U Lala Yar, 33 -- from Myoma Taung Quarter (Quarter 2) returned home after having medical treatments in Bangladesh last week. Two days after their return, Police Captain San Min, the same police officer that has now arrested the 2 women, extorted Kyat 350,000 each from them after accusing them of illegally returning home from the Bangladesh refugee camps.

A human rights activist in Maungdaw anonymously said "these people are not illegally returning home from the Bangladesh camps. They all took part in the Census (head-counts). Since the government has denied the Rohingya people from access to medical treatments and healthcare, the people need to go to Bangladesh for that. That's the purpose why these people also have gone to Bangladesh and subsequently returned. 

"But the enforcement authorities are knowingly persecuting the Rohingya people and extorting money from them. Above all, what's so ILLEGAL for one in returning to his/her HOME?"

The Myanmar Government has barred the Rohingya people in Maungdaw District from travelling to Sittwe (Akyab) and Yangon, Myanmar's (unofficial) Capital, even in the case of medical emergency since 2012. Therefore, Rohingya people with chronic diseases and medical emergencies, they need to go to Bangladesh for treatments and surgeries. 


[Reported by Rohingya Eye; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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UNSC delegation arrive at Naypyidaw airport on April 30, 2018 to meet Suu Kyi [Photo: AFP]

By Zarni Aung (MYARF)
RB News
May 2, 2018

Maungdaw -- Rohingya youths who spoke to the members of the UN Security Council Delegation are now facing the risk of arrest by the Myanmar Military Intelligence Service, sources say.

The UNSC delegation members visited the ‘Refugee-Receiving Camps’ at 'Hla Phoe Kaung, Ngakura and Taung Pyo' in Northern Maungdaw on Tuesday (May 1). They were not allowed to meet with the Rohingya villagers there, it has been reported.

In afternoon, the delegation visited the village of ‘Pantaw Pyin (Nol Boinna)’ -- which is now the last standing Rohingya village in Southern Maungdaw and all other villages to its South were burnt down by the Myanmar military and the Rakhine extremists last year.

There, the delegation spoke to Children, Youth and Women waiting in the last rows instead of the Men prepared and placed in the front rows by the Government to speak to the delegation.

The delegation asked the children and youth "which ethnicity are you and who burned down your homes?" Amidst the fear of being targeted due to the surveillance of the Myanmar Security Forces, the youths dared to reply "Myanmar military and Rakhine extremists burned down our homes. And our ethnicity is Rohingya."

Aerial View of Burnt Rohingya Villages in Maungdaw [Photo: SS from video shared by @KarenPierceUN on Twitter]
After that, the delegation asked “what ID Cards are you holding now?" To which they replied "our grand-parents and parents had three-fold cards also called NRC (National Registration Card). The government has begun confiscating them from us since 1992 which has now made us a people without any ID Cards."

And the delegation asked "and so, why don't you accept NV Cards?" The youth replied "because our forefathers had NRC like any other ethnic people in Myanmar and we are their grand-children. We'll only accept Citizenship Card."

And "how about your movement (travelling around)" asked the delegation. The youth replied "there is a BGP Check-post at the Entry Point of every village. They harass and beat us. So, it's difficult to even go to the downtown now."

The delegation spoke to Rohingya women in the village and left afterwards.

"While the children and the youth were interacting with the UNSC delegation, SaRaPha (Myanmar’s Military Intelligence Service) shot video of them. After the delegation had left the village, SaRaPha scolded the village administrator and began to chase the youth that spoke to the delegation. They are now hiding and could be arrested by the SaRaPha anytime," said a village man on the condition of anonymity.

[Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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RB News
May 1, 2018

Buthidaung -- Ethnic Rohingya villagers are being subjected to forced labor by Buthidaung-based Myanmar military regiment (551) and LID (15).

According to the villagers of 'Ah Thwin Nget Thae', 25-30 Rohingyas from the village are forced by the military at the regiment (551) to clean the camps, wash their clothes, cook for them, feed their pigs and more.

Before they (Rohingya) return home in the evening after working for the whole day, they are forced to sign on a blank page. Sometimes, their village administrator is forced to sign an acknowledgement that these forced labors are paid.

"(The military) force (us) to do the work the whole day. They pay us not a single penny, rather we are forced to sign a blank page. Village administration is also forced to acknowledge that they (the forced labours) are paid. The forced labours are demanded through the village administration," said a villager asking not to be named.

If the villagers do not go for forced-laboring as per the order, then the Military personnel would go on rampage in the village and; catch and hold the cattle belonging to Rohingya on ransom. And the villagers have to pay Kyat 400,000-500,000 to get these cattle back, say the villagers.

Besides, every week, 10 Rohingya villagers from 'U Hla Phay' are forced to work for the military without pay.

Likewise, 10 Rohingya villagers each from 'Ah Thwin Nget Thae,' and 'Tappyo Chaung' are summoned by the military at LID (15) to work as forced labors, sources added.

[Translated by Sabit Hamid]

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U Mohammed Hanif, 48, was apparently killed today [Photo: Saeed Arakani/RB News]

RB News
May 1, 2018

Sittwe (Akyab) -- An internally displaced Rohingya man was found dead in Sittwe (Akyab) Township this (May 1) evening.

The man identified as U Mohammed Hanif s/o U Goni Miya, 48, was apparently killed around 6pm today. He was found dead with blood spilling all over his head and body at 'Cyclone Center' nearby 'Manzi' Police Station.

"He is an IDP living at 'Ohn Taw Gyi' camp. He was found dead at around 6pm and the Cyclone Center where he was found dead is an abandoned place where people go and rest nearby 'Manzi' police station.

“And the Police from the Police-Post often carelessly and brutally beat Rohingya passers-by," said an eyewitness to RB News.


After Police has sealed the place of the crime [Photo: Saeed Arakani/RB News]

 It looks like a murder and the possible murderers could be the police personnel from the ‘Mansi’ Police Post, according to our initial investigations.

The police have currently blocked all public access to the crime scene and took the dead-body for post-mortem to Sittwe General Hospital at 7:30pm.

[Reported by Saeed Arakani; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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RB News
April 19, 2018

Banda Aceh/ Sittwe-- 10 Rohingya people are feared dead as they have been missing since they jumped off the boat, near the coast of southern Myanmar, which later reached to Aceh province of Indonesia on April 6.

A small boat with 15 people on board left from 'Ohn Taw Gyi (Barizaa Fara) in Sittwe (Akyab) beach between 26th and 27th March. After travelling for 3 days, they got near the coast of ‘Kau Thaung’ Township in Southern Myanmar, where they were stopped and detained by the Myanmar navy.

As the Myanmar navy began to torture them, 10 people jumped off the boat and have been missing since then.

"We were total 15 people on the boat. Since Myanmar navy began torturing us, 10 people couldn't suffer anymore and jumped off the boat. Since then, we have no information about their whereabouts," said a Rohingya boat man survived after rescued by Indonesian fishermen off the coast of Aceh.

“After torturing us for a few days, the Myanmar navy set us adrift to the sea from where we arrived here,” the man added.

When contacted, the relatives of the missing people said that they didn't information about their whereabouts either.

Another boat that left from Akyab (Sittwe) between 11th and 12th April should get to Malaysia anytime soon.


Please also read: Two Rohingya Boats Gone Missing

The Rohingya people have been fleeing from Myanmar to escape from Genocidal violence -- that have been carried out by the country’s military and security forces for decades and reached to their peaks in years of 2012, 2016 and 2017 -- to Bangladesh, Malaysia and India among others.

[Reported by Myo Naing and Saeed Arakani; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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RB News
April 18, 2018

Yangon, Myanmar -- Myanmar's Presidential Spokesperson, Zaw Htay, has denied 'the report of the release of 7 military personnel jailed for Inn Din [Aan Daang] Rohingya massacre' to AFP News, while many political and human rights observers are skeptical about his denial.

MNTV, a Myanmar News TV Channel owned by Sky Net Media Group, broadcasted about the release of 97 Prisoners including the 7 jailed soldiers from Sittwe (Akyab) Prison under Presidential Amnesty.

Minutes after that, the news has gone viral on social media and Zaw Htay in a prompt interview with AFP claimed that the release of the 7 soldiers is false. Further on Facebook, he rubbished the MNTV Report as 'Fake News.'




The MNTV, on its part, has quickly removed the video from its Facebook page and later claimed that the news is untrue.

CNB (Central News Bureau) in a statement later said "in the report '97 Prisoners Released from Sittwe Prison under Amnesty' we produced based our ground report sent by Sittwe Bureau, it has mentioned that the released prisoners include the 7 soldiers jailed regarding Inn Din case, MyaTanSaung Abbot and Political Prisoner Khaing Ni Min.

"However, according to our latest reports, we have learnt that the 7 soldiers jailed under Inn Din case were not released. Therefore, we respectfully state that we have wrongfully mentioned the said fact in the report."




However, political observers and human rights activists are highly skeptical about Zaw Htay's denial of the report of the release of the 7 jailed military men.

"MNTV has also claimed that there were total 97 prisoners released. We have the list of 87 people. Where are other 10?

"Besides, Zaw Htay has a strong history of lying. Therefore, we are highly skeptical about his denial of the release of the soldiers. He could be lying again considering the seriousness of the charges against the soldiers," a political and human rights observer based in Yangon requesting not to be named.

Some activists also demand a proper investigation by the concerned international bodies into the incident.

U Maung Khin, an activist also based in Yangon, said "CNB did a live recording of the event. They have verified the report. And only after that, MNTV has broadcasted it perhaps it didn't know seriousness of the case. Later, when it has gone viral and created uproar on Social Media, Zaw Htay took his action, which is blanket denial of everything as usual.

"The home ministry and police are under the military control. So are the media. Whether they keep someone inside or outside the prison, nobody knows. They can manipulate anything. So, it demands a high level international investigation."

The 7 military personnel along with Rakhine Buddhist militia massacred 10 Rohingya villagers and buried them in a mass-grave in Inn Din in Southern Maungdaw on September 2 last year in one of many such brutal massacres of Rohingya in Arakan state in the year. When Reuters exposed the gruesome massacre of the people, Myanmar came under international pressure, which has forced the government to sentence the 7 military men to 10 years in jail.

[Report by Aung Ko Ko; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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Rohingya Refugee Camps in New Dehli burnt down to ashes displacing 226 refugees [Photo: Maung A. Khan]

 RB News
April 16, 208

New Dehli, India -- A leader of the youth-wing of the India’s ruling far-right Hindu party, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), has claimed that they have set fire on the Rohingya refugee camps in New Dehli on Sunday (Apr 15) early morning.

The fire broke out in the Rohingya refugee camps at ‘Kalindi Kunj’ at around 3:30am and destroyed all the 56 camps in the area where around 226 refugees used to live.

"The fire started at 3:15am and it quickly spread all over the camps within an hour just like somebody had thrown petrol on the camps beforehand. Fire brigades arrived and kept extinguishing fire till 7am. We couldn't save any of our belongings and everything was burnt down.

“Now, the Police have given us protections and relocated us to a nearby area. And NGOs are helping us with the basic stuffs,” said a refugee displaced by the fire.

Amidst the Police investigations to find out the cause behind the fire, Manish Chandela, leader of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth-wing of the ruling party BJP, has PROUDLY claimed on twitter that he and his group have set the fire on the Rohingya refugee camps on fire.



After the calls made by the social and human rights activists to the Police to arrest and investigate him, he later deleted the tweet. However, one more tweet claiming ‘Yes, we did. We do again’ with the hash-tag #ROHINGYAQUITINDIA can still be found on his twitter timeline.

The rise of BJP and Narendra Modi coming into power have emboldened Hindu extremist increasing violence all over the country and the Rohingya refugees have become targeted by the extremist groups across various states including Jammu and Delhi.

[Reported by S. Chandra; Edited by M.S. Anwar]



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The family [of the village administrator] that Myanmar claimed to have returned from Bangladesh. [Photo: Facebook MOI]

 RB News
April 15, 2018

Maungdaw, Arakan State – The Myanmar Government has staged a fake event in relation to the Rohingya repatriation from Bangladesh ahead of the visit by the UN Security Council members to northern Arakan state, Myanmar, where Genocide has been taking place.

On Saturday (Apr 14), the Facebook page of Myanmar’s Information Portal (MOI) claimed that a (Rohingya) Muslim family of five that had fled to Bangladesh returned to Myanmar. And they were received at ‘Taung Pyo Latwei’ Entry (Receiving) Point and *NV Cards were issued to them.

Later, our investigation has found that this family of five was NOT a Rohingya refugee family returning from Bangladesh but were the administrator of ‘Taung Pyo Latya’ village, Aftar Alam s/o Mv Rashid, and his family.

“We were shocked to hear anybody would return here amidst volatile condition here. Many people are still fleeing. So, we investigated who the exactly returnees were and found out that they are the family of the administrator of ‘Taung Pyo Latya’ village. Almost all the Rohingya villages were burnt down in Taung Pyo but his house wasn’t because he’s a government’s informant and sycophant,” said a source close to his relatives.

The source further added “upon the direction by the government, he along with a few family members of his has left for Bangladesh and stayed at a Bangladeshi house which is just a small creek across to ‘No Man’s Land’ [between Myanmar and Bangladesh Border]. His main purpose was to work as an informant for the Myanmar Gov’t and persuade thousands of Rohingya refugees are taking shelter there. When failed to persuade anyone to return, they themselves came back as returnees. And the authorities portrayed them to be (refugee) returnees from Bangladesh. This is a DECEPTION.”

The move by the Myanmar authorities to stage the fake event came in the backdrop of the recent visit by the Myanmar Social Welfare Minister, Win Myat Aye, and is apparently aimed to lure the Rohingya Genocide Survivors in Bangladesh who are not returning because of the high risks to their lives and the fear that they will be forced to live in Auschwitz-style concentration camps, which Myanmar calls temporary rehabilitation camps, permanently. The Myanmar Security Forces have several times threatened and attempted to lure the Rohingya survivors to return to Myanmar in the recent months and live in the (concentration) camps built for them in the country.

The Officials from the United Nations Security Council are also set to visit the later this month for the first time after years of violence against Rohingya since 2012.
Auschwitz-style concentration camps in northern Maungdaw, which Myanmar calls temporary rehabilitation camps [Photo: Thein Zaw/AP] 

 *NV Card = National Verification Card is issued to a foreigner for verification while he/she is applying for citizenship in Myanmar. Rohingya rejects this because they are not foreigners that need to go through this process but their citizenship needs to be restored stripped off by the 1982 Citizenship Law of Burma coined by the late dictator Ne Win violating existing international norms to specifically the Rohingya ethnic minority.

[Reported by Sabit Hamid; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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RB News
April 11, 2018

Buthidaung, Arakan -- U Maung Kyaw Tha, a administrator of the village tract, Kagyat Phat Kan Pyin, Buthidaung Township, beat local Rohingya women from Tet Yar hamlet and also tried to rape them.

The village administrator, who is a Rakhine Buddhist, beat and harassed 'Rabiya Khatoon' by trespassing into her home along with his 2 henchmen for three consecutive nights between 4th and 6th of April. They called her 2 young single daughters out of their house at midnight [during the curfew time under the act 144] under the pretext of interrogation and attempted to rape them, RB News has been told.

Villagers say, that U Maung Kyaw Tha, the village admin, along with his two henchmen, carried out the sexual assaults on the women's dignity. He further threatened 'Rabiya Khatoon' that he would make her get arrested by the BGP (Border Guard Police) and torture her beating every night in the future had she failed to oblige to fulfill his desire.

Similarly, U Maung Kyaw Tha forcibly entered the bed room of Hussein Banu, another Rohingya woman, from Tet Yar hamlet and kept attempting to rape her from 8pm 6th April to 1am 7th April. It has been reported that, though Hussein Banu, a married woman, managed to avoid getting raped by U Maung Kyaw Tha by taking cover behind behind her children, she got beaten and kicked inhumanely as his attempt to rape her didn't succeed.

Furthermore, on that day 6th April evening, U Maung Kyaw Tha accompanied by his two henchmen, trespassing into Amina Khatoon's home, looked for her son Mohamed Shaker to arrest under accusation of having sexual relationship with his neighbour, Hussein Banu. When Mohamed Shaker was not found, they threatened the other members in the family who were present and destroyed furnitures in the house.

According to the villagers who witnessed the incident, U Maung Kyaw Tha then beat the family members and threatened to kill them if they they continued to live in their village without fleeing to Bangladesh.

Translated into English by Hein Min Maung.




The Rohingya that arrived in Malaysia with 56 people aboard on March 31 [Photo:  ROYAL THAI ARMY / HANDOUT / VIA AFP-JIJI]

 RB News
April 8, 2018

Sittwe (Akyab)/Kuala Lumpur -- Two Rohingya boats with approximately 140 people on board have gone missing en route to Malaysia since they left Sittwe (Akyab) on March 24, reliable sources say.

One boat with 56 Rohingya people on board arrived in Malaysia on March 31, which the Malaysian Navy rescued and later handed to the Immigration Department (Read HERE). The 2 boats left from Sittwe's 'Thae Chaung' beach on the same day with this boat but have been missing since then.

"Earlier, we have come to know one boat reached to Malaysia on March 31. But 2 other boats with 140 people in total, mostly women and children, have still been missing. They have lost contacts with us and we don't know their whereabouts. Their relatives are extremely worried," said Mohammed (pseudonym), Rohingya in Sittwe, to RB News.

The people are leaving are mostly from IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps in Sittwe, where more than 140,000 people have been forced to live apartheid condition since 2012. And so, more boats are likely to leave Myanmar in the upcoming weeks.

An internally displaced Rohingya in Sittwe said "we can't move anywhere. Our access to livelihoods has been barred. We can't work and have enough food to eat. We are hopeless and don't know when this condition is going to end. We have been forced to live in prison-like-camps since 2012.

"That's why those who have relatives in Malaysia are paying the agents and some properties to sell are selling them off so that they can pay the agents to leave for Malaysia. Two more boats are about to leave soon."

Sources say that each person leaving for Malaysia has to pay Kyat 700,000 to the agents and the agents, in turn, have to bribe the Myanmar Police or Security Force in Sittwe Kyat 10 Million per boat. And each boat can accommodate around 100 people on board.

The Rohingya people subjected to Genocide by the Myanmar military and Security Forces are fleeing the country for Malaysia, which they consider safe haven, through various other routes such as by lands across central Myanmar and Thailand.

About 700,000 Rohingyas have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since last year and more people are still fleeing as the Genocide in Myanmar continues. Many of these survivors in Bangladesh are reported to have been fleeing the country from Cox's Bazaar and Chittagong districts.

[Report by Saeed Arakani & M.S. Anwar]

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The Rohingya that stopped at the Thai island of 'Koh Lanta' on Saturday (Assadawuth Suden/Associated Press)

RB News
April 3, 2018

Akyab (Sittwe)/Cox's Bazaar -- More Rohingya boats are likely to leave for Malaysia before monsoon as the Genocide against them continues in Myanmar and their situation in Bangladesh also remains extremely miserable.

On March 24, 2018, one Rohingya boat left from 'Thae Chaung' beach of Akyab (Sittwe) with about 56 people on board. After one week of sailing across the sea, on Saturday (Mar 31), the boat reached to Thailand and stopped at one of its island, 'Koh Lanta' island, as it had been hit by a storm. The Thai authorities pushed it back to the sea after giving them temporary shelter, according to reports.

"There were more than 100 people preparing to leave by the boat. But the Police followed them when they were going to the ‘Thae Choung’ beach to catch the boat. So, they got dispersed and only 56 people managed to get on the boat, and the rest were left behind," said a local Rohingya in Akyab (Sittwe).

"There are more boats likely to leave. But the securities are very tight as of now," he added.

Meanwhile, sources say that many Rohingya boats are also likely to leave from Bangladesh. About 700,000 Rohingyas have left their homelands in Myanmar since August 2017 to escape from the Genocide being carried out by the Myanmar Military and Security Forces.

"Many boats with Rohingya genocide survivors could leave from Bangladesh soon. But the securities in the south-eastern parts of Bangladesh are very tight as patrolling by the BGB and the Coast-Guards have been very high since last year.
"So, they could choose alternative exit points. And those exit points could be from Cox's Bazaar up to Chittagong," said Nazmul Hassan, a Rohingya activist in Cox's Bazaar.

According to AP Report, Malaysian authorities said Monday that they have stepped up patrols to intercept the boat that the Thailand set adrift to the sea on Sunday.

[Reported by Saed Arakani & Sabit Hamid; Edited by M.S. Anwar]

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RB News
March 31, 2018

Minbya, Arakan State: On March 30 morning, a Prayer Leader or Imam was brutally beaten and injured by a Rakhine extremist at 'Tha Yet Oak' hamlet, 'Na Ga Ra' village tract, Pan Myaung region in 'Minbya' Township. 

The 57-years-old Ahmed Husson is the Imam in the mosque of Na Ga Ra's Tha Yek Oak (Noyapara) living his life by fishing. In the morning around 7AM on 30th March, he was whacked on his head with a wooden rod by the son of U Kyaw Zaw Aung from Kyun Taw Rakhine village, while he was fishing by a net in the shore of 'Lay Myo' River. As a result of the forceful strike, the head of the Imam was scuffed and severely injured, according to a a villager who spoke to RB News. 

No one has come to investigate the incident yet though the administration members from 'Tha Yet Oak' informed the police station in Pan Myaung via telephone, added the villager. 

"We can't go to police station no matter what we face. We just can move in and around the two neighboring Rohingya hamlets. Those two hamlets are inside Na Ga Ra village tract. We are not allowed to go any other places" said the villager. 

Tha Yet Oak is one of the 11 hamlets in Na Ga Ra village tract. There are 3 Rohingya hamlets including Tha Yet Oak among 11 and Rohingya in there can move around in the Rohingya hamlets and no one is allowed to go to other villages, not even to the police station. 

The condition of the Imam Ahmed Husson is serious but he cannot access yet to any hospital for the required medical treatments. 

Since 2012, the movements of the Rohingya villagers in Na Ga Ra have been restricted within the village and totally trapped in. They have no source to earn money and been surviving doing what they can find. Thus, the villagers often face persecutions of the government's Armed Forces and tortures in the hands of some Rakhine extremists. 

There are often cases of deaths of the Rohingya villagers as a result of tortures by the extremists, say the villagers.

[Translated into English by Mayyu Ali]

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RB News
March 29, 2018

Buthidaung, Arakan State -- 22 Rohingya villagers in Buthidaung Township were sentenced to three-year imprisonment each on Wednesday (Mar 28). 

On 16th August 2017, Security Forces conducted raids at 'U Hla Pe' village in Buthidaung and arbitrarily arrested 49 Rohingya villagers. After that, they were detained in the Regional Camp of the BGP (Border Guard Police). Afterwards, 25 were of them released from the BGP camp in the 'Nyaung Chaung' region on ransom.

According to the villagers, the remaining 24 arrestees were sent to the Buthidaung Prison under the false charges of Criminal Sections 17/1 and 17/2. Later on, Section 17/2 was dismissed and they were continued to be prosecuted under the Section 17/1.

Of these 24, Araf Ullah and Eliyas have been set free on 28th May, while each of the remaining 22 has been handed with three years in prison.

"(Before their verdict was announced,) one of the them had paid 7.5 million, while another has paid 7 million, to the judge as ransom for their releases. The remaining 22 were sent to the prison under three-year imprisonment to each (as they could not pay the ransom)", reported a villager.

"The remaining 22 Rohingyas who have been arbitrarily sentenced to three years in jail are innocent" he continued.

[Translated into English by Sabit Hamid]

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RB News
March 12, 2018

Buthidaung, Arakan state -- The Myanmar government is planning to build new Buddhist settlements on the emptied Rohingya homelands in Buthidaung Township, reliable sources say.

On March 10, U Hla Shwe, the deputy township administrator of Buthidaung, and officials from other departments visited 'Thin Gana' and 'Meechaung Zay' villages in northern Buthidaung. The officials conducted map surveys of the places where the Buddhist settlements will be built, it has been learnt.

100 Buddhist Settlements will be built nearby the mountain of 'Kudufaar' at 'Bogyi Chaung' hamlet of 'Meechaung Zay' village, and other 100 settlements nearby 'Old Cemetry' and 'Gufi Road' at 'Thin Gana' village in northern Buthidaung.

"The government is saying that they will bring back all the Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh and resettle them in their original places. But these are blatant lies.

"In fact, they are confiscating all the Rohingya homelands remaining abandoned as their owners had to flee to Bangladesh. The planned two Buddhist settlements are also on the Rohingya lands," said a local Rohingya to RB News in Buthidaung.

Meanwhile, there is another settlement being planned out for the Rakhine Buddhists on the Rohingya homelands at 'Maung Nama' hamlet of 'Nan Ya Gone' village in Buthidaung, where the Rohingya houses were destroyed by the Rakhine Buddhists last year.

About 0.7 Million Rohingya people from Myanmar have fled to Bangladesh since August 2017 as the Myammar military along with the active participations of some Rakhine extremists began to carry out Genocide against them (Rohingya).

[Edited by M.S. Anwar]

Please email to: editor@rohingyablogger.com to send your reports and feedback.

RB News
March 3, 2018

Maungdaw, Arakan State -- The Rohingya students will be racially segregated from others in the upcoming 2018 University Entrance Examination in Myanmar, say reliable sources.

The University Entrance Examination is to be held nationwide starting on March 7 and the Exam Roll numbers (Admission Numbers) of the students sitting for the exam were announced last week. 

In Maungdaw Examination Centres, the roll numbers of the Rohingya Muslim students have been separated from those of other groups such as Buddhist groups such as Rakhine, Bama, Mro, Dainet and Khami; and (Rohingya) Hindus. The Rohingya Muslim students will have sit for the exam at the BEHS (2) Examination Centre and other ethnic and religious groups (mentioned above) at the BEHS (1) Examination Centre.

"Since they have segregated examination centres for our students, we fear of maltreatments of them by the Rakhine Buddhist teachers during the exams", said a student's parent.

He continued "never before has any University Entrance Examination been held segregately on the basis of ethnicity and religion. This is happening for the first time and that, too, under the (so-called) Civilian Government of Aung San Suu Kyi."

The locals are criticizing this move as a deliberate attempt by the Myanmar authorities to further polarize the societies in the region.

The number of Rohingya Muslim students sitting for the University Entrance Examination used to exceed 1,000 and but the number has significantly decreased down to only around 200 this year.


[Report by Rohingya Eye, edited by M.S. Anwar]

Please email to: editor@rohingyablogger.com to send reports and feedback.




By M.S. Anwar | Opinion & Analysis

The Burmese (Myanmar) quasi-civilian government unleashed a large-scale violence against the minority Rohingya in the western Myanmar state of Arakan in 2012. The violence, which some wrongly frame as ‘Communal’, was carried out by the Burmese armed forces along with Rakhine Buddhist extremist elements. The violence continued throughout the year and partially destroyed the localities of Rohingya community across the state, killing thousands and displacing more than 140,000. Many women were raped and gang-raped, untold atrocities were committed.

Consequently, the Burmese regime was internationally condemned for violence against Rohingya and international pressure increased on them to allow ‘International Investigation Teams’ to investigate into the crimes in Arakan. However, the Burmese government formed its own Investigation Commission with its own (bunch of racist) people to investigate into the crimes committed by its own armed forces. The first 'Rakhine Investigation Commission' was formed by Thein Sein, the ex-President of Myanmar and ex-military General, on 17th August 2012. 

As expected, the commission came out with a report shifting blames on the victims and everyone else except for the real culprits, the Burmese armed forces. The report was a total cover-up of the crimes committed by the armed forces.

Since then, the Burmese government has formed its own inquiry commission every time there was a demand to allow an ‘International Investigation Team’ as aftermath of a round of violence. The report that every Burmese inquiry commission came up with was expectedly white-washing of the crimes of the Genocide and the Crimes against Humanity. 

No improvements were made in any aspect of the lives of Rohingya. The displaced people in Akyab, Pauktaw and other parts of Arakan still remain displaced. Rather, the Burmese has severed many aspects of Rohingyas' lives and persecuted them even more.

Inaction by the United Nations and; and the US, EU and ASEAN etc, who prefer to have diplomatic and economic ties with Burma over ending Genocidal violence against Rohingya; has led some desperate young Rohingyas to take desperate measures against the State Armed Forces. A group of ill-trained and poorly armed Rohingya rebels, who later came to know as ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army), launched attacks on security posts of the Burmese armed forces, especially the Border Guard Police (BGP), in Maungdaw district and Rathedaung Township twice, on October 9, 2016 and August 25, 2017 respectively. All hell broke loose for the Rohingya once again.

The Burmese armed forces used these attacks as perfect pretexts to collectively destroy the Rohingya community by carrying out arson attacks on the Rohingya homes and driving them out from their lands. Since October 9, 2016, approximately 10,000 Rohingya villagers were summarily executed and untold numbers of women were raped by the Burmese armed forces. More than 350 villages across Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung were burnt down, that are now being bulldozed to eradicate the Rohingya history. The genocidal destruction of the people has forced almost 700,000 people to flee to Bangladesh, triggering one of the man-made humanitarian disasters in history.

So, since the violence began in June 2012, the Burmese regime has formed following Inquiry Commissions with their own men, and successfully managed to reject all the international calls to allow ‘International Investigation Teams’.
1) The Rakhine Investigation Commission (formed on 17th August 2012)
2) Duchiradan Investigation Commission (formed on 6th February 2014)
3) Investigation Commission on Rakhine (formed on 1st December 2016, after October 9, 2016 violence)
4) Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State (formed on 9th October 2017)

None of these government’s investigation teams has found any member of armed force guilty despite a mountain of evidences of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity by the members of the armed forces.

In short, formation of 'Investigation Commissions' is a TIME-BUYING tactic by the Burmese government and a distraction from the unfolding Genocide. In this regard, the Burmese government now led by Aung San Suu Kyi has also formed following Commissions comprising some well-known international figures.
1) Kofi Annan's Advisory Commission on Rakhine State (formed on 24th August 2016)
2) Advisory Board for the “Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State” (14th December 2017)

However, these commissions, too, have so far proven to be playing on behalf of the Burmese government and military to rebuild their image on the international stage and have become hindrances to making any real progress in the crisis or international calls to punish the Burmese military for committing Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. In fact, the Burmese Presidential Spokesperson Zaw Htay openly said 'Kofi Annan Commission is a Shield for the Government.

And this is the tactic used by the Burmese government to frustrate international community to eventually give up their calls for 'Independent Investigations' and to end Genocide. This is just one of many methods that military frequently uses to distract us from Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. There many more methods such as 'Victim-Blaming and Blaming Everyone Else for the Culprits' they use to downplay Genocide, which will be discussed later.

The cycle of violence against Rohingya has been going since 1951 and will continue until they are completely destroyed in Myanmar. For Army Chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Rohingya is an 'Unfinished Business from WW2'. Now, it's up to the world communities if they collectively act to stop the Genocide or not.

[Note: 1) The Burmese armed forces mostly act upon the commands from the highest level of the Command Chain and so to say that the Burmese generals at the top must be held accountable for most of the atrocities committed by the armed forces on the ground.
2) Some words used in the article: Burma = Myanmar, Burmese = Bama (the majority Buddhist population in the country), Burmese armed forces = Burmese military, Hluntein (paramilitary), BGP (Border Guard Police) and Nasaka (the former Border Security Force)]

M.S. Anwar is an activist and journalist born and brought up in Arakan, Burma. He can be reached at: editor@rohingyablogger.com

    • Rohingya Exodus