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Rangoon Archbishop Charles Bo (PHOTO: UCA News)

January 1, 2014
In his New Year message to the Roman Catholics of Burma, Monsignor Charles Bo called for unity between the “different souls” of “this wonderful nation” and pointed particularly towards the Rohingya Muslims of western Burma, saying those born in the country should be granted citizenship.

The archbishop further called for an end to violence against the Rohingyas, and urged the country to instead fight against poverty and human trafficking.

“On the eve of the New Year, Myanmar prepares for the dawn of a new era characterized by freedom, democracy, justice, peace, hope and fraternity among the different souls of this wonderful nation,” wrote Msgr Charles Bo in AsiaNews in a message addressed for 1 January 2014 on the occasion of the World Day of Peace.

He noted that Burma has “opened its doors to the world” over the past two years through a series of reforms in favour of democratic freedoms as well as some major economic, social and political reforms. He said that for the first time in over 50 years, there are “concrete reasons for hope” for the future.

Citing the communal violence aimed at Rohingyas and other Muslims, he said, “Without fraternity it is impossible to build a just society and a stable and lasting peace.”

Emphasizing the value of unity in diversity, Archbishop Bo invited the Burmese government and the international community to resolve the issues related to citizenship, according to the principle that every person born in Myanmar should be recognized as a citizen of Burma.

Msgr Bo further noted that other “tragedies”, such as the ongoing conflict in Kachin State, cause “great harm” to the nation.

“I wish all my brothers and sisters, of all religions and ethnicities, throughout our nation a truly happy and blessed New Year,” he concluded.





By Press TV
December 30, 2013
The United States is complicit in the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya Muslim community in Myanmar for easing sanctions against the Asian country, a political analyst tells Press TV.

“As far as who is responsible for this, I think we have to assign some responsibility not only to the government in Myanmar and to the Noble Laureate Aung San Suu kyi, … but also, we have to blame the American government and world community,” Kevin Barrett, a political commentator from Madison said in a Monday interview with Press TV. The analyst noted that the US has been rewarding the Myanmar regime with ever-closer political and economic ties despite the genocide of the minority Rohingya Muslims.
“Now, if we look back at when this latest wave of extreme persecution and genocide started, it was May of 2012 and less than two months later the US rewarded the Myanmar government for its genocide by sending its first ambassador in decades to Myanmar and opening up relations and less than a month after that, I believe August 2012, Myanmar’s government was rewarded for the genocide by an opening up US trade with Myanmar and pouring investments in the oil industry,” he added.
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar account for about five percent of the country’s population of nearly 60 million. They have been persecuted and faced torture, neglect, and repression since the country's independence in 1948.

The Buddhist-majority government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas and classifies them as illegal migrants, although the Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.




The UN's refugee agency said Friday it had begun airlifting tents to provide shelter for thousands of people displaced by sectarian unrest in Myanmar's western Rakhine State.


A Muslim Rohingya child receives medical care at a clinic on the outskirts of Sittwe on November 2. The UN's refugee agency has begun airlifting tents to provide shelter for thousands of people displaced by sectarian unrest in Myanmar's western Rakhine State.

"The plane that left Dubai today (Friday) is the first of two planned flights for this weekend," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.

In total, he said, the UNHCR would provide 3,500 family-sized tents to house 17,500 displaced people.

"The shelter needs are immense," he said, pointing out that the renewed violence in late October had brought the number of people internally displaced in the area to around 115,000.

"The displaced population is in urgent need of a safe place to stay," Edwards said.

More than 100,000 people have been displaced and about 180 killed since clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June, followed by another outbreak of violence in October.

Most of the displaced are stateless Rohingya, considered by the UN to be among the most persecuted minorities in the world. They are crammed into makeshift camps.

The international community has urged Myanmar, which does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens, to address the group's plight and the world's top Islamic umbrella group has described their treatment as a "genocide".

The UNHCR stressed that the existing camps were overcrowded, while host families who had taken in people fleeing the violence were struggling even to support themselves.

"Some people are living on the sites of their burnt-out homes while others are sleeping on boats or taking refuge on islets," Edwards said.

The agency said it had already distributed more than 500 tents from its stocks inside the country since the violence broke out in June, as well as 700 tents donated by the Korea International Cooperation Agency.

It had also already handed out aid to more than 50,000 displaced people in the region, including blankets, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, clothing and hygiene materials, Edwards said.

However, another 25,000 relief kits were urgently needed, he said, adding that the UNHCR and other agencies needed $24.35 million (18.9 million euros) to meet the needs for emergency shelter, non-food relief items, camp management and security until next June.

The UNHCR was also deeply concerned about "increased restrictions on movement (since June), which is affecting people's livelihoods and food security."

"Access to basic services has also been difficult, he said, cautioning that "if not addressed, these problems could trigger further displacement." 
Bangkok Post

Egypt has expressed is strong irritation towards the renewal of acts of violence committed against Muslims in Myanmar, and urged the authorities in Myanmar (formerly Burma) to take immediate, decisive action and bring to an end such acts of violence committed against (Burmese) Muslims who belong to the Rohingya ethicity. 

A spokesman from the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry, minister plenipotentiary Amro Rushdi said today that the Ministry yesterday summoned Myanmar's ambassador in Cairo and handed him an urgent message which carries Egypt's strong irritation from renewal of acts of violence against Muslims of the Rohingya ethic minority in Myanmar.

The spokesman said that the message included Egypt's demanding the government of Myanmar to take immediate, decisive actions in order to bring to an end such acts of violence which targeted the lives and properties of Muslims in Myanmar and also to bring the committers of such criminal acts before justice in addition to drastic solving the crisis in order to prevent the recurrence of such acts of violence and to stop all sorts of discrimination against Muslims from the Rohingya or from any other ethnicity.

-(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) --

BANGKOK - A leading international rights group today accused Myanmar security forces of supporting some of the brutal anti-Muslim violence last month that forced 35,000 people from torched homes. The allegations come one day before President Barack Obama visits after a year of unprecedented democratic reforms in the South-east Asian country.

Human Rights Watch said soldiers in some parts of western Rakhine state also tried to stop Buddhist attacks and protect Muslim civilians, known as Rohingya. But the group said the government needs to do much more to protect the stateless minority, who are denied citizenship because they are considered foreigners from Bangladesh.

The New York-based rights group also released new satellite imagery detailing the extensive destruction of several Muslim areas, including a village attacked by Buddhist mobs armed with spears and bows and arrows where adults were beheaded and women and children killed.

Violence in June, and again late last month, has killed around 200 people on both sides and displaced more than 110,000 more, the vast majority of them Muslims. 

"The satellite images and eyewitness accounts reveal that local mobs, at times with official support, sought to finish the job of removing Rohingya from these areas," Human Rights Watch's Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement.

"The central government's failure to take serious action to ensure accountability for the June violence fostered impunity, and makes it responsible for later attacks not only when security forces were directly involved, but also when they weren't," he said.

There was no immediate comment from Myanmar's government on the charges. But The Associated Press has interviewed victims in Rakhine state who gave similar accounts, accusing security forces of taking part in the violence or of doing little to stop it.

On Friday, the United Nations announced it had received a letter from Myanmar President Thein Sein pledging to consider new rights for the Rohingya for the first time and condemning the "senseless violence" that has battered Rakhine state. But the letter stopped short of a full commitment that citizenship and other new freedoms would be granted, and gave no timeline.

The White House says Obama will press the matter Monday with Mr Thein Sein, along with demands to free remaining political prisoners as the nation transitions to democracy after a half-century of military rule that ended last year.

The UN has called the Rohingya - who are widely reviled by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar - among the most persecuted people on Earth.

Myanmar denies the Rohingya citizenship, even though many of their families have lived in Myanmar for generations. The government considers them to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh, but Bangladesh also rejects them, rendering them stateless.

The UN estimates that 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar, where they face heavy-handed restrictions: They need permission to marry, have more than two children and travel outside of their villages. 




More than 100,000 Rohingya have been displacedBANGKOK, 16 November 2012 (IRIN) - Five months after communal violence erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine State, the plight of the 800,000 Muslim Rohingya there has worsened: Renewed violence in late October left more than 100,000 displaced, according to the government. 

Clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in June 2012 razed homes and places of worship in northern parts of the state, killed an estimated 80 and displaced tens of thousands more. The government imposed a night-time curfew and declared a state of emergency in six townships, including Maungdaw and Buthidaung near the border with Bangladesh. 

Who are the Rohingya? 

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority ethnically related to the Bengali people living in neighbouring Bangladesh's Chittagong District. They form 90 percent of the one million people living in the north of Rakhine State in Myanmar, which borders Bangladesh and includes the townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. While residents in northern Rakhine State are predominantly Muslim, ethnic Rakhines - primarily Buddhist - are the majority of the state's three million residents. In 1989 the military-led government changed the state's colonial name of Arakan to Rakhine. 

The government lists 135 national "races" (a translation from Burmese for "people type") classified by ethnicity and dialect, of which the biggest groups are Burman, Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan. 

Myanmar's indigenous Burman accounted for 69 percent of the country's population, according to the last official census of 1983. 

What is the government's position? 

Some Rohingya have been in Myanmar for centuries while others arrived in recent decades; regardless of how long they have been in country, Burmese authorities consider them undocumented immigrants and do not recognize them as citizens or as an ethnic group. 

As a result, Rohingya are de jure stateless, according to the 1982 Burmese Citizenship law, and are viewed as a source of instability in the country. 

In July, Burmese President Thein Sein shocked human rights groups by saying Rohingyas should be placed in UN-sponsored refugee camps, while at the same time offering to resettle Rohingyas in any other country willing to accept them. 

"Burma will take responsibility for its ethnic nationalities but it is not at all possible to recognize the illegal border-crossing Rohingyas who are not an ethnic [group] in Burma," said a statement on the President's Office website. 

Conditions inside the camps are poor

At the same time, the President's Office announced on 31 October that it will continue to "take actions against individuals and organizations responsible for the conflict" to prevent further violence, and that investigations are under way. 

What are the roots of inter-communal tensions? 

Muslims living along the coast of Rakhine State can be traced back to the eighth and ninth centuries when Arab traders settled in the area. Muslims and Buddhists have historically lived on both sides of the Naaf river, which marks the current border with Bangladesh. The British annexed the region after an 1824-26 conflict and encouraged migration from India, including that of labourers, merchants and administrators. Since independence in 1948, successive Burmese governments have considered this migration illegal. 

Without citizenship, Rohingya cannot legally leave the townships of Rakhine State and, since 1994, must request special permits (often available only through bribes) to marry, which restricts Rohingya couples to having two children, a limitation other ethnic groups do not face. Common-law couples are vulnerable to prosecution. The government includes the Rohingya in official family registries and gives them temporary registration cards. However, such documents do not mention place of birth and are not considered as evidence of birth in Myanmar. 

As a result of statelessness, suspicion, and deep-seated hatred, the Rohinyga continue to face persecution and are subject to discrimination through targeted restrictions (like family size) and requirements (unpaid forced labour for security forces). 

So divisive is their status in Myanmar that even pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains largely silent on their plight, out of fear of losing popular support, while the government of the reform-minded Burmese president could well face a major public backlash if it were unilaterally to grant them citizenship, experts warn. 

How many are displaced? 

In June 2012 violence between ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya residents following the alleged rape of an ethnic Rakhine woman by a group of Muslim men displaced nearly 75,000, mostly Rohingya; most are still in nine overcrowded camps in Sittwe township, the capital of Rakhine State. After relative calm, violence resurged in October, spread into a larger area and displaced an additional 35,000, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yangon. 

This displacement is on top of the estimated more than 200,000 Rohingya who have fled earlier crackdowns and discrimination, seeking refuge in Bangladesh, where they are also seen as illegal migrants or elsewhere in the region. 

What is happening now? 

Sporadic reports of violence continue to be reported from Rakhine State where the situation remains tense. There is a heavy security presence in Rakhine State with locals fearing for their safety should the armed forces leave. Most of the displaced people have little or no access to food and shelter. 

The US-based rights group, Human Right Watch (HRW), released satellite pictures taken on 9 and 25 October that show extensive destruction of homes and other property in Kyaukpyu District, a predominantly Rohingya Muslim area. More than 800 homes and buildings were destroyed, with many Rohingya fleeing by sea towards Sittwe, 200km to the north. Non-Rohingya Muslims have also been displaced, raising fears violence could spread to other parts of Myanmar. Muslims form some 4 percent of the estimated 59 million population. 

Can humanitarians get in? 

Aid workers report not being able to get travel authorization to reach the displaced outside of Sittwe. 

Many wonder if they will ever return home

More than 100,000 people were displaced across eight Rakhine townships (Kyaukpyu, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Pauktaw, Ramree and Rathedaung) 

Blocked from reaching affected communities, the medical aid group,Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), has pulled out of Rakhine State, where it has worked for two decades, after its staff received death threats. 

In June MSF suspended most health programmes, leaving thousands of patients across Rakhine State cut off from medical services. 

Monsoon rains interrupted humanitarian and development assistance in Rakhine State near Sittwe; the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and a number of NGOs resumed some activities in September. 

That month the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) announced an agreement with the government to open an office in Rakhine State, but following protests from Buddhist monks, the government rescinded permission. 

Who is helping, and what is missing? 

In response to the June clashes, the government has been providing food, shelter, non-food items and medical supplies to internally displaced persons (IDP), with the support of the international community. In July an inter-agency plan was launched to provide assistance to an estimated 80,000 people affected by the crisis. 

The Rakhine Response Plan estimated it will take some US$32.5 million to cover basic emergency needs until the end of the year for an estimated 80,000 displaced. 

According to the UN database which records international humanitarian aid, the Financial Tracking Service, and not-yet-recorded recent donor announcements, nearly $24 million has been pledged or contributed to humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State this year, including $4.8 million from the UN Central Emergency Fund (set up in 2005 to provide more timely humanitarian assistance to those affected by natural disaster and armed conflict globally). 

In response to an increase in displacement, a revised plan is expected to be launched shortly to cover emergency needs in Rakhine State until June 2013. 

fm/pt/cb





The Bangladesh government on Sunday rejected comments by Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi suggesting that stateless Muslim Rohingyas may be illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's opposition National League for Democracy of Myanmarpictured at Parliament House in New Delhi on November 15, 2012. The Bangladesh government on Sunday rejected comments by Suu Kyi suggesting that stateless Muslim Rohingyas may be illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

Myanmar has been rocked by two outbreaks of fighting between Buddhists and Rohingyas since June that have left 180 people dead and more than 110,000 crammed into makeshift camps.

Suu Kyi said last week that illegal crossing of the shared border with Bangladesh had to be stopped "otherwise there will never be an end to the problem".

The foreign ministry in Dhaka said the Rohingya Muslims have been living in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine for centuries and they could not be Bangladeshi as the country was only founded in 1971.

"The Ministry wishes to express surprise at such comments since these are clearly at variance from the position of the Myanmar Government," it said in a statement.

"There is... no reason to ascribe Bangladesh nationality to these people," it said, adding that since 1971 there had been influxes of Rohingya into Bangladesh from Myanmar due to "internal situations in their homeland".

Suu Kyi has faced criticism for her muted response to the ethnic violence in Myanmar and the displacement of many Rohingyas, who are described by the United Nations as among the world's most persecuted minorities.

Barack Obama will on Monday become the first US president to visit formerly isolated Myanmar, which has recently introduced major political reforms.


WASHINGTON, America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization today called on President Obama to use his upcoming visit to Myanmar (formerly Burma) to address the systematic persecution of that nation's Rohingya Muslim minority.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the Rohingya people are denied citizenship and land rights, despite having lived in Myanmar for centuries. Hundreds of Rohingya have been killed and thousands displaced by what appears to be systematic ethnic-cleansing backed by elements of the Myanmar government.

According to a Reuters news agency investigation: "The wave of attacks was organized, central-government military sources told Reuters. They were led by Rakhine nationalists tied to a powerful political party in the state, incited by Buddhist monks, and, some witnesses said, abetted at times by local security forces."

Government Forces Targeting Rohingya Muslims here 

In a letter to President Obama, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote:

"I congratulate you on your recent re-election and look forward to the strengthening of our nation's economy and security. A significant part of America's strength is derived from our defense of human rights worldwide.

"I therefore respectfully request that you speak out clearly and forcefully in defense of the human rights and physical security of Rohingya Muslims during your upcoming visit to Myanmar.

"While we all welcome Myanmar's recent move to democracy, our nation must not turn a blind eye to what is one of the worst examples of human rights violations in recent history.

"I urge you to make any upgrade in the status of Myanmar as a trading or political partner contingent on its government's willingness to recognize the rights of Rohingya Muslims and to protect them and their property from harm."

In August, CAIR sent letters to the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh seeking protection for Rohingya Muslims who faced a renewed wave of ethnic and religious persecution.

SEE: CAIR Asks Myanmar, Bangladesh to Protect Rohingya Muslims http://tinyurl.com/a9kst3a

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.



By Council on American-Islamic Relations

BANGKOK (AlertNet) – Ethnic violence in western Myanmar could threaten the country’s stability, and President Thein Sein and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi need to offer “decisive moral leadership” to stop it from spreading further, a report by International Crisis Group (ICG) released Monday said.

Leader of the opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD), Suu Kyi is hugely popular in the country but has been criticised by ethnic and rights groups for her failure to take a clear stand against the violence in Rakhine State.

Longstanding tensions between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and stateless Muslim Rohingyas turned violent in the state in early June and again in October, killing at least 160 people and displacing more than 110,000 - mostly Muslims. Rakhine groups have been allowed to issue a call to arms without censorship from the authorities.

“The government has been unable to contain the violence … and extremist rhetoric has gone largely unchallenged by the authorities and the opposition,” the report said.

“There is the potential for similar violence elsewhere, as nationalism and ethno-nationalism rise and old prejudices resurface,” ICG said.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric has come from political parties, some law enforcement officials, militant monks and ordinary Burmese - some of whom claim the Rohingyas are planning to colonise Rakhine.

There have been attacks against Muslims in other parts of Myanmar too, but none as co-ordinated as those in Rakhine State.

The fighting in Rakhine State has led to the segregation of the two communities, with tens of thousands of Muslims confined in camps, unable or unwilling to go out.

Last week, Medecins Sans Frontieres told AlertNet it was unable to provide healthcare to the displaced due to threats against its staff by hardline Rakhine nationalists.

Rights groups say the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, face some of the worst discrimination in the world. But Rakhines and other Burmese, including monks, revered symbols of democracy during protests in 2007, view them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh who deserve neither rights nor sympathy.

“Local police and riot police are overwhelmingly made up of Rakhine Buddhists who are at best unsympathetic to Muslim victims and at worst allegedly complicit in the violence,” the report added.

The report said disbanding a paramilitary border force known as “Nasaka”, seen locally as the most corrupt and abusive government agency in the area, would help address both Rohingya concerns of abusive practices and go some way to addressing Rakhine concerns of lax or corrupt border security.

The October attacks appear well coordinated by extremists and directed towards Muslims in general, including Kaman Muslims, and not just Rohingya, ICG said. Kaman Muslims are one of Myanmar's 135 official ethnic groups.

A Reuters investigation paints a similar picture, with the wave of attacks organised and led by Rakhine nationalists tied to a powerful political party in the state, incited by Buddhist monks and abetted at times by local security forces.

“This is a dangerous situation for a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country that aspires to be a democracy after decades of isolation and authoritarian rule,” the report said.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

The violence “represents a deeply disturbing backward step”, said ICG, which has commended the Southeast Asian nation’s reformist government in its previous reports.

“This is a time when political leaders must rise to the challenge of shaping public opinion rather than just following it,” the report said, referring to broad public support for Rakhines and lack of sympathy towards Rohingyas.

“A failure to do so will be to the detriment of the country, and can also do serious damage to the reputations of the government and the (NLD),” it added.

The report praised Thein Sein and his government for its democratic reforms, which include the freeing of political prisoners, abolishing pre-publication censorship, and implementing freedom of assembly laws. Thein Sein’s nominally civilian government took office in March 2011 after decades of military rule.

But there’s a tough road ahead, with the latest Rakhine violence casting “a dark cloud over the reform process”, ICG said.

CHALLENGES FOR 2015 ELECTION

Other challenges for the government include the difficulty of reaching a ceasefire in Kachin State in northern Myanmar where fighting has displaced around 75,000 people since June 2011. The government also faces rising tensions over land grabbing, and environmental and social concerns over foreign-backed infrastructure and mining projects.

Newfound freedom to organise and demonstrate also means there’s potential for more radical and confrontational social movements, ICG said.

And there’s a danger that if the NLD wins the bulk of parliamentary seats in the 2015 general election – a likely outcome if the elections are free and fair – non-NLD groups may be marginalised and this would increase tensions, the report said.

“An NLD landslide may not be in the best interests of the party or the country, as it would risk marginalising three important constituencies: the old political elite, the ethnic political parties and the non-NLD democratic forces,” said the report.

NLD needs to ensure that its expected electoral success does not come “at the expense of the broad representation needed to reflect the country’s diversity and ensure an inclusive and stable transition”.

This could mean NLD supporting a more proportional election system that would create more representative legislatures and forming an alliance, particularly with ethnic parties.





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BFFYesterday at 5:17 PM

It's odd that there is still no mention of the wave of gang robberies that Muslims there in inflicted on the people throughout the year. They robbed entire villages and traumatized them so that the Arakanese would flee their hometown . All these have been left out in order to portray Muslims as totally innocent rather than perpetrators.




-AlertNet-


12-11-2012, Paotow

Six Rohingyas (Internal Displaced Persons) of Paik Seik, Kyauk Phyu Township, were detained by the police from the refugee camp of Thantet Maw (Sandama), Paotow Township on 11th November, 2012. The detainees name and detail are as;

No. Name Father Name Age Address

1 U Kyaw Oo U Kyaw Daing 40 Paik Seik, Kyauk Phyu

2 U Tauyub U Faroque 40 Paik Seik, Kyauk Phyu

3 U Hla Phyu Chay U Nazumuddin 28 Paik Seik, Kyauk Phyu

4 U Maung Maug Chay U Nazumuddin 30 Paik Seik, Kyauk Phyu

5 U Jalarl U Nazumuddin 35 Paik Seik, Kyauk Phyu

6 U Ba Pu U Nazumuddin 37 Paik Seik, Kyauk Phyu

Polices neither show summon nor give reason to detainees. There, all police staffs are Rakhine nationals and RNDP supporters. Polices, Paramilitaries, NaSaKa Staffs, and all Rakhines are above the law. To enforce rule of law, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called to Rakhines and Rakhine State Government. Though, colorful atrocities have been happening in every day in every township of Rakhine State.

Brussels, Belgium based ICG urged to President U Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, not to be broken out crisis again in Rakhine State on 10th November, 2012. Eleven Diplomatic Commissions urges on 9th November, 2012 to Rakhines and Governments to stop violence, to enforce rule of law in that region and to uproot all hindrances, to provide humanitarian aids to all needy persons.

The UN High Commissioner for the Human Rights asked to Myanmar Government to give Citizenship to Rohingya Muslims, said to reporters by Commissioner for Human Rights, Nabi Pillay on 11th November, 2012. The main root cause of the crisis is discriminations and local sanctions against Rohingya.

Reported By Nyi Nyi Aung 
RB News Desk




VIENTIANE—In a meeting with President Thein Sein on Tuesday at the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Summit in Laos, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague urged “all political parties in Burma to do what they can to end the violence and address the issue of Rohingya citizenship.”

Hague and Thein Sein are attending the ninth ASEM summit in the Laotian capital, along with leaders of European and Asian countries.

Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday afternoon that the Arakan (Rakhine) strife was “not the fault of the government or the people of Myanmar” while admitting that action was being taken to avoid the spread of violence.

“There was an unfortunate incident that happened in the last week of May and that created anger among the native people. This led to communal violence between two communities,” he said.

“Because of this anger there were revenge incidents that spread to other parts of Rakhine 
State. The government has been handling with great caution and care so this cannot spread to other places and affect peace and stability in the country.”

Thein Sein would not comment on the summit when approached by The Irrawaddy while leaving a lunchtime meeting on Tuesday.

Hague’s comments were echoed by Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natelagawa, who told The Irrawaddy that “one core issue in resolving the conflict is citizenship, and this is a matter the Myanmar government must address in the future.”

However, the recent violence in Arakan State and the plight of Burma’s Rohingya minority was not discussed at the summit, Natalagawa added. “There has not been any more specific discussion of the issue of Rakhine State and the Rohingya,” he said.

Expressing hope that Indonesia’s example in resolving sectarian strife could be emulated in Burma, Natalagawa said that the Arakan violence “is not a conflict of religion, but is a communal conflict, a horizontal one.”

Discussing their Tuesday meeting in Vientiane, William Hague said that, “I was pleased to meet President Thein Sein to follow up our meeting in Burma in January. I congratulated him on the progress Burma has made so far on vital political and economic reforms.”

The British government hopes that Thein Sein will visit the UK next year, with Hague adding that, “I encouraged continued cooperation between the UK and Burmese governments to promote responsible trade with and investment in Burma. And I expressed my hope that the president would be able to visit the UK early next year.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak expressed unease for the plight of Muslims in western Burma. “Malaysia remains extremely concerned about ongoing tensions between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine State of Myanmar,” he said.

“We urge all parties to exercise restraint and avoid provoking further hostilities and hope that authorities, including the government and religious leaders, can work towards a peaceful resolution. Malaysia stands ready to lend assistance, so that further displacement and loss of life can be prevented.”


Since five months back there have been continued massacres in entire Arakan by Rakhines terrorists with the full backings of Myanmar regime which is still in International forums about ethnic Rohingya Muslims' unending sufferings.

Though brutalities on Rohingyas are unexplainable by language, World communities are taking lesser degrees focus to impose effective pressures. So we are appealing to all concerned to act as human beings to make relieve their sufferings by supporting them with every possible means.

Behind these there are some more crucial problems created by several parties. Nowadays you can find in many news medias about secret hidings and transporting of arms and ammunitions . Concerned parties have to survey who are behind those transactions for the sake of regional peace and stability.

Chittagong hill tribes or Shanti Bahini of Bangladesh and Rakhine ( Mogh) terrorists of Arakan are the real culprits of the problems. They have their greater Arakan projects to create an Arakan Independence state with the support of neighboring India by annihilating Rohingya Muslims from Arakan an Bangali Muslims from the area by connecting the Chittagong hill- tract and proper Arakan. Bangladesh authority is trying to hide the arms shifting from the media because of Indian agents' pressure. Present Bangladeshi regime is doing for only their permanent governmental seats instead of peace and stability and sovereignty of the country.

Arson attacks and razing temples(monasteries) in Bangladesh are their own hands to legalize the pogroms against Muslims in both Bangladesh and Burma. The culprits are getting regime's shelter. Arms ceased in Bay of Bengal and Dhaka city are ample proof of the matter to which India backed Bangladesh government is trying to hide them from the media. Members from Shanty Bahini who are only Bangalese educated and not knowing a single Burmese reading and writing are taking parts in massacring Muslims in Arakan.

Though it is claiming peace in Arakan , the pogrom is still running secretly by those Rakhine terrorists from both sides.

Hence all concerned Bangladeshi peoples and peace loving people of the region are obliged to take care of it so as the greater loses have not be faced and peace be hampered. 

N B: : Bangladesh Authority's negligence with deaf ears and keeping silence at this crucial period of genocide in Arakan is them to face blames and non cooperation from the Muslims world and International communities.

Analyzed by ARAKAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (ANC)
RB News Desk





BY EDWARD LOXTON

Where is Suu Kyi's famous 'moral authority' as Muslim Rohingya homes are razed to the ground?

CHIANG MAI - The iconic international image of Burma's charismatic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is rapidly losing its lustre as she maintains her silence on the continuing violence in her country's westernmost Rakhine State.

The violence began in June, sparked by allegations that a Buddhist girl had been raped by Muslim men. After an uneasy lull, Buddhists again went on the rampage last week, killing more than 100 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority community, who have been suffering severe state persecution for decades.

Aerial photographs taken from the region show large areas of Muslim-populated towns and villages razed to the ground. About 70,000 people have so far lost their homes in the violence. 

The Rohingya policy followed by the current government differs little from the discrimination inflicted by the military junta that ruled Burma for the past 50 years. Most Rohingya are regarded as non-Burmese Bengalis and are locked out of Burma's political and social structure and denied fundamental rights guaranteed by citizenship.

"Suu Kyi has lost much of her credibility because of her silence over these appalling events," SOAS University of London researcher Guy Horton told The Week. "Her evasiveness on one of the greatest human rights tragedies in the world today has lost her the commodity she has always had in abundance - her moral authority."

Horton is the author of a report on human rights violations in eastern Burma, Dying Alive, which contributed to the UN Security Council resolution in 2007 'Burma: A Threat to the Peace'.

Veteran Swedish journalist and author Bertil Lintner explained Suu Kyi's dilemma. If she condemned the attacks on Muslims, he told The Week, "many Buddhists - her main constituency - would turn against her. But if she says nothing, she'll lose credibility in the international community.

"She appears to have chosen the latter, and, consequently, criticism against her is growing among international human rights organisations and activists. From her point of view, that may be preferable to having domestic opinion, which is fiercely anti-Rohingya, turn against her."

Lintner, author of several books on Burma, who had talks with Suu Kyi in the Burmese capital Naypyidaw earlier this month, said she was already under pressure at home. "The problem is that her silence on the clashes in Rakhine state as well as the ongoing government military offensive against the Kachins in the north have already cost her a lot of popular support."

There are few Kachins who express any sympathy for Suu Kyi these days, Lintner went on, and even the Shan leader Khun Htun Oo said in an interview while he was in the US last month that she has become "neutralised". Many young Burmese are also becoming critical of her for other reasons, arguing that she has moved far too close to the government and the military.

But does Suu Kyi have any choice, if she wants to win the 2015 election? Guy Horton believes other great leaders "would have reacted differently and grasped the nettle...

"Gandhi, for instance, went on hunger strike to try to stop exactly the kind of horror of what is being inflicted in Rakhine State today. Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King - moral leaders with whom she is compared - would have shown solidarity with the victims and called for passive resistance. Instead, she has just collected prizes - including the US Congressional Medal of Honour - from a fawning world."

In Horton's view, it's no exaggeration to say that what is happening in Rakhine State is similar to the persecution endured by the Jews in 1930s Germany.

"It should be noted that a call by President Thein Sein for the deportation of the Rohingya or their forcible transfer into camps amounts to an incitement to commit a crime against humanity, as defined in the Rome Statute," Horton told The Week.

"In addition, the destructive targeting of a racial/religious group may amount to a form of genocide. The UN Special Rapporteur on Burma should renew his call for an investigation into crimes against humanity in Burma, which are not subject to the whims of political feasibility."

However, Maung Zarni, a Burma expert and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics, has a different view, telling the Associated Press: "Politically, Aung San Suu Kyi has absolutely nothing to gain from opening her mouth on this. She is no longer a political dissident trying to stick to her principles. She's a politician and her eyes are fixed on the prize, which is the 2015 majority Buddhist vote."

Horton challenged Zarni's view: "If she adopts such a position of cynical Realpolitik the long-term consequences are that she will lose not only her moral credibility, but the support of most ethnic people and possibly the 2015 election itself."

Source : The week UK



SITTWE - Crammed into squalid camps, thousands of people who fled communal violence in Myanmar face a deepening humanitarian crisis with critical shortages of food, water and medicine, aid workers say. More than 100,000 people have been displaced since June in two major spasms of violence in western Rakhine State, where renewed clashes last month between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims uprooted about 30,000 people. Dozens were killed on both sides and thousands of homes were torched. Even in the camps near the state capital Sittwe housing ethnic Rakhine Buddhists - who have freedom of movement and are able to work if they can find employment - people are going hungry.

“We don’t have enough to eat,” said Phyu Ma Thein, 33. “The abbot gave us a bowl of rice but we have no pots, no plates. We have nothing. We’re just trying to survive.”

The situation is likely to deteriorate, the UN Refugee Agency warned this week, as a new influx of refugees pushes the camps “beyond capacity in terms of space, shelter and basic supplies such as food and water”.

“Food prices in the area have doubled and there are not enough doctors to treat the sick and wounded,” it added. Most of the displaced are Rohingya, described by the UN as among the world’s most persecuted minorities. Seen by the government and many Burmese as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh, Myanmar’s 800,000 stateless Rohingya have long faced severe discrimination, according to rights groups.

Their displacement camps are at crisis point, according to Refugees International (RI) which estimates that even before last month’s flare-up nearly a quarter of children in the squalid facilities were malnourished.

“Conditions in these camps are as bad if not worse than ones in Eastern Congo or Sudan,” Melanie Teff, a researcher with the charity who visited Sittwe in September, told AFP from London. “Child malnutrition rates are startlingly high. There’s an urgent need for clean water and food. If further aid does not come through there will be some unnecessary deaths,” she said.

With tens of thousands of Rohingya in outlying villages struggling to make a living since security collapsed after June’s unrest, Teff fears official camps could be overwhelmed by a new wave of refugees over the coming months. Myanmar, which is opening up after decades of secretive junta rule, has said it has to accept aid from Muslim countries or face an international backlash. That concession by President Thein Sein last month came despite a series of angry protests by Myanmar Buddhists against efforts by a world Islamic body to help Muslims affected by the violence in Rakhine.

But the flow of aid is still sluggish to the tinderbox province.

In Baw Du Pha relief camp, where several thousand Rohingya refugees from Sittwe live cheek-by-jowl, surviving on rations and severly short of medical care, a mother-of-four told AFP Friday of her family’s desperation. “I cannot give my baby rice when she needs it. We are suffering,” said Laila, 20. “When my daughter gets sick we have no money for medicine.” Compounding the immediate need for essentials such as rice, water and oil, aid workers say refugees are facing a mounting psychological toll with terrified children bearing the brunt. “They lost their houses in the fires. Children cannot be left alone like before. So they’re depressed,” said Moe Thadar, a local Red Cross worker. With tensions still at boiling point despite beefed-up security, the relief effort is in jeopardy and the outlook for peace is grim unless the two communities can somehow reconcile, according to Teff. “As it stands there is a total lack of hope for the Rohingya. They have been rejected by many countries. They have suffered all around,” she said. “The only way out is for the international community to act on the current situation.” The UNHCR said the recent bloodshed spurred several thousand Rohingya to take to rickety boats this week in the hope of finding shelter at camps on the coast near the outskirts of Sittwe or escaping the country altogether.

But tragedy awaits even in flight, as around 130 people went missing after one boat sank off the coast near Bangladesh’s border with Myanmar while carrying Rohingya refugees heading for Malaysia.

Dozens of other boats were repelled by nervous Myanmar security forces near Sittwe, leaving them with no choice but to dock on the barren shoreline, according to an AFP reporter who visited the scene this week. “Humans need shelter, a place to sleep and eat,” said Myint Oo, a displaced Muslim who has lost his house and fishing business. “If you cannot eat and sleep, it’s worse than dying.”

Source :AFP



From : Kyauk Nimaw 

Received : 31.10.2012 at 4:35 pm [Amsterdam time] 

Kyaw Kyaw reported the followings on phone conversation: 

Kyaw Kyaw is an Rakhine Ethnic, a son of intellectual Rakhine , who loves sharing humanly value and lives peacefully with all other religions especially with Rohingya and the fellow –habitants. 

He added: 

‘Rohingyas in Kyauk Nimaw have already determined not to run away from their ancestral homeland and rather prefer to die facing the ultimate consequences against attacks by Rakhine extremists and security forces as well. They have already taken the engines out of the boats to strengthen their ‘determination’ against the fleeing’. 

On this subject, one of the military officers asked the Rohingyas why they were not fleeing to their country, Bangladesh. Maulana Abukalam, a Muslim leader responded to the military officer,’ This is our own country, we love dying here, do you too want to kill us in collaboration with the Rakhines?’. Then the military officer assures that they will provide the protection as possible as they could. Then 20 minutes later, the Rakhine extremists mob dispersed. 

On the previous day( 30/10/2012) early morning, the Rakhine extremists- mob, with new faces, normally hired ones from other towns, launched a new attack on the Muslims despite of the Military and security presence . This time the military and the security force tried their best as they promised to defend the mob but failed against the huge bloodthirsty Rakhine extremists. Finally the military force marked a Red line and warned whoever crossed would be shot. Then some 30 Rakhines ( new faces – hired ones) who ignored the redline and warning were shot dead. 

On a phone conversation with a Rohingya resident named U Hamid from Kyauk Phyu who is currently sheltering in Sandong of Sittwe told that he received a phone call from his very friend, District commissioner ( Police), and he asked help, protection. He replied negative as the Central Command warned him not to interfere. 

Hamid also told that local Rakhines and Rohingyas are living for thousands year friendly, respectfully to each other till the historic day of the attack by unfamiliar Rakhine terrorists. Hamid seriously and surprisingly mentioned that two days before the attack on Rohingyas took place, military moved all local Rakhines to Monestary from Amla Quarter, Myo Thik, Than Phan Chaung. Because Hamid thinks that Rakhines could have helped Rohingyas during attack as happened in Akyab. Then Military dragged Rohingyas from their houses to an opened field and looted all properties from their houses including gold. After two days military brought Rakhines back to their houses. 

Furthermore Military keeps the route of Yangon for Rohingyas open aiming systematically Rohingya cleanses from Arakan, said Hamid. As the result, about 30 Rihingyas went to Rangoon by paying 100’000 Kyats per person to escape genocidal acts on them. 
  
Reported by BRCNL Media
RB News Desk


As the country moves towards reforms, is this the chance for the government to address the plight of the minorities?

Myanmar wants to end its global political and economic isolation but international attention is also casting a spotlight on a bloody cycle of ethnic violence.


"The government understands that this is a very important issue and that internationally it has attracted a lot of attention … but the Arakanese Buddhists are really on a rampage at the moment because they feel they are misunderstood and that the growth of the Rohingya ... [is] pushing them out of their own land."

- Larry Jagan, South East Asia specialist

The latest unrest in western Myanmar has displaced tens of thousands of people and left more than 80 dead. And the victims are blaming the government for failing to prevent it.

The island state is one of the most diverse countries in South East Asia - a patchwork of more than a 100 different ethnicities - but its economy has suffered through decades of military rule and international sanctions.

Nevertheless, foreign investors are queuing up to get a foothold in the country, formerly known as Burma - which has vast resources of every sort and all ripe for investment.

It boasts substantial deposits of gas and oil, coal, gold, precious stones, timber and is home to rich marine life to support fisheries.

The government is also planning to revive the rice trade and double exports over the next five years after it was once known as the world’s top rice exporter.


"I think these are long term problems that are going to be part of the story of nation-building project for decades to come. It has been part of the issue since the birth of the nation that you have, in many ways, all the different communities competing for and arguing over what it is to be part of this nation or what it is to be part of a separate type of community."

- Maitrii Aung-Thwin, modern Southeast Asiana historian

While standing at the crossroads as it embraces sweeping change, it does remain criticised for political repression and racism.

The country’s population largely constitutes of:
The Bhuddhist Burmese people, who form the largest group and historically lived in what were then Burma’s central and upper plains
Among the many other ethnic groups in Myanmar are the Shan, the Karen and the Kachin, all of which have fought armed insurgencies against the Burmese junta
And the Rohingya form one of Myanmar's smallest minorities - their harsh treatment by the government has drawn international attention and condemnation.

So, as Myanmar moves towards more reforms, is this the chance for the government to address the plight of the minorities? And will reforms help the nation’s minorities?

Inside Story, with presenter Teymoor Nabili, speaks to: Maitrii Aung-Thwin,a historian of modern Southeast Asian history at the National University of Singapore, and author of "A History of Myanmar since Ancient Times"; Larry Jagan, a southeast Asia specialist and former BBC World Service Asia editor; and Brian Joseph, the senior director for Asia and Global programs at the National Endowment for Democracy and a member of the Burma Donors' Forum.

MYANMAR'S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK:

Economists are predicting Myanmar could become the next economic frontier in the region - but it needs to undo the effects of five decades of military dictatorship that has made it Southeast Asia’s poorest nation.

The Asia Development Bank predicts the country could have GDP growth of 6.3 per cent next year because of its vast reserves of natural wealth.

Myanmar's per capita gross domestic product is just $857 compared to that of neighbouring Thailand's $9,500.

The country ranks 149th out of 187 countries on the UN's Human Development Index - that measures life expectancy, education and income.


About 130 passengers are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank off the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, according to Bangladesh police and a Rohingya advocacy group on Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar in past decades to escape persecution, often heading to neighbouring Bangladesh, and recent unrest has triggered another exodus.

Mohammad Farhad, police inspector of Teknaf on the southeast tip of Bangladesh, told AFP that one survivor from the sinking reported that the boat had about 135 passengers on board.

"The boat was heading to Malaysia illegally," Farhad said, adding that the 24-year-old survivor was being held in custody.

"He does not know what happened to the others as it was dark and he was desperate to save his own life."

Farhad said a total of six survivors were reported to have been picked up by a fishing vessel after the refugee boat left Sabrang village in Bangladesh on Saturday.

"We have spoken to families of missing passengers," he said.

There were conflicting reports about whether all those on the boat were Rohingya and also over the time of the sinking, which Bangladesh police said occurred early Sunday.

"We learned that an overcrowded boat with 133 people on board, which was leaving for Malaysia," Chris Lewa, the Bangkok-based director of The Arakan Project, a Rohingya advocacy group, said.

"Six survivors have been rescued by fishing boats. The others are missing," she told AFP.

Lewa however said her organisation had been told that the accident happened overnight Monday to Tuesday.

At least 89 people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in a new wave of communal unrest sweeping Myanmar's western Rakhine state, where violence between Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine in June left dozens killed.

Since the unrest erupted, Bangladesh has been turning away boatloads of fleeing Rohingya.

The policy has been criticised by the United Nations, but Bangladesh said it was already burdened with an estimated 300,000 Rohingya.

Many Rohingya refugees now try to head to Malaysia for a better life.

Source- AFP/xq



Christian-Muslim Dialogue
By Back to Religion Editor


Letter sent to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Statement on violence, hatred, mistreatment of minorities and terrorist Attacks:

Dear Ms San Suu Kyi,

We write to you as the Presidents of the Christian Muslim Forum in England. We are concerned to see accounts of attacks on the Rohingya Muslim people of Burma at the hands of terrorists and the Burmese military.

We urge you to plead for the cause of the Rohingyas with the Burmese Government, for cessation of hostilities against them and impartial application of law and order.

We also ask you to highlight the ongoing discrimination against the Rohingya, especially since the 1982 Citizenship Law and call upon the Burmese government to recognize the Rohingya as Burmese citizens. Ethnic cleansing and marginalization of minorities can have no place in a modern state.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Bond

Director

Christian Muslim Forum

Signed by the Presidents of the Christian Muslim Forum: Revd Alison Tomlin, Anjum Anwar, Rt Revd Donnett Thomas, Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham, Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra, Rt Revd Paul Hendricks.



Statement:
1. We acknowledge that religions are implicated in acts of violence and terrorism, though religion does not justify atrocities

2. We affirm that no religion, in itself, advocates violence or terrorism

3. Equating religion with violence is a distortion, whether done by those opposed to religion or those who hijack religion to support violence

4. Peace with God and our fellow human beings is at the heart of Christianity and Islam

5. We acknowledge that believers do not always make clear that they are for peace and against violence

6. Doctrines of ‘just war’ and (military) jihad do not provide any justification for acts of terrorism

7. We urge Christians and Muslims, and all people, to renounce violence and work for peace

8. We are opposed to religious intolerance, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and marginalization of minorities and condemn intolerant attitudes

9. We especially condemn any mistreatment and persecution by Christians or Muslims, including in situations of conversion

10. We feel deeply the pain of attacks on all who suffer from hostility and violence and urge those in conflict situations to acknowledge the humanity of the other

11. We stand with those who suffer in our words, prayers and deeds

12. We call on all governments to work for peace, instead of increasing conflict, and to respect all people within their countries.

Source here
KUWAIT: Kuwait deplores in the strongest terms acts of violence, including killing, displacing, and terrorizing, the minority Rohingya Muslims in the western state of Rakhine in Myanmar, a highplaced source at the ministry of foreign affairs said here yesterday.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have been killed, their homes burned, their villages pillaged, all of which acts are a flagrant violation of basic human rights and tantamount to crimes against humanity, noted the source. Kuwait, in its commitment to resolutions promulgated by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, urges the government of Myanmar to bear its responsibilities by moving quickly to protect the lives of the minority Rohingya Muslims and to implement a course where all ethnic and sects of the Myanmar society are treated equally, in the recent spirit of adopting the tools of democracy and reform, said the source.

Moreover, the source behooved the international community to also bear its responsibility in that regard by seeking relief for the beleaguered Rohingyas, including sending relief aid supplies to them as speedily as possible. — KUNA

Sources Here:

    • Rohingya Exodus