On 16th October, 2012, at around 10:00am, a Rohingya, Esuf (F) U Aman Ullah, 30 years, from Alel Than Kyaw, Mawttu La Ywa, Maungdaw south, was arrested by a policeman, Win Than Oo (Du Ray Oak- One Star in rank), Camp-in-charge for Maw Ra Waddy Police Camp, while the victim was having a tea in the teashop of Rofique in Alel Than Kyaw market. The arrester meaninglessly demanded one million Kyat from the arrestee soon after the incident occurred. As the arrestee was unable to comply the demand of the said police, the police hand-capped and brought the victim to his camp. According to the report received in the evening, he was sent to Maungdaw downtown Police Station. The arrester informed the family of the arrestee that the victim will be released immediately if five lakhs (half million Kyat) of cash money is given to the arrester. This is not the only incident occurred on Rohingyas. These types of incidents have been being occurred before and after the violence in Rakhine State upon Rohingyas.

The very policeman had taken Fifty Thousand Kyat from another Rohingya on 14th October, 2012, by arresting the victim, Mohammed Ali (F) U Jamal, 52 years from the same village aforementioned. Interesting as well as funny that the said policeman told the victim after release that he arrested him just to get money as a help.

Even disables inescapable from Police and Police Family

Hla Myint (One Star rank in Police) is an in-charge for Crimes Detection Group in Maungdaw Police Force, who and whose family live in Ward-1, Jetty Road, by hiring an apartment on second floor of U Shobbir’s Building. Near the ground floor of that building, his wife sells a pretending betel shop. In reality, by taking protection from her husband, she involves in many types of both legal and illegal businesses, such as servicing Bengla illegal mobile phone, selling Yaba tablets (famous as ‘WY’), and so on. Just for show as legal business, she also sells seasonal fruits and vegetables. As a businessman, she has interaction with different people including many Rohingyas. A Rohingya, who is the son-in-law of Mohammed Alom (F) U Futunnya from Ka Nyin Tan (Shiddah Fara), Maungdaw suburb, has some deals with her. Mohammed Alom is a dumb (cannot speak since born) and he works as a labourer in Ka Nyin Tan market. Before the violence in Maungdaw, the son-in-law of the dumb had bought some oranges from her and he had to pay back some amount of money to her. For this deal, her husband, Hla Myint, searched for the debtor. When he was not found, Hla Myint arrested the debtor’s father-in-law, who is a dumb as detailed above. After the arrest, Hla Myint brought the victim to his private hired apartment and the victim was inhumanly tortured the whole night. When Hla Myint observed that the victim seemed to be dying soon, he called two of his colleagues who are policemen as well, and handed over the victim to his colleagues to bring to police station in order to keep in detention. The fortune of the victim was unknown till reporting time.

Rohingya Youths,

RB News Desk

Most of the requests for the meat of animals to be sacrificed at next week's Feast of Sacrifice in the Islamic world came to humanitarian aid organizations for Arakan.

Chairman of the Executive Board of the Dost Eli Association, based in Konya province, Mehmet Secer said that they began accepting donations as part of the Feast of Sacrifice.

"90 percent of those making donations want their donation to be sent to Arakan state in Myanmar. Last year, most people wanted their donations to be sent to Somalia and in the year before that most people wanted their donations to go to Pakistan. There is high interest in Arakan where Muslims there face poverty and massacres. We expect to receive 2,000 donations overseas. One thousand of them would be sent to Arakan," Secer stressed.

On the other hand, Director of the Konya branch of Kimse Yok Mu Association, Hasan Kiratli said that they would assist animal sacrificing in 70 countries.

Deputy Chairman of the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH), Durmus Aydin said that they had been organizing animal sacrifices for the past 20 years.

"We will sacrifice animals in 101 countries and regions across the globe," Aydin also said.

What is the Feast of Sacrifice

The Sacrifice Feast in Turkey is a four-day religious festival. The Sacrifice Feast traditions in Turkey include sacrificing an animal in a special ritual, visiting relatives and helping the poor.

The Sacrifice Feast is one of the oldest Islamic holidays in Turkey. It commemorates the story about Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) who showed obedience to God by agreeing to sacrifice his son. God then sent him a ram to be sacrificed instead. The Sacrifice Feast comes about 70 days after the Ramadan Feast. According to old belief it is unlucky to get married or start a new business in the period between these two holidays.

Traditionally, on the first day of the Sacrifice Feast in Turkey, men of each family go to a mosque for a special morning prayer. Then the sacrifice ritual begins. In some regions in Turkey, people paint the sacrificial animal with henna and adorn it with ribbons. The butcher reads a prayer before slaughtering the animal. Families share about two-thirds of the animal-s meat with relatives and neighbors, and they traditionally give about one-third to the poor.

In recent years, some Turkish people started making donations to charity organizations instead of sacrificing animals. Many people in Turkey take special care to help the poor during the Sacrifice Feast.

People usually wear their best clothes during the Sacrifice Feast. They welcome guests to their homes or visit relatives or friends during the holiday. Many people in Turkey reserve the first day of the feast for visiting their closest relatives. Young people greet their older relatives and neighbors by kissing their hand as a sign of respect. Some people in Turkey may use the four-day holiday to go on a vacation.

Source here 

 Myanmar’s government will not allow the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to open a liaison office after thousands of Buddhist monks and laypeople marched to protest the plan.

Sectarian tensions have been running high in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state after clashes in June between Rakhine Buddhists and Bengali Rohingya Muslims which left nearly 90 people dead and displaced tens of thousands. Muslim mosques and Buddhist temples were burned down during the unrest.

Myanmar’s state press had reported that the government and the OIC agreed last month to open an office in Yangon to provide aid for people displaced by the fighting, and the OIC sent a team to investigate the violence.

On Monday, the Information Ministry cited the President’s Office as saying that “the opening of the OIC office will not be allowed as it is contradictory to the aspirations of the people.”

The OIC has 57 member states and seeks to be the voice of the Islamic world.

The anti-OIC protests were held in four Myanmar cities, including Yangon, the country’s largest city, where about 5,000 people participated. Some said they were marching to safeguard Buddhism.

Holding banners reading “We don’t want OIC” and “Long live Buddhism,” the protesters marched from the Shwedagon pagoda to Sule pagoda in the city center, shouting slogans against the OIC and paralyzing traffic in the area.

Similar protests were staged in the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe and the second-largest city, Mandalay.

Reflecting widespread public opinion, the head of an influential privately owned news magazine, Weekly Eleven, said there was no need for an OIC office because “we are not a member of the OIC and we are not an Islamic country.”

“If the OIC wants to provide humanitarian aid, they can do so through NGOs or the U.N.,” Than Htut Aung told The Associated Press. “The opening of an OIC office amounts to inflaming further tension between Rakhine people and the Bengalis, and we will not allow the opening of an OIC office in Myanmar.”

source here 

Today Rohingya are in critical situation not only in Myanmar but even in other countries where we think we will be safe. Among them one of the worst is Bangladesh where Rohingyas are living in dire situation. Why can’t we raise our voice for them, peacefully and logically. We are dying in our own country as well as in other countries too. While we are unable to save our lives inside our country, we can at least do something for the peoples who are suffering in other countries. It is our advice to our leaders that if we can outcry collectively with some of these 3 points.

 

 1. We have spoken many Rohingya Refugees who said that they want to return to Myanmar as soon as their Citizenship Rights and Civil Liberties are guaranteed. Until these rights are guaranteed in Myanmar, they want to stay, work and educate their children in other countries. They feel that Bangladesh is too poor and the elite, administration and media in Bangladesh are very unfriendly. So they usually try to go to Arab countries, Malaysia, Singapore, Europe and USA. They need ID card as Myanmar Rohingya and want to travel with genuine legal travel documents. But at present for traveling to other countries they are obliged to obtain Bangladeshi Passports with false identity as Bangladesh National.

 

2. We think, international community should find out ways to convince Myanmar government to restore full citizenship rights and civil liberties of Rohingyas in Myanmar and expedite the process of voluntary repatriation of the Myanmar Refugees.

3. ID Card and Travel Document should be issued to all Rohingya Refugees and asylum seekers in Bangladesh – whether documented or undocumented. Otherwise, these Rohingya refugees may become stateless permanently, and Myanmar Junta’s cruelty & Human Rights abuses will increase and their military ambition may bolster to threaten the security of its neighbors.

Mohamed Ibrahim 

European Rohingya Council 

(Secretary) 

Media, Information and Organizing  

Media@theerc.net 

Germany
RB News  Desk.

Monday, 15th October 2012 ,Since the systematic ethnic cleansing of Rohigyas was instigated on 8th June 2012, the atrocities against them have been being carried out in large scale by Burmese regime in cooperation with Rakhine terrorists. Rohingyas’ homes were burnt down and thousands of them were displaced on their own land. Many thousands of them were killed though Burmese officials grossly understated the number of their deaths. Their properties were looted and their women and under-aged girls were either raped or gang-raped by Military and others. Their mosques and religious have been locked down. Their educated people and other innocent people have been detained for nothing. Their access to foods and medicines are blocked. In short, their current situation in the state is worse than the condition of Jews was in Nazi extermination camps during WWII. 

Burmese regime and Rakhine extremists have lied, deceived and tried all the tricks to cover up their crimes against humanity. In fact, international community, today, knows Thein Sein more as a joker than a president because of his frequent self-contradicting statements regarding the situation. They have always tried to block any international investigations and independent observers, international media and worse still, even humanitarian assistances to the displaced people. All these attempts have been for these purposes: to cover up the grave crimes they have committed and to be able to kill more Rohingyas silently either by direct means or with starvation by blocking their access to foods and medicines. Rakhine community led by their extremist leaders and backed by the regime has been constantly holding protest against anything whichever they think can expose their crimes. Some of them are: 

1) They have held protests against the visit of UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana 

2) They have held protest against NGOs under UN and other NGOs and other INGOs. They (Rakhines) refused to accept their aids accusing that they are biased. Probably Rakhine defines helping the worst suffering victims, Rohingyas, too as BIASing. Anyway, Rakhines may not need foreign aids as they have stocked enough rations by looting Rohingyas’ properties 

3) They always block foreign media and investigation teams visiting the places of victimized Rohingyas 

4) They opposed the visit of the humanitarian mission team from Indonesia 

5) They opposed Malaysian Humanitarian Mission, too 

6) Finally, they are holding a popular protest against OIC’s presence in Arakan. 

Unlike local Burmese NGOs and activists who didn’t give even a damn look into the Rohingyas’ sufferings let alone helping them, OIC, NGOs from Muslim countries as well as UN NGOs have been giving the aids to both Communities irrespective to race or religion. They are equally giving aids to the both communities even though Rakhines suffered little in the violence. 

One might wonder, above all, why Rakhines are NAGGING too much and suffering from serious PARANOIA! It is because OIC’s presence in Arakan will discourage Rakhine extremists to continue their crimes to root out Rohingyas from Arakan and will further delay achieving their long-awaited dream of Maha-Rakkhita-Naing Ngan Daw Gri (an independent Arakan). That’s why Rakhine extremist leaders are making their ladies and the skinned-head fascists in saffron all out to the street to protest against OIC’s presence in Arakan. How coward they can be that they need to hide in their ladies’ sarongs to be able to do more crimes!! Shamelessness has also its limits!! 

Look around the world. Religious figureheads anywhere in the world always try to broker peace among the communities in problems. But it is opposite in the context of Burma because the skin-heads in saffron (excluding few good monks) always incite more violence which itself against Buddhism. The edict NOT to kill or inflict pains on others (even on the smallest creatures) is integral to Buddhist thought. And see these skin-head fascists in saffron are doing what! Besides, most of the people in Burmese society are suffering from Kular-phobia and drowning in the sea of delusional hatred. Siddartha Gautama Buddha, a Kular, of Indian sub-continent would be much disgusted, were he alive, with the way how his peaceful philosophy is manipulated by some self-centered fascists. 

Now Rakhines and their allies are protesting and demanding OIC to leave Arakan ignoring the agreement made with the government. The only purpose of OIC being there is just to give humanitarian aids to all the suffering people. Besides, some fascist Rakhines are claiming that they will accept the aids of any countries but of any Muslim countries. If so, why did they oppose and make false allegations against NGOs under UN? Are they Muslim NGOs? It is the insanity of Rakhine extremists to think that international community, too, will think as stupid as they do! There are thousands of Rohingyas who are at the moment critically facing starvation and suffering from different kinds of diseases. 

Now, the Bohmu Zaw Htay, the director of president office, has declared that the government will temporarily make the agreement ineffective due to the demonstrations of the Monks and Rakhine extremists and will have tripartite meeting with OIC, government and the Monks. I hope OIC will be able to continue helping the victims regardless of race and religion. 

Now, according to some reports, there will be more anti-Rohingya protests in Maung Daw, Buthidaung, Yangon and Mandalay etc. According to Rohingyas in Maung Daw, Rakhines have been planning to destroy the main mosque in Maung Daw. In fact, they did try once to torch the mosque recently. Now, Rohingyas are facing a do or die situation and they have nothing more to lose. They might embrace whichever choice they have for their survival as human beings. They are cornered so much so that they have nowhere to escape. A cat will certainly bite back when it is cornered and has no way to escape. 

M.S. Anwar is an activist and student studying Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies at Westminster International College, Malaysia 

RB News Desk

14th October 2012,Maung Daw, Arakan- Yesterday (i.e. 13th October 2012) around 4AM, a group of armed Rakhine extremists numbering 20-30 attempted to carry out a terrorist attack on Munshir BarMasjid (Myoma Kyauk Pali Gyi), the main Mosque in Maung Daw. They destroyed the main gate and broke into the Mosque at a time when Curfew or Martial Law imposed in the region was in effect.

“Rakhine terrorists destroyed the main gate and got into the mosque around 4AM. Then, they destroyed the cupboards at the front in the mosque. Fortunately, there were Qurans in the cupboards. Then, they entered the religious school besides the mosque and threw away the Holy Qurans from the cupboards to the ground.

After that, they broke into the room of electricity generator and tried to take out petrol most probably to torch the mosque. When the two people who guard the mosque screamed seeing them, people who live around the area of the mosque gathered. And they had run away before Military came to the place of incidence and their attempt to torch the mosque failed. Later, people found shit in the mosque excreted by those filthy Rakhine extremists” said Nyi Nyi Aung, a Rohingya activist from Maung Daw.

Since 8th June 2012, all the mosques and Islamic religious schools in Maung Daw have been shut down by the authority. Besides, all the government schools in Rohingyas’ areas have been closed, too. Besides, since the martial law or curfew imposed in Arakan on 10th June 2012, the movement of Rohingyas has been banned and subsequently their access to foods and medicine have also been blocked, while Rakhine terrorists have been set free to do their barbaric acts.

Compiled by M.S. Anwar
RB News Desk

Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are living in refugee camps outside of Sittwe
 

The largest Muslim area in the Burmese city of Sittwe was razed to the ground in recent communal violence, a UK broadcaster has reported.

A team from the UK's Channel 4 News gained access to Sittwe, which has been off limits to reporters for months.

They filmed an area once home to 10,000 that had been reduced to rubble.

Days of violence in Rakhine state began in late May when a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered by three Muslims. A mob later killed 10 Muslims.

Sectarian clashes spread across the state, with houses of both Buddhists and Muslims being burnt down.

Most Rohingya Muslims have been moved out of Sittwe into temporary camps.

The Burmese government declared a state of emergency following the outbreak of violence and has since prevented foreign media from visiting the region.

However, the Channel 4 News team filmed the area of Sittwe known as Narzi, which it reported was once home to an estimated 10,000.

Local Rakhine Buddhists were picking through the debris of the houses, which had once been the Rohingya area of the city.

One man told reporters that the Muslims had set fire to their own homes in an attempt to burn down the whole community.

The UNHCR has said that about 80,000 people have been displaced in and around the Sittwe and Maungdaw by the violence.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay has said that forces sent to quash the unrest were reported to be targeting Muslims.

She has called for an independent investigation.

There is long-standing tension between Rakhine people, who are Buddhist and make up the majority of the state's population, and Muslims.

Most of these Muslims identify themselves as Rohingya, a group that originated in part of Bengal, now called Bangladesh.

Sources Here:

Saturday, 13th October 2012 ,Sittwe, Arakan- Last night (i.e. on 12th October 2012 night) Rakhine extremist in the downtown of Sittwe surrounded the remaining Rohingyas and their villages. Thousands of Rohingyas would have been killed in a few hours had not Military been there in time to control the situation. In reality, some current targets of Rakhine extremists are killing Rohingyas, burning down their properties, raping their women and under-aged girls and confiscation of their lands.

But the contradicting news (to the reality) broadcasted by VOA and RFA this morning shocked and awestruck the Rohingya community in Arakan. The news was baseless, biased and mishandling of the media. To tell the truth, spreading hatred, pretending and lying are some of the propaganda that Rakhine extremists are withholding to cover up their crimes. Rakhine media and other Burmese media are doing serious harms to Rohingya community in the ongoing violence.

Since 1942, Rakhine extremists have been planning to make Arakan free of Rohingyas and Muslims. In addition, a systematic ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas was initiated by the then dictator, Gen. Ne Win and his followers. Likewise, 1982 Citizenship Law was a creation of Ne Win and Rakhine radicals to depopulate Rohingya population number. As of today, the atrocities against Rohingyas are preplanned attempts by the Burmese regime and Rakhine extremists to root out Rohingyas from Arakan.

As to the false news broadcasted by VOA and RFA this morning, Rohingyas demand an apology and to make correction to the news.

Edited by M.S. Anwar

President Barack Obama’s administration has moved to further ease sanctions on the Burmese government, easing a ban on imports,

Washington’s decision to ease a ban on imports from Myanmar won praise Thursday in the emerging Southeast Asian democracy, with a government official giving credit to both the country’s reformist president and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

This comes at a time when the Rohingya Muslims, considered one of the most oppressed peoples in the world are continuing to face daily violence.

Anti-Rohingya protests have been continuous in Western Burma, with the past several weeks seeing a wave of fresh protests and violence. Most significantly there are conflicting reports about which mosque was burnt down in Sittwe on Sunday, some reports say it was the 800 year old “Sawduro Bor Masjid” that was torched and burned to the ground while other sources are reporting that it was the 150 year old main mosque known as Jame-Mosque. The West-Burma-Bangladesh region is becoming increasingly unstable, as we are also now witnessing for the first time reprisal attacks in Bangladesh against Buddhists, fostering a dangerous climate that has the potential to become an unspeakable nightmarish zone of violence,

YANGON: Hundreds of Buddhist women protested on Wednesday in western Myanmar against the presence of stateless Rohingya Muslims in the violence-hit region, an organiser said.

The demonstrators urged the Organisation of the Islamic Conference to stop its assistance to Rohingya in Rakhine state, where tensions have been running high since deadly Buddhist-Muslim clashes broke out in June.

“We protested against the OIC and also Bengalis as we don’t want them on our soil,” organiser Nyo Aye told AFP by telephone from the state capital Sittwe.

Myanmar’s estimated 800,000 Rohingya are viewed as illegal immigrants by the government and by many Burmese, who refer to them as Bengalis.

The rally came a day after hundreds of monks took to the streets of Sittwe to protest against local Muslims and the OIC’s activities.

The tensions in Rakhine have spread to neighbouring Bangladesh, where police said last week they had arrested nearly 300 people in connection with a wave of violence targeting Buddhist homes and temples. afp

The Obama administration’s easing of sanctions on the Burmese government also comes at a time in which Human Rights researchers and activists are warning about the “permanent segregation of Rohingyas,” who are being herded into “temporary” refugee camps,

Following sectarian violence in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine in June, human rights researchers are now warning that the government appears to be attempting to permanently house parts of the stateless Muslim-minority Rohingya in “temporary” refugee camps, segregating them from the rest of the population.

“There has been no acknowledgement that people have to go home eventually – the solution appears to be that the Rohingya can simply live where they have come to be,” John Sifton, with Human Rights Watch (which released a related report in August), said in Washington on Tuesday. “Segregation has become the status quo.”

Aung Aung Oo, a Burmese national who has been reporting on the Rohingya crises since June for Salem-News discusses what it will take to restore communal harmony between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, a harmony that existed for centuries,

To maintain communal harmony between these two ethnic groups, the restoration of the Rohingya’s rights is essential. Without it, the very idea of a peaceful community might be a legend.

The restoration of Rohingyan rights, i.e. citizenship is a fact which US deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration has echoed as well in a speech to the Open Society Foundation and Refugree International, essentially saying that, ‘the lack of citizenship must be addressed for any long-term solution to the distress in the Rohingya community to dissipate.’

Sources Here:

Rohingyas living in Europe gather and held a meeting (convention) on October 6-7, 2012 in Esbjerg, Denmark where the Rohingyas formed “European Rohingya Council (ERC)", Rohingyas from different European countries gather and meeting to formed ERC.

“The participated of meeting – Rohingyas- are living most of the European countries.”

“The delegates – Rohingyas- came up with various ideas and proposals and unanimously agreed to form a Europe-wide Rohingya organization in order to strive for the cause of Rohingya minority that is on the verge of extermination from the Arakan State, Burma.”

More than one hundred young generations with vision, passion, solidarity, hope, unity and perseverance finally decided to form an umbrella organization with the name of “The European Rohingya Council (ERC)”, according to ERC statement.

The Rohingyas from European countries agreed to establish ERC with following objectives ;

1. To seek permanent political & social solution to the problems faced by Rohingyas. 

2. To strive for the restoration of our citizenship in Burma (Myanmar). 

3. To work hand in hand with other rohingya and non-rohingya organizations across the       world for the well-being of Rohingyas both in Arakan and around the world. 

4. To put pressure on the Burmese regime through European governments and NGOs to immediately cease the ongoing program of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya minority. 5. To bring criminals committed recent genocide against the Rohingya to the international criminal court of justice.

Convention has elected Chairman, vice-Chairman, Secretary General, a council comprising 12 members, 8 secretariats and an advisory board for a one-year term .

 

European Rohingyas gather to held a meeting in Esbjerg, Denmark Khairul Amin (Norway) is appointed Chairman, U Hla Tin (Denmark) is vice-Chairman, Zakaria Abdur Rahim (Denmark) is Secretary General and Zahedul Hauqe (Netherland) is Secretary General No. 2. 

 

RB News Desk.

Wednesday, 10th October 2012 ,Kyauktaw, Arakan-

On 9th October 2012, two Rohingyas, father and son, were slaughtered reportedly by Rakhine extremists. They were from the village of Taung Taung in Kyauktaw Township. They went to a forest nearby a Rakhine village to get some bamboos. They were found slaughtered in the forest today with two bullet-hit injuries on the dead body of the father and five stabbed injuries on the dead body of the son. Rohingya villagers have filed the report to the nearest police station but no investigation is being carried out.

“A father and son from the village of Taung Taung in Kyauktaw Township went to a forest nearby a Rakhine village to get some bamboos yesterday. They didn’t come back and were missing all the night. So, the villagers started looking for them and they were found dead in the forest in a horrible situation. There were two bullet-hit injuries on the dead of the father and five stabbed injuries on the body of son. Report has been filed to the police stations. But no actions have been taken yet because to me, the killers can be none other than Rakhine extremist from the nearby village. The name of the father and the son are:

1) Khalu S/o Samad Age- 45 years (Father)

2) Bashir Ahmed Age- 22 years (son)

They were given Janaza and their bodies were buried today at 10AM today” said A. Rahim from Arakan.

While Burmese regime is lying to the world that the situation has become peaceful in Arakan, Rohingyas have been being killed in the hands of the authority and Rakhine extremists here and there on daily basis. For Rohingyas, Arakan has never become peaceful since last June and they are on the verge of extinction. Now President Thein Sein has been shortlisted in the final five candidates of Noble Prize for PEACE. It is a Peace that he has been acquiring by committing grave crimes against innocent Kachin civilians and isolated and innocent Rohingya community.

Compiled by M.S. Anwar

The Malaysian Medical Relief Society (Mercy) has launched two separate relief funds to provide healthcare needs of the affected people in the areas.
Mercy president Datuk Dr Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus said the organisation is focused on reaching out to victims in Rakhine and Syrian refugees in Jordan.

“In Myanmar, communicable diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, skin diseases and respiratory infections has become serious among the IDPs when paired with the heavy monsoon rain and crowded living conditions.

“The funds raised, therefore, will bring compelling changes to those who are in need of the assistance.

As of October 1, Mercy has distributed over 3,000 hygiene kits, 2,500 mosquito nets and basic primary healthcare worth USD 20,000 (RM61,500) which includes treatment for flu, fever, cough and malaria in the Sittwe region of Rakhine state.

Mercy projects that RM3.5 million will be needed to carry out basic medical services and reconstruction projects involving sanitation and latrine systems for a one year period.
Speaking at a press conference here today Dr Ahmad Faizal said Mercy wants to provide a better living conditions for people in both the Rakhine and Rohingya camps.

Another RM2 million would benefit Syrian refugees in Jordan for the upcoming winter season.

“An estimated 175,000 refugees will require winterisation kits (high thermal blankets, heaters, fleece jackets, socks, warm clothes, heating material and fuel) to assist with the winter preparations.

In addition, Dr Ahmad Faizal said basic medical supplies, vaccines and psychosocial support will be provided for the refugees within the community.

Concerned individuals and organisations could also do their part for this humanitarian cause by donating to www.mercy.org.my.

Sources Here:

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9, 2012): Desperation felt by ethnic Rohingyas from Myanmar's Rakhine state may breed elements of "extremism" within the community if neighbouring countries, including Malaysia, fail to offer assistance.

"I acknowledge that if no aid is given, there is a possibility that acts of terrorism may occur because they are oppressed.

"And if such acts were to take place, then the first countries to feel the impact would be neighbouring Asean countries," said Anifah, also in response to 17 other questions posed by the MPs on the same issue.

Global bodies including the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), of which Malaysia is a member, has kept a close watch on the plight of ethnic Rohingyas in the state, he added.

He said Malaysia has played its role through a contact group formed to discuss the issue.

"During the group's inaugural meeting in New York on Sept 26, Malaysia has suggested for humanitarian aid to not only be given to Muslims in Rakhine but also the Buddhist-Arakanese.

"We believe this would help to reduce ethnic tensions on both sides," he said, while stressing that Malaysia's stand on the issue is consistent with its "non-interference" foreign policy – acknowledging and respecting the sovereignty of another country.

A humanitarian mission led by Kelab Putra 1Malaysia has reportedly arrived in Rakhine earlier this month with 500 tonnes of provisions, including food and medical supplies.

Meanwhile, to a supplementary question from Datuk Ismail Abdul Muttalib (BN-Maran), Anifah said there are 98,787 political refugees registered in Malaysia as of Sept 1, from which 91,160 are from Myanmar.

Karen Arukesamy & Alyaa Alhadjri at the Dewan Rakyat

Sources Here:

WASHINGTON, Oct 9 2012 (IPS) - Following sectarian violence in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine in June, human rights researchers are now warning that the government appears to be attempting to permanently house parts of the stateless Muslim-minority Rohingya in “temporary” refugee camps, segregating them from the rest of the population.

“There has been no acknowledgement that people have to go home eventually – the solution appears to be that the Rohingya can simply live where they have come to be,” John Sifton, with Human Rights Watch (which released a related report in August), said in Washington on Tuesday. “Segregation has become the status quo.”

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is in the midst of a series of contested anti-authoritarian reforms following on decades of repression by the military government. Yet even as the country opens up bit by bit, socially ingrained ethnic and racial tensions are proving real impediments to the reforms process, with the Rohingya seen by many as an important test case.

Myanmar is dominated by state-backed Buddhism, which has traditionally allowed little room for other religions. This has been especially true of the long-persecuted Muslims of Rakhine, known as Rohingya, who had their citizenship revoked in the early 1980s on the suggestion that the community was made up of migrants from Bangladesh.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh, meanwhile, has allowed in tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees since that time. But in recent years the Dhaka government has moved to shut down its border to new asylum seekers from Myanmar, reportedly running afoul of international law in the process.

Although drawing on longstanding tensions, the immediate situation in Myanmar goes back to June, when a Rakhine woman was allegedly raped by three Rohingya youths. This incident led to two weeks of arson and communal violence that resulted in thousands of Rohingya homes being burned and close to 100,000 people, Rohingya and other Rakhine (also known as Arakan) communities, being forced to flee their communities.

In response, the government sent in troops to quell the violence – a highly charged move given the half-century of military oppression these communities have experienced. In the event, however, several reports have suggested that the soldiers acted relatively well, and since then many Rohingya have stated that they now feel safer in the presence of the military than with no protection at all.

The government has also created an investigative commission to look into what took place in Rakhine in June, which will soon be offering policy recommendations that could potentially include a path to citizenship for the Rohingya. While observers have praised the move, it is hard to overlook the fact that the commission includes no Rohingya members.

Re-integration and reconciliation

Following the June violence, the most significant move by the government has been to impose its writ on the situation.

First, it created separate refugee camps of dramatically differing quality, set up for Rohingya and for other Rakhine communities that have been rendered homeless. Second, it decisively took control over the northern section of Rakhine, refusing even to allow humanitarian access.

“For the Rohingya camps, there’s really no discussion about what’s next – everyone says it’s temporary, but no one’s talking about how to end it,” Sarnata Reynolds, a researcher with Refugees International who recently completed a month-long investigation in Rakhine, said Tuesday in a talk at the Washington office of the Open Society Foundations.

“Neither the absolute closure of northern Rakhine state nor the segregation of the Rohingya population in Sittwe (the capital of Rakhine) supports re-integration or reconciliation. So any good-faith effort needs to renew access to northern Rakhine state and offer a timeline that measures efforts towards integration and reconciliation.”

Meanwhile, the conditions in the Rohingya camps are “profoundly” different from those housing the Rakhine, Reynolds reports. First, there are infrastructural differences, with the Rohingya camps, estimated to be housing some 75,000, lacking adequate sanitation, humanitarian assistance and education facilities, unlike the Rakhine camps.

Second, while the government has situated the camps such that the Rakhine can continue to live in town while their homes are being rebuilt, the Rohingya have been moved outside of the city. Their homes are not being rebuilt, and the government has completely revoked their freedom of movement.

“That means they can’t work. The kids aren’t going to school; indeed, there’s almost no talk of school,” Reynolds says. “So there’s this strange situation where you have shelters that are looking more and more like permanent situations, but there’s a reluctance to build infrastructure – education or health care – for the Rohingya because there is the fear that will make it more permanent.”

Indeed, over and above the constraints that the Myanmar government has placed on humanitarian assistance in Rakhine, the major international donors have been notably hesitant to commit funds to the Rohingya refugee situation for fear that doing so will give the government’s “segregation” strategy a stamp of legitimacy.

This includes the United States, often one of the most significant funders in humanitarian emergencies.

“Right now there’s a policy of segregation in order to quell the tension and violence,” Kelly Clements, a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department who participated in a major U.S. investigation into the Rakhine situation earlier this year, said on Tuesday.

“We (have) said that, for security reasons, one has to do what’s necessary. However, that should not be the medium- to longer-term solution to this particular problem.”

Some are worried that there doesn’t appear to be much planning taking place to help the Rohingya situation in the medium term either, and several groups are now calling on the United States to step up pressure on the Myanmar government to ensure that the focus will eventually move on to re-integration and reconciliation.

Perhaps most egregiously, recent events suggest that even the government’s draconian “segregation” measures have failed to stem the sectarian violence. On Sunday, the main mosque in Sittwe was attacked and torched, with an official investigation pending.

The tension has also spread across the border to Bangladesh, in what some analysts have suggested are retaliatory actions that indicate a new regional component to the ethnic strife. At least four Buddhist temples, including one Rakhine monastery, have been attacked over the past two weeks, reportedly as a result of anger over the recent months of anti-Rohingya violence in Myanmar.
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The United States on Tuesday said it favored a “regional approach” to solving the Rohingya crisis that has rendered hundreds and thousands of Muslim people displaced and subjected to violence and human rights abuses over the past few decades.

“As the Burmese government works to address the underlying causes of ethnic conflict, we believe a regional approach is necessary to address mixed flows of refugees and migrants by land and sea, and ensure that those fleeing are treated humanely,” Kelly Clements, the Deputy-Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, said.

At a meeting of George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and Refugees International, a Washington-based think-tank, Clements, who recently travelled to the region as part of a US delegation, observed that solutions to this protracted displacement appear increasingly elusive.

“I noticed a definite increase in tension and desperation since my last trip in 2011, and an escalation in humanitarian need. School enrollment is down as parents pull children from classes to become income earners, and malnutrition rates exceed emergency levels and continue to rise,” she said.

“Unfortunately, at the same time, organizations are facing greater obstacles to help ameliorate the situation. In our field visits to the official camps, refugees demonstrated for the right to nationality, highlighted human rights violations, and advocated for more services and education for their children. Outside the camps, the undocumented Rohingya population suffers even more without access to school, health care or decent shelter,” Clements said.

While rising international awareness is important to improving the lives of the Rohingya, the US will continue to work closely with Burma, Bangladesh and the international community to deepen the commitment to national and regional dialogues, she said. “Our commitment to resolving this intractable problem is clear,” she said, adding that she hoped this would not take another 20 years.

Clements said during her recent trip to the region—which included Burma and Bangladesh—that the US delegation focused specifically on the challenges resulting from the aftermath of the June violence. According to the US official, much needs to be done: to reduce tensions, to improve the humanitarian situation, and to work toward a sustainable and just solution for all those who have suffered from the conflict and longer-term deprivation of rights.

Some of the tough issues to be addressed, she said, include: lasting security and stability; freedom of movement for both Rakhines and Rohingyas; protection; and unimpeded humanitarian access and assistance to meet basic immediate needs.

“We explored how the international community can assist the Burmese government in long-term recovery efforts and the development of a path to citizenship for those Rohingya with claims. Peace is possible in Rakhine State only through economic development, poverty alleviation and ensuring basic rights for residents,” she said.

The United States, she said, has been a very strong advocate for national reconciliation as Burma undertakes democratic and political reform.

Clements said the US has urged Bangladesh to register some 200,000 undocumented Rohingyas and improve their living conditions, as well as those of the Bangladeshi community that hosts them. “The needs continue to be great in the Cox’s Bazar district, one of the poorest in the country,” she said.

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On 9th October, 2012, at around 10:30am, a group of police from Maungdaw Police Force arrested a Rohingya from Ward-3 (Mungala Fara), Maungdaw downtown. The police group was of four personnel, who are very famous in Maungdaw area for extorting and persecuting against Rohingya before and after the riot occurred in Maungdaw. In the group included Hla Myint as well. The arrestee is Abdu Munaf (F) U Fozol, 40 years, who professionally works for Maungdaw Court (Township) as an Interpreter and peon. As almost all the houses in Ward-3 (Mungala Fara) were looted and destroyed by terrorist Bengali Rakhine gang in cooperation with government security forces, the house of the said Rohingya was included automatically. He is temporarily staying in one of his relatives’ house in another village. He was arrested just because of his name included in the ‘Wanted List’ which was issued by the court meaninglessly. The court issued the list as per the submission of Police Force. In the list, there are many Rohingyas who were even not in Maungdaw on the day of violence. Astonishingly, some Rohingyas who had gone to Bangladesh legally with passport before the riot were included in the said ‘Wanted List’.

Sa Ra Pha (Military Intelligence) resumed extortion against Rohingyas

On 9th October, 2012, Sa Ra Pha arrested a Rohingya from Myoma Ka Nyin Tan (Shiddarr Fara), Maungdaw downtown. The arrestee was Mohammed Esurk (F) U Mohammed Sultan, 33 years, who sells a shop of bicycle spare parts near the Police Station. He was summoned by the said department through their informer. When the arrestee refused to be present to the department office, an officer from the said department came, arrested and brought him to the office. Finally, the arrestee was released after taking 2.5 lakhs of Kyats. Sa Ra Pha regularly does this kind of extortion against Rohingya community since their presence in Maungdaw after the dismissal of all National Investigation Bureau (NIB) throughout the country in 2004.


Complied by Rohingya Youths

RB News Desk.

(A)A Rohingya tortured and hung by Military and Bengali Rakhine Gang

On 8th October, 2012, at around 3:45pm, a Rohingya from Gawdu Thara, Maungdaw south, was arrested on the way back from mountain by military and Bengali Rakhine gang. He went to the mountain for collecting firewood. He is identified as Abdu Karim (F) U Abdu Gawfurr, 28 years. As he was severely tortured and hung, his life survival is in a critical condition. Similar cases have been being occurred throughout Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, some of which are known by the community and some are totally unknown. Although Act-144 imposed by the central government in most of the townships in Rakhine State, it is implied only for Rohingya communities. According to the said Act, not more than 5 people can gather. Interestingly, Rakhines can even do demonstration with mass people in any part of the Rakhine State, which has been continually heard from broadcasting channels. That clearly shows that the Act has been imposed only for Rohingyas.

(B) A detainee died in Buthidaung jail

On 8th October, 2012, at around 2:00pm, one of the detainees, who was arrested in June, 2012, falsely accused for involvement in the communal violence in Maungdaw, died in Buthidaung detention center during investigation process with inhumane torture by government authority. He is Moulvi Haroon (F)xxxxxxxxx, 38 years from Du-Thanda (Hawns Sawra) hamlet, Thanda village tract, Maungdaw south. He is originally from Sittway and got married with a woman from the village mentioned above. The dead body was seen on a push-cart by one of the Rohingyas who went to Buthidaung jail in order to meet a prisoner. Many Rohingyas have been died with severe torture in Buthidaung Detention Center, but few are known. As far as the information collected, the dead body of Rohingya is generally thrown somewhere that is in hide from the public.

RB News Desk
Rohingya Youths

Press TV has learned that the 800-year-old ancient mosque called “Sawduro Bor Masjid” in the western town was burnt down by extrimist Buddhist monks, with the help of military personnel on Sunday.

The fire, which continued for two hours, also damaged several houses around the Mosque, owned by Rohingyas Muslims.

The Buddhist-majority government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas and has classified them as illegal migrants, even though 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 silence of the human rights organizations towards abuses against the Rohingya Muslims has emboldened the extremist Buddhists and Myanmar’s government forces.

According to reports, thousands of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims are living in dire conditions in refugee camps after government forces and Buddhist extremists started burning down their villages on August 10.

Reports say some 650 Rohingyas have been killed in the Rakhine state in the west of the country in recent months. This is while 1,200 others are missing and 80,000 more have been displaced.

The UN human rights authorities blame Myanmar’s security forces for the violence, who are believed to have been targeting the Muslims rather than bringing the ethnic violence to an end in the country.

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