This Friday, the NGOs will hold a two-km peaceful march from the Tabung Haji mosque to hand over a memorandum to the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

By မခင္ျဖဴေထြး

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
June 11, 2012

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY CLINTON

Violence in Burma’s Rakhine State

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Clinton voices deep concern on Myanmar sectarian unrest

Diplomats fear violence will invite harsh military crackdown

Nirmal Ghosh
The Straits Times
Publication Date : 12-06-2012

Racial tensions are coming to a head in Myanmar between the Buddhist majority and the Muslim Rohingya minority.


The Rohingya are the "epitome of stateless, and spend their lives in unofficial camps where conditions are notoriously poor... their disaffection has made them ripe for Islamic militant groups and human traffickers" [REUTERS]

Chiang Mai, Thailand - The mob that set upon and killed a group of Muslims riding a bus through western Myanmar on June 3 displayed a depravity normally the hallmark of the country's military. News reports that emerged in the wake of the incident, allegedly in response to the gang rape and murder of a Buddhist girl by three Muslim men days before, described the ten victims of a frenzied beating being urinated upon before the bus was set ablaze.

Comments that circulated the internet in the wake of the massacre were almost as shocking. "Killing Kalars is good!" one person said, using the pejorative slur that has become a popular and casual way of referring to Muslims of South Asian decent (one that state media also regularly employs). It mattered little that the men accused of the rape had already been arrested.


"Medicins San Frontieres describes [the Rohingya] as being among the world minority groups 'most in danger of extinction'."


The attack was a rare incident; the reactions suggest however that heightened levels of resentment towards the presence of Muslims in Myanmar society exist on a much wider scale. This animosity is shared by senior figures in the government - current representative to the UN, Ye Myint Aung, once described the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Arakan state who are singled out for particularly savage treatment, as "ugly as ogres", while since 1982 the government has denied them citizenship, claiming they are "illegal Bengali immigrants". Persecution of the group has been so protracted and debased thatMedicins San Frontieres describes them as being among the world minority groups "most in danger of extinction".

While Myanmar's myriad ethnic groups have all suffered egregious treatment at the hands of the military government, which has sought to bring the country "under one flag", the fear of Muslims is a particular one. On the website of The Voice journal, which issued an apology after being bombarded with threats following its coverage of the massacre, one visitor wrote: "We should either kill all the Kalars in Burma or banish them otherwise Buddhism will cease to exist".

The 'other'

Treatment of Muslims as the 'other' persists despite the country's push to embrace the outside world and everything it offers. There is something of a contradiction then in the population's desire to become global players, which will see it interacting far more with non-Myanmar, non-Buddhist ethnicities. In Arakan state, where tension between Buddhists and Muslims often spills over into violence, hypocrisy is also evident in attempts by Arakanese to goad public opinion against the Rohingya in the name of "nationalism". These are the same Arakanese who, ironically, regularly accuse the government of attempting to aggressively assimilate Arakanese into the Burman way of life.


"A Rohingya couple must apply well in advance before attempting to wed; the frequent denial by authorities, as well as a strict two-child policy... has led rights groups to accuse the government of attempting to slowly wipe out the population."


Such is the treatment of Rohingya that up to 300,000 now reside in Bangladesh, which in turn sees them as illegal immigrants from Myanmar and denies them citizenship. They are the epitome of stateless, and spend their lives in unofficial camps where conditions are notoriously poor (only 28,000 are registered by the UN). Their disaffection has made them ripe for Islamic militant groups and human traffickers. Many attempt the perilous sea journey from Bangladesh to Malaysia and beyond to find work - in December last year, a boatload of more than 60 who ran into trouble off the coast of southern Myanmar were detained by Myanmar police, ironically on immigration charges.

Accusations that the government has sought to dilute, or "Burmanise", Myanmar's 135 distinct ethnic groups have existed for decades, and factor in the apparently institutional practice of rape of ethnic women by Myanmar troops, as well as the forced learning of the Myanmar language in ethnic schools.

In Northern Arakan state, where the majority of Rohingya reside, and where foreigners are barred from entering, the practice is effectively official: government policy stipulates that Rohingya babies born out of wedlock be placed on blacklists that bar them from attending school and later marrying. A Rohingya couple must apply well in advance before attempting to wed; the frequent denial by authorities, as well as a strict two-child policy reserved only for Rohingya, has led rights groups to accuse the government of attempting to slowly wipe out the population.




Rohingyas facing brunt of Bangladesh-Myanmar border tension


Racism or religious discrimination?

Naypyidaw uses the premise of "illegal migration management" and "control on population growth" to justify the persecution of this group. The "immigrant" label however does not match with evidence that modern-era Muslim political participation in Arakan state goes back to the 1930s, while the Arakanese city of Mrauk U, in its zenith in the 17th century a key trading hub in Asia, was ruled by Muslim sultans.

Nor is this a consistent measure, given the millions of Chinese that have migrated to Myanmar in recent decades to become powerful players in the economy. Is there an issue then with the often darker skin of Muslim groups in Myanmar, or that their religion conflicts with Buddhism?

Few seem to know, but one major cause for concern is that this hostility exists across the entire spectrum of Myanmar politics. The post-colonial civilian government of U Nu in the early 1950s expelled the Burma Muslim Congress and made Buddhism the state religion; then came Myanmar's first dictator, Ne Win, who used anti-Muslim propaganda to powerful effect during the mass expulsion of Indians in the 1960s. He branded the tens of thousands brought in for work by the British as colonial stooges, and exploited the subsequent anti-Islam sentiment to ban all Muslims from the army. The same key issue that fuelled the infamous anti-Chinese riots of the late 1960s and 1970s - that Myanmar were aggrieved at jobs going to foreigners - had also driven the anti-Indian and anti-Muslim riots in 1930 and 1938.

Ne Win's propaganda may have had a lingering effect, given the marked levels of resentment and suspicion of Muslims that remain, particularly in the west of the country. Nicholas Farrelly, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Australia National University, thinks however that this is consistent with the attitudes that many Buddhists elsewhere in the region have towards Muslims:


"In general, they find their habits foreign, their lack of integration exasperating, and their proselytising unwelcome. When we compare them to other groups, Myanmar's Muslims enjoy none of the educational or international prestige that is widely associated with the country's Christian minorities. While Kachin and Karen Christians have suffered atrocious treatment I think there is at least some mainstream Myanmar Buddhist respect for their cultures and religion. Such respect is rarely accorded to Muslims."


"Myanmar's Muslims enjoy none of the educational or international prestige that is widely associated with the country's Christian minorities."


An 'open', but racist, Myanmar?

In an era of cautious opening, the continued inability of Myanma to debate the subject rationally is worrying. The opposition National League for Democracy, viewed by the outside world as the driving force for change in Myanmar, itself tiptoes around the subject - one party official told the BBC earlier this year that "even in our organisation the Rohingya question has not been settled". Ko Ko Gyi, a prominent pro-democracy activist, said last week that the Rohingya "are not a Myanmar ethnic race... It has become a national concern infringing on our sovereignty". Does he also think that Thailand, for example, should hold the same attitude towards the hundreds of thousands of refugees from Burma living on its soil?

Myanmar declares state of emergency in west


Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been criticised for failing to properly address the wider "ethnic issue" in Myanmar, urged the Buddhist majority to "have sympathy for minorities" in the wake of the June 3 killings, but refuses to weigh in heavily on the debate. She justified this tentativeness by saying that her party "must cautiously avoid amplifying the situation" - that may be true, but what could also be at stake is the risk of losing support from Arakan state's Buddhist population.

Even among the revered monastic community, often seen as staunch defenders of equality in Myanmar, there has been controversy. The Democratic Voice of Burma reported on a statement released by influential monk and former political prisoner, Ashin Virathu, that said: "I see that Muslims make up a larger percentage of the perpetrators in rape and murder cases". It was "reasonable", he continued, that the "[rape] victim's side see this as an insult to their people and [Buddhist] religion".

Now, despite the government announcing an investigation into the killings, race riots have erupted in western Myanmar and President Thein Sein on Sunday announced a state of emergency. At least eight people have been killed, some allegedly by government troops who opened fire on crowds.

Below the surface

The marked difference between now and past periods of heightened racial tension however is that there has been no major influx of Muslims in recent years - perhaps this points to a tension within Myanmar society that has simmered for years, unaddressed and awaiting a trigger.


"A census is due to take place in 2014 - the first time in 25 years - but at present around 800,000 Rohingya are unlikely to be included."


One hopes this grisly period will bring about some thorough and measured questioning of the catalysts behind the massacre and resultant crisis, but the often inflammatory nature of these discussions induces avoidance. Few therefore acknowledge that xenophobia and fear of "the other" exists in Myanmar, meaning it goes unchallenged.

A census is due to take place in 2014 - the first in 25 years - but at present around 800,000 Rohingya are unlikely to be included. Such discriminatory policies are a major blight on Myanmar's revamped international image, but are largely obscured by the taboo that surrounds exposure of it - observers are loath to broach the subject, given the ramifications that accompany accusations of racism.

But evidence of an ingrained hostility among civilians is there, and it needs to be recognised. The massacre is not the first such sign - a BBC report last year that carried a map depicting Arakan state as the home of the Rohingya sparked an alarming uproar, and online forums again became hubs of bitter discussions, including calls for a nationwide boycott of the BBC and demonstrations outside the British embassy in Yangon.

If Myanmar is to truly join the global community, the floor must be opened to debate. There must be acknowledgement that a malaise exists among the very Myanma that for decades have felt the pain of antipathy and isolation. Taking a sensitive but head-on approach to the problem, rather than the pussyfooting demonstrated even by powerful figures in the pro-democracy movement, would be the first step.

Francis Wade is a freelance journalist and analyst covering Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

Source here

TEKNAF, Bangladesh: Bangladesh border guards Monday turned back eight boats carrying more than 300 Rohingya Muslims, mostly women and children, fleeing religious violence in Myanmar, a border guard said.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and coastguard patrol teams, which have been ordered to prevent an influx of refugees, intercepted the boats on the Naf river that separates the two nations, BGB Major Shafiqur Rahman said.

"There were more than 300 Rohingya in the boats which are coming from the Myanmar city of Akyab (Sittwe). They were carrying mainly Rohingya women and children, many of whom were crying and looked extremely anxious," he told AFP.
"All eight boats have been pushed back to Myanmar territory," he added.

Rohingya protesters gather in front of a UN regional office in Bangkok on to call for an end to the ongoing violence in Burma’s Rakhine State, June 11, 2012.

BANGKOK - Northwest Burma’s Rakhine state remains tense after President Thein Sein dispatched troops to try to end religious and ethnic violence. The riots began after 10 ethnic-Rohingya Muslims were mobbed and murdered by ethnic Rakhines, in retaliation for the gang-rape of a Rakhine girl.

Curfew in Burma's Rakhine state hitting Rohingyas hard - activists




Activists say muslim Rohingyas in Burma are running out of food, because of a curfew imposed under emergency rule in Rakhine state.

Curfew in Burma's Rakhine state hitting Rohingyas hard - activists (Credit: ABC)

The move follows a wave of violence, mainly targetted against Rohingya muslims.
Burma placed Rakhine, also known as Arakan, under emergency rule, after a wave of violence, targetted against Rohingya muslims.

Troops have been posted outside monasteries and mosques, but unconfirmed local reports say police are allowing Buddhist Rakhines to roam the streets, while Rohingya muslims were housebound and running out of food.

Tensions in the western region started after the rape and killing of a Buddhist woman, which then led to the reprisal killings of ten Muslims last week.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speaker: Aman Ullah, general-secretary, Arakan Rohingya National Organisation

AMAN ULLAH: There're so many casualties, but people don't know how many, because no one can go out from their house. All are under curfew and an emergency, so villagers do not go from their houses. As far as I've collected the information, there're not fewer than 200 people killed there, from different sides of the town (Maungdaw).

LAM: Where did you get this information from?

AMAN ULLAH: I get from the local people, from them. There is some areas they can use telephones. Local telephones and communication are cut out.

LAM: So you're saying the communication lines are phone lines to much of Rakhine state have been cut off?

AMAN ULLAH: Ya, especially in these rural areas.

LAM: The President Thein Sein has announced a state of emergency in the region. Will this help?

AMAN ULLAH: The chief administrator of the Maungdaw township is now at the office of the Maungdaw. There is some military personnel also come to Maungdaw, but there're still so many Muslims' old buildings are burning, one mosque is still burning and so many houses are looted. It's still going on. He did not do anything to stop them.

LAM: So you're saying that burning and looting are still continuing in the town of Maungdaw?

AMAN ULLAH: Yes, and from another village too. And from one person who phoned me, I don't know which telephone he's using, but he got my number and he contacted me yesterday at 10pm. The situation is also very bad. This emergency government and the emergency did not stop it immediately. Still today, the local police and what we call 'hloonhtein' the riot police - most of them are Rakhine ethnic origin. With their protection, the Rakhines (Buddhists) go to the Muslim houses, and areas, and they loot and they killed the people.

LAM: So you're saying the police are local Rakhines, and they will not protect the Muslim Rohingyas?

AMAN ULLAH: No, instead of protecting, they're looting to the Muslims.

LAM: Can you tell us who are the people instigating the violence?

AMAN ULLAH: From the Rohingya side, they're doing peacefully, but accidentally, their sentiments went beyond their control, and they did attempt something, but later, when the curfew was declared, all Muslim villagers were inside their homes, they could not even go outside their houses. They had no rations at all - no rice, no dry food, no essential commodities in the house. All are in the market place - the Rakhine people are looting all these things, take away, and not a bit of rice left in the markets now.

LAM: The President has imposed a curfew in the state - are the military helping out? Are they trying to impose law and order there?

AMAN ULLAH: In the town, where security remains in the hands of police and 'hloontein' so with their protection, the mobs can do anything. Curfew was imposed on the Muslims, not on the Rakhines - they can go anywhere, they can do anything.

LAM: So the local Rakhine Buddhists are allowed to roam the streets freely?

AMAN ULLAH: With the protection of police.

LAM: What do you think the Burmese government should do?

AMAN ULLAH: The first thing is, that the government should do, is to stop these ongoing incidents. Number two, they have to distribute rations, rice and essential things to these people. They have to make one peace committee, like a peace committee, to include the Rakhines and the Rohingyas, to maintain peace and establish it there. All the violence are targetting the local Rohingyas.

Government armed forces fired on Rohingya Muslims Friday Prayers in
MaungDaw Township its general consequences.

Yangon---- June 8, 2012, According to MaungDaw Township dwellers’ hour ago
information, a man, age about 25 was shot dead and three more people were seriously
injured by the Police in MaungDaw Township at about 1:30pm.

Some people from MaungDaw Jamey Masjid around were normally arranged to pay a
collective special wishes to the ten dead people who were ruthlessly killed by Taunggoop
people on 4 June, 2012.

According to information received from MaungDaw, a man namely Qurban Ali, living in
Myo Ma Ngakura, No.2 Block was shot dead by police to disperse a tiny crowd in front of
the Jamey Mosque in MaungDaw Township. In accord to tittle-tattle, the dead body was
hurriedly picked up by the police and took away to unknown destination. Due to three
injured more persons, the details are unknown due to fall short telecommunication.
The situation in Maung Daw is tense and it is unknown whether the circumstances are
calm or not.

We, the undersigned Rohingya organisations express our deep concern over the ongoing grave situation in Arakan causing great consternation to the people.

It appears that the communal tension arising out of the lack of rule of law in Arakan was engineered by the regime and its local Arakan State apparatus. This was further evident by the gunning down of Rohingya Muslims who were peacefully marching for a prayer for those Muslim pilgrims cruelly killed by Rakhine terrorists in Taunggup on 3 June 2012.

In fact, it was absolutely unnecessary on the part of the authorities and the armed forces to obstruct the mourners to say their prayers peacefully. But the shooting was a clear sign to ignite communal tension between the two communities.

However, it is deplorable that there have been killing of innocent people, destruction of houses and properties from both sides which could be well prevented by the government. At least 100 innocent Rohingyas were believed to have been killed while many others injured. Never the less, the government of U Thein Sein is fully responsible for the untoward situation.

It is unfortunate that media groups are bias producing one sided reports against the helpless Rohingyas. We, therefore, request local and international media groups to find out the facts and produce true information.

We appeal to all our compatriots in general and the Rohingyas and Rakhines in particular to exercise maximum restraint in the interest of ‘peaceful co-existence’ in Arakan and Burma. Meanwhile, we urge upon the religious leaders, politicians, MPs and fellow citizens to actively pursue peace and reconciliation in Arakan and Burma.

Last not least, we demand that the government immediately constitutes an independent and impartial inquiry commission to investigate the case and bring the culprits to justice.

Signatories to this joint statement:
National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR)
Arakan Rohingya National organisation (ARNO),
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK),
Burmese Rohingya Association Japan (BRAJ)
Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia (BRCA)
Burmese Rohingya Community in Norway (BRCN)
Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT)
Rohingya League for Democracy Burma (RLDB)


For more information, please contact:
Hla Aung +33 629258793
Aman Ullah +880-15584 86910
Tun Khin + 44- 788 871 4866

It has been little more than two months that Aung San Suu Kyi was elected into the lower house of Burmese Parliament. The by-elections (only the country's third in half a century) in which her party NLD won 44 of the 45 available seats were a crucial test of reforms that convinced the West to soften its pariah image.

The United States and European Union hinted that some sanctions - imposed over the past two decades in response to gross human rights abuses (e.g., against the minority Rohingya Muslims and Kachin and Karen Christians) - might be lifted, unleashing a wave of investment, which this impoverished but resource-rich country, bordering Bangladesh, Thailand, India and China, badly needs.

Last year the U.S. Secretary of State Clinton met with Burma’s leaders and opposition leader Suu Kyi. Soon after the election in April Japan has already promised to forgive $3.7 billion of Burma’s debt and resume aid as a way to support the country’s democratic and economic reforms. Last month during his visit to Myanmar, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 25 years, Manmohan Singh held extensive talks with Myanmar President Thein Sein and extended a $ 500 million line of credit to Myanmar as it signed 15 agreements on fields like trade, energy and connectivity. On June 9, the Australian Foreign Minister pledged $100m aid to boost its education sector, where less than half of Burma's 18 million children complete five years of primary school and only about half of all teachers are qualified.

In spite of such positive developments in the international sector, the religious minorities remain disillusioned. "We have been forsaken by the world," a Rohingya human rights activist complained. Similar are the messages I receive about human rights abuses in Kachin, Shan and Karen states. My comrades at the U.S. Campaign for Burma remind me that this year alone there have been at least 750 incidents of human rights abuses committed by the Burmese troops against ethnic minority civilians, and that there are still hundreds of political prisoners behind the bar, and that more and more of the ethnic non-Buddhist minorities are forced out of their ancestral land to either replant such territories with Buddhist majority or make way for foreign investment.

The ongoing diplomacy and the so-called "cease-fires" in ethnic areas are seen for what they are—an alibi for the abdication of morality in the altar of profit-making and greed, and a lifeline for the regime.

Optimistic as I have always been, I try to comfort them that they are neither forgotten nor forsaken, and better days are ahead of them when they would be accepted as equal citizens in Myanmar.

As an outsider, living comfortably on the other side of the planet, little did I know that these unfortunate minorities of Burma would again be made a target of ugly face of religious and racial hatred. As I write, Maung Daw – located in northern Arakan (Rakhine state of Burma) is burning, as if mimicking the pogroms against the Rohingya and Muslim minorities of Burma that started in the 1930s [see, e.g., an excellent review – Rohingya Tangled in Burmese Citizenship Politics by Nurul Islam, UK].

Reliable sources within the territory tell me that on June 3, a mob of nearly hundred Rakhine Buddhist extremists attacked a bus that was carrying some ten Tablighi Muslims who were returning to Rangoon after their religious gathering. They were dragged from their bus by these brutes in Taungup, situated as the main gateway for travel to central Burma from the Arakan State. They were lynched to death and their bus was set on fire. Only the driver was able to flee the scene. It should be noted here that all this gruesome murder happened based on a false rumor that those Muslims had something to do with a recent murder of a Rakhine female teacher whose body was found in Sittwe (Akyab), the state capital with a mixed Rakhine-Rohingya population. While the subsequent inquiries had cleared Muslims of any complicity in the murder of the teacher, to many Rakhines who are prone to imagine the worst of the ‘other’ people that have as much contesting claim to the land, if not more, the culprit had to be a Muslim. So they savagely murdered those innocent Muslims that had visited the region. These innocent victims were at wrong time at a wrong place!

U Khin Hla, Secretary of the National League for Democracy in Taungup, told the VOA Burmese program, “I think such an incident happened due to the lack of law and order because it happened in broad daylight just around 4:30 pm, and it was also not just an incident in which a man hacked and killed another and ran away. On the contrary, I think the officials who are working for the rule of law and order in the country are responsible for such an incident.”

After the news of the inhuman act of gruesome murder reached the Muslim community, Muslims in Rangoon held a peaceful demonstration and asked the government officials to find and try the guilty ones of this heinous crime. The government promptly formed a 16-member committee to investigate the matter by June 30 and take legal actions against the perpetrators. Interestingly, the announcement for investigation came a day after the government was forced to print a retraction for referring to the victims as “kalar” – a racial slur for Muslims or persons of Indian appearance – in their official appeal for calm after the violence.

When approached at her NLD office, the Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi expressed concern at the handling of the situation by local Rakhine authorities, esp. their failure to dampen anti-Muslim sentiment after the woman was attacked. “If the very first problem was handled effectively and quickly, this flicker wouldn't have become a flame,” she said. Urging understanding between Rakhine's religious communities she advised, “don't base your actions on anger.”

Apprehensive of potential troubles to brew in Maung Daw, a Muslim majority district, close to Bangladesh border, the district administrator and police chief met with Muslim community leaders and sought cooperation against any retaliation. Muslim leaders assured them of their cooperation. A decision was taken by Muslim religious leaders to apprise the community on Friday, June 8, during the Jumu’aa prayer service, of the assurance that they had received from government and the absolute importance of peace and avoidance of trouble.

After Friday congregation prayer, when a group of Muslims were trying to join a payer at Kayandan Tabligh Centre in Maung Daw for those 10 Muslims who were murdered by the Rakhine extremists at Taunggup, the security forces, however, tried to stop them and then started firing at the crowd killing at least two people and injuring many others. Some extremist Rakhines, hiding behind the police, threw wine bottles against the Muslims, further fueling the already tense situation.

While curfew has been imposed in Maung Daw from dusk to dawn, several Muslim villages have already been gutted down. Almost all the Muslim shops and business centers have also been attacked and ransacked by the Rakhine mob. On Saturday armed security forces with Rakhine extremist equipped with lethal arms were seen roaming Maung Daw town and surrounding villages. That morning four Rohingyas were carried away from Fayazi village of Maung Daw. Their whereabouts still remain unknown.

Eye witness accounts have shown that the Rakhine extremists and the security forces Hlun Htein and NASAKA had jointly collaborated in causing such crimes. On Friday, Rakhines were seen piling up weapons in the Maung Daw main Buddhist temple (Phongyi Chaung) and planning attacks at nightfall. Since Friday, Buddhist monks and Rakhine extremists have been seen being escorted by security forces while they were announcing ‘War on Kalas’, (war on blacks, foreigners – meaning the Rohingyas) along the streets of Maung Daw. This dangerous message spread like a wild fire all over Maung Daw and Buthidaung townships. Many of the security forces, dressed in civilian clothes, were seen firing on the Rohingya Muslims. As a result, at least a hundred Rohingya Muslims have reportedly died. Several mosques have also been set on fire.

The Myanmar government has dispatched military troops and naval vessels to calm the violence. In a statement in official newspapers on Saturday, the All Myanmar Islam Association condemned "the terrorizing and destruction of lives and properties of innocent people" and called on Muslims across the country to live in peace.

How could this be happening when we thought that we had said sayonara to the old days of Burmese and Rakhine pogroms directed against the persecuted Muslims of Burma? In the Rakhine state where tensions between Muslims and Buddhists run high, and has been witnesses to such riots many times since at least the 1930s, a mere mention of the term ‘Rohingya’ is enough to ignite passion amongst the Rakhines who view them at best as unwanted immigrants from Bangladesh and at worst “invaders.”

The truth of the matter is Burma, in spite all the newer developments – mostly cosmetic or superficial – still remains our planet’s worst den of hatred by any name - bigotry, racism, xenophobia, etc. For many people in Burma, a Burmese is a Buddhist by definition; Buddhism forms an essential part of their identity; there is no place for people of other religious persuasions.

The decades-old military government in Burma has been replaced by a hybrid group of civil and ex-military personnel that promises change. However, the life of an ethnic minority, esp. if it is a non-Buddhist, has not improved an iota there. They are persecuted and are easy targets for ethnic cleansing. They are treated as if they don’t exist. As noted by Mr. Nurul Islam of ARNO, “U Thein Sein’s government has not changed their attitude towards our people. It is still holding onto to past policies which excluded, discriminated and persecuted the Rohingya population. We need to remind the government Rohingyas are an integral part of the Burma’s society regardless of the fact that their appearance, ethnicity and religion is different than the majority of the population.” He added, “Daw Aung San Suu Kyi so far has been surprisingly silent regarding the persecution of our people. As a democratic icon, advocating for human rights for all, we urge her to use her influence to speak out on behalf the Rohingya, who have no voice in Burma.”

There are clear evidences that the authorities in Arakan state have been guilty of collaborating with Rakhine leadership to sow anti-Muslim sentiment among the Buddhist people so that they can be terrorized, to help prevent Muslim migration and settlement into central Burma from the region.

As eye witness accounts and social media outlets show when the Rakhine mob attacked the Tablighi Muslims on June 3, the army and police personnel did not do anything to stop the carnage. One eye witness said, “The police and the army were there when the mob was beating the victims, but they did not do anything to control the mob or protect the victims.

The attack happened right in front of their eyes.” He added, ““If the army or police had controlled the mob, they would have been able to save the victims. They knew the situation well, but they did not do anything to control the mob or protect the victims.”

The level of deep-rooted Rakhine racism against the Rohingya can be understood from the hateful statement of Khaing Kaung San, a local Rakhine activist in Sittwe, who said, "They [Rohingyas] are fighting to own the land, occupy the entire state." "They don't need weapons; just by their numbers they can cover the entire land."

Obviously, such false assertions epitomizing intolerance, racism and hatred are not new and cannot disappear overnight when it is so deeply entrenched touching every walk of life in Burma, esp. in places like the Rakhine state. The politically dominant Rakhine community doesn’t want to share the state with others. This, in spite of the fact that serious works of research have proven convincingly that the Rohingyas are the descendants of the indigenous people (bhumi-putras) of this coastal region whose ties to the land precede those of the Rakhines by few centuries. [See, e.g., this author’s work - Muslim Identity and Demography in the Arakan State of Burma, Amazon.com; and Dr. Abid Bahar’s – Burma’s Missing Dots – the emerging face of genocide.]

The recent riots in the Rakhine state once again highlight the vulnerable status of the Rohingyas of Burma. Declared stateless, they are unwanted inside Myanmar and unwelcome as fleeing refugees in neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Thailand. This is the greatest tragedy of our time. They are caught between crocodiles in the sea and tigers on the ground.

Where would they go? Should they become an extinct community much like what had happened to so many others before in the annals of history? Or, must they wander in the wilderness for two millennia and suffer repeated persecution, humiliation and genocide to qualify as equals in our world?

For my part, I have petitioned my Congressman to cosponsor the Resolution H. J. Res. 109 to renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which is the only leverage the U.S. has left to push the Burmese regime to move forward with positive changes and hold them accountable for widespread human rights abuses and mass atrocities they commit against the people of Burma.

It is not enough, but better than doing nothing and being a silent spectator to violence!

Lines in the margin:

General Aung San assured full rights and privileges to Muslim Rohingya Arakanese saying “I give (offer) you a blank cheque. We will live together and die together. Demand what you want. I will do my best to fulfill them. If native people are divided, it will be difficult to achieve independence for Burma."

"The former first President of Burma Sao Shwe Theik stated, “Muslims of Arakan certainly belong to one of the indigenous races of Burma. If they do not belong to the indigenous races, we also cannot be taken as indigenous races.”

"The previous parliamentary government listed 144 ethnic groups in Burma. But Ne Win put only 135 groups on a short list, and then was approved by his BSPP regime’s constitution of 1974. The three Muslim groups of Rohingya (Muslim Arakanese), Panthay (Chinese Muslims), Bashu (Malay Muslims) and six other ethnic groups were deleted. "

Color-coding of individuals - Hitler's Nazi regime was into color-coding and other forms of classification of peoples and individuals. "In 1989, colour-coded Citizens Scrutiny Cards (CRCs) were introduced: pink cards for the full citizens, blue for associate citizens and green for naturalized citizens. Rohingya were not issued with any identity cards which are very essentials in all their activities."

http://danyawadi.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/rohingya-tangled-in-burma-citi...
http://cbnbd.com/?p=6738
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