By Nay San Lwin
RB Article
August 8, 2012

The tragic cruelty and the carnage of Rohingyas that occurred in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan (now known as Rakhine) state, is assumed to have been caused by Dr. Aye Maung, member of parliament and chairman of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) because in his interview with Venus News Journal on June 14, 2012, he said, “The Rakhine state should be established in the way Israel was initially established.” 

That's the dream of the Rakhine people. They want to drive out Rohingya Muslims from the Rakhine (Arakan) state, their current leader Dr. Aye Maung asserted in that interview.

In the last week of last month, a RNDP statement indicated, “Bengalis must be segregated and settled in separate, temporary places so that the Rakhines and Bengalis are not able to mix together in villages and towns in Rakhine state.” “Repatriating non-citizen Bengalis to a third country in a short period of time must be discussed with the United Nations and the international community,” the statement added. The RNDP also issued a statement early this year against a job announcement by CARE International in Myanmar, an NGO working in Arakan state, for using the term “Rohingya.”

“By resorting to a strict policy of ethnic cleansing, Aye Maung, an MP and chairman of the RNDP, is oppressing the Rohingya, who have lived in Arakan state for centuries, while his parents only emigrated to Arakan state in 1953-54 from Bangladesh. His citizenship should be verified as he is a non-citizen Bengali-Magh,” said Htay Lwin Oo, an activist from the United States. There were many Buddhist settlers in Arakan state after the independence of Burma, but the regime never raised the issue because the agenda is only to drive out the Muslims. The Rakhine people are officially accepted as an ethnic people of Burma and in Bangladesh too, while Rohingyas are denied citizenship in Burma and recognized as refugees in Bangladesh.

As an armed group of Rakhines in exile, the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), which was founded in 1968, struggling to get back its lost Kingdom, held meetings in Malaysia last year where an attendee asked a question about the struggles and aims of ALP, which wants an independent Arakan state. ALP's struggle is not for federalism but for independence, ALP members told the Bangladesh-based Narinjara news agency. ALP and the Rakhine state government held peace talks early this year, but the two sides have still not reached a cease-fire agreement. A recent RNDP statement said, “The government and Rakhines must combine forces to lay down a security protocol for Rakhine state and the Rakhine people.” It seems that the RNDP wants to bring ALP's forces into the region to oversee the Muslims.

“In recent months, there have been an increasing number of anti-Rohingya activities, including seminars in Rangoon and Arakan state organized by the RNDP and anti-Rohingya demonstrations,” Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, recently said in the British parliament.

Ever since the 1970s the Rohingya have been accused of being illegal Bengali immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh, although the Rohingya enjoyed a variety of rights that were provided to all citizens after the independence of Burma. The preceding regime imposed many restrictions on Rohingya marriage, travel, religious freedom, forced labor, etc. The Rohingya have been denied citizenship since the 1982 citizenship act was passed when the dictator Ne Win was in power. Two out of three lawmakers at the time of the 1982 citizenship act were Rakhines.

Many Rohingya men have been arrested. Many Rohingya villages, houses, mosques and properties were burned down during the recent unrest. Rohingya shops were looted by mobs. Nowadays, the shops are being relocated by the authorities as per the plan of the RNDP. All the Rohingya were driven from the town, and there is no guarantee that they will get back their land where they lived for centuries. “The actual death toll is a bit difficult to determine, but Tun Khin confirmed that “as many as 650 Rohingyas were killed, 1,200 are missing and more than 80,000 have been displaced.” Some elderly people died due to a lack of medical treatment. Rohingya refugees are facing a food crisis as donors are not allowed in the area where Rohingya Muslims are sheltering. The foreign minister of Burma rejected humanitarian assistance offered by the Malaysian government.

According to the Burmese presidential website, President Thein Sein told the UNHCR chief that Burma will take responsibility for its ethnic nationalities, but it is impossible to recognize illegal border-crossing Rohingya who are not native to Burma. He asked UNHCR Chief António Guterres to recognize Rohingya as refugees and operate camps inside the country till they can be resettled in a third country that is willing to take them. But the UNHCR chief quickly rejected that idea, saying: “The resettlement programs organized by the UNHCR are for refugees who are fleeing a country to another, in very specific circumstances. Obviously, it's not related to this situation.”

JAKARTA — Southeast Asian nations are considering humanitarian assistance for Muslim-minority Rohingya facing "pain and suffering" in Myanmar, the head of the ASEAN regional bloc said Wednesday.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations secretary general Surin Pitsuwan said the bloc should be "part of solution to the problem" that escalated in June with a bloody clash that displaced around 60,000 people, mostly Rohingya.

The Burmese government willfully ignores a human-rights disaster.

A recent journey to western Myanmar has revealed a provincial capital divided by hatred and thousands of its Muslim residents terrorised by what they say is a state-sponsored campaign to segregate the population along ethno-sectarian lines.

Decades-old tension between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in coastal Rakhine state exploded with new ferocity in June, leaving at least 78 people dead and tens of thousands homeless. 

Exclusive reporting conducted last week in the highly restricted region suggests that the long-term fallout from recent violence could be even more damaging than the bloodshed.

The United Nations has estimated that 80,000 people are still displaced around the cities of Sittwe and Maungdaw, and international rights groups continue to denounced Myanmar for its role in the conflict.

As it stands, any thought of reconciliation between local Buddhists and Muslims appears a distant dream.

Many Rohingya have fled the polarised region, fearing revenge attacks and increasing discrimination. Their status has sparked international concern and disagreement.

Rights groups have condemned the violence. The Myanmar government has denied any wrongdoing, while neighbouring Bangladesh has rejected an influx of refugees and slashed access to aid.

For those Rohingya caught up in the dispute, the day-to-day situation is rapidly slipping from desperate to dire.

In Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, the scars of recent conflict were everywhere.

Burned homes, shops and entire markets dot the Buddhist-majority city of nearly 200,000 people. Traditionally Muslim neighbourhoods, such as Shwe Pyar, Nazi Konetan and Mawlike, were deserted, locked up, or living in deep secrecy.

Prominent mosques and buildings bear signs from the municipality reading, "No one is allowed to enter." Locals told Al Jazeera the properties have been taken over by the state. In some areas of Sittwe, the devastation from the violence that peaked in June is comparable to Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in 2008.

Most striking was the almost completely absence of the Rohingya population that once made up nearly one-third of the city's residents, and the largest portion of its working class.

The impact of that loss was obvious. The Rohingya who worked as the city's ever-present ricksaw drivers and porters at the jetty and markets are now gone. There are no signs of Muslims at the airport, the boat shuttles that ferry passengers to outlying islands, or even the local busses that run Buthidaung to Maungdaw, two Rohingya-majority states.

Local Hindus, and residents who appear to be of Indian descent, have taken to applying bindis to their foreheads to avoid being mistaken for Rohingya.

A range of interviews found that Buddhist Rakhines had collectively decided to practice a policy of "non-engagement" with the Rohingya. In practical terms, this meant a ban on businesses, as well as controlling access to food, medicine, travel and communication.

According to local sources, Rohingya are no longer allowed to enter the city's largest market or to travel from town to town.

Outside Sittwe, where the fleeing Rohingya had gathered, the situation was worse. The village of Bhumei, a few kilometres to the west, was overrun by thousands of refugees who said they were forced from the city, first by mobs, then by security troops.

By local accounts, this camp is the biggest of the camps that have sprung up to shelter the displaced city dwellers.

The refugees endured the current monsoon rains in mud-floored tents, living mostly on bags of rice provided by the UN's World Food Programme. There is no clinic, proper bathroom or clean water, as witnessed by Al Jazeera.

The camp is surrounded by all hours by security troops. Many wonder if the soldiers are there to protect them from attacks from the Rakhine, or keep them under guard.

"Many of the refugees who fled from inside the city are manual labourers and daily wagers. We are having great difficulties just surviving each day. We fear what will happen to us if we go back to the town. We can't go there yet. Those who risked going back to their homes and shops were prevented by authorities on security grounds," said U Shwe Maung, a Rohingya refugee in Bhumei.

"We are sharing food with each other. We are now facing starvation. Even though we are provided food by the WFP, that is not enough for such a huge number of people like this," he added.

The Rohingya now forced to live in the Bhumei camp appeared desperate. One woman was crying in the street with her rain-soaked children on her lap. She said they were sick and there was clinic to look after them or food to eat.

"We want to go back to our homes if the officials provide security for us," said Mahmud Shiko, a Rohingya in Bhumei.

"The police told me I'd find nothing back there if I return, but I still want to go back."

The wave of violence in June was sparked by the alleged rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by three Muslim men in a Rakhine village.

Both ethnic communities attacked rival villages and neighborhoods in the days that followed, destroying and torching homes, businesses and holy sites, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released last week.

The HRW report denounced both sides for the cycle of reprisal attacks, estimating that the death toll was far higher than the Myanmar government total of 78.

HRW also blasted Myanmar's security forces, sent in by the government, for standing down while the Rakhine and Rohingya groups battled each other. As the attacks escalated and thousands of Rohingya rioted, the report said that police and paramilitary trooped fired on Rohingya protesters.

In an outlying area, according to the report, soldiers shot at Rohingya villagers as they tried to escape and looted food and valuables from their emptied homes.

Benjamin Zawacki, a Bangkok-based researcher for Amnesty International, described the violence as "primarily one-sided, with Muslims generally and Rohingya specifically the targets and victims".

HRW says hundreds of men and boys were rounded up in mass arrests, their whereabouts still unknown. Informal Rohingya estimates put the number of missing and arrested in the thousands.

On the hushed streets of Sittwe and in the tent city outside Bhumei, Rohinyga speak of the brutality of the Rakhine and the Myanmar forces, and of the many loved ones still missing from the conflict.

The alleged victims are not the only combatants talking about the violence.

In a series of interviews with off-duty security officers at bars and restaurants in Sittwe, a picture emerged of what some Myanmar military and police think about the Rohingya.

An ethnic Rakhine soldier from the 352 Light Infantry Battalion claimed he and his comrades killed "300 Rohingya" from Myothugyi village near the area of Three Mile between Buthidaung and Maundaw townships on the night of June 8.

The soldier, whose name has been withheld, explained that the killings took place when hundreds of Muslims blocked and tried to overwhelm the truck carrying his unit. The victims were unaware the truck, a civilian vehicle used for road construction, was carrying soldiers.

"I put the butt of my gun here at [the right side of] my waist and shot down many Muslims while keeping my left hand on magazines so that I could quickly fill up my bullets," said the soldier, now stationed at a village outside Maungdaw.

"There were so many dead bodies that we even had to call in a bulldozer to make a mass grave."

Another ethnic Rakhine soldier boasted that he and his troops killed an uncountable number of Rohingya in the village of Nyaung Chaung in the countryside around Maungdaw during the early June crackdown.

"We have even still kept this from our [commanding] officers," he said.

It was impossible to verify these claims. Even so, the uncaring nature of the statements shows the animosity that some who wield power have for the Rohingya.

Such anger is easily apparent on the streets.

An educated Rakhine woman, visiting Maungdaw from the US where she has lived for 20 years, spoke bitterly when asked if the human rights she enjoys should be granted to Rohingya to ease tension between the communities.

"Human rights are for human being only. Are Rohingya humans?" she told Al Jazeera.

"We are the house owners and they are the guests. When the guests attempt to drive out the homeowners, human rights are no longer meant for them."

The Myanmar government has strongly denied accusations of abuse from rights groups.

"The government has exercised maximum restraint in order to restore law and order in those particular places," read a statement released on Monday.

The government also denounced "attempts by some quarters to politicise and internationalise this situation as a religious issue", a sidelong reference to the criticism emerging from Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, over the assaults on Rohingya.

Then again, the government has, over the years, denied the entire existence of a "Rohingya problem", and even the Rohingya themselves.

Myanmar's formerly military government and its state-run media have strictly avoided the word "Rohingya", referring to the group instead as "Bengali Muslims", implying that the people are not indigenous and have migrated to Myanmar recently a few several decades ago. The Myanmar immigration minister has repeatedlysaid that there are no Rohingyas in Myanmar.

Last month, in his last month meeting with a UN High Commissioner for Refugees delegation, President Thein Sein said refugee camps or deportation was the only answer for nearly the country estimate 800,000 to a million Rohingya Muslims.

"We will take responsibility for our ethnic people but it is impossible to accept the illegally entered Rohingyas, who are not our ethnicity," he told UNHCR cheif Antonio Guterres, according to the president's official website.

The former general said the "only solution" was to send the Rohingyas to refugee camps run by UNHCR.

"We will send them away if any third country would accept them. This is what we are thinking is the solution to the issue."

The government, when it does discuss the issue, blames the resentment and fear that the Rakhine have for the Rohingya on a potential population explosion that would see the group seize power.

Outside its capital city, Rakhine state is nearly two-thirds Rohingya. The adjacent states of Maungdaw and Buthidaung are already majority Rohingya, according to official figures.

The population fears, possibly stemming from cultural stereotypes, are an issue that 72-year-old Rohingya elder Sayyad Abdullah can appreciate. He has four wives, 28 children and, in his words, "lots" of grandchildren.

Last week, authorities cited Abdullah's family and quoted him in press briefings about the so-called population explosion. Abdullah rejected any desire for an autonomous state and said he was open to government measure to curb Rohingya families to one wife and two children, but not at the expense of dignity.

"We just desire equal rights like the Rakhine and the Burmese, and we want nothing more than a normal life," he told Al Jazeera.

Other Rohingya leaders say the perception of their community is wrong, and racist. The majority are impoverished farmers and labourers, but some Rohingya hold university degrees and own many businesses in Sittwe and Yangon.

Thein Zaw and Kyaw Hla, who are now overseeing the distribution of food aid at the Bhumei refugee camp, belong to the wealthiest class of Sittwe. They claim their forefathers have lived in Rakhine state for 350 years.

As it stands, the vast majority of Rohingya are denied Myanmar citizenship, cannot own businesses, marry or relocate. The president's proposal to relegate the Rohingya population to UNHCR-run camps seems unsustainable and humiliating.

Whether this long-simmering dispute is founded in race, religion or population, matters little to the Rohingya stuck in camps such as Bhumei. Nor to the Rakhine who live in majority Rohingya areas and claim to live in constant fear of attack.

Some scholars, such as Myanmar expert Bertil Linter, claim the animosity between Rakhine and Rohingya began during the Second World War, when Buddhist backed the Japanese and Muslims the British. Other experts say the rift began centuries before.

In either case, unless the government or international bodies intervene, the violence and discrimination seem destined to continue.

A freelance reporter contributed this report to Al Jazeera from Myanmar. He is not being named for his own safety.

Sources Here :

“Today, three Hindus were arrested at Kyaung Gyi Quarter of Sittwe by the Military and sent to the Police custody. It is informed that these three Hindus were on their way to set fire to the Rohingyas’ villages at the Kyaung Gyi Lan area. According to a local man, the Hindus were asked and made to do so by the chairman of Kyaung Gyi who is a Rakhine. BARUA Buddhists (a sub-group of Rakhine who reside in both Bangladesh and Burma), Hindus of Bengali Origin are of same physical appearance, tongue and language, and similar culture and tradition with Rohingyas. Taking of advantage of their similarities with Rohingyas, they are being misused by the Rakhine extremist leaders for their own advantages. As a result, they have become tools for Rakhine extremists in violence against Rohingyas in Arakan so far. 

The houses of Rohingyas amid Rakhine villages were razed to the ground by the Rakhine hooligans in Myay-Bone today. Consequently, Rohingyas have become homeless and nowhere to take shelter. They are now in the situation of starvation and in the state of trauma with no hope. Besides, Rakhine brainwashed extremist youths have constantly been harassing Rohingyas and throwing stones at Rohingyas’ houses all the time (mostly at night). Even though Martial Law, which forbids ones to go out of their houses after 6pm, is declared and still in effect, Rakhines can freely move around and no authorities do anything to them who have been consistently attacking Rohingyas. Therefore, the Martial Law declared in Myay-Bone is effective to Rohingyas only. 

On 6th August 2012, seven Rohingyas from Buthidaung Township were sentenced to ten years imprisonment. They were, at first, arrested from their respective homes and locked in the jail without any trial. Shockingly, later, they were prosecuted under “three sections of acts” though the cases against them were fabricated and pre-planned by the police head. As of the situation today, the police and court (which were made up of Rakhines) in collaboration with other hate-mongering extremist Rakhines can arrest, charge any Rohingya and put them into the jail anytime” reported by Thant Myo from Buthidaung. 

We reported to you yesterday that one village in Kyawk Taw called Ambaari were torched by the Rakhine terrorists with the help of local Security Guards, Police and Military. “The village was razed to the ground today. Thousands of Rohingyas were displaced and are living with no shelter and food. All their (Rohingyas’) ways of access to foods are blocked by Rakhine murderers and authority. Hence, they are starving to death. Furthermore, we are informed many Rohingyas are being killed by Rakhines and local authorities. It is not confirmed yet how many numbers of Rohingyas were killed today” Alam reported from Buthidaung. 

“Rohingyas have been being shot dead on their way back homes from their farmlands, bazaars and wherever they are found. Rohingyas who go out of their homes in search of foods, medicines are being arrested and put into the police custodies without any reason. They are, there, tortured by the authorities and Rakhines through different means and some of them are released after the extortion of huge amount of money. When Rohingyas defend to save their lives and properties, they are put into the prison for a long-term imprisonment with no reason. When Rakhines terrorize Rohingyas, they (Rakhines) are portrayed as victims. Hence, they are playing double standard. They are treated like slaves in the Dark Age from whom authorities always try to extort ransom amount of money for their releases and tortured whenever they like. They have become like animals or birds that are killed with no hesitance” an elderly Rohingya from Maung Daw exclaimed. 

Compiled and Revised M.S. Anwar

UNHCR urges Bangladesh to lift NGO ban in southeast

GENEVA, 7 August (UNHCR) – UNHCR appealed on Tuesday to the government of Bangladesh to ensure that NGO assistance continues to be provided to unregistered people from Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Last Thursday, three non-governmental organizations -- Médecins Sans Frontières, Action Contre La Faim and Muslim Aid UK -- were ordered by the Bangladeshi authorities to stop activities in and around unofficial camps near Cox's Bazar in the southeast of the country.

"If the order is implemented, it will have a serious humanitarian impact on some 40,000 unregistered people who had fled Myanmar in recent years and settled in the Leda and Kutupalong makeshift sites," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters.

"Local villagers nearby will also be affected as they, too, have been benefiting from basic services provided by the NGOs," Edwards told a news briefing.

UNHCR is urging the government of Bangladesh to reconsider its decision in line with its long tradition of hospitality towards people who have fled Myanmar over the years. In addition to the unregistered population, there are some 30,000 registered ones living in two official camps in Cox's Bazar.

Meanwhile in northern Rakhine state, UNHCR is watching developments closely following reports of renewed violence over the weekend. The UN refugee agency has received unverified accounts of some villages being burnt in the Kyauk Taw township north of the state capital, Sittwe. Many of the young men have reportedly fled, leaving mainly women and children behind.

The UN and its humanitarian partners have drawn up a response plan to assist some 80,000 people who have been displaced or are otherwise affected in Rakhine state since inter-communal clashes broke out in early June.

UNHCR has so far distributed emergency aid to more than 40,000 people: plastic sheets, blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and kitchen sets. It is also mobilizing its stocks in Cox's Bazar for delivery by boat across the Naf river to Rakhine state once permission is in place.

Source here 

By Al Arabiya with Agencies

Saudi Arabia accused authorities in Buddhist-majority Myanmar on Monday of “ethnic cleansing” against the Muslim Rohingya minority in the west of the country, state media reported on Tuesday.

The Saudi cabinet said it “condemns the ethnic cleansing campaign and brutal attacks against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya citizens, as well as violation of human rights by forcing them to leave their homeland,” in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah, urged the “international community to take up its responsibilities by providing needed protection and quality of life to Muslims in Myanmar and preventing further loss of life.”

Fighting in western Rakhine state between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya left three killed on Sunday, a government official in Yangon said.

The violence initially broke out following the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman and the subsequent lynching of 10 Muslims by a crowd of angry Buddhists.

The bloodshed has cast a shadow over widely praised reforms by President Thein Sein, that have included the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.

The head of the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday proposed sending an OIC mission to probe the “massacres” of Rohingya Muslims.

The OIC will try to persuade the government in Yangon to accept an OIC fact-finding mission, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told an executive committee meeting of the world's largest Muslim grouping which is based in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

He “expressed disappointment over the failure of the international community to take action to stop the massacres, violations, oppression and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the government of Myanmar against the Rohingya Muslims.”

“The OIC has directed its offices at the United Nations in New York to urge the Council to look into the suffering of the Rohingya minority,” he said, quoted in a statement issued by the 57-member organization.

Violence which erupted in June in Rakhine state between Buddhists and Rohingya left about 80 people dead from both sides, official figures showed.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that figure appeared “grossly underestimated,” however, and accused security forces of opening fire on Muslims and committing rape.

Hundreds of Rohingya men and boys have been rounded up and remain incommunicado in the western region of the country formerly known as Burma, it said in a report.

Members of both the Muslim and Buddhist communities committed horrific acts of violence with reports of beheadings, stabbings, shootings and widespread arson in Rakhine, also known as Arakan state, the report added

On Sunday, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Ali al-Salem al-Dekbasi said the violent incidents taking place in Myanmar against the Muslims were “ethnic cleansing”.

“Thousands of Muslims in Myanmar face massacre, genocide and ethnic cleansing. I call on all Muslim leaders to urgently intervene in the incidents,” al-Dekbasi said.

“I call on the Myanmar authorities to arrest those responsible for the attacks against the Muslims. All those responsible should be tried by the International Criminal Court,” al-Dekbasihe added/.

Myanmar’s government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners, while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

Decades of discrimination have left them stateless and they are viewed by the United Nations as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

Source here 

 

 

7 August 2012

Rohingya people gather at a local mosque before Friday prayers in a village north of the town of Sittwe on 18 May 2012.


Mo Farah is a British athletics hero. Last Saturday, he stood holding the Union Jack flag, while the British national anthem was sung and he received a gold medal for Great Britain after winning the 10,000 metres race in the Olympic Games. As he ran, Mo was cheered on by British crowds, and when he won, the crowds went wild with patriotic pride and delight.

Mo, a Muslim, was born in Somalia, and did not come to Britain until he was eight years old, when his family fled his war-torn country. The Somali community are among the poorest, most marginalised ethnic groups in Britain, and are often associated in the media with violence, crime and terrorism.

No one in Britain would describe Mo as indigenous Anglo-Saxon. Yet no one today would deny that he is British.

Similarly, many of our Olympics team are Afro-Caribbean. We have one Cuban-born athlete. Jessica Ennis, face of the 2012 Olympics and winner of the 800 metre race, is of mixed ethnicity. As The Times newspaper wrote in an editorial yesterday, “the face that Britain is showing the world is tolerant, diverse and at ease.” Britain has not always been so – we have our own history of racial intolerance in the not-too-distant past – but we have learned, by and large, to value our multi-cultural society, while at the same time celebrating, as the Olympics opening ceremony showed, our own distinct history and heritage.

If we can salute as a British legend an athlete from a 250,000-strong Somali immigrant community on the greatest ever night in British athletics history, why is Burma so unwilling to recognise as citizens 800,000 Rohingyas who have lived there for generations?

The levels of violence over the past two months in Arakan state have been horrifying. Perhaps even more shocking have been the attitudes expressed by people who should know better. The levels of irrationality have been staggering. I have received several abusive messages, simply because I have spoken out for human rights and against intolerance. In one message, I was asked why I “hate” Burmese people, a question stemming from the fact that I had said the Rohingyas should be treated as human beings, even though I have spoken up clearly for Rakhine victims of violence too.

To be absolutely clear, it is because I love Burma and all Burmese people that I am speaking out so strongly – not in favour or against any one particular community, but against this spiralling atmosphere of hatred and violence.

In addition to the sheer humanitarian and human rights catastrophe unfolding, the anti-Rohingya pogroms have sparked, predictably, calls for jihad from Islamist extremists from Indonesia, Pakistan and across the Muslim world. There is a high risk that the Rohingyas themselves could be radicalised, if they feel they have nowhere else to turn. More worryingly, the Rohingya plight could be hijacked by radical Islamists and used as a cause celebre and a recruiting instrument. The Rohingyas could become the new Bosnia, Kashmir or Palestine.

Indeed, there are signs that it is already happening.

The last thing Burma needs is jihadis causing devastation, on top of all its existing challenges. I have seen radical Islamism up-close, in Pakistan, Indonesia, the Maldives and on the streets of London. I have friends who have been assassinated by radical Islamists. For that reason, I plead with my Burmese friends to pull back from the brink, for their failure to do so will bring further misery for Burma for years to come.
“Yet for Burma to become truly democratic, it must not only recognise but celebrate its diversity”

The west’s silence is not helping. It may be that the UK, the European Union and the United States are expressing concern about this crisis behind the scenes. But the perception in the Muslim world is that the west is turning a blind eye. All the running has been made, worryingly, by the likes of Iran and the Taliban, as well as by more secular Muslim states such as Turkey and Indonesia, and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC). This is dangerous, as it plays into the narrative of the Islamists, that when Muslims are persecuted the rest of the world looks away.

It is not too late to act. The UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, released a report last week following his visit, in which he called for an independent, international investigation into the crisis in Arakan state. This is crucial. The levels of misinformation are staggering. Photographs and videos circulating on the Internet which have clearly been doctored, claims and counter-claims of violence perpetrated by Rakhines against Rohingyas and by Rohingyas against Rakhines, are widespread.

Just yesterday, news emerged of the destruction of four Rohingya villages in Kyauktaw Township, reports of several deaths, claims from Rohingya sources that they were attacked by Rakhines with poisoned arrows and that in at least one case, a Rohingya was brutally mutilated and decapitated: all with the security forces looking on or supporting. No doubt counter-claims will come from Rakhine sources soon, if they have not already.

Without an independent, international inquiry and international monitors on the ground, it will be impossible to establish the truth and, as Mr Quintana has said, hold the perpetrators accountable. There is no doubt that both communities have suffered, and perpetrators of violence on both sides must be brought to justice.

Human Rights Watch published a report calling for unhindered access to all parts of Arakan state for international humanitarian aid agencies and human rights monitors, an end to the violence and the mass arrests of Rohingyas by security forces, and a sustained effort to promote inter-racial and inter-religious tolerance and reconciliation. Humanitarian aid is urgently needed to help the 90,000-plus people internally displaced as a result of the conflict – and it must be properly monitored to ensure that aid reaches people on the basis of need, regardless of race or religion.

Longer-term, there is a need to have a sober, considered discussion about the 1982 Citizenship Act. There is a common misperception in Burma that citizenship equals ethnic nationality which equals specific territory with a demand for autonomy. That is a painful misunderstanding. The Rohingyas are not demanding their own land, and if the term ‘ethnic nationality’ is too controversial for today it could be put aside. The history of the Rohingyas and when they came to inhabit northern Arakan is a subject that should inspire historical exploration, not incite racial violence.

What should not be up for negotiation is that people who have been born in a country should be recognised as citizens of that country. The Rohingyas’ statelessness, where their citizenship in Burma has been stripped from them and they are not accepted by Bangladesh when they seek refuge, is unsustainable and intolerable.

Some people claim the issue is about illegal immigration. For most Rohingyas, that is not so, as the history books show. Even Thein Sein acknowledged that the Rohingyas have been in Burma since before independence, although he then declared a policy of ethnic cleansing by inviting the UN to resettle the entire Rohingya population to third countries. But even if, hypothetically, some are illegal immigrants who have entered Burma in recent years, the solution is not mass pogroms bordering on genocide.

The answer is to establish a functioning immigration system that can determine who was born in Burma, who is an illegal immigrant, and then to process people accordingly. And in that process, even illegal immigrants must be treated as human beings with basic human rights. Either they should be welcomed and integrated, or returned to their country of origin in a way that respects human dignity, due process and the rule of law.

Burma has come a long way in the past year, since Aung San Suu Kyi’s historic meeting with President Thein Sein. Several steps which would have seemed inconceivable a year ago have now become a reality. The National League for Democracy (NLD) is in Parliament, Daw Suu has travelled abroad, 88 Generation leaders have been freed from jail and preliminary ceasefires with most of the ethnic nationalities have been negotiated. There is still a very long way to go, and the next steps must include the release of all remaining prisoners of conscience, an end to war in Kachin state and a genuine peace process with all the ethnic nationalities, but Thein Sein has started down a path few predicted he would take, and that deserves some recognition.

Yet for Burma to become truly democratic, it must not only recognise but celebrate its diversity. When Rohingyas represent Burma on the world stage, alongside Burmans, Karens, Kachins, Chins, Shans, Mons, Karenni, Rakhine and other minorities, carrying the Burmese flag, singing the Burmese anthem, cheered on by Burmese crowds the way British people roared support for Mo Farah, then we can say Burma is a free and peaceful nation at ease with itself.

Source : DVB News

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the loss of life and property of Rohingya Muslims during the ethnic clashes in the State of Rakhine, Myanmar.

In a letter addressed to the President of Myanmar, Zardari called for hastening the process of rehabilitation of Rohingya Muslims so that they can return to their homes and lead a safe and secure life.

The president added that the government and the people of Pakistan were saddened to learn about the losses of the Muslims and were deeply concerned about their plight.

Underlining the importance of peaceful coexistence of various communities for the strengthening of democracy in Myanmar, Zardari said that the communal harmony was imperative to reap the fruits of democracy.

He said that only peaceful coexistence of various communities would ensure that the democratic transition was not reversed.

Source here

As part of efforts to raise awareness of a recent massacre of Rohingya or Arakan Muslims in western Myanmar, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit the country on Aug. 8.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s wife, Emine Erdoğan, and daughter, Sümeyye Erdoğan, and the foreign minister’s wife, Sare Davutoğlu, will accompany the FM. Davutoğlu will meet with Myanmar government officials on Aug. 9 to discuss both the humanitarian aid efforts being carried out by Turkey and the Rohingya Muslims’ situation.

Turkish authorities are working to deliver humanitarian aid to the Rohingya Muslims, but it’s not clear yet if the aid will be brought on Davutoğlu’s plane, a Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News. Myanmar generally allows humanitarian aid only through U.N. organizations. Some countries, including the U.S., have brought supplies to the region, but most of the aid is being held outside the country awaiting permission from Myanmar’s government to deliver it.

There is also a Turkish monument and mausoleum in Myanmar at a site where 1,500 Turkish soldiers who were captured by U.K. forces during World War I were laid to rest. The mausoleum was damaged in a storm, and Turkey has begun to work on its restoration. Meanwhile, renewed violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya has left three people dead and five others wounded, a government official said yesterday, amid growing international concern about the sectarian unrest.

Sources Here:

In this Modern World, our human journey become more and more complicated; balance of power has no meaning, we claim ourselves the best creature on Earth but some human are still lower than animals, human wrote thousands of law book to maintain justice but most of them failed to implement, we are proud of globalization, we broadcast human right, international value, and peaceful coexistence among the nations. During two World Wars, millions of human lost their lives, after the war, millions of people were killed in the name of nationalism, cold war, power struggles, and persecution of dictators. Justice, human right, and human value are found in the books in such a eloquence way that pleased human nature but in reality, we, human being, are still killing our human brothers in the name of religion, power, liberation, and national security.

We educate our children that United Nations was formed to maintain international peace and security, we teach at schools that there is international declaration of human rights, we are trying to make our Earth as a safest place for all living things. Our scholars have good intention for globalization but nobody knows when, how and based on which principle can we fulfill our plan. We gather together in such a huge organization, UN, in which many branches are doing their tasks sincerely but still we can not apply justice on Earth, why? Don’t we have enough judges, lawyers, and forces to implement our mission, peace and security for human being? We can’t solve a minor case in time, why? Does UN have power to handle? If UN doesn’t have power, how can we claim that it is formed to maintain World’s peace and security? 

In the recent ethnic violence of Arakan State, the Buddhist Rakhine extremists in collaboration with army, Lon Htin, Nasaka, well equipped local Rakhine militia or police have been killing, many thousands of Rohingya, devastating numerous villages with mosques, burning down thousands of their homes, and looting immeasurable properties and valuables, while forcing scores of starving Rohingya men, women and children .

It has been well documented that, since 1942, about 1.5 million Rohingyas have fled their homeland of Arakan for various destinations for their lives. On the contrary, thousands of Buddhist Rakhines known as Maghs from Bangladesh have been regularly settled in Arakan under state programme particularly from Ne Win’s BSPP (Burma Socialist Party Programme) regime. Some of those Bangladeshi Maghs are in the helm of affairs of the state. Thus the alleged illegal immigration of Rohingyas from Bangladesh is unfounded, politically motivated and preoccupation of Islamophobia. It is a racist and xenophobic design of Rakhines to scapegoat the native Rohingyas enwrapping the infiltration of the

Bengali Rakhine Maghs into Arakan. Their ultimate objective is to create an independent ‘Rakhine Prey” or Rakhine Country in which the Rohingya remain a stumbling block.

According to several human rights groups thousands of unarmed Muslims may already have been killed in the apartheid state of Myanmar. Many Rohingya young men, picked up by the government forces, have simply disappeared, and are now feared death. Many victims – old and young, afraid of being ambushed and tortured to death by the racist Rakhine extremists. Dictators of Myanmar, and Rakhine racists do not care the Universal Declaration of Human Right.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon sent highest staff of UN, Mr. Tomás Ojea Quintana to investigate the case, after his return situation of Arakan State became worse, thousands of houses were burnt, and hundreds of Rohingyas were killed. Nobody knows what is going on in the Arakan State because there is no reliable media in the Arakan State. Local activists estimate nearly 20,000 Rohingyas were killed so far, and more than 140000 of Rohingyas became homeless, and starving without shelters. UNHCR, and other NGOs can hardly get information of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathedaung, and Sittwe but no one knows what is going on in the other 14 townships of Arakan State, it is very difficult to get information for the communication barrier.

Rakhine racists and authority are trying to make almost all the townships as non Muslim places, in every second, Rohingyas are killing everywhere in the whole Arakan State. How many thousands of Rohingyas must give their lives to take action against this genocide? Do we need to be the second Rwanda? Why are international communities and UN waiting for more killing and burning of Rohingya? How long do the Rohingya people need to suffer? When will UN decide a clear cut solution? Does UN have power to solve the problem? Rohingyas’ persecution is not new, Rohingya have been under persecution since 1960s, thousands of files were composed regarding Rohingyas by UN, human right watch, and many organizations but still the case is unsolved, why? Is it concern with Rohingyas’ faith, Islam? For Myanmar Government and Rakhine racists , if Rohingya people believe in Buddhism like Marma, Sakmak, and Indian Hindu, they will deserve full right. Marma, Sakmak, and Indian Hindu are identical in terms of language, culture, complexion, and food.  

I would like to request U.N, international community, OIC, EU, ASEAN, USA, UK , China, and Myanmar’s neighbours to do away with the policy of apartheid against the Rohingyas in Myanmar. I beg you to send independent news media to monitor the actual situation in Arakan. I humbly request you for necessary humanitarian assistance to the victims and displaced people as soon as possible before most of the Rohingyas die. I beg you to take immediate action against Rohingya genocide.

Aung Aung Oo

Sittwe(Akyab) 

An interview on Rawal TV by Anwar Arkani, the Chairman, and Sayed Ahmed, Gen. Secretary of the Rohingya Association of Canada on July 24, 2012. In the interview they presented the current situation of Rohingya in Arakan State, the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Rohingya engineered by the Burmese junta in collaboration with the State government and ultra-nationalist network of Buddhists. 

They elaborated the unfolding of violence in greater detail including incitement and instigation by the government authorities and actual carrying out of the attacks. Towards the end, they appeal to the world community, the audience, to request their respective government to put diplomatic pressure on the Burmese junta to stop the killing.

Four Rohingya villages were burned by Rakhine extremists down as the violence against Rohingyas resurfaced in Kyauktaw yesterday. “Details about the burned villages and some Rohingyas killed are given below.

The 12-year-old under-aged girl, Noorjanat D/o Shwe Hla, from Apauk village was slaughtered like an animal by Rakhine Inhumane Hooligans using sharp knives. The rest of the people from the village were killed using spears and bayonets simultaneously setting fire to their houses. Some people who could escape the carnage of Rakhines took shelter at a graveyard near to Kaladan River. Some people had to dive into Kaladan to escape the massacres of Rakhines. 

The concerned villagers informed the authorities in advance about the threats and attacks of Rakhine extremists. In Kyawk Taw, there were at least 23 Rohingya villages. There were a few Rohingyas’ villages burned in Kyawk Taw by Rakhine extremists earlier. And there was a temporary calmness after the visit of domestic officials to the affected areas. But this time, it is a deliberate attempt to cleanse Rohingyas and they are committing genocides ignoring International calls to stop the violence against them and Rohingyas’ outcry. Coincidentally, this time, it is happening after the visit of Vice-President Dr. Sai Maung Kham and the press release of Mr. Tomas Ojea Quintana. 

The worst thing is that a website, namely, “drlunswe.blogger.com” is spreading the news which is contrary to the reality on the ground. It is propagating that Rohingyas are burning Rakhines’ villages to further instigate violence all over the country. In short, they are portraying mass murderer criminals as victims and the real victims as criminals. Please save Rohingyas from the hands of evils before they are exterminated” Myo Thant from Buthidaung cried out. 

As of today, ”other two villages, namely Ambaari and Haair Para, in Kyawk Taw were burned again. And hundreds of Rohingyas composed of old people and children were massacred. Military and Hluntin (Security Guards) themselves are cooperating with Rakhine murderers in torching Rohingyas’ villages using Fire-Bombs with their guns. At the same time, they blocked all the exits and escape paths so that no Rohingya can go out of burning houses. As a result of this merciless and heartless deed, hundreds of Rohingyas’ children, elderly people, disabled people and who could not go out of their villages were burned alive. Therefore, exact number of Rohingyas killed cannot be confirmed yet” Maung Maung reported from Buthidaung. 

Elsewhere “in Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of Maung Daw, Police and other departments, in the name guest-list checking or census check, are looting Rohingyas’ properties, gang-raping their girls now and at this moment time” Rahim from Maung Daw reporting. Therefore, on behalf of all Rohingyas who are, living under severe persecutions, being massacred and whose under-aged girls are being raped and properties are being looted, we would like to plead International Community and the people who care about humanity to not let Rohingyas face the same fate of Jews at the hands of Nazi Germans and Bosnians at the hands of Serbians and save them from Neo-Nazi Racist Section of Rakhine Society and fascist Burmese regime before it is too late.