BURMA TASK FORCE-USA (NEW YORK CHAPTER) SPEARHEADS RALLY IN NEW YORK CITY; BRANA AND SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS SPEAKS AT THE RALLY

Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, Chairman of the Burmese Rohingya Association of North America and the Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union addresses before the rally organized by the Burma Task Force-USA (New York). On the Right: Dr. Shaikh Obaid of the Burma Task Force-USA (New York).

A large really in support of Rohingya political and human rights in Burma/Myanmar, took place in front of the United Nations building in New York City on September 8, 2012. The event was organized by the New York chapter of the Burma Task Force, in coordination with its members, the Burmese Rohingya Association of North America (BRANA) and Free Rohingya Campaign based in New York City. The major driving forces behind the rally in the organization by the Burma Task Force (NY) were Islamic Circle of North America (New York Chapter), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), Muslim Peace Coalition of USA, and Council of American-Islamic Relations-NY (CAIR). Over 500 people participated in the rally. Several dignitaries, Muslim leaders, human right advocates, and Rohingya activists from the United States also addressed the rally in solidarity with the Rohingya victims of Arakan in Burma, and the Rohingya community worldwide.

Dr. Shaikh Obaid of the Director of the New York Chapter of the Burma Task Force-USA presided the event with a keynote address followed by the speech by Nay San Oo, Information Secretary of BRANA and Co-founder of Free Rohingya Campaign; Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, Chairman of BRANA and Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU); and leaders and activists from several other organizations, including Al-Hajj Talib Abdur Rasheed, President of Islamic Leadership Council of New York Metropolitan Area, Mubasher Ahmed, Islamic Circle of North America, Abu Samia Siraj, Muslim Ummah of North America, Mazim, Jamaica Muslim Center, Imam Ayub Abdul Bhaqi, Chairman of the Social Justice Committee & Islamic Leadership of New York Metropolitan Area, Naji Al-Muntasir, Leader of Arab American Community, Mohiddin Yusuf Maung Sein & Shaukat Islam, Rohingya Concerns International, Abu Samia Siraj, the Muslim Umma of North America, and several community leaders and activists.

In the keynote speech, Dr. Shaikh Obaid emphasized the importance of the advocacy for the political and human rights of the Rohingya people in Burma, showing solidarity with the Rohingya victims, sustaining the current efforts by the international community, and mobilization of all sectors of the US Government to take the Rohingya crisis to the center stage in the international arena. Dr. Obaid also stressed the importance of the role of US Government, along with the international community, in bringing a resolution to completely stop the Rohingya genocide in Burma. Nay San Oo spoke the significance of sustained media coverage for constant flow of accurate and unbiased information to the international community, particularly to counter the negative publicity by the Burmese Government media and the sites of ultra-nationalist/racist Rakhine against Rohingya. Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin vehemently demanded the Burmese Government to immediately stop the current on-going violence, particularly by the Burmese police and security forces who are arresting and committing cold-blooded murders of Rohingya people, and hundreds of rape cases and physical abuses against Rohingya women in Arakan. Among several issues, Dr. Uddin also demanded the Burmese President Thein Sein to publicly retract his recent statement of transferring the Rohingya (from their native Rohang of Arakan) to a third country or keeping them in camps. Dr. Uddin asked the international community to be vigilant about the hypocrisy and deceitful maneuvering by the hardliners in the Burmese Government as they are only waiting the international outcry against the Rohingya genocide to gradually dissipate, and then resume its old strategy to eliminate Rohingya population from Arakan state. He sent a clear message to the audience the civilized community of the world through his address: “we cannot afford to loose the current momentum, we cannot slow down, we cannot be distracted, and we must sustain this efforts to regain peace, justice, and all our rights in Burma”. He urgently appealed the United Nations not to accept the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Burmese Government because the government itself and its police/security forces have been a party to the violence against Rohingya. He demanded the United Nations to send its own Commission of Inquiry, to resume and expand its various operations in Rohingya regions of Arakan, to send a peace-keeping force to protect the Rohingya from Rakhine and Burmese/Rakhine police/security forces, and to address political and human rights issues in the UN Security Council and General Assembly. Dr. Uddin stressed the urgent need to repeal the Burmese Military’s 1982 Citizenship Law (the Black Law) and restatement of Rohingya citizenship, based on the indigenity and history of the Rohingya people of Arakan, as the foundation to guarantee the political and human rights for the Rohingya in Burma. All the speakers had a resounding message to the people and the Government of US, and the international community: “Save Rohingya, Show Solidarity with Rohingya, Burmese Government Must Give Rohingya Back all their Rights, and Peace & Justice Must Prevail in Arakan, Burma!”

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The Rohingya community from Maungdaw met with US envoy in Nyoung Chaung village, Maungdaw today, at about 10:30am, according to an elder from Maungdaw.

“The US envoy to Burma, Mr. Derek J. Mitchell with   Mr. Joseph Y. Yun is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the U.S. Department of State and others visited - Shel Kali village of Maungdaw south, Shweyinaye  and Nyoung Chang village of  Maungdaw, today morning  and left  Maungdaw at about 11;30 am.”

The US envoy is also accompanied by high level officers of Arakan State government, concerned authorities of Maungdaw with Shamshul Haque and Anam, the members of Regional Development Association (RDA) as interpreters, said an official from Maungdaw.

The US envoy flied with helicopter over Maungdaw and landed at Nyoung Change village where they visited the new settlers ( Natala) village – Shweyinaye – and while backed to helicopter , the envoy met an old man in the village street  who wanted to express his willing to the envoy ,but he was unable to explain about the life of Rohingya community, said an elder from village.

“The interpreters are not giving any explanation of the old man.  But, Shamshu Islam – a  student from the village- explained the expressions of the old man  where the student got a chance to explain about Rohingya situation in northern Arakan to the envoy. The envoy asked the student about their village, when it was built, who are living in the village, is there any Mosque and school in the village and so on. “  

“Our village was built since 200 years ago and all the villagers are Rohingya community. There are more than 7,000 people living and all the Mosques are locked by authority after riots. We have only  one primary school where teaches only class one to four, but now, it was also closed since June 8. Our homes and properties are destroyed, looted and burned down by authorities and Rakhines together. We are not allowed to go to the market to buy foods for our families. Now, we are facing shortage of foods and no UN, INGOs are giving us any foods, the relief goods are only going to Rakhine community. No shelters for Rohingyas IDPs in northern Arakan, all the shelters are being built for Rakhines. So, we request to all international community to help us foods, shelters and security,” said the student.

“We are facing daily harassments from security forces – police, army, Hluntin and Nasaka – that blocked our daily life struggles. The police are always arresting our Rohingyas with false and fabricated allegation and they are helping the Rakhine community to attack us.”

“I will be faced so many disturbance from concerned authorities for talking with you ( envoy) and giving explanation about the situation of Rohingya community .” 

The US envoy visited Arakan State government officials and refugee camps where the envoy discussed about the situation of their life struggle in the riots since June 8 and camps to the Rohingyas yesterday in Akyab. The US envoy also met the Rohingya refugee of Aung Mangala and discussed detail situation of their life in the camp.

Arakan, Burma 

Sunday, 9th September 2012 

In early August in Kyauktaw Towship, a place about 40km away from Arakan capital Akyab (Sittwe), under the direction of Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), Rakhines suddenly carried out many offensive attacks against Rohingyas. Consequently, many Rohingyas were killed during the attacks and more than 350 Rohingyas’ houses were burnt down. Many Rohingyas were killed and thousands were displaced and they are now struggling for survival. Contrarily, Rohingyas in Kyauktaw neither killed a Rakhine nor torched even a single house of Rakhines because they were believers of religious and communal harmony. Unfortunately, their vulnerable plights fail to catch international attention and hence subsequently ignored. 

According to a Rohingya from Kyauktaw, the inquiry commission set up by the president Thein Sein arrived Kyauktaw yesterday. The commission team cordially with Rohingya victims. Later, Rohingyas handed over a written statement to the team on the narrative of Rakhines’ attacks and other details about the violence. They are eagerly waiting to welcome OIC Facts Finding Mission and USA Investigation Team. 

As the aftermaths of the violence against Rohingyas and taking advantage of the situation, three police officers in Maung Daw such U Tin Hla, U Aung Kyaw Kham and U Hla Sein have intensified the persecutions against Rohingyas such as arbitrary arrests, extortion of money and even raping Rohingya girls in Maung Daw (Town Area) and in its adjacent villages. They have mostly been arresting shopkeepers and extorting ransom money (e.g. 30 Lakh Kyats) besides giving severe tortures. Therefore, Rohingyas could not come out of their houses due to fear of being arrested by the mentioned police officers. Rohingyas are already dehumanized, demoralized and economically crippled. The District Police Chief and NaSaKa (Border Security Forces) Chief are also turning blind eyes to the vulnerable plights of Rohingyas and evading the heinous crimes of the three police officers maybe because they are getting their shares from them. Therefore, Rohingyas in Maung Daw would like to plead President Thein Sein to take actions against the three police officers. And these police officers have been in the same place, Maung Daw without any transfers for decades. 

The police in Maung Daw started a fresh bid of arresting senior members of Rohingya community, their learned people and some of their figure heads as soon as the inquiry commission set for Arkan from Yangon. They are being arrested for arbitrary reasons. It is said that police are arresting and locking up more learned man and figure heads from Rohingya community so that Rohingyas cannot meet the Inquiry Mission set up by the President and other forthcoming investigations and explain the crimes committed against them. 

On Friday around 11am, a Rohingya figure man, U Maung Kyaw from Quarter 1, was arrested for no reason and subsequently sued. We are not sure yet under what cases he was charged. On Saturday (yesterday), around 17 Rohingyas from Quarter 5 in Maung Daw were arrested. There were numbers of senior members were arrested from ShweZa village, too. They are doing all these arrests to make Rohingyas unable to explain their tragedies to the coming investigations. 

Therefore, Rohingyas from Maung Daw would like to send a message to the inquiry commission to meet Rohingya members exclusively and separately. Or else, they will be unable to explain what crimes were done against them because Rakhine authorities are making all the efforts to make the mission unsuccessful by not giving enough chances to Rohingyas. 

Reported by Nurul Islam 

Compiled by M.S. Anwar 

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The concerned authority of Maungdaw are not allowing any camps for Internal Displace peoples (IDPs) of Rohingyas who lost their homes and property in recent riot which occurred in June, according to an elder from Maungdaw.

“300 families from Maung Nah ( Sa OH Brang) village of Buthidaung township was uprooted by security forces and looted all their property. The security forces drove out the Rohingya families from the area to Maungdaw. But, the Burma border security force (Nasaka) again drove out them to the Buthidaung. Now, the Rohingyas families are staying at Nan Yah Gone (Mein Gee Si) village without any home as the security forces are not allowing them to enter to their village. The Rohingyas become IDPs in their own land. No authority is going to build for them temporary accommodations.”

Similarly, Rohingyas from Rathedaung township move to Maungdaw south, staying in the jungle or village under the trees since last month. No accommodations are made for them by authority of Maungdaw. These Rohingyas are not able to stay in their villages of Rathedaung for their security. Rakhine community from Rathedaung are always trying to attack the Rohingyas community.The security personnel- police, Nasaka, Hluntin and army are not giving protection to them. So, the Rohingyas left their home town to Maungdaw where they have no accommodations to live or temporary tents for them, said a village admin officer from Maungdaw south.

The governmental team led by Union Minister for Ministry of Border Affairs accompanied by representatives of UN Agencies and INGOs had made the field trips to Arakan State for three times, having access for the humanitarian assistance to the affected persons from both communities – Rohingya and Rakhine. 

The delegations main purpose of visiting is for restoration of peace and stability and to provide the emergency relief for the affected persons of both communities as first trip on 13- 17 June and the group again visited Arakan on 27- 29 June for sustaining of relief campaign and promoting to resettlement stage, establishing and imitating the resettlement plan for the affected persons with Coordination on Humanitarian Assistance from the International communities and progressing the resettlement campaign, normalization initiatives between the community on 16-18 July as last visiting the area, according to Access to the Humanitarian Assistance report of U Thein Sein government.

But, U Thein Sein government didn’t provide any assistance to Rohingyas from northern Arakan and only provided to Rakhine who are not most effected than Rohingyas in northern Arakan. The authority is showing the new settler ( Natala ) villagers who were settled on Rohingya lands by government. How many family effected in the recent riot? There are only 222 shelters and 400 tents from UNHCR while 128 shelters from CARE. Where is shelther for Rohingyas who are IDPS from Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung, The reliefs goods also for only Rakhine community from northern Arakan , not for Rohingyas, Why, is the Rohingyas are not including in UN categories to get relifs? Now , again, the authority is creating new IDPs – hill people, Maungdaw north Rakhine and outside of northern Arakan - along the roadside of Maungdaw Aley Than Kyaw highway with UNHCR provide tents, according to a school teacher from Maungdaw.

“Two load trucks of Rakhine from Maungdaw north arrived at Young Chang village where they started looting and stealing animals from Rohingya community of Young Chaung. The security force are not charging any action against them.”

“The UN and INGos are only providing relief goods to Akyab of Rohingyas and what about other side of Rohingyas who are living in Mrauk-U, Minbya, Kyauktaw, Paucktaw and Kyauknimaw. No, INGOs or UN didn’t visit this place to look after for these Rohingyas.”

In Maungdaw, Rohingyas who lost their home in the recent riot, are living beside of the Rohingyas’ home and they are not getting any help from any quarters. Most of Rohingyas in Maungdaw are going starvation for shortage of foods, Most Rohingya who are working as a day labors effected more, said an elder from Maungdaw.

Source : KPN

Why has President Thein Sein eaten back his words? Thein Sein recently released an eighteen-paged statement on the violence in Arakan. In his statement, he said "some political parties, monks and individuals incited extreme racial hatred and encouraged people to commit irrational racial attacks against Bengali Muslims (his own term for Rohingya Muslims).” Thein Sein’s regime had kept denying any kind of ethnic cleansing against Rohinyas in Arakan and lying by insisting the violence as rather communal one than religious or racial until Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other International Observers exposed the reality on the ground level and abuses of Rohingyas by the state security forces. HRW’s report caused great troubles to Thein Sein’s strategic decision makers and hence they were caught in dilemmas. Subsequently, the regime met with international condemnation for the ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas.

In an effort to avoid further condemnation, delay the forthcoming general assembly relating to the violence at UN and shun the possibility of facing the cases of the crimes against humanity in the International Criminals Court of Justice (ICCJ) at the Hague, Thein Sein rather urgently set up an Inquiry Commission into the violence though the commission is made up of many culprits of the crimes themselves and released the statement. To Thein Sein’s shocking surprise, he came under fire and extreme pressures of Rakhine extremist politicians especially the members of Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) led by Dr. Aye Maung, one of the main culprits in the violence. 

The statement had already been read out in some regional parliaments and people’s parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw), the lower house of Union Parliament (Pyitaungsu Hluttaw). But it could not reach and be read out in the upper house of Union Parliament, Ammyotha Hluttaw because it met with the fierce opposition from RNDP. Although the degree of Rakhine involvements in the ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas using the state-provided apparatus is incredibly high, yet the destructive and inflammatory role that Thein Sein's regime played in it can't be denied either.

However, the statement of Thein Sein bucked up all the crimes (they) committed together on Rakhines alone. It portrayed Rakhine extremists and their Monks to be the sole criminals of the violence so that Thein Sein and his government can portray image of just protectors and saviours of the people. Therefore, naturally, Rakhines had to respond because it was a do or die situation for them (Rakhines). 

As a matter of fact, Rakhine politicians coerced Thein Sein to change his statement on the violence, which made them (Rakhines) the sole culprits. According to internal source, they threatened the President Thein Sein to expose the government’s plot and their destructive role in the violence if he was not going to change his statement. Expectedly, the director of president’s office, Bawmuu Zaw Htay declared that the statement was not President’s own opinion on the violence but his analysis of the different reports submitted to him by different organizations, NGOs and INGOs etc. Thein Sein’s regime has already played “Cat and Rat Game” many times and people with right minds are not going to be into their blame-game trap. 

Regardless of whatever they say or do to deceive international community and cover up their crimes against humanity, both Thein Sein’s regime and Rakhines are equally responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas for their respective gains. Hence, they must bear the punishments for the crimes. Therefore, it is the high time for the countries, UN, OIC, all other international communities to turn their vocal supports towards Rohingyas into actions to bring the criminals into International Criminal Court of Justice sooner rather than later. Or else, there will be another man-made human catastrophe which people will regret later as in the case of Jewish case holocaust during World War II. 

RB News Desk

And for the three months much of the world has been silent.

Muslims and human rights activists in the UK have been desperately trying to get the plight of the Rohinga Muslims on the agenda.

MPs, Lords, Baronesses and prominent activists gathered at this event to mobilize concrete action.

100,000 people have been directly displaced inside the Rohingya community. The government has restricted aid to these areas. Another 300,000 are indirectly displaced. Over 1.5 million Rohingyas already live outside of Myanmar.

The violence is brutal and relentless. And only the latest chapter in a long history of state-sponsored repression against the Rohingya population.

The latest violence erupted after three rohingya men were accused of abusing a young girl. Any trigger was enough to escalate already simmering tensions.

After a state of emergency was declared in the province, the entry of Myanmar's security forces lent another dimension to this conflict. But yet the political world was silent.

with little or no political or media attention, much of the global activism taking place is online. Brutally violent and heart-wrenching videos that go viral. Some turn out to be fake. Others can’t be independently verified. But with not even AID being allowed into the affected communities, it is hard to know what is really going on inside Myanmar. Or how bad the atrocities really are.

Sources Here :

In Burma's troubled Rakhine state, latest estimates put the number of "internally displaced persons" at more than 70,000 people.

Southeast Asia correspondent, Zoe Daniel, has had a rare opportunity to see for herself what is going inside Rakhine's borders.

Presenter: Richard Ewart

Correspondent: Zoe Daniel, South East Asia correspondent

DANIEL: The communities living in segregated circumstances, essentially the Muslim people are largely living in camps segregated from the ethnic Rakhine people who are still living in town, particularly in Sittwe which is the main city in Rakhine State. So as you said around 70-thousand displaced people are living both in those Muslim camps and also displaced Rakhine people are living in monasteries within the towns themselves. There's still a high level of tension between the communities to the point that the Muslim people are really not able to go into the towns to buy food supplies for example. They really are living outside the main community.

EWART: Now I gather that while you were down there that the officialdom was keeping a pretty close eye on what you were up to. So bearing that in mind I mean were you able to talk to officials, and if so what were they telling you?

DANIEL: Yes we were able to talk with officials and look while we were very closely monitored, we weren't prevented from doing anything, and we were able to speak with some local government officials, in particular we interviewed the Attorney General of Rakhine State who's involved in a community program to try to bridge the gap between the Rakhine people and the Muslim community. And he said that while at the moment they're pursuing this policy of segregation, he denies that they see that as a permanent solution, and this is one of the concerns that's obviously being raised about this idea of separating the two groups. He says that this has to be done at the moment because the tension remains very high. But they are hopeful that the communities can once again be integrated as soon as possible. I'd have to say though that I think that's going to be very difficult just because the level of tension remains very high, and that was extremely evident to us. In one instance a group of Muslim people from one of the camps came to the main market to buy supplies under guard of the riot police, and they were chased away by people wielding sticks and throwing stones, because of concern if they entered the market that could lead to violence, unrest and perhaps that the market may be burnt down or something similar to the sort of unrest that we saw back in June.

EWART: So against that background I imagine that people on both sides I mean they're having to endure this sort of state of uneasy calm and not really knowing quite what the future holds for them?

DANIEL: Yes I think both sides are finding the situation extremely difficult. The Rakhine people who are still in their houses, so who didn't have their homes damaged in the violence are very fearful. There's a very high level of anxiety about what will happen next. The few thousand Rakhine people, I think the number now is three-and-a-half to four-thousand who are still living in monasteries because their homes were burnt, obviously have a very uncertain future and are unsure what permanent housing they will eventually be settled in and where that will be. The government is building some housing for them, but that will be some distance off. So they're all living together in very difficult conditions in very heavy rain in the monasteries. And then you have tens of thousands of Muslim people who are living in essentially makeshift camps separated from the main community in which they once worked and lived, unable to make an income, therefore totally dependent on food aid for example for survival. So it's a really very difficult situation for all the people in Rakhine State no matter what their background.

EWART: Now we were speaking on the program yesterday to Benedict Rogers, human rights advocate and author, he's written extensively on Burma, travelled there many times, sometimes when he wasn't supposed to be because of the blacklist of course that's existed. But he suggested that the army potentially are stirring the pot in Rakhine in an effort to maintain some sort of grip on power, to maintain their relevance. I mean did you see or hear anything to support that view?

DANIEL: Well I know that that view's been put about. I didn't see anything to support that view. Whether that was the case back in June though is sort of a different question. I think one potential issue that was happening in June was that many of the soldiers were of the Rakhine ethnic group. Now they've brought in other soldiers who are from different ethnic backgrounds who may not be as close to the issue. And they obviously have, because of the state of emergency that was declared there, there are many more military men on the ground there now. But what we saw was essentially the army and the police monitoring. There was no evidence of anyone really stirring anything up. But what is happening is that the communities are being kept separate in order to avoid any violence blowing up. But as I've already said the sustainability of that is highly questionable.

EWART: So therefore the chances for any kind of permanent settlement would appear to be at least as far away as ever?

DANIEL: I find it very difficult to see what the permanent resolution will be just because the average person that you speak to, be they Muslim or Rakhine, can't see themselves living peacefully with the other group again. Therefore how do you move forward? And whlie it's clearly questionable whether segregation of the communities is a permanent solution, I can in a way understand why authorities have done that, just simply to keep the peace for the moment while they try to work out what to do, because it really does appear to be still a tinderbox, and putting those communities back together at this point really does seem like it would be a bad idea.

EWART: And animosity that obviously exists between the two sides. I mean does that spread throughout society on both sides or is this being driven by a minority?

DANIEL: Look it's hard to say because obviously we're only able to speak to a limited number of people. But everyone we spoke to had this view. The view is very pervasive from the Rakhine side that the Muslim people don't belong there, that they have for example for many years, and this is an allegation, been attempting to recruit Rakhine people to Islam. There's a lot of negativity from the Rakhine side towards the Muslim people. To even use the term Rohingya, which is the term that the Muslim people use to describe themselves, really does raise the ire of the Rakhine people because they don't recognise that. And then the Muslim people very much feel that they've had very few rights for a long time and that they've been unfairly treated and repressed by the local community. So the debate on the face of it among the local people on both sides is completely polarised.

Sources Here:

September 6, 2012

Editor’s note: Indiana is home to the largest concentration of Burmese refugees in the United States. About 7,000 Burmese live in the state, mostly in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.

For Muslim Americans and other concerned citizens in Indianapolis and elsewhere in the nation, news of still more violence against the largely Muslim Rohingya of Burma highlights the plight of one of the world’s most persecuted communities and the need for a global response. The latest bloodshed, coupled with two prior months of riots and murders, has left more than 700 dead and 80,000 homeless. This violence has been compounded by the behavior of the Burmese security forces who, according to major human rights organizations, have participated in killings and rapes as well as mass arrests against the Rohingya.

Despite recent democratic reforms, Burma’s new civilian government has failed to reverse decades of anti-Rohingya discrimination, including denial of citizenship. As a result, Rohingyas face severe religious freedom restrictions, including limits on the number of Muslim marriage ceremonies in certain villages. Authorities routinely deny them permits to build mosques and often destroy mosques and schools for lacking permits. The military offers charity, bribes, and promises of jobs or schooling for Muslim children converting to Buddhism.

This alarming state of affairs reveals how much farther Burma’s new government must go in advancing reform and protecting human rights, including religious freedom. Until improvements occur, the United States should maintain economic and political sanctions, including its designating Burma as a “country of particular concern” for severe religious freedom abuses. 

We recognize Burma’s recent changes and the positive political opening they promise. Yet in the face of massive violations of human rights, and in particular the right to religious freedom, we must address the plight of the Rohingya. Public condemnations and food aid, while necessary, are insufficient when Burma’s 800,000 Rohingya remain stateless and vulnerable. Moreover, Burma’s experiment in democratic change will surely fail if it excludes the Rohingya and other ethnic and religious minorities.

How do you define a school on the first thought? What do you think a school is? You will not be wrong if you define it an institution where instruction is given, especially under a certain age of eighteen, an institution for instruction in a particular skill (or field) or a source of knowledge. But you will certainly be wrong if you eternally define it as the institution where good, noble, true and meritorious education is given or you think school anywhere give such kind of education. The schools in Burma have been the institutions where hatred towards different people, created stories and lies are taught. Such anti-social thoughts in the education system were introduced by the late dictator of Burma, Gen. Ne Win. 

As the ethnic cleansing going on against Rohingyas in Arakan, the schools mainly High Schools in the violence hit areas such as Maung Daw, Buthidaung and Akyab etc had been closed. Recently, few High Schools in Buthidaung and Maung Daw were resumed. But an awkward and shocking thing is that Rakhine students and Rohingya students are segregated. How many of you could have imagined segregations in schools especially in today’s era of great civilization? The classes for Rakhine students are enrolled from 7 AM to 11AM and that of Rohingya students are from 12 Noon to 4PM. The more shocking things which can paralyze your brain for a while are going on against Rohingya students. Rohingya students have been constantly harassed in the high schools today. [Note: 1) Most of the high school students in Myanmar are under the age of 18 and hence not adults. 2) There are hardly any Rohingya teachers in the middle schools or high schools in Myanmar] 

Rohingya students are constantly insulted by the Rakhine teachers in schools. Rakhine teachers harass them saying “you people are not one of us. You people are supposed to hand over to third countries and will be done so. Why do you come to our schools?” Besides, they are forced to salute and bow down in front of the national flags. (Note: Bowing down anyone but God is against the Islamic belief.) Those who fail to bow down in front of the flag are manhandled and forced to do so by holding and pressing their scruffs (or napes) by the school authority. Sometimes, they are taken to the headmaster office, insulted and beaten. Therefore, they have been directly attempting to their belief and attacking their religion. 

When some Rohingya students in Maung Daw High School questioned why they had (have) to bow down in front of the flag, the headmaster replied that it was the direction from the authorities of the Higher Education. In inability to bear up anymore insults in the segregated classes, Rohingya students are not attending schools any longer. While penning down this piece, I broke into tears many times hearing and feeling how under-aged Rohingya students are demoralized and dehumanized in an school (High School of Maung Daw as an instance) where I, myself, have studied and passed my university entrance examination. Of course, there were discriminations against Rohingya students at our time but not to that extreme degree as it is today. After all, what do the under-aged students know and have to do with problems going on in Arakan? Why are they treated so badly? I can just say that they are treated so because they look different from the mainstream Mongoloid people and practice a different religion in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country full of fanatic followers. 

I still wonder what kind of institutions they actually are! What knowledge do they pass over to the people? In the segregated classes aimed for the future, students can achieve nothing but the inheritance of extreme hatred and fanaticism which will ultimately prompt more violence. By demoralizing and dehumanizing under-aged Rohingyas students in schools, regarded as the source of knowledge that are extremely valued by societies, the status of Rohingyas being human is insulted and assaulted!!! 

“They have a serious problem with Rohingya and Sri Lankans illegally entering their country,” Lt Gen Wiboon Bangphamai explained to the meeting of ASEAN immigration chiefs held at the Hilton Phuket Acadia Resort and Spa.

“We have the same problem. Once Rohingya arrive, we have to provide them basic assistance including food, water, propane and some money. We waste a lot of money every year on this issue alone…We usually take them to Songkhla, from which they are allowed to continue on their way to their preferred destination,” he added.

Gen Wiboon explained that Rohingya and Sri Lankans entering Thai waters were usually bound for Australia or New Zealand, which have signed an agreement with the United Nations to allow such arrivals to apply for citizenship.

“If they can make it to those countries, the authorities there have to take care of these people. Thailand is used as a transit route to the Rohingya’s preferred destinations. We would like to stop that,” he said.

Gen Wiboon delivered the news at the combined 16th ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Head of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of the Foreign Affairs (16th DGICM) and the 8th ASEAN Immigration Intelligent Forum (8th AIIF) conference at the Hilton Phuket.

The five-day ASEAN conference, which began on Monday, is scheduled to conclude tomorrow.

Source here 

JEDDAH – A fact-finding mission from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is traveling to Myanmar (Burma) Wednesday for ten days to investigate into the recent violence against Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine region and the repression and human rights violations, according to a press release issued here, Wednesday.

The mission will visit the capital Naypyidaw to meet government officials and from there it will visit villages in Rakhine (formerly Arakan) affected by the violence including Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Sittwe.

The fact-finding mission will also set up the visit by the OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, which will follow soon.

The mission is expected to prepare a report on its findings, which will be presented to the Contact Group on Myanmar that will meet in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September.

The decision to send a fact-finding mission and form a Contact Group at the ministerial level was made at the extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee held on August 5th at OIC Headquarters in Jeddah and adopted by the 4th Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit held in Makkah on August 14. — SG

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Rohingya people in Japan, a Muslim ethnic minority in their home country of Myanmar, are asking the government to help ease escalating tensions there between Buddhists and Muslims that experts warn could develop into an international conflict.

Deadly riots first broke out in the western state of Rakhine near the border with Bangladesh in July after an Arakanese Buddhist girl was raped and murdered in May, allegedly by three Rohingya youths. The incident set off an onslaught of revenge attacks against Rohingya.

Even though the Myanmar government announced emergency rule in Rakhine, human rights observers said security forces did little to stop the violence and in some cases took part. At least 78 people were killed and more than 5,300 houses destroyed, according to government figures.

Rohingya in Japan who fled Myanmar to seek political asylum here are pinning their hopes on the Japanese government to pressure the Myanmar government to treat their compatriots better, as Japan has had an amiable history with the government during its years of repressive military rule.

"If there is a government the Myanmar government would listen to, it's the Japanese government," said Zaw Min Htut, president of the Burmese Rohingya Association of Japan.

In 1998, he fled political persecution in Myanmar and came to Japan, where he was first detained as an illegal immigrant. He is one of only a few Rohingya to be granted refugee status in Japan. Of 200 Rohingya who belong to the association, 15 have been granted official asylum.

The government of Myanmar President Thein Sein is now bringing sweeping changes to the once isolated nation since it pledged to transition into a democratic system. It has made reconciliation efforts among Myanmar's more than 100 ethnic minority groups, but not the Rohingya, who were excluded by the government from holding citizenship when the country enacted a citizenship law in 1982.

The United Nations estimates that about 800,000 Rohingya live in Rakhine state and describes them as one of the most persecuted and stateless minorities in the world.

The Rohingya issue is such an emotional one in Myanmar that even opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains silent, even though the ethnic Muslim group has been a staunch supporter of the democratic leader. Some pundits say the hatred against the Rohingya has been ingrained even among the most vocal human rights activists in Myanmar.

In an interview with The Japan Times, Zaw Min Htut said Japan wields more diplomatic clout as it was never a harsh critic of the military junta, while the United States and the European Union imposed economic sanctions against the military dictatorship. When Thein Sein visited Japan in April on the first state visit by a Myanmar leader in 28 years, Japan forgave $3.7 billion in debt to support the country's nascent democratization.

Officials at the Foreign Ministry said they recognize the clashes in Rakhine state, and that the government is paying close attention to developments, but they are on the fence about taking direct action aside from providing humanitarian assistance through the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Mizuho Fukushima, president of the Social Democratic Party and a lawyer who has worked on human rights issues, believes Japan could at least express concern to prompt the government of Thein Sein to take a more humanitarian approach to this issue.

The Upper House lawmaker has been supportive of Zaw Min Htut's human rights activities since the time he was detained by immigration authorities in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture.

"With the Myanmar government shifting toward a democratic system, more Japanese companies are eyeing business opportunities there," said Fukushima, who met with officials from the Foreign Ministry and Zaw Min Htut to discuss the Rohingya issue in early August.

"It might impact Japanese businesses if the clash escalates even further," said Fukushima, who said she will push the government to support an independent United Nations investigation into the matter.

Following international pressure, Thein Sein launched a commission to investigate the August sectarian killings. But experts warn that the clashes could get worse and have the potential to develop into an international conflict involving Muslim Bangladesh. They say mediation by a third party, such as Japan, is needed.

"It would be a great opportunity to exercise Japan's diplomatic skills," said Kei Nemoto, a professor at Sophia University in Tokyo and an expert on Myanmar, likening the situation to when Japan mediated peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the rebel Tamil Tigers in 2003. "But first Thein Sein has to agree to such a third-party mediation framework, which might be difficult."

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How do you feel when you see rows of stern-looking Buddhist monks marching through the streets in full force to call for violent treatment of the downtrodden?

That was what thousands of Myanmar monks did when they took to the streets in temple-studded Mandalay on Sunday to support the government's brutal persecution of stateless Muslim Rohingya.

What were they thinking?

The world is full of injustice. But isn't it the business of monks to advise against it, and not to be supportive of any form of prejudice and human cruelty?

Aren't empathy and non-exploitation the key words in Buddhism? Aren't monks supposed to devote their lives to deepening spiritual practice in order to see through the different layers of we-they prejudice so that compassion prevails in their hearts, words, and actions?

Many people outside Myanmar were asking these questions because the anti-Rohingya monks were the same ones who dared challenge the government in 2007 to champion the people's cause, and who themselves faced a violent crackdown by the military junta.

If the Buddha's words were not important to them when they took to the streets, then what was?

The answer is quite simple _ racist nationalism. The monks do want justice for people, but just for their own kind.

As part of the dominant ethnic Bama Buddhists, they believe deeply the dark-skinned Rohingya are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, aggressive outsiders who will steal land from the Buddhist folk. The monks therefore feel that it is just to support the government to eliminate the perceived threats to their motherland, their ethnicity, and their religion.

Call it patriotism, ultra-nationalism, ethnic prejudice, or racism. Whichever the label, it is mired in the we-they prejudice that divides people, fosters hatred, and triggers violence _ everything Buddhism cautions against.

But should people who live in glass houses throw stones?

Our monks may still stop short of marching in the streets to call for the elimination of Malay Muslim separatists, but they have done so several times to call for a law which will help them retain supremacy over other religions.

Every time I cover their Buddhism-for-national-religion campaigns, I never fail to hear their deep suspicions of Islam. Meanwhile, bombs have blasted and killed people for eight years running in the restive South, yet we never hear our monks mentioning any concern about justice for the locals, nor for the need to open political space for Malay Muslims to voice their needs, address inequalities, and to extinguish the root causes of ethnic frustration and violence.

Instead, we see monks taking the defensive and dangerous route of ordaining soldiers to increase their number while allowing temples to be used as barracks.

Like their peers in Myanmar, our monks are in full support of the military to maintain the supremacy of the Buddhist majority. If violence must be used in this suppression, so be it.

But Thailand is also witnessing a rapid growth of lay Buddhism which focuses on meditation retreats and core Buddhist teachings. Can this movement act as a voice of sensibility when the country is mired in political divisiveness? If that's your expectation, be prepared to be disappointed.

For its members, too, generally share the belief that the elimination of perceived threats is necessary, like the need to eliminate germs and diseases to restore one's health. When this is your mindset _ left or right, red or yellow, pro-or anti-establishment _ you'll believe the use of hate speech, half truths, and violence by your camp is perfectly all right.

No, we are not Buddhists. We may pray to the Buddha and close our eyes to meditate, but what shapes our thoughts, words, and actions is ideological extremism of all different shades.

The Buddha's path leads to peaceful co-existence and sharing. Ideological extremism leads to control, suppression, and winner-takes-all.

If left to fester, ideological extremism and race-based nationalism will breed more violence. The country's goal of regional integration will be sheer nonsense. And for both monks and lay Buddhists, all those longs hours of meditation will be simply wasted.

Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor, Bangkok Post.

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In Myanmar, tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims had their homes burnt  down and scores have been killed. Nearly 60 thousand Muslims used to live  in Myanmar, but now the area is a wasteland. The Myanmar government and  much of the world media would merely have the public believe that this  is merely a fight between two ethnic groups. Myanmar is notorious for  being one of the most closed and repressive countries in the world. The  government claims to have sent in the army to stop what it called ethnic  violence. This edition of INfocus uncovers evidences that the  governments are involved

Hot on the heels of the divergence over the South China Sea conflict, Asean is facing a new dilemma over how best to deal with the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar, without tearing apart the already fragile solidarity or further damaging the principle of non-interference.

For nearly three months after the violence between the Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, when at least 80 people were killed and more than 60,000 displaced, Asean remained mute. The grouping was careful not to make comment and initiate any action that could stir up religious elements and politicize the issue. That could render a negative impact on the ongoing democratization and reform process in the country. After all, Asean leaders had given the green light in Bali last November for Myanmar's chair in 2014, providing an impetus to its rapid reforms and diminishing trade sanctions.

As the situation deteriorated, international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), stood up and expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine state, formerly known as Arakan, which is still under an emergency law.

While outside pressure continued to grow unabated over the fate of the Rohingya, Asean foreign ministers were still preoccupied with their annual meeting in early July. As it turned out, the event was overwhelmingly dominated by the debate over the South China Sea disputes and the failure of Asean to issue a joint communique due to the claimants' different positions. As international efforts intensified to assist Myanmar, Asean still was working on a compromise statement on the South China Sea.

The absence of an Asean response prompted OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to write to his Asean colleague, Surin Pitsuwan, urging the grouping to respond to the dire situation in the Myanmar state. For its part, the OIC wanted to see a common Asean position on this sensitive issue ahead of the special OIC summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Without an Asean consensus on the issue, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei — the Asean members of OIC — jointly pushed for international access to provide humanitarian aid to the Rohingya and displaced people at the OIC summit, which was later reflected in the final statement.

The issue took center stage only after Asean issued the six principles on the South China Sea on July 20 as a face-saving exercise by reiterating the commonly held Asean positions. Later in the same month, a visit by UN special rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana to Rakhine further stepped up pressure on Asean and Myanmar to bridge their perception gap. After the joint press conference with Quintana, Myanmar Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin refuted the reports on the excessive use of force and vowed to do everything to restore calm. It was only then that Asean ministers felt a bit more at ease to address the issue.

Initial discussions among Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Surin during the Asean Day celebrations at the Asean Secretariat in Phnom Penh indicated that the time had come for Asean ministers to call a special meeting to address the problem. On Aug 10, the Asean chair wrote to all his colleagues, requesting them to meet in Phnom Penh on August 14. In his letter, Hor Namhong depicted the situation in Rakhine as a humanitarian crisis as well as a cultural and religious issue.

The description immediately met with a fierce rebuttal on the same day from Myanmar's Wunna Maung Lwin, who quickly turned down the invitation, pointing out that the chair had not engaged in prior consultations. The Rohingya, he reiterated, was an internal issue in which Asean should not intervene. Following Myanmar's strong reaction, within hours the chair called off the plan, even though Indonesia and Thailand were positive, and if there was a consensus others would go along.

Marty was the first leader to take up the chair's idea as he was preparing to attend the OIC summit. Asean, he argued, needed a timely statement on the matter in order to shape the international community's perspective and response. In anticipation, he even prepared a draft statement on the Rohingya on behalf of his Asean colleagues. A week later, Asean foreign ministers released the Indonesian-proposed draft as their own, with minute amendments.

For the time being, Myanmar prefers to engage international organizations to avoid the issue of the Islamisation of Rohingya at all costs. This is a very tricky situation. At the moment, Indonesia and Malaysia, the grouping's leading Muslim-dominated countries, are also mindful of this dangerous entrapment. They are using their own approaches.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed former vice-president Jusuf Kalla as his special envoy on the issue. Malaysia has hosted international conferences and will do more in the future. Demonstrations against Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya were held in both countries' capitals. In Jakarta, protesters threatened to storm the Asean Secretariat. They also called for a boycott of the upcoming Southeast Asia Games hosted by Myanmar and demanded the country's expulsion from Asean.

Other Asean members such as Thailand and the Philippines have their own problems related to Muslim minorities, so their hands are tied. As the OIC involvement increases, there will be greater pressure on the Muslim-majority Asean members to do more, which could turn into an Islamic-centric undertaking.

There is no clear signal from Naypyidaw. Asean is well aware of the sensitivities over the national reconciliation process, especially when it involves relations with various nationalities. The dialogue and reconciliation process under Myanmar President Thein Sein with seven nationalities at the moment have made progress.

However, that is not the case for the Rohingya. In the long run, the issue would be best dealt with through an Asean-wide approach in the context of human rights and democracy, which is considered an Asean issue. The Asean Charter and the blueprint of political and security cooperation provide the mandate to tackle the matter.

Indeed, Asean can use as a model the experience of the Cyclone Nargis humanitarian engagement, which was considered a success. Throughout the 2 and a half years of assistance, Asean and Myanmar have benefited a great deal in terms of profile and efficacy. At the time, strong leadership and stern warnings from Singapore and Indonesia convinced Myanmar to cooperate with Asean. Indeed, with the current situation, Asean can help Myanmar mobilize resources from all around the world, including civil society groups.

Myanmar has nothing to fear. As it is going through an important democratization and reform process, the best way forward for Asean and Myanmar would be to engage each other on the Rohingya issue.

The writer is assistant group editor of Nation Media Group in Thailand, which publishes the English-language daily The Nation.

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Rohingya issue was the top priority for 49 session of ISNA Convention which is the largest gathering of Muslims in North America. This Convention brings together more than 40,000 attendees that include individuals, families, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and people of other faiths. People are reminded not to forget the plight of Rohingya until they achieved permanent solution which is the right to be treated equally as a fellow Human Being.

Congressman Keith Ellison(D-MN) has advised American Muslim to be advocate of Rohingya by using twitter, facebook, and other form of social media to reach out as people as they can, until the lost rights of Rohingya are fully restored. He also spoke with Nay San Oo privately about the hearing that is going to take place at the US congress.

Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed is the National Director of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), urged US Government to act before it is too late as the impact of Holocaust in Germany might be much smaller had America reacted on time.

More than 200 speakers at various events highlighted the responsibility of US Muslim towards the plight of Rohingya Muslim who are victims of ethnic cleansing and genocide.

More than ten thousand visitors were at Boot#235 during three days convention to show their support for the plight of Rohingya who are the most persecuted people in the world.

More than twenty thousand flyers and booklets were distributed and more than three thousand signature were collected to send them to US secretary of State to appeal to engage actively until Permanent solution of Rohingya is achieved and Rohingya will not vulnerable for another genocide.

Many reputable Islamic authors, respectable person form State department Sameer Hossain, Imam Mohammed Hag Magid president of ISNA, the delegation from Tunia other diplomats from various countries stop by and showed their concern about Rohingya Muslim.

Free Rohingya campaign was introduced by recruiting new membership which well received by many young Muslim such as college students and ect.

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The Nasaka Commander of Nasaka area No. 6, with the collaboration of Ayas, son of Dil Mohamed, hailed from Paun Zaar village of Maungdaw Township and Shah Alam, son of Issaque, hailed from Labbor Zaar village arbitrary arrested many villagers from Labor Zaar village since the sectarian violence backed by concerned authorities that occurred in northern Arakan on June 8, according to a local elder from the locality who did not mention his name.

“Later, the arrestees were released after taking huge money. The following are some of the arrestees during the riot period (within one month) for only extorting money over the allegation that they were involved in the riot occurred on June 8.”

A Rohingya event titled “Oppression in Myanmar: Taking Actions to Save Rohingya Muslims” was held at the 49th Annual ISNA Convention in Washington, D.C., that was convened August 31- September 3, 2012 at the Walter Convention Center in Downtown Washington. Dr. Sayed Syeed, National Director of ISNA’s Interfaith and Community Alliance, presided the event with a keynote opening speech. Six distinguished speakers gave presentations on political and human rights issues facing Rohingya Muslims in Arakan state in Burma/Myanmar.