PORT KLANG (Sept 26, 2012): A ship carrying 500 tonnes of humanitarian aid for Rohingya refugees set sail for Myanmar yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in flagging off the Sinar Bima commercial vessel at Northport, said the humanitarian mission was a responsibility for Malaysia as a neighbour to Myanmar and Asean member.

"As a neighbouring country, we should share the responsibility to help the displaced (Rohingya) people and the ones who are trapped in this turmoil.

In June this year, 11 Muslims were killed by the Myanmar army and civilian mobs.

People were reportedly killed and millions of homes destroyed in fires as Rohingyas and Buddhist-ethnic Arakanese clashed in western Myanmar.

Muhyiddin urged the Myanmar government to find the best solution to solve these problems.

"The aid is meant for everyone in the province, irrespective of religions and ethnic groups.

"I believe the Myanmar government is as concerned as us to find the best possible solution to the problem," he said.

The humanitarian aid by Kelab Putera 1Malaysia had been originally scheduled to leave earlier this month but was denied clearance by the authorities in Myanmar.

Club president Datuk Abdul Azeez Rahim said it received the green light from the Myanmar government on Sept 17, following which they decided to send the aid on a commercial vessel instead of a military ship.

Myanmar Ambassador to Malaysia U Tin Latt, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude towards the humanitarian mission and gave an assurance that his government would facilitate the aid distribution.

Sources Here :

Shaikh Abdullah at a meeting with Myanmarese Foreign Minister Wunna Muang Lwinon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. —Wam

UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan has held meetings with Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Muliana Natalegawa Panamanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Roberto Henriquez and Myanmarese Foreign Minister Wunna Muang Lwin on the sidelines of the 67th United Nations General Assembly session in New York.

The meetings discussed relations of cooperation and ways of enhancing them in various fields in addition to exchanging views on a number of political and security issues of common interest, particularly relating to the Middle East, including the Syrian crisis.

The Myanmar FM briefed Shaikh Abdullah on the latest security situation in his country especially on the violence against Muslims in Rohingya stressing that his government is addressing the problem on various dimensions.

Indonesia’s Marty Muliana Natalegawa, during his meeting with Shaikh Abdullah, sought the UAE investments’ programmes in his country, stressing the importance of developing economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Sources Here :

Robert Hormats, the US Under-Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, speaks during an interview in New York in March. (PHOTO: Reuters)

WASHINGTON—As Burmese President Thein Sein left his country on what is being billed as a “historic” visit to the United States, a top Obama administration official on Monday said the US needs to partner with India to unlock the vast potential emerging out of the region.

“The development of trade and transit links between Southeast and East Asia has been hindered for decades by poor regional infrastructure connectivity, the isolation of the Burmese government, and political mistrust between India and its neighbors,” the Under-Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment, Robert Hormats, said in his address to the India Investment Forum in New York.

“However, Burma’s recent political and economic reforms along with continuing efforts by India and Bangladesh to improve bilateral relations have generated new opportunities to promote US and Indian business interests and regional economic development. Given the vast potential, we should look to partner in this emerging region,” Hormats said.

It is understood that India and the US have regularly been consulting each other on their respective Burma policies.

Meanwhile, Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi continues with her US visit by spending the day in Louisville, Kentucky. In her remarks followed by a question and answer session in the University of Louisville, Suu Kyi urged Americans to keep an eye on Burma, to find out what’s going on, and to view things with what she called “cautious optimism.”

“You must be very careful with what you accept as genuine progress and genuine moves to a true democratization,” she said according, to a university statement.

“A genuine democracy depends on the people feeling that they are part of the process of government, and to get there, we still have a lot to do,” Suu Kyi said. Reiterating her call for the lifting of sanctions, Suu Kyi said it is time people start carrying on this process of democratization.

“Sanctions have been a great help to us … but I know that there are still human rights violations in Burma. There are human rights violations in countries all over the world … In the end, it’s we who live in the country who must make sure that these violations come to an end,” she said.

In New York, the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) said that its secretary-general, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, would address the Contact Group of OIC on Rohingya Muslims of Burma being held on Sept. 26 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.

“The President of the Mission, Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen, the Permanent Representative of the OIC in New York, will also present a briefing on the work of the mission as well as on its findings,” a media release said.

The mission signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Department of Border Affairs in Burma on Sept. 11 for the implementation of a humanitarian program that benefits all communities living in Arakan State.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to US Senators and Congressmen, outspoken academic Dr. Habib Siddiqui urged the US Congress not to lift its ban on trade and commerce with Burma until a fundamental change takes place positively impacting the lives of those Rohingya and other minorities, guaranteeing their citizenship as equals and rights and privileges restored and secured.

In Washington, rights activist activists held a demonstration in front of the Burmese embassy to protest against the alleged human rights violations of the Rohingya Muslim minority group.

“Rohingyas have been persecuted for decades in Burma. They have been killed, raped, falsely imprisoned and forced to leave their homes. There are over 100,000 people who are homeless and helpless,” Amnesty International alleged in a statement. “The Rohingya minority are being persecuted in their own country, and we are demanding that some action be taken to stop this ethnic cleansing. The United Nations has said that the Rohingya minority in Burma is considered one of the most persecuted in the world.”

Sources Here:

Maungdaw (24/09/2012) - In a mail coming from inside Arakan; a Rohingya is asking as “why they (the government) are arresting us. Not a single Buddhist is arrested but why us? Why?” He may unaware that the politics of today is stand only for the interest of the world countries. He may have a hope as the visits of UN, US will assist them to stop nightmares they are facing since last June. The poor Rohingya also did not know the world countries of super power as how they hungry to do business with Burmese brutal regime and their voices in favor of stop the violence are just like singing while taking a bath inside bathroom.   

Even his questions in the mail can be defined as he expected his entire fellow Rohingyas who reached outside the country are very able to give them protection. 

He mentioned some names who were arrested in recent by Burmese brutal law enforced agencies as: 

         1.Mohammed Youos son of Omar Kazi, (28) years 

         2.Abdur Rahman son of Hussein Ahmed (29) years 

They both are from Kan Bu village of Aley Than Kyaw village tract and arrested by Border Security force at 8:00 pm on 19/9/2012.

 

       3.Khaleq Ahmed son of Younos, (40) years from Myoma Kayindan was arrested by          Police inspector Aung Kyaw Kan and group on 21/9/2012 in front of Maungdaw Custom Office. 

Another argument to be raised here as is not a single Bhuddist among all who were engaged themselves on killing Rohingyas since June involved into that violence to take into custody? Is not enough evidence to take as the violence is backed by government to sweep out Muslim Rohingya from Arakan soil? Indeed it is ethnic cleansing and the government very cleverly planned it by taking times to formulate it as communal riot. 

The sender’s last question is “Could you acknowledge what they are doing on Rohingya?” He further said Please REPLY me. If someone has answer for him and dare to answer his question, please reply him. 

Compiled by Ko Ko Linn.

M.S. Anwar
RB News
September 25, 2012

Numbers of Rohingyas Beaten Up in ShweZa Yesterday 

ShweZa, Maung Daw- about 30 Rohingya shopkeepers were severely beaten up and tortured at Zaydi Pyin in the village of ShweZa around 1 AM, 24th September 2012, by NaSaKa (Border Security Guards) in the region. Later, NasaKa extorted money amounting Kyat 10000 from each Rohingya shopkeepers and released them. 

“While Rohingya shopkeepers were sleeping in their shops as a means of guarding their shops from thieves and robbers, NaSaKa from the nearby station and raided all shops in Zaydi Pyin village around 1 AM. Then, NaSaKa dragged the shopkeepers out of their shops, while some shopkeepers managed to escape. Subsequently, NaSaKa severely beat and tortured them to their satisfactions. Later, NasaKa released them by extorting money amounting ten thousands kyats from each Rohingya shopkeepers” said a local Rohingya on the condition of anonymity. 

Since the violence against Rohingyas started in June, many Rohingyas cannot sleep in their homes in the fear of being arrested and persecuted. They sleep wherever possible. Those who have shops sleep in their shops so as to avoid arbitrary arrests and also to guard their shops from being robbed and stolen. 

Two Rohingyas Killed in AlayThan Kyaw 

AlayThan Kyaw, Maung Daw- Two Rohingya men, Hamidullah Son of Gula Ahmed and Jashimuddin Son of Hussein Ahmed, were killed by Military together with Rakhines at Hojjar Bil @ Kanpu Village of AlayThan Kyaw in the evening of 19th September 2012 while they were working in their farms. Rakhines who killed these two Rohingyas are from Mrawaddy village of Southern Maung Daw. 

“They were working on their paddy firms in the evening of 19th September 2012. Meanwhile, around 10 military and a few Rakhines from nearby Mrawaddy village came to their firms and killed them. Then, they threw their dead bodies by the farms and went back” A. Faiz from Southern Maung Daw reported. 

Later, the villagers reported about the killings to the NaSaKa office and to the Sarapha (State Security Affairs) office in AlayThan Kyaw. It was ignored and no actions were taken. 

Religious Persecutions Continue 

Arakan, Burma - Since the beginning of the violence against Rohingyas, the authority declared curfew order which prevents Rohingyas from performing their daily prayers in the Mosques. Almost all the mosques have been locked down since then. According to Rohingyas, there have still been no Azaan, no five times prayers and Friday prayers. Most of their religious leaders were arrested, locked up, are tortured and charged with pre-planned false cases. The declared curfew order is infinitely in effect upon Rohingyas not known when it will end. Yet, Burmese regime is blatantly lying that Rohingyas are not religiously persecuted and hence it is not a religious violence. Above all, if it is not a religious violence, then what is it? 

As Aung San Suu Kyi jets across the US to collect further accolades, she continues to attract criticism over Burma’s persecuted minorities. The past few months have been increasingly coloured by her silence on the stateless Rohingya minority, viewed as “illegal Bengali immigrants” by many Burmese, while US Kachin groups boycotted her Congressional award ceremony in protest of the ongoing conflict in Northern Burma.

Speaking to reporters last week, she continued to feed the critics by claiming that her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), could not weigh into the Rohingya debate, because they are not the party in government – a statement perhaps as ludicrous as it seemed insincere.

But according to some of her international supporters it could do more harm than good to criticise Burma’s leading democracy champion at this time.

“In this fragile transition, too much public criticism of her is not necessarily helpful,” Benedict Rogers, East Asia Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, told DVB in an interview. “In my view, it is more useful to express concerns privately and constructively.”

Rogers argues that it is in the best interest of Burma’s pro-democracy movement to support Suu Kyi and the NLD in the run-up to the 2015 elections, as they are best placed to challenge the military’s supremacy in parliament.

“Suu Kyi and the NLD have for over 20 years been the primary representatives of the movement for democracy and the primary opposition to the regime,” explains Rogers. “She personally and the NLD as a whole are absolutely crucial to the transition.”

This is certainly true. But what is less clear is how they would benefit the stateless Rohingya, who are widely reviled even within the NLD. Reports suggest that foreign leaders, including UK Foreign Minister William Hague and the Dalai Lama have both privately urged Suu Kyi to confront the Rohingya issue, but it has fallen on deaf ears.

“It is absolutely necessary to criticise her now”

Meanwhile other senior figures, including party spokesperson Nyan Win and founding member Win Tin have unequivocally declared that the Rohingya cannot be considered Burmese citizens.

Suu Kyi has faced similar criticisms over Burma’s myriad ethnic conflicts, notably for her failure to condemn the army’s ongoing assault on Kachin state. Unlike the Rohingya issue, there seems to be little obvious political capital in her silence. Some analysts have speculated that by working with the government, she has lost her ability to challenge them. Or perhaps it is simply not one of her immediate priorities. Either way, it seems unreasonable to wait three years to ask the Nobel peace laureate to speak out.

“The trust in her [Suu Kyi] has gone down,” Shan democracy activist Khun Htun Oo told reporters in Washington DC on Thursday. “If she goes on like this she will not represent the people. She does not say anything for the public.”

It is also important not to overcook the political significance of the 2015 elections. Although the NLD could be in a position to form a government, the 2008 constitution guarantees the military a firm hand in public policy. Unless the NLD and opposition forces secure every single parliamentary seat up for grabs, they will still be unable to amend the undemocratic 2008 legislation without the military’s support. Suu Kyi and the NLD will still have to cooperate with the Tatmadaw.

The democracy icon is herself precluded from being elected president in 2015 under the constitution, given her two sons’ foreign citizenship, a provision likely drafted with her disadvantage in mind. While she would certainly assume a senior position in government in the event of the NLD’s victory, blindly backing Suu Kyi nonetheless translates into wholesale political support of the Burman-led party.

This logic feeds into a binary understanding of Burmese politics, which has for years been dominated by a “good guys versus bad guys” paradigm that ignores ethnic and other domestic complexities. The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is itself split between reformists and hardliners, which the recent constitutional tribunal dispute has illuminated. Unlike the NLD, there is even a Rohingya member of parliament.

The past few weeks have also begun to reveal internal fractures within the NLD, as a number of grassroots members have hit back at its “authoritarian” political leadership, resulting in the suspension of several of them.

“The NLD is looking to become a ruling democratic party after the 2015 elections, it is necessary for us to speak out on these issue contradicting democratic standards,” said Dr Than Htike, who was recently suspended for publicly accusing the party’s Central Committee of power centralisation and factionalism.

The reality is that the NLD, like the USDP, are both relatively new political parties with limited experience handling a democratic process. Both should be subject to scrutiny and encouraged to reform. In a transitional democracy currently dominated by the personal dynamics of two ageing politicians, this should not be a tough sell.

“It is absolutely necessary to criticise her now, in the run-up to the 2015 election, and after,” Bertil Linter, veteran journalist and author of several books on Burma, told DVB. “Part of the problem in Burma today, and which could be her downfall, is that she is surrounded by sycophants who don’t dare to tell her when they think she is wrong. They don’t even dare to give her meaningful advice.”

Over the next three years, the focus should be on developing healthy political institutions and empowering the people of Burma to take ownership of the democratisation process. While domestic voices are particularly important, the international community also has a role. This can, and must, include challenging the leadership of all political parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Source here

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's National League for Democracy, is visiting the US now but her trip has come under domestic criticism as she failed to speak up for nearly 800,000 Rohingya Muslims living in the country. 

Since May of this year, Myanmar has witnessed an escalation of simmering tensions between two different groups of people in Rakhine state. The violence between the Rakhines (Arakans) and Rohingyas has led to the deaths of 88 people, as of August 22, and the displacement of thousands of others. Unofficial reports, however, put the death toll in the hundreds. 

The immediate cause of the violence was a consequence of the rape and murder of a Buddhist-Arakan woman on May 28 by some Rohingyas. This was followed by the retaliatory killing of 10 Rohingyas by ethnic Rakhines on June 3. It must be noted that the tensions between these two groups have existed for the past several decades.

Questions have been asked as to why little has been done to resolve the conflict and if there is a possibility of a permanent solution. Much blame has been targeted squarely at both the Myanmese government and the opposition.

As the international community is promoting various national interests in this fledgling democracy, sectarian violence such as this has not been given serious attention, especially by the Western powers.

While Human Rights Watch criticized the Myanmese government for failing to prevent the initial unrest, nations such as Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Malaysia criticized alleged discrimination toward the Rohingya Muslims because of their religious beliefs.

The sensitivity of the issue has silenced many from discussing it publicly. 

Even Suu Kyi, the internationally acclaimed human rights champion, has made only brief comments by emphasizing the need for establishing a proper citizenship law to address the problem.

The root of the problem begins with the nomenclature itself. Although they call themselves Rohingyas, the Myanmese government calls them illegal Bengali migrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

Since the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have both refused to accept them as citizens, the Rohingyas automatically became stateless people under international law. 

Myanmar President Thein Sein suggested that the United Nations Refugee Agency should consider resettling the Rohingyas to other countries. Although such a proposal may sound ideal, there are challenges to its implementation.

For example, will there be nations willing to welcome and embrace about 1 million Rohingyas? Moreover, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Chief, Antonio Guterres, has rejected the idea of resettlement. Even if the agency reconsiders the case, do the UNHCR offices in Myanmar and Bangladesh have adequate resources to process such a large number of refugees?

One possible solution for the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh is to reach an amicable arrangement to integrate the Rohingya population into their respective societies. Currently, there are approximately 800,000 Rohingyas inside Myanmar and another 300,000 of them in Bangladesh.

Similar to the first, this proposition has its own challenges. Will the indigenous Rakhines accept Rohingyas as their fellow citizens and live peacefully alongside them? Will the Bangladesh government be willing to offer citizenship to the Rohingyas, which it presently denies?

Another possible solution is that Myanmar could amend its 1982 citizenship law to pave the way for the Rohingyas to apply for citizenship. In addition, Myanmar and Bangladesh need to secure their porous international borders to prevent illegal movements.

None of the above suggested policies are simple and easy to achieve. Despite the challenges and difficulties, the problem of the Rohingyas cannot be ignored for too long. Without addressing the crux of the issue, the May incident could possibly be one of a series of events that will trigger greater consequences.

Before a solution is achieved, international institutions such as the UN and the ASEAN must put pressure on the Myanmese government to resolve the problem. The conundrum needs to be addressed holistically rather than inciting hatred along religious or racial divides.

The author is a researcher on policies of South and Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar, and general secretary of the US-based Kuki International Forum. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

Sources Here:

The Rohingya problem in Myanmar stems from the systematic discrimination against this ethnic and religious minority.

MUCH has been written lately, either empathetically or as a challenge, of Myanmar’s “Rohingya problem”. Since early June, the Rohingya have borne the brunt of communal violence, human rights violations, and an urgent humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, and face an uncertain future. But when considered more closely, is that all? What really is the problem?

The events of this year, as well as the violent events of 1978, 1992, 2001, and 2009, are attributable to systemic discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar. That is, to a political, social, and economic system – manifested in law, policy, and practices – designed to discriminate against this ethnic and religious minority.

This system makes such direct violence against the Rohingya far more possible and likely than it would otherwise be. Further, in the eyes of the Myanmar authorities at least – as evidenced by the lack of accountability for the civilians and officials alike – discrimination also makes the violence and violations somehow justifiable. That is the problem.

In 1978’s “Dragon King” operation, the Myanmar army committed widespread killings and rape of Rohingya civilians and carried out the destruction of mosques and other religious persecution. That resulted in the exodus of an estimated 200,000 Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh.

A similar campaign of forced labour, summary executions, torture and rape in 1992 led to a similar number of Rohingyas again fleeing across the border.

In February 2001, communal violence between the Muslim and Buddhist populations in Sittwe resulted in an unknown number of people killed and Muslim property destroyed.

Late 2009 featured the pushing back by Thai authorities onto the high seas of several boats – lacking adequate food, water, and fuel – of Rohingyas in the Andaman Sea.

It is true that all of these events have similar, separate equivalents in countries in which systemic discrimination does not take place.

Yet in Myanmar such discrimination provides the violence with a ready-made antecedent, expressly approved by the state. Indeed, to varying degrees, the five seminal events noted above were simply exacerbations of this underlying discrimination.

It would overstate the causality to assert that if Myanmar had never put its system of discrimination against the Rohingya into place, these events would not have occurred. Eliminating it now, however, is urgently required for a sustainable future peace in Rakhine State and, equally important, is a human rights imperative.

The system’s anchor is the 1982 Citizenship Law, which in both design and implementation effectively denies the right to a nationality to the Rohingya population. It supercedes all previous citizenship regimes in Myanmar of 1947, 1948, and 1974.

The 1982 Citizenship Law creates three classes of citizens – full, associate, and naturalised – none of which has been conferred on the Rohingya. Full citizenship is reserved for those whose ancestors settled in Myanmar before the year 1823 or are among Myanmar’s more than 130 recognised national ethnic groups, of which the Rohingya is not one.

Associate citizens are those who were both eligible and applied for citizenship under the 1948 Union Citizenship Act. Requiring an awareness of the law that few Rohingya had and a level of proof that even fewer were able to provide, this included few Rohingya.

Likewise with naturalised citizenship, eligible for those who resided in Myanmar for five continuous years on or before 1948. Moreover, with all three classes, a Central Body has the discretion to deny citizenship even where the criteria are met.

The 1982 Citizenship Law’s discriminatory effects are also extremely consequential. The main one is that the Rohingya, lacking citizenship in Myanmar, have been rendered stateless, both unable to avail themselves of the protection of the state and – as has been the case for decades – subject to policies and practices which constitute violations of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.

While not limited to Rohingyas, they are not imposed in the same manner and to the same degree on Buddhists or other Muslims in Rakhine State.

This is systemic discrimination. Laws, policies, and practices, though designed and carried out by people, are ultimately part of or attributable to a system that ensures discrimination even in the absence of discriminatory individuals.

And it is patently unlawful.

As a member of the United Nations, Myanmar is legally obliged to promote “universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion”, as written in Articles 55 and 56 of the UN Charter.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights – though admittedly not a binding document – provides in Article 2 that everyone is entitled to all the rights in the Declaration “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

It is clear that Myanmar, as a state party to this Convention, is in violation of its international legal obligations pertaining to the right of Rohingya children to a nationality.

Solutions? Myanmar should substantially amend the 1982 Citizenship Law or repeal and redraft it, such that the Rohingya are indisputably made citizens.

Rohingyas born in Myanmar who would otherwise be stateless should be granted citizenship, as should those who are not born there but are able to establish a genuine and effective link to the country.

Myanmar should also eliminate its policies and practices that discriminate against the Rohingya on the grounds of ethnicity and/or religion.

Myanmar’s “Rohingya problem” is almost entirely of its own making. More than any other single step, dismantling its system of discrimination would bring it closer to a solution.

Benjamin Zawacki is the South-East Asia Regional Representative of the International Development Law Organisation and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. The views expressed here are his own, adapted from remarks given earlier last week at “Plight of the Rohingya: Solutions?”, a conference organised by the Perdana Global Peace Foundation in Kuala Lumpur.

Sources Here:

Since May this year, Myanmar has witnessed an escalation in the simmering tension between two groups of people in Rakhine State. The violence between the Rakhine (also known as Arakan) and Rohingya (also known as Bengali) has led to the death of at least 88 people and displacement of thousands of others. Unofficial reports, however, put the number of deaths in the hundreds.

The immediate cause of the violence was the rape and murder of a Rakhine Buddhist woman on May 28 by three male Rohingya. This was followed by a retaliatory killing of 10 Muslims by a mob of Rakhine on June 3. It should be noted that tension between these two groups has existed for several decades.

Several questions are being routinely asked: Why has little apparently been done to resolve the conflict? Is there a possibility of reaching a permanent solution to this protracted problem? Much blame has also been directed at both the Myanmar government and the opposition, led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

As members of the international community are trying to promote their own national interests in newly democratic Myanmar, sectarian violence such as we have seen in Rakhine State has not been paid serious attention, especially by Western powers.

While Human Rights Watch has criticised the Myanmar government for failing to prevent the initial unrest, majority Muslim nations, such as Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Malaysia have criticised what they allege is discrimination against the Rohingya based on their religious beliefs.

The sensitivity of the issue has silenced many from discussing it publicly. Even the internationally acclaimed human rights champion and leader of the democratic opposition, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has made only brief comments about the conflict, emphasising the need to establish an adequate citizenship law.

The root of the problem begins with the nomenclature itself. Although many of the Muslims in Rakhine State call themselves Rohingya, the Myanmar government and many of the country’s citizens call them illegal Bengali migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

Since the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have refused to accept them as their citizens, the Rohingya have automatically become stateless under international law. Under such circumstances, are there any possible solutions to the problem?

President U Thein Sein suggested that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should consider resettling the Rohingya in other countries. Although such proposal may sound ideal to many, there would definitely be challenges in terms of implementation.

For example, will there be a nation or nations willing to welcome and embrace the million or so Rohingya people? Moreover, UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres has rejected the idea of resettlement. Even if the agency reconsidered its position, would the UNHCR offices in Myanmar and Bangladesh have adequate resources to process such a large number of people?

One possible solution is for the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh to reach an amicable arrangement to integrate the Rohingya population into their respective societies. There are about 800,000 Rohingya inside Myanmar and another 300,000 in Bangladesh.

This proposition also has its own challenges. Chiefly, will the indigenous Rakhine accept Rohingya as their fellow citizens and live peacefully with them? On the other hand, will the Bangladesh government change its policy and offer citizenship to the Rohingya?

Another possible solution is that Myanmar can amend its 1982 citizenship law to pave the way for the Rohingya to apply for citizenship. As Minister for Immigration and Population U Khin Yi told Radio Free Asia recently, under the existing law foreigners can apply for citizenship only if they are born in Myanmar, their parents and grandparents have lived and died in Myanmar, they are literate in Burmese and meet some additional criteria.

Finally, to prevent a further escalation in tensions, the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh need to secure their porous international borders to prevent illegal movements.

None of the above suggested policies are simple and easy to achieve. Despite the challenges and difficulties, the Rohingya issue cannot be ignored for too long. Without addressing the crux of the problem, the May incident and the violence it sparked could recur, with even more tragic consequences.

Until a solution is achieved, international institutions, such as the United Nations and Association of Southeast Asian Nations, should pressure the Myanmar government to take steps to resolve the problem of Rohingya statelessness in a holistic manner, rather than inciting, or allowing others to incite, hatred along religious or racial lines.

(Nehginpao Kipgen is general secretary of the United States-based Kuki International Forum. His research interests include political transition, democratisation, human rights, ethnic conflict and identity politics and he has written numerous peer-reviewed and non-academic articles on the politics of Myanmar and Asia.)

Sources Here:

Operation against Rohingyas 

Since then, frequent operations against Rohingyas have been taking place in order to wipe out Rohingyas from Burma and that subsequently results extrajudicial killings, tortures, expulsions of Rohingyas and mass exodus of refugees. To name some of operations carried out against Rohingya population since 1962 are: 

1) Kyi Operation (1966) 

2) Ngazinka Operation (1967-69) 

3) Myat Mon Operation (1961-71) 

4) Major Aung Than Operation (1973) 

5) Sabe Operation (1974-78) 

6) Naga Min (King Dragon) Operation (1978-79) 

7) Shwe Hintha Operation (1978-80) 

8) Galone Operation (1979) 

9) New Citizenship Law in 1982 

10) Pyi Thaya Operation (1991-92) 

Among the operations above, Naga Min operation caused forced exodus of around 300,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh, while Pyi Thaya operation led an exodus of approximately 268,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh.[1] (AsianTribune Online Article, July 2012) The 1982 citizenship law of Burma, which was highly condemned internationally, stripped of citizenships from all Rohingyas. As a result of this, Rohingyas are still living in a stateless situation in their own ancestral land. 

Whether one believes or not, similar or worse kind of atrocities against Rohingyas in Arakan state of Burma is going on today and at this moment. But this time around, atrocities against and onslaught of Rohingyas has been systematically planned by Burmese regime and Buddhist extremist ally for a long time. Unlike atrocities in the past, Rohingyas are locked in Arakan and have silently been being silently killed. 

When the Campaign to Wipe Out Rohingyas Started? 

Though Rohingyas have been looked as strangers and unwanted people for decades by the xenophobes in Burma, the real anti-Rohingya campaigns that led to the current genocides started in November 2011. BBC reporter Anna Jones in October 2010 described Rohingyas as one of the minorities of Burma and of the world that high possibility of extinction. After more than one year of this report, it was made a mountain of a molehill by the extremist Rakhine politicians, some bigoted Rakhine intellectuals at home and abroad and some self-interested regime’s puppets. They further instigated anti-Rohingya movements and campaigns at home and abroad. 

The ultra-nationalists rulers throughout Burmese history left no stone unturned to erase the history of Rohingyas and to destroy their ancient religious and cultural monuments in their efforts to cleanse Rohingyas. Therefore, though Rohingyas have been living in Arakan state for centuries, they or their name, Rohingya had not known to the general Burmese people until recently. When the Burmese people came to know about Rohingyas, it was in a bad light. The tyrannical regime and Rakhine extremist did everything to portray Rohingyas to the Burmese people as the outsiders trying to invade the country and harming the country’s sovereignty. And their malicious efforts proved to be fruitful. 

Beginning of the Current Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingyas 

To one’s shocking surprise, on 28th May 2012, at a time when anti-Rohingya sentiment is running high among Rakhine population, the news of raping and killing of a Rakhine woman in Rambre allegedly by three Rohingya boys, an incident which had no eyewitnesses. Taking the situation and condition of the place where the crime took place into consideration, many analysts concluded that this incident was fabricated and masterminded by unknown powers to instigate racial riot. Even if the incident actually took place, it is a crime and all the criminals involved must be punished according to the law. 

Quite disgustingly and unexpectedly, Burmese state media spread the news using derogatory words against Muslims such as Kular (Note: Kular is a derogatory term for the people of Indian descends in Myanmar and most of the Muslims in Myanmar happen to be of Indian origin) and took it as a tool to trigger anti-Rohingya or anti-Muslim hatred among general public of Burma. As a result, on 3rd June 2012, a group of 300 Rakhine hooligans crashed 10 Muslim pilgrims to death nearby an immigration office in Taung Gote Township of Arakan. The deceased people were neither Rohingyas nor had any connection with the earlier incident and were just on their way back after finishing their religious efforts from Than Dwe in Arakan. (Note: according to some political analysts, these 300 people were not Rakhines but the people brought to the place by the members of the Ruling party, USDP. Their intention was to trigger a racial riot). 

Subsequently, on Friday 8th June 2012, Rohingyas in Maung Daw planned to demonstrate for the inhumane massacres of 10 Muslim pilgrims after the congregational prayer. But the authority was ratherin hurry and arrogant to disperse their prayers let alone allowing them to demonstrate. When Rohingyas failed to disperse, the authority started shooting at Rohingyas and one Rohingya died on the spot. His dead body was not returned and taken away by the authority. While the dispersed Rohingyas were running hither and thither, they got attacked from Rakhine extremists, Police, Security Forces and NaSaKa (Border Security Affairs). Honestly speaking, the fighting between Rakhines and Rohingyas was mutual for a few hours after violence had begun. 

Ongoing Situation in the Nazi Extermination Camp Called Arakan 

The fighting was followed by subsequent torching of the houses of both Rohingyas and Rakhines. According to many Rakhines and Rohingyas, they don’t know the people who actually started torching their houses and said they were strangers to the region. Many of them accuse the government to have plotted and conspired to create violence. But from the evening of 8th June 2012 onward and till today, Rohingyas have been one-sidedly being attacked by the authority in cooperation with Rakhine extremists. 

The Burmese Regime and Rakhine extremists have been carrying out atrocities against Rohingyas, committing rapes against their women (including under-aged girls), looting their properties, torching their houses and arbitrary extortion of money. Almost all of Rohingyas; houses, properties and villages were either burned down or destroyed in Sittwe, Rathedaung and Kyauktaw and other parts of Arakan. Thousands of Roingyas are made to live in the temporary tents full of mud and in sub-human condition. 

Besides, according to martial law declared in Arakan since June 10, Rohingyas have been locked in their houses infinitely not knowing when the law will be withdrawn. Rohingyas have almost lost their ways and access to foods and medicine due to the martial and boycott against them led by Rakhine Buddhist Monks. It has been already more than three months now. Many of them every day are dying due to starvation and different diseases. Shockingly, the martial law is only applied for Rohingyas and Rakhines are set free and can do any barbaric acts and all kinds of tortures against Rohingyas: stabbing, beating and looting etc. Unfortunately, humanitarian workers and their assistances are limited to only few regions. 

Their educated people and religious leaders are being arrested, mosques were locked down and there have been no prayer in the mosques, while many of religious sites such as mosques were destroyed using bulldozers. There have been no five times prayer and Juma’at prayer for more than three months. The arrested Rohingyas including under-aged children are locked up in police custodies, prisons and in many unknown locations where they are tortured through various means sometimes using Rakhine hooligans from outside and kept starved. Subsequently, many Rohingyas are dying in the lock-ups. 

On the one hand, the government and Rakhine extremists are committing genocides and carrying out ethnic cleansing and on the other hand, they have been lying and deceiving the world about the situation and trying to cover up their crimes against humanity through using the state media and social media like facebook and twitter. They are taking every step to put the international community in the dark by restricting International Media, Independent Observers and humanitarian workers to the region. 

Pro-Nazi Rallies in Mandalay, Burma 

The radical Monks like Wirathu, abbot of the Damma-Thahaaya School of Mandalay New Masuyein Monastery are happily spreading anti-Muslim propaganda throughout Burma. Not to forget that Wirathu is the one who has led the killing of Muslim families and burning Muslim houses in Kyauk Se Township in central Burma. 

They are holding rallies against Rohingyas which is much like Nazi rally. Very recently, radical Monks protested against Rohingyas in Mandalay, the cultural centre of Burma. They condemned human rights organizations, NGOs etc and backed the President Thein Sein’s proposal to put all Rohingyas in the camps and subsequently send them to third countries as if Rohingyas have not been living there from the time of immemorial. They demanded that Nationalism must be given priority over humanism and human rights. 

These Monks were the same Monks who fought against evil Burmese dictators and for Justice in 2007. But this time, they are demonstrating for expulsion of a whole race of more than 1 Million. What one can realize here is that these Monks want Justice but for their own kind of people or race. One point to be noted here is that there are ideological similarities and commonness between Fascists German and Radical Monks in Burma. Fascist Germans were ultra-nationalists who worked for their own people. So are these Monks! To these radical Monks and extremist Buddhists, Rohingyas are inferior human beings. 

[1] (AsianTribune Online Article, July 2012, followed by URL:

http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/07/15/letter-america-rohingya-refugees, titled as Letter from America: Rohingya Refugees, published by Asian Tribune) [30th July 2012] 

Mohammed Sheikh Anwar is an activist studying Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies at Westminster International College, Malaysia 

The Rise of a Eichmann’s Hell in Burma (Part 1)

Arakan Rohingya Union Director General, Professor Dr. Wakar Uddin, urged the international community, including Malaysia, to be persistent in exerting pressure on the Myanmar government to permanently cease hostility toward the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar and reinstate their citizenship with ethnic rights.

Dr. Uddin cautioned that there are significant numbers of ultra-nationalist hardliners in Myanmar Government; thus it is not likely to respond to scattered messages coming from individual countries or a few organizations. "Countries need to come together and put concerted pressure on the Myanmar government to stop their systematic and persistent genocide of the Rohingya people in the Rakhine state of Myanmar”.

 

"We need a multi-track approach. Not only from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) speaking up, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the United Nations (UN) should come forward with stronger message on one theme – give Rohingya all their ethnic rights and cease all the human right abuses permanently, and condemn the violence towards the Rohingya Muslims," Dr. Uddin urged at the international conference "Plight of the Rohingya: Solutions?" in Kuala Lumpur. He urged for a concerted international intervention effort to save the Rohingya people and that it should be continued and sustained until the problem is solved.

He called for a probe by United Nations to the massacre of Rohingya, and long term deployment of international monitoring teams and media in Rohingya regions in Arakan State. Dr. Uddin warned that the single most serious threat to security of Rohingya people in Arakan at this moment is the Rakhine Police force that is arresting hundreds of Rohingya arbitrarily and committing harsh treatments, torture, and cold blooded murders of Rohingya. He also deplored the rapes and violence against Rohingya women committed by Rakhine forces.

Dr. Uddin’s message to Myanmar government was “resolve the issues through dialogue between Rohingya leadership and the Burmese government, and other entities in Myanmar such as other political parties and ethnic minorities - even with Rakhine elements if they are interested in peaceful coexistence with Rohingya in Arakan”.

HAVING had the opportunity, as part of the UN multi-agency assistance programme, to extensively interact with the Rohingyas in Myanmar and in the refugee camps, I have come to know the Rohingyas as a highly resilient, intelligent, skilful and hard-working people. They have survived for many years on meagre resources, extreme limitations and in the face of danger and exploitation.

The Rohingyas are descendants of those from the undivided Indian subcontinent who settled in what's now the Arakan region of Myanmar. It was only several hundred years later when the borders of Burma and later Bangladesh were drawn, that the Rohingyas found themselves on one side or the other. However, those who had settled for generations in what then became the Rakhine state remained there until the Rakhine Buddhist community began to see them as "outsiders".

Soon the differences between them escalated, and with the involvement of the Myanmar military junta led to the systematic persecution and violence against the Rohingyas with thousands of them fleeing to nearby countries.

The Rohingyas in Myanmar, under a law passed almost 30 years ago, are termed as "residents" and do not qualify as citizens since they are not Myanmar by ethnic ancestral birth. As such, they cannot own land or enjoy the right to any health or education benefits or engage in economic activities.

Several thousand Rohingyas who fled Myanmar, live in ghettos and refugee camps in Bangladesh (approximately 300,000) and in areas along the Thai-Myanmar border (about 100,000), while they are also refugees in Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. As refugees, their plight in many of these countries is as dire.

For the past four decades, the Rohingya issue has been discussed, without any concrete outcomes, while their predicament has worsened to the point of being one of the worst humanitarian calamities of our time.

Many well-meaning solutions have been put forward, ranging from persuading, or even compelling, the Myanmar government to accept the Rohingyas as citizens, to their resettlement in third countries.

There are even calls for Aung San Suu Kyi to demand the right of citizenship for the Rohingyas. Suu Kyi has made it clear that every genuine refugee must have the right to return and be treated in accordance with international law. But, more than that, she has said that everyone concerned must continue to work actively with Myanmar for a solution.

Let's be clear. No refugee return in history has succeeded on the basis of compelling a country, against its wishes, to accept the refugees back. Even if the present Myanmar government is willing, there is no guarantee that the Rakhine Buddhist community will accept the Rohingyas to live on equal terms with them.

As the Myanmar government has shown its willingness to consider those who can be granted citizenship status and rights, it would be prudent for the international community to pursue that option, ensuring that Rohingyas in Myanmar and those who return and be accepted as citizens, are afforded the same privileges as other citizens.

The Rohingyas whom the Myanmar authorities will not accept for whatever reason, will have no choice but to be assisted for third country resettlement.

It is imperative that the international community, in particular the UN and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) address this humanitarian crisis with urgency and find a workable solution to this progressive extinction of the Rohingyas.

ွSources Here:

Charity Dinner was held last Friday in London Muslim Center. The Charity dinner was organized by Muslim Aid. Many NGOs and British Muslim communities attended to the dinner including Arsenal & France Football Star Abou Diaby. There are about 600 people attended to the charity dinner . 

BROUK President Tun Khin and Arsenal & France Football Star Abou Diaby gave speech during the dinner.

Arsenal Football star said he was concerned injustice going on Rohingya people of Burma. He thanks to organisations and attendees joining to the dinner urged to keep continue to support Rohingya's cause. 

BROUK President Tun Khin Said : 

Recent violence was well- planned by State Government led by RNDP and Thein Sein’s Central government .During the violence Police Officer, Security Forces and Rakhine carried out attacks on the Muslim Rohingyas in the streets and villages of and Rathedaung where almost all the Rohingya villages and houses were burned down or destroyed. 

A curfew has been imposed in the troubled areas. The Rakhine equipped with lethal weapons and set free to attack Rohingya Muslims. Police and security forces opened fire on Muslims’ homes at random, even in the dead of night. 

Those Rohingyas killed or shot dead were taken away by the security forces. The dead bodies have not been returned to their families. The dead bodies were reportedly burned into ashes or thrown into the sea. There were reports of dead bodies floating in the water. 

When state-sponsored violence started UN agencies, UNHCR and NGOs engaged in humanitarian and relief operations had left Arakan as the government warned them could not ensure their security. In the absence of evidence, the Rakhine extremists or security forces, \police carried out their genocidal actions without the knowledge of the outside world. 

People are dying every day because they do not have any food. Many people have been arrested, beaten and killed when they went out to buy food. They have become starving refugees in their homes. Thousands of people are facing starvation in the countryside remote areas. 

BROUK President Tun Khin appealed organizations that were attended, “We, Rohingyas need urgent safety, security and Humanitarian aid in Arakan State. President Thein Sein government and State Government (RNDP) systematically preplanned to take place the recent violence to eliminate Rohingya people of Arakan. We urgently need Humanitarian intervention in Arakan State. We called on all Muslim countries to ensure that the establishment of such an investigation is included in the text of the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly resolution on Burma, and in the text of the next United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Burma” 

BROUK President finally urged to put pressure on Thein Sein government to provide safety and Security along with to restore ethnic Rohingya and citizenship rights”

RB News Desk.

Oregon Rally



Please view more picture here

• Freedom of Religious 
• Peaceful coexistence in Bumra 
• Human Right for Rohingya 
• Restore citizenship right of Rohingya which was taken away By General Newin 
• To Stop Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide 
• To Stop racial segregation in Arakan Burma 
• To free Political Rohinyga prisoners 
• Not to stop rebuilding villages and mosques at original places 
• To stop harassing Rohingya man and woman by security forces 

RB News Desk

Interview of Mr. Yusuf Iqbal ( Oregon ) and Nay San Oo ( NYC)

 QRC representatives extending support to the displaced Rohingya Muslims

An emergency response team from the Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) has reached the Rohingya camps established by the Government of Myanmar near Sittwe, the city where violence broke out between Alrakain Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim groups in June.

The violence has resulted in more than 300 people being killed, over 3,000 homes burned and 70,000 people displaced and scattered in dozens of camps in several villages in Rakhine province, according to reports by the United Nations.

Other human rights organisations suggest that the number of refugees might be bigger, though it is hard to find out the exact number of displaced people due to the absence of a recording system and the restrictions imposed by the local authorities in the province.

QRC’s emergency response team has identified immediate humanitarian needs in the camps. Initial information indicates that malaria, diarrhea, and eye and skin diseases have begun to spread among refugees due to the absence of sanitation and hygiene, and safe shelters coupled with the heavy rainfall and swamps formation.

The QRC has undertaken relief efforts in the Rakhine province with a $ 1.5mn assistance provided by the Qatar Government.

As an initial response, QRC distributed food and non-food materials such as bedsheets, plastic sheets as well as mosquito nets to reduce the spread of malaria for 400 families.

QRC aims to meet the immediate and short term needs at the camps in co-ordination with the Myanmar Red Cross (MRC), the only National Society that provides services in the refugee camps.

Together with the MRC, the QRC will work to provide urgent health relief by operating a number of mobile clinics in the camp areas, apart from undertaking health awareness sessions, contributing to fight the spread of mosquitoes, and implementing a temporary shelter programme as the information from the field indicates that the local authorities do not intend to return the refugees to their homes in Sittwe any time soon for fear of renewed violence.

Earlier, QRC had contributed to the relief of those affected by Myanmar Nargis Cyclone in 2008 sending relief items worth $300,000.

Sources Here :

Mr. Zaw Min Htut, President of Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan had meeting with Mr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of Association of South East Asia Nation (ASEAN) on September 19, 2012 at Hotel New Otani in Tokyo, Japan. 

In the meeting, after the presentation of Mr. Zaw Min Htut, ASEAN Secretary General Mr. Surin Pitsuwan responded that he will work more vigorously on Rohingya issue and want to see a long lasting solution very near future. He said that he will work with UN, OIC and Myanmar government to find a solution for long suffering Rohingyas. He added that Rohingyas should be recognized as ethnic minority of Myanmar and granted citizenship by Myanmar government. 

Mr. Surin Pitsuwan said "There is not only religious discrimination but also Rohingyas were discriminated ethnically and politically. We should look back to their long suffering under the successive military government since 1962." 

Mr. Surin Pitsuwan encouraged all Rohingya activists around the world to work more actively till the goal is met.

RB News Desk

CBRO Team
RB News
September 22, 2012

The members of the Canadian Burmese Rohingya Organization of Canada (CBRO) Mr. Nur Hashim, Chairperson and two other members held a meeting with Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Deepak Obhrai on September 19, 2012 at 4 pm at the parliamentary hill. 

In the meeting CBRO raised ongoing violence on Rohingya ethnic minority and about more Rohingya casualties by Rakhine Buddhists mobs and Burmese security forces in Rakhine State of Myanmar. CBRO handed in a petition letter with the multiples demands to Mr. Deepak Obhrai. CBRO urged Mr. Obhrai to draw keen attention to the onging atrocities on Rohingya. 

Mr. Obhrai promised that his office opened and continued the dialogue with the Burmese government and Bangladesh government to resolve the Rohingya issue. 

The Petition Letter: