BANGKOK - A leading international rights group today accused Myanmar security forces of supporting some of the brutal anti-Muslim violence last month that forced 35,000 people from torched homes. The allegations come one day before President Barack Obama visits after a year of unprecedented democratic reforms in the South-east Asian country.

Human Rights Watch said soldiers in some parts of western Rakhine state also tried to stop Buddhist attacks and protect Muslim civilians, known as Rohingya. But the group said the government needs to do much more to protect the stateless minority, who are denied citizenship because they are considered foreigners from Bangladesh.

The New York-based rights group also released new satellite imagery detailing the extensive destruction of several Muslim areas, including a village attacked by Buddhist mobs armed with spears and bows and arrows where adults were beheaded and women and children killed.

Violence in June, and again late last month, has killed around 200 people on both sides and displaced more than 110,000 more, the vast majority of them Muslims. 

"The satellite images and eyewitness accounts reveal that local mobs, at times with official support, sought to finish the job of removing Rohingya from these areas," Human Rights Watch's Asia director Brad Adams said in a statement.

"The central government's failure to take serious action to ensure accountability for the June violence fostered impunity, and makes it responsible for later attacks not only when security forces were directly involved, but also when they weren't," he said.

There was no immediate comment from Myanmar's government on the charges. But The Associated Press has interviewed victims in Rakhine state who gave similar accounts, accusing security forces of taking part in the violence or of doing little to stop it.

On Friday, the United Nations announced it had received a letter from Myanmar President Thein Sein pledging to consider new rights for the Rohingya for the first time and condemning the "senseless violence" that has battered Rakhine state. But the letter stopped short of a full commitment that citizenship and other new freedoms would be granted, and gave no timeline.

The White House says Obama will press the matter Monday with Mr Thein Sein, along with demands to free remaining political prisoners as the nation transitions to democracy after a half-century of military rule that ended last year.

The UN has called the Rohingya - who are widely reviled by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar - among the most persecuted people on Earth.

Myanmar denies the Rohingya citizenship, even though many of their families have lived in Myanmar for generations. The government considers them to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh, but Bangladesh also rejects them, rendering them stateless.

The UN estimates that 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar, where they face heavy-handed restrictions: They need permission to marry, have more than two children and travel outside of their villages. 

-AP-

Myanmar President Thein Sein has asked Indonesia to help his government in resolving ongoing ethnic tensions in the country’s western Rakhine state, where more than 110,000 people, the vast majority of them Muslims known as Rohingya, have been displaced.

“Myanmar invited us to help them [in resolving the Rohingya problem], with the President [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] indicating his willingness to help in due time,” presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said after a meeting between Thein Sein and Yudhoyono on the sidelines of the 21st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.

Yudhoyono underlined that the problem had to be well resolved since it had attracted international attention, noting that the issue was a communal conflict, not a religious clash as portrayed to the general public.

Therefore, Indonesia together with Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia have tried to portray the issue proportionally.

“We must give them a kind of support or understanding in a sense that this is not related to religion,” Faizasyah said.

Besides efforts to end the conflict, Thein Sein said that Myanmar’s government had launched various programs to alleviate suffering and for community building and reconstruction measures involving a huge amount of money.

The social problems in Rakhine were indeed very complex, and included education, Thein Sein added.

“Therefore, Myanmar hopes that Indonesia can invest in the Rakhine State to create more jobs. There are complex problems there,” he said.

Thein Sein, who has orchestrated much of his country’s transition to democracy, has opened the door to any party who wants to visit, investigate and observe the situation.

Thein Sein has blamed nationalist and religious extremists for the unrest in June and October that killed at least 167 people, but has faced criticism for failing to address underlying tensions in the Rakhine state, where an estimated 800,000 Rohingya Muslims are not recognized as citizens.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan warned that the problem should be handled effectively. “Eight hundred thousand people are now under tremendous pressure. If that issue is not handled well and effectively, there is a risk of radicalization. There is a risk of extremism,” he said in Phnom Penh.

The United Nations said on Friday that Thein Sein had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon promising action to tackle the problems.

In a statement, Ban’s office said Thein Sein had promised that “once emotions subside on all sides”, his government was prepared to “address contentious political dimensions, ranging from resettlement of displaced populations to granting of citizenship”.

Aside from the Rohingya, during the meeting, Yudhoyono also highlighted the recent developments in Myanmar, saying that its transformation process was on the right track.

Indonesia consistently supported Myanmar when the country, which was previously known as Burma, started its reform process. Myanmar also appreciated Indonesia’s support all this time, including during the process when they were having difficulties.

Olivia Ward
The Star
November 20, 2012

For decades, Burma’s Rohingya Muslims have suffered discrimination and harassment, and recently, arson, rape, violent attacks and murder. Dozens have drowned in an effort to escape by sea; others have been pushed back from Bangladesh, or kept in bleak camps where malnutrition is rife.

But the obscure minority has received little attention from the international community — until this month.

On his historic trip to Burma on Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama went to bat for the stateless Rohingya, who live in Burma’s Rakhine State on the border of Bangladesh.

“For too long the people of this state, including ethnic Rakhine, have faced crushing poverty and persecution,” Obama told an audience Monday. “But there’s no excuse for violence against innocent people, and the Rohingya hold within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do.”

The speech threw a spotlight on the Rohingya, some one million Muslims whose citizenship was cancelled by Burma in 1982, but who have remained in obscurity in spite of numerous allegations of attacks and repression by majority Buddhist groups or others with links to Burmese security forces.

Almost 200 people have been killed, and more than 100,000 displaced, since fighting sprang up between the Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine groups in June. The Rakhine — and the Burmese government — claim that the Rohingya are migrants from Bangladesh, while the Rohingya point to evidence of centuries of settlement in the region.

The United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others have called for investigations and an end to the violence against Rohingya. Some have accused Burma of ethnic cleansing, as villages were reportedly burned to the ground, women raped, and Rohingya farmers and fishermen attacked by local mobs. Those who have fled to camps on both sides of the border have received little food or care.

Aid workers are especially worried about inaccessible groups in northern and eastern Rakhine, said Stephen Cornish, executive director of MSF Canada (Doctors Without Borders), who was in Rakhine this summer.

“They are being denied medical care, and many are suffering from malnutrition,” he said.

Although the makeshift camps for displaced people are gradually receiving care, he said, “there was a 7 ½ per cent severe acute malnutrition rate. There’s poor water and sanitation. But (outside the camps) because of roadblocks and lack of travel access, people in those (blocked) communities have no access to markets, and can’t go anywhere.”

The government has used the blocks to separate the two ethnic communities and tamp down violence, he said.

MSF evacuated the area when the new round of violence flared this fall, and they received threats and intimidation. Some staff have since returned, but parts of the state are still no-go areas for aid groups.

Although the Rohingya have been treated as Bangladeshis by Burma, the Bangladesh government has dealt harshly with refugees. Humanitarian aid was curtailed, and a Canadian government program for refugees ended when Bangladesh refused to grant exit permits to them.

As Burma liberalizes, there are signs that it may be ready to reverse its stance.

In advance of Obama’s visit — the first by an American president — Burmese President Thein Sein reportedly condemned violence between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya as “senseless,” in a letter to the UN. But he blamed “nationalist and religious extremists.”

Thein Sein said that he would consider solutions “ranging from resettlement of displaced populations to granting of citizenship.” Until now only those whose families settled in Burma before independence in 1948 were considered citizens.

Burma could make an immediate gesture to alleviate the Rohingya’s suffering, Cornish says.

“More than 100,000 people are at risk in addition to the 100,000 in camps. Access to health care is a huge issue.

“There are toddlers with malnutrition. People don’t have access to wood for cooking, and have to share what food they have with others. We’re particularly worried about people with HIV and TB who have no access to medicine, and several hundred thousand a year have been treated for malaria.

“We are jointly conducting health clinics in the camps with the ministry of health, but there is more to be done to ensure that those who are intimidating and interrupting care don’t carry the day — and that we get our access back.”

Bernama
November 21, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is in the midst of arranging a visit to Myanmar for discussion on ways to resolve the crisis faced by minority Rohingya Muslims.

According to OIC, the visit will be led by Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and a number of foreign ministers from the member states.

The ministers will assess the humanitarian needs of those affected by the violence in the Rakhine state, and also coordinate with the Myanmar authorities to develop a plan for it, it said in a statement.

The visit is part of the resolutions adopted at the recent OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting in Djibouti.

The 39th CFM urged member states to intensify efforts in the restoration of the Rohingya Muslims' nationality and citizenship rights, and the return of refugees, as soon as possible.

M.S. Anwar
RB News

November 20, 2012

Maung Daw, Arakan: Immediately after President Obama had left Burma, a masterminded attack against Rohingyas at Honssara (Du-Thandar), Laambaguna (Zaw-Ma-Tat) village tract in Maung Daw was carried out yesterday. In the attack, around nine houses of Rohingyas have been blazed and razed. As an immediate response to Obama’s call to stop the violence against Rohingyas and in disagreement to his using the term “Rohingya,” Rakhine Extremists Leaders, Skinned-Head Fascists in Saffron and local authority together conspired the attack so as to become easier for them to carry out a new genocide against these people.

“Yesterday, immediately after Obama had departed the country, Rakhine Extremist Leaders from Yangon directed some Rakhine extremists in Maung Daw to resume the violence against Rohingyas to show their disagreement to Obama. Some of the Rakhine extremists who instigated the violence in Maung Daw yesterday in cooperation with the NAY-MYAY-MU (Regional of Head of NaSaKa-Border Security Force) of Southern Maung Daw include:

1) U Hla Myint- a rich Rakhine figure and the owner of Mortgage Business Shop No.4, 

2) U Khin Maung Shwe (name might be wrongly spelled)- Judge in the Court of Maung Daw Township, 

3) USDP Maung Daw Secretary- U Hla Tun Phru and other three prominent Rakhine Extremists Figures.

They altogether went to a Rakhine village called Kaing Gri located nearby the violence hit Rohingya village pretending as if they were on a picnic trip to the village. Subsequently, the houses of Rohingyas were torched in the Rohingya village mentioned above. The houses of the following people were among the houses razed.

1) Azimullah S/o Shaab Meah 

2) Ali Meah S/o Ghani 

3) Kumsuma Khatu D/o Ghani 

4) Shakayr S/o Ali Meah

Later, NAY-MYAY-MU who was bribed and coaxed by the Rakhine extremists together with KUAY-KAY-YE-MU (NaSaKa Adminstrator in Maung Daw) blamed Rohingyas BACK that they had torched their own houses. Therefore, they ordered NaSaKa to arrest any 100 Rohingya men from the nearby villages no matter whether they are guilty or not. There is a shoot-at-sight declared to those Rohingya men who resist or refused to be arrested” said a prominent Rohingya elder on the condition of anonymity.

There have been conflicting reports coming out about the number of Rohingyas arrested till date. Some say 10 Rohingya men have been arrested and some say 15.

-Therefore, is the targeting innocent Rohingyas the Justice in Burma just because Obama called to stop the violence and used the term Rohingya?

-Is the blaming Rohingyas back the Justice in Burma after burning down their houses?

-Is trying to arrest or kill Rohingyas for nothing the Justice in Burma?

-Or what is this?

The case is rested upon you to decide!!

M.S. Anwar
RB News
November 19, 2012

Maung Daw, Arakan: Police in Maung Daw led by U Aung Kyaw Kan, a high ranking officer and the team leader of Nay-Tin (Region Control Team), have been attempting to destabilize the Region for days now. They have been arresting many innocent people for nothing. It has started since the day on which a so-called Rohingya drug trafficker called Abdu Zabbar (in 50s) was arrested by the NaSaKa (Border Security Force) in Nay Myay (Region) 6 in Maung Daw.

"The NaSaKa in Nay Myay 6 said that they recently arrested a Rohingya drug trafficker. According to the NaSaKa, the trafficker said upon investigation that he used to traffick drugs in partnership with a person called Salim (a Rohingya) from Quarter 5, Maung Daw. The irony is that without confirming who the person called Salim is, the Police is arresting everyone with the name, Salim from the said village. So far, they have arrested 6 people with the name. The way the Police raid the village everyday to arrest Salims is like warring against Rohingyas. So, it automatically stimulates neighboring Rakhine extremists to resume violence against Rohingyas.

But the shocking thing is the person said to be arrested was known to be a PUPPET of the government" said a Rohingya elder from Maung Daw on the condition of anonymity.

Since Maung Daw Police is trying to re-create the violence against Rohingyas in Maung Daw using a made up case, Rohingyas are afraid of becoming victims again. Therefore, Rohingya community appeal to the President to take against these Police officers who have been oppressing them for decades. These Police officers have been in Maung Daw for more than 10 years without any transfers to other parts of the country. At the same time, Rohingyas request to the international communities to help them out as they are still the victims of the targeted violence and severe persecutions though their situation is made to look calm externally.

Date: November 19, 2012 

On behalf of Rohingya community and Burmese Muslim community, we would like to convey our gratitude to honorable President Obama about his contribution for national the reconciliation in Burma. We are greatly admired by your leadership and your approach to educate Burmese civil, religious, political, military, government and general public about religious freedom, civil liberty, freedom speech and equality among all citizen of Burma. 

Most importantly your wisdom that inspire about 60 million people of Burma that “But there is no excuse for violence against innocent people. And the Rohingya hold themselves — hold within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do.” 

The every words in your speech today have cured the mind and thought of millions of Burmese infected by General Ne Win Philosophy of Burman and Buddhist as the only superior race and religious. 

We also would like to thank and congratulate to 21 Congressmen and Senators who successfully request President to highlight the plight of Rohingya during his trip in Burma. It is our sincere thanks to our volunteers who tirelessly work hard before President historical trip to inform him about the real situation in Arakan, Burma thought Islamic Religious organizations, NGO, interfaith groups, human Right Watch, Nobel Women’s initiative etc. 

Finally, our appreciation goes to America public, ethical media, Human Right watch, Amnesty international, all peace loving activists, Rohingya people, Burmese Muslim for their desire to promote justice, peace and equality in Burma particular and the in whole world. 

Sincerely, 

www.freerohingyacampaign.com

Download original statement here 

19 Nov 2012,Maung Daw,source from Alethangyaw, Maungdaw south informed that a Rohingya village named Hansara 2 miles North-East from Alethengyaw township was torched by near by Buddhist Natala villagers and now the village is burning. Still news are coming. Hope can provide more news in this regards later today. It is a challenge of Buddhists on Obama`s Myanmar visit today.

 

RB News

For Immediate Release November 19, 2012

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA AT THE UNIVERSITY OF YANGON

Rangoon, Burma

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) Myanmar Naingan, Mingalaba! (Laughter and applause.) I am very honored to be here at this university and to be the first President of the United States of America to visit your country.

I came here because of the importance of your country. You live at the crossroads of East and South Asia. You border the most populated nations on the planet. You have a history that reaches back thousands of years, and the ability to help determine the destiny of the fastest growing region of the world.

I came here because of the beauty and diversity of your country. I have seen just earlier today the golden stupa of Shwedagon, and have been moved by the timeless idea of metta — the belief that our time on this Earth can be defined by tolerance and by love. And I know this land reaches from the crowded neighborhoods of this old city to the homes of more than 60,000 villages; from the peaks of the Himalayas, the forests of Karen State, to the banks of the Irrawady River.

I came here because of my respect for this university. It was here at this school where opposition to colonial rule first took hold. It was here that Aung San edited a magazine before leading an independence movement. It was here that U Thant learned the ways of the world before guiding it at the United Nations. Here, scholarship thrived during the last century and students demanded their basic human rights. Now, your Parliament has at last passed a resolution to revitalize this university and it must reclaim its greatness, because the future of this country will be determined by the education of its youth.

I came here because of the history between our two countries. A century ago, American traders, merchants and missionaries came here to build bonds of faith and commerce and friendship. And from within these borders in World War II, our pilots flew into China and many of our troops gave their lives. Both of our nations emerged from the British Empire, and the United States was among the first countries to recognize an independent Union of Burma. We were proud to found an American Center in Rangoon and to build exchanges with schools like this one. And through decades of differences, Americans have been united in their affection for this country and its people.

Above all, I came here because of America’s belief in human dignity. Over the last several decades, our two countries became strangers. But today, I can tell you that we always remained hopeful about the people of this country, about you. You gave us hope and we bore witness to your courage.

We saw the activists dressed in white visit the families of political prisoners on Sundays and monks dressed in saffron protesting peacefully in the streets. We learned of ordinary people who organized relief teams to respond to a cyclone, and heard the voices of students and the beats of hip-hop artists projecting the sound of freedom. We came to know exiles and refugees who never lost touch with their families or their ancestral home. And we were inspired by the fierce dignity of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as she proved that no human being can truly be imprisoned if hope burns in your heart.

When I took office as President, I sent a message to those governments who ruled by fear. I said, in my inauguration address, “We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” And over the last year and a half, a dramatic transition has begun, as a dictatorship of five decades has loosened its grip. Under President Thein Sein, the desire for change has been met by an agenda for reform. A civilian now leads the government, and a parliament is asserting itself. The once-outlawed National League for Democracy stood in an election, and Aung San Suu Kyi is a Member of Parliament. Hundreds of prisoners of conscience have been released, and forced labor has been banned. Preliminary cease-fires have been reached with ethnic armies, and new laws allow for a more open economy.

So today, I’ve come to keep my promise and extend the hand of friendship. America now has an Ambassador in Rangoon, sanctions have been eased, and we will help rebuild an economy that can offer opportunity for its people, and serve as an engine of growth for the world. But this remarkable journey has just begun, and has much further to go. Reforms launched from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation. The flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished — they must be strengthened; they must become a shining North Star for all this nation’s people.

And your success in that effort is important to the United States, as well as to me. Even though we come from different places, we share common dreams: to choose our leaders; to live together in peace; to get an education and make a good living; to love our families and our communities. That’s why freedom is not an abstract idea; freedom is the very thing that makes human progress possible — not just at the ballot box, but in our daily lives.

One of our greatest Presidents in the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, understood this truth. He defined America’s cause as more than the right to cast a ballot. He understood democracy was not just voting. He called upon the world to embrace four fundamental freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These four freedoms reinforce one another, and you cannot fully realize one without realizing them all.

So that’s the future that we seek for ourselves, and for all people. And that is what I want to speak to you about today.

First, we believe in the right of free expression so that the voices of ordinary people can be heard, and governments reflect their will — the people’s will.

In the United States, for more than two centuries, we have worked to keep this promise for all of our citizens — to win freedom for those who were enslaved; to extend the right to vote for women and African Americans; to protect the rights of workers to organize.

And we recognize no two nations achieve these rights in exactly the same way, but there is no question that your country will be stronger if it draws on the strength of all of its people. That’s what allows nations to succeed. That’s what reform has begun to do.

Instead of being repressed, the right of people to assemble together must now be fully respected. Instead of being stifled, the veil of media censorship must continue to be lifted. And as you take these steps, you can draw on your progress. Instead of being ignored, citizens who protested the construction of the Myitsone dam were heard. Instead of being outlawed, political parties have been allowed to participate. You can see progress being made. As one voter said during the parliamentary elections here, “Our parents and grandparents waited for this, but never saw it.” And now you can see it. You can taste freedom.

And to protect the freedom of all the voters, those in power must accept constraints. That’s what our American system is designed to do. Now, America may have the strongest military in the world, but it must submit to civilian control. I, as the President of the United States, make determinations that the military then carries out, not the other way around. As President and Commander-In-Chief, I have that responsibility because I’m accountable to the people.

Now, on other hand, as President, I cannot just impose my will on Congress — the Congress of the United States — even though sometimes I wish I could. The legislative branch has its own powers and its own prerogatives, and so they check my power and balance my power. I appoint some of our judges, but I cannot tell them how to rule, because every person in America — from a child living in poverty to me, the President of the United States — is equal under the law. And a judge can make a determination as to whether or not I am upholding the law or breaking the law. And I am fully accountable to that law.

And I describe our system in the United States because that’s how you must reach for the future that you deserve — a future where a single prisoner of conscience is one too many. You need to reach for a future where the law is stronger than any single leader, because it’s accountable to the people. You need to reach for a future where no child is made to be a soldier and no woman is exploited, and where the laws protect them even if they’re vulnerable, even if they’re weak; a future where national security is strengthened by a military that serves under civilians and a Constitution that guarantees that only those who are elected by the people may govern.

On that journey, America will support you every step of the way — by using our assistance to empower civil society; by engaging your military to promote professionalism and human rights; and by partnering with you as you connect your progress towards democracy with economic development. So advancing that journey will help you pursue a second freedom — the belief that all people should be free from want.

It’s not enough to trade a prison of powerlessness for the pain of an empty stomach. But history shows that governments of the people and by the people and for the people are far more powerful in delivering prosperity. And that’s the partnership we seek with you.

When ordinary people have a say in their own future, then your land can’t just be taken away from you. And that’s why reforms must ensure that the people of this nation can have that most fundamental of possessions — the right to own the title to the land on which you live and on which you work.

When your talents are unleashed, then opportunity will be created for all people. America is lifting our ban on companies doing business here, and your government has lifted restrictions on investment and taken steps to open up your economy. And now, as more wealth flows into your borders, we hope and expect that it will lift up more people. It can’t just help folks at the top. It has to help everybody. And that kind of economic growth, where everybody has opportunity — if you work hard, you can succeed — that’s what gets a nation moving rapidly when it comes to develop.

But that kind of growth can only be created if corruption is left behind. For investment to lead to opportunity, reform must promote budgets that are transparent and industry that is privately owned.

To lead by example, America now insists that our companies meet high standards of openness and transparency if they’re doing business here. And we’ll work with organizations like the World Bank to support small businesses and to promote an economy that allows entrepreneurs, small businesspeople to thrive and allows workers to keep what they earn. And I very much welcome your government’s recent decision to join what we’ve called our Open Government Partnership, so that citizens can come to expect accountability and learn exactly how monies are spent and how your system of government operates.

Above all, when your voices are heard in government, it’s far more likely that your basic needs will be met. And that’s why reform must reach the daily lives of those who are hungry and those who are ill, and those who live without electricity or water. And here, too, America will do our part in working with you.

Today, I was proud to reestablish our USAID mission in this country, which is our lead development agency. And the United States wants to be a partner in helping this country, which used to be the rice bowl of Asia, to reestablish its capacity to feed its people and to care for its sick, and educate its children, and build its democratic institutions as you continue down the path of reform.

This country is famous for its natural resources, and they must be protected against exploitation. And let us remember that in a global economy, a country’s greatest resource is its people. So by investing in you, this nation can open the door for far more prosperity — because unlocking a nation’s potential depends on empowering all its people, especially its young people.

Just as education is the key to America’s future, it is going to the be the key to your future as well. And so we look forward to working with you, as we have with many of your neighbors, to extend that opportunity and to deepen exchanges among our students. We want students from this country to travel to the United States and learn from us, and we want U.S. students to come here and learn from you.

And this truth leads me to the third freedom that I want to discuss: the freedom to worship — the freedom to worship as you please, and your right to basic human dignity.

This country, like my own country, is blessed with diversity. Not everybody looks the same. Not everybody comes from the same region. Not everybody worships in the same way. In your cities and towns, there are pagodas and temples, and mosques and churches standing side by side. Well over a hundred ethnic groups have been a part of your story. Yet within these borders, we’ve seen some of the world’s longest running insurgencies, which have cost countless lives, and torn families and communities apart, and stood in the way of development.

No process of reform will succeed without national reconciliation. (Applause.) You now have a moment of remarkable opportunity to transform cease-fires into lasting settlements, and to pursue peace where conflicts still linger, including in Kachin State. Those efforts must lead to a more just and lasting peace, including humanitarian access to those in need, and a chance for the displaced to return home.

Today, we look at the recent violence in Rakhine State that has caused so much suffering, and we see the danger of continued tensions there. For too long, the people of this state, including ethnic Rakhine, have faced crushing poverty and persecution. But there is no excuse for violence against innocent people. And the Rohingya hold themselves — hold within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do.

National reconciliation will take time, but for the sake of our common humanity, and for the sake of this country’s future, it is necessary to stop incitement and to stop violence. And I welcome the government’s commitment to address the issues of injustice and accountability, and humanitarian access and citizenship. That’s a vision that the world will support as you move forward.

Every nation struggles to define citizenship. America has had great debates about these issues, and those debates continue to this day, because we’re a nation of immigrants — people coming from every different part of the world. But what we’ve learned in the United States is that there are certain principles that are universal, apply to everybody no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter what religion you practice. The right of people to live without the threat that their families may be harmed or their homes may be burned simply because of who they are or where they come from.

Only the people of this country ultimately can define your union, can define what it means to be a citizen of this country. But I have confidence that as you do that you can draw on this diversity as a strength and not a weakness. Your country will be stronger because of many different cultures, but you have to seize that opportunity. You have to recognize that strength.

I say this because my own country and my own life have taught me the power of diversity. The United States of America is a nation of Christians and Jews, and Muslims and Buddhists, and Hindus and non-believers. Our story is shaped by every language; it’s enriched by every culture. We have people from every corners of the world. We’ve tasted the bitterness of civil war and segregation, but our history shows us that hatred in the human heart can recede; that the lines between races and tribes fade away. And what’s left is a simple truth: e pluribus unum — that’s what we say in America. Out of many, we are one nation and we are one people. And that truth has, time and again, made our union stronger. It has made our country stronger. It’s part of what has made America great.

We amended our Constitution to extend the democratic principles that we hold dear. And I stand before you today as President of the most powerful nation on Earth, but recognizing that once the color of my skin would have denied me the right to vote. And so that should give you some sense that if our country can transcend its differences, then yours can, too. Every human being within these borders is a part of your nation’s story, and you should embrace that. That’s not a source of weakness, that’s a source of strength — if you recognize it.

And that brings me to the final freedom that I will discuss today, and that is the right of all people to live free from fear.

In many ways, fear is the force that stands between human beings and their dreams. Fear of conflict and the weapons of war. Fear of a future that is different from the past. Fear of changes that are reordering our societies and economy. Fear of people who look different, or come from a different place, or worship in a different way. In some of her darkest moments, when Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned, she wrote an essay about freedom from fear. She said fear of losing corrupts those who wield it — “Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it, and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”

That’s the fear that you can leave behind. We see that chance in leaders who are beginning to understand that power comes from appealing to people’s hopes, not people’s fears. We see it in citizens who insist that this time must be different, that this time change will come and will continue. As Aung San Suu Kyi wrote: “Fear is not the natural state of civilized man.” I believe that. And today, you are showing the world that fear does not have to be the natural state of life in this country.

That’s why I am here. That’s why I came to Rangoon. And that’s why what happens here is so important — not only to this region, but to the world. Because you’re taking a journey that has the potential to inspire so many people. This is a test of whether a country can transition to a better place.

The United States of America is a Pacific nation, and we see our future as bound to those nations and peoples to our West. And as our economy recovers, this is where we believe we will find enormous growth. As we have ended the wars that have dominated our foreign policy for a decade, this region will be a focus for our efforts to build a prosperous peace.

Here in Southeast Asia, we see the potential for integration among nations and people. And as President, I have embraced ASEAN for reasons that go beyond the fact that I spent some of my childhood in this region, in Indonesia. Because with ASEAN, we see nations that are on the move — nations that are growing, and democracies that are emerging; governments that are cooperating; progress that’s building on the diversity that spans oceans and islands and jungles and cities, peoples of every race and every religion. This is what the 21st century should look like if we have the courage to put aside our differences and move forward with a sense of mutual interest and mutual respect.

And here in Rangoon, I want to send a message across Asia: We don’t need to be defined by the prisons of the past. We need to look forward to the future. To the leadership of North Korea, I have offered a choice: let go of your nuclear weapons and choose the path of peace and progress. If you do, you will find an extended hand from the United States of America.

In 2012, we don’t need to cling to the divisions of East, West and North and South. We welcome the peaceful rise of China, your neighbor to the North; and India, your neighbor to the West. The United Nations — the United States will work with any nation, large or small, that will contribute to a world that is more peaceful and more prosperous, and more just and more free. And the United States will be a friend to any nation that respects the rights of its citizens and the responsibilities of international law.

That’s the nation, that’s the world that you can start to build here in this historic city. This nation that’s been so isolated can show the world the power of a new beginning, and demonstrate once again that the journey to democracy goes hand in hand with development. I say this knowing that there are still countless people in this country who do not enjoy the opportunities that many of you seated here do. There are tens of millions who have no electricity. There are prisoners of conscience who still await release. There are refugees and displaced peoples in camps where hope is still something that lies on the distant horizon.

Today, I say to you — and I say to everybody that can hear my voice — that the United States of America is with you, including those who have been forgotten, those who are dispossessed, those who are ostracized, those who are poor. We carry your story in our heads and your hopes in our hearts, because in this 21st century with the spread of technology and the breaking down of barriers, the frontlines of freedom are within nations and individuals, not simply between them.

As one former prisoner put it in speaking to his fellow citizens, “Politics is your job. It’s not only for [the] politicians.” And we have an expression in the United States that the most important office in a democracy is the office of citizen — not President, not Speaker, but citizen. (Applause.)

So as extraordinary and difficult and challenging and sometimes frustrating as this journey may seem, in the end, you, the citizens of this country, are the ones who must define what freedom means. You’re the ones who are going to have to seize freedom, because a true revolution of the spirit begins in each of our hearts. It requires the kind of courage that so many of your leaders have already displayed.

The road ahead will be marked by huge challenges, and there will be those who resist the forces of change. But I stand here with confidence that something is happening in this country that cannot be reversed, and the will of the people can lift up this nation and set a great example for the world. And you will have in the United States of America a partner on that long journey. So, cezu tin bad de. (Applause.)

Thank you. (Applause.)

Yangon: US President Barack Obama arrived in Myanmar on Monday for a historic visit aimed at encouraging a string of dramatic political reforms in the former pariah state.

Obama is the first serving US president to set foot in the country also known as Burma, in the starkest illustration yet of its emergence from a long period of isolation and repression.

Air Force One touched down in Yangon, where Obama hopes to embolden President Thein Sein to deepen the country's startling march out of decades of iron-fisted military rule.

Obama will use a major speech at Yangon University to hail "the flickers of progress" in Myanmar, the White House said.

"Today, I have come to keep my promise, and extend the hand of friendship," Obama will say, according to excerpts of his address. "But this remarkable journey has just begun, and has much further to go."

The setting for the speech will be rich in symbolism as the university was the scene of past episodes of pro-democratic student unrest, including mass demonstrations in 1988 that ended in a bloody military crackdown.

"Instead of being repressed, the right of people to assemble together must now be fully respected," Obama was to say. "Instead of being stifled, the veil of media censorship must continue to be lifted."

In a nod to a recent wave of deadly sectarian violence in western Rakhine state, Obama will urge Myanmar to "draw on diversity as a strength, not a weakness".

In a scene that would have been unthinkable until recently, Obama will on Monday stand side-by-side with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi at the lakeside villa where his fellow Nobel laureate languished for years under house arrest.

The White House hopes Obama's visit to Myanmar will boost Thein Sein's reform drive, which saw Suu Kyi enter parliament after her rivals in the junta made way for a nominally civilian government -- albeit in a system still stacked heavily in favour of the military.

US officials said Obama would announce a $170 million development aid pledge to Myanmar to coincide with the formal opening of a US Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Myanmar, which was suspended for years over the junta's repression of the democracy movement.

The money, spread over a two-year period, will target projects in civil society designed to build democratic institutions and improve education.

Some human rights groups said Obama should have waited longer to visit, arguing that he could have dangled the prospect of a trip as leverage to seek more progress such as the release of scores of remaining political prisoners.

Myanmar unveiled new pledges on human rights on the eve of the visit, saying it would review prisoner cases in line with "international standards" and open its jails to the Red Cross, as part of efforts to burnish its reform credentials.

The United States on Friday scrapped a nearly decade-old ban on most imports from the country, after earlier lifting other sanctions.

But it continues to call for the release of scores of political prisoners still in Myanmar's jails, as well as an end to sectarian bloodshed between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state.

Obama fever has swept Myanmar's biggest city Yangon, with his image emblazoned on T-shirts, mugs and even graffiti-covered walls.

"I would like to tell President Obama to push the Myanmar government to walk the path to democracy bravely and to aim for full human rights which our country needs," said 28-year-old shopkeeper Thant Zaw Oo.

Obama's trip to Asia, coming less than a fortnight after his re-election, is the latest manifestation of his determination to anchor the United States in a dynamic, fast-emerging region he sees as vital to its future.

The Hawaii-born US president is making his fifth official visit to the region, where he spent four years as a boy in Indonesia, and is diving back into foreign policy after a year spent on the campaign trail.

Later on Monday Obama will fly to Cambodia, where he is likely to face a tense encounter over human rights with Prime Minister Hun Sen, ahead of the East Asia Summit, the main institutional focus of his pivot of US foreign policy to the region.

The Bangladesh government on Sunday rejected comments by Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi suggesting that stateless Muslim Rohingyas may be illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

-Bangkok Post-

November 18, 2012

Five women Nobel Peace Laureates of the Nobel Women’s Initiative released an open letter today to President Barack Obama of the US and President U Thein Sein of Burma in advance of their meeting next week. The letter urges the leaders to make a firm commitment to ending the escalating and systematic violence in Rakhine State of Burma.

Find the full text of the letter and more information below.

November 18, 2012

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington DC 20500 USA

President U Thein Sein

Office of the President

Naypyidaw

Myanmar

In Support of Peace, Reconciliation and Development in Myanmar

Dear President Obama,

Dear President Thein Sein,

As you meet together in Myanmar next week, we are writing to urge your firm commitment to bring an end to the escalating and systematic violence in Rakhine State. We are deeply saddened by reports of the recent deaths of 170 people, and the displacement up to 110,000 people from their homes. We also encourage an end to the restrictions on humanitarian assistance, preventing survivors of the violence—including women and children—from getting much-needed medical help, food and shelter.

As peace leaders, we are following the conflicts in Kachin and Rakhine States with great concern. Our fellow Laureate and member of Myanmar’s parliament Aung San Suu Kyi has recently called the ongoing violence “a huge international tragedy.” This letter is an urgent call to prioritize in your discussions an end to the violence in both states and the protection of and the delivery of aid to vulnerable populations.

We cannot support the rationale of using violence to end violence. We hold the belief that violence that will not alleviate the suffering of Myanmar’s people. The passive acceptance of the marginalization and discrimination of a minority group, thinking it will lead to peace, is flawed logic. It must not be catered to by national or international lack of political will. Furthermore, these violent conflicts, if not resolved, will continue to delay much needed reforms in economic development and may spread unrest and violence to other areas and destabilize the region.

Your priorities should include the creation of a fully inclusive reconciliation process in Rakhine State and the resumption of meaningful peace talks with the leaders of Kachin State. Women are an important part of such efforts and should be fully represented and meaningfully engaged in both processes. Additionally, lasting peace will require national and international commitments to ending the statelessness of the Rohingya people, with development efforts that improve livelihoods and education for all the people of Myanmar.

We appreciate the recent positive steps for democratic reform in Myanmar. However, to truly succeed, essential work is needed to ensure the genuine inclusion of all political, ethnic, and religious groups in the country’s future development. The inability to govern a diverse people without oppression or violence will threaten development, peace and stability within Myanmar. It is our conviction, that the people of Myanmar have an opportunity to demonstrate the best qualities of a multi-ethnic nation with acceptance and protection of all religions and ethnicities. This is indeed possible and in alignment with your national interests.

Therefore we call for:

• Full access for humanitarian aid into affected areas.

• The creation of a reconciliation process led by local community and religious elders.

• And ultimately, your personal commitment to bring an end to the escalating and systematic violence in Rakhine State.

The government of Myanmar has the daunting task of preventing unresolved grievances from exploding into country-wide and regional violent conflict. We stand with you and the people of Myanmar to work towards advancing human freedom and supporting democratic and economic development so that all within the country and the region can thrive.

Respectfully,

Jody Williams, 1997

Leymah Gbowee, 2011 

Mairead Maguire, 1976

Rigoberta Menchu Tum, 1992 

Shirin Ebadi, 2003

The Nobel Women’s Initiative is an organization comprised of six women Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Leymah Gbowee & Tawakkol Karman. Nobel Women’s Initiative was created with the vision of helping strengthen work being done in support of women’s rights around the world. The Nobel Women’s Initiative uses the prestige of the Nobel Peace Prize and of courageous women peace laureates to magnify the power and visibility of women working in countries around the world for peace, justice and equality.

For more information:

Rachel Vincent

Manager, Media & Communications

Mobile: 1.613.276.9030

rvincent@nobelwomensintiative.org

Download the letter here

In our nation, a very fearful and frighteningly bad racial riot has been instigated! The priceless blood of the innocent people dropped! Indeed, it happened badly! I am worried and my heartbeats are getting faster thinking whether the situation will get worse and more blood of the people will drain!

Why did all these happen? Who are stimulating the people to do so? And why are they doing so? What are their motives, plans and purposes?

So, who could the main culprits be? When looked carefully into the matter in detail, it is none other than the king himself!

The current ruling Thein Sein’s USDP government or in another word, the military dictators controlled by U Than Shwe are masterminding and triggering to cause the riots. I would like to say they are triggering people to make nothing into bad and bad into worse.

I may be asked why I am saying so and what proofs I have to say so!

The Evidences and Set-Ups

The Director at the President’s Office

Many people may know the director of the president’s office called Bomu Zaw Htay! Being the spokesperson and director of the president’s office, he has been giving interviews to the media and the people. Recently, he even wrote an article in Weekly Eleven about the future planning and agreement of Nay Pyi Daw with a pen-name called Muu Zaw. The D.S.A graduated man called Bomu Zaw Thay has created a facebook account with the name Muu Zaw. Here is the address: https://www.facebook.com/hmuu.zaw

One will see that he has put the copied pictures of the website of president’s office and a picture of the president in his profile picture! That director of the president’s office called Muu Zaw is triggering racism to cause racial riots and making it bigger! He, without any hindrance in his mind, is openly spreading rumours and fake news. Here is an example:

He stated (Yet it is my personal opinion)

It is heard that armed Rohingya Terrorists from the so-called Rohingya Solidarity Organization are crossing the border and getting into the country. That is Rohingyas from other countries are entering the country. Since our Military has got the news in advance, we will eradicate them to the end. I believe we have been already doing it.

Therefore, we don’t want to be told about any humanitarian issues or hear any human rights from others. Besides, we neither want to hear any talk of justice nor want anyone to teach us like a saint- with full of loving-kindness. We don’t want them to shout at us like a saint.

(One can go and see in Maung Daw and Buthidaung of Rakhine state. Besides our people have to eat the food from the dirt, they are having insecure lives on their own land. So, I feel my heart broken. It is our country and hence it is our land.)

(I refer to all.) I refer to all the political parties, MPs, civil societies and all those who achieve satisfaction only when they can oppose, criticize the President and government.

Like the usual liars and hypocrites, he has mentioned and set it up as if it was his personal opinion to spread such open lies and fraudulent news. In fact, he is very trickery and deceptive. What are the motives and intentions behind spreading such fraudulent news by putting President’s photo on facebook by the director of the President’s office? It is very clear and simple! He is systematically setting up and triggering the public to create massacres and the drains of blood. That post of Muu Zaw on 8th June on Facebook was shared by 351 people and liked by 610 people (excluding the people who shared the post) until the evening of the day. There were 164 comments. In short, around 1000 people read the post and some of them shared it. The public have all the reasons to trust the news since it was published by the director of president’s office himself!

To be continued.

Zaw Win 

A former 88 Generation Student 

9th June 2012

Translated into English by M.S. Anwar

U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom