RB News 

December 31, 2012

(Edited by M.S. Anwar)

Buthidaung, Arakan - U Aung Min Soe is a Rakhine (Magh) extremist and the head of the Maung Daw district administration that includes Maung Daw Tsp and Buthidaung Tsp. At 1PM yesterday (i.e. December 30, 2012), Maung Daw district administration gathered around 300 Rohingya Elders (from Buthidaung Tsp) at U Uttama Hall in Buthidaung Tsp. The administration authorities delivered speeches concerning a) uncertain data collection under the heading of illegal Bengali immigrants and invaders in computerized fingerprint system b) and Elections for the Administrations of the villages and quarters in the township. 

Of all the speeches delivered, the speech of the above-mentioned U Aung Min Soe was the bitterest, most chauvinistic, inauspicious, and fascist-and-neo-Nazi styled. Following are the some excerpts from his speeches.

1. You, people, are the descendants of foreigners. So, you all are foreigners as well. You must live here the way foreigners do. 
2. You don’t have any rights to possess properties or belongings worth more than Kyat 5,000,000 (Approximately US$ 6,000). 
3. You don’t have any rights to own a house, building, any kind of land, business and so on. 
4. You are not qualified to elect an administrator of a quarter or a village or to be elected as so. (In fact, most of the present administrators of the villages or quarters in Rohingya majority areas are and the former school teachers were Rohingyas themselves).
5. You will never have any rights equal to Rakhine Buddhists. 

Due to his racist and fascist speeches and ferocious movements in Buthidaung and Maung Daw nowadays, Rohingyas are living in fear of being the victims of targeted violence again led by Arakan State Administration (formed solely with Rakhine extremists) and Security Forces (Composed of mainly Rakhines). U Aung Min Soe is an extremist, anti-Rohingya and anti-Muslim. Likewise, Arakan State Administration and its Security Forces are also anti-Rohingya and anti-Muslim. 

U Aung Ming Soe has been in the forefront in systematically creating and plotting violence against Rohingyas triggered in June 2012. His book, Paccima Zone Magazine, Vol.1, published in February 2012, clearly proves that the violence against Rohingyas and Kamans in Arakan is plotted and conspired by Rakhine Extremists in the Administration, the radical Rakhine Buddhist Monks and other Rakhine (Magh) terrorists with the supports of Political-Gain-Centered Central Government of Myanmar.

“The Burmese military has clearly embarked on a policy of ridding the country of ethnic Rohingyas by any possible means. Official claims that the refugees are "illegal immigrants" – Asia Watch 

An enclave is part of a country geographically separated from the main part by the surrounding foreign territory. A great deal of works has been done by the military’s civilian collaborators on the province of Arakan (Rakhine province) claiming that there is the existence of an enclave in Burma. Most prominent of the authors is Aye Chan. Aye Chan, a native of Burma’s Arakan (Rakhine) province, says there is an enclave in Arakan. 

(1) His work even outlines the common issues of dispute surrounding the Rohingyas with the Rakhines. This doesn’t seem to be an ordinary enclave. This enclave is Aye Chan’s portrayal of Burma's Rohingya people in the Mayu frontier of the Arakan state. Aye Chan identifies the Rohingyas as the non-natives of Burma who, he claims, illegally settled in this region of Burma’s North-Western province. This paper is a detailed review of the claims. It is important to understand the issues raised by Aye Chan, for; Aye Chan’s article creates trepidation and suggests to the xenophobic Burmese the issues to consider dealing with the Rohingyas, along with a means to address them. Aye Chan’s article is popular among xenophobic Burmese people as an intellectual work of excellence. It was also published in several other Burmese journals and is popular among anti-Rohingya ultranationalists. A review of the work shows, it is a typical reflection of the contemporary state of Burmese scholarship on ethnic minorities. In addition to its Rakhine version of the Rohingya history, genocide readers will find it bearing the warning signs of the Rohingya people’s on-going torment in Arakan. Aye Chan’s present work is important to consider for its unique version of inter-racial relations of some significance that defy academic understanding of Rohingya history and culture. As we will see below he has given a scholastic face to his xenophobic work. As part of a growing contemporary Arakanse popular literature, his goal here seems less erudite and more to demonize the Rohingyas to create fear among the Burmese people.

Read more by downloading the PDF file on Scribd here:

Racism to Rohingya in Burma by Dr. Abid Bahar

A total of 452 Rohingyas who entered the waters of Langkawi illegally were detained about 1.30 pm today at the Teluk Burau beach here.

Langkawi police chief Supt Harrith Kam Abdullah said their 30-metre wooden boat neared the beach and a few refugees were seen jumping ashore and asking for water.

It is understood that the group, including women and children, set sail from Myanmar 12 days ago and were charged USD300 per person by an unknown agent, he said.

They have since been placed at the Langkawi police head quarters and will be transferred to the Immigration detention centre for further investigations, he added.

Kolkata — The 128 Rohingyas, whose boat drifted into India's Andaman islands earlier this month, say they don't want to go back to Myanmar. 

Authorities in the Andaman archipelago say the Rohingyas were trying to reach Malaysia from Myanmar's Rakhine state, but their boat drifted towards the Andamans. 

The boat came ashore at Narcoddum islands on Dec 9. Indian coast guards who intercepted the boat were told by the Rohingyas that they were trying to reach Malaysia. 

"They said their condition in Myanmar is desperate and so they want to reach Malaysia. But now they are stuck here in the Andamans," said an Indian official. 

The Indians are in a fix. The Rohingyas are determined not to return to Myanmar because they anticipate trouble if they are handed back. Malaysia, or any other country, will not take them for obvious reasons. India can only keep them for some time. 

Hundreds of Muslim Rohingyas are trying to flee from Myanmar's Rakhine state ever since the riots between them and Buddhist Rakhines erupted in summer and then again in autumn. Close to 80,000 of them have been rendered homeless and herded into makeshift camps by Myanmar authorities. Many have died at sea when their boats capsized.

Fars News Agency

December 30, 2012

TEHRAN - Iran's first shipment of humanitarian aid was delivered to Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims in the state of Rakhine after weeks of delay due to the Southeast Asian country's critical conditions, specially in border areas.

The Iranian consignment containing foodstuff was dispatched to Myanmar's refugee camps in Rakhine through neighboring Bangladesh. 

The UN says decades of discrimination have left the Rohingyas stateless, with Myanmar implementing restrictions on their movement and withholding land rights, education and public services. 

Since June, hundreds of members of the nearly-one-million-strong Rohingya Muslim minority have been killed and tens of thousands of others among them have been displaced in the west of the country due to a wave of communal violence. 

On Friday, a senior Iranian legislator expressed serious concern over Buddhists' attacks against Rohingya Muslims, and called on the UN to adopt practical measures to end violence and violation of human rights against Myanmarese Muslims. 

Mehrdad Bao'uj Lahouti dismissed non-binding resolutions approved by the UN as ineffective in resolving the problems of Rohingyas, and said that the UN must deal with human rights violations across the globe without double-standard behaviors. 

More than 22,000 people from mainly Muslim communities have been forced to flee their homes in Western Myanmar after a fresh wave of violence and arson that left dozens dead, the UN said in a report on October 29. 

The whole neighborhoods were razed in Buddhists' attack on Muslims in Rakhine state a week earlier. 

Some 75,000 people are already crammed into overcrowded camps following clashes in June. 

The United Nations chief in Yangon, Ashok Nigam, said government estimates provided in late October said that 22,587 people had been displaced and 4,665 houses set ablaze in the latest bloodshed. 

"These are people whose houses have been burnt, they are still in the same locality," he said, indicating that thousands more who had fled in boats towards the state capital Sittwe may not be included in that estimate. 

"It is mainly the Muslims who have been displaced," he said, adding that 21,700 of those made homeless were Muslims. 

The latest attack against Muslims has killed more than 80 people, according to a government official, bringing the total death toll since June to above 170. 

Human Rights Watch earlier this month released satellite images showing "extensive destruction of homes and other property in a predominantly Rohingya Muslim area" of Kyaukpyu. 

Myanmar's 800,000 Rohingyas are seen as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh by the government and many Burmese - who call them "Bengalis". 

The United Nations considers Rohingyas as one of the most persecuted minorities on the planet.

First of all, I would like to thank the organizing Committee members of this 11th Annual Convention of MAS-ICNA for giving me an ample opportunity to present the plights of Burmese Rohingya ethnic minority of Arakan-Burma with current update information. 

Before briefing the situation of Burmese Rohingya people, I want to introduce all of you about myself and our organization called “The Burmese Rohingya American Friendship Association. My name is Shaukhat (aka) MSK Jilani and currently, I am carrying the duty as a Chairman in the Burmese Rohingya American Friendship Association. 

The Burmese Rohingya American Friendship Association (BRAFA) is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin State and it was formed by the Burmese Rohingya residents and citizens of America living in Milwaukee area to advocate the suffering cause of ethnic Rohingya minority people of Arakan-Burma who are the worst victims of a pre-planned controlled genocide and ethnic cleansing at the hands of Burmese government security forces and law enforcing agencies with the active collaboration of extremist, racist and xenophobic Rakhine Buddhist people led by Buddhist Rakhine National political forces such as Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), some NLD members, Rakhine academicians and intellectuals, Buddhist monks, Rakhine Youth Association and other members of Arakan Liberation Party (ALP). 

The Burmese Rohingya American Friendship Association is a non-profit community based organization working together with all American communities and societies, NGOs, human rights organizations including the US Government administration for the prevention and protection of Arakan Muslim population from the Burmese Government’s controlled genocide and ethnic cleansing in Burma. 

Now, I want to continue to tell you about the Rohingya Muslims of Arakan and its national status in Burma. Burma is a home country to numerous ethnic groups and about 60% of the area is inhabited by nearly 140 ethnic races and Rohingya is one of them. Currently, Burma has a population of about 60 million of which nearly 8 million are Muslims. Of the Muslim population about 3.5 million (both at home and in exile) are Rohingyas of Arakan. The Rohingyas are a majority community in Arakan. 

Rohingyas are Muslims who have been living in Arakan from time immemorial. They trace their ancestry to Arabs, Moors, Pathans, Moghuls, Bengalis and some other Indo-Mongoloid people. Muslim Rohingyas are living in Arakan generation after generation for centuries after centuries and their arrival in Arakan has predated the arrival of many other peoples and races now residing in Arakan and other parts of Burma. Early Muslim settlement in Arakan dates back to 7th century A.D. while Muslims merchants and missionary teams used to travel to China and Indochina peninsula. 

Muslim Rohingyas are much more than a national minority with a population of 3.5 million (both home and abroad) having strong and supporting history, separate culture, civilization, language and literature, historically, settled territory and reasonable size of population and area. Rohingya people consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the society. They are determined not only to preserve and develop their ancestral history and their ethnic identity, but also to transmit to future generations as the basis of their continued existence as an ethnic people, in accordance with their own cultural pattern, social institution and legal system. By history, by tradition, by culture and civilization, the Muslim Rohingyas are as much citizens of Burma as anyone else in the country. They are equal in every way with other national communities in Burma. 

During the colonial period from 1824 to 1947, the British recognized the separate identity of the Rohingya people and declared Northern Arakan as the Muslim region. Again, the previous democratic government from 1948 to 1962, the Prime Minister U Nu, Prime Minister U Ba Swe, other ministers and high-ranking civil and military officials stated that Rohingya people are like the Shan, Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Mon, and Rakhine. They have the same rights and privileges as the other nationals of Burma regardless of their religious belief or ethnic background. 

The Rohingya people have a long historical and national status in Arakan-Burma. According to 1947 Constitution, 1947 Burmese Residence and Registration Act, 1948 Burmese citizenship law, and 1974 Burmese Constitution, Rohingyas are the citizens of Burma and no anyone can deny these historical and constitutional facts. Being an integral part of the Burma citizenry, Rohingya people had exercised the right of franchise in all general public elections held in Burma during the later colonial period from 1935 to 1948, parliamentary democratic period from 1948 to 1962, Ne Win’s Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) period from 1974 to 1988, 1990 multi-party general election held by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and finally, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)’s 2010 elections, including its constitutional referendum held in 2008. In their exercise of franchise, The Rohingya people elected their representatives to the Legislative Assembly, to the Constituent Assembly, to the Parliament, to the People’s Assembly and People’s Councils of different levels. 

Rohingyas representatives were appointed as Cabinet ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and in high government positions. As an indigenous race and community group of Burma, Rohingya had their own political, cultural, and social organizations as well as they had a program in their own language in the official Burma Broadcasting Services (BBS) and also Rohingyas’ participation in the official “ Union Day” celebration in Burma’s capital, Rangoon, every year. 

In Burma, the ethnic Rohingya minority people have been systematically deprived of their political and social status after the military take over the power in March 1962 from the civilian democratic government. With the promulgation of the most controversial and discriminatory citizenship law of 1982 which is against the international customary law and standards, the Rohingya people who had inhabited in Arakan as early as 788, were now legally considered as non-nationals or illegal immigrants in their own country-Burma. In spite of their indigenous status recognized by the previous parliamentary governments, the Rohingyas were not listed among the so-called 135 ethnic nationalities of the country recorded by the Burmese Successive military regimes with an ulterior motive to make them “stateless people” within the country. 

Due to widespread persecution through ethnic cleansing, prejudice and genocidal action against the innocent Rohingya people since the Burma independence in 1948, the majority of Rohingya population almost 2 million has been compelled to live in exile, particularly, in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Recently, few thousands Rohingya people were resettled in US, EU countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan under the refugee resettlement program. Now, there are 1.5 million Rohingyas are left in Burma. 

In continuation, I would like to high light some following important points of the suffering ethnic Rohingya minority under the name-sake democratic Burmese Buddhist Government Administration led by President Thein Sein. 

(1) Violence against Islam and Muslims of Arakan, Burma 

From June to October 2012 of brutal violence, the Burmese security forces have barred the Muslim Rohingyas from worshipping in mosques across Rakhine (Arakan) State. The authorities have shut down almost all mosques in northern Arakan while prohibiting the daily 5 time congregational prayers. Even during the last holy month of Ramadan the clampdown intensified and on the Annual Eid Festival Days- 2012 the Muslims have to remain inside their homes without congregating for Eid- prayer. 

Uncountable copies of holy Quran, Hadith books and other religious books have been burnt down or destroyed while many mosques and religious schools with libraries were devastated. The destruction still continues. The Central mosque known as Jamei Masjid of Akyab was burned as well as many other masjids and Madrasas were burned down in Akyab, Maungdaw, Ratheydaung, Buthidaung, Pauktaw, Minbra, Mrohaung, Kyauktaw, Mreybone, Kyaukpru townships in Arakan State. 

(2) Pre-planned Massacre and violence 

This violence is directed against the Muslim Rohingyas in Arakan. The government did nothing to prevent it. The army, police and security forces have become killer forces. The popular slogan of the Buddhist Rakhines under the leadership of RNDP (Rakhine Nationalities Development Party) is “Arakan is for Rakhine Buddhist people. Muslim Rohingya has no rights to live in Arakan and needed to be kicked out of the country. 

In fact, it is a government sponsored pre-planned massacre, and it is a state terrorism against unarmed and peaceful living ethnic Rohingyas. Silent extermination with sporadic killing, arrest, rape, destruction and extortion continue unabated today. Unfortunately, the news media has been quoting the highly controversial government’s statement giving the number of deaths as few hundreds whereas at least 2500 Rohingyas were killed and thousands of people disappeared that were presumably killed. Unknown numbers of Muslim girls and women have been raped by the Burmese security forces and Rakhine Buddhist youth and more than 135,000 Rohingyas and Arakan Muslims become refugees and internally displaced persons in Arakan due to violence and ethnic cleansing conducted by the Buddhist Rakhine political forces backed by the Burmese government authorities. 

Ethnic cleansing on Arakan Rohingya Muslim population have been continued effectively while world medias and world leaders keep continuing their role but still there is no positive sign have reached for a concrete solution. 

(3) President Thein Sein’s Attitude towards Rohingyas 

President Thein Sein said there is no place for Rohingyas in Burma who are foreigners and he himself has disowned the Rohingya People asking the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to take care of them in refugee camps until resettlement in third countries. It affirms that the Rohingyas have no domestic or national protection. 

During President Thein Sein's UN General Assembly Speech in September29, 2012, he pledged to take care of the Rohingya problem when he returns home, however, he did nothing and a second more violent attack in October 2012 was engineered against all Muslim population in the southern part of Arakan state, no action was taken yet against the criminal masterminds of the violence by the Burmese Government. 

(4) Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Attitude towards the Rohingya people 

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace prize winner and who is regarded by the world peace-loving people as an example of democracy icon in Burma and moral code of conduct worldwide has remained uncharacteristically silent on the persecution of Rohingyas making the situation more appalling while leaving them friendless within Burma and overseas. 

(5) The Face Saving Inquiry Commission to show the world 

The Inquiry Commission formed by the President Thein Sein government to show the world for Face saving is not credible as it consists of controversial figures like Dr. Aye Maung, Chairman of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), U Aye Tha Aung, Chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy, U Khin Maung Swe, Chairman of the National Democratic Force (NDF) and 88 Generation Student leader Ko Ko Gyi who were either involved in the violence or have been proved to have preconceived idea or deep ill will against the Rohingya people. 

(6) Crimes against Humanity 

What is happening in Burma against Muslim population of Arakan is in fact crimes against humanity as human rights are universal and human concern is international concern. The systematic grave violations of human rights of Rohingya by both state agency and Arakan ruling Rakhine party is an ethnic cleansing, and they cannot be pleaded as domestic affairs of Arakan and Burma. The world has become a small global village and all peace-loving people of the world, UN and world veto power countries have moral responsibility to protect and prevent controlled genocide against the Rohingyas by all available means. The human rights of the Rohingya people were violated and Rohingyas were made the victims of Government sponsored controlled genocide. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on December 10, 1948 prohibited all forms of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, torture remains unacceptably common. Recent times have witnessed an especially, disturbing trend of countries claiming exceptions to the prohibition on torture based on their own national security perceptions. 

Unfortunately, today, the Burmese quasi –civilian Government led by President Thein Sein mis-using the word democracy, peace, and development for the people of Burma is in total violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 

So, from this MAS-ICNA Annual Convention, we call upon the United States Government Administration, the Veto power countries and the international communities and societies to take action jointly putting strong pressure to the Government of Burma through United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to save the people of Burma particularly, the Rohingyas and other helpless and voiceless ethnic minorities who cannot resist except suffering leading to extinction.

There is a very systematic, organized, concerted and criminal design by the Burmese Buddhist authorities, which can appropriately be termed as ethnic cleansing, genocide and socio-cultural degradation of the Rohingya people in Arakan state of Burma (Myanmar). If the process of marginalization and gross violations of human rights against the Rohingya people are allowed to continue there won’t be a single Rohingya left in Arakan within the next fifty years. They will be an extinct community, much like the fate of the native population of Tasmania. 

Since 1999, the USA has designated Burma as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom. However, after the democratic reforms in Burma by President Thein Sein, US Government has lifted all sanctions. Though changes are taking place in Burma since the year 2011, the plights of Rohingya people remains unchanged, and they have been facing continuous discrimination on religious, as well as racial grounds. It is high time that the world body take appropriate measures so that the basic human rights of the Rohingya people are protected and guaranteed under the UN supervision. 

In conclusion, on behalf of Burmese Rohingya American Friendship Association (BRAFA) and all Rohingya people scattered all over the world and those who are living in Arakan and Burma in subhuman condition, I would like to fervently appeal all brothers and sisters who are here to provide moral support to the cause of suffering Muslim Rohingyas of Burma and to advocate their rightful citizenship status in Burma by all available peaceful means as they are a part and parcel of Muslim Ummah. We have brotherly responsibilities to work for the suffering Rohingya Muslim brothers and we do hope that you all will do the best level within your capacity for those suffering humanity. 

Thanking you very much. 

Sincerely, 

Shaukhat (aka) MSK Jilani 

On Behalf of the Burmese Rohingya American Friendship Association (BRAFA) 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

SIN THET MAW - Stranded beside their decrepit flotilla of wooden boats, on a muddy beach far from home, the Muslim refugees tell story after terrifying story of their exodus from a once-peaceful town on Myanmar's western coast. 

They were attacked one quiet evening, they say, by Buddhist mobs determined to expel them from the island port of Kyaukphyu. 

There were chaotic clashes and gruesome killings, and a wave of arson strikes so intense that flames eventually engulfed their entire neighborhood. 

In the end, all they could do was run. 

So they piled into 70 or 80 fishing boats some 4,000 souls in all and fled into the sea. In those final moments, many caught one last dizzying glimpse of the town they grew up in of a sky darkened by smoke billowing from a horizon of burning homes, of beaches filled with seething Buddhist throngs who had spent the day pelting their departing boats with slingshot-fired iron darts. 

The Oct. 24 exodus was part of a wave of violence that has shaken western Myanmar twice in the last six months. But what began with a series of skirmishes that pitted ethnic Rakhine Buddhists against Rohingya, a Muslim minority, appears to have evolved into something far more disturbing: a region-wide effort by Buddhists to drive Muslims out with such ferocious shows of hatred that they could never return. 

Although many Rohingya have lived here for generations, they are widely seen as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and most are denied citizenship. Similar mass expulsions have happened twice before under the country's former army rulers. But the fact that they are occurring again now, during Myanmar's much-praised transition to democratic rule, is particularly troubling. 

Both reformist President Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, have condemned the violence. Yet neither has defended the Rohingya, even though Muslims account for roughly two-thirds of the 200 dead, 95 percent of the 115,000 displaced and 90 percent of the homes destroyed so far, according to government statistics. 

Kyaukphyu was significant because those expelled from there included another Muslim minority, the Kaman, whose right to citizenship is recognized. That they too were targeted raises fears the conflict is spreading to Myanmar's wider 4 percent Muslim minority. 

For Myanmar, also called Burma, the town symbolizes the country's hopes of scoring a piece of the Asian economic surge. China is building a deep-water port and an oil pipeline terminal there. 

"We never thought this could happen to us," said Kyaw Thein, a 48-year-old Kaman who fled Kyaukphyu and is now a refugee in the island village of Sin Thet Maw. 

"We don't feel safe anymore, even here," he said. "Who says we won't be attacked again?" 

___ 

The unrest in Rakhine state was triggered by the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman in late May, allegedly by three Rohingya men. But the crisis stems from something that goes back much further: a dispute over when Muslims first settled here, and who among them qualifies for citizenship. 

Buddhists say the Muslims are foreigners who came to seize land and spread the Islamic faith. Muslims say they settled here long ago, legally, and suffer widespread discrimination. The issue has been exacerbated by exploding population growth and what rights groups say is open racism against the darker-skinned Rohingya, who have South Asian roots. 

The Kaman, numbering perhaps only in the tens of thousands, are said to be descended from archers who once guarded a Mughal king. The Rohingya number at least 800,000 by U.N. estimates, and they have long been unwanted here. 

In 1977, Myanmar's military rulers, together with residents and local authorities, drove 200,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, where 12,000 starved to death and most of the rest were forced back to Myanmar by the Bangladeshi government. A similar horror played out in 1991, when Myanmar's army drove out 250,000 Rohingya. 

After the June violence, prominent Buddhist monks issued written warnings against doing business with the Rohingya, or even speaking to them. Rohingya were kept away from schools, markets, even hospitals. Security forces restricted their movement, particularly around their refugee camps. International groups were threatened for providing aid. 

Then, in October, there were demonstrations against plans by the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference to establish a liaison office in the state capital, Sittwe. One such march, in Kyaukphyu, brought out thousands. 

The rally spooked the Muslims who are roughly 6,000 of the town's 25,000 people. Rumors spread of an imminent new wave of arson attacks. Captains anchored their boats close to shore. One Muslim woman, Yeak Thai Ma, said some local officials began telling Muslims, "this place is no longer for you." 

___ 

On Oct. 21, western Myanmar was hit with its second major spasm of violence. Within days, it had spread to nine of Rakhine state's 17 townships. 

Unlike the June unrest, which had displaced 24,000 Rakhine and 28,000 Rohingya in the first week the vast majority of the 35,000 refugees this time were Muslim, and 97 percent of property losses were Rohingya, compared with 78 percent in June, according to government statistics. 

Human Rights Watch says anti-Muslim assaults were organized by Rakhine groups, at times with support from security forces and local government officials. The government denies the charges. 

There were indications the violence was coordinated; on a single day, three major Muslim neighborhoods came under attack. 

One of them, the village of Yin Thei in Mrauk-U township, was overrun Oct. 23 by thousands of Rakhine armed with swords and spears. They slaughtered dozens of people who were buried in mass graves, according to Human Rights Watch. Satellite images of the village show almost nothing left but ashes. 

The same day, farther south, several hundred Rakhine descended on Pauktaw by boat and forced the entire Rohingya population to flee, the rights group said. An AP team that traveled there confirmed two seaside Muslim neighborhoods were charred along with a mosque that was apparently finished off with sledgehammers. 

That night, it was Kyaukphyu's turn. 

___ 

Hla Win, a 23-year-old mother of two, was eating a dinner of fish curry and rice with her family when she heard shouting outside. It was 7 p.m., and the attacks had begun on East Pikesake district, where most of Kyaukphyu's Muslim fishing community lives. 

Her husband, a 26-year-old fisherman named Maung Lay, joined a group of men struggling to douse flames leaping from a mosque with plastic buckets of water. Security forces posted nearby ordered them to move back, and one opened fire, killing Maung Lay, according to several witnesses. 

Rare amateur video of that night, seen by The Associated Press, shows Buddhist mobs armed with long sticks or spears and hurling jars of burning gasoline toward homes swamped in bright orange flames as men shout in the darkness: "Throw! Throw!" and "Watch out!" 

In another clip, attackers can be seen flinging firebombs over a wall into more burning houses. They crouch behind rectangular shields of corrugated iron sheeting which are being pelted with rocks, presumably by Muslims defending themselves. 

As the night wore on, the adversaries wrapped bandannas around their foreheads red for Buddhists, white for Muslims. 

It is not clear what effort, if any, was made to stop the arson attacks. The video shows armed security forces walking among large crowds of Buddhists as fires burn, doing nothing to halt them. 

In one scene, a policeman or soldier orders a Muslim mob to back away as fires burn on one side of the road, or else "we will shoot you." A young Muslim man surges forward and fires a projectile from a slingshot. Gunshots ring out and the crowd retreats. 

A police chief in Kyaukphyu, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, said more than 100 police deployed in those first few hours along with soldiers and firefighters. But they came under attack by Muslims, making it impossible to extinguish the blazes before the homes were destroyed. 

When the violence tapered off around 2 a.m., 69 homes had been wrecked, the police chief said. 

That night, hundreds of Kaman and Rohingya took refuge offshore, on Muslim-owned boats. 

Few, if any, slept. 

Shortly after dawn, it all began again. 

___ 

As the sun rose, Kyaw Thein, who made his living painting homes and offices, tried to return to his own home to gather clothes, blankets and any valuables he could carry. 

But his house was already ablaze, and he retreated back to the boat. On the beach, Rakhine mobs were gathering. 

He began to run. 

Seconds later, someone plunged a machete into his upper right back. When he turned to see who, he was shocked: it was a Buddhist fisherman he had considered a friend. 

"We all asked the same question," said Kyaw Thein, who is nursing a gaping wound. "How could the people we know do this to us?'" 

The police chief said the Rakhine crowds swelled dramatically that morning as some 20,000 poured in from neighboring villages. 

Soon, the situation was out of control. 

As the fires spread, more and more Muslims sought refuge on the boats. Some sailed away, but a low tide stranded others for hours. 

Witnesses interviewed by The Associated Press said the two sides faced off along the beach, mostly at a distance, shouting insults. One Muslim man said security forces posted on the shore fired in the air to push back a Rakhine mob, but there were too many to stop. Other mobs surged forward, and clashes ensued. 

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Hla Hla Yee, a 36-year-old Rohingya woman, said a Rakhine mob on the beach hacked up her son. She watched from a boat as they held up his remains. Other witnesses corroborated her account. 

Investigations conducted by Human Rights Watch found that local security forces killed ethnic Kaman Muslims while soldiers stood by. 

Atrocities were committed by Muslims too. Matthew Smith, of Human Rights Watch, said they had attacked and in some cases killed Rakhine civilians before fleeing. One Muslim man confessed to holding a severed head aloft from one of the boats, Smith said. 

By the time it was over, more than 4,000 Muslims had fled on ships so packed there wasn't enough room to lie down. Another 1,700 moved to a makeshift camp outside town. 

Police say 867 homes were destroyed almost all of them Muslim. 

The official casualty toll was nine Muslims dead, and two Rakhine. 

___ 

When the first refugees from Kyaukphyu arrived in Sin Thet Maw, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) away, they were met with two very different reactions. Rohingya villagers opened their homes to them; the Rakhine ignored them. 

The village, like many in Rakhine state, had already been split along sectarian lines even before violence first broke out in June. Its Buddhist inhabitants lived separated from the Rohingya by a long, wide field that cuts a neat line between the two. The communities traded used to trade, but all interaction ceased in June. 

A Rakhine named Said Thar Tun Maung, a local government administrator on the island, said 200 Buddhists, mostly women and children, fled when the refugees arrived, fearing they would be overwhelmed. He said he had not spoken to any of Muslims and did not care about the ordeal that brought them here. 

Within days, the refugee population rose even more as another flotilla that had initially landed in the state capital, Sittwe, joined them. 

Many of the displaced fled wearing only the clothes they wore. Now they sleep on a windy beach under white U.N. tarps and tents held up by bamboo sticks. They live off their savings, U.N. handouts of rice and beans, and shellfish they catch in the shallows. 

They have no schools to send their children to, and say authorities don't let them fish. They worry about maintaining the vital fleet of dilapidated fishing boats on which their future depends; they have few tools to repair them. 

The government has yet to help, or even ask how it can. 

Most of all, the refugees wonder what they'll do next. Some talk of making new lives for themselves in Sin Thet Maw. Others hope they can emigrate a dim prospect since few countries will take them. 

One thing is sure, though. 

"We can never go back to Kyaukphyu," said Kyaw Thein. "After what happened ... it will never be the same." 

___ 

Associated Press Writer Yadana Htun contributed to this report.

M.S. Anwar

RB News

December 29, 2012

Maung Daw, Arakan - Since 5AM this morning, the village of Khadir Bil (Nyaung Chaung), Maung Daw has been under the besiege and blockage of a joint department of Police, Hluntin (Security Forces), NaSaKa (Border Security Froces) and Military. The joint department is carrying out mass arbitrary arrests of innocent Rohingyas in the village. 

“At 5AM, a joint department of Police, Hluntin (Security Forces), NaSaKa (Border Security Froces) and Military besieged the village Khadir Bil (Nyaung Chaung).They have put blockades around the village since then so that no Rohingya from the village can escape. Now the joint department is raiding every house in the village and arbitrarily arresting innocent Rohingyas. Besides, they have been harassing Rohingya women in the village. Meanwhile, some innocent Rohingyas are being released after extorting money. 

U Khin Maung Shwe [sic], the Judge of the Court of Maung Daw Tsp, has been issuing arbitrary arrest warrants of Rohingyas in Maung Daw with the baseless accusations of their involvements in the violence. In the village of Baggona alone, there is an arrest warrant issued for 42 Rohingya people in addition to the previously arrested 54 innocent Rohingyas who are in the detention cells (the hells on earth) in Buthidaung. He, U Khin Maung Shwe, is a Rakhine extremist who has been, since June, in the forefront of arresting and killing of Rohingyas and exaggerating the violence against them. 

He has issued an arrest warrant for 14 people in Nyaung Chaung village. Since none of them is in the village now, they have been arresting innocent Rohingyas from the village. We fear that we might the face the similar situation sooner or later” a Rohingya Elder from Maung Daw. 

He added “most of the time, the authority and administration of Arakan, mainly composed of Rakhine extremists, carry out violence, arbitrary arrests and tortures against Rohingyas and Kamans without the permission and acknowledgement from NayPyiTaw (or Central Government). Sometimes, they don’t even follow the direction given by NayPyiTaw.” 

Besides, as it has been known, the authority in Arakan is forcing Rohingyas to register themselves as Bengali, an identity they don’t belong to. Registration process includes taking digital fingerprints and photographs that will permanently make their Rohingya identity disappear. Now, the NaSaKa in Nagpura (NgaKhuRa) village of Maung Daw started to force Rohingya villagers to sign themselves “Bengali.” 

“On 22nd December 2012, the commander Win Hlaing and Chief Staff (U-Si-Hmuu) Tun Tun Naing of NaSaKa Region (NayMayay) 5 started to force Rohingyas to sign themselves as Bengali. According to them, it is the order from higher authority Myanmar. If Rohingyas don’t follow the order, they will be arrested and prosecuted. The following Rohingyas were arrested as they hesitated to accept the term “Bengali.” 

(1) Nazir Ahmed S/o Zakir Ahmed (30 years old) 

(2) Abul Alam S/o Ataullah (27 years old) 

(3) Noor Alam S/o Mohammed Shafi (46 years old) 

(4) Hussien Ahmed S/o Noor Alam (19 years old) 

(5) Zakir S/o Nurur Zallal (31 years old) 

(6) Sayed Noor S/o Sayed (25 years old) 

(7) Amnullah S/o Mohammed Ullah (31 years old) 

The following two Rohingyas were forced to sign themselves as “Bengali.” 

(1) Shakat Ali S/o Ashu Ali 35 years old 

(2) Shah Alam S/o Mohammed Alam 36 years old” reported by the correspondent of ERC (European Rohingya Council) Media. 

The pogroms and all kinds of atrocities against Rohingyas and Kamans have been being carried out in Arakan for months. As a result, they are now on the verge of extinction. Yet, International government bodies and communities are not taking effective actions to stop the genocides and man-made humanitarian catastrophe in Arakan.

The Writings in the RNDP’s News Letter for Development Insulting Islam and Muslims 

The Translation of the Writings

In addition to having permission to celebrate their religious festivals without any objection, Mosques very often produce unlimited noise and disturbances (like Oxen Bellowing) to the environment. Unlike other so-called democratic countries where there are only limited permission for killing animals on Eid festivals, in Myanmar, animals can be bought, tortured and killed unlimitedly if one has money.

Though Myanmar people are using the term “Myanmar Muslims living in Myanmar” in their news and newspapers, it is high time for them (Myanmar people) to realize that when Rohingyas are touched and affected, both the so-called Myanmar Muslims, the most opportunistic animal-like-humans, living in Myanmar and the Muslims all over the world feel from the side of Rohingyas and their pains. 

RNDP (Rakhine National Development Party) is the strongest political party in Arakan and responsible for causing violence against Muslims in Arakan in June and October, 2012. RNDP has insulted and abused Islam and Muslims living in Myanmar in such a way mentioned-above. 

In the monthly news letter for development, (Vol.2, No.12 and Published in November), RNDP compared Muslims in Myanmar with animals. (Read the translation above.) Concerning the religious insult, Haji U Hla Win from Myanmar Muslim Affairs Organization wrote a complaint letter to the president’s office. 

It was reported that the Election Commission called up some members of RNDP to NayPyiTaw and warned them regarding the issue. Such Religious Insults and Abuses are serious international crimes and sometimes capital punishments are given to the abusers by the respective countries. Yet, Myanmar government just concluded the crime without any punishments, by mere warning. 

Besides, RNDP ruthlessly insulted OIC and Islamic Nations in their previous statements. Most of the displaced people in June and October violence are Muslim Rohingyas and Kamans. The humanitarian aids such as temporary shelters, foods etc donated by Saudi Arabia and other Islamic nations are given to the all of the displaced people regardless of race and religion. Recently BBC stated that although displaced Rohingyas in Pauktaw Tsp are living in open-fields, Rakhine Buddhists are living comfortably and healthily in the tents and with the foods donated by Saudi Arabia. 

Dr. Aye Maung, the chairman of RNDP, is the one who has been fuelling the violence started in June to become bigger and bigger through different means. However, until today, the central government of Myanmar hasn’t prosecuted or punished him for his disregard to the rule of law of the country and trying to be above the law in every action. 

“The government doesn’t punish those who throw insults or abuses towards Islam. The radical Monk, U Wira Thu, is one of those who openly insult Islam. It has been a long time that Aye Maung of RNDP has been behaving ruthlessly and lawlessly. If the government really wants to punish the culprits behind the violence in Arakan, they have to arrest and punish Aye Maung first. Since the government itself is behind all the violence, whatever it (the government) has been doing in the name of calming down the situation in Arakan are all show-offs. Will Muslims be happy with the mere warning to RNDP for their ruthless insults against Islam? It is very important for the government to handle the case properly and effectively” said a local Muslim in Yangon.

(Translated into English by M.S. Anwar)

Whilst Australian Government has been dealing with one 'boat-people crisis' at the moment, there is more looming on its horizon. In recent months, a significant number of asylum-seekers arriving by boat mainly from Sri Linka, Afghanistan and Iran, en-route Malaysia & Indonesia. Now, the displaced Rohingya from western Burma likely to hits Australian shore anytime soon. That will be the 'News' for both incumbent Labor Government and opposition Liberal-National Coalitions.

Regarding political and media responses, there is no other single issue that attract Australian public attention. The issue of refugees and incoming boats is the most potent one to strike raw nerves out of Australian politicians. Racism is just 'skin-deep' in Australia; and politicians here -- dare I say -- there are no shortage of political will or media skills to exploit the refugee issues to their advantage. Sad to say, any meaningful action from politicians, such as addressing the human rights root-causes, can only come as spin-off effects.

Just for those who are making arguments about Rohingya are all Bangalis, do those Rohingya people in this news clip look like Bangladeshi? Why the Burmese government have kept these communities segregated? The practice of ethnic based segregation, also being known as setting-up 'concentration camp', is potentially a very dangerous thing. In former Yugoslavia, we have seen the terrible consequences such ethnic concentration camp: the extremist Bosnian nationalists exterminated 7,000 muslims in 1995. You might say, we the Burmese are not as savage a people as those nationalist-Bosnians. But I do say it so. The racial hatred & racism in Burma is only a 'skin-deep' and it is only a matter of chance the power has gotten into wrong hand these kind of massacre can easily happen. U Thein Sein Government must make urgent effort to stop this practice of Rohingya segregation in Arakan.

Check out this ABC (Australia) news:

An Iranian lawmaker says non-binding resolutions adopted by the UN will not help improve the situation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, urging the UN to take practical measures. 

Mehrdad Baouj-Lahouti on Friday dismissed non-binding resolutions as ineffective in resolving the problems of Rohingyas, saying that the UN must deal with human rights violations across the globe without double-standard behaviors. 

On December 24, the UN General Assembly expressed serious concern over violence between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists in Myanmar and called upon its government to address human rights abuses. 

The General Assembly also approved by consensus a non-binding resolution. 

The resolution was identical to one approved last month by the General Assembly's Third Committee, which focuses on human rights. 

Rohingya Muslims have faced torture, neglect and repression in Myanmar since it achieved independence in 1948. Hundreds have been killed and thousands displaced in attacks by Buddhist extremists. 

Buddhist extremists frequently attack Rohingyas and set fire to their homes in several villages in the troubled region. Myanmar’s government has been blamed for failing to protect the Muslim minority. 

Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.

IRIN

December 27, 2012

COX'S BAZAR: More than two months after Rohingya refugee Mohammad Shafique fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar, the 32-year-old wonders whether he will be able to return. 

Under Burmese law, the Rohingya are de jure stateless and have long faced persecution and discrimination in Myanmar, human rights groups say. Meanwhile, Bangladesh, already home to more than 250,000, mostly undocumented Rohingya refugees, insists it is in no position to accept any more. Shafique told IRIN his story: 

"There had always been trouble between Rohingya and Rakhine people, but never anything like this. So much violence and suffering. I felt I had no choice but to leave in October. 

"However, life here in Bangladesh is not easy and there are restrictions on us here as well. We can't go where we want and cannot legally work. Although I would like to return to Myanmar, I just don't know when I can. 

"Here in Bangladesh life is difficult. I only wish I could work so that I might help my family back in Myanmar. 

"But that's proving difficult. I am having trouble just supporting myself here, let alone my family. There are no jobs here for Rohingya and people have nothing to do but cut and collect wood for an income. 

"Living here is difficult and I try to get by on what little I have. 

"For those of us who have just arrived, there is a lot of fear, but also a lot of hope. At least here I am not afraid for my life. At least here I can sleep and get something to eat. 

"Here most people don't misbehave towards us. They treat us well. Sometimes they give us some food. 

"Life in Myanmar for the Rohingya remains a struggle, and people do what they have to do to get by, while those with nothing have to borrow or beg to survive. 

"If we can live in Myanmar with the freedom with which people of Bangladesh live then I would return to Myanmar. I came alone, my family's back there. If there's peace, I want to go back."

Andrew R.C. Marshall

Reuters

December 28, 2012