Rick Yencer
Muncie Free Press

January 14, 2013

MUNCIE, IN - Adam Hamid talked about the need for a community center to serve the growing Burmese Muslim neighborhood in nearby Fort Wayne.

Hamid and his brother, Rashid, talked with members of the Muncie Islamic Center this week, telling stories of religious discrimination and refugee camps along the Burma-Thailand- Bangladesh borders where hundreds of thousands of people live.

The Southeast Asia country of nearly 60 million has literally been at war much of the last half of the 20th Century and then run by the military until some reforms brought a Parliament to the country in 2011.

Rashid, an electrical engineer, came to Indiana a year ago to join hundreds more Burmese Muslim who fled the predominately Buddhist county.Military leaders barred Islamic mosques and many fled and then immigrated to the United States where other faith groups help relocate Burmese citizens to Fort Wayne.

More than 1,500 Burmese Muslim families live in Fort Wayne, and Hamid was seeking financial support for a new Islamic community center in the Summit City.

Rashid talked about political and religious persecution besides ongoing regional civil wars forcing some of the estimated 4 million Burmese Muslims to flee the country.

Jamal Williams, who belongs to the local Islamic community and a grandson of the late Christian minister J.C. Williams, a local human rights advocate, talked about visiting the Fort Wayne Islamic community and enjoying how families taught the Quran besides educated their children.

"They concentrate on their children," he said.

The new community center, hoping to raise $450,000 initially, would provide a mosque besides class and meeting rooms. Land has been secured in south Fort Wayne and Adam hoped to reach out to other Islamic communities for support, and thanked the local group for their participation.

Mohammed Bahrami, a local physician, welcomed the visitors and offered support, encouraging others in the Islamic community to do the same. The new Islamic Center locally is on McGalliard Road and opened a couple years ago with help from Bahrami and others.The Burmese Islamic community can be found online at bmeccfw.org. Ko Khin Maung Cho is president of the Burmese relief effort.

The local Islamic Center recently had visitors from Libya, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere who work at Ball State University, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and elsewhere to talk about their culture and religion.

AFP

January 14, 2013

Thailand arrested and pledged to deport more than 150 Myanmar Rohingya migrants discovered in a hidden camp near the country's southern border with Malaysia, police said Monday. 

The 71 men and 85 women and children were found on a rubber plantation in Songkhla Province, local police colonel Krisakorn Pleetanyawong said, four days after some 400 Rohingya were discovered in another raid in the province. 

"They will be treated under the law as illegal immigrants and will be deported," he told AFP, adding that a Thai man had also been arrested on suspicion of violating immigration law. 

Thousands of Rohingya, a Muslim minority group not recognised as citizens in Myanmar, have fled communal unrest in the country's western Rakhine state, heading to Thailand and other countries. 

Rights groups decry Thailand for failing to help Rohingya migrants who reach its territory, instead pushing them back to Myanmar or into neighbouring countries including Malaysia, which offers sanctuary to the minority group. 

Human Rights Watch has called on Thai authorities to allow the United Nations' refugee agency access to the Rohingya before taking action to deport them. 

HRW Thailand researcher Sunai Phasuk said women and children were increasingly among boatloads of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar. 

"It appears that the families are being uprooted in their homeland and they have to seek somewhere safe to stay," he told AFP. 

The UN has urged Myanmar's neighbours to open their borders to people escaping a wave of communal violence in Rakhine. 

Clashes between Buddhists and Muslims have left at least 180 people dead in the state since June, and displaced more than 110,000 others, mostly Rohingya. 

Myanmar views the roughly 800,000 Rohingya in Rakhine as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and denies them citizenship. 

Although tensions have eased since a fresh outbreak of killings in October, concerns have grown about the fate of asylum-seekers setting sail in overcrowded boats.

European Rohingya Council (ERC) is a Europe-Wide Rohingya Organization formed on 8th October 2012 in order to strive for the cause of Rohingya minority that is on the verge of extermination. Immediately two or three months after its formation, ERC made a history by sending its delegation on 24th December 2012 led by its Media and Information Secretary, Mohammed Ibrahim, to Bangladesh to acquire firsthand information on Rohingya Crises. Among the Rohingya organizations in exile (other than Bangladesh), ERC’s delegation was the first to pay a visit to the Rohingya Refugee Camps in Bangladesh and distributed some relief goods to the most vulnerable Rohingyas languishing along in Bangladesh side of the border. 

The delegation visited Kutu Palong Refugee camp in Teknaf and many unregistered Rohingya refugees at Yunaani in Cox’s Bazaar. Relief Packets consist of basic commodity such as rice, oil, been, etc. were distributed to the refugees in both camps. The situation in the refugee camps were seen worsening day by day. There are no opportunities for the refugees in the camps to work and earn for their livelihoods and humanitarian assistance provided by international organizations and NGOs doesn’t reach to them. Besides, these vulnerable refugees are oppressed by the Bangladesh authorities. The members of delegation were awestruck to see how they, who had to leave their homeland to escape the atrocities, are equally persecuted and oppressed in the land where they have sought shelter. Therefore, we, ERC, plead to international government bodies, INGOs and NGOs to pay more attention on these hopeless and helpless people. 

Moreover, the delegation met up with Dr. Habib Siddiqui and other Rohingya intellectuals in Bangladesh and discussed over the dire situation of Rohingyas in Arakan and came to a point to conduct the future Rohingya political affairs effectively and smoothly. On top of that, an ERC representative committee was set up to work under and with the ERC’s head office in Europe. Most of the members of the representative committee are students and intellectuals (both male and female). 

In the later days, the delegation had the fruitful discussion with the Embassy of Germany and European Parliament Representative. During the discussions, the delegation raised the critical and dire humanitarian issues concerning Rohingyas both in Myanmar and Bangladesh and agreed to work to find out long-term solutions to the problem. Besides, there were few NGOs the delegation seeking the ways to improve the situation of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh and provide them basic education. 

Before coming back from Bangladesh, the delegation arranged a meeting with 15 Bangladeshi Journalists and requested them to highlight the plights of the Rohingya victims of genocide in Arakan. In return, the journalists promised us to publish at least two or three articles a month on the plight of Rohingyas. 

BDNews24

January 14, 2013

The UN Refugee agency says Rohingyas are fleeing Myanmar and Bangladesh in large numbers.

Thousands of Muslim Rohingyas are fleeing Myanmar’s Rakhine (former Arakan) state or their temporary shelters in neighbouring Bangladesh, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said.

More than 2,000 Rohingyas have left the region on smugglers’ boats in the first week of the year, the UNHCR said in a briefing at their Geneva headquarters at the weekend.

A statement has now been issued on the briefing by the UNHCR.

The UNHCR says the most likely destination of these Rohingyas are countries in south-east Asia.

But police in the Indian state of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh say they have nabbed a few Rohingyas who entered from Bangladesh at the weekend.

They said during questioning that they were heading for the troubled Indian northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim majority state.

Earlier, some Rohingyas had been intercepted in northeast India’s Manipur and Tripura states last year. But police say they were only in transit through these states and would prefer some parts of India where Muslims were in a majority.

The UNHCR says that an estimated 13,000 people had left the Bay of Bengal on smugglers’ boats in 2012 and at least 485 are still missing or believed to be dead following four reported incidents of boats sinking.

“It is unclear how many actually make it to their final destinations, where they often risk arrest, detention and possible refoulement through deportation to Myanmar [Burma],” UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said in the Geneva briefing, according to a statement released later by the agency.

He was referring to an international customary law of non-refoulement that says migrants should not be returned to countries where they could be subject to persecution or human rights abuses.

The Rakhine state in western Myanmar witnessed severe sectarian violence last year between local Buddhist Rakhines and Rohingya Muslims.

The United Nations estimates that more than 100 people were killed and more than 115,000 displaced in clashes beginning in June.

Tensions have somewhat eased now, but tens of thousands of people, mostly Rohingya Muslims, still to live in overcrowded camps in the state where food and other essentials are scarce.

About 700 Rohingya migrants were rescued from alleged human traffickers in southern Thailand last week.

The migrants said they had travelled to Thailand as part of their journey to a third country, Malaysia, but the Thai authorities plans to deport the group back to Myanmar.

Edwards urged countries in Southeast Asia to keep their borders open to Rohingya migrants and others seeking asylum.

“UNHCR continues to seek access to individuals arriving by boat who are arrested and detained by government authorities,” he said, adding that the refugee agency had asked Thai authorities for access to newly-arrived migrants from Burma but were still waiting for a response.

An estimated 800,000 Rohingya Muslims live in Burma, mostly in Arakan State, according to UN estimates. The government does not grant them citizenship or recognise them as an official ethnic group, and although many Rohingya families have lived in the country for generations, locals often view them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, Rohingya Muslims are now unwelcome as Dhaka wants the global community to pressurise Myanmar to accommodate the Rohingyas rather than pushing an overcrowded Bangladesh to accept more refugees. Nearly half a million Rohingyas entered Bangladesh in two phases of mass migration – in 1978-9 and 1991-2.

In July last year, the Bangladesh government asked aid groups to stop helping the Rohingyas fleeing from violence in Burma.

Nan Tin Htwe

Myanmar Times

January 14, 2013

A Myanmar professor and human rights activist has resigned his post with one of Asia’s top universities, complaining of censorship. 

Dr Maung Zarni, co-founder of the Free Burma Coalition, quit the Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), saying it is “impossible to maintain his professionalism” and blaming “extreme and unprofessional academic censorship”. 

Dr Maung Zarni, who is described on his website as a “staunch advocate of unconditional human rights, as well as ethnic and gender equality,” is also a visiting fellow with the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the London School of Economics, and the author of Life Under the Boot: 50 years of Military Dictatorship in Burma (Yale University Press). 

On January 7, he uploaded his resignation letter on his website expressing his “deep regret” at the situation. He says that last June he participated in a human rights and rule of law panel which was joined by Aung San Suu Kyi during her European trip. 

He alleges UBD punished him by withdrawing financial and institutional support 24 hours before his flight to London and forced him to take personal leave and to pay for the US$3000 flight himself. He says UBD also warned him not to use the university’s name during LSE’s roundtable discussion and panels, and to be “purely academic” – “[s]omething which, given the political role of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, is entirely impossible,” he said. 

Upon his return to UBD, he was warned that “everyone is watching you”, and told to restrict his work to non-Myanmar issues or purely academic papers. 

His resignation attracted some attention around the region, with Steve Lai, a presenter at Channel NewsAsia, tweeting: “This makes me sad.” Similarly, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim tweeted: “Let the world know about the resignation of Dr Maung Zarni.” 

Dr Maung Zarni said that he had never made any secret of his political and human rights activities. 

“I simply could not countenance allowing my employer to intimidate me into professional silence on unfolding human rights atrocities and war crimes against Myanmar’s Muslims and ethnic minorities in Burma on account of a monthly pay check,” he said. 

“In fact I am the only Burmese academic who is researching, publishing and speaking out against what the Organisation of the Islamic Conference/Cooperation (OIC) officially refers to as ‘genocide against the Muslim Rohingya’ in western Burma committed by the collaborating political and social forces, namely the Rakhine ‘Buddhists’ and the government of Burma itself,” Dr Maung Zarni added. 

UBD had also shown displeasure at his writing on Myanmar’s transition for the National University of Singapore and being invited by Channel NewsAsia to debate democratisation in Myanmar. 

“I feel that with Brunei taking over the chair of ASEAN, my ability to function in the immediate future with professional integrity will be compromised beyond the levels which I am prepared to accept,” he said. 

In an interview with Mawkun magazine, Dr Zarni criticised Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for not taking a stand over Kachin, where, he said, the Kachin Independence Organisation is fighting not for an independent state but “equal rights”. 

He has accused the Tatmadaw of engaging in conflict in Kachin State so that Chinese projects could proceed, and said Myanmar people should be aware of China’s influence in their country. 

The university did not respond to email requests for comment last week.

Stephanie Nebehay

Reuters

January 14, 2013

The Times of India

January 14, 2013

KOLKATA: Middle-aged Azizur Rehman had never heard of Jammu before. But his plight forced him to travel there for the survival of his offspring. Putting life at risk, Azizur headed for an unknown place, more than 3000 kilometres from his ancestral home in Arakan. He could not reach his destination finally. Midway, Azizur was arrested and now behind the bars for sneaking into India without valid documents. And he is not alone. In a fresh wave, hundreds of Rohingyashave started marching towards India for survival.

Recently, government railway police intercepted a group of 10 people from a suburban train. Most of them couldn't understand local language. Probe revealed that they all were from the Arakan (Rakhine) state of Myanmar. The Muslim population in Arakan is known as Rohingyas and for decades they are the victims of ethno-religious conflict with Buddhist population, backed by the Myanmar state. Their government does not accept Rohingyas as citizens and they are subject to state repression.

In 2012, following a fresh conflict, hundreds of Rohingyas started fleeing from Arakan. "We are from Balibazar on the outskirts of Sittwe. We used to work as masons there. My son Azizul performed well letter marks in school leaving examinations but he was not allowed to go to college. So, he also joined me as a mason. But we never thought of leaving our ancestral home, even after the state forces beheaded my sister Hasina for observing Eid. They also chopped off my two fingers," sobbed Azizur at Maniktala police station, adding that they were compelled to leave, But finally people once again started to flee when the Burmese started kidnapping their girls and women and trafficked them to Bangkok.

On a cold night nearly a year ago, Azizur and his relatives fled from Sittwe, crossed Naf river on a kayak and landed at Chhitagong coast of Bangladesh. "They (Bangladeshis) initially tried to push us back, but we were not ready. Finally, we got a camp to stay. But with no food and proper shelter, it turned out to be a nightmare. it was like a hell. No food. No proper shelter.

We were not even allowed to move out to earn," said Azizur's cousin Nur Mahommad. After spending 10 months there, they heard of Jammu in India, where Muslims also have a strong cultural heritage. "People in Kutupalang camp at Cox's Bazar told us to go to Jammu. We started from there two months ago with three families, including three women and two kids," said Nur.

Despite their language woes, they continued their journey. Even, starvation threats could not stop them. "At the stopovers every two to three days, we worked as labourers, earned money and bought food for survival. In several places, police and security forces took away money from us," recounted Azizul, a teenager. In their way they lost their last penny and remaining starved for four days they arrived in Kolkata but luck was not with them.

In Kolkata, they were intercepted and arrested. Like Nur and Azizur, families of several others were intercepted in Barasat recentlyin few days, hinting a fresh wave towards Bengal. "Touts, who were arrested with the Rohingyas, claimed that a few hundreds are waiting to cross the border. More influx is on the cards, as Thailand has decided to deport 900 Rohingyas," said an officer. UNHRC expressed concern over the fresh clash and requested neighbouring countries to open their borders for the Rohingyas. More than 4000 Rohingyas are now residing in different Indian cities. They don't have have no full refugee status but India has allowed them to stay.

"We are not aware of their refugee status. We will have to act according to court order," said IG Prison Ranveer Kumar. Now question, who will move to court for these hapless people?

Jack Lee

Alders Ledge

January 14, 2013

It has always made me uncomfortable comparing any group of modern murderers to the fascist Nazis of the 30's and 40's. Having ancestors who fled from the spread of Nazism into Yugoslavia I have a deep grudge towards those who encouraged genocide in Croatia. And all be it that my family that died at the hands of fascist most likely did so at the hands of the Ustase I still found it hard to compare the RNDP to the German Gestapo. Yet over the past few months the comparison continued to nag at my conscience. 

In the 1930's the Gestapo took off as a branch of the already established Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel). It's goals were clear from the very beginning. The Gestapo was meant to enforce the Nazi theology by enforcing its social code amongst the German people. This meant that the Gestapo had to act like sheepdogs by separating the "pure" German population from the "undesirables". It's main target was of course the Jewish population within Germany. 

The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party began officially on May 6th, 2010 as an extremist group with very clear ethnocentric goals. From the start the RNDP was meant to force the racial ideology of racially driven politicians who were forced out of the majority part the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) due to their extremist views. This meant that upon founding the RNDP had to begin acting like pit bulls in their relentless attacks upon any political opponents and all portions of the population they deemed to be "foreign" to the "pure" Rakhine nationalities. Their main target has been shown to be the Rohingya minority within the Arakan region. 

At first glance one could say that the RNDP was just another political party in Burma looking to advance their ethnic group's political ambitions. After all, there are currently nearly a half dozen parties dedicated to a given ethnic group or another within the Amyotha Hluttaw (House of Nationalities) and just as many in the Pyithu Hluttaw (House of Representatives). Yet it is hard to find a party within either of these houses of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Assembly of Union) that is so violently dedicated to the destruction of an entire ethnicity. And that is where the RNDP stands out amongst the many corrupt parties that make up Burma's government. 

In the Rakhine state the RNDP is the controlling party. It is in this area of Burma that the government is defined by the RNDP. It is here that the modern day Gestapo has the ability to begin enforcing their radical ideology upon the citizens of the Rakhine. 

Much like the original Gestapo, the RNDP does not need to be present in every village to achieve its goal of the complete destruction of the Rohingya people. With only 11 township offices the RNDP has been able to spread its propaganda across the Rakhine region by infiltrating the religion of its people. By making their goal of an ethnically pure Rakhine state and a religiously run state appealing to the monks of the Arakan region the RNDP was able to feed the flames of hate over the summer of 2012. In Nazi Germany the Gestapo achieved the same success by lifting community leaders in areas it controlled up through the ranks of the Nazi party. This method allowed the Gestapo to gain control of the religion, politics, and police of an occupied area with as little presence as possible. 

Once the religion, the backbone of Burmese society, was under control of the RNDP the fascist only had to feed the flames of hatred they had already sparked. Turning a little known murder in the Rakhine state into a propaganda campaign, the RNDP had the fuel they needed to turn the Arakan into an inferno. Now the RNDP could simply point the Rakhine people at their target and watch as the mobs acted as stormtroopers. 

When the killings began during the summer of 2012 the RNDP highlighted Rohingya neighborhoods that were meant to be torched to the ground and those meant to be left standing. In what now appears to be a systematic assault, the RNDP made certain to leave select villages standing so as to act as per-assembled concentration camps. Much like the Gestapo the RNDP is now active in the said camps and the villages acting as concentration camps. 

In October of 2012 the RNDP attempted to whip the Rakhine people into yet another outburst of ethnic violence. This attempt resulted in the deaths of a known 89 people. More importantly it led to the complete blockade of all aid that had started to flow towards the Arakan state since the summer riots. The RNDP had completed its aim of forming modern concentration camps by blocking the Rohingya from leaving and keeping the aid from arriving. 

Today the RNDP has begun performing the role the Gestapo played during the final years of the Nazi rule in Europe. Today the RNDP is attempting to perform ethnic cleansing throughout the Rakhine state. Through using the blockades and deportations the RNDP fulfills their aims of killing off and destroying the Burmese Rohingya population. 

During the fall of the Nazis the Gestapo joined in the effort to carryout the "final solution". By increasing the number of deportations and executions the SS and Gestapo were able to drastically decrease the populations of "undesirables" in Western Europe in the last few years of the war alone. The methods of dehumanization that they had formed early in the war only further degraded as the war continued to drag on. The Gestapo was not immune to the increase of barbarism as it too relaxed code of conduct and increased its activities throughout occupied Europe. 

In Burma the RNDP has begun to notice moves by other parties as threatening to their genocidal efforts. For this reason it appears that the RNDP has decided to increase its efforts to deport Rohingya whom they consider to be taking longer to die of starvation than time will allow. Young men and children are being led out to waiting boats where they are often forced out to sea. This tactic appears to be believed will work since the outside world now views the "waves of boat people" fleeing Burma as normal. On the other hand the RNDP bribes Rohingya families and girls to leave their villages, an act that is illegal for all Rohingya throughout Burma, so that they can be sent off into human trafficking rings. Other Rohingya who see the RNDP as helping them flee Burma are often turned over to Burmese police and military so as to be detained seemingly indefinitely. All of these methods are obviously intended to either drastically decrease the Rohingya population or more directly lead to the completion of the RNDP's genocidal goal of a complete Rohingya extermination. 

For me personally the realization that there is in fact a group of radical fascist active today was not hard at all. The realization that they were using the same tactics that led to the deaths of my ancestors was the hard part. Not because I think there is anything unique about how genocide plays out over time but rather because it was hard to imagine this happening in my time. It is never easy to believe that such an evil endeavor as this one is taking place. Often when faced with such atrocities it is easier to look away. And with the distance between us it is often the path most Americans take. 

Once again Alder's Ledge would like to take the opportunity to offer you the reader to change that, to help end this. If you have been reading this blog very long at all you know by now what a screamer is (if not follow the links below). We here at Alder's Ledge would like to ask you to scream on behalf of all the Rohingya people. We ask that you never remain silent. That you lift your voice and join with us as we demand our government and world leaders end this senseless slaughter. 

Do your part. Wake up, Stand up, and Scream. 

Bangkok Post

January 13, 2013

An immigrant from Myanmar smuggled in by sea tells of his journey, and why he had to flee his tumultuous homeland

Two months ago, Yub, a 28-year-old Rohingya man, slipped quietly into Thailand after he paid 400,000 kyat (142,000 baht) to a human trafficker to take him out of Myanmar's violence-plagued Rakhine state.

Travelling by boat, he went undetected and made it to a safe house for smuggled Rohingya in Thailand's South where he waited for a relative in Bangkok to make the final payment for his passage.

"I contacted one of the Rohingya agents who said he lives a good life in Thailand and he told me I could be happier there," Yub told the Bangkok Post Sunday through an interpreter.

"He said if I want to come to Thailand, he can help me. He asked for 400,000 kyat. Since my relative helped me, it was not that difficult for me.

"We arrived without getting caught. I really don't know where we got out from the boat, but a group of people came to pick us up and took us to the deep jungle where there are hundreds of Rohingya people living.

"At one point, it felt like home. A home where we can really sleep without worrying about soldiers coming in and robbing us of food and money.

"I stayed there for almost a week before my relative came to pay the money to get me out of that camp. Then he found me a job."

Yub, not his real name, is one of the thousands of Rohingya who make their way to Thailand by boat every year from November to March when the seas are considered less dangerous by the skippers of the smuggling boats.

Surapong Kongchantuk from the Lawyers Council of Thailand, who has dealt with many Rohingya human rights cases, says despite the best efforts of the government to address the problem, the Rohingya are coming in greater numbers.

In 1998 there were only 104 recorded arrests of Rohingya, but by 2007 the figure had swelled to 4,880. In 2009, the figure dropped to 93 arrests following an international outcry over Thai officials pushing Rohingya boats out to sea. However, in 2010 the number of arrests rose sharply again to 2,350.

Mr Surapong is concerned by the growing involvement of organised gangs of Rohingya, Thai officials and fixers in the trafficking rackets.

He also says the figures on Rohingya arrivals exclude those who make it into Thailand without being detected.

Yub has found work in the fishing industry in the South and says he can earn 300 baht a day with overtime. He keeps a low profile, living with other Rohingya in a shared home and only venturing out to go to work.

At this stage, he has no intention of leaving Thailand, as many other stateless Rohingya do.

"I am glad I did not end up in a place where they treat Rohingya like slaves," he said. "So, I think I will stay here. My relative who lives here told me he owes so much to Thai people who have been kind to him. He also said he owes so much to the Kingdom to allow him to live peacefully."

Bangkok Post

January 13, 2013

Members of the ethnic minority arriving from Myanmar and Bangladesh in hope of better lives enter a tangled human trafficking web in Thailand, where local officials, complicitous members of their own group and fixers make them pay dearly for their dreams

For desperate Rohingya arrested in Thai territory, hope for the future can rest simply with how much money they have to pay off local officials and human traffickers. The prospects are dire for those without the required cash _ being sold into slavery is commonplace.

Muh, a 43-year-old Rohingya living in Bangkok for over a decade, has intimate knowledge of trafficking operations originating in either Bangladesh or Myanmar's Rakhine state, where stateless Rohingya have been subjected to violent persecution in recent months.

Before the raid on 400 Rohingya near the Thai-Malaysian border in Songkhla's Sadao district on Thursday, Muh, real name withheld, told Spectrum his connections had informed him that security officials were preparing to pounce on a ''safe house'' there.

He painted a complicated picture of the smuggling racket, involving complicitous Rohingya in both countries, corrupt Thai officials, fixers throughout the whole process and safe houses where the Rohingya are kept until they can be smuggled across the border.

While smugglers can demand up to 50,000 baht for passage to another country, costs can go up considerably for Rohingya detained on Thai soil.

Muh says in some cases Rohingya who are reportedly deported back to Myanmar are in fact taken to safe houses in southern Thailand.

The smuggling boats can carry 50-80 people per trip and the captain is usually fluent in Thai, Myanmar and Bengali.

''These people want to be arrested by Thai officials because it is part of the plan,'' Muh said. ''Once they are arrested, they go through the immigration process. The trafficker gets involved during the deportation process. This is the point when they have to pay another sum so that they can go to their preferred destinations. Those who can afford to continue their journey will get to go to Malaysia or Indonesia. But those who remain here will be sold to the fishing industry where they will be forced to work for 20 hours a day with no days off. I can't reveal where, but sometimes Rohingya are sold to fishing boats in the middle of the sea.''

Surapong Kongchantuk from the Lawyers Council of Thailand chairs the human rights subcommittee on ethnic minorities, stateless people, migrant workers and displaced persons and has been documenting and working on cases involving smuggled Rohingya for over a decade.

In the past, the Rohingya had come to Thailand by themselves to escape poverty and persecution, but trafficking has become big business in the last four to five years.

''A Rohingya agent will go around and tell them about coming to Thailand and then going on to Malaysia for work for good pay,'' he said.

''The agents are Rohingya who either live in Thailand or Malaysia. Once people in the village see them having a good life in other countries, they want the same.''

Mr Surapong said the Rohingya coming from Myanmar pay 300,000-700,000 kyat (10,600-24,800 baht) to the smugglers and those from Bangladesh 20,000-28,000 taka (7,600-10,600 baht). The journey to Thailand usually takes two weeks by boat.

''They used to destroy the boat and run away, but now they surrender to police,'' Mr Surapong said. ''The trafficker takes care of them from that point on.''

''If they want to go to Malaysia, they will have to pay 1-1.5 million kyat or 50,000-80,000 taka. If they don't have the money up front, they can choose to have it deducted from their monthly salaries.''

Mr Surapong said according to interviews with Rohingya, some had their passage paid by relatives living in Thailand, but those who didn't have enough money were sold into slavery, sometimes, as Muh pointed out, in the middle of the sea.

Those who can afford the pay-offs are taken to the safe houses where additional payments determine how quickly they can be moved across the border. Sometimes relatives again come to the rescue; at other times the Rohingya are expected to work to pay off their debts.

''Safe houses are located in many locations, especially in Hat Yai district and Padang Besar district of Songkhla province and Sungai Kolok district of Narathiwat province,'' Mr Surapong said.

''All of the safe houses are located in the jungle where no one can easily see them. The safe houses are protected and taken care of by people in 'coloured uniforms'.''

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Department of Special Investigation anti-human trafficking centre chief Pol Maj Jatuporn Arunreukthawil said the involvement of Thailand-based Rohingya in the trafficking of their own people had become a concern.

''For the entire time I have been monitoring the issue, I have noticed the majority of Rohingya who came into Thailand are male. But lately, there are some females and children coming in,'' he said.

Pol Maj Jatuporn said by law it was an issue for immigration police to handle, not the military.

''I have heard of many suspicious things going on down South. I have all the information, but I can't reveal it because it will interrupt cases that we are working on at the moment.''

Mr Surapong said despite the best efforts of the Thai government to deal with the issue in a humane way, more and more Rohingya were coming. ''Part of it is because they are treated well once they arrive here,'' he said. ''They get food, water, gas and other things that they cannot get from Myanmar.''

Records detailing the number of Rohingya arrested or detained upon arrival in Thailand date back to 1998. That year, 104 were detained upon arrival after crossing overland into Tak province. That number climbed to 1,123 in 2006, 2,763 in 2007 and 4,880 the following year.

In 2009, the number of arrests dropped to 93 following international publicity about Thai officials pushing the Rohingya's boats out to sea. However, the following year that number rose dramatically to 2,350.

''These numbers reflect the number of people arrested; there are still many of them who were not on the record,'' Mr Surapong said.

The military's Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) is responsible for national security issues, including Rohingya who try to enter the country illegally. In 2008, Isoc set out guidelines in its Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to handle the illegal immigrant problem along Thailand's borders.

Spectrum contacted Isoc Region 4 officials in Pattani and Ranong provinces, but both declined to comment on the Rohingya issue, and referred us to Isoc's main office in Bangkok. No one in Isoc's Bangkok office was available for comment.

ROHINGYA OR MYANMAR?

Another problem for Thai officials is whether to designate Rohingya as Myanmar nationals when they are deported.

On Jan 1, 73 Rohingya travelling by boat were detained at Koh Bon and taken to Phuket immigration office. They were designated as Myanmar nationals and deported across the border at Ranong the following day.

''The reason that we have to document them as Myanmar is because we are afraid that we won't be able to deport them at the border if we document them as Rohingya since they are are not recognised as citizens by the Myanmar government,'' said one immigration police officer.

Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, who claimed he has full authorisation to deal with illegal immigrants, said Rohingya were treated in a gentle, humanitarian way because of the difficult situation they were in.

''Basically, I just gave them what they needed,'' he said in reference to the Bon island group. ''They had travelled for almost two weeks. They had no food left by the time they arrived, so we offered them some. They said they wanted to travel further. We thought about giving them the petrol to continue their journey to Malaysia, but the sea was really rough on that day. Moreover, their boat was not in good enough condition for them to travel that far.

''Letting them continue would be the same as trying to kill them, so I ordered the officials to take them to land and follow the standard procedure. For this case, we had no choice but to deport them. I understand that they are seeking asylum, but we are not in the position to handle that.''

The governor said while it may appear to be a big national security issue involving human rights, Phuket had to consider its image as a tourist town.

''There is no way that we would keep a warship along the coast to guard our border, instead we are acting as a good housekeeper who keeps the whole town clean and organised,'' he said.

Nightmare without borders

After a week-long trek, Muh arrived in Thailand from Myanmar 13 years ago hoping his ordeal under the repressive state regime was finally over.

Originally from Rakhine state, Muh, who unlike many Rohingya come by boat, arrived on foot via the Mae Sot border in Tak province with two friends. A new chapter in his difficult life was about to begin. ''I ran away from my village and headed towards Yangon. The only safe place I could think of was Thailand,'' said 43-year-old Muh.

''Once we crossed the Thai border, we felt safe and didn't have any further plans of where we wanted to go. The only thing that scared us was being deported back to Myanmar, because I knew in my heart that we would end up back in prison.

''Our worst fears came true when we were arrested by Thai police in Tak province. We were sent to a prison that held many others from Myanmar. We were mixed in with them for a couple of day before three big trucks _ not police trucks _ took us somewhere we didn't recognise.

''There were 30 people on each truck. I was separated from my friends, and scared of where we'd end up. Then we arrived at a safe house where a man explained that if we didn't want to be deported back to Myanmar, we would have to pay them money. Then they would take us to work in Thailand.

''I ended up paying around 700 baht. It was a lot of money for me at the time _ I had almost nothing. Then they brought me to a buffalo farm in Tak province. I watched and fed the animals, and slept in a small shack. I got paid 200 to 300 baht a month with food and a place to sleep.

''After a while I ran away. I just took any bus and got off at Nakhon Sawan, where I found a family who helped me. I got a job as a construction worker before I went to Nakhon Ratchasima province. I saved some money and decided to come to Bangkok with a little help from my Rohingya friends.''

In Bangkok, Muh made a living selling roti on the street. Soon he was able to communicate in Thai fluently. His language abilities and connections make him an ideal interpreter when Rohingya arrive in Thailand through human traffickers.

Muh says he declines to get involved with traffickers who smuggle Rohingya to sell in the labour market, but he admits that such smugglers exist all over Thailand. He knows about much of the movements of Rohingya into Thailand.

''None of the Rohingya want to come to Thailand. Their main target is to make it to Malaysia or Indonesia. Thailand is just the passageway for them to get to their desired destination.

''When we see news of Rohingya coming to Thailand by boat, most are younger males. That's because the traffickers want to sell people for labour.

''Each of them contacts a local agent from Myanmar or Bangladesh. Then the Rohingya have to pay the agent to get them on a boat sailing to the Thai border. It usually takes 10 to 14 days, and they normally end up in Ranong, Phangnga or Phuket. It depends on where the agent wants them to be.''

Still the memories of the oppression his people face at home still hang heavily on Muh.

''The threat of being raped, robbed or killed were some of the worst nightmares we faced. Maybe that's why I don't know what a bad dream is because we faced it on a daily basis, every waking moment of our lives.

''The Rohingya are treated so unfairly. We have a long history of having roots in Myanmar, but we've never been included as part of the country. The military treats us as less than human. They can just come to our village and demand to take some women for their own pleasure. If we fight back, they'll hurt us. They're fully armed. So we have to trade our food, oil or money to save the women.

''So you can see why Rohingya want to escape from that nightmare and find a better place. They'll do anything to get away so they don't have to suffer.

''Some Rohingya travel by foot and sneak into Thailand across the border but most of them don't make it. Other popular options are to pay for someone to get them out of there or to sell themselves to a human trafficker.''

Maung Daw, Arakan - NaSaKa (Border Security Forces) of NaSaKa Area No. 8 arrested six innocent Rohingyas from Shridda Fara of Merrullah (Myint Hlut) Village Tract on 6th January 2013. NaSaKa acted so upon the commandment of Major Aung Ko Thant, the commander of NaSaKa area No. 8. The allegation against these innocent Rohingyas is that they are persuading the villagers not to participate in the ongoing (malicious) NaSaka operation against the Rohingya population in Arakan. 

The details of the arrested Rohingyas are: 

1. Irshadullah S/o Zafar Ahmed 40-Year-Old 
2. Syed Islam S/o Nazir Hussein 45-Year-Old 
3. Hussein Ahmed S/o Jalal 35-year-Old 
4. Mohammed Yusuf S/o Jalal 33-Year-Old 
5. Kamal Hussein S/o Shakir Ahmed 42-Year-Old 
6. Shah Meah S/o Kabir Ahmed 45-Year-Old 

In fact, the NaSaKa operation today is meant to permanently cripple Rohingya community by branding them illegal invading Bengalis. Therefore, the villagers are not participating in such operations on their own wills. And lame allegations were made to arrest these elders and figureheads of the village. Now, they are charged with a case of Rebellion against the State according to a local Rohingya from Maung Daw Tsp preferring not to be named. 

The NaSaKa was formed by the dictator ex-general Khin Nyunt just with the purpose of driving Rohingyas out of Arakan through the means of persecution and oppression. Since its formation in 1993, the similar operations have been carried twice a year and all the times, Rohingyas have only been forced to leave their mother land. Yet, they are shamelessly saying that people from Bangladesh are still coming in. By saying so, they are dishonest not only to International Community but also to themselves. 

As of today, “Eight Military personnel together with the newly appointed Administrator of Baggona Village, stationed at Kantaya-Aley Then Kyaw Road junction, are arresting and torturing all the Rohingya Passers-by and looting whatever they have and extorting money from them. The Military are from the camp stationed at the village of Kantaya under the commandment of Major Ye Win Aung of Ka-Ye-Myaing Camp in Southern Maung Daw. And Ba Tuan Aung is a Bengali Rakhine extremist who settled in Kantaya village in 1970s. 

On top of that, 15 Military from the same Kaye-Myaing camp under Major Ye Win Aung surrounded the house of Syed Alam S/o Iqbal Ahmed in the Nurullah village of Baggona village tract at 10AM today. Then, they looted jewelries, money and vandalized all other properties that they could not carry away. This is all happening under the radar of Major Ye Win Aung. He is responsible for this. In fact, only looting and torturing Rohingyas are on his mind these days” said a Rohingya elder from southern Maung Daw. 

Elsewhere, on 7th January 2013 night, an ordinary NaSaKa officer together with his other six companions arrested Hala Meah s/o Abdu Shukkur hails from Rida Aung Sit Pyin (Dom Bhai) village tract of northern Kyein Chaung (Boli Bazar) village tract. Though he was handcuffed and intimidated into extortion, no other physical torture was reported. However after 12 hours of detention, he was extricated extorting 300,000 Kyats. The mere reason for extorting such amount money is that his 22-year-old son fled to India to escape the violence against Rohingyas taking place. The NaSaKas were from regional sub-camp no-24 in Kyein Chaung (Boli Bazar). Nowadays, Burmese Authority causes troubles to Rohingyas for not only leaving Arakan but also living in Arakan. 

.. "Now we can't sleep at night for the fear of being arrested by NaSaKas because every night they (NaSaKas) go rampage through the surrounding villages (Boli Bazar, Dom Bai ...ect) from the said camp-24. Then, they make raids on targeted Rohingya houses and carry out brutal persecutions, hefty money extortion and mass arrests of poor-spirited Rohingyas (without having convicted of any crime ever)" said a scholar from Aung Sit Pyin (Dom Bhai) on the condition of anonymity. 

Actually, the denial of the citizenship, legal existence, other basic rights and arbitrary arrests including constant NaSaKa extortion and the raid and rampage through the Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine State are underlying reasons behind the exodus of thousands of Rohingyas. But on the contrary, the government not only shuts down their ways to return home and confiscates their possessions but also extorts money from their remaining family members or relatives. To really see how the Burmese government treats the Rohingyas, one does not have to look further than this case of 22-year-old Rohingya.

January 12, 2013

The UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres, on a recent visit to India, was lavish in his praise for India's treatment of refugees. In this season of discontent, where so much has gone wrong and only disgruntlement about public policy is being voiced, his words are a rare acknowledgement of something good in Indian practice. India has long been a haven for the displaced and threatened from its neighbourhood, many of whom have been assimilated and become a virtually indistinguishable part of the larger society, while others have retained their distinctiveness and way of life, in either case able to live here without anxiety. India's borders are famously porous, and many of those who have come under some form of duress have simply slipped through and lost themselves in the vast sea of humanity.

But others have come through deliberate decisions of the Indian authorities, notably asylum-seekers from Tibet, among many others, who have prospered and thrived in India. It is a record that gives India the right to encourage others to be no less sensitive to the plight of those displaced from their homes.

Currently, the most visible refugee issue in South Asia relates to the Rohingyas of Myanmar. They belong to the Arakan coastal strip, which is relatively distant and not easily accessed from Myanmar's heartland. Unlike the bulk of their compatriots, the Rohingyas are Muslim and have their own language.

Myanmar is linguistically and ethnically very diverse but it has shied away from accepting the Rohingyas, with their distinct ethnicity and language, as people of its own. Officially, the area is known as Rakhine, as is its language, and there is a disputed history about its origins and inhabitants.

British colonial rule had something to do with it, for immigration into the Arakan was encouraged in the colonial period, to promote settlement in relatively empty lands from more densely populated areas further west. The Second World War added to the complexity, for Japan conquered the Arakan, and later the British took it back.

The fluctuations in centralised authority encouraged ideas of local autonomy, which were fiercely resisted. From the early days of independent Myanmar there has been considerable unrest in the area, with periodic rioting and strong repression of locals.

Many have felt obliged to leave and search for other places to live, some in Bangladesh and others in distant parts of Myanmar. The uncertainty about their status has made it difficult to promote the sort of development activities seen elsewhere in the country, these too regarded as woefully inadequate, so the Rohingya areas have been left ever further behind, and ethnic and religious issues have only added to their plight.

There has been an overspill of the trouble into neighbours' lands, including India. Substantial numbers of Rohingyas have crossed into Bangladesh in search of security and a better life. From there, some have kept moving and found their way to India, where many Bangladeshis are already resident - this has long been an issue between New Delhi and Dhaka.

So a trickle of Rohingyas has reached as far as India, there to fend for themselves as best they can. Only recently, the UNHCR in New Delhi was besieged by a group of Rohingyas in a peaceful but determined demonstration that went on for several days and served to highlight the situation of this unfortunate group.

There is another escape route to India for some of the Rohingyas, the direct sea route to the Andamans. This is hazardous, for those who choose to take it must launch themselves onto the open seas in fragile, barely serviceable rafts, not all of which are capable of making the journey.

The Indian coast guard finds drifting rafts and does what it can to rescue the unfortunate passengers, though there is no reckoning of those who might be lost in the passage. A certain number get through nevertheless, and now there is a small colony of them in the Andamans. As they have no recognized status and cannot be reckoned as refugees in present circumstances, the local administration can do little more than treat them as humanely as possible and wait for a solution to be found by higher authorities.

Apart from this relatively small but nevertheless poignant issue, there are other reasons why India finds itself drawn into Arakan affairs.

Sittwe, the chief town and port, has a strategic value that gave it importance during the Second World War when it provided a back door to India's northeast, which was the scene of action against the Japanese, and river-borne traffic from Sittwe into what is now Mizoram was developed in order to supply the military front. After hostilities ended, this route was forgotten, as were others leading from India into Myanmar. Now, as the region is opening up, and plans to develop its resources are taking shape, there is renewed interest in the area, both for the access it can provide and for the resources it contains.

Nor is it India alone that is showing fresh interest: China, with its penchant for dramatic, far-reaching infrastructure projects, is also believed to have ambitious ideas centred on the Arakan. A major oil terminal at Sittwe, refineries, and pipelines leading to China would transform the region and convert what is now something of a backwater into a hive of activity. 

Strategic questions involving India and China will have to be kept in mind and could tend to overshadow the humanitarian crisis that is currently in focus. However, the most urgent need is to address the refugee situation of the Rohingyas. Opinion in Myanmar is not sympathetic to them, for reasons already mentioned. Yet the matter cannot be wished away and will loom larger as international sentiment strengthens and humanitarian issues become more pressing.

Within Myanmar, a great transition from authoritarian, military rule to genuine popular democracy is taking place. The democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi has warned the world not to be complacent, for only small steps have been taken so far and major changes are yet to be put into effect.

Yet what is happening appears to be irreversible and there is real expectation that before long public sentiment will propel her into power. Until now, for understandable reasons, she has responded cautiously when questioned about the Rohingyas. Yet the issue may well prove to be one of her early challenges.

Salman Haidar is India's former foreign secretary.

The photo above was taken more than a month ago and was taken in near a Rohingya refugee camp. These Rohingya are living life beyond the villages where their fellow Rohingya live in modern day concentration camps. These Rohingya live where food consist of grass and weeds found alongside dirty streets. They are not allowed to go into the Rakhine villages and purchase food. They are forbidden to use the same water as their Rakhine neighbors. Yet in comparison to the Rohingya still living in the villages, these are the lucky ones. 

Checkpoints much like those seen around the ghettos the Nazi's built during the Holocaust pot mark the area around the refugee camps. Though there are coconuts hanging in the trees outside the camps, though there is rice in the fields that the Rakhine now claim... the Rohingya starve. The barbed wire is a constant reminded that they are considered less than human in their own homeland. The lack of food makes it clear that they are considered of less value than the livestock the Rakhine raise in nearby pastures. This is the life that the Burmese have damned the Rohingya to. 

Ali Hassan, a 24 year old Rohingya man told Phuket Wan Travel News, "My babies are starving in front of my eyes. I cannot buy anything now I have no money." 

Ali Hassan had newborn twins at the time. It is impossible to know for sure if his children have survived. It is hard to imagine any child, let alone babies, living a life of starvation. But his story survives. Even if he and his family do not, his story will never perish. 

This war, this barbarism that Myanmar carries out, is meant to starve the Rohingya out of existence. The violence that plagued the Arakan state forever lingers in the air. Death hovers behind every shadow. It waits for the Rohingya... with open arms it accepts them of every age, gender, shape, and size. This is a war in as much as it pins one group against the other. Yet in this horrific struggle only one is armed... only one gets to fight... only one survives. 

There is an abundance of fish in the seas and waters along the Rakhine coasts. However the Burmese officials have confiscated almost all the fishing equipment the Rohingya once owned. Nets, poles, and hooks... nothing is left to harvest the food that the Rohingya so desperately need. 

For now the Rohingya slowly waist away as the little aid that is making it through the blockades is barely enough to keep even a small portion of them alive. It is in this slow starvation that many are turning to the the very people who cause their suffering to offer "a way out". The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party uses this wide spread starvation to traffic the Rohingya out of Myanmar. 

Over the last couple days nearly 700 Rohingya have turned up in human trafficking camps in Thailand. Over 500 Rohingya had to swim ashore in Malaysia after their boat sank 500 km off the coast. All of these Rohingya were trafficked out of the country by the RNDP. And of the RNDP's trafficking victims... they could easily be considered the lucky ones. 

Over half of the Rohingya who are sent out to sea each year die trying to make their way to Malaysia. Almost all Rohingya who are sent into Thailand are sent back to Myanmar having lost everything they had including the bribes that got them out of Burma the first time. These 1,200 Rohingya are lucky just to still be alive and outside of Myanmar. 

It is important to note at the close of this post that this tragedy, this genocide, could had been prevented. This horrific case of ethnic cleansing could be immediately stopped. All that is needed is for the outside world to finally wake up. To wake up and start taking action.

January 12, 2013

Fears grow of US human trafficking downgrade