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M.S. Anwar 
RB Article 
January 30, 2013

It was always on my mind to write an article on this topic. But I could not find enough courage in me. Normally, when we quote this saying “the survival of the fittest,” people automatically attribute it to Charles Darwin, the founder of Evolution Theory. But what people fail to realize is that it was not Darwin who first put it forward but he used the wild nature in some human beings to defeat the weaker ones, fights, battles or wars in human history to justify his own imaginary theory of evolution. So, we are free to use it even though we are non-evolution theorists. 

Fortunately, two recent things have prompted me and given me enough courage to write this article. Here are these two things: I recently happened to read a review by Ne Myo Win on RB and one of my seniors has used the same term in relating to what has been happening against Rohingyas and Kamans in Arakan, Burma. It has been moths that Rohingyas and Kamans have been being massacred, ousted from their houses, displaced, arbitrarily arrested, persecuted, boycotted and kept starved to death. Besides, their houses were burnt, their religious building locked down, women and under-age are being raped and their properties are looted on daily basis. In short, it is an out and out GENOCIDE of these ethnic people being carried both openly and silently.


Whatsoever, one cannot avoid thinking that Rohingyas and Kamans are being defeated and wiped out because they are weak and not the fittest. They have been struggling for their survival and can’t survive because they are not fitter than their oppressors are. So what to do to survive? They have to become stronger and the strongest than ever. In fact, human history is full of such incidents and tragedies, where innocent human beings were killed in mass and mercilessly. 

Rohingyas say and are the descendants of aboriginal Proto-Australoid Negritos and Indo-Aryans of Arakan, mixed with other people settled later. But who believe and care what they utter even though it is the truth? They are weak and not mighty. After all, Might is Right!! If you have Might, you have everything. You have mass media in your favor. They can turn Black into White and vice versa for you. People are ready to believe it and act upon this. Look around the world, you will find the same things. Rich and Mighty are getting Richer and Mightier. And the Poor and Weak are getting Poorer and Weaker. The blood of the poor is being sucked by the rich. Yet, we are forgetful and forgiving. Why? The same thing is happening with Rohingyas and Kamans whether you believe or not.


Some people have invaded an Indian land known today as Arakan centuries ago. And those invaders are accusing back the aborigines as the invaders. Yet, you believe! They have blindfolded the international community by portraying a state-sponsored GENOCIDE cooperated by Marauding and Sea-Pirates Maghs (Rakhines) as Sectarian or Communal Clashes. Yet, you believe! They have crying out to save them. But you don’t give a second look at them. You don’t give a damn care. Why? Instead, you suspect this world’s most persecuted people for the possible future links up with the insurgents in your country. That is indeed out of the wit of anyone with right mind! What will they do for their survival if you good people don’t give shelter to them? The self-declared human rights champions in the west are externally sympathizing them but doing nothing to solve their root problems? Because they know that they cannot benefit anything from these weak and dying people. Instead, some of them are sponsoring those who are killing these weak people. 

The world is full of self-centered hypocrites and they don’t have a sense of humanism. They portray something and do something else. That’s how the system of the world works. If you want to survive, you have to be fitter and stronger. There is no excuse for Rohingyas and Kamans either. The system of the world will not be changed for them. Rather, they need to follow the system of the world. They must not be naive and must come back stronger than any other people in Burma. But how will they do all these things to survive and get freedom.


As Ernesto Che Guevara rightly put it, “you don’t right to even believe that freedom can be won without a struggle.” What did he mean by STRUGGLE? People know him as a selfless revolutionary leader who sacrificed his life for the benefits of others. Obviously, he was not talking about the Diplomacy. In a recent review on RB, I was fascinated with the arguments (mentioned below in inverted commas) put forward by a person called Ne Myo Win. 

“Diplomacy bears no fruits without the back-ups of arm struggling. Why will Burmese Tyrannical Regime and Rakhine terrorists bother to sit down and have a talk with Rohingya leaders, the poison-less snakes? Why will they hesitate to root out these Rohingyas who, according to them, are influx viruses? ----Yet, it will not to be surprised, if Rohingyas take up arms no matter it is for their fight for survival, they will be branded as terrorists. It is a common misconception about Muslims whether they are extremists or not. Karen, Kachins, Rakhine and Shans, all, have been carrying out arm resistances for decades and they are freedom fighters. Indeed, they are fighting for their freedoms. But why can’t the same logic can be applied to Rohingyas or others? George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were once branded as terrorists by the respective colonial governments. But what are their statuses now even though the former two passed away?” 

He was quite truly put his arguments. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t have to work to get solutions diplomatically. In fact, both arm-struggling and diplomacy are needed to get solutions to the grave humanitarian disasters being faced by Rohingyas and Kamans. It doesn’t matter what others think of you, terrorists or whatsoever. But what matters is being honest to your-selves. It is for your survival and only the fittest will survive. And remember “Might is always Right.” 

M.S. Anwar is an activist and Student in Malaysia. The writings here are of the author’s own and do not reflect the editorial policy of RB.

Suplak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
January 30, 2013

The best place on earth to discuss the Rohingya issue is Myanmar - and it's timely to raise the issue with the authorities in Nay Pyi Taw now as they are in the process of seeking political reform for national reconciliation. And reform cannot take effect unless the Rohingya issue is addressed.Thailand alone, although receiving thousands of ethnic Rohingya annually, cannot solve the problem at the root without good cooperation in Myanmar. Arrest, detention, deportation - as Thailand is doing currently - will not help end the problem. Humanitarian assistance, if any, is just a temporary measure for survival but won't help them to have sustainable better lives.

Trafficking syndicates might take some blame, but they indeed are just facilitators to help the migrants get out of their place of origin and reach new homes.

The Rohingya issue is not new. Thailand arrests thousands of them annually as illegal migrants. News reports on illegal migrant Rohingya appear in the media around this time every year. Sometimes such reports provoke attention from the authorities and international community, but they will never lead to a permanent resolution to end their problem.

The Rohingya are leaving where they come from because they cannot live comfortably due to several disturbing factors: historical, cultural, religious, economic and political. People in Myanmar, who call them 'Bengali', rather than Rohingya, are debating the origins of these people. Many in Myanmar's Rakhine state, where the Rohingya mostly live, regard them as "foreign or alien" and feel very uncomfortable living with them. A series of major clashes between Rakhine and Rohingya people left a score of deaths last year. There are 135 registered ethnic groups in Myanmar but Rohingya are not included in the official list. The Myanmar elite used to recognise them as a part of the nation but there were several attempts during the dictatorial regime in the 1970s to delete them from the notion of state building and make them out as strangers. Some 200,000 Rohingya have taken refuge in Bangladesh since then.

They follow the Muslim faith, while the vast majority of the community is Buddhist. There is nothing wrong being Muslim in a predominantly Buddhist society, but that difference can stir up ethno-religious problems. Normal crime can easily develop into sectarian conflict, with two different religions never trusting each other, as happened in Rakhine State in June and October last year.

The clashes last year displaced at least 70,000 people who are currently living in 50 refugee camps scattered near Sittwe, Kyauktaw and Maungdaw townships in Rakhine State. The authorities are looking at places for permanent settlement for them, but such a plan raises concern among Rakhine people, as they fear they can't live peacefully with the Rohingya. They demanded a public hearing before any decision to resettle the Rohingya in any part of Rakhine State.

Politically, the ethnic Rohingya formed many organisations struggling for some certain degree of self-rule since 1947. The Rohingya political movements are not so strong, but have some voice to show they exist. The most active one these days is Arakan Rohingya National Organisation - ARNO - which tries to unite all ethnic Rohingya in the struggle.

Myanmar officials regard Rohingya political organisations as terrorists and have no peace plan for this ethnic group, although many other armed ethnic groups have drawn up truces.

To solve the Rohingya issue, all con?cerned parties in Myanmar need to readjust their basic attitude toward them first. The government needs to consider them as national citizens and look into the real root cause of the conflict they have with other groups, and with the state of Myanmar. Otherwise they will not cease taking refuge in other countries.

Bangkok Post
January 30, 2013

Nearly 350 illegal Rohingya migrants were found crammed inside two vessels entering Thai waters in southern Ranong and Phuket provinces on Tuesday.

In Ranong, a boat carrying about 140 Rohingya migrants was spotted floating about 5.5 kilometres off Phayam island in Muang district about 8.30am by a naval patrol boat.

Naval officers provided the illegal migrants with food and water, a source said. Humanitarian assistance was also provided to help them on the way to their destination.

The Rohingya had to be sent back out to sea as authorities were already struggling with an influx of illegal Muslim Rohingya migrants, the source said.

Several boats carrying Rohingya have illegally entered Thailand via this southern province on a daily basis. In some cases, the Rohingya sunk their own boats to prevent authorities from sending them back out to sea, the source said.

In Phuket, about 200 illegal Rohingya migrants were found crammed inside a vessel searched by marine police and naval officers off Racha Noi island in Muang district Tuesday.

The boat was initially spotted floating between Racha Yai and Racha Noi islands by fishermen on Monday. They provided the migrants with food and water and told the authorities.

They suggested the boat people land on Racha Noi, Phuket's southernmost island, because it was uninhabited. Some of the migrants camped on the island overnight, but most remained on the boat.

A combined marine police and navy team descended on the boat late Tuesday. It was not known where they were planning to take the refugees.

The 200 Rohingya are the latest to reach southern Thailand, following a series of arrests in Songkhla and at sea in Phangnga province this month.

This lifts the total number of illegal Rohingya migrants now in custody to about 1,700.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul will lead a delegation of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members to meet Islamic leaders and security agencies in the three southernmost border provinces tomorrow. He said the delegation would get first-hand information about the southern violence.

He will also use this opportunity to seek a solution to the Rohingya migrant problem from the OIC and ask the delegation which countries wanted to take in the migrants who had fled from Myanmar's Rakhine state to Thailand.

As those migrants had entered Thailand, the kingdom had to provide them with temporary assistance on a humanitarian basis, he said. Authorities had to work with several international agencies such as Unicef and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to find a solution.

Phuket Gazette
January 29, 2013

PHUKET: The group of Rohingya refugees discovered off Koh Racha Noi today – numbering 205 in total – were given food and water before being “helped on” in their southbound journey.

On hearing the news of the refugees’ arrival, Rawai Municipality quickly dispatched a speedboat with basic provisions. The boat departed Chalong Pier about midday, and on arriving at Koh Racha Noi officers on board discovered that a Royal Thai Navy vessel was already there.

About 10 Thai Navy officers checked the refugees and handed out food and water before “allowing” the refugees to continue their journey toward Malaysia, the Phuket Gazette was told.

Throughout the day the Gazette received conflicting reports about the refugees: some stating that there were only men and boys on the boat; others claiming women and children were also on board, as has been the trend with recent Rohingya arrivals in Thailand.

One of the reports received by the Gazette identified Sarit Chandee, a villager on Koh Racha Yai, saying that the Rohingya were first spotted at sea by local fisherman last night.

Mr Sarit described the boat as having two levels, being only several meters wide and 30m long.

The Gazette has yet to learn whether the hundreds of Rohingya reported earlier today at Koh Phra Thong, on the Phang Nga coast north of Phuket, were also “helped on” – or if they were taken into custody by Thai officials, like the hundreds of Rohingya who have arrived by boat over the past few weeks.

The number of Rohingya coming ashore in Phang Nga has forced officials to relocate hundreds of them to immigration centers in other provinces across Southern Thailand (story here).

State news agency MCOT reported yesterday that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought clarification from a variety of agencies on the plight and options of well over 1,000 Rohingya migrants currently in Thai custody (story here).

Bangkok Post
January 29, 2013

The Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) says the Myanmar government's policy of segregation in Rakhine state is the main factor in the mass migration of the Rohingya people - and admits it is also at fault for its own failure to act in the past.

Kraisak Choonhavan, vice president of AIPMC and chair of the Thailand Caucus, said many Rohingya people fleeing Myanmar in hope of better life are likely to instead face detention or discrimination in other countries.

Mr Kraisak blamed Asean for not doing enough to address the root cause of the problem, in a statement issued on Tuesday.

He said Asean should put pressure on the Myanmar government to do more to safely integrate the Rohingya population and ensure them their basic rights. 

At the same time, Asean must work closely with regional law enforcement authorities and human rights agencies to combat trafficking of Rohingya refugees, he advised. 

Recent evidence indicated that some Thai officials were involved in the trafficking operation, the press statement said.

AIPMC president Eva Kusuma Sundari, who is an Indonesian MP, criticised Asean for failing to offer human rights protection to the Rohingya. The Myanmar government's policy had isolated Rohingya people in slums or camps with virtually no access to work, education or medical attention, she said.

She plans to bring the issue up at the Asean Intergovernmental Commission of Human Rights forum scheduled from Jan 28 to Feb 2 in Brunei.

Maung Maung 
RB News 
29.01.2012 

(Translated into English by M.S. Anwar) 

Mye-Bun, Arakan - During the violence against Rohingyas and Kamans in Arakan in October 2012, hundreds of Rohingyas and Kamans were massacred by Rakhine Terrorists and inhumanly buried in many graves. Recently, a few mass graves where the corpses of Rohingyas and Kamans were buried were found out. 

There were five graves found at a hill-side slope quite far from the quarter of Taung Paw. Five corpses in the first grave, three in the second and one each in the other three graves were found out respectively. 


The five dead bodies found in the first grave were of male and they were identified as: 

(1) U Bodi Miah S/o U Guth Fan 
(2) U Leraya S/o U Bodi Miah 
(3) Muhammed Sutun S/o U Hafiz Ahamed 
(4) U Maung Hla S/o U Jaw Ra Mud 
(5) U Nazir Ahmed S/o U Abdur Rahman 

The three corpses found in the second grave were of female and they were identified as: 

(1) Daw Saw Mar Khatun D/o U Kasim 
(2) Daw Hairay Nisa D/o U Bodi Miah 
(3) Daw Khusum Bi D/o U Bodi Miah 

And each dead body in other three respective graves was identified as: 

(1) U Kasim S/o U Abbar (Male) 
(2) Daw Chin Mar D/o U Abbar (Female) 
(3) U Futiya S/o U Basayr (Male) 


All these people were murdered and buried in the clothes they were on. Having finding out these corpses, the villagers informed to the concerned authority.
The Rohingyas have no state to call their own. (Photo - Mashiur Rahaman)
Mashiur Rahaman
The Express Tribune
January 29, 2013

BANGLADESH / TEKNAF: Six months ago, 89-year-old Abdul Matin fled the sectarian riots in the state of Rakhine, in Myanmar, to a refugee camp in Bangladesh. His house was burnt down during the unrest, along with all his belongings. With nothing but cruel memories of a bleeding homeland, he and his family salvaged what they could and crossed over the River Naf. 

“We had no choice but to sell the jewllery my wife was wearing at the time we escaped to pay to cross the river,” Matin told The Express Tribune. 

Matin is one of the more than 20,000 Rohingyas who fled Myanmar and came to Bangladesh, a state that does not give them refugee status. Here, the ‘unregistered’ Rohingya refugees do not officially exist. 

“In Islam, such migration is considered a ‘hijrat’ but in our case, the word Rohingya has become a derogatory term which the locals use to degrade us,” he said. 

At present, Matin and his seven family members live under an eight-by-six feet tent in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Teknaf, on the Bangladeshi side of Naf. In his hometown, Matin owned a shop, now he sells coconuts. He said he had a little idea about what life in a refugee camp would be like but the reality is far graver. 

“The daughter of the woman living in the next tent was gang-raped last week. Another family in a nearby tent is engaged in prostitution because they don’t have any male relatives who could earn for them,” said Matin, now scared for his own daughters’ future. “The worst thing is that we can’t even seek security from police as the authorities don’t recognise our existence here.” 

Myanmar passed a law in 1982 that effectively rendered the Rohingya community stateless. Frequent waves of ethnic violence since 1991 – some of those state-sponsored – have pushed more than 250,000 Rohingyas into Bangladesh, where they live in squalid, makeshift camps with little or no access to healthcare or education.

Since 1992, the Bangladeshi government has denied the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) permission to register the Rohingya refugees. They are still considered illegal migrants and are not entitled to the food relief provided by the World Food Program. They are also denied access to basic healthcare and education provided by the UNHCR and its partner organisations. 

“People do not leave their homes and go to a foreign country just because they will get basic healthcare or education,” said Jing Song, the UNHCR spokesperson in Dhaka. 

Unfortunately, the Bangladeshi government is determined to keep the aid to a bare minimum to avoid creating a ‘pull factor’ (conditions that will attract more refugees), an official of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management said on condition of anonymity. 

In late July 2012, the Bangladeshi government ordered three prominent international aid organisations – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger), and Muslim Aid – to cease assistance to Rohingya refugees living in unregistered camps in the Cox’s Bazaar district and around the Teknaf district. 

However, denial of healthcare and education is not all that the Rohingyas have to deal with. Since July, Bangladesh police and border authorities have launched an unprecedented crackdown, pushing over 6,000 Rohingyas back to Myanmar. Some 500 were also arrested from different parts of the country. 

Consequently, the state’s mistrust of the refugees has trickled down to the local population. Teknaf residents believe the refugees are behind the rising petty crime in the area around the unregistered camps. 

“Ever since the government has snapped aid coming from international agencies – which were supporting the unregistered refugees in these camps – the crime rate has been on the rise,” said Bokhtiar Ahmed, councilor of the local government authority at Ukhiya Upozila (sub-district) Teknaf and a member of the Anti-Rohingya Settlement Campaign. “Although we don’t want them to be settled here, we do want them to be treated humanly until they are repatriated,” he said. 

Out of desperation, many refugees have started begging or running prostitution rackets in and around the camps, he alleged. Ahmed added that many local influential people are also exploiting the poor Rohingyas for crimes as severe as smuggling and armed robberies. 

Sub-Inspector Mahmud Ratan of the Teknaf police station agreed with this assessment, “We have been receiving frequent reports of crime, including theft, arms assault, begging, smuggling and even prostitution, involving the unregistered Rohingyas. It’s a nightmare-like situation for the law enforcing authorities. These crooks are not registered and therefore cannot be traced down without their basic information.” 

For the refugees, then it is being stuck between a rock and a hard place. “The Bangladesh government says we are illegal migrants. But we didn’t enter Bangladesh secretly to work or to do crime. We have come to save our lives and our families,” said Ziaur Rahman, another refugee who lives in the Ukhiya Sub-District camp, some 12km north of Teknaf. “People are turning to crime out of desperation. What else would they do to feed their families?”
Radio Australia
January 29, 2013


A Burmese academic and human rights activist has resigned from his position at a Brunei university, complaining of censorship.

Dr Maung Zarni says the University Brunei Darussalam has "punished" him for speaking out about the violence between mainly-Muslim Rohingyas and mainly-Buddhist ethnic Rakhine in Burma.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Speaker: Dr Maung Zarni, visiting fellow at London School of Economics


Qutub Shah
RB News
January 29, 2013

(Edited by Anwar Arkani)

Maungdaw: Since last few months Myanmar government has been taking new approaches one after another to re-register the Rohingyas as “Bengalis”. Despite taking violent measures such as arrest, torture, abuse, cancelling property ownership, withdrawing family lists and temporary identity cards, etc., it seems that the government is not succeeding in implementing it due to lack of cooperation from the people.

As the operation does not move forward successfully with its core motives, the government has started taking cruel measures against those that do not comply with. On January 25, 2013, in Kuñúir Háli (Leik Ya) village, Maungdaw Township, the Nasaka Commander of Region 4, U Aung Myo Zaw Htay, has summoned 64 Rohingya families to the camp who denied to be registered as “Bengali illegal immigrants.” Upon arrival at the camp, the females were segregated and forced to run around the compound of the camp the whole day. And the males were tortured inhumanely. Even the elderly, pregnant, underage or disabled persons and nursing mothers were not excused.

In the evening, on condition of being present whenever summoned, they all were set free except Molvi Sayed Alam s/o Amir Hamza, 42, who was detained after being handcuffed by 6 Nasaka personnel. Also Molvi Hashim, the principal of Kuñúir Háli Islamic School, is reportedly delisted from the census falsely accusing that he organized the people not to cooperate with the operation.

In addition, these 64 families were excluded from participating in the current local census that is being conducted by Nasaka. Census is conducted twice a year.
Thai police rescued trafficked Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. (Photo - EPA)
Bangkok Post
January 29, 2013

108 migrants saved as 6-month stay limit set 

Security agencies will ask the government to build detention centres for Rohingya in Songkhla and Rayong. 

Officials have yet to settle on the locations but say each batch of arriving migrants will not stay at the centres longer than six months. 

Thailand will not accept the Rohingya as long-term refugees as this could lead to far greater numbers arriving, the National Security Council (NSC) said yesterday. 

Earlier yesterday, 108 Rohingya migrants were rescued from a sunken boat at Mu Ko Surin Marine National Park in Phangnga. 

The Rohingya were spotted floating about 1km off Surin Tai island in Khura Buri district about 2pm, Wattanasak Thongrakthong, deputy chief of Mu Ko Surin National Park, said. 

The migrants comprised 69 men, 26 women and 13 children, including a one-month old baby, he said. 

They said their boat broke down and they had to swim to shore, the park official said. All were living in a temporary shelter on the island. 

They were the second batch of Rohingya migrants found in Khura Buri district in less than a week. 

On Friday, marine police inspecting a boat off Ra island found 96 Rohingya migrants crammed into the vessel. 

The NSC and other security agencies said yesterday they would ask the government to build three detention centres in Songkhla and Ranong to shelter the Rohingya, NSC secretary-general Lt Gen Paradon Pattanathaboot said. 

They will be held at the detention centres for six months after their arrival, he said, and then will be sent back to Myanmar or other countries if anyone will take them. 

Lt Gen Paradon met representatives of the armed forces and other security agencies on Friday to discuss the Rohingya problem. The six-month deadline has been set to prevent the migrants from becoming a long-term burden, he said. 

News reports that Rohingya migrants are receiving aid after being rescued from forests in Songkhla have prompted others still in hiding to contact officials to seek help. 

If Thailand offers to shelter Rohingya fleeing Rakhine state in Myanmar for longer than six months, it will have to deal with a far greater influx, Lt Gen Paradon said. 

"Now we must contact the countries that want us to help the Rohingya and ask them if they are ready to accept the people," he said. "The ambassadors of many nations met me and asked Thailand to help. I told them we are ready to help them but these countries must also accept Rohingya themselves." 

The Rohingya do not want to live in Thailand but want to work in a Muslim country. The government will continue to define them as illegal immigrants, the NSC chief said. 

"We consider them only as illegal immigrants and do not upgrade their cases to human trafficking status. Otherwise, other countries will step in and it will be difficult to solve the problem and get them out," he said. 

An army source said Rohingya migrants want to go to Malaysia but Thailand will also ask the US, Australia and European countries to accept them. Thailand believes it could take up to three years to solve the problem. 

More than 1,000 Rohingya migrants are being held in Songkhla and Ranong. The cost of caring for them since the first arrivals were rounded up early this month has reached 11 million baht, the source said. 

The source said that while fair humanitarian care must be provided, the Rohingya must not allowed to become too comfortable and get entrenched in Thailand. 

Meanwhile, 4th Army chief Lt Gen Udomchai Thamsarorat has reportedly transferred a lieutenant colonel and a lieutenant from the southern branch of the Internal Security Operations Command following a complaint they were involved in trafficking Rohingya in the South. 

UN Refugee Agency representative M Golam Abbas thanked the government and locals for taking care of the Rohingya migrants.
Vulnerable women such as this widow are prioritized for skills training such as soap-making in Kutupalong camp.
Vivian Tan
UNHCR
January 28, 2013

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh – In many countries, when you reach the age of 21 you become an adult and must start to fend for yourself. But in the refugee camps of south-eastern Bangladesh, 21 years after the Rohingya first started arriving as refugees, they are more dependent on aid than ever. 

Some 30,000 registered refugees in Kutupalong and Nayapara, two government-run camps near Cox's Bazar, are relying on regular distributions of food rations and relief items such as shelter and clothing. Basic water, sanitation and health services are provided by the government, UNHCR and its partners. 

While these may sound like luxuries to an estimated 200,000 unregistered Rohingya living outside the camps and to local villagers in this poverty-stricken country, camp residents lament that they cannot work legally or study beyond Grade 5 in the camps' 21 primary schools. 

"This is not life," said Shaufiq Alam, a 30-year-old refugee in Kutupalong camp. "I came 20 years ago. If I had been in the village I could have received higher education by now. The camp situation is depriving us of our lives." 

The UN refugee agency is working to change that sense of powerlessness, but within tight operational constraints. It works closely with refugee-elected camp management committees, empowering them to mediate disputes and organizing women's training and peace education workshops. 

Refugees are also encouraged to participate in the day-to-day running of the camps. Bibi Begum, 30, helps to distribute food rations in Kutupalong every two weeks. Today she is in charge of sugar, stirring a sackful with her hand to loosen the grains before spooning precise portions into waiting plastic bags. 

A widow with three children, she is one of seven incentive workers at the food distribution centre who are on a six-month rotation targeting vulnerable refugees like single mothers. 

"I get 1,820 taka (US$22.50) per month. It helps with the children's school supplies and I can buy supplementary things," she said. "Usually I make fishing nets for a living, but it is not profitable. I only made 1,000 taka after three months of work." 

Vocational training is another important empowerment tool. While the refugees are not permitted to work or to sell things they produce, UNHCR seeks to keep them occupied while teaching them skills like carpentry, soap making and tailoring that they can hopefully use in the future. 

At Nayapara camp, Hamida Khatun, a 40-year-old widow with five children, is busy making soap. "I wanted to earn some money so I approached UNHCR to put my name on the list," she said. "I've been doing this for a month, learning how to mix chemicals and use the mould." 

Her job today is to cut individual bars of soap to make sure they weigh a consistent 150 grammes each. "I am proud of my soaps," she said. "I get 1,036 taka per month for six months. But it's not enough. There are 14 people in my family – six are registered and get food rations, the rest are not registered and get nothing. The money helps to buy some extra rice but is not enough for extra blankets." 

When completed, Hamida's soaps are taken to the Bangladeshi Red Crescent Society to be distributed in the camp's Women's Centre along with some underwear, clothing and other personal items. 

The clothing items are made at the Nayapara Women's Centre by refugees attending the tailoring class. "They are usually aged 15 to 25, and rotate every six months," said one of the women in charge. "We teach them skills and keep them busy so hopefully they don't get married off at a young age." 

Unfortunately, there are few prospects after the six-month training as most refugees cannot afford to buy their own equipment. Even those who manage to buy a sewing machine find it hard to get raw materials and to market their products. Without regular practice, their skills fade quickly. 

In comparison, the unregistered Rohingya living outside the camps appear to have developed their own coping mechanisms over the years. Living conditions are dire in the makeshift sites near Kutupalong and Nayapara, but the markets are busy and people have found informal ways to survive without government or UNHCR support. 

This contrast highlights the need to rethink how best to help the refugees. 

"UNHCR is good at emergency response, setting up camps quickly in the hope that refugees can return in one to two years," said Dirk Hebecker, head of the agency's sub-office in Cox's Bazar. "But when the situation gets protracted, we need to be able to adjust our strategies." 

He added that the international community should work with the Bangladeshi government to shift from focusing on just the two camps – which host just 10 to 15 per cent of the refugee population – to the whole refugee population if practical solutions are to be found to this long-running situation.
The Corpse of the Killed Rohingya after Post-Mortem 
M.S. Anwar 
RB News 
January 28, 2013 

Maung Daw, Arakan - Today, around 12:00 Noon (Myanmar Standard Time), a few military together with some Rakhine terrorists shot a poor Rohingya farmer to dead in the village of Baggona, Southern Maung Daw. The Rakhine terrorists are from nearby Kanthayar Village and military are from the camp based in the same village. The camp is under the commandment of Major Ye Win Aung from KayeMyaing Military Camp, Southern Maung Daw. 

“Rafique S/o Abdul Majid (25), a poor Rohingya farmer, was looking after his cattle by his village. Meanwhile, around four military and four Rakhine terrorists from Kanthayar came up and attempted to rob and take way his cattle. As he started to hurry to escape the robbery together with his cattle, the military shot at him and four bullets hit his body. 

The above-mentioned four Rakhine terrorists are Pho Thar Htwe, Maung Maung, Mido and Saw Maung. The former three are from Kanthayar and the latter, Saw Maung is from KayeMyaing. The whole Kanthayar was set up with the Bangladeshi Rakhines in 1970s with the help of Gen. Ne Win. 

Coincidentally, today, NaSaKa (border security force) is carrying out the census operation in the village, an operation that NaSaKa have been carrying for the past two decades and twice a year (but there is no digital finger print being taken in the operation). So, the villager informed NaSaKa and NaSaKa Captain Myo Htaik Aung from Maggyi Chaung Camp under the NaSaKa area No. 7 went to the place where the crime took place. 

There was a minor confrontation between NaSaKa and Military as NaSaKa didn’t allow the military to hide the body of the bullet hit Rohingya. His ailing body bit by four bullets was sent to Maung Daw hospital. There in hospital, according to the accompanied people, he died immediately after Rakhine doctors give injection to him. They suspect the doctors for killing the Rohingya. His body was returned after the post-mortem” said a Rohingya Elder from a nearby village.

Now, Arakan has become a silent killing field where a slow yet an effective genocide of Rohingyas and Kamans are being carried out. Burmese regime and Rakhine extremists will keep lying and denying that. Only the presence of Multi-National Peace-Keeping Force or UN Peace Force in Arakan can stop the genocide. It is high time for Rohinya Leaders to be more realistic to be able to see what measures are to be taken to effectively stop the pogroms. It is high time for them to stop living in their fantasy worlds.

News Elsewhere: Tonight around 10PM Myanmar Time, Natala Rakhines from a nearby village torched a Rohingya house in the village of Thaung Paing Nya of Myo Thu Gyi Village Tract, Maung Daw Township. When the villagers gathered to put off the fire, Military started firing so that they can't put off the fire.

Updated News: According to some latest news coming out of Maung Daw, the house burnt in Thaung Paing Nya was not owned by Rohingyas. According to them, the house was a house at a Golf Field that Golf Players used to use for resting. It was torched by NaTaLa Rakhine terrorists to buck up the blames on and to be able to create more violence against Rohingyas through Government. Now, the innocent villagers are too afraid to live in the village and are trying to escape the arbitrary expected to be carried out."
(Photo - Phuket Wan)
Bangkok Post
January 28, 2013

Two army officers attached to the southern area Region 4 office of the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), suspected of being involved in the smuggling of Royingha migrants into the country, have been transferred out of the area, an army source said.

The source said Lt-Gen Udomchai Thammasaroraj, the Fourth Army commander, signed an order to transfer the two -- a lieutenant colonel and a lieutenant -- although in an investigation there was no evidence to confirm their involvement in the trafficking of the illegal immigrants.

"However, they have been transferred out of the area to prevent further problems because there had been complaints against them," the source said.

There was no evidence against them because tambon administration organisation (TAO) officials who were involved in the smuggling of the Rohingya people had not been arrested for interrogation.

Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief, said to cope with the problem of the Rohingya migrants the army needed cooperation from other agencies such as the Interior Ministry and police.

Pol Lt-Col Paisith Sangkhahapong, director of the Department of Special Investigation's (DSI) anti-human trafficking centre, said it was agreed last week at a meeting of security agencies that more than 800 Rohingya migrants who had been arrested for illegal entry would sent from the country in six months.

In the meantime, Thailand would provide them with humanitarian assistance.

The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul.

Thailand would coordinate with Myanmar to take the Rohingya people back and with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) help to find a third country to take them for resettlement.

Pol Lt-Col Paisit said there was no evidence that the illegal Rohingya migrants had been smuggled into the country by a human trafficking ring.

They were helped to enter the country and provided with shelter illegally but there was no evidence of a third country they were to be sent to, he said.
Rohingya refugees try to cross into Bangladesh (Photo - AFP)

Senator The Hon Bob Carr
Minister for Foreign Affairs
GPO Box 36
Sydney NSW 2001
Facsimile: (02) 92283655
January 27, 2013

Re: Communal Conflict in Rakhine State, Burma/Myanmar

Dear Senator Carr:

I firstly would like to commend the Australian Government's efforts in helping to improve the humanitarian situation following sectarian conflict last year in Rakhine (Arakan) State in Burma. As an Australian of Burmese origin, I am very proud about the way Australian Government had taken a lead in calling on all sides to peacefully resolve that communal conflict in Rakhine State in Burma.

Australian Government does have a long record of actively engaging with Burma/Myanmar. In relation to the BurmaRohingya people of Rakhine State, I note that the Australian Government have had taken a humanitarian based policy engagement with Burma. I recall that 20 years ago when forced expulsion of Burma Rohingya people took place in Burma, the then Labor Government despatched Justice Marcus Einfeld to the Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh. In following years, the Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evens had been involved in a leading role, along with his counterpart leaders of ASEAN, in finding possible solution for those Rohingya refugees.

As of recent, I am concerned about the continue segregations of Rohingya and Rakhine people within Rakhine State. The slow pace of returning to normality in Rakhine State is indicative of the inability by the Burmese government and Burmese political leaders to promote a feasible solution for Rohingya. I have outlined my concern in enclosed report, “Rohingya: New Exodus?”. As the report suggests, I fear that there will be more Rohingya taking perilous sea journey to reach especially Thailand and Malaysia.

Regarding with the unresolved communal conflict in Rakhine State, I would ask Australian Government to take a proactive humanitarian approach, in concert with its ASEAN partners, to help improve the situation for Rohingya. By helping to improve situation in Rakhine State, the already displaced Rohingya would not be compelled to take a perilous journey abroad. I also believe that this would serve in favour of Australia's security and political interests.

Thanks you and Australian Government for your continuing helps to Burma/Myanmar.

Yours faithfully,

MP U Shwe Maung
RB News
January 26, 2013

U Shwe Maung, Member of Parliament, Buthidaung constituency, Rakhine State, Myanmar, has sent a message to Thailand Prime Minister Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Myanmar President U Thein Sein, ASEAN Secretary General, UN Secretary General, UN Spokesperson and Ms. Valerie Amos, UN under Secretary General (Source: Twitter) 

The message is as below: 

Dear Your Excellencies, 

Rohingyas issue is no more local. Now it becomes regional and global. It is miserable to know stories and situation of Rohingya refugees in Thailand. 

On behalf of Rohingyas, I would like to request all of your excellencies to cooperate with President U Thein Sein and The Pyithu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann, to recognize existence of Rohingya in Rakhine State and find a permanent solution for Rakhines & Rohingyas based on Peaceful Coexistence NOT Segregation. 

I have a very concrete document and facts. I am ready to share and cooperate for peace and stability of Rakhine State and Union of Myanmar. I would also like to appeal to local and international donors for urgent Humanitarian Assistance to all victims of violence equally. 

Finally, I want to say "Sympathize Rohingyas who are part of Rakhine State, part of Myanmar, part of Region, part of World". 

Thank you indeed. 

U Shwe Maung, MP 
January 24, 2013

RYM & M.S. Anwar 
RB Article
January 26, 2013

The writings here may be self-deprecating. But the sincere truth-seekers deserve to know how and why there are some blacksheeps (in other words, puppets or stooges of Burmese regime) in Rohingya community. In fact, it is not new and strange for a community that has been enslaved for decades. Hereby, it is worth to wonder how and why Bhagat Singh (the pioneer of the Indian Revolution against British Colonialists), Mahatma Gandhi, Saya San (the pioneer of Burmese Farmer Revolution against the British Colonialists) and Gen. Aung San etc got arrested, killed or assassinated? Didn't all these happen because of the puppets within their own communities? 

Being an enslaved and persecuted community, Rohingya community, too, has the puppets within them, recruited and hired by the authority. It is no longer secret to anyone that Rohingyas are one of world's persecuted people (in fact, the most persecuted people in the world we should say). And since June 10, 2012, there has been a state-sponsored and systematic ethnic cleansing or genocide has been being carried out against them. 

Historically, Rohingyas are sons of the indigenous proto-Australoid people called Negritos and Indo-Aryans of Arakan, who were once recognized as an ethnic group of Burma and among the legitimate citizens of Burma. Since 1962, they have become the victims of persecutions on account of their different ethnic origin and religion. They have been being made educationally backward, economically crippled and religiously persecuted. In short, they have been being degenerated mentally and physically. On the other hand, Burmese regime has made "doing puppets or acting as stooges to them" as if it is the only exit to the economic hardships of Rohingyas or their unemployment problems. 

Especially after June 2012, Rohingyas are boycotted and their access to foods and medicines are blocked led by Rakhine extremists and Skinned Head Fascists in Saffron with the support of the authority in Arakan. The boycott has been leading to serious famine just like in Ethiopia from 1983 throughout 1985, severe malnutrition and diseases both in the camps of displaced Rohingya and other neglected areas of Rohingyas all over Arakan. In such situations, it has become easier for the Burmese regime to attract more uneducated and unintellectual Rohingyas to act as their stooges. From the point of these Rohingya stooges, it is their fight for survival no matter they need to suck own people's blood. But who are the ultimate culprits to send Rohingyas to the edge of such extremely vulnerable condition? Below are the two examples on two Rohingya puppets hired by the authority in Maung Daw. 

There is the chairman of quarter 5, Maung Daw, Khin Maung @ Baasayr S/o Laalu, who was appointed after the former chairman got arbitrarily arrested by the Barbaric Police in the township. He was once imprisoned due to narcotrafficking. He, in cooperation with Enus, another puppet from the village, extorted approximately Kyat 30 Millions from the villagers in the recent time. He charged Kyat 0.15 Million per house in the quarter in the name of fulfilling NaSaKa (Border Security Force)'s demands in the ongoing operation against Rohingyas. It might or might not be with approval higher authority, he is certainly and deeply troubling the people with cooperation of lower level authority in Maung Daw. 

One more famous puppet is U Roshid (F) U Khawlil Rahman, 45 years, from Shwe Zarr village tract, North hamlet, Maungdaw. He is totally an alliterated person and came of very poor family background. He started collaborating with NaSaKa from Camp 14, under NaSaKa area (6) about four years ago. And he is always famous for reporting false information. Besides, he is involved in many illegal crossed-border businesses in partner with Maung Daw Police and Rakhine extremists. There is a Hla Sein, a second lieutenant Police (a Rakhine extremist), who works with this puppet. On top of that, he was used by Rakhine extremists and Rakhine Police to instigate violence in June 2012. NaSaKa Captain U Kyaw Myint from the said Camp 14 with the help of this puppet has extorted millions of money (Kyats) from the innocent villagers of Shwe Zarr, Maung Daw, since June 2012. 

These puppets are two examples of many puppets bred by the authority in Arakan. If the higher or central government is not involved in this, they should directly take actions against all those who are behaving above the law and for acting without their (central authority's) permission. Last but not the least, betrayals, being puppets and acting stooges are not new to any enslaved community as mentioned. As most of Rohingyas are systematically made uneducated , they are unable to steadfast, too naive to know who their real oppressors are and it is beyond to their intellect to be able to know how to fight against them. If the International communities and Rohingya Intellectual do not effectively stand up to save them, they are bound to be exterminated. 

RYM is a group of Rohingyas in Arakan who prefer not to be named. M.S. Anwar is an activist and student in Malaysia. The writings are of the authors' own and do not reflect the editorial policy of RB.

A delegation of BRAFA consisting of Shaukhat @ MSK Jilani (Chairman), Hussain Saifula (Vice-Chairman), and Max Zubair Ahamad (General Secretary) met with District Director Lois O’Keefe of the Congresswomen Gwen Moore’s District Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the date of January 23, 2013 and discussed about the plights of Burmese Rohingyas and Arakan Muslim population in Burma.

During the discussion on the roundtable, BRAFA Chairman highlighted and draw the attention of Congresswomen Gwen Moore as following:-

Since June 03, 2012 to October 2012, due to the atrocities, persecutions, ethnic cleansing and genocidal actions carried out by the Buddhist Rakhine political and elites group with the full supporting of Burmese military security forces on the indigenous Rohingya people in Arakan State, Burma which affected:-

1- Over 10,000 Rohingya people were killed and burned down by the Buddhist Rakhine groups and Burmese security forces in duty,

2- About 20,000 Rohingyas houses plus 57 mosques have been set fire and destroyed from 70 Muslim villages across 8 Townships of Arakan, Burma,

3- More than 135,000 Muslim Rohingyas have been displaced and became homeless and now living in the concentration camps as internally displaced persons (IDP) and refugees in their own country,

4- The living condition of the concentration camp is very poor, unhygienic, and overcrowded. the people in the concentration camp are not getting enough foods, clean water, and medical supplies and even people cannot move from one place to another, and no safety and protection at all, as well as elderly people, pregnant women and minor children are dying day to day because of shortages of food, poor hygiene, lack of medical facilities and malnutrition.

5- Thousands of Muslim population owned shops, market and commercial store have been confiscated by the Burmese government officials and never return back to the rightful owners,

6- hundreds of Muslims women and girls were raped by the Buddhists Rakhine people and Burmese security forces during the attack and violence in the name of protecting and helping them, and also many Muslim youths, students and religious scholars are being arrested by the Burmese government security forces and charged them with false and illegal allegations and presently, estimated 1,200 Muslim Rohingyas are in the Burmese jails in Arakan,

The BRAFA Chairman also told that Muslim Rohingyas are deprived of Burmese citizenship rights in Burma and currently, living as stateless people in their native land. In addition, the Arakan State Government officials, Immigration Authorities, NASAKA (Burma Border Security Forces) and Dr. Aye Maung led Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) members are now compelling the innocent Rohingya people to confess Bengali ethnicity and taking signatures by force in family data check-up to prove them foreigners. The leaders and members of RNDP and Arakan State Government authorities are also being implemented a program of segregation policy not allowing the Rohingyas and Arakan Muslims to go to Downtown and other places of inside Arakan State.

He further said that because of continuous persecutions, looting, torture and harassment by the Burmese security forces and armed Buddhist Rakhine groups, thousands of Muslim Rohingyas fled the country through the sea and now entering into neighboring ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, and moreover currently, many Rohingya people are under immigration detention in Thailand and Malaysia who fled the country to escape persecution and torture at the hands of Burmese security forces and armed Rakhine groups in Arakan,

The BRAFA Chairman also appealed to Congresswomen Gwen Moore through her District Director Lois O’Keefe the following three (3) points:-

1- To put paramount pressure on the Burmese President Thein Sein and his military Government Ministers through US Congress to end atrocities, rapes, torture and controlled genocide against the civilian Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority group in Arakan,

2- To introduce a legislation in favor of suffering Rohingya ethnic minority people of Arakan in the US Congress and also send strong messages to Burmese President Thein Sein to restore Burmese citizenship and basic fundamental human rights for the Rohingya ethnic minority people who were living in Arakan for centuries,

3- Until peace and security prevailing in Arakan State, recommend to dispatch UN Peace Keeping Forces in Arakan to protect the Rohingya ethnic minority and Arakan Muslim population from the ongoing atrocities, gross human rights violation, extermination and genocide committed by the Burmese government, its security forces and Buddhist Rakhine people.
MP Prompong (standing, white shirt) plans to raise the issue of how to fund the necessary support for the Rohingya with the Pheu Thai Party in hopes of solving anticipated budget issues. (Photo - Kritsada Mueanhawong)
Phuket Gazette
January 26, 2013

PHUKET: Another group of desperate Rohingya refugees found shelter along the Khura Buri coast north of Phuket yesterday after 25 days at sea, making them the third group to land along Thailand’s Andaman coast this month.

The 96 refugees shared the same harrowing story as the 179 who came ashore on January 23: days at sea surviving on scant rations of water and uncooked rice (story here).

The group composed 62 men, six women, 14 boys and 14 girls, Khura Buri District Chief Manit Pianthong said.

“They departed the Rakhine State in Myanmar on January 1… They hoped to find work in Thailand or Malaysia,” Mr Manit explained.

“They were all exhausted and hungry when we found them. Some ate the uncooked rice that they had brought with them in front of officers and the media; others cried out as they finally reached the shore,” he said.

Of the 96 most recent arrivals,12 of them were sick and needed medical treatment.

Refugees were given necessary medical treatment and physical check-ups, as well as food and water. The group was then transferred to the Khura Buri Community Hall, which is now functioning as a temporary shelter until they can be deported, Mr Manit said.

There are now 340 refugees being held at the Phang Nga detention centers, as many of the refugees have already been transferred to other provinces to deal with the sudden influx of potential asylum seekers (story here). Of the 340 Rohingya, 48 are being held at the Phang Nga shelter for women and children; 180 are at the Phang Nga Immigration detention center; and 112 are in the Khura Buri Police Station.

“The refugees need three meals a day – we simply don’t have the funds to support them. So there are donation centers at the local level that are gathering donations and raising funds,” Pheu Thai Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit said during his visit to the Khura Buri Community Hall yesterday.

On Monday, MP Prompong plans to raise the issue of funding the care for the Rohingya with the Pheu Thai Party in hopes of solving anticipated budget issues.

“If they stay here for several months, there will be monetary issues. I believe for now the government and private sector can continue to do their best to provide them with food and look after their health,” he said.

Qutub Shah
RB News
January 25, 2013

(Edited by Mayu Thitsar)

Maungdaw: On January 22, 2013, from Inn Dinn village tract, Maungdaw Township, a boat of 106 Rohingya voyagers led by Rakhine traffickers, set sail for Malaysia by bribing the respective authorities 4 million Kyats: 2 million for Nasaka (Border Security & Immigration Forces), 0.5 million for each of military, Sarapha (Special Bureau of Intelligent), village administration and police.

According to a Rohingya from Maungdaw, the director of Border Immigration Head Quarter (Nasaka), Maungdaw has assigned 2 persons from each village of Region 6 as “stooge and puppet” so that they can extort money and persecute Rohingyas more easily.

Kyauktaw: On January 23, 2013, Rohingya fishermen from Paik Seik village tract, Kyauktaw Township, went for fishing to sea. They saw a Rakhine boat tangled in the fishing net while they were fishing. So they, as a token of humanity, untied the tangled boat. But, to the contrary, yesterday, the boat owner Rakhines, who did not learn the alphabet of humanity, instead of offering thanks, sued for the very Rohingyas to the police asserting that there was much rice in their boat but Rohingya stole it secretly. So, the concerned police started ransacking all Rohingya houses minutely under the pretext of investigation for stolen rice and arrested three people groundlessly. They are:

(1) Salamat Khan
(2) Mohammed Ismaeel
(3) Abdu Shukkur

Qutub Shah
RB News
25.1.2013

(Edited by Mayu Thitsar)

Mrauk-U: Yesterday, a Rohingya man called Laloo s/o Khalil Ahmed, 55, from Dashfara village tract, Mrauk-U Township, went to Fifarang market to buy some chilies. Meeting him, the security forces of battalion 378, asked him by whose permission he went there. Then, they tortured him very mercilessly. Meanwhile, a boy named Abu Baker who was espying this scene of torture from his house, was arrested and forced to fill a very spacious water-container as a punishment for espying the event.

“Extremist Rakines have secret plan to terrorize afresh within 28th of this month in these villages: Reeda and Rabarang, Mrauk-U Township. The secret news was informed by a director of military security forces, who are encamped in those villages and by some Rakhine farmers, whose farms are in the very Rohingya villages” said on condition of anonymity to RB News.

On January 23, 2013, a member of village administration of Baishfara, Mrauk-U, called Kandoor, who is very familiar to the security forces of the village, was asked by them. “What is your race?” He replied, “I am a Rohingya.” Then, they slapped him on both sides of face.

Min Bya: The xenophobic and cockroach-eater Rakhines from Paik Myaung village, Min Bya Towship, have been threatening local Rohingyas in various ways. They are shouting loudly and irritating the very Rohingyas in the junctions, rendezvous and markets when they see any Rohingya passing by them by saying “Bengali”, and “we will torch your houses as we have already torched of other villagers”.

Bangkok Post
January 25, 2013

Thailand will shelter the Royingya for six months and seek talks with Myanmar and other countries to settle the fate of the illegal migrants, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said on Friday. 

The decision was reached in talks between the Foreign Ministry and other security agencies amid growing calls for Thailand not to turn the migrants away after they have entered the kingdom. 

The final say still rests with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has to endorse the plan after it is forwarded to her soon. 

According to latest counts by officials, 1,390 Rohingya are in the country, more than 200 of them women and children. Most of them are staying in the southern border provinces, mainly in Songkhla. 

The government will set aside a budget of 12 million baht or 75 baht a day for each of them for a daily allowance. 

Bangkok will hold talks with international agencies including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration, and the International Committee of the Red Cross for support on Thailand's plan. 

Thailand would also approach third countries willing to give the migrants a new home, the minister said. 

Mr Surapong did not rule out sending the Rohingya back to Myanmar because most of them came from the neighbouring country. The issue will be the subject of talks between the two governments, he added. 

Illegal migrants are subject to be deported in six months, according to Thai law. 

Thailand will bring up the issue with officials of the Organisation of Islamic Conference when they visit the southern region. Talks are also planned with the British ambassador to Thailand in an attempt to find a solution, as Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was once a colony of Britain. 

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in Myanmar. Most of them live in Rakhine state in the west and face brutal treatment from Myanmar authorities, including the reluctance of Nay Pyi Taw to grant them citizenship. 

The current crisis came to light after authorities rounded up more than 900 Rohingya in separate operations in Songkhla as they were waiting to be sent to work in Malaysia. 

A police investigation found some Thai army soldiers were linked to trafficking them from Myanmar to Malaysia through Thailand. Two of them based in the southernmost region are being probed in connection with the issue. 

In Prachuap Khiri Khan province, meanwhile, Rohingya refugees have gone on a hunger strike to demand an improvement in the meals provided by authorities. 

About 120 Rohinghya men have been transferred from Phangnga province to a detention facility run by immigration police in Muang district, awaiting their deportation. 

Disease-control officials also gave the men physical check-ups with help from Burmese interpreters. 

The Muslim refugees will remain at the facility until otherwise ordered. Two large rooms have been set aside for prayers. 

An interpreter said that the refugees were demanding the Thai government coordinate with the UN in helping them seek asylum in another country. They refuse to return to Myanmar because they fear for their safety. 

Many of them complained that the 75 baht allocated per day per person for food is not enough. They want better quality food in larger portions. They went on a hunger strike, but some were later talked out of it. 

Yusuf Towang, the president of a Muslim organisation in the province, said he had been working with immigration authorities to help the Rohingya. 

The Muslim community would collect donations to buy them food, clothing and other essentials to alleviate their problems before they are to be moved to another location, he said.

    • Rohingya Exodus