For Immediate Release

Following her recent visit to Rakhine State with Refugees International, Rushanara Ali MP, Shadow Minister for International Development, spoke in a Westminster Hall debate to call for an end to the discrimination against the Rohingya community in Burma and an urgent resolution to their citizenship status.

The humanitarian situation

Since inter-communal violence broke out a year ago in Rakhine State, Rohingya Muslims have been forced into segregated settlements, completely unsuitable for displacement camps, and many have been cut off from lifesaving aid. Rushanara said that the humanitarian situation she witnessed was dire with tens of thousands of people living in makeshift camps lacking food, water, sanitation, adequate shelter and access to healthcare. She said:

“One camp I visited, in Pauk Taw township, was accessible only by means of a two-hour boat journey. Non-governmental organisations had to bring drinking water in on boats, and primary health care was provided just one morning a week. The shores adjacent to the camp were covered in faeces, and dead rats floated in the water just metres from children who were bathing to keep cool in the scorching heat.”

“I heard stories of many people—particularly women—dying unnecessarily because of the lack of health care. That experience—observing hospitals turning people away in life-and-death situations because of their ethnicity and the fact that they are not recognised—echoed, to me, apartheid. I do not use that term lightly. Being forced into camps and not allowed out is the equivalent of being a prisoner in one’s own country.”

Citizenship rights and human rights violations

At the heart of this humanitarian crisis lies the question of citizenship. The Rohingya have been described by the United Nations as “one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.” Rushanara condemned the discriminatory orders against the Rohingya, including a directive placing a two-child limit on Rohingya couples and restrictions on their movements, cutting them off from their livelihoods and rendering them reliant on aid. She said:

“When I visited camps, where malnutrition rates are dangerously near emergency levels and where people are forced to live in segregated areas cut off from their livelihoods and are struggling to survive, I did not expect citizenship and identity to top the list of issues that people wanted to talk about. However, every group of Rohingya men and women, including children, to whom I spoke told me that their priority was recognition of their Rohingya identity and the restoration of their Burmese citizenship rights, which were taken away from them in the 1980s.”

“Many Rohingyas were keen to insist that ethnic Rohingya Muslims had been in Burma for centuries, yet the national and state Governments deny them their Burmese citizenship and their ethnic Rohingya identity, instead claiming that they are “Kala,” a racist derogatory term, or Bengali migrants from Bangladesh. One woman lost her entire family—I met a group of women, many of whom had similar stories—and she told me, “If, after having lost everything, including my whole family, because we are Rohingya Muslims, the Government still don’t recognise me as Rohingya in my own country, then I might as well be dead.”

Following the lifting of EU sanctions she called on the Government to use what leverage remained to exert influence on the Burmese authorities to prevent human rights violations.

Rushanara also called on the UK Government to:

• Press the Burmese authorities to facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access to Rakhine State and other parts of Burma.
• Improve conditions for displaced people, particularly in flood prone areas, and address shelter needs as a matter of urgency.
• Exert pressure on the Burmese authorities to restore the Rohingya’s Burmese citizenship status as a matter of urgency.
• Encourage the Burmese authorities to support a safe and voluntary return process for Rohingya with adequate protection.
• In light of Human Rights Watch’s recent report ‘All we can do is pray’ which concluded that crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing were being committed towards Burma’s Rohingya Muslims, she called on the UK Government to exert pressure on our international partners for an international inquiry into the events of June and October 2012 and March 2013.

A full transcript of the debate can be found here.

Mizzima News

June 17, 2013

Veteran dissident Win Tin on Friday called for the people of Myanmar to work together to solve continuing communal violence between Muslims and Buddhists across the country.

“If we see conflict, we must solve it with the given law,” said the National League for Democracy co-founder at an event organized by the Peace Cultivation Network, an Islamic-founded NGO.

Leaders from many religions and professions took to the stage at the Royal Rose Restaurant in Yangon to call for peace in Myanmar.

“Opportunists are always waiting for opportunities to color religion,” said Aye Lwin, of the Islamic Center of Myanmar. “If anything, we [people of Myanmar] need to solve the problems as a family.”

The conference came as Buddhist leaders concluded a two-day summit on the outskirts of Yangon, addressing communal violence. A draft law was proposed by members of the 969 movement on the first day of talks, which suggested prohibiting interfaith marriages, particularly to restrict Buddhist women from marrying Muslim men.

When questioned by Mizzima on the sidelines of the event about the law, U Nyarnitha, a monk from Pauk Saydi Monastery, said, “In religion, we should not be addressing these political issues.”

More than 200 people were killed and 120,000 displaced when fighting first erupted between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State last year. Since then, violent clashes have broken out in several pockets across the country where the communities of the two faiths live side-by-side.

The Daily Star

June 17, 2013

MYANMAR would start repatriation of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh but only after the situation in that country became stable. The conditional assurance came at the latest round of foreign office consultations held in Myanmar, between June 14 and 15.

There are presently 25,045 registered Rohingya refugees residing in two camps at Kutupalong and Noyapara waiting to be repatriated to Myanmar. Of them, around 9,000 were cleared by the Myanmar government in 2005. Although Bangladesh had never been for forced repatriation of refugees, we fail to see the reason of the foot dragging by the government of Myanmar even after lapse of eight years after according clearance. And the issue of ‘stability’ is a new caveat after the assurance given to the Bangladesh PM during her visit to Myanmar in December 2011to take back the Rohingyas.

For Bangladesh, the latest statement means little since the repatriation is predicated on the situation being stable in Myanmar. We feel that keeping stability in Myanmar is the sole responsibility of the government of Myanmar. And no international commitment should be made conditional to a situation whose description is highly subjective.

For a long time the issue of Rohingya repatriation to their country has been stalled on some excuse or the other by Myanmar, and the latest condition is apparently yet another ploy to dither on the issue. Not only should Myanmar start the process of repatriation immediately, it must also address the underlying causes for the problem, starting with the restoration of Rohingya citizenship.

RB News

June 16, 2013

Münster, Germany: On 15th of June, Amnesty International Münster has organized a penal discussion on Burma Human Rights situation by the theme of “How to improve Human Rights in Burma” at Münster Community College.

More than 50 persons attended the penal discussion including some Burmese nationals with various ethnic backgrounds. The penal was moderated by Dr. Ludger Weckel, co-founder and member of the Institute of Theology and Politics, Münster. The penal speakers include; 

• U Nwe Aung, former Director of the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) 
• Ulrich Delius, Society for The Persecuted People, NGO, Göttingen
• Andreas Cochlovius, Chairman of Lawyers Without Borders, Frankfurt
• Tanja Gohlert, European Burma Office (EBO) in Brussels
• Ruprecht Polenz, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Parliament (from current governing party CDU)
• Phuong Le Trong, a lecturer, Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Bonn
• Christoph Strässer, Member of the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the German Parliament (from opposition SPD party)

U Nwe Aung presented about the 2008 Constitution which is regarded as flawed. 25% Military presence in the parliament makes the Constitution more undemocratic and non amendable. “Though current government is called democratic civilian government, the final say is with the Chief of Staff which means the Military is the supreme ruler of the country.” he explained.

“IDPs and Refugees are the products of long standing ethnic conflicts” said Ulrich Delius. He has highlighted the need of political will from the government to end the internal conflicts permanently. He has also stated that the suffering of IDPs and Refugees of Rohingyas, Kachin, Karen and other minorities has to be acknowledged by the government. Burma government should take these issues seriously and tackle by the combined efforts of law enforcement and civil societies supported by NGOs helping capacity building of those persecuted people.

Mr. Adreas Cochlovius said that German government has a misconception on Burma’s reforms. Burmese ethnic people seeking Asylum in Germany have been rejected due to that misconception that Burma has already transformed to a democratic country. But actual Human Rights situation in Burma is still considerably poor. Many ethnic people such as Rohingyas are under severe human rights violations and the persecution on Minorities spread to Muslim minorities around Burma. “Federal government should see clearly the existence of persecution in Burma and treat Burmese Asylum seekers in accordance with the current Human Rights records” he said.

Tanja Gohlert praised the national reconciliation process in Burma which is getting momentum. “Recent reconciliation between Burmese government and Kachin ethnicity is a milestone and is the great achievement in this political reform.” she said. She added that the current civilian government’s approach to national reconciliation is serious and as Burma lacks resources and capacity, more time is need to achieve nationwide reconciliation level.

Phuong Le Trong discussed about the diversity of the ethnic minorities in Burma. Bringing all ethnicity under one umbrella is difficult unless government treats them as equal and respects their human dignity and rights. “Government should approach the diversity issue in a positive way and should bring strength and power out of the diversity” he said.

Chairman of the foreign affairs committee explained that Burma is located in a geopolitically important place. It is a place that needs a balance between Western democracies and China economic influence. Constructive engagement is the better way to persuade Burma to a democratic and rights respecting country rather than isolating it. But Germany will keep monitoring Burma Human Rights records and investment and engagement will be reflected on actual situations.

Christoph Strässer discussed about how the constructive engagement will serve as an incentive to Burmese reforms. At the same time, Burmese government should end long suffering of innocent people caught up in ethnic conflicts. The conflict with ethnic people is manmade and it can be solved by discussion, negotiation and mutual respect. Germany will be extra careful when companies are investing in Burma to see whether these investments serve community development, equality and human rights.

Some of the audiences have raised their concern on existing human rights violations in Burma. Some have suggested that by having too much engagement and support to current Burmese government, it could be interpreted as Western countries are satisfied with Burmese Human Rights records. Some also asked the MPs to monitor the human rights situation very carefully and to recommend German investment and engagement accordingly. 

The penal discussion is successfully concluded at 7PM with the remarks that “Burma is changing but Human Rights is still an issue that Burmese government must address seriously if it wants to be named as a full fledge Democratic Nation”.

Amir Jalil Bobra

The Nation PK

June 15, 2013

RB News

June 14, 2013

Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK President Tun Khin raised the issues of Rohingya IDPs inside Burma as well as about the Rohingya refugees living abroad particularly in Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Malaysia at the UNHCR annual consultations Conference which was held in UN International Conference Center Geneva on last Tuesday and Wednesday.

During the consultation, Tun Khin asked the conference to address the root cause of the problem and to find the long term solution for the ethnic Rohingyas living in Burma and for those taking refuge in various foreign countries.

BROUK President said “It is important that UN, ASEAN Countries, Bangladesh and EU countries have to come together to find out why Rohingyas are fleeing from their own homeland. More than 35,000 Rohingyas including women and children have already fled Burma on risky journey by boats. President Thein Sein government have created impossible situations for the Rohingyas to live in Burma and UNHCR needs to play a key role in this critical time to discuss with ASEAN, EU, US, UK and Bangladesh to solve the Rohingya issue permanently. It is urgently needed to stop the continuous exodus of Rohingyas from Burma”

On the same day a side event was taken place at International Conference Center Geneva which was organized by Equal Rights Trust. Tun Khin joined the panel with Chris Lewa, Director of Arakan Project and Melanie Teff from the Refugees International. The panel was moderated by Amal De Chickera from Equal Rights Trust. The discussion focused on different characteristics of Rohingya situation and the role of UNHCR in relation to the stateless persons, refugees and internally displaced persons. 

Chis Lewa highlighted the current situations of the Northern Arakan State in details and boatpeople issue. Melanie Teff raised concern on the situations of Rohingya IDPs in Sittwe, Pauktaw and other parts of Arakan. Tun Khin spoke about the incompatibility of the Burmese Citizenship Law 1982 with the International Human Rights Law. He also mentioned about Rohingya existence in Burma since early 7th Century A.D and how Rohingya ethnic and citizenship rights were stripped of by the successive Burmese governments.

Tun Khin urged UN for immediate intervention in Arakan to stop crimes against humanities and to send international Observers. He has further highlighted the importance of forming a UN Commission of Inquiry to these crimes and by bringing the perpetrators to justice, it will help to protect the lives, and properties of the Rohingyas in future. Human dignity and honor of the most vulnerable and persecuted Rohingyas will be also reassured by the international mandate. The commission of enquiry will encourage Burmese government to guarantee the Rule of Law in Arakan. It could also serve as a platform in assisting the government to rehabilitate the Muslim Rohingyas from IDP camps back to their original homes. Bringing accountability to the violence will end the segregation of the communities and villages and entire Arakan population could live in their homes with mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. He also urged to include the proposal of UN Commission of Inquiry to be discussed in the current UN Human Right Council session.

Maung Auther 

RB News

June 14, 2013

Maung Daw, Arakan - Captain Htaik Soe of Military Light Infantry Unit 355 and U Tin Tun, head of Police Base, at Kayemyaing, Southern Maung Daw and their comrades are continuously beating and robbing Rohingyas in Southern Maung Daw. According to the reports, they had robbed three Rohingyas in Southern Maung Daw on 11th June 2013.

Besides, “between 9:30AM and 1PM on 12th June 2013, they robbed money and jewelries from six Rohingya families in the village of Kilaindaung (Duchira Dan), Southern Maung Daw. The heads of the robbed Rohingya families are:

On 12th June 2013 morning, Deputy NaSaKa (Border Security Force) Administrator (Du-Kwaykay YeHmuu) visited the village of Kilaidaung for investigation concerning some Rakhine terrorists’ attempts to torch Rohingyas’ houses in the village on 9th June 2013. Two military including the captain Htaik Soe, nine NaSaKas and the Police Head of Kayemyaing Station took charge of the security ahead of the his visit. 

Before his arrival and after his departure, the military, NaSaKa and Police altogether broke into the houses of Rohingyas and robbed whatever they found before them. Fearing their barbaric behaviors, few Rohingyas had left their houses as they were coming to rob. And other Rohingyas who defied them and resisted from being robbed were severely beaten and threatened of life imprisonments” said a nearby Rohingya villager.

“These officers such Captain Htaik Soe, Police Head Tin Tun and another Police officer called Aye Tun are beating, robbing and continuing all their barbarous acts against Rohingyas every day. Our situation is only getting worse and more disastrous day by day here” he exclaimed.

AFP

June 14, 2013

WASHINGTON — Myanmar's influential parliament speaker vowed Thursday to press forward with democratic reforms but said the country already had laws against discrimination amid a furor over anti-Muslim violence.

Shwe Mann, a former general who is a key architect of reforms and is eyeing the presidency, was visiting Washington, where he said he hoped to study the US democratic system including the separation of government powers.

"For the interest of our people and the international community, we wish to see that a continuous democratic system is deeply rooted in Myanmar," he said at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.

Leading a delegation of lawmakers, Shwe Mann said that he hoped to encourage reconciliation in the long conflict-torn nation and also to build a "more inclusive society."

But asked whether parliament needed to do more to protect the Rohingya Muslim minority following a wave of violence, Shwe Mann said that "actions will be taken" against anyone who violated existing laws.

"According to our law, discrimination does not exist whether you are a Rohingya or whether you call them Bengali, or even in religion," he said.

"There are still some weaknesses in terms of the rule of law. Therefore, we are working hard so that the rule of law will prevail in Myanmar," he said.

Myanmar's roughly 800,000 Rohingya are considered by the UN to be one of the world's most persecuted minorities. Myanmar does not consider them to be citizens, saying they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh, and local authorities have reimposed a ban on Rohingya having more than two children.

Up to 140,000 people -- mainly Rohingya -- were displaced in two waves of sectarian unrest between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state last year that left about 200 people dead.

Myanmar has faced strong international criticism over the Rohingya, a stark contrast to the enthusiasm over reforms in recent years over democratic reforms that have included an easing of censorship and freeing of political prisoners.

Shwe Mann told Radio Free Asia while in Washington that he plans to run for president in 2015, making him the only declared candidate besides opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who was freed from house arrest in 2010.

Shwe Mann met Tuesday with Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and discussed various topics including human rights and legal reform, a State Department official said.

Radio Australia

June 14, 2013

European MPs have jointly condemned the violence against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, and called on the government to do more to protect them.

The European Parliament has passed a motion saying it condemns the grave violations of human rights against the Muslim minority in Rakhine state.

The motion says it "deplores the failure of the Myanmar government to protect the Rohingyas against organised violence."

The Rohingya diaspora has welcomed the motion, but has also called for an international investigation into what they call a 'genocide'.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speaker: Nurul Islam, president, Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, London

NURUL ISLAM: This is very encouraging and we're very much thankful to the European parliament for adopting this resolution, and we take it as a proper encouragement for the Rohingyah people.

LAM: Do you think it might improve the situation for them?

NURUL ISLAM: No, it depends actually... we hope so, but the Burmese government is very much uncompromising, sometimes, in the case of the Rohingya people, that's what we're afraid of. It is time for the international and the investigation is necessary, in fact. That is very important, because there's an Enquiry Commission formed internally by the Burmese government, but it is completely biased. The world knows it. And that will not bring any solution.

The recommendation given by the internal commission, is against the Rohingya people. And there're lots of reports by the credible international organisations, like Human Rights Watch and there's evidence of mass graves in Arakan (Rakhine state). But these are needed to be investigated, for these and other things, like the great humanitarian crisis that's existing. And the segregation that's going on there, apartheid policy has been imposed. And the two-child policy - this is a very discriminatory policy that has been imposed.

We need international intervention, with a UN Commission of Enquiry. We would prefer to call it a 'genocide' because the intention to destroy our people is very much established. In that sense, you can consider it a case of genocide. With international jurisdiction - for these, even the responsibility to protect these people is an international responsibility - we in the international communities. In that sense, the international community should intervene and the (Rohingya) peoples are protected.

LAM: Senior monks in Yangon have called for peace at a monastery in Yangon. Do you think the Buddhist clergy is doing enough to curb anti-Muslim, and particularly, anti-Rohingya violence?

NURUL ISLAM: They can have discussions on this but the way they're going, to do things. Who's leading the controversial 'nine-six-nine' movement? This is a movement against the Rohingya people in particular, and the Muslims in general. Until now, although this 'nine-sixty-nine movement' has done many injuries. Although it is injurious to the Muslim community, the government has until now, taken no action against them.

Whatever changes, whatever democratic reforms take place in the country, it is important that good sense prevails in the minds of the government, number one.

Number two, this is the good sense prevailing in the minds of the majority Buddhis community, and then, the democratic and the parliamentary and political process in the country should be all-inclusive, and the Rohingya must be a part of it, otherwise, we don't hold hope or change the circumstances of the Rohingya people. Because, you know, we are a people, with a history and glorious past.

We are not a floating people or infiltrators from foreign countries, as they (the government) allege. But we have our roots deeply-rooted in Arakan (Rakhine state) and therefore, to Burma. So our citizenship rights and our ethnic rights must be guaranteed, must be ensured in Burma.

The Nation

June 14, 2013

The European Union is committing 200,000 euro to provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees being detained in Thailand, the EU Delegation to Thailand announced Friday.

The help will be directed to Rohingya men at detention centres and Rohingya women and children at social welfare facilities.

TheInternational Organization for Migration (IOM) will take charge of the aid, which will provide the Rohingya with basic household items, food and health care.

The project will be monitored by the EU's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), which maintains a regional office in Bangkok.

The funding decision was made after ECHO experts, accompanied by ECHO's Director of Operations, Jean-Louis de Brouwer, paid a visit to one of the detention facilities in May.

Some 2,000 Rohingyas, fleeing communal violence in Myanmar, were intercepted in Thailand in early 2013, while trying to reach Malaysia.

Central government funding to provide food and basic care to the refugees is minimal and donations from local communities have dried up, prompting the Head of the EU Delegation to Thailand, David Lipman, to express the EU's concern about conditions in these facilities.

"We are worried that the unhealthy and overcrowded conditions inside these facilities are detrimental to the health of the refugees" he explained.

"Men and boys are being held in separate facilities from their families and they live in constant fear of being repatriated. We therefore urge the government to work together with international agencies in finding durable solutions for these refugees." 

Following inter-communal violence in Rakhine State in Myanmar, thousands of Rohingyas have been fleeing on boats, hoping to reach Malaysia. 

Since January some 2,000 Rohingya men, women and children have been detained, while trying to cross Thailand into Malaysia. Rohingya families have been split up, with women and children sent to government-run shelters separate from the men, who are placed in immigration detention centres.

Bangkok Post

June 13, 2013

BALI - The Myanmar government will next week begin a process of screening the nationalities of about 2,000 Rohingya migrants now being sheltered in Thailand, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said on Thursday.

Mr Surapong said Myanmar Foreign Minister Wanna Muang Lwin had informed him that Nay Pyi Taw had set up a working group, led by Myanmar ambassador to Thailand Myo Tint, to begin examining the nationalities of the Rohingya next week.

The ministers met for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation in Indonesia on Thursday.

The Myanmar move to deal with the Rohingya problem in Thailand was the result of earlier talks between the two countries in Brunei on the sidelines of the Asean Ministerial Meeting on April 10-11.

Mr Surapong had at that time asked Myanmar to take back Rohingya migrants in Thailand. However, Nay Pyi Taw was not convinced all 2,000 had travelled from Rakhine State, claiming some might have travelled from Bangladesh's border area to Myanmar.

Nay Pyi Taw still refuses to recognise most Rohingya as Myanmar citizens.

The nationality-screening process would examine whether they really had travelled from Rakhine State, Mr Surapong said. 

He said the Rohingya migrants, including children and women, had been fleeing Rakhine State in western Myanmar to Thailand via boat since early this year.

The Thai government in January agreed to give them shelter for six months, which expires soon.

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)
June 13, 2013

The European Parliament Thursday passed a resolution condemning the "grave violations of human rights and the violence perpetrated against Rohingya Muslims in Burma/Myanmar." The resolution urges the government and the whole of Burmese/Myanmar society " to act immediately to end the human rights abuses against the Rohingya Muslims and to bring the perpetrators of the violent attacks and other related abuses to justice." It calls on the Myanmar government to stop discriminatory policies against the Rohingya Muslims such as the two child regulation. The EP for an investigation into the allegations that members of Burmese security forces participated in the violence.

While recognising the steps to introduce democratic reforms over the past year, the EP urges the government in Myanmar to continue implementing solutions to the underlying causes of the tensions, including measures to address the status of the Rohingya.

Meanwhile, British Member of Parliament, Sajjad Karim, who drafted the resolution expressed his delight over its adoption by the European Parliament. "This is a further step towards putting greater pressure on President U Thein Sein and to force him to stop the atrocities being carried out in his country," he said in press statements.

"State sponsored violence, mass expulsions and a complete disregard of humanity has no place in our world, let alone in a country seeking to be recognised as fully democratic," said Karim.

"My colleagues and I in the EU are working hard to ensure the plight of the Rohingya Muslims is not forgotten and enough aid, medical supplies and support is being sent to the regions which need it most. But we also call upon countries in the region to step up and assist in the aid delivery," he said.

Karim noted that since the election of Burma's President U Thein Sein in March 2011, sectarian violence in the region has erupted and has forced over 1million Rohingya Muslims to flee the country. The community are denied basic human rights and are classed as 'stateless' due to the government's refusal to recognise the minority.

Zoe Daniel

ABC News

June 13, 2013

There are new allegations that the Thai navy is involved in the human trafficking of Rohingya Muslims trying to flee religious violence in western Myanmar. The ABC has tracked down Rohingya Muslims in Malaysia who claim they were intercepted, brutally beaten and then sold to traffickers by the Thai military.

ASHLEY HALL: There are new allegations that the Thai navy is involved in the human trafficking of Rohingya Muslims trying to flee religious violence in western Myanmar.

Earlier this year, the ABC reported eyewitness claims that the Thai military had been involved in the shooting of Rohingya who had arrived on the shores of Thailand by boat.

Now the ABC has tracked down Rohingya Muslims in Malaysia who claim they were intercepted, brutally beaten and then sold to traffickers by the Thai military.

South East Asia correspondent Zoe Daniel reports.

ZOE DANIEL: His story is frighteningly familiar. He fled religious violence and anti-Muslim sentiment in western Myanmar, but on his journey to Malaysia the boat he was on reached Thai waters and was intercepted by the Thai navy.

ZAFAR AHMAD (translated): The navy arrested us and took us to an island, they took us into a forest, then they took our clothes so we had only underwear. They beat us and asked us why we came to this country. A few days later, another boat arrived and the people on it joined us.

ZOE DANIEL: Zafar is a Rohingya asylum seeker. He says the boats then had their engines removed and, under the Thai navy's push back policy, more than 200 passengers were put back on board and towed out to sea, then left to drift.

Seemingly, one boat made it all the way to Sri Lanka, making headlines when it landed. Ninety-six people had died on the way due to lack of food and water.

His boat made it back to Thai shores, towed in by a fisherman, but then the passengers were captured and sold by villagers.

ZAFAR AHMAD (translated): We spent 12 days on the sea and 12 people died before the fishing boat helped us. Then Thai Muslims gave us food while we were in the jungle but after that they sold us.

ZOE DANIEL: Earlier this year PM revealed allegations that shots were fired and at least two asylum seekers were killed after a boatload of Rohingya was intercepted by the Thai navy off Phuket.

The navy denied shooting people who had jumped into the water in an attempt to escape, along with further allegations that the navy had sold captured Rohingya to human traffickers.

But now we've tracked down more Rohingya men who make similar trafficking claims.

AN SARRULLA (translated): The navy allowed us to the shore, they spoke Thai, I did not understand. We asked for food. I don't not know if they understood but they beat us instead.

NURUL AMIN (translated): The navy beat me the whole night and then I was handed over to some Thai people in the morning. I was beaten a lot. I was then transferred again to traffickers and they beat me almost 12 times.

ZOE DANIEL: An and Nurul are new arrivals to Malaysia. If true, their claims confirm that trafficking involving the Thai navy continues, despite repeated denials by Thai authorities.

AN SARRULLA (translated): They were in uniform. They had guns in their hands. We did not know then, but we knew about it later: that we were sold.

ZOE DANIEL: Thousands of Rohingya have been living in camps since fighting broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar's Rakhine state last year, many heading to Malaysia because it's a Muslim country.

Thousands are also in detention in Thailand, being held in appallingly squalid conditions. The Thai government has said they can't stay more than six months.

Yet they continue to come.

Nineteen-year-old Shabin describes fleeing from Myanmar to Bangladesh, before taking a known route to a docked ship that runs a business in human cargo because it was the only way out.

SHABIN ISLAM (translated): We were beaten on the ship, it was a trafficking ship. We had to stand in the sun in the day time. We could only sit at night. If we wanted to sleep, we would be hit by a stick and wire. The traffickers tied us with rope on our necks. We, 32 people, were tied together. They were afraid we would run away.

ZOE DANIEL: The ship was eventually stopped by the Thai navy and the passengers handed over to yet more traffickers. Those who got away paid their way out. It's believed those who couldn't pay were sold on as bonded labourers.

In Bangkok this is Zoe Daniel for PM.

IRIN News

June 13, 2013

SITTWE - One year after Myanmar's worst sectarian violence in decades, tension between the Buddhist ethnic Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in the country's western Rakhine State remains high. 

An estimated 140,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), mainly Rohingya Muslims, are spread across some 80 camps and makeshift sites, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Many more who were not directly affected by the violence have lost their livelihoods as a result of movement restrictions imposed by the authorities. 

IRIN visited the Rakhine State capital, Sittwe, scene of much of the violence, to ask members of both communities about the prospects for peace and reconciliation. 

Noon Na Ha, 35, Rohingya* IDP at Thea Chaung camp 

"Sure I would like to return to my village, but don't know if that is possible. My house was destroyed in the violence and I lost everything. Since then I have been living hand to mouth in this camp which is very difficult, particularly with the rainy season upon us. I don't have anything and have five children to feed. To get by I sell tea to the other camp residents and earn around 50 US cents a day. My children used to go to school, but now they don't, which is particularly hard. I don't know what will happen to them. Moreover, I don't know if we will ever be able to go back to our village. Reconciliation? That depends on the government at this point. Before the violence, I used to have a Rakhine friend, but I haven't seen her since everything happened and have no idea what happened to her. What would we say to each other?"

Daw Aye Nu Sein, ethnic Rakhine, spokeswoman for the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party 

"Conflict is nothing new between our communities, but given what happened last year [violent clashes in June and October] tensions are still high. Nothing is for sure. We don't want conflict. We don't want violence, but there are more and more Muslims [in Rakhine State] than ever before. The simple fact is they have more children than Rakhine people as they don't practice birth control. If we don't take control of the situation soon, the Muslims will take over as they did in the north. Even today, an increasing number of Bengalis * are crossing the border into Myanmar and nothing is being done to stop this. The government needs to sort this out, otherwise there will be more violence, and the only way to do that is by ensuring law and order, starting with the 1982 Citizenship Law. I would like to believe peace and reconciliation is possible, but it will take time. The vast majority of these people are not Burmese citizens, but illegal migrants. Of all the Muslims in Rakhine, maybe just 5 percent are actually citizens. Those that are citizens can stay - I don't have a problem with that - but the rest have no right be here. In the 17 townships of Rakhine, the ethnic Rakhine are still the majority. However, we need to keep this under control. We used to have mutual respect between the two communities. We viewed the Bengalis among us as guests in our house. Now the guest wants to take over the house, something we will never accept."

Daw Khin Htwe, 40, ethnic Kaman IDP and mother-of-three 

"I'm not Rohingya, but ethnic Kaman.** However, last year's violence did not differentiate between us. I am, after all, Muslim and married to a Rohingya man. Many ethnic Kamans are now displaced like me. My house was burned by an angry mob and I saw with my own eyes my mother-in-law struck down with a sword when she tried to stop them. As she lay bleeding, both she and her younger sister were hacked to death by an angry mob. My children witnessed this with their very eyes and two of my children were injured. Even today, they continue to have nightmares. We know who did this, but also know nothing will come of it. How can our communities ever reconcile if such crimes go unpunished? Will there be any accountability? Only if the authorities arrest and punish those responsible is there any real prospect for reconciliation. What will happen to us if we return to our homes now? It could happen all over again." 

U Aria Van Sa, 40, ethnic Rakhine, head monk of the Shwe Zaydi Monastery in Sittwe 

"The root cause of this conflict is really about land occupation. The Bengalis have already taken over much of the north of the state and are now trying to do the same in Sittwe. Even today, more and more Bengalis are entering the country illegally and the authorities aren't doing anything to stop it. We will never allow this. If we do, there will be no place left for the ethnic Rakhine people. In Maungdaw Township, 96 percent of the population are Bengalis, while just 4 percent are ethnic Rakhine. This is proof of what the Bengalis are trying to do. It's all part of a grand design by Muslims to take over the world. We've seen this already in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Indonesia which were once Buddhist countries. Now they are Muslim. How did this happen? Clearly this is what is happening in Rakhine State today. 

As for the Bengali IDPs who are not citizens under the law, clearly they are refugees and should be treated as such. They should be kept in camps and provided humanitarian assistance. Otherwise, they can return to Bangladesh. Under no circumstances should they be allowed to settle outside the camps, nor enter the community without proper authorization. If a third country wants to take them, that's fine. That's for them to decide. They are refugees and have this right. Reconciliation? The Rakhine people have lost their trust with the Bengali people living amongst them. It will take a long time to rebuild that."

Kyaw Hla Aung, 73, IDP and Rohingya activist and lawyer 

"I would be arrested if the authorities knew where I was as they see me as a political threat, as an instigator of sorts. However, my only crime is being an educated man and a Rohingya man at that. I stood for parliamentary elections in 1990 with the National Democratic Party for Human Rights, but was arrested by the authorities and sentenced to 14 years in prison due to earlier involvement in a court case involving a group of farmers whose land had been confiscated by the township government. I was later released in 1997 at which point I joined Médecins Sans Frontières Holland as an administrative officer in Sittwe. 

I used to live downtown and my family's home of more than 68 years was destroyed on 11 June 2012. All my books and legal documents were destroyed. I lost everything. The mob didn't burn my house because they were afraid my neighbours' home, which belonged to an ethnic Rakhine family, would also catch fire. Instead they destroyed my home by hand and with pickaxes. One year on, the prospects for reconciliation remain poor as neither the government nor the Rakhine people want it. Instead, they are taking the opportunity of our forced segregation to seize our land and property. Our only hope now is with international pressure on the Burmese government."

Noor Nahar, 50, Rohingya IDP and mother-of-four 

"My husband lives and works in Saudi Arabia so I'm alone here. When the clashes started, I never expected them to escalate like this. We lost everything in the violence and I couldn't bear to tell my husband that everything he had ever worked for was gone. Now we are IDPs and dependent on outside assistance for everything. It's strange as earlier I had many Rakhine friends and we had good relations. In fact, each Sunday we would visit each other's homes, and they would visit me during Muslim religious holidays. I had no problems with them and simply can't understand what happened. It happened so fast. Surely, there must have been people instigating this as many of these people were my neighbours. I would like to think reconciliation is still possible, but it really depends on the government. I want to be hopeful, but so far they aren't doing anything."

Kaung San Ree, 70, ethnic Rakhine, editor of the Rakhine State News Journal 

"We have always had doubts and suspicions about the Bengalis living amongst us [in Rakhine State] and last year's violence proved it. This is a very complex problem and one year on, there hasn't been any progress. Even their insistence on the usage of the word Rohingya is problematic; something we will never accept. There is no such thing as a Rohingya person in Rakhine State, nor has there ever been. The British brought these people here. To be frank, usage of that word is just an attempt to create some kind of new state, to gain some kind of ethnic legitimacy in Myanmar, something we will never accept. As long as they continue to use their word, the conflict will never be resolved. We call them Bengalis because that's where they came from, and that's where they belong. The 1982 citizenship law is the best solution to resolving this problem. Those Muslims who can prove they are citizens - and they are the minority - should be allowed to stay, while the rest should be placed in refugee camps in accordance to the law. And no, under no circumstance should they be allowed back into the community."

Aung Win, 57, Rohingya IDP and father-of-three 

"How can we ever reconcile if we are segregated like this? It really depends on what the government does at this point. However, unfortunately they can continue to practice a `divide and rule' policy between us. Even today, you can see that in the levels of assistance being provided which is not equal. I want to live in peace. My neighbours back home were ethnic Rakhine and even today many of them are trying to be supportive to my family and I in the camp, which is very encouraging. Maybe the prospects for reconciliation are not good, but I'm trying to be hopeful.

Khin Myat Wai, 18, ethnic Rakhine, waitress

"I have lived four years in Sittwe and never expected to see the violence I witnessed last year. Sure there had been incidents in the past, but never like this. Relations between the two communities had always been peaceful. Then one night I looked out my window and saw Bengali people running around lighting peoples' homes on fire. It was terrible. Many homes were on fire, both Rakhine and Bengali. I don't have any Bengali friends, but before the violence many of our customers were Bengali. Reconcilation? That might be possible, but it really depends on the Bengali people. After all, they are the ones that started this. However, personally, I think too much has happened between the two communities. It just might not be possible. The trust is gone and now most Rakhine people hate the Bengalis." 

*Ethnic Rakhines reject the term Rohingya and use the term Bengali instead. 

**The 1982 Myanmar citizenship law recognizes the Muslim Kaman population as one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups. 

Associated Press

June 13, 2013

Malaysia's government on Thursday warned immigrants from neighboring Myanmar not to restart sectarian clashes that recently killed four people. 

The fighting in several neighborhoods around Kuala Lumpur earlier this month triggered worries in Malaysia that tensions between Myanmar's Buddhists and Muslim minority had spilled over to a country that hosts hundreds of thousands of Myanmar nationals. 

Malaysian police are holding 250 Myanmar citizens from a security sweep following the violence because they were found without valid immigration documents. It is not clear whether they would be charged in court or deported. 

"The quarrel they have back home is brought to our country,'' Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Jaafar told reporters after a meeting with Myanmar's deputy ministers for foreign affairs and labor. 

Police are now monitoring locations where Myanmar immigrants are known to work, the home ministry said in a statement. 

Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister U Zin Yaw said rival gangs in Kuala Lumpur appeared to have used religious grievances as an excuse to start fights that were not directly related to waves of violence targeting mostly members of the Muslim Rohingya community in Myanmar in the past year that killed several hundred people.

BBC News

June 12, 2013

A Burmese Muslim man has been sentenced to 26 years in jail for an attack on a Buddhist woman that led to at least two days of violence in Shan State in May.

Nay Win, 48, was convicted for setting the woman alight at a petrol station.

After the attack, Buddhist youths armed with sticks roamed the streets in the town of Lashio in search of Muslims.

In recent months there have been several clashes between the two communities throughout Burma, but so far only Muslims have been jailed.

In March, at least 43 people - mostly Muslims - died in violence that erupted after an argument at a Muslim-owned shop in the central town of Meiktila.

The owner of the shop and nine other people, also Muslims, were imprisoned last month for that violence.

Ethnic violence in Rakhine state last year left nearly 200 people dead and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes.

The conflict that erupted in Rakhine involved Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, who are not recognised as Burmese citizens.

Burns

Nay Win, described by state media as a drug addict, was convicted on Wednesday of intent to kill, assault and drug use by a court in Lashio.

The victim, 24, suffered burns in the attack, police say.

At least one person was killed and a mosque and orphanage burned down in the ensuing violence, which reportedly erupted after police refused to hand over Nay Win to a crowd.

"We arrested about 60 people found by security forces with sticks and knives during the violence," police spokesman Major Moe Zaw Linn told the AFP news agency.

He said that Nay Win was the first person to be convicted in relation to the violence.

Correspondents say that various episodes of religious unrest - mostly targeting Muslims - have exposed a deep divide in the Buddhist-majority country and cast a shadow over widely acclaimed political reforms which began when military-rule ended two years ago.

Karen News

June 12, 2013

Britain’s Foreign Office Minister says investigation into ethnic conflict in Burma is needed. 

Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi noted in parliament that “independent investigative work” is required for “an informed assessment as to whether ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity have been committed” in Burma.

The statement came on Wednesday, 5 June, in which Baroness Warsi was speaking in a debate on Burma in the House of Lords.

The Minister stopped short of proposing a way to set up an independent international investigation, as called for by Human Rights Watch.

The remarks come as international concern grows over the treatment of Burma’s ethnic Rohingya. Ethnic tensions between segments of Burma’s Buddhist majority and the minority Muslim Rohingya have led to riots and displaced thousands, leading to a “humanitarian crisis” according to HRW.

In April HRW published a report, ‘All You Can Do Is Pray’, which provided evidence that ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity had been committed against the ethnic Rohingya of Burma. The report documented that up to 125,000 Rohingya have been displaced in Burma.

“If British government platitudes were an effective policy tool, we have had so many that Burma would be the freest society in the world by now”, said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, a human rights advocacy group based in the UK.

Mark Farmaner said that it was a meaningless gesture for Britain to ask Burma’s government to conduct an independent investigation.

“The British government know full well this will never happen. Almost every UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma for more than 20 years has made similar calls for investigations into abuses. The only way any investigation will happen is if an international investigation is set up.”

Britain, as well as other countries such as the Japan and the United States, continues to receive criticism from human rights groups over their decision to lift economic sanctions while Burma’s ability or willingness to uphold human rights continues to be patchy at best.

“The British government is moving at breakneck speed to embrace the government of Burma, despite the country still having one of the worst human rights records in the world.” Burma Campaign UK said in a statement released to the media.

Adding to the controversy is Britain’s decision to send another trade delegation to Burma led by Lord Green, following an earlier one in December, despite the fact that the UK has yet to lead a human rights mission to Burma.

Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, hit out at the British government for its stance on Burma and said.

“In its rush to embrace President Thein Sein and seize business opportunities, the British government is prepared to look the other way and take no action to try to prevent ethnic cleansing and mass rape in Burma.”

RTT News

June 12, 2013

The United States on has expressed concern over reports that the Myanmar (formerly Burma) government is planning to implement a population control regulation that restricts ethnic Rohingya Muslims in the country's west to having a maximum of two children.

The U.S. reaction came after Myanmar's Immigration Minister Khin Yi publicly supported the controversial two-child limit on the Rohingya Muslim minority group. Notably, Myanmar's opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Kyi and the United Nations have already denounced the planned regulation as "discriminatory."

U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said at a news briefing on Tuesday that Washington was "deeply concerned about reports that some officials in Burma plan to enforce or have said they plan to enforce a two-child limit for Rohingya Muslims."

"The United States, of course, opposes coercive and discriminatory birth limitation policies, and we have pressed senior Burmese Government officials to abolish this local order. We urge the Government of Burma to eliminate all such policies without delay and we will continue to express our concerns," she added.

Earlier, the U.N. had urged Myanmar "to remove such policies or practices" after local authorities confirmed plans to impose the two-child limit for Rohingya Muslims under a 2005 regulation late last month.

Separately, Suu Kyi said the two-child regulation imposed on ethnic Rohingya was illegal, adding: "It is not good to have such discrimination. And it is not in line with human rights."

Meanwhile, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted that implementation of the policy was consistent with the wider persecution of the largely stateless Rohingya, violating international human rights protections, and endangering women's physical and mental health.

"Implementation of this callous and cruel two-child policy against the Rohingya is another example of the systematic and wide ranging persecution of this group, who have recently been the target of an ethnic cleansing campaign," said Brad Adams, Asia Director at HRW.

The rights watchdog noted that some 800,000 to one million Rohingyas in Myanmar are particularly vulnerable to government abuse because most are denied citizenship under the country's discriminatory 1982 citizenship law.

Notably, the recent pro-democracy developments in Myanmar have been overshadowed to an extent by the ongoing ethnic violence between Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim communities. Continued violence had left dozens dead and thousands displaced, mainly Rohingya Muslims.

Thousands of majority Buddhists, led by monks, had participated in crimes against humanity during a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingyas and other Muslims in June and October 2012. To date, no one has been held accountable for these crimes.