By Ahmed al-Masri

Anadolu Agency

December 9, 2016

DOHA, Qatar -- The Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has called on Muslims worldwide to stage a "Friday of rage" Dec. 9 to show solidarity with Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority.

In a statement released late Thursday, the IUMS said it was "following the unfortunate circumstances faced by the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar".

The union went on to criticize the "silence of the Islamic world and the international community regarding the campaign of extermination being waged against them [Rohingya]".

It also urged Arab and Muslim governments to adopt harder diplomatic stances with Myanmar regarding the persecution, and called on Islamic, Arab and international relief organizations to provide immediate assistance to Rohingya.

Rohingya advocacy groups claim some 400 Rohingya have been killed in military operations in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State since Oct. 9.

The Myanmar government, for its part, says 74 alleged "attackers" (including four who reportedly died during interrogation) have been killed over the same period.

A law passed in Myanmar in 1982 denies Rohingya -- many of whom have lived in Myanmar for generations -- citizenship, making them stateless.

The law denies Rohingya the right to carry Myanmar nationality; curtails their freedom of movement, access to education and public services; and allows for the arbitrary confiscation of their property.

Myanmar nationalists have since taken to referring to the Rohingya -- which the UN calls one of the most persecuted people in the world -- as Bengali, suggesting they are not Myanmar nationals but interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh.

Rohingya have fled Myanmar in droves for decades, with a fresh wave of migration beginning in mid-2012 following an episode of communal violence in Rakhine between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya.

Reporting by Ahmed al-Masri; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat

As Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Myanmar, I wish to underline that the United Nations remains seriously concerned by the developing situation in Northern Rakhine. The UN has called on the security forces to act in accordance with the rule of law and accepted international norms of conduct, and to exercise caution in avoiding disproportionate responses that could cause violence to civilians, loss of innocent lives, or damage the properties of the local population. The authorities also need to take proactive measures to protect the local civilian population and allow humanitarian access to the areas of conflict. Though the appointment of the national investigation commission by the government has raised some questions relating to its composition and mandate, I hope it will conduct its work in a credible and independent manner so as to build confidence among the local population in the affected area as well as reassure the people of Myanmar and the wider international community.

After the November visit by nine local ambassadors and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator to several of the affected areas, various UN agencies have voiced concerns at the deteriorating human rights situation in the state. I agree with the assessment of the situation of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has just concluded a visit to the region as Chairperson of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine state, including his call for unimpeded humanitarian and media access and strengthened efforts to defuse tensions and promote harmony.

In the present situation, I feel that, while taking the necessary security measures to curb any fresh outbreak of attacks by criminal elements in the region, the authorities in Myanmar must also take steps to build confidence and reassurance among the local population that their security, dignity and well-being will be protected. Those who have fled or suffered displacement should be allowed to return to their homes. Senior government leaders need to send a strong message underlining their determination to protect all residents regardless of their ethnicity, religion, gender or status. In this volatile situation, it is everyone’s responsibility to handle allegations and rumors with great care.

I am persuaded that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi hears and understands the concerns of the international community. However, the refusal by the Myanmar authorities to take a strong stance against hardliners, and the adoption of a generally defensive rather than proactive approach to providing security to the local population, have caused frustration locally and disappointment internationally. Only by responding concretely to these concerns will the government be able to resolve the crisis and preserve its international standing. I call upon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to reflect on the situation and, as she has done on so many occasions, to listen to her “inner voice” and speak directly to the people of Myanmar, asking them to rise above their ethnic, religious and other differences and to advance human dignity, harmony and mutual cooperation between all communities. Meanwhile, people of all communities in Myanmar must jointly oppose the violence, disunity and division that are being instigated by a small group of criminal elements in the region. I also appeal to Daw Suu to visit Maungdaw and Buthidaung and reassure the civilian population there that they will be protected. 

Furthermore, a reiteration of her promise to address the root causes affecting the local population, namely that of citizenship and status, and to provide relief to the internally displaced since 2012, would go a long way to relieve tension and promote realistic and sustainable solutions.

With respect to other parts of the country, especially the ethnic states of Shan and Kachin in northeastern Myanmar, I am deeply disappointed at the growing tensions and deadly military confrontations between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed groups, which is taking a toll of human lives, destabilizing the local population, impeding peace and causing a breakdown of confidence and trust, so painstakingly built up during the past few years of ceasefire negotiations between the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team and the Union Peacemaking Working Committee. At this juncture, without making any value judgment on the causes or provocations behind the present tensions, I feel, it is the responsibility of all parties to exercise restraint and avoid actions that can reverse the gains of the peace process so far. I call on all parties, groups and stakeholders to engage in urgent consultations to defuse the situation and get back to the negotiating table. As the stronger partner, the Government and Tatmadaw must show humility and respect for the minority groups. On their part, the armed groups must respect the institutional considerations and other imperatives that must guide the approach of the Government and the Tatmadaw. The United Nations stands ready to help support this process.

Original here.

RB News 

December 8, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – On December 4th, 2016, a mother and two minor daughters were raped by the Myanmar military in front of each other.

The military and Na Ta La villagers raided Myaw Taung village tract in Northern Maungdaw on the above mentioned day at 1pm. Seven soldiers entered into the house of one man situated at the middle hamlet. The man in the house was in fear of arrest and torture when he saw the military inside the hamlet. He left home immediately and could manage to escape. In his absence, his 36-year-old wife and two minor daughters became rape victims. The mother and two daughters were barbarically gang raped by all seven soldiers.

Today, on December 8th, 2016 at 3:20pm five men wearing civil dress who could be soldiers, border guard police and some Rakhine extremists from Tha Yet Oak village tract entered into Myaw Taung village tract by riding on two motorbikes. They were carrying two guns and three swords. They found two Rohingya villagers riding two motorbikes and they stopped them. Two of the men snatched the keys and the rest started beating the Rohingya villagers. 

The two Rohingya villagers managed to escape but they couldn’t secure their bikes so they were robbed of them. The armed men took their bikes and went ahead then. After reaching some distance, they found a small shop selling some electrical items and foodstuffs. They started looting the goods from the shop and left from the village. 

The shop owner is Eliyas s/o Siddik (25-year-old) and the owners of the motorbikes are Kamal s/o Mahmod Kawbir (40-year-old) and Furkhan (23-year-old).

Pha Wet Chaung Village Tract

On December 7th, 2016, at 8am more than 25 security forces entered into North hamlet of Pha Wet Chaung village tract and as usual they looted motorbikes, bicycles, furniture and valuable properties. They vandalized household goods and unmovable properties. Before the troops enter into the hamlet, all villagers including women and children fled to Ywa Ma hamlet.

After looting, the troops loaded everything on the boat and took them to Na Ta La village which is about a mile away from the hamlet. 

The troops were believed to be seeking the women and girls to be used as sex slaves and they remained in the hamlet till 7pm. However they found no one returning except a man who is in-charge of hundred houses [locally elected leader of hundred houses] and two middle aged women. When the troops tried to catch the women, the women jumped into the stream and went Ma Yin Taung hamlet in Pwint Phyu Chaung village tract. Finally the troops decided to give up.

Today, on December 8th, 2016, the same troops entered other two hamlets, Ywa Ma and Thae Chaung. They carried out the same looting and vandalizing as they did in North hamlet. Moreover they burned down all the tents at the fishing ponds and the bars of the harvested crops on the farms. They also looted many cattle including of Salay Ahmed and Kawbir Ahmed.

Report contributed by Rohingya Eye.

By AFP

December 8, 2016

Myanmar has halted sending workers to Muslim-­majority Malaysia as relations sour over a bloody military crackdown on the Buddhist country’s Rohingya minority.

The move came after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak lashed out during a rally in Kuala Lumpur at Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi for ­allowing “genocide”during a rally in Kuala Lumpur.

The crowds were protesting against the crackdown in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine that has pushed more than 20,000 Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh. Survivors have told of gang rape, torture and murder at the hands of Myanmar security forces, while dozens have died trying to cross the river that separates the two countries.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has long discriminated against the stateless Rohingya and the recent crisis has galvanised protests in Muslim countries around the region, including Malaysia.

“We want to tell Aung San Suu Kyi, enough is enough ... We must and we will defend Muslims and Islam,” Mr Najib said at Sunday’s rally.

“The world cannot sit and watch genocide taking place.”

A Malaysian government minister has also called for a review of Myanmar’s membership of the regional ASEAN bloc.

Myanmar officials have ­denied the allegations of abuse and Ms Suu Kyi has told the international community to stop stoking the “fires of resentment”.

Late on Tuesday, Myanmar’s immigration ministry said it had stopped issuing new licences for its nationals to work in wealthier Malaysia, for years a top destination for migrant labour.

“Myanmar has temporarily stopped sending workers to ­Malaysia from 6/12/2016 ­because of the current situation in Malaysia,” it said.

Myanmar also summoned Malaysia’s ambassador to protest at Mr Najib’s accusations of ethnic cleansing.

“Such irresponsible remarks could worsen the already deepening polarisation between the two communities and violent ­extremism,” Myanmar’s foreign ministry said yesterday.

Malaysia hosts tens of thousands of Myanmar workers, most of them in low-paid jobs.

About 56,000 Rohingya have arrived in Malaysia in recent years, many taking perilous boat journeys to flee poverty and ­discrimination in Rakhine.

On Tuesday, former UN ­secretary-general Kofi Annan, who heads a commission on Rakhine, said he thought the crisis would not split the region apart.

“I think it can be contained. There is a possibility here to ­contain what is going on,” he said in Yangon at the end of a week-long visit.

By Termsak Chalermpalanupap

The Diplomat

December 8, 2016

The regional organization cannot turn its back on this issue, and should be given the chance to help resolve it.

The reluctance of the Myanmar government to seek external assistance in dealing with the Rohingya crisis is reminiscent of the initial recalcitrance of the military dictatorship of Senior General Than Shwe in the aftermath of the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. Although over 130,000 in Myanmar’s delta townships perished in that disaster, the Myanmar junta at first refused to accept most of the external offers of emergency humanitarian assistance.

The delays and inability of the Myanmar junta to provide timely emergency assistance caused additional deaths and sufferings. Some Western governments accused the Myanmar military leadership of failing in its government responsibility to protect citizens. Some even mentioned the possibility of doing unilateral “humanitarian intervention” by air dropping food and other aid supplies in the disaster areas. Some Myanmar military leaders were concerned that an influx of foreign aid workers could interfere in the national referendum of a new constitution on May 10, 2008.

The dire situation prompted the ASEAN foreign ministers to convene an emergency meeting in Singapore on May 19, 2008. At the meeting, in which the author was present as a special assistant to ASEAN Secretary-General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, the ASEAN foreign ministers asked Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win to consider three options: coping with the humanitarian crisis alone and facing the intensifying wrath of the international community if delays persisted; opening up to working with the UN and the international community; or involving as well ASEAN in international concerted efforts to save lives in the disaster areas.

After reporting back to Nay Pyi Taw, the foreign minister of Myanmar soon returned to the meeting with a breakthrough good news: the Myanmar military government wanted to involve all, including ASEAN. Subsequently, ASEAN successfully teamed up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar and the UN in organizing coordinated massive international humanitarian assistance for the cyclone survivors.

Now in the wake of the Rohingya crisis, the Myanmar government should refresh memories of lessons learned from Cyclone Nargis.

Hiding behind the obsolete narrow interpretation of non-interference is again not tenable. Over 10,000 Rohingya have fled to seek sanctuary in Bangladesh border areas in recent weeks of violence. More may follow suit. Others might risk their lives by fleeing on unsafe boats to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia have raised vehement hues and cries against what they believe to be “ethnic cleansing” against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Last Sunday Malaysian Prime Minister Naijb Razak joined a gathering in Kuala Lumpur to call urgent international attention to the plight of the Rohingya. Like it or not, the Rohingya crisis is an international concern.

Unfortunately the Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as “Bengalis” and “illegal migrants.” It even objects to calling them “Rohingya”; no such ethnic minority group is recognized under the law or the constitution of the country. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, during her official visit to Singapore last week, wouldn’t say anything in public about the crisis. She also doesn’t like the name “Rohingya.”

Clearly the government under her NLD leadership is incapable of coping with the Rohingya crisis, partly because a majority of Buddhists in Myanmar don’t empathize with the Rohingya. Some senior Buddhist monks have even campaigned to expel the Rohingya out of the country — no compassion whatsoever from these Buddhist monks. A new commission set up to investigate the recent flare-ups of violence against the Rohingya may not be able to recommend any new solutions.

This is why the Myanmar government must look into new ideas and pragmatic solutions. Obviously, cooperation with the UN and the international community to at least stop the violence is a sensible option.

Better yet, the Myanmar government can involve ASEAN, just like in the case of Cyclone Nargis eight years ago. ASEAN has the organizational know-how, international connections, and resource mobilization experience. ASEAN can once again build a bridge for Myanmar and the international community to save lives in Myanmar.

In fact, all other ASEAN member governments are duty-bound to offer their assistance to the Myanmar government. This is what community-building in the spirit of caring and sharing is all about. A people-centered ASEAN Community must empathize with the plight of the Rohingya, regardless of whether they are illegal migrants or stateless people. For they are helpless human beings in distress in one corner of our regional community.

ASEAN’s credibility and centrality are directly at stake here should ASEAN member governments continue to shy from offering the assistance. They cannot pretend to be oblivious of the suffering of these human beings.

Offering assistance must not be mistaken as interfering in the domestic affairs of Myanmar. This is part of the collective responsibility in ASEAN to maintain and enhance regional peace, security, and prosperity, as well as promote the well-being of all peoples in the ASEAN Community.

The Myanmar government’s response to such an offer of ASEAN assistance will reveal its true attitude toward ASEAN membership and the ASEAN community spirit.

Dr. Termsak Chalermpalanupap is a fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and lead researcher on ASEAN political and security affairs at the Institute’s ASEAN Studies Centre.

By Desy Nurhayati

The Jakarta Post

December 8, 2016

Nusa Dua, Bali -- President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo held a meeting with former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Thursday to discuss humanitarian aid for the Rohingya people in Rakhine state, Myanmar.

The 30-minute bilateral meeting took place before the President officially opened the ninth Bali Democracy Forum, in which Annan, who served as UN secretary-general from 1997 to 2006, became the keynote speaker.

Annan, who founded the Kofi Annan Foundation, is now the head of the Advisory Committee for Rakhine State. During the meeting, he explained to Jokowi his findings during his visit to the conflict area and advised countries to take urgent steps to help victims of the humanitarian crisis.

"Indonesia will soon dispatch humanitarian aid for the Rohingya people. I have ordered the relevant ministers to prepare the necessary logistics, especially food and blankets," Jokowi said after the meeting.

Accompanying the President at the meeting, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Annan appreciated the Indonesian government for taking prompt action to provide humanitarian assistance for victims in the troubled state.

"In the longer term, we will also support Myanmar in terms of providing capacity building in the field of good governance, democracy and human rights. We have started these programs and will continue to do that, because it is very important," she explained, citing results of her recent discussion with Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Delegations from 94 countries and observers from several organizations are attending the two-day conference to discuss democracy, religious tolerance and pluralism and strengthen global cooperation.

By Abdul Aziz

Dhaka Tribune

December 8, 2016

Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh -- Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has sent back 135 Rohingyas who fled Myanmar in the face of ongoing crackdown in Rakhine state.

BGB personnel prevented the trespassing at different points of the Naf river on Thursday morning.

“We raided four different points of the river around 7:30am and pushed back at least 135 Rohingyas boarded in nine boats,” said Teknaf 2 BGB Commander Lt Col Abujar Al Zahid

Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims tried to cross into Bangladesh illegally after Myanmar troops launched a crackdown in Rakhine state in response to attacks on three border posts on October 9 that killed nine police officers.

Bangladesh has stepped up security along its border with Myanmar to prevent influx of Rohingyas fleeing violence in Rakhine state that has killed at least 86 people and displaced 30,000 others.

Myanmar and the military have denied accusations by Rohingyas and rights groups of raping women, torching houses and killing civilians during their operations.

Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingyas as its citizens and dubs them ‘Bangali’. Rohingyas, who managed to land in Bangladesh, have taken shelter at refugee camps and other places in Cox’s Bazar.

Bangladesh has so far pushed back thousands of Rohingyas.

The latest violence is the most serious since the 2012 communal clashes. Many have criticised Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi for her silence although her party is in power.

By Dhaka Tribune

December 8, 2016

Hasina says the government cannot open the border for Rohingyas on a large scale as it is the matter of two sovereign countries

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that her government is very much sympathetic towards the Rohingyas, but hard against the culprits, who want to use Bangladesh’s land against neighbours.

“Bangladesh has already allowed many distressed Myanmar nationals to enter its territory amid recent trouble in Myanmar but under no circumstances Bangladesh will allow any criminals responsible for recent attacks on the Myanmar Army and border guards [that left nine dead],” she told parliament yesterday.

In reply to a question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Fakhrul Imam, Hasina said: “Bangladesh’s soil will not be allowed to use for any subversive activities against our neighbours.”

She said that her government had been giving all possible supports, including food, shelter and medical facilities, to the Rohingyas fleeing Myanmar. “But we cannot open our gate for their influx on a large scale as it is the matter of two sovereign countries.”

Hasina said that the Foreign Ministry had already summoned the Myanmar envoy in Dhaka and asked him to refrain from creating any situation which would aggravate the situation.

“We have taken all steps which we should do. We are careful about both humanity and discouraging any subversive activities in the neighbouring country,” she said.

The prime minister said that the government had asked the border guards and intelligence agencies to trace the culprits responsible for the recent attacks on the border guard police and the army in Myanmar.

These culprits are responsible for the current unrest in Myanmar and putting thousands of people into troubles. “We have to find out whether any of those culprits has taken shelter inside our territory. They will be handed over to the Myanmar authorities soon after arrest,” she told parliament.

According to IOM Bangladesh, an estimated 21,000 Rohingyas arrived in Cox’s Bazar between October 9 and December 2 to escape violence in Myanmar.

In September, Hasina told Myanmar State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi that the Rohingya issue should be solved by the two next-door neighbours after the latter sought her help.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal recently said that the Rohingyas who had entered Bangladesh recently must go back to Myanmar.

Bangladesh has two registered and several unofficial Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar whereas some 300,000-500,000 undocumented Rohingyas are living in the country illegally. The government claims that many of the Rohingyas are involved in crimes and militant activities.

The government is communicating with the international community and urging them to take strong position against oppression on the Rohingya people.

Earlier, more than 100 people were killed in violence in Rakhine and some 125,000 Rohingyas took refuge in camps for internally displaced persons while several thousand others entered Bangladesh to save their life in 2012.

Ro Mayyu Ali

RB Poem

December 8, 2016

Oh, my little!
In your dinghy age,
Bullet has frightened.
Sword has wretched.
Arson has blazed.
Perhaps, you had nights on shoulder in fears.
You had days crying on in deficiencies.
And you had a history of apex denials.

Oh, my little!
Even in your tender age,
A lots has happened.
And the world just sees it in silence.
But it didn't save your life.
Yes, as you're a Muslim.
Yes, you're.
Ah! What a racial trial!

Oh, my little!
Even you didn't know...
Why you had to face like that!
But you didn't deserve it, at all.
However, a mercy wipes my tear when I mourn for you.
As you're bestowed a small funeral.
You're a groom of innocence.
You're a great martyre in mankind.
And you'd be remembered...
As one of the most adventurous blossoms in the garden of humanity.

Oh, my little!
What could I do for you?
Though I'm survived for today
For me, no insurance of tomorrow like you.
Nay! No one guaranteed for your identity in worldly life.
But now I'ld warranty for your destiny in afterwards.
It's the highest range for you in Jannah!

Oh, my little pride!
Pardon me!
Just once pardon me!
What could I do for you?
My life has no insurance like you!

By Surin Pitsuwan

The Wall Street Journal

December 8, 2016

Being denied their basic human rights has left them stateless and suffering—and prone to radicalization.

Four years ago, violence between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Burma’s Rakhine state left scores dead and entire villages smoldering in ash. Some 140,000 people, mostly ethnic Rohingya, were internally displaced, and tens of thousands more fled by land and sea to countries stretching from India to Malaysia. 

As secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at the time, I called for a regional response to provide humanitarian assistance to the displaced and alleviate the suffering of the Rohingya. They have lived in Burma for generations but are excluded from citizenship by virtue of their ethnicity. 

Neglecting their plight, I feared, would entrench the segregation of Rakhine state along ethnic and religious lines, breed conflict, and potentially radicalize a desperate minority. And it would not be Burma’s problem alone; security concerns and an outflow of refugees would implicate the entire region.

I wish I was wrong. Two months ago, a small group of alleged Rohingya militants stormed a Burmese border post in the town of Maungdaw, near Bangladesh. They staged several more attacks in the following days and weeks, killing a number of security personnel and looting weapons. This is the first time in decades that any Rohingya are suspected of taking up arms.

The Burmese military responded in force, killing dozens of suspected militants. In some cases, it burned homes in a security-clearance operation. Human-rights groups and some of the thousands of Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks have said that the military response is indiscriminate and excessive, with disturbing reports of mass killings and rape.

The security operation also prevented the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies from providing lifesaving aid to tens of thousands of Rohingya. They depend on that aid because, being stateless, they have no regular access to livelihoods. 

In recent weeks, peaceful demonstrations have sprung up across the region protesting Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya. But as I implored four years ago, this is not Burma’s problem alone. It is time all of us in the region accept some measure of responsibility for the Rohingya and begin working together to solve the problem. 

Naysayers may point to the Asean principle of noninterference, but there is a precedent for this kind of regional cooperation. In 2008, I helped mobilize an Asean-led humanitarian response inside Burma after Cyclone Nargis tore through large swaths of the country. If that was possible when the country was still closed to the world, surely it is possible now in a newly democratic Burma.

The effort must begin inside Burma. Humanitarian and human-rights organizations should be granted unfettered access so that they can resume aid and independently investigate whether abuses have been perpetrated by the military and the militants. Basic human rights, especially the freedom of movement, should be restored to Rohingya in Rakhine state so that they can find work and go to school. Other countries can help: Malaysia and Thailand, which have done a remarkable job regularizing large groups of stateless persons, could provide guidance on how to replicate that experience for the Rohingya in Burma.

Enfranchising Rohingya is only the first bulwark against radicalization. Equal opportunity must follow. To ease intercommunal tension and build trust, the whole of Rakhine state should be integrated into Burma’s ambitious development plans, but also into the Asean Economic Community.

Helping the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in the region is also part of South and Southeast Asia’s responsibility. Almost none have a legal right to work. Malaysia has just announced a pilot work program for 300 Rohingya; other countries should follow suit so that refugees can find gainful employment, contribute to their host communities and support relatives still in Burma.

Paradoxically, the countries that have seen the largest demonstrations in support of the Rohingya—Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand—are the same ones that pushed boats carrying Rohingya refugees back out to sea in May 2015. Thousands of Rohingya languish in immigration detention in these countries because they couldn’t obtain a passport in Burma. They had no choice, therefore, but to enter these countries illegally. We need to stop punishing them for simply exercising their right to seek asylum from persecution.

That right is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly 68 years ago this Saturday. It was the same year that the Union of Burma became an independent country. On Dec. 10, 1948, in one of its inaugural roll calls at the General Assembly, Burma was drawn by lot to cast the first vote on the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It voted in favor.

Burma can lead the way forward again, but only if the countries of South and Southeast Asia stand behind it. Inside the country and out, the Rohingya are our neighbors. They live in all our communities. At a time when so much of the world seems to be turning inward, ours can be one region that reaches out and embraces our diversity. Only then will the troubled history of the Rohingya stop repeating itself.

Mr. Surin is a former secretary-general of Asean and a former foreign minister of Thailand.

By Apriadi Gunawan

December 7, 2016

By Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Indonesia

December 7, 2016

“I once again conveyed Indonesia’s concerns over the situation in Rakhine State to State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” stated the RI Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi after meeting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyidaw, Myanmar on Tuesday evening (6/12).

Minister Retno and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi openly discussed the situation and developments in Rakhine State. The Minister underlined the importance that security and stability are restored so that inclusive development of Rakhine State can continue. In addition, the Minister hoped that the government of Myanmar continues to uphold respect and protection of human rights of the entire community of Rakhine State, particularly the Muslim minority, especially in efforts to restore stability. “The issue of inclusiveness, where the entire community has the same rights and obligations, is the key to resolving the Rakhine issue,” said the Minister. 

In response, the State Counsellor of Myanmar agreed with the Minister on the importance of inclusive development.

Minister Retno also emphasized the importance of access for humanitarian aid to Rakhine, which was welcomed by the State Counsellor of Myanmar.

The State Counsellor of Myanmar also expressed her appreciation for Indonesia’s development aid thus far, including the humanitarian aid which has reached Rakhine State in the aftermath of the 9 December 2016 incident. “The Myanmar government has opened the door to humanitarian aid from Indonesia, which has made possible for aid from the PKPU to reach Rakhine State,” said the Minister.

Indonesians have provided aid for the construction of two schools in Rakhine region. The construction has been completed. Indonesia has helped build six schools in Rakhine State.

The Minister also stated that Indonesia is ready to resume cooperation in building educational and health infrastructure in Rakhine State. In this regard, the RI Minister conveyed Indonesia’s plan to help development of health facilities on a 4000 sq. meter site in Rakhine State.

In addition, as part of the effort to increase tolerance and harmony among the people of Rakhine State, Indonesia and Myanmar have agreed to increase interfaith dialog cooperation. Indonesia will also continue providing capacity building to Myanmar in the fields of good governance, democracy and human rights.

Indonesia will continue its intensive engagement, whether it is with the Government of Myanmar, the Commission led by Kofi Annan, as well as other parties who share concerns about the situation in Rakhine State.

By Dr Maung Zarni

December 7, 2016

From the outset, I have dismissed Kofi Annan's involvement as nothing more than a public relations exercise launched against the backdrop of strident calls for the UN Commission of Inquiry.

That is, after having done background checks on the 3-Rakhine commissioners on his commission, the scope and the underlying philosophy on which the commission seems premised, and the make-up.

It has made its initial impact on the human rights networks internationally

and the Rohingya activists themselves:

The announcement below poured water on the burning coal - calls for COI.

Many seem intimidated, impressed or pleased to get former UN Secretary General Annan and Chair of The Elders (retired heads of state and other famous politicians). The "welcomers"

ignore well-documented criminal role Kofi Annan played in the death of 800,000;

Annan concealed a crucial and urgent cable addressed to him and which he received straight from the field - Rwanda - by Head of the Peacekeeping Force, Canadian Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire on Jan. 11, 1994 warning of the risk of genocide. Annan was the Head of UN Peacekeeping Force in New York headquarters.

Annan chose NOT to share it with the Security Council, not did he follow up such an important piece of evidence deserved. 

That was according to the UN-sponsored inquiry led by a former Swedish Prime Minister. 

https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/201/39240.html

The rest is history.

To be fair to those who welcomed it and showed initial enthusiasm, having a 3-member international team including Annan was certainly better than the previous Rakhine Inquiry Commission formed on 17 Aug 2012 - under previous Thein Sein regime. It was chaired by old history tutor at Mandalay and a friend, with another old, but now former friend Kyaw Yin Hlaing as Secretary.

The RIC ended up - again as I expected - up nothing more than a tool for whitewash for the regime-sanctioned mass violence and destruction of Rohingyas that took place in June and Oct 2012.

Now have a quick read at what Annan claimed officially his commission was going to.

http://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/mediation-and-crisis-resolution/advisory-commission-rakhine-state/

There are 4 problems with Kofi Annan Commission:

1) NO ROHINGYA REPRESENTATION

like the previous Burmese-only Presidential Inquiry Commission of 2012, Kofi Annan Commission has absolutely no Rohingya representation. (Burmese Muslims do NOT represent Rohingya Muslims and are NOT seem by Rohingyas as their representational voices, naturally).

2) Of the 3 Rakhines, Saw Khint Tint (Rakhine woman leader) holds well-known and well-documented genocidal views towards Rohingya; 2) Mr WinMra defended the Burmese military as its ambassador mass atrocities in the past at UN and other fora including Geneva and New York, and is currently head of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, which does NOT respect ROhingya's right to self-identify; and 3) Dr/Mr Tha Hla Shwe recently denies that there is any racial or religious discrimination - in Rakhine or in Burma; that's rather blatant in law of the passage of 4 race-and-faith-based national laws, and everything else that has been going on including the Burma Army leadership claiming its institutional duties now includes the defence of Buddhism and "Burmese" race.

3) Allegations of mass atrocities repeated in waves are excluded from its focus

In the last 4 years there have been credible and well-documented reports of international human rights crimes committed against the Rohingya. Those reports come from the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights situation in Myanmar. And they identity the role of state security troops and authorities in these rights abuses. Besides there is a growing body of legal, sociological analyses and field studies which increasingly adopt a common view: a genocide is in the process. 

The Commission's scope is only on the two communities - Rakhine and Rohingya the latter of which cannot even be officially mentioned.

4) its sentiment is ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT will lessen the tensions in the communal conflicts and pave the way for future reconciliation between these two communities.

Because the Commission completely ignores or effectively unaware of the state's CENTRAL role in formulating the destruction of Rohingyas as a group it is keen to serve Development up as the panacea. 

Kofi Annan had made it clear that his mission was NOT about investigating allegations of international crimes and human rights violations, despite the human rights activists urging him to do so. 

Now Kofi Annan has clearly veered off the official scope of his Commission and began to make comments to the media which can only be construed as words of the genocide whitewash.

Kofi Annan downplays claims of Myanmar genocide

6 December 2016

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38223055

This is extremely harmful to the Rohingyas who have jus begun to receive the kind of grassroots and worldwide attention they deserve. 

Despite his fame, Kofi is the man who has Rwandan blood on his hand: 800,000 of them. 

I will NOT trust this man's integrity, will to stop or motives in getting involved a case which is increasingly described by researchers and scholars, and law practitioners with years of personal and direct understanding of the nature of persecution.

How is Kofi Annan in a position to 'downplay or confirm" any allegations of genocide?

He's spent a total of less than 7 days in Rakhine, chauffeured around in an SUV, accompanied by anti-Rohingya Rakhines and all choreographed by Aung San Suu Kyi's Office in Nay Pyi Daw - over two whirlwind visits.

It took years to collect evidence, interview Rohingyas, army officers, Rakhine, etc. as well as do archival research in Burmese, Bengali and English to try to assess the nature of the persecution and claims of rights abuses. 

After nearly 6 years in his capacity as Special Rap on human rights in Myanmar the

Argentinian human rights lawyer Tomas Ojea Quintana has publicly stated that Myanmar is committing a genocide, that UN has an unwritten policy of not calling a genocide genocide and that Aung San Suu Kyi shows no signs of ending it. 

I find it extraordinarily IRRESPONSIBLE, ARROGANT AND CALLOUS to dismiss allegations of atrocity crimes by the State of Myanmar - in light of the on-going media reports based on fleeing Rohingya refugees - by now 20,000 - in Bangladesh, telephone transmissions, etc.

Two most recent reports here - one from AFP:

21,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh from Myanmar: IOM

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE | Published — Tuesday 6 December 2016

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1020136/world

================================

Myanmar Rakhine: Inside the closed Rakhine region

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38232929

Additionally, it is extremely stupid for Kofi Annan to make dismissive comments about these allegations whereas in fact there is a growing body of serious longitudinal (multiyear and on-going) studies of the atrocities against Rohingya. 

====================================

Here is my short-list of studies and analyses.

We must not allow this career UN bureaucrat to let another 800,000 destroyed. 

Their destruction may not come as swift as Tutsis in Rwanda.

But as Lancet's Harvard study pointed out - just look at the doctor: patient ratio in the two Rohingya towns of Buthidaung and Maung Daw, you will get a deeply troubling and shocking picture of the kind of existence Rohingyas have been forced to lead - by the national hybrid-gov of Suu Kyi-Min Aung Hlaing:

1: 150,000 Rohingya 

1: 670 (non-Rohingya) in near by Sittwe. 

Raphael Lemkin, the man who gave us the term genocide, discussed how guns and weapons were not the only instruments of genocide.

Sub-survival level nutritional provisions are a part of a genocidal arsenal. 

I condemn both Suu Kyi and Kofi Annan for their criminal irresponsibility in dismissing and downplaying the allegations of genocide. 

[1] Confronting the genocide in Myanmar, Katherine Southwick, Asia and

Pacific Policy Society, 1 Dec. 2016.

http://www.policyforum.net/confronting-genocide-myanmar/

[1] The Slow Genocide of Rohingyas, Amartya Sen, Harvard Conference on

the Rohingya Persecution, 4 Nov. 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugHhAwARb98

[1] Recognising the Rohingya People, Editorial, Lancet, 1 Dec. 2016

http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(16)32458-8.pdf

The Rohingya People of Myanmar: Health, Human Rights and Identity,

Lancet, 1 Dec. 2016

http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(16)00646-2.pdf

Rohingya Face Health Care Bias in parts of Asia, study finds, New York Times, 5 Dec. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/world/asia/rohingya-myanmar-health-care.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

[1] A Genocide In the Making, Foreign Policy, Sir Geoffrey Nice and

Francis Wade, Foreign Policy, 30 Nov. 2016

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/30/a-genocide-in-the-making-burma-myanmar-rohingya/

[1] Genocide Roundtable, Oxford University Conference on Myanmar’s

Democratic Transition and the Rohingyas, 11 May 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Ww8GLpVUo

[1] Dr. Gregory Stanton at Myanmar Muslims Genocide Awareness

Convention 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR9qkzJexLs

[1] Burma’s Million-Strong Rohingya Population Faces ‘Final Stages of

Genocide,’ Says Report, TIME, 28 Oct. 2015.

http://time.com/4089276/burma-rohingya-genocide-report-documentary/

[1] Clinic Study Finds Evidence of Genocide in Myanmar, Yale Law

School, 29 Oct. 2015

https://www.law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/clinic-study-finds-evidence-genocide-myanmar

[1] The Slow-Burning Genocide of Myanmar’s Rohingya, Maung Zarni and

Alice Cowley, Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal, June 2014

http://digital.law.washington.edu/dspace-law/handle/1773.1/1377

RB News

December 7, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – The Myanmar army has been reported plundering 300 Rohingya shops and gang raping women, one of whom is said to have died as a result. 

On December 6th, 2016 the Myanmar military was reported plundering more than 300 Rohingya shops at random in Myaw Taung village tract in Northern Maungdaw Township, according to locals. 

They reported that the military has also burnt down several houses and killed many innocents since November 12th. 

On December 1st a group of 500 soldiers were reported entering the village and then forcing all of the women there from their homes. They were said to have sexually abused and beaten all of the women in the group. Locals say that at this time all of the gold and cash from the houses in the village were looted, as well as motorcycles, furniture and other valuables. 

On December 2nd and 3rd the military was reported bringing boats and villagers from the Na Ta La village of Pha Wet Chaung to Myaw Taung. They then reportedly looted the village again with the help of the Na Ta La villagers, who were also reported stealing Rohingya owned buffaloes, cows and goats and taking them back to Pha Wet Chaung. 

On December 4th at 6pm the soldiers were reported forcing more than 500 women and children to come out from their homes and gather at a school in the village. From this group the soldiers were said to have selected some of the women and then took them away in groups. 

The women were reportedly gang raped while they were taken away, and then returned to the school afterwards at around 11pm, when they were accompanied by a group of soldiers. After this the women and children were allowed to return to their homes. 

A 16 year old girl who was in one of the groups taken away and raped by the soldiers died on next day, December 5th, locals said. 

After six days of the military plundering the village, locals say there is no food left anywhere. They warn that the children in the village are now at serious risk of starvation.

Report contributed by MYARF.

By Maung Zarni and Gregory Stanton

The Wire

December 6, 2016

The world is reacting with horror to the massacre of Rohingyas in Rakhine State, but Suu Kyi and her government continue to turn a blind eye to what increasingly appears like a genocide.

Amidst widespread protests in Asian capitals over the ongoing massacre of Rohingyas in Western Myanmar, Adama Dieng, UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, issued a sternly-worded statement over the “allegations of extrajudicial executions, torture, rape and the destruction of religious property” in Rohingya villages, and firmly urged the Aung San Suu Kyi government to “demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law and to the human rights of all its populations”.

Human Rights Watch has presented satellite images of over a thousand charred buildings in Rohingya villages where government troops have been carrying out ‘clearance operations’ since October 9 when Rohingya militants, armed with swords, sticks and a ‘few hand-made’ guns, attacked three border posts near the country’s border with Bangladesh, killing several Burmese troops. For nine weeks, the government has locked down the northern portion of Rakhine State, blocking the flow of humanitarian assistance (both food and medicine) to 160,000 Rohingya Muslims. Rohingya activists have smuggled out grainy images of burning rice supplies in the areas of the military’s mop-up operations, indicating that the government intends to deprive the entire Rohingya population in the locked-down area of their food supply. The government’s intention can only be understood as an induced starvation of the Rohingya population – an act of genocide.

Reminiscent of past genocide cases, the government troops separate men of all ages from their families for brutal interrogations while raping women with blanket impunity. A friend told me about a phone conversation between a woman survivor and her relative, a Rohingya migrant worker in a poor neighbourhood called Salayang in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The woman reportedly said, “Just wish us to die [a] fast death. We can’t bear this any more. They (the Burmese troops) are killing our men and boys. They are doing anything they please with us women. We don’t want to be carrying babies of these monsters. Please, please, send us birth control pills.”

Weeks of wanton slaughter, arson and rape have resulted in the displacement of over 30,000 Rohingyas from entire villages in the swampy flat plains of northern Rakhine. The UNHCR has estimated that at least 10,000 Rohingyas fleeing death and destruction have gathered along the 170-mile land and river borders with Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government has decided to keep its borders shut, forcing the refugees back to the Burmese side. A small number of those who have made it across to the nearest refugee camp tell tales of horror in Rakhine, confirming the widely reported allegations of mass atrocities against the Rohingyas in Myanmar.

History of oppression

These are just the most recent testimonies of a well-documented, systematic program of state-organised persecution of the Rohingya over the last four decades. General Khin Nyunt, former head of military intelligence with 25 years of intimate involvement in these violent operations against the Rohingya, recorded in his Burmese-language book The Problem of Burma’s Western Gate that nearly 280,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh in the first large-scale operations against them in 1978. When General Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh threatened to arm the Rohingyas if Myanmar refused to take them back, the Ne Win government grudgingly accepted the UNHCR’s managed repatriation of the majority of those who fled.

Following this repatriation, Myanmar’s military rulers enacted a new citizenship law in 1982, stripping the Rohingyas of all citizenship and legal rights, thus making them instant aliens on their own ancestral land. The law excludes from citizenship any Rohingya who cannot prove their ancestors were already in residence in Myanmar on the eve of the first Anglo-Burmese War of 1824. Few people have such records. This requirement is enforced only with respect to the Rohingya. The Rohingya are also excluded from the list of groups that were recognised as ethnic minorities in the multi-ethnic Union of Burma.

The official estimate of the Rohingya population is 1.33 million, of which 800,000 are completely without any legal status. They are effectively stateless. An estimated 60,000 Rohingya children are un-registered because the Burmese government refuses to grant each newborn the right to a nationality, in direct violation of its obligations as a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

State-sponsored violence against the Rohingya and other minorities from 1978 to 2012 went largely un-reported in the global media because Myanmar was almost completely closed off from the western world. Since its commercial opening in 2012, the government of president Thein Sein framed its persecution of the Rohingya people as ‘communal or sectarian violence’ between the Muslim Rohingyas and Buddhist Rakhine people. The world has come to view the violence against the Rohingya as a clash between religious communities. In reality, it is ethnic persecution.

By releasing Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and permitting her party contest the parliamentary election, in which it won a majority, the Thein Sein military junta has lulled the world into believing that Myanmar is “democratising.” In fact, the junta still holds a quarter of the seats in parliament as well as the key ministries of defence, home affairs and border affairs. In sharp contrast to the official explanation of violence in Rakhine as communal, Suu Kyi’s government has sought to tell the world that her government is fighting Rohingya Muslim extremists who are spreading Islamic terrorism. Western governments have rolled back the economic, military and diplomatic sanctions on Myanmar and have moved to normalised relations.

Deafening silence

But Suu Kyi’s silence on the ongoing massacre of Rohingyas has not gone unnoticed. Fellow Nobel laureates and world leaders continue to call on her to stop the genocide being perpetrated by the Burmese generals, whose partnership and cooperation she depends on for her influence.

Not only have these calls fallen on deaf ears but they have become a laughing matter for Suu Kyi and much of the Burmese population, who remain deeply enthralled with the woman they call mother.

In her live webcast town hall meeting this week with thousands of adoring Burmese supporters in Singapore, where Suu Kyi was on a three-day official visit, she took a question from the audience, which framed the growing allegations of rape, arson and slaughter of Rohingyas as “external fabrications”. Suu Kyi agreed that the allegations are “fabrications”. Then, she laughed out loud.

Dieng and Yanghee Lee, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, have requested independent UN investigations on the alleged ‘ethnic cleansing’ and other mass atrocities in the Rohingya region of Rakhine State. Instead, Suu Kyi’s government announced the establishment of a “national inquiry commission” with vice president Myint Swe as chair. Myint Swe, a former lieutenant general, also previously headed military intelligence and coordinated the border affairs army division, one of the main persecutors of the Rohingyas.

Suu Kyi and her government are in complete denial of the genocidal massacres being perpetrated against the Rohingya. When a Nobel Peace Prize finds allegations of genocide funny, she becomes undeserving of the prize. In fact, Suu Kyi should be prosecuted for complicity in the crimes.

Maung Zarni is co-author (with Alice Cowley) of The Slow Burning Genocide of Myanmar’s Rohingya and a grassroots Burmese activist who coordinated the international consumer boycott of Myanmar in support of the National League for Democracy from 1995-2004. Gregory Stanton is the founding president of Genocide Watch and research professor at George Mason University, USA.