By Kyaw Win

Asia Times

July 18, 2014

This month's tragic anti-Muslim violence in Mandalay has again revealed that dark forces are alive and well in Myanmar. The violence left two dead and many injured, causing damage to property and generating a climate of fear in the country's cultural and historic capital. 

In the aftermath of the violence, the government has moved to crack down on hate speech but has also warned the media against making statements that could destabilize national security, saying that "action will be taken against those who threaten state stability." 

Tellingly, however, no action has been taken against those responsible for triggering the Mandalay violence by spreading false rumors on social media, while journalists reporting on the riots have already been threatened with violence. In addition, some observers have noted that the violence has also had a secondary effect- it has successfully distracted public interest from a signature campaign calling for amendment to the 2008 Constitution. 

Such patterns are finally leading more and more analysts to ask critical questions about the nature of recent anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar and the real motivations behind it. Outside of Myanmar, reporting has been less critical, with some major media wires referring to the violence as 'sectarian'. 

Such inaccurate diagnosis is not new, as international diplomatic and public opinion circles have tended to portray Myanmar's anti-Muslim violence as an unfortunate social consequence of transition from authoritarianism to democracy. In this view, it is the uncertainty of transition and the new freedom of expression that have given rise to fear of the Muslim minority and ultra-nationalist Buddhist extremism. 

This definition, however, is misleading and has resulted in significant confusion both about the form of violence in question as well as its root cause. Indeed, from the point of view of many Myanmar Muslims, it appears to be a case of applying a perfectly sensible theory to the wrong context. 

Such misconceptions not only ignore the reality of decades-long persecution of Muslims in the country, but they also absolve authorities of their historical responsibility for manufacturing, endorsing and permitting such violence, both directly and indirectly. 

They also ignore the role played by Myanmar's generals and their cronies in manufacturing Burman-Buddhist nationalist ideology and institutionalizing a culture of fear and distrust of minorities, including the Muslim community. Anti-Muslim violence is, in fact, not a new phenomenon, and has been stirred by the military and its proxies since 1981. 

The misdiagnosis also ignores the fact that the military deliberately designed the 2008 constitution to maintain sufficient power to protect their interests and have historically exploited identity as a tool to divide and control the country's diverse population. 

It also ignores the reality that many institutions, including some of Myanmar's Buddhist monasteries, have long been infiltrated by certain military actors and have served as sites for organizing support for the military and their vision of nationalism. 

That much of the violence has been carried out by mobs that also involve ordinary people does not mean that it is purely a social phenomenon free from any political involvement. Indeed, this form of violence is neither new nor apolitical, as campaigns to spread public fear against Muslims and the mobilization of pogroms have been consistently carried out by Myanmar's military and their proxies throughout the decades of military dictatorship. 

The reality is that the current anti-Muslim violence is sign of continuity with the past, rather than a break with it. 

Mask of reform

President Thein Sein's government is not the first to employ divide and rule tactics through a variety of proxies, manipulating religion and ethnicity as a means of maintaining power. 

In the 1960 general election, Prime Minister U Nu published in his manifesto a promise to declare Buddhism as the state religion if elected. As a result, he won a landslide election victory. 

Thein Sein's government now appears to be using this old tactic to kill three birds with one stone- to divert public attention from Chinese interests, to avoid enacting constitutional amendments that would allow opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to become the country's next president and to attract voters ahead of the 2015 elections. 

Since Thein Sein took office in 2010, he has faced three major challenges: public protests against Chinese projects, public protests to amend the 2008 constitution and public support for Suu Kyi. These challenges have coincided with the re-emergence with anti-Muslim violence across Myanmar. That can hardly be a coincidence. 

Public opposition to mega-projects, particularly those backed by China, has grown since Thein Sein took office. While he won praise for suspending the Chinese mega-dam project in Kachin State in 2011, this was short-lived. 

In August 2012, police used white phosphorus against peaceful demonstrators, including monks and villagers at the Letpadaung copper mine. Another major Chinese project is the Shwe gas pipeline, which starts near Kyauk Pyu Township, Rakhine State and provides an important alternative route for China to much-needed energy resources should access through either the Malacca Strait or the South China Sea be blocked in a future conflict. 

The second challenge is the growing public demand to amend the 2008 constitution, which many in Myanmar view as deeply flawed, undemocratic and designed by the junta to maintain the power of the army. Since early 2012, activists have been raising public awareness against the constitution and several public mass gatherings were organized to protest against the constitution and demand its amendment. 

The third challenge is the outcome of 2012 by-election, which placed the military-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) on the horns of a dilemma. Although Thein Sein successfully convinced the international community to recognize him as a reformist, even receiving a peace award from the International Crisis Group, his party has not yet convinced his country's own voters. 

On the contrary, members of the USDP are well known for their record of corruption and it is not surprising that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide victory at the 2012 by-election. The poll result was alarming for the ruling party and has created anxiety about the upcoming general election in 2015. The ruling party and its military backers may have thus considered applying political tactics that had already been tried and tested. 

Political scapegoats

As the government came under increasing pressure from these multiple challenges, a new wave of anti-Muslim violence emerged. Violence broke out in Rakhine State in June and October 2012 where Rohingya and Kaman Muslims were targeted. 

Tensions between Muslims and Buddhists have historically been at their highest in Rakhine, with ethnic cleansing campaigns against the Rohingya occurring in 1942, 1978 and 1991, making it an easy target for igniting anti-Muslim violence. But anti-Muslim mobilization was not limited to Rakhine and was soon followed by hate-speech campaigns in Karen State at the end of 2012 that spread to other parts of the country. In March 2013, anti-Muslim pogroms erupted in Meiktila in central Myanmar. 

Government and crony-controlled media have also played a dangerous role by portraying Rohingya as intruders from Bangladesh and Islam as a threat to Buddhism. They have succeeded in obscuring real problems such as land grabbing by the army, civil war and the use of rape as a weapon against minorities. The majority of Buddhists are unaware that they are being brainwashed by the powerful cronies' media. 

It is highly likely that many extremist Buddhist monks are agents of Myanmar's army and part of a vast propaganda machine. In a context where monks are the most revered figures in society, this strategy has proven highly effective and faces almost no opposition. Those who have spoken out against radical monks have been intimidated. 

During the crisis, the inflammatory rhetoric of Thein Sein and his spokesperson Major Zaw Htay received strong support from Buddhist extremists. In a meeting with the head of UNHCR in July 2012, Thein Sein denied the existence of the Rohingyas, stating that they are the illegal immigrants and should be sent to third countries or kept in concentration camps as refugees. His comments have directly put the lives of Rohingya into great danger, encouraged hatred against them and allowed the extremists to target them without condemnation by the wider public. 

During a recent attack on Rohingyas, Zaw Htay posted provocative anti-Rohingya propaganda on his Facebook account in Burmese. Exercising scare tactics, he used the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, an organization known to be almost defunct for several decades, as a scarecrow, claiming that RSO members had crossed into Myanmar to invade Rakhine State and threaten the lives of Buddhists. He also warned opposition parties and critics not to oppose government policy towards the Rohingya on the basis of human rights. 

Anti-Muslim hate campaigns led by the radical 969 movement, including those led by Buddhist monk U Wirathu, have played a significant role in expanding the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya into generalized anti-Muslim violence across the country. U Wirathu has traveled across Myanmar giving anti-Muslim speeches without restriction and expanded an extremist network known as the Race and Faith Defense League, (Ma Ba Tha). 

Bigoted boycotts

The biased judiciary, meanwhile, systematically grants impunity to the hate instigators, encouraging further attacks on Muslims. In return, these extremists promote the ruling party as a defender of Buddhism and Buddhist interests. Ma Ba Tha also largely opposes the amendment of the 2008 constitution, particularly the section 59(F) that bars Suu Kyi from becoming president because she was married to a now deceased foreigner. 

A public declaration of anti-Muslim persecution was made on September 10, 2012 after a meeting between monks from all Buddhist sects in Karen State organized by the Alliance of Buddhism Custodians at Mae Baung Monastery in the state capital Hpa-an. 

The declaration was mainly intended to segregate Muslims from social and economic activities, including a drive to boycott Muslim-owned shops. In December 2012, the alliance declared it would fine anyone who breached the order and members of Ma Ba Tha began monitoring Muslim shops to implement the order. 

The declaration openly challenges the rule of law and yet in spite of this there has not been a single response from Thein Sein's government. The President did not fail, however, to swiftly issue a statement defending U Wirathu when Time magazine published an edition with the monk on the front cover calling him 'the face of Buddhist terror'. 

Tolerance of anti-Muslim violence was also apparent during the Meiktila pogroms in March 2013. Victims said that when police were requested to protect Muslims from deadly attacks they responded that orders were not given to stop the violent mobs. The mystery in that instance is who held the authority to give the orders and why these officials would allow the mobs to target Muslims. 

At the same time, the organized manner in which the mobs targeted Muslims reveals that at least some among them were well-trained to carry out heinous crimes against humanity, such as the chopping and burning alive of 28 small children at an Islamic orphanage. 

So far anti-Rohingya and anti-Muslim campaigns have successfully diverted public attention from many issues: Chinese projects, land grabbing, the civil war in Kachin State, corruption, dubious multi-billion dollar property holdings by high-ranking generals, and calls to amend the controversial 2008 constitution. 

Undoubtedly, the military will plan their every strategy carefully and execute every move deliberately. The result of the 2012 by-election could be used as a parameter to measure the USDP's chance of victory in 2015. The stakes are high, raising the potential for more distractive anti-Muslim mobilization, persecution and violence in the run-up to the polls. 

While the international community invests millions in government institutions such as the Myanmar Peace Center, more must be done to hold the government accountable for the role it has played in supporting organizations and movements responsible for inciting hatred and violence. Allowing these deadly and divisive trends to continue is morally wrong and threatens to unleash new cycles of fear, violence and vengeance that will undermine the prospects of all of Myanmar's people and jeopardize stability across the wider region. 

Kyaw Win is a Burmese Muslim scholar and human rights activist living in London.

By Radio Free Asia

July 17, 2014

The United Nations new human rights envoy to Myanmar kicked off her first official visit to the country on Thursday with an inspection of Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison and talks with the local human rights commission.

Yanghee Lee of South Korea, who took over as the new U.N. Special Rapporteur on Myanmar in June, is on a ten-day mission that will include visits communal strife-torn Rakhine and war-ridden Kachin states.

On Thursday, she met with Win Mya, chairman of the government’s Myanmar Human Rights Commission, to discuss the panel’s work since it was established in September 2011.

“This is her first time in Myanmar, so we explained what the commission has done on human rights issues in the country,” Win Mya told RFA’s Myanmar Service.

“We also told her about the areas we have visited to report on human rights issues, such as humanitarian assistance, people displaced by conflict, education, land mines, soldier recruiting for both [the government and ethnic rebel armies] and child soldiers in Kachin state.”

Win Mya said that the rights commission also explained the reports it had released concerning a crackdown by authorities on a protest against a Chinese-owned copper mine, as well as on violence in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state which has left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced since 2012.

He said that the commission had received around 6,000 letters from the public to investigate human rights complaints.

New envoy

The chairman expressed optimism that Lee would have a more comprehensive understanding of Myanmar’s rights issues than her predecessor, Tomas Quintana, whose six-year term as rights envoy to the country ended in May.

Quintana, whose relationship with the government was tense at times, said at the end of his term that severe shortages of food, water and medical care for the minority Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state were part of a long history of persecution that could amount to "crimes against humanity.”

“The former envoy was from Argentina on the other side of the world and she [Lee] is from our [Asia] region,” Win Mya said.

“I believe an Asian could have a better understanding of the problems facing an Asian country. I hope her report on her findings in Myanmar will be beneficial to the country because of her Asian perspective.”

Tomas Quintana oversaw Myanmar’s transition from a ruthless military regime to fledgling democracy after President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian took power from the former junta in 2011, but also large-scale rights violations following a new outbreak of military clashes with rebels in Kachin state and communal violence in Rakhine state.

Win Mya urged Lee to maintain her status as an independent reporter on her findings in Myanmar.

“There could be some difficulties in achieving good results if she submits her reports based on political pressure,” he said.

First visit

Ahead of her visit, the U.N. said in a statement that Lee will also travel to Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw, Yangon and the country’s second city Mandalay, where recent clashes between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims left two dead and several injured.

In addition to meeting with members of parliament—including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi—and other officials, Lee also plans to hold discussions with religious and community leaders, civil society representatives, victims of human rights violations and members of the international community.

“A frank and open exchange of views will be vital to help me better understand the realities on the ground,” Lee said in the statement.

“And it is my intention, as Special Rapporteur, to work closely with the government and people of Myanmar, towards the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.”

Lee has previously served as chairperson of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child and is currently a professor at Sungkyunwan University in Seoul. She also serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.

The human rights expert will submit her first report following the country visit, which will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly in October.

Reported by Myo Zaw Ko for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

July 17, 2014

To: Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei

The Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (MERHROM) would like to draw your attention in regards to the recent attack on both Palestinians and Rohingyas by Israel and Myanmar during the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

We strongly condemn such attack as many innocent people have died especially children and women. We could not accept such act as it contradicts the International Laws and International Conventions.

Both Palestinians and Rohingyas faced continuous Genocide since the 1940s. We experienced the same critical moment where we face continuous attack from both regimes. Unfortunately the United Nations did not take any appropriate measures to stop the longstanding genocide that caused death to thousands of Palestinians and Rohingyas.

We felt very sad and heartbroken to see millions of human beings especially children, women and the elderly being murdered, raped, tortured and imprisonment for the past 60 years. The United Nations, world leaders and international communities have constantly talked about the gross human rights violations in both countries, how Palestinians and Rohingyas were oppressed and prosecuted by the regimes.

Further to that the United Nations itself announced that the Rohingya is the most prosecuted ethnic group in the world. However, until now no concrete action has been taken by the United Nations to stop the oppressions, prosecutions and genocide towards both Palestinians and Rohingyas. 

The current situation is very critical. We do not know what will happen in the next few hours. The death toll is increasing for the Palestinians. As of now an estimated 173 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,200 Palestinians have been wounded badly. We have to stop this immediately to save the innocent population. We have to increase pressure to stop the genocide in both countries.

Therefore:-

We strongly condemn Israel and Myanmar for attacking innocent populations, mosques, hospitals, schools, and madrasah for whatever reasons due to the facts that these are noble places.

We strongly condemn Israel for using bombs that can cause cancer to the Palestinians. Such attacks towards the innocent population could not be accepted at all as children and women will be suffering the most.

We strongly condemn Israel for destroying the water supply for the Palestinians as water is a very basic need for human survival.

We strongly condemn all countries allied to Israel for supplying military equipment to kill the Palestinians.

We strongly condemn the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for not doing enough to protect the holy place of all religions - Baitul Maqdis.

A few hundred thousands of people have died both in Palestine and Arakan State due to bombings, shooting, diseases, malnutrition and starvation. Thousands more of Rohingya drowned in the ocean over the years while fleeing their country.

We regret very much when the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon appealed for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians. This clearly shows that the United Nations losing its mandate to secure the security of its member states.

We have done everything in the world to save us from the genocide but it was no use to help us. We have the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a super solid declaration which guides us how we suppose to live in this world. The UDHR clearly state our rights in very detail way.

Unfortunately in our cases, NONE of these RIGHTS belong to us. It is shameful that we only can see the UDHR on paper but we cannot embrace it in our life. All our rights have been taken away by the regimes.

We have the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) but none of their rights are guarenteed in Palestine and Myanmar. Ironically, children and women became the target by both regimes and suffered the most at any times.

We have the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute those who involved in the Crimes Against Humanity but it was not use to prosecute the head of the countries who conducted the genocide against Palestinians and Rohingya.

We have the United Nations Security Council which oversees security issues around the world but it was not use to secure the Palestinians and Rohingyas while we become the victims of genocide. We had urged the United Nations thousand times to take immediate action to intervene but it was not done except sending their envoys and making reports.

As a mandated body, the United Nations must treat all races and ethnic groups equally without being prejudiced to their religion. If the United Nations cannot function effectively, it will lose its credibility as a mandated body.

Human rights and international conventions are useless if these instruments could not stop genocide and other form of crimes against humanity. We should not call ourselves civilised nation until we respect each other’s rights.

We have no more time to talk and negotiate with the regimes. This is the time to take action against the regimes who commit severe crimes against humanity. The failure of the United Nations to stop the genocide is the failure of the world leaders and the international communities at large.

Human lives must be given the first priority before anything else if we call ourselves as a develop nations. We must contribute in whatever way to save the Palestinians and Rohingyas from the continuous genocide from the cruel and uncivilised regimes.

Israel is an illegal state which committed the biggest crime against humanity - genocide - for the past 60 years. All countries should not condone Israel’s crimes against Palestinians.

In this very critical situation, MERHROM urge the United Nations to:

1. Immediately send a peace-keeping mission to Gaza to restore a ceasefire and monitor the human rights abuses.

2. Urge Israel to allows foreign aid and aid workers to enter Gaza without any restrictions.

3. Urge the countries allied to Israel to stop military and financial assistance to Israel immediately in order to stop the killing of Palestinians.

4. Urge its member states to boycott all Israeli product as well as the products of countries allied to Israel until Israel stops killing the Palestinians.

5. Urge the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to immediately stop exporting oil to countries allied to Israel until Israel stops killing the Palestinians.

6. Urge all countries to immediately stop economic and diplomatic relationships with Israel immediately until they stop the attack on Gaza and Palestinians.

7. Urge Israel to free Palestinian prisoners.

8. Prosecute the current and former prime ministers of Israel for genocide and crimes against humanity. They must be brought to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for killing the Palestinians.

For the plight of Rohingyas in Myanmar, MERHROM urge the United Nations to:

1. Prosecute President Thien Sein and former general Thein Shwe as well as previous generals for genocide and crimes against humanity. They must be brought to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for killing, raping, torturing, detaining and abusing minority Muslims and other ethnic groups.

2. Urge the Myanmar government to amend the 1982 Citizenship Law to recognise Rohingya as a citizens of Myanmar.

3. Urge its member states to stop the economic and political relationship with Myanmar immediately until they protect Rohingya and Muslims in Myanmar with equal rights.

4. Eestablish an independent commission of inquiry Immediately to specifically investigate the gross human rights violations towards Rohingya prisoners in Buthidaung jail.

5. Urge the United Nations Security Council to send a peace-keeping mission to Arakan State urgently to control and monitor the human rights abuses.

6. Establish an independent commission of inquiry Immediately to investigate, monitor and access the situation of Rohingya in Arakan State.

7. Urge the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Malaysia (UNHCR) to speed up their registration process for the Rohingya asylum-seekers. At the moment the registration process is very slow and it will only leave the Rohingya with no protection at all.

8. Urge the UNHCR to process the resettlement of Rohingya refugees to third countries due to increased persecution by the Myanmar government towards the minority Rohingya.

9. Urge the resettlement countries to accept Rohingya refugees due to very low intake of Rohingya refugees into their countries. At this critical stage we appeal to the resettlement countries to accept the victims of genocide and give us a new life for our future generations.

We thank you very much for your urgent intervention to resolve the conflict and save the Palestinians and Rohingyas from genocide.

ZAFAR AHMAD BDUL GHANI is president, Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (MERHROM).

This letter is originally published here.

By Lawi Weng

The Irrawaddy

July 16, 2014

RANGOON — The newly appointed chief minister of Burma’s conflict-torn Arakan State appears to be struggling to win the trust of Rohingya Muslims, who continue to live in squalid camps after being driven from their homes in rioting two years ago.

Chief Minister Maung Maung Ohn, who is also a general in the armed forces, has met four times with Rohingya community leaders since he was appointed last month. But in that time, he has been unable to convince the Rohingyas to participate in the government’s controversial “citizenship verification” scheme, according to state government spokesman Win Myaing.

“They are refusing to cooperate,” the spokesman told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

The Arakan State government implemented a pilot project in Myebon Township last month to determine who will qualify to become a naturalized citizen. Many Rohingya families have lived in the country for generations, but they are widely regarded as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and are mostly denied citizenship by the government.

Win Myaing said the international community had pressured Naypyidaw to reconsider their pleas for citizenship. “But we cannot do anything, even though we are trying, because they refuse to cooperate,” he said.

Rohingya rights activists Aung Win said he believed the government wanted to appease the international community but had little interest in actually granting citizenship to the 1 million or so Rohingya people living in western Burma.

“After their work in Myebon, we did not see them grant citizenship to our people,” he said. “I believe that even though we agreed to identify as Bengali, they may grant citizenship only to a few of our people.”

The chief minister, who met most recently with Rohingya leaders on Monday, said applicants would be considered for citizenship only if they identified as Bengali, as they are known by the government. During the nationwide census earlier this year, the government also refused to count anybody who identified as ethnic Rohingya rather than Bengali.

Arakan State was torn apart by communal violence between Buddhists and Muslims in 2012. More than 140,000 people were displaced from their homes, and the majority of these were Rohingya Muslims who continue to live today in camps outside the state capital, Sittwe.

By Press Association

July 15, 2014

Britain has spent £9 million on a census in Burma that was widely criticised for stoking religious and ethnic tensions after the government denied a long-persecuted minority from identifying themselves as Rohingya.

Outgoing International Development Minister Alan Duncan said the UK committed £10 million to the census, with £9 million already spent and £1 million to follow for "data analysis, thematic reports and dissemination of information".

The census was criticised for not allowing Rohingya Muslims to note their ethnicity on forms as the Burmese government sees them as Bengali immigrants and denies them citizenship.

Many migrated into Burma generations ago and have long been persecuted by majority Buddhists in the country - also known as Myanmar - which has recently emerged from 50 years of brutal military rule and isolation.

Buddhist hostility towards the Rohingya spilled over in 2012 when Buddhist mob attacks on the minority left 200 people dead and displaced another 140,000 from their homes in the Western state of Rakhine.

In the run up to the March census, Buddhists in Rakhine vowed to boycott it as they were worried the status of the Rohingyas would be legitimised. They also attacked the homes and offices of foreign aid workers, forcing their evacuation.

The census was the country's first for 30 years and involved a complicated questionnaire drawn up by the Burmese government and the United Nations Population Fund.

The 1983 census counted the country's population as 60 million but is seen as flawed for failing to count many religious and ethnic minorities.

The UN had given assurances that the 2014 census would count the Rohingya.

Mr Duncan gave the figures in response to a written parliamentary question from Labour's shadow international development minister Gavin Shuker.

The UN’s newly appointed special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar will begin her first visit to the country later this week.

Yanghee Lee will visit Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Rakhine and Kachin states on her 10-day trip, which begins on July 17. She will also travel to Mandalay, where a recent outbreak of violence between Muslims and Buddhists left two men dead.

“A frank and open exchange of views will be vital to help me better understand the realities on the ground,” Ms Lee said in a statement. “And it is my intention, as special rapporteur, to work closely with the government and people of Myanmar, towards the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.”

The position of special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar has existed since 1992. It is nominated by the UN secretary general and mandated by the UN Human Rights Council.

Ms Lee took over the role of special rapporteur in June from Tomás Quintana, who held the post for six years – the maximum period allowable – before finishing his mandate in May 2014.

Though granted greater and more frequent access to Myanmar than his predecessors, Mr Quintana’s time as special rapporteur was dogged in recent years by accusations that he was biased toward the country’s Muslims.

Visits to Rakhine State were regularly met by protesters and in August 2013 Mr Quintana’s convoy was attacked while travelling through Meiktila, less than six months after more than 40 people were killed in religious violence in the town. The government rejected Mr Quintana’s version of the incident.

Previously, Ms Lee was a member and chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child from 2003 to 2011 and is the founding president of International Child Rights Center. She is a professor at Sungkyunwan University in Seoul.

Ms Lee’s visit will conclude on July 26. She will present her first report of Myanmar to the UN General Assembly in October.

By IRIN

July 15, 2014

YANGON - In early July, a hundreds-strong mob of Buddhists converged on a shop in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. According to rumours spread on social media, its Muslim owner had raped a Buddhist woman. The ensuing violence left two dead and a dozen injured.

Since 2012 more than 240 people have died in communal violence fought along religious and ethnic lines, the victims overwhelmingly Muslim.

Than Nyunt of the Interfaith Religious Group of Mandalay, told IRIN it was the intervention of both Muslim and Buddhist leaders that stopped violence in Mandalay from spreading - a significant achievement, experts and community leaders say, given the current polarized political atmosphere in the country.

“We approached the crowd in the streets and people in communities and urged them not to get involved in the fights, not to believe the circulating rumours,” Than Nyunt said.

On 8 July, a week after the outburst, Myanmar’s reformist president, Thein Sein, addressed the nation on the radio, saying: “We have faced various challenges with ethnic and religious conflicts…. [M]any of the conflicts were deliberate instigations to derail our aim of achieving a society based on democratic principles.”

After the violence, the government imposed a curfew on Mandalay and deployed security forces.

“With the presence of the police deployed across the city, people no longer need to worry about their safety,” said Chit Htoo, vice-chairman of Byamaso Social Services, an NGO in Mandalay. Chit Htoo is a member of the Peace Restoration Committee of Mandalay, a citizens’ group formed in the wake of the July violence by senior citizens in Mandalay with guidance from Buddhist monks. Other community groups followed suit.

“For the sake of our country’s future, our next generation, we must ensure that rule of law is in place, communities are well-educated and harmonious, and the government must respond instantly and effectively,” said Shine Win, a founding member of Interfaith Youth Coalition on AIDS in Myanmar. 

But, some analysts say, community-led initiatives will be up against increasing - and often politically manipulated - polarization as the country approaches an election in 2015.

Religious leaders, particularly Buddhist monks, hold considerable political stature in Myanmar: They were major players both in the struggle to regain independence from British colonial rule and in democracy movements. However, in an environment the International Crisis Group (ICG) has called a “context of rising Burman-Buddhist nationalism” being pushed by a monk-led “populist political force that cloaks itself in religious respectability and moral authority”, monastic influence can fan the flames of hatred as well.

“As usual with Burma’s communal violence, the plot thickens as the dust settles,” said Dave Matheison, senior researcher on Burma at Human Rights Watch. “So the question hangs: was this another case of organic, spontaneous religious violence, or an orchestrated piece of a broader political puzzle utilizing racism ahead of Burma’s 2015 elections?”

Weak reactions feed the rumour mill

In his national address, President Thein Sein said: “Everyone must avoid hate speech and incitement, and sensibly, bravely and with foresight cooperate to bring legal action against those responsible for such acts.”

However, government failure to prevent clashes or investigate and prosecute those involved suggests a weak grip on instigators.

“As long as rule of law is weak and the government doesn’t take actions instantly and effectively, the [sectarian] conflict could spread far and wide,” said Phyo Min Thein, lawmaker in Hlegu Township in Yangon Region, which saw a small brawl between groups of Buddhists and Muslims in April 2013.

“Repeated failure by the government does suggest that there are elements of the government who may be not only sympathizing with the perpetrators but possibly actively creating the problem,” said Benedict Rogers, East Asia team leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). “There may be political reasons behind this. There is a lot of speculation, a lot of theories and rumours, some of which sound plausible,” he said.

One popular theory involves democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was scheduled to visit Mandalay this week for a rally on constitutional reform. Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest for 15 years, is prevented from running in the 2015 presidential election by Myanmar’s 2008 constitution.

“It is probably no coincidence that a fake memo from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party circulated throughout Facebook in Burma claiming the NLD was planning on taking advantage of the [Mandalay] riots to protect Muslims,” explained HRW’s Matheison, adding that U Wirathu, a Mandalay-based influential and well-known monk who has sparked fierce criticism for his anti-Muslim speeches, is publicly opposed to amending that clause of the constitution which would permit Suu Kyi’s eligibility to be president.

“The best way the government can prove the conspiracy theorists wrong would be by taking clear action to prevent further violence, to bring the perpetrators of violence to justice, to end discrimination, and to address hate speech,” said Rogers.

Tensions on the rise

The violence in Mandalay comes 15 months after a bloody communal clash between Buddhists and Muslims broke out in Meiktila - about two hours from Mandalay - killing 40 people and displacing 1,200. In June 2012, a mob of Buddhists in western Rakhine State attacked Muslim men in retaliation for an alleged rape, setting off riots that left 80 dead and tens of thousands displaced.

Renewed violence in October of that year left more than 100,000 displaced, where they remain today. 

Stoking tensions, in May 2014 the government published the first of fourreligious conversion laws, which drew criticism for breaching human right standards. And in June Thein Sein fired Minister of Religious Affairs U San Hsint and replaced him with advisers including a military official implicated in a 2012 crackdown that injured several Buddhist monks.

Ethnic and religious tensions in Rakhine State, home to the beleaguered Rohingya Muslim minority, continue to fester.

Myanmar’s first census in 30 years did not include the word “Rohingya”, a move analysts with the International State Crime Initiative called part of the “dehumanization process”, a precursor for genocide, arguing that “the Burmese state has had decades to ‘rationalize’ violence against Rohingya.”

In March Rakhine Buddhist mob violence against aid agencies over perceived pro-Rohingya bias triggered mass humanitarian withdrawal from Rakhine State. During a 13 June visit to internally displaced persons’ camps in the state, the assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, Kyung-wha Kang, called the situation “appalling, with wholly inadequate access to basic services including health, education, water and sanitation”.

Grassroots and online responses

Amid limited action from the government, some community leaders are taking initiatives into their own hands.

“Interfaith education should be given at the community levels,” said Bo Bo Lwin of Kalyana Mitta Development Foundation, a Buddhist group that has conducted workshops and promoted peace in collaboration with other faith-based groups in several cities.

Shine Win, of the Interfaith Youth Coalition on AIDS in Myanmar, said school reform will need to be part of the solution.

“The government needs to institute lessons on history of different religions in the curriculum. If children learn about other religions in school, the communities can be better integrated as they grow up,” he said.

Shine Win told IRIN that part of inter-faith groups’ community outreach must be to counter hate speech and rumours on social media.

“Here the problem is that many people believe information they get from blogs or websites, without considering whether it is reliable or not,” he explained.

“One of the campaigns we’re going to conduct is to raise awareness among the people not to believe the rumours that they get [from different channels] such as through social networks like Facebook,” Shine Win said, adding that they had attempted such a campaign when rumours of the Mandalay rape began spreading on the Internet, but it was too limited in reach to prevent the violent clash.

“We need to do this sort of outreach on a larger scale and with multiple inter-faith groups, reminding people to check the sources of information and not believe inciters on the Internet,” he said.

By The Rakyat Post

July 14, 2014

Bangkok: Thailand’s military government said on Monday it would send home 100,000 refugees who have been living in camps for two decades and more along the border with Myanmar, a move rights groups say would create chaos at a tense time for both nations.

Thailand’s military overthrew the remnants of an elected government in May after months of sometimes violent street protests. Its National Council for Peace and Order has rolled out a raft of tough measures it says are needed to restore order and has promised a return to democracy next year.

Myanmar is emerging from nearly five decades of isolation under repressive military rule.

Its nominally civilian government has talked about repatriating the refugees, but non-governmental organisations said they are concerned by a lack of infrastructure to help returnees rebuild their lives.

“We are not at the stage where we will deport people because we must first verify the nationality of those in the camps,” said army deputy spokesman Veerachon Sukhontapatipak.

“Once that is done we will find ways to send them back. There are around 100,000 people who have been living in the camps for many years without freedom. Thailand and Myanmar will help facilitate their smooth return.”

Last month, comments made by a junta spokesman threatening to arrest and deport undocumented migrant workers sparked the departure of more than 200,000 Cambodians, a key component of the workforce in fishing, construction and other sectors.

Thailand scrambled to reverse that exodus by opening service centres to help migrant workers secure work permits. There are also an estimated 2 million Burmese migrant workers, the largest contingent of such labourers in the country.

But without any legal status or marketable skills, the refugees have long been seen as a burden by the Thai state.

An estimated 120,000 Burmese refugees live in 10 camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border, according to The Border Consortium, which coordinates NGO activity in the camps.

Many fled persecution and ethnic wars as well as poverty and have lived in the camps with no legal means of making an income.

An aid worker who has been helping the refugees said the Thai army appeared serious about its repatriation push.

“The authorities said this time they are going to be very strict. It seems like they’re really pushing for repatriation,” said the aid worker, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

“The situation in the camps is very tense because people don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The refugees fear economic and logistical difficulties in returning as well as sporadic fighting in parts of north and northeast Myanmar.

In his weekly televised speech last Friday, junta leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha said Myanmar and Thailand would oversee a smooth return home of refugees.

“Thailand and Myanmar will facilitate the safe return to their homeland in accordance with human rights principles,” he said.

But rights groups say a lack of transparency surrounds any plan to send refugees back.

“When Prayuth spoke on Friday he left out what the conditions for the return would be,” said Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch.

“The National Council for Peace and Order can only do this under the conditions expected by the international community.”

By Oman Tribune Editorial

July 14, 2014

There is much, much more that the authorities in Myanmar will have to do to staunch the flow of the blood of Muslims and the destruction of their property. And if they fail, the international community has a role to pressure the government of President Thein Sein to restrain the Buddhists from committing further acts of violence. But the fact is that instead of discouraging the backers in the government of the Buddhist radicals, the international community seems to be encouraging them by failing to punish them. So far, the government and the military, which backs it, have done very little and this is the main reason for spreading of the violence from Rakhine state to Meikhitila and to Mandalay. In Mandalay, two people died in the recent bloodshed and there is still tension, with the Muslims feeling highly insecure due to the failure of the authorities to grant them enough protection. They fear that there can be more violence and the next phase can be much more explosive.

The hard fact is that there is great insecurity among Muslims all over Myanmar. They feel they are being deliberately targeted by the Buddhists. In Rakhine state, the Rohingya Muslims are living in fear. In the last horrible phase of the riots there, more than 150 people were killed. A lot of property was wantonly destroyed and even mosques razed. And not many have been arrested and jailed for the violence. Most of those involved still roam around scot-free, while the Rohingyas feel they have little support from Muslims elsewhere. Except for a small quantum of lip service paid by some Islamic nations, they have been ignored. Some Muslim nations have even taken negative steps against them. A case in point is the Bangladesh government’s recent move to ban marriages between the Rohingyas and its citizens. This move is to prevent the Rohingyas from use their marriage as a pretext to settle in Bangladesh. The situation in Meikhitila too is extremely tense. The Muslims fear the next moment that might bring murder and mayhem.

The Buddhist-dominated Myanmar government will not do much to help the persecuted Muslims. The responsibility, therefore, lies on the international community to act. The only way to force the Myanmar government to treat Muslims as human beings is to have the Damocles’ sword of sanctions hanging over its head. And if necessary, some new sanctions should be implemented or the existing ones strengthened. In the lead must be the United States, which claims to be the champion of human rights and freedom. The European Union too can also help in this context. Otherwise, the Muslims of Myanmar may face more difficulties in the days ahead. 

By Zin Linn

Asian Tribune

July 13, 2014

Burma’s media realm has been shocked as Pakokku district court in Magwe Division on Thursday (July 10) sentenced the chief executive officer of a weekly news journal and four of its reporters to 10 years in prison with hard labor for publishing a report that covered a huge mysterious government complex – established in Pauk Township, Magwe Division in Burma - was designed to produce chemical weapons.

The five journalists - Yazar Soe, Sithu Soe, Lu Maw Naing, and Paing Thet Kyaw, and chief executive officer Tint San – working at the Unity weekly news journal were sentenced ten-year jail term by Judge U Maung Maung Htay of Pakokku District Court, according to the domestic media reports.

They were arrested in February and put on trial under Burma's 1923 State Secrets Act, which forbids anyone from entering a prohibited place for any reason “prejudicial to the safety or interests of the state,” reports said.

Such an unbelievable imprisonment for journalists is a questioning for the government of President U Thein Sein. While the magistrate takes action in line with the official power which grants to him, it seems to be a harsh warning for Burma’s journalists and press freedom. Although President U Thein Sein has guaranteed the media freedom frequently, the local law enforcement officers look like overlooked reform process for democracy.

However, due to early this month religious riots in Mandalay President U Thein Sein blamed the media without any concrete facts.

“Severe action will be taken against those who intentionally spread hate speech and caused the riots, regardless of their race or religion,” he said in a radio address on Monday morning.

Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says in its 10-July press alert: “Donor countries should bring diplomatic pressure on Burma's government and reconsider their economic support for the country following Thursday's sentencing of four journalists of a magazine and the publication's chief executive to 10 years of hard labor in prison, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.”

Southeast Asian Press Alliance also condemns Burma authorities concerning the latest repression on the press in its Friday statement. It says, “SEAPA is extremely disturbed by the verdict and the heavy sentencing of the journalists. The charges and the outcome are disproportionate to the problem at hand. We condemn the criminalization of media work, and in this case, the cruel punishment of hard labour. No journalist should have to face this kind of action for their work, and in the case of the Unity Journal, the issue covered clearly had immense public interest.”

According to the workers of the mysterious plant, it is a biggest chemical weapon factory in Burma where the Unity Journal’s reporters sneaked in the factory by the help of the employees. The reporters tried to uncover the government expenses of immeasurable public fund in order to build massive weapon plants whereas Western democracies give pressure to cut Burma’s spending on defense budget.

It will cause lessening confidence on the democratic reform by the international community. As the defense expenditure has been still amplifying under U Thein Sein government, it seems refueling the civil war against the ethnic rebels that taking place for more than sixty years.

Looking back into times of yore, President Thein Sein delivered an address on 01 March at the third regular session of first Union Parliament in commemoration of the first anniversary of the government’s inauguration, as said by the state media on March 2, 2012.

In his speech, the president gave credit not only the administration and political parties, but also all the stakeholders including civil societies and the fourth estate media. It was the first time that Burma’s president contemplated the fourth estate media as an important stakeholder in the country.

One of the main challenges of Burma is reconciliation between the ethnic armed groups and the government. Everyone has suffered from the various protracted conflicts in the country. Journalists can serve as a bridge between the ethnic armed groups, the government and civilian population to establish lasting peace in the country. The role of the ‘Media’ or the ‘Press’ is very important in time of rebuilding the country.

The public has a right to be informed on a subject of general interest like the story covered by the Unity Journal. Journalists who are just doing their job must be protected, and if anyone has to be prosecuted, it should be the newspaper. Under no circumstances should journalists be imprisoned because of the content of their articles.

In this contemporary world, people used to emphasize the importance of the free flow of information. They also call attention to freedom of expression, speech, writing, publishing and distribution of news among journalists, citizens of international community and peoples of various categories living on this earth.

At some points in recent years in Burma, the dissolution of press censorship, permitting private newspapers and creation of an Interim Press Council are signs of progress concerning freedom of the press. Particularly, it is remarkable that the President acknowledges the major role of the media as the fourth estate, in his speeches.

However, contrary to the President’s attitude, it is disappointing that five journalists of the Unity journal were sentenced ten-year jail term by the judge of Pakokku District Court. It shows that the Magway Divisional Government does not respect the press freedom which President U Thein Sein acknowledges as a necessity.

It is a bad sign for the free press related to the imprisonment of 5 reporters from the Unity Weekly Journal. The journal published a story concerning secret chemical weapon factory on 25 January. Police detained them in Pauk on 31 January on a charge of violating the State Secret Act, which allows a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Therefore, journalists in Burma have to keep on their jobs facing threats and hindrances in the face of comprehensive reform process including media freedom.

Most of Burma’s media-related groups and journalists have opposed the repressive laws made by the government including procedures of writing additional draft laws for the media, with regulations for broadcasting, film, and the use of libraries as the new laws could add additional controls on the media.

While the country is at an intersection of political reform, the media workers in the country are looking forward to have more pragmatic backing from the international media groups.

International media watchdog groups have been urging the Burmese authorities repeatedly to dump the unethical laws governing freedom of expression. The Burmese government still needs to dump the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Law, the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, article 505-B of the criminal code, the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Act, the 1923 Officials Secrets Act and the 1933 Burma Wireless Telegraphy Act which are still threatening the press freedom in Burma.

By Thin Lei Win

Thomson Reuters Foundation

July 12, 2014

THET KE PYIN, Burma — When I first met Roma Hattu, a stateless Rohingya Muslim, in April 2013, she was rolling on the dirty concrete floor of an abandoned building in western Burma, heavily pregnant and in excruciating pain.

She had taken shelter in the building after Buddhist-Muslim riots in June 2012 had forced her family, like tens of thousands of other Rohingya, to leave their homes in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, and move to squalid displacement camps.

A month ago, when I returned to Sittwe, I tracked down Hattu, now 31, to see how she was faring two years after the riots.

I found her in a dark, dingy room at the end of a long dormitory, eight months pregnant—her fourth pregnancy—and once again in pain.

“My heart beats too fast and I feel dizzy. I can’t sleep and I can’t eat,” she said, as her year-old son, whose birth we had assisted by sending the cash-strapped mother to hospital in our car, slept soundly next to her on the bamboo floor.

Money is a big worry for Hattu’s family. Her husband, Kalia, is a traditional masseur. Before the riots, he used to earn around $10 a day. Now he’s lucky to bring home $1 to $2. They lost their home and belongings during the riots and his job soon afterward, when Muslims were barred from Sittwe.

“I told my husband I don’t want more kids but he wouldn’t listen,” she said.

My translator, a young Rohingya man, stopped translating. After repeated urging, he haltingly repeated what Hattu had said—her husband insists on sleeping with her and she could not say no, especially as she was the second wife.

Hattu is uneducated and, like many other Rohingya women, does not understand the concept of family planning.

The combination of poverty, pregnancy and pain that many Rohingya women endure is due to a potent combination of hostility from Buddhist Arakanese, the extreme conservatism of the Rohingya themselves and the low level of female education—the result partly of state policies and partly tradition.

I’ve interviewed dozens of Rohingya women over the years, many of them struggling to look after large families or cope with pregnancy. Some had been abandoned by their husbands, either for a second wife from the same village or when they moved abroad to find work, as many Rohingya men do.

Large Muslim Families

Nationalists among Burma’s majority Buddhists often point to the large families of Muslims, especially the Rohingya, to justify the religious violence that has claimed at least 240 lives and uprooted over 150,000 people, mainly Muslims, since June 2012.

They say the large families are part of a Muslim drive to take over Burma—though Muslims make up only an estimated 4 percent of the 60 million population.

Perversely, the aid agencies that could have promoted family planning, like Medecins Sans Frontieres-Holland (MSF), have been expelled from Arakan State after being accused of favoritism toward the Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in Burma despite living there for generations.

Rights groups say the Rohingya face a litany of persecution and discrimination, from forced labor and land grabs to restrictions on movement and marriage. Rohingya women, many of whom are uneducated, stay-at-home wives and daughters, often find themselves at the bottom of the social ladder.

Laila, for example, was 14 when she got married and 15 when she had her first baby. Six months ago, when she was pregnant with their third child, her husband fled Burma with his second wife, aged 18. Laila lost the baby.

Now 20, Laila is the sole breadwinner in the family, which includes her husband’s younger brother. She has resorted to selling half her rations from the World Food Programme to buy fish and firewood.

Then there’s Sinuwara Begum, who was about to deliver when her husband left their tarpaulin tent at dusk, ostensibly to board a fishing boat that would take him to Malaysia. He left her not a cent. She gave birth to twin boys days later.

When we met, her babies were nine days old and she had still heard nothing from her husband. “Maybe he is still on the boat and has not arrived,” she said, hope in her voice.