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Amnesty International 
Date: October 20, 2016

The Myanmar government must urgently lift restrictions that are preventing access to humanitarian aid in Rakhine and Kachin states, Amnesty International said today.

The intensification of the conflict in Kachin State, and the eruption of violence in northern Rakhine State, where a major security operation has led members of the Rohingya and Rakhine communities to flee their homes, has aggravated what was already a serious humanitarian situation in the country.

“The Myanmar authorities must immediately lift restrictions that are preventing the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies from reaching people in need,” said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s Director for South East Asia and the Pacific.

“Both Rakhine and Kachin States already had tens of thousands of people been displaced by violence in recent years. The events of the past few weeks have aggravated that situation, and put more lives at risk.”

Kachin State

Fighting in Kachin state earlier this month led to the death of a child and two others being injured. In recent weeks, hostilities have seen the Myanmar military resorting to airstrikes and shelling.

Amnesty International has learned from credible sources that the authorities have not allowed UN and humanitarian agencies to deliver aid to people displaced in non-governmental controlled area since April 2016.

The organization is concerned by reports that the authorities may instead require people displaced to cross conflict lines in order to receive aid.

“All parties to the armed conflict have an obligation to allow and facilitate delivery of impartial humanitarian assistance for civilians in need. Blocking such aid is a violation of international humanitarian law. Civilians cannot be put in a position where they have no other option but to put their lives in harm’s way to access much needed aid. The authorities must ensure free and unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations delivering aid and emergency assistance to all civilians who need it”, said Rafendi Djamin.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) there are currently approximately 87,000 displaced people in Kachin State, many of them in areas beyond government control.

Fighting resumed there in June 2011 after a 17-year ceasefire between the Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Army broke down.

Rakhine State

An attack on three police outposts on 9 October triggered fresh concerns about violence and displacement in Rakhine State. Authorities responded by launching a major security operation to capture the perpetrators, tightening the already severe restrictions on movement that existed in the area.

According to local sources, members of both the Rohingya and Rakhine communities have fled their homes in fear. However, the severe isolation of norther Rakhine State and restrictions on independent journalists and monitors makes it extremely difficult to assess the scale of the displacement, or verify reports coming out of the region.

Amnesty International is deeply concerned that UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations have not been given authorization to access the affected populations to assess their needs and provide assistance.

“Local sources are telling us that Rohingya villagers are unable to access medical care. The Myanmar authorities must ensure that the human rights of these communities are respected, including ensuring that they have effective access to health care and other services,” said Rafendi Djamin.

Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi was in New Delhi on Oct. 18 as part of a three-day state visit. (Poulomi Basu/For The Washington Post)


By Annie Gowen
October 20, 2016

NEW DELHI — Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi said this week that it will “take time” to address her country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis and deflected charges that she has not done enough to speak out on behalf of Burma’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim community.

Suu Kyi spoke to The Washington Post as her administration marks six months in office, and as fresh violence threatens to derail the country’s peace process. 

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and dedicated critic of the former military government came to power at a time when she must deal with a worsening humanitarian crisis that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

The crisis deepened this month when assailants thought to be part of the Rohingya community attacked three police posts in the western part of the country, killing nine police officers. Scores of people were killed and villages torched in a military crackdown that followed.

Suu Kyi said Tuesday that video of the alleged attackers shows “clearly” that their intentions were to wage jihad and that they had exhorted their brothers from the Muslim world to join them.

“We are of course determined to contain the situation and to make sure that we restore peace and harmony as soon as possible,” Suu Kyi said. “We are not going to allow either the security or stability or the integrity of our country to be threatened.”

Suu Kyi’s government came to power in March after the country’s first election following decades of military rule. She said continuing the peace process with ethnic militias fighting in the country’s north and east was her top priority.

But her civilian government must find ways to work with the still-powerful military and take steps to rejuvenate an economy that faltered during decades of brutal military rule. Burma, also known as Myanmar, remains one of the poorest countries in Asia.

In August, Suu Kyi appointed former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan to look into the situation with the Rohingya. More than 1 million Rohingya Muslims live in Burma, but they are considered stateless and have long been denied basic rights.

More than 120,000 are still living in fetid camps in Rakhine state after violent clashes with their Buddhist neighbors in 2012. They have little access to health care and 30,000 of their children do not have proper schools, according to a U.N. report in June.

The report cited a “pattern of gross human rights violations” against the Rohingya, acts that it said could rise to the level of “crimes against humanity” in a court of law.

The government restarted a process of citizenship verification for the Rohingya in June, but many of the Rohingya refused to participate, Suu Kyi said. Human rights activists say they were suspicious that some kind of new card would mean a further erosion of their rights.

“Things take time,” she said. “The situation in the Rakhine is a legacy of many, many decades of problems. It is not something that happened overnight. We’re not going to be able to resolve it overnight. It goes back even to the last century.”

Suu Kyi told the U.N. investigator that the government would avoid using the term “Rohingya,” which many Burmese consider incendiary. Many Burmese call the Rohingya “Bengali,” a reference to the fact that some migrated from Bangladesh years earlier.

“This is inflammatory,” Suu Kyi said. “We simply say Muslims of ­Rakhine state. Because this is just a factual description which nobody should object to. But of course, everybody objects because they want their old emotive terms to be used.”

Suu Kyi brushed aside the frequent criticism that, as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, she has not done enough to speak out about the Rohingyas’ plight. She did not go near the camps on a campaign swing through the state last fall and spoke of the conflict only in the vaguest terms.

“Well, I have spoken about it, but people don’t like the way I talk about it because I don’t take sides,” she said. “Nobody takes any account of that because that is not what they want to hear. They want me to make, you know, incendiary remarks, which I am not going to do. I’ve made it very clear that our work is not to condemn but to achieve reconciliation.”

Richard Horsey, a longtime Burma analyst and adviser to the International Crisis Group, said that Suu Kyi had made strides in addressing the issue after her government took over, including the appointment of Annan. But the spate of violence may change that, he said.

“These recent attacks have completely changed the landscape here and what’s possible to do right now,” Horsey said. “It has a huge potential to make the situation much, much worse and much harder to fix.”

Suu Kyi, whose official title is state counselor, spoke at Burma’s embassy while on a trip to India this week. The country is familiar terrain for her, as she spent part of her high school and college years living in New Delhi while her mother was ambassador here.

Suu Kyi, now 71, spent decades campaigning against the military dictatorship in her country, including a total of more than 15 years under house arrest. For her efforts, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

She was freed in 2010 shortly before the military generals began economic reforms that were supported by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration.

Despite the resounding victory of her National League for Democracy in last November’s elections, Burma’s generals retain a tight grip on power, reserving 25 percent of the seats in the country’s parliament, which gives them veto power over any constitutional amendment. The military also appoints the key ministers in home affairs, border affairs and defense.

“Tacitly neither will challenge the other much,” Horsey said. “She’s not challenging the military on security issues and not pushing for changes in the constitution, and they’re not showing signs of actively undermining her civilian government.”

When Suu Kyi visited Washington and met with President Obama last month, he announced that he would remove remaining economic sanctions on the country.

They include a longtime ban on imports of gems from the country’s jade and ruby mines and a list of individuals and companies barred from doing business with U.S. entities. This final move should spur foreign investment from the United States, which remains a fraction of the estimated $9 billion in foreign investment in the country this year, experts said.

“We’ve depended on sanctions long enough,” Suu Kyi said. “Sanctions were put into place at a time we most needed a little leverage. I think it’s time that we moved on to a different phase.”

The government has been accused of disproportionately helping Buddhist ethnic Rakhine civilians during the unrest (Photo: EPA)

October 20, 2016

Military clampdown following unrest has prevented any supplies from reaching Muslim minority group in Rakhine state.

Food aid deliveries planned for more than 80,000 people in Myanmar's Rakhine state have been blocked because of a military clampdown in the area, according to the UN's World Food Programme (WFP).

A predominantly Rohingya area in the north of the state has been closed off after attacks on police posts allegedly by Rohingya fighters over a week ago prompted a surge in government troops, WFP said in a statement on Wednesday.

The WFP normally feeds 80,000-85,000 people in the locked-down area, which borders Bangladesh, but aid deliveries have been disrupted and the military has prevented any supplies from getting through. 

Rakhine state is where the country's Muslim Rohingya minority group has allegedly faced systematic persecution since unrest broke out in 2012.

"There is military everywhere and a curfew in place. It's impossible to access any of the areas affected," said Arsen Sahakyan, WFP's partnership officer in Myanmar.

"The areas affected are also where we normally operate."

According to state media, security forces have killed at least 30 people since the raids on the police posts. A tally of latest official figures show at least 40 people being held.

Activists say a violent crackdown has been unfolding, with troops shooting dead Muslim civilians and torching their villages. But the military says it has been fending off violent attacks.

The government has blamed the attacks on an armed group called "Aqa Mul Mujahidin" and said hundreds of fighters are planning more attacks.

The unrest has raised fears of a repeat of the 2012 sectarian conflict that left more than 100 dead and drove thousands of Rohingya into squalid displacement camps.

About 125,000 Rohingya remain displaced and face severe restrictions on their movements, education and access to food while living in sqaulid camps.

Tensions have recently simmered between the Buddhist Rakhine community and the Muslim Rohingyas, and fears that unrest between the two groups will spread to other parts of the state have prompted the WFP to restart aid to some 6,000 displaced people whom they had stopped feeding several months ago.

Many Rakhines - who are also an impoverished community in Myanmar - resent the international aid given to the Rohingya.

In 2014, most aid agencies pulled out of the state after mobs of Buddhists ransacked their offices and warehouses, accusing them of bias in favour of Muslims.

That anger was on display outside a monastery in Maungdaw that has become a makeshift refugee camp for Rakhines, where a sign read: "We don't need any support from UN, INGOs - Maungdaw Rakhine state".

"When our Rakhine houses were burned and attacked in 2012, they didn't let the world know," Hla Shwe, a Rakhine villager told the AFP news agency, referring to the aid agencies.

"They should think about the human rights of Rakhine ethnics as well."

In June, the UN said widespread violations against the Rohingya, including denial of citizenship since they are accused of being illegal immigrants, forced labour and sexual violence could amount to "crimes against humanity".

The EU, in July, urged Myanmar's government to put an end to the "brutal repression" and "systematic persecution" of Rohingyas, but their requests for unimpeded access to areas where the Rohingyas were targeted have largely been ignored. 

Photo: Getty Images

By Joseph K. Grieboski
October 20, 2016

Following the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' report on June 20, 2016 — which condemned the systematic and widespread human rights violations perpetrated against the Rohingya — the government of Myanmar was compelled to show some initiative on the matter.

As a result, on Aug. 23, 2016, the government announced the establishment of an advisory commission to address the situation in the Rakhine State, chaired by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has since visited the state in September.

While the move to establish the commission might come as a welcomed effort, it has already raised some concerns, including how the former secretary-general responded to a question asking if he had witnessed anything he would describe as oppression.

In response, the former secretary-general replied, "Personally, I did not see it there."

As one of the poorest states in Myanmar, the Rakhine State is rendered with limited access to health, education and other basic services. This is especially true for the Rohingya in Myanmar, whose approximate population of 1 million faces constant discrimination, exclusion, restrictions and persecution. After major outbreaks within the Rakhine State during 2012, hundreds died, were injured and had their properties destroyed. This devastation resulted in the displacement of 140,000 individuals in the region.

Currently, the Rohingya represent the largest Muslim population in Myanmar, with approximately 120,000 internally displaced people in central Rakhine State alone. Within the displacement camps, approximately 30,000 Muslim children must use temporary learning spaces, but are barred from studying a number of professions, or attending the only university in the Rakhine State.

The widespread discrimination against the Rohingya has been perpetrated through the Burma Citizenship Law of 1982. By enforcing it, the Burmese government — now run by Aung San Suu Kyi — continues to deny the Rohingya citizenship, while 315 other ethnic groups are included in the law.

The situation in the Rakhine State has been aggravated by the rise of ultra-nationalist Buddhist groups in Myanmar. These groups have given added force to anti-Muslim sentiment, resulting in violence based on racial, ethnic and religious hatred. Between 2014 and 2015, 94,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring countries, resulting in trafficking, extortion and other abuses of the Rohingya.

Ultimately, the Rohingya are left without a place to go, or the necessary legal, economic or social means to carry out dignified lives in their home country.

Since the 2012 events and despite their current oppression, the threat of U.S. sanctions has prevented further violence against the Rohingya in recent years. Now, however, matters have been aggravated by the lifting of sanctions on Burma by the United States. A high-level Burmese state official has suggested that 12 mosques and 35 Islamic religious schools in Maungdaw and Buthidaung would be destroyed just a week after sanctions were lifted.

The situation in Rakhine State has once again grown restive and violent. On Oct. 10, 2016, attacks were carried out on a border guard post in Rakhine State, spurring a surge in violent raids in Rohingya communities that has left over 30 dead in one week. Government forces have poured into Rakhine State, a crackdown that the government has justified by claiming that Islamist militants, harbored in these communities, are responsible for the attacks.

However, reports have emerged of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and raids on Rohingya homes, once again raising concerns that a genocidal situation is becoming ever more a reality.

Rakhine State is politicized and polarized, with numerous issues that the Annan Commission is supposed to address. This newest surge of violence highlights the urgency of the situation and calls even further into question Annan's statement that he did not observe any incidences of oppression on his visit. This egregious oversight is due, in part, to the fact that the commission is formed by six Myanmar nationals and three foreigners, but no ethnic Rohingya.

If the commission truly intends to tackle effectively the various issues and human rights violations in the Rakhine State, it cannot do so without including persons affected by it.

The exclusion of Rohingya is another disappointing act by the Burmese government. While there were high hopes for the newly instated National League for Democracy government, its refusal to act on the persecution of the Rohingya has shown the government's position on the matter. Their stance has become even clearer with State Chancellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's disapproval of the term "Rohingya," as she advised the U.S. ambassador to avoid the "emotive term" as it presents challenges on dealing with the issue at hand.

Now, without the recognition of the Rohingya as a population, or their voices as part of the conversation, the government demonstrates that its commitment to the commission may serve as a P.R. opportunity, rather than an actual attempt to assuage dire situations and systematic repression in the Rakhine State.

Suu Kyi was among those in attendance at the first meeting of the Rakhine State advisory commission held on Sept. 5, 2016. The inclusion of foreigners on the committee has ignited major protest from nationalists who believe foreign consultation is being allowed on domestic affairs without the consent of ethnic minorities. Additional claims of sovereignty infringement have also gained traction as Myanmar political parties express their opposition to the creation of the body.

In a recent meeting, President Obama praised Suu Kyi on the establishment of the commission and reiterated the United States' support toward ending the conflict in Rakhine State. (Despite the rampant persecution of the Rohingya still occurring, though, Obama announced the lifting of sanctions on Myanmar in response to their progress on democratization.)

Similarly, outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his full support for the commission and, in reference to the Rohingya, stated, "People who have been living for generations in this country should enjoy the same legal status and citizenship as everyone else."

The failure to include an ethnic Rohingya as a member, however, proves the commission to be ill-advised and likely ineffectual. Still, supporters of the commission continue to denounce the opposition toward its creation and call for the embracement of this so-called shift in paradigm.

While the commission was created to address the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights' concerns over crimes against humanity in the region, the outcome of the commission is unknown, although former Secretary-General Annan stated after his visit to the camps that his visit was not to conduct a human rights investigation or write a human rights reports.

Without engaging and representing perspectives from all of the stakeholders of Rakhine State, particularly those of the Rohingya, it will be impossible to fully address and prevent the ongoing human rights issues.

At this moment, the commission frankly appears to be nothing more than a perception strategy rather than an actual and appropriate step to resolving the horrific injustices committed against the Rohingya.

Grieboski is the chairman and CEO of Grieboski Global Strategies, founder and chairman of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, and founder and secretary-general of the Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom.

RB News 
October 19, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – Eleven prominent Rohingyas from Ngakura village in Maungdaw Township were invited to attend a meeting by Myanmar Border Guard Police Battalion Commander based in Ngakura. They allegedly invited them to cooperate in the effort of finding attackers who attacked the BGP outposts on October 9th. These attendees were not allowed to go back home and arrested. Later two of them were killed while in custody. 

On October 18th, 2016 at 9am BGP battalion commander made phone calls to some prominent Rohingyas who were close to him. He asked them to cooperate with him in finding the attackers. Eleven Rohingyas who were invited joined the meeting as per the request of commander.

Eleven Rohingyas who joined the meeting are:

(1) Eisuf Ali s/o Mamu Rafique (65-year-old) 
(2) Anwar s/o Youshah (42-year-old) 
(3) Sadek Ahmed s/o Ayub (41-year-old) 
(4) Jinnah Khan s/o Nur Alam (40-year-old) 
(5) Shah Alam s/o Mamed Alam 
(6) Anwar s/o Islam 
(7) Anwar s/o Hussein Ahmed 
(8) Anwar s/o Fayas Ahmed 
(9) Abdu Zawbar s/o Ahmed Ali 
(10) Khin Maung Tun (alias) Siraz Uddin s/o Dildar Ahmed 
(11) Mustaq Ahmed s/o Zakir Ahmed

Today, October 19th, 2016, in the evening, BBC Burmese reported that among eleven arrestees, two died with Asthma and Blood pressure issues respectively. BBC Burmese news was referred by a police officer which can’t be true at all, according to locals.

Home Affairs Union Minister Lt. Gen Kyaw Swe told the media on October 17th, 2016 that they are not torturing any arrestees and ICRC can check at any time but the local residents in northern Maungdaw believe that many arrested are being killed. 58-year-old former Community Development Facilitator of UNHCR Maungdaw sub-office was tortured to death on October 18th, 2016. He had been arrested on October 14th, 2016, from Reeda hamlet of Aung Sit Pyin village tract. 

“On the other day district administrator instructed us to cooperate in finding the attackers. So these people cooperated with the BGP as instructed. They joined the meeting once they were called by the commander. But it is a complete injustice that they were arrested and accused as terrorists. I think the authorities will specially target innocent educated and the people who can afford the money and they will accuse them as terrorists. We can't question the authorities. Once questioned, get killed. Once we are in their hand we have to expect death. Here is no law at all.” a Rohingya expresses his sadness to RB News.

The eleven arrestees have very close ties with the authorities and they helped Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) during 2010 elections. 

Today, October 19th, at 1pm, a group of military came to the house of Kayfaiyath Ullah and Eisak and they dug a hole nearby as if they were searching but buried something. After 5 minutes of the group leaving from the place another military group came and dug out the hole straightly and took a weapon from the hole. The group made video recording of their movement and left.

Furthermore, today they arrested another five youths. They are four sons of Jinnah Khan and Siraz Uddin and one is younger brother of Siraz Uddin.

The name of the five arrestees are:

(1) Fawaz Khan s/o Jinnah Khan (19-year-old) 
(2) ----- s/o Jinnah Khan (17-year-old) 
(3) Abu s/o Siraz Uddin (20-year-old) 
(4) Achay s/o Siraz Uddin (18-year-old) 
(5) Sadek s/o Dildar Ahmed (28-year-old)

As the military is arresting innocent civilians in the pretext of a clearance operation, without any evidence and torturing to death is completely is opposite to what the state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi said. She said to do everything in accordance with the laws. 

“If we don’t meet them, they shoot. If we meet them, they arrest and kill. We have no place to escape. No one to help us. People are facing food shortage now. All women, children and elderly are very much afraid now as they are experiencing how the people are being killed. I think the government will carry mass killing like they did in 2012. They will label all terrorists whoever got arrested. They made announcement that many hundreds are involved in the attacks. They did that to arrest as many as they can. They have all handmade weapons with them. They will come to our house and put them in the hole. Then will dig out and make video recording. All is drama. People dare not to stay in the village once they enter. So they can make up anything as they wish. People lost faith. Even escaped from homes they can make up dig a hole, put a weapon, later dig out again found a weapon story. We don’t know to whom we count. Here in Maungdaw the rule of law is just less than zero percent.” a human rights activist told RB News.

Report contributed by MYARF.

Two Rohingya men killed while in BGP police custody


RB News
October 18, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan - A respected senior humanitarian Rohingya man was tortured to death while in Maungdaw Police Custody. 

On the 18th of October, 2016, A Rohingya man was tortured to death by the police while he was being interrogated in Maungdaw Police Custody. He was moved for burial by a dozen policemen by a car and taken to the cemetery of Kanyin Tan (Myoma) East Mosque. His family was not notified of his death or burial at this time. 

The deceased man was named Karim Ullah, and he was a previously a humanitarian aid worker. Karim was 58 years old, and he was the son of Hashim (the late school teacher) from Reeda hamlet, Aung Sit Pyin Village tract, northern Maungdaw. 

On 14 of October, 2016, Karim was arrested by Military forces who were raiding his home. He was arrested with his three young sons including a son of his elder brother, U Shwe Thar, a retired school teacher. They were detained for a couple of days in Kyein Chaung Police Station and were later taken to Maungdaw Police Custody during the past weekend. 

On the 18th of October, 2016, he was tortured to death by the police while he was being interrogated and accused off being involved in terrorism. On 18th of October, 2016, in the early morning, Police from Maungdaw Custody telephoned Abdur Rahaman, the Village Administrator of Kanyin Tan (Myoma) and he informed some Rohingya men near of Kanyin Tan (Myoma) East Mosque to arrange a small funeral to bury the corpse in the cemetery. At 12 pm, a dozen policemen arrived by car with the dead body and five Rohingya men arranged the funeral and buried down the his body in the cemetery. The policemen left by their car when the funeral was over. “Police men recorded a video of how the five Rohingya men dug the hole and buried down the body in the cemetery and took the details of those men”, a Rohingya man from downtown Maungdaw told RB News. 

Karim Ullah was a respected senior humanitarian. He had served as an Area Supervisor in WFP Maungdaw Sub-office from 1995 to 2004 and was a Technician in FAO (Food Agriculture Organization) in their Maungdaw Office from 2007 to 2009. He was a Community Development Facilitator in UNHCR Maungdaw Office from 2009 to end of 2012. After the 2012-June violence, he was terminated as a Community Development Facilitator in UNHCR Maungdaw Office when their activity was suspended. Since the termination, he chose to live peacefully at his home with his family as he became old aged. 

“He was a peaceful and innocent humanitarian person. It is illogical to accuse him for the involvement in terror attack while he was an old-aged person who has saved many lives with his aiding hands. In his age would he participate in militant attack when he is not even able to continue his humanitarian profession?” a man from his village told RB News. 

“Targeting and killing after accusing wrong doing of such educated persons is an inhumane crime by the Myanmar Security Forces. Perhaps, it is a motivated crime against humanity of the entire Rohingya community” the man added. Many of the villagers from Kanyin Tan (Myoma) village are frantically confused and worrying very much about the strange actions of Myanmar Security Forces who they say have been burying dead bodies again and again in the Muslim cemetery. On the other hand, this leads many educated Rohingyas in the area to feel abysmally dreadful and traumatized in this time. Karim’s three sons are still detained in Maungdaw Police Custody.

Report contributed by MYARF.

The grave where Karim Ullah was buried down in Kanyin Tan Myoma East Mosque cemetery

RB News 
October 19, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – Internally displaced people in Kyet Yoe Pyin village tract in Northern Maungdaw Towship are facing difficulties for medical treatment, food and Shelters.

In Kyet Yoe Pyin village tract includes 5 affected hamlets, Ywa Gyi hamlet, West hamlet, Lu Tin Farang hamlet and Fawr Zar Gar Fara hamlet. The population is 4994 Males and 5016 Females for a total of 10010 people that dwelled in a total 1368 houses. 

According to locals, 803 houses from Kyet Yoe Yin village tract were burnt to ashes by the Myanmar military on October 12th and October 13th. Two third of the market was burnt down there too. All cattle, goats and chickens were loaded on trucks and taken away. 

The villagers fled from the village when the military started torching the houses and shooting people. They couldn’t take any personal belongings with them. They are now taking refuge in nearby villages. Since the time they fled, 37 women gave birth without any medical treatment and there were no medicines available. 

All the villagers are facing a lot of difficulties for food and shelter.

“The military torched our houses in the pretext of a clearance operation. They looted our properties and destroyed. They are also raiding the houses in other villages and looting gold, cash and valuable things.” a villager told RB News.

Report contributed by Rohingya Eye.






By Nazli Yuzbasioglu
October 18, 2016

Mevlut Cavusoglu tells OIC meeting persecuted minority in Myanmar needs humanitarian aid

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called Tuesday for humanitarian aid for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar whom he described as living in “prison-like camps”.

“Our brothers are living in extreme poverty. They cannot leave their villages,” Cavusoglu told the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s Contact Group on Rohingya Muslims meeting in the Uzbekistan capital Tashkent.

“The towns as well as the camps they are living in are like open prisons. They cannot leave; no one can go inside. Humanitarian aid cannot be transported. Firstly they need humanitarian aid. We should be very sensitive to this issue,” Cavusoglu added.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has recently seen a wave of ethnic violence which has left scores of people dead and forced thousands more to flee their homes.

Recalling his July visit to Rohingya Muslims during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Turkish foreign minister said the OIC should play a pioneering role.

Pointing out the importance of drawing the international community’s attention to the issue, Cavusoglu said the authorities in Myanmar should be encouraged to take steps to resolve outstanding problems.

Turkey has sent around $13-million-worth of humanitarian aid to Myanmar since November 2012, Cavusoglu added.
State media referred to the discrimination that Muslim IDPs in Rakhine face as “heightened fabrications”. Photo: Aung Myin Ye Zaw / The Myanmar Times


By Fiona Macgregor
October 18, 2016

Rights groups are concerned that “blatant falsehoods” in state media could exacerbate tensions in Rakhine State, after The Global New Light of Myanmar published a denial that Muslim residents face restrictions on their movements and are refused access to vital services.

The opinion piece in the state-run newspaper follows deadly attacks on three border guard posts in Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships on October 9. The government has blamed the attacks on Islamist terrorists, prompting widespread fear in Rakhine State and beyond. Videos of unclear origin have since appeared online with armed men calling for jihad and for Rohingya rights.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has vowed the investigations into the attacks will be “fair” and according to rule of law.

But yet-to-be confirmed reports of extra-judicial killings and widespread destruction of Muslim villages in northern Rakhine State by the military as they hunt for the culprits has led to fears that the attacks will be used to justify further rights abuses on the more than 1 million Rohingya who live in the state.

The Global New Light of Myanmar article calls on “international communities to review their policies, towards the atrocities of the extremist attackers” and contrasts what it calls the “neighborliness” of Bangladesh “against a backdrop of heightened fabrications that a number of Muslims living in Rakhine state face discrimination, restrictions of movements and denial of access to services”.

The restrictions under which the Rohingya minority are forced to live have been widely attested to and condemned by numerous organisations, including the UN.

Responding to the article Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch Asia division, said “the reality is the Rohingya face severe restrictions on movements” which curtail their ability to earn a livelihood and access basic services.

“The government should realise that its efforts to elicit sympathy and cooperation to find those who attacked the border police camps in Maungdaw are undermined when its mouthpiece prints blatant falsehoods about the continued restrictions Rohingya face in Rakhine State,” he said.

Amnesty International said that their observers had witnessed firsthand the damaging impact of the restrictions placed on Muslim communities in Rakhine State.

“Denying the existence of long-standing restrictions on the Rohingya population, and the serious difficulties they create for people’s daily lives, not only ignores the reality on the ground, it will hinder any efforts towards finding durable solutions to the situation in Rakhine State,” said Laura Haigh, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher.

Ms Haigh cautioned against additional restrictions. “The government has the duty and the right to maintain law and order, however, it must ensure that its response to these recent attack does not further compound the longstanding discrimination and rights abuses that Rohingya in northern Rakhine State suffer,” she said.

Her warning came as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported yesterday that humanitarian response interventions in northern Rakhine State were being coordinated but were “hampered by movement restrictions”.

Over 40, and according to some reports as many as 90, people – mainly Muslims – have been killed as Tatma­daw troops conduct “clearance operations” in their search for culprits. Hundreds of homes are reported to have been razed with thousands of people feared displaced. Further attacks on police have also been reported.

The Global New Light of Myanmar did not respond to requests yesterday from The Myanmar Times as to what had prompted the article.

Western media are frequently accused by authorities and nationalist activists in Myanmar as being biased in favour of the Rohingya population.

Asia-based publications have generally been less critical; however, on October 16, the Thai newspaper The Nation published a strongly worded editorialheadlined: “The [Myanmar] government and military will have to bear the blame if estranged Muslim community decides to take up arms.”

The Nation’s opinion piece said, “The situation would not have descended to this level if Myanmar had been more even-handed in its treatment of the Rohingya.” It went on to depict recent events in northern Rakhine State in terms of ethnic minority resistance elsewhere in the country.

The Global New Light of Myanmar opinion piece emphasised Bangladesh’s “neighbourly” response to the current situation, including the fact it handed over suspects alleged to have taken part in the October 9 attacks. Around 230,000 Rohingya are estimated to be live in Bangladesh and some of the attackers are alleged to have spent time there.

The state media article also sought to promote Myanmar’s relationship with the EU. “At a time when we are taking effective action to defend against, respond to and defeat all armed violent attacks and attempted attacks in according to the law … the provision of assistance by Bangladesh and the EU in the form of encouragement is an [sic] valuable asset capable of holding the perpetrators ultimately accountable.”

Asked for a response to the article, an EU spokesperson pointed to the latest Council Conclusions on Myanmar adopted jointly by the Foreign Ministers of all 28 EU member states in June 2016, which says, “Restrictions on the freedom of movement should be lifted and unimpeded access to basic services should be ensured for all.”

The spokesperson referred to a previous statement from October 11 in which the EU said it “stands with Myanmar in these difficult moments”, but rejected the implication in state media that the EU statement could be taken as an “encouragement” of the current military response in northern Rakhine.

“The only thing we encourage is a police investigation in accordance with the rule of law as well as responsible action and restraint by all parties,” she said.

Police forces prepare to patrol in Maungdaw township at Rakhine state, northeast Myanmar, October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer


By Wa Lone and Simon Lewis 
October 18, 2016

YANGON -- Violence in a Muslim-majority region of Myanmar is stopping aid agencies from delivering food and medicines, a United Nations official said on Tuesday, as security forces respond to deadly raids that the government says were inspired by Islamists.

Troops have been sweeping northern Rakhine state for more than a week, hunting an estimated 400 fighters who officials believe are members of the mostly stateless Rohingya Muslim community acting with the support of Islamists abroad.

The Myanmar military has declared the area an "operation zone" and has tightly controlled the flow of information since insurgents seized dozens of weapons in raids on border posts on Oct. 9 in which nine police officers were killed.

U.N. agencies "don't have access to the affected areas to assess humanitarian needs", Pierre Peron, spokesman for the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said by email.

Health clinics and nutrition programmes in northern Rakhine have been hampered by movement restrictions imposed after the attacks, he said.

"We hope that the situation will improve as soon as possible so that humanitarian organisations can restart vital programmes to assist all communities in Rakhine state," Peron said.

The spike in violence in ethnically divided Rakhine state poses a serious challenge to the six-month-old government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who was swept to power in an election last year but has faced criticism abroad for failing to tackle rights abuses against the Rohingya and other Muslims.

ETHNIC DIVISIONS

At least 30 suspected militants and five military personnel have been killed in clashes since the Oct. 9 raids.

Nearly 120,000 people, mostly Rohingyas, were already displaced in Rakhine after an outbreak of communal violence in 2012. Local sources said the latest violence has displaced thousands more.

Ethnic Rakhine political leaders have proposed that the government arm local militias to fight what they see as a growing violent threat from the Rohingya population.

"Villagers are scared about their security because their hostile neighbours have a huge population," said Khin Maung Than, chairman of the Arakan National Party in Maungdaw Township, which has been at the centre of the violence.

He estimated around 5,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists have fled their homes, fearing attack by Muslim "Bengalis" - a term widely used in Myanmar but rejected by the Rohingya themselves because it implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Rohingya leaders insist few of the 1.1 million Rohingya in Rakhine state - many of whom have lived there for generations and face discrimination and severe restrictions on their movements - believe violence is the solution to their plight.

The office of President Htin Kyaw has named a little-known group, "Aqa Mul Mujahidin", which it says has links to Islamists abroad, as responsible for the Oct. 9 attacks. 

International human rights groups have raised concerns that civilians are being caught up in a heavy-handed crackdown.

Amnesty International has been told that villagers wounded in the violence have been unable to access medical treatment, said Laura Haigh, a researcher for the group.

AFRAID TO RETURN

A senior Rohingya leader in Maungdaw, who asked not to be named because he was afraid of repercussions, told Reuters he had received reports that as many as 9,000 Rohingya have been displaced from 21 villages.

About 1,200 people, mostly ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, are sheltering in a school in northern Rakhine State's Buthidaung Township, according to the United Nations.

Many more are believed to be staying with relatives in other parts of the state and about 800 people - mostly women and children - are packed into small monasteries in the state capital of Sittwe.

Moe Thida, 31, journeyed with her four children over mountain roads and on a packed ferry to reach Sittwe after fighting came within earshot of her home.

As with several other displaced members of the mostly Buddhist Rakhine ethnicity who have fled Maungdaw, she told Reuters she was too afraid to return, although no attacks have been reported on ethnic Rakhine civilians.

"This time it's different" from previous bouts of intercommunal violence in the area, she said. "I'm afraid because the Muslims have weapons now."



Dear Mr Secretary General,

I am writing to you to express my deep concern over the fate of the Rohingya people of Myanmar. I am certain you are familiar with their extremely precarious situation, as we have seen them teetering on the edge of genocide since at least 2012. Yet what prompts me to write this letter is the latest news coming out of Myanmar just in the last few days: a series of attacks against border guard outposts killed 9 Burmese policemen just over a week ago, the Rohingya were quickly deemed responsible, and the police and army in the local state of Rakhine/Arakan have already carried out over 100 indiscriminate extra-judicial killings of dozens of Rohingya - including old men, women and children. 

The fear on the ground is that the violence may now escalate to at least the level of violence of 2012 or 2013, when dozens were killed, over 100,000 were displaced to internal camps and many more Rohingya were driven out of the country altogether, triggering the South East Asia Migration Crisis which culminated in the spring of last year. And that may be the optimistic scenario. This new upsurge of violence may ultimately prove to be the final trigger to outright genocide that the UN and many NGO observers have been dreading.

What makes the situation today the most perilous it has ever been is the fact that in this crisis the Rohingya are likely to be targeted by all parts of Burmese society. Historically, the dark-skinned, Muslim minority had been chosen as the favourite ‘enemy within’ of the succession of military regimes that governed Burma/Myanmar. Whenever these governments needed to invoke some ‘dark forces’ that undermined the success of their ‘vision’ for the country, they scape-goated the country’s Muslims, particularly the Rohingya. Whenever they needed to distract attention from other national issues, some conflict with the Rohingya would suddenly materialise. 

Yet the violence of 2012-2013 had not been initiated by the federal state. Or indeed the local state. The decades of anti-Rohingya propaganda have been absorbed by the political culture of the country, and now the biggest threat to the Rohingya is actually their ethnic Rakhine Buddhist neighbours, in their native state of Rakhine/Arakan. Civil society groups, Rakhine nationalist political parties, even prominent groups of Buddhist monks are the perpetrators of dehumanising propaganda and incitement to anti-Rohingya violence. Indeed, in the last few years, the organs of the state have either been passive or have helped calm tensions down when they flared. 

But now these attacks are driven by the law enforcement agencies of the local state. And the civil society groups that have carried out most of the attacks in the recent years are merely waiting their turn. The floodgates have not been opened just yet: but they are about to burst through. 

The only thing that can stop the spiralling levels of violence from escalating into a full blown latter-day Rwanda scenario would be the intervention of the federal government of Aung San Suu Kyi to pacify Rakhine/Arakan and impose the rule of law. But as of yet, the federal government is making no haste to intervene, and Ms Suu Kyi does not seem to be moved by the gravity of the situation.

Fortunately, the situation is not beyond all hope. Ms Suu Kyi is known to be sensitive to international opinion, and indeed much of her political capital comes from the favourable view the West has had of her as a democracy campaigner for her country. We do have leverage to lean on her to confront this issue as a matter of urgency, and if we do, we know she has the political power and capital as the first democratic leader of her country in half a century to carry through what needs to be done.

You are in a uniquely privileged position to help build the international pressure needed to move Ms Suu Kyi and her government to suppress the recent upsurge in violence before things get completely out of control. I urge you to take charge of this issue and help prevent yet another international humanitarian catastrophe. I realise that in the current news media cycle it can be difficult to get such a message through: between Trump, Brexit and Aleppo we barely have the energy to process everything else that is happening in the world today. But if we do not do something about the situation of the Rohingya as a matter of urgency, the issue will come back to haunt us as an even greater calamity - and one which we could have been able to prevent.

Should you need any help or support in this, from up-to-date information to contacts with on-the-ground sources, to contacts within the relevant UN and non-governmental agencies, I am at your service. Please do not hesitate to get back in touch.

Yours sincerely,


Dr Azeem Ibrahim

This letter was originally published on Huffington Post.

RB News 
October 17, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – The shops owned by Rohingyas in middle hamlet of Kyi Gan Pyin village tract in Maungdaw Township were looted by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police and NaTaLa villagers from Aung Zeya village.

Today, October 17th, 2016 from 3:30 pm to 6 pm, the shops belonging to Rohingyas located at middle hamlet of Kyi Gan Pyin village tract were looted by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police and NaTaLa villagers from Aung Zeya village. 

Of these those shops, there is a Textiles shop, Electrical Appliances shop, Computer shop, Mini Mart, Cosmetic shop and Tea shop. The police and NaTaLa villagers broke the doors of the shops and they pretended as though they were roaming around for security while the cars of the group of the minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement passed by. They resumed looting when the cars disappeared.

They loaded the goods from the shop on the truck and drove to the headquarters of Border Guard Police.

Some owners of the shops are:

(1) Shamshul Alam s/o Fayas Ahmed 
(2) Shamshul Alam s/o Sayed Ullah 
(3) Enayet Ullah s/o Molvi Abdu Rashid 
(4) Mamed Rashid s/o Zaher Ahmed





Media Statement 

Burmese regime must be brought before the International Criminal Court in respect of treatment of its Rohingya minority

Press Conference by the Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (CENTHRA)
17 October 2016

As we all have no doubt heard, as of 14 October 2016, up to 26 members of the Muslim Rohingya community living in the town of Maungdaw, close to the border with Bangladesh in Rakhine state in Myanmar were murdered in apparent retaliation by the Burmese regime forces for the deaths of some nine Myanmar border police officials occurring during a dawn raid perpetrated unknown assailants the day before. According to an eyewitness, at least seven of these 26 were brutally gunned down in cold blood by Burmese forces who entered Myothugyi village, a village inhabited predominantly by Rohingya located a mile east of Maungdaw, in an apparent attempt to intimidate its residents and enforce a curfew. Another journalist who was with the security forces witnessed an additional shooting of at least another three unarmed Rohingya by the said forces in the same village.[1] These arbitrary extra-judicial killings, committed by non-other than official forces constituted for maintaining peace and order, are clearly based on non-transparent and biased investigations made without ascertaining on the ground facts. 

This latest round of violence is thought to be the worst since the attack and brutal massacre of more than 300 Rohingya Muslims in June 2012 due to sectarian violence occurring as a result of unsubstantiated claims that Rohingya were responsible for the murder of a Buddhist woman also in Rakhine State and results from the systematic oppression forced upon this minority Muslim community by a regime consisting of the majority ethnic Burmese Buddhists headed by so-called peacenik Aung San Suu Kyi, herself known to be apathetic regarding the plight of the Rohingya. As confirmed by non-other than the United Nations itself, under her supposedly “liberal democratic” administration, the 1.3 million strong Rohingya, who had been herded around like cattle under the old military-led junta, continue to have their citizenship denied, movements severely restricted, access to basic resources limited and activities closely monitored by the newly installed regime based in Naypyidaw. This, among many others, namely the overt toleration of extremist Buddhist groups preaching hatred of Muslims in Myanmar, contributes towards the now routine flare ups that occur from time to time which no human being in his or her right mind would ever countenance[2]. The systematic suffering by this poor defenceless community who have done no wrong whatsoever and do not justify any ill treatment can and must be brought to a permanent end and it is up to us, as members of the international community, to do so. 

This is especially pressing since as of today and according to MYARF, hundreds of houses belonging to Rohingya have been burnt down, at least another 92 Rohingya civilians have been killed by the Myanmar military and more than 10,000 Rohingya have been internally displaced in Maungdaw. Yet the response by international organisations so far regarding this latest spate of violence is anything but satisfactory. The Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has merely expressed “grave concern” and appealed for calm and called on all stakeholders to apply maximum restraint and refrain from the use of violence. The response of the EU in particular has been partial, where it merely expresses sympathy with families of the border police officials who lost their lives and pledges to stand with the Burmese regime, without expressing so much as even a feigned apprehension for the Rohingya. Meanwhile, the response of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and consisting of known anti-Rohingya Burmese figures such as U Win Mra and Saw Khin Tint has been nothing short of pathetic. Only a short statement “strongly deploring” the violence perpetrated and expressing condolences and sympathies to families of those killed and injured, without so much as even noting the mass executions of Rohingya, was made. 

Following its recent reforms and installation of its first civilian led, democratic government in decades, Myanmar is supposed to be a fully functioning member of the international community which is expected to treat all of its peoples, including its minorities, with dignity and accord them rights enjoyed by peoples of other nations as required by international human rights and humanitarian law. Sadly this remains elusive for the Rohingya in particular. Systematic discrimination and oppression by the Burmese state against them, as mentioned previously, continues unabated. This cannot be allowed to continue and we in CENTHRA believe that it is high time mechanisms available under International Law be engaged to pressure Myanmar to be made accountable for their treatment of Rohingya, or at least, Myanmar should be made to suffer the consequences of failing to provide for their dignity and welfare. 

In order for this to happen, it is time to move beyond mere words and statements routinely issued to condemn and chastise the Burmese state. While previously ad hoc international tribunals were set up to try regimes responsible for the perpetration of mass genocides, such as the one occurring in Rwanda in 1994, now we have the International Criminal Court or ICC, set up under the Rome Statute in 2002 as a permanent tribunal for this purpose. Under Article 5 of the Rome Statute, there are four international crimes recognised as coming within the court’s jurisdiction, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. CENTHRA believes that the Myanmar regime’s actions against the Rohingya fall under at least two of these crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

We note that pursuant to Article 13 of the Rome Statute, the ICC is only seized of jurisdiction to try the abovementioned crimes only of one or more of three situations occur, namely the relevant parties are party to the Rome Statute, the crimes are referred by the UNSC under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, or the Prosecutor of the ICC begins an investigation of his own accord pursuant to information given to him or her. Of these options, two are open to pursue, namely, referral by the UNSC and initiation of investigations by the Prosecutor. But in order to realise this, nations across the region, particularly members of ASEAN, must cease continuing to stand idly by while the ongoing genocide against a defenceless community, namely the Rohingya, continue to be perpetrated by a fellow ASEAN member state, Myanmar. They must instead decide that enough is enough, and take action.

Even before Myanmar was accepted as a member of ASEAN, concerns had been raised, particularly by Malaysia and Indonesia, with respect to its treatment of the Rohingya community. Sadly, such concerns were simply brushed aside at the insistence of other members, such as Singapore, on the basis of the well-known non-interference principle so slavishly adhered to collectively by ASEAN member states. Yet continued adherence to this principle in the face of the senseless killings now ongoing in Rakhine state would amount to sheer disregard for higher considerations under international human rights law, such as the right to life that has been recognised by numerous human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Geneva Conventions and even the ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights. Furthermore, a fundamental purpose of ASEAN, as enumerated by Item 7 of Article 1 of its founding Charter, is to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule of law, and promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. This cannot be realised by insisting on adherence to the principle of non-interference. As such, ASEAN member states need to collectively agree the suspension of this principle on the basis the urgent need to protect the Rohingya in particular, and immediately intervene by demanding a complete halt on the part of the Myanmar regime of any further activities undertaken by it that contribute towards the escalation of violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine state. Such an insistence must be followed up by ensuring the complete and final dismantlement of all systematic measures in place within Myanmar denying the Rohingya rights and dignities enjoyed by all other peoples of this world, such as citizenship, access to resources, freedom of movement and being free to perform lawful and beneficial undertakings such as obtaining education, marriage and the like. 

Of equal importance is also the role of the various international human rights organisations in applying pressure on the Myanmar regime by pursuing the ICC route. As the Rohingya are mainly Muslims, the OIC must go beyond a mere declaration of grave concern and its human rights organ, the IPHRC must take immediate action by forming a special committee to investigate and document the ongoing mass murders and systematic discrimination, as well as issuing its own condemnations of the same, for use as eventual evidence before the ICC. After all, one of the stated functions of the IPHRC is to advance fundamental rights of Muslim minorities and communities in other states. Yet as of now, we at CENTHRA have yet to see any action by the IPHRC with respect to the ongoing violence perpetrated against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

The UNHRC, as the principal UN human rights organ, with the responsibility for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them, also has a role to play in this regard by issuing a resolution urging the UNSC to take action, as a preliminary step towards securing the eventual UNSC resolution referring Myanmar’s actions to the ICC. Member states of the UN that are in the UNHRC therefore, should also undertake its own immediate investigations into the systematic rights abuses ongoing with respect to Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

We at CENTHRA fervently believe that with the undertaking of the abovementioned actions by all responsible stakeholders, namely immediate intervention by ASEAN as well as international human rights bodies such as the IPHRC and UNHRC, as well as immediate action by the UNSC to stop systematic discrimination, oppression, mass extra judicial killings, displacements and restrictions perpetrated against the Rohingya by the international pariah state that is Myanmar, and strong condemnation and denunciation of its leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to take appropriate action, by going beyond mere condemnations and doing no less then referring this matter before the ICC so that those of the regime responsible for the violence can be punished for their crimes, will result in the common cause of all decent, civilised humanity to secure a just and everlasting outcome in favour of the affirmation of rights and dignity of the Rohingya to a peaceful coexistence as equals with their other brethren in Myanmar. Let us hope and pray that this can be realised within our lifetimes and let us undertake due initiatives towards securing that outcome.

*Media Statement by Azril Mohd Amin, Lawyer and Chief Executive, Centre for Human Rights Research and Advocacy (CENTHRA), Putrajaya, 17 October 2016.

[1] Wai Moe, Dozens Believed Killed as Violence Erupts in Myanmar, New York Times, 10 October 2016. Retrieved on 15 October 2016 from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/world/asia/myanmar-attack-rakhine.html?_r=0

[2] Jane Perlez, Rise in Bigotry Fuels Massacre Inside Myanmar, New York Times, 1 March 2014. Retrieved on 15 October 2016 from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/world/asia/rise-in-bigotry-fuels-massacre-inside-myanmar.html



October 17, 2016

The International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) at Queen Mary University of London has warned that reports of attacks against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar may signal a new phase in what ISCI researchers say is genocide.

The alleged reprisals against the Rohingya minority come after attacks on three Myanmar police posts in Northern Rakhine State, near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border on 9 October.

ISCI researchers say that credible reports are emerging of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and raids on Rohingya homes by Myanmar security forces. They caution that verifiable information is difficult to obtain, due to the notorious isolation and militarisation of Northern Rakhine State - and the intense persecution of those deemed critical of the government.

Penny Green, Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London and Director of ISCI said Northern Rakhine state is “in effect an information black hole, and in situations where allegations of human rights violations are difficult or impossible to independently verify - because of state restrictive practices - the onus must be on the state to investigate or disprove those allegations”.

ISCI researchers have firsthand knowledge of the area following several months of research and fieldwork in Rakhine State during 2014 and 2015.

“We sounded the alarm in 2015 that what we saw amounted to the early stages of a genocidal process. Local sources now report a ramped up security and military presence, additional restrictions on freedom of movement, and a further limiting of access to food and healthcare. We are concerned that these latest developments may represent a new chapter in the persecution of the Rohingya, and a potentially more deadly phase of genocide. The fact that it’s practically impossible to verify or confirm any of these reports underlines the intensity of Rakhine state’s isolation from international view,” said Professor Green.

In 2015 ISCI researchers completed a 12-month investigation [PDF] into the treatment of the Rohingya. Their research included four months of fieldwork carried out in Myanmar between October 2014 and March 2015. The results found compelling evidence of State-led policies, laws and strategies of genocidal persecution stretching back over 30 years. ISCI’s research, conducted within a state crime framework, conceptualises genocide as a process, building over a period of years, and involving an escalation in the dehumanisation and persecution of the target group.

Professor Green said: “The process begins by reducing the target group’s strength and undermining moral empathy for the victims, before leading to more violent forms of harassment and eventually mass killings and annihilation”.

She added: “The state has historically adopted strategies of ‘othering’ the Rohingya, stigmatising them as ‘illegal Bengali’ and ‘terrorists’. The Rohingya have been, isolated from mainstream society, by being forced into squalid IDP camps and prevented from leaving their villages; harassed though disenfranchisement and violent intimidation; and systematically weakened through physical and psychological destruction, overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of health care, torture, sporadic killings, humiliation, and abuse. It is important to point out that, despite suffering from decades of severe persecution, there is no evidence of Rohingya led extremism.”

According to ISCI researchers, genocide is often characterised by violent harassment from security forces in times of crisis, including sporadic attacks against the stigmatised group. Myanmar has a history of using breakdowns in law and order to justify repressive policies.

ISCI says that the Myanmar government consistently denies international journalists and human rights organisations access to Northern Rakhine. ISCI researchers were denied access the north of the state in 2015. ISCI cautions that, given the lack of verifiable information available during this time of uncertainty, accusations surrounding the responsibility for attacks must be restrained.

Professor Green said: “In a society where Islamaphobic ideology is prevalent and spread by nationalist Buddhist monks, allegations emerging on social media and within local news outlets accusing the Rohingya of supporting violent Islamic extremist ideology are dangerously divisive.”

Professor Green said that emerging evidence of indiscriminate violence by security forces and forced displacement suggests that a brutal crackdown, similar to those that have occurred in the past, is taking place. If so, she warns this would mark a “disturbing yet entirely predictable escalation in the genocidal process”.


    • Rohingya Exodus