By Editors

Carbonated.tv

October 24, 2016

The complicity of security forces could embolden Buddhist extremists and bolster the anti-Rohingya Muslim campaign, thereby causing state-sanctioned bloodshed.

Around 80,000 Rohingya Muslims in northwestern Myanmar cannot receive humanitarian aid by the U.N.’s World Food Program due to a severe military clampdown.

However, disruption of food aid is just one of the many grave abuses, including extra-judicial killings and rape, being carried out against the embattled ethnic community in the Southeast Asian nation.

The situation for the Rohingya people went from bad to worse after nine Burmese police officers were killed on Oct. 9 in three separate attacks, targeting border guard outposts in the Rakhine (aka Arakan) state, near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.

The attacks, according to Myanmar’s Ministry of Information, were carried out by Aqa Mul Mujahidin, a militant group purportedly trained by Taliban in Pakistan.

While the Burmese government declared Aqa Mul Mujahidin, a non-local group, the mastermind behind the Oct. 9 events, it also accused members of the local community of aiding them, without providing concrete evidence, whatsoever. (FYI: Rakhine is home to about 1.1 million members of the mostly Muslim Rohingya.)

Even more puzzling is the fact that the government named the Rohingya Solidarity Organization complicit in the attacks. But the said militant group is believed to have been operationally defunct for years, maybe even decades.

Despite the lack of sufficient proof against possible Rohingya involvement, Myanmar’s military launched an operation, indiscriminately targeting the Rohingya community.

As per the latest numbers reported by independent news organizations, the army has killed at least 100 Rohingya civilians, including men, women and children, in just two weeks — again, all based on mere speculation.

Meanwhile, state media figures differ greatly, stating “no more than 33 people” have been killed at the hands of security forces during the crackdown.

The Rohingya people claim the military is using the border attacks as an excuse to further persecute the already-beleaguered, stateless community.

Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, a human rights group based in Asia, said the army is implementing "typical counter-insurgency measures against civilians,” such as "shooting civilians on sight, burning homes, looting property and arbitrary arrests.”

So far, the Rohingya in Myanmar were largely under attack from extremist Buddhists as well as the government’s deafening silence. However, the purported involvement of the country’s security forces signals an even worse time for a community that’s been persecuted for decades.

It’s not like the Myanmar military’s role in repressing the Rohingya people is totally unheard of. In 2014, the Women’s League of Burma alleged Burmese soldiers were raping Rohingya women to “demoralize and destroy the fabric of ethnic [minority] communities.”

Still, the security forces partaking in hostilities against the Rohingya could embolden Buddhist extremists and bolster their hate campaign, thereby causing state-sanctioned bloodshed.

The latest bout of unrest comes only a month after Myanmar’s de facto leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi oversaw a special nine-member panel to address the Rohingya crisis.

It was a small but much-needed step taken by any Burmese administration in years to find a solution to resolve the conflict between the Buddhist majority and the Muslim minority group.

However, considering the violent and extra-judicial force the military is using against the Rohingya people, it is difficult to believe a resolution is possible anytime soon.

By Wa Lone 

Reuters

October 24, 2016

YANGON -- Hundreds of Myanmar's Rohingya villagers are facing a second night hiding in rice fields without shelter, after the army on Sunday forcibly removed them from a village in a crackdown following attacks on border security forces.

Four Rohingya sources contacted by Reuters by telephone, said border guard officers went to Kyee Kan Pyin village on Sunday and ordered about 2,000 villagers to abandon it, giving them just enough time to collect basic household items.

The move marks an escalation in violence which has destabilized Myanmar's most volatile state located in the remote northwest. In Rakhine, relations between the Rohingya and majority Buddhists have hit their lowest point since hundreds of people were killed and thousands displaced in ethnic and religious violence in 2012.

The government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has said the army and police in Rakhine are fighting a group of at least 400 insurgents, drawn from the Rohingya Muslim minority, with links to Islamist militants overseas.

While officials say the army has been conducting carefully targeted sweeps against the group behind attacks on police border posts on Oct. 9, residents have accused security forces of killing non-combatants and burning homes.

"I was kicked out from my house yesterday afternoon, now I live in a paddy field outside of my village with some 200 people including my family - I became homeless," said a Rohingya man from Kyee Kan Pyin village contacted by Reuters by telephone.

"After the soldiers arrived at our village, they said that if all of us didn't leave, they would shoot us,” he said.

Another witness and two Rohingya community elders based in Maungdaw who are collecting information from across the area have corroborated the account, estimating a total of about 2,000 villagers were removed from homes.

Some were able to find shelter in neighboring villages, but hundreds spent last night hiding in the rice fields. They are still stranded and are facing another without shelter.

Mynt Kyaw, a government spokesman, said the government was unable to contact anyone in the area because it was a militarily-operated "red zone".

"A Muslim man called me this morning as they were being forcibly removed from their homes, but I was not able to confirm that information," said Mynt Kyaw.

The military did not respond to a request for comment.

Videos uploaded on social media by Rohingya rights activists showed men and women speaking Rohingya language carrying their belongings and livestock to other villages or waiting out the crackdown in paddy fields.

The area around Maungdaw Township, near the border with Bangladesh, is under military lockdown and journalists and aid workers have not been allowed to go inside.

RB News 

October 24, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – Myanmar’s newly appointed Border Guard Police Chief Police Brigadier General, Thura San Lwin, ordered the Rohingya villagers from middle hamlet of Kyi Gan Pyin village tract in Maungdaw Township to leave their homes on October 23, 2016. A rumour has been spreading around since that night that the villagers were asked to return to their homes. This is untrue.

Over 300 families became homeless after BGP chief ordered the villagers from middle hamlet of Kyi Gan Pyin village tract to leave their houses within 24 hours. 

As this rumor has been spreading since the night that people were forced to leave their houses, an investigation has done by RB News. 

“It is not true that they all were asked to return home. The order was given by BGP. I think the military were not informed. The people couldn’t go far away from the village during this very short time. Some stay nearby the village. Today at 10 am a group of military was patrolling and saw a few families who are only children and women. Military asked them to return homes but they afraid very much and told the military that they don’t have keys. So the military go a house of them and destroyed the key. Then the military went into that house and searched inside. They found Kyat 600,000 and took them and let the families get into the house. When the men came to know their families inside the houses, the men came back to their houses from the places where they were hiding. After about an hour BGP came and arrested all of them from houses and took them to BGP headquarters. They were severely tortured and released later.” a villager told RB News.

According to him, a total of 35 members of the families were arrested, tortured and released. They all are from Nawdinn sub-hamlet which is in the middle hamlet of Kyi Gan Pyin village tract.

“The news what you all are hearing about the return of our villagers is completely untrue.” he added. 

Furthermore, the villager explained how their 14 rice bags were destroyed by the military. 

“Yesterday as we had to leave from the houses with immediate order, we gave the priority for the foods. The families who were forced to return homes have 14 rice bags. The military asked them to take the rice bags with them but as there were no men, the women couldn’t take with them to homes. They told the military that they will take all rice bags when their men once returned but the military didn’t listen to them and take out all the rice from the bags threw into drain. So all of them can’t be cooked any more.” 

On October 23, 2016, there was a meeting at Maungdaw district general administration office where Western Command Commander, BGP Chief Thura San Lwin, other military officials and district and township administrator joined. BGP Chief clearly stated in the meeting that he will cleanse Wa Baik and Middle hamlets of Kyi Gan Pyin village tract.

By Kyaw Ye Lynn

Anadolu Agency

October 23, 2016

Police say 17 men arrested while waiting to receive money from families to pay extra to be smuggled to Malaysia

YANGON, Myanmar -- Myanmar authorities have arrested 17 Rohingya Muslims who were smuggled from troubled western Rakhine State to the country’s commercial capital Yangon, an official said Sunday.

A police officer in Yangon told Anadolu Agency, “we arrested 17 Bengalis from Rakhine in Yangon yesterday” -- referring to the stateless minority group with a term that suggests that they are interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh.

Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar in droves since mid-2012 after communal violence broke out in Rakhine between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya -- described by the United Nations as among the most persecuted minority groups worldwide. 

For years, members of the minority have been using Thailand as a transit point to enter Muslim Malaysia and beyond.

The arrest Saturday night came after a local resident reported to police that “some Muslims” were being sheltered in a house in North Okalapa Township of Yangon.

The police officer, who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to media, said by phone Sunday, “based off their questioning, the Bengalis were being temporarily sheltered there before being smuggling to Malaysia.” 

He added each had paid 1.1 million Kyats (more than $850) to three human traffickers to smuggle them from Rakhine to Yangon over land through Magway town -- located around 520 kilometers (323 miles) northwest of Yangon.

They were arrested in Yangon on Saturday night while waiting to receive money from their families in order to pay the traffickers extra to smuggle them to Malaysia through Thailand over land, according to the officer.

“The human traffickers demand 1.2 million Kyats [more than $930] from each of them if they want to continue going to Malaysia.”

He said police are searching for three human traffickers who have been identified as Win Kyaw, Aye Thein and Maung Kyaw.

The 17 arrested men will be charged under the Residents of Burma Registration Act (1949) and Myanmar’s Penal Code.

Dr Habib Siddiqui

RB Opinion

October 23, 2016

I was shocked to read Kanbawza Win’s latest posting in the Asian Tribune. Once again, he reveals his appalling bias and prejudice against the Rohingyas of Myanmar, who remain the most persecuted people in our time. As a hardcore racist that he is, his latest rant doesn’t surprise me at all, and should not surprise his readers either who have seen in the past such samples of his degenerated and delusional mind that cannot separate facts from fiction. 

K. Win has been in the business of denying the legitimate human rights of the Rohingya people for many years. To guys like him, the Rohingyas simply don't and shouldn’t exist in his native country. This is rather bizarre of an ethnic Shan minority like him who had settled in the West. Truly, as a diaspora Shan his chauvinism is simply mind-boggling! [But having seen the likes of Rakhine fascists like Aye Chan and (late) Aye Kyaw, both naturalized citizens of the USA, nothing surprises me any longer!]

In an earlier article, Win had called the Rohingyas ‘unwanted guests’ living in his native land who should be dispersed away from their ancestral land in Arakan, much like what the Nazi-fascists had done in the past century with the so-called ‘undesirables’ in Europe. His argument is so immoral and criminal that one can perhaps take pity on an old haggard who refuses to seek the truth and/or alter his flawed course for making our world a more inclusive one. 

As I have noted in the past, calling the indigenous people of Arakan — who identify themselves as the Rohingyas in Myanmar — “unwanted guests” is like calling the Native Americans unwanted refugees who had settled in America after the influx of the Europeans. As much as no massacre of yesteryears and ghettoization of the Native Americans today in designated American Indian Reservations has been able to obliterate their genuine right, place, history and identity to America, no Myanmar government and local Rakhine sponsored pogroms, and surely not an intellectual fraud through his deplorable, half-baked or distorted theory, can erase the rightful identity of the Rohingya people of Burma. History and justice is one their side.

Win likes to demean the legitimate struggle of the Rohingya people to live as equals by distorting facts to suit his menacing motives. His latest article is packed with such half and full lies, displaying once again his selective amnesia. 

He likes metaphors and uses such rather callously, often unaware that such may backfire on his face. Like his fictitious ‘camel and tent’ story before, he now asks his American readers how would they feel if Sarah Palin were to declare that Alaska had joined Russia after the latter had defeated the USA in a war? Seemingly, he is unaware that Sarah Palin is no longer the governor of the state of Alaska, and it is Bill Walker. 

I strongly doubt if Win ever read the Constitution of Alaska whose Inherent Rights (Section 1) begin with the statement: “This constitution is dedicated to the principles that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the rewards of their own industry; that all persons are equal and entitled to equal rights, opportunities, and protection under the law; and that all persons have corresponding obligations to the people and to the State.” 

Win may not know that Alaska was part of Russia before it was sold to the USA in 1867 for $7.2 million, and that it’s separated from mainland USA. Section 10 of the constitution also states that “There is no Alaska statute making treason a crime.” 

Arakan, on the other hand, sandwiched between Muslim Bengal and Buddhist Burma, was an independent kingdom most of its known history (at least since 1434 CE) until the territory was annexed violently by a racist Buddhist, Burmese king Bodaw Paya in 1784. Then it became part of an expanding British Raj that also ruled vast territories of India until independence was granted. When Panglong conference was held in February 1947, neither Jinnah’s Pakistan nor Gandhi/Nehru’s India, let alone Burma, had earned independence. As such, all the people living in India and Burma back then served the same Raj, and it was no treason for anyone to express a desire to join a future political entity. As such, Win’s accusation against a particular Arakanese Muslim leadership showing its desire to join a future Pakistan is hogwash; it is not treasonous. (Jinnah also advised the Arakanese Muslims to tie up their fate with other residents of Burma.) 

More problematic, however, is Win’s nonchalance about the gross violations of inalienable rights of the Muslims of Arakan who, unlike the Alaskans, are denied the “right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the rewards of their own industry; that all persons are equal and entitled to equal rights, opportunities, and protection under the law.” Rather than coming to their aid, and working towards restoring such inherent rights, Win likes to see them eliminated! Enough with Win’s metaphors that only reveal his inanity. 

One should not forget that Burma (and today’s Myanmar) remains an artificial geographic entity that comprises peoples of many nationalities, races, ethnicities and religions that has been kept together by strong arms tactics of feudal kings, the British Raj and the military governments that ruled. ‘Divide and rule’ and fear-mongering against a perceived foe became prudent methods to administer this diverse country. There was never any serious attempt to develop or grow genuine nationhood in which all the parties could feel a sense of belonging. This much-needed task for forging national unity was taken up by visionaries like Aung San (Bamar who represented the Interim Burmese government), Sao Shwe Thaik (Shan leader) and others (including U Razak of AFPFL, a Muslim) in the late 1940s. That was the background for the Panglong Conference, which was held in Southern Shan state on February 1947.

Win does not mention that the spirit of Panglong Agreement that was reached between Aung San (Suu Kyi’s father) and other ethnic and community leaders, in an attempt to unite everyone - irrespective of race, ethnicity and religion, Buddhists and non-Buddhists - for a common goal of independence was dead following Aung San's assassination (in which U Razak who was Education and National Planning in Aung San's cabinet, and six other cabinet ministers died) on July 19, 1947, nearly half a year before Union of Burma was to emerge as an independent state in the global arena. It should be noted that the Agreement, amongst other provisions, accepted full autonomy in internal administration for the “Frontier Areas" (bordering British India, Thailand, Laos, China) in principle and envisioned the creation of a Kachin State by the Constituent Assembly.

The founding fathers of Burma were very serious to foster unity in their future state. Thus, in 1946 General Aung San assured full rights and privileges to Rohingya/Arakanese Muslims as an indigenous people, saying: “I give (offer) you a blank cheque. We will live together and die together. Demand what you want. I will do my best to fulfill them. If native people are divided, it will be difficult to achieve independence for Burma.”

The First President, Sao Shwe Thaik, who was the last Saopha of Yawnghwe, famously said, “If the Rohingyas are not indigenous, nor am I.” 

However, after Myanmar gained independence on January 4, 1948, communists and ethnic/national/religious minorities in the country began a series of insurgencies displaying their grave discontent towards the newly formed post-independence government as they believed that the Panglong Agreement was not honored and that they were being unfairly excluded from governing the country. Their overwhelming perception was that the new government was a state for, by and of the majority Bamar and Buddhists only, and not for other minorities. 

Sao Shwe Thaik who had led and organized the Panglong conference became the first president of the Union of Burma. His public speech on 4 January 1949 at a mass rally held outside City Hall to mark the first anniversary of Independence Day captures the troubled mood of the state: “Cooperation and understanding cannot come about so long as the element of violence or threat of violence exists, for violence has no counterpart in freedom, and liberty ends where violence begins.”

There were also widespread practice of discrimination against anyone who was not Buddhist. For example, it was noted that many Christian Karen and Muslim and Sikh military officials, who were originally appointed by the British, were replaced with Buddhist Bamars by the new parliament. The situation was much worse for Muslims everywhere - from Arakan to Rangoon. As a result of serious discrimination, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs lost their jobs in every government sector – civilian, police and military. Many lost their businesses, too, and were looked down upon as either British-era migrants or their children thereof. Loss for them was craved as a net gain for the majority Buddhist. Steadily, intolerance of the minority became the law of the land. 

The occupation of Burma by Japan during the early years of the World War II in which Rakhine Buddhists had allied themselves with the occupying fascist Japanese forces while the Arakanese Muslims collaborated with the British Raj to defeat Japan, had already poisoned the relationship between these two dominant groups in Arakan. After Burma earned its independence, many Rakhine Buddhists took advantage of the emerging situation to ethnically cleanse Muslims from many parts of Arakan, esp. the southern part of the state. This led to the ghettoization of Muslims in towns and villages bordering today’s Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan). 

It is not difficult to understand why almost every racial/religious entity, including the so-called Mujahedeen (made up of Arakanese/Rohingya Muslims), outside the majority Bamar/Buddhist race/religion rebelled in the early years. Being betrayed by the British Raj, in spite of their valuable services rendered during and after the WWII, it was no brainer that some Arakanese Muslims had felt that they had to protect themselves against marauding Buddhist incursions into their northern Mayu Frontier Territories. Muslim rebellion against the central government ultimately stopped when promises for their wider acceptance were made by government officials. Even then the persecution of the Rohingya and other Muslims continued.

According to the Pakistan Times (August 26, 1959), some 10,000 refugees had by then taken shelter in East Pakistan. In 1959, Burma agreed with East Pakistan governor Zakir Hossain to take back Rohingya refugees who had taken shelter in Chittagong in 1958. When questioned ‘why refugees were pouring into Pakistan from Burma, the governor replied that the government of Burma had nothing to do with it. Actually the Moghs [ie, Buddhist Rakhines] of Arakan were creating the trouble.’ (Pakistan Times, August 27, 1959) Governor Zakir Hossain’s reply once again underscored the deep hostility of the racist Rakhines against the minority Rohingyas. On October 27, 1960, the Daily Guardian, Rangoon, reported that Burmese ‘Supreme Court quashes expulsion orders against Arakanese Muslims,’ which once again shows that the Arakanese [Rohingya] Muslims faced much problems in their reintegration. 

Armed resistance by various ethnic and religious minorities and communists became the new norms and not the exceptions, which continued for more than a decade until the military was able to crush such through its savage scorched-earth tactics. Even then armed struggle is a reality in many parts of Myanmar to this very day.

The two largest insurgent factions in Myanmar were the communists, led by the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), and ethnic Karen insurgents, led by the Karen National Union (KNU). The KNU favored an independent state, forged out of Karen State (Kayin State) and Karenni State (Kayah State), in Outer Myanmar (Lower Burma), administered solely by the Karen people.

Even the Rakhine Buddhists were not behind in such insurgency movements, nor were the Chins. Rakhine insurgent groups, such as the Arakan Army and Arakan Liberation Army (ALA) continue to have hostilities towards the government, though major violence has been rare since political reforms and peace talks. The Arakan Army (AA), founded in 2009, is currently the largest insurgent group in Rakhine State, with an estimated 1,500–2,500 fighters active in the region. Its goal is an independent Rakhine state. The military, known as the Tatmadaw, admits to have clashed 15 times with Buddhist Arakan Army rebels since 28 December, 2015, in which several soldiers got killed. [As expected, such attacks by Buddhist rebels don’t infuriate Win though; only the ones committed reportedly by Rohingyas do. What a selective amnesia!]

In the early 1960s, the Burmese government refused to adopt a federal system, to the dismay of insurgent groups such as the CPB, who proposed adopting the system during peace talks. By the early 1980s, politically motivated armed insurgencies (like the communist) had largely disappeared, while ethnic-based insurgencies continued.

The Panglong Agreement of 1947 offered the Shan the option to split from Myanmar a decade after independence if they were unsatisfied with the central government. This was, however, not honored following Aung San's assassination. Instead, what they got are – severe mistreatment, torture, robbery, rape, unlawful arrest, and massacre. As a result, an armed resistance movement, led by Sao Noi and Saw Yanna, was launched in May of 1958 in the Shan State. One of the largest Shan insurgent groups in Myanmar is the Shan State Army - South (SSA-S), which has some 6,000 to 8,000 soldiers, with its bases along the Myanmar-Thailand border.

In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict, between the Christian Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the government; a series of genocidal pogroms directed against the Rohingya Muslims that were participated by Rakhine Buddhists, and aided by the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State, including the Buddhist clergy; and a conflict between the Shan, Lahu, and Karen minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces have resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on the Chinese side of the border.

In 2012 alone, fighting between the KIA and the government resulted in around 2,500 casualties (both civilian and military); 211 of whom were government soldiers. The violence resulted in the displacement of nearly 100,000 civilians, and the complete or partial abandonment of 364 villages.

Several insurgent groups have negotiated ceasefires and peace agreements with successive governments, which until political reforms that begun in 2011 and ended in 2015, had largely fallen apart.

As can be seen from the brief review above, civil/genocidal wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since her independence as Union of Burma in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding the ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. 

Far from Win’s assertions, the Rohingya and other Muslims inside Myanmar had been in the receiving end of annihilation. They have faced dozens of extermination campaigns since 1942. [Interested readers may like to read author’s article: Lies about the Rohingya (New Age, July 14, 2015) to learn the facts about the 1942 pogroms against the Rohingya and other Arakanese Muslims.] 

Denied each of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, truly, the Rohingyas of Myanmar remain the most persecuted people in our planet. And yet, until this latest episode of attacks in which some security forces were ambushed, an event reportedly perpetrated by some disgruntled Rohingya youths, affiliated with the mythic RSO, for daily dehumanization that their family members face, they have been the most unarmed, passive and peaceful of all the communities that make up the fractured mosaic of Myanmar. This, in spite of the fact, more than 1 in 2 Rohingyas now live a life of a refugee outside Myanmar. 

In the last few years alone, they have seen only death and destruction of their folks, hopes have evaporated feeding only desperation, and many have fled the country, while some 150,000 remain internally displaced with no shelters except concentration camps within the Arakan state. Suu Kyi has come to power, and yet, they continue to be denied the basic means of livelihood; their women continue to be raped by Tatmadaw as weapons of war to bring collective shame upon them and force them out of their ancestral homeland. As I write, many Rohingya women (ten of which alone are from Anauk Kwin hamlet of U Shin Gya village tract) have been gang raped by the Tatmadaw. 

Under the pretext of capturing the Rohingya attackers, dozens of villages (with more than thousand homes) have also been burnt to ashes in Suu Kyi’s Myanmar, while the world simply watches. More than 133 Rohingyas (mostly children and women) have been killed by government security forces.

Human Rights Watch on Friday said government security operations have cut off assistance to tens of thousands of Rohingya people and forced many to flee their homes. It has urged the Burmese (Myanmar) government to lift its blockade on humanitarian aid for ethnic Rohingyas in the northern Rakhine State.

What is going on inside the Rohingya populated territories of northern Arakan state is nothing short of war crimes! 

So, when K. Win brings the old story of rebellious Mujahedeen ignoring the never-ending war crimes of the Burmese government – old and new – and their civilian Rakhine partners and bigot monks, one cannot but question his sincerity or the lack thereof. Funny that he had the audacity to post a photo-op with Dr. Maung Zarni in the Asian Tribune! Just as a shit-eating crow can never be mistaken for a peacock, his photo-op with Dr Zarni cannot hide his hideous character. 

K. Win also tries to hide the fact that under the First Schedule to the Burma Independence Act 1947, the Rohingya and all other Muslims who were British subjects - who were born in Burma or whose father or paternal grandfather was born in Burma - were considered citizens of the Union of Burma. Under Annex A of the Aung San-Attlee Agreement, 27 January, 1947, they were citizens of the Union of Burma: “A Burma National is defined for the purposes of eligibility to vote and to stand as a candidate of the forthcoming elections as a British subject or the subject of an Indian State who was born in Burma and resided there for a total period of not less than eight years in the ten years immediately preceding either 1st January, 1942 or 1st January, 1947.” 

The Nu-Attlee Agreement (1947), signed between Prime Minister U Nu (Burma) and Prime Minister Clement Attlee (Great Britain) on Oct. 17, 1947 on transferring power to Burma was very important as to the determination of the citizenship status of the peoples and races in Burma. Article 3 of the Agreement states: “Any person who at the date of the coming into force of the present Treaty is, by virtue of the Constitution of the Union of Burma, a citizen thereof and who is, or by virtue of a subsequent election is deemed to be, also a British subject, may make a declaration of alienage in the manner prescribed by the law of the Union, and thereupon shall cease to be a citizen of the Union.” [For a full discussion on the subject, interested readers may like to read the author’s article, The Rohingya Problem: Why?]

In spite of all such Acts and Agreements, the Rohingyas have been robbed of their citizenship. They remain stateless inside Myanmar and are treated as outsiders.

The above brief analysis disproves unproven assertions and claims made by K Win. His views reflect his deep-seated hostility and racism against the persecuted Rohingya people whom he wants to see totally eliminated. 

It is high time that the UN declare the Mayu Frontier Territories (in northern Arakan) a ‘safe’ territory for the Rohingyas of Myanmar so that they could live there with honor, dignity, safety and security. Failing which, I am afraid, that the Rohingyas may disappear from the world in our time.

Date: October 22, 2016

Burma: ‘Stop violence against the Rohingya’

The Rohingya are an ethnic group facing extreme persecution in Burma (Myanmar). Australia has been criticised for failing to accept Rohingya asylum seekers as refugees.

The statement below was released on October 18 by 35 groups in Malaysia and the Asian region, including human rights groups and political parties such as the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM).

* * *

We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned about the current escalation of violence and the further brutal crackdown against the Rohingya in Rakhine state, Myanmar.

Myanmar security and other forces have occupied the area around Maungdaw in response to attacks by unknown assailants on border posts on October 9. The authorities have accused Rohingyas of carrying out the attacks and are now taking recrimination against the Rohingya population.

We have reports of killings, rape, abductions, forced evictions, beatings, the burning of homes and communities and the general terrorising of the local Rohingya population. The very real concern is that this situation will deteriorate even further and possibly quickly.

We call on all parties to put a stop to this terrible situation with immediate effect.

This is not the first time that there has been state-sanctioned violence against the Rohingya women, men and children who are still trying to live their lives in dignity in their homeland. There is extensive documentation of more than 30 years of systematic violence, discrimination and repression against the Rohingyas by the government of Myanmar and its friends.

Thousands have been killed, thousands of women sexually violated and physically abused and hundreds of thousands forced to flee (often into the hands of human traffickers). Most recently the Rohingya have been written out of the Constitution, denied any citizenship rights and rendered stateless.

The government of Myanmar must take complete responsibility for the situation. It has consistently failed to protect the rights of the Rohingya and consistently failed to give them any protection. Instead, it has consistently denied them their rights as human beings and citizens and has sanctioned hatred, bigotry, racism, violence and deprivation against them for years.

The current violence re-ignites fears that there will be another round of state-sanctioned killings, violence, destruction and land appropriation. This would force ever more Rohingya away from their homeland and worsen the humanitarian crisis for the Rohingya and the region.

It is long overdue that this stopped. We hereby call upon the government of Myanmar to:

• Immediately stop the killings and violence in Rakhine State;

• Respect, restore and protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Rohingya people, including re-recognising them as citizens with full rights to freedom of movement, marriage, education, healthcare, justice, protection and more;

• Expedite the work of the nine member State Advisory Commission chaired by Kofi Annan, charged with finding solutions to the situation in Rakhine state. The Commission should help ensure that any person or persons, whoever they may be, who have been involved in killings, rape, abductions, or any other abuse of the basic rights of people are brought to justice. That all properties and land destroyed in the recent violence are restored to their rightful owners and compensation paid for any loss. That steps are taken to rehabilitate and reintegrate all internally displaced persons and refugees who have fled their homes because of the conflict in Rakhine state; and

• Lift all restrictions of aid to Rakhine state and allow unfettered access to Rohingya for persons including international aid workers and media.

We also call upon the ASEAN community and all other parties to take immediate steps to facilitate the process for a lasting peaceful solution for the ongoing crisis in Rakhine state.

We urge the governments of ASEAN to recognise the basic rights of refugees, including all Rohingya refugees, and to provide proper and timely humanitarian assistance to those fleeing the terrible situation.

List of endorsing organisations:

1. Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)

2. Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign

3. PSM Youth

4. Community Development Centre (CDC)

5. Rohingya Society in Malaysia

6. SUARAM

7. REFSA

8. KL & Chinese Assembly Hall Civil Rights Committee

9. Alumni PBTUSM Northern Region

10. Migrant CARE

11. Tenaganita

12. Projek Dialog

13. Building and Wood Workers' International Asia-Pacific Branch

14. Islamic Renaissance Front

15. Committee for Asian Women (CAW)

16. Pesatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor

17. Lawyers for Liberty (LFL)

18. Perak Women for Women

19. Hindraf People’s Movement

20. North South Initiative

21. Diversity

22. Child Development Initiative

23. Malaysian Indian Youth Council

24. People's Service Organisations

25. Semparuthi Iyakkam

26. Academy of Tamil Studies

27. Persatuan Kebajikan Orang-orang Miskin Malaysia (PERKOM)

28. Pemuda Youth

29. Network of the Oppressed People (JERIT)

30. Youth Wing of Malaysian Dravidian Association

31. ROYALTI Kelantan

32. ALIRAN

33. Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia

34. Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility

35. Third World Network

RB News 

October 22, 2016

Tokyo, Japan -- Rohingya human rights activists in Japan visited the US Embassy in Tokyo on October 20th, 2016th at 3pm to appeal to the US government for their urgent intervention in helping to stop Myanmar military’s extrajudicial killing of innocent Rohingya men, women and children indiscriminately since the 9th of October in northern Arakan, where unidentified assailants attacked Myanmar security forces. 

The activists were received by Secretary for Political section Mr Van Deusen and Senior Political Advisor Mrs Kikushi Shinobu. The meeting lasted for an hour and they discussed several issues including October 9th attacks in Kyi Gan Pyin, Ngakura, and Kodankauk in Rathedaung, Myanmar military’s indiscriminate killing of Rohingya men, women and even the children since then. They also discussed torching Rohingya villages to push Rohingyas to IDPs camps, looting Rohingyas’ houses and shops, other valuable things together with Natala villagers, mass arrest of Rohingya inhumanely torturing, sexually assaulting the Rohingya women, hiding dead bodies in the mass graves, blocking food, medicine and other essentials to make Rohingya die.

The activists lead by Zaw Min Htut presented an appeal letter for Secretary for State, John Kerry detailing all above the issues. The Embassy officials promised to relay all information directly to the State Department officials urgently.

The letter is here:

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(Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

Ro Mayyu Ali

RB Article

October 21, 2016

Maungdaw is a border trading town in Rakhine State, situated in south-west of Myanmar. It is home to more than 500,000 inhabitants from varying backgrounds such as Rohingya, Rakhine, Hindu, Thet, Dai-net Mro, Kamee and Marmagyi.

Among the people, Rohingya are historically the most indigenous and documented as the richest people in the township. In population, approximately 80 percent are Rohingya, 15 percent Buddhists and five percent are Hindus. Most of the land, forests and lakes are owned by native Rohingya. Religiously, Rohingya are the only group who believes in Islam and all the rest except Hindus are Buddhists who enjoy full freedom of all legal rights. The fate of most Rohingya is so perilous and their ethnic identities in Myanmar have been denied as well as they have been suffering Civil and Human Rights violation and even genocide today.

In other townships in Rakhine State, Buddhist nationalists and anti-Muslim chauvinists who play a role in the Union and State governments have been bringing their attention on the population and influence to the wealth of Rohingya in three townships: Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathidaung in Northern Rakhine State. They have been focusing their racial and religious concerns in those townships.

Firstly, they chose to filter the township of Maungdaw where there is the most Rohingya population in. Because they foresee that other two townships would be easier if they could damage the livelhoods of Rohingya intiailly in Maungdaw by implementing several kinds of profound schemes and deep-running strategies.

In these regards, over the last two decades, they have been installing two new risky groups like an anti virus to monitor bona fide Rohingya in the township. One are the Natala (local term) who are taken from Upper Myanmar and provided with facilities of a bungalow, some acres of paddy land which was taken from native Rohingya, a couple of cows and some other religious accesses per a family. Strategically, the village tracts of Natala people are set up in the middle of Rohingya villages and where there are easy accesses of transportation, education, medical assistance and marketing services.

The second risky group are Bangali Rakhines whom are taken from the border of Bangladesh. They fit better than Natala people because they are from the same feather. Usually, they receive Myanmar National Scrutiny Card like other Rakhines whose births are in the township. Their children can enjoy education initially in monasteries and Buddhists orphan houses. Moreover, after 2012 communal violence, hundreds of Bangali Rakhines including Thet and Myo have been taken significantly three times to Maungdaw Township.

But today, both groups enjoy in the luxuries of wealth, education, transportation, medical assistance and other facilities much more than native Rohingya and even the roads to their model villages are specially made of cement which will last a long time, as is found in southern Maungdaw Township.

Now, they take pride in themselves that they are Thaiyinthar (local term for indigenous people). To use a common phrase, they come to exile native Rohingya whose rice and water they survived on, using the offending terms (Kalas and Bangalis) that other Rakhines in the township use for Rohingya people.

Nevertheless, the local authorities have been setting up several kinds of snares for Rohingya in the township such as, trading hindrance from one township to another, extortion large sums of money, arbitrary arrests, long time incarceration , accusations of illegal activity, etc.

Incidentally, the fire of 2012-June communal violence began in Maungdaw Township and spread to other townships in Rakhine State. In 2013, the fire was resumed again in Du Cheer Tan Village, in southern Maungdaw. During that violence, Maungdaw is, in fact the most hidden of the affected townships in Rakhine State, where the result of losing more than 50 Rohingya innocent souls, a loss of 100 Rohingya houses, looting millions from properties of Rohingya, incarceration of more than (100) young Rohingya men and the fleeing thousands of vulnerable Rohingya to their neighbor countries such as, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Thailand and Bangladesh. The worst is many Rohingya lives have been lost drowing in the sea while trying to reach, on rickety boats, a safe shore for a refuge. These reported tolls are only for Maungdaw Township. At the time, they have targeted and cleared whatever they could particularly in downtown and south of Maungdaw Township.

Now, northern Maungdaw is still fresh and green, but their hunger sees no bounds., and the appetite of their greed and lust are keener. They gear up to a higher level with their many ill-talents what they can be as the followers of Gautama.

It is very tense as their racial divisions and prejudice become stronger and more aggregated. After the 2012-June precarious violence, their movement is much more operative than before. In the township, along the border are iron-fences. Hundreds of Border Guard Police check points are installed. A leader of 969 anti-Muslim movements from each Rakhine Village tract is locally organized. The supply of INGOs and Agencies humanitarian aids are remarkably limited and the approval of their activities are delayed for a long time and often denied, as well. The services of medical assistance of the Township Medical Department is limited and the immunization process is limited and this has led to suffering of polio by a couple of Rohingya children during the last year in township. The techniques and methods of Schools for Rohingya students are unbelievably separated and discriminated. And the twists and propaganda of Myanmar Social Medias are in the headlines against Rohingya. For sure, it is then in dangerous with their racially multi-sectarian currents to attack the dwellings and lives of those native Rahingyas who have a long existence in the township. Would the Buddhist chauvinists take full aim in northern of Maungdaw at this time? 

Unfortunately, at the predawn of 9 of October, 2016, Border Guard Police Head Quarter No.1 in Kyi Kan Pyin Village and a check outpost in Nga Khu Ya Village in Maungdaw Township as well as another check outpost in Ko Tan Kauk Village in Rathidaung Township were attacked by some militants. According to local authorities, 9 BGP Forces were killed and some weapons were taken away by the attackers who were holding rods, swords and pistols. As two of three attacks were in northern Maungdaw Township the township became again like a well-blocked dam to catch fish and they may whatever eat whatever they like. What a moment comes for them!

On 10 of October, 2016 in the early morning, 7 innocent Rohingyas including Mohammed Ayas son of Kamaal, 13 year old, a grade-8 student in Myo Thu Gyi Village track (located in 6-miles away to BGP HQ where there was attack that of the previous night) were shot to death in cold blood by military personals. At noon on the same day, a mass grave of three Rohingya men, shot by military forces, was discovered in Kyauk Pyin Saik Village, northern Maungdaw and the hamlet of Wapaik in Kyi Kan Pyin was set on fire by the military. Before the statement of the Myanmar President‘s Office, consecutively the village tracks of northern Maungdaw such as, Kyet Yoe Pyin, Nga Sar Kyu, Oo Shan Kyar, Phur Wet Chaung, Ngan Chaung, Kyauk Pyin Saik were already cleansed by Myanmar army.

On 14 of October, 2016, Myanmar President Office released a statement regarding the terror attack in Maungdaw. It stated that the name of the attacking group is Aquamul Mujahidin, the leaders of the group are outsiders who entered through Bangladesh and the leaders convinced around (400) young Rohingyas, particularly in the villages of Oo Shan Kyar, Ngar Khu Ya, Kyauk Pyin Saik and other neighbor where military forces have already burned down, shot dozens of Rohingya to death and looted the properties. In facts, what I mention about the statement in there is just brief. However, the statement intentionally described events beyond the abilities of the attackers. But also, it has a purpose pointing out a location and a type and amount of Rohingya in the township. It is a statement that can worsen the lives of Rohingya much more than previous schemes on them. But still the questions remain to ask: Why did Bangladeshi government let the attackers to jump to Myanmar through their country when they could hand over catching up the attackers during coming back? What did thousands of Myanmar Border Guard Police forces stand for in West Gate? 

However, the process of Myanmar military’s clearance operation for those sectors is officially launched. And the forces have started to play with fire. Under the process, military personals have killed more than (100) Rohingyas including children and old women, set fire to more than (1000) Rohingya homes, looted billions Kyat of Rohingya’s properties, raped some Rohingya girls and women and displaced internally more than (30000) Rohingya people.

Is it enough for those hungry schemes? Not at all, still tthose mentioned by the President’s office’s statement are wanted. Are they only seeking the men who are wanted for these crimes? No, they have to practice how to kill the birds while targeting the eggs in the nest of Rohingya. It is the target to the nest, not only to the eggs.

Though there was no more shooting nor setting fire in Maungdaw for the past couple of days, some strange actions are taking place against Rohingya in northern Maungdaw. On the 18th of October, 2016, Karim Ullah, 58 years old, a senior humanitarian Rohingya, was tortured to death while in Maungdaw Police Custody. On the 19th of October, 2016, two prominent Rohingya men, Jenna Khan and Ludeya were killed in Maungdaw Police Custody while they were being interrogated. Dozens of Rohingya are detained and still in custody. Moreover, in some hamlets, many men and young boys pass their nights in nearby the fields, toddy gardens and embankments of the lakes and lagoons. Just the women and young girls are staying at home. It is because of this that the Myanmar military forces who have a reputation for using rape as a weapon in war are raping young Rohinya girls and some have been taken away as sex-slaves. This is the update as of the 20th of October, 2016.

Indeed, today the township becomes the third Ghetto. However the brutality is, no Rohingya can move and flee to other neighboring countries like before. Bangladeshi government has choosen to hand over any Rohingya who flee to their country while most of Rakhine people have been taken to Sittwe city for safety. Would they also move them to safety at the first sign of a soft rain as well? Aung San Suu Kyi shows no interest in finding a good resolution of its Rohingya issue. The international community remains unmoved to act in the face of human rights violations continuing against the Rohingya, but have spoken up periodically. This has moved for hidden movements against the Rohingya where crimes can be hidden or ignored. 

The worst possible outcome is that the supremacists will get what they want, and Rohingya will be wiped away from the land. The Lady of Myanmar herself bears responsibility as well for the killing of old Rohingya ladies, gang rape of young Rohingya girls, displacement of Rohingya pregnant women and heart-break of long-suffering Rohingya mothers. Does her heart have any sympathy for the persecuted Rohingya people in her country? What is most painful is that under the first democratic Government of Myanmar Rohingya suffer more than ever before.

By Human Rights Watch

October 21, 2016

Humanitarian Groups, Journalists, and Rights Monitors Need Access

Rangoon – The Burmese government and army should urgently ensure humanitarian aid can reach ethnic Rohingya and other vulnerable populations in northern Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. Government security operations have cut off assistance to tens of thousands of people and forced many to flee their homes.

The United Nations and donor governments should publicly call on the Burmese government to ensure aid organizations can reach those in need.

“Recent violence in northern Rakhine State has led the army to deny access to aid agencies that provide essential health care and food to people at grave risk,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The Rohingya and others have been especially vulnerable since the ethnic cleansing campaign in 2012, and many rely on humanitarian aid to survive.”

On October 9, 2016, armed men attacked three police outposts in Maungdaw township near the border with Bangladesh, killing nine police officers and seizing weapons. The President’s Office blamed a previously unknown Rohingya group called Aqa Mul Mujahidin for the attacks, though other officials have said it is unclear who was responsible.

Government security forces declared the area an “operation zone” and began sweeps to find the attackers. According to senior members of the government, security forces have killed 30 people, while five members of the security forces have also been killed. However, reporting is heavily reliant on government sources as journalists have been denied access.

Rohingya activists have alleged that government forces have committed serious abuses during the current operations, including summary executions and the burning of villages.

Since October 9, authorities have blocked all aid deliveries to Maungdaw township and aid agencies have not been able to conduct a needs assessment. “We have asked [for access] from township level to Union level,” a World Food Programme (WFP) partnerships officer said. “The official explanation [for being denied access] is that security operations are ongoing.”

Under international law, authorities may restrict freedom of movement for specific security reasons for a limited period of time, but broad and open-ended restrictions are not permissible. Under the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, all authorities “shall grant and facilitate the free passage of humanitarian assistance and grant persons engaged in the provision of such assistance rapid and unimpeded access to the internally displaced.”

A number of UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations have long operated in northern Rakhine State, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), WFP, Medecins Sans Frontieres, and Action Contre la Faim, providing food aid and mobile health clinics, among other services. WFP alone assists 152,000 vulnerable people with various services, including nutrition support for pregnant women, nursing mothers, children under 5, and people living with HIV and tuberculosis.

WFP told Human Rights Watch that while the government has recently permitted the resumption of food assistance to 37,000 people in Buthiduang township, 50,000 people remain without food aid in Maungdaw.

The blocking of aid will also severely impact nutritional programs and mobile health clinics that serviced the area, aid workers said. With freedom of movement restricted, ill or wounded people cannot access the main hospital in Maungdaw.

Humanitarian organizations said the violence has displaced some 3,000 ethnic Rakhine people and as many as 15,000 Rohingya, but the lack of access prevents an accurate count.

Rohingya constitute approximately a third of Rakhine State’s population of over three million people. The Muslim minority has long suffered from discrimination and a host of serious human rights violations, including restrictions on the rights to freedom of movement, access to health care, and education. Successive Burmese governments have effectively denied Rohingya citizenship under Burma’s discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law.

The fighting has also increased tension in the camps for the nearly 120,000 displaced Rohingya near the town of Sittwe in Rakhine State. These people fled their homes after communal violence in 2012, which left large numbers of people dead and entire villages destroyed.

“The Burmese government has a responsibility to search for and arrest those who attacked the border posts,” Adams said. “But it is required to do so in a manner that respects human rights, ensures that the area’s people get the aid they need, and allows journalists and rights monitors into the area.”

Joint Statement

Date: October 21, 2016

The urgency of the current humanitarian situation in Northern Arakan

After attacks on police posts, on 9 October, allegedly by unknown Rohingya fighters, Myanmar authorities have disproportionally militarized Northern Arakan/Rakhine state raising a false alarm and creating human tragedies aim at destroying the Rohingya population. 

The siege and assault on Rohingya civilians in bordering township of Maungdaw clearly represent the Myanmar military’s intention to use the extraordinary level of mass detention, torture, summary execution, rape and other atrocities against the Rohingya people.

UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has confirmed that its food deliveries planned for more than 80,000 people have been blocked because of a military clampdown in the area and that the military has prevented any supplies from getting through. This interference with aid is clearly intended to directly cause starvation and the deaths of civilians.

Humanitarian principles must be respected by all parties. It is a dire situation that UN agencies should not compromise humanitarian principles in the face of unjust demands by the Myanmar authorities. We demand that Myanmar government lift all restrictions immediately on humanitarian aid. 

We urge upon the UN, OIC, EU, USA, UK, ASEAN, Bangladesh and Myanmar’s neighbours and international community and governments to intervene in the matter to urgently provide the needy with humanitarian aid in order to alleviate suffering of the starving population on the ground. 

We also request all to protect the Rohingya civilians from ongoing indiscriminate killing, torching houses, arresting and torturing.

1. Arakan Rohingya National Organisation
2. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
3. Bradford Rohingya Community in UK
4. Burmese Rohingya Community in Denmark
5. Burmese Rohingya Association Japan
6. Burmese Rohingya Community Australia
7. Canadian Burmese Rohingya Organisation
8. Rohingya Arakanese Refugee Committee
9. Rohingya Community in Germany
10. Rohingya Community in Switzerland
11. Rohingya Community in Finland
12. Rohingya Community in Italy
13. Rohingya Community in Sweden
14. Rohingya Organisation Norway
15. Rohingya Society Netherlands
16. Rohingya Society Malaysia

For more information, please contact:

Tun Khin (Mobile): +44 7888714866
Zaw Min Htut (Mobile): +818030835327
Nay San Lwin (Mobile): +49 69 26022349