Declaration of Rohingya National Unity Conference [July 13, 2012] A Coalition of Three Thailand Based Rohingya Political Group

Declaration of Rohingya National Unity Conference [July 13, 2012]

 A Coalition of Three Thailand Based Rohingya Political Groups:BURMESE ROHINGYA ASSOCIATION IN THAILAND(BRAT).

   The Rohingya community in Thailand held ‘Rohingya National Unity Conference’ to unite the Rohingya in Thailand to fight against the genocide onRohingya.  The conference was held at the Islamic Center of Bangkok on 13 July 2012.  The chief spokesperson was U Maung Kyaw Nu, the chief guest was the respectable Imam of the foundation of Islamic Center of Thailand, the special guests were Mr.Niti Hassan the foundation of Islamic Center of Thailand, Mr. Nassir Achwarin of  TheRoyal Lawyer Council of Thailand and Mr. Shaker of Thai Muslim Student Association .There were Rohingya Ulamas, community leaders and a Rohingya woman activist also spoke at the event.

More than 300 delegates [from Bangkok and all over Thailand] participated in the conference.  The invitees were members of Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT), Rohingya Human Right Association Thailand (RHA), Arakanese Rohingya Community in Thailand (ARCT), religious scholars, academicians, 1974 and 1988 generation student leaders, students and women representatives.

Among the participants four businessmen enthusiastically offer their financial support with a commitment of one year to bear the full financial responsibility of official expenses of organization. However, they could not commit their time for the activities.The delegates cheered the commitment of four businessmen and gave them free hands to choose a single political central committee among the three groups and new young educated persons.

The delegates unanimously sought and agreed on the following items:

a. That an uneducated party member shall not represent a party in public meetings.
b. That an uneducated party member shall not be a spokesperson or media coordinator for any news outlet including magazine,       periodic, monthly newspapers, TV and Radios
c. That any representative shall not engage in collecting relief fund and goods [without the written consent of CEC].
d. That Party's political vision and mission must be similar to that of other groups in Rohingya Diaspora.
e. That Party shall be free from any external influence of NGOs, and capable of
     making decision independently.
f. That Party’s activities shall not harm the national interest of the Kingdom of
   Thailand and its people.

As per majority’s consent, the said three parties' names and committees were dissolved. The President and Secretary from each three party were chosen: U Maung Kyaw Nu and Mr. Mohamad Jahangir from BRAT, Mr. Nurul Islam and Hajee Mohamad
Nasim from RHA, and Mr.Abdu Salam and Mr Mohamad Qasim from ARCT.  Additional 9 members were elected from the delegates by checking each of their educational qualification. The minimum educational qualification to be a central committee member
is ‘high school’. It was also agreed to choose 2 to 3 person committee members from Rohingya populated area from every Province of Thailand.

The delegates also agree that the newly united broad base organization is the sole political representative to serve the whole Rohingya in Thailand. The selected six leaders from three former parties and newly elected nine members are listed below.

1. Mr. Maung Kyaw Nu,
2. Mr. Mohamad Jahangir.
3. Mr. Noor Islam.
4. Mr. Mohamad Nasim.
5. Mr. Abdu Salam,
6. Mr. Mhamad Qassim.
7. Mr. Mohamad Idris
8. Mr. Younus
9. Mr. Maung Shwe
10. Mr. Kyaw Thein
11. Hajee Ismail.
12. Hafez Maulana Abdul Khaleaque,
13. Mr. Mohamad Anwar.
14. Mr. Araf Ahmad.
15. Mr. Mohamad Ibrahim

From 13 July to 20 August, the elected Representative held a series of meetings and drafted a new rules and regulation by inviting some former founding leaders of those three parties.  On 20 July 2012, the majority 90 % representatives voted
to continue with the first political party name, BURMESE ROHINGYA ASSOCIATION IN THAILAND (BRAT), for the coalition. The Representatives elected President and General Secretary as Mr.Maung Kyaw Nu and Hajee Mohamad Nasim .They also elected 51 Central Executive Committee members (CEC), Central Committee members (CC), Unit Leaders (UL)equivalent to CC members for BRAT for two years (September 2012 to September 2014).

   The newly elected CEC and CC members are assigned portfolio by combined discussing President, General Secretary and founding members of coalition . The full Committee names along with portfolio are declaring for public in this week .

Sincerely,

Mr.Maung Kyaw Nu,
President.

Hajee Mohamad Nasim,
General Secretary.

Following individuals can be contacted shall you have further question .

1.Mr.Zawhir Uddin (Former President and Patron of BRAT ,)
   ( Chief Election Commissioner),
Tel:(+66)816 224 873.

2.Mr.Abdul Mahboud (Former CEC of BRAT and Chief Patron of ARCT)
   (Election Commissioner )
Tel:(+66) 535 598 536.

3.Mr.Hamidur Rahman(Former CEC of BRAT).
   (Election Commissioner)
Tel:(+66)897 920 192.

 By Imformation Department,
Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT)
  Email:brat.headoffice.com
  Website:http://www.rohingyathai.blogspot.com
  Date:Bangkok-13 September,2012.

US Team stresses for int'l aid agency access to Myanmar

 13 Sept 2012.source-The Daily Star.

US deputy assistant secretary Kelly Clements addresses a press briefing along with Ambassador Dan Mozena at American Centre in Dhaka on Thursday. Photo courtesy by American Embassy Star online Repor

t

The US State Department delegation, which visited Rakhaine state of Myanmar on Thursday, said a serious insecurity, tension, persecution and displacement of people continued there and stressed for access of international aid agencies in the country.
The delegation strongly recommended for immediate humanitarian assistance and access to international aid organisation to supply emergency relief to the victims.

“Tension is very much in evident and displacement continues. A large number of people continue to displace, so challenge is very much grave there,” said Kelly Clements, US deputy assistant secretary for Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.
Two members of the four-member delegation gave their impression at a press conference at American Centre in Dhaka after visiting the worst affected Sittew and Mongdu area following the ethnic violence in the Rakhine state in June.

A four-member high-powered US delegation visited Myanmar on September 7-10 and Bangladesh on 11-13 to assess current conditions and to discuss with government officials how to reduce tensions and improve security, stability and humanitarian situation over long-term.

Kelly and her colleague, who is also deputy assistant secretary for US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Daniel Baer told the press conference that they talked to local leaders and victims in Arakan state as well as Rohingya refugees in two official camps in Cox’s Bazar to get first hand impression of the situation.

Asked whether they feel that the Myanmar government has failed to address the ethnic problem, Kelly said it needs high priority to bring the prevailing tension under control. She said the Myanmar government is aware of it and trying to solve it.

On a question about a long-term solution of problems in the state, she said understanding between communities (Rohingya Muslims and Buddists), reconciliation and reintegration are needed so the communities can go back to their homesteads.

About the Bangladesh government decision banning the operations of the three international NGOs in Cox’s Bazar, Kelly did not reply precisely but said it is very clear that the Rohingya refugees need enormous humanitarian assistance.

She said the US continues its support through UNHCR to address the need of Rohingyas as well as the citizens of Bangladesh in Cox’s Bazar until a long term solution is possible.
When asked whether US wants Bangladesh to receive new Rohingya refugees, US Ambassador Dan Mozena, who also spoke at the press conference, said Bangladesh has long tradition of hospitality and hoped that the government will uphold the tradition in case Rohingyas arrive here fleeing to save their lives.

UPDATE NEWS OF NORTHERN ARAKA-THURSDAY.

September 13, 2012

Maungdaw,Arakan State: September 8, Noor Khobir (23), son of Noor Hussain was arrested by police officer U Aung Kyaw Kent of Maungdaw police station. The victim belongs to Ward No.5 of Maungdaw Town. Later, he was released after taking Kyat 3000,000. The victim was arrested in the morning while he was going to the market for marketing, according to a close relative of the victim.

 

On the same day, at about 4:00pm, Mohamed Rofique (35), a labor from Ward No. 3 of Maungdaw Town was arrested by police while he was working at the market and later he was released after taking money. 

Besides, Baksha Meah (43), son of Sultan was arrested by Burma’s border security force( Nasaka) of Pawet Chaung Nasaka out-post camp on September 9, at about 3:00 pm while he was sitting in his shop at the market. He is a shopkeeper, hailed from Wak Pyin village of Pawet Chaung village. After looting Kyat 14,000 from his pocket, the Nasaka went back to their camp, said a local shopkeeper.

Moreover, on September 12, in the morning, the police officer U Aung Kyaw Kent (police surveillance) accompanied by some other police men with civilian dress went to Ward No. 5 and arrested Sayed Hussain, son of Abdu Rahaman when he was getting out of his house. However, he was released after paying Kyat 300,000, said a local from the village.

Despite international pressure is going on, the present government is continuing its policy against the Rohingya community. It has been three months since Rohingyas have not been able to leave their houses such as in — Pauktaw, Rathedaung, Maungdaw, Kyauktaw, Min Bya, Paukktaw Pone Nar Kyun and Mrauk- Oo. Rohingyas are dying day by day as they do not have any food. Many people are being arrested, beaten and killed by security forces when they went out from their homes to buy food. They have been kept in their homes, according to an elite Rohingya.

.

On September 9, some Rohingya villagers of Nyaung Chaung (Khad(ir Bill ) village of Maung Daw tried to meet the commissionmembers at around 4 pm . But, they could not meet the commission members because of threats from Dr. Aye Maung, a member of the commission. He is the Chairman of Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) who has instigated the violence against the Rohingyas and one of the main culprits of atrocities against Rohingyas. He threatened Rohingyas in many ways in front of the security forces. As a result, police Hluntin and Nasaka are encouraged to arrest Rohingya people in future. A culprit becomes a commission member means that commission is a bias, said an elder.

“Urgent UN monitor teams must be allowed into the areas and we need a UN Commission of Inquiry into who perpetrated crimes against humanity to Rohingyas, said a local leader”
source-KPN

US TEAM VISITS BRURMESE REFUGEE CAMPS

Thursday, 13 September 2012 13:31

Ukhiya, Bangladesh: A US team visited the official and unofficial Kutupalong   camps yesterday and observed the situation of the Rohingya refugees, said a refugee student from the camp.
“A three-member team of US officials, including US Ambassador in Dhaka Dan W Mozena, visited the official Kutupalong camp and they also observed the situation of the unofficial Kutupalong makeshift camp which is situated nearby official Kutupalong camp.”
The Rohingya refugees of Kutupalong camp urged US team that they have been living in bad situation in Bangladesh since over 21 years. We want durable solution and want to permanently live in a third country, said a refugee teacher on condition of anonymity.
The refugees also urged and demanded their recognition as Burma’s citizens, to stop persecution and human rights abuses of Rohingyas in Arakan State, Burma and to stop push back of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.
A Rohingya woman said, “We fled to Bangladesh from Burma. We were unable to live in peace in our motherland Arakan State, Burma, because of persecution and human rights abuses by the Burmese government.
Another refugee woman named Liala from the unofficial Kutupalong makeshift camp said, “We are not recognized as refugees by the UNHCR and Bangladesh.”
She also said, “We don’t want to stay in Bangladesh. We will go back to our country, if we get our life security and citizenship rights as per other ethnic groups. Now, the situation of Burma is not changing and improving. Thousands of innocent Rohingya Muslims were killed and hundreds of Rohingya women including girls were raped by the Burmese security force accompanied by Moghs (Rakhines) in Arakan State, Burma. So, there is no security of life and we want permanent solution.
A refugee student named Ismail requested to the US team, “We want higher education in Bangladesh if we have to stay here long term in future.”
The US team visited the camp at about 3: 20 pm and spent half an hour and left the camp for their destination.
Today (Thursday) at about 9:30, they also visited the unofficial Leda camp (Tal) nearby Teknaf and also observed the situation of the Rohingya refugees.
However, the US team did not make any reply to the refugees' demands. Mr Mozena told journalists that he would hold a press briefing in Dhaka today (Thursday) about the team's visit.
Besides, the US wants to work together with Bangladesh to have a long-term solution in Burma, Alyssa Ayres, a Deputy Assistant Secretary said.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a four-strong delegation of four deputy assistant secretaries to visit Burma and Bangladesh to learn first-hand about the situation in Burma’s Arakan State and the effects of the unrest on Bangladesh.
The team also went to Burma on September 7 and stayed there until September 10 and visited the areas of Rohingya Muslims and observed the recent condition of Rohingyas and Rakhine Buddhist camps in the Arakan state. They came to Bangladesh on Tuesday and stayed until today, Alyssa more added.
source-KPN

Grouping up a Proud Racist in Burma

by Maung Zarni on Sept.12,2012.

Like millions of my fellow Buddhist Burmese, I grew up as a proud racist.  For much of my life growing up in the heartland of Burma, Mandalay, I mistook what I came to understand years later as racism to be the patriotism of Burmese Buddhists.  Our leading and most powerful institutions, schools, media, Buddhist church and, most importantly, the military, have succeeded in turning the bulk of us into proud racists.

Around the world, supporters of democracy in Burma have been shocked to learn of the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the Muslim Rohingyas in Western Burmaand the attendant popular racist venom that is being spat at these most vulnerable stateless people[1].
President Thein Sein has characterised the events as ‘communal violence’[2], a deliberately misleading term designed to conceal the State’s involvement in the massacres of the Rohingyas.   The damning new Human Rights Report states emphatically:

“Burmese security forces committed killings, rape, and mass arrests against Rohingya Muslims after failing to protect both them and Arakan Buddhists during deadly sectarian violence in western Burmain June 2012. Government restrictions on humanitarian access to the Rohingya community have left many of the over 100,000 people displaced and in dire need of food, shelter, and medical care” [3].

For nationalists, the cliché “to be Burmese is to be Buddhist” is still a given, especially those in the ruling military clique.  While having deep roots in our turbulent history, the current resurgence of Burmese racism, both official and popular, is, no doubt, a direct result of half-century of racist military rule.

Largely due to the country’s international isolation under military rule, Burmese society as a whole remains deeply illiberal and potently ethno-nationalistic, in spite of the ritual pronouncements of democracy and human rights by an elite class of dissidents. Even a quarter century after Aung San Suu Kyi called for the ‘revolution of the spirit’, nothing spiritually progressive has taken root in the popular Burmese psyche[4] – including among the country’s noble dissidents.  Burmese human rights defenders who spent half of their lives in military jail houses, Buddhist monks and the Burmese Buddhist diaspora are all singing from the same song sheet on issues of race.  On this issue, they all stand alongside the country’s Neanderthal generals and ex-generals.

One wonders what has resulted from the loud liberal rhetoric of human rights coming from noble dissidents when it comes to the persecuted Rohingyas?  Where has the loving kindness of monks gone, who only five years ago flooded the streets of Rangoon and other urban centres of Burma chanting Loving Kindness for all sentient beings?
As a former racist who grew up thinking that any individual and any group deemed to pose a threat to national sovereignty and our Burmese “Buddhist” identity should be “gassed”, I feel a deep chill in my spine thinking about what my society is in effect evolving into.

First, President Thein Sein reportedly told the visiting head of the United Nations High Commission for the Refugees (UNHCR), Antonio Guterres, that his government is prepared to either expel the 800,000 Rohingyas en masse to any third country willing to take them, or segregate them in camps where entire Rohingya communities, on the basis of their ethnicity, religion and citizenship status, could be quarantined, clothed and fed by the United Nations.[5]

Second, despite the presence of many educated presidential advisers, the country’s reformist generals and ex-generals aren’t being called on, not even nudged, to rethink their anachronistic nationalism.  Quite the opposite is happening. According to the New Yorker, Burmese presidential adviser and writer Thant Myint-U said:

“Abstract moral arguments weren’t going to cut much ice.  And they were deeply cynical of Western rhetoric on human rights. The argument we made that got the most traction was: ‘We’re falling so far behind our neighbors economically— China and India—that, unless we change, politically as well as economically, it’s going to be disastrous’” [6].

This unholy alliance between liberally-educated presidential advisers and the Burmese junta is cemented by economic nationalism – not human rights, nor liberal humanitarianism.
Last but not least, key international players in Burmese politics, such as the country’s former ruler Britain and the United States, looked the other way for two full months while Burma’s state-sanctioned racial violence against the Rohingya was raging on.  For instance, British Foreign Secretary William Hague waited until 13 August to speak out, whereas the ‘communal violence’ broke out in early June[7].  It took another 10 days for the United States Ambassador to follow suit.  The West’s primary interest in the full scale re-engagement with the ‘reformist’ military is primarily for their own strategic and commercial interests vis-à-vis a fast rising China.

It is still the primary responsibility of the Burmese themselves to resolve Burma’s long-standing and emerging challenges including ethno-religious conflicts, be they the war against the Kachin in Northern Burma or the state-sponsored violence in Western Burma.  There is an urgent need to explain, expose, disrupt and eventually end the toxic merging of Burma’s governmental and popular racism against the Muslim Rohingya.

Burma’s military strong men have demonstrated neither the political will nor intellectual vision or capacity needed to resolve our post-colonial problems.  Instead, they have shown time and again their sinister resolve to continue exploiting society’s ethno-religious differences, be it against the Chinese – as in the case of state-induced anti-Chinese riots of 1967 – or Muslims in general, and the Rohingya Muslims in particular.
There are pockets of Burmese citizens, of all different faiths and ethnic backgrounds, who fully appreciate our cultural, religious and ethnic diversity to be our strength.  Their voices, inside Burma and in the diaspora, calling for ethnic peace are currently being drowned out by the loud chorus of ethno-racial fanaticism which pervades Burmese and English-language social media such as Facebook, YouTube, Burmese chat rooms and, not surprisingly, the state media itself.

It is all the more important that conscientious Burmese in the diaspora and within the country work hard and together against the troubling ideological merger between popular racism with the military state’s closeted fascism.  If racism and fascism are learned behaviours, we must create civic educational initiatives that will enable our less informed citizens sedated on a ground-swell of racism to unlearn their racism.
Racist majoritarian democracy is no longer a viable design for our democracy.

—

Maung Zarni is a veteran Founder of the Free Burma Coalition and Visiting Fellow (2011-13) at Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit, the London School of Economics and Political Science. He will be participating in an event on “Burma in Transition: Minorities, Human Rights and Democratic Process” on September 14 2012 at Colombia University.  
source-e intl' relation of student politic

The Dalai Lama says reports of human rights violations in Burma ‘very unfortunate’

Phayul[Thursday, September 13, 2012 04:04]
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking on "Non-violence and Ethical Values" at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, India, on September 12, 2012. Also seen in the picture is Vice Chancellor Prof. Najeeb Jung. (Photo/OHHDL/Tenzin Choejor) DHARAMSHALA, September 13: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama called the reports of gross human rights violations n Burma “very unfortunate” and said he tried to contact pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese government over the issue. “Yes, it’s very unfortunate. But no avenue of communication with the Burmese government is open to me. Although I am a Buddhist, very few Buddhist countries, apart from Japan, have given me permission to visit them on pilgrimage,” the Dalai Lama said in response to a question on the reports of gross human rights violations against the Rohingya Muslims in western Burma. “In fact you could say I have greater freedom to visit Christian countries or even a Muslim country like Jordan, than I do to visit most Buddhist countries. The situation with Burma is the same.” The Dalai Lama, who was speaking on the Importance of Non-violence and Ethical Values at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi on Wednesday, further added that he wrote to Aung San Suu Kyi, his only contact in the country, on the issue. The two Nobel Peace laureates had recently met in London. “Accordingly, I wrote to her about this matter, but have had no reply. Likewise, I asked my representative in Delhi to approach the Burmese Embassy here, but after several weeks we’ve had no response. So, there’s little I can do but pray,” the Tibetan leader said. “If allegations that Buddhist monks have been involved in assaulting these Muslim brothers and sisters turn out to be true, it is totally wrong.” Earlier in the day, the Dalai Lama also separately met with the editors of three Urdu language newspapers. Returning back to the University which conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) on him in 2010, the Dalai Lama reflected on the oneness of humanity in our common desire and right to be happy. The 77-year-old Tibetan leader explained that trust and friendship were necessary to be a contented human being, which he said tends to develop “much better once we realise that all beings have a right to happiness, just as we do.” “Taking others’ interests into account not only helps them, it also helps us. Warm-heartedness and concern for others are a part of human nature and are at the core of positive human values.” Referring to the 20th century as an era of bloodshed, the Dalai Lama said all problems and conflicts must be resolved through peaceful ways and dialogue. “Non-violence doesn’t mean we have to passively accept injustice. We have to fight for our rights. We have to oppose injustice, because not to do so would be a form of violence,” the Tibetan spiritual leader said. “Gandhi-ji fervently promoted non-violence, but that didn’t mean he was complacently accepting of the status quo; he resisted, but he did so without doing harm.”

Indonesian sends humanitarian aid to Burma

An Indonesian humanitarian mission reached Burma's Rakhine state on August 30th with sarongs, hygiene kits and blankets for Muslims and Buddhists affected by recent violence.

By Penna Daria Hariyadi for Khabar Southeast Asia in Jakarta

September11

Now that Burma has opened its doors to humanitarian aid for the displaced in Rakhine state, a seven-tonne shipment from Indonesia has been distributed in its biggest city, Sittwe.

• A man carries his child as people gather to receive aid at a camp for Rohingyas displaced by recent violence, outside Sittwe, Burma, on June 15th. In late August, the Indonesian Red Cross sent seven tonnes of humanitarian aid to Muslims and Buddhists in Burma's Rakhine state [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]
  

Organised by the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia/PMI) in co-operation with the Burmese Red Cross, the aid was transported to Sittwe aboard the MV-Sein Minn Thar ship and an Air Mandalay Fokker airplane.

In a press release from Sittwe on August 30th, Arifin M. Hadi, chief of the PMI mission to Burma, said the Burmese Red Cross had granted PMI wide access to the shelters where the displaced are housed, and that the Rakhine local government had endorsed the mission.
"Our mission is neutral and independent. We are reaching out to those in need, and we have been granted access to assist displaced people from both the Buddhist and Muslim Rohingya communities," Arifin said.

PMI chairman Jusuf Kalla dispatched the eight-member team on August 25th from Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma air base. In the first phase of its mission, through August 31st, the team set about distributing 500 hygiene kits, 10,000 sarongs, and 3,000 blankets to the Muslim Rohingya and Arakan Buddhist communities affected by the bloody conflict that erupted in June and claimed roughly 80 lives.

Aulia Arriani, a spokeswoman for PMI, told Khabar the hygiene kits were taken from PMI's standby stocks of standard items for people affected by conflicts and disasters.
Kalla is now expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Burmese Red Cross regarding the second phase of assistance, she indicated.
OIC also involved in providing aid
The Burmese government, she noted, has so far only granted access for humanitarian missions organised by the PMI and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC).
The access was granted after Kalla's visit to Burma on August 10th in which he led a 10-member delegation that included representatives from the OIC. "Any parties in Indonesia that are willing to provide assistance for people affected by the conflict can channel their aid through PMI," she said.

In a joint statement on August 17th, foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said they welcomed the steps the Burmese government had taken to address the domestic issue, including co-operation with UN agencies and non-governmental organisations to address the humanitarian needs of affected communities.

The ASEAN foreign ministers expressed "their readiness to lend necessary support in addressing the humanitarian issues in the Rakhine State," according to the statement.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Burma, which is also an ASEAN member, said it had been working with the international community for victims' relief and rehabilitation in "a nondiscriminatory and transparent manner".
"The [Burmese] Government also welcomes international relief assistance if they are nondiscriminatory for both communities," the ministry said in a statement on August 21st.

Rohingya need acknowledgement as citizens 
 
Apart from the PMI mission, another humanitarian team from Indonesia also visited Burma from August 20th to 25th. The team was comprised of four members of Parliament from the staunchly Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and two officials from the Social Welfare Ministry, and led by senior PKS politician Hidayat Nur Wahid.

PKS spokesman Mardani Ali Sera told Khabar that the team met with their Burmese parliamentary counterparts and received a warm welcome.
"We visited Burma as Indonesian members of Parliament from the PKS faction. We expressed our concern to our counterparts there regarding this Rohingya problem and hope that it can be resolved through an ASEAN consensus," Ali Sera said.
"We also offered our assistance to bridge communication between Burma and Bangladesh," he added.

The June violence led many Rohingya to flee Rakhine state to neighbouring Bangladesh, which refused to admit them, saying it could not cope with the influx of refugees.
Ali Sera said the PKS team found that what the Muslim Rohingya need most is not financial or material assistance, but acknowledgement as lawful citizens in Burma.
"What they really need is advocacy so that the Burmese government would acknowledge them as rightful citizens," Ali Sera said.

A humanitarian crisis, not a religious conflict Indonesian Buddhists, who make up less than 1% of the population in the majority Muslim nation, applauded the PMI mission.
"We welcome the humanitarian aid sent by PMI sent to the affected communities, regardless of their beliefs. We don't regard the clash as a religious conflict because it never started as a religious conflict in the first place," said Sumedho, head of the Assembly of Theravada Buddhism Indonesia (Magabudhi).
"It is a humanitarian conflict affecting everyone. We even sent some of our monks to meet with the Buddhist monks there, and they were told that it was never a clash between Muslims and Buddhists," he said.

What do you think of this article? (Total Votes: 1)

Rohingya aid ship back on course

Tuesday, September 11, 2012 - 13:41

by Ikram Ismail

Location: 

PETALING JAYA

THE Kelab Putera 1Malaysia's (KP1M) humanitarian mission to help the Rohingyas is back on course.

KP1M president Datuk Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim told The Malay Mail yesterday the mission had received the green light from the Myanmar government.

He was informed of this by a Foreign Affairs Ministry officer at a meeting yesterday.

The ship will dock and transfer the aid at Yangon port and they will be sent to the Rakhine region by road, which is expected to take a day.

Abdul Azeez said they originally planned to dock at Sittwe port, which is closer to where the Rohingyas are camped across the border in neighbouring Bangladesh, but it was under construction.

"We are transporting 500 tonnes of goods while Sittwe port can only accept smaller cargoes. I was told by the Malaysian embassy there that we have to get the Myanmar government's approval to use the road to Rakhine," he said.

Abdul Azeez declined to say when the ship, which was still docked at the Lumut naval base in Perak, would set sail.

"We have to wait for all the procedures to be completed," he said.

The humanitarian mission was originally slated to leave for Sittwe Port on Sept 5 and return on Sunday after sending aid to refugees living in camps in Kutupalong, and in Nayapara, near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. It was reported the Bangladeshi government would only give clearance once its Myanmar counterparts gave the nod.

The aid, ferried by a crew of 38, comprises foodstuff to amenities such as medicine and wheelchairs, for 30,000 registered Rohingya refugees at the two camps, 40,000 unregistered ones in makeshift camps and 130,000 living in surrounding areas.
source-malay mail.

INT'L ISLAMIC GROUP VISIT ARAKAN STATE

BY AFP,
Source-DVB
Published: 11 September 2012

Rohingya people pass the time at their slum near the sea in the town of Sittwe on 19 May 2012. (Reuters)

Members of an influential Islamic body are visiting Burma’s Arakan state, a government official said Tuesday, to survey fallout from deadly sectarian unrest between Buddhist and Muslim communities.

A delegation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) led by the group’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen, arrived in Arakan state on Sunday, according to an official in the state capital Sittwe.
“They met the union border affairs minister and Rakhine [Arakanese] chief minister here and also visited some refugee camps and made donations,” he said, adding that the group concluded their visit on Monday.

Fighting in Arakan state has left almost 90 people dead, both Buddhists and Muslims, since it erupted in June according to an official estimate, although rights groups fear the real toll is much higher.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Burmese forces of opening fire on stateless Rohingya Muslims during the violence, an accusation denied by the government — prompting concern across the Islamic world.

At a summit last month in the Saudi Arabian holy city of Mecca, the 57-member OIC decided to take its concerns over the treatment of the group to the UN.
It also condemned “the continued recourse to violence by the Myanmar authorities against the members of this minority and their refusal to recognise their right to citizenship”.
Burma in August agreed to allow the OIC to provide aid to the region, on the condition it agreed to assist all communities in the area.

According to a report in the English language state newspaper the New Light of Myanmar on Tuesday, the delegation had “a cordial discussion on (the) real situation that broke out in Rakhine State”, as well as rehabilitation and sustainable development.
Hundreds of homes were razed in the unrest and an estimated 70,000 people, the majority of them Rohingya, were left displaced in government-run camps and shelters.
The US on Monday said it had “great concern” about the humanitarian situation in Arakan after its own delegation, led by the new ambassador to the country Derek Mitchell and senior envoy Joseph Yun, ended a visit to the area.

Speaking a dialect similar to one in neighbouring Bangladesh, the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in Burma are seen by the government and many in the country as illegal immigrants.

Tags: Arakan state, Derek Mitchell, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, rioting, rohingya

Author: AFP              Category: News, Politics

---

myanmar troops 'opened fire on Rohingya Muslims'

source-Alert Net. HRW.10/09/2012

Firemen extinguish a fire engulfing houses in Sittwe, capital of the western state of Rakhine on June 15. Myanmar security forces opened fire on Rohingya Muslims, committed rape and stood by as rival mobs attacked each other during a recent wave of sectar

Myanmar security forces opened fire on Rohingya Muslims, committed rape and stood by as rival mobs attacked each other during a recent wave of sectarian violence, a rights watchdog said Wednesday.

The authorities failed to protect both Muslims and Buddhists and then "unleashed a campaign of violence and mass roundups against the Rohingya", New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report.

The violence which erupted in June in Rakhine state between Buddhists and Rohingya has left about 80 people dead from both sides, based on official figures -- an estimate that HRW said appeared "grossly underestimated".
Hundreds of Rohingya men and boys have been rounded up and remain incommunicado in the western region of the country formerly known as Burma, it said.
Members of both Muslim and Buddhist communities committed horrific acts of violence with reports of beheadings, stabbings, shootings and widespread arson in Rakhine, also known as Arakan state, the report added.
"What is remarkable is that if the atrocities that we saw in Arakan had happened before the government reform process had started, the international reaction would have been swift and strong," said HRW Asia deputy director Phil Robertson.

A Rakhine child sits on his mother's lap at a monastery used as a temporary shelter for people displaced by ongoing violence in Sittwe on June 13.

"But the international community appears to be blinded by a romantic narrative of sweeping change in Burma, signing new trade deals and lifting sanctions even while the abuses continue," he told a news conference.
The report, based on dozens of witness interviews, said that the events in Rakhine "demonstrate that state-sponsored persecution and discrimination persist" despite the government's pledge to end ethnic unrest.
Police and paramilitary forces "opened fire on Rohingya with live ammunition", it added.
It quoted one Rohingya man in the Rakhine state capital Sittwe as saying that security forces watched as a Buddhist mob started torching houses.
"When the people tried to put out the fires, the paramilitary shot at us. And the group beat people with big sticks."
Another Rohingya man said: "I was just a few feet away. I was on the road. I saw them shoot at least six people -- one woman, two children, and three men. The police took their bodies away."
Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya stateless, and they are viewed by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.

Rescue workers clear debris from destroyed houses following days of sectarian violence in Sittwe, capital of Myanmar's western state of Rakhine on June 16.

Myanmar's government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.
President Thein Sein in July told the United Nations that refugee camps or deportation was the "solution" for the Rohingya.

HRW also criticised Bangladesh for turning away "hundreds and perhaps thousands of asylum seekers" fleeing the recent deadly unrest in Myanmar.
The clashes erupted following the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman and the subsequent lynching of 10 Muslims by a crowd of angry Buddhists.
The violence, along with fighting in northern Kachin state, has cast a shadow over widely praised reforms by Thein Sein over the past year, including the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.
Myanmar's government this week rejected accusations of abuse by security forces in Rakhine, after the United Nations raised fears of a crackdown on Muslims.
Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin told reporters on Monday that the government had exercised "maximum restraint" in bringing an end to the violence.
Fears about the situation have spread across the Islamic world, with threats of violent reprisals against Myanmar from extremists from Pakistan to Indonesia.

'GREAT CONCERN' OVER RAKHINE

Source-RFA

2012-09-10

Washington says it is concerned about the humanitarian plight in Burma's violence-hit Rakhine state.

AFP

Muslim women hold their children at their house in Sittwe, June 6, 2012.

The United States said Monday it has “great concern” for the humanitarian situation in western Burma’s Rakhine state, following a visit by the American ambassador to the area three months after deadly violence between ethnic Rakhines and Muslim Rohingyas.
"Broad swathes of both communities have been affected, and the humanitarian situation remains of great concern,” the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon said in a statement after the weekend visit by a group led by newly appointed ambassador Derek Mitchell and senior State Department official Joseph Yun.
“Going forward, it will be important to address the urgent needs, while also laying the groundwork for a long-term, sustainable and just solution” to the conflict, the embassy said.

The visit came as Burmese President Thein Sein dispatched a 25-member independent commission to investigate the circumstances under which violence erupted between the two communities in June, killing 80 people and leaving tens of thousands displaced.
A delegation from the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was also in Burma to visit the scene of the clashes, which sparked international allegations of human rights violations against the Rohingya, a group regarded by the U.N. as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.
The U.S. Embassy also stressed in the statement the need for a long-term solution to ethnic strife in the area, listing as key challenges security and stability, freedom of movement and protection for local residents, and humanitarian access.

Long-running tensions
Mitchell’s delegation spent two days in Rakhine and met with Muslims, Buddhists, and members of NGOs in Sittwe, the capital of the state, and villages around Maungdaw, one of the towns ravaged by the violence.
Local residents said the delegation discussed the decades-old tensions between Rakhines, who form a majority in the state, and Rohingyas, who are regarded in Burma as immigrants from Bangladesh and referred to as “Bengalis” even though they have lived there for generations.
One Muslim man in Sittwe’s Aung Mingalar district said that Yun and others in the U.S. delegation asked him why over the decades some members of his family were given white cards—temporary registration cards that cannot be used to claim citizenship —while others were not.
“He asked me, ‘Based on the population census from this village, in 1942, it was written that Rohingya Muslims and their descendants are counted as Bengalis and are to receive the white card, so why were your children counted as Bengali after marrying Rohingyas?” he said.

Thein Sein has said that some Rohingyas who came to Burma from Bangladesh during colonial rule under Britain and their descendants are recognized as citizens.

Aria Wuntha, the abbot of the Buddhist Shwe Zedi Monastery in Sittwe who met with members of the U.S. delegation, warned them that long-running tensions between Rakhines and Rohingyas could easily erupt again.

“Since 1942 until today, there have been six major conflicts between Rakhine and Bengalis [Rohingyas], and another conflict could break out at any point. That's what I told them.”
He told them he felt the conflict was tied to Rakhines feeling that they were being squeezed out of their territory by Rohingya and other populations.
 “When they asked me if this was an ethnic or religious conflict, I said it is not an ethnic conflict. If it were, there would be conflict only between Rakhines and Bengalis [Rohingyas]. But Rakhine, Burman, Hindu, and Maramagyi villages were all burned, so I think the issue is about encroaching on land.”
Rakhines have been leaving the area around Maungdaw and now the area is mostly settled by Rohingyas, he said, blaming “extremist” Rohingyas for the problem.
He said a solution he recommended to the delegation is to distinguish between Rohingya who are eligible for citizenship and those who are not, and settle those who are not in refugee camps.
His recommendation echoed a plan proposed by Thein Sein in July, but swiftly rejected by the U.N., to put the U.N. refugee agency in charge of the Rohingya and have them resettled in another country.
Government commission
The probe commission tasked by Thein Sein to investigate the conflict began a nine-day trip to the region on Friday, after having waited until the area was safe for travel.
“We will go to the places where the incidents happened,” writer and delegation member Maung Wuntha said. “Mainly we will listen to what the people have to say.”
He said a research and survey team was also currently undergoing training and would follow soon.
The commission, which counts Buddhist and Muslim religious leaders as well as leading dissidents among its members, was initially scheduled to conclude its investigation by Sept. 17, but waited to travel to Rakhine out of security concerns.
The commission’s mandate was extended for three months and it is expected to submit its findings and recommendations to the president’s office in mid-November.
OIC
A fact-finding team from the Saudi Arabia-based OIC, the world’s largest Muslim body, arrived in Burma on Thursday for a 10-day visit also to look into the issue.
The organization has expressed concern about rights violations against the Rohingya and has said it will bring up the team’s findings at the upcoming meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.
In August, Thein Sein said in a rare conciliatory move that the OIC would be allowed to visit Rakhine.
On Monday, Burmese government spokesman Ko Ko Hlaing, welcomed the OIC visit as a way to clear up "misperceptions," Associated Press reported.
“The Muslim world has expressed concern ... mainly because of misinformation,” Ko Ko Hlaing said.
The delegation’s visit comes ahead of a planned trip in October by OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
In a speech to OIC senior officials on Sunday, Ihsanoglu said the group condemned the “heinous behavior” of the Burmese government against the Rohingya.
The treatment includes “the displacement and expulsion, the killing of hundreds among them in the last few years.”
“An OIC humanitarian assistance office may also be established in the capital Rangoon,” Ihsanoglu said, according to the OIC website.
On Sunday, an Indonesian man turned himself in and confessed to planning a suicide bomb plot against Buddhists in Jakarta to protest against Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya, police said Monday.
"It's related to the Rohingya issue in Myanmar [Burma]. [He] believed it's unfair to Muslims there," the Indonesian national police spokesman said.
Hundreds of Indonesian Muslim hardliners have expressed anger over the unrest in Rakhine state, protesting outside the Burmese Embassy in Jakarta in July.
Reported by Ingjin Naing and Khin Khin Ei for RFA’s Burmese service. Translated by Khin May Zaw. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

A Rohingya boat is battered by waves on Phuket earlier this year

Photo by phuketwan.com

Boatpeople Will Flee as Asean Ignores Burma's Rohingya Racism

By Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian

Monday, September 10, 2012

News Analysis

PHUKET: Anti-Rohingya racism in Burma threatens to undermine Asean and strain relationships between the regional group's partner nations.

As Thailand's Internal Security Operations Command prepares to intecept boatpeople along the Andaman Sea coast around Phuket, Malaysia and Indonesia are expressing unprecedented indignation at Burma's attitude.

Burma aspires to chair Asean in 2014, and in 2015 the Asean Economic Community arrives to unite the 10-nation group as never before.

But the Rohingya will have to be made citizens of Burma first to placate the two largest and most powerful Muslim-majority nations in the grouping.

Inevitably, in the face of a growing rift over Rohingya racism, Asean leaders are mouthing the usual platitudes.

The Asean Secretary-General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, a Thai Muslim, seemed embarrassed in responding to a Phuketwan question about the issue late last week.

''We are listening, we are co-ordinating, we are sending messages,'' he said obliquely.

''Indonesia has appointed a special envoy. A lot of NGOs in Malaysia are interested, and we are in close co-ordination, trying to encourage and advise within the framework of Asean. We don't want to make the issue even worse.''

Indeed. Things are bad enough. And inaction has always been what Asean does best, especially where human rights are involved.

The treatment of the Rohingya by Burma has been appalling for decades. It's hardly surprising, though, that the rights of these downtrodden people were overlooked in the greed rush as Burma opened its doors to welcome reforms.

But the plight of the Rohingya was never going to be improved. Burma's racism has now become such a blatant breach of international norms of acceptance and tolerance that the Asean ''community'' is likely to be stressed to breaking point.

More signs of agitation will become apparent in Washington at the weekend when Burma's much-admired Aung San Suu Kyi visits and is certain to be pressed to explain her silence about the Rohingya.

Racism has such a grip on Burma that its leading democracy advocate dare not even mention the word ''Rohingya'' for fear her supporters will turn against her. So much for fairness and justice.

America's online Huffington Post watchdog is ready and waiting, priming readers with an article headlined: Should Aung San Suu Kyi be Stripped of her Nobel Peace Prize? and huffing: ''Her silence on the plight of the Muslim Rohingya people . . . is inexplicable in light of her previous moral stands against oppression.''

Resentment is also mounting within the Muslim world, with Indonesia and Malaysia at the forefront of the clamor for a Rohingya rapprochment as a precondition for Burma's acceptance back into the international community.

Asean remains a limp regional body with no backbone. It will be up to the US, the Europeans and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to barter a solution with Burma.

Meanwhile, Thailand awaits a new wave of Rohingya boats as the unwanted residents of Rakhine state take the advice of Burma's President Thein Sein and flee their country.

Under the present policy, the boats will be intercepted at sea and not allowed to land in Thailand, said Colonel Manat Kongpan, who heads Thailand's Internal Security Operations Command, Fourth Region.

''We expect women and children to be on the boats for the first time,'' he said. ''The boats will be given food, water and fuel if necessary. We will even help repair engines.

''But the boats will not be allowed ashore in Thailand.''

The policy of keeping the boatpeople at sea saves the cost of lengthy mass detentions in Thailand.

It is also not as likely to bring international condemnation as the ''pushback'' policy did in 2008 and 2009 when Rohingya were secretly towed out to sea and cut adrift. Hundreds perished before the policy changed.

''The Rohingya usually have been at sea for a week or 10 days by the time they reach Thailand waters,'' Colonel Manat said. ''We will help them to go wherever they wish to go, as long as it is not Thailand.''

Journalists are not being permitted to venture into Burma around the town of Sitwe where Rohingya homes have been razed and hundreds of people are being kept in camps.

These are Suu Kyi's unmentionables, the people most likely - once the monsoon season ends within weeks - to risk their lives in rough boats on rough seas, through rough international politics. 

source-Phuketwan news,Thailand.

---

1942 CENSUS -ROHINGYA (RFA NEWS)

source-RFA News.

ရခိုင္ျပည္နယ္ လူ႔အခြင့္အေရးအေျခအေန အေမရိကန္သံအမတ္ ေလ့လာ

အေမရိကန္သံအမတ္က ၁၉၄၂ခုႏွစ္က ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာဆုိျပီး ထုတ္ေပးထားတဲ့ သန္းေကာင္စာရင္းကုိ ရရွိလာေၾကာင္း။ သန္းေကာင္စာရင္းပုိင္ရွင္ရဲ့ မ်ိဳးဆက္ေတြကေတာ့ ဘဂၤါလီျဖစ္သြားေၾကာင္းကုိ RFA မွာ ဖတ္ႏိုင္ပါတယ္။

ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာတုိင္းရင္းသား ျဖစ္ မျဖစ္ က်ေနာ္မေဆြးေႏြးပါ။ ဒါက တစ္ခ်ိန္မွာ ရခုိင္ေခါင္းေဆာင္မ်ား၊ ရခုိင္ပညာရွင္မ်ား အပါအဝင္ သမုိင္းပညာရွင္မ်ား၊ ႏို္င္ငံေရးေခါင္းေဆာင္မ်ားႏွင့္ အစုိးရတုိ႔ကသာ စီစဥ္ဆုံးျဖတ္ရမဲ့ကိစၥလုိ႔ က်ေနာ္ အစဥ္တစုိက္ ေျပာခဲ့ပါတယ္။ ဒီအတုိင္းဘဲ က်ေနာ္အျမဲ ရပ္တည္ခဲ့တယ္။ သုိ႔ေသာ္ ျမန္မာ့စြယ္စုံက်မ္း၊ ေက်ာင္းသုံးစာအုပ္၊ တပ္မေတာ္စာစဥ္စသျဖင့္ေတြမွာ ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာဆုိတဲ့ အေထာက္အထားေတြ ယူမကုန္ေအာင္ ရွိခဲ့ဘူးလွ်က္ႏွင့္ ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာဆုိတာ လုံးဝ မရွိဘူးပါဘူး။ မၾကားဖူးပါဘူးဆုိသူေတြဟာ ျမန္မာ့သမုိ္င္းျဖစ္စဥ္ေတြကုိ မသိတဲ့သူ(သုိ႔မဟုတ္) မသိခ်င္ေယာင္ေဆာင္သူေတြသာျဖစ္ပါလိမ့္မယ္။

 

ဒီအထဲမွာ သမုိင္းပညာရွင္ေတြ၊ စာေပပညာရွင္ေတြ၊ လူမႈေရး၊ ႏုိင္ငံေရးေခါင္းေဆင္ေတြပါ၊ ပါေနေတာ့ကာ ျမန္မာ့သမုိင္းဆုိတာ မဆလ၊ မဝတ၊ နဝတေခတ္က တုိင္းရင္းသားမွန္သမွ်ေတြကုိ ဘုန္းရွင္ကံရွင္ ျမန္မာေတြရဲ့ အလုပ္အေၾကြးသာသာ သရုပ္ေဖၚ လုပ္ႀကံထားတဲ့ ႏွစ္ငါးဆယ္ သမုိင္းပုတ္၊ သမုိင္းယုတ္ကုိ ေခၚတာလား။ ဘယ္သူမွ ျပန္ျပင္ခြင့္ မရွိ။ သင္ခန္းစာယူရန္သာရွိတဲ့ ဖက္မလိုက္ေသာ သမုိင္းမွန္လားဆုိတာ ခဲြျခားသိျမင္ဖုိ႔ အခ်ိန္တန္ျပီ။ အတိတ္ကုိ ေမ့ျပီး ပစၥဳပၸန္ကုိ လိမ္တဲ့သူဟာ အနာဂတ္ကုိ သစၥာေဖါက္သူဘဲ။

 

 

 

ရခိုင္ျပည္နယ္ လူ႔အခြင့္အေရးအေျခအေန အေမရိကန္သံအမတ္ ေလ့လာ

2012-09-09 RFA

ရခိုင္ျပည္နယ္က လူ႔အခြင့္အေရး အေျခအေနေတြကို စံုစမ္းေလ့လာဖို႔ စစ္ေတြၿမိဳ႕ကို ေရာက္ရွိေနတဲ့ ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံဆိုင္ရာ အေမရိကန္ သံအမတ္ႀကီး ဒဲရစ္ မစ္ခ်ယ္ဟာ ဒီကေန႔မွာ မြတ္ဆလင္ ဒုကၡသည္စခန္းေတြျဖစ္တဲ့ သကၠယ္ျပင္၊ ေဘာဒူဖအပါအ၀င္ စစ္ေတြ ေအာင္မဂၤလာရပ္ကို သြားေရာက္ ေလ့လာခဲ့ပါတယ္။

RFA

၂၀၁၂ ခုႏွစ္ စက္တင္ဘာလ ၉ ရက္က စစ္ေတြျမိဳ႕တြင္ အေမရိကန္ လက္ေထာက္ ႏိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး Mr. Joseph Yun(ယာ)ႏွင့္ ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံဆိုင္ရာ အေမရိကန္ သံအမတ္ႀကီး Mr. Derek Mitchell (ဝဲ)တို႔ ရခိုင္ျပည္နယ္ လူ႕အခြင့္အေရးကိစၥ ေမးျမန္းေနစဥ္။

အေမရိကန္ သံအမတ္ႀကီးဟာ ရခိုင္ျပည္နယ္က အသိုင္းအ၀ိုင္း ႏွစ္ဖက္ၾကား ျဖစ္ပြားခဲ့တဲ့ ပဋိပကၡေတြ ေျပလည္ႏိုင္ေရး အပါအ၀င္ ေဒသခံ လူမ်ဳိးအားလံုးရဲ႕ စီးပြားေရး၊ ႏိုင္ငံေရး၊ လူမႈေရး၊ ပညာေရး၊ က်န္းမာေရး၊ ေနရာျပန္လည္ ရရွိေရးစတဲ့ အခ်က္ေတြကို အဓိက ေဆြးေႏြးခဲ့တယ္လို႔ ေအာင္မဂၤလာရပ္ ေဒသခံ မူဆလင္တဦးကေျပာပါတယ္။

"ဒီမွာ ရွင္းျပတာကေတာ့ သူ သန္းေခါင္စာရင္းတစ္ခု ယူလာတယ္။ ဒီရြာထဲကေန။ အဲတာ သန္းေခါင္စာရင္းမွာ ၄၂ ခုႏွစ္မွာ ပါလာတဲ့ ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာ မူဆလင္ဆိုျပီးေတာ့ သန္းေခါင္စာရင္းမွာ ေရးျပီးသားပါတယ္။ သူတို႔ရဲ႕ ကေလး၊ သူတို႔ရဲ႕မိသားစုဟာ ေနာင္ ေပါက္ဖြားလာတဲ့ ကေလးေတြၾကေတာ့ ဘဂၤါလီလူမ်ဳိး ျဖစ္သြားတယ္။ အဲဒီ သန္းေခါင္စာရင္းေပၚမွာ။ ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာ လူမ်ဳိးနဲ႔ ရသြားတယ္။ ရျပီးေတာ့ ေနာက္ပုိင္း သူကေလးေတြ ရသြားေတာ့ ဘဂၤါလီလူမ်ဳိး အျဖဴကတ္ျပားေတြ၊ ဘာေတြ ရသြားတယ္။ မင္းသားက ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာနဲ႔ ရျပီးေတာ့ သူက ေပါက္ဖြားလာတဲ့ ကေလးေတြက ဘာျဖစ္လို႔ ဘဂၤါလီျဖစ္ရမယ္ ဆိုတာ သူက အဲဒီလို ေျဖသြားတယ္"

ဒါအျပင္ သန္းေခါင္စာရင္းနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္လို႔လည္း ေမးျမန္းခဲ့တယ္လို႔ သူကေျပာပါတယ္။

အေမရိကန္ သံအမတ္ႀကီးဟာ စစ္ေတြၿမိဳ႕မွာ ရခိုင္ဆရာေတာ္ေတြျဖစ္တဲ့ ေရႊေစတီ ဆရာေတာ္နဲ႔ ဗုဒၶဟိဟာရ ဆရာေတာ္ ႏွစ္ပါး အပါအ၀င္ ရခိုင္လူမႈေရး အဖဲြ႕အစည္း (၅) ဖဲြ႕က ကိုယ္စားလွယ္ေတြနဲ႔ စစ္ေတြဟိုတယ္မွာ ဒီကေန႔ ေတြ႕ဆံု ေဆြးေႏြးခဲ့ပါတယ္။

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

http://www.rfa.org/burmese/news/rakhine-derek-mitchell-09092012142203.html

Rohingya Idendity in Family Census Paper of 1942.pdf 160K   View   Download

Up to date news of Rohingya Arakan

9 September 2012

Mohammad Hashim (25) hailed from Thaye Kundan (Kunna Para), Maungdaw south, son of Yusuf is extorted 4,50000 Kyat with fabricated allegation of having mobile set by Nasaka Major U Wamn Bou in Post camp of Taung Chaung. Military and local Rakhine terrorists catch and bring out 22 cows (Oxen and bulls) in Pa-San-Darr (Saindah Para), Maungdaw South. They charge 10,000 to 5,000 kyat per cow of the respective owner. List of Owners of cows are given below with number of cows:

SI Name Father’s Name Quantity of Cows

01 Abdushukkur Yusuf 1
02 Mohammed Kashim Baduraun 3
03 Abdur Rahim Abdu Jabbar 3
04 Rahim Ullah Sultan 3
05 Azim Ullah Hossan Ahmed 2
06 Abdullah Nabi Hossain 1
07 Omar Faruk Abu Siddique 2
08 Azar Miah Lal Mohammad 1
09 Noor Alam Hashim 2
10 Zubair Abdul Karim 2
11 Azim Ullah Sairul Hauqe 2

Security forces, Nasaka (Burma’s border security force), Police, Hluntin (paramilitary), Sarapa (Military Intelligence) and Army arrest 8-10 and kill 2-3 Rohingya daily in Arakan dai. The Rohingya Muslim is the most persecuted ethnic minority in the world. Mostly Rohingyas are taking shelter in Bangladesh because of persecution, harassment and denial of citizenships of Rohingyas by the Burmese government. Now, the Bangladesh authorities are arresting the Rohingyas from the local areas of Cox’s Bazar and detaining in the police station. There are also Rakhine ( Mogh) entered to Bangladesh, living as citizen of Bangladesh and then go back to Myanmar where they have also citizenship, Some Rakhine (Mogh) also obtain urban refugee in Bangladesh. The Rakhine (Mogh) are getting refugee status after entering Bangladesh. Why Bangladesh are not checking those Rakhines in Cox’s Bazar, Harban , Hill tract even in capital Dhaka and need to check they are really the minority or not? Many Rohingyas with boats were missing in the Bay of Bengal while Rohingyas were pushed back to Burma. Rohingyas are Muslim; they come to Bangladesh from Burma as they were persecuted as raping, killings, mass arrest, torturing, extortion money, harassment, looting, and their set on fire into ashes by the police, Hluntin, Nasaka, army jointly with Rakhine terrorists. Rohingya community becomes like a ball, kicked by Burma and then kicked by Bangladesh across the Naff River.

The US envoy to Burma, Mr. Derek J. Mitchell with Mr. Joseph Y. Yun is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the U.S. Department of State and others visited Maungdaw today morning and left Maungdaw at about 11:30 am. The envoy met an old man in the village street who wanted to tell them his willing, but he was unable to explain about the life of Rohingya community, said an elder from village. The US envoy also met the Rohingya refugee of Aung Mangala and discussed detail situation of their life in the camp.

By Soe Myint

· · · Share ·

Rohingyas meet US envoy in Maungdaw

Sunday, 09 September 2012 15:09

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The Rohingya community from Maungdaw met with US envoy in Nyoung Chaung village, Maungdaw today, at about 10:30am, according to an elder from Maungdaw.

The US envoy visited Aung Mangala refugee camp and discussed detail situation of their life in the camp and during the riots period..
“The US envoy to Burma, Mr. Derek J. Mitchell with   Mr. Joseph Y. Yun is Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, the U.S. Department of State and others visited - Shel Kali village of Maungdaw south, Shweyinaye  and Nyoung Chang village of  Maungdaw, today morning  and left  Maungdaw at about 11;30 am.”

The US envoy is also accompanied by high level officers of Arakan State government, concerned authorities of Maungdaw with Shamshul Haque and Anam, the members of Regional Development Association (RDA) as interpreters, said an official from Maungdaw.

The US envoy flied with helicopter over Maungdaw and landed at Nyoung Change village where they visited the new settlers ( Natala) village – Shweyinaye – and while backed to helicopter , the envoy met an old man in the village street  who wanted to express his willing to the envoy ,but he was unable to explain about the life of Rohingya community, said an elder from village.

“The interpreters are not giving any explanation of the old man.  But, Shamshu Islam – a  student from the village- explained the expressions of the old man  where the student got a chance to explain about Rohingya situation in northern Arakan to the envoy. The envoy asked the student about their village, when it was built, who are living in the village, is there any Mosque and school in the village and so on. “ 

“Our village was built since 200 years ago and all the villagers are Rohingya community. There are more than 7,000 people living and all the Mosques are locked by authority after riots. We have only  one primary school where teaches only class one to four, but now, it was also closed since June 8. Our homes and properties are destroyed, looted and burned down by authorities and Rakhines together. We are not allowed to go to the market to buy foods for our families. Now, we are facing shortage of foods and no UN, INGOs are giving us any foods, the relief goods are only going to Rakhine community. No shelters for Rohingyas IDPs in northern Arakan, all the shelters are being built for Rakhines. So, we request to all international community to help us foods, shelters and security,” said the student.

“We are facing daily harassments from security forces – police, army, Hluntin and Nasaka – that blocked our daily life struggles. The police are always arresting our Rohingyas with false and fabricated allegation and they are helping the Rakhine community to attack us.”

“I will be faced so many disturbance from concerned authorities for talking with you ( envoy) and giving explanation about the situation of Rohingya community .”

The US envoy visited Arakan State government officials and refugee camps where the envoy discussed about the situation of their life struggle in the riots since June 8 and camps to the Rohingyas yesterday in Akyab. The US envoy also met the Rohingya refugee of Aung Mangala and discussed detail situation of their life in the camp.

Source-KPN

Interior Ministry:Myanmar following Israel

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Interior Ministry:Myanmar following Israel

Posted by Barb Weir

Asked whether the estimated 800,000 Rohingyas in Myanmar are considered Myanmar nationals, Nobel Peace laureate and parliamentary candidate Aung San Suu Kyi replied, “I do not know. We have to be very clear about what the laws of citizenship are and who are entitled to them.”

In an effort to provide such clarity, this reporter met with a Myanmar Interior Ministry official to get some answers:

RIGHT: Illustration courtesy of Jonathon Blakeley.

GlossyNews.com: In most countries, persons born in country to parents who have no known ancestry elsewhere are considered citizens. How is this applied in the case of the Rohingya?

Interior Ministry: Thank you for giving us the opportunity to explain. We call them “resident foreigners”. After trying for many years to show that they are really from neighboring countries, we finally have decided that they are most likely Swiss nationals that came to Myanmar and lost their passports. Unfortunately, their birth records appear to have been lost in an avalanche in Switzerland and so we cannot prove their origin. However, we are negotiating with Switzerland to repatriate them.

GlossyNews.com: Are there possibly other reasons that you hesitate to grant citizenship to Rohingyas?

Interior Ministry: In many countries, illegal immigrants often work for slave wages and are treated like animals. Rohingyas are often enslaved in Myanmar, and forced to live in the most deplorable conditions. We therefore suspect that they may be illegal immigrants.

GlossyNews.com: Illegal immigrants from where? Where do they belong?

“The Rohingya Muslims are a demographic bomb for Myanmar. We want to remain Buddhist and democratic…”

Interior Ministry: I told you. They’re Swiss. And besides, they’re Muslim. The Rohingya Muslims are a demographic bomb for Myanmar. We want to remain Buddhist and democratic, and Muslim Rohingyas are a threat to our existence. Muslim self-determination has been expressed in dozens of countries. Why don’t the Muslim countries take them? They don’t belong here.

GlossyNews.com: But won’t you be accused of apartheid if you deny them citizenship on the basis of their ethnicity and religion?

Interior Ministry: We’re not worried. Israel gets accused of the same, and how seriously does anyone take such accusations?

GlossyNews.com: But isn’t it more than that? Aren’t Rohingya homes and villages being demolished and the people being slaughtered and made refugees?

Interior Ministry: Like I said, Israel…

GlossyNews.com: OK, OK. But Aung San Suu Kyi didn’t say for sure that Rohingyas are not entitled to Myanmar citizenship, only that we have to be clear about it. Isn’t she leaving open the possibility that they should be considered Myanmar citizens?

GlossyNews.com: Ms. Suu Kyi is a very rare creature: a politician with a humanitarian reputation and even a Nobel Peace Prize. She has to equivocate on Rohingyan rights. However, we are confident that just like Nobel laureates Shimon Peres and Barack Obama, she will do the right thing and overlook injustice toward undesirable populations.

courtesy: GLOSSYNEWS.COM

No Rohingyas IDPs camps in northern Arakan

Saturday, 08 September 2012 16:08

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The concerned authority of Maungdaw are not allowing any camps for Internal Displace peoples (IDPs) of Rohingyas who lost their homes and property in recent riot which occurred in June, according to an elder from Maungdaw.

“300 families from Maung Nah ( Sa OH Brang) village of Buthidaung township was uprooted  by security forces  and looted all their property. The security forces drove out the Rohingya families from the area to Maungdaw. But, the Burma border security force (Nasaka) again drove out them to the Buthidaung. Now, the Rohingyas families are staying at Nan Yah Gone (Mein Gee Si) village without any home as the security forces are not allowing them to enter to their village. The Rohingyas become IDPs in their own land. No authority is going to build for them temporary accommodations.”

Similarly, Rohingyas from Rathedaung township move to Maungdaw south, staying in the jungle or village under the trees  since last month. No accommodations are made for them by authority of Maungdaw. These Rohingyas are not able to stay in their villages of Rathedaung for their security. Rakhine community from Rathedaung are always trying to attack the Rohingyas community.The security personnel- police, Nasaka, Hluntin and army are not giving protection  to them. So, the Rohingyas left their home town  to Maungdaw where they have  no accommodations to live or temporary tents for them, said a village admin officer from Maungdaw south.

The governmental team led by Union Minister for Ministry of Border Affairs accompanied by representatives of UN Agencies and INGOs had made the field trips to Arakan State for three times, having access for the humanitarian assistance to the affected persons from both communities – Rohingya and Rakhine.

The delegations main purpose of visiting is for restoration of peace and stability and to provide the emergency relief for the affected persons of both communities as first trip on 13- 17 June and the group again visited Arakan on 27- 29 June for sustaining of relief campaign and promoting to resettlement stage, establishing and imitating the resettlement plan for the affected persons with Coordination on  Humanitarian Assistance  from the International communities and progressing the resettlement campaign, normalization initiatives between the community on 16-18 July as last visiting the area, according to Access to the Humanitarian Assistance report of U Thein Sein government.

But, U Thein Sein government didn’t provide any assistance to Rohingyas from northern Arakan and only provided to Rakhine who are not most effected than Rohingyas in northern Arakan. The authority is showing the new settler ( Natala ) villagers who were settled on Rohingya lands by government. How many family effected in the recent riot? There are only 222 shelters and 400 tents from UNHCR while 128 shelters from CARE. Where is shelther for Rohingyas who are IDPS from Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung, The reliefs goods also for only Rakhine community  from northern Arakan , not for Rohingyas, Why, is the Rohingyas are not  including in UN categories  to get relifs? Now , again, the authority is creating new IDPs – hill people, Maungdaw north Rakhine and outside of northern Arakan - along the roadside of Maungdaw Aley Than Kyaw highway with UNHCR provide tents, according to a school teacher from Maungdaw.

“Two load trucks of Rakhine from Maungdaw north arrived at Young Chang village where they started looting and stealing animals from Rohingya community of Young Chaung. The security force are not charging any action against them.”

“The UN and INGos are only providing  relief goods to Akyab of Rohingyas and what about other side of Rohingyas who are living in Mrauk-U, Minbya, Kyauktaw, Paucktaw and Kyauknimaw. No, INGOs or UN didn’t visit this place to look after for these Rohingyas.”

In Maungdaw, Rohingyas who lost their home in the recent riot, are living beside of the Rohingyas’ home and they are not getting any help from any quarters.  Most of Rohingyas in Maungdaw are going starvation for shortage of foods, Most Rohingya who are working as a day labors effected more, said an elder from Maungdaw.

Source:KPN