Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar victims of global power struggle

Source from ABNA, 22 July 2012

"Muslims in Myanmar are the victims of the strategic interests of the big powers," Selçuk Çolakoğlu, an expert from the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), told Sunday's Zaman, adding that the Myanmar issue has an international dimension.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Although continuing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar alarmed the international community, bringing their plight to the international agenda, experts agree that Muslims in Myanmar are the victims of a global power struggle and that the international community should end its silence on the situation affecting the Southeast Asian country.

The first glimmer of violence in Myanmar occurred in June after claims that three Rohingya Muslims raped a Buddhist woman. Following the allegations, extremist Buddhists started killing Muslims living in Arakan province, the location of the recently escalating violence in the country, near Bangladesh. "What kind of solution can be found for the conflict is a question mark. The issue should be put on the UN agenda. But it's impossible for the UN Security Council to issue a resolution against the Myanmar government due to Chinese influence. Myanmar's government has had very close relations with China for 20 years. Therefore, Myanmar is an important country for the other powers due to its relationship with China. The competition for leadership between China and the US in the Indian Ocean is serious.

Recent visits by US officials to Myanmar are to break Chinese influence in the region," said Çolakoğlu.

Agreeing with Çolakoğlu regarding the role of the global powers in Myanmar, Sait Demir from Turkey's Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH), told Sunday's Zaman that the major powers had significant interests in Myanmar, adding that due to these policies they remain silent on the situation in Myanmar. "Myanmar also has important natural resources. Therefore, the US and China have conflicting policies in Myanmar," said Demir, adding that both powers supported Myanmar's government.

According to official statistics, 4 percent of the 75 million people in the country are Muslim, while 89 percent are Buddhist. The Muslims are not seen as citizens of Myanmar by nationalist Myanmar leaders, officials and fanatical Buddhists, and in turn are exposed to discrimination.

"Myanmar's government has an important role in the current conflict. Since the independence of the country, there has been an exclusionary policy carried out by the government against the Rohingyan Muslims to create a nation-state based on the Buddhist ethnic group. In this sense, the other religious and ethnic groups are either being assimilated or forced to migrate. This policy is carried out to reduce the influence of these groups within the country," said Çolakoğlu, adding that the conflict in Myanmar had two aspects, ethnic and religious.

Tun Khin, president of the Rohingya Organization, said the international community should take immediate action concerning the situation in Myanmar, adding that pressure should be put on the government.

 Stating that the attacks on Muslims are not a sectarian issue, Khin claimed that the regime in the country had prepared a plan to murder Muslims.

Agreeing with Khin, Demir said Myanmar's government was provoking the conflicts between Muslims and Buddhists, adding the government was arming the Buddhists against Muslims. "The government is applying a divide and rule policy," said Demir.

Turkey has called on international organizations, especially the UN, not to remain silent about the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke with the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni last week about the situation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

A Turkish diplomatic official told Sunday's Zaman that Turkey was following the situation in Myanmar closely, adding that Turkey has always supported the reform process in Myanmar. "Turkey is currently carrying out a fact finding process in Myanmar. Turkey has contacts with both the OIC and the UN. Turkey is also in touch with authorities in Myanmar and Bangladesh," said the same official.

Meanwhile, to mobilize international opposition to the situation, during a visit to China in June İhsanoğlu discussed the situation with Chinese authorities, pleading with them to closely follow the situation and to take the initiative with its southern neighbor Myanmar, with which it has close relations.

 Myanmar President Thein Sein declared a state of emergency in Arakan province following clashes between Buddhists and Muslims and deployed army troops to restore stability.

Defining the attacks as "ethnic cleansing based on race and religion," Wakar Uddin, chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU), said the state of emergency in Arakan further was further deteriorating the living conditions of Muslims, while Buddhists ignored the state of emergency.

Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya stateless, with Myanmar implementing restrictions on their movement and withholding land rights, education and public services.

Myanmar's government is currently not allowing any media organizations to enter the country.

"No one is allowed to enter Arakan province. The government has also arrested UN staff in Myanmar," said Demir.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Melissa Fleming said last Friday that 10 UN staff and aid workers have been arrested in Myanmar. Martin Nesirky, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, also confirmed this news, adding that the UN was following the situation with concern.

There are also contradictory figures regarding the death toll of Muslims in Arakan province. An aid team from the United Nations, which is the only foreign team that was allowed to enter the region, has said the death toll was neither as low as Myanmar's government had declared nor as high as activists have claimed.

"The number of deaths is not clear, and it is contradictory. It is not possible to find the bodies of the Muslims. It is said that 1,500 bodies are lost," said Demir.

While tens of thousands of Muslims fled Myanmar due to the violence, Bangladeshi authorities did not allow the Rohingyans waiting at the border gates to seek refuge in their country.

"Even though Bangladesh closed its doors to Rohingyan Muslims, there are still 150,000 Rohingyans in refugee camps in Bangladesh," said Demir, adding that relations between Myanmar and Bangladesh had deteriorated due to the Rohingyan Muslim issue.

Demir stated that Rohingyans, who are denied citizenship and ethnic recognition in Myanmar and instead are viewed as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, are not allowed to work or have a house, adding that there is no electricity in Muslim villages in Myanmar.

Although, local sources claimed last Monday that the conflict had somewhat eased, Demir, who has been serving in Myanmar for nine years, said he didn't believe that the conflict had eased, adding that the Myanmar government had started deploying army troops near the region to provoke the conflict.

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Iran's Larijani urges UN to send peacekeeping forces to Myanmar

Source, 22 July 2012

Iran's Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani has lashed out at the United Nations for keeping silent on the ongoing massacre of Muslims in Myanmar, urging the international body to dispatch peacekeeping forces to the Southeast Asian country.

"Why don't you dispatch peacekeeping forces to Myanmar to avoid the killing of Muslims as you sent peacekeepers to Syria?" said Larijani in an open session of the Majlis on Sunday.

According to recent reports, Muslims in Myanmar are in a tragic human plight. Reports say 650 of the nearly one million Rohingya Muslims have been killed as of June 28 during clashes in the western region of Rakhine. This is while 1,200 others are missing and 90,000 more have been displaced.

They are deprived of basic rights including education and employment and are subject to forced labor, extortion and other coercive measures.

The government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas, who it claims are not natives, and classifies them as illegal migrants, although they have lived in the country for generations.

Larijani also made a reference to Wednesday's deadly terrorist attack in Syria and said, "Instead of condemning the issue of terrorism, the US, Britain and France announced that the Syrian government should change."

The Iranian Majlis speaker added that these countries praise any act of terror if it serves their interests, and reward any measure against Muslim countries.

Last Wednesday, Syrian Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Assef Shawkat, National Security chief General Hisham Bekhtiar and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani were killed in a bomb attack on the headquarters of the National Security Bureau in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

The so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening more violence in the Syrian capital in the coming days.

Who will speak for Rohingyas?

The Korean Times Opinion, 22 July 2012

The military junta in Myanmar has been courted by the West in its quest to encourage the democratization process in this bastion of tyranny. However, it is primordial that respect of human rights, especially the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya minority should remain high on the international agenda.

The Rohingyas are the most defenseless religious minority in the world. However, their fate draws very little attention from the international community. They live in an impoverished enclave between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Since Myanmar's independence from the British in 1948, thousands of Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh to escape racial and religious prosecution by the Buddhist Rakhines and the Burmese military junta.

The Rohingyas have lived in the Arakan region for hundreds of years. However, the annexation of this independent province in 1784 by the Burmese government forced the Rohingyas to endure discriminatory policies, persecution through their marginalization and the restriction of their movement, their marriage, and constantly confiscating their land and driving them to annihilation.

In 1977, almost the Burmese junta launched Nagar Min (Dragon King) ― a military operation that drove thousands of Rohingyas to a camp at Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh as a form of ethnic cleansing as hundreds died and thousands were left without food or shelter.
In the past decade, the Bangladeshi government has tightened its borders with Burma, as it has already more than 25,000 Rohingya refugees. Faced with a scarcity of land, lack of financial resources and inability to cope with this deluge of refugees, the government turned its back on this helpless minority.

The "dark-skinned" Rohingyas, who have some physical traits similar to Bangladeshis have always suffered abuse. The junta passed a law in 1982 that stripped them of their citizenship and made them unwelcome people with no place they can call home. They became the Roma of East Asia. The junta calls them "dogs, thieves, terrorists, and mulattos." The official state newspaper, The Myanmar Alin, refers to the persecuted Muslims with derogatory names, such as "Kalar," which means black. Recently, when Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in her European tour, was asked about the recent attacks on the Rohingyas that left dozens killed and thousands displaced, her answer was, "I don't know." Not a reassuring statement for the Rohingyas' future.

The Muslim world bears a historic moral responsibility in choosing to ignore the continuous ethnic cleansing of the Rohingyas. I am sure that the Arab states can afford a meager portion of the billions of dollars in their coffers to ease some of the hunger and thirst of these forgotten people.

Zerougui Abdelkader
Adjunct professor, Ph.D.
American University

EU makes diplomatic initiatives to end massacre in Myanmar

Source from Anadolu Agency,  22 July 2012

EU is making diplomatic initiatives so the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar ends.

BRUSSELS 

The European Union (EU) is making diplomatic initiatives so the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar ends.

Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton's spokesperson, Michael Mann, said that they were closely watching the acts of violence against the Muslim minority in Myanmar.

"EU diplomats got in touch with the officials in Myanmar following a directive of Catherine Ashton. Experts from the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) were dispatched to Myanmar to determine the urgent needs of the Muslims," Mann indicated.

The EU had reduced some of its political and economic sanctions on Myanmar earlier this year after many political prisoners were released from prisons and the opposition were permitted to join elections.

The Myanmar administration wants to make use of EU's tariff-free import procedures applied to poor countries.

The EU had placed the issue of tariff-free imports on its agenda after Myanmar assured the International Labor Organization (ILO) that it would end forced labor in the country in 2015.

Most of the people subject to forced labor in Myanmar are Muslims.

OIC leads global campaign to protect Rohingya Muslims

Source from Arab News, 20 July 2012

• 

The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has launched a major international campaign to put an end to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Arakan state of Myanmar and protect their legitimate rights.

OIC offices in Geneva, New York, and Brussels are making intense efforts to foster international intervention in the issue. The OIC is in touch with the United Nations, UN Human Rights Council, European Union and other international organizations to halt the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
OIC Secretary-General Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu strongly condemned the renewed repression of Rohingyas since June 2012, which has resulted in deaths of innocent civilians, burning of their homes and mosques, and forcing them to leave their homeland.

He added that over the past three decades, Rohingya Muslim citizens had been subjected to gross violation of human rights including ethnic cleansing, killings, rape, and forced displacement by Myanmar security forces.
"The recent restoration of democracy in Myanmar had raised hopes in the international community that oppression against Rohingya Muslims would end, and that they would be able to enjoy equal rights and opportunities. However, the renewed violence against Rohingyas has caused great concern to the OIC," Ihsanoglu said.
"When efforts of the international community including the United Nations were underway for a peaceful resolution of the issue, the OIC was shocked by the unfortunate remarks of President Thien Sein disowning Rohingya Muslims as citizens of Myanmar," he said.

The OIC chief stressed that the Myanmar government, as a member of the United Nations and ASEAN, had to adhere to the international human rights charters, including the relevant conventions and declarations, in treatment of its citizens.
Ihsanoglu referred to the UN declaration that the Rohingyas are an ethnic, religious and linguistic minority from western Burma. Historical facts show that Rohingyas have been present in the land of Myanmar for centuries before the arrival of the British and before the formation of Burma.
"In spite of this, the government of Myanmar continues to persecute and discriminate against the Rohingyas," he said, adding that the citizenship law of 1982 violated international norms by stripping the Rohingyas unjustly of their right to citizenship.

Ihsanoglu hoped that the Myanmar government would respond to the concerns of the international community in a positive and constructive manner, so that all its Rohingya Muslims are able to return to their homeland in honor, safety and dignity.
"The OIC Charter stipulates that the organization should assist Muslim minorities and communities outside the member states to preserve their dignity, cultural and religious identity," he added. "Myanmar should recognize that its new engagement at the international level does not only come with opportunities but also with responsibilities," Ihsanoglu said.

The OIC intends to send a delegation to Myanmar after meeting with its permanent representative to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Ihsanoglu called on the Myanmar government to order an immediate probe into the slaughtering of Rohingya Muslims to bring those responsible to justice.
The OIC chief recently sent a letter to Myanmar's pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi urging her to help end the violence against the Rohingya community. "As a Nobel Peace laureate, we are confident that the first step of your journey toward ensuring peace in the world would start from your own doorstep, and that you would play a positive role in putting an end to the violence that has afflicted Arakan State," it said.

The OIC chief suggested that Suu Kyi could make the government in Naypyidaw agree to an international inquiry into the recent violence, granting free access to humanitarian aid groups and international media in Arakan as well as expediting the return of the victims to their respective homes.
Rohingyas living in Arakan State of Burma are one of the most forgotten and persecuted peoples on earth. Their population is about three million, of which about 1.5 million are in diasporas in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK and Europe.
"The successive Burmese regimes have subjected them to institutionalized persecution, and the ruling civilianized military government is no exception," said Nurul Islam, president of Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO).

The Thein Sein government's wind of change has not touched the Rohingyas yet, he said. Even the very word "Rohingya" is blacklisted and unmentionable, while the authorities have described them as "illegal immigrants from Bangladesh", he added.
According to Nurul Islam, the primary factor that has led the Rohingyas to suffer grave human rights violations or crimes against humanity in Burma is their religion and ethnicity.

"Arbitrary killings, rape, torture, land confiscation, forced labor, forced relocation, theft, extortion and so on, perpetrated by the authorities in cohort with local miscreants and xenophobes, are widespread," he said. The phenomenon can be described as slow burning genocide, which aims at ethnic cleansing or driving the Rohingyas into Bangladesh, he said.
In 1982, late dictator Ne Win enacted a new citizenship law that violated several fundamental principles of international charters and rendered the Rohingyas stateless. Their basic freedoms, such as freedom of movement, marriage and education, and economic activities are under humiliating restrictions.
Extension, repairs and renovation, and construction of new mosques or religious institutes have been prohibited. Muslim relics, monuments and place names have been erased. All these attempts aim at effacing the Muslim character of Arakan, said Nurul Islam.

A planned increase in Buddhist settler villages has caused serious demographic changes in Rohingya homeland. Vast tracks of their lands have been confiscated, forcing the Rohingyas to become increasingly landless, internally displaced, and to eventually starve them out to cross the border into Bangladesh.
There are 28,000 legal and over 200,000 illegal Rohingya refugees living in squalid condition in southern Chittagong, Bangladesh. The illegal refugees are vulnerable, often subject to arrest and harassment by security forces.

As a result, many Rohingyas become desperate and voyage in rickety boats to Southeast Asian countries in search of protection and food security. Since 2009, many died, over a thousand drowned, while scores of others were rescued or jailed in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and East Timor. A number of them were victimized at the hands of greedy exploiters and human traffickers.

Given their position of statelessness, food insecurity, denial of access to education and employment, lack of security of life, property, dignity and honor, the Rohingyas have virtually become a "dying alive" population in their own homeland. "This impossible situation is a 'push factor' that the Burmese government has created. They want the Rohingyas to slowly leave their hearth and home," said Nurul Islam, who has repeatedly appealed to the international community to address the root cause of the Rohingya problem for a permanent solution. He has also requested for international protection in the absence of national protection.

Updates news of Arakan state

Source from NDPHR(exile),

Rohingyas in all over Arakan are still confined as refugee detainees, facing subsequent harassments and buying or managing foods is officially prohibited.
The condition of very few Rohingyas, Kamans and Rakhine muslims living in the other regions of Kyauktaw, Rambre, Mrauk Oo & Minbya, Pauktaw and Kyaukpu townships is unknown. Generally, aid groups and INGOs have informal contact with these regions. Unlike Rohingyas in Northern Arakan, their lives and survival are in the hands of local Rakhines and authorities.
 

Sittwe township

20 July, Four Rohingyas of Don Byan (Dua Mraung) village were grabbing away by 4 Paramilitary forces followed by 5 Rakhines during gathering for Friday prayer and brutally beating along the way. When the villagers came out after hearing screaming voices, the forces opened fires to the crowd. A woman and a man were hit bullets in the scene.
Some villagers reported to Military Head Quarter and brought back those taking away 4 Rohingyas. Because of they been beaten-up brutally, they were remained at military medical service for medication.

The source also said that from the past week, UNHCR is contributing medical services and WFP is supplying mainly rice, bean and oil in all four Rohingya refugee camps along Darbaine (Dae-baine), Gwaladil (Taechaung), Shisha Fara and Thakkaybyin (Sakki Fara) villages.


Buthidaung township

Missing report of 16 July,

According to Abdul Razak, a member of Ethnic Rohingya Committee of Arakan-ERCA based in Malaysia, 75 of thousand of Rohingyas who are currently detained in Buthidaung prison were sentenced 5 to 10 years with false immigration charges on Monday- 16 July 2012. Before the judge handed down the decision in the court, they were humiliated by the judge on their skin-colour and race and lack of document.

 

 

Maungdaw township

21 July,
Hafez Jafor from Ali Para Mosque and Moulana Mohamed Yunus from Kanree graveyard Mosque of Ward number (2) were arrested from the Mosque compound at about 12:00pm by police officer Aung Kyaw Than.
Moulana Mohamed Amin and Moulana Sami Uddin from Ferry point (ghat) Mosque of Maung Ni village, were arrested by police officer at about 12:30pm today.
The police officer along with police personnel tortured all the four religious leaders on the road and beat after pulling their beard. On the times of the religious leaders called for God mercy, police personnel put slippers into their mouths.
Full report can be read at- http://kaladanpress.blog.com/2012/07/21/no-congregational-prayers-in-mosques-of-maungdaw/

 

20 July,

Abdu Razak (ERCA) also report that Authority told the Rohingya villagers of Shwezar (Hayun Khali) that they are unwanted dark Bengali people and they might go back to Bangladesh in good time.

 

 

Rathedaung township

Homeless Rohingya villagers of Kararo Kondan (Sara-parang) were trasnferred to Shinkhali (Shil-Kha-Li) villages since about 12 July and the villagers received 9 Lakhs Kyat from president of Village Peace and Development Council-VPDC. But they are still confined there like other Rohngyas therefore the villagers requested from the VPDC president to provide rations. Upon their request, Khala s/o Ashrafmya and Abdul Rahim s/o Nur Mamad were brutally beaten. The villagers do not know about the money came from where.

The report also confirmed that homeless Rohingya villagers of Kondan (Kutti Chaung) and Saw Farang Fara, were moved themselves to Doonsey and upper Razabil villages.

The authority told the villagers not to risk their lives by going out from designated area or going back to their villages which were burnt down.

 

But the two other groups of homeless villagers of Nyaung Pin Gyi Rwa (Muzadiya ) and Tabretaw Rwa (Zufrang) are still residing beside their burnt down villages.

Muslims in Burma's Rakhine state 'abused' - Amnesty

Source from BBC, 20 July 2012

Muslims in Burma's western Rakhine state have been subjected to attacks and arbitrary arrests in the weeks since communal violence erupted, Amnesty International says.

After the violence, some Rohingya took shelter in school compounds such as this one, in Maungdaw

A state of emergency was declared in Rakhine in June after deadly clashes between Buddhists and Muslims.

Since then, hundreds of people have been detained in the areas where Muslim Rohingya people live, a spokesman said.

The government has dismissed the allegations as "groundless and biased".

Win Myaing, a government spokesman for Rakhine state, told the Associated Press news agency that the claims are "totally opposite of what is happening on the ground", adding that the region was calm.

But although communal violence has eased since the unrest in June, violations by the security forces appear to have increased, rights groups say.

'Rohingyas beaten'

Amnesty accuses Burmese security forces as well as ethnic Rakhine Buddhist residents of assaults, unlawful killings of Muslims and the destruction of property.

"Most cases have meant targeted attacks on the minority Rohingya population and they were bearing the brunt of most of that communal violence in June and they continue to bear the lion's share of the violations perpetrated by the state security forces," Amnesty researcher Benjamin Zawacki told the BBC's Viv Marsh.

Chris Lewa, director of The Arakan Project, which focuses on Rohingyas in the region, also told our correspondent that hundreds of Rohingya Muslims had been arrested, with allegations that some had been beaten and even tortured.

"Shortly after the main violence... then we start seeing a new phase of, I would say, state-sanctioned abuses, where especially in Maung Daw... we heard on a daily basis about mass arrests of Rohingya," Ms Lewa told the BBC.

Continue reading the main story

Background: Burma unrest

What sparked the violence in June?

The rape and murder of a young Buddhist woman in Rakhine in May set off a chain of deadly religious clashes.

Why was a state of emergency declared?

A state of emergency allows the introduction of martial law, which means the military can take over administrative control of the region.

Who are the Rohingyas?

The United Nations describes Rohingya as a persecuted religious and linguistic minority from western Burma. The Burmese government, on the other hand, says they are relatively recent migrants from the Indian sub-continent. Neighbouring Bangladesh already hosts several hundred thousand refugees from Burma and says it cannot take any more.

• Q&A: Rakhine unrest
• Burma profile

Reports from the group's network of sources in the area, mostly Rohingya, also said that authorities allowed Rakhine youth to assault Rohingyas in custody. The group also alleges that Burmese authorities took part in looting of shops and homes belonging to Rohingya.

The Burmese authorities denied similar allegations made by Amnesty International.

Some of the Rohingya Muslims arrested were held in connection with violence that erupted in Rakhine on 8 June, the day on which, observers say, violence was largely carried out by Rohingyas. The Arakan Project also says that some Rakhine, particularly those found with weapons, were arrested.

It is difficult to verify any of the information provided by such sources, as journalists cannot access the area.

Long-standing tension

Violence between Buddhists and Muslims flared after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman in May, followed by an attack on a bus carrying Muslims.

Communal unrest continued in parts of Maung Daw as Muslims attacked Buddhist homes. Reprisal attacks then targeted Muslim homes and communities. The attacks left many dead and forced thousands of people on both sides to flee their homes.

There have been long-standing tensions between Rakhine people, who are Buddhist and make up the majority of the state's population, and Muslims, many of whom are Rohingya.

Many Rakhine Buddhists have said that much of the violence in June was carried out against them by Rohingya groups. Rohingyas say they have been forced to flee because of the violence.

Earlier this month, Burma's President Thein Sein said the "solution" for the Rohingya was deportation or refugee camps.

Letter to Prime Minister Yingluck Re: Human Rights and Visit of Burmese President Thein Sein in Burma

Source from HRW, 19 July 2012

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra

Government House

Pitsanulok Road, Dusit

Bangkok 10300

Thailand 

Dear Prime Minister,

We write to you ahead of President Thein Sein's official visit to Thailand from July 22 to 24, 2012, to urge you to raise concerns about the human rights situation in Burma. Thailand, as one of Burma's major political and economic partners and a core member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has significant influence that it can use to help improve respect for human rights and promote political reform in Burma. We urge you and your government to take advantage of this visit to press for the following policies.

Your government has publicly and repeatedly pledged Thailand's support for political reforms in Burma, particularly improvements in human rights and the humanitarian situation.

There have been important changes in Burma in the past year, including the release of hundreds of political prisoners, the easing of official censorship, passage of a new labor law that permits forming unions and the right to strike, and amendments to electoral laws that enabled the opposition National League for Democracy to register and successfully contest April by-elections.

However, overall the Burmese government's record on human rights remains poor. The Burmese army has committed killings, torture, rape, forced labor, and other violations against civilians in Kachin State and northern Shan State since civil war resumed in June 2011 between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The army has attacked villages and laid antipersonnel landmines, resulting in the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians, while the government has restricted the delivery of humanitarian aid by international agencies to internally displaced people in KIA-controlled territory.

Abuses by the Burmese military during hostilities with ethnic armed groups have long had a significant impact on Thailand's border areas and have led to major refugee flows. In the pursuit of peace settlements between the Burmese government and ethnic armed groups, mechanisms to protect and promote human rights should be established and included.

In western Burma, state security forces have conducted violent sweeps and mass arrests of ethnic Rohingya after the outbreak of sectarian violence. The government has taken no steps to address the statelessness of up to one million Rohingya, many families of which have lived in Burma for several generations.

Despite the welcome release of many political prisoners, several hundred others remain in prison. Many of those who have been released have had conditions placed on their freedom, such as restrictions on their ability to travel abroad. A law promulgated on the right to peaceful assembly falls well short of international standards, allowing for imprisonment for up to five years for violations. While we welcome the creation of the National Human Rights Commission, it does not meet the standards set out in the United Nations Paris Principles on national human rights institutions, and has so far not shown a willingness to seriously investigate complaints of human rights violations.

Burma remains a long way from being a functioning democracy. The government was installed by the army. Under the 2008 Constitution, the army retains ultimate power in the country. A quarter of the parliamentary seats are reserved for the military. Local political power has hardly changed since the recent changes at the national level, which has meant that the unelected and often abusive local authorities remain in control.

While the recent by-elections were an important step, they only involved 7 percent of seats in parliament, and thus no significant realignment of parliamentary power. A more meaningful test of Burma's commitment to democracy will be in its respect for plurality and transparency in legal reform; its willingness to strengthen democratic institutions such as the courts; its promotion and protection of basic human rights and respect for the laws of war; its commitment to the end of discrimination and equality of opportunity for ethnic minorities in political, economic, social, and cultural realms; and in the seriousness with which the government addresses issues of impunity for current and past human rights abuses.

Thailand should seize this opportunity to actively and effectively engage with Burmese authorities and a broad range of Burmese-led civil society organizations, including groups in remote areas and those working on issues in Burma from Thailand, to help develop tangible plans with realistic timeframes for genuine reforms.

The government of Thailand should press the government of Burma to:

Political Prisoners

• Release all remaining political prisoners.
• Remove all conditions placed on released political prisoners.

 

Ethnic Groups

• Take all necessary steps to end serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Burma's conflict areas by the Burmese army.
• Investigate allegations of abuses in conflict areas; discipline and prosecute perpetrators as appropriate; and promptly and adequately compensate victims of abuse.
• Allow international and domestic humanitarian organizations and independent human rights monitors unhindered access to populations in need, including in Kachin and Arakan States, and permit the delivery of sufficient humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons and others.
• Include mechanisms in any political settlements reached between the government and ethnic armed groups to protect and promote human rights in ethnic areas, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.

 

Legal Reform

• Bring Burmese laws, regulations, and practices into conformity with international human rights standards, including by revoking laws, decrees, and orders, including those issued as proclamations by previous military governments, that violate fundamental rights, such as the Unlawful Associations Act, the Emergency Provisions Act, the State Protection Law, and sections of the Penal Code that severely limit the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

• Amend provisions in the 2008 Constitution that prevent the military from being accountable to civilian authority, particularly article 445, which provides an amnesty for members of the previous ruling State Peace and Development Council and military juntas.

 

Labor Rights

• Fully implement the government-International Labor Organization (ILO) memorandum of understanding to eliminate all forms of forced labor, in line with the action plan agreed by the two sides; and ratify ILO core labor conventions 98, 100, 105, 111, 138, and 182. 
• Remove remaining barriers to the effective exercise of the right to freedom of association, including obstacles to formation of labor unions, worker centers and worker rights-focused nongovernmental organizations, and provide protection for labor activists and organizers from interference and retaliation by employers and government for involvement in peaceful labor protests and strikes.

 

International sanctions and foreign investment

Human Rights Watch is concerned by the views expressed by Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul during the 4^th Thai-US Strategic Dialogue in June, when he committed Thailand to help convince the United States and other countries to lift all sanctions against Burma. Prematurely lifting all sanctions before reforms are firmly embedded in Burmese law and practice will remove necessary incentives among the Burmese leadership, particularly in the security establishment, to change their treatment of the population. It will also limit the ability of President Thein Sein to remove hardliners and those with records of abuse from important positions. Sending the wrong signal on sanctions at this time could derail the fragile gains of the past year.

Pursuing foreign investment in the absence of a functioning legal system will also put investors at risk. In construction and maintenance of large-scale infrastructure projects, the Burmese military has a long record of carrying out serious violations, including forced relocations of civilians, and systematic use of forced labor. In addition, there are credible reports of serious abuses by Burmese government security forces in a variety of other sectors, such as mining, logging, and industrial agricultural farming. Some of these projects receive foreign investment, including from Thailand. In this light, we urge the Thai government to develop and implement legal safeguards that comport with international human rights standards with regard to business activities of Thai companies in Burma, such as the Dawei Deep Sea Port and industrial estate project in Tennaserim Division, coal mining projects in Shan State, hydropower dam projects in Shan State and Karen State, and investments in the oil and gas sector. Thailand should suspend any financing for Thai-invested projects that do not abide by these safeguards.

Treatment of Burmese migrants, asylum seekers and refugees

Decades of unabated repression and misrule in Burma have driven millions of Burmese to seek refuge and better living conditions in Thailand and other neighboring countries.  Human Rights Watch recognizes that Thailand has borne a great burden in hosting Burmese migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees for decades. For the over 140,000 Burmese refugees and asylum seekers in camps on the Thai-Burma border, the Thai government should lift the restriction that prevents the UN High Commissioner for Refugees from screening asylum seekers from Burma who have arrived after January 2004.

 

Thailand should respect its obligation under customary international law to not commit refoulement (forcible return) of any asylum seeker or refugee to Burma. Specifically, the Thai government should guarantee all Burmese access to screening and status determination procedures if they wish to make an asylum claim. Anyone from Burma in Thailand wishing to apply for asylum should have the practical means to do so and not be barred from making such application by the Thai authorities.

Poor treatment of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrant workers from Burma by a succession of Thai governments continues to open Thailand to international scrutiny and criticism. Recent examples include the push backs of Rohingya, who arrived on Thai shores after seeking refuge by sea, out into the open ocean, and more recently, the ill-considered and rights-violating plan by Labor Minister Padermchai Sasomsap to deport migrant workers who become pregnant. We urge you to protect the rights of all Burmese refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Thailand.

In conclusion, we do not underestimate the challenge that you will face in addressing these issues with your Burmese counterparts. But Human Rights Watch is certain that Thailand has unique leverage that it can exercise to make a significant and positive difference in Burma in the years ahead.

We look forward to your attention to these matters of concern and would welcome the opportunity to discuss them with you.

 

Sincerely,

Brad Adams

Executive Director

Asia Division

Update Reports of Arakan state

Source from NDPHR(exile),

19 July: An old man who alert in fasting times from Quarter-1 (Fayazi fara), was dead yesterday after struggled with the bullet shot at the leg by military since 15 July.

Unreported report of 6 July
According to Mr Sharuk, a member of Rohingya Human Rights Organization-MERHROM based in Malaysia, confirmed that a 10yo Rohingya boy s/o Md Ali from Laungdong village of Nasaka area(5) near Kyein Chaung, was shot by Na-Sa-Ka. As aid and medication are still restricted, some villagers did manage to send the boy for hospitalization at Bangladesh. A day after, the family members those involved in helping including Ali Zohar family were accused of spreading news and taken away by Na-Sa-Ka authority for questioning. They were at last 14 people including women and children, were now confirmed missing.

(a group of Rohingyas carrying by military in a different occasion)

Regarding this case, president of Village Peace and Development Council- Maung Thein (Rakhine) and in-charge of Na-Sa-Ka for this area- are still extorting randomly about 200,000 Kyat from villagers. Those who doesn't have money on hand are forced to transfer money at Yangon via their relatives living in foreign.

18 July, Kaladan Press: Rashid s/o Nawbi Hussain, Harron s/o Habibul Rahaman, Ayas s/o Zawru, Anwar s/o Mason and Omar Faruck s/o Mason from Myothu Gyi village, were arrested by a military intelligence officer Shwe Oo and a police officer from three-mile check point,  yesterday morning at about 8:00am. The officers were without uniform while they arrested the Rohingyas from the village market. Omar Faruck is working at Buthidaung town as a field officer of ACF(Hunger for Action) and was stranded there during the riot period and returned back last week.
Similarly, Ali Husson, the responsible person of Religious gathering center of Myoma Kyaoungdan village and Ellu s/o Master Gaffor from Ward number(2) were arrested yesterday from office and home by police.
Yesterday evening, a Rohingya youth from Bomu village who came out from his village and tried to buy some foods, was chased by Hluntin personnel. He ran  back into his village and Hluntin forces entered the village where the security forces attempted to rape females. While females raised hue and cry, the villagers rushed to the spot and the security force leaved the village.

Rathedaung Township

19 July, Kaladan Press: Yesterday, army went to the Rajabill (Auknanra) village and tried to arrest the villagers but all the villagers ran away. At last, the army arrested one villager, Abul Shama-45 and his wife who was Rakhine origin.

Buthidaung township

18 July, Kaladan Press: Some Rohingyas including Abdul Rahim-14 s/o Hafez Adul Ali from Ward number(5) were arrested by police yesterday.

17 July: According to Mr Sharuk, a member of Rohingya Human Rights Organization-MERHROM based in Malaysia, most of the male Rohingyans were fled away from U Hla Fay village upon the arrival of authority in the evening. Then authority started raping, looting and brutal abuses. Family members who confronted with authority during abuses were beaten to death. At least 4 women and 2 men were dead in the scene.

Kyuakpyu township

19 July: Muslims are still confined by military. From the past weeks Rakhine people demand to isolate all muslims aside by removing from the town that means they all would be relocated at designated area. The source said authorities and Rakhine leaders had several meetings for implementation of it.


Realted link at-

Human Rights Watch - Thailand: Press Burmese President on Rights- http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/19/letter-prime-minister-yingluck-re-human-rights-and-visit-burmese-president-thein-sei

Myanmar: Abuses against Rohingya erode human rights progress

Source from AI, 19 July 2012

Myanmar: Abuses against Rohingya erode human rights progress

Amnesty International has received credible reports of recent human rights abuses against Rohingyas

© UNHCR/Y Saita

"

Declaring a state of emergency is not a license to commit human rights violations

"

Source: 

Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar Researcher.

Date: 

Thu, 19/07/2012

Six weeks after a state of emergency was declared in Myanmar's Rakhine State, targeted attacks and other violations by security forces against minority Rohingyas and other Muslims have increased, Amnesty International said today.

Communal violence in the state has also continued, the organization said.

"Declaring a state of emergency is not a license to commit human rights violations," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar Researcher. 

"It is the duty of security forces to defend the rights of everyone – without exception or discrimination – from abuses by others, while abiding by human rights standards themselves."

The Myanmar government declared a state of emergency in Rakhine State on 10 June, following an outbreak of communal violence the previous week among the Buddhist Rakhine, Muslim Rakhine, and Muslim Rohingya communities. It remains in effect in several areas. 

Since then, Myanmar's Border Security Force (nasaka), army, and police have conducted massive sweeps in areas that are heavily populated by Rohingyas. Hundreds of mostly men and boys have been detained, with nearly all held incommunicado, and some subjected to ill-treatment. 

While the restoration of order, security, and the protection of human rights is necessary, most arrests appear to have been arbitrary and discriminatory, violating the rights to liberty and to freedom from discrimination on grounds of religion.

"In six weeks, Myanmar has not only added to a long litany of human rights violations against the Rohingya, but has also done an about-turn on the situation of political imprisonment," said Zawacki. 

"After more than a year of prisoner amnesties and releases, the overall number of political prisoners in Myanmar is again on the rise."

Anyone arrested since 10 June must be either charged with an internationally recognized offence and be remanded by an independent court, or released. Any judicial proceedings must meet international standards of fairness and must not include the imposition of the death penalty.

Amnesty International has also received credible reports of other human rights abuses against Rohingyas and other Rakhine Muslims– including physical abuse, rape, destruction of property, and unlawful killings – carried out by both Rakhine Buddhists and security forces. The authorities should stop these acts and prevent others from occurring. 

On Tuesday, a large group of local Rakhine Buddhists killed 10 Muslims in Taung Gouk township in Rakhine State, who were returning by bus to their homes in Yangon.

Myanmar's National Human Rights Commission said on 11 July that at least 78 people have been killed since the violence began, but unofficial estimates exceed 100. 

Between 50,000 and 90,000 people – with lower figures coming from the government and higher ones from UN agencies– are estimated to have been displaced. 

The discrepancy between the figures is largely due to the Myanmar authorities allowing extremely limited access to independent and international monitors as well as humanitarian aid workers.

"The human rights and humanitarian needs of those affected by the violence depend on the presence of monitors and aid workers," said Zawacki.

 "The Myanmar authorities are compounding the error by exacerbating the suffering of those displaced by the violence and violations."

Amnesty International is calling on Myanmar's Parliament to amend or repeal the 1982 Citizenship Law to ensure that Rohingyas are no longer stateless.

"Under international human rights law and standards, no one may be left or rendered stateless. For too long Myanmar's human rights record has been marred by the continued denial of citizenship for Rohingyas and a host of discriminatory practices against them," said Zawacki.

The tragedy of Burmese Muslims

Source from The Egyptian Gazette July 19, 2012 03:37:26 PM By Mohamed Elmasry - The Egyptian GazetteMuslims have been victims of discrimination and human rights violations in Burma for many decades.  Muslims have been victims of discrimination and human rights violations in Burma for many decades.
General Aung San, father of modern Burma, envisioned a more open nation with respect for differences.  Aung San, head of the Burma Independence Army and father of Aung San Suu Kyi, managed to maneuver the British into agreeing to Burmese independence, but he and much of his cabinet were murdered in 1947 in a coup d'état before independence.    Aung San was reaching out to Burmese minorities to grant them minority rights, satisfying many but not all.  For example, the Karens, with a sizeable Christian (Methodist) minority, undertook an armed revolt.  However, with the coup all recognition of minority rights was off, and many armed revolts erupted.      Roughly a third of the Burmese population is made up of a large number of ethnic minorities.  Muslim Rohingyas make up around 4% of the population.  Unlike other minority groups, they are not seen as Burmese citizens but as illegal immigrants.  This is in spite of a very long history of Muslims in the Rakhine (Arakan) sector of what is now Burma (or Myanmar).     Burma's first Prime Minister, U Nu, was responsible for making Buddhism the state religion.  He was overthrown in 1962 by General Ne Win, who expelled Muslims from the army.  Turning to more recent times, Burma was the scene of an anti-Muslim riot in reaction to the Taliban destruction of the world-famous Buddha sculptures in Afghanistan.  Bigotry begets bigotry.  Another riot occurred because of damage by unknown persons to a statue of Buddha in Mandalay.     The most recent major outburst against the Rohingyas specifically began in June of last year.  It started in reaction to the rape and murder of a Rakhine (Arakan) Buddhist woman by three Muslim men.  Ten Muslims were hauled off a bus and killed by a Buddhist mob and Burmese troops.  Following this atrocity, there have been killings and property destruction on the part of both Buddhist and Muslim mobs, with people of good will on both sides condemning the mayhem.     Homes and businesses have been destroyed.  Muslims have been tortured, raped, and murdered.  Displaced Rohingyas have been placed in concentration camps.  Aid workers warn of malnutrition, if not starvation.  Buddhist monks have blocked food transports, and aid workers have been driven out and arrested.    Looking at the situation from a longer perspective, since 1978, Amnesty International reported on the Rohingya situation:     "The Rohingyas' freedom of movement is severely restricted and the vast majority of them have effectively been denied Burma citizenship.     They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage.  Rohingyas continue to be used as forced labourers on roads and at military camps, although the amount of forced labour in northern Rakhine State has decreased over the last decade.    "In 1978 over 200,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, following the 'Nagamin' ('Dragon King') operation of the Myanmar army.  Officially this campaign aimed at 'scrutinising each individual living in the state, designating citizens and foreigners in accordance with the law and taking action against foreigners who had filtered into the country illegally.'     This military campaign directly targeted civilians, and resulted in widespread killings, rape and destruction of mosques and further religious persecution. "During 1991-92 a new wave of over a quarter of a million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh.  They reported widespread forced labour, as well as summary executions, torture, and rape."    Over the years, Rohingyas have fled to neighbouring countries, some to Bangladesh which borders with their section of Burma, some to Thailand.  Neither country is receptive.  Bangladesh is negotiating with Burma to return Rohingyas.  There have been instances where boats of Rohingyas reaching Thailand have been towed out to sea and allowed to sink.     Faisal, the late Saudi King, welcomed Rohingya refugees, but with his passing the attitude has shifted.  Syed Neaz Ahmad, a British academic who found himself in a Saudi prison for some unknown reason, reported in an article in the Guardian in 2009 that some 3000 Rohingya families were in Saudi prisons awaiting deportation.  At the time, it was unclear who would accept them.     Who will help the desperate Rohingyas?  Who will demand that the new "reformist" government of Burma allow aid workers back into the camps, give Rohingyas citizenship, and protect their rights? Elmasry is a professor emeritus of computer engineering, University of Waterloo. He can be reached at elmasry@thecanadiancharger.com

Genocide Emergency: Western Myanmar, Rakhine State: The Rohingya

Source from Genocide Watch

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority living in northern Rakhine state in Western Myanmar.  They face religious and ethnic discrimination by Myanmar's military regime, which refuses to recognize the Rohingya as Myanmar citizens.  The Rohingya people are not considered one of 135 legally recognized ethnic minority groups in Myanmar. Myanmar considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, but they have lived in Myanmar for centuries, and Bangladesh will not accept them as its citizens.

The first Rohingya people arrived in Myanmar as early as the seventh century, but the Myanmar military regime maintains, to this day, that the Rohingya immigrated to Myanmar from India while under British colonial rule. This disregard for earlier settlers prohibits the Rohingya from being legally recognized as a minority group in Myanmar.

The Rohingya have permanently settled in Western Myanmar and make up 1/3 of the population of the Rakhine State. There are close to 750,000 Rohingyas in Rakhine State. 

Because of the Myanmar military regime's denial of legal recognition, the Rohingya are denied fundamental human rights and freedom, and the military regime consistently perpetrates human rights violations against this vulnerable population.

• The regime refuses to issue identification cards to Rohingya, which are necessary to be able to travel, as well as to obtain passports and enroll in higher education.
•  They are denied land and property rights and ownership. The land on which they live can be taken away at any time.
•  The Rohingya people are barred from government employment.
•  Marriage restrictions are imposed on them.  They are limited to two children per couple.
•  They are subject to forced labor, extortion and other coercive measures.
•  Public services such as health and education are neglected. Illiteracy is 80%.
•  More than 40,000 Rohingya children in western Myanmar are deprived of rights to travel, go to school or to marry in the future, because their parents had an unauthorized marriage or exceeded the two-child limit the Myanmar government has imposed on the Rohingya. These blacklisted children are refused birth registration, and so are not included in family lists and must be hidden during the authorities' population checks.
•  The Rohingya are subject to curfews and other restrictions on basic freedoms.

The Rohingya are a dehumanized and persecuted minority in Myanmar.  Many attempt to flee to Bangladesh or Malaysia in rickety boats, but are not accorded the rights of refugees in those countries.  Some boat people drown.

Among the crimes against humanity the Myanmar military regime is committing against the Rohingya are: denial of citizenship, imprisonment in displaced persons camps, widespread murder of civilians, denial of the right to travel, denial of education rights for children, and denial of food and medicines.

Genocide Watch is issuing a Genocide Emergency Alert for the Rohingya of Myanmar. Genocide Watch recommends that:

• The Myanmar Parliament should pass legislation that grants full citizenship to the Rohingya, with all rights of citizens of Myanmar, including the right to hold land titles, travel, and other rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
• Plan measures to dissolve Rohingya displaced persons' camps with international assistance, especially from countries in Asean;
• Myanmar authorities should cease human rights violations against the Rohingya;
• Bangladesh should adhere to its obligations under the UN Convention on the Protection of Refugees, by accepting boats of Rohingya refugees, permitting them to settle in refugee camps until they can be repatriated with full citizenship rights in Myanmar.

Turkey seeks to bring Myanmar Muslims’ plight to int’l attention

Source from Today Zaman, 16 July 2012

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu (Photo: Cihan)

16 July 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA

Turkey, which is concerned about continuing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, seeks to bring the plight of this community onto the international agenda, calling on the international community to end its silence on the situation affecting the Southeast Asian country.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last Wednesday that Turkey was concerned over the brutality towards the Rohingya Muslims in the province of Arakan, the location of recently escalating violence in Myanmar, near Bangladesh. "We expect more sensibility from the international community for the Rohingya Muslims, who left their homes, belongings and land due to the religious fanaticism they faced," said Erdoğan.

The first glimmer of violence in Myanmar appeared in June after claims that three Rohingya Muslims raped a Buddhist woman. After the event, fanatical Buddhists started killing Muslims living in the Arakan province and burned houses and workplaces belonging to the minority group.

Rohingya Muslims are not seen as citizens of Myanmar by nationalist Myanmar leaders, officials and fanatic Buddhists, and in turn are exposed to discrimination.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke with the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, on Sunday about the continued violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

According to information obtained from diplomatic sources, Davutoğlu and İhsanoğlu discussed the situation in Myanmar and possible ways of dealing with it. It was also said that İhsanoğlu briefed Davutoğlu on the steps that should be taken in Myanmar in order to normalize the situation in the country soon.

Also, the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs has called on international organizations, especially the UN, not to remain silent about the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. A statement made by the directorate said that more than 1,000 Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar had been killed and more than 90,000 were left homeless since the violence started.

There are contradictory figures regarding the death toll of the Muslims in Arakan province. An aid team from the United Nations, which is the only foreign team that was allowed to enter the region, has said the death toll was neither as low as Myanmar's government had declared nor as high as activists have claimed.

The UN team also said there are a large number of residential areas in the region, which makes it difficult to accurately calculate the total number of deaths.

But local sources claimed on Monday that the conflict had somewhat eased.

Myanmar's government is currently not allowing any media organization to enter the country.

Myanmar President Thein Sein has declared a state of emergency in the country and deployed army troops to restore stability.

While tens of thousands of Muslims fled Myanmar due to the violence, Bangladeshi authorities did not allow the Rohingyans waiting at the border gates to seek refuge in their country.

Myanmar, Bangladesh Trample on Rohingya Rights

Refugee International,  17 July 2012 

A coalition of 58 civil society groups - led by Refugees International, the Arakan Project, and the Equal Rights Trust - condemns the wave of abuse launched by state authorities in Myanmar against the Rohingya community, following a disturbing period of inter-communal violence. It also charges Bangladesh with flouting international law in its attempts to prevent fleeing Rohingya from reaching safety. The coalition has issued a series of recommendations for both Myanmar and Bangladesh, which were delivered today to the two governments and their embassies in 28 countries. The coalition's full statement is as follows:

Civil Society Organisations Deeply Concerned by Ongoing Violence Against Stateless Rohingya in Myanmar and Their Refoulement From Bangladesh

The stateless Rohingya of Myanmar have suffered from extreme persecution and discrimination for decades. They are now facing another crisis. On 3 June inter-communal violence erupted, and this has evolved into large-scale state sponsored violence against the Rohingya. Despite this, neighbouring Bangladesh is not allowing them to enter to seek refuge. The Rohingya population needs urgent measures to be taken for their protection.

In Myanmar, what began as inter-communal violence has evolved into large-scale state sponsored violence against the Rohingya. The violence began on 3 June 2012 and has mainly occurred in Sittwe and Maungdaw. On 10 June, a state of military emergency was declared, after which the military became more actively involved in committing acts of violence and other human rights abuses against the Rohingya including killings and mass scale arrests of Rohingya men and boys in North Rakhine State. Many Rohingya continue to be victims of violence and cannot leave their homes for fear of persecution, and are thus deprived of their livelihood and most basic needs. The urgent humanitarian needs of those displaced (IDPs) - including those not in IDP camps - are not being adequately met and there is concern that those displaced will not be allowed to return to their homes as soon as it is safe to do so, thus creating a situation of protracted displacement.

Bangladesh, in contravention of its international legal obligations, closed its border and pushed back many Rohingya fleeing the violence and persecution in Myanmar. The refoulement of these refugees by Bangladesh to Myanmar where they face a very immediate threat to life and freedom, and a danger of irreparable harm; and the manner of refoulement, by push backs into dangerous waters, including in unsafe vessels are matters of serious concern.

The legal obligations of both Myanmar and Bangladesh require them to protect all persons within their territories or subject to their jurisdictions, regardless of whether they are citizens, stateless persons or refugees. In their treatment of the Rohingya, both countries have violated the right to life, the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the right to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention, the right to food and shelter including the fundamental right to be free from hunger and the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Bangladesh has also acted in violation of the rights to seek and to enjoy asylum and not to be subjected to refoulement.

We therefore recommend that both states immediately uphold their human rights obligations in this situation.

In particular, we recommend that the Government of Myanmar and the Rakhine State authorities take immediate steps to:

• Stop the violence.
• Stop the arbitrary arrests of Rohingya and abuses by security forces against them.
• Allow unhindered humanitarian access to assist all those in need as a result of the crisis, including internally-displaced people staying outside camps and those hosting them.
• Allow the displaced to return to their homes once it is safe and they feel safe to return, and ensure that a situation of protracted displacement is avoided.
• Allow an international inquiry into the abuses committed since June 2012 in Rakhine State.

We recommend the Government of Bangladesh take immediate steps to:

• Open its borders to refugees and to stop refoulement of refugees.

Further, we call on the international community to:

• Provide financial support for the humanitarian operation needed to assist people affected by the crisis in Rakhine State.
• Support the government of Bangladesh in providing protection to Rohingya refugees.
• Engage with the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh in relation to the above recommendations.
• We also recommend that the reform process in Myanmar address existing policies of discrimination against the Rohingya; and that this current crisis be used as an opportunity to address the longstanding problems between the communities in Rakhine State, and to promote a constructive dialogue aiming at peace and reconciliation.

Contact:
Michael Boyce +1 202 361 6131, michael@refugeesinternational.org
Dara McLeod +1 240 486 3011, dara@refugeesinternational.org

List of endorsing organizations:

1.    Act for Peace (Australia)
2.    Actions Birmanie Belgium
3.    Altsean-Burma
4.    Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
5.    Burma Campaign UK
6.    Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan
7.    Burmese Rohingya Community in Denmark
8.    Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
9.    Catholic Tokyo International Center
10.    Christian Coalition for Refugee and Migrant Workers, Japan
11.    Christian Solidarity Worldwide
12.    Church World Service - Immigration and Refugee Program
13.    Civil Development Organization, Iraq
14.    Dalit NGO Federation (DNF)
15.    Equal Rights Trust    
16.    ESCR-Asia Pakistan
17.    Euro-Burma Office
18.    Fahamu Refugee Programme
19.    Health Equity Initiatives, Kuala Lumpur
20.    Human Rights and Genocide Clinic, Cardozo School of Law
21.    Imparsial (Indonesia)
22.    Info Birmanie
23.    INFORM Documentation Centre, Sri Lanka
24.    International Detention Coalition
25.    International Observatory on Statelessness
26.    Japan Association for Refugees
27.    Japan Evangelical Lutheran Association
28.    Jesuit Refugee Service
29.    Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific
30.    Jesuit Social Center, Japan
31.    Lawyers for Human Rights (South Africa)
32.    Migrant Forum in Asia
33.    Minority Rights Group International
34.    Organization for Defending Victims of Violence
35.    Partnership for Pastoralists Development Association(PAPDA)
36.    People's Forum on Burma(Japan)
37.    Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates
38.    Physicians for Human Rights
39.    Praxis
40.    Project Maje
41.    Rafiq Japan
42.    Rebirth Society
43.    Refugee Council USA
44.    Refugees International
45.    RefugePoint
46.    Restless Beings
47.    Rohingya Society in Malaysia (RSM)
48.    Society for Threatened Peoples / Germany
49.    South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)
50.    Stateless Network
51.    Sudan Peace Humanitarian Organisation
52.    Swedish Burma Committee
53.    Tenaganita
54.    The Arakan Project
55.    The May 18 Memorial Foundation
56.    The Refuge Pnan
57.    United to End Genocide
58.    WOREC Nepal

Myanmar citizenship for Rohingya will end killings

Source from nationmultimedia, 17 July 2012 

As president of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), I feel it is important to express my deep regret for the failure of the world to react appropriately to the killing and persecution of Muslim ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

It is also regrettable that the recent visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Southeast Asia occupied the attention of most international media while neglecting and thus tolerating grave crimes against humanity in Myanmar.

The AIPMC is deeply troubled by the sectarian strife in Rakhine and concerned by the solution to the violence proposed by President Thein Sein. His solution to decades of sectarian violence and unrest does not express a willingness to promote national reconciliation, which the president campaigned under as part of his democratisation agenda.

Despite the flow of some of new migrants from Bangladesh, many people of the Rohingya minority have lived in areas of Western Myanmar for more than three generations. The AIPMC therefore urges the government of Myanmar to find a fair and just solution to the current unrest, which includes a permanent solution for the hundreds of thousands of stateless Rohingya who live in western Myanmar and in makeshift refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.

The Rohingya who have lived in Myanmar for generations must be recognised and granted citizenship. The government has a duty to protect and provide for these people. Seeking to unload responsibility onto the UN is not an acceptable solution and the suggestion from the country's president betrays the systematic persecution of the Rohingya population for generations.

The AIPMC also urges Asean and the United Nations to urgently respond to this latest outbreak of the crisis and take immediate action to protect people, including women and children, from violence and persecution. It must provide emergency assistance to thousands of refugees displaced from their homes by recent violence. Asean must work with the Myanmar government to find a lasting solution to the problems of Rakhine and stand up against any persecution of individuals on ethnic and/or religious grounds, especially if it comes from state authorities.

The AIPMC finds it difficult to accept the US government's decision to ease economic sanctions in Myanmar due to supposed reforms in the Asean member state, while a blind eye is turned to the clear violations of international law in the persecution of the Rohingya by neighbouring Arakanese, as well as the Myanmar government's refusal, on ethnic and religious grounds, to grant them citizenship.

A serious and concerted effort is urgently needed to avert further violence and find a lasting solution to these problems. A failure of the international community to act is reprehensible and could threaten the long-term success of Myanmar's nascent reform process. Immediate action is necessary to end the suffering of the Rohingya people.

Eva Kusuma Sundari