Rohingyas Should Be Given Protection, Says ABIM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM) has raised concerns over Bangladesh closing its borders to the Muslim minority Rohingyas fleeing ethnic violence in Myanmar.

ABIM secretary-general Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim said the Rohingyas should be given protection in line with Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on equal rights for all and Article 33(1) of the 1951 Convention on the status of refugees.

"A memorandum of protest will be sent to the Bangladesh High Commissioner to urge the government to open its borders and provide them protection," he said at the ABIM office, here Friday.

Ethnic Rohingyas and Rakhines in the western state of Rakhine, Myanmar have been experiencing ongoing conflicts. Another spate of violence against the Rohingya community reportedly erupted several days ago.

The Rohingya Ulama Council president Jaber Mohd Subahan, who was present at the press conference, alleged that on June 8 the Buddhist, Rakhine community supported by the police and army attacked the minority Rohingyas in Maungdaw and Sittwe towns.

Jaber appealed to the United Nations, European Union and Asean to urgently deal with the ethnic conflict and violence.

Dhaka hopes UNHCR, HRW would help restore peace in Myanmar

Bangladesh wished on Wednesday that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) will put their respective efforts to restore peace in sectarian strife-torn western Myanmar, officials said.

Meanwhile, violence continued in the main towns of Sittwe and Maungdaw, near Bangladesh border on Wednesday, according to intelligence reports collected by the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) in Dhaka.

In the meantime BGB has pushed back some five boats with more than 120 people, who were detained overnight for docking at the bank of the Naf river.

Before being pushed back the refugees on board were served with cooked and dry foods and some medicines by local charity groups in cooperation of BGB personnel, reporters and photographers told the FE from the spot over telephone.

"Our highest political level hopes that the UNHCR and the HRW will dwell on the authorities in Myanmar so that no further killing and persecution of minority Rohingyas take place in Rakhine state," a senior official at the Prime Minister's Office told the FE.

The official said so when asked to comment on a world's leading rights group that called upon Bangladesh government to open up its border in order to give shelter to Rohingyas fleeing mayhem in the nearby Rakhine state, formerly Arakan.

The HRW called upon Bangladesh on Wednesday, a day after the UNHCR made a similar call to shelter Rohingya refugees fleeing an ongoing sectarian violence in their ancestral home.

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Dipu Moni reiterated on Wednesday that her government hoped that there would be no trans-boundary spill-over of the ongoing violence in western Myanmar.

"We hope that Myanmar will be able to control the violence between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state and save the lives and properties of its people," she told reporters.

The HRW made the call after Bangladesh refused on Tuesday to allow further entry of Rohingya as the country had been hosting tens of thousands of the refugees who had crossed into Bangladesh over the past decades.

"Bangladesh has an obligation under international law to keep its border open to people fleeing threats to their lives and provide them protection," Bill Frelick, refugee program director at the Human Rights Watch said in a statement issued from HRW headquarters in New York.

Earlier on Tuesday UNHCR urged Bangladesh to provide shelter to Rohingyas fleeing mayhem in the Rakhine state, on humanitarian grounds.

Meanwhile dozens of more boats loaded with Rohingyas have been spotted in river Naf and its estuary in the Bay of Bengal as violence continued in Rakhine state, Bangladeshi fishermen who returned to the shore told reporters at Teknaf and Shahparirdwip on Wednesday.

"More people are becoming internal refugees within Rakhine state as Rohingyas fearing arrest and harassment in Bangladesh are stranded there," Ms Jing Song, spokesperson of UNHCR in Dhaka told the FE.

The UNHCR are arranging relief for the internal refugees including Rakhine Buddhists there, Jing added.

Meanwhile killing, torching homes and looting continued in Rakhine state mainly in Maungdaw, near Bangladesh border on Wednesday, a report of Kaladan Press Network, a news agency run by Rohingyas in exile said.

However major global news agencies said situation in Sittwe, also known as Akyab, was calmer on Wednesday as soldiers and riot police patrolled the streets to enforce a state of emergency after days of sectarian violence in which at least 25 people had been killed.

Bangladesh has been a shelter for Rohingyas for decades as they found it a safe haven in the wake of repeated sectarian mayhem in Rakhine state.

Rohingyas, often labelled by officials as "economic refugees," destroyed vast areas of forest land during their temporary settlement and became an economic bane for Bangladesh.

According to police, the refugees also create law and order problem by indulging in social and moral crime including human trafficking.

With the connivance of unscrupulous officials some of the Rohingyas, who look like locals in appearance and speak in almost identical dialect, manage Bangladeshi passports and even enrol themselves as voters creating extra socio-political hazards.

According to unofficial estimates, nearly 400,000 unregistered Rohingya refugees are scattered in Bangladesh especially in southeast Cox's Bazar and Bandarban districts.

These unregistered Rohingyas are in addition to some 30,000 registered Rohingyas, who have been awaiting repatriation in two refugee camps at Kutupalong and Nayapara under Cox's Bazar district run by the government of Bangladesh and the UNHCR.

The inmates of these two camps are the remnants of some 250,000 Rohingya refugees who had crossed into Bangladesh in late 1991 alleging persecution by Myanmar's military junta.

These Rohingyas declined to return home fearing further persecution in Myanmar, although the others returned over the last two decades, following intervention of Bangladesh and the UNHCR.

The ongoing violence sparked early this month after a Buddhist woman had allegedly been raped and murdered in Taungup of Rakhine state.

A mob of hundreds of people attacked a bus, believing the perpetrators were on board, and beat 10 Muslims to death, on June 3.

Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network statement on the situation in the Rakhine State of Myanmar

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) condemns the recent sectarian violence in the Rakhine State (Arakan State) in Myanmar. APRRN unequivocally deplores the use of violence by all sides, which has resulted in a still indeterminate number of killings and injuries, and the loss of livelihoods for thousands of ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya alike.

The root cause of the problems in Rakhine State is unabated and systematic discrimination suffered by the Rohingya at the hands of government authorities, including severe restrictions on movement, employment, right to marriage, and right to a family which are linked to the Citizenship Law of 1982 that rendered them stateless.

The Myanmar government has responded to the violence by imposing a state of emergency, but there have been worrisome reports that local authorities in Maungdaw and other areas may not be applying the restrictions of the state of emergency equally, with the result of further targeting and persecuting an extremely vulnerable religious and ethnic minority.

There are also reports that the Bangladesh government has increased security on its border with Myanmar, and closed parts of the frontiers, thereby preventing people from fleeing the violence in Rakhine state.

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) calls on:

The Government of Myanmar to,
Protect equally all people living in Rakhine State.
Initiate an independent investigation into the human rights abuses and bring the perpetrators to justice, including their trial in an independent and fair court of law.
Permit access to international monitors based in Myanmar, such as representatives of the UN Country team, and Yangon-based diplomats and the media, to assess the situation and make recommendations for further action.
Amend the 1982 Citizenship Law to accommodate the Rohingya as an ethnic group of Myanmar and guarantee that they are not excluded in the forthcoming 2014 national census.
Ensure freedom of movement, employment, right to marriage and right to a family that are now denied to the Rohingya, and also ensure that local authorities and military/police commanders cease atrocities like forced labor against the Rohingya.

The government of Bangladesh to,
Immediately open its borders, for humanitarian reasons, to allow people to escape from the violence and to provide them with basic assistance until they can return to their homes in Myanmar in safety.

The international community to,
Take appropriate measure to pressure the Myanmar government to halt the ongoing violence in Rakhine State, while also recognizing the Rohingya as legitimate citizens of Myanmar, enjoying equal protection of the state.
Encourage UNHCR and other international NGOs to maintain their presence in Rakhine State during this state of emergency.
Offer both strong support and vigorous pressure to the Bangladesh Government so that it will open its borders to refugees.


Endorsers as of 14/6/2012



ANCORW Cooperative Ltd Australia
Centre of Refugee Research Australia
Motra Hayward Australia
Refugee Council of Australia Australia
Tyrell Haberkorn Australia/US
Altsean-Burma Burma
Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS) Cambodia
Monireth Cambodia
University of Cambodia Cambodia
Egyptian Foundation for Refugee Rights Egypt
Development and Justice Initiative India
Loyola College India
Socio Legal Information Centre. India
LBH Jakarta Indonesia
Health Equity Initiatives Malaysia
Vivienne Chew Malaysia
Cassandra Pillay Malaysia
Pak Leh Malaysia
Lawyers For Liberty Malaysia
SEACeM Malaysia
Tenaganita Malaysia
The National Human Rights Society (HAKAM), Malaysia Malaysia
Myanmar Youth Knowledge Initiative Myanmar
SalusWorld Myanmar
Scholar Research and Development Journal Myanmar
Wimutti Volunteer Group and Political Prisoners’
Families Beneficial Network Myanmar
INHURED International Nepal
PPR Nepal Nepal
New Zealand National Refugee Network New Zealand
PIHRO Pakistan
Jose Maria Dimaandal Philippines
The Arakan Project Regional
Korean Public Interest Lawyers Group GONG-GAM Republic of Korea
Alistair D. B. Cook Singapore
The National Council of YMCAs of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
Taiwan Association for Human Rights Taiwan
ForDIA Tanzania
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development Thailand
Chin Human Rights Organization Thailand
COERR of Caritas Thailand Thailand
Human Security Alliance Thailand
Sara Baumann Thailand
Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific Thailand
Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation (TCR) Thailand
Asylum Access Thailand Thailand
AMIT KUMAR SINGH Thailand
Fahamu Refugee Programme UK
The Equal Rights Trust UK
Nicola Tannenbaum USA
University of Southern California USA



The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network(APRRN)is an open and growing network of over 116 civil society groups and individuals from 18countries committed to advancing the rights of refugees in the Asia Pacific Region.

True stripes revealed in Myanmar By Francis Wade

CHIANG MAI - The timing of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's return to Europe after a 24-year absence could have been better. She leaves her country amid turmoil in its western Rakhine State, where sectarian rioting has claimed scores of victims. The period of unrest has shed a rare light on the volatile tensions that have simmered for years between the country's dominant Buddhist population and its Muslim minority.

The week of rioting has also put Myanmar's much lauded democratic transition under new international scrutiny. A realization seems to be emerging of the many shortcomings of President Thein Sein's reform program that, for all its surface glint, has failed to address the deep underlying grievances among the country's many ethnic groups.

At the same time, the situation presents the most challenging test in years of Suu Kyi's ability to heal rifts and lead her people. Her decision to press ahead with the trip to Europe, where she will belatedly receive her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, could represent a political misstep given that the unrest marks the most clear-cut threat yet to the fragile reforms that, ironically, allowed for her election to parliament and afforded her the freedom to travel.

The violence has also spotlighted a far-reaching xenophobia within Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, long viewed by the outside world as drivers of positive change and equality. In now infamous comments, Ko Ko Gyi, a former political prisoner who led the 1988 student uprising that was crushed by military force, referred to Myanmar's long-persecuted Muslim minority group, the Rohingya, as "terrorists" who are "infringing on our sovereignty."

The Rohingya, who have consistently been denied citizenship, have borne the brunt of the rioting. Medicins Sans Frontieres says that state-sponsored abuse of the group has put them "in danger of extinction", but their protectors in Myanmar are nowhere to be seen. As the United Nations has noted, they are "virtually friendless".

Suu Kyi, who recently spoke of her solidarity with the nearly 150,000 refugees from Myanmar living in Thailand, has so far tiptoed round the status of the Rohingya, an issue that has long divided the pro-democracy movement. When pressed at the World Economic Forum in Geneva on Thursday to articulate her stance on the issue, she said only that Myanmar needed "precise laws on citizenship".

It was fear of illegal immigration that fueled the violence, she said, and not an underlying animosity prevalent across the spectrum of Myanmar politics - from the post-independence civilian governments of U Nu to successive junta leaders - that has long kept Muslims at the periphery of society and the Rohingya at an even greater length.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party is yet to release a statement on the riots, showcasing how sensitive the topic is. Her assertion that "those worthy of citizenship should get all the benefits that entails" was deliberately non-committal, and marks a rare break with her normally idealistic rhetoric built around the notion of equal rights for all.

It may be in keeping with her party's line, however: an NLD official said earlier this year that the debate over the origins of the Rohingya was "delicate", and that "even in our organization the Rohingya question has not been settled". NLD spokesperson Nyan Win was more blunt when he said, "The Rohingya are not our citizens."

Public Internet forums, meanwhile, have been awash with vitriolic, often racist, reactions to the violence. Although there are clearly two sides to the conflict - both Muslim and Buddhist mobs have torched towns and attacked one another - the inflammatory rhetoric has predominantly been directed at the Rohingya.

Myanmar's exile-run media outlets have been conspicuously tentative over their coverage of the riots, perhaps nervous to fan the flames, while leading domestic news journals have carried demeaning headlines such as "Bengali Rohingyas prowl around outside Rakhine city".

It is telling that one of the more measured responses came from Thein Sein, a man whose world view was partly shaped by a career in one of the most notorious military juntas of modern times. While others used the riots as a chance to vent against a group described as among Asia's most persecuted minority, Thein Sein warned that the situation could escalate if ethnic Burmese continue to "put racial and religious issues at the forefront".

At the same time, his government could benefit from the sectarian violence. The decision to send in the army, from which Muslims are banned from joining, is an attempt to cast the country's most vilified entity as "saviors" of the Rakhine, who, ironically, have long accused successive regimes of attempting to colonize their state through military expansion.

Moreover, it has somewhat stifled the euphoria surrounding Suu Kyi's European trip and distracted from the ongoing military conflict and rights abuses against ethnic Kachin near Myanmar's border with China.

Nevertheless, Then Sein's words are something of an anomaly from a man few considered an adept tactician. Without appearing to take sides, he has managed to portray himself as a non-partisan leader who can bridge an explosive fissure in the country's psyche - perhaps the first such head of state to do so in half a century.

What is of the greatest irony, and sadness, is that the key drivers of the crisis are the Burmese themselves. After decades of proclaiming the need for equal rights amid stifling military rule, they have now turned on one another.

Indeed, they risk turning back the clock on recent democratic gains. By announcing a state of emergency for western Myanmar, Thein Sein could spur the military into wielding greater clout only 15 months after Myanmar began its baby steps to democratic reform.

In words that now hang heavily over the country, Suu Kyi said in a 2002 interview: "Our conviction is that the majority of our people will support democracy with a greater responsibility."

To be sure, it is a small minority involved in the unrest but it highlights a wider sentiment that has continuously divided Myanmar, and raises doubts about the particular brand of democracy her movement and others profess to be fighting for.

Suu Kyi, a fierce defender of human freedoms, has been the principal moral force that has kept Myanmar moving forward. But for all her merits, she and her colleagues have not shown themselves to be the cultural adhesive that a country so rich in ethnic diversity needs.

A more substantial response from Suu Kyi to the recent rioting, as well as a clearer NLD policy on which minority groups the party believes should be afforded equal rights in Myanmar's new democracy, would be welcome and is long overdue.

Francis Wade is a freelance journalist and analyst covering Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

UN envoy calls for investigation into disturbances in Myanmar state

The United Nations top envoy for Myanmar has called for an investigation into violence that recently took place in the country’s Rakhine state.

“The Special Adviser [Vijay Nambiar] calls for a full, impartial, and credible investigation of the disturbances to be conducted urgently as well as to ensure that the rule of law is enforced in a transparent manner,” according to a UN news release.

The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, was in the south-east Asian nation to participate in a meeting of the Peace Donor Support Group, as well as meet with government leaders, including President Thein Sein, in the capital, Naypyitaw.

While there, serious disturbances occurred in Rakhine state, in the country’s west, which led to the Government declaring a state of emergency there. The UN also temporarily relocated, on a voluntary basis, some of its staff based in the towns of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, as well as Rakhine state’s capital, Sittwe.

According to media reports, the violence in Rakhine state, between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, left at least a dozen civilians dead and hundreds of homes destroyed since last Friday.

Mr. Nambiar and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ashok Nigam, travelled to Maungdaw, with a Government minister. There, they accompanied the minister on a visit to camps of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), where the Special Advisor expressed concern and sympathy for their situation, and assured the support of the United Nations.

The UN officials were informed that around 15,000 people had been internally displaced in Rakhine state. On Friday, the office of UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Nigam said these numbers are now reported to be over 30,000.

The team of UN officials also had an opportunity to review the situation with the aim of responding to the request from the Government for urgent humanitarian assistance for the affected people in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Sittwe – the Government has indicated that food, shelter and medical assistance are urgently required.

According to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Nigam’s office, the UN will conduct both a security and needs assessment to respond rapidly to the needs of the people, including the deployment of staff to Rakhine state.

“The UN will work with the Government and its humanitarian partners to meet these needs,” the Resident Coordinator’s office said in a news release. “Already more than 400 bags of rice have been distributed in the last two days.”

“Additional food is being distributed by the UN to all the people in need in accordance with UN procedures which require food to be distributed according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality,” it added.

In his meetings with President Sein, Mr. Nambiar discussed the state of emergency and the need for the Government to continue to handle the situation transparently and with respect for human rights and the rule of law, consistent with recent comments from the President, in order that the cycle of violence is broken and the country’s broader reform process is not adversely affected.

Mr. Nambiar’s visit followed the one made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in late April, during which he pledged the UN’s continued support for Myanmar as it continues with the process of national reconciliation and democratic transition begun last year by President Sein.

Separately on Friday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was deeply concerned about the welfare of people fleeing violence in Rakhine state and appealed to Bangladesh to offer safety and shelter.

“UNHCR recognizes that, for years, Bangladesh has been bearing the brunt of the forced displacement caused by earlier crises in Myanmar. The latest events pose new challenges and UNHCR hopes that Bangladesh will respond in line with the country's long history of compassion and solidarity,” UNHCR said in a news release.

The refugee agency said it “has first-hand, credible accounts of boats from Myanmar not being enabled to access Bangladeshi waters. These reports indicate women, children and some wounded are on board.”

It added that there were now a number of boats drifting in the mouth of the Naf River, which marks the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, and that there were “desperate people on board in need of water, food and medical care. It is vital that these people are allowed access to a safe haven and shelter.”

UNHCR said that it is encouraged by statements by Myanmar senior officials, including from President Sein, aimed at defusing the situation and appealing for calm, patience and restraint.