Breaking News | Inquiry Commission Arrived Kyaukaw Yesterday

Arakan, Burma 

Sunday, 9th September 2012 

In early August in Kyauktaw Towship, a place about 40km away from Arakan capital Akyab (Sittwe), under the direction of Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), Rakhines suddenly carried out many offensive attacks against Rohingyas. Consequently, many Rohingyas were killed during the attacks and more than 350 Rohingyas’ houses were burnt down. Many Rohingyas were killed and thousands were displaced and they are now struggling for survival. Contrarily, Rohingyas in Kyauktaw neither killed a Rakhine nor torched even a single house of Rakhines because they were believers of religious and communal harmony. Unfortunately, their vulnerable plights fail to catch international attention and hence subsequently ignored. 

According to a Rohingya from Kyauktaw, the inquiry commission set up by the president Thein Sein arrived Kyauktaw yesterday. The commission team cordially with Rohingya victims. Later, Rohingyas handed over a written statement to the team on the narrative of Rakhines’ attacks and other details about the violence. They are eagerly waiting to welcome OIC Facts Finding Mission and USA Investigation Team. 

Arrests against Rohingyas Resurfaced 

As the aftermaths of the violence against Rohingyas and taking advantage of the situation, three police officers in Maung Daw such U Tin Hla, U Aung Kyaw Kham and U Hla Sein have intensified the persecutions against Rohingyas such as arbitrary arrests, extortion of money and even raping Rohingya girls in Maung Daw (Town Area) and in its adjacent villages. They have mostly been arresting shopkeepers and extorting ransom money (e.g. 30 Lakh Kyats) besides giving severe tortures. Therefore, Rohingyas could not come out of their houses due to fear of being arrested by the mentioned police officers. Rohingyas are already dehumanized, demoralized and economically crippled. The District Police Chief and NaSaKa (Border Security Forces) Chief are also turning blind eyes to the vulnerable plights of Rohingyas and evading the heinous crimes of the three police officers maybe because they are getting their shares from them. Therefore, Rohingyas in Maung Daw would like to plead President Thein Sein to take actions against the three police officers. And these police officers have been in the same place, Maung Daw without any transfers for decades. 

Fresh Arrests against Rohingyas Prior to the Visit of Inquiry Commission 

The police in Maung Daw started a fresh bid of arresting senior members of Rohingya community, their learned people and some of their figure heads as soon as the inquiry commission set for Arkan from Yangon. They are being arrested for arbitrary reasons. It is said that police are arresting and locking up more learned man and figure heads from Rohingya community so that Rohingyas cannot meet the Inquiry Mission set up by the President and other forthcoming investigations and explain the crimes committed against them. 

On Friday around 11am, a Rohingya figure man, U Maung Kyaw from Quarter 1, was arrested for no reason and subsequently sued. We are not sure yet under what cases he was charged. On Saturday (yesterday), around 17 Rohingyas from Quarter 5 in Maung Daw were arrested. There were numbers of senior members were arrested from ShweZa village, too. They are doing all these arrests to make Rohingyas unable to explain their tragedies to the coming investigations. 

Therefore, Rohingyas from Maung Daw would like to send a message to the inquiry commission to meet Rohingya members exclusively and separately. Or else, they will be unable to explain what crimes were done against them because Rakhine authorities are making all the efforts to make the mission unsuccessful by not giving enough chances to Rohingyas. 

Reported by Nurul Islam 

Compiled by M.S. Anwar

Authority of Maungdaw are not allowing any camps for Internal Displace peoples

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Thein Sein Has Eaten Back His Words | M.S Anwar

Why has President Thein Sein eaten back his words? Thein Sein recently released an eighteen-paged statement on the violence in Arakan. In his statement, he said "some political parties, monks and individuals incited extreme racial hatred and encouraged people to commit irrational racial attacks against Bengali Muslims (his own term for Rohingya Muslims).” Thein Sein’s regime had kept denying any kind of ethnic cleansing against Rohinyas in Arakan and lying by insisting the violence as rather communal one than religious or racial until Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other International Observers exposed the reality on the ground level and abuses of Rohingyas by the state security forces. HRW’s report caused great troubles to Thein Sein’s strategic decision makers and hence they were caught in dilemmas. Subsequently, the regime met with international condemnation for the ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas.

In an effort to avoid further condemnation, delay the forthcoming general assembly relating to the violence at UN and shun the possibility of facing the cases of the crimes against humanity in the International Criminals Court of Justice (ICCJ) at the Hague, Thein Sein rather urgently set up an Inquiry Commission into the violence though the commission is made up of many culprits of the crimes themselves and released the statement. To Thein Sein’s shocking surprise, he came under fire and extreme pressures of Rakhine extremist politicians especially the members of Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) led by Dr. Aye Maung, one of the main culprits in the violence. 

The statement had already been read out in some regional parliaments and people’s parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw), the lower house of Union Parliament (Pyitaungsu Hluttaw). But it could not reach and be read out in the upper house of Union Parliament, Ammyotha Hluttaw because it met with the fierce opposition from RNDP. Although the degree of Rakhine involvements in the ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas using the state-provided apparatus is incredibly high, yet the destructive and inflammatory role that Thein Sein's regime played in it can't be denied either.

However, the statement of Thein Sein bucked up all the crimes (they) committed together on Rakhines alone. It portrayed Rakhine extremists and their Monks to be the sole criminals of the violence so that Thein Sein and his government can portray image of just protectors and saviours of the people. Therefore, naturally, Rakhines had to respond because it was a do or die situation for them (Rakhines). 

As a matter of fact, Rakhine politicians coerced Thein Sein to change his statement on the violence, which made them (Rakhines) the sole culprits. According to internal source, they threatened the President Thein Sein to expose the government’s plot and their destructive role in the violence if he was not going to change his statement. Expectedly, the director of president’s office, Bawmuu Zaw Htay declared that the statement was not President’s own opinion on the violence but his analysis of the different reports submitted to him by different organizations, NGOs and INGOs etc. Thein Sein’s regime has already played “Cat and Rat Game” many times and people with right minds are not going to be into their blame-game trap. 

Regardless of whatever they say or do to deceive international community and cover up their crimes against humanity, both Thein Sein’s regime and Rakhines are equally responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas for their respective gains. Hence, they must bear the punishments for the crimes. Therefore, it is the high time for the countries, UN, OIC, all other international communities to turn their vocal supports towards Rohingyas into actions to bring the criminals into International Criminal Court of Justice sooner rather than later. Or else, there will be another man-made human catastrophe which people will regret later as in the case of Jewish case holocaust during World War II. 

Mohammed Sheikh Anwar is an activist studying Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies at Westminster International College, Malaysia

No Rohingyas IDPs camps in northern Arakan

Maungdaw, Arakan State:  The concerned authority of Maungdaw are not allowing any camps for Internal Displace peoples (IDPs) of Rohingyas who lost their homes and property in recent riot which occurred in June, according to an elder from Maungdaw.
“300 families from Maung Nah ( Sa OH Brang) village of Buthidaung township was uprooted  by security forces  and looted all their property. The security forces drove out the Rohingya families from the area to Maungdaw. But, the Burma border security force (Nasaka) again drove out them to the Buthidaung. Now, the Rohingyas families are staying at Nan Yah Gone (Mein Gee Si) village without any home as the security forces are not allowing them to enter to their village. The Rohingyas become IDPs in their own land. No authority is going to build for them temporary accommodations.”
Similarly, Rohingyas from Rathedaung township move to Maungdaw south, staying in the jungle or village under the trees  since last month. No accommodations are made for them by authority of Maungdaw. These Rohingyas are not able to stay in their villages of Rathedaung for their security. Rakhine community from Rathedaung are always trying to attack the Rohingyas community.The security personnel- police, Nasaka, Hluntin and army are not giving protection  to them. So, the Rohingyas left their home town  to Maungdaw where they have  no accommodations to live or temporary tents for them, said a village admin officer from Maungdaw south.
The governmental team led by Union Minister for Ministry of Border Affairs accompanied by representatives of UN Agencies and INGOs had made the field trips to Arakan State for three times, having access for the humanitarian assistance to the affected persons from both communities – Rohingya and Rakhine.
The delegations main purpose of visiting is for restoration of peace and stability and to provide the emergency relief for the affected persons of both communities as first trip on 13- 17 June and the group again visited Arakan on 27- 29 June for sustaining of relief campaign and promoting to resettlement stage, establishing and imitating the resettlement plan for the affected persons with Coordination on  Humanitarian Assistance  from the International communities and progressing the resettlement campaign, normalization initiatives between the community on 16-18 July as last visiting the area, according to Access to the Humanitarian Assistance report of U Thein Sein government.
But, U Thein Sein government didn’t provide any assistance to Rohingyas from northern Arakan and only provided to Rakhine who are not most effected than Rohingyas in northern Arakan. The authority is showing the new settler ( Natala ) villagers who were settled on Rohingya lands by government. How many family effected in the recent riot? There are only 222 shelters and 400 tents from UNHCR while 128 shelters from CARE. Where is shelther for Rohingyas who are IDPS from Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung, The reliefs goods also for only Rakhine community  from northern Arakan , not for Rohingyas, Why, is the Rohingyas are not  including in UN categories  to get relifs? Now , again, the authority is creating new IDPs – hill people, Maungdaw north Rakhine and outside of northern Arakan – along the roadside of Maungdaw Aley Than Kyaw highway with UNHCR provide tents, according to a school teacher from Maungdaw.
“Two load trucks of Rakhine from Maungdaw north arrived at Young Chang village where they started looting and stealing animals from Rohingya community of Young Chaung. The security force are not charging any action against them.”
“The UN and INGos are only providing  relief goods to Akyab of Rohingyas and what about other side of Rohingyas who are living in Mrauk-U, Minbya, Kyauktaw, Paucktaw and Kyauknimaw. No, INGOs or UN didn’t visit this place to look after for these Rohingyas.”
In Maungdaw, Rohingyas who lost their home in the recent riot, are living beside of the Rohingyas’ home and they are not getting any help from any quarters.  Most of Rohingyas in Maungdaw are going starvation for shortage of foods, Most Rohingya who are working as a day labors effected more, said an elder from Maungdaw.