Saturday 6 October 2012

Rakhines attack bride-party vehicle in Maungdaw south

Maungdaw, Arakan State: A group of Rakhine youths accompanied by army personnel attacked and looted a bride-party vehicle while it was on Maungdaw-Aley Than Kyaw Highway of Maungdaw Township October 4, said a local villager.

“Rakhine youths and a group of army stopped the vehicle near Horsara village and attacked it when the bride-party was returning from Nolbona (Pandawpin) village. The Rakhine Natala villagers are from Horsara Natala village and the army is from a nearby camp.”
On that day, at about 1:00pm, over 20 persons of bridegroom-party including males, females and children from Buhamu Para under the village tract of Aley Than Kyaw went to Nolbona village to bring bride by a vehicle, said a villager.
On their return journey, at around 3:30 pm, the bride-groom party was stopped nearby   Horsara village by a group of Rakhines with the co-operation of army.. All the people including bride were severely beaten up by them after getting down from the vehicle. But, they took away gold ornaments from bride, Ms. Shazan and her sister.
Meanwhile, some Rohingya villagers informed the event to the British ambassador who is visiting Maungdaw south yesterday, sources said.
Being informed, some members of envoy went to the spot to see the matter, but the culprits –Rakhines and army—fled from the scene.
However, all the victims including bride went to the Nasaka camp No.7 and gave complaint against the culprits regarding the matter. An officer of Nasaka told them, they will investigate it later, said another villager.
The bus owner was identified as Musu Uddin of Aley Than Kyaw village tract.
A village leader who was not identified said, “The army and the Rakhine extremists did not give respect even to the British ambassador , who is visiting to Maungdaw town. They don’t care international community and are doing their works continuously against the Rhingya community, In this situation, how we will survive in future without getting any supporting from international quarters.”

One Rohingya boy was killed by NaSaKa.(06-10-2012)

One Rohingya youth, Amanullah (16 years old) son of U Abdu Rashid who lives in West Gaudusara Village, Maungdaw South was killed by Border Security Forces (NaSaKa) on 3rdOctober, 2012.

Amanullah and his friend of Pandaw Pyin Village were severely tortured by the Border Security Forces whose camps is stationed two miles far from the Maungdaw Downtown, beside the Maungdaw- Alay Than Kyaw road.

The two youths were returning from the Maungdaw (Kayindan Quarter) to Pandaw Pyin, after their shopping. They were called by NaSaKa at 5:30 PM on that day while on the road. The friend of Amanullah from Pandaw Pyin was released alone after he was severely tortured.

But Amanullah was killed by the NaSaKa’s torturing and floated his dead body into the Magyi Myaing River. The dead body was founded today by villagers.

Arakan News Updates (Saturday, 6th October 2012) | M.S. Anwar

Rohingyas in Pauk Taw Facing Starvation and Threats to their Lives

Pauk Taw, Arakan- “On 4th October 2012
night, Rakhine extremists and Police (made up of Rakhines) raided the houses of Rohingyas in Ywa Haung, Pauk Taw Township and confiscated their household knives, rods and telephones. Similar case had happened in Sittwe before the beginning of the violence against Rohingyas there. Rakhine Police and Extremists seized household knives and rods etc giving many excuses. The small Rohingya minority in Pauk Taw fear whether doing so to them are the preliminary steps to begin a fresh attack against them.

Indeed, the small minority in the region have been oppressed through various means by the authorities and Rakhine extremists. As a matter of fact, four Rohingyas were killed by Rakhine extremists led by RNDP members at Quarter 3 in Pauktaw Tsp. Besides, Ngat Wa Chaung, a Rohingya village in Pauk Taw Tsp, was burnt down and about 50 Rohingyas were killed in cold blood in the recent violence.

By the same token, of about 300 displaced Rohingyas (from Pauk Taw) who took refuge in Thekkay Pyin Refugee Camps in Sittwe, about 60 Rohingyas died due to malnutrition and starvation. More 300 displaced Rohingyas taken refuge in a partially destroyed in Pauk Taw mysteriously disappeared now. Nothing had been known about them since their disappearances. Rohingyas are living in fear and worried of their future due to different propaganda being carried out against them by Rakhine extremists in recent days, whearas they are facing great starvation” said Nyi Nyi Aung, a Rohingya activist.

Financial Blocks to Rohingyas in MinBya ,Friday, 5th August 2012

MinBya, Arakan- Myanmar Agricultural Bank in MinBya Township has stopped giving out agricultural loans to Rohingyas in the area. Besides, the bank refused to give back the savings of Rohingya farmers in the banks, too.

“The Bank Manager U Thar Aye, a strong supporter of Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), said upon the requests of Rohingya farmers that Bank officials would go to their villages and disburse the loans to the farmers. But no official from the bank has gone to Rohingyas’ villages to give out the loans. Besides, Rohingyas are unable to withdraw their savings from the bank” said a Rohingya on phone from MinBya.

Myanmar government provides an amount of Kyat 50,000 loans and Kyat 10,000 loans for the monsoon agriculture (such as Paddy crops) and other seasonal crops respectively to the farmers through the agricultural banks in Myanmar. The interest rate of the loan is 1.25% a month. The farmers need to settle the old loans before taking out a new one. Like others, Rohingya farmers in MinBya had received the loans till February 2012.

Even though Rohingya farmers have settled their old loans, the new loans are not given out to them. Sadly, they can’t go the main branch of the bank situated in the downtown of MinBya for the fear of being attacked by Rakhine extremists. For the worse, Rohingyas farmers are unable to get back their 7-year savings in the banks. As a result, they are struggling to survive and having great difficulty in their agriculture of paddy crops which their life-line. And Rohingya farmers are afraid of going to their farms because many farmers are being inhumanely killed by Rakhine extremists in Pauk Taw and MinBya.

Bristish Ambassador Left Maung Daw Yesterday ,Friday, 5th October 2012

Maung Daw, Arakan- British Ambassador to Burma, Mr. Andrew Heyn, has successfully finished his observation trip to Maung Daw. He has visited many violence hit Rohingya and Rakhine villages and interviewed many of them.

A local Rohingya from Maung Daw said “he, Mr. Andrew Heyn, has visited the villages such as Baggona, Nurualla, Rammawady near to Alay Than Kyaw, Tharay Kunbaung, Quarter 2 and Thaung Painya in Maung Daw. He has successfully met up Rohingyas in the villages mentioned except Tharay Kunbaung where he faced NaSaKa’s interruptions and disturbances.

He listened to the tragedies of Rohingyas in Baggona and Nurualla with patience where even raped Rohingya women came forward to tell him how they are inhumanely treated. His trip to Maung Daw started on 5th October 2012 and ended on 6th October 2012. But we don’t know how his trip to Rakhine villages proceeded. And we are immensely thankful to him and British government for caring about our sufferings. We hope they will do their best for us.”

Compiled by M.S. Anwar

Did the gov’t incite the racial violence targeting the Rohingya? | Dr. Maung Zarni



Policemen carry their weapons during fighting between Arakanese and Rohingya communities in Sittwe, Arakan state. (Reuters)


Following this summer’s rioting in western Burma, all eyes have been fixed on the government’s handling of the unrest in Rakhine state. With external pressure mounting, most specifically from the Islamic world, Burmese officials – from President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw to local security troops in western Burma – have been playing ostensibly the “humanist and humanitarian” card with the Rohingya.

If the findings from various investigative missions turn out to be little more than public relations white-wash for Naypyidaw, more than a few Rohingya have expressed their concerns to me that their communities – the bulk of whom are barely surviving under the recently imposed martial law – will explode again.

When an oppressed and downtrodden people feel they have absolutely nothing more to lose but their captive lives in the iron cage of refugee camps set up by the predatory and repressive state, radicalism and violence are just a step away. After all, the Rohingyas are surrounded and outnumbered by exceedingly hostile Rakhines [Arakanese], who reportedly and repeatedly told the touring US Ambassador Derek Mitchell and his inquiry team that the Rakhines are not at all prepared to live on the same land which they in fact share with the Rohingya. Worse still, neighbouring Bangladesh has consistently slammed its gates each time there is a wave of Rohingya refugees fleeing from Burma.

Seen from the Rohingya’s perspective, the fact-finding missions – including Naypyidaw’s own team – represent more than investigative tours. They are, ultimately, the last straw for a people who feel they are drowning in the sea of Burma’s popular “Buddhist” racist nationalism.

So, naturally, the Rohingya are pinning their collective hopes on the inquiries and that the findings by the independent investigation will mark the beginning of the end of their plight as the most persecuted minority in the country and a first step towards securing humane living conditions and legal rights as citizens in Burma, where they were born and have lived for generations.

Understandably, deep anxieties over the situation remain. Already some Rohingya are expressing their concerns that Burma’s government may not be coming clean. They point to the generals’ well-documented pattern of lying, distorting facts and manipulating domestic and international opinions during previous foreign relations crises – from the use of jailed dissidents as political bargaining chips to blocking emergency and humanitarian aid to two million cyclone victims to the slaughter of Buddhist monks during the “Loving Kindness” uprising in 2007.

For any politically and historically informed local, Rohingya victims or Burmese dissidents, Naypyidaw’s real intent behind its international cooperation with UN aid agencies, the OIC and US inquiry teams is to absolve itself of the ultimate “responsibility to protect” the most vulnerable community in the country and to reinforce its latest official spin that the plight of the Rohingya is the result of popular Buddhist racism and racial violence instigated by Rakhine nationalist extremists.

However, many locals suspect President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government was the real culprit behind the racial violence and the resurgence of the country’s popular xenophobic racist nationalism.

Independent Burmese researchers on the ground who have been engaged in below-the-radar investigations, who have spoken with local security troops made up of Rakhine and Burmese Buddhists, police officials, local eyewitnesses and Rakhine and Rohingya victims of violence, have recently uncovered fresh evidence lending credence to the Rohingya’s collective suspicion.
“Already some Rohingya are expressing their concerns that Burma’s government may not be coming clean”

Their hitherto unpublicised evidence pokes gaping holes in the Thein Sein government’s official narrative that claims the racial violence was the result of simmering sectarian hostilities. Most troublingly during Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s trip to the US, she, who along with her senior NLD colleagues was the target of the regime-orchestrated mob violence at Depayin in May 2003, repeated with shocking naivety Naypyidaw’s deceptive narrative – that the latest wave of state-sponsored violence against the Rohingya was “sectarian”. She should know better. In fact, the findings by the team of my in-country research collaborators point to a very real possibility that Naypyidaw manufactured the trigger for the worst ethno-religious violence in Burma since the military came to power in 1962.

To start off with, what these local researchers have uncovered calls into question Naypyidaw’s official narrative about how and why the Rakhine-Rohingya ethnic conflict started. For instance, according to the official state newspaper the New Light of Myanmar (dated 4 June) and the government’s official report entitled: “Situation in Rakhine State in Myanmar” issued by the Ministry of Border affairs, the news of the unspeakable rape and murder of a Buddhist Rakhine woman, named Ms Thida Htwe, on 28 May by three Muslim men, triggered the initial mob violence in Rakhine state five days later.

What followed was the violent murder of ten out-of-state Muslim pilgrims who were dragged onto a busy town street from an inter-state bus and slaughtered by a mob in broad day light in the predominantly Rakhine Buddhist state in western Burma.

In sharp contrast, the government doctor, a civil servant by definition, who under duress signed the official post mortem report on Ms Thida Htwe said, in no uncertain terms, to one of the in-country Burmese researchers that there was no trace of rape on her murdered body.

Why then did Myanmar’s Ministry of Information which micro-manages all official publications and broadcasts went on to characterise incorrectly the three perpetrators as ‘Muslims’ whereas in fact one of them, Mr Htet Htet, was a Buddhist?

Additionally, why did the Ministry go with the fabricated medical report about Ma Thida Htwe, which made the patently false claim that she suffered violent sexual assault before being looted and murdered?

Rape as a violent crime may be prevalent in all societies. In Burmese society, of all the crimes, rape is considered the absolute worst. Rapists are reviled. Once in jail, they are taunted and physically attacked even by other inmates.

So what was the rationale behind the Ministry of Information amplifying, without verifying, the fabricated local notice reportedly put out by local anti-Rohingya Rakhine extremists, that “Muslim men intentionally raped a Rakhine Buddhist woman”, when it published the fabricated story approvingly in the Burmese and English language official mouth pieces on 4 June?

Even more curiously, the authorities declared that Htet Htet committed suicide in police custody, awaiting his trial. Burmese jails and police interrogation centres are infamous for the torture and deaths that occur in their halls, not inmates’ successful suicide attempts. Thousands of the country’s former political prisoners will attest to the impossibility of taking one’s own life behind bars.

Something even more mysterious seems afoot.

Three days after President Thein Sein authorised the formation of a Rohingya-Rakhine Riot Inquiry Commission made up of prominent public figures including dissidents and academics, Htet Htet’s widowed wife was found dead in a well. Did she accidentally fall into the well and drown? Or was there something dodgy going on?

Furthermore, according to the official narrative, the Buddhist Rakhine mob killing on 3 June of ten Muslim pilgrims during the former’s return bus trip from Rakhine state to Rangoon was in response to and as a retaliation against one Rakhine woman being gang-raped by “three Muslims” on 28 May.

According to local eyewitnesses interviewed by Burmese researchers, there were altogether six buses travelling on the same route at about the same time on 3 June. And yet, the mob – about 300 men, according to the estimate by the official Myanmar News Agency (New Light of Myanmar, 4 Jun) – seemed to have known exactly which bus to attack.

Recently, I pressed an official from Burma as to why no one has been arrested, tried or charged by the authorities for the slaughter of the ten Muslim men. According to the local official, the Rakhine refused to collaborate with any police investigation. No one would come forward to share any information about who might be involved in actual killings of the ten innocent Muslim men.

But successive military regimes in Myanmar have never needed eyewitnesses to arrest and jail political dissidents. For they spend an inordinate amount of resources, in monitoring, photographing and videoing any mob formation or mob action. In 2005 and 2006, I spent a little over one month in total as a “guest of the military government” in officers’ guesthouses in military intelligence depots in Rangoon and Mandalay. Every morning I saw young intelligence agents leaving various units, carrying point-and-shoot digital cameras in small shoulder bags in order to record the day’s events – especially in public spaces such as markets, bus and train stations and other surveillance spots.

Why have the authorities not tried to access photographic evidence or video records of the 3rd June slaughter of Muslims on the streets in broad day light, which they must certainly have in their police and intelligence archives? Perpetrators who would have been most certainly caught on either intelligence digital cameras or video cameras could easily be identified.

Judging from Naypyidaw’s official inaction, the regime doesn’t want to see justice carried out, insofar as the slaughter of the Muslims is concerned. There is then little wonder that President Thein Sein’s government is said to be stonewalling any and all attempts even by its own Riot Inquiry Commission to conduct proper investigation into the racial violence. Deceptively, during his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, Thein Sein showcased the multi-faith, multi-ethnic make-up of his Inquiry team, emphasing how esteemed the bulk of the presidential commissioners are.

According to the sources close to the Commission, the Ministry of Border Affairs in charge of Rohingya matters has so far failed to grant the Commission’s request to allow unfettered access to security forces stationed in western Burma. They have also failed to provide immunity for any Rohingya and Rakhine interviewees and have blocked access to the two remaining Muslim men behind bars who were convicted of the alleged rape and murder of the Rakhine woman.

Instead, Naypyidaw has transferred many key commanders and officers in charge of various security units from western Burma to remote areas such as Hpa’an in Karen state, thereby making it more difficult for the Commission to do a thorough job before its November deadline.

It seems as if Thein Sein’s government has decided that a serious investigation led by Burmese nationals on its own official commission has greater potential to get to the bottom of the racial violence that erupted in western Burma. Local Commissioners are certainly best positioned to excavate not only the mass graves, if there are any, but also to uncover the ugly truths about how President Thein Sein’s government may have manufactured the triggers that prompted the sectarian violence.

More specifically, the government wouldn’t want its direct involvement exposed, domestically and internationally, in terms not only of the security forces opening fire on the Rohingya, slaughtering them in the hundreds, but also in its central role in lighting the fire of sectarian violence that targeted the Rohingya.

One regime official recently told me, “the bottom-line is we don’t want any more ‘Mus’ (a coded reference to the Muslims amongst military officers) in our country. But we can’t possibly kill them all”. So, did the reformist government in Naypyidaw decide to outsource the job of cleansing the Golden Land of Burma of the unwanted Muslim Rohingyas to the extremist Rakhines?

Whatever the findings by various independent investigative missions concludes concerning how and why the worst racial violence in the country’s modern political history kicked off, the OIC’s fact-finding mission and Burma’s own Presidential Riot Inquiry Commission should demand that Burma government cooperates fully with both its own national fact-finders and all independent international investigators.

Further, they should press President Thein Sein’s government to guarantee the physical safety of fact-finders, especially the Burmese locals; provide unfettered access to security troops for interviews; offer the local Rakhine and Rohingya eyewitnesses unequivocal and official safeguards; and make available all relevant intelligence reports.

It is in the all-around interest of Burmese society and the government, as well as the international community to prevent any political and international scenario where Rohingyas feel, quite rightly, the world has abandoned them at the hands of the racist majority and their militarist government now wearing civilian garb.

Truthful reports by various inquiry commissions and missions can and will go a long way towards restoring a glimmer of hope in the world’s most persecuted minority community, if the investigators are able to get to the bottom of the recent large-scale racial violence, which left nearly 100,000 both homeless and hopeless.

- Dr Maung Zarni is one of the veteran founders of the Free Burma Coalition and a Visiting Fellow (2011-13) with Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the London School of Economics

Interview on the Crisis Facing Burma’s Rohingya People | Mohiuddin Yuso

Rohingya refugees (Credit: UNHCR)

United to End Genocide interviewed Mr. Mohiuddin M. Yusof, President of Rohingya Concern International, to learn more about the current crisis facing Burma’s Rohingya people following the outbreak of deadly violence in Arakan State this past June.

Can you talk about what is happening right now in Burma’s Arakan State?

“The displaced people and those who are not displaced, but still live in their own homes and villages, are both still suffering a lot. Actually, those law enforcement agencies, security forces and police who have the responsibility to protect the lives of the Rohingya people have become an instrument of ethnic cleansing. This is still true today.”

“The situation may seem calm, but the inside is burning. The Rohingya people are traumatized. People are in constant fear of persecution.”

“The situation has not progressed. Protection is very important now. Citizenship rights and other rights are secondary for now; at this critical moment, it is a life and death question. The first step is protection. We need the Rohingya people to be protected. This will not happen until and unless the United Nations arranges a monitoring and protection force. Until that day, there will be no solution.”

“There also needs to be a UN commission of inquiry in addition to the monitoring and protection force. Everyone is saying that there should be reconciliation, peace and stability, but there’s still violence. Some people and groups don’t want peace. Some don’t want the Rohingya to have citizenship rights. The Burmese President Thein Sein wants to keep the Rohingya population in camps under supervision of the UN and then forcibly send them to other countries for resettlement. They say there is no place for the Rohingya in Burma’s Arakan State. It’s very worrisome.”

What should the international community be doing to help the Rohingya?

“I want the United States government, European Union countries, non-aligned movement, the Asian countries, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and international non-governmental organizations to put more pressure on the government of Burma to restore peace and promote reconciliation between the Rohingya and Rakhine. People need to be protected. Otherwise, there will be even more bloodshed. All the world governments should put more pressure on the Burmese government with all available means, so that at least the Rohingya people can survive in their own native land.”

“The world community needs to come forward to save the Rohingya people because they are human beings. We have to restore human dignity and human respect.”

If the Rohingya people were to be protected, what would be the next step to secure their rights?

“First and foremost, we want our people to survive. Protect them first, then restore all their rights and give them equal opportunities just like all other ethnic national groups in Burma.”

“The Rohingya are peace-loving people. They want to live in Burma in peace and security, abiding the laws of the country, according to the constitution, but they want guarantees from the local, state and national governments that they will be treated equally. They should have all rights. The Rohingya people want to make sure that they are bona fide citizens recognized as an indigenous people of Arakan under the current Burmese constitution.”

How do you feel about the U.S. government’s decision to end sanctions against the Burmese government?

“We feel that sanctions removal is not helpful for the Rohingya people, and will not be helpful until all our rights are granted.”

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

“Some people say that the situation has calmed down and that a solution is available, but this is not true. The problems facing the Rohingya are very complicated. The Rohingya are not only 800,000 people as the Burmese government says in their report. There are 3.5 million Rohingya people worldwide: 1 million live in Arakan State, 500,000 are scattered throughout Burma, and 2 million live in other countries after they were compelled to leave their native land in Arakan State due to a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion and language. So, when we talk, we need to talk about all the Rohingya people. Those displaced outside of the country must have the right to return to Burma and live there with dignity and honor as citizens. We should be allowed to work for the progress and development of Burma to make our country peaceful. We all must endeavor to create an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence in Arakan State where all Burmese citizens can live together peacefully and in happiness.”

Rohingya Concern International is a New York-based human rights organization working for the protection and prevention of genocide against the Rohingya people, and the restoration of the Rohingyas’ fundamental rights.

The Bitter Truth: Who’s sneaking into Arakan, Rakhine or Rohingya? (Part 2) | M.S. Anwar


Rohingyas and 1982 Citizenship Law of Burma

While Ne Win was bringing in Bangladeshi Rakhines into Arakan, he never forgot to either depopulate Rohingya population or expulse them. He invented and deployed a discriminatory and bigotry citizenship law in 1982. According to the law, Rohingyas need to prove their existence before 1824, which is a very difficult thing to be done. Yet, Rohingyas would be pleased if the law was and is applied to Rakhines as well. Almost three fourth of Rakhines would have already been expelled from Arakan had the law been equally applied to them! The law was specially designed for Rohingyas to expel them from the country. Consequently, it caused a mass exodus of Rohingyas into neighboring Bangladesh in 1982.

Since then, quite contrary to the accusations, Rohingyas have been leaving Arakan and there have been no such illegal Bengali settlements. Due to the racist propaganda of different Burmese regime throughout its history, general Burmese people could not have the chance to know Rohingya people and the term “Rohingya.” When they came to know the term, it was in the negative light propagated by the regime and Rakhine extremists. Rohingyas are successfully portrayed as the threats to the national sovereignty and Buddhism by the regime for its own political gains.

Ignorance of the Truth


However, I was pretty much disgusted to see a revered leader like Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (DASSK) ignore the plight of the Rohingyas. During her recent talk at Amnesty International Office, an audience asked “Who are Rohingyas and why are they persecuted?” I felt that she was paralyzed upon hearing the question. She replied “one should not use an emotional word like “PERSECUTION.” Dear DASSK, what term should one use if not PERSECUTION? The truth is that Rohingyas have not been kissed or hugged but committed atrocities against by the regime throughout historical periods. She (DASSK) continued “The border security is fragile and badly policed” and that was indirectly supporting to the accusation that there are still illegal Bengali settlements.

During her trip to Europe, she said “She doesn’t know Rohingyas.” If so, how does she know that the Arakan border is badly policed? Therefore, with due respects, her statements are contradictory and oxymoronic and not so different from Thein Sein statements!! She seems to have no clue about Arakan situation as she has spent most of her life either in foreign countries or under house arrest. She has been just listening to her bigotry racist colleagues in her party. In Arakan, there is NaSaKa, a border security force which was specially designed only for the persecutions of Roingyas. It was formulated by ex-Gen Khin Nyunt to force Rohingyas out of Arakan and to make Border ever stringent. There have been immigration checks against Rohingyas all over Maung Daw and Buthidaung twice a year. If any Rohingya accidentally happens to go to Bangladesh, there is no way for him to come back to his own land.

Why will Bengalis Come to Arakan?


Moreover, at a time when Arakan has become a hell for its own people, Rohingyas, why will Bangalis come to the land? Why will Bengalis come to a land which is ruled by the world’s most oppressive government, relatively less economic opportunity, less income (GDP per Capita in Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2011 are US$1700 and US$1300 respectively) and poorer infrastructures? When a journalist friend of mine asked Ko Ko Gyi, a so-called democratic activist in Burma, why Bengalis should come to Arakan. He replied “the poorest people from Bangladesh come to Arakan.” When asked how they settle in Arakan, he replied “by bribing the authorities because they have a lot of money.” I seriously think most of the politicians in Burma today should get themselves checked up with psychiatrists. Or tell us what you think after comparing and contrasting the two immediate statements “the poorest people from Bangladesh come to Arakan” and “by bribing the authorities because they have a lot of money.”

And not to forget a recent statement Burma’s Immigration Minister, U Khin Yee that two third of immigration officers in Arakan are Rakhine themselves. Now tell us Rakhine Immigration Officers take bribes from illegal Bengali immigrants and let them settle in their own land to create problems. If so, Burmese government has to sack these corrupted Rakhine Immigration Officials and punish them according to the law. If not, there have not been any recent Bengali settlements in Arakan. Hence, Rakhines need to stop beating around the bush.

Conclusion

Dr. Maung Zarni has given his viewpoint on why majority Burmese think Bengalis from Bangladesh emigrating into Arakan though it is practically otherwise. He said “although Burmese are practically poorer than Bangladeshis are, Burmese regime, as a part of its political strategy, has successfully portrayed Burma as the golden land with fertile soils and rich natural resources with kind people with great hospitality towards their guests, where everybody craves to come to.” He was right to point out this because despite living in a hell-like country, majority Burmese thinks that there are still people who crave to come to and live in Burma. However, the bitter truth that Rakhines are afraid of admitting is that they are not Rohingyas who are sneaking into Arakan but Rakhines themselves taking advantage of the presence of their people in the state administration, immigration, police, security forces and NaSaKa etc. Rohingyas have only been leaving Arakan for decades to the extent that it caused Rohingya Diaspora all over the world. As a result, today, there are bigger numbers of Rohingyas living in foreign countries than in Burma itself.

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

Qatar urged to help displaced Rohingyas | Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter

Indonesian Red Cross Society chairman Yusuf Kalla has called on Qatari authorities to extend humanitarian assistance to the displaced Rohingya Muslim population in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. “Qatar has been providing humanitarian support for the Myanmar community in Bangladesh,” he pointed out.
Kalla was in Doha yesterday for the ‘Second Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in the Rakhine State’ organised by the Organisation of the Islamic Co-operation (OIC) in collaboration with the Qatar Charity.
About 30 local, regional and international organisations took part in the meeting, the second of its kind after the Kuala Lumpur meeting last August, and discussed a strategic plan for humanitarian intervention in Rakhine State in addition to ways of strengthening co-ordination between organisations interested in the issue of the Rohingya Muslims.
“We are aware that Qatar has, through Qatar Charity, initiated many activities for the over 300,000 Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh and that the country is willing to give more support to those in need, especially in Africa and Asia. However, there is a need to focus more humanitarian supports on the Islamic world because there are presently around 80,000 refugees in Rakhine,” he noted.
“Qatar Charity is also providing support in terms of housing of up to 400,000 homes as well as hospital services for those affected by the Ache Tsunami, which killed around 200,000 people,” he said.
On whether Qatar should mediate in ongoing conflicts in the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region, the official said it will be a welcome idea but stressed it is important for Qatar or any other country willing to mediate, to understand the bane of the issues as well as the cultural differences of the warring groups before intervening.
“It is noteworthy that Qatar’s leading and successful roles in mediating to resolve a number of conflicts, within the Middle East and North Africa in the past, have given the country a proven track record, but it will not be a bad idea if the Qatari government take its time to study the situation within the Asean region critically in order to acquire knowledge of the people involved before attempting to mediate because the situation could be entirely different,” he cautioned.
However, on the role of Indonesia in supporting the refugees and ensuring peace and stability in the region, especially being a country with the world’s largest Muslim population, Kalla said: “Indonesia is providing support for other countries, especially within the OIC, on the issue of the refugees and this is the most important aspect for any humanitarian services to succeed.”
He mentioned that Indonesian Red Cross has worked with the OIC members by providing easy access and leeway to the refugees in Myanmar.
“We have been working with the OIC and the Myanmar government on conducting humanitarian work and many countries are presently asking to join the relief effort through the OIC,” he pointed out.

British Ambassador arrives in Maungdaw, Arakan




Maungdaw, Arakan State: British Ambassador to Burma Andrew Heyn accompanied by two others arrived in Maungdaw in the evening of October 3, according to a trader from Maungdaw Town.

“The Ambassador was accompanied by two others, of them, one is Muslim, and another one is Burman from Rangoon. They stayed in Nasaka headquarters of Kawar Bill of Maungdaw Township.”

Today, at about 9:30 am, the delegation went to Baggona, Horsara and Nurula Para and Ale Than Kyaw villages of Maungdaw Township where especially they met with rape victims, village elders and leaders. Most of the women and girls were raped by army, Hluntin, Nasaka and Natala villagers when the husbands were absent at homes for fear of arrest by the security forces. The victims openly told their matter to the delegation, said a village elder who denied to be named.

The delegation also asked to the village leaders and elders about the recent violence, the present situation of Roingya community and why the violence was occurred.

Regarding the questions villagers said, “During the violence, the Rakhine mobs were torching our houses and when we tried to extinguish the fire the security forces fired to us, so we are unable to switch off our houses. Meanwhile, many villagers were killed and wounded.

Another villager said, “The concerned authorities have been persecuted us by various means to expel us from the country. But, we still exist in Arakan. As a result, the concerned authorities created these riots between two communities.”

“The present situation is very bad. Daily the security forces such as—police, Hluntin, Nasaka, Sarapa, army--- enter our villages, and arrest villagers, torture, extort money, looting our properties, take away our cattle, and rape our women and girls. Now, we are under house arrest, We are not allowed to go to market to buy essentials. If police, army and local Rakhine extremists met us- they beat up and looted our money and goods. Even army robbed a bus of Rohingya passengers recently. How, can we trust them? We have no ration, no medicine, no money, no works, how will we survive. There are NGOs and other donors to support us, said a local leader on condition of anonymity.

A local youth from the village said, “Ten minutes before, the arrival of the delegation to our village, a group of patrol army severely tortured to a poor villager without any reason who was selling vegetables in Sarcombo village market.. He is belong to Konna Para ( village). This event was also appraised to the delegation.

Yesterday, the delegation arrived at Akyab (Sittwe) at about 3:00 pm. The Ambassador met RNDP Chairman Dr U Aye Maung along with other members of RNDP, Phethu Hluttaw member U Maung Nyu of Sittwe, NLD members, USDP members and other social welfare organization members.

They also met with Rohingya leaders in Sittwe (Akyab) and went to Refugee camps to see the situation of Rohingya refugees, said a Rohingya villager from Sittwe.

The aim of the delegation is to discuss with the local people, especially Rakhine and Rohingy, regarding the violence and how they will live together in future. The two groups;- Rohingyas want to stay together as before and the Rakhine want to stay spreatly as they don’t want again conflict( riot).

The Ambassador said that the British government donated 3 million US Dollar to Burma this year, for education, regional and social developments.

Tonight, they will stay at Nasaka Headquarters of Maungdaw Township.

About Me

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Maung daw, Arakan state, Myanmar (Burma)
I am an independent man who voted to humanitarian aid.