Myanmar urged to end violence and protect vulnerable communities in Rakhine State – UN experts

GENEVA (31 October 2012) – Three United Nations experts on Myanmar, minority issues and internally displaced persons today expressed their deep concern over continuing inter-communal violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, that has led to loss of life, destruction of homes and mass displacement, and called on the Government to urgently address the underlying causes of the tension and conflict between the Buddhists and Muslim communities in the region.

“If the country is to be successful in the process of democratic transition, it must be bold in addressing the human rights challenges that exist,” said the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana. “In the case of Rakhine State, this involves addressing the long-standing endemic discrimination against the Rohingya community that exists within sections of local and national Government as well as society at large.”

Mr. Ojea Quintana stressed that “the situation in the Rakhine State illustrates the importance of Myanmar placing human rights at the heart of its ongoing reform process.”

“The Government has an obligation to protect all of those affected by recent violence, including the Muslim Rohingya community which is particularly vulnerable, to guarantee their safety and respond urgently to their needs, including shelter, food and medical care,” said the UN Independent Expert on minority issues, Rita Izsák. “It must act rapidly to ensure that this situation does not deteriorate leading to further loss of life and displacement of communities.”

Ms. Izsák described the Rohingya community as a “highly marginalized minority who have historically proved vulnerable to human rights violations in Myanmar and the region.” Armed groups have reportedly perpetrated the violence with impunity and attacked the Rohingya as well as some Rakhine Buddhists who had dealings with the Rohingya or other Muslims.

The UN experts welcomed Government acknowledgment of the violence and its assertions that it would take action against its instigators. However, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Chaloka Beyani, said that “the Government must take urgent steps to halt further displacement and destruction of homes.”

“All displaced groups, including the Rohingya community, must be assisted to return and rebuild their homes with assurances of their human rights and security in the short, medium and long-term,” Mr. Beyani said. “All humanitarian agencies must have full access to the affected populations.”

The human rights experts underscored that this situation must not become an opportunity to permanently remove an unwelcome community, and expressed their deep concern about the assertion of the Government and others that the Rohingya are illegal immigrants and stateless persons.

“The Rohingya constitute a minority that must be protected according to international minority rights standards,” Ms. Izsák said responding to the question of the legal status of the Rohingya in Myanmar. “The Government must take steps to review relevant laws and procedures to provide equal access by the Rohingya community to citizenship and promote dialogue and reconciliation between communities.”

An estimated 28,000 people have been displaced by recent violence in Rakhine State and some 4,600 homes burnt according to UN, media and NGO reports which indicate that many of the victims are Rohingya. The total number reported displaced is now over 100,000 since clashes broke out between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya in June.

Myanmar's minorities: Crying for help | Video

As the country moves towards reforms, is this the chance for the government to address the plight of the minorities?

Myanmar wants to end its global political and economic isolation but international attention is also casting a spotlight on a bloody cycle of ethnic violence.

"The government understands that this is a very important issue and that internationally it has attracted a lot of attention … but the Arakanese Buddhists are really on a rampage at the moment because they feel they are misunderstood and that the growth of the Rohingya ... [is] pushing them out of their own land."

- Larry Jagan, South East Asia specialist

The latest unrest in western Myanmar has displaced tens of thousands of people and left more than 80 dead. And the victims are blaming the government for failing to prevent it.

The island state is one of the most diverse countries in South East Asia - a patchwork of more than a 100 different ethnicities - but its economy has suffered through decades of military rule and international sanctions.

Nevertheless, foreign investors are queuing up to get a foothold in the country, formerly known as Burma - which has vast resources of every sort and all ripe for investment.

It boasts substantial deposits of gas and oil, coal, gold, precious stones, timber and is home to rich marine life to support fisheries.

The government is also planning to revive the rice trade and double exports over the next five years after it was once known as the world’s top rice exporter.

"I think these are long term problems that are going to be part of the story of nation-building project for decades to come. It has been part of the issue since the birth of the nation that you have, in many ways, all the different communities competing for and arguing over what it is to be part of this nation or what it is to be part of a separate type of community."

- Maitrii Aung-Thwin, modern Southeast Asiana historian

While standing at the crossroads as it embraces sweeping change, it does remain criticised for political repression and racism.

The country’s population largely constitutes of:

The Bhuddhist Burmese people, who form the largest group and historically lived in what were then Burma’s central and upper plains

Among the many other ethnic groups in Myanmar are the Shan, the Karen and the Kachin, all of which have fought armed insurgencies against the Burmese junta

And the Rohingya form one of Myanmar's smallest minorities - their harsh treatment by the government has drawn international attention and condemnation.

So, as Myanmar moves towards more reforms, is this the chance for the government to address the plight of the minorities? And will reforms help the nation’s minorities?

Inside Story, with presenter Teymoor Nabili, speaks to: Maitrii Aung-Thwin,a historian of modern Southeast Asian history at the National University of Singapore, and author of "A History of Myanmar since Ancient Times"; Larry Jagan, a southeast Asia specialist and former BBC World Service Asia editor; and Brian Joseph, the senior director for Asia and Global programs at the National Endowment for Democracy and a member of the Burma Donors' Forum.

MYANMAR'S ECONOMIC OUTLOOK:

Economists are predicting Myanmar could become the next economic frontier in the region - but it needs to undo the effects of five decades of military dictatorship that has made it Southeast Asia’s poorest nation.

The Asia Development Bank predicts the country could have GDP growth of 6.3 per cent next year because of its vast reserves of natural wealth.

Myanmar's per capita gross domestic product is just $857 compared to that of neighbouring Thailand's $9,500.

The country ranks 149th out of 187 countries on the UN's Human Development Index - that measures life expectancy, education and income.

130 missing in Rohingya boat sinking to escape persecution

About 130 passengers are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank off the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh, according to Bangladesh police and a Rohingya advocacy group on Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar in past decades to escape persecution, often heading to neighbouring Bangladesh, and recent unrest has triggered another exodus.

Mohammad Farhad, police inspector of Teknaf on the southeast tip of Bangladesh, told AFP that one survivor from the sinking reported that the boat had about 135 passengers on board.

"The boat was heading to Malaysia illegally," Farhad said, adding that the 24-year-old survivor was being held in custody.

"He does not know what happened to the others as it was dark and he was desperate to save his own life."

Farhad said a total of six survivors were reported to have been picked up by a fishing vessel after the refugee boat left Sabrang village in Bangladesh on Saturday.

"We have spoken to families of missing passengers," he said.

There were conflicting reports about whether all those on the boat were Rohingya and also over the time of the sinking, which Bangladesh police said occurred early Sunday.

"We learned that an overcrowded boat with 133 people on board, which was leaving for Malaysia," Chris Lewa, the Bangkok-based director of The Arakan Project, a Rohingya advocacy group, said.

"Six survivors have been rescued by fishing boats. The others are missing," she told AFP.

Lewa however said her organisation had been told that the accident happened overnight Monday to Tuesday.

At least 89 people have been killed and tens of thousands have fled their homes in a new wave of communal unrest sweeping Myanmar's western Rakhine state, where violence between Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine in June left dozens killed.

Since the unrest erupted, Bangladesh has been turning away boatloads of fleeing Rohingya.

The policy has been criticised by the United Nations, but Bangladesh said it was already burdened with an estimated 300,000 Rohingya.

Many Rohingya refugees now try to head to Malaysia for a better life.

Brief Historical Facts about the Existence of Rohingyas | M.S. Anwar

1) The earliest inhabitants of Arakan were a proto-Australoid people called Negritos settled in the Neolithic period. They were known as Rakkhasha (cannibals). They were dark-skinned people much like Africans and Rohingyas of today. They did not look like Mongoloid Rakhines or Maghs of today who falsely claim to be of their descendants. The second earliest people of Arakan were Indo-Aryans (i.e. Indians) followed by Mro and Theks. Their settlements dated back to B.C. 3323. Most of the earliest Kingdoms in Arakan history were Indian Kingdoms namely Dhannyavadi Kingdoms and Vaishali (Vesali) Kingdom. These earliest Indians, that is to say the forefathers of Rohingyas, were the followers of Hinduism, Buddhism and Animism. With the advent of some Arabs as traders and Islamic propagators to Arakan in 788 AD, most of local Indians converted into Islam. It is very important to note that it was Islam that came to Arakan in 788 AD, not Muslims. Yet, the indigenous Indians who had converted into Islam (known as Rohingyas today) later came to mix with foreigners as their settlements continued throughout its historical periods. 

 2) Rakhines of today was the last significant people of single Mongoloid stock to arrive in Arakan with the Mongolian invasion in 957 AD. Later, a new civilization took place as they came to mix local Indians and formed into Indo-Mongoloid people, while many remained purely of Mongoloid origin. And they re-established Buddhism in Arakan but in the form of Theraveda this time. With the continual invasions by the feudal kings of Tibeto-Burman people of Mongoloid stock from Upper and Lower Burma, the people of Arakan were gradually formed to be of more Mongoloid origin and Indian-Originated people consequently decreased or were outnumbered. Therefore, the later Kingdoms of Arakan such as in Lemro and Mrauk-U Periods were rather Indo-Mongoloid or Mongoloid Kingdoms than Indian Kingdoms. However, Muslims (of both Indigenous Indian Origins and foreigners settled in Arakan) played many at times as phenomenon Kingmakers and other very important roles during Mongoloid Arakanese Kingdoms. (For these earliest history of Arakan, please read D.G.E Hall's History of South-East Asia, G.E. Harvey's History of Burma, Noel F Singer's Vaishali and Indianization of Arakan and Pamela Guteman's Research Papers on Arakan and Zaa Lok Kay Pho Lay by San Kyaw Tuan (Maha Wizza), P. 81)

3) Muslims played the phenomenal role of kingmakers in Arakan. Its heyday began with the spread of Islamic civilization. “Islam spread and deeply rooted in Arakan since 8th century from where it further spread into interior Burma. (Sasana Ronwas Htunzepho” a book published by SLORC in 1997)

4) In fact, “Arakan was virtually ruled by Muslims from 1430 to 1531” [Ba Shin, “Coming of Islam to Burma 1700 AD”, A research paper presented at Azad Bhavan, New Delhi in 1961, p.4.] to the extent that it was turned into a sultanate. Arakan was depicted as an Islamic State in the map of The Times Complete History of the World, showing cultural division of Southeast Asia (distribution of major religions) in 1500.(Edited by Richard Overy, eighth edition 2010, page 148.). These are enough evidences that the Muslims or Rohingyas are indigenous to Arakan.

5) The use of the term “Rohingya” in the form “Rooinga” existed in the past and found in 17th century. A dialect was spoken by Muslims in Arakan of Western Burma who had long been settled in Arakan and who called themselves “Rooinga” or “Natives” of Arakan. (Francis Buchanana, Buchanan, 1799) The document can be reached at http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64276.pdf.

6) Read The Classical Journal for September and December, 1811, Vol. IV, P. 348. Printed in London by A.J. Valpy, Took's Court, Concert Lane. The word "Rooinga" was used for the Muslims in Arakan of the time.

7) Read Linguaram Totius Orbis "INDEX" Alphabeticus quarum "GRAMMARTICAE, LEXICA" Collectiones Vocabulerum, Patria Significatur, Historia Adumbratur by Joanne Severion Vatero, Theol. Doct. et Profess. et Bibliothecarlo Reg. Ord. S. Wladimiri Equite, Berlin, 1815. The word "Rooinga" was used many times for the Muslims in Arakan of the time.

8) In 1820, British ethnologist Walter Hamilton referred to the "Rooinga" as "the Mahommedans [sic] who have been long settled in the country." (Copied from http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/310399/fear-loathing-and-lies-in-rakhine-state). It is also a proof that Rohingya people existed in Arakan before 1824.

9) The first President of Burma, Sao Shwe Thaike, said, “Muslims of Arakan certainly belong to one of the indigenous races of Burma. If they do not belong to the indigenous races, we also cannot be taken as indigenous races. (“The Rohingyas: Bengali Muslims or Arakan Muslim”, Euro Burma Office (EBO) Briefing Paper No.2, 2009. In Dr. San Oo Aung. http://sanooaung.wordpress.com 22 January 2008)

10) Rakhines or Rowangya People by Maung Than Lwin, Mrawaddy Magazine, July 1960. Rohingyas' history was briefly mentioned.

11) Check the records of Burma Broadcasting Service (BBS). The Rohingya language was relayed trice a week from the indigenous language programme of the official Burma Broadcasting Service, Rangoon, from 15 May 1961 to 30 October 1965 that is, nearly four years further beyond the seizure of power by Gen. Ne Win.

12) In official Myanmar Encyclopaedia Vol.9, 1964, pages 89/90 the historic narration was given in detail concerning Rohingya while affirming that 75% of the population in Mayu Frontier is Rohingya.

13) Read the textbook “Geography for Std. 9th and 10th, printed in 1978, printed press 361 Pyay Rd. Sarbay Viman, on page 86 map Mayu area was clearly marked as “Rohingya’s dwelling place”. It was printed in Ne Win’s era.

(Please use these notes to argue and debate on the history of Rohingya and Rakhine.)

Compiled by M.S. Anwar

Myanmar: UN official concerned over rights violations in Rakhine state

A United Nations senior official today expressed serious concern about reports of human rights violations committed by security forces in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, after clashes between its Buddhist and Muslim communities reportedly killed at least 78 people and displaced thousands last month.“We have been receiving a stream of reports from independent sources alleging discriminatory and arbitrary responses by security forces, and even their instigation of and involvement in clashes,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said in a news release.

“Reports indicate that the initial swift response of the authorities to the communal violence may have turned into a crackdown targeting Muslims, in particular members of the Rohingya [Muslim] community,” she added.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in the state, located in the country’s west, was triggered when an ethnic Rakhine woman was raped and murdered on 28 May. This was followed by the killing of 10 Muslims by an unidentified mob on 3 June.

Ms. Pillay called for a prompt, independent investigation, noting that the crisis reflects the long-standing and systemic discrimination against the Rohingya Muslim community, who are not recognized by the Government and remain stateless.

“The Government has a responsibility to prevent and punish violent acts, irrespective of which ethnic or religious group is responsible, without discrimination and in accordance with the rule of law,” Ms. Pillay said.

She also called on national leaders to speak out against discrimination, the exclusion of minorities and racist attitudes, and in support of equal rights for all in Myanmar. She also stressed that the UN was making an effort to assist and protect all communities in Rakhine state.

“Prejudice and violence against members of ethnic and religious minorities run the risk of dividing the country in its commendable national reconciliation efforts, undermine national solidarity, and upset prospects of peace-building,” Ms. Pillay said. Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today said it is delivering aid to the more than 30,000 people that were affected by the violence.

“As we speak, additional tents are being airlifted from the Republic of Korea to meet urgent shelter needs on the ground,” a UNHCR spokesperson, Andrej Mahecic, told reporters in Geneva.

Mr. Mahecic said that many people had their houses destroyed, and would only go back if they could get help building new homes, while displaced Muslims have told the refugee agency that they would like to go home but fear for their safety.

According to UNHCR, an estimated 80,000 people are displaced in and around the towns of Sittwe and Maungdaw, with most of them living in camps or with host families in surrounding villages.

The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is due to visit the country next week, and his mission there will include a visit to Rakhine state. Ms. Pillay welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s visit, but noted that “while he will be able to make an initial assessment during his one-day visit, this is no substitute for a fully-fledged independent investigation.”

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not United Nations staff, nor are they paid for their work.