Sunday 30 November 2014

A joint operation by Police, Border Guard Police (BGP) and Immigration plundered at least 14 Rohingya homes in Duchirandan village and arbitrarily arrested not less than four innocent Rohingyas during a raid conducted in this early morning, the locals report.

The Duchiradan or Du-Chi-Yar-Tan (locally known as Kilaidaung) is a village in southern Maungdaw already crippled by the government-sponsored violence early this year. Tens of people were killed, many women were raped and hundreds of homes and burnt down and plundered, whereas hundreds were forced to leave home.

Today, the raid on the pretext of arresting people suspected to have links with external rebel groups lasted for three hours causing serious damages to the village again.

“A joint force of around 300 the police, the Border Guard Police and Immigration in total raided the village of Duchiradan at around 12:30AM today. It continued until 3:30AM.

“Actually, the raid to arrest the so-called suspected people is just the pretext. They plunder homes, torture people and rape women during the raids”
During the raid, they arrested 4 innocent people and plundered at 14 homes: their money, gold and other valuable properties. They tortured the innocent people found and bodily harassed the girls/women.

The people arbitrarily arrested are:

1) Ghafur Alam (son of) Bodi Alam, 48, 2) Mohammed Rizwan (son of) Noor Amin, 16, 3) Noor Jalal (son of) Mohammed Jalal, 17 and 4) Mohammed Zubair (son of) Dil Mohammed, 14. They have been detained since then.

The victims whose homes got plundered are:

1)Abdus Salam (son of) Ausi Rahman, 2) Noor Mahmud (son of) Dule Rahman, 3) Fayaz Dule Rahman, 4) Mahmud Sulaiman (son of) Dule Rahman, 5) Shomsul Alam (son of) Kullya Meah, 6) Noor Alam (son of) Khala Meah, 7) Shukkor Ahmed (son of) Saleh Ahmed, 8) Zahir Ahmed (son of) Basa Meah, 9) Lala Meah (son of) Noor Ahmed, 10) Kamal Hussein (son of) Imuddin, 11) Rahimullah (son of) Ausi Rahman, 12) Noor Amin (son of) Kullya Meah, 13) Noor Mahmud (son of) Khala Meah and 14) Hussein (son of) Ayub Ali” said an elderly Rohingya ” said an elderly Rohingya.

“Actually, the raid to arrest the so-called suspected people is just the pretext. They plunder homes, torture people and rape women during the raids” he added.

For last two weeks, the atrocities have escalated in southern Maungdaw. The recent incidents in Baggona are some examples. (Read: 6 Innocent Rohingyas Arrested by Border Guard Police to be Imprisoned)

Similarly, one more innocent Rohingya was arrested in northern Maungdaw on 27th November night on the pretext of connection with the so-called RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organization).

“Khairul Amin (son of) Najim, 50, hails from Kwan Thi Pin village of Taung Pyo sub-township, northern Maungdaw. The border guard police (BGP) arrested him under the direction of the BGP commander in Taung Pyo on the pretext of his *RSO links.

He has disappeared since the arrest. His family can’t meet him and doesn’t know his whereabouts. The family is extremely worried.

Besides, they looked for two more people: Noor Hussein and Abdullah Hamid to arrest. Now, the authority has started arresting and instigating the people again possibly to create one more round of violence like in 2012.”

*RSO= Rohingya Solidarity Organization RSO is a former Rohingya armed group that has been disbanded long ago. Bangladesh government has officially announced that it is no longer existent today. Burma Experts on Minorities’ Armed Groups, Bertil Linter, has denied any such existence of RSO with arms.

Now, Rakhine extremists and Myanmar Government have started to spread propaganda that militants from RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organization), are infiltrating into Myanmar so as to be able to scapegoat and kill even more innocent Rohingyas to achieve their respective political goals.
Burma Border Guard Police (BGP) attacked a taxi (tawlagyi) on November 26 while going to Maung Nama village from Maungdaw Town with passengers and some goods, said one of the passengers preferring not to be named.
“On November 26, at about 3: 30 pm, a group of BGP personnel with motorbikes went to Butkargonenah village adjacent to a flat mango orchid and halted a passenger taxi (Tawlagyi) on the road while coming from Maungdaw  and searched something after unloading all the passengers, but they did not find anything.”

A village elder who referring the passengers said, after a moment the BGP personnel asked the Rohingya passengers that--- “what is your nationality or race”. Hearing the question, the passengers did not give any answer and looking to the BGP personnel. However, after a moment, BGP personnel asked them that--- are you “Rohingya”? 

Regarding the question, some of passenger said yes, and some are quiet. Seeing the cue of passengers, the BGP personnel returned to their camp doing nothing against the Rohingya passengers, saying good-bye to the passengers with laughing, the village elder said.  

“The taxi (Tawlagyi) is always flying on the road said one of the passengers, but we did not know the intention of the BGP personnel.”

Saturday 29 November 2014

The Myanmar Government officials has been fully involved in the recent escalation of trafficking of the violence hit and persecuted Rohingya people from Arakan state via Thailand to Malaysia, according to the reliable sources.

The vulnerable people, during the perilous journey to Malaysia, face tortures and inhumane treatments in the hands of Myanmar’s authority, Thai smugglers and their own people who work as human traffickers and transporters. Moreover, the Rohingya women are frequently fall victims of rapes and sexual abuses in their hands enroute to Malaysia.

“Around 1:00AM on October 17, an engine boat with around 50 Rohingya people aboard left the coast the sea coast of Alay Than Kyaw village, southern Maungdaw. The exact departing place is the river of Gudaa Chaung by Montula village to the south of Alay Than Kyaw (also knownas Haishshu Rata) Bazaar.

The arrangement was made by some human traffickers hail from Haanfu village of Alay Than Kyaw village tract. They are:

1) U Zaw Htoo (a Rakhine , the ex-administrator of Alay Than Kyaw)
2) Salim (son of) Mohammed Amin, age 47
3) Shomshu Karim (son of) Mohammed Amin, Age 42
4) And Karim (son of) Mohammed Amin, Age 39 (the latter three are brothers.)

They were fully guarded and protected by the military under the infantry unit based in the nearby Byu Haa Hmuu village, whereas no military were known for giving protections to the Rohingyas but for killing and torturing them. The military were helping the traffickers and those Rohingyas leaving just to depopulate Rohingyas in the country.

The human traffickers charged Kyat 150,000 per person and hence, Kyat 7.5 Million were collected in total. Of the amount, the traffickers paid:
1) Kyat 600,000 to the military commander at the above-mentioned infantry unit
2) Kyat 500,000 the *Border Guard Police Commander in Alay Than Kyaw village
3) Kyat 300,000 to the Military Security and Intelligence (SaYaPha) based in Alay Than Kyaw village
4) And Kyat 400,000 to the administrator of Alay Than Kyaw village, Maung Than Naing, a Rakhine extremist.

Besides, there are reports that more engine boats are about to set off from Myint Hlut (Mer Ullah) village, southern Maungdaw, in the coming days” said an eyewitness requesting not to be identified.

It has been learnt that people leave the Arakan coast with small engine boats and then, the get on bigger sized boats waiting standby at the international water in the Bay of Bengal. The boats are hired either from Thailand or Arakan Liberation Party (ALP). 
The irony is that the ordinary Rohingyas have no freedom to move from a region to a region, the human traffickers can roam free lure Rohingya people all over Arakan.

“Eenus (son of) Jabir and Inamullah (son of) Ismail are the two human traffickers hail from Pa Nyaung Pin Gyi (Daang Khali) village, southern Maungdaw. They are allowed the authority to roam free all over Maungdaw. Then, they, in full cooperation with the government officials, smuggle people from the coast of their village to Malaysia via Thailand.

They go to Myoma Kayintan (Shidda Fara) and gather people coming from northern Maungdaw and other townships in the village. Then, they keep some beautiful women at the residence of Eenus. The administrator of the village, MontazUllah, visits the Eenus’s house and each time rapes a woman to his heart content.

On October 8, Eenus brought a woman (her name withheld for privacy), a mother of one child, from Myint Hlut village in southern Maungdaw to his house. There, Eenus in cooperation with the administrator held her a sex captive threatening her be handed over to the Border Guard Police had not she consented. Hence, they repeatedly assaulted for two days.

The victimized woman somehow managed to escape from this house after two days and get back to her house.

Similarly, on September 28, the same administrator sexually abused a young woman hails from northern Maungdaw. He first took her off to the sea with a boat saying he would send her to the bigger boat waiting in the middle of the sea. On the boat, he raped her and continued doing so for one week.

And he sent her to Thailand by boat on October” said an elderly Rohingya from the village.

We have similar reports that the human traffickers in Thailand: both Thai and Rohingya themselves rape the women travelling across the sea and arriving in Thailand.

We strongly believe that it is a consequence of the Myanmar’s regime systematic and institutionalized ill policy to lead Rohingya community to a self-destruction. The government prevents our people from doing good and encourage the bad ones and black-sheep in the community to continue their bad and anti-social activities with impunity.
International Government Bodies need to take serious actions to bust these human trafficking rings and also pressure the Myanmar government to take actions against its corrupt officials and the human traffickers in its country. Else, it will cause serious regional problems in the long run.

*Border Guard Police Commander in Alay Than Kyaw village is the commander of Border Guard Police of Detha 3 (Region 3) [formerly called commandment area 7- Nay Myay 7] in southern Maungdaw.
Nowadays, Myanmar’s military and Border Guard Police (BGP) has been increasingly harassing and torturing innocent Rohingyas in southern Maungdaw for ransom, locals say.

Earlier, the military and the BGP have committed serious crimes against the innocent Rohingyas in northern Maungdaw such as arbitrary arrests, detentions and extra-judicial killings. And now, it has been shifting gradually towards southern Maungdaw to paralyze the people over there, according to the sources.

“Around 10PM Tuesday night, a patrol team of around 11 military personnel entered the Maggyi Chaung (Faatonza) hamlet of Padin village tract, southern Maungdaw. Meanwhile, some four Rohingyas chatting by a village street encountered the military patrol team. They held the youths and severely beat them. They kept beating the youths until they (youths) agreed to pay the military Kyat 40,000 each for their releases.

The victims are:
1) Mohammed (son of) Khalu, 20
2) Nurul Amin (son of) Yunose, 22
3) Jaabir (son of) Ayub, 18
4) Abdul Amin (son of) Abdul Aziz, 25″ said Khan, a Rohingya in the region.

In a separate incident, a Border Guard Police patrol team from Regional Commandment Area 5 has tortured five Rohingya people on guard at night in Alay Than Kyaw village, southern Maungdaw.

An elderly Rohingya said asking not to be named “a BGP team arrived at Haanfu Fara hamlet of Alay Than Kyaw (Haisshu Rata) village tract around 10:00 PM on October 21. They accused the five on guard at night of sleeping and started torturing them. They stopped torturing them only after extorting Kyat 40,000 from each. They are:

1) Noormaal Hakim (son of) Basa Meah, 65
2) Noor Amin (son of) Abul Hashim, 30
3) Abdul Amin (son of) Abul Hashim, 28
4) Shomshu (son of) Abul Kasim, 28
5) Abdullah (son of) Rashidullah, 32

Likewise, they harrassed and beat Shabbir (son of) Nabi Hussein, 35, asking who was guarding his fishery pool at night. The police asked him ‘what are you doing here at night?’ They stopped beating after robbing his money. It was Kyat 35,000.”

Earlier, the Border Guard Police arrested seven innocent Rohingyas for no reason at all. They are reported to be still being been tortured in the detention. Read the report here: 6 Innocent Rohingyas Arrested by Border Guard Police to be Imprisoned

Wednesday 12 November 2014

The United Nations has urged Thailand to stop deportation of more than 250 Rohingya Muslim refugees after they fled persecution in Myanmar. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked Thai authorities to grant “temporary stay, assistance and protection in Thailand until longer-term solutions are found” for the 259 stateless Rohingya people arrested on November 8 if they are found to have fled persecution. “We're seeking details from the authorities and appealing for them not to deport the group to a place where their lives or freedom could be threatened,” said Vivian Tan. Thai police arrested 259 Myanmar Rohingya Muslims, including 13 children, on a boat en route to Malaysia near the southern province of Ranong. Authorities are investigating whether the detainees had entered Thailand illegally or were victims of trafficking. According to rights groups, more than 10,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled the northern Rakhine State in Myanmar on cargo ships since mid-October, with Thailand and Malaysia as their main destinations. Thailand has been criticized for pushing boatloads of Rohingya refugees entering Thai waters back out to sea and holding migrants in overcrowded facilities. Hundreds of Rohingyas have been killed and over 140,000 displaced in attacks by extremist Buddhists over the past two years. Myanmar’s 1.3 million Muslims, who are denied citizenship, are one of the world’s most persecuted communities, a fact that the UN also confirms. They live in apartheid-like conditions and have little or no access to jobs, schools or healthcare. The Myanmar government has been repeatedly criticized by human rights groups for failing to protect the Rohingya Muslims.





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