Myanmar communal bloodshed leaves deep scars | Anna O'Connor

The riots broke out in June after a Buddhist woman was allegedly raped and murdered by a group of Rohingya men 

SITTWE, Myanmar — Charred stumps and scattered rubbish are all that remain of a once-bustling community in strife-torn western Myanmar, just one of many razed to the ground in recent communal violence.

The clashes which broke out in June between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims have left dozens of people dead and torn apart communities, forcing tens of thousands on both sides to seek refuge in dusty camps and shelters.

Nawseema Har Tu Fa said she fled her village after it was torched during the wave of violence that turned longtime neighbours into bitter enemies.

"We had no problem with the Buddhist people before. We never quarrelled with them before. We lived together, we used to speak. We went to the market every day together," she recounted in a village near the Rakhine state capital Sittwe where many Rohingya have sought sanctuary.

"The main reason we came here is to protect our children, otherwise they might have died there."

An estimated 70,000 people -- 50,000 Rohingya and 20,000 Buddhists -- are in emergency accommodation in the Sittwe area, police told an AFP reporter who visited the remote region near the border with Bangladesh.

They languish in camps or cramped monasteries, dependent on food handouts.

"There are no houses or shelter in their own villages, they were all burned down, so that's why they are here," said Soe Myint, manager of the Kaung Dokar refugee camp, one of six Rohingya camps in Sittwe.

Almost 90 people, both Buddhists and Rohingya, were killed during the violence in June, according to official figures which rights groups fear grossly underestimate the real toll.

The riots broke out after a Buddhist woman was allegedly raped and murdered by a group of Rohingya men.

Access to affected areas is restricted by the authorities, which say that the situation has been relatively calm in recent weeks.

But officials reported that renewed clashes left several people dead earlier this month, underscoring the tinderbox atmosphere.

Rohingya driven from their homes are not allowed to leave the camps -- ostensibly for their own safety. But the restriction has left the Rohingya community out of work and reliant on World Food Programme supplies.

"We do not have enough food, as we do not have the possibility to go to Sittwe downtown to buy everything we need," said displaced Rohingya Abu Shukur.

Faced with heavy criticism from rights groups and outcry from the Muslim world after the unrest, Myanmar's government has denied accusations of abuse of Rohingya villagers by security forces in Rakhine.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Myanmar forces of opening fire on Rohingya during the June outbreak of unrest, as well as committing rape and standing by as rival mobs attacked each other.

Speaking a dialect similar to one in neighbouring Bangladesh, the Rohingya are seen as illegal immigrants by the Myanmar government and many Burmese, who describe them as "Bengalis" or "kalar" -- a derogatory term for Muslims.

"Successive governments and regimes have taken in the Muslim kalar, illegally allowing them in" in return for bribes, said senior monk Oo Ku Maar Ka, the head of Gade Chay Monastery.

In a report sent to Myanmar's parliament earlier this month, the country's reformist President Thein Sein accused Buddhist monks, politicians and other ethnic Rakhine figures of kindling hatred towards the Rohingya.

"Rakhine people are continuously thinking to terrorise the Bengali Muslims living across the country," he said, adding that ethnic Rakhine could not envisage sharing their land with people they consider foreigners.

"They cannot consider a situation in which the Bengali Muslims can be citizens," the president said according to the report, which was seen by AFP.

Myanmar recently announced it had set up a new commission to establish the cause of the sectarian clashes and recommend measures to ease tensions and find "ways for peaceful coexistence".

For now that appears a distant goal as deep mistrust poisons relations between the segregated communities.

"We knew the ones who burned down our houses," said Saw Saw, one of thousands of displaced Rakhine Buddhists sheltering in local monasteries. "If Rohingya from outside come in then it will be even worse."

U.S. Ambassador in Myanmar Speaks Out on Rohingya

U.S Ambassador Derek Mitchell, US Based Rohingya Organization Chairman Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, and BRANA Information Secretary Nay San Oo at the State Department , Washington DC  on May 11,2012

By Patrick Barta

YANGON—Intolerance toward Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar has dented some Americans’ perceptions of the country, but hasn’t significantly altered Washington’s views on easing sanctions, the U.S.’s new ambassador in Yangon said.

Like other Western nations, the U.S. has eased some sanctions against Myanmar in recent months, and has signaled it could take further steps to reward Myanmar if its recent round of political and economic reforms continues. But even as relations between the two countries warm, sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas that left at least 88 people dead and displaced thousands of others has added a new strain.

“I have to say it did surprise us to the degree that there would be violence so quickly, that it would spread so terribly,” said U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar Derek Mitchell in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.

“I don’t think it affects our view on sanctions,” he went on. “It just means we have an even more complex challenge ahead of us in the country.”

Mr. Mitchell said the Rohingya conflicts were particularly troubling because they revealed deeper issues of injustice in the country than those usually considered by the international community. In the past, international leaders focused much of their attention on alleged human-rights abuses by the Myanmar military and government. But in the case of the Rohingyas, much of the discrimination comes from everyday citizens, some questioning the right of the Rohingyas merely to live in the country.

“It’s unfortunate when you see the depths of intolerance and discrimination….among citizens,” Mr. Mitchell said—including “people who otherwise you would think of as progressive and who have fought so long for civil rights,” such as Buddhist monks.

As a result, the concerns raised by the recent violence are “broader than what our traditional concern is, which is the system, or the government, or the military,” he said. “This had to do with the deep-seated intolerance that seemed to be within the society writ large. So I think that’s where the deep disappointment came. And it creates a division between them and us to a degree.”

In a statement issued Tuesday and circulated by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Thursday, Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs blasted what it called “false and fabricated news reporting” on the Rohingya clashes, which it described as “purely internal affairs of a sovereign state.” The violence was “not relating to any kind of religious persecution or religious discrimination,” it said, but rather related to a conflict between two communities following a criminal act, widely reported as a rape of a Buddhist woman.

“Therefore,” the statement said, “we will not accept any attempt to politically regionalize or internationalize this conflict as a religious issue.”

Mr. Mitchell said U.S. officials were sensitive to the feelings among Buddhists in Western Myanmar that they, too, have suffered in recent years, and that international organizations focus too heavily on Rohingya concerns.

But he said that doesn’t mitigate the need to aid the Rohingyas, who have struggled for many years to find a home in a region where no government seems to want them. Myanmar excludes them from citizenship laws and restricts their movements and activities, including marriage. Myanmar officials argue that many Rohingyas are living illegally in the country, and say they have done their best to protect them.

The “Rohingya are oppressed by everybody,” Mr. Mitchell said. “These people are stateless. They have nowhere to turn. And it is not going to be lost on the international community.”

Even so, it’s unclear how much leverage U.S. officials will have to pressure the Myanmar government to expand rights for Rohingyas so long as momentum builds to keep easing sanctions. Although the U.S. continues to ban Myanmar imports and maintains some other restrictions, it recently suspended sanctions blocking U.S. investment, and U.S. companies are moving quickly to step up their involvement there.

To investigate the latest violence, Myanmar officials have established a commission whose 27 members include former student activists, representatives from political parties and even some government critics who spent time in jail as political prisoners. The well-known comedian known as Zarganar is a member, as is activist Ko Ko Gyi, who helped lead student protests against the old military regime in 1988. The commission is supposed to submit its findings by Sept. 17.

Although some international organizations applauded the creation of the commission, others remain skeptical. In a joint statement issued last week, a group of international Rohingya associations including the Burmese Rohingya Organisation U.K. said they believe the commission “will not be credible and truly independent” unless Rohingya representatives are added to its membership, which it said included people who had “directly or indirectly” fueled the violence. The groups called for a U.N. commission of inquiry.

In its latest statement on the violence, Myanmar’s government said it had created the 27-member commission “with a view to exposing the real cause of the incident and to give advice for the national interest.” It added that the government is “working closely” with the international community to bring relief to areas affected by the violence.

Current Situation on Arakan (Aug 23,2012 ) | M.S. Anwar

Maung Daw, Arakan Stateယ24th August  2012

“Around 1AM on 23rd August 2012, military and security forces along with many Rakhine hooligans torched Rohingyas’ shops in Foira Baazaar Village (Kamok Seik Rua) of northern Maung Daw. Consequently, around 40 Rohingyas’ shops were burned. It is believed that each of the shops was worth around 1 billion Kyats. Therefore, all of the shops were worth around Kyats 40 billion. This place was quiet and unaffected in last June and July because the villagers tried to avoid any kind of violence as much as possible. But Rakhine extremists did not want to see the stable situation of the village and therefore did the destructions of Rohingyas’ properties” said a Rohingya youth from Maung Daw. 

“Besides, on 21st August 2012 around 11pm, in Tharay Kunbaung village tract, some Rakhine extremists in collaboration with security forces, military and police destroyed an ancient mosque called Khala Masjid. When Rohingyas tried to prevent the destructions, military fired at them. Fortunately, no one died due to Military’s firing. If Rohingyas are not religiously targeted, then why are they destroying Mosques?” said a victimized Rohingya from the village. He further exclaimed that in the future, Rakhines might not be able to do more atrocitie because there may be the presence of humanitarian workers, non-Rakhine people and investigations. That may be the reasons why Rakhines recently speeded up their atrocities against Rohingyas and destroying and looting their properties within the remaining time. 

According to local Rohingyas in Maung Daw, since last few days, Rakhines have been rushing to set up temporary camps (tents) in rural areas of Maung Daw. The few affected Rakhines during the riot are kept safe and sound in the monasteries in the area. But now even unaffected Rakhines and rich ones are planning to move to the camps for one to two days during the visit of inquiry commission set up by the President U Thein Sein. Though one cannot expect impartial investigations when the culprits who started this ugly racism and committed all the crimes themselves against Rohingyas have taken charge of the investigations, yet, reportedly, the members of Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) raised some objections against involvement of some people in the Inquiry Commission Team. Previously, the inquiry was supposed to be done within a month. Now it is delayed and will be done in three months. They are deliberately delaying the inquiry so that they can cover up all the ongoing crimes against Rohingyas and further delay the forthcoming general assembly in United Nation regarding Rohingyas’ case. 

Elsewhere, according to an internal source, Rakhine terrorists have been bringing the weapons such as guns and hand bombs etc into Arakan. They are keeping it in the places such as Rakhine monasteries and other secret places all over Arakan. They might have secret plans and want to make full use of the situation to achieve their long awaited dream of having independent Arakan.

The Dalai Lama expressed concern over Rohingya Muslim in Burma

DHARAMSHALA, August 23: Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has written a letter to Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, expressing his concerns over the outbreak of communal violence in Burma.

In the letter, the Dalai Lama said that he was “deeply saddened” and remains “very concerned” with the violence inflicted on the Rohingya Muslims.

The two Nobel laureates had recently met in London, England on July 19, for the first time. 

The Tibetan spiritual leader also directed his representative in the Indian capital, Tempa Tsering, to meet the Ambassador of Myanmar. The Embassy, however, is yet to schedule the meeting.

Details of the letter were made public by Kalon Tripa Dr Lobsang Sangay during his meeting with Syed Yahya Bukhari, President, Jama Masjid United Forum on Wednesday at the latter’s residence on the auspicious occasion of Eid.

Two mainstream Urdu print media, the Daily Sahafat and The Inquilab, were also present at the hour-long discussions during which Dr Sangay expressed his heartfelt Eid greetings to Bukhari and the Muslim community.

The elected Tibetan leader also sought to clear misunderstandings within certain sections of the Muslim community on Tibetans by presenting a copy of the 2010 Kyegudo earthquake photo which has been “mistakenly or deliberately” used by some websites to create negative perceptions.

Indonesia sends special envoy for Rohingya to address Arakan violence

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and  former vice president Jusuf Kalla  

Aug 22, 2012 

Indonesia has appointed former vice president Jusuf Kalla as a special envoy to help address sectarian violence in Burma's Rakhine state.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the move was a form of "solidarity with our Rohingya brothers".

Mr Kalla, who is chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross, is expected to arrive in Burma on September 8.

"It started as a personal conflict, and going to a political conflict, and then going to an ethnic conflict and it will be a religious conflict," Mr Kalla told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program.

"As an humanitarian, Asian, Muslim country, it should be our duty to assist and to participate to support the government there in stopping this violence."

Burma recently allowed the Indonesian Red Cross, along with other international humanitarian agencies, to send aid to refugees forced to flee the deadly conflicts between Rohingyas and Rakhines that have left at least 87 dead.

Assist, Protect Rohingya Refugees | Human Rights Watch

Humanitarian Aid Desperately Needed; Crisis Situation in Burma Continues

AUGUST 22, 2012

(New York) – The government of Bangladesh should immediately cease its punitive restrictions on international organizations providing lifesaving humanitarian aid to the more than 200,000 Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also open its borders to Rohingya fleeing sectarian violence and abuses by Burmese security forces in Arakan State in western Burma.

In late July 2012, the Bangladesh government ordered three prominent international aid organizations – Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger), and Muslim Aid – to cease providing assistance to Rohingya living in Cox’s Bazaar and surrounding areas.

“The Bangladeshi government is trying to make conditions for Rohingya refugees already living in Bangladesh so awful that people fleeing brutal abuses in neighboring Burma will stay home,” said Bill Frelick, director of the Refugees Program at Human Rights Watch. “This is a cruel and inhumane policy that should immediately be reversed. The government should be welcoming aid organizations that provide life-saving aid, not shutting down their programs to assist refugees.”

Since mid-June, Bangladesh authorities have admitted to forcing back at least 1,300 Rohingya trying to flee to Bangladesh, though the actual number is likely substantially higher, Human Rights Watch said. Rohingya are escaping killings, looting, and other sectarian violence in Arakan State, as well as abuses by the Burmese authorities, including ethnically motivated attacks and mass arrests.

The Bangladesh government contends that the presence of aid groups in Cox’s Bazaar encourages Burmese Rohingya to come to Bangladesh, and that it cannot afford to host them. The government accused the three aid groups of encouraging the Rohingyas’ flight by providing medical and other assistance. It also raised concerns about criticisms of Bangladesh in the international media. However, as a party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Bangladesh is prohibited from denying those within its borders, including refugees and asylum seekers, access to food and healthcare, among other protections.

The three aid organizations provide water, healthcare, sanitation, and other basic assistance to Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers in Bangladesh. Approximately 30,000 Rohingya who are officially recognized refugees are living in two camps; 40,000 who are unregistered live in a makeshift refugee camp, and the remaining 130,000 live in surrounding areas. All of the settlements are squalid and overcrowded.

The conditions for the Rohingya include overcrowding, shortages of food leading to widespread malnourishment among the children, a lack of clean water and sanitation resulting in disease, and restrictions on movement coupled with extortion and human rights abuses. These conditions have created an ongoing humanitarian emergency in the official and unofficial camps, and surrounding areas.

Seasoned aid workers have told Human Rights Watch that the conditions in the makeshift camps for Rohingya are among the worst they have seen anywhere in the world.

“Bangladesh authorities are placing the lives of Rohingya refugees at grave risk by forcing aid groups to stop their feeding and health programs,” Frelick said. “It is unthinkable that the government would actively attempt to make the terrible conditions faced by Rohingya even worse by stopping aid from reaching them.”

The sectarian violence in Arakan state broke out in early June between ethnic Arakan Buddhists and both Rohingya and non-Rohingya Muslims, displacing over 100,000 people. Burmese authorities failed to protect both communities from violent mobs and committed killings, beatings, rape, mass arrests, and other abuses against Rohingya, in some cases alongside armed Arakan.

United Nations agencies still lack full and unfettered access to affected areas of Arakan State. On August 4, following a visit to affected areas, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Quintana, described the human rights situation in Arakan State as “serious.”

As a result of the violence and abuses, thousands of Rohingya attempted to flee to Bangladesh for safety. But they have been met with a sealed border and a Bangladesh government policy of pushbacks that constitute refoulement, forced return, in violation of international law. Images and video show Bangladesh border guards forcing pleading Rohingya back to sea in tiny, barely seaworthy boats. On June 18, a Human Rights Watch researcher witnessed the Bangladesh coast guard push nine boats into Burmese waters from the jetty in the port town of Shah Pori Deep. Senior officers in the Bangladesh Border Guards have told Human Rights Watch they have pushed back as many as 1,300 people.

In a July 28 media interview, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh disavowed any responsibility for the Rohingya, claiming the responsibility was with the Burmese government.

“Bangladesh is already an overpopulated country,” Hasina said. “We cannot bear this burden.” She denied that Rohingya were being forced back to Burma, saying, “It isn’t true, [the border guard force] didn’t force them. They persuaded them that they should go back to their own country, and they went back.” In the same interview, she added the Burma authorities are “creating a congenial atmosphere” and “providing all the [needed] assistance and everything” to the Rohingya.

In June, the Bangladesh foreign minister, Dipu Moni, had told a news conference in Dhaka that, “It is not in our interest that new refugees come from Myanmar [Burma].”

While Bangladesh is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, customary international law establishes the obligation of governments to respect the principle of nonrefoulement, which holds that refugees should not be forcibly returned to a place where their lives or freedom would be threatened. Bangladesh also is a party to several treaties – including the Convention against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child – that provide that no one, including refugees and asylum seekers, should be returned to a place where they face a genuine risk of being subjected to torture.

The Bangladesh government should immediately allow humanitarian agencies, human rights organizations, and the media free and unfettered access to the border areas, Human Rights Watch said. Donor governments and UN agencies should be ready to provide assistance and other support for the refugees and asylum seekers. They should also press the Burmese government to fully respect the rights of the Rohingya, including ensuring equal treatment under Burma’s citizenship law, which effectively denies them Burmese citizenship.

“Bangladesh’s refugee camps are no tourist resorts and the government should recognize that the Rohingya arriving are fleeing Burma for their lives,” Frelick said. “Rather than meeting its international obligations by assisting Rohingya who have fled deadly sectarian violence, the Bangladesh government is compounding their suffering. It should change its policy and provide temporary protection and allow aid or it will create an even greater humanitarian disaster.”

Army and Natala destroy Black Mosques and religious school in Maungdaw south

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Army personnel and Natala (New Settler) villagers destroyed Black (Hala) Mosques of Tha Yae Kone Tan village under Zawmat Tak villager tract, Maungdaw south Yesterday night (22 August 2012) and religious school ( Madarasa ) of Lambagonna village is destroying today at about 9:00pm , according to a villager from Tha Yae Kone Tan village.
“The army personnel from Maungdaw joined with army who are stained near Tha Yae Kone Tan and at  Tha Yae Kone Baw Natala village together with Natala villagers sit a meeting at about 4:00pm on 21 August 2012.”

“The Tha yae Kone Tan villagers ( Rohingyas) from their villages as they saw two truck of army joined the Tha Yae Kone Baw Natala village’s army camp. There are no males in the villages, only females are living their home.”
The army and Natala villagers came to Black Mosques – situated out of village and northern side of Natala village and east side of Maungdaw Alay Than Kyaw  high way road- at about 8 ;00pm and they started destroying the wall of Mosque till might night, said an elder from village.
“The Natala villagers are destroyed the Mosques while the army covered the Natala villagers from any attacked of Rohingya villagers.”
Similarly, the Natala villagers and Army are destroying the religious school (Madawrasa) of Lambagonena village today at about 9:00pm, the elder said.
The Burmese government formed a 27 members of fact finding committee from Burma to block International Investigation group , showing the government is working on Arakan State riot to find out the fact  which will report to President Thein Sein. But, The president also formed a Investigation committee for killing 10 Muslims pilgrims at Taungkok on June 3. The committee still not giving real report to President and the committee only reported that everybody said they didn’t see anyone killing the Muslim pilgrims. Now , again, the president formed a committee with all round of civil society. After forming the committee , the security forces and Buddhist community of Natala villagers are destroying Mosques and religious school where the government security forces covered the Natala villagers from defensing the Mosques and religious school by Rohingya Muslims villagers, said a school teacher from Maungdaw.
“If the government real want to find real fact of Arakan state riot  between Rakhines and Rohingyas. Now, the government formed the committee one side and another side the government destroying Rohingyas’ religious building. How , the people believes the government will give the justice and real report.”