Rohingyas Should Be Given Protection, Says ABIM

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM) has raised concerns over Bangladesh closing its borders to the Muslim minority Rohingyas fleeing ethnic violence in Myanmar.

ABIM secretary-general Mohamad Raimi Ab Rahim said the Rohingyas should be given protection in line with Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on equal rights for all and Article 33(1) of the 1951 Convention on the status of refugees.

"A memorandum of protest will be sent to the Bangladesh High Commissioner to urge the government to open its borders and provide them protection," he said at the ABIM office, here Friday.

Ethnic Rohingyas and Rakhines in the western state of Rakhine, Myanmar have been experiencing ongoing conflicts. Another spate of violence against the Rohingya community reportedly erupted several days ago.

The Rohingya Ulama Council president Jaber Mohd Subahan, who was present at the press conference, alleged that on June 8 the Buddhist, Rakhine community supported by the police and army attacked the minority Rohingyas in Maungdaw and Sittwe towns.

Jaber appealed to the United Nations, European Union and Asean to urgently deal with the ethnic conflict and violence.

Dhaka hopes UNHCR, HRW would help restore peace in Myanmar

Bangladesh wished on Wednesday that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) will put their respective efforts to restore peace in sectarian strife-torn western Myanmar, officials said.

Meanwhile, violence continued in the main towns of Sittwe and Maungdaw, near Bangladesh border on Wednesday, according to intelligence reports collected by the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) in Dhaka.

In the meantime BGB has pushed back some five boats with more than 120 people, who were detained overnight for docking at the bank of the Naf river.

Before being pushed back the refugees on board were served with cooked and dry foods and some medicines by local charity groups in cooperation of BGB personnel, reporters and photographers told the FE from the spot over telephone.

"Our highest political level hopes that the UNHCR and the HRW will dwell on the authorities in Myanmar so that no further killing and persecution of minority Rohingyas take place in Rakhine state," a senior official at the Prime Minister's Office told the FE.

The official said so when asked to comment on a world's leading rights group that called upon Bangladesh government to open up its border in order to give shelter to Rohingyas fleeing mayhem in the nearby Rakhine state, formerly Arakan.

The HRW called upon Bangladesh on Wednesday, a day after the UNHCR made a similar call to shelter Rohingya refugees fleeing an ongoing sectarian violence in their ancestral home.

Meanwhile Foreign Minister Dipu Moni reiterated on Wednesday that her government hoped that there would be no trans-boundary spill-over of the ongoing violence in western Myanmar.

"We hope that Myanmar will be able to control the violence between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state and save the lives and properties of its people," she told reporters.

The HRW made the call after Bangladesh refused on Tuesday to allow further entry of Rohingya as the country had been hosting tens of thousands of the refugees who had crossed into Bangladesh over the past decades.

"Bangladesh has an obligation under international law to keep its border open to people fleeing threats to their lives and provide them protection," Bill Frelick, refugee program director at the Human Rights Watch said in a statement issued from HRW headquarters in New York.

Earlier on Tuesday UNHCR urged Bangladesh to provide shelter to Rohingyas fleeing mayhem in the Rakhine state, on humanitarian grounds.

Meanwhile dozens of more boats loaded with Rohingyas have been spotted in river Naf and its estuary in the Bay of Bengal as violence continued in Rakhine state, Bangladeshi fishermen who returned to the shore told reporters at Teknaf and Shahparirdwip on Wednesday.

"More people are becoming internal refugees within Rakhine state as Rohingyas fearing arrest and harassment in Bangladesh are stranded there," Ms Jing Song, spokesperson of UNHCR in Dhaka told the FE.

The UNHCR are arranging relief for the internal refugees including Rakhine Buddhists there, Jing added.

Meanwhile killing, torching homes and looting continued in Rakhine state mainly in Maungdaw, near Bangladesh border on Wednesday, a report of Kaladan Press Network, a news agency run by Rohingyas in exile said.

However major global news agencies said situation in Sittwe, also known as Akyab, was calmer on Wednesday as soldiers and riot police patrolled the streets to enforce a state of emergency after days of sectarian violence in which at least 25 people had been killed.

Bangladesh has been a shelter for Rohingyas for decades as they found it a safe haven in the wake of repeated sectarian mayhem in Rakhine state.

Rohingyas, often labelled by officials as "economic refugees," destroyed vast areas of forest land during their temporary settlement and became an economic bane for Bangladesh.

According to police, the refugees also create law and order problem by indulging in social and moral crime including human trafficking.

With the connivance of unscrupulous officials some of the Rohingyas, who look like locals in appearance and speak in almost identical dialect, manage Bangladeshi passports and even enrol themselves as voters creating extra socio-political hazards.

According to unofficial estimates, nearly 400,000 unregistered Rohingya refugees are scattered in Bangladesh especially in southeast Cox's Bazar and Bandarban districts.

These unregistered Rohingyas are in addition to some 30,000 registered Rohingyas, who have been awaiting repatriation in two refugee camps at Kutupalong and Nayapara under Cox's Bazar district run by the government of Bangladesh and the UNHCR.

The inmates of these two camps are the remnants of some 250,000 Rohingya refugees who had crossed into Bangladesh in late 1991 alleging persecution by Myanmar's military junta.

These Rohingyas declined to return home fearing further persecution in Myanmar, although the others returned over the last two decades, following intervention of Bangladesh and the UNHCR.

The ongoing violence sparked early this month after a Buddhist woman had allegedly been raped and murdered in Taungup of Rakhine state.

A mob of hundreds of people attacked a bus, believing the perpetrators were on board, and beat 10 Muslims to death, on June 3.

Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network statement on the situation in the Rakhine State of Myanmar

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) condemns the recent sectarian violence in the Rakhine State (Arakan State) in Myanmar. APRRN unequivocally deplores the use of violence by all sides, which has resulted in a still indeterminate number of killings and injuries, and the loss of livelihoods for thousands of ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya alike.

The root cause of the problems in Rakhine State is unabated and systematic discrimination suffered by the Rohingya at the hands of government authorities, including severe restrictions on movement, employment, right to marriage, and right to a family which are linked to the Citizenship Law of 1982 that rendered them stateless.

The Myanmar government has responded to the violence by imposing a state of emergency, but there have been worrisome reports that local authorities in Maungdaw and other areas may not be applying the restrictions of the state of emergency equally, with the result of further targeting and persecuting an extremely vulnerable religious and ethnic minority.

There are also reports that the Bangladesh government has increased security on its border with Myanmar, and closed parts of the frontiers, thereby preventing people from fleeing the violence in Rakhine state.

The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) calls on:

The Government of Myanmar to,
Protect equally all people living in Rakhine State.
Initiate an independent investigation into the human rights abuses and bring the perpetrators to justice, including their trial in an independent and fair court of law.
Permit access to international monitors based in Myanmar, such as representatives of the UN Country team, and Yangon-based diplomats and the media, to assess the situation and make recommendations for further action.
Amend the 1982 Citizenship Law to accommodate the Rohingya as an ethnic group of Myanmar and guarantee that they are not excluded in the forthcoming 2014 national census.
Ensure freedom of movement, employment, right to marriage and right to a family that are now denied to the Rohingya, and also ensure that local authorities and military/police commanders cease atrocities like forced labor against the Rohingya.

The government of Bangladesh to,
Immediately open its borders, for humanitarian reasons, to allow people to escape from the violence and to provide them with basic assistance until they can return to their homes in Myanmar in safety.

The international community to,
Take appropriate measure to pressure the Myanmar government to halt the ongoing violence in Rakhine State, while also recognizing the Rohingya as legitimate citizens of Myanmar, enjoying equal protection of the state.
Encourage UNHCR and other international NGOs to maintain their presence in Rakhine State during this state of emergency.
Offer both strong support and vigorous pressure to the Bangladesh Government so that it will open its borders to refugees.


Endorsers as of 14/6/2012



ANCORW Cooperative Ltd Australia
Centre of Refugee Research Australia
Motra Hayward Australia
Refugee Council of Australia Australia
Tyrell Haberkorn Australia/US
Altsean-Burma Burma
Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS) Cambodia
Monireth Cambodia
University of Cambodia Cambodia
Egyptian Foundation for Refugee Rights Egypt
Development and Justice Initiative India
Loyola College India
Socio Legal Information Centre. India
LBH Jakarta Indonesia
Health Equity Initiatives Malaysia
Vivienne Chew Malaysia
Cassandra Pillay Malaysia
Pak Leh Malaysia
Lawyers For Liberty Malaysia
SEACeM Malaysia
Tenaganita Malaysia
The National Human Rights Society (HAKAM), Malaysia Malaysia
Myanmar Youth Knowledge Initiative Myanmar
SalusWorld Myanmar
Scholar Research and Development Journal Myanmar
Wimutti Volunteer Group and Political Prisoners’
Families Beneficial Network Myanmar
INHURED International Nepal
PPR Nepal Nepal
New Zealand National Refugee Network New Zealand
PIHRO Pakistan
Jose Maria Dimaandal Philippines
The Arakan Project Regional
Korean Public Interest Lawyers Group GONG-GAM Republic of Korea
Alistair D. B. Cook Singapore
The National Council of YMCAs of Sri Lanka Sri Lanka
Taiwan Association for Human Rights Taiwan
ForDIA Tanzania
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development Thailand
Chin Human Rights Organization Thailand
COERR of Caritas Thailand Thailand
Human Security Alliance Thailand
Sara Baumann Thailand
Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific Thailand
Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation (TCR) Thailand
Asylum Access Thailand Thailand
AMIT KUMAR SINGH Thailand
Fahamu Refugee Programme UK
The Equal Rights Trust UK
Nicola Tannenbaum USA
University of Southern California USA



The Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network(APRRN)is an open and growing network of over 116 civil society groups and individuals from 18countries committed to advancing the rights of refugees in the Asia Pacific Region.

True stripes revealed in Myanmar By Francis Wade

CHIANG MAI - The timing of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's return to Europe after a 24-year absence could have been better. She leaves her country amid turmoil in its western Rakhine State, where sectarian rioting has claimed scores of victims. The period of unrest has shed a rare light on the volatile tensions that have simmered for years between the country's dominant Buddhist population and its Muslim minority.

The week of rioting has also put Myanmar's much lauded democratic transition under new international scrutiny. A realization seems to be emerging of the many shortcomings of President Thein Sein's reform program that, for all its surface glint, has failed to address the deep underlying grievances among the country's many ethnic groups.

At the same time, the situation presents the most challenging test in years of Suu Kyi's ability to heal rifts and lead her people. Her decision to press ahead with the trip to Europe, where she will belatedly receive her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, could represent a political misstep given that the unrest marks the most clear-cut threat yet to the fragile reforms that, ironically, allowed for her election to parliament and afforded her the freedom to travel.

The violence has also spotlighted a far-reaching xenophobia within Myanmar's pro-democracy movement, long viewed by the outside world as drivers of positive change and equality. In now infamous comments, Ko Ko Gyi, a former political prisoner who led the 1988 student uprising that was crushed by military force, referred to Myanmar's long-persecuted Muslim minority group, the Rohingya, as "terrorists" who are "infringing on our sovereignty."

The Rohingya, who have consistently been denied citizenship, have borne the brunt of the rioting. Medicins Sans Frontieres says that state-sponsored abuse of the group has put them "in danger of extinction", but their protectors in Myanmar are nowhere to be seen. As the United Nations has noted, they are "virtually friendless".

Suu Kyi, who recently spoke of her solidarity with the nearly 150,000 refugees from Myanmar living in Thailand, has so far tiptoed round the status of the Rohingya, an issue that has long divided the pro-democracy movement. When pressed at the World Economic Forum in Geneva on Thursday to articulate her stance on the issue, she said only that Myanmar needed "precise laws on citizenship".

It was fear of illegal immigration that fueled the violence, she said, and not an underlying animosity prevalent across the spectrum of Myanmar politics - from the post-independence civilian governments of U Nu to successive junta leaders - that has long kept Muslims at the periphery of society and the Rohingya at an even greater length.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party is yet to release a statement on the riots, showcasing how sensitive the topic is. Her assertion that "those worthy of citizenship should get all the benefits that entails" was deliberately non-committal, and marks a rare break with her normally idealistic rhetoric built around the notion of equal rights for all.

It may be in keeping with her party's line, however: an NLD official said earlier this year that the debate over the origins of the Rohingya was "delicate", and that "even in our organization the Rohingya question has not been settled". NLD spokesperson Nyan Win was more blunt when he said, "The Rohingya are not our citizens."

Public Internet forums, meanwhile, have been awash with vitriolic, often racist, reactions to the violence. Although there are clearly two sides to the conflict - both Muslim and Buddhist mobs have torched towns and attacked one another - the inflammatory rhetoric has predominantly been directed at the Rohingya.

Myanmar's exile-run media outlets have been conspicuously tentative over their coverage of the riots, perhaps nervous to fan the flames, while leading domestic news journals have carried demeaning headlines such as "Bengali Rohingyas prowl around outside Rakhine city".

It is telling that one of the more measured responses came from Thein Sein, a man whose world view was partly shaped by a career in one of the most notorious military juntas of modern times. While others used the riots as a chance to vent against a group described as among Asia's most persecuted minority, Thein Sein warned that the situation could escalate if ethnic Burmese continue to "put racial and religious issues at the forefront".

At the same time, his government could benefit from the sectarian violence. The decision to send in the army, from which Muslims are banned from joining, is an attempt to cast the country's most vilified entity as "saviors" of the Rakhine, who, ironically, have long accused successive regimes of attempting to colonize their state through military expansion.

Moreover, it has somewhat stifled the euphoria surrounding Suu Kyi's European trip and distracted from the ongoing military conflict and rights abuses against ethnic Kachin near Myanmar's border with China.

Nevertheless, Then Sein's words are something of an anomaly from a man few considered an adept tactician. Without appearing to take sides, he has managed to portray himself as a non-partisan leader who can bridge an explosive fissure in the country's psyche - perhaps the first such head of state to do so in half a century.

What is of the greatest irony, and sadness, is that the key drivers of the crisis are the Burmese themselves. After decades of proclaiming the need for equal rights amid stifling military rule, they have now turned on one another.

Indeed, they risk turning back the clock on recent democratic gains. By announcing a state of emergency for western Myanmar, Thein Sein could spur the military into wielding greater clout only 15 months after Myanmar began its baby steps to democratic reform.

In words that now hang heavily over the country, Suu Kyi said in a 2002 interview: "Our conviction is that the majority of our people will support democracy with a greater responsibility."

To be sure, it is a small minority involved in the unrest but it highlights a wider sentiment that has continuously divided Myanmar, and raises doubts about the particular brand of democracy her movement and others profess to be fighting for.

Suu Kyi, a fierce defender of human freedoms, has been the principal moral force that has kept Myanmar moving forward. But for all her merits, she and her colleagues have not shown themselves to be the cultural adhesive that a country so rich in ethnic diversity needs.

A more substantial response from Suu Kyi to the recent rioting, as well as a clearer NLD policy on which minority groups the party believes should be afforded equal rights in Myanmar's new democracy, would be welcome and is long overdue.

Francis Wade is a freelance journalist and analyst covering Myanmar and Southeast Asia.

UN envoy calls for investigation into disturbances in Myanmar state

The United Nations top envoy for Myanmar has called for an investigation into violence that recently took place in the country’s Rakhine state.

“The Special Adviser [Vijay Nambiar] calls for a full, impartial, and credible investigation of the disturbances to be conducted urgently as well as to ensure that the rule of law is enforced in a transparent manner,” according to a UN news release.

The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, was in the south-east Asian nation to participate in a meeting of the Peace Donor Support Group, as well as meet with government leaders, including President Thein Sein, in the capital, Naypyitaw.

While there, serious disturbances occurred in Rakhine state, in the country’s west, which led to the Government declaring a state of emergency there. The UN also temporarily relocated, on a voluntary basis, some of its staff based in the towns of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, as well as Rakhine state’s capital, Sittwe.

According to media reports, the violence in Rakhine state, between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, left at least a dozen civilians dead and hundreds of homes destroyed since last Friday.

Mr. Nambiar and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ashok Nigam, travelled to Maungdaw, with a Government minister. There, they accompanied the minister on a visit to camps of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), where the Special Advisor expressed concern and sympathy for their situation, and assured the support of the United Nations.

The UN officials were informed that around 15,000 people had been internally displaced in Rakhine state. On Friday, the office of UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Nigam said these numbers are now reported to be over 30,000.

The team of UN officials also had an opportunity to review the situation with the aim of responding to the request from the Government for urgent humanitarian assistance for the affected people in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Sittwe – the Government has indicated that food, shelter and medical assistance are urgently required.

According to UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Nigam’s office, the UN will conduct both a security and needs assessment to respond rapidly to the needs of the people, including the deployment of staff to Rakhine state.

“The UN will work with the Government and its humanitarian partners to meet these needs,” the Resident Coordinator’s office said in a news release. “Already more than 400 bags of rice have been distributed in the last two days.”

“Additional food is being distributed by the UN to all the people in need in accordance with UN procedures which require food to be distributed according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality,” it added.

In his meetings with President Sein, Mr. Nambiar discussed the state of emergency and the need for the Government to continue to handle the situation transparently and with respect for human rights and the rule of law, consistent with recent comments from the President, in order that the cycle of violence is broken and the country’s broader reform process is not adversely affected.

Mr. Nambiar’s visit followed the one made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in late April, during which he pledged the UN’s continued support for Myanmar as it continues with the process of national reconciliation and democratic transition begun last year by President Sein.

Separately on Friday, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was deeply concerned about the welfare of people fleeing violence in Rakhine state and appealed to Bangladesh to offer safety and shelter.

“UNHCR recognizes that, for years, Bangladesh has been bearing the brunt of the forced displacement caused by earlier crises in Myanmar. The latest events pose new challenges and UNHCR hopes that Bangladesh will respond in line with the country's long history of compassion and solidarity,” UNHCR said in a news release.

The refugee agency said it “has first-hand, credible accounts of boats from Myanmar not being enabled to access Bangladeshi waters. These reports indicate women, children and some wounded are on board.”

It added that there were now a number of boats drifting in the mouth of the Naf River, which marks the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, and that there were “desperate people on board in need of water, food and medical care. It is vital that these people are allowed access to a safe haven and shelter.”

UNHCR said that it is encouraged by statements by Myanmar senior officials, including from President Sein, aimed at defusing the situation and appealing for calm, patience and restraint.

Breaking News : June 16 evening (Daily Update)

Breaking News : June 16 evening Security personnel start arresting Rohingya in Maungdaw
Security personnel – Police, Hluntin and Nasaka – start arresting Rohingya community in Maungdaw today (June 16, 2012). The police and Hluntin are still using Rakhine when they went to the Rohingya villages in Maungdaw.

Arrested person are:-

1.  Younous , Chairman of Regional Development Association (RDA) with two other , name not know yet from Maungdaw Town.
2. Kaseim son of Rahim Ullah,  Berahaman son of Hussein, Molana Islam, Anis Ullah son of Molana Rashid, Ahmed Rafique son of Syed Islam,  one from Ward number 4  and another one is from Padaung , arrested by Nasaka  and Police while they are fishing in the stream near the Sawmawna para as they have no foods to feed their family.
3. Dildar son of Ano Meah, Salim Islam son of Abdul Goni, Nurul Islam, Nur Mohamed son of Amin Ullah were arrested by Nasaka from Thayai Gonetan ( Knonena para) village
4. Jamil son of Musawddin  and Mohamed Ali from Maungdaw Town

Burned down house and looting
The Security personnel burned down the following houses in Thayai Gonetan ( Knonena para) village today. The security personnel had loot their ( Rohingya) property before burned down.

1. Yousuf son of Hasson, Mohamed son of Habib Ullah, Abul Hussein son of Hasson, Master Fazal, Ferose son of  Yousuf, Shamshu son of Kaseim, Anwer son of Abu Taher and  Salim Ullah son of Abdul Goni.
2. New Settlers (Natala) and Rakhines together toke away cow from grassing field of Sammawna para, Myothu Gyi  and Nyaung Chaung villages.

Breaking News: Friday evening ( June 15, 2012) Stranded Rohingya boats in Naf River disappeared

Stranded Rohingya 15 boats in Naf River are disappearing with more than 2000 Rohingyas since early morning today who fleeing to Bangladesh because of violence by police, Hluntin and Rakhines.

The Rohingya who were drifting in the Naf River as the authority of Bangladesh didn’t allow to enter its land, hit heavy rain and windy since Wednesday night.

The stranded Rohingya boats are not seen in the Naf River today evening and no body know where the boat gone, according to local from Shapuri Dip.

People believe that those boats are missing in the heavy rain and windy with 35 fishing boats in the sea. The Bangladesh –Baurma border areas are under water for heavy rain and windy which started since Wednesday night.

Rape

4 Burma border security force (Nasaka) personnel from three mile check post raped a Rohingya woman – Kala Banu (not real name), (30) from Sammawna para near Myothu Gyi village today evening where the Nasaka personnel took all her goods. In this village, no men are living in the village only female are staying in their home to protect from looting. But, noe the Nasaka are going to rape the female as there are no men in the village.


Some of Rohingya refugees land on Bangladesh soil

Teknaf, Bangladesh: Some of Rohingya refugees entered the Bangladesh without knowledge of Bangladesh authorities who have been floating since last Monday after fleeing from Akyab (Sittwe) of Burma.

More than 2,000 Rohingya refugees carrying by 13 boats and have been floating in the Naff River where to take refuge in Bangladesh to escape sectarian riots. Rohingyas are fleeing to Bangladesh from Akyab because of violence in Arakan State where Rohingya villages were burnt down and many innocent Rohingyas were killed by police, Hluntin and Rakhines.

According to Nazim Uddin, upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), some Burmese nationals (Rohingyas) had secretly entered into the territory of Bangladesh escaping strict vigilance.”

According to different sources, 39 victims of Rohingyas including women and children entered the Saint-Martin Island on June 12 and more than 200 entered into Shapuri Dip yesterday night.

Among them, some Rohingya refugees have been suffering from crisis of rations. There are some wounded persons and taking shelter in the local areas where they have been facing many difficulties.

A local source said on condition of anonymity that five Rohingya young girls have been missing from the groups who reached at Shapuri Dip yesterday night. They were kidnapped by a group of local youths and some local youths also tried to attempt to sexual assault to the women including girls. Some other Rohingya refugees are floating in the Naff River in the bad weather.

The local also said, most of the children are now suffering from diarrhea, phenomena, fever and cough who reached at the Bangladesh soil. It is very important to provide proper treatment and adequate food immediately by International Community and Bangladesh authorities because of heavy rain in the border.

According to an aide of BGB, despite several light signals the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB men), who were out there to prevent Rohingya influx, could see no human movement or hails in the boat. It was quite difficult for them to get close to the boat as it was moving irregularly. When they managed to get close they found no one in the trawler.

He also said that he was surprised, as one of the BGB men went for a look in the dark engine room, he suddenly noticed movement of tiny hands and legs.

“It was a newborn baby,” Maj Saiful Wadud, the operation officer of BGB said that they had a tough time getting on to the unsteady boat and brought the baby out. It took them two and a half hours to execute the rescue.

Maj Saiful said, the baby was in a terrible condition and did not have the strength to even cry. The Major also said they had already informed the higher authorities of the matter and necessary steps would be taken.

BGB suspects that the trawler, in which the baby was, might have been attacked by robbers and the passengers abandoned the boat leaving the newborn behind.

BGB and locals provided the refugees with food, water and saline yesterday as the intruders had to be kept waiting in Bangladesh due to bad weather. They were finally escorted out of the territory around 5:00pm.

A Rohingya in tears pleads with BGB and Coast Guard personnel to be let ashore with his family on the Naf River near Teknaf yesterday. The border guards gave them water, food and fuel and sent them on their way back home from which they had run away, according to Daily Star.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said at a news conference in Dhaka that it was “not in our best interest that new refugees come from Myanmar”.

Similarly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called on the Bangladesh government on Tuesday to let the Myanmar refugees enter the country who are fleeing sectarian violence in their country.

12-Rakhine with arms arrested in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Twelve Rakhines with arms were arrested by army yesterday midnight while climbing up to Pruma river bank nearby Khain Paran (Rakhine) village from a small boat, said a village elder from the locality.

Yesterday, at 12:00 pm (midnight) 12-Rakhine with eight automatic rifles and eight long swords were arrested by patrol (army) at Ngakura village of Maungdaw north while climbing up from the Puma river bank from a small row boat,. They went to Khain Paran Para (Rakhine village) of Maungdaw from Myitna (Chowdary para), a Rkhine village of Nilla under the Teknaf police station, Cox’s Bazar district.

They are ex-armed members of Arakan Liberation Party (ALP) of Abakan, which recently made ceasefire agreement with Burmese government in Akyab (Sitwee), the capital of Arakan State, said another villager.

They pretended to be Nasaka (Burma’s border security force) of Nagkura Nasaka camp, but when the army confirmed whether they were Nasaka or not by contacting with the Nasaka camp, the Nasaka officer asked the patrol army, they were not Nasaka of the camp and then they were arrested by the patrol army.

On June 13, in the early morning, the arrested Rakhines carders were sent to Nasaka headquarters of Kawar Bill (Kyi Gan Pyin) of Maundaw Township, said a villager who saw the event.

But, after the incident broken out between Rohingyas and Rakhine at Maungdaw, inside and outside of Burmese with Rakhine people inside and outside of Arakan State told in printing and electronic media that the armed carders of Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) entered north Arakan from Bangladesh which was given reference to a Facebook of Burma President office director and saying attacked the Rakhine villagers, killing Rakhines.

In reality, a group of Rakhines with the help of police and Hluntin attack the Rohingya villagers in Maungdaw and Sittwe (Akyab) by setting on fire of Rohingya houses, killing villagers, looting properties of Rohingya community. But, this incident is doctored that Rohingyas are killing Rakhine people, set on fire of Rakhine villages. Most of the media in Burma propagate that Rohingyas attacked Rakhine villagers, according to Rohingyas inside Arakan.

Some of the Rakhine ultra-nationalist group leaders are Hla Myint, Ni Maung Shwe, son of U Ni Maung, hailed from Ward No. 3, Maung Aye, son of U Aung Tun Sein of Ward No. 1, Than Kay, hailed from Ward No. 4, Kyaw Aye, Ward No.3, Paung Mee, the owner of the united rest house and Khin Maung, Ward No. 3 of Maungdaw town. They have been looting goods, killing many Rohingyas, therefore it is not a riot, but it is premeditated genocide against the Rohingyas, said a trader from Maungdaw.

“We have never heard of this kind of state emergency which is means only for one party, the other party is free whatever they want to do, they can. If the government has a political will, it can be controlled with an hour by sending army, said a politician inside Arakan.

Instead of neutral role of army, Rakhines are protected, the security of Rohingyas are kept at the mercy of police, Hluntin and Rakhine. This means to kill incentive to the Rakhines. It is to be noted that the emergency declared on Sunday is strictly enforced to the Rohingyas only, not to the other community (Rakhines).

The dead bodies of Akyab were sent to unknown places and took photographs after covering the dead bodies with robes of monks to dupe the people across the world, that Rohingyas killed the Buddhist monks, a villager from Akyab said.


Breaking News : June 14 evening

10-Rohingya girls raped today in Maungdaw

Ms. Hamida (18), daughter of Rahim Ullah, Rahena (19), daughter of Ms. Momina and other six Rohingya girls from Baggona village and Hasina (18), daughter of Abdul Haque, Hamida (16), daughter of Baser and Nur Kaida (17), daughter of Habi Rahaman from Nurullah para were raped by army today.

In addition, army also looted properties of Rohingya villagers especially money, gold and silver from the villagers.

On the other side, army forced Rohingya villagers in Maungdaw south, with a marketing list which cost around 50,000kyat. The army threatened to kill the villagers, if not follow the ordered.

One Natala villager named Saw Maung (Rakhine) guided the operation against the Rohingyas at Nurullah Para.

Rohingya dead bodies’ bags seen in Maungdaw

12 bags of Rohingya’s dead bodies were seen under the bridge which connects ward number 5 and ward number 3 in Maungdaw. The legs of dead bodies are seen on the water. When the Rohingya from Ward number 5 tried to take out from the water, but, police arrived at the spot and surround. No one was allowed to go to the spot.

Robbery committed by army in Maungdaw

Army robbed the Rohingya villagers – Shamsu (40), Md. Johar (35), Foruk Ahmed (40) and Ismail (80) of Baggona under the Maungdaw Township today at about 2:00 pm, where Md. Johar was tortured seriously.

Army looted money and gold from the said villagers.

Breaking News : The latest News in June 14

Maungdaw, Arakan State: : A Rohingya religious student –Mammon Rashid ,son of Abu Siddque- 18, was shot by army while running away to the religious school when he saw the army and he was wounded at his leg.

Army arrested 12 armed Rakhines -ex members of Arakan Liberation Party (ALP)- with 8 automatic Rifles and 8 long swords yesterday mid night at Ngakura village of Maungdaw northern while they were climbing towards the bank of Purma river near by Khine pin (Rakhine ) village. They went there by a rowing boat from Chowdary ( Mritna Yawa) para under Teknaf Upazila, Bangladesh . After arrest, they were sent to Burma border security force (Nasaka) Headquarters today morning.

Rarkhine killed about 700 men, women and children and burned down the whole village of Zofran, Ahhnawkpin, Tharakpin, Pinchaung, Kwedi Chaung, Thaoopin, Moezindeya and Nirambawkara villages of Rathidaung Township last night. Most of the people fled to Bawsara village of Rathidaung after crossing the mountain pass today early in the morning. But, they were pushed back to their original village by a group of Nasaka . But, their faith is unknown.

Bangladesh 'turns back' Myanmar refugees

Unknown number of people fleeing violence in Rakhine region are adrift in boats on Naf river, says UN refugee agency. Last Modified: 15 Jun 2012 14:48

UN officials who reached Rakhine this week said they saw a number of 'smouldering villages' [Reuters]

An unknown number of people fleeing violence in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine region are adrift in boats on the Naf river and some have been turned back by Bangladesh authorities, the United Nations refugee agency said. "The UN refugee agency has first-hand, credible accounts of boats from Myanmar not being enabled to access Bangladeshi territory. These reports indicate women, children and some wounded are onboard," the Geneva-based agency said in a statement on Friday. Andrej Mahecic, spokesman of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told a news briefing in Geneva: "They are turning them back. Some were quite close because the locals were trying to give assistance to them." "It is vital that these people are allowed access to a safe haven and shelter," Mahecic said. Sectarian violence The bloodshed has displaced tens of thousands of people, left dozens dead and many homes destroyed, in the western region. The Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya have accused each other of violent attacks which have caused thousands of people to flee, according to government figures. Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay reports on the sectarian violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state  "UNHCR recognises that, for years, Bangladesh has been bearing the brunt of the forced displacement caused by earlier crises in Myanmar," said Mahecic. "The latest events pose new challenges and UNHCR hopes that Bangladesh will respond in line with the country's long history of compassion and solidarity." Agency workers visiting areas of unrest on Wednesday and Thursday to assess the situation witnessed "smouldering villages", he said. "The situation is still tense. We hope that law and order will be reestablished soon - that would allow us to redeploy the staff that we had to move from the area temporarily as a precaution." Those adrift are in desperate need of water food and medical care, he said, adding: "We have been talking to the Bangladeshi authorities and we hope that Bangladesh, in line with its long tradition of hospitality for the people of Myanmar, will allow access to safe haven and to assistance for this people." There are already some 30,000 Rohingya staying in two camps in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said on Tuesday the impoverished country's resources were already strained. 'Illegal immigrants' Myanmar considers Rohingya to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship. Bangladesh says Rohingya have been living in Myanmar for centuries and should be recognised there as citizens. Myanmar's state television on Thursday showed what it said were 29 people who were allegedly involved in the recent unrest between the two communities of ethnic Buddhist Rakhine and Rohingya in Rakhine state. The arrest allegedly took place on Wednesday night in Sittwe where 16 Muslim Rohingya and 13 Buddhist Rakhines were seized with knives, sticks and 70 petrol bottles. With tension running high in the country, police urged local residents to be alert and to report any suspicious incidents. More than 20 people have been killed in the fighting that erupted last week. The clashes between Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists have taken a roughly equal toll on both communities, though each blames the other for the violence.