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Nov-04-2012 11:33 
Memorandum of an Urgent Intervention to Stop to Ethnic Cleansing Towards Ethnic Minority Rohingyas in Myanmar's Arakan State
Salem-News.com
Update with large number of photos.
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Rohingya people are suffering in great disparity.
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(KUALA LUMPUR ) - Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) strongly condemned the continuous ethnic cleansing policy towards ethnic minority Rohingyas by the Myanmar government.
The recent violence which started on 21st October 2012 in Kyaukpyu, Minbya, Mrauk U, Myebon, and Rathedaung Township caused thousands of Rohingyas to being killed and thousands of their houses have been burnt down by Rakhines, police and military.
Though the military has denied their involvement but the villagers confirm the involvement of the military and the police in the recent violence.
The source from the ground estimated 1000 Rohingyas has died including women, men, children and elderly while more than 4600 of Rohingya’s houses and Mosques have been burnt. This contradicts the number of death stated by the military which is very low compared to the estimated numbers of death. Until now the military stated only 84 person has died which is not true as they want to cover the real toll death. Many Rohingyas has reportedly missing but the numbers are unknown.
Currently over 30,000 Rohingyas fled their villages and become homeless. They had nowhere to go. Thousands of them now are on the boats on the ocean trying hard to save their lives. Without food and drinks some of them have died and many more will die due to starvation and dehydration. Until now we have not receive any information on their situation on the ocean.
Since the massacre in June 2012, the military, police and the Rakhines has warned the Rohingyas to flee the Arakan State if they want to save their life and their family. If the Rohingyas fail to do so, they will die and that is what happening since June until now. The military regime will never stop until we are removed from the Arakan State.
One thing that the World Leaders, United Nations and International Communities fail to understand is that we the Rohingyas become the victims of ethnic cleansing policy of the Myanmar government since 1940s. Most of the time the World Leaders, United Nations and the International Communities urging the Myanmar government to stop the violence and restore peace in Arakan State. But, it’s not going to happen because the violence is instigated by the Myanmar government for their own political interests.
Currently the Myanmar government is deploying more security forces to improve the situation in Arakan State but it doesn’t work as the government has no intention to resolve the problem. The Myanmar government is just showing to the outside world that they are doing something to resolve the problem in order to gain the international support for their political interests. Deploying more security forces is not the solution to the problem. It will only put the Rohingyas population in worst situation.
In this recent violence, two military officers were shot by the Rakhines when they were shooting the Rohingyas in Kyawtaw Township. The military arrested some Rakhines who shooting the Rohingyas and the military officers in Pasir Uzu @ Zila Fara fisherman village and Yazanabung Uzu @ Nairong village in Kyawtaw Township. The military confiscated 36 high quality arms in Pasir Uzu village and 14 high quality arms in Yazanabung Uzu village. From the 50 high quality arms, the high level military officer took 3 arms back to Ranggon. We do not know what happen to the remaining arms.
The question is who gave the high quality arms to Rakhines and for what purpose? The villagers also stated that the Rakhines are deploying more arms including long knives before violence started in June 2012. The Bangladesh government has arrested one boat belongs to Rakhines in Bangladesh ocean which carry lots of arms. We do not know how many boats have passed the Bangladesh security check and how many arms have been deploys by Rakhines into Arakan State.
The villagers further stated that before the violence started in June, Rakhines leaders and their community conducted a secret meeting in Nasaka office in Maungdaw. At that time Rohingyas were not allow to go out from their houses. The military also close some roads so that no Rohingyas knows about the secret meeting. The violence in June triggered after the Rakhines secret meeting was conducted. These are the evidence that the violence that triggered in June 2012 was planned in advanced by the military together with Rakhines leaders.
Until now the military government only allows the Rakhines to hold arms but not the Rohingyas. The military conducted constant check on Rohingyas houses and they confiscated all knives used in the kitchen. The curfew is only imposed on Rohingyas while the Rakhines free to move around.
Currently, the Rakhine population has continued their life as usual unlike the Rohingyas who are struggling to seek refuge with no access to food, water, medical and shelter. While the Rakhines Buddhist are free to do their daily activities, the Myanmar government increased the curfew on Rohingyas.
Since June until now, all 17 Township in Arakan State has been affected by the violence instigated by the Myanmar government. The most affected Township are Maungdaw, Sittwe, Kyaukpyu, kyauktaw, Minbya, Rathedaung, Mrauk U, Myebon, Pauktaw and recently Punima. The Rohingyas were the most affected population in the Arakan State. They have very little or no access to food, water, medical and shelter. Though the foreign government and International humanitarian organizations gave lots of aid to Arakan State but the aid hardly reach the affected Rohingyas as they had to go through blockages from the Arakan State Chief Minister and the Myanmar government. Finally only little aid could reach them. The rest are taken by the Myanmar government for their own interest.
The Myanmar government will continue their ethnic cleansing policy towards Rohingyas. If the World Leaders, United Nations and the International Communities fail to act at this very critical time, there will be more death on Rohingyas population. The continuation of the ethnic cleansing policy on Rohingyas will only increase the number of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the World and specifically to the ASEAN Region.
We are frustrated as our Democracy Leader Aung San Suu Kyi is not able to do anything to stop the killing on Rohingya population even after receiving her Noble Prize. Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence on our plight has puzzled us as she was recognized Internationally as a Democracy icon. For many decades the Rohingyas population has supported Aung San Suu Kyi but she has turn blind eyes to our plight.
We are very frustrated as the biggest mandated body in the world which is the UNITED NATIONS has FAILED in their duty to save the lives of the affected Rohingya minority even after they announced that the minority Rohingyas is the most prosecuted ethnic in the world. Unfortunately, until today the United Nations has failed to carry their mandate as they only watching the defenseless and hopeless Rohingyas has been killed without taking any real action. Until now we do not know what is the plan of the United Nations to stop the massacre over Rohingyas.
We are Questioning the United Nations why until now they fail to send Peace Keeping Mission to the affected area in Arakan State? What else you are waiting for? What is stopping you from sending your Peace Keeping Mission in this very critical situation? How many lives more must be sacrifice before you can take real action? WE cannot put the business and trade before the human lives. The United Nations must be accountable for the massacre of Rohingyas in Arakan State. The failure of the United Nations to stop the massacre caused thousands of Rohingyas has been murdered brutally.
The United Nations has adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948. Since then the United Nations has successfully restore peace in many conflict areas. However until now the United Nations and World Leaders fail to intervene in Rohingyas plight. WE do not know what exactly stopping the United Nations from entering Myanmar especially in this very critical time.
The root cause of the problem is the state ethnic cleansing policy on Rohingyas in Arakan State. The proposal of the president Thein Sein to remove the Rohingyas from Myanmar shows the clear rejection of Myanmar government on Rohingyas. Therefore we urge the British Government to urgently:
1. pressure the United Nations Security Council to send their Peace Keeping Mission to Arakan State to control and monitor the human rights abuses
2. bring the General Thien Sein, former General Thein Shwe and General Kyin Nyunt to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for killing, raped, torturing, detaining and abusing ethnic Rohingya and other ethnics.
3. add more pressure to Myanmar Junta to stop the killings, torture, detention and violence towards ethnic Rohingyas
4. stop the economic and political relationship with Myanmar until they resolve the conflict and recognized ethnic Rohingya as the citizen of Myanmar with equal rights
5. pressure the Junta to allow the International Humanitarian Organizations to go into Arakan State to provide aid especially, food, medicine and shelter
6. pressure the Bangladesh government to allow the International Humanitarian Organizations to extend their services to the affected Rohingyas.
We thank you for your Urgent Intervention to resolve the conflict and Save the Rohingyas from the state sponsored ethnic cleansing.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Zafar Ahmad bin Abdul Ghani President Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia
11 Jul Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
URGENT : CURRENT SITUATION IN ARAKAN STATE @ RAKHINE STATE OF BURMA. 11 Jul Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
9 JULY 2012 URGENT : CURRENT SITUATION IN ARAKAN STATE @ RAKHINE STATE OF BURMA.
MERHROM continue to receive information from our homeland. Some of the information are stated below. 6 July 2012 : Maung Ne Fara village, Maungdaw Township. 120 Rohingya men were arrested by the military, Loonthing, Nasaka and police without reasons at Maung Ne Fara Village. Many of them were educated person and have better economic condition. All of them were taken to Maungdaw military camp. Ten (10) of them were killed. The military cut the nerve (leg) of 25 of them caused them bleeding and can not walk. They were thrown at one place. The family took them to hospital but doctor refused to give treatment as military already gave the order not to give treatment to them. We do not know what happen to the rest of them. At night the military, police, Nasaka and Loonthing went into their houses and raped our girls and women. 7July 2012 : Pundu Parang Village, Butthidaung Township. 80 Rohingyas were arrested and until now there is no news about them. The military went into the houses who do not have men and they sexually abused and raped our women. Some women committed suicide after being raped. 7 July 2012 : Akyab A boat load of 65 Rohingya people sank in Kaladan River on their way from Pauktaw to Sittwe. Well known Rohingya Lecturer from Sittwe University including Daw Khin Shwe, her son and the boat owner Mr Shukkur were dead. The number of death were unknown but we heard only 15 bodies were found death. The rest were missing. The other 8 boats are still waiting because of turbulent weather condition. All of the boat people are lack of food and heading for Thakkaybyin (Sakki Fara) Village of Sittwe as they heard the aid are provided there. 7 July 2012 : Maungdaw and Buthidaung Township
At least 300 Rohingyas who were arrested from Maungdaw and Buthidaung Townships last week were taken from Buthidaung Jail to Akyab (Sittwe) by boat.
The Rohingyas cannot go out of their houses to buy food. During last few days at least 43 people died due to lack of food, shelter and medicine.
5 Rohingyas were arrested by Na-Sa-Ka. They are;
Hafez Salim with other three Rohingya from Ashika Fara were arrested at 21:00pm of today after checking the family list.
Mohamed Alam-35 s/o Mohamed Ismail was arrested three days ago and severely tortured in Nasaka area No.(6) as a result of he was unable to pay the Nasaka demand money 2.5 millions Kyat for release.
Again on 6 July, 15 of family lists from Balu Khali village and Wark Pyin village (the Pawet Chaung village tract) of Nasaka area No.(5), were taken away by Nasaka with false accusation of involvement in setting fire of Rakhine village in the past riot. The villagers were asked to choose the family lists within five days with money. The villagers have to pay at least Kyat 500,000 to one million per list. In Maungdaw Town, the police officer U Than Tin, U Thai Lin Soe and Sergeant U Hla Myint accompanied by some Rakhine youths went to the Rohingya villages and asked to meet with them to pay money otherwise, they will set fire the houses. This group is led by U Than Tin, the police officer of Maungdaw town police station who boasted he is above the law and no one is there to punish him. He asked money from one villager at least 5,000 to 10,000. He actively participated in the recent violence including looting goods and money and extortion money by arresting.
8 July 2012 : Kyawtaw Township. Sanghadaung mosque was completely demolished by afternoon and many more houses were burnt down. Seven (7) Rohingya villager of Kansi Fara (Wakang Group) who went to their farm were brutally beaten-up by a group of Rakhines and their cattle and tools were also looted. They were told that nothing is belong to foreigner and refugees should go back to Bangladesh. In conjunction with the 45th ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEETING in Cambodia we URGE the ASEAN LEADERS to Pressure the General Thein Sein to stop the genocide against Rohingya in Arakan State @ Rakhine State. The ASEAN Leaders must strongly condemn the genocide against Rohingyas and take action against General Thein Sein for allowing it from happening. Rakhine State was taken over by the military but the situation become worse day by day. More people are dying daily. The Asean Leaders must question Myanmar why they fail to stop the problem and how long the problem will continue. How many more will die? WE are very frustrated over the response by the United Nations and World Leaders who fail to intervene while people are dying everyday. While the United Nations and World Leaders already know about the plight of Rohingyas but NO prompt action taken against junta who is the cause of all problem. We call on the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon to take necessary action against military junta. While the United Nations are busy in the conflict in Syria, they forgot what happen to Rohingyas in Rakhine State. We start to think what is United Nations stand for, what is human rights and what is democracy? We thank you for your intervention all this while. We hope you continue your noble work to voice our plight as we are voiceless in our own country. We pray Allah Always protect all of you in your good work. We will continue to update you the situation in
Sincerely,
Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani President Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM). PLEASE SAVE ROHINGYAS PLEASE SAVE ROHINGYAS Arakan State. Thank you.
Monks involved in attack in Sittway….but Muslims are considered as Terrorists if they protect their own houses and property. In above photo, left side, it is a mosque in Sittway. This area is where more than 800 Muslim (including Rakhine Muslim and Caman Muslims’) houses are situated. Why the Muslims are not there if they are Terrorists?  The Muslims are fleeing into safe places for their personal security. 16 Jun 15 Jun PRESS STATEMENT 15 JUNE 2012 STOP THE KILLING AND VIOLENCE TOWARDS DEFENSELESS STATELESS MUSLIM ROHINGYAS IN ARAKAN STATE OF BURMA. Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) is deeply concerns about the continued killing and violence towards Rohingyas in Arakan State of Burma. Though the military junta has stated that the situation is better now but the information we received from back home are different. The killing is still continue, many Rohingyas has been arrested and we do not know what happen to them, women and girls has been raped and sexually abused, many Rohingyas has been missing, many more houses has been burnt and more people stranded without food, shelter and medication. Many Rohingya businessman and educated person has been arrested and till now there is no news about them, the shops and businesses belongs to Rohingya has been confiscated by Rakhine Buddhist, police and military. Rohingya are dying as they could not buy food from the shop belongs to Rakhine Buddhist as they refused to sell the food to Rohingya Muslim. Many Rohingya death body has been burnt and missing. The information we received from back home stated that the Muslim death body was taken by Rakhine Buddhist and we do not know what are they doing to them. We asked for the United Nations to Urgently Investigate this matter. We continuously receiving information from about the situation back home. Until now the situation are really really bad and the access to information for the outside world is very very bad as the information was covered and controlled by the military. Currently the military has taken over and controlled the Arakan State. The situation become worse and the violence has increased. The information we received the military and the border security forces has threaten the Rohingyas and asking money for bribery. The are many information has been released by many parties but we are very concerns about the misinformation regarding the real situation. Many information has been manipulated by some parties for their interest. We urgently asked for the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission to step in and resolve the problem. Many Rohingya houses has been burnt. Rohingyas has to fled to the next village. The military has order that they could not go to other village. When they asked where they want to go, the military said we do not care but if you still go the military will take action against them. Many Stateless Rohingyas now become homeless without food, shelter and medication. We applaud the United Nations to send the Top Envoy Mr. Vijay Nambiar to Arakan State to access the situation. However we are very worried whether he is able to access the real situation as he was escorted by the military officials at all time. Furthermore the Arakan State has taken over and controlled by the military. Although there are 10 Muslim Leaders joining him, there is no guarantee whether they can talk freely without fear. They cannot talk freely as they will face prosecution. We are worried whether the Top Envoy can talk independently with the Rohingyas without the escort from the military officials. We are worried if the Rohingyas give the real information they will face prosecution from the military. We are very sad when the Bangladesh Government denied the entry of Rohingya who are trying hard to save their lives. We condemned the act of the Bangladesh Government who failed to protect human being in real need. Many Rohingyas has been arrested in the Bangladesh Prisons for the past two decades. We asked for the Bangladesh Government to release all Rohingya Refugees from their prisons. So many violence are taking place in different shape and in different area. The genocide is taking place but the world and international communities are moving slow to act. We asked for the Urgent International Intervention to stop the killing and violence towards Rohingyas. THEREFORE WE URGE FOR: - -
The United Nations Peace Keeping Mission to step in Arakan State Urgently to control the situation -
The United Nations to send a group of Investigator to monitor, investigate and access the situation Urgently -
The United Nations to supply the medication, food and shelter for the affected Rohingyas. -
The United Nations to bring the General Thien Sein to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the crime he has done to Rohingyas and Burmese people. -
The World Leaders to put pressure on the Military Junta to stop the persecutions and prosecutions towards Rohingya and Rocognized Rohingyas as Citizen. -
The military junta to hand over power to the Aung San Suu Kyi immediately as the winner of 1990 General Election. -
The International Media to step in to Arakan State to observe and get the accurate information and release the accurate information. Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Zafar Ahmad bin Abdul Ghani President Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
Date: June 12, 2012 PRESS STATEMENT Urgent Appeal for the Intervention to save the Rohingya people in Arakan State, Burma and to End Humanitarian Crisis as well Your Excellency, We, the peace loving people from different parts of the world would like to express our deep and great concern over the ongoing grave situation in Arakan causing great consideration to the people. We are sending our urgent request to you to immediately intervene and protect million Rohingya people of Arakan from pre-planned means of genocide. The quick deterioration of the situation since the end of last week, after a heinous crime against a young lady turned into racial turmoil with the targeting Muslims by a mob in Taungup, and later targeting the Rohingya villagers by ultra-racist Rakhine and government forces in Maungdaw Township. It spread to all townships in Arakan state. The situation is more violent, the victims are more women, children and elders. Over 1500 Rohingyas are reportedly killed, while more than 3000 Rohingya were severely injured who are unable to get medication to save their lives while rest of Rohingya people are starving without food and water. We have no access to information on what is happening inside Arakan after imposing the emergency act 144 by military (Martial law). Some contacts over the phone told us that para-military and racist Rakhine are burning the Rhingya houses and shot the unarmed Rohingya civilian when they come out. Some Rohingya were purportedly burned alive. All dead and wounded bodies are taken away by the government forces. News comes out from personal talk of military officer and media that government plan to kill and clean all Muslin from Arakan state. The information confirms all UN agencies and NGO left from Arakan State. It is true that most of news media are backed by the racist Rakhine groups and thus the agencies are focusing in accurate information, accusing the innocent Muslim Rohingyas who are totally defenceless and voiceless in all means. If there is no intervention, all of Muslim Rohingya in Arakan will eliminated from the face of the earth. Killing and burning the houses are still going on every day and night.The situation is going from bad to worse. There is no way to stay silent and to watch the people dying. -
We urged the immediate action to stop this serious genocide, ethnic cleaning by sending UN peace-keeping force to Arakan to protect innocent people. -
We urge UN to send UN mission to control the serious situation in Arakan State and save the remaining Rohingya people as quickly as possible. -
It is very serious and grave situation and urgent need for international intervention to save lives. -
We call on the international media to monitor closely on the serious situation in Arakan. -
We urge International Humanitarian group to step up its presence in Arakan State to support humanitarian work, consisting of Emergency Medical Team and Relief Agencies to save the lives of injured and starving people. -
We want explanation of the real situation in Arakan State from Burma regime. -
We also demand that the UN constitutes an independent and impartial inquiry commission to investigate the crime against humanity and bring the killers to justices. Sincerely,
Mr. Zafar Ahmad s/o Abdul Ghani
President Of MERHROM
Rohingyas protest in Kuala Lumpur Posted on 15 June 2012 – 05:08pm
Last updated on 15 June 2012 – 07:32pm KUALA LUMPUR (June 15, 2012): About 2,000 protesters, mostly of Rohingya origins, gathered in the Malaysian capital to condemn the violence against their people in the Arakan state by the Rakhine ethnic which was highlighted last week.
Previously living under the radar, they unite in the wake of the killing of 10 Muslims on June 3 in Taungup, Myanmar by ethnic Rakhines that led to Myanmar Junta to enforce a curfew period since June 8. Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) President Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani said they were deeply concerned about the continued killing and violence towards the ethnic group including rape, looting and kidnapping. “We applaud the United Nations (UN)’s move to send top envoy Mr Vijay Nambiar to Arakan State to assess the situation.
“However we are worried whether he is able to assess the real situation as he was escorted by military official at all times,” he told the reporters during the rally. National Democratic Party for Human Rights in exile South East Asian General Secretary Mohamad Sadek @ Aung Naing disputed the report saying that the numbers killed had reached tens of thousands since the start of June.
“We have reports from our people that a whole town had been razed down and they have to dig a mass grave of 12,000,” he said. Coalitions of Malaysian NGOs to Save Rohingyas Chairman Azmi Hamid said the current Arakan crisis is the latest in the history of the Rohingya tragedy which started with their forced expulsion from the area.
“The Rohingya have since been displaced, made stateless, humiliated, dehumanized, terrorized and massacred since 64 years ago. 18 Jun Myanmar Ethnic Rohinyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) URGENT : UPDATES FROM RAKHINE STATE OF BURMA 19, JUNE 2012 Yesterday, 17 June 2012, the military junta allowed ethnic Rakhine Buddhist to open their shops for few hours. However the Muslim shops were not allow to open. The information we received form back home stated that many Rohingyas went to shop to buy food. However the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist refused to sell food to Rohingyas Muslim. Many Rohingyas has been arrested by the military and the security force and there is no news until now. For the past 3 days about 500 Rohingyas were arrested by the military and the security force without reason. The military and security force checked Rohingya houses and arrested many people especially aged 12 years above. We do not know where there are taken to and what will happen to them. We received many calls from back home stating that their family members were arrested and missing. The military raped many Rohingya women and girls. They committed suicide by drinking poison as they cannot accept what happen to them. The situation become worse with the presence of the military as the military is behind all this. The military newspaper report was not correct as they tried to hide the real numbers who had killed and affected. The military newspaper reported 50 were killed however the information we received more than 20 000 Rohingyas has been affected for the past 2 weeks. Thousands of Rohingyas has been killed, thousands were arrested, thousands were missing and thousands of them were suffering without food, shelter and medication.
The foreign media only take information from the military newspaper which is not correct. The media must get the first hand information from the Rohingyas in order to know the real situation. We thank you very much for reporting the news from the Arakan State @ Rakhine State. We hope for your continuous support until Myanmar recognized Rohingya as Myanmar Citizen.
PLEASE SAVE ROHINGYA
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Zafar Ahmad bin Abdul Ghani President Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) Tel No: 016-6827287
20 Jun PRESS STATEMENT 21 JUNE 2012 KILLING AND VIOLENCE MARKS THE WORLD REFUGEE DAY 20 JUNE 2012. This year killing and violence marks the World Refugee Day 2012. This is the unforgettable year for us as thousands of Stateless Rohingya has been killed during the conflict in Rakhine State of Burma. It will take years for us to heal from the pain loosing the loves one and to rebuild their live. The current situation become worse day by day as the violence towards Rohingyas has continue. On top of that people are dying due to lack of food, shelter and medication. Women and children are the most affected group besides men and elderly. The ethnic Rakhine together with Nasaka, police and the military continuously killing, arresting, harassing and abusing Rohingya Muslim. Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organizations Malaysia (MERHROM) condemned the killing and violence towards minority Rohingyas Muslim perpetrated by Rakhine Buddhist, security forces and the military. This is the long term plan by the military and Rakhine Buddhist to destroy Rohingya from Burma. The ethnic cleansing towards Rohingyas are not happening now but many decades ago. Back in 1942, before the Independent of Burma, there was ethnic cleansing towards Rohingya Muslim perpetrated by Rakhine Buddhist. Over 100 000 Rohingyas Muslim has been killed and 307 Rohingya villages uprooted and destroyed in Southern Rakhine. The eagerness of ethnic Rakhine and the military to destroyed Rohingyas from Burma is proven when the military change the name of our state from ARAKAN STATE to RAKHINE STATE in 1984. The conflict in Rakhine State raises many questions. Some of the questions are:- -
Thousands of Rohingya women and girls has been raped and killed over the years by ethnic Rakhine, Nasaka and Loungting (Border Security Force), Police and the Military but no action taken to them until know. This time when a Rakhine women has been raped and killed why the ethnic Rakhine, Border Security Force, Police and Military acted very fast. The police and military cannot investigate our complains as we are not citizen of Burma. We also cannot touch and make problem with ethnic Rakhine as they are citizen of Burma. -
The military newspaper reported one of the suspect committed suicide by hanging himself. In the very tight security in the military prison how he can have an access to rope? The source from back home stated that he was murdered by the military not committing suicide. Furthermore as a Muslim we are prohibited from committing suicide. We never heard the case of Rohingya Muslim committing suicide
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in Rakhine State. -
The two suspect were sentenced to death very fast. We do not know what kind of investigations they had carried out? What evidence the military have when sentencing the two suspect? Nobody knows what happen during the trial as it was close door trial. The suspect plead not guilty but still they were sentenced to death. Source from back home stated that the military had abused them very badly and they definitely could not bare the pain. -
Ten Rohingya Muslim were murdered by ethnic Rakhine very badly but until now why there is no action taken against the 300 ethnic Rakhine who murdered the 10 Muslim Rohingyas who are innocent. We urge the military and the United Nation to bring the perpetrators to justice. -
The Top Envoy of United Nations has visited the Rakhine State and he stated the numbers of death only 21 person. If the numbers of death is very low why the numbers of death we received back home is far more higher than him? -
The Top Envoy stated that the city of Maungdaw is largely calm but why until today we still received the calls from back home stated that the situation become worse day by day. -
The conflict between the two ethnics scarified many lives and destroyed many houses. This is clear serious human rights violations. However the Pro-Democracy Leader Aung San Suu Kyi has not making any statement until now. Why she is so silent about this while the whole world is highlighting the issue everyday. -
The United Nations has visited the Rakhine State and witness the situation. Until now there is no prompt action taken by United Nations to address the whole issue. Why in such a serious human rights violations taking place the United Nations is very slow in taking prompt actions in handling the issue. We are anxious to know what are the next action will be taken by the United Nations to stop the conflict. -
The military imposed the Curfew in Rakhine States but the Curfew is only imposed to Rohingyas. Rohingyas were not allow to go out from the house. The Nasaka, police and military go into Rohingya’s houses and confiscate our property, arresting us, raped our women and abused our people. The Rakhine Buddhist was allow to move freely. The curfew imposed by the military is aim to kill more Rohingyas and finally cleans Rohingyas from Burma.  Zafar Ahmad, President of MEHROM |
MERHROM URGENTLY calls the United Nations to send the Peace Keeping Mission to Rakhine States Urgently to monitor and control the situation in Rakhine State. The delay in their action will caused many more innocent Rohingyas to be murdered. WE calls on the World Leaders and the International Communities to add on pressure to military junta and to help us by sending the food, medication and basic necessities urgently for our survival.
WE hope the conflict will be resolved before the Fasting month of Ramadhan for Muslim in July. We cannot imagine how to go through the month of Ramadhan as many of us were homeless. We cannot perform Ramadhan Prayers if the Curfew is still imposed on us. Currently the military prohibited Rohingyas from performing prayers at Mosque. Some of the Mosque were burnt and some were lock. We calls on our Muslim brothers and sisters to support us in what ever way you can. WE hope for the continuous support of the MEDIA and JOURNALIST to highlight our issues until there is peace in our state and we are Recognize as Citizen of Burma.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Zafar Ahmad bin Abdul Ghani President Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organizations Malaysia (MERHROM) Helicopters Fire on Rohingya Refugees: 3 Boats load of Rohingya devotees killed Source from RFA, 20 June Rohingya Muslim refugees from Burma who managed to sneak into neighboring Bangladesh speak of their ordeal at sea. Saiful Huq Omi/Polaris.
By Zeenat Islam
less than a minute ago
![Myanmar Rohingya children<br /> are reflected in a fountain outside a mosque in the village of<br /> Gollyadeil north of the town of Sittwe” width=”495″ height=”427″ align=”right” /></div> <div>Rohingya children are reflected in a fountain outside a mosque in the village of Gollyadeil north of the town of Sittwe on 18 May 2012. (Reuters)</div> </div> <div> <div>By now the story has been told countless times in the wake of the recent rioting in western Burma where tensions between the areas’ Rohingyas and Arakanese communities boiled over last month. People were killed, houses destroyed, thousands were displaced and boatloads of Rohingyas crossing into Bangladesh were turned away.</div> <div>The Rohingyas remain one of the most persecuted and vulnerable communities in the world. The group has been repeatedly portrayed as terrorists in both Bangladesh and Burma. The group cannot rightfully claim Burma as their own state while Rohingya men are perceived to be misogynist Muslims who threaten the ‘peace loving’ ethnically heterogeneous, but predominantly Buddhist communities of Burma.</div> <div>During fieldwork on the Thai-Burma and Bangladesh-Burma border, I was deeply troubled by the vitriol attitudes aimed at Rohingyas. I have asked this question over and over again to activists and the political elite, including 88-generation political activists from Burma, why there was such profound tension and anxiety to include Rohingyas in the otherwise inclusive activism that literally framed Burma’s democratic movement.</div> <div>The international humanitarian discourse on refugees provides some insights on how in the age of the ‘Global War on Terror’, refugees are no longer welcome and are seen as security threats. While citizens can be under surveillance and, at the same time ‘protected’ from outside threats, illegal immigrants, refugees, stateless residents and internally displaced people remain as threats, thus creating moral and ethical dilemmas for states.</div> <div>Although it is poor practice as a member of the international community and detrimental for the global image to send away refugees, governments often claim that it is imperative for state security and for the protection of citizens. In this kind of security architecture, borders are strictly controlled and identity differences are accentuated and securitized.</div> <div><strong>Burma’s fractured narrative</strong></div> <div>A state that had gone through more than 60 years of conflict, during which more than 30 insurgent, non-state armed groups have actively fought against the Burmese government is bound to have multi-layered internal divisions and security anxieties.</div> <div>The intense militarisation processes penetrated Burma’s everyday discourses including its social, economic, cultural and political systems, norms and priorities. The Tatmadaw’s strategies in the guise of modernisation, articulated as ‘Burmanisation’, was in effect a process of ‘homogenisation’ forcing out people whose appearance, religious belief, language and everyday practices reproduced their identity as the ‘other’ and, I would argue, <em>the enemy within</em>.</div> <div>By deceptively producing the Muslims as the internal threat, the military regime sought to portray itself as the protector of its citizens. Ironically, while some of the other undemocratic and authoritarian practices of the Tatmadaw have been challenged, the regime had largely succeeded in wiping out the idea of including Rohingyas in a multiethnic, heterogeneous national consciousness. Through state-sponsored exclusion policies, Rohingyas were made aliens in their own land.</div> <div>“The regime had largely succeeded in wiping out the idea of including Rohingyas in a multiethnic, heterogeneous national consciousness”</div> <div>Key exclusion policies and strategies were implemented after the military coup resulting in the restriction of free movement in 1962; the promulgation of the Emergency Immigration Act designed to prevent people entering from India, China and Bangladesh in 1974; the census program, <em>Nagamin</em>, to check identification cards and take action against illegal aliens in 1977; and the 1982 Citizenship Law following the 1978 exodus when many Rohingyas returned or attempted to return to Burma.</div> <div>The State Peace and Development Council repeatedly invoked its moral authority through the lens of national security and state sovereignty in dealing with Rohingyas. There is of course a historical context to it, which could perhaps be explained through the ‘good’ citizens model. A key source of anxiety had been the perceived disloyalty to the idea of a Burmese statehood by Rohingyas, such as when the political elite sought to be an independent state and made deals with the outgoing British Raj; when the community was divided in its support of the local and national political shifts; and when the armed resistance began.</div> <div>Rohingyas taking up arms have generated a different source of anxiety under the pretext of the ‘war on terror’, unlike the other non-state armed groups such as the Karen National Liberation Army, which has roughly 3,000 to 4,000 troops, or the Shan State Army-South, which has between 6,000 and 7,000 troops.</div> <div>The divided system in various ethnic states such as in Karen state, Shan state and Mon state in effect gives the control to the Tatmadaw and those insurgency factions, which have entered into recent agreements with the Burmese state. All these non-state armed actors claim to be the champions of their groups’ rights and hold the view that it is necessary to take up arms against Burma.</div> <div>Similar to these groups, the Rohingya militant movement also claims to be the sole protector of the Muslim Arakanese/Rohingyas. Unlike the other armed groups, the sharp reactions to their claims also come from various democratic platforms of Burma.</div> <div>One of the leading groups, the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) agreed to ban the use of anti-personnel mines and victim activated explosive devices and signed the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on anti-personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action (DoC) on 5 December 2003.</div> <div>A document that was leaked in early 2012 from 10 October 2002 claimed the ARNO had links with various terrorist networks. The ARNO was operating from Chittagong in Bangladesh and allegedly had contacts with groups on the Thai-Burma border. The document noted that the government of Bangladesh instructed the ARNO in May 2002 to move its bases from southeastern Bangladesh, which resulted in 195 Arakan Army members turning themselves in to the Burmese.</div> <div>Over the last decade, the ARNO has significantly weakened in numbers and leaned towards moderate politics unlike some of the other splinter groups that attracted the more radical, extremist factions in the country.</div> <div>For example, the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation that broke away from the Rohingya Patriotic Front in 1980s, and primarily operated across the border in Bangladesh, attracted a number of radical and militant Rohingya activists. RSO’s links with extremist groups in Bangladesh and associations with the international terrorist networks have been reported in media, which fuelled prejudice against all the Rohingyas.</div> <div>According to reports, the Bangladesh Army in a few major operations almost disbanded the RSO as early as 2005. There are also a few small groups such as the Central Rohingya Jammatul Ulama, the Ittehadul Mujahiddial, the Rohingya Islamic Liberation Organisation and the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front. These groups joined the Democratic Alliance of Burma in May 1992, which is virtually inactive now.</div> <div>The Burmese and Bangladeshi authorities in reality take advantage of the global climate of fear and anxiety that have securitised the discourse concerning refugees, in particular Muslim refugees. This ‘refugees as threat’ perception matters when it comes to the Rohingyas because the discourse actually drives policies and public support of specific policies. Those who remained in camps in Bangladesh are particularly vulnerable, since the barbed wire camps had their unique violent everyday narratives while the host communities from outside perceived the camps as breeding grounds for militancy.</div> <div>The misleading and prejudicial information fed by the hostile state and non-state actors and the media in both Burma and Bangladesh created an image of Rohingya militancy as a massive security threat which in reality is simply not accurate.</div> <div>The massive presence of the security sector in the North Arakan state has seen an increase in sexual and gender-based violence. In particular, the Nay-Sat Kut-kwey Ye (NaSaKa), established in 1992, has systematically targeted the Rohingyas.</div> <div>NaSaKa members and soldiers have targeted Rohingya girls and women and many of their attacks have been racially motivated. Various human rights reports also noted how race was one of the major instigators of sexual violence against Rohingya women and children.</div> <div>The strict licensing system to restrict movements, deportation and forced labour, land grabbing and torture have made the living conditions harsh for Rohingyas in their own homeland. Racial hatred had been a huge factor in the human rights abuses perpetrated against Rohingyas.</div> <div>During personal interviews taken over the span of the last few years, Rohingya refugees have talked about the use of derogatory and humiliating words by the security forces. The more refined officials use newly accepted terms concealed beneath other politically correct categories accentuating difference such as culture, ethnicity and religion.</div> <div>A recent report states that in 2009, in an open letter to other diplomats Burma’s consul general in Hong Kong, who is now a UN ambassador, described the Rohingya as ‘ugly as ogres’ and compared their ‘dark brown skin to that of the fair and soft ethnic Burmese majority’.</div> <div>What is really demoralising for human rights activism is that members of ethnic communities, who have been oppressed for decades by the military regimes, also despise the Rohingya.</div> <div>Ko Ko Gyi, a prominent former political prisoner who was released in January, has said that the Rohingya should not be mistreated but stressed that they were not an ethnic group of Burma.</div> <div>There are numerous political/human rights/women’s groups and activists who firmly believe that Rohingyas do not belong to <em>their</em> Burma. Burmese women’s networks, for example, which are champions of human rights and gender sensitive strategies often deliberately exclude Rohingya women’s rights activists following obstructions made by particular Arakanese women’s rights groups.</div> <div>When I questioned activists on the Thai-Burma border why Rohingya activists were not included in their programs, one of the most common responses that I heard was that the Arakanese and Rohingya leadership needed to resolve internal issues first. The lack of political will for a variety of reasons and also to some extent the capacity of other ethnic groups to intervene had also compounded the problem.</div> <div>All these events took place just when Aung San Suu Kyi was about to leave the country for her European tour on 13 June. Some criticised her for leaving Burma during such a sensitive period. Suu Kyi, during her trip in Thailand and in Europe, has stressed that the rule of law is necessary to bring stability in Burma.</div> <div>Responding to a question on the citizenship issue of Rohingyas at the Oslo Forum, Suu Kyi pointed out: “We are not certain exactly what the requirements of citizenship law are…, If we were very clear as to who are the citizens of the country under the citizenship law and who qualify, then there wouldn’t be this problem… We have to have rule of law, and we have to know what the law is. We have to make sure that it is properly implemented”.</div> <div>The citizenship question remains at the core of Rohingyas’ persecution, statelessness and insecurity. Sadly, the winds of change in Burma do not automatically signal a change in the question of legality and illegality for Rohingyas. Their lack of bargaining power and the deep resentment and racist attitude of various key stakeholders towards Rohingyas indicate that this is not going to be resolved on a priority basis in the near future by Burma’s leaders either.</div> <div><strong>The Burma-Bangladesh border and its discontents </strong></div> <div>While six boats carrying the distraught and traumatised refugees from Sittwe were stranded on the Naf River, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Dipu Moni stated in a parliamentary session that this was an internal issue of Burma, which was not persecuting the Rohingya and that Bangladesh had no obligation to provide humanitarian assistance because it was not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. She further stated that Bangladesh had to protect its national security.</div> <div>Similar internal displacement was caused after communal violence erupted in Burma in 1942 that also spilled over into the whole of Arakan. The Buddhist Arakanese and the Muslim Rohingya were engaged in a bitter battle after which the Arakanese moved to the south and the Rohingyas to the north – including 22,000 who crossed the border to Bengal. The second wave of migration occurred following a nationwide census project, Nagamin, during which more than 200,000 fled across the border in Bangladesh.</div> <div>From 1991 to 1992, more than 270,000 Rohingya refugees crossed the border from Burma. With them they brought their experiences of horrific violence, forced labour, rape, executions and torture.</div> <div>Bangladesh initially welcomed the persecuted refugees. The country’s leadership viewed the issue as a short-term problem and wanted to resolve it through bilateral negotiations with Burma. The Bangladeshi government saw it as a moral boost to be offering assistance for once and not seeking it. Initially, the country welcomed the UNHCR, the Red Cross and various other international agencies to assist the refugees.</div> <div>But soon, the strain on localities where the camps were constructed started to worry the ruling regimes. Over the last two decades, public support in Bangladesh has significantly decreased and subsequent governments have been less sympathetic to the refugees.</div> <div>The recent anti-Rohingya xenophobic attitude displayed by Bangladeshis is primarily coming from the ultra-nationalistic front, which claims that the Rohingyas are being supported and armed by Jamaa’t-i-Islami, the party that questioned and violently opposed the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. Those who hold this view believe that the Rohingyas would also be used as a vote bank for the next election. Burmese propaganda also implied that the fleeing people were mostly Islamic insurgents added to the anxiety of the Bangladesh government.</div> <div>This accusation took the consideration away from the inhumane condition of the Rohingya living into various camps, by making them a national security concern. The UNHCR viewed repatriation as the most logical response and in many instances resorted to involuntary repatriation of the Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.</div> <div>“The Burmese and the Bangladeshi government have strategically employed misperceptions, fears and prejudice to portray <em>all</em> Rohingyas as terrorists”</div> <div>Currently, there are 26,311 Rohingya recognised refugees living in various camps in border areas. Although the UNHCR is providing support to 21,716 of the Rohingya refugees living in camps, the Bangladeshi government has repeatedly denied UNHCR requests to set up self-reliance activities both inside and outside the camps. According to the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC), there are about 200,000 undocumented refugees.</div> <div>Further, the increase in numbers of undocumented Rohingyas settled in Chittagong, particularly in the hills, have angered local communities.</div> <div>Meghna Guhathakurta, a researcher studying the Rohingyas, noted in a personal conversation: “Rohingyas have come in (Bangladesh) anyway over the years and have (now) settled in Bandarban only because they have been chased away from the [plains]. The construction boom in Cox’s Bazar is one of the main attractions, so they would naturally want to settle in the [plains], but [after] meeting hostility in the host community they therefore are driven to the woods and hills.”</div> <div>The Chittagong Hill Tracts, which is home to indigenous Bangladeshis, has yet to recover from its own experience of a protracted conflict that formally ended with signing of an accord in 1997. Continual human rights abuses, major displacements of indigenous communities and land grabbing by illegal Bengali settlers from the plains have produced multi-layered insecurities for its indigenous population.</div> <div>Rohingya migration to the CHT adds to these insecurities as reports spread concerning the Rohingya’s involvement in illegal logging, drug trafficking and various unlawful activities. However, it is actually the security sector and the Bengali settlers who run these activities and take advantage of Rohingya labour in the CHT.</div> <div>With regard to the legality argument, Bangladesh needs to adhere to international norms and laws. The Partition of India displaced millions from West Bengal and Bihar who took refuge in East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh. An estimated 10 million people were forcibly displaced to India during its independence in 1971. A large number returned when it became independent. Since breaking away from Pakistan, it was the home of 300,000 Biharis who became stateless and were interned in 66 camps within the country, at least until 2007.</div> <div>It has a large indigenous population, which were displaced during development projects and/or during the conflict in the CHT. Also, every year, thousands of people are internally displaced in Bangladesh due to floods and waterlogging. Thus, one could argue that its population has a variety of experiences of displacement and the nation-state had been built by refugees and a history of wars.</div> <div>Yet, it doesn’t have any legal regime that could protect people who are refugees, internally displaced or stateless. As mentioned above, Bangladesh is not a signatory of the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol. However, it is party to a number of international human rights instruments, the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and International Conventions.</div> <div>Bangladesh is bound to offer protection to the refugees by Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Article 22 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child; Articles 2, 3 (this is paralleled to non-refoulement of the 1951 Convention) and 6 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Article 44 and 45 of the fourth Geneva Conventions. Most importantly, Bangladesh’s Constitution in its Preamble pledges to protect fundamental human rights of all.</div> <div>Both the Burmese and the Bangladeshi government have strategically employed misperceptions, fears and prejudice to portray <em>all</em> Rohingyas as terrorists. Neither the states nor in many cases, the human rights and political activists from these states, separate armed groups activities from the plight of the civilian Rohingyas.</div> <div>Following the forced migration in 1991 and 1992, both the states and, to some extent the UNHCR, provided inadequate information and suggested that it would make more sense to send the refugees back ‘home’.</div> <div>Bangladesh ignored their stateless status in Burma and the UNHCR stated that refugees wouldn’t be any worse in Burma. As repeated events of desperate attempts by Rohingya refugees demonstrate, power inequalities, repatriation politics and the discourse of national security not only made the Rohingya community more vulnerable but also denied them the ‘right to have rights’.</div> <div><em>- </em><em>Dr Bina D’Costa, Fellow, Politics and International Affairs, School of Culture, History and Language, the Australian National University. She is currently working on a manuscript focusing on the edifice of political violence in refugee communities in South Asia.</em><em></em></div> </div> <div><!-- END content-styles --><strong>Tags:</strong> <a href=](http://www.dvb.no/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Rohingya-pic-495x427.jpg)
 
            
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saif ali khan November 5, 2012 6:29 am (Pacific time)
Many of the photos showhn here do not have any relevance to the incidences in Rakhine state, Myanmar. Salem news must verify the trustworthiness of all reports of Rohingya, it is a great shame that such illustrious news agency as SalemNews should publish fake pictures and doctored reports. I don't want to say that nothing is happening to these bengalis in Myanmar, but the SalemNews should take objective steps to ensure the truth of the reports.
Editor: Salem-News.com never intends to use the wrong photographs to identify a particular situation.
We recently did an entire re-edit of a six-minute music video (FYI: 'Newsic') because it had tsunami images from Myanmar, so we are aware and trying to be as accurate as possible, and I apologize if any photos published are not accurate.
However you are a faker, a poser; you let the cat out of the bag two ways. First, not one real Muslim has made 'fake photo' charges against us so therefore I suspect you are not a Muslim at all but a person using the name of a Muslim for this posting. the second obvious giveaway is 'these Bengalis from Myanmar' - your racism against these poor people is so complete that you can't leave your little 'illegal aliens from Bangladesh' line out.
So we will investigate and remove any that do not seem correct, however this type of silly approach with a fake identity is just funny, thank you. .
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