ARU Director General Dr. Wakar Uddin's Interview on BBC World Service
Arakan Rohingya Union Director General Appeals to President Thein Sein for Full Enforcement of the State of Emergency in Arakan
"The segment of the Rohingya issue in this report starts at 41th minute"
Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin has urgently called on the Burmese President U Thein Sein to ensure that the imposition of state of emergency law is implemented in Arakan State to the fullest of its letter and spirit. During the interview on BBC World Service in London, Dr. Wakar Uddin has appealed to President U Thein Sein not to allow the local police and Lon Htein forces in Northern Rakhine State operate above the law, but to show full regards to the law by those forces.
Dr. Uddin was referring to the daily looting of Rohingya shops and houses by Rakhine mobs under the cover from the police and Lon Htein forces in broad daylight. Additionally, he expressed his serious concerns on police shootings and killings of Rohingya civilians, and the partiality in enforcement of the state of emergency law. He was referring to the movement of Rakhine mobs on the street during the curfew at night and Rohingya civilians getting fired upon when anyone tries to peak out from their property looking for food and water even during the daylight. When the BBC moderator asked Dr. Uddin whether he was sure about the police shooting and guarding of Rakhine property and the Rakhine mob, he offered documentation (photographs) as the evidence in addition to the reliable reports. He has also indicated that the ethnic cleansing to eliminate the indigenous Rohingya population of Arakan has been systematically turned into religious violence by Rakhine extremist elements (to seek broader supports from their fellow Buddhist elsewhere in the country).
In response to the question of whether the newly emerging democratic reforms is being threatened by the violence and the military rule in Arakan, he responded that there is a real risk of return of the military administration in other areas in Burma. "This is because the government may have to impose such conditions in other parts of the country, if the violence spills over to other cities in Burma beyond Arakan. So, there is a risk" he added.
