Press Release: ARU Appeals the Government of Burma to Provide Full Protection to Rohingya

PRESS STATEMENT

January 15, 2014

Arakan Rohingya Union Condemns the Senseless Killings of Rohingya in Kilaidong, Maungdaw:

ARU Appeals the Government of Burma to Provide Full Protection to Rohingya

A least eleven Rohingya men, women, and children were reportedly killed by Burmese police during an attempted robbery of a Rohingya home by a gang of Burmese police and Rakhine mob at mid-night on January 13, 2014. With allegation of a missing policeman, the Burmese forces and Rakhine vigilantes have been conducting house to house search, beating and arresting Rohingya men. Rohingya women have also been abused and detained in several instances. Some rape cases have also been reported.

The village of Kilaidong has been reportedly sealed and surrounded by Burmese armed forces and Rakhine vigilantes, and Rohingya villagers are still trapped inside the village. People from nearby villages reported sporadic gunfire during the night raid of the village by police and Rakhine vigilantes. A number of Rohingya homes at the east side of the Kilaidong village have been burned down by Rakhine vigilantes. The families have reportedly taken shelters in a school building at the nearby village of Godusara.

Arakan Rohingya Union:

• Appeals the Government of Burma to provide full protection to Rohingya in Kilaidong village and elsewhere in Arakan state.
• Demands the Government of Burma to launch a full and transparent investigation to this tragic event in Kilaidong.
• Calls on the Government of Burma to immediately release the innocent Rohingya men and women arrested in Kilaidong.
• Demands the Government of Burma to arrest and punish the assailant policemen and Rakhine vigilante.
• Calls on the Government of Burma to immediately remove the Natala Rakhine settlement villages in Maungdaw and elsewhere in Arakan that have become the breeding grounds for criminals and thugs launching attacks on Rohingya villages.