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A human rights activist and genocide scholar from Burma Dr. Maung Zarni visits Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi Extermination Camp and calls on European governments - Britain, France, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Denmark, Hungary and Germany not to collaborate with the Evil - like they did with Hitler 75 years ago.





Press Release
20th February 2017

The Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar have been subjected to gross human rights abuses that the United Nations say may constitute ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. A recent UN report detailing incidents of systematic gang-rapes by the Myanmar army, and the brutal killing of civilians, including women, children, and infants, has intensified international concern over the plight of the Rohingya, and has given a new sense of urgency to rights activists involved in the issue.

A new campaign called #WeAreAllRohingyaNow is adopting a unique approach to ending the persecution, by reaching out to major companies investing in Myanmar.

“We have lobbied governments and organisations to do what they can, but nothing so far has had any real affect; our governments are constrained by business interests,” says Jamila Hanan, who has been an activist involved in the Rohingya issue since 2012, and is spearheading the new campaign.“We believe the only real leverage we can have against the Myanmar military is through its business dealings, and this is the area that has so far been neglected by activists, so this is what we have decided to concentrate on now.”

The campaign’s first company of interest is Unilever, the world’s third largest consumer goods company and a major investor in Myanmar.

“We have been encouraged by the fact that Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, did sign a letter of concern regarding the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya that was addressed to the UN Security Council, and so now we are encouraging Unilever to take a lead on this matter and we will be asking others to join them.”

Today, the campaign has published, and sent to Polman, an open letter asking the company to take a stand against what many call a genocide of the world’s most persecuted minority. Though the Myanmar government recently announced that military operations against the Rohingya have been suspended, Hanan says that the long-term ethnic cleansing plan remains in place.

Prominent figures from the Rohingya diaspora are lending their support to the campaign as well. Community representative, Ro Nay San Lwin, co-signed the open letter to Polman, and believes the private sector has an important role to play in addressing the issue. “Multinational corporations should not invest in a country where more than a million people have no human dignity, basic human rights and citizenship, unless they demand to change the policy of the Myanmar government,” Lwin says. “I believe that convincing corporations to stand up against the genocide would be more helpful than lobbying the western governments to impose sanctions again.”

Hundreds of people from all across the globe have registered to participate in the #WeAreAllRohingyaNow campaign, which organisers emphasise is not intended to antagonise companies, but rather to encourage them to expand their commitment to social responsibility, by taking steps to end the repression and atrocities in Myanmar. However, activists have stated that they are prepared to incorporate other pressure tactics if necessary, to convince investors that silence in the face of genocide is not a successful business strategy.

Says Hanan, “The public is increasingly angry and upset about the constant stream of horrific testimonies we are receiving from the Rohingya people. This has gone on far too long now, we must all take a stand to stop this. We hope this campaign will enable many people to get involved, to change their anger and despair into compassion and concern, and channel those sentiments into effective group action that will bring change.”

For more information, please contact:





UNILEVER, MYANMAR AND THE ROHINGYA GENOCIDE

20th February, 2017

Dear Paul,

Your willingness to listen and share your thoughts with us means a lot, not just to me, but to hundreds of concerned activists involved in the #WeAreAllRohingyaNow campaign.

We would like to know if you have read the recent UN flash report regarding crimes committed by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya and what you thought about that?

We welcome Unilever’s commitment to social responsibility. As you said yourself, “Business can only flourish in societies in which human rights are respected, upheld and advanced.” What do you see as the ethical responsibility of a company doing business in a country where the authorities are accused of ethnic cleansing?

We understand that Unilever is planning to eventually make Myanmar central to all of its South Asia operations. Can you tell us about any investments, operations, or development projects Unilever currently has, or is planning to initiate, in Rakhine state?

Whilst we welcome the apparent suspension of clearance operations in Rakhine, we know that the ethnic cleansing project against the Rohingya has not yet ended. Rohingya reporters have already told us that the military have not left the area and reports that they have done so are not true. Avoiding mass killing is part of the military’s 11 point Rohingya Extermination Plan, to avoid attracting international attention. As long as the Rohingya are deprived of their citizenshipbirthright in Myanmar, we know from previous events, this project of ethnic cleansing will continue.

Aside from you personally signing the letter of concern addressed to the UN Security Council regarding ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya, what, if anything, is Unilever doing to advance a positive outcome in this matter?

Finally, can you tell us how peace and stability in the state of Rakhine matters to Unilever?

Thank-you for giving this letter your consideration. We look forward to your response.

Best wishes,

Jamila Hanan

Ro Nay San Lwin
Rohingya Community Representative

Inside the Immigration Detention Center in Jeddah (Photo: Supplied by a Rohingya detainee)

Appeal to FREE Rohingya Detainees from the Immigration Detention Center in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 


Ro Nay San Lwin 
RB Campaign 
January 26, 2017 

In the wake of continuous violence against the Rohingya people of Myanmar’s Rakhine State since 2012, thousands of Rohingyas have fled to nearby countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and even as far as Australia. Thousands have fled to Bangladesh and some of them then reached India. 

Some Rohingya youth in Myanmar felt they were living without a future, unable to continue their studies or support themselves in any way. Many of them managed to gather money by selling their families’ properties to pay the cost of fleeing. Among them, hundreds raised enough money to fund their way to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, getting to King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah by way of obtaining Umrah (Pilgrimage) passports from ‘brokers’ in countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan. 

Once they land at the airport their fingerprints are recorded and stored. The aim of these young men is to find some way to earn a living and support their families still suffering in horrible conditions back in Myanmar. 

But for many of these men their dreams do not come true. Since 2013 up until today more than 600 Rohingyas have been detained at various immigration checkpoints and raids in the cities of Jeddah and Makkah.

“Once we were arrested they brought us to the police station and checked our fingerprints. They found our fingerprints in the system saying we were from Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan because we held those passports which were given to us by brokers. So here we are identified as various nationals by the documents recorded at the entry.” said a Rohingya detainee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He has been in Jeddah immigration detention center, known as Semishi, for over 3 years. 

“According to our entry documents in the system, the legal way here is to deport us to those countries but we are not actually from those countries. So whenever the Embassies’ officials came to verify us we told them frankly that we are Rohingyas from Myanmar. The Embassies officials then responded that we should stay here and they told us they can’t take someone who doesn’t belong to their countries. So we remain here in the prison and no one cares about us.” the young man who is in his 20s continued. 

The situation in Rakhine State is getting worse day by day. A few hundred have been killed, thousands of homes have been burnt to the ground and a few hundred women and girls have been raped by Myanmar Soldiers. These events took place as part of clearance operation against the Rohingya which use the pretext of responding to attacks on three Myanmar Border Guard Police outposts on October 9th. The Military’s response has been indiscriminate, disproportionate and observers believe many of the actions by the Myanmar Security Forces amount to Crimes Against Humanity. According to the UN, 65,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh and 21,000 are internally displaced. 

The Rohingyas in the detention center in Jeddah had only one hope: To support their families in Rakhine State. Now they are helpless while their loved ones are killed, raped and displaced. 

Some Rohingyas attempted to raise the issue at a recent extraordinary session meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on January 19th. The Rohingya who tried to contact them said they were unable to get their appeal letter to the OIC foreign ministers, despite trying every avenue available to them. 

“We appeal to His Majesty the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to help us. We can support our families if we are released and can work here. Our little support will be huge for many hundreds of families in our country,” the man said his appeal is on behalf of all Rohingyas in the detention center. 

Speaking to more than a dozen detainees over the phone I heard the same stories from all of them. 

Although the center isn’t as bad as Myanmar or prison, their feelings toward their families should be heard, recognized and honored. These men should be released. They should be allowed the right to work as the Kingdom had allowed thousands of Rohingya to do before, following genocidal campaigns in Myanmar against them which began in 1978.

According to the detainees, there are more than 600 Rohingyas currently in the detention center. I have obtained many details including the identification numbers of 267 detainees. The men in the center want to provide me more details but they say they can not move freely within the center to gather all of the information which I have asked for in order to help raise their concerns. 

I was able to obtain their room numbers and the number of the Rohingya detainees inside the rooms. According to them 3 in Room A-4, 5 in B-2, 2 in B-9, 6 in B-48, 50 in B-52, 35 in B-53, 21 in B-54, 3 in B-61, 3 in B-62, 3 in B-63, 77 in B-68, 74 in B-70, 36 in B-77, 45 in B-78, 23 in B-79, 3 in G-4, 5 in G-6, 2 in G-7, 4 in G-8, 6 in G-10, 2 in G-28, 32 in G-38, and 14 in G-39. In all of these rooms the total number of Rohingya detainees is 454, yet the detainees said there are more than 150 in three other rooms which they will need a lot of time to obtain exact information on, as these rooms are much further from their own rooms. They explained to me that the room numbers starting with A represents for (ا, Alif), B represents for (ب, Baa) and G represents for (ج, Jimm). 

I am appealing humbly to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on behalf of my fellow Rohingyas to release them immediately and provide these innocent people with work permits. With this they can finally support their families and know freedom they have been denied their entire lives. I am willing to cooperate with Saudi government to verify any of their identities. I can be reached by e-mail at nslwin@rohingyablogger.com.



January 12, 2017

URGENT ACTION

TORTURE FEARS FOR HUNDREDS ROHINGYA DETAINED

Hundreds of Rohingya have been detained as part of the ongoing security operation in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. To date, no official information about where the individuals are being held or what they are accused of has been made public. All are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and of being subjected to unfair trials.

Myanmar authorities have, according to a governmental Investigation Commission, arrested and “taken legal action” against 485 people since 9 October 2016. Among them are village leaders, business owners, religious leaders and Arabic teachers as well as ordinary villagers. In some instances, men failed to return after being summoned to security force headquarters, while others were arrested by state security forces during village sweeps to find suspected assailants and stolen weapons. Relatives have told Amnesty International they do not know where their loved ones are being detained, what they have been charged with or whether they have access to any lawyer. The absence of any information about these detainees for several months raises concerns that they could be victims of enforced disappearance.

Testimonies collected by Amnesty International reveal that some arrests have been accompanied or followed by torture and other ill-treatment. In October, two young Rohingya men from northern Maungdaw Township were beaten by state security forces for 30 minutes before being taken away. In November, soldiers and police officers beat a man from Kyet Yoe Pyin village with rods to get him to disclose the location of suspected militants. A video posted online in December also showed police beat a Rohingya boy during a security sweep. According to state media six people have died in custody since 9 October, including Kalim Ullah, a 58-year-old former UN worker, who died three days after being arrested in Ridar village on 14 October.

Those who speak out about human rights violations in Rakhine State also risk arbitrary arrest and other reprisals.

Please write immediately in English, Burmese or your own language urging the Myanmar authorities to:

- Immediately disclose the fate and whereabouts of all individuals detained during these security operations and ensure that they are treated humanely, allowed effective, prompt and regular access to their family, lawyers of their own choosing and adequate medical care;

- Immediately release all detainees unless they are promptly charged with an internationally recognizable offence. In such cases, ensure all trials meet international standards of fairness, without recourse to the death penalty, and all detainees are transferred to recognized places of detention;

- Undertake independent, impartial and effective investigations into deaths in custody and allegations of torture or other ill-treatment by the security forces. Those suspected to be responsible – including those with command responsibility – should be brought to justice in trials which meet international standards of fairness, without recourse to the death penalty.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 23 FEBRUARY 2017 TO:

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
State Counsellor
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office No. 9
Nay Pyi Taw
Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Fax: + 95 (0) 67412396
Salutation: Your Excellency

Lt. Gen. Kyaw Swe
Minister of Home Affairs
Office No. 10, Nay Pyi Taw
Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Fax: +95 67 412 439
Salutation: Dear Minister

And copies to:

Chairman, Myanmar National Human Rights Commission 
U Win Mra 
27 Pyay Road, Hlaing Township, Yangon Republic of the Union of Myanmar
Fax: + 95 1 659 668

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

On 9 October 2016 several hundred men, believed to be part of a militant group comprised primarily of individuals from the Rohingya ethnic group, attacked border police outposts in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State, killing six border police and seizing weapons and ammunition. Security forces responded by launching a major security operation, conducting “clearance operations” and sealing the area, effectively barring humanitarian organizations, media and independent human rights monitors from entering. 

Since then, Amnesty International has documented a litany of human rights violations against the Rohingya community in northern Rakhine State committed by the security forces – in particular the military. These include unlawful killings and random firing on civilians, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, rape and other crimes of sexual violence, mass destruction of Rohingya buildings, looting of property, and arbitrary confiscation of important identity documents. For further information see Amnesty International report: “We are at breaking point” - Rohingya: Persecuted in Myanmar, neglected in Bangladesh (Index: ASA 16/5362/2016), available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa16/5362/2016/en/

International law and standards prohibit the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and contain a number of safeguards ensuring detainees’ rights to due process and to freedom from torture and other ill-treatment. Among them are: the right to notify family or another third person; the right to legal counsel; the right to medical assistance; the right to be brought promptly before a judge and to challenge the lawfulness of detention; the right to silence and not to incriminate oneself. Denial of the right to communicate with the outside world – that is, holding a person in incommunicado detention – clearly breaches these standards. The UN General Assembly has repeatedly stated that “prolonged incommunicado detention or detention in secret places can facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment.” 

On 1 December 2016, President U Htin Kyaw announced the establishment of the Investigation Commission to probe the attacks on 9 October, and 12 and 13 November 2016, and alleged human rights abuses. The Commission is scheduled to report to the President by 31 January 2017; however, given that its membership includes high ranking former and current military and government personnel, Amnesty International does not consider the Commission capable of carrying out an independent, credible investigation.

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority who live mainly in Rakhine State which borders Bangladesh. They have faced decades of persecution at the hands of the Myanmar authorities, however their situation has significantly deteriorated since waves of violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslims (mainly Rohingya) swept through Rakhine State in 2012 leading to scores of deaths, mass displacement and the destruction of property. Rohingya’s right to freedom of movement is severely restricted, which impacts their ability to access education and healthcare, to practice their religion and access livelihood opportunities.

Name: Kalim Ullah, Rohingyas detained during security operations
Gender m/f: both



By Jamila Hanan
RB Campaign
January 7, 2017

This is Mamedullah, age 27. His full name is Muhammed Ullah but his friends and family call him Mamedullah for short. He is one of the few Rohingya to gain himself an education in his village in Maung Gyi Taung in Buthidaung township, against all the odds. He studied physics for three years at Sittwe University, graduating with a Physics Major degree in 2012.

After he had earned his degree, he worked as a volunteer teacher for the community, for which he was much respected. Then he opened a little shop in Myoma market in Buthidaung. The photo of him here was taken at his shop.

I spoke to one of his old university friends to find out what he is like as a person. This is what he told me:

“He is of usual size, about 5 feet tall. Not rich and an average kind of person. He doesn’t wear fancy clothes, he lives a simple life. He is very cool and calm with his manners. He is liked by everyone and
his friends admire him for his way of communicating with people and for the work he did as a teacher.

He was the same in university as he is here in the village, he never changed. He used to wear longyis and long sleeves or half sleeves, never trousers. When travelling to university he was careful not to sit next to a girl in the car. He just used to hang out with his friends.

I swear I never saw him argue with anybody. He used to tease his friends a little; he was a happy person. Overall, he was a very normal guy. Everything about him is so normal. He never seemed to desire big things or comforts, he was content with life.”

On 4th January, all that would change. At 2am in the morning soldiers and police besieged his village and made an announcement by loud speaker for someone from every household to report to the school in the morning. At 6 am, Mamedullah went with his elderly father to the school. They knew that they were at risk of torture, as had happened in other villages before, but they didn’t want any punishment to come down on their family so they followed orders.

At the school, the military began to beat Mamedullah’s father, Mamed Ameen. Mahmedullah could not bear to see his father hurt in that way so he called on the troops to leave his father alone and to beat him instead, so the military beat Mamedullah as well. They beat him until he was in a serious condition, and then they arrested him and took him away along with some other innocent young men.

The President’s Office posted a photo of Mamedullah later that day, with 3 other men that they had arrested at that time to Facebook, accusing them of storing home -made guns on a betel farm:


Mamedullah’s friend told me, “He was targeted just because he is one of the few people who is educated in his village. I know everything about him. He is a very normal personal person. No criminal record. I was crying when I saw the government describing him as a militant”.

Other researchers I spoke to said the same thing: that all the villagers say there were no guns. Many people have a small betel farm for some extra income, like gardening around their homes, but farming was not his line of work, his main income was from his little shop.

And regarding the other men that were arrested with him:

“It is crystal clear they are innocents. This is a completely fake story the government created just to continue their oppression on the Rohingya. The people in the picture posted on the President’s Office
website, labelling them as militants, are just very normal people who make their living through daily labour. It saddens all of us to see this kind of cruelty from our government. It is completely shameless.

We never predicted they would try to drag Buthidaung people into this [clearance operation]. People from Buthidaung did nothing against the government in 2012 and in October 2016, although they were scattered, tortured, arrested and extorted. These are unbearable actions of our government. It seems like they want to do something to the people in Buthidaung as well as Maungdaw, but people here don’t have a border to run and cross to save their lives. Here it is surrounded by mountains on every side. There are many military regiments and BGP battalions around. How shameless is this government showing their power against some of the poorest and most helpless people?”

Later we received disturbing news, Mamedullah had been spotted in hospital. A close friend of the man I was talking to had been to visit a relative who was admitted to Buthidaung Government Hospital. Whilst there, at around 2.30pm on the 5th January, he saw Mamedullah and the other arrestees in the hospital:

“He saw blood dripping from Mamedullah’s head and legs with his own eyes. They were extremely beaten and tortured. The eye witness said even while the doctor was giving treatment, BGP [Border Guard Police] pointed and put their guns on those four men’s heads. Their legs and hands were bound with iron chain. Even though their eyes were open they couldn’t recognise that they were in hospital or what the doctor was doing to them."

The witness says that treatment was administered for approximately 30 minutes before they were taken away by the Border Guard Police.

Whilst writing up this story, we heard the rumour Mamedullah may have died in custody. His friend said to me:

“Oh Allah…I pray that’s not true. Please, he was a very simple innocent person. It will be unfair if anything happens to him. The world must stand with us. He is as innocent as a new born baby”

On further verification, we think this news was a mistake, as none of our contacts have heard the same. We are now hopeful that he is still alive and that both Mamedullah and the other innocent men arrested with him will now be released with immediate effect.



By Tauseef Akbar
October 10, 2015

On November 8th, the South East Asian nation of Burma will hold primary elections in what is being touted as evidence of its path towards democratization after long decades of harsh military rule. The day will have arrived as a result of years of internal and external pressure that sought to open Burma’s politics and economy. However, these efforts and indeed the very idea that Burma is transitioning to democracy is contradicted by the state sanctioned persecution and disenfranchisement of the beleaguered Rohingya Muslims; an indigenous Burmese minority.

The Rohingya are considered by the UN to be among the “most persecuted people” on the planet. In May, they were in the news described as Asia’s “new boat people” because they have been fleeing in droves from the oppression they face in their homeland—only to be denied refuge in most countries.

They are a stateless minority, whose indigenous rights and citizenship are denied by political leaders of the dominant Burmese ethnic group. Compounding their tragic situation is the factor of nationalist religion wedded to politics; a chauvinistic and Islamophobic Buddhist movement originally called 969, and now known as the Ma Ba Tha, views the Rohingya as the ultimate “other” whose very presence is an affront.

Buddhist movement Ma Ba Tha protesting proposed Rohingya right to vote

The Ma Ba Tha’s solution, in collusion and with the blessing of Burma’s political leaders is nothing short of genocide. One policy after another strips the Rohingya of their dignity and basic rights: banning Muslim schoolgirls from wearing headscarves, conjuring up fake terrorist organizations as a means to crackdown on the Muslim populace, restriction on humanitarian aid to Rohingyas forced to live in concentration camps, limiting their ability to marry and forcing them to have no more than two children.

The aforementioned are only a few examples of the policies and legislation making life a living hell for the Rohingya.

After all these indignities have been visited upon them, they are called upon to suffer another humiliating reminder of their third-class status: the denial of their right to vote. It was not unexpected, after all they have been through but still jarring in its coldness and in light of Burma’s “democratization” process.

It is a leap backward from 2010 when there was a glimmer of hope because the then military-junta issued “white cards” allowing minorities, including the Rohingya to vote in general elections. This brief hope was smothered when Thurein Htut, officer-in charge of Rakhine state’s electoral commission declared white-card holders will not be on the electoral rolls,

“Former white-card holders don’t have a right to vote in the upcoming general election according to the law despite being able to vote in the 2010 election. So they are not mentioned on the voting lists,” Thurein Htut told ucanews.com on Wednesday.

How would you feel in a country, which your family lived for generations and served its governments in various capacities, only to be repaid with hatred and state sanctioned violence? Rohingya leader Kyaw Hla Aung sums up the answer,

My father and I worked as government servants but we are regarded as foreigners. We have lived here for generations but we are yet to get national citizenship cards. And my two daughters who are former white-card holders will lose the right to vote in the election.

Disenfranchisement is part and parcel of disempowerment and its goal is exactly to make you feel as Kyaw Hla Aung does, a foreigner who does not belong in his own land.

Burma’s actions should not be unfamiliar to Americans, we still struggle with voter suppression and it is only in recent decades that we have granted universal suffrage and franchise to all our citizens. For close to two centuries rights such as voting were denied to African Americans, who faced one hurdle after another to achieve the basic rights that are due all Americans and to realize the promise in the Declaration of Independence that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”

Today the Rohingya are subject to harsh laws, dehumanization and the constant threat of state sanctioned pogroms. They are denied the right to vote and face a blistering campaign of intimidation by a fundamentalist Buddhist movement that seeks their disappearance.

As conscience Americans who value honesty, democracy and abhor hypocrisy, we must tell it like it is: Burma is not on the path to democratization and progress. In fact by stripping the Rohingya of the right to vote, it is going backward.

Our own experience shows us that words of condemnation are not enough, we must actively lobby our nation’s leaders not to be short-sighted in their engagement with the Burmese government. Let us not sacrifice our principles on the altar of political expediency and economic gain - to do so would be a betrayal of the Rohingya and the values we claim to uphold and cherish.

In the midst of this sea of oppression there are efforts from governments, NGO’s and individuals to alter Burma’s anti-Rohingya policy. The Burma Task Force has organized a social media drive under the hashtag #LetRohingyaVote with the aim, at the very least, of making the world aware of the disenfranchisement of the Rohingya. Significant media attention and trending twitter hashtags will get the attention of the Burmese government. Here’s a chance, for all those moved by the plight of the Rohingya to contribute in a small way toward helping them; join the hashtag #LetRohingyaVote and make your voice heard.



Equal Rights Trust and Partners Launch Rohingya Rights Coalition

The Equal Rights Trust and the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University, have launched an International Coalition on Rohingya Rights at an international forum in Bangkok convened by the two organisations.

Bringing together representatives of the Rohingya community, civil society organisations, academics and representatives of governments and international agencies, the international forum provided a space to discuss the plight of the Rohingya and to develop strategies for enhancing the protection of their rights. The forum highlighted the fact that the Rohingya continue to be subjected to one of the most serious and sustained campaigns of ethno-religious discrimination and persecution anywhere in the world.

Since 1982, when Myanmar introduced a Citizenship Law which effectively deprived them of their citizenship, the Rohingya have been subjected to a range of discriminatory laws and practices. These range from restrictions on travel, interference with marital and reproductive rights and arbitrary taxation to forced labour and discrimination in access to healthcare and education. The situation continues to deteriorate. This forum received evidence that international humanitarian agencies were denied access to Rohingya flood victims in North Rakhine State and Rohingya at the forum expressed their fear that they would be denied the right to vote in the coming elections on 8 November.

At the regional level, the terrible situation faced by those Rohingya who flee Myanmar for the other countries in the region has again come into focus in recent months. In May this year, states in the region agreed to allow Rohingya stranded at sea to disembark on their shores only in the wake of widespread condemnation of their indifference. At the same time, mass graves were discovered at trafficking camps in Malaysia and Thailand. These two developments highlight the failure of states in the region to meet their basic humanitarian and human rights obligations.

Speaking after the event, Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director of the Equal Rights Trust said: 

"In response to the worsening situation of the Rohingya in both Myanmar and the wider region, we are today announcing the formation of an International Coalition on Rohingya Rights. This coalition will have the single objective of advocating for the improved protection of the rights of Rohingya people in Myanmar and the Rohingya refugees in the wider region."

The Coalition’s founding members are: Equal Rights Trust (International); Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University (Thailand); Smile Education and Development Foundation (Myanmar); Counter Foto (Bangladesh); and the Bar Council of Malaysia Migrants, Refugees and Immigration Affairs Committee (Malaysia).

We invite individuals, organisations and institutions which share our aims to join us. Those wanting to join the International Coalition should please email Thiona Phillips, Advocacy and Programmes Assistant, Equal Rights Trust, at: thiona.philips@equalrightstrust.org.

To read more about the Equal Rights Trust's work on the Rohingya please visit our country website pages: Bangladesh,Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.



By World Organisation Against Torture
October 2, 2014

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma/Myanmar.

New Information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the sentencing of Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung, a 75-year old Rohingya human rights defender in Arakan/Rakhine State.

According to the information received, on September 26, 2014, Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung was sentenced by the Sittwe District Court to one year and six months in prison on charges of rioting (Article 147 of the Criminal Code) in connection with a protest held on April 26, 2013, at Thetkalpyin IDP camp in Sittwe Township. However, Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung was not present during the protest and had, in fact, tried to contact camp leaders in order to advise them to keep the demonstration peaceful (see background information).

The Sittwe District Court dropped all other charges, including “injuring a civil servant, interfering with his official duties” (Article 333 of the Criminal Code).

Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung remains detained in Sittwe Prison.

Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma Tomás Ojea Quintana, who repeatedly called for Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung’s release, described him as a prisoner of conscience and said his detention was arbitrary. Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung suffers from hypertension and stomach problems that require regular medication.

The Observatory deplores the sentencing and continued arbitrary detention of Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung, which seem aimed at sanctioning his peaceful human rights activities.

Background information:

In 1986, Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung was imprisoned for two years for writing an appeal to the authorities on behalf of local farmers whose land had been confiscated. In 1990, he was arrested during a crackdown on Rohingya activists and spent the next 10 years in jail. In June 2012, Government authorities detained him, along with several other Rohingya aid workers, for his alleged involvement in the sectarian unrest that hit Arakan State. He was released in August 2012.

Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung was re-arrested on July 15, 2013 by police officers in Sittwe Township. He was arbitrarily detained without charges at Sittwe Police Station No. 1 and denied access to his family and lawyers.

On July 31, 2013, Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung appeared before the Sittwe District Court to answer charges of inciting a protest against a government-led exercise to collect population data on April 26, 2013 at Thetkalpyin Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Sittwe Township.

On April 26, 2013, the local government of Arakan/Rakhine State undertook a survey of Muslim IDPs in Sittwe Township in order to provide the authorities with population data. The authorities required Muslim Rohingya to be recorded as “Bengalis”, a derogatory term that the government routinely uses to describe Rohingya.

After some members of the community contested being called “Bengali”, violence ensued. Clashes between Rohingya IDPs and immigration officials during the protests forced the authorities to suspend the registration process.

The April 26-related events have since been used as a pretext to falsely prosecute Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Burma, urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung, as well as of all human rights defenders in Burma/Myanmar;

ii. Release Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary as it seems to only aim at sanctioning their human rights activities;

iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment, including judicial harassment, against Mr. Kyaw Hla Aung as well as against all human rights defenders in Burma/Myanmar;

iv. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with its:

- Article 1, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;

- Article 6(a), which foresees that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms”;

- Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

Addresses:

· U Thein Sein, President of Myanmar, President Office, Office No.18, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: + 95 1 652 624

· Lt. Gen Ko Ko, Minister for Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Office No. 10, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +95 67 412 439

· U Win Mra, Chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, 27 Pyay Road, Hline Township, Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar; Fax: +95-1-659668

· Dr. Tun Shin, Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Office No. 25, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +95 67 404 146/ 106

· U Tun Tun Oo, Chief Justice, Office of the Supreme Court, Office No. 24, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: + 95 67 404 059

· U Kyaw Kyaw Htun, Director General, Myanmar Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Office No. 10, Naypyitaw, MYANMAR; Fax: +951 549 663 / 549 208

· H.E. Mr. Maung Wai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 732 89 19, +41 22 732 73 77, Email: mission@myanmargeneva.org

· Embassy of Myanmar in Brussels, Boulevard Général Wahis 9, 1030 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 (0)32 2 705 50 48, Email: mebrussels@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Burma in your respective countries.


    • Rohingya Exodus