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A Muslim man stands inside a mosque destroyed by a Buddhist mob in Thuye Thamain village in southern central Myanmar's Bago region, June 24, 2016. (AFP)

September 21, 2016

Rakhine state government officials are moving to demolish more than 3,000 allegedly illegal buildings, including a dozen mosques and more than 30 other religious buildings, in the Maungdaw District, RFA’s Myanmar Service has learned.

During a meeting in the state capital of Sittwe, a committee of village elders was convened to take stock of illegal buildings that need to be razed, Rakhine State Security and Border Affairs Minister Col. Htein Lin told RFA.

Those buildings include 12 mosques, 35 religious school buildings and more than 2,500 houses and other structures that were constructed over the years without permission from the authorities, he said.

Maungdaw area village chiefs were notified of the decision on Sept. 18, he said. It was unclear exactly when the demolitions would occur, or precisely how the buildings were chosen.

Tensions between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in various parts of the country flare up from time to time over the building of religious structures.

The troubled Rakhine state is home to more than 1.1 million stateless Rohingya Muslims whom many Burmese call “Bengalis” because they consider them illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

Myanmar’s Buddhist majority has long subjected the Rohingya to persecution and attacks and denied them basic rights, including citizenship.

Earlier this year, Myanmar authorities began demolishing Buddhist and Islamic religious structures across the country that were built on state-owned land without permission from state or regional officials.

In August the government began removing 173 Buddhist monasteries in lower Myanmar’s Yangon region and 86 monasteries in other states and regions that were constructed without official permission.

The central government’s actions came as authorities in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state arrested five local villagers who led a Buddhist mob that burned down a mosque on July 1 in Lebyin Village of Lone Khin Village Tract of Hpakant township.

Several days prior to the incident, township authorities told trustees of the mosque that they would have to demolish the structure because it had not been legally authorized for religious purposes, according to a report in the online journal The Irrawaddy.

Buddhist monk Myaing Kyee Ngu, also known as U Thuzana, has been erecting stupas on the grounds of churches and mosques in eastern Myanmar’s Karen State since April in an act of defiance supposedly aimed at reclaiming ancient Buddhist lands.

He is also an influential figure within the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the predominantly Christian-led Karen National Union, a fellow ethnic armed organization, according to The Irrawaddy.

Despite objections by religious authorities, Myaing Kyee Ngu and his supporters built several stupas on the grounds of St. Mark Anglican church in Kondawgyi village of Hlaingbwe township and elsewhere in the village.

Reported and translated by RFA's Myanmar Service. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.

A boat in Sittwe is inspected and the owner informed of registration procedures. Photo: Yi Ywal Myint / The Myanmar Times


By Yi Ywal Myint
September 20, 2016
 
After a series of deadly sinkings involving unlicenced vessels, authorities in Rakhine State are cracking down, informing helmsmen they must register or face hefty fines.

Since the beginning of August, joint teams representing the Water Transport Department, township administration offices, the Myanmar Police Force, the Immigration and National Registration Department, Myanma Insurance and the Department of Fisheries have been conducting an education and awareness campaign. Boat owners have been instructed on registration paperwork, and have been warned that disciplinary action will now be enforced on the local waterways.

“Vessel owners in townships where we conduct education campaigns have to register within 10 days of our discussions,” said U Htin Kyaw, head of the Inland Water Transport Department for Rakhine State.

“They will face fines if they do not comply within the required period. Under the Vessels Law, fines for unregistered vessels range from K500,000 to K2.5 million, and fines for vessels with no business licence are K300,000 to K500,000,” he said.

All fishing boats and all ferries carrying either cargo or passengers must register.

The joint team is registering boats and issuing business licences after conducting inspections. For vessels with engines below 20 horsepower, the township administration offices are responsible for the registration. For vessels above 20 horsepower, the Inland Water Transport Department will issue business licences.

“So far, across the state we have licensed more than 3000 vessels with engines below 20 horsepower, and more than 800 vessels with engines above 20 horsepower. The process – including collecting data, issuing licences and conducting inspections – is continuing,” said U Htin Kyaw.

Boat owners admitted to letting their licences lapse when enforcement was lax.

“I registered when I started my business ferrying cargo. But as no inspections were conducted, the other vessel owners and I stopped bothering to update our licences,” said an owner of a ferry in That Kay Pyin village who asked not to be named. “The port officials and I conducted business through a mutual understanding. I didn’t know there were heavy fines for not registering.”

U Htin Kyaw said that the water transport authorities were trying to be reasonable about notifying boat owners before starting to impose fines.

“If we took action at once without educating them, the vessel owners may face financial losses. That’s why we are conducting education as a first priority,” he said.

On September 7, three women drowned and another three went missing and were believed to have drowned after a private motorboat ferrying them between townships in southern Rakhine State sank in turbulent conditions. The accident was at least the fourth of its kind this year alone. Two boats carrying schoolchildren sank in June and August, claiming a total of 11 young victims.

MPs blamed the state government for not properly enforcing safety standards. In response, state authorities announced in August that boat owners must keep lifejackets onboard all vessels, and will have their licences revoked if they fail to abide by the new regulation.

Translation by Zar Zar Soe

'SAVE ROHINGYA' Ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar residing in Malaysia hold a banner during a protest outside the Myanmar embassy in Kuala Lumpur on May 21, 2015. Mohd Rasfan/AFP

September 20, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: The Inter­na­tional Movement for a Just World (JUST) is organising a seminar focusing on the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar.

Titled World Beyond War: The Rohingya Refugee Crisis and its Implications on Security in the Asean region, the seminar will provide an opportunity to assess the issue.

The speakers will be United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative to Malaysia Richard Towle and former Suhakam chairman Tan Sri Hasmy Agam.

Despite significant public attention on the crisis, JUST noted that Rohingya refugees were not welcomed by other countries in Asean.

It said they were increasingly viewed as possible threats to national security and associated with the rise of terrorism and transnational crime, apart from also being seen as an economic burden.

According to JUST, a strong multilateral co-operative approach was urgently needed in line with Asean’s “people first” policy to stop the geno­cide against the Rohingya.

Admission to the seminar, sche­duled for 9am on Sept 24 at Institut Integriti Malaysia in Bukit Tunku, is free but seats are limited to 100 participants.

For enquiries, call JUST at 03-7781 2494/2497/03-7772 0773 or e-mail hassanal@just-international.org.
Sittwe residents staged a protest upon the arrival of Kofi Annan in the Arakan State capital in September 2016. (Photo: Maung Kyaw Hein MPA / The Irrawaddy)



By The Irrawaddy
September 19, 2016

RANGOON — State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said politics was behind a joint statement from 11 political parties opposing the Kofi Annan-led Arakan State Advisory Commission.

“Denouncing the Kofi Annan Commission is not only based on race and religion but also, I think, political motivation,” she said during a meeting with members of the Burmese community in New York on Saturday.

“It makes me really sad. It should not be that people denounce the commission for political party interests when we are working for the whole country.”

Her comments came after a joint statement made by former ruling party the Union Solidarity and Development party and 10 other parties—all of which were heavily defeated by the National League for Democracy in last year’s general election.

The statement released last Friday said they were concerned about the commission’s activities, and said that the “formation of the commission is not in line with the State Counselor’s authority.”

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi formed the commission led by the former UN Secretary-General in August.

The commission has attracted criticism, especially from the local Arakanese party, for the inclusion of foreigners in the panel.

During the meeting with the Burmese community, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said “there is nothing to lose from the commission.”

“Thanks to the formation [of the commission], the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has decided to drop the resolution on the human rights issue,” she said in reference to a proposed resolution on the marginalized Rohingya at the UN assembly.

Kofi Annan visited Arakan State, also known as Rakhine State, in early September. After his trip, the former UN Secretary General told the media that the commission’s purpose was not to investigate rights abuses but to write an “impartial report.”

“I hope our recommendations will be helpful as we intend to reduce tension and support development,” said Mr. Annan.

Dear Professor Faust,

I am shocked to learn that Harvard University has honored Aung San Suu Kyi, the de-facto civilian leader of Burma (Myanmar), with Harvard Foundation’s “2016 Harvard Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award” on September 17. The award reminds me of President Obama's winning the Nobel Peace Prize soon after getting elected to the highest office in the USA. As you may agree the award was a premature one and only tarnished the image of the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Similarly, the Harvard Humanitarian Award to Ms. Suu Kyi is highly problematic, let alone being premature. As to why I feel this way, please, consider the following points – 

1. Aung San Suu Kyi is undeserving of such an award since for years she has been unconscionably silent on the serious plight of the Rohingya people of Myanmar, 'one of the most persecuted peoples' on earth according to the UN. The indigenous Rohingya are victims of an on-going genocide according to human rights groups and international law experts. Every year, tens of thousands of Rohingya flee persecution in Burma and make perilous journeys in rickety boats to seek refuge in other Southeast Asian countries. Many, however, have perished in their pursuit of better lives, while others fall victim to human traffickers.

2. During the 2015 general election, Suu Kyi and her NLD party failed to field a single Muslim candidate [out of the over 1,150 candidates that her party fielded]. Her decision shows that she was not a leader who values inclusion of either races or ethnicities, but rather a leader who seemed to promote exclusion. 

Drew Gilpin Faust is the 28th president of Harvard University and the Lincoln Professor of History in Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

3. Suu Kyi has equivocated on the plight of Rohingya vis-a-vis the Rakhine. She has claimed and implied parity in rights abuses, and origin for the spread of violence. All rights groups and neutral observers note that the primary victims of state and mob violence have been the Rohingya.

4. Suu Kyi's NLD party, and the recently announced Advisory Commission has stated that the Rohingya issue is "not a priority" for the government. How could a serious humanitarian issue like the Rohingya problem that has led to the forced displacement of nearly a quarter million people be not a priority for Myanmar's government?

5. In her selection of the members of the Kofi Annan Commission, not a single Rohingya was included, while two Rakhine representative who have made anti-Rohingya and pro-genocide statements have been appointed. Such a gross display of unfairness can't be skirted off as being an oversight on the part of Suu Kyi.

6. A humanitarian's heart bleeds hearing or seeing the plight of persecuted people. Sadly, Suu Kyi has never visited a single Rohingya IDP camp. As you may know, 150,000 Rohingya remain in what has been described as deplorable "21st-centruy concentration camps" by the New York Times. Her attitude on the plight of the Rohingya people is inexcusable. 

7. Suu Kyi has been widely accused of bigotry. You may recall a report of Suu Kyi expressing bigoted anti-Muslim sentiments emerged from a new book detailing an encounter with BBC reporter Mishal Hussain, after which Suu Kyi was heard saying, "No one told me I would be interviewed by a Muslim." Such bigoted statements are not the ones expected of a humanitarian, and surely not of someone who has been honored Harvard Humanitarian of the Year.

8. Suu Kyi’s NLD party has never been pluralistic, and continues to demean or degrade the rights of non-Buddhists in multi-racial, - religious Burma. Aung Ko, NLD religious affairs appointee, calls Burmese Muslims, "associate citizens" implying they are not full citizens. Suu Kyi does not condemn or repudiate Ko for such statements that belie facts.

9. Suu Kyi and her NLD party have been accused of being willing partners to the eliminationist policy, carried out by the earlier governments against religious and ethnic minorities like the Rohingya. The Buddhist sangha – MaBaTha – have been playing a major role in that ‘slow’ genocide. Instead of disciplining MaBaTha and its terrorist monk Wirathu, Aung Ko has met the Buddhist monk, Wirathu, seemingly to pay respect to the hate group leader. As a leader, Suu Kyi has failed to set higher expectations for her party leaders. 

10. As the Lincoln Professor of History, you know all too well that the denial of one’s self-identity is an epitome of intolerance. Suu Kyi not only prohibits the use of the name ‘Rohingya’ by which the Rohingya people of Myanmar self-identify in her country but caves to extremists and advises foreign nations not to use the name "Rohingya". Such an arrogance is unacceptable from a humanitarian. 

11. Suu Kyi has failed to address the numerous anti-Rohingya/anti-Muslim protests, violence and hatred that has fomented for years among nationalists and extremists.

12. In Suu Kyi’s Burma, Rohingyas still remain stateless without any of the rights enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. 

As can be seen, Harvard University’s decision to honor Suu Kyi with such an award is unfortunate and reflects very poorly on the image of the Ivy League school.

Sincerely,
Habib Siddiqui

A Rohingya man is seen at a fishing port at a refugee camp outside Sittwe in Myanmar, on Oct 29, 2015. (Reuters photo)

Bangkok Post
September 18, 2016

The situation of the Rohingya boat people may have eased for now, but "humane and sustainable solutions" are still a long way off as only one-third of those people have been resettled, human rights activists and the United Nations say. 

There are 329 migrants (313 Myanmar Muslims from Rakhine State and 16 Bangladeshi migrants) in six Immigration Detention Centres, five Shelters for Children and Families, and five Welfare Protection Centres for Victims of Trafficking in Thailand, according to the six-page report titled ''Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea Crisis Response'' by the International Organisation of Migration (IOM). 

Of the 329, 68 are women, 117 are men and 144 are children, said the report released this week, avoiding the controversial term Rohingya. 

The plight of the Rohingya reached a critical point early last year when thousands of them stranded at sea and countries in the region had to come forward to help. 

Over the past 15 months, international agencies estimate that as many as 88,000 men, women, and children have traveled from Bangladesh and Burma in boats to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, said Human Rights Watch. 

Bangkok hosted the Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean in May and December while Malaysia hosted a similar one in April last year. Indonesia also hosted the region-wide Bali Process conference. 

At least 5,543 people who departed from Myanmar and Bangladesh managed to land in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand, between May 10 and July 30, 2015. Another 1,500 people departed from Myanmar and Bangladesh and landed in Thailand between September to December last year, said the report. 

About one-third of the boat people, or 2,688 Bangladeshis, who landed in May last year in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand have returned to Bangladesh under the IOM's Assisted Voluntary Return Programme and government agreements. 

However, a January-June 2016 report by the UN High Commission on Refugee released last month showed conflicting figures. 

Roughly 10% of those abandoned in May last year by smugglers in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman remain detained or in confined shelters, but the vast majority are either residing in refugee communities or have returned home, the UNHCR said. 

There have now been no large-scale mixed maritime movements in Southeast Asia since the events of May 2015, it said. 

Of the two-thirds of migrants, almost all have been repatriated. More than 600 of the refugees have been or are in the process of being resettled, including 47 particularly vulnerable migrants who departed for resettlement countries in the first half of 2016. 

"There is a small resettlement programme from Thailand for this group currently in immigration detention or government shelters, but the numbers are very small given the limited number of resettlement places around the world," said UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan. 

Echoing Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Volker Türk's call in Bangkok last December to allow asylum-seekers to contribute to the economies of the host countries, Chris Lewa, Arakan Project director, said Rohingya in Thailand are still kept in indefinite detention. 

"This is inhumane and unacceptable. Rohingya are stateless and fleeing persecution," said Ms Lewa. Attempting to send them back to Myanmar would also be refoulement, "but, most importantly, Myanmar would not readmit them", he said.



September 18, 2016

Officials of IHH and Sadakatasi Foundation, which delivered meat to those in need, express concern for Muslims in Rakhine

YANGON, Myanmar -- Two Turkish charitable organizations have delivered more than 2,400 packages of meat from animals sacrificed for the Eid al-Adha holiday to Muslims in Myanmar, including those in the troubled western state of Rakhine.

A chief of Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) operations in Myanmar told an Anadolu Agency correspondent accompanying the teams earlier this week, “charitable Turks have always extended a hand to those in need everywhere, without taking religion and race into consideration.”

Noting that IHH distributed a total of 2,380 shares of meat to Muslim families in Myanmar, Mucahit Demir said, "if we managed to put a smile on their faces, we are very happy. We will continue to help suffering people around the world."

Demir said some IHH members traveled to Rakhine -- home to around 1.2 million Rohingya Muslims -- while others covered other parts of the country.

“Here, especially in Rakhine, Muslims live under difficult conditions,” he underlined.

Rakhine -- one of the poorest states in Myanmar -- had seen a rise in tensions between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and stateless Rohingya since communal violence broke out in mid-2012 that left nearly 100 people dead and around 140,000 people displaced, mostly Muslims.

The vice chairman of another Turkish charity, Sadakatasi Foundation, also expressed concern about the living conditions of Muslims in Rakhine and told Anadolu Agency that they had delivered 84 shares of meat across Myanmar.

Ahmet Ozcan said they coordinate with IHH to help those in need, and stressed the duty to reach out to Muslims "who are living under tough circumstances" where they are “deprived of many things”.

*Reporting by Halil Ibrahim Baser; Writing by Satuk Bugra Kutlugun
Myanmar leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi was bestowed the Harvard 2016 "Humanitarian of the Year Award" on Saturday. Pic via Facebook.


By Asian Correspondent
September 18, 2016

MUSLIM students and groups are protesting Harvard Foundation’s selection of Myanmar (Burma) leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi for the “2016 Humanitarian of the Year” award, saying she has done nothing to address the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in her country.

Suu Kyi, who received the foundation’s Peter J. Gomes awardduring a ceremony in Cambridge Saturday, first gained international prominence as the General Secretary of the newly-formed National League for Democracy in Myanmar in 1990.
She later became one of the world’s most well-known political prisoners when in 1989 she was sentenced to 15 years’ house arrest due to her participation in anti-government protests. With the support of her country, she was later appointed to the newly-created position of state counselor, a role similar to that of a prime minister.

In 1991, Suu Kyi was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize for her “non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights”.

But since she claimed the reins of government in April, Suu Kyi has been heavily criticized by activists across the globe for failing to aid Myanmar’s Muslim minority – the Rohingya – who the United Nations calls one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

In The Crimson, a Harvard College daily, Harvard Islamic Society director of external relations Anwar Omeish said the student organization felt the foundation’s selection of Suu Kyi for the award was “really jarring”.

“I think for us we see the type of rhetoric surrounding the Rohingya in Myanmar, the similar war on terror rhetoric that creates violence against people across the world and that affects us here,” she was quoted saying.

The report said Muslim students also planned to stage a protest during Suu Kyi’s visit, but it is not immediately known if this transpired.

Other organizations unaffiliated with Harvard voiced similar concerns over the award. The Burma Task Force USA, a group lobbying for an end to the persecution of the Rohingya, reportedly called and sent emails to the Harvard Foundation to protest the matter, The Crimson said, quoting media relations director Jennifer Sawicz.

“The message [this awards sends is] that our education institutions care far more about surface images than the complex truths.

“Yes, Suu Kyi did fight for democracy and that’s great, but this isn’t a democracy award, this is a humanitarian award,” Sawicz was quoted saying.



In its website and Facebook page, the group posted a statement urging its followers and supporters to contact the foundation, its director and the Harvard president, and flood Twitter with messages of outrage.

It also posted a laundry list of reasons why Suu Kyi was undeserving of such an award, saying among others that she has been “unconscionably silent on the plight of the Rohingya”.

Across social media platforms Facebook and Twitter, similar discontent was expressed by Muslims.

“@thecrimson why in the world, @Harvard is giving Humanitarian of the year award to #SuuKyi? What is the logic here?” asked Abdul Malik Mujahid who is Burma Task Force’s chairman, Huffington Post blogger and Chicago Iman.

“On the bodies of persecuted Rohingya,” another Twitter user, AKahn, Voice of America blog editor, wrote.

Suu Kyi’s government announced last month the formation of a nine-member advisory commission to resolve the “protracted issues in the region”, referring to religious and ethnic strife in the Rakhine state.

The council is made up of six locals and three foreigners – including former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan as its chair – a factor that has been fiercely protested by the Burmese.

Suu Kyi’s office said the commission will “consider humanitarian and development issues, access to basic services, the assurance of basic rights, and the security of the people of Rakhine”.

Rohingya Muslims have lived in the northwestern Rakhine state for generations but are denied citizenship because they are considered outsiders. More than 100 people, mostly Rohingya, were killed in clashes with the Buddhist majority in 2012.

Many Buddhists inside Burma prefer to call them ‘Bengalis’, arguing that the million or so members of the minority are mostly illegal immigrants and not a native ethnic group.

According to the Associated Press, the closest the government came to acknowledging the Rohingya was by saying that the commission will “examine international aspects of the situation, including the background of those seeking refugee status abroad.”

Every year, tens of thousands of Rohingya flee persecution in Burma and make perilous journeys in rickety boats to seek refuge in other Southeast Asian countries. Many, however, have perished in their pursuit of better lives, while others fall victim to human traffickers.

Photo: ITU/ J.M. Planche

By Dung Phan
September 17, 2016

Former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, will head a commission to investigate solutions for the Rohingya people living in Myanmar. 

There is no warm welcome for Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary-General, as he arrives in Myanmar. Only jeers, shouts and boos followed his convoy into town, where he met with members of political and religious groups before visiting Rohingya camps.

The nine-member Rakhine State Advisory Commission was set up by the government last month with Annan as the chairman. The other foreign experts are the Lebanon-based scholar, Ghassan Salamé, and the Netherlands-based diplomat, Laetitia Vanden Assum. The commission also includes six Myanmar nationals, with two Rakhine Buddhists, two Muslims and two government delegates.

Although the commission is supposed to help with ensuring humanitarian assistance, rights and reconciliation as well as establishing basic infrastructure and promoting long-term development plans, it is suffering from massive objections and a lack of cooperation.

The “international” factor

“No to foreigners’ biased intervention in our Rakhine State’s affairs,” and “No Kofi-led commission”, shouted protesters during a rally against Annan’s visit. The protest was organised by leaders of the region’s largest political group, the Arakan National Party (ANP). They insist that foreigners cannot understand the history of the area and their presence could encourage external intervention into Myanmar’s domestic affairs. “Our country has its own sovereignty, and there is no way we can accept a commission that is formed by foreigners,” ANP official Aung Than Wai said.

Some of the local protesters did not even know or care about what the group would do. “We came here because we don’t want that foreigner coming to our state,” said May Phyu, a local Rakhine Buddhist resident.

In a news conference in Yangon, Kofi Annan emphasised that “we are not here as inspectors, as policemen.” The commission, however, has still been widely perceived as a foreign intrusion and people are mainly concerned about the huge influence of Annan over the international community. “Since he is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and also the former head of the UN if he says that the ‘Rohingya are really Myanmar people existing here as refugees’ the international community will accept that,” said U Zaw Win, a protest organiser.

The commission’s appointment comes amid urgent calls from international human rights groups regarding the Rohingya’s plight. In this light, Suu Kyi has again shown her pragmatism regarding foreign policy by summoning Annan. In fact, the diplomat’s first visit comes ahead of Suu Kyi’s visit to the US and her meeting with President Obama. She needs to build on recent successes; on Wednesday Obama announced that the US would lift economic sanctions and restore trade benefits to Myanmar.

A state-supported strategy?

Since she took office, Suu Kyi has been widely criticised by the international community for taking too soft a stance on the plight of the Rohingyas. She does not want to call them Rohingya and has also asked the US ambassador not to use the term. It means the government’s official position is that the Rohingya are Bangladeshis living in the country illegally.

But it is not a problem she could ignore forever. A 2015 study by the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) concluded that “the Rohingya face the final stages of genocide,” in which they have been experiencing the first four stages: stigmatisation and dehumanisation; harassment, violence and terror; isolation and segregation; systematic weakening. Now they are on the edge of “mass annihilation.” The report also presents evidence that the attacks on the Muslim population involved, and were possibly inflamed by, the local authorities.

Above all, Suu Kyi has admitted herself she is a politician. “I’m always surprised when people speak as if I’ve just become a politician. I’ve been a politician all along. I started into politics not as a human rights defender or a humanitarian worker, but as the leader of a political party,” she said in an interview with CNN.

That might be the reason why Suu Kyi remains reluctant to embrace the Rohingya cause publicly. There is no doubt that she does not want to mess with the Buddhist nationalists who angrily protested en masse against the commission.

And although the presence of Kofi Annan and hs colleagues might imply some ongoing progress, it is worth noting that there is no Rohingya representative on the panel. The team now have 12 months to conduct their research and submit their findings before making any recommendations. Annan already failed to bring peace to Syria; is he up to the world’s other great humanitarian challenge?

A visit by the Kofi Annan-led Arakan State Advisory Commission to Sittwe’s Aung Mingalar quarter in Arakan State last week. (Photo: Marayu / Facebook)


By Moe Myint
September 17, 2016

RANGOON — Former UN general secretary and chair of the Arakan State Advisory Commission Kofi Annan conducted a closed-door meeting in Rangoon earlier this month with members of the Arakanese Buddhist and Muslim communities, The Irrawaddy has learned.

Commission member Al-Haj U Aye Lwin confirmed that the one-hour meeting took place on September 8 at the Sule Shangri-La Hotel, and was attended by lawyers, civil society representatives, political party leaders, and the Rangoon chapter of the Rakhine (Arakanese) Thahaya Association.

U Aye Lwin said that representatives from both sides appeared open-minded, and presented findings to contribute to the advisory commission’s “impartial report,” which will be submitted to the State Counselor’s Office upon completion. Mr. Annan re-stated to the meeting attendees the objective of the commission: to pursue conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance, reconciliation and development in Arakan State.

Hla Maung Thein, chair of Rakhine Thahaya Association, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that he had attended the meeting and talked with Mr. Annan, cautioning him against coming to what could be perceived as a “one-sided conclusion” and encouraging investigation of “the root causes” of ethno-religious violence in Arakan State.

Some of the meeting’s Buddhist Arakanese attendees reportedly said that they “welcome the commission” and demanded naturalized citizenship be provided to stateless self-identifying Muslim Rohingya in line with existing laws, which could require them to first identify as “Bengali” migrants of Bangladesh. This, meeting attendees said, could avoid dissatisfaction from Arakanese nationalists, many of whom do not want those who identify as Rohingya to have citizenship at all. The Rohingya maintain that they are not Bengali migrants, and that they have roots in Arakan State.

The Muslim delegation to the meeting included lawyers U Chit Lwin and U Kyaw Hla Aung, and U Kyaw Min from the Democracy and Human Rights Party (DHRP), which represents Rangoon-based Muslims but did not win any seats in the 2015 general election.

U Aye Lwin said that some of the more flexible Buddhist Arakanese had recognized that the affairs of Arakan State had long been featured on the international stage, despite recent Arakanese protests against Kofi Annan, calling his and other international actors’ involvement in the commission a threat to national sovereignty.

Citizenship Discussions

Arakanese delegates at the meeting reportedly emphasized that the issuing of citizenship cards in line with Burma’s 1982 Citizenship Law—which defines citizenship along ethnic lines—would be the best option for stateless Muslims in the region. U Aye Lwin recalled that Muslim delegates agreed that citizenship scrutiny could be performed alongside existing laws, but expressed concern that the government implementation of the law and the letter of it were not in agreement.

U Aye Lwin said that even he was “surprised” when Muslims at the meeting accepted a verification process in line with the controversial law, adding that those within some displacement camps in Sittwe—the Arakan State capital—had also agreed to the suggestion.

However, U Aye Lwin told The Irrawaddy that he hopes the Burmese government can be encouraged to amend the existing citizenship law.

“What we suggest is to analyze and review the 1982 law with the support of legal experts, with the aim of recommending amendments which will easy for everyone to understand, concerning application and interpretation,” said U Aye Lwin.

Any attempt to amend the 1982 Citizenship Law in the Union Parliament could be faced with the objections of the military appointees and the ethnic bloc, especially the nationalist Arakan National Party (ANP) who have consistently stood against changing it.

According to U Aye Lwin, Muslim community leaders from Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in Arakan State are on board with efforts to explore and tackle concerns relating to what is perceived as an insecure border with neighboring Bangladesh.

The advisory commission also asked the Muslim leaders to perform a headcount of the population in villages and quarters home to the minority group. In May, an unsubstantiated rumor spread throughout Buddhist communities in Sittwe that Aung Mingalar—the Arakan State capital’s Muslim quarter—was housing a growing number of undocumented migrants. Buddhist nationalists demanded the government inspect the entire quarter; officials found no evidence to back the allegation.

Recently, some villages in northern Arakan State refused to collaborate with a headcount, which they say was a continuation of the policies of Burma’s previous, military-backed government and would not provide benefit to the Muslim community; an estimated 1.3 million self-identifying Rohingya Muslims were not enumerated in Burma’s 2014 census, carried out under the former government administration.

“To diminish distrust between the two communities, a headcount process is crucial,” said U Aye Lwin.

Equal Rights 

In the past, Muslims from Arakan State held identification documents known as “tri-fold cards.” These documents were issued starting in 1958 and originally entitled holders to equal rights as other Burmese citizens, until the 1982 Citizenship Law re-defined citizenship eligibility.

A citizenship verification drive initiated under the former Thein Sein government and continued under the current National League for Democracy-led government led to the registration with national verification certificates (NVCs) as a precursor to citizenship scrutiny. While many registered in the scheme, the NVCs were also rejected by some Rohingya Muslims who questioned why their ethnicity and religion were omitted from the documents.

U Kyaw Min, from the DHRP, told The Irrawaddy that if the government could resolve citizenship within a legal framework it would also simultaneously resolve any perceived issues surrounding migration.

“Declining [citizenship for] the Rohingya is not going to solve the problem. The real problem in Arakan State is equal rights, not [the presence of] the Rohingya,” said U Kyaw Min.

U Zaw Zaw, a resident of Sittwe’s Aung Mingalar quarter who self-identifies as Rohingya, told The Irrawaddy that the problem in Arakan State is a lack of equality; the riots and violence which swept the region in 2012 were derived from oppression, he said.

“We want citizenship which is granted by the law and the protection of the government,” he added, yet U Zaw Zaw worries that if his community is granted citizenship, the surrounding Arakanese society will strongly object to the action.

Both U Kyaw Min and U Zaw Zaw said that they have more faith in the advisory commission than in the government; while the commission will make recommendations, it will be up to the country’s leadership to practically implement any solutions laid out by the commission.

“The government needs to amend the law. But I don’t hold much hope,” said U Kyaw Min, pointing out that many of the State Counselor’s closest aides and advisors also had ties to the previous Thein Sein-led administration.

The advisory commission members, including chairman Kofi Annan, will begin their second trip to Arakan State at the end of October, and are scheduled to visit Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships.

The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, gestures during a conference on Individual commitment and collective responsibility at Palais 12 in Brussels, Belgium, 11 September 2016. Photo: EPA


September 17, 2016

The Dalai Lama has condemned attacks against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, describing them as acts of "some mischievous individuals who do not represent Buddhism," accordingto the Kuwait News Agency on 15 September.

The Tibetan Buddhist leader was speaking to the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee in Strasbourg.

He also criticised Myanmar’sState Counsellor and Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi for not speaking up against the atrocities committed against the Rohingya. "She remained quiet for a while, as Nobel Laureate she should speak against injustice," the report quoted him as saying.

(Photo: US State Dept)


By Tauseef Akbar
September 17, 2016

Obama administration lifting sanctions on Burma even though the genocide of the Rohingya continues.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and icon of democracy in Burma encounters condemnation in the US from human rights groups and activists everywhere she goes. The reason for this is simple: the image of her as a pure ‘champion of the people’ only lingers in the minds of those who know little about Suu Kyi, “the politician.”

Suu Kyi, during the long years of struggle to attain power lobbied the US to place increasingly restrictive sanctions on Burma for rights violations and the suppression of democracy by Burma’s military dictators. As the leader of the civilian government she has just successfully gotten President Barack Obama to remove all remaining sanctions on Burma. The US was the only nation that still had conditional sanctions in place, now the whole world is doing business with a nation presiding over a slow-burning genocide against the Rohingya that has seen “21st century concentration camps” proliferate. It also seems that 100 Burmese tied to the genocidal military regime will be taken off the SDN list (Specially Designated Nationals that cannot conduct business with the US).

The Rohingya face genocide as a number of studies and international experts have concluded, yet they are also essentially being treated as ‘collateral damage,’ that ugly euphemism employed by militaries when they actually mean innocent civilians they have victimized. To be collateral damage implies that according to the state’s calculus, you are an acceptable, inevitable casualty in pursuit of the state’s higher interests. In this instance the higher interest is economic: the US wants a slice of the mineral, gas rich resources and cheap labor of a ‘frontier economy,’ while sending China the message that “we run things in your backyard.”

Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi point to the creation of an Advisory Commission headed by Kofi Annan to blunt the criticism of Suu Kyi’s actions and policies. They don’t mention however that the commission doesn’t have a single Rohingya representative and the two Rakhine Buddhists who have been appointed supported crimes against humanity.

The New York Times’ report on the lifting of sanctions quotes John Sifton of Human Rights Watch, rightly noting that, “It sends a terrible message to say you’re not going to reward a government unless they do something, and then reward them anyway.” This is exactly what the Obama administration has done. While the rhetoric has been generally decent from the administration: saying the name ‘Rohingya,’ calling for restoration of rights for the group, and an end to ‘crimes against humanity,’ positive actions have been few and far between.

The decision to lift sanctions without a word about the genocide means that Rohingya lives are reaffirmed as expendable. Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican noted with dismay during his meeting with Suu Kyi today that he was “appalled by her dismissive reaction to concerns I raised this morning about the problem of human trafficking in her country.” We are asked to place our trust and faith in Aung San Suu Kyi, the politician, whose party has already declared that the Rohingya are “not a priority.”

Human Rights organizations will now be focused on strengthening the bipartisan Congressional legislation “Cardin-McCain Burma Strategy Act 2016” introduced on Tuesday, and ensuring it be as strong a monitoring mechanism as possible. For the sake of the Rohingya cause let’s hope they succeed, otherwise in the future we may be speaking of the Rohingya of Burma in the past tense, victims of a “21st century” genocide that happened on our watch.

United States President Barack Obama shakes hands with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar (Burma) in the Oval Office of the White House on September 14, 2016 in Washington, DC. CREDIT: Aude Guerrucci / Pool via CNP /MediaPunch/IPX


By Evelyn Anne Crunden
September 17, 2016

The United States is set to lift economic sanctions on Myanmar after a meeting Wednesday between President Barack Obama and the country’s de facto leader, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The proposed move on sanctions comes in addition to the reinstatement of trade benefits — all signs of a thaw in U.S.-Myanmar relations. But the news is cold comfort to members of the minority Rohingya ethnic group, based in Rakhine State, who have lived for years under Myanmar’s oppressive leadership and are unlikely to be helped by a shift in American attitudes.

A joint statement released by both countries following Obama’s meeting with Suu Kyi hinted at a mutual acknowledgement of the plight of the Rohingya, but stopped short of directly promising a commitment to tackling the problem:

The President told the State Counsellor that the primary focus of U.S. policy toward Myanmar was to help Myanmar succeed. He reiterated that the United States would continue its strong support, both diplomatically and through assistance programs, for the priorities expressed by the State Counsellor. He welcomed the Myanmar government’s initiatives to address the longstanding concerns of all communities in Rakhine State, including the establishment of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State chaired by Mr. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations. The President expressed his hope that all parties to civil conflict in Myanmar would seize the opportunity offered by the 21st Century Panglong process to seek peace and build the foundations for a democratic, federal Union through dialogue.

This is not unusual. The United States has been tepid in its response to Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya. Myanmar, also known as Burma, recognizes 135 ethnic groups within its borders, but, as the New York Timesnotes, the country pointedly ignores its 136th: the Rohingya. Unlike much of Myanmar, which is majority Buddhist, the Rohingya are Muslim, a distinction that has fueled their persecution and marginalization.

Myanmar’s Rohingya population claim they are indigenous to Rakhine State, which lies on the country’s western coast, but the historical role the Rohingya are accused of playing in Myanmar has contributed to much of their oppression.

For more than a century, Myanmar was occupied by the British, who encouraged laborers from neighboring Bengal and elsewhere in South Asia to migrate and farm the area, only to later recruit them in fighting efforts against the Burmese. Many Burmese citizens argue that the contemporary Rohingya are descendants of these migrants, a stance that was codified by a 1982 nationality law stripping them of citizenship. In the time since, life for the Rohingya has been a nightmare.

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, also known as Burma. Numbering around 1.3 million, they are concentrated in western Rakhine state, which neighbors Bangladesh. CREDIT: AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara

Under the military junta that governed the country until 2011, the Rohingya were relentlessly persecuted and ostracized. Denied basic civil rights — including marriage, education, and the freedom to worship — thousands have fled Rakhine State, many attempting to reach Myanmar’s neighboring countries.

But the end of military rule left some optimistic. General elections were held in 2015, handing Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party (NLD) a landslide victory. Though constitutionally barred from serving as president, Suu Kyi now effectively serves as the country’s leader. However, in the time since the election it has become clear that Suu Kyi plans to do little to help the Rohingya — an attitude that should deeply concern countries rekindling their ties with Myanmar.

Suu Kyi, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize who lived under house arrest for over a decade during Myanmar’s military rule, has long been hailed as an iconic figure across the globe for her tireless devotion to her country. But when it comes to the Rohingya, she has fallen short. Upon returning to power Suu Kyi instructed the new U.S. ambassador not to use the term “Rohingya.” In the past, she has also said she “didn’t know” if the Rohingya could be considered citizens. Her feelings even seem to go beyond the Rohingya specifically, addressing Muslims more generally. Following a tense interview with Mishal Husain of the BBC in March, during which she was questioned about Islamophobia in Myanmar, Suu Kyi reportedly expressed anger at being interviewed by a Muslim.

These incidents have done little to inspire confidence in her ability to tackle anti-Rohingya violence in the country.

In response to international criticism, Myanmar’s government formed the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, headed by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. The commission will inspect the treatment of the Rohingya, and offer suggestions to the government that will aim to tackle the discrimination and marginalization they face.

But naysayers argue that the government is likely to ignore any suggestions made by the commission due in no small part to the attitudes of Rakhine State’s residents. The area’s non-Muslim population has already voiced opposition to the commission’s existence, an attitude that echoes the views of the country at large. In the meantime, the Rohingya are suffering in limbo. And with the United States softening its tone, it appears Myanmar’s government will face few incentives to address the plight of the Rohingya swiftly — if at all.

Obama said sanctions would be lifted during talks with Aung San Suu Kyi at the Oval Office [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

 By Al Jazeera
September 15, 2016

US president says the removal of long-standing economic sanctions will help unleash Myanmar's "enormous potential".

President Barack Obama has told Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi that US economic sanctions against her country will be lifted, and trade preferences reinstated to provide duty-free treatment for goods from the Asian nation.

Obama announced the lifting of sanctions, which he said would take place "soon" and would help unleash Myanmar's "enormous potential", during a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday at the White House.

"The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time," Obama said, speaking in the Oval Office with Aung San Suu Kyi at his side.

Earlier, Obama notified the US Congress that he was reinstating preferential tariffs, known as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), for Myanmar, which provides duty-free access for goods from poor and developing countries.

Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, was removed from GSP benefits in 1989 after the country's ruling military junta brutally crushed pro-democracy protests.

"We think that the time has now come to remove all the sanctions that hurt us economically," Aung San Suu Kyi told reporters, noting that the US Congress had supported her country by backing sanctions in the past to put pressure for democratic reforms.

Removal of long-standing sanctions against Myanmar will help foreign investment and boost the country's transition to democracy, the White House said prior to the meeting of the two leaders.

The US eased some sanctions earlier this year to support political reform, but maintained most of its economic restrictions with an eye towards penalising those it views as hampering Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government.

Wednesday's meeting in Washington was the first by Aung San Suu Kyi as Myanmar's leader since her pro-democracy party won a stunning victory over the country's military rulers in elections last year.

Myanmar's military stepped back from direct control of the country in 2011 after 49 years in power, but maintains a commanding role in politics, controlling 25 percent of seats in parliament and leading three key ministries.

Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the post of Myanmar's president under the country's military-drafted constitution, which rules her out because her sons are not Myanmar citizens. Instead, she serves as the country's de facto leader by holding the positions of foreign minister and state counsellor.

Communal violence

Aung San Suu Kyi meeting with Obama at the White House comes after a decades-long journey from political prisoner to Myanmar's national leader.

The democracy icon, however, has been criticised by human rights groups for failing to address the plight of the country's stateless Rohingya Muslim minority. About 125,000 remain confined to squalid camps on the country's western coast following violence between Buddhists and Muslims in 2012.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the US, released a statement on Wednesday calling on Obama to maintain all current sanctions until the citizenship rights of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are respected.

"As a result of state sponsored and communal anti-Rohingya violence, displaced Muslims have been forced by the government and mobs into 'refugee' and 'resettlement' camps that they are not free to leave," the council said.

"We recognise with great respect your past work in addressing the need to halt Burma state and communal violence against the very much persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority and trust that you will continue to speak out on this immediate and pressing cause."

A group of 46 non-governmental organisations also circulated a letter they wrote to Obama on Monday expressing concern about the possible easing of sanctions while human rights abuses by the military and against Rohingya Muslims persisted in he country.

"To lift sanctions prior to tangible change for suffering communities would be a disservice to those vulnerable peoples who deserve international protection," the letter stated, according to Reuters.


Diplomatic cover

Delphine Schrank, journalist and author of the Rebel of Rangoon, said that the US has been "phasing" out sanctions, and while the business community in Myanmar and the US would like them removed entirely, there is an understanding within Aung San Suu Kyi's party and the US government that the "game is not over" yet in the transition process.

There have been significant political reforms, but "Myanmar has not yet reached that point of complete democratic achievement", Schrank told Al Jazeera.

The treatment of Rohingya Muslims also "remains the great great sticking point internationally for Myanmar", Schrank said, noting that Aung San Suu Kyi has "put her name on an initiative to resolve a lot of these problems, including the problem with the Rohingya".

Last week, a commission established by Aung San Suu Kyi and led by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan travelled to Myanmar for the first time to investigate the Rohingya issue and make recommendations to the government.

"It is clear that in setting up the Annan Commission, Suu Kyi is not merely looking for some diplomatic cover, but is making Rakhine State a priority and is serious about taking steps to address the situation," Richard Horsey, an independent political analyst based in Myanmar, told Reuters news agency.

Children at the Rohingya refugee camp, a day before Bakrid, in New Delhi on Monday. (Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

By Aamir Khan
September 14, 2016

For the Rohingya community, the exodus from Myanmar followed several complications, including prosecutions for crossing the border illegally.

There will be more food on our plates tomorrow, declare children of the Rohingya community, chasing the much-anticipated vans that arrive with sacrificial animals. Prolonged persecution of this ethnic Muslim minority in a majority Buddhist Myanmar led to the community’s mass migration to Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. About four-five years ago, 250 Rohingyas found refuge in a relief camp on the fringes of Delhi, adjoining a Hindu cremation ground. And the only prayer they have had in all these years is to belong.

Perhaps lost in the same prayer is Ameena Khatoon, who has set up a tiny store with the money she got from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Bakrid has never been a pompous affair in the five years she spent at the camp. “A few kind-hearted people donate animals to us. Hopefully, they will again, like last year,” she says.

Just then, it seems like her prayers have been answered, for two vans carrying six animals emerge from the dust. Curious children scamper towards the soon-to-be sacrificed animals to catch a glimpse. Another lot of toddlers in the camp is down with jaundice, diarrhoea and dengue. The community has access to only four toilets. “Women and men have no choice but to go to the fields,” says Khatoon.

Not far from Khatoon is her 22-year-old son Ali. He has been associated with an NGO that works for the UNHCR. Unlike his brothers, Ali converses in English. “We appreciate the fact that we got to stay here. But this is staying and not living. We don’t belong anywhere. This is no life,” says Ali, who wants to be a lawyer.

The exodus from Myanmar followed several complications, including prosecutions for crossing the border illegally. Ali says, “Many of them are languishing in jails since decades for offences that don’t attract more than a few months of jail time.” His elder brother Mohammad says, “Though the UN recognised us as the most persecuted community in the world, we have not had a country we could call our home.” For now, though, Rohingyas here will have enough to last a few days.


    • Rohingya Exodus