Latest Highlight

RB Channel

Rohingya men work in paddy fields near Kyikanpyin village in Maungdaw Township. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy)

RB News 
November 2, 2016 

U Shey Kya, Maungdaw – The Rohingya villagers in U Shey Kya village tract in Maungdaw Township have had all food and aid blocked and are worried if the situation doesn’t change those living inside will be at risk of starvation, malnutrition and possibly death. 

“It is and will be very serious in the very near future for our villagers to stay alive because all the foodstuffs and provisions collected since last year have been looted by the Military and NaTaLa villagers during several raids,” a villager told RB News. 

While they have no source of food aid there are about 15 acres of paddy fields ripe enough to be harvested in a nearby Rakhine village called Kappa Kaung, but on November 1st, 2016, at about 8AM nearly 20 Rohingya went to reap rice from the paddy fields and were told by the Rakhine administrator of Kappa Kaung Vilalge not to harvest the rice. The villagers responded that the land was theirs and that they had cultivated the rice and continued to harvest anyways. 

The village administrator then went back to his village and informed the military based there of the situation. The military then went to meet the Rohingya in the paddy fields and chased them away empty handed. 

Similarly, on November 1st another group of villagers from U Shey Kya went fishing in the morning in ponds on their own lands on the western side of the village near a Rakhine village called Kan Pyin. When the Rohingya began fishing a group of Rakhine from Kan Pyin came out with swords and sticks and chased them out of the area. The Rakhine group reportedly yelled death threats, saying the Rohingya would be killed if they tried to fish there again. The Rakhine group was said to have told them that the Rohingya have no claim to anything because they are not citizens, and that the Rakhine have claim to all of the land. The Rohingya villagers again returned home empty handed. 

With no source of food there is a serious risk for these villagers of starvation, malnutrition and death in the very near future. 

They are in need of humanitarian assistance from the international community and it is apparent the local government and Rakhine villagers will prevent the Rohingya from even attempting to sustain themselves off of the land at this time.

Report contributed by Rohingya Eye.

Border Guard Police patrol the border with Bangladesh after the Oct. 9 attacks in Arakan State. / Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy


November 1, 2016

The government requested information more than ten days ago from the Burma Army about alleged misconduct by soldiers in Arakan State, but has yet to receive a response, according to a Reuters report.

Military operations in Maungdaw Township near the Bangladesh border, carried out jointly with border guard police, have entered their fourth week after attacks by alleged Islamist militants on border guard posts in northern Arakan State on Oct. 9.

Reuters obtained a list of 13 questions sent by the government to the military, requesting information about reports of killings, looting, arrests and destruction of homes.

“We submitted the list on Oct. 20, but we still haven’t heard back,” the agency was told by a civilian official who refused to be identified because he was not allowed to discuss the previously unpublished list with the media.

In the hunt for perpetrators of the Oct. 9 attacks, the government has said five soldiers and at least 33 insurgents have been killed in clashes with a group it believes has around 400 members drawn from the mostly stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.

While Burma’s army-drafted constitution puts the military firmly in control of security matters, Reuters quoted diplomats and aid workers to have said privately that they were dismayed at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s lack of deeper involvement in the handling of the crisis.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who as well as effectively leading the government as state counselor is also Burma’s foreign minister, has pressed ahead with a busy schedule of overseas trips.

When fighting erupted in Arakan State, she departed for a four-day visit to India, left on Tuesday for a five-day trip to Japan.

“Right now there’s only one person calling the shots—when she’s abroad, nothing gets done,” an international observer familiar with the situation said to Reuters.

United Nations human rights experts have urged the government to investigate the allegations of abuses by troops and UN agencies have called for aid access to the area.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has not directly commented on those calls or on statements from human rights monitors, although she has urged the military to exercise restraint and act within the law.

In its public comments the government—largely through presidential spokesman U Zaw Htay, a former soldier and holdover from the previous military-aligned administration—has backed the military line that the army is conducting carefully targeted sweeps against Islamist militants it blames for the Oct. 9 attacks.

But residents and rights groups have reported killings, looting and sexual assaults committed by soldiers against civilians.

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President U Htin Kyaw met the military’s top brass on Oct. 14 and urged a restrained and judicious response to the attacks.

Civilian officials were “managing that problem very closely,” President’s Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay told Reuters on Friday.

“They already agreed on the policy. That’s why the military and the interior ministry ordered ground troops and police in [Arakan State] to work according to the law,” he said.

Richard Horsey, a former United Nations official and analyst based in Rangoon said that since taking power Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government had established a level of “confidence and trust” with the military leadership.

Still, it remains unclear whether there is the “active, working-level relationship” needed to address concerns about the military’s actions in Arakan State, he said.

Civilian and police officials have said it was not possible that security forces had committed abuses.

Diplomats and United Nations officials want independent observers allowed into the area to verify the reports. They are also pressuring the government to allow humanitarian aid into the area, where the Rohingya population are denied Burmese citizenship and face restrictions on their movements.

Last week, eight Rohingya women told Reuters reporters who visited their village that they had been raped by soldiers. Presidential spokesman U Zaw Htay denied the allegations.

Since that report was published, about 400 soldiers again searched the village at the weekend, a resident said on Monday.

The resident, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said security personnel warned women in the village of U Shey Kya about talking to media.

The ruins of a market which was set on fire are seen at a Rohingya village outside Maugndaw in Rakhine state, Myanmar October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun


November 1, 2016

Senior diplomats from the United States, China, Britain and the European Union will this week visit Myanmar's troubled northern Rakhine State, which has been cut off to aid workers and observers for more than three weeks, sources said.

The diplomats, and the top United Nations representative in Myanmar, will set off for Maungdaw on Wednesday, six people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Troops have poured into the area since militants believed to be Rohingya Muslims launched coordinated attacks on border posts on Oct. 9, killing nine police officers. The government says five soldiers and at least 33 alleged attackers have been killed in the area.

Residents and human rights advocates have said government forces have committed abuses including summary executions, rape and setting fire to homes.

The government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has denied any abuses have been committed.

The sources, who spoke about the planned trip on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the invitation by the government was in response to requests for access to the Rohingya-majority area, which has been designated a military "operation zone".

Over two days, the officials will visit Maungdaw by helicopter from the state capital Sittwe, the people said, although the government had not shared a detailed itinerary.

However, officials expressed scepticism that the high-level diplomatic mission will address the concerns raised by the international community.

United Nations experts have publicly called for the government to investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

Diplomats have also pressured the Myanmar government to allow humanitarian aid, including World Food Programme assistance and mobile clinics, to be restored.

RB News
November 1, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan -- It has been said that the local authorities are preparing to use Hindus to pretend to be Rohingyas and meet with UN investigation team which is to come to Maung Daw township of Rakhine state.

After the BGP Headquarters and some check posts in Maung Daw and Rathi Daung townships were attacked on 9th of October 2016, Myanmar Army, Border Guard Police in collaboration with Na Ta La (Model Villagers) under the pretext of a Clearance Operation, killed more than 100 local innocent Rohingyas which include women, old aged and new born babies and buried them in mass graves. They've arrested so many innocent Rohingyas with fabricated allegations. They Raped many helpless Rohingya women and torched approximately 1000 Rohingyas' houses and 100 shops. They have forced many Rohingya families to leave their homes. What is more, humanitarian assistance has remained blocked for these tens of thousands of Rohingyas who became homeless because of the so called Clearance Operation.

RB News has been reported that since there is a team from UN to come to Maung Daw region in the coming days to investigate the persecutions upon Rohingyas carried by the Myanmar authorities, the authorities in Maung Daw are trying to hide the crimes they've committed by using some members of the Hindu community pretending as Rohingyas as their physical appearance and language equal to those of Rohingyas'.

"I heard that the Hindus are being trained. Yes may be, they, the trained will be made to pretend as Rohingyas and say that they are not under persecution of the government to UN investigation team, if I have to say frankly it will a kind of shooting a drama'' said a human right watchdog.

''According to the current information we hear, they will make Hindu women wear Burkhas (veil, worn by Muslim women) and meet the UN representatives in the form of Rohingya women to hide the rape cases the Army commits on Rohingya women in these days'' the above mention human right watchdog added.

It is known that, since Myanmar government said to the UN team to visit only the only places where it says for security reasons, the Rohingya community in the Maung Daw is worried of being unable to express about their suffering.

Report contributed by MYARF.


Myanmar's Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during an event at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York City, U.S. September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Bria Webb

By Simon Lewis, Wa Lone & Shwe Yee Saw Myint 
October 31, 2016

NAYPYITAW/YANGON -- Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi faces mounting criticism for her government's handling of a crisis in Muslim-majority northern Rakhine State, where soldiers have blocked access for aid workers and are accused of raping and killing civilians.

The military operation has sharpened the tension between Suu Kyi's six-month-old civilian administration and the army, which ruled the country for decades and retains key powers, including control of ministries responsible for security.

Exposing the lack of oversight of the armed forces by the government, military commanders have ignored requests for information about alleged misconduct by soldiers for more than 10 days, according to a senior civilian official.

Troops moved into northern Rakhine, near the frontier with Bangladesh, after militants killed nine border police in coordinated attacks on Oct. 9.

Since then, the government has said five soldiers and at least 33 insurgents have been killed in clashes with a group it believes has around 400 members drawn from the mostly stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.

While Myanmar's army-drafted constitution puts the military firmly in control of security matters, diplomats and aid workers say privately they are dismayed at Suu Kyi's lack of deeper involvement in the handling of the crisis.

Suu Kyi, who as well as effectively leading the government as state counselor is also Myanmar's foreign minister, has pressed ahead with a busy schedule of overseas trips.

When fighting erupted in Rakhine, she departed for a four-day visit to India, and is due to leave again on Tuesday for a five-day trip to Japan.

"Right now there's only one person calling the shots - when she's abroad, nothing gets done," said an international observer familiar with the situation, echoing previous criticisms of Suu Kyi's autocratic decision-making style.

United Nations human rights experts have urged the government to investigate the allegations of abuses by troops and U.N. agencies have called for aid access to the area.

Suu Kyi has not directly commented on those calls or on statements from human rights monitors, although she has urged the military to exercise restraint and act within the law.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

In its public comments the government - largely through presidential spokesman Zaw Htay, a former soldier and holdover from the previous military-aligned administration - has backed the military line that the army is conducting carefully targeted sweeps against Islamist militants it blames for the Oct. 9 attacks.

But residents and rights groups have reported killings, looting and sexual assaults committed by soldiers against civilians.

Pointing to behind-the-scenes tensions, Reuters has obtained a list of 13 questions the civilian side of the government has sent to the military, requesting information about reports of killings, looting, arrests and destruction of homes. 

"We submitted the list on Oct. 20, but we still haven't heard back," said a civilian official who refused to be identified because he was not allowed to discuss the previously unpublished list with the media.

Suu Kyi and President Htin Kyaw - a confidant handpicked by the Nobel laureate - met the military's top brass on Oct. 14 and urged a restrained and judicious response to the attacks.

Civilian officials were "managing that problem very closely", Zaw Htay told Reuters on Friday.

"They already agreed on the policy. That's why the military and the interior ministry ordered ground troops and police in Rakhine to work according to the law," he said.

Richard Horsey, a former United Nations official and analyst based in Yangon said that since taking power Suu Kyi's government had established a level of "confidence and trust" with the military leadership.

Still, it remains unclear whether there is the "active, working-level relationship" needed to address concerns about the military's actions in Rakhine, he said.

MORE REPORTS OF LOOTING

Civilian and police officials have said it was not possible that security forces had committed abuses. 

Diplomats and United Nations officials want independent observers allowed into the area to verify the reports. They are also pressuring the government to allow humanitarian aid into the area, where the Rohingya population are denied Myanmar citizenship and face restrictions on their movements.

Last week, eight Rohingya women told Reuters reporters who visited their village that they have been raped by soldiers. Presidential spokesman Zaw Htay denied the allegations.

Since that report was published, about 400 soldiers again searched the village at the weekend, a resident said on Monday.

The resident, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said security personnel warned women in the village of U Shey Kya about talking to media. 

There were no allegations of further assaults, but soldiers looted food stores, farming equipment and solar panels, according to the resident and Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project, a monitoring group with a network of sources in the area.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had analyzed satellite imagery taken on Oct. 22 that showed "multiple areas of probable building destruction" in at least three villages where residents have also said that troops torched homes.

"The government should end its blanket denial of wrongdoing and blocking of aid agencies, and stop making excuses for keeping international monitors from the area," said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch in Asia.

Police Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin, the commander of border police in Maungdaw Township, meets with reporters on 17 October 2016. (Photo: DVB)


By Ko Aung
October 31, 2016

The Arakan State government says it will form a militia to bolster defenses along Burma’s border with Bangladesh in the wake of a series of deadly attacks earlier this month, according to Maungdaw Township’s new border police commander.

Police Brig-Gen Thura San Lwin, who was appointed to the position two week ago after his predecessor was sacked for failing to prevent the 9 October attacks that left nine border police dead, said the new “volunteer police force” would operate under the supervision of the border police.

Police are “working to train local young people to safeguard their own areas and villages and State Chief Minister [Nyi Pyu] also gave advice,” he said, adding that new recruits would be aged between 18 and 35 and have at least a primary-school education.

Training will take place in the state capital Sittwe and at the police headquarters in Maungdaw’s Kyikanpyin village tract, where attacks took place, said Thura San Lwin. Police from Maungdaw who are currently stationed elsewhere can also be transferred to the region if they wish to, he added.

The move follows demands from ethnic Arakanese Buddhists who say they need to be armed to protect themselves against future attacks by Rohingya Muslim militants.

Some local young people expressed an interest in joining the new force, but they said the most important thing was that the police should listen to their concerns.

“The police chief said that he wanted to cooperate with local people, which means listening to them,” said Maungdaw resident Win Than. “By listening to local people, and using the information they provide, police can better uphold the rule of law and maintain national sovereignty.”

Meanwhile, claims by Rohingya villagers living in the region that they have been subjected to widespread human rights abuses by security personnel looking for the attackers have been dismissed as “propaganda for Muslim groups”by Colonel Sein Lwin, the police chief for Arakan State.

Police said that as of 25 October, they had arrested 50 people and recaptured 18 guns and more than 3,000 rounds of ammunition that had been seized during the 9 October attacks.

In this Friday, Oct. 14, 2016 photo, Myanmar police officers patrol along the border fence between Myanmar and Bangladesh in Maungdaw, Rakhine State, Myanmar. Just five months after her party took power, Myanmar’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is facing international pressure over recent reports that soldiers have been killing, raping and burning homes of the country’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims. The U.S. State Department joined activist and aid groups in raising concerns about new reports of rape and murder, while satellite imagery released Monday, Oct. 31, by Human Rights Watch shows that at least three villages in the western state of Rakhine have been burned. Myanmar government officials deny the reports of attacks, and presidential spokesman Zaw Htay said Monday that United Nations representatives should visit “and see the actual situation in that region.” (Thein Zaw/Associated Press)

By Esther Htusan & Martha Mendoza
October 31, 2016

YANGON, Myanmar — Just five months after her party took power, Myanmar’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is facing international pressure over recent reports that soldiers have been killing, raping and burning homes of the country’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims.

The U.S. State Department joined activist and aid groups in raising concerns about new reports of rape and murder, while satellite imagery released Monday by Human Rights Watch shows that at least three villages in the western state of Rakhine have been burned.

Myanmar government officials deny the reports of attacks, and presidential spokesman Zaw Htay said Monday that United Nations representatives should visit “and see the actual situation in that region.” The government has long made access to the region a challenge, generally banning foreign aid workers and journalists.


But the U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said serious violations, including torture, summary executions, arbitrary arrests and destruction of mosques and homes, threaten the country’s fledgling democracy.

“The big picture is that the government does not seem to have any influence over the military,” said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an advocacy group that focuses on the Rohingya. Myanmar’s widely criticized constitution was designed to give the armed forces power and independence.

A three-week surge in violence by the military was prompted by the killings of nine police officers at border posts on Oct. 9 in Rakhine, home to Myanmar’s 800,000 Rohingya. There have been no arrests, and a formerly unknown Islamist militant group has taken responsibility.

Although they’ve lived in Myanmar for generations, Rohingya are barred from citizenship in the nation of 50 million, and instead live as some of the most oppressed people in the world. Since communal violence broke out in 2012, more than 100,000 people have been driven from their homes to live in squalid camps guarded by police. Some have tried to flee by boat, but many ended up becoming victims of human trafficking or were held for ransom.

When Suu Kyi’s party was elected earlier this year after more than five decades of military rule, the political shift offered a short, tense window of peace. But that quickly ended as the former political prisoner and champion of human rights failed to clamp down on military atrocities.

The current crackdown has prompted an estimated 15,000 people in the Rakhine area to flee their homes in the past few weeks. The satellite images from Human Rights Watch show villages burning, and residents report food supplies are growing scarce as they are living under siege.

U.S. Ambassador Scot Marciel has urged Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry to investigate the allegations of attacks and restore access for humanitarian groups trying to help.

“We take reports of abuses very seriously,” said U.S. Embassy spokesman Jamie Ravetz in Yangon, Myanmar. “We have raised concerns with senior government officials and continue to urge the government to ?be transparent, follow the rule of law, and respect the human rights of all people in responding to the original attacks and subsequent reports of abuses.”

Families in Rakhine depend largely on humanitarian aid for food and health care, but that support has been cut off for weeks by officials who will not allow outsiders into the region. A government-sponsored delegation of aid agencies and foreign diplomats was supposed to visit the region on Monday, but local officials said they hadn’t seen anyone yet, and have not been informed they were coming.

“The government should end its blanket denial of wrongdoing and blocking of aid agencies, and stop making excuses for keeping international monitors from the area,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

October 31, 2016


UN-Assisted Inquiry Urgently Needed in Rakhine State

Rangoon – New satellite imagery shows evident fire-related destruction in at least three villages in Burma's northern Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. The Burmese government should urgently allow the United Nations to assist in investigating reported destruction of villages in the area. A government-chaperoned delegation of UN aid agencies and foreign diplomats is expected to visit the area on October 31, 2016, marking the first time international aid agencies have been allowed into the area since October 9, although it is unclear whether they will have full access to affected villages.

A UN-assisted investigation needs to examine the deadly attacks on border guard posts on October 9, and allegations that government security forces subsequently committed summary killings, sexual violence, arson, and other rights abuses against ethnic Rohingya villagers in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw district, Human Rights Watch said.

“New satellite images reveal destruction in Rakhine State that demands an impartial and independent investigation, something the Burmese government has yet to show it’s capable of doing,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government should end its blanket denial of wrongdoing and blocking of aid agencies, and stop making excuses for keeping international monitors from the area.” 

Human Rights Watch’s review of high-resolution satellite imagery recorded on the morning of October 22 identified multiple areas of probable building destruction in the villages of Kyet Yoe Pyin, Pyaung Pyit (Ngar Sar Kyu), and Wa Peik (Kyee Kan Pyin), in the Maungdaw district. Damage signatures visible in the imagery are consistent with the presence of large burn scars from fires in each of the villages.

Human Rights Watch also reviewed thermal anomaly data collected by an environmental satellite sensor that detected the presence of multiple fires burning in the village of Wa Peik (Kyee Kan Pyin) on October 9 and the village of Kyet Yoe Pyin on October 14.

The discovery of active fires and large burn scars in these villages is consistent with arson attacks reported in Maungdaw district since October 9 by Rohingya groups, human rights organizations, and media accounts quoting witnesses to the violence. Because of limits in the spatial resolution of available satellite imagery and dense tree cover, the exact number of buildings destroyed is uncertain, and the actual damage in Maungdaw may have been underestimated. Human Rights Watch will conduct a revised assessment when more detailed satellite imagery becomes available.


On October 9, gunmen attacked three police outposts in Maungdaw township near the Bangladesh border, reportedly leaving nine police officers dead. The government said that the attackers made off with dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The Burmese government asserts the attack was carried out by a Rohingya group, but actual responsibility remains unclear.

Immediately after the attacks, government forces declared Maungdaw an “operation zone” and began sweeps of the area to find the attackers and lost weapons. They severely restricted the freedom of movement of local populations and imposed extended curfews, which remain in place. Humanitarian aid groups have also been denied access, placing tens of thousands of already vulnerable people at greater risk.

Media and local rights groups have reported numerous human rights abuses against Rohingya following the attack, including extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, arbitrary arrests, and burning of homes. On October 28, Reuters published interviews with Rohingya women who allege they were raped by Burmese soldiers. Government-imposed restrictions on access to the area by journalists and human rights monitors continue to hinder impartial information gathering.

Burma’s army, known as the Tatmadaw, has a long history of abuses, including arbitrary arrest, beatings, torture, sexual abuse and rape, extrajudicial killings, and use of forced labor. Army commanders and soldiers who have committed serious abuses against civilians during operations have enjoyed almost total impunity. 

Burma is obligated under international law to conduct thorough, prompt, and impartial investigations of alleged human rights violations, prosecute those responsible, and provide adequate redress for victims of violations. Standards for such investigations can be found, for example, in the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, and the UN Guidance on Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions. Burma’s failure to conduct such investigations in the past underscores the need for UN assistance, Human Rights Watch said.

“These satellite images of village destruction could be the tip of the iceberg given the grave abuses being reported,” Robertson said. “The Burmese government has a responsibility to hold accountable both the perpetrators of the October 9 attacks against state officials, and government security forces who committed – and may still be committing – serious abuses in pursuit of those attackers.”






Photo: REUTERS/Roni Bintang

Ro Mayyu Ali
RB Poem
October 30, 2016

I Am Eligible

No matter even I'm an infant
Whom the heart craves for a peck
But the racial blade beseeches for my icy blood
Whilst I become an offspring of their preys
Apparently, being a Rohingya is enough for them
For it, I'm verily eligible.

No matter even I'm a student
Whom the eyes devote for snuggery
But the apartheid bullet implores my dwellings
Whilst I become a beacon of hope against their rapines
Manifestly, being a Rohingya is enough for them
For it, I'm verily eligible.

No matter even I'm a teenage girl
Whom the mankind fosters for germination
But the regimental lust conspires my worthiness by gang-rape
Whilst I become a future-mother against their aim
Evidently, being a Rohingya is enough for them
For it, I'm verily eligible.

No matter even I'm a moral beau
Whom the world relies on in veracity
But the chauvinistic impedance anticipates slaughtering my head
Whilst I become a barrage against their conspiracy
Distinctly, being a Rohingya is enough for them
For it, I'm verily eligible.

No matter even I'm an old lady
Whom the mankind adores for nurturance
But the rascal hatred gladdens to set me in ablaze
Whilst I become a resilience against their rapacity
Obviously, being a Rohingya is enough for them
For it, I'm verily eligible.

No matter even I'm a mutual tycoon
Whom the globalization longs for inspiration
But the supremacist scheme defeats eliminating my virtue
Whilst I become an anchor against their enmity
Surely, being a Rohingya is enough for them
For it, I'm verily eligible.

No matter even I'm an eminent aid-actor
Whom the humanity wheedles for benevolence
But the mischievous attitude grapes my exigency
Whilst I become a tutelage against their antipathy
Certainly, being a Rohingya is enough for them.
For it, I'm verily eligible.

RB News
October 30, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – On the 29th of October, 2016, in the morning military forces destroyed several properties, tortured women and committed religious offense while stationed inside of the mosques in U Shey Kyar Village, Northern Maungdaw, Arakan State.

On the 29th October, 2016, at around 11:30 AM, military forces along with NaTaLa villagers raided a mosque and madrassa together in U Shey Kyar’s West Hamlet. While they were there they destroyed copies of the Holy Quran by tearing them apart. 

The military in the village at this time had been divided into four patrol groups, with one headed to the Northern Hamlet where they raided mosques and also desecrated the Holy Quran by tearing it up. Two of the other groups during raids on the Middle Hamlet mosque and a nearby market. 

The four military groups looted properties at this time as well, taking what they wanted and destroying other belongings of he Rohingya living in the village. The soldiers were also reported by locals to have abused and beaten women and elderly at this time. 

Local civilians told RB News that the motivation for the soldiers was to retaliate against the villagers there for talking to the media about other abuses that had been committed over the past month. After the raid at around midnight, the forces gathered again in the mosques, where they cooked and ate goats and chickens they had stolen from the villagers. On October 30th the forces left in the morning, taking with them what they had looted from the villagers there.

While they were in the mosques, they wrote records for themselves which identified who they were. 

The records are pictured here:




Photos of military forces after looting in U Shey Kyar Village on 29 of October.













The North America based Rohingya political and social organizations have joined together to announce “Demonstrations Against Myanmar (Burma) Government and its Security Forces to Stop Genocide of Rohingya Immediately” which is to be held in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, November 1 , 2016. The demonstrations will demand Myanmar State Counsellor and Foreign Affairs Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD government and its Security Forces to immediately stop recent extrajudicial killings of unarmed innocent Rohingya population, gang rape of Rohingya women and burning down of Rohingya houses in Maungdaw Township and all human rights violations across the Arakan State. It will also demand US, UN and International Community to raise their voices and send a UN Investigation Commission for the recent human rights violations including mass atrocities, crimes against humanity, revocation of citizenship rights, civil and political rights, blocking of foods so that Rohingyas could be saved and protected by UN Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Principle Pillar III.

In these regards, we would like to invite all Rohingya, peace-loving American people and organizations to join hands with us to participate in the Rohingya Demonstration in Washington, D.C. according to the following program.

Demonstration Program Details:

(1) Demonstration in front of Myanmar Embassy in USA
Location: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2016

(2) Demonstration in Lafayette Park, The White House
Location: Lafayette Park-Northeast Quadrant, The White House
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Demonstrations Organized by:

(1) Arakan Institute for Peace and Development (AiPAD) USA
(2) Rohingya American Society (RAS) USA
(3) World Rohingya Organization (WRO) USA
(4) Rohingya Culture Center (RCC) USA
(5) Rohingya Association of Canada (RAC) Canada

For More Information, Please Contact: 

(1) Former Rohingya MP U Shwe Maung (Tel: +1-330-785-6603)
(2) Muhiuddin Yusof (Tel: +1-716-544-1803)
(3) Shaukhat U Kyaw Soe Aung @ MSK Jilani (Tel: +1-414-736-4273)
(4) Anwar Shah Arakani (Tel: +1-519-781-3800)
(5) Nasir Zakaria (Tel: +1-872-203-4921)

Rohingya Muslim men stand at U Shey Kya village outside Maugndaw in Rakhine state, Myanmar October 27, 2016.
Image Credit: EUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun


By Richard Potter
October 30, 2016

Much of the speculation about the recent attacks miss a simple truth about the plight of the Rohingya.

Following deadly attacks on three police outposts that killed nine police officers along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, speculation about the perpetrators has spread wildly, both from the Myanmar government and the media. The attack was apparently carried out by a massive group estimated at 400 people that coordinated simultaneous assaults on three separate border guard police posts near the city of Maungdaw, in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The attackers were believed to belong to the country’s long oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority. Speculation has been rampant in the wake of the attacks and subsequent military crackdown, ranging from claims that the assailants were trained by the Pakistani Taliban, to those in opposition claiming the entire affair has been orchestrated by the military to seize resources, regain control of the government, and expel the Muslim minority. What seems clear is that much of what happened and who is behind it is lying in plain sight, but very few have been willing to acknowledge it.

The initial speculation by government and media sources was that the attack was carried out by the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), even though that group has been defunct since they were disarmed by the Bangladeshi government in the early 2000s. Rumors have abounded that the group in fact remains active, even as the RSOs leadership – and indeed the leaderships of nearly all Rohingya militant groups – have gone into exile and taken on more diplomatic roles. Whatever remnants of the RSO do remain in Bangladesh are a toothless version of what once was. This doesn’t eliminate the potential for militarization of Rohingya in the region, but relies heavily on rumors to explain what might be happening.

Within a few days of the attack unconfirmed videos began to appear online of men insinuating their connection to the attacks, calling for Muslims and Rohingya to join them in combat against the military and government. The group identified itself as al Yakeen in several of the videos, and elsewhere as Harakat al Yaqeen, which was translated to me by fluent Arabic speakers as well as Rohingya familiar with the group as “The Movement of the Faith” or alternatively “The Movement of Hope.” In the first videos released several adult men in civilian clothes can be see holding assault rifles and small pistols. In a later video they appear marching and say their emir, or spiritualist leader, has been injured but is continuing on while asking for others to join them. The camera then pans to show a wider shot of the entire militia walking. Their numbers are so great they are unable to show all of them, but they are apparently in the hundreds. What is beyond striking, though, is that only a handful of the men are adults with guns; the rest are children who appear to be 12 years old or younger armed with swords, sticks and farm tools. The feeling quickly sinks in that these children are being marched to their deaths for something they aren’t even old enough to understand. Frankly, it is horrifying.

The president’s office later released a statement regarding the attacks which attempted to clarify previous unconfirmed statements in a single account of facts. The statements described the leadership of a little known group called “Aqa Mul Mujahadeen,” whom they said was trained by the Pakistani Taliban over the course of six months through an RSO contact. “Aqaa Mul Mujahideen” means “Those who stand as Mujahideen (Muslim warriors)” in Arabic, and reads more as a generic reference than any kind of official name. The statement said that this organization was funded by Middle East backers.

The trouble with these statements is that they make very little sense in light of what information is available. While the government is describing an overwhelming force of well trained and well funded Taliban-tied militants, the reality for them is far more embarrassing: Their police posts were overrun by a militia composed mostly of small children led by downtrodden men armed with farm tools, who stole their guns and quickly vanished. Neither the military nor the police can find them. The insurgency the government is trying to identify is more of an uprising, albeit a well coordinated one. Evidence of funding and links to clandestine groups may prove true over time, but at the moment evidence suggests the attacks were local to the areas near the Naf river, the attackers were only armed with swords and tools before robbing the police posts of their guns, and that their initial tactics were sophomoric at best. The Rohingya they’re fighting now are living in the same conditions as the Rohingya who knowingly fled with human traffickers two years ago that could – and often would – kill, rape and sell them in to slavery, in the hope they might escape the circumstances inside of Myanmar and the Bangladesh refugee camps. It is not a jihadist invasion of Myanmar; It is an act of desperation. But unlike the Rohingya who fled on boats, those fighting believe they preserve some sense of autonomy and dignity after decades of having been denied both.

In one of the videos posted on a channel called “The Faith Movement,” the same men seen in the previous videos appear, but a voice is dubbed over, and seemingly modulated perhaps to hide the identity of the speaker. The dubbing is in English and calls for a restoration of rights and that a number of grievances be immediately resolved. They deny any links to terrorists groups, or any outside influence at all. They clearly express a feeling of abandonment by the international community, and perhaps most unexpected of all they call on the Myanmar government to end its civil war with the ethnic minorities in the country, many of whom have been fickle allies, if not outright political opponents to the Rohingya. While the dubbing of this video can’t be verified yet, when compared to what facts on the ground are known they stand well enough to take seriously. Within all the chaos that has happened since the initial attacks no Buddhist civilians have been targeted or attacked. Whether or not the video itself can be verified, it does seem that those involved in this conflict do want to avoid the label of terrorists, and like the other ethnic groups, they may be seeking to gain legitimate political power through guerrilla fighting as the Kachin Independence Organization and Karen National Union have done in the Kachin and Karen ethnic regions.

As few facts emerge about the conflict journalists have also scrambled to gather information on the militants, but with limited success. Surely if hundreds of men and boys left to go fight the government someone would know about it. Yet, the Rohingya have remained incredibly silent on the issue, and one has to imagine how disheartening it must be to be approached by journalists who have often ignored or minimized cries for help from the community but are suddenly now are interested in a sensational story that risks demonizing them even as they watch dozens of their own die in the crackdown. It confirms in the worst way that their grievances are taken more seriously by the world when they are armed than when they are victims.

On October 11, four Burmese soldiers were reportedly killed in a skirmish in Maungdaw. Accounts varied between government and Rohingya sources about who initiated the fight, but given the high number of casualties of well armed Burmese soldiers it seems likely they were ambushed, which may be a dreadful sign of things to come.

In my conversation about the insurgency with Rohingya I feel swept with guilt for exactly this, and few would open up to me, though they were plainly aware of exactly who al Yakeen was. A small few did agree to talk, and it’s with regret they see their people having run out of options. It is desperation, pure and simple. It can’t be justified, and while listening I am painfully aware of how significantly these events will worsen the suffering of the Rohingya, but it is still imperative to understand where these beliefs came from, how they spread, and how they might be resolved.

As the military and government seek to calm the situation and restore order, they are operating with a heavy hand. Civilian casualties are already high, and credible reports are emerging of Rohingya men dying in police custody, under circumstances that are questionable at best. The situation could easily worsen as resentment and hopelessness increase among the population. The Rohingya have long tried to address their grievances through political means, and the vast majority would prefer to still do so, but lack any course or mechanism. If State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and her party’s new government wants to legitimately restore peace they should be aware their best tool now is compassion. Any acknowledgment of the Rohingya’s humanity, of their suffering, and an offering of a way to dignity and autonomy will do more to reduce violence than any army is capable of. Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy need only to have the courage to do so.

Richard Potter is a researcher with the Burma Human Rights Network.

The ruins of a market which was set on fire are seen at a Rohingya village outside Maugndaw in Rakhine state, Myanmar on October 27, 2016. © 2016 Reuters



Commission Needs to Impartially Investigate Abuses by All Sides

(New York, October 28, 2016) – The Burmese government should invite the United Nations to participate in a thorough and impartial investigation into deadly attacks on police and subsequent allegations of summary killings, sexual violence, and other rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today.

On October 9, 2016, gunmen attacked three police outposts in Maungdaw township near the Bangladesh border, reportedly leaving nine police officers dead. The government reported that the attackers made off with dozens of weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The Burmese government maintains the attack was carried out by a Rohingya group, but who was actually responsible is unclear. The media and local rights groups have reported numerous human rights abuses against Rohingya following the attack, including extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, arbitrary arrests, and burning of homes. On October 28, Reuters published interviews with Rohingya women who claim they were raped by Burmese soldiers. Government-imposed restrictions on access to the area by journalists and human rights monitors have hindered impartial information-gathering.

“The Burmese government should ensure a credible inquiry into the October 9 violence by inviting UN human rights experts to take part,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Rakhine State’s ethnic divide is perhaps Burma’s biggest fault line. The government’s handling of this inquiry is a big test for preventing future violence against the Rohingya and other populations.”

On October 27, the president’s spokesman, U Zaw Htay, said that allegations of human rights violations by the security forces were “totally wrong,” but asserted that the government would take them seriously. On October 28, the office of President Htin Kyaw said authorities had opened an investigation into a case of the death of a 60-year-old man detained on October 14, on suspicion of involvement in the October 9 attack.

On October 24, the parliament of Rakhine State (also known as Arakan State) announced the establishment of a commission of legislators to investigate the October 9 attacks. This followed a statement by UN experts calling on Burma to address allegations of serious human rights violations in the state, where ethnic Rohingya Muslims have long been the target of state-sponsored abuses.

The composition of the commission raises concerns about independence and impartiality, Human Rights Watch said. The commission is comprised of six members of the Arakan National Party (ANP), an ethnic Rakhine Buddhist party; two members of the military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP); one member of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD); a military appointee; and a legal advisor to the regional parliament. There are no Rohingya on the commission, although they constitute a third of Rakhine State’s population of 3 million, and have long been the targets of rights violations.

Beyond problems with the commission’s composition, members have also indicated a lack of impartiality. U Tun Hla Sein, a USDP commissioner from Rakhine State, stated that one of the purposes of the commission was “to help indigenous people who fled the clashes.” The phrase “indigenous people” is commonly used to refer exclusively to ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.

Burma is obligated under international law to conduct thorough, prompt, and impartial investigations of alleged human rights violations, prosecute those responsible, and provide adequate redress for victims of violations. Standards for such investigations can be found, for example, in the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, and the UN Guidance on Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions. Burma’s failure to conduct such investigations in the past underscores the need for UN assistance, Human Rights Watch said.

In December 2015, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling upon the government to establish without further delay a country office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with a full mandate. In her August 2016 report, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, emphasized that the prompt establishment of such an office “could give vital assistance to the Government in addressing the complex and wide-ranging human rights challenges currently facing Myanmar.”

“Promptly establishing an unbiased and independent commission that has the mandate to investigate all alleged abuses is an essential first step,” Adams said. “The parliamentary commission appointed by the state government is partisan and appears to lack the independence and technical skills needed to carry out such a sensitive investigation, which is why the UN is needed.”

Immediately after the attacks, government forces declared Maungdaw an “operation zone” and began sweeps of the area to find the attackers and lost weapons. They severely restricted the freedom of movement of the local populations and imposed extended curfews, which remain in place. Humanitarian aid groups have also been cut off, placing tens of thousands of already vulnerable people at greater risk.

Aid groups told Human Rights Watch that the lack of access is worsening the impact on the local population. The World Food Programme said that while areas surrounding Maungdaw and Buthidaung towns are slowly receiving aid, 50,000 food-insecure people in rural Maungdaw remain without routine food distributions.

“The Burmese government and army need to end restrictions on access to northern Rakhine State for aid groups, journalists, and human rights monitors to allow aid to reach the vulnerable Rohingya population and independent reporting on the situation,” Adams said.

RB News 
October 29, 2016 

Maungdaw, Arakan – A Rohingya girl who is just 10-year-old was raped by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police in Mie Taik village tract in Taung Pyo Lat Wel sub-Towship in Maungdaw district.

On October 27th 2016 a Ten-year-old Rohingya girl, whose identity is being withheld, from Ye Aung Chaung hamlet of Mie Taik village tract was tending to cattle in a field outside of the hamlet. At the same time three Border Guard Police were patrolling near the field while the Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu was passing through the village on his way to Sittwe. 

When the Border Guard Police saw her they reportedly detained her and raped her. While one of the police was raping the girl another child who was also tending the cattle saw the incident and yelled for help from the other villagers. When the child was yelling the villagers stopped an left.

The BGP appeared to plan a gang rape, and one villager said they thought if they had done so the girl would have died from injury as result. 

The Myanmar Army and BGP have committed many crimes against humanity since three Border Guard Police outposts were attacked on October 9th. Recently the Rakhine State Chief Minister and other Ministers from Maungdaw visited north Maungdaw and had meetings with Rakhine villagers and other officials, but did no Rohingya were invited to meet with them.

Report contributed by Rohingya Eye.


By Dr Azeem Ibrahim
October 29, 2016

Over the years, some Nobel Peace Prize awards have raised eyebrows. Most famously, the one awarded to Barack Obama in 2009 for nothing more than suggesting that we all get along and try to fix the Middle East. Many thought at the time that this award was premature, and the fact that Obama has left the Middle East an even more chaotic and violent mess than he found it surely vindicates that thought.

But when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991, nobody would have expected that we would come to question that decision. Here was an outstanding campaigner for democracy and freedom for her people in Myanmar, who chose to suffer from persecution from the military junta who ruled her country at home than to flee abroad and hide behind Western diplomatic protection.

Yet Ms Suu Kyi has become the first person to hold the dubious distinction of having a group of other Nobel Peace Prize laureates accuse her of presiding over a genocide. Desmond Tutu from South Africa, Mairead Maguire from Northern Ireland, Jody Williams from the USA, Tawakkol Karman from Yeman, Shirin Ebadi from Iran, Leymah Gbowee from Liberia, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel from Argentina and Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan have all expressed immense concern over the fate of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, as well as Economics Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and many other distinguished leading global moral voices. There is even a petition on change.org signed by 81,000+ individuals urging the Nobel Committee to withdraw her prize.

What is maddening about the situation is that Ms Suu Kyi has already been in power for over one year after becoming leader of Myanmar in their first reasonably democratic elections in half a century, she has overwhelming popular support, and could carry just about any policy into effect she would desire, yet the situation of the Rohingya in this past year has gotten worse, not better.
Marginalized Rohingya

Marginalised for decades, refused citizenship in the country of their birth by law in contravention of the UN Charter since 1982 and the target of regular communal violence, as well as systematic state violence, over half of the 1.5-2 million Rohingya have been displaced from the country of their birth in the past four decades, while more than 140,000 languish in internal displaced persons’ camps, where they are denied healthcare and education, and from where the authorities discourage them from leaving “for their own protection.”

These conditions have triggered successive waves of emigration which have seriously strained the resources of neighbouring countries and have attracted their ire toward Myanmar. This movement of refugees culminated last year when in the spring, the regional migration crisis shortly overshadowed even the European migration crisis in the news cycle. Yet after the election of Ms Suu Kyi last November, many in the Rohingya community in Myanmar and abroad were hopeful. They trusted in the woman they affectionately call “mother” and this spring has not seen similar waves of emigration as the previous years.

But their faith seems to have been misplaced. At every opportunity afforded to her so far, Ms Suu Kyi has failed to stand up for the Rohingya and tackle those in her country who would ethnically cleanse these people. Indeed, she has chosen to perpetuate the myth that the Rohingya are a people who do not belong in Myanmar, has refused to even acknowledge their existence as an indigenous ethnic group, instead referring to them as “Bengalis” just as the most extreme nationalists do and is conspicuously failing intervene as parts of the police force and military in the local state of Rakhine have killed over 30 and displaced more than 15,000 in a fresh wave of violence in the past month.

For the past year, we have given Ms Suu Kyi the benefit of doubt, just like we gave her the benefit of the doubt before her election. We liked to hope that she knew what she was doing and that she was slowly but surely going to change the perception of the Rohingya in Myanmar so that in the longer term they could be reintegrated into mainstream society, eventually as equal members. But the evidence belies that hope. And the recent surge in state violence toward the group shows that we no longer have the luxury to wait and hope for the best. We must demand that our leaders take charge of the situation and intervene on behalf of the Rohingya, where Ms Suu Kyi will not. 
___________________________

Azeem Ibrahim is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Global Policy and Adj Research Professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College. He completed his PhD from the University of Cambridge and served as an International Security Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and a World Fellow at Yale. Over the years he has met and advised numerous world leaders on policy development and was ranked as a Top 100 Global Thinker by the European Social Think Tank in 2010 and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He tweets @AzeemIbrahim


    • Rohingya Exodus