(Photo: Getty Images)

Myanmar: UN expert warns of worsening rights situation after “lockdown” in Rakhine State

GENEVA (18 November 2016) – A United Nations expert has called on the Government of Myanmar to take immediate action to tackle the deteriorating human rights situation in northern Rakhine State.

The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, criticized the authorities for placing the region on “lockdown” for six weeks. She said a Government-led two-day visit to the area in early November by a UN official and nine ambassadors had produced only limited results in terms of addressing the humanitarian crisis.

Ms. Lee expressed particular concern at reports from the area that the security operation had been stepped up since the international delegation conducted its visit.

"The Government has now admitted using helicopter gunships in support of ground troops, and there are unverified claims of reprisals against villagers who had shared their grievances with the delegation," said Ms. Lee.

"The security forces must not be given carte blanche to step up their operations under the smokescreen of having allowed access to an international delegation. Urgent action is needed to bring resolution to the situation."

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes amid a security operation triggered by armed attacks on border posts in October. Residents, including members of the Rohingya minority and other Muslim communities, are reported to have suffered serious human rights violations including torture, rape and sexual assault, summary executions, and the destruction of mosques and homes.

Humanitarian programmes providing health, food, education and nutrition assistance have been suspended and civilians are reported to be caught up in military action including attacks by helicopter gunships.

Ms. Lee said allegations of human rights abuses, including the alleged rape and sexual assault of women and girls, needed to be investigated.

"State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has recently stated that the Government is responding to the situation based on the principle of the rule of law. Yet I am unaware of any efforts on the part of the Government to look into the allegations of human rights violations," said Ms. Lee.

"It would appear, on the contrary, that the Government has mostly responded with a blanket denial. This begs the question as to whether relevant evidence is being preserved to enable perpetrators to be held to account for their wrongdoings. Pointing fingers without definitive answers should be avoided. However, it is crucial to recognize the issue at hand - as objectively as possible - and immediately embark on a transparent, non-partial, independent investigation." 

“It is not acceptable that for six weeks there was a complete lockdown, with no access to the affected areas," she added. 

Ms. Lee echoed a statement by the Chair of the Rakhine Advisory Commission, Kofi Annan, for all communities to renounce violence and for security services to act in full compliance with the rule of law. 

She expressed hope that even before the Commission publishes a report next year, the Government would start taking interim measures in line with past recommendations to prevent further restrictions and violations of human rights suffered by the Rohingya population as well as other religious and ethnic minorities.

A group of UN human rights experts* has already urged the Government to address the growing reports of violations emerging from Rakhine, calling on the authorities to allow access for humanitarian groups; to conduct thorough and impartial investigations of killings; and to implement concerted efforts to fight and prevent acts of incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence against minorities.

Ms. Lee stressed that the need for urgent action was undiminished.

“In my address to the General Assembly last month, I reiterated the need for humanitarian access to resume as soon as possible so that the needs of those affected and displaced are met, particularly the most vulnerable,” she said. 

“Also of vital importance is for impartial and independent investigations to be undertaken to address the allegations of serious human rights violations, with their perpetrators held to account.” 

This statement has been endorsed by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsak-Ndiaye.

ENDS

Original here.

RB News
November 18, 2016

By Charles Santiago

Bangkok Post

November 18, 2016

The worst is already happening in Rakhine State, Myanmar, with tens of Rohingya murdered, mutilated, and tortured. Unverified accounts have emerged of horrors, including children being thrown into burning homes by the Myanmar military, who are acting with total impunity.

This escalation of violence has been going on for weeks now, with the Rohingya diaspora and human rights advocates appealing for intervention and help through social media.

Yet the world is silent. There has not been a whimper from Asean or its member governments. Malaysia, a country with an added responsibility given its instrumental role in bringing Myanmar into the Asean fold, is quiet. The United Nations has not said very much, and the world superpowers are dismissive. No one believes that the butchering of Rohingya by the military is a worthy enough cause to take up.

It's even more appalling that such brutality is happening under the leadership of the National League for Democracy (NLD) government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Once considered an icon of democracy, Ms Suu Kyi has simply disappeared, much to the disappointment of allies who once considered her worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize that she won while under house arrest in 1991.

Human rights activists, civil society representatives, and even political leaders from neighbouring countries have lost faith in her, and even more so when she turned a blind eye to the sacking of Myanmar Times journalist Fiona McGregor, who was fired after she reported that security forces had raped Rohingya women. Ms Suu Kyi has not ordered an exhaustive and comprehensive probe into the allegations.

Instead, the military and police have upped attacks against Rohingya, including air strikes last weekend. Access to areas which are under siege by security forces has been denied for diplomats, journalists and humanitarian aid workers, meaning there is no way for independent observers to verify the government's claims.

The world catches glimpses of the horror inflicted on Rohingya men, women and children through the photos and short videos captured by people on the ground. But stakeholders, regional bodies such as Asean, and governments, including Malaysia, have not acted to stop the targeted killings and sexual assaults on a group of helpless people.

This is unconscionable. This is about a group of men in uniform, without public objection from the NLD government, unleashing violence against the Rohingya seemingly without regard for civilian life. And every one of us will be complicit in these crimes, which are being carried out with impunity, if we remain silent.

Asean, government leaders, the United Nations, and international organisations must therefore come together to exert pressure on Myanmar to stop these atrocities.

This humanitarian crisis could lead to another exodus of the Rohingya to neighbouring countries through a perilous sea journey. This would mean another round of abuse, victimisation, and horror at the hands of traffickers.

It would mean Rohingya children being forcefully married off to traffickers to settle money owed by their parents for the boat rides.

This is happening in our backyard. Asean must therefore demonstrate its commitment to the Asean Charter and respond effectively, in accordance with the principle of comprehensive security, to all forms of transnational crimes and transboundary challenges.

It's also time for Asean to reaffirm its commitment to the Declaration Against Trafficking in Persons Particularly Women and Children, adopted in 2004.

As violence in Rakhine State continues to escalate, silence equals complicity. Asean as a region has a duty to act.

Charles Santiago is a member of the Parliament of Malaysia and Chairperson of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

By Abdul Aziz

Dhaka Tribune

November 18, 2016

From the Bangladesh side of Bangladesh-Myanmar border, the blazing flames, sky-high fumes, booming gunshots and cries of pain and grief seem to be straight out of a war film

Cox's Bazar -- This is how residents of Teknaf, an upazila of Cox’s Bazar district that borders Myanmar’s Rakhine state, home to Rohingya Muslims, described witnessing the plight of Rohingyas in the crackdown by the Myanmar Army.

“For the last one week, we have been watching fire gutting down hundreds of houses on the other side [of the border] and helicopters dropping mortars on Muslim-inhabited areas,” said Mohammad Hossain, a grocer in Teknaf’s Whykong union.

Lalu Miah, member of Ward 2 in Hwaikong union parishad, termed the attack horrifying. “You cannot help tearing up when you see the carnage that has been going on. It seems entire villages are in blazes.”

Several people Teknaf’s Whykong and Hnila unions, who said they witnessed the brutal attack, said the Myanmar army men were raping and killing civilians and then setting whole villages on fire.

Nazir Ahmed, 50, witnessed it closely from the Ulubania point at Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Teknaf.

“During the day, we see smoke swirling up towards the sky. At night, we hear bomb blasts and gunfire and cries. That tells you how horrible the situation is,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Besides sealing the border off to keep the fleeing Rohingyas away, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has also been working to keep the situations calm in the border areas.

“We have taken additional measures and increased patrolling in the border,” said Lt Col Abuzar Al Zahid, commander of 2 BGB Battalion stationed in Teknaf. “We have also taken steps so no one can illegally enter Bangladesh through the border. There is no reason to panic on our side.”

He further said the BGB troops are organising meeting in different areas to reassure people that they are safe. People have also been advised to avoid going to the border areas as well as the Naf River, which run alongs the border.

A reliable source near the Myanmar border told the Dhaka Tribune that Dhekibania, Kumirkhali, Shilkhali, Balibazar and Nakpura areas in particular have suffered severe damage in the attack.

“Right now, two military helicopters are regularly patrolling the areas,” he added.

Tension has been rife in Myanmar’s border areas with Bangladesh since last month when several hundred militants linked to Aqa Mul Mujahidin group launched attacks on the border police and the army, resulting in the deaths of a dozen law enforcers. The Myanmar Army has since been conducting operations to arrest the attackers.

Myanmar authorities have heavily restricted access to the area, making it difficult to independently verify government reports or accusations of army abuse, as well as provide humanitarian aid.

Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing the crackdown to Bangladesh, trying to escape the upsurge of violence that has brought the total number of dead confirmed by the army to more than 130, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The BGB pushed back 86 Rohingya people, including 40 women and 25 children and all hailing from Khoiarchar village in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, and also seized two boats after they entered Bangladesh through No 5 Sluice Gate and Wabrang area of Sabrang union crossing the Naf River.

By Human Rights Watch

November 18, 2016

Authorities Admit Destruction in Rakhine, But Use Flawed Methodology to Dispute Scale 

Rangoon – The Burmese government should allow human rights monitors and independent journalists prompt and unfettered access to northern Rakhine State to investigate alleged widespread property destruction and other rights abuses against ethnic Rohingya, Human Rights Watch said today.

At a news conference on November 16, 2016, Burma’s Office of the State Counsellor responded to a November 13 Human Rights Watch report that used satellite imagery to identify 430 destroyed buildings in three Rohingya villages in Maungdaw district. Zaw Htay, deputy director general of the President's Office, acknowledged there had been buildings burned in the three villages, but disputed the total number based on images collected on November 15, by a Burmese military helicopter. He also stated the government would lift restrictions on non-state media access to the area, which has been on lockdown since October 9, but provided no timeframe for doing so.

“The Burmese government’s confirmation of widespread fire damage in northern Rakhine State and offer to allow media access is a step toward getting at the truth of what happened,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But this is long overdue. Prompt and unhindered access to affected areas for independent investigations by the media and human rights organizations is crucial.”

After the October 9 attacks on three border outposts in Maungdaw township that left nine police officers dead, the military implemented a lockdown of the area, denying access to humanitarian aid groups, independent media, and rights monitors. Another outbreak of violenceoccurred starting on November 11, during which nearly a hundred people were reported killed. According to humanitarian groups, tens of thousands have been displaced by the violence. Humanitarian access to the area remains extremely limited.

Human Rights Watch’s analysis of high resolution satellite imagery recorded on October 22, November 3, and November 10, identified 85 buildings destroyed in Rohingya communities in Pyaung Pyit (Ngar Sar Kyu), 245 in Kyet Yoe Pyin, and 100 in Wa Peik (Kyee Kan Pyin). Human Rights Watch found that damage signatures in each of the assessed villages were consistent with fire, including the presence of large burn scars and destroyed tree cover. Because of dense tree cover it is likely that the actual number of destroyed buildings is higher than 430.

Local organizations have alleged the attacks on villages were carried out by government security forces, while the Burmese authorities have said they were carried out by Rohingya militant organizations.

The military’s “True News Information Team” released a statement on November 15, claiming that the buildings had been “torched by members of the violent attackers in northern Rakhine.” Zaw Htay also denied allegations of rape and sexual violence committed by security forces against Rohingya women and girls during the military’s “clearance operations.”

“The army’s use of oblique angle photographs taken from helicopters to assess the extent of the destruction is flawed and inadequate,” said Adams. “Very high resolution satellite imagery recorded both before and after the attacks provide a more accurate picture of the damage that has occurred over the past month. But even this limited amount of information shows the urgent need for free access for impartial investigations by human rights organizations, and the media.”

RB News 

November 18, 2016

Maungdaw, Arakan – Many Rohingya Women were raped by Myanmar Military and Border Guard Police (BGP) under pretext of a clearance operation since October 9th, 2016. The rape victims have had no chance for medical treatment. An educated woman requested MSF for urgent medical treatments for the rape victims in Northern Maungdaw. 

After October 9th attacks on three BGP outposts, the military and BGP have been torching Rohingya houses, killing innocent people, arresting, looting, destroying households. Moreover, they raped many Rohingya women. 

The Military and BGP have committed many rapes since October 14th to November 16th, 2016. At least 22 women from U Shey Kya were raped by them. some victims escaped from there. Reuters covered 8 cases yet 14 cases are left uncovered as the western media are prohibited to get in the area, a woman told RB News.

On November 16th, 2016, at 1pm a group of soldiers about 100 strong surrounded U Shey Kya village and fired continuously. Some men left the village immediately and some reached the mountain located east side of the market to save their lives. As the soldiers saw them they had to jump into the stream which is beside the mountain. The soldier came onto the mountain and fired like rain onto the stream.

“They reached on the mountain when we reached to the inshore they were continuously shooting us. A boy aged 16 was killed.” a survivor told RB News. He added that three villagers injured. 

The soldiers raided the village. They brought some men who were unable to escape and the women, 300 people all together in one place. Some soldiers pull out 4 more beautiful women and gang raped them at a house. The men and women were released after being severely beaten but 7 men were arrested.. They looted valuables from houses and destroyed households till 5pm. Then they left from the village with the 7 villagers they arrested. 

“It is like they have got license to rape the innocent women again and again when they raid the village. The rape victims have been suffering seriously as no chance for medical treatments.” an educated woman from the village whose parents are also well educated. 

“For such victims we need urgent treatment from MSF, Doctors without Borders. That’s why I request to help them as soon as possible.” she added.

Reporting by MYARF, and additional reporting by Rohingya Eye.

By Associated Press

November 16, 2016

BANGKOK — Advocates for Myanmar's Muslim ethnic Rohingya community said Wednesday that more than 100 members of the minority group have been killed in recent government counterinsurgency sweeps in the western state of Rakhine.

Ko Ko Linn of the Arakan Rohingya National Organization said that according to villagers, at least 150 people had been killed in Maungdaw district by security forces since Saturday. Independent verification of both army and activists' claims is difficult because the government has restricted access to the area.

"The reason why the international news agencies and aid groups are not allowed to go there is because the military is trying to cover up what they are doing there, the killings and other things," Ko Ko Linn said by phone. "They are lying."

Nay San Lwin, a blogger based in Europe who has closely monitored Rohingya developments since 2012, said reports from a network of activists in Rakhine said that more than 100 bodies had been discovered by villagers, some covered by hay or burned.

The government on Tuesday acknowledged the deaths of 69 "violent attackers" and 17 members of the security forces. The attackers weren't specifically identified, but the army has aligned with Rakhine Buddhists against the Rohingya.

The government says the attackers burned down hundreds of homes, but rights groups blame the army for such actions and other abuses of Rohingya civilians.

The two parties are also engaged in a propaganda battle. The government has said the international media are reporting "fabrications" about the situation, while Rohingya activists allege the army has taken pictures of captured Rohingya, including children, posed with various weapons such as spears and clubs.

The government held a news conference late Wednesday in the capital, Naypyitaw, seeking to rebut critical news reports. President's office spokesman Zaw Htay accused the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch of exaggeration in reporting Saturday that satellite imagery showed a total of 430 destroyed buildings in three villages, and said international media had misreported the situation.

He said journalists were not yet allowed to go to Maungdaw for security reasons, and that the affiliations of the "attackers" were unknown.

Tensions have been high in Rakhine since fighting in 2012 between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. More than 100,000 Rohingya are still in squalid camps for the internally displaced after being driven from their homes at that time. Although many have lived in Myanmar for generations, they are widely regarded as having illegally migrated from Bangladesh, and the government denies citizenship to most.

Government military operations intensified last month after nine police officers were killed in attacks on posts along the border with Bangladesh.

International concern has been building since then.

On Tuesday, the United States called for Myanmar to do more to stem the violence. State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said a U.S. delegation holding previously scheduled talks in Myanmar urged the government to "improve transparency."

The U.S. also repeated its call for an independent investigation and humanitarian access.

Concern was also expressed by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan, who heads a commission appointed by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to investigate the cause of tensions in Rakhine.

"As chair of the Rakhine Advisory Commission, I wish to express my deep concern over the recent violence in northern Rakhine state, which is plunging the state into renewed instability and creating new displacement," Annan said in a statement Tuesday. "All communities must renounce violence and I urge the security services to act in full compliance with the rule of law."

By Serajul Quadir and Wa Lone 

Reuters

November 16, 2016

Dhaka/Sittwe, Myanmar -- Hundreds of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing a military crackdown in western Myanmar to Bangladesh, trying to escape an upsurge of violence that has brought the total number of dead confirmed by the army to more than 130.

Some of the Rohingya were gunned down as they tried to cross the Naaf river that separates Myanmar and Bangladesh, while others were pushed away by Bangladeshi border guards and may be stranded at sea, Bangladeshi authorities and residents said.

The bloodshed is the most serious since hundreds were killed in communal clashes in the western Myanmar state of Rakhine in 2012. It has exposed the lack of oversight of the military by the seven-month-old administration of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Soldiers have poured into the area along Myanmar's frontier with Bangladesh, responding to coordinated attacks on three border posts on Oct. 9 that killed nine police officers.

They have locked down the district, where the vast majority of residents are Rohingya, shutting out aid workers and independent observers, and conducted sweeps of villages, the authorities, diplomats and aid workers have said. The army has intensified its operation in the last seven days and has used choppers to reinforce, with dozens reported killed.

Aid workers, camp residents and authorities in Bangladesh estimated at least 500 Rohingya had fled Myanmar to Bangladesh since the October attacks. The refugees are now staying in four Rohingya camps on the Bangladeshi side of the border, they say.

But on Tuesday, Bangladeshi border guards pushed back a large group of Rohingya trying to cross.

"Early Tuesday 86 Rohingya including 40 women and 25 children were pushed back by the BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) from the Teknaf border point," said Lt. Col. Anwarul Azim, commanding officer of the Cox's Bazar sector in eastern Bangladesh.

"All of them tried to enter Bangladesh and came by two engine-operated boats. Now we have beefed up our patrolling and additional forces have been engaged to ensure security in the border area," he said.

Reuters sources said the Rohingya group was unlikely to have gone back to the villages in Myanmar out fear of violence and might be still stranded at sea.

The stateless Rohingya are seen by many Myanmar Buddhists as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Col. Htain Lin, Border Affairs Minister of the Rakhine state government, refused to comment on the situation. Police Major Kyaw Mya Win, from the Maungdaw police, said the people were trying to escape because they tried to attack the military.

"The villagers have become insurgents, including women in the village," said Kyaw Mya Win.

Up to 69 members of what Myanmar's government has described as a Rohingya militant group and 17 members of the security forces have been killed in the upsurge of violence in the last seven days, the Myanmar military said on Tuesday.

This has brought the tally of killed suspected Rohingya Muslim attackers to 102 since Oct. 9, while the security forces' toll stands at 32, according to state media releases. 

MANY DEAD BODIES

Four Rohingya from northern Rakhine contacted by Reuters by telephone on Wednesday confirmed that hundreds were trying to escape and cross the river to Bangladesh. They said some were gunned down.

"The residents told me nearly 72 people were killed near the river bank, that the military shot into the crowd on the river bank," said a Rohingya community leader who declined to be identified.

Another man from Maungdaw said women and children from around 10 villages were trying to flee to Bangladesh and some were killed as they were trying to get into the boats. 

"A lot of dead bodies were floating in the sea," said the man. He added that these people were not traveling together, but that they had separated into groups of 20 or 50 to get on to the boats.

Residents and rights advocates have accused security forces of summary executions, rape and setting fire to homes in the recent violence.

Diplomats have also appealed for an independent and credible investigation, but the government has not announced any plans to carry it out. The government and army reject the accusations, blaming the "violent attackers" for razing houses.

The suspected Rohingya militants have identified themselves as the previously unknown Al-Yakin Mujahidin in videos posted online. In a fresh clip, a man who has appeared in previous videos stands in front of several men prostrated on the ground with wounds on their back and bloodied legs.

"We are Rohingya and we want to restore our usurped rights," the man shouts to the camera. "We deserve our rights and we are not terrorists."

Authorities have denied independent journalists access to the area, so Reuters has been unable to independently verify either the military accounts or the accounts of the residents.

(Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Myanmar and Mohammad Nurul Islam in Bangladesh; Writing by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Associated Press

November 16, 2016

Rohingya villagers from Yay Khae Chaung Khwa Sone in the field on November 14th, 2016

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO)

Press release

15 November 2016

Rohingya are being destroyed, ‘full security and protection’ most urgent

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation strongly condemns the mass killing and torture murder, rape, plundering and wholesome destruction of Rohingya people and their properties, homes and villages in Northern Arakan since 9 October.

From 12 November the Myanmar armed forces have intensified combined military and police crackdown on the ordinary Rohingya villagers using helicopter gunships, tanks and artillery. There are instances that all members of some families were shot dead. Those who were fleeing, on being terrified, were blocked and killed by machine gun firing in paddy fields, dales and creeks particularly in and around the Rohingya villages of Myaw Taung, Dargyizar, Yekhechaung Kwasone, Pwinpyu Chaung, Thu Oo La, Longdun, Kyin Chaung (Bawli Bazar) and Wabaek in Northern Maungdaw.

The army reportedly started crackdown on the Rohingya villagers on 12 November immediately after an armed clash with an alleged Rohingya armed group in the jungles. On 12 and 13 November about 150 civilians were killed, 200 injured, many people arrested and tortured, and 1500 houses, including religious buildings, were burned down, in addition to crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated in the month of October.

The total causalities from 9 October to 13 November are estimated to be 350 killed, 300 injured, many dozens of women raped, hundreds of people arrested on concocted charges, and 3500 houses, including four villages, were burned down or destroyed. At least 30,000 people have been internally displaced. The injured people have no access to medical care. Many women, old men, children and infants were among those who were killed. The crackdown is still continuing while severely restricting humanitarian aids and barring international journalists and observers to the areas.

All these crimes against humanity and war crimes are committed with manifest intention to destroy the Rohingya minority community. But the Nobel Prize owner State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government has persistently denied any violations against Rohingyas while lying that the Rohingya villagers themselves were torching their own houses. It is a rascally shameful conduct of the government and its armed forces.

Despite sky-piercing hues and cries of the Rohingya women, children and elderly, the NLD-led Government of Myanmar is manifestly failing to protect their life, property, honour and dignity, whereas the entire Rohingya population is living, round the clock, in extreme danger of killing, rape and destruction. In the event of no domestic protection, the responsibility to protect these helpless people weighs on the United Nations with the international community.

In view of the above facts, we:

1. Demand Myanmar Government to stop forthwith the ongoing military and police crackdown on Rohingya civilian population, to allow international journalists and observers to the affected areas as well as unhindered humanitarian aids to the needy, and to end all human rights violations and abuses against them.

2. Request the U.N. to conduct an independent and transparent international inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed against the Rohingya people and bring the perpetrators to justice.

3. Request the Government of neighbouring Bangladesh to speak out for the suffering Rohingya people on humanitarian grounds.

4. Request the United Nations and the international community to intervene in the current extremely dangerous situation being faced by the helpless Rohingya population in order to provide them with 'full security and protection' on the principle of humanitarian intervention and in the interest of international peace and security.

For more details, please contact:

Zaw Min Htut +81-8030835327

Dr. Hla Myint +61-423381904

Ronnie: +44-7783118354

Ko Ko Linn: +880-1726068413

Email: info@rohingya.org

www.rohingya.org