Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
For Rohingya refugees, see also the Arakan State section of "Administration and administrative areas" http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1241&lo=&sl= and the Rohingya section of Human Rights.
Individual Documents
Description:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh are running out of options...
"Iman Hussein does not officially exist. But standing less than 100 feet from the Naff River which separates his makeshift refugee camp in the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh from his homeland of Arakan State in Burma, he says there are more pressing concerns for his group of 14,000 refugees: ?We are just hoping for assistance,? he says.
In Dhaka, the Ministry for Food and Disaster Management has yet to permit the UNHCR refugee agency to register this group of Rohingyas, thereby denying them food and medical aid. The Burmese Ambassador to Bangladesh, Thane Myint, does not even recognize the Rohingyas as an ethnic group.
?Many people are claiming they lived in Rakhine [Arakan] State a long, long time ago,? he says, chuckling. ?Some of them are, or have been, living in Myanmar [Burma]. Some of them may not be [from Burma].?
The Bangladesh government says there are just over 20,000 Burmese people in the area—the number registered officially with UNHCR in two refugee camps south of Cox?s Bazaar. But the Burmese embassy in Dhaka recognizes only 10,000 as citizens of Arakan State. There are many more Buddhist Burmese refugees living illegally in Bangladesh. Those interviewed by The Irrawaddy—both Buddhists and Muslims—gave the same reason for leaving their homeland: they were fed up with human rights abuses inflicted by the Burmese military government..."
Clive Parker
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 6
Date of publication:
2006-06-00
Date of entry/update:
2006-12-29
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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Description:
Rohingyas have struggled for decades to legitimize their presence in the country, and their fight looks to be anything but over...
"Burma?s contentious Arakan State has long been a sore spot for the country?s ruling military dictatorship. Physical brutality and draconian measures to stifle the region?s Muslim Rohingya population have produced waves of refugees over the western border to Bangladesh (formerly eastern Bengal) since the 1970s.
Some historians suggest that Muslims in northern Arakan State—predominantly ethnic Rohingya—can trace their lineage back to Muslim merchants of the 8th and 9th centuries who made their living as tradesmen in coastal ports. Never ones to let historical facts get in their way, the generals in Rangoon tell quite another story..."
Yeni
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 1
Date of publication:
2006-01-00
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
"Protection and humanitarian problems continue to plague the Burmese Rohingya refugees living in two camps in southern Bangladesh. A wave of more than a quarter of a million Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, fled to Bangladesh in the early 1990s as a result of severe oppression and human rights abuses by the Burmese military government. Since then about 230,000 of the refugees have been repatriated to Burma, many against their will, and there remain approximately 20,000 Rohingya in the refugee camps of Nayapara and Kutupalong in Bangladesh.
The situation for the Rohingya in the camps has become more complicated due to UNHCR's decision in 2003 to phase out its support for the 20,000 refugees remaining in the camps and implement its proposed self-sufficiency plan to integrate the Rohingya refugee population with the local Bangladeshi community. The self-sufficiency plan was rejected by Bangladeshi authorities in September 2004. UNHCR, however, is continuing to seek an exit strategy and plans to rework the self-sufficiency program in 2005 into one involving temporary stay and freedom of movement and present it again to the Bangladeshi government..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of publication:
2005-05-09
Date of entry/update:
2005-05-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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Description:
WFP/UNHCR mission to assess the health situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh...
"a) The Joint Assessment Mission comprising of representatives of UNHCR, WFP and the Government of Bangladesh conducted the mission from the 10th to the 17th of October 2004. The objectives of the mission were to carry out an assessment of food and non-food requirements of the ongoing operation, to focus on the underlying causes of persistently high malnutrition and to make specific recommendations on the potential to reduce dependency on food assistance, alleviation of causes of using food for other purposes, modalities of assistance, composition of the food basket and the duration of assistance... b) The mission met with representatives of UNHCR, WFP, NGOs and representatives of the GOB at the capital, district and camp level. The mission visited facilities in Nayapara camp these included the medical facilities, water and sanitation facilities, school, women?s training facility, food storage and distribution facility. The mission conducted focus group discussion with women refugees in the camp and carried out interviews with key informants such as Concern?s counsellors and staff, representatives of BDRCS, DC of Food, DPHE staff, Civil surgeon, WFP and UNHCR field staff and the Camp in Charge... c) Briefing and Debriefing sessions by the mission team were given presenting the main recommendation (annex 3) of the mission at the district level to UNHCR, WFP, NGO and Government representatives and in Dhaka to the Secretary of the MFDM, representatives of UNHCR, WFP and the EC..."
Source/publisher:
UNHCR/WFP
Date of publication:
2004-10-00
Date of entry/update:
2005-03-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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Description:
"SRI met with UNHCR officials, officials from the Ministry of Relief and Disaster Management,
journalists, academics, international organizations such as Medicins Sans Frontier (MSF) and Concern
International which has been working with the Rohingyas for over ten years as well as with local people in
the Teknaf region and the refugees themselves. Access to international organizations was not difficult to
obtain and neither was it extremely challenging to talk to civil society about the Rohingyas, the situation in
the state of Arakan and the current UNHCR policy. However, it was evident that UNHCR was hesitant to
discuss its current proposal and the allegations of abuse against the Rohingyas by camp officials with a
representative of an international organization; and given the recent criticisms leveled by Refugees
International and Burma Center Holland against UNHCR..."
Tazreena Sajjad
Source/publisher:
Survivors? Rights International
Date of publication:
2003-07-17
Date of entry/update:
2004-02-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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114.12 KB
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Delivered at the Regional Conference on the Protection for Refugees from Burma, Chiang Mai, 6 & 7 November 2003...
"Bangladesh hosted one of the largest numbers of refugees in Asia when 250,000 Rohingya fled en masse from Burma in 1978 and again in 1991/92. However, like most countries in the region, Bangladesh has not acceded to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, nor has it enacted any national refugee legislation. Refugees are dealt with on an ad-hoc basis. Bangladesh has allowed the UNHCR to assist and protect some Burmese refugees.
Burmese refugees currently in Bangladesh can be divided into three categories:
1) About 20,000 Rohingya refugees sheltering in two camps:
They remain from the mass exodus of 1991/92 and are recognised as "prima facie" refugees by the UNHCR (group recognition)...
2) Between 100,000 and 200,000[1] Rohingya refugees outside camps in South Bangladesh:
They are not recognised as refugees and are often labelled as economic migrants...
3) A caseload of about 70 mostly Rakhine urban refugees in Dhaka:
They have been granted "Person of Concern" status by the UNHCR (individual basis)...
This paper will first examine the root causes of the Burmese refugee exodus to Bangladesh and then address the specific situation and protection issues of each category of refugees..."
Chris Lewa
Source/publisher:
Forum Asia
Date of publication:
2003-11-07
Date of entry/update:
2003-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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htm
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95.88 KB
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Description:
Delivered at the EU â? Burma Day 2003 Conference..."In contrast to the Thai-Burma border, very little international attention has been given to conditions on the Bangladesh-Burma border. Consequently, Arakan State has remained a largely ignored region of Burma. Awareness is generally limited to the cycle of exodus and repatriation of Rohingya refugees.
But Arakan is no less than a microcosm of Burma with its ethnic conflicts and religious antagonisms, and is by far the most tense and explosive region of the country. The refugee outflow to Bangladesh does not result from counter-insurgency strategies to undermine ethnic armed resistance, as it is the case for the Shan, Karen and Karenni along the Thai-Burma border, but is the outcome of policies of exclusion against the Rohingya community..."
Chris Lewa
Source/publisher:
Forum Asia
Date of publication:
2003-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2003-10-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma
Language:
English
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100.47 KB
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"I have lately been disturbed by two developments. Firstly, at the very moment when 'realism' has lost its post-Westphalian glories and is suffering from disrepute, the stateless people continue to be at the mercy of the state. In the case of the Rohingyas it is even more pathetic for their refuge across the border brought no change to their sufferings. On the contrary, as camped and non-camped refugees, they ended up becoming victims of yet another state power, this time of Bangladesh. Secondly, when the power of the state has been eroded considerably, particularly in the wake of misgovernance and globalization, the state is brought in to resolve the issue of statelessness. Indeed, the Rohingyas were sent home, amidst criticism of 'involuntary' repatriation, with the hope that the government of Myanmar (GOM) after over half-a-century would change its position and make them all worthy citizens of Myanmar. What we have is a representation of a dialectic in the constitution of the state, that is, state as usurper and state as salvation, without of course realizing that the former cancels the latter and vice versa.
It is against this background that I intend to discuss the Bangladesh-Myanmar relations and that again, from the standpoint of the stateless Rohingyas. Two questions, I believe, are pertinent. One, how do stateless people view the state/s? And two, what impact does the stateless people have on the state-to-state relationship? Few will dispute that the discussion requires a sound understanding of the 'stateless,' which in our case are the Rohingyas..."
Imtiaz Ahmed
Date of publication:
2001-06-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-07-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Burmese and other stateless people in Burma, Bangladesh and India
Language:
English
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html
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23.68 KB
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Description:
"Ungefähr 21500 Rohingya Flüchtlinge haben Schutz in den beiden Flüchtlingslagern, Kutupalong und Nayapara, im Süden Bangladeschs gefunden. Diese Flüchtlinge sind das Überbleibsel der Massenflucht der Jahre 1991/92, als 250000 Rohingyas der brutalen Repression gegen Muslime im Norden des Arakan-Staates in Burma entflohen. Ein Repatriierungsprogramm unter der Aufsicht des Flüchtlingshilfswerks der Vereinten Nationen UNHCR, fand in den Jahren 1994/95 statt. Die Rohingyas verließen Bangladesch jedoch alles andere als freiwillig. Seitdem wurden die Rückführungsprogramme bis zum September 2002 eingestellt..."
[Übersetzung der Zusammenfassung des Berichts "We are like a socker ball, kicked by Burma, kicked by Bangladesh" von Chris Lewa, Forum Asia, über die Repatriierung der burmesischen Rohingya-Flüchtlinge in Bangladesch. Gesamttext in Englsich unter http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/KICKEDTOBURMA-Final-3.htm ]
Chris Lewa (Deutsch von Jan Zalewski, für Burma Initiative Asienhaus)
Source/publisher:
FORUM ASIA
Date of publication:
2003-06-20
Date of entry/update:
2003-07-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Deutsch, German
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htm
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14.74 KB
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Description:
"In 1978 and 1991 Bangladesh was faced with influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. In 1978 about 200,000 refugees crossed into Bangladesh to flee persecution by the Myanmarese army in the Arakan region. Their stay in Bangladesh at that time was short lived as the problem was resolved through diplomatic initiatives in sixteen months.
The situation is somewhat different this time when about a quarter of a million of refugees took shelter in the Teknaf-Cox's Bazar region. Following the successful completion of the Cambodian operation the Rohingya repatriation constitutes the single largest UNHCR operation in Asia. In spite of the Bangladesh Government's agreement with the Myanmar authorities and UNHCR's Memorandum of Understanding with both the governments on repatriation, initial steps in the repatriation has been rather slow.
Currently the repatriation process has virtually stagnated. The presence of such a large number of refugees, which at one stage appeared to be for an indefinite period, has created tensions in the host communities and impacted adversely the economy and environment of the region. It is in this setting that a study on the Rohingya refugees is being undertaken..."
C.R. Abrar
Date of publication:
1995-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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htm
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133.12 KB
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Description:
-- Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are facing a new drive of involuntary repatriation --
"...This report attempts to give a voice to the Rohingya refugees in the camps and includes 57 refugee accounts illustrating the types of abuses used by the camp authorities to enforce repatriation. These testimonies denounce 26 acts of forced repatriation itself, usually involving detention in the camp followed by a forceful removal to the transit camp and back to Burma (18 in May 2003 alone), and also expose different types of mental and/or physical pressure to induce repatriation.
Refugees unwilling to repatriate have been arrested and then given the choice of signing up for repatriation or going to jail (5 cases of threats and 5 cases of actual transfer to jail). Families have had their ration book seized until they agreed to repatriate (6 cases of deprivation of food). Other incidents have involved physical ill treatment (12 cases of beatings), sudden transfer to other sections of the camp (5 cases), destruction of housing (2 cases). The consequences have been particularly dramatic when families have been divided, when children have been separated from their parents, wives from their husbands, old people left behind and sick refugees abandoned (19 cases of family separation). As a result of these pressures, many refugees fled from the camp to avoid repatriation. Often, the male head of the household runs away, leaving women and children vulnerable in the camps (1 rape case reported). These accounts seriously challenge the voluntary character of the ongoing repatriation exercise. And, thus far, UNHCR has remained rather quiet.
The UNHCR proposal also promotes self-sufficiency within the local host community pending return. The UNHCR initiative of promoting "temporary local integration" raises many questions with regard to protection and feasibility of self-reliance in an already tense and saturated environment. The Government of Bangladesh has not endorsed the proposal, and yet the UNHCR is already moving into the implementation phase.
FORUM-ASIA calls upon the UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh to immediately halt these forced repatriations and ensure that the principle of voluntariness is respected. In particular, we call on the UNHCR to continue to provide effective protection and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees in the camps until a durable solution emerges..."
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Acknowledgment;
Executive Summary;
Map;
Introduction;
The Rohingya Refugee Exodus And Its Root Causes In Burma;
- Root causes;
The UNHCR Plan for the camps: Promoting Self-sufficiency Pending
Voluntary Return:
- UNHCR?s Proposal;
- Bangladesh?s position;
- Issues of Concern...
The Current Situation in the Camps: Coercion, Harassment
and Forced Repatriation:
- Repatriation figures;
- Overview of the Abuses in the Camps and their Consequences ;
- Reduction of Humanitarian Assistance...
Conclusion;
Recommendations;
Appendices: The Refugees? Voices -
Appendix 1 - Declaration from Rohingya refugees dated 25 May 2003;
Appendix 2 - A refugee account of a meeting with UNHCR in Kutupalong camp;
Appendix 3 - Selection of 57 refugees? accounts.
Chris Lewa
Source/publisher:
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Date of publication:
2003-06-20
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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pdf doc htm
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302.56 KB 453.5 KB 601.7 KB
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Description:
"Beginning in late 1991, wide-scale atrocities committed by the Burmese military, including rape, forced labor, and religious persecution, triggered an exodus of ethnic Rohingya Muslims from the northwestern Burmese state of Arakan into Bangladesh.[1] Nearly 240,000 refugees, now housed in 19 camps in and around the Bangladeshi town of Cox?s Bazar, face the prospect of possible mass repatriation when the 1993 rainy season ends in October. That repatriation would be cause for concern on two grounds. First, though talks have taken place between Burmese authorities and Mrs. Sadako Ogata, head of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) to allow a UNHCR presence inside Burma, no final agreement has yet been reached, and grave concerns remain about military abuses in Arakan and thus about the safety of repatriated refugees. Second, when mass repatriations took place in 1992, they became the occasion for coercion and physical abuse of refugees by Bangladeshi authorities, raising serious doubts about whether most returned voluntarily.
Asia Watch has not been able to investigate abuses on the Burmese side of the border. But in April 1993, an Asia Watch consultant visited the refugee camps in Bangladesh. He also met in Dhaka with officials in both the Foreign Ministry and the Home Ministry, local government officials in the Cox?s Bazar area directly responsible for implementing policy with respect to the Rohingyas, staff members of the UNHCR, foreign government officials, international relief workers, Bangladeshi human rights monitors, and refugees. The Bangladeshi government was cooperative in allowing the mission to take place.
The Asia Watch consultant compiled evidence of verbal, physical and sexual abuse of
refugees at the hands of Bangladeshi military and paramilitary forces in charge of the camps. Those abuses indicate the need for international agencies, particularly the UNHCR, to have full access to all camps to interview refugees in confidence about their willingness to return, and for the Bangladeshi authorities to investigate the pattern of abuse against refugees and bring those responsible to justice..."
Source/publisher:
Asia Watch (A Committee of Human Rights Watch)
Date of publication:
1993-10-09
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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htm
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163.64 KB
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"Thousands of Burmese Muslims from the Rakhine (Arakan) State in Myanmar, known as Rohingyas, have fled into southeastern Bangladesh during the first half of 1997. Unlike more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees who came to Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992, these new arrivals are largely living in local villages rather than in designated refugee camps. The Government of Bangladesh has not permitted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to interview these people, asserting that they are all economic migrants. Amnesty International is aware of reports that some of the new arrivals have stated that they have left Myanmar solely because of economic hardship. However, it is concerned that others are in fact people fleeing serious human rights violations in Myanmar, and therefore would be in need of protection. Indeed, it should be noted that the distinction between economic hardship and violations of civil and political rights is not necessarily a clear one; for example, many of the Rohingyas have been unable to make a living due to continuing unpaid forced labour in Rakhine state. Given the grave human rights situation in Myanmar, it is impossible to state in a blanket fashion that Rohingyas are only fleeing economic hardship and therefore are not worthy of protection..." KEYWORDS: REFUGEES 1 / REFOULEMENT1 / MINORITIES 1 / FORCED LABOUR / TORTURE/ILL-TREATMENT / RELIGIOUS GROUPS - ISLAMIC / WOMEN / MILITARY / ARMED CIVILIANS / HUNGER-STRIKE / ARMED CONFLICT / SECOND GOVERNMENTS / UNHCR / RECOMMENDED ACTIONS /
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (Al INDEX: ASA 13/07/97)
Date of publication:
1997-09-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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htm
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85.92 KB
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Description:
"Repatriation, although agreed upon to be voluntary, has in fact not been voluntary.
Those who "agreed" to return to Arakan have faced and continue to face severe coercion, including reportedly,
physical abuse, deprivation of food rations, confiscation of their money or possessions, arrest and threats.
? Donor governments should express concern that UNHCR Geneva is currently not providing
adequate monitoring of the process to return refugees to Arakan and must take action to ensure the
voluntary nature of the repatriation is upheld.
? UNHCR should increase protection of the refugees currently in the camps; UNHCR must supply
additional staff - at least one per camp - tasked not only with preparations for repatriation, but also
focussed on protecting the refugees from a non-voluntary return.
? The Memorandum of Understanding focusses primarily on the short term needs of the refugees
and fails to address many of the root causes of their distrust and fear. Because of these
circumstances, UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh should re-evaluate the time frame for
repatriation. Refugees should not be returned until their safety can be insured. UNHCR and donor
countries should solicit the continued patience of the Bangladesh government.
? UNHCR should arrange for adequate monitoring in Arakan. Their team should be given access to
all areas where refugees are returning and be allowed to conduct their monitoring without official
escort or official interpreters.
? We urge UNHCR to work with Burmese government authorities to reinstate former land use
privileges to those returning. If not applicable, the government should allocate new land in
proximity to their former residence. This would help to reassure refugees of the government's good
faith commitment.
? UNHCR and the governments involved should be identifying and addressing the special needs of
vulnerable and at risk groups both in Bangladesh and Arakan.
? Requests should be made for continued monitoring of both the Bangladesh camps and Arakan by
an appropriate additional NGO within the next 2 to 3 months.
? In light of refugee anxieties over the Burmese government's compulsory three month training
courses for girls aged 15 to 18 which separates girls from their families, UNHCR should work with
the Burmese authorities to eliminate these courses.
? UNHCR and the international community should encourage SLORC to participate in tripartite
meetings to facilitate coordination on repatriation policy..."
Yvette Pierpaoli
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of publication:
1994-06-06
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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htm
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92.66 KB
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"During the past year the problems of international refugees have received much coverage in the world press -most of it devoted to the Vietnamese "boat people" arriving on the shores of Malaysia and other Southeast Asian nations. Another refugee movement of almost equal magnitude in the area, however, has received little attention: the 200,000 Muslim refugees from Burma in Bangladesh. Some press coverage appeared in May and June, 1978, when tens of thousands of the Muslim minority community were pouring into Bangladesh from neighboring Burma. And the signing of an agreement between the two governments on July 9th, allowing the refugees to return, merited short articles in many papers. But from then on there was virtually no news for six and a half months until January 26, 1979, when the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva announced to the press that since June 1, 1978, more than 10,000 of the Burmese refugees had died in the
Bangladesh camps. Between late March and mid-July, 1978, approximately 200,000 of the estimated 1,400,000 Bengali Muslims (called Rohingyas) living in the state of Arakan in north-western Burma fled into nearby Bangladesh. The roots of this mass exodus can evidently be traced to increased immigration from Bangladesh in recent years into this isolated area somewhat tenuously controlled by the central government of the Union of Burma, and to the apparent growth of a movement for the autonomy or independence of the Arakan among both the Buddhists and the Muslims of the area. While some of the Buddhist community wanted independence for the Arakan state, they were also afraid of absorption into Bangladesh..."
Alan C. Lindquist
Date of publication:
1979-06-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
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htm
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94.79 KB
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Report of the fact-finding mission - April/May 2003...
"In Arakan (Rakhine) State in Western Burma, the Burmese military regime (SPDC) and border police (NaSaKa) are still committing serious human rights violations. Although both peoples in Arakan (Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims) are victims of these crimes, especially the Rohingyas living in Northern Arakan are marginalized as a people. By definition, the Rohingyas do not have full citizenship, still suffer from gross human rights violations, are still forced to perform unpaid labour (especially in the countryside) and are not free to practice their religion. The Rohingyas in Arakan/Burma are often denied basic freedoms like the right to marry, and they are forced to pay the military authorities for all basic necessities. Rohingyas have no freedom of movement. Finally, often the military orders them to handle over all there belongings, including their land, without any compensation. The future of Rohingyas in Arakan still looks grim..."
Peter Ras
Source/publisher:
Burma Center Netherlands
Date of publication:
2003-06-05
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
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htm
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209.54 KB
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Description:
Mission
Internationale
d?Enquête
Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme...
L?Arakan:
A. Présentation de l?Arakan;
B. Historique de la présence musulmane en Arakan;
C. Organisation administrative, forces répressives et résistance armée. ..
Le retour forcé et la réinstallation des Rohingyas -
hypocrisie et contraintes:
A. Les conditions du retour du Bangadesh après l?exode de 1991-92;
B. Réinstallation et réintégration.
Répression, discrimination et exclusion en Arakan:
A. La spécificité de la répression à l?égard des Rohingyas;
B. Les Arakanais : une exploitation sans issue. ..
Nouvel Exode:
A. Les années 1996 et 1997;
B. L?exode actuel.
Source/publisher:
Federation International des Droits de l'Homme
Date of publication:
2000-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Francais, French
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Description:
I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS;
II. THE 1996 INFLUX;
III. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND;
IV. THE REPATRIATION:
The first stage, September 1992-January 1994;
Mass repatriation, July 1994 - December 1995;
V. THE REINTEGRATION PROGRAM;
VI. CONTINUING DISCRIMINATION:
Citizenship Legislation and Identity Cards;
International Law and the 1982 Citizenship Act;
Current Status of Returnees;
Forced Labor;
Land Ownership and Arbitrary Taxation;
Forced Relocations;
Model Villages;
Freedom of Movement;
VII. CONCLUSIONS.
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch/Asia
Date of publication:
1996-09-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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htm
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390.52 KB
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"Muslims from Arakan State in northwestern Burma, have become the latest targets of Burmese military atrocities. Since late 1991, they have been streaming into neighboring Bangladesh at the rate of several thousand a day with stories of rapes, killings, slave labor and destruction of mosques and other acts of religious persecution. By mid-March, the Bangladesh government had registered over 200,000 refugees and the exodus was continuing. In many ways, the treatment of these Muslims, called Rohingyas, seemed to be part and parcel of the stepped up military offensive against ethnic minorities and opposition activists by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the military junta that has become one of the most abusive governments in Asia. Intensive fighting has been taking place along Burma's eastern border against the Karen and Mon people as well, with refugees pouring into Thai border camps with
similar accounts of rape and forced labor..."
INTRODUCTION;
ARAKAN AND THE ROHINGYA MUSLIMS:The 1978 Exodus;
The 1990 Election and Its Aftermath;
PATTERNS OF ABUSE 1991-92:
Rape;
Forced Labor;
Population Transfers and Religious Persecution;
Summary Executions;
Source/publisher:
Asia Watch - A Division of Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
1992-05-07
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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htm
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166.7 KB
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Description:
International
Mission
of Inquiry by the
International Federation of Human Rights Leagues.
I. Arakan:
A. Presentation of Arakan - A buffer State;
B. Historical background of the Muslim presence in Arakan;
C. Administration organisation, repressive forces and armed resistance...
II. The forced return and the reinstallation of the Rohingyas:
hypocrisy and constraints:
A. The conditions of return from Bangladesh after the 1991-92 exodus;
B. Resettlement and reintegration. ..
III. Repression, discrimination and exclusion in Arakan:
A. The specificity of the repression against the Rohingyas;
B. The Arakanese: an exploitation with no way out. ..
IV. A new exodus:
A. The years 1996 and 1997;
B. The current exodus.
Source/publisher:
Federation International des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH)
Date of publication:
2000-04-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Burmese Rohingyas in Malaysia. Contains a good discussion of the Rohingyas' de facto statelessness under the 1982 Citizenship Law as well as background material on the Rohingyas' situation in Burma.."Burmese authorities bear responsibility for the Rohingya's flight. Burma's treatment of the Rohingya is addressed in the background section of the report, and the report offers specific recommendations to the Burmese government. The focus of this report, however, is on what happens to Rohingya when they reach Malaysia. There, they are not treated as refugees fleeing persecution who should be afforded protection, but as aliens subject to detention or deportation in violation of Malaysia's international human rights obligations..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
2000-07-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Malaysia, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to nationality, citizenship and immigration (commentary), Burmese and other stateless people in Thailand and Malaysia
Language:
English
more
Description:
Introduction, map and 32 interviews with Arakanese (Rakhine) and Rohingya refugees and activists.
Source/publisher:
Project Maje
Date of publication:
1991-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Delivered at the Canadian Friends of Burma Public Conference Ottawa ? 9 October 2002. "Burma?s borders with India and Bangladesh have received much less international attention than the Thailand-Burma border. A major reason is the difficult access to refugees in these border areas due to policies of the host governments. Nevertheless, outflows of refugees from Burma to India and Bangladesh are no less significant. More than 50,000 mostly Chin refugees have fled to India while up to 200,000 Rohingya refugees are found in Bangladesh in and outside refugee camps..."
Chris Lewa
Source/publisher:
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Date of publication:
2002-10-09
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
39.09 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Between late 1991 and the middle of 1992, more than 250,000 people fled
from the Rakhine State of Myanmar (formerly Burma) to neighbouring
Bangladesh. Almost all of the refugees were Rohingyas, a Muslim minority
group living in a predominantly Buddhist country. Although accurate
statistics are not available, the Rohingyas are thought to constitute just
under half of Rakhine State's population, which is estimated to be some
4.5 million..."
Extract from "The State of The World's Refugees 1995: In search of solutions" (Chapter 2, Box 2.2)
Source/publisher:
UNHCR
Date of publication:
1995-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Extracts on the Rohingyas from the report of the ILO Commission of Inquiry into forced labour in Myanmar (Burma). ".... the situation in the northern part of Rakhine State appears to be more severe in all respects than that prevailing in most other parts of the country. Most of the witnesses questioned on this subject, who were members of the Rohingya ethnic group, and who had left the country very recently, claimed to have been subjected to systematic discrimination by the authorities..." (ILO Report, para 435).
The 1998 ILO Inquiry into forced labour in Burma covers a wide range of human rights violations in addition to forced labour. The Commission of Inquiry, which is the most senior body to have examined human rights in Burma, reported that the Rohingyas suffer a higher level of discrimination than other groups in the country.
Source/publisher:
ILO (customised by BPF)
Date of publication:
1998-07-02
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced Labour in Myanmar (Burma) Report of the ILO Commission of Inquiry, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Governing Body of the International Labour Office (English), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
178.49 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"Forced Migration in the South Asian Region:
Displacement, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution"
Paper submitted for publication in a book edited by Omprakash Mishra on "Forced Migration in South Asian Region", Centre for Refugee studies Jadavpur University, Calcutta and Brookings Institution Project on Internal Displacement.
"In the eyes of the media and the general public, whether in Bangladesh or further afield, the situation of the Rohingya from Burma[ii] is usually referred to as a ?refugee problem?. Over the last two decades, Bangladesh has born the brunt of two mass exoduses, each of more then 200,000 people, placing them among the largest in Asia. Each of these massive outflows of refugees was followed by mass repatriation to Burma. Repatriation has been considered the preferred solution to the refugee crisis. However, this has not proved a durable solution, since the influx of Rohingyas over international borders has never ceased. And it is unlikely that it will stop, so long as the root causes of this unprecedented exodus are not effectively remedied. The international community has often focussed its attention on the deplorable conditions in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, rather than on the root causes of the problem, namely the denial of legal status and other basic human rights to the Rohingya in Burma. This approach doubtless stems from the practical difficulty of confronting an intractable military regime which refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens of Burma, and of working out solutions acceptable to all parties involved. The actual plight and continuous exodus of the Rohingya people has been rendered invisible. Though they continue to cross international borders, they are also denied the right of asylum, being labelled ?economic migrants?. The international community has preferred to ignore the extent of this massive forced migration, which has affected not only Bangladesh, but also other countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, etc..."
Chris Lewa
Date of publication:
2001-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese and other stateless people in Burma, Bangladesh and India
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
118.9 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
Rohningyas in Bangladesh: some comments about international assistance for refugees. Sociological analysis of acteurs in migrant situations, questions of space and place in and around refugee camps, migrant's identities.
Am Beispiel der Fl?chtlinge aus Myanmar, der Rohingyas, im S?dosten Bangladeshs, die mit internationaler Hilfe in Fl?chtlingslagern angesiedelt wurden, u.a. folgende Fragen untersucht: Akteure der Fluchtsituation, R?ume und Schaupl?tze in und um Fl?chtlingslager, Identit?t von Fl?chtlingen. Eine Lehrforschung des Sociology of Development Research Centre.
Gliederung: Einleitung; Methoden; Geschichte(n) des Problems; Akteure; R?ume und Schaupl?tze; Fazit; Literatur.
Stephanie Hering
Source/publisher:
Universitats Bielefeld
Date of publication:
2000-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Deutsch, German
more
Description:
Delivered at the Medecins Sans Frontieres Conference:
?10 Years for the Rohingya Refugees: Past, Present and Future”
Dhaka ? 1 April 2002.
"As long as the situation in Rakhine State does not show any fundamental improvement, Rohingya people will continue to enter and seek shelter in Bangladesh. The refugees in the two remaining camps are only the visible side of an outflow that has never ceased. Indeed, the exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh has never stopped. Every day, new Rohingya individuals and families continue to cross the border illegally and seek sanctuary in Bangladesh. It is no longer a mass exodus, but a constant trickle. This influx seems to be encouraged and at the same time strictly controlled by the Myanmar authorities, and concurrently it is rendered invisible by the Bangladesh administration. New arrivals are denied access to the refugee camps, and these undocumented Rohingya have no other option than to survive among the local population outside the camps. Their exact number is unknown. An estimate of 100,000 has regularly been cited for several years now, which does not take into account the constant increase. According to the local press, there may be as many as 200,000 living in the Cox?s Bazar-Teknaf-Bandarban area and this amount appears to be more realistic. They are not referred to as refugees but labelled as ?economic migrants”..."
Chris Lewa
Source/publisher:
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Date of publication:
2002-04-01
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
35.6 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
Maps, tables, photos and text. "Main Objectives
and Activities:
Support the voluntary repatriation,
reintegration, and stabilisation of
returnees in Northern Rakhine
State, and monitor the situation in
areas hosting them; promote activities
conducive to self-reliance, and
provide special assistance to the
most vulnerable within the Muslim
population; prepare for the United
Nations Integrated Development
Plan for Northern Rakhine State
which will permit the gradual phasing
out of UNHCR�s assistance
programme. ..."
Source/publisher:
UNHCR
Date of publication:
2000-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Refugees from Burma: general reports, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Karen and other refugees from Burma in Thailand - general reports and articles
Language:
English
more
Description:
"During February and March 1992 Amnesty International conducted over 100 interviews in Bangladesh with Burmese Muslim refugees from the Rakhine (Arakan) State, which is in the southwest of Myanmar (Burma)[1] bordering Bangladesh. All of those interviewed told Amnesty International that they had fled from their homes in the Maungdaw and Buthidaung township areas of the Rakhine State to escape a wide range of human rights violations at the hands of the Myanmar security forces, including ill-treatment, deliberate killings, and arrests on religious and political grounds. In their testimonies, these refugees said they were themselves victims of human rights violations, or had witnessed such violations committed against others, or were personally acquainted with the victims of such abuses.
The human rights violations documented in this report are part of a general pattern of repression by the Myanmar security forces against Muslims in the Rakhine State. Troops have entered Muslim villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships, occupied and closed mosques, confiscated farmers? livestock and crops, seized villagers for forced labour, and evicted them from their houses.
The repression of Muslims in the Rakhine State is part of the gross and consistent pattern of human rights violations committed by the SLORC against all forms of political opposition and dissent and against vulnerable and weak sectors of the country?s population, such as ethnic minorities, who the military authorities suspect may not support its national ideology. All the available evidence indicates that Muslims are targeted for repression by the Myanmar security forces simply because they belong to a particular religious minority, some members of which seek greater autonomy from central Myanmar control.
Reports of human rights abuses against Muslims in the Rakhine State by Myanmar security forces rose sharply in early 1991, and they began to leave Myanmar in the thousands to seek asylum in Bangladesh. Those numbers increased dramatically in late 1991 and early 1992, with more than 200,000 now believed to be in Bangladesh."
KEYWORDS: RELIGIOUS GROUPS - ISLAMIC / MINORITIES / FORCED LABOUR / TORTURE/ILL-TREATMENT / DEATH IN CUSTODY / EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION / WOMEN / SEXUAL ASSAULT / ARBITRARY ARREST / POLITICAL PRISONERS / TRIALS / MILITARY TRIBUNALS / LONG-TERM IMPRISONMENT / FARMERS / FARM WORKERS / AGED / RELIGIOUS GROUPS - HINDU / FAMILIES / CHILDREN / JUVENILES / STUDENTS / COMMUNITY LEADERS / TEACHERS / RETIRED PEOPLE / CIVIL SERVANTS / REFUGEES 1 / DISPLACED PEOPLE / MISSIONS / PRISONERS? TESTIMONIES / MILITARY / PARAMILITARIES / POLICE / POLITICAL VIOLENCE / EMERGENCY LEGISLATION /
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International USA (Al INDEX: ASA 16/06/92)
Date of publication:
1992-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
122.71 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
Situation to the end of 1996
Source/publisher:
US Committee for Refugees (USCR)
Date of publication:
1997-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Situation to end 1998
Source/publisher:
US Committee for Refugees (USCR)
Date of publication:
1999-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Situation to end 1997
Source/publisher:
US Committee for Refugees (USCR)
Date of publication:
1998-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
Situation to end 2001
Source/publisher:
US Committee for Refugees (USCR)
Date of publication:
2002-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Forced relocation of several ethnic groups, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more
Description:
"Muslim minorities across Asia are under siege?and their persecution fuels fundamentalists' rage...the Burmese government has convinced many Buddhists in the Arakan region that the Rohingyas are fighting for an independent Islamic state?a goal embraced by radical militant groups in exile in Bangladesh but not by the majority of Muslims living in Arakan. "It's propaganda," says Christina Fink, a cultural anthropologist at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. "It's a way for the regime to divide the Arakanese and make sure the people are less interested in the pro-democracy movement and more interested in driving the Muslims out."
The United Nations has overseen the return to Burma of more than 200,000 Rohingya refugees. But many have found their houses and land appropriated by Buddhist settlers and their basic rights still denied by the authorities. For example, to qualify for citizenship, says Fink, the Rohingyas must prove that their grandparents on both sides were born in Burma, but "there are very few who can." Many have abandoned hope and go back to Bangladesh, only to find they are no longer allowed access to the refugee camps, says French anthropologist Chris Lewa, who studies the Rohingya refugees. "Perhaps as many as 100,000 live in slums around Cox's Bazar," she says. "They are not wanted in Bangladesh or in Burma. Effectively, they are stateless people."..."
Andrew Perrin
Source/publisher:
Time Asia Vol. 161 No. 9
Date of publication:
2003-03-10
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Religious freedom: reports of violations in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
more