Discrimination against the Rohingya
See also Main Library > Refugees > Burmese Refugees in Bangladesh and Main Library >Administration and administrative areas > Arakan (Rakhine) State - http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1241&lo=d&sl=0 - which carries OBL's main documentation on the current crisis of the Rohingya, with links to UN, governmental, NGO and other sources.
Individual Documents
Sub-title:
While the anti-coup movement is ostensibly about who rules – the military or the people – embedded in it are four tendencies that, with the world’s help, will radically remake Myanmar society for the better.
Description:
"Myanmar is in the throes of a profound political crisis, but the solution must extend beyond the question of who’s in charge of government.
The resistance to the Tatmadaw’s takeover has been spearheaded by the youth. Members of so-called Generation Z have learned from their elders in the 1988 pro-democracy movement, but this “Spring Revolution” is not like their parents’ failed revolution.
The battle is lopsided – the military has more guns and more money than the people right now – but, with action from the international community, it is entirely winnable. The prize will not only be democratic government, but a far more just, inclusive and united society, thanks to four progressive tendencies embedded in the youth-led movement.....Genuine democracy: The first of these tendencies is a demand for genuine democracy that moves beyond past compromises. The events of the past three months mean the masses are no longer willing to settle for a return to the pre-coup status quo. This revolution aims to complete, once and for all, a process stalled since 1962: the creation of a federal union and the removal of the Tatmadaw from politics.
Many people reluctantly accepted the military-drafted 2008 Constitution because they believed it would help move the country towards democracy. The National League for Democracy’s 2015 victory under that charter gave them hope for a better future.
The military unequivocally dashed those hopes on February 1. Those that weren’t already convinced now know that a “partial democracy” is a contradiction of terms, and that a power sharing agreement with the Tatmadaw is a road to nowhere.
To that end, people are striking, peacefully protesting, boycotting and performing acts of civil disobedience, hoping to paralyse the military’s ability to govern, even if it means deep personal and economic pain. They are now considering any means necessary to finally remove the military from politics. They’ve called on the international community and the United Nations to invoke the principle of the Responsibility to Protect and, despite the slim-to-zero chance that this call will be heeded, they continue collecting evidence of the Tatmadaw’s crimes against humanity, hoping to hold the coup makers accountable under global bodies of justice, such as the International Criminal Court.
Even the idea of armed revolution has become popular, with the National Unity Government declaring its ambition to establish a People’s Defence Army that would later be integrated into a “federal army” alongside ethnic armed groups already fighting for autonomy in their own states. Young people are reportedly flocking to areas under the control of ethnic armies to receive weapons training.
But the idea of an armed offensive against the Tatmadaw, however emotionally gratifying now, may be ill advised in the longer term. For one, the military has superior weapons and greater resources than all of its challengers combined, and it has survived countless armed insurrections since its founding. Additionally, the technical and practical challenges of unifying many geographically dispersed armed groups with varying political goals into a single force may prove overwhelming.
Still, the growing popularity of the idea among young and old alike – many of whom are getting a first-hand experience of the depths of the Tatmadaw’s brutality and inhumanity for the first time – is a testament to the desperate desire, shared by almost everyone, to rid the country of this notorious institution, which has impoverished its citizenry and tarnished the national image for more than half a century.....Across ethnic lines: The second critical tendency of the Spring Revolution is a desire to shatter pernicious national mythologies. Generations of Myanmar people have been conditioned to believe a distorted version of history – something this movement is helping to right.
For more than 70 years, minority ethnic groups have felt betrayed by the majority Bamar, who, instead of bringing about the democratic federal union promised in the 1947 Panglong Agreement, have continued to maintain their political and social dominance while marginalising minority voices. The military has systematically reinforced these divisions since General Ne Win seized power in 1962 through divide-and-conquer tactics. In propaganda spread through the schoolroom and state-controlled media, successive military regimes portrayed ethnic insurgent groups as bandits led by warlords who posed a threat to the nation.
Most Bamar live in regions untouched by conflict and did not understand that ethnic armed groups had taken up arms as political actors with the universal ambition of autonomy. They had little knowledge of the suffering and abuse – the abductions and arbitrary killings, the use of systemic rape as a weapon of war and subjugation – that ethnic groups have endured at the Tatmadaw’s hands.
Perhaps the most significant result of the Spring Revolution is the unprecedented unity that has developed between the Bamar and other ethnic nationalities. The use of lethal force by security forces – their indiscriminate shooting into homes and apartments, their targeting of aid workers, their looting and wanton vandalism – have helped lowland Bamar understand what their ethnic compatriots have endured for decades. Moving displays of Bamar sympathy have sprung up, and people – largely the youth – are publicly apologising for not speaking out in the past.....Toppling taboos: A third tendency of the Spring Revolution lies in its critique of religious orthodoxy and antiquated social norms. This is particularly noticeable in attitudes towards women and girls, who have been central to the protest movement, displaying just as much commitment, creativity and courage as their male counterparts – both on the frontlines and in the rooms where strategy is made.
Women have harnessed traditional beliefs to challenge misogyny and the military in creative ways, notably using the fear among many men – particularly those within the Tatmadaw – of losing their male essence, known as hpone, by passing below women’s garments. As security forces moved in to quash protests around the country, female-led groups of demonstrators hung women’s htamein (longyi) from clotheslines strung over streets and roads, knowing that superstitious, conservative soldiers would be reluctant to pass beneath them. In many cases, they were right. Junta forces often stopped to burn the garments before passing beneath them. The demands for gender equity have permeated aspirations for new government leadership as well: about half of the National Unity Government members announced on April 16 are women.
And despite the enormous respect accorded to senior Buddhist monks, young protesters have been quick to criticise monks who express support for the coup makers. After Wazipeik Sayadaw, a Shan State monk with close ties to junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, reportedly advised the senior general to “shoot protesters in the head”, portraits of the monk turned up strung alongside htamein at protests in Yangon’s Sanchaung Township. This was a challenge to the monk directly, but also to a misogynist belief that even representations of monks are too sacred to be displayed near “lowly” women’s clothing.
When Sitagu Sayadaw, a highly influential senior monk in Sagaing Region well known for his philanthropic work and Buddhist scholarship, publicly supported the coup, scores of Buddhist social media users were quick to post scathing criticisms of him online.
Western readers, accustomed to open critiques of the clergy, may find this nothing to write home about. But these moves – which even parents, senior relatives and religious leaders that do support the movement likely found deeply uncomfortable – are unprecedented, given the hierarchical relationship between laypeople and the Sangha. This revolution is changing mindsets: formerly untouchable elders are being revaluated with a critical eye, often facing social punishment campaigns from young people willing to judge them on their actions rather than their venerated status.....The Rohingya divide: The final tendency of the Spring Revolution may also be its most complex. This movement has, like nothing before it, forced a reckoning with longstanding prejudices against the Rohingya – though there are gradations to how much progress has been made in this realm.
Undoubtedly, there has been a much-needed growth in acceptance of the persecuted minority, and an overdue recognition of their plight. Social media users have tweeted what seemed like heartfelt apologies to the former United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Ms Yanghee Lee, for their past hate speech against the Rohingya “and against me personally because I used the name ‘Rohingya’ while speaking about their plight”, Lee recently wrote in Nikkei Asia. Such apologies were “unthinkable just a few months ago”, she added.
Early on in the protests, multiple demonstrators posted photos of themselves holding signs expressing support for the Rohingya, and remorse for ignoring or denying their suffering in the past.
But while unity has emerged on abolishing military dictatorship, standing with ethnic nationalities, and building a more progressive, open society, divisions remain over the Rohingya, with opinion roughly divided into four groups.
The first still regards the Rohingya as illegal immigrants with no real right to a dignified life in Myanmar, insisting on calling them “Bengali” no matter how they self-identify, or how many generations have lived here before them. People of this mind may never be convinced.
The second acknowledges that the Tatmadaw committed crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017, but still holds that most Rohingya are foreign interlopers who are not entitled to live in Myanmar. Most among this tribe also refuse to recognise “Rohingya” as a legitimate ethnic designation.
The third recognises the atrocities the Rohingya have suffered at the hands of the Tatmadaw and also accepts that many have lived in Myanmar for generations, entitling them to some form of citizenship, but only a second-class, “Bengali” citizenship, since they are not among the 135 indigenous “races” who automatically receive citizenship under the racist, military-drafted 1982 Citizenship Law.
The final group is, sadly, likely to be the smallest in size. This group accepts the Rohingya’s right to citizenship and to self-identification as “Rohingya”. These thinkers reject the arbitrary distinctions between “officially recognised” groups and others – ideas pushed on the populace by the xenophobic Ne Win, the country’s first coup maker and military dictator. They insist that Myanmar should have only one category of citizenship, free of racial distinctions.
Until this last understanding is more widely shared, we’re doomed to spawn a crippled form of democracy.....Towards a more just future: This revolution is truly unprecedented, in its demands and its sophistication, and it has the potential to transform society and deliver a new nation of more just structures, values and norms. We are confident of victory, but it will take perseverance.
More than 750 people have been killed by junta forces, according to the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners. Despite the rising death toll, people remain undaunted. When soldiers crack down in the daytime, they hold candlelight vigils at night. Instead of confronting security forces head on, people are finding new ways to resist, such as with sticker campaigns and quickly dispersing flash mobs. Civil servants and critical private-sector workers are refusing to return to their jobs, shuttering banking and payment services, hospitals, rail travel and cargo movement. Military-made products like Myanmar Beer and Red Ruby cigarettes have been targeted for consumer boycotts, tanking these brands and draining the Tatmadaw of revenue. The forms of resistance keep multiplying.
Just how long it will take may depend on the international community. Each day that justice is deferred, more will die. The movement’s goals are deeply aligned with the values and prerogatives that most Western nations espouse. If these nations can replace empty admonishments with serious moves against the Tatmadaw’s funding – more robust sanctions on extractive industries, for a start – we may be able to realise the more just future we all strive for sooner rather than later..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, violations of, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Amid all cosmopolitan whimpering of a barrier free
world, modern-State with its essence of legal coercion
and phlegmatic exclusivity continues to flaunt. In such
absoluteness, enquiring the issues of people seeking
refugee would be synonymous to that of traversing the
margins. Particularly at a time of extreme jingoism and
other form of conservative assertions, the idea of ‘global
village’ unfolds as a ‘formless chaos’, more particularly
for the displaced people and subsequent forced refugees.
While prolongation of UN and the ever expanding wave
of globalization yield a consolatory ground, the reality
of many lives opens horizon of indispensable necessity
to contemplate global injustice and question the ideal
protocols of international morality. For instance, the
images of Syrian exodus in recent times reminded
many the reality of inter war period. Moreover, the
events, inter alia, Brexit, the result of U.S. Presidential
election and subsequent anti-immigration policies and
many immigration related reforms under taken by sub
continental governments insinuate the world might
be undergoing a radical phase of extremely inwardly
complacent national attitude. Many a countries not
signing the 1951 Refugee Convention makes the
issue of the refugees all the more important and worth
academic contemplation. In fact, the immediate fallout
of many refugee related events has given the world a
pressing sense of human rights violation in multiple
facets as well as degrees. More often than not, the world
has proved to be too unkind to let the hapless sustain.
If one were to rhapsodise recent cases of refugee that
can really interrogate the intrinsic values of human
survival, for obvious reason, it would have been the
Syrian exodus and the Statelessness of the Rohingyas.
While the agonizing plights of these two populations
have been captivated by media with subsequent
deliberation, a fruitful solution to their problem is still
a distant dream. This paper attempts to decipher the
Rohingya issue and construe it as an enduring injustice
embodied in indifference as well as abandonment. It is with this argument that the paper starts with a brief
account of the historiography of the Rohingyas, giving
some sense to understand the trajectory of their current
predicament. The next section would seek to trace the
root, events and pattern of probable genocide inflicted
on these people. This section would establish the
violence, marginalization and state sponsored atrocities
to recover the pattern of a radical and enduring injustice.
The last section arrests the state of stolidity on part of
international community as well as abandonment of the
population by the Burmese government. This would
eventually prove their case as one of enduring injustice
embodied in indifference..."
Source/publisher:
Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism (GRFDT)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"The pro democracy unity government in Myanmar which includes members of Aung San #Su Kyi's party, says it will not enter talks until the junta releases all political prisoners. Souteast Asias regional bloc has been holding talks with the leaders of the miltiary who seized power on February 1st. Since then massive protests have been held against the coup, hundreds of civilians have been killed and many more arrested.
Wai Hnin Pwint Thon campaigns officer at #Burma Campaign UK, and the daughter of a man currently serving a 65-year jail sentence in Myanmar for his part in the 2007 protests gave us her talke on the current situation. She says negotiations will have to happen but that talking with the #Myanmar military is futile..."
Source/publisher:
"France24" ( Paris)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, National Unity Government (NUG), Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Various groups, Several Groups, International Criminal Court
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Summary:
"Rohingya refugees from the Arakan state of Myanmar found their
ways a number of times to Bangladesh to escape state-sponsored
persecution. While there is no dearth of studies on refugees, Ro-...
Description:
"Rohingya refugees from the Arakan state of Myanmar found their
ways a number of times to Bangladesh to escape state-sponsored
persecution. While there is no dearth of studies on refugees, Ro-
hingya has so far received very little research attention. This article
tries to understand the dynamics and severity of reported humil-
iation by the government on the Rohingya population, and how
are they marginalized in their destination points. A qualitatively
and quantitatively designed questionnaire was used to interview
134 refugees from two existing camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
Both qualitative and quantitative analyses reinforce that the level
of abuse and persecution perpetrated upon them surpass all human
rights standards. This was confirmed by both the in-depth and the
case studies. These people were forced out by state-sponsored perse-
cution and again they are forced to be repatriated due to the fact
that Bangladesh cannot afford to welcome them back. It is difficult for anyone who has never been forcibly displaced to imagine
what it is like to be a refugee.
— Kofi Annan
Contemporary global concerns essentially revolve around the dynam-
ics of environment, climate change, health, war, and widespread poverty.
However, Myanmar tends to remain a peripheral entity from the centralities of the current global discourse. Arakani minorities in Myanmar struggle to obtain exorcism from persecutions perpetrated on them by the tyrannical government. The world conscience sends an impression that they are blind to the call for democracy of the mass population. No loud protests are heard from the authoritative nations against the captive democracy in Myanmar. Historically, freedom has remained a myth for the Myanmarese1 in general
and the minorities in particular. Arakan is the district that has been the witness to the endured persecutions on its inhabitants of varied range. The argument employed here is whether this population from Arakan should be considered “refugees” or “stateless.” Determinations as to who qualifies as a refugee are subjective because political and economic boundaries have become blurred, although the human rights groups and political activists tend to expand the definition to entail those fleeing catastrophes emerging in the natural landscapes in current times—climate change, for instance. Refugees, by definition, are those fleeing from war, conflict, persecution, or a fear of
persecution (Abrar, 1999; Aman-ud-dollah, 1999; Barsky, 2000; Robinson & Segrott, 2002) that act in the decision to escape (Middleton, 2005, p. 2; Smith, 1991). Refugee flows, asylum-seekers, internal displaces, and development-induced displacees have increased exponentially in volume and have gained political significance since the end of the Cold War (Castles, 2003). Generally,
there are two major patterns of refugee—first, the vast majority of refugees are hosted by neighboring countries with over 80% remaining within their region of origin due to the gravitation law effect; second, the number of urban refugees continues to grow. While I agree with this statement, I defer widely at the same time because refugee flows by and large are directed to the nearest countries with weaker borders that share identical culture and religion. Therefore, Rohingyas headed in huge number to Bangladesh, rather
than to India (Figure 1). While the number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) has fallen—the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) responsibility was estimated at 25.1 million—available information suggests
that a total of 67 million people had been forcibly displaced at the end of 2007, including 16 million refugees, of whom 11.4 million fall under UNHCR’s mandate and some 4.6 million Palestinian refugees under the responsibility of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The number of IDPs is estimated at 51 million worldwide; some 26 million were displaced as a result of armed conflict and another 25 million were displaced by natural disasters. In addition, while often not considered as being displaced per se, it is estimated that there exists some 12 million stateless people worldwide (UNHCR, 2008; Russell & Teitelbaum, 1992)..."
Source/publisher:
Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies via Routledge (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
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Size:
285.61 KB
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Description:
"SITUATION AT A GLANCE: 1 MILLION People in Need of Humanitarian Assistance in Burma UN – January 2021.....106,000 IDPs in Protracted Displacement in Burma’s Kachin and Northern Shan UN – March 2021.....126,000 IDPs—Originally Displaced in 2012—in Burma’s Rakhine IDP Sites UN – March 2021.....99,000 IDPs Displaced by Burmese Military–AA Fighting in Rakhine and Chin UN – March 2021.....884,041 Refugees in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar UNHCR – February 2021......A major fire in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District displaces more than 10,000 Rohingya refugee households in late March. In response, USG partners deliver food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, and WASH assistance to affected households.
Violence and in security in Burma escalate following the February 1 Burmese military coup d’état against the civilian government. The UN, USG, and humanitarian organizations call for an immediate end to violence against civilians.
Clashes between Burmese military forces and ethnic armed organizations in Kachin, Kayin, and Shan generate additional displacement and humanitarian needs.....KEY DEVELOPMENTS: USG Partners Respond to Major Fire in Bangladesh Refugee Camps
A fire of unknown origin spread across three Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar District on March 22, resulting in 11 deaths and approximately 600 injuries, according to the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG). The fire displaced more than 10,000 households and damaged approximately 1,600 facilities providing services for refugees and host community members, directly affecting more than 48,000 people. As of April 5, an estimated 12,500 people remained displaced as a result of the fire, while approximately 32,500 individuals had returned to the camps they previously resided in, the ISCG reports. As of April 15, a total of 84 fires had erupted in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps in 2021, surpassing the 82 fires recorded during the entirety of 2020.
In response to heightened humanitarian needs following the March 22 fire, humanitarian organizations— including U.S. Government (USG) partners—are delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) assistance to affected households in Cox’s Bazar. USAID/BHA partner the UN World Food Program (WFP) had distributed approximately 1.3 million prepared meals, more than 92,000 gallons of safe drinking water, and an estimated 15,200 rations of High Energy Biscuits to fire-affected households as of April 12, while State/PRM partner the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had provided approximately 317,000 gallons of safe drinking water and 11,000 jerry cans to affected households. In addition, USG partner the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) established temporary child-friendly spaces and nutrition screening sites and provided access to emergency latrines for more than 23,000 people, while USG partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has distributed more than 8,000 hygiene kits, in addition to providing health services, psychological first aid, and shelter assistance to vulnerable individuals. State/PRM partner the UN World Health Organization (WHO) also reached more than 9,500 individuals with psychological first aid. Moreover, the UN released $14 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund for relief agencies to provide multi-sector assistance for approximately 82,000 people, and the European Union also announced $588,000 in emergency funding to provide emergency shelter support and WASH assistance to households affected by the fire..."
Source/publisher:
United States Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Bangladesh-Burma relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
The world’s action – or inaction – will have an impact far beyond Myanmar’s own borders.
Description:
"With Myanmar’s post-coup crisis dragging into its third month, security forces commanded by the coup leader Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing show no sign of abating in their brutal suppression of the anti-coup protests that have erupted across the country since early February. Despite their massive numbers, protestors have been highly disciplined and peaceful. It was only after the security forces began using excessive and lethal force that a small pocket of them resorted to handmade weapons such as Molotov cocktails and outdated hunting guns to defend themselves, with many more realizing that armed resistance was their only remaining option.
If the security forces have shown troublingly little respect for international norms in their treatment of civilians and activists, no less troubling has been the response from the international community in the face of what is fast becoming a “bloodbath,” in the words of Christine Schraner Burgener, the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar. In other words, although the people of Myanmar are the ones at the receiving end of all these atrocity crimes, the fact that they are ongoing and the perpetrators remain undeterred points to a collective failure on the part of the international community to uphold the norms to which it has committed itself, and sends a very dangerous message to current and would-be strongmen. As many have now warned, with the ever-more-real possibility of the country being plunged into a full-fledged civil war, the kind worse than what we have seen in the past 70 years, time is fast running out for the international community to act.
The international community must wake up to the depth and extent of the reign of terror Min Aung Hlaing has unleashed in his ruthless attempt to crush opposition and assert his illegal and unconstitutional rule. His security forces have been given a free pass to kill unarmed civilians, to arrest and torture people at will, and to loot and destroy private property.
According to the monitoring organization the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as of April 21, the junta’s security forces had killed at least 739 civilians, some murdered in the most horrific manner. Among those killed are 50 children; the latest victim was a 7-year-old girl, who was shot dead at her home in Mandalay. As reported by the investigative journal Myanmar Now, there have been several documented cases in which an activist arrested overnight has turned up dead the next morning. In yet another but definitely not isolated incident, an armed police officer made a passer-by crawl on his hands and knees in a disturbingly dehumanizing manner.
So far, at least 3,331 people, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint and other elected MPs, politicians, student leaders and human rights activists, remain under detention, some in undisclosed locations. On March 27 alone, at least 114 civilians in 44 towns across the country were killed by the junta. Junta forces have gone so far as exhuming and dragging away bodies. On March 28, they burned a man alive.
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Before the coup, U.N. investigators had found a genocidal intent in the crimes committed against the Rohingya people by the security forces commanded by the same general Min Aung Hlaing. During their so-called “clearance operations” in August 2017, at least 6,700 were killed, mass rapes and arson were committed, and more than 700,000 people were forced to flee to Bangladesh.
Furthermore, the U.N. Fact Finding Mission reported in September 2018 that the military has likely committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kachin, Shan, and Rakhine states, and in April 2020, the U.N. Special Rapporteur reported that “possible war crimes and crimes against humanity were ongoing in Rakhine and Chin States.” Myanmar is today facing charges of genocide for the violence at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.
Due to ongoing aerial bombing and offensives targeting civilians and their facilities across the country, thousands of Karen people are fleeing to neighboring Thailand, where there has arisen an urgent humanitarian situation.
All this is to say that Min Aung Hlaing and his State Administration Council (SAC) are fast turning Myanmar into a “human rights ground zero.” From mass murder to torture to arbitrary arrests to killing children to shooting at medics providing emergency care to the wounded, almost every article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is being violated or is under threat. In the borderland areas where ethnic armies have been fighting for their right to self-determination for the past 70 years, aerial bombings by his forces are deliberately targeting civilian populations and facilities, adding to the war crimes and crimes against humanity against minority peoples, and the genocide or ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people that the military has already committed.
For those foreign states claiming that they have a policy of working with only “states” as opposed to “governments” – if they mean by any chance that the SAC is the state in question – they must get their facts right. The SAC cannot even fulfil its basic duty as a state, namely, to provide security to its people. Nor can it provide basic services like healthcare with many civil servants having joined the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) to protest the military’s illegal, illegitimate, and increasingly bloody coup.
So far as Ming Aung Hlaing’s coup regime is recognized as Myanmar’s de facto or de jure government, it must also be recognized that it is actively committing mass atrocities against its own population. Therefore, for foreign nations to recognize the SAC as the “state” would make a mockery of their commitment to uphold human rights and international law, as the latter is showing absolutely no respect for these. On the other hand, the newly formed National Unity Government, which it is imperative for the international community to recognize as the legitimate government for no other reason than that it receives overwhelming support from the people, cannot yet protect the people.
Thus, the onus is now on the international community to protect the civilian population in Myanmar before the forces of SAC commit further atrocities against them, and sink the country deeper into chaos. What is lacking for urgent international intervention, whether in the form of R2P or otherwise, is not evidence on the ground but political will at the U.N. and in the capitals of the most powerful nations on earth.
As part of their “statement diplomacy,” foreign missions based in Myanmar have joined a chorus of other diplomatic voices in calling for restoration of democracy among other things in the country. With so much emphasis being put on restoration of what existed before the coup, it should be clear that what the pro-democratic forces inside Myanmar want is not a status quo ante in which the military enjoys a privileged role in politics without being accountable to the people or any elected body. Differently put, what we had pre-coup was a military dictatorship with some democratic characteristics. In the meantime, as another massacre in Bago in which junta’s forces have killed more than 80 protesters shows, Min Aung Hlaing is in no way backing down. Furthermore, letting the generals off the hook for the most atrocious crimes would make a farce of global justice, and more importantly, would utterly fail the people of Myanmar in their search for justice.
Meanwhile, the pro-democracy protesters remain as determined as ever to see the end of Min Aung Hlaing’s illegal and brutal reign. Many of those we have spoken to have told us that they are prepared to fight until the end using every means at their disposal. Sanctions, with their ineffectual record from the past, imposed by the U.S., U.K., and EU on the junta’s top generals and its economic complex are failing to deter them. As Min Aung Hlaing’s forces continue to commit mass murders and carry out summary arrests at the sites of urban protest and his bombs rain down on villages in the borderlands, friends of the Myanmar people might have to prepare themselves to contemplate more coercive measures, such as arming the resistance movement, including the ethnic armed organizations that are already in the fight. As the former U.S. ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel wrote recently on his Twitter account, “the Tatmadaw is beyond reason. I see no value in dialogue with them until and unless they recognize they cannot win and make clear they are looking for a way out.”
The people of Myanmar have shown their bravery, but will the rest of the world rise to the occasion? The clock is ticking..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Human Rights and international relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"At the end of August 2018, as this book was about to go to press,the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) released its
report summarizing the main findings and recommendations of its
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. Thereport outlines serious human rights violations and abuses in Kachin,Shan and Rakhine States. It recommends that six senior military
figures be investigated for genocide against the Rohingya, including
Myanmar’s armed forces commander-in-chief Senior General MinAung Hlaing, and that the case be taken up by the InternationalCriminal Court (ICC), or alternatively that an ad hoc internationalcriminal tribunal be created (Human Rights Council 2018).
1
The
report notes that “The role of social media is significant. Facebook has
been a useful instrument for those seeking to spread hate, in a contextwhere for most users Facebook
is
the internet. Although improved inrecent months, Facebook’s response has been slow and ineffective”
Reproduced from
Myanmar Media in Transition: Legacies, Challenges and Change,
edited by Lisa Brooten, Jane Madlyn McElhone and Gayathry Venkiteswaran (Singapore: ISEAS Ð Yusof IshakInstitute, 2019). This version was obtained electronically direct from the publisher on condition that copyright is notinfringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of ISEAS Publishing.Individual chapters are available at .
2
Brooten, McElhone and Venkiteswaran
(p. 74). Facebook quickly responded to the report’s release byremoving the accounts of eighteen high-profile army figures in
Myanmar, including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and fifty-two
Facebook pages, which had a combined total following of close totwelve million users (Facebook 2018).A few days later, two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw
Soe Oo, were sentenced to seven years in prison under the Official
Secrets Act over accusations of holding secret government documentsthat they intended to share with international media and the ethnicarmed group Arakan Army (Sithu Aung Myint 2018). The two werearrested in December 2017 after investigating a massacre of Rohingyamen and boys in the coastal town of Inn Din in northern Rakhine
State. After responding to a call from police officers, who met them in
a restaurant and handed them documents, the journalists were arrestedfor having the documents in their possession. As they were beingtaken away from the court after the sentencing, Wa Lone was quotedas saying, “We know we did nothing wrong. I have no fear. I believein justice, democracy and freedom” (Shoon Naing and Aye Min Thant2018, ¶22). The arrest and subsequent sentencing were met with nationaland international condemnation, as was the rejection of their appealin early 2019. At a public protest to call for their release, organizer Ei Ei Moe, from the pro-democracy youth movement Generation Wave,described their jailing as “blocking the eyes and blinding the ears ofthe public” (Dunant and Su Myat Mon 2018, ¶15).
These events underscore the complexities of Myanmar’s muchlauded “transition”. Celebrated early on for the release of imprisoned journalists and the end of pre-publication censorship, hopes forincreased freedom of expression and media freedom were tempered by the crackdown that followed. Much has happened in the mediasector since the controversial elections in 2010 organized by themilitary junta and boycotted by Aung San Suu Kyi and the NationalLeague for Democracy (NLD), including reforms to laws that hadrepressed the media for decades. Some argue that these changes area continuation of the military government’s Seven Step Roadmap toDisciplined Democracy, announced in 2003 (see the interview withThiha Saw, this volume; Lall 2016; Rogers 2012)..."
Source/publisher:
ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute (Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
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Description:
"Violations of religious freedom are increasing and persecution takes place in more than 25 countries, with China and Myanmar among those that have the worst records, according to a report by a Vatican-backed charity.
The Religious Freedom in the World Report, covering 2019-2020 and issued on Tuesday, said that in some countries, such as Niger, Turkey and Pakistan, prejudices against religious minorities led local residents to blame them for the COVID-19 pandemic and denial of access to medical aid.
The 800-page report was prepared by Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), a worldwide Catholic charity that studies violations of freedoms of all religions.
The latest report put 26 countries in a "red" category denoting the existence of persecution, compared to 21 countries at the time of the last report two years ago.
It put 36 countries in the "orange" category denoting discrimination, compared to 17 two years ago.
The report describes discrimination as when laws or rules apply to a particular group and not to all, and persecution as when there is an active programme to subjugate people based on religion.
"There has been a significant increase in the severity of religiously-motivated persecution and oppression," the report said.
It was particularly scathing about China and Myanmar.
"The apparatus of repression constructed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in recent years is ... fine-tuned, pervasive, and technologically sophisticated," the report said.
The most egregious violations were against Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang "where the atrocities have reached such a scale that a growing number of experts describe them as genocide", it said.....
HARASSMENT AND ARREST":
In February, the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden endorsed a last-minute determination by the Trump administration that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang and has said the United States must be prepared to impose costs on China.
China says the complexes it set up in Xinjiang provide vocational training to help stamp out Islamist extremism and separatism. The Chinese foreign ministry has called allegations of forced labour and human rights violations "groundless rumour and slander".
The ACN report said Catholic hierarchy in China "continue to suffer harassment and arrest" despite a landmark deal signed in 2018 between Bejing and the Vatican on the appointment of bishops on the mainland.
Reuters reported last year that two nuns who work at the Vatican mission in Hong Kong were arrested when they went home to the mainland for a visit.
China was increasing the use of facial recognition on worshippers of various religions, it said.
In Myanmar, the report said Rohingya Muslims "have been the victims of the most egregious violations of human rights in recent memory".
Last year, the International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to take urgent measures to protect Rohingya from genocide. The government has denied accusations of genocide.
The ACN report said the military coup on Feb. 1 was "likely to make things worse for all religious minorities" in Myanmar, where about 8% of the population is Christian.
Africa would be "the next battleground against Islamic militants," the report said.
Militant groups were causing havoc in countries including Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Mozambique, it said..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Religious freedom: reports of violations in Burma, Discrimination against Muslims in Burma/Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Genocide, Muslims in Burma, Several Groups, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, China-Burma relations
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Description:
"Myanmar faces a number of significant stabilisation challenges including frequent natural disasters,
environmental challenges and organised crime, in addition to the challenges associated with a nascent
democratisation process. This report, however, focuses exclusively on violent conflict and displacement.
Myanmar has been afflicted by armed conflict since independence. During the 1960s-1980s, a number of
armed groups were able to establish ‘effectively independent micro-states’ (EC, 2016, p. 3). These had
their own ‘rudimentary’ governments, service provision, and foreign policies (EC, 2016, p. 3). This
situation persists in some parts of Myanmar (EC, 2016, p. 3). The communities currently most at risk of,
and affected by, conflict and violence are those living in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone and in other
parts of northern Shan State. Other affected communities include those living in Kachin, Rakhine, Chin
and Kayin States. The community most affected by the threat of forced displacement is the Rohingya, a
Muslim ethnic group, in Rakhine State. The nature of conflict in these areas ranges from occasional to
frequent clashes between armed groups and government forces. In addition to armed conflict, Rakhine
State suffers from tensions between the Muslim and Buddhist communities.
There were more than 700,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myanmar in 2016 (McConnachie,
2016, p. 4). Moreover, more than 128,000 refugees from Myanmar were living in Thailand in 2014
(UNICEF, 2014, p. 3). According to UNICEF, displacement can constitute a driver of conflict, depending on
whether it is forced or not, and on the extent to which host communities are prepared for IDPs. Women
and children are reportedly disproportionately affected by migration and displacement, and make up the
majority of those who are IDPs and refugees (ibid).
The literature identifies a number of sources of resilience in Myanmar, which include:
Institutionalisation of peace-making: Both the previous and current governments declared their
commitment to ending conflict in Myanmar. A number of peace initiatives and inter-faith
dialogues have taken place in order to mitigate tensions and conflict in the country.
Economy: Myanmar’s economy has considerable potential. A number of economic reforms have
been undertaken and economic growth is strong, although it has been slowing recently.
Strengthened civil society: The previous government’s decision to allow issue-driven CSOs to
operate in Myanmar has led to a proliferation of such organisations.
Education: The previous government undertook steps to reform the education system in
Myanmar in a bid to end discrimination against ethnic minorities.
Release of political prisoners: A significant number of political prisoners have been released
since the new National League for Democracy (NLD) led government came to power.
Increased press freedom: Extensive media reform has resulted in a proliferation of ‘alternative’
information and has rendered the government subject to increased scrutiny.
The literature identifies a number of policy options for mitigating tensions in Myanmar. International
actors could potentially provide support and assistance in a number of areas. These include technical
support for the conclusion, implementation and monitoring of ceasefire agreements, and support for an
inclusive national political dialogue. They also include various forms of assistance for recovery and
development, as well as support for educational reform.
There is a sizeable body of literature on Myanmar’s stabilisation challenges. This consists of a mixture of
peer-reviewed journal articles, policy briefs, and reports by NGOs and international organisations. While
gender is not addressed in all of the papers reviewed for the purposes of this report, a number of papers
do look at gender, specifically in the context of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and in the
context of peace-making and peacebuilding..."
Source/publisher:
Governance and Social Development Resource Centre
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Various groups, Non-Ceasefire Groups, Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Several Groups, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Description:
"The first meeting of the Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs under the National Unity Government was held on 18 April 2021.
The meeting discussed the current needs and various issues concerning women, youth and children and decided to endorse policies to proceed enforcing them immediately.
Discussion Summary
• The predicament of women, youth and children of the minorities including the Rohingyas whom the military committed ethnic cleansing missions against,
• The commitment to take action against the military for its human rights violation upon the women, youth and children during the coup resistance and transformation of power,
• The commitment to stop the abovementioned violation of human rights,
• To provide the best possible assistance to women, youth and children affected by the civil war,
• The needs for the youth who are protesting,
• To initiate rehabilitation programs in education, health including mental support for women, youth and children who have suffered from the SAC’s brutal actions.
The meeting decided to strategize on the issues and cases that were discussed from one month to six month.
The Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs will take consideration of the voice of the people and make amendments according to the people’s concerns and needs....အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအဖွဲ့၏ ဝန်ကြီးဌာနတစ်ခုဖြစ်သော အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာဝန်ကြီးဌာန၏ ပထမအကြိမ်အစည်းအဝေးကို ဧပြီလ ၁၈ရက်နေ့တွင် ကျင်းပပြုလုပ်ခဲ့သည်။
အဆိုပါအစည်းအဝေးတွင် အမျိုးသမီး၊ လူငယ်နှင့်ကလေးသူငယ်များ၏ လတ်တလောလိုအပ်ချက်များ၊ ၄င်းတို့ရင်ဆိုင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရသော ပြဿနာများအား တင်ပြဆွေးနွေးခဲ့ကြပြီး အခြေခံမူဝါဒများချမှတ်ကာ အမြန်ဆုံး အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ဆောင်ရွက် နိုင်ရန် လုပ်ငန်းစဥ်များချမှတ်ခဲ့ကြပါသည်။
ဆွေးနွေးတင်ပြချက်များအရ စစ်အာဏာရှင်ဖိနှိပ်မှုအောက်တွင် လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုများကို ခံစားခဲ့ရသော ရိုဟင်ဂျာလူနည်းစုအပါအဝင် လူမျိုးစုအသီးသီးရှိ အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်များ၏ အခန်းကဏ္ဍ၊ အရေးတော်ပုံကာလနှင့် အသွင်ကူးပြောင်းရေးကာလအတွင်း အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်များအပေါ် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများအား အရေးယူနိုင်ရန်နှင့် ယင်းသို့ချိုးဖောက်မှုများဆက်လက်မဖြစ်ပေါ်စေရန်၊ ပြည်တွင်းစစ်ကြောင့် ရွှေ့ပြောင်းနေထိုင်ရသော အမျိုးသမီး၊ လူငယ်နှင့်ကလေးသူငယ်များအား ကူညီပံ့ပိုးရန်၊ နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးတွင် ရွပ်ရွပ်ချွံချွံတိုက်ပွဲဝင်နေကြသောလူငယ်ထု၏ လိုအပ်ချက်များ၊
စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အာဏာသိမ်းမှုနှင့်ပြည်တွင်းစစ်အကျိုးဆက်ကြောင့် ထိခိုက်နစ်နာခဲ့ရသော အမျိုးသမီးများ၊ လူငယ်များနှင့်ကလေးသူငယ်များအား ပညာရေး၊ကျန်းမာရေးမှစ၍ စိတ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာပံ့ပိုးမှုအပါအဝင် ပြန်လည်ထူထောင်ရေးလုပ်ငန်းများလုပ်ဆောင်ပေးနိုင်ရန်တို့ကို အဓိကဆွေးနွေးခဲ့ကြပါသည်။
အဆိုပါ ဆွေးနွေးချက်များကို အမြန်ဆုံးစတင်အကောင်အထည်ဖော်နိုင်ရန် တစ်လမှ ခြောက်လအတွင်း လုပ်ငန်းစဥ်ချမှတ်၍ ကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
အမျိုးသမီး၊လူငယ်နှင့် ကလေးသူငယ်ရေးရာဌာနအနေဖြင့် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီနိုင်ငံသို့ တက်လှမ်းရာတွင် အရေးပါသော ပြည်သူလူထုအသီးသီး၏ အသံကို အစဥ်တစိုက်နားစွင့်နေပြီး လိုအပ်ချက်များကို ဖြည့်ဆည်းပေးနိုင်ရန် အစွမ်းကုန်ကြိုးစားသွားမည် ဖြစ်ကြောင်း အသိပေးအပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children's rights: reports of violations in Burma against more than one ethnic group, Children, Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Discrimination against the Rohingya, National Unity Government (NUG)
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"Did migration processes into colonial Burma – from India and elsewhere – amount to a “transfer of civilians” into an occupied territory, a practice prohibited by international law today? Should the international community reconsider such colonial-era population movements as a “colonial wrong”, conceding that a historical injustice has been committed by European colonialism, in order to make contemporary Myanmar political and military actors more ready to accept accountability for the severe human rights violations committed against the Rohingya? These questions, based on problematic assumptions about history and with potentially dangerous political implications, were discussed at a meeting of international lawyers in Yangon, the proceedings of which were recently published online (Morten Bergsmo, Wolfgang Kaleck and Kyaw Yin Hlaing (eds.): Colonial Wrongs and Access to International Law; Brussels: Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher 9 November 2020).
International criminal justice faces a crisis of legitimacy. The International Criminal Court (ICC, constituted by the Rome Statute and operative since 2002) especially stands accused of applying what Wolfgang Kaleck has called “double standards”. Its prosecution of severe human rights violators focuses on persons from countries with little power in global politics, many of them in Sub-Saharan Africa so far. At the same time, the Court finds it virtually impossible to prosecute perpetrators protected by major powers in the international system, especially the United States. The argument of “double standards” can be extended by giving it a postcolonial pitch: international criminal law is unable to address “colonial wrongs” – crimes committed by colonial powers – and thus cannot deal with the history behind current governance failures and violent conflicts that contributed to the very human rights violations it tries to prosecute.
In order to address such questions, senior international law specialists and academics met for a conference in Yangon in November 2019. Myanmar constituted a very conscious choice of location for the conference and provided the backdrop to discuss questions such as: Did the migration of substantial non-indigenous populations (primarily from India) into colonial Burma constitute a “transfer of civilians” into an occupied territory – a practice that is regarded as a crime against humanity under today’s international criminal law? And if so, how should this be taken into account as a “colonial wrong” when prosecuting perpetrators of severe human rights violations, especially those perpetrated against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2016-7? (The conference volume includes papers on systematic legal aspects and a few other country case studies, especially on the fate of indigenous populations in European settler colonies. However, it does not include studies on other historical examples of colonial-era population movements that could have put the Burma case into a broader historical perspective.)
The decision by the Yangon conference organizers to discuss their agenda through the lens of Burmese history (and, of course, to hold it in Myanmar itself) could be seen as courageous; one may regard it as hazardous as well. The hazard is likely obvious to students of Myanmar history and contemporary politics: Does this “transfer of civilians into occupied territory” line of argument really do justice to Burma’s actual colonial history? And does it not risk undermining the citizenship rights of people whose ancestors migrated into Myanmar a century or more ago – and whose very citizenship rights are already severely embattled in Myanmar today?
The organizers of the Yangon conference were of course aware they were entering a particularly difficult territory. They did so for good reason. In his concept paper laying the groundwork for the conference (first published in August 2019), Morten Bergsmo observes an “unusually polarised climate” in Myanmar around the issue of human rights violations in Rakhine. The official Myanmar narrative frames the issue primarily as one of “illegal migration” and “suppression of terrorism”. By contrast, a major strand in the international narrative (in reality mostly that of Western countries, U.N. institutions and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) discusses “the Rohingya genocide” and calls for prosecution under international criminal law. Bergsmo suggests that a recognition of “colonial wrongs”, especially the destruction of the sovereignty of the precolonial Burmese kingdom and the following mass migration of people from India into Burma, enabled by the British, may help to create a bridge, enabling a more fruitful dialogue.
I certainly agree with Bergsmo’s observation on the “unusually polarized climate” around Myanmar today that currently makes meaningful dialogue about severe human rights violations very difficult, if not impossible. However, I very much doubt that the acceptance of what may be called a “postcolonial guilt theory” of acknowledging “colonial wrongs” in Burma will contribute to any greater degree of acceptance for ICC proceedings in Myanmar. I doubt this not merely because the argument is based on weak legal and misleading historical foundations. Even worse, such a line of reasoning – if it ever enters mainstream political debate – obviously risks strengthening the militant exclusionary nationalism in Myanmar that stands at the root of the Rohingya crisis. And it risks doing so for all the wrong reasons.
To be sure, Bergsmo and the other international lawyers involved in this project do not want to trade responsibilities: In their view, this is not about downplaying or relativising responsibility for killings and other human rights violations against the Rohingya or others. It is about creating a dialogue that may lead to greater acceptance of international judicial proceedings on these violations. The book itself includes an explicit warning by the only Myanmar contributor and editor, Kyaw Yin Hlaing of the Centre for Diversity and National Harmony in Yangon. In his chapter, he reviews how contemporaries perceived the migration of Indians, and especially Indian Muslims, into colonial Burma as a result of the colonial situation, stoking fears of indigenous people being overwhelmed, of indigenous men losing their land and their women to foreigners; he also recalls how these sentiments were systematically fuelled further by military rulers as part of anti-colonial narratives since the 1960s. Kyaw Yin Hlaing cautions that, within this context, legal arguments about historical wrongs run a high risk of being misused to undermine peaceful coexistence among different ethnic groups today: “Promoting accountability and the legitimacy of international law are valid considerations, but are less important than the lives and well-being of the populations (of all kinds) living in former colonies” (362). The remainder of the volume, however, does not take much notice of this warning. Instead, rather than reflecting the concrete historical and social context that their legal arguments about “colonial wrongs” may meet in Myanmar today, the contributors proceed, with what they appear to think of as their righteous “postcolonial” approach, into very treacherous legal and historical territory.
On the legal side, the limitations of the argument are obvious and even acknowledged accordingly by contributors. The “transfer of civilians” into “occupied territory” constitutes an international crime only since the (Fourth) Geneva Convention of 1949. The Convention explicitly outlawed such a practice informed by the experiences of Nazi Germany’s exterminatory policies in occupied Eastern Europe. (In more recent decades, the concept has usually been applied to legally attack Israeli settlement policies in the West Bank, though not for example, against Moroccan population settlement policies in the former Western Sahara). “Transfer of civilians” was reaffirmed as a “crime against humanity” and “war crime” under the Rome Statute that created the ICC. Legally, therefore, any “transfers” before 1949 – including nearly all population movements under European colonial rule in Africa and Asia – are not covered under these prohibitions. Nonetheless, various contributors to the volume set out to develop lines of argument designed to describe actions by European colonial states as legally relevant “colonial wrongs” or “grievances” that may have led to atrocities later on. Not being a lawyer myself, I am not in a position to judge whether and how any such arguments have a potential to become part of relevant international law; the authors are surely committed to this. Beyond the immanent logic of these legal arguments, however, we also need to ask whether they make sense in the concrete case of the history of colonial Burma.
It is one thing to assert historical and political responsibility of former colonial powers for obvious atrocities committed during their rule, such as the 1904-8 genocide of the Herero and Nama people in what was then German South West Africa (Namibia), or the issue of British capital punishment practices in colonial Kenya during the Mau Mau war in the 1950s. It is an entirely different – and very wrong – matter to group British migration policies in colonial Burma into the same (or a similar) class of “colonial wrongs”.
The volume under review includes two contributions, by Jacques Leider and Derek Tonkin, which document the history of migration into Arakan / Rakhine in great detail. While there has been a presence of Muslim communities in Arakan for centuries, they show specifically that labour-related cross-border migration from the Chittagong area of Bengal began even before British colonial rule and expanded rapidly under it, especially in the latter years of the 19th and the early 20th century. Labour needs of local ethnic Rakhine landlords were a major factor; settlement and land acquisition by the migrants followed. Over time this led to a concentration of Muslim agriculturalists in Northern Rakhine who later acquired the Rohingya ethnonym (a fact disputed by Rohingya nationalists who claim a much earlier origin of the term). Until 1937, all this happened within the single territory of British India of which Burma was a part, without any internal border controls. Migration into colonial Arakan, with no force by the colonial power involved, was driven by economic needs and interests, and it was pursued by local individual and group agency. To categorize this process as a “colonial wrong” constitutes an ahistorical narrative which in effect denies agency to any colonial subjects.
Likewise, Indian migration into the mainland and the urban centres of colonial Burma, especially Rangoon, was driven by the economic interest and agency of those who migrated, mostly from other parts of British India (while some came from China as well). Again, no forced labour was involved here. British policies played a stronger role than in Rakhine, in so far as the colonial state and the colonial economy created a demand for business professionals, traders and urban workers from India to move to Burma. In addition, civil servants and soldiers were temporarily transferred into colonial Burma, and some of them may have decided to settle there later on. For all of these groups, the colonial state made movement and long-term settlement possible, for example by creating an enabling environment of transport systems and urban facilities. All this led to social tension and instances of violence by the 1930s and contributed to the prominent anti-Indian streak within Burmese anti-colonial nationalism.
However, the policies and incentives employed by the British in Burma were pretty much standard practices of “development policy”, as conceptualized by colonial powers in the first half of the 20th century; some of them were even continued after independence. To describe resulting migration processes under colonial rule as a “transfer of civilians” into an “occupied territory” (with the connotation that they were designed to overwhelm, drive out or exterminate the local Burmese population) does not only constitute a severe category error. It risks feeding into the “anti-foreigner”, xenophobic narrative within Burmese (and Rakhine) nationalism that has its historical roots in the late colonial period but has become ever more extreme under military rule since 1962. In effect, this narrative culminated in the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law and contributed to the perception of the Rohingya as “illegal aliens”, leading to violence and ultimately resulting in their flight and expulsion, in 2017.
Of course, the experts advancing the “colonial wrongs” argument who contributed to the volume under review do not intend to condone any such discrimination or violence. But they appear to underestimate the fact that a core element of the very narrative they are proposing in order to increase global acceptance for international criminal law – that colonialism committed a crime by bringing in “foreigners” – is in fact already a core element of the exclusionary narrative of Burmese nationalism. It has been in use for decades, has been worsening over time, and it has already led to extreme marginalization and violence.
Does all this matter? Clearly, a more balanced approach – one that does not just let powerful perpetrators off the hook while prosecuting only those who are already out of power – is very necessary in order to secure the very legitimacy of the international criminal law system. However, the Myanmar example shows that an inappropriate application of a simplistic, if not outright wrong postcolonial narrative is risky. Defenders of the Myanmar official position on the Rohingya issue hardly need international lawyers to remind them that “Indians”, “Bengalis” or other foreigners who migrated into the country in colonial times came in as a result of a “colonial wrong”. They have been making this point all along, but now they can do so with innovative phrasing and the international academic and legal legitimation provided by this volume.
Disturbingly, they appear to do so already: Derek Tonkin (281-2, and email communication, 18.11.2020) documents the first two instances of the verbatim use of the “transfer of civilians” argument employed by high-ranking Myanmar officials in U.N. contexts, within weeks after the publication of Morten Bergsmo’s concept paper. It is difficult to think of this as a mere coincidence.
The military coup of February 1st, 2021, has led the country into a massive crisis. The outcome is anything but clear at this point in time, and Myanmar may face an extended period of military rule, violent conflict, economic decline and even state failure. But the broad resistance against the military takeover and the political dynamics since the coup also have a potential to do away with long-established, outdated ideas and institutions in Myanmar’s political and legal system, in order to create a true break with the past.
Many in Myanmar and internationally no longer see the Myanmar military as a legitimate partner in any substantive discussion about the political future of the country; in their view, the Tatmadaw has to return to the barracks without claiming special political prerogatives, or it has to disappear as an institution. A Rohingya voice has been emerging in the protests against the regime, and there is hope that the community will gain broader acceptance among the Burmese majority population.
The declaration of the Federal Democracy Charter and the intent to abolish the 2008 constitution by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) on March 31st, 2021, imply an outright rejection of fundamental political ideas and institutions imposed by the Tatmadaw over decades. This could and should include a rejection of the very concept of belonging represented by the idea of “national races” (taingyinthar), and of the system of graded citizenship rights, based on an individual’s real or putative migratory background. Instead, Myanmar should acquire a new citizenship law that follows globally accepted standards, is inclusive and provides equal rights to everyone living in the country, not subject to political or bureaucratic manipulation.
I have shown in this article that arguments about real or imagined “colonial wrongs” in the debate and legal discourse about contemporary human rights violations, when applied to Burma/Myanmar, were highly problematic even before the coup. Now and in any future processes of transitional justice, however, they deserve to be discarded in their entirety, as a misguided attempt of appeasing perpetrators of human rights violations on a grand scale and their political allies.
Dr. Axel Harneit-Sievers, a historian by professional background, has been the country director of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung’s Myanmar office in Yangon from 2018 until May 2021. Opinions expressed here are personal and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung..."
Source/publisher:
"Tea Circle" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political History, Atrocities Against Groups, International Criminal Court, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
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219.72 KB
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Description:
"1.The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 42/3, in which the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was requested to follow up on the implementation by the Government of Myanmar of the recommendations
made by the independent international fact-finding mission, including those on accountability, and to continue to track progress in relation to human rights in Myanmar, including of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities.
2. The report was prepared on the basis of primary and secondary information collected from various sources – including primary witness testimonies, the Government, the United Nations, civil society organizations, representatives of ethnic and religious
minority communities, diplomats, media professionals, academics and other experts. Without access to the country, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) adhered to a consistent methodology of gathering information via
remote interviews conducted with over 80 victims and witnesses of human rights violations and abuses. Primary sources were subjected to a rigorous verification and corroboration
process using a variety of independent or other sources, including, but not restricted to, satellite imagery and reports and statements by the Government. Factual determinations on cases, incidents and patterns were made where there were reasonable grounds to believe
that incidents had occurred as described. OHCHR sought input from the Government on the issues raised in the present report and a draft was shared with the Government for comment. No response has yet been received.
3. The mandate of the fact-finding mission1 expired in September 2019. The factfinding mission issued two mandated reports2 and four thematic papers.3 For the present report, OHCHR analysed 109 recommendations made by the fact-finding mission to the
Government and the United Nations in Myanmar, grouped thematically, including on conflict and the protection of civilians; accountability; sexual and gender-based violence;
fundamental freedoms; economic, social and cultural rights; institutional and legal reforms; and actions by the United Nations system..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/45/5)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Statements and reports on Myanmar by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights plus replies by Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - inter-governmental and other international sources, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
243.7 KB
Local URL:
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Summary:
"What instruments and mechanisms are available to harness the ‘political will’ to pursue justice for the allegations of ‘atrocity crime’ in Rakhine, Myanmar? Analysing country’s ratification trend,...
Description:
"What instruments and mechanisms are available to harness the ‘political will’ to pursue justice for the allegations of ‘atrocity crime’ in Rakhine, Myanmar? Analysing country’s ratification trend, declarations upon ratification on relevant global instruments, and interactions with the un on human rights issues, this paper reveals the ‘mind’ of Myanmar and its obligations. Exploring the mechanism of four International Crime Tribunals (icts), it outlines the pathways to pursue justice. Revealing the inadequacies of current actions by key state actors resulting in invidious outcomes that privilege impunity for atrocity crimes, the paper suggests ways to harness the political will to pursue justice. This paper contends that the establishment of an ict for the trial of atrocity crimes in Rakhine (ictm-R) would be best facilitated by: a consensus mandate to prosecute individuals and not the state; precisely defined jurisdiction; and
provisions to integrate the host nation’s apparatus, buttressed by the advocacy of the right groups and media..."
Source/publisher:
Martinus Nijhoff Publishers (Netherlands)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Arakan (Rakhine) State, UN (CEDAW) documents on discrimination against women, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
311.33 KB
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Summary:
"For four years since March 2011, when an entrenched military junta ceded power to a notionally civilian government headed by President Thein Sein (formerly prime minister in the outgoing junta),...
Description:
"For four years since March 2011, when an entrenched military junta ceded power to a notionally civilian government headed by President Thein Sein (formerly prime minister in the outgoing junta), Myanmar has sought to make a transition to democracy. 1 One clear
comparative lesson from the literature on transitions is that respect for ethnic and religious minorities is essential for the creation of a stable, consolidated democracy. Several components feed into this: protection of both individual and group rights, policies promoting inclusiveness
and non-discrimination, and more generally a sense among minority groups that a level political playing field means that they too could one day have the chance to attain majority status. As part of the wider transition, the Myanmar government is sponsoring both a peace process with ethnic armed groups and, more broadly, an agenda of national reconciliation. Alongside peace talks, this has generated several disparate initiatives designed to bring people together
across ethnic and religious fault lines. Nevertheless, at a time when low-grade civil conflict continues to plague both Kachin State and northern Shan State, and when sectarian violence remains potent across much of the society, long-standing divisions continue to have real social 1 In 1989, the military junta decreed a series of name changes for the country and many places within it. Burma became Myanmar, Rangoon became Yangon, Karen State became Kayin State, and so on. This article uses the old geographic terminology when focusing on the period before 1989, and the new terminology when focusing on the period after 1989. This usage is not intended to convey a political message..."
Source/publisher:
The University of Hong Kong
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Armed conflict in Kachin State - general articles, Several Groups
Language:
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pdf
Size:
336.54 KB
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Description:
"Conflict is inevitable and normal thing. Also the existence of the conflict in not a problem but the problem is how to handle it. When the conflict cause death of thousands and 1 migrate a lot that means the conflict reach a high level and it needs for immediate solution.
In addition the very notion of ethnicity is a struggle topic in the social sciences for years.2 The Muslims minority in Myanmar (Rohingya) is suffered from violence in their home country and as result many of them fled to the neighbor country such as Bangladesh. They
are one of the most marginalized refugee communities in south and Southeast Asia. In general the problem in Myanmar is a humanitarian and moral issue due to racial differences and governance problem. The Rohingya people are victims of the discriminatory policies of
the government. 3 If we look to the political and military conflicts in the world map, we found that the most areas of tension are concentrated in places where there are Muslim minorities. This paper
will focus in the Muslims minority in Myanmar. Firstly this paper will explain the historical background of the Muslim minority and the political system in the country. Then the conflict in Myanmar and how it escalates until it become hard to solve it. Moreover this paper will discuss the political interest and it’s related with violence. After that it will discuss the response of the international community. Then it will discuss the solutions alternative for this conflict. The current Burmese government‘s will not provide a solution to the ethnic conflict in Myanmar. In addition Burma‘s ethnic problems could be solved by negotiation between the groups with a powerful mediator. This will happen through the establishment of a real federal political system that guarantees the autonomy for all ethnic groups in Myan-
mar or gives the independence for the Muslims minority in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Sultan Qaboos University:College of Economy and Political Science
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
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pdf
Size:
197.9 KB
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Description:
"In the aftermath of Myanmar’s military coup on 1 February 2021, hundreds of thousands of people from almost every ethnic group, including people from the Rohingya community, have marched in the streets nationwide in opposition to the military’s power grab. Some activists hope that the protests present a turning point for the persecuted Rohingya minority, given that some Burmese seem to be changing their views of their Muslim countrymen, who they considered to be illegal migrants before. But reinstating a democratic system will not automatically turn the situation in favor of the Rohingya. The reason for this? Buddhist Nationalism.
For decades, Myanmar ethnic minorities, who speak their own languages and have distinct cultures, have faced persecution at the hands of the military. The state has also continuously waged military campaigns against some groups, most notably the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority group indigenous to Rakhine State. More than 750,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee to neighboring Bangladesh since 2017, when the military’s brutal campaign against the group led to the burning of villages, mass-murder, and rampant sexual violence. A United Nations human rights report concluded that the campaign was conducted with “genocidal intent.”
Following the military’s campaign, Aung San Suu Kyi boosted her own image as the protector of the Bamar—the dominant majority ethnic group—before the domestic audience by defending the Tatmadaw against charges of genocide at the ICJ. Ultimately, neither the military nor the NLD defended the Muslim Rohingya minority in this Buddhist-majority country.
On February 8, the third day of the general strikes, I entered into a group of protesters with a placard that read “Rohingya stand for Democracy.” I walked together with them around Tamwe and Mingalar Taung Nyunt townships, singing slogans for almost one hour. The reaction I got was neutral. When, the next day, we—myself and a group of Rohingya youth—went on to protest next to Sule Pagoda with vinyl placards bearing demands such as “reject the military coup” and “abolish the 2008 constitution,” we received a similar reaction. We received no particular attention from the crowd, although we used the term “Rohingya,” which has, in the past, been incredibly controversial in Myanmar. We were not met with criticism or threats because of the unity that the military coup had inspired. It now binds together the many different factions that oppose military rule.
The day became a significant turning point for the Rohingya community in Yangon. Before, we had been too concerned to openly identify as Rohingya. But, in the aftermath of the coup, there was a need for solidarity and a show of unity amongst all people in Myanmar. This is what led us to overcome our fear of harassment. The initiative of a few protesters openly identifying as Rohingya encouraged others to join too. On the ground, our feelings of tension were palpable—this was a rare moment of equality, but one mixed with nervousness. The forthcoming support those first few protesters received online, however, helped inspire even more members of our community to come forward and step out of the shadow of persecution. Once more, we showed the degree of our commitment to the land of Myanmar, and that we stand together in the struggle for our country’s future..."
Source/publisher:
Tea Circle (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
316.55 KB
Local URL:
more
Summary:
"Burma is the second largest country in Southeast Asia, and prior to the current period of opening that began in 2010, had been under tight military control since 1962. Until recently, on the rare...
Description:
"Burma is the second largest country in Southeast Asia, and prior to the current period of opening that began in 2010, had been under tight military control since 1962. Until recently, on the rare occasions when the country has invited inter- national attention, it has done so for its lack of democracy and its abusive human rights record. Despite Burma’s diversity, with 135 ethnic groups legally recognized by the 1982 Citizenship Law, the Rohingyas are not listed as such, although many have lived in Burma for generations. Thus the Rohingya remain
stateless, with a total population in Burma of approximately 800,000, a component of the four percent of the Burmese population who are Muslim in a country that is 90% Buddhist. The Rohingyas have been much maligned, called ‘ugly as ogres,’dirty, terrorists, and ‘kalar,’ a racial slur. Myanmar’s government refers to the
Rohingya as ‘Bengalis’ or ‘illegal Bengalis,’ which speaks of their status as uprooted Bangladeshi immigrants during the British occupation. Anti-Muslim violence occurred in 1978, 1997, and 2001, in different areas of Burma, and violence between the Muslim Rohingyas and the Rakhine Buddhists has been referred to by one UN official as a ‘chronic crisis’ (Fuller, 2012: 19). In the June 2012 violence, almost 5,000 Rohingya houses were burned down by Rakhine
Buddhists, police, military, and other ‘security’ forces, more than 30,000 Rohingyas became homeless, and many lost their lives. The violence between June 2012 and March 2014, including a major wave of violence in October 2012, resulted in the deaths of more than 200 people and displaced another 140,000, the vast majority of
them Rohingya. While there have been Rakhine victims, the majority have been Rohingya. While some Rohingyas are taking shelter in displacement camps, others have tried to enter neighboring countries such as Bangladesh. Most often they are denied entry, facing dangerous and often deadly conditions at sea. Their plight has
triggered international calls by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), human rights groups and other countries to grant them entry into Bangladesh and other countries according to international law.
Despite elections in Burma in 2010 that led to a nominally civilian government, the military’s influence remains strong, as it is constitutionally guaranteed 25% of the parliamentary seats. Former military general and now president, Thein Sein, and
Burmese opposition leader and now member of parliament, Aung San Suu Kyi, have both vowed to work towards democratic change. The nature of these changes, and the international interest in Burma that has skyrocketed since the first signs of democratic progress in the country, are the focus of much discussion and debate.
Our purpose here is to analyze how the three media sources construct the story of the sectarian violence threatening to derail the reform process, and the implications this may have for Myanmar’s media and for media systems in countries in transition. We find that combining attention to Mutua’s SVS framework with attention to the politics of immediation provides insight into how different patterns of media representation imply different policy solutions. The next section contextualizes Mutua’s approach and framework..."
Source/publisher:
"International Communication Gazette"
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rakhine, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
161.34 KB
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Description:
"In 2012, religious violence exploded in the Rakhine state of western
Myanmar.1 Thousands of Buddhists participated in attacks against the Ro-
hingyas, a Muslim ethnic minority. Rakhine nationalists contested the status
of Rohingya and claimed they were illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The
conflict led to a large outflow of refugees and internally displaced more than
150,000 people.2
But in 2013 and 2014, the violence took an unexpected turn. Riots
spread to more than 20 different towns in central and lower Myanmar, much
beyond Rakhine state. The targets were Muslims, rather than Rohingyas per
se, and had little to do with the ethnonationalist conflict in the Rakhine
state.3 Monks played a key role in turning the localized conflict into a broader
anti-Muslim movement. They aimed at promoting and protecting Buddhism
against what they perceived as a Muslim invasion. Exploiting and fanning
fears, they stirred up anti-Muslim sentiments while condoning and even
participating in the violence. Why did monks use a somewhat localized, if
already dramatic conflict in the Rakhine state to create a larger, anti-Muslim
one?
We argue that scapegoating is an important, and neglected, aspect of
monks’ participation in religious violence. It is one of many strategies to
strengthen their appeal and to justify their leadership position. Fomenting
fear of minorities, protesting against an oppressive state, or providing wel-
fare for victims of tragedy can all contribute to enhancing their social and
political status.4 Targeting vulnerable religious minorities is one way to gain
visibility, to strengthen their autonomous networks, and to increase their
social credentials.
Two factors condition why and when scapegoating becomes a use-
ful strategy. First, it is effective mostly in decentralized religions. With no
central institution that grants authority or creates hierarchy, leadership and
influence rest more directly on each religious leader’s capacity to remain
relevant and to attract new followers. There are few checks on leaders’ in-
terpretation of scriptures or their investment in social and political action.
Competition arises among religious leaders seeking to gain power relative
to their peers or other social elites. Entrepreneurial leaders might target the
state or a regime deemed to be causing harm to their flock, thereby ex-
ploiting popular grievances for moral gain. Alternatively, they might target
minorities by tapping into popular fears, anxieties, and stereotypes.
Second, the political environment shapes the strategy that religious lead-
ers adopt, with liberalization being particularly prone to scapegoating. Under
authoritarian rule, antiregime coalitions often arise with religious leaders well
positioned to lead them. Yet, in a liberalized regime, such broad coalitions
dissolve. Religious leaders become only one of several competing elites, and
their moral and social authority is challenged by rising, alternative sources
of societal values and education. We demonstrate our claim, empirically, by analyzing two episodes of
monks’ participation in religious violence. As we will show in the following
sections, there are striking parallels between the violence of the 1920–1930s
and more recent violence against Muslims. We compare the most recent
wave of mobilization, which started in 2007 with the Saffron Revolution,
with another wave in the 1920s, when monks were leading actors in the
nascent anticolonial and nationalist mobilization in colonial Burma.5 While
they originally targeted the colonial government (1920s) and the authoritar-
ian regime (2007), some monks then shifted the target to minorities, mostly
Indians, Rohingyas, and Muslims..."
Source/publisher:
Routledge (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
340.12 KB
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Description:
"The issue of when the transition began has always interested Burmese scholars. Was it
2003? Or did it begin when the roadmap to democracy was crafted in 2008? Or did it begin
when the new constitution cleared its final hurdles in 2011? Did it begin President Thein Sein
became the first civilian head of state, or in 2016, when democracy took its biggest stride in
Myanmar and Suu Kyi became the de facto leader of the country?
Another important question is when the transition will end. Just as it has a beginning, a
transition must also have an end. In this content, a successfully concluded transition would
mean complete and genuine democracy and an apolitical army. Will this be achieved by
2020? Or by 2025? Or beyond?
In the past ten months, several sharp fluctuations have been witnessed. Prior to October
2016, the dualism of power appeared to be working fine. Major initiatives on ethnic
reconciliation were being undertaken; the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine
State was established; foreign businesses received a huge welcome; and finally, an outreach
initiative was undertaken to nurture and cultivate relationships with foreign powers.
However, the period after October 2016 paints a different picture. There has been little
progress on ethnic issues after the Panglong Conference. Strains have developed in
Myanmar-ASEAN relations, especially in the Myanmar-Malaysia bilateral. The escalating
Rohingya issue continues to be a casualty and to top it all, the assassination of the lawyer Ko
Ni is highly disturbing.
What does the present situation look like? To use an analogy, it appears as though Myanmar
has two wives, the military and the NLD. All may seem harmonious in public, but not all is
well in private..."
Source/publisher:
Institute Of Peace & Conflict Studies (IPCS)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Statelessness in Burma/Myanmar, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
409.5 KB
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Description:
"In the vulnerable southeastern Bangladeshi city, Cox’s Bazar, an esti-
mated 1 million Rohingyas languish in spartan refugee camps following brutal
ethnic cleansing from their homes in Rakhine, a state over the border in
western Myanmar (see Figure 1).1 This was not the first—nor likely to be the
last—catastrophe to fall upon the Rohingya, but it has been the most devastating
since anti-Rohingya violence in the country began escalating in the early 1990s.
Since independence from the British in 1948, the Rakhine state has generally
been neglected by Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, affecting the state’s Buddhists,
Muslims (not all of whom are Rohingya), Christians, animists and others. There is
a long-standing belief among the Buddhist majority that Muslims seek to under-
mine Myanmar’s Theraveda Buddhist identity, stemming from fears of Rohingya
Muslims in particular, but increasingly toward all Muslims in Myanmar generally.
Myanmar’s extremist clergy, called Sangha, and their followers are joined by
counterparts in Sri Lanka and Thailand who also espouse conspiratorial canards
of Muslims weaponizing their fertility and male virility to achieve numerical,
social, religious and cultural dominance in these countries, and thus eradicate
Theraveda Buddhism in those nations.
Buoyed by the support from key international partners, Myanmar has both down-
played the extent of the alleged atrocities and justified the actions it admits to taking
against the Rohingya by insisting that even ordinary Rohingya are coconspirators
with the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which launched several
high-profile insurgent attacks against security forces based in Rakhine in October
2016, August 2017, and most recently in January 2018..."
Source/publisher:
The Washington Quarterly
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Ethnic Cleansing, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
219.26 KB
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Sub-title:
Returned Refugees Face Risks to Life, Liberty Under Oppressive Junta
Description:
"The Indian government should halt any plans to deport ethnic Rohingya and others to Myanmar, where they would be at risk from its oppressive military junta, Human Rights Watch said today. On March 6, 2021, the authorities in Jammu and Kashmir detained nearly 170 Rohingya, sent them to a holding center as part of a verification process, and said they plan to deport them. Myanmar authorities have also asked the Indian government to return eight police officers who with their families sought refuge in India after the military coup.
Since the February 1 coup, when the Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government, the security forces have used excessive and lethal force against peaceful protesters throughout the country. They have killed at least 55 people and carried out hundreds of arbitrary arrests and detentions including enforced disappearances. The junta has amended laws to strip away basic rights, brought politically motivated prosecutions, and intermittently blocked internet access.
“Any plan to forcibly return Rohingya and others to Myanmar will put them back in the grip of the oppressive military junta that they fled,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director. “Myanmar’s long-abusive military is even more lawless now that it is back in power, and the Indian government should uphold its international law obligations and protect those in need of refuge within its borders.”
The recent detention of Rohingya in Jammu and Kashmir follows the Indian government’s announcement in 2017 that it would deport all Rohingya, whom they consider to be “illegal immigrants.” Since October 2018, the Indian government has deported 12 Rohingya to Myanmar, claiming that they left voluntarily.
Many Rohingya in Jammu and Kashmir say that they hold identity documents issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and that they feared for their safety in Myanmar. Over a million Rohingya have fled Myanmar, primarily to Bangladesh, most of them since the military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing that began in August 2017. The 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar’s Rakhine State face severe repression and violence, with no freedom of movement, no access to citizenship, or other basic rights. Abuses against the Rohingya in Rakhine State amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution, Human Rights Watch said.
“We are not ready to go back, until the situation improves in Myanmar,” said Mohammad Saleem, 42, a Rohingya refugee in Jammu and Kashmir. “It is extremely distressing for us to be sent back to Myanmar against our wishes.”
Indian authorities nonetheless say that they will deport Rohingya irregular immigrants not holding valid travel documents required under the Foreigners Act. But any forcible returns to Myanmar will violate the international legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits countries from returning anyone to a country where they may face persecution, torture, or other serious harm, Human Rights Watch said. Although India is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, non-refoulement is recognized as customary international law and is binding on all countries.
Human Rights Watch has extensively documented rampant and systemic human rights violations against the Rohingya in Myanmar. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2020 imposed provisional measures on Myanmar to prevent genocide while it adjudicates alleged violations of the Genocide Convention. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in November 2019 began an investigation into Myanmar’s forced deportation of Rohingya and related crimes against humanity..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, The Military's political role, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, International Criminal Court (Myanmar)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
" Australia has suspended its defence cooperation programme with Myanmar, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said, amid an intensified crackdown by the country’s military on massive protests against last month’s coup.
Australia will also redirect immediate humanitarian needs to Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities, Payne said in a statement late Sunday.
“We will prioritise the most pressing humanitarian and emerging needs and seek to ensure our humanitarian engagement is with and through non-government organisations, not with government or government-related entities,” Payne said.
Australia bilateral defence ties with Myanmar’s military are restricted to non-combat areas such as English language training.
Canberra will also continue to demand the immediate release of Sean Turnell, an economist and adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, authorities said. Turnell has been detained with limited consular access since the Feb. 1 coup that overthrew Myanmar’s elected government.
Hundreds of people gathered in Australia’s largest city of Sydney over the weekend urging the Australian government to take a strong stance against the coup.
The Southeast Asian country has been plunged in turmoil after the army took over control of the country and detained elected leaders, with daily protests that United Nations said had killed more than 50 people.
“We continue to strongly urge the Myanmar security forces to exercise restraint and refrain from violence against civilians,” Payne said..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Australia-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"For many of Myanmar's ethnic minorities, the bloodshed inflicted across the country's towns and cities this week is a continuation of the oppression they have suffered at the hands of the military for decades.
The Southeast Asian country is home to some of the world's longest civil wars, where myriad ethnic insurgencies have fought the military, central government and each other for greater rights and autonomy. Some of those bloody conflicts have ebbed and flowed in the borderlands for 70 years.
Throughout years of conflict in Myanmar's jungles and mountains, ethnic people have witnessed and been subjected to horrific atrocities including massacres, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture, forced labor and displacement by the armed forces, as well as state-sanctioned discrimination.
In 2016 and 2017, the military launched a brutal campaign of killing and arson that forced more than 740,000 Rohingya minority people to flee into neighboring Bangladesh, prompting a genocide case to be heard at the International Court of Justice. In 2019, the United Nations said "grave human rights abuses" by the military were still continuing in the ethnic states of Rakhine, Chin, Shan, Kachin and Karen. This week, that brutality played out on the streets of Myanmar's biggest cities, as the ruling junta launched a systematic and coordinated attack on unarmed peaceful demonstrators calling for an end to the February 1 coup. Witnesses, footage and photographs showed police and the military shooting dead anti-coup protesters, beating detainees and reported extrajudicial killings, while images of crumpled bodies laying in pools of their own blood or being dragged through the streets shocked the world.
Determined to fight against those abuses and ensure their distinct voices and demands are heard, ethnic people have loudly joined the nationwide protests, uniting in solidarity against a common enemy. Though many fear further violence and intensified conflict from an unchecked military junta operating with impunity and now firmly in control of the country.
"This fight has been since the beginning of the forming of the country itself. We hope that the current fight against the military coup in 21st century might be a new hope for our people," said Chin activist Sang Hnin Lian..."
Source/publisher:
"CNN" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"This article aims to explore the historical development of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar, and
the way it has been politicized by the state. According to the study, political legitimacy has been
constructed by the revival of Buddhist nationalism in two ways. First, it is through policy implementation
and legislation of religious protection laws, which declare Buddhism’s superiority in Myanmar and to
segregate as well as discriminate against non-Buddhists in the conduct of their daily lives. The state uses
state authorities, including an unelected civilian government and National Legislative Assembly, with retired
soldiers and representatives from the tatmadaw (the military) as members, to function in this process.
Second, the state supports civilian movements to stage activities and to stimulate nationalist sentiments
among the Buddhists. The state uses Buddhist nationalist movements that include monks and laypeople
as the main actors for mass mobilization in accordance with policy and legislation. Unlike dictatorial rule,
these two elements adjust the relationship between state and religion such that the old elites could retain
its power. Furthermore, the state chooses to restore Buddhist nationalism through Islamophobia and
historical memory about Rohingya Muslims in order to bring out the significance of the regime. In
addition, Buddhist nationalism builds the political legitimacy of this semi-authoritarian government in order
that it could retain power despite democratic transition, and contributes to its popularity for upcoming
elections in the near future..."
Source/publisher:
Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Muslims in Burma, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
178.13 KB
more
Description:
" After grabbing power in a February 1 coup that has been resisted by massive demonstrations and condemned by the US, EU and UN, Myanmar’s military regime would appear to have few cards to play to win acceptance.
But one the coup-makers amazingly think they can play is the plight of Muslim Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who were driven across the border during brutal military campaigns in 2016-17, and those who have remained behind in Myanmar.
Shortly after overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, the new military regime sent a letter to Bangladesh’s government through its ambassador in Myanmar to explain their reasons for the coup, namely unsubstantiated allegations of fraud at the November 2020 election Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) resoundingly won. In the letter, the full contents of which has not been made public, the military regime also mentioned a possible solution for solving the Rohingya crisis. That prompted Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, quoted by the Dhaka Tribune on February 6, to say “these are good news. It’s a good beginning.”
Inside Myanmar’s Rakhine state, several local military commanders have visited Muslim-inhabited areas close to the Bangladesh border and a camp for internally displaced Rohingyas in the state capital Sittwe..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Political role of the Tatmadaw, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Filing, made two weeks before military staged a coup and detained the country’s civilian leaders, is likely to delay proceedings by at least a year.
Description:
"Myanmar is being accused of attempting to delay court proceedings after it emerged the country last month filed preliminary objections to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over genocide charges for its treatment of the mostly Muslim Rohingya.
The case was brought by The Gambia in 2019 after a brutal military crackdown in the western state of Rakhine in 2017 forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh. “On 20 January 2021, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar filed preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the Application,” the ICJ said in a filing signed by Court President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf and dated January 28.
The filing did not elaborate on the nature of the objections, but legal experts say they are likely to include whether the court has jurisdiction to hear the case and whether The Gambia has the appropriate standing to bring the suit.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s former civilian leader raised similar issues during preliminary hearings in December 2019 when she travelled to The Hague to defend her country’s treatment of a minority group that has been described as among the world’s most persecuted.
The Gambia has until May 20 to respond and the court will then consider the points raised.
“These objections will fail and are nothing more than delaying tactics,” Mark Farmaner, the director of the Burma Campaign UK wrote on Twitter, urging the British government to intervene..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-02-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Amid the worsening domestic COVID-19 situation, Myanmar’s election in November 2020 brought a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD) under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite voting restrictions in parts of Rakhine and Shan states, the election was overall a step in the right direction, and the NLD increased its majority in the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) and Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house). The show of support at the ballot box for the NLD indicates the domestic popularity of Aung San Suu Kyi. Her defence of Myanmar’s handling of the Rohingya crisis at the International Court of Justice — and in many other international venues — was dubbed a betrayal of democracy and human rights by Western media, but it boosted her domestic aura as a defender of Myanmar.
The priorities for the NLD government are no doubt domestic. The COVID-19 pandemic ransacked Myanmar’s economy and the domestic poverty rate skyrocketed. High on the government’s agenda is creating employment for millions of Myanmar workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic.
The country still faces one of the worst humanitarian crises with the Rohingya issue which battered its international image and led to economic sanctions. Myanmar’s domestic peace process has also stalled and militarised conflicts in the north of the country have no end in sight.
To deal with these issues, China is the most indispensable country for Aung San Suu Kyi and her government. As one of the manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccines and with a promise to contribute to the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in developing countries, Myanmar needs to work with China to vaccinate its population. Vaccine diplomacy was high on the agenda during a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Myanmar in early January 2021, despite Naypyidaw making the first order of 30 million doses from India.
As the largest trading partner and second largest FDI source for Myanmar, the continued economic growth and opening up of the Chinese market will also have positive reverberations. Although Myanmar society overall holds anti-Chinese sentiments, Aung San Suu Kyi’s government still sees the benefits of engaging in close economic cooperation with China. Initiatives such as the China–Myanmar Economic Corridor aim to further connect the two economies.
With the recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Myanmar is also set to benefit from further relaxing of trade restrictions among its major trading partners. The government is optimistic that participating in RCEP will help Myanmar gain access to a large market for its exports, and that there will also be opportunities for responsible, high-quality investment inflows.
While Myanmar faces tremendous pressure from the West on the Rohingya issue, Myanmar’s Asian neighbours are hesitant to jump on the bandwagon. Only Malaysia and Indonesia — as the two Muslim-majority countries in ASEAN — have been more vocal.
China is Myanmar’s strongest supporter on the Rohingya issue and is actively involved in facilitating negotiations between the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh. The protection China offers to Myanmar at international institutions is crucial. A quid pro quo is evident between the two countries with Myanmar offering support for China at the United Nations on Xinjiang and Hong Kong. This cooperative relationship will likely continue as both face similar pressure from the West..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burma's economic relations with China, China-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
The families of 18 people taken by the military nearly a year ago are still waiting for news of their loved ones – and justice.
Description:
"One evening, as Ma Nway* and her family were having dinner, soldiers from Myanmar’s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, came to her house and asked for her husband. According to her account, they blindfolded him, took out their guns and beat him in front of her.
“At the time, I could only cry,” said Ma Nway, an ethnic Arakanese from Myanmar’s westernmost Rakhine State, who prefers not to reveal her identity for fear of reprisals. “I feared they would shoot me, so I held my tongue … I felt like they were the most brutal people in the world.” It was March 16 2020 and the last time she saw her husband. He is among 18 people from the neighbouring villages of Tinma Thit and Tinma Gyi in Rakhine State’s northern Kyauktaw township who were arrested in March and have not been seen since. Their families’ relentless search for information has been met with silence, rejection and threats. Ten months later, they are still looking for answers – and justice.
Three witnesses, whose testimonies align with those published by other media, told Al Jazeera that on March 13 and 16, uniformed soldiers wearing the badge of the Tatmadaw’s Light Infantry Division No. 55 went door to door arresting dozens of men it suspected of having ties to the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group seeking autonomy.
Most of those arrested were released the same day, but 18 were not. The missing include a 16 year old, three people over the age of 65 and one person who is deaf. Al Jazeera has used pseudonyms for the three witnesses to protect them from possible reprisals.
On March 18, four bodies were seen floating in the Kaladan River near the villages. One of the bodies was identified by family members as among the missing villagers. The family told local media that soldiers shot at them when they approached the body, which the US-government funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia reported was riddled with bullet holes. The three other bodies were never identified..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
No Justice for Ongoing Crimes Against Humanity, Apartheid
Description:
"The Myanmar government has repeatedly violated basic civil and political rights, and failed to hold the country’s security forces accountable for atrocities against ethnic minorities, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2021.
The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party overwhelmingly won the November 8, 2020, election, which was marred by serious problems. Prior to the vote the government prosecuted its critics, censored opposition party messages, and did not provide equal access to state media. Systemic problems include the continued ethnic Rohingya disenfranchisement, the 25 percent of assembly seats reserved for the military, and the lack of an independent and transparent Union Election Commission. The commission cancelled voting in 57 primarily ethnic minority townships for security reasons, but provided little or no consultation or explanation to affected political parties and candidates.
“Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling National League for Democracy have turned their backs on human rights concerns since taking power, betraying promises to Myanmar’s people to revoke repressive laws and break with abusive past practices,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “By winning a significant parliamentary majority, the NLD has an opportunity to introduce rights-respecting reforms that would protect everyone.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Bangladesh, Myanmar and China will hold a tripartite meeting on Rohingya repatriation in Dhaka on January 19, as Dhaka finds their repatriation to Myanmar as the only solution to the crisis.
"We hope it would be a fruitful meeting," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters on Wednesday about the tripartite talks.
He said the meeting would be held at secretary level. The last tripartite meeting like this was held on January 20 last year.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh had handed over a list of 840,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for verification.
"Myanmar has verified very few people. They are very slow. They verified only 42,000 people. There is (a) serious lack of seriousness," said the foreign minister.
Dr Momen said they were doing their part of the job, but Myanmar is not responding the same way.
Responding to a question, he said he is always hopeful of beginning repatriation as Myanmar has taken back their nationals before – in 1978 and 1992. The government earlier hinted that the repatriation talks would begin this month as there was no Rohingya repatriation and discussion in 2020, because of the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the general elections in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Summary:
"Japan-based Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd. should publish its investigation report on the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (MEHL) and swiftly cut ties with the company, Human Rights Watch...
Sub-title:
Japanese Beverage Giant Should Release Investigation Report
Description:
"Japan-based Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd. should publish its investigation report on the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (MEHL) and swiftly cut ties with the company, Human Rights Watch said today. Kirin announced the conclusion of an investigation by Deloitte Tohmatsu Financial Advisory LLC on January 7, 2021, but declined to publish the report for confidentiality reasons.
“Kirin should regain some trust of consumers, investors, and rights groups by releasing the details of its investigation into the operations of its Myanmar military business partner,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Kirin’s business association with MEHL raises serious human rights concerns that need urgent action, not further obfuscation behind an investigation whose results are kept secret.”
In its January 7 statement, Kirin said the investigation by Deloitte was “inconclusive as a result of Deloitte being unable to access sufficient information required to make a definitive determination.” Kirin said the investigation aimed to determine the “destination of proceeds received by” MEHL from Myanmar Brewery Ltd. (MBL) and Mandalay Brewery Ltd. (MDL), and that it would provide a “further update” on its business activities in Myanmar by the end of April.
Kirin owns a majority stake in Myanmar Brewery Ltd. and Mandalay Brewery Ltd. in partnership with the military-owned-and-operated MEHL. In 2015, Kirin bought 55 percent of Myanmar Brewery Ltd., 4 percent of which it later transferred to the military-owned firm. In 2017, Kirin acquired 51 percent of Mandalay Brewery Ltd. in a separate joint venture with the firm.
Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, have been responsible over many years for numerous grave violations of human rights and war crimes against the country’s ethnic minority populations. These abuses culminated in the August 2017 campaign of ethnic cleansing against the ethnic Rohingya population in Rakhine State, including killings, sexual violence, and forced removal. Human Rights Watch found that Myanmar’s security forces committed crimes against humanity and genocidal acts in those 2017 operations against the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, Burma's economic relations with Japan, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Japan-Burma relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Summary:
"Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, government restrictions on movement in Myanmar have been widespread, but certain people have been more affected than others. On January 6, Myanmar police detained 99...
Sub-title:
Oppressed Ethnic Group Denied Right to Freedom of Movement
Description:
"Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, government restrictions on movement in Myanmar have been widespread, but certain people have been more affected than others. On January 6, Myanmar police detained 99 ethnic Rohingya in Yangon for traveling without documentation in the country where they were born and lived all their lives.
The Rohingya – mostly women as well as children reportedly as young as 5 years old – were apparently bound for Malaysia. They sought to escape Myanmar’s longstanding oppression of the group. Rohingya are effectively denied citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law so the government considers them “illegal” aliens, refusing to issue legal documentation that would allow them to travel within the country.
All 99 Rohingya are now being held in government quarantine on the outskirts of Yangon, after which they will likely be transferred to immigration detention to await criminal charges. In Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, an estimated 600,000 Rohingya are confined to camps and villages without freedom of movement, cut off from access to adequate food, health care, education, and livelihoods. In 2017, a campaign of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar’s security forces against the Rohingya involved crimes against humanity and acts of genocide..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
The Right to Mental Health for Rohingya Survivors of Genocide in Myanmar and Bangladesh
Description:
"It has been three years since “Saiful,” 27, escaped genocidal attacks in
Myanmar’s Rakhine State. His experience continues to affect him.
“I cannot think well,” he said. “I’ve become thin and gangly because of the
stress. I feel tired. I cannot eat well. I feel angry when I imagine the persecution.”
Born and raised in northern Rakhine State, Saiful survived grinding human
rights violations since his childhood, and in 2017, he witnessed mass atrocities
perpetrated by Myanmar Army soldiers against Rohingya civilians. In August
that year, at the height of Myanmar Army-led attacks on Rohingya, Saiful fled
massacres, deadly arson attacks, mass rape, and other crimes, leaving behind
murdered family and friends to join Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who
now number approximately one million.
“No one is helping us in proper ways,” he said from a refugee camp in Cox’s
Bazar District, Bangladesh. “I cannot sleep when I remember my relatives who
were killed. It is very difficult for me to do any work.”
Saiful is describing symptoms typically associated with Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), a serious mental health condition. In the case of Rohingya
who survived recent attacks, the mental harm of PTSD can be destructive,
impairing daily functioning and the ability to live a full and constructive life.
Saiful is unfortunately not the only Rohingya refugee suffering from serious
mental health conditions due to human rights violations and violence
perpetrated against Rohingya in Myanmar.
The quantitative research included in this report and conducted by a team
of ten Rohingya researchers and Fortify Rights provides new evidence of the
pervasive and severe mental health toll that human rights violations and
violence has had on the Rohingya community. This report documents and
analyzes the findings of this Rohingya-led participatory action research.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate that 12 months after an
emergency, approximately 15 to 20 percent of adults will experience some
type of moderate or mild mental health disorder. The Rohingya are suffering
at significantly higher rates. The Rohingya-led participatory action research..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-07
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Mental health
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.11 MB ( reduce version)
more
Description:
"When the Myanmar Army attacked and massacred ethnic Rohingya civilians in 2017, more than 700,000 men, women, and children fled to Bangladesh, some riddled with bullets, burns, and gaping wounds. Hundreds of villages were in ashes, razed by soldiers and their civilian proxies.
But long after the physical wounds scarred over, Rohingya continue to suffer mental harm on a massive scale. President-elect Biden can and should do something about it.
There are upwards of one million Rohingya refugees now languishing in Bangladesh. They are experiencing trauma, depression, and anxiety at staggering rates. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 15 to 20 percent of adults will experience some type of moderate or mild mental health disorder one year after an emergency, and in theory, those figures should decrease over time. By contrast, a new report published by Fortify Rights finds that 89 percent of Rohingya refugees in sprawling camps in Bangladesh are experiencing serious depression. Eighty-four percent are experiencing severe emotional distress. And a staggering 62 percent are experiencing symptoms equivalent to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—a debilitating condition that can prevent its victims from leading normal and constructive lives. What drives these extreme levels of distress?
Ongoing genocide in Myanmar is partly to blame, but the new quantitative data reveals that long-term systematic human rights violations in Myanmar and ongoing impunity are also key factors that continue to impact Rohingya mental health..."
Source/publisher:
"Time"
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-07
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Atrocities against Groups - documents, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Mental health
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Videotaped 'confessions' from two Myanmar soldiers appear to confirm alleged atrocities against Rohingya Muslims. Are they credible and can they build a case against the army?
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Source/publisher:
"DW News"
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Atrocities against Groups - documents
Language:
Local URL:
more
Summary:
"Study of the Impacts of Covid-19 on Internally Displaced People in Myanmar
Thank you to the Chairperson and Honorable Members of Parliament for inviting me to appear before this Committee to...
Sub-title:
Statement of Manny Maung, Myanmar Researcher, Human Rights Watch Subcommittee on International Human Rights Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development
Description:
"Study of the Impacts of Covid-19 on Internally Displaced People in Myanmar
Thank you to the Chairperson and Honorable Members of Parliament for inviting me to appear before this Committee to discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on internally displaced people in Myanmar. My name is Manny Maung and I am the Myanmar Researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Decades of conflict have resulted in over 360,000 internally displaced peoples across the country. They are mainly members of ethnic minority communities spread across northern Myanmar, in Kachin and Shan States; in western Rakhine State; and in the southeast near the Myanmar-Thai border. Renewed conflict has created fresh displacements in 2020 in both Rakhine and Shan States. Humanitarian agencies reported that the government did not take measures to ensure that they could deliver emergency aid under the government-imposed travel restrictions to protect against the spread of Covid-19.
In October, Human Rights Watch released a report, “An Open Prison without End,” on Myanmar’s detention of 130,000 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State since 2012.[1] Human Rights Watch found that the squalid and oppressive conditions imposed on the interned Rohingya and Kaman Muslims amount to the crimes against humanity of persecution, apartheid, and severe deprivation of liberty. Starting in August 2017, a military campaign of killings, sexual violence, arson, and forced eviction of Rohingya in northern Rakhine State forced more than 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh. Human Rights Watch determined the Myanmar security forces committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin, Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rakhine, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Discrimination against the Shan, Discrimination against the Kachin, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Sub-title:
While stating that he has written to his counterpart in Myanmar in this regard, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh wants to initiate the repatriation of Rohingyas this year.
Description:
"Bangladesh has written to Myanmar over the issue of repatriation of Rohingya Muslims. The announcement by Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen comes days after the UNGA passed a resolution in this regard.
While addressing a press briefing on Sunday, AK Abdul Momen said he wrote a letter to his counterpart in Myanmar on the occasion of the New Year. "In the New Year, a letter has been sent to the State Council office in Myanmar," Momen said.
"Japan will also cooperate with us in the Rohingya repatriation. Japan has a huge investment in Myanmar. India and China are also working on the Rohingya repatriation. They all want a solution to this crisis," Momen said in response to a question.
Bangladesh wants to implement the repatriation process this year, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told journalists. He went on to add, "You know for many years, we have been trying this. After the start of the campaign in Rakhine on August 25, 2016, Rohingyas came to Bangladesh over a period of seven months and took refuge. Four lakh more Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh since."
The government of Myanmar, in the face of international pressure, signed an agreement with Bangladesh in this regard in 2016. However, the repatriation of Rohingya Muslims is yet to begin.
Referring to Myanmar's role in the repatriation, Bangladesh Foreign Minister Momen said, "You have repeatedly said that they will not go. You are saying that you will do it in a helpful environment so that it goes smoothly. But progress has been done. For this, political goodwill is needed. In the New Year, we hope you keep your word."..."
Source/publisher:
"India Today" (India)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Bangladesh-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
In a proposal regarding the Rohingya issue and other human rights situation in Myanmar placed before the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations, China and Russia yet again took stance in favour of Myanmar while India abstained from voting.
Description:
"On Thursday, December 31, the last working day of 2020, the voting on the proposal was held during the 48th meeting of the 75th UNGA Session, according to a UN release.
The 25-point proposal regarding allegations of alarming extent of human rights violations by the Myanmar military and security forces in Kachin, Rakhine, Chin and Shan states of the country was discussed in the Thursday meeting.
A total of 130 countries voted against Myanmar, including nine which previously voted in favour of Myanmar, while 26 countries, including India, Bhutan, Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, abstained from voting.
China, Russia, Belarus, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam and Zimbabwe voted in Myanmar's favour. Defending Myanmar's position, the country's representative at the meeting said human rights is being made a political issue against Myanmar, adding that the issues being discussed are Myanmar's internal matter.
Myanmar's newly elected government is against human rights violence and steps are being taken in the country to this end, the representative also said.
Rejecting the UN proposal, the Myanmar representative said the country's government is interested to discuss the issues with the Rohingya and other minority communities in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Discrimination against the Rakhine
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
As Myanmar set to go to polls in November, Muslim community fears if no candidate from them will be elected as in 2015 elections
Description:
"Political parties in Myanmar have geared up for upcoming general elections with Nov. 8 set as the date for crucial polls which will be the first held under the civilian government in more than six decades.
The Union Election Commission announced the election date on July 1, inviting candidate registration from the 96 registered political parties from July 20 to Aug. 7.
A few days after the commission’s announcement, a 16-membered team was formed to assist Muslim candidates in campaigning in their constituencies countrywide. The team includes mainly Muslim legal experts.
Spokesman of the team Maung Muang Myint told Anadolu Agency that the group will help Muslim candidates financially, legally and technically.
“It was a shame that our parliament has no Muslim lawmaker although Muslims make up more than 5% of the country’s population,” he said over the phone.
“Of more than 6,000 candidates in the 2015 elections, only 28 were Muslims. And they won no seat,” he said, adding that the commission had rejected more than a hundred would-be candidates, mostly Muslims, on the grounds of citizenship. Election law states that candidates’ parents must be already recognized as citizens at the time of the candidates’ birth.
“So this year, we teamed up to help them in the whole process starting from candidate registration,” said Myint.
Two largest political parties in the county, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party and military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), did not file any Muslim candidates for the last general elections.
Parties have yet to submit the lists of candidates to election commission for registration. Myint, however, said Muslims have only a slim chance of being chosen as candidates of the political parties in the Buddhist-majority country..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
Language:
Local URL:
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Summary:
"Human Rights Watch has called on Bangladesh to move more than 300 Rohingya refugees, including children, to the camps in Cox's Bazaar district, more than two months after they were quarantined on a...
Description:
"Human Rights Watch has called on Bangladesh to move more than 300 Rohingya refugees, including children, to the camps in Cox's Bazaar district, more than two months after they were quarantined on a small flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal.
The Rohingya were rescued by the Bangladesh navy in early May after being stranded at sea for weeks, and sent to Bhashan Char island - a silty strip of land off the southern coast that is vulnerable to monsoon storms.
Bangladesh has said the 308 refugees were sent to the island rather than the camps in Cox's Bazar because authorities were afraid they might have the highly infectious disease COVID-19.
"Bangladesh authorities are using the pandemic as an excuse to detain refugees on a spit of land in the middle of a churning monsoon sea while their families anxiously pray for their return," Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW, said in a statement on Thursday.
"The government is inexplicably delaying aid workers' access to support the refugees with immediate care, and refusing to reunite them with their families in the Cox's Bazar camps."
According to the US-based rights group, the quarantined refugees do not have adequate access to food, clean drinking water or medical care. Some have also alleged being beaten up and mistreated by the authorities, it said..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Activists, organizations denounce lack of transparency, say foolish to expect justice from Myanmar’s military
Description:
"Rohingya rights groups have denounced the recent court-martial of three Myanmar army officers as “a miscarriage of justice” and another of the country’s “sham attempts” to mislead the international community.
The three officers were convicted on June 29 for the 2017 massacre of Rohingya people in the Gu Dar Pyin village of Rakhine state’s Buthidaung township, where five mass graves were previously uncovered.
The UK-based Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) rejected the ruling, saying the secrecy of the trial negates the essential requirement of transparency and impartiality.
“No details were provided on the perpetrators, their crimes or sentences, keeping the people in the dark. This secret trial without transparency is a complete miscarriage of justice,” read a statement issued on Friday.
The group reiterated its demand for “a transparent and impartial probe into the crimes against Rohingya in Myanmar by a competent international independent commission.”
Referring to a similar trial in March 2018, the rights body said: “All these were sham attempts […] aimed at reducing international pressure and to divert the world’s attention away from the Rohingya genocide. We cannot expect justice from the perpetrators.” In the 2018 trial by court-martial, four Myanmar army officers and three soldiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing 10 Rohingya men in the Inn Din village of Rakhine in 2017.
“But the perpetrators were released in less than one year [November 2018], whereas the two Reuters journalists who exposed the massacre were detained for more than 16 months before they were pardoned, following global outcry,” the statement added..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-07
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Political role of the Tatmadaw
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Convictions Obscure Widespread Military Impunity
Description:
"Myanmar’s court-martial conviction of three military personnel for crimes against ethnic Rohingya reflects ongoing government efforts to evade meaningful accountability, Human Rights Watch said today. Myanmar authorities have repeatedly failed to adequately investigate and prosecute grave abuses against Rohingya in Rakhine State, including crimes against humanity.
On June 30, 2020, the Myanmar military announced that two officers and a soldier had been convicted for “weakness in following the instructions” during the “Gu Dar Pyin incident.” Rakhine State’s Gu Dar Pyin village was the site of a massacre by the military on August 27-28, 2017, part of its campaign of mass atrocities that forced more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. The military did not provide any other information, such as the names and ranks of those convicted, their role in the massacre, or their sentences.
“Myanmar’s farcical court martial is the latest attempt to feign progress on accountability in an apparent attempt to influence the United Nations and international tribunals,” said Shayna Bauchner, assistant Asia researcher. “Foreign governments should demand Myanmar open its doors to truly independent and impartial international investigators.”
The Gu Dar Pyin court martial began in November 2019 following a military investigation led by Maj. Gen. Myat Kyaw that found “grounds to believe the soldiers did not fully comply with the rules of engagement.” Closed hearings were held in Buthidaung township through April 30..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-07-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"In March, I sat down with Katie Striffolino, InterAction's Senior Manager for Humanitarian Practice, to discuss her work with the NGOs on the front lines of this crisis.
"We undertake a number of field visits every year, looking at different operational and policy issues as they affect humanitarian NGOs and conditions at the field level," she told me. "We do documentation and analyses, produce recommendations, and engage stakeholders on improvements to the humanitarian response, as well as actions that can improve humanitarian conditions to support overall response operations in any given context."
From February 10-20, Katie traveled to Myanmar with Rachel Unkovic, InterAction's NGO Coordination Advisor, to consult with, support, and learn from the Myanmar INGO Forum, its 140 NGO members, many of them InterAction members and local and national NGO networks and actors. Their trip had two objectives.
"First, we were looking at the Myanmar INGO Forum's governance, structures, and practices," she said. "We asked ourselves what lessons and experiences could we share with them from other response locations around the world and what we could learn from them to bring to NGO Consortia working in other humanitarian settings?
"Second, we conducted research into bureaucratic and administrative impediments as they affect the humanitarian response for both U.N. and NGO actors which will form a case study and inform InterAgency Standing Committee (IASC) normative guidance to Humanitarian Coordinators and Country Teams around the world on how to best, collectively support the humanitarian community in addressing undue bureaucratic and administrative impediments. We need to be collectively addressing these issues so that humanitarian programs can continue to run in an efficient, unfettered and principled manner."
The more time they spent with the Myanmar INGO Forum, the more they realized how similar it is to InterAction. While the diversity of their membership is a strength, it can often make it challenging to drive consensus and provide equal support to each member..."
Source/publisher:
" InterAction" via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
The regional body has been notably silent on genocide in Myanmar, ducking behind the myth of non-interference.
Description:
"On 26 June, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet virtually for their 36th semi-annual summit. The meeting is expected to include a focus on the re-opening of borders and economies post-pandemic, as well as discussions about the continuing tensions in the South China Sea and progress against the ASEAN 2015–2025 Community Building Blueprints.
For ASEAN, the summit comes at a critical time. Since the mid 1970s, ASEAN has progressively increased its clout as a credible regional organisation, but today this centrality is threatened by shifting regional dynamics. Major powers within and outside the region have proposed the establishment of alternative regional frameworks: Australia’s proposal for an Asia-Pacific Community, the notion of the Indo-Pacific region, and what became the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, involving some ASEAN member states but not ASEAN as a regional organisation. With ASEAN members interacting more independently with external partners and trading regimes, the importance of a Southeast Asian regional association is arguably diminished.
And now, as ASEAN leaders prepare for next week’s summit, one of its member states – Myanmar – is preparing its defence against allegations of genocide brought by the state of Gambia before the International Court of Justice. Simultaneously, the International Criminal Court is investigating allegations that Myanmar’s senior authorities forcibly deported and persecuted the Rohingya people.
In explaining the ASEAN stance on the Rohingya crisis, much has been made of the “ASEAN Way” – the principles of sovereignty, non-interference and consensus decision-making enshrined in numerous ASEAN agreements and declarations.
Running in parallel with these developments in international justice has been a tide of international condemnation and sanctions against Myanmar, related to its violence against the Rohingya ethnic minority. The UN Secretary General, the Security Council and the General Assembly have all expressed concern, and the US, Canada and the EU have imposed sanctions..."
Source/publisher:
"The Independent" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), ASEAN-Burma relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"The lawyers prosecuting Myanmar for the alleged genocide against the Rohingya are once again breaking new legal ground. The International Court of Justice action by the Gambia was unprecedented, and long overdue, when initiated last year. But the received wisdom is that genocide accountability is particularly difficult because the plaintiff has to prove genocidal intent. And proving intent is taken to be one of the hardest standards to clear in legal proceedings.
But in a logical, if unprecedented, move, the Gambian legal team, led by the formidable Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou, have asked a US court to force Facebook to hand over the data they have relating to the leading Myanmar army officials who ordered the “clearance operations” against the Rohingya, chief among them Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces.
If there is anywhere the prosecution might find records of the thinking that went into the actions by the Myanmar military before and during the operations against the Rohingya, Facebook is going to be the place. In 2017, I wrote about the ways in which Facebook was the principal medium through which anti-Rohingya hatred and propaganda was being stoked up for years, leading to the “clearing operations.” And, while at that time I was referring mainly to the crazed rants of extremist nationalists and Buddhist fundamentalists from Myanmar’s civil society, many senior officials, including the military leadership of the country, also weighed in on the issue on Facebook.
Without wanting to pre-judge the proceedings, those statements by leading government and military officials were never to condemn the worst excesses of hate-baiting against the Rohingya, but instead had the general intent and purpose of moderating and rationalizing antagonism toward the minority group. On those grounds alone, it may be possible to make inferences about intent. But perhaps a bigger prize is possible: It would be of genuine public interest to see what the communications between leading military officials looked like at the time, and to what extent their hostility to the Rohingya might have been expressed in genocidal language in private..."
Source/publisher:
"Arab News" (Saudi Arabia)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-17
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is taking a rising toll. It will hinder any effort to contain COVID-19 or resolve the Rohingya crisis. Rather than trying to defeat the Arakan Army, Naypyitaw should negotiate with ethnic Rakhine, endeavouring to convince them of electoral democracy’s benefits.
Description:
"The armed conflict being waged between government forces and the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army in western Myanmar is currently the most serious by far of the country’s multiple, decades-old internal wars, with some of the most sustained and intense fighting seen in many years. After the conflict escalated significantly in early 2019, the government ordered a tough military response and on 23 March designated the Arakan Army as a terrorist organisation. These measures have exacerbated the grievances underlying the conflict and made a negotiated end to the fighting more difficult to attain. At the same time, neither side will be able to achieve their military objectives. The government needs a political strategy, now missing, to negotiate with Rakhine leaders, address their community’s grievances, and demonstrate that electoral democracy and political negotiation offer a realistic and effective path to realising their aspirations. The trajectory of the armed conflict is alarming, complicating problems in a state already traumatised by the separate crisis that resulted in the violent expulsion of more than 700,000 minority Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2016-2017. Over the last eighteen months, clashes have increased in regularity and intensity, their geographical scope has expanded and the civilian toll has grown. Despite the significant loss of life on both sides, nothing suggests that Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, is wearing down the Arakan Army or degrading its ability to operate. But nor is there reason to believe that the Arakan Army can achieve its aim of greater political autonomy on the battlefield. Civilians are paying a heavy price, caught in the crossfire or targeted as Arakan Army partisans or for harbouring fighters in their villages. Schools and medical facilities have been hit with alarming regularity, with each side usually blaming the other. It is difficult to see how general elections, which were provisionally slated for November, could be held in many parts of Rakhine State, the conflict’s locus..."
Source/publisher:
"International Crisis Group (ICG)" (Belgium)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
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Sub-title:
Several hundred Rohingya stranded since February after countries sealed borders to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Description:
"People traffickers holding hundreds of Rohingya refugees at sea are demanding payments from their families to release them from boats off the shores of Southeast Asia, relatives and rights groups say.
Several hundred Rohingya, members of a largely Muslim minority from Myanmar fleeing persecution at home and refugee camps in Bangladesh, have been stranded for months after countries sealed their borders to block the spread of the coronavirus.
More:
'Desperate journeys': Rohingya children recall ordeal at sea
Lawyers seek Facebook posts of Myanmar leaders in Rohingya case
Rohingya crisis through the eyes of Al Jazeera's journalists
Three people who said their relatives were at sea told the Reuters news agency that traffickers had demanded money to release them from boats that have been off Southeast Asia since February, trying to find a place to land.
"Before, the deal was that if they were able to reach the Malaysian shore then they will take the money, but they're asking for it now," said Mohammed Ayas, who said his 16-year-old brother left a refugee camp in Bangladesh in February.
Since then, the family has heard nothing from him, Ayas said.
Musha, whose two sisters are also at sea after leaving camps in Bangladesh in February, said brokers acting for the traffickers asked the family to pay 12,000 ringgit ($2,800) via a mobile banking service for their transfer to Malaysia.
He said the family paid the sum but did not know the fate of the two teenaged girls.
For years, Rohingya have boarded boats between November and April, when the seas are calm, to get to Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. But coronavirus lockdowns have left boats stranded at sea.
Dozens of people died on board a boat that had to return to Bangladesh in April after running out of food and water, survivors told Reuters..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Trafficking: global, regional and national reports
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
A new report has detailed how movement restrictions are devastating the lives of Rohingya in Rakhine and helping to maintain their enforced segregation from the state’s other ethnic groups.
Description:
"On May 25, the government published a report in The Global New Light of Myanmar that detailed progress made in Rakhine State implementing recommendations of the Rakhine State Advisory Commission.
One of the items that drew my particular attention showed the discrepancy in access to tertiary health care between Muslims and other ethnicities. Of 26,860 patients treated between September and December last year at Sittwe General Hospital, the state’s only tertiary medical institution, only 814 – or just 3 percent – were Muslim.
Since the flight of hundreds of thousands Rohingya to Bangladesh in 2017, Muslims (Rohingya and Kaman) probably comprise between 20pc and 25pc of the state’s population. This puts the fact that they accounted for only 3pc of admissions to Sittwe General Hospital in a stark light.
This new information is welcome because acknowledging such discrepancies should spark efforts to understand and address them. A new report does just that. Support independent journalism in Myanmar. Sign up to be a Frontier member.
The report, Freedom of Movement in Rakhine State, by the Independent Rakhine Initiative, an evidence-based advocacy project, sheds light on reasons for this particular discrepancy, and much more. The study was conducted between March 2019 and January 2020 and used a qualitative methodology consisting of a literature review and interviews and focus group discussions with 211 individuals. It builds on an evidence base of 1,056 interviews conducted for IRI’s earlier reports on access to health, education and livelihoods.
It shows that perhaps more than any other human right, freedom of movement does not stand on its own. It “underpins the ability of individuals to live free and dignified lives, and is instrumental for the enjoyment of other rights, including access to health care, education and livelihoods”. IRI researched one of the key recommendations of the final report in August 2017 of the Rakhine State Advisory Commission, led by the late Mr Kofi Annan: to undertake a mapping exercise to identify all existing restrictions on movement in Rakhine affecting the state’s diverse ethnic communities and to develop a roadmap for the lifting of restrictions..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Testimonies reveal harrowing details of life on ships, as Malaysia detains more than 200 Rohingya found off Langkawi.
Description:
"Left to starve for months at sea, Rohingya children who escaped Bangladesh's refugee camps took "desperate" journeys to reach Malaysia on flimsy smuggling boats, according to a new report released as it emerged Malaysian authorities had detained nearly 300 Rohingya trying to reach the country by sea.
Testimonies by refugee children, who were rescued from a boat found adrift in the Bay of Bengal in April, revealed how they were beaten and forced to watch their parents' bodies thrown overboard. UN's Guterres asks Bangladesh to move Rohingya to refugee camps
First coronavirus case found in Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camps
Bangladesh quarantines hundreds of Rohingya rescued from sea
"It is clear that Rohingya families are still so desperate that they are ready to make dangerous journeys, often at the mercy of criminal organisations," Hassan Saadi Noor, Asia Regional Director of Save the Children, which compiled the report, said in a statement.
Hassan is urging countries across the region "to share the responsibility" of both protecting and providing for the Rohingya, while also working with Myanmar to find a long-term solution to this crisis.
"As long as Rohingya do not see a future for themselves, families will continue to make dangerous journeys and put themselves in harm's way in search of a better life," Hassan said..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Children, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Malaysia on Monday (Jun 8) detained 269 Rohingya migrants when they tried to enter the country on a damaged boat off the holiday island of Langkawi, authorities said.
The Southeast Asian country, which does not recognise refugee status, has been a favoured destination for ethnic Rohingya who fled a 2017 military-led crackdown in Myanmar and more recently squalid conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Acting on a tip-off received a day earlier, Malaysian authorities intercepted a boat ferrying the Rohingya in the pre-dawn hours of Monday off Langkawi off the northwestern corner of the Malaysian peninsula.
A coastguard vessel spotted the suspected migrant boat off the island, and was set to push it out to international waters, authorities said.
But as the coastguards approached, 53 Rohingya jumped into the sea and were detained.
"An inspection of their boat found 216 Rohingya migrants and the body of one female illegal immigrant. Further inspections found that the boat was deliberately damaged ... making it unfit to be turned back," Malaysia's National Task Force (NTF) on border patrol said in a statement.
According to the statement, a Marine Police Team boat and the KM Kimanis from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) were sent to the scene to carry out surveillance and deportation operations.
"When the KM Kimanis approached the boat, 53 of the Rohingya jumped off the boat and swam ashore, but they were all arrested by MMEA personnel who were standing by on land," said the statement.
The KM Kimanis also provided food and fresh water to them. The National Security Council allowed the boat to be towed to the Teluk Ewa Jetty in Langkawi..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Malaysia-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
A public reassessment of the Rohingya crisis will require deeply uncomfortable conversations to be held in the open, and great courage and humility on the part of many prominent figures.
Description:
"As the wheels of justice slowly turn at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, it’s easy to forget the hysteria that took over Myanmar in late 2017.
Newspapers across the world ran images of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing a military crackdown in Rakhine State, which had been launched in response to attacks by Rohingya militants on security posts. As international condemnation followed, the pages of Myanmar social media were filled with defiance. The popular narrative went that the largely stateless Rohingya had attacked their hosts, the Myanmar citizenry, in a campaign of Islamist terror that the world was intent on denying. Faced with this apparent threat, members of the public felt they had a duty to rally behind their government. Pressured to conform, and fired by fear and anger at what they perceived to be blatant lies in international media, many people said things they probably now regret. One of them might be Ko Zayar Lwin, the jailed member of the Peacock Generation thangyat troupe. As Frontier reported on May 24, the young dissident wrote a series of Facebook posts at the height of the crisis that included claims that the Rohingya – whom he called by the derogatory labels “kalar” and “Bengali” – were burning down their homes before fleeing to Bangladesh, and that it was difficult to distinguish ordinary Rohingya from “terrorists”.
“The situation has turned these people whom we regard as terrorists into poor things in the eyes of the world,” he wrote in a post dated September 8, 2017, showing what many would regard as a shocking lack of empathy.
“These people” had been denied citizenship and confined for years to camps and villages without freedom of movement, and with extremely limited access to health and schooling. They were now in the crosshairs of a military whose history of violence against civilians is well documented..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
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"Nobody knows how many people have died. It could be 50 or even more," recalls Khadiza Begum.
Description:
"The 50-year-old was among 396 Rohingya Muslims who had tried to reach Malaysia but who finally returned to the Bangladeshi shore after the boat carrying them was stranded at sea for two months.
Her estimate on the number of deaths comes from the funerals her son officiated as an imam, a Muslim preacher, on the same boat.
The human smugglers never delivered them to their longed-for destination.
Khadiza had to run away from her home in Myanmar because of violence that UN investigators described as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
Neighbouring Bangladesh gave her shelter, settling the fleeing Rohingya Muslims in what has now become the world's largest refugee camp.
Around one million Rohingya are housed in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, and some among them, like Khadiza, hold dreams of a better life in Malaysia, lying across the Bay of Bengal..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-31
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Kyaw Thu* waited until night fell before taking his family to the bank of a river not far from their village. While millions across the world were told to remain at home to stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic, he and his neighbours were forced to flee.
That night in March, he recalls, residents from Tin Ma village, in Rakhine state, clambered anxiously into boats, crossed the river, then trekked through foothills to seek refuge in the relative safety of a nearby town. No one switched on a torch or even lit a cigarette for fear of drawing the attention of Myanmar’s army.
It is less than three years since the Myanmar military’s violent crackdown on Rohingya Muslim communities in Rakhine state, a campaign of violence that has since led to a genocide case in the UN’s highest court. Now the army is once again accused of committing war crimes against its own people. The tactics are familiar, but the primary targets this time are Rakhine Buddhists such as Kyaw Thu, as well as Rohingya, Mro, Daignet and Chin communities.
Despite sharing a faith with Myanmar’s rulers, Rakhine Buddhists have long complained of persecution, and say the development of their state has been stifled by the central government. Repression has now, they say, escalated into violent atrocities.
For more than a year, a long-simmering conflict has escalated between the military and the Arakan army, a rebel group drawn from Rakhine state’s Buddhist majority, that says it is fighting for greater autonomy..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"“The NLD government still has time to make this right by taking the following actions without delay: Immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and drop charges against those who are being persecuted for their fundamental right to freedom of expression; stop harassing the media and reporters for doing their legitimate work; repeal repressive legislation and enact laws that enshrine press freedom and freedom of expression.”
Myanmar has announced that it will indeed go ahead with the 2020 general election as planned, most likely in November. However, as noted by civil society organizations in light of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, freedom of expression is in decline in the country. It is essential that this fundamental freedom is guaranteed to hold the government accountable, to monitor the fairness of the elections and ensure transparency and fairness in its organization, and to scrutinize the platforms of the political parties that will contest it.
One of the most pressing concerns in regard to freedom of expression and restrictions on the press, is the ongoing internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin States. While one township in Rakhine State, Maungdaw, was recently taken off this list, this is probably a tactical PR move from the government given the upcoming reporting deadline to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on progress on implementation of measures as ordered by the Court. The remaining eight townships, however, are black holes of information. This is particularly galling in the context of both the coronavirus pandemic – where information dissemination is key for public health – and the ongoing armed conflict, in which 157,000 people have been displaced and the Myanmar military continues to commit egregious human rights violations. It has now been ten months without internet access in this part of Myanmar. Furthermore, on the same day that the Myanmar government officially announced its first coronavirus cases, they also announced that over 230 websites would be blocked. While the government gave the reason that such sites either contain adult content or spread ‘fake news,’ the reality is that some of these websites are essential ethnic media outlets such as Karen News and the Rakhine-based Development Media Group. These media outlets are not purveyors of ‘fake news’ but trusted local agencies that provide valuable information regarding the ground situation in their respective areas, areas where mainstream domestic or international media do not have access to. This valuable information pertains not just to the coronavirus pandemic, but also on the human rights violations and atrocities committed by the Myanmar military..."
Source/publisher:
Progressive Voice (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
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"At least 1,000 Rohingya are stranded at sea as Southeast Asian nations tighten their borders to keep out the new coronavirus, Amnesty International said on Friday, urging action to ensure they were not buried in an “invisible graveyard” at sea.
Rights groups believe at least two boats carrying Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority from Myanmar, are off the coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh, but officials said they had no clear information.
Spokesmen for the Western Fleet of the Indonesian navy as well as Aceh’s disaster mitigation agency and search and rescue team told Reuters they were trying to confirm the location of the vessels.
Refugees from two other boats have landed in Bangladesh since mid-April, many starving and emaciated after weeks at sea. Survivors from one said dozens died on board.
Saad Hammadi, from the South Asia Regional Office of Amnesty International, said the refugees could have been sailing for several weeks or even months without food or water, citing information from humanitarian agencies and local news reports..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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Bloc's top diplomatic says return to peace process 'would help addressing root causes of plight of Rohingya'
Description:
"The EU on Friday urged all armed forces in Myanmar to implement an unconditional cease-fire and return to the peace process.
“Several hundreds of Rohingya people, including women and children, have been drifting for weeks at sea in appalling conditions, being pushed away from the shores in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in a written statement.
He said the bloc urges governments in the region to carry out a search and rescue operation for stranded Rohingya.
“Bangladesh granted safe landing and assistance to 400 Rohingya on one of the boats on 16 April 2020, showing continued generosity and humanity,” Borrell said, adding that it expects other countries to follow suit.
Bangladesh coast guard units rescued a boat carrying 390 Rohingya who were reportedly turned back from Malaysia nearly two months ago. As many as 100 perished at sea.
In the face of deadly clashes in Myanmar and the uncertainty of peaceful repatriation, the Rohingya are leaving crammed camps in Bangladesh to flee to countries like Malaysia through risky sea routes.
“The EU urges all armed forces in Myanmar to urgently implement an unconditional ceasefire and recommit to an all-inclusive peace process,” he said. “This would help addressing the root causes of the plight of the Rohingya.”
It added that the bloc is ready to provide further support for Rohingya refugees in the region..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Xenophobic sentiments on social media against “the most discriminated people in the world” – the Rohingya of Myanmar – is on the rise in Malaysia.
A few weeks ago, it was reported that Malaysia denied entry to a boat carrying around 200 Rohingya refugees which was spotted by an air force jet off the north-western island of Langkawi. Malaysian sailors provided the Rohingya food before escorting them out of the country’s waters.
“With their poor settlements and living conditions … it is strongly feared that undocumented migrants who try to enter Malaysia either by land or sea will bring (COVID-19) into the country,” read a statement by Malaysia’s air force.
To date, more than three million people have been infected with the deadly coronavirus. The pandemic has prompted governments to imposed drastic measures to contain the outbreak. In Malaysia, 100 people have succumbed to COVID-19, as of 28 April. The country has enacted its nationwide partial lockdown, also known locally as the Movement Control Order (MCO) since mid-March and is due to end on 12 May. This has led to the closure of border gates and the barring of foreigners from entering the country.
"Receiving the Rohingya at times like this could open the floodgates for more foreign nationals and vessels to approach the Malaysian border and therefore hinder the government's effort to fight Covid-19,” said Mohamad Hasan, deputy president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He also said that the country has “far exceeded” its capacity to host refugees..."
Source/publisher:
"The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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Yanghee Lee says Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed to live up to her reputation as an icon of human rights.
Description:
"The United Nations' outgoing human rights envoy for Myanmar has told Al Jazeera that the country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, failed to live up to her reputation as a humanitarian.
Yanghee Lee's time in the role was dominated by Myanmar's bloody crackdown in western Rakhine state in 2017, when at least 750,000 people, mostly ethnic Rohingya, fled across the border to Bangladesh.
More:
UN envoy calls for investigation into "possible war crimes" in Myanmar as Rakhine conflict continues
Eight killed in Myanmar's troubled western state of Rakhine
Myanmar to release 25,000 prisoners to mark New Year festival
Aung San Suu Kyi has been widely criticised for remaining mostly silent on accusations of anti-Rohingya violence, and Lee told Al Jazeera on Wednesday she believed the Myanmar leader's inaction was "utterly disappointing"..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Yanghee Lee says the army is ‘maximising suffering’ on Rohingya and other people in attacks reminiscent of the 2017 assault in Rakhine state
Description:
"Myanmar’s military may once again be committing crimes against humanity in Rakhine state, the UN special rapporteur on human rights has warned, urging the international community to prevent further atrocities.
In a damning statement issued on Wednesday, Yanghee Lee said the military was inflicting immense suffering on communities living in conflict-affected states, and called for increased efforts to “ensure that there is not another systemic failure like in 2017”. The military had also expanded its campaign against minorities from Rakhine to neighbouring Chin state, she said.
Myanmar is already facing allegations of genocide over a brutal military crackdown that began in August 2017, and which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee over the border to Bangladesh. Earlier this year, Myanmar was instructed by the UN’s highest court to take action to prevent genocidal violence against Rohingya citizens and to report back on its progress..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State
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Sub-title:
Yanghee Lee steps down after six years of raising the alarm on atrocities committed against Rohingya minority.
Description:
"The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, is stepping down after spending six years raising the alarm on atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority.
In her final report, Lee said the military's actions bore the "hallmarks of genocide" and accused the civilian government of doing nothing to change things.
Al Jazeera's Florence Looi reports from Kuala Lumpur..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution from Myanmar have been left stranded at sea on the Bay of Bengal following a decision by Bangladesh to refuse to bring them ashore. Rohingya refugees were trying to make their way to Malaysia; however, the country’s restrictions on receiving any boats in light of the coronavirus pandemic left them in the Bay of Bengal. Now the nearest country, Bangladesh, is likewise leaving them deserted.
There are approximately 500 Rohingyas, including many women and children, stranded on two trawlers, risking starvation and in need of urgent medical assistance after having been left at sea for weeks. According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, Rohingya refugees at sea have no access to adequate food or water, leaving them in an unacceptable plight. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said, “I am opposed to allowing these Rohingya into the country because Bangladesh is always asked to take care of the responsibility of other countries.” He further added, “We have no room to shelter any foreign people or refugees.” In addition, the Bangladesh government has even denied the fact that these trawlers full of Rohingyas exist, in a bid to try to shirk further responsibility..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
Appeal made to Bangladesh after its FM said the South Asian country would not accept the boats.
Description:
"A top UN official has urged Bangladesh to let two stranded boats with Rohingya refugees on board land amid mounting fears over their fate.
On Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned of a "human tragedy of terrible proportions" unless action is taken to help the Rohingya on the boats.
More:
Do not push Rohingya out to sea amid coronavirus emergency: UNHCR
Hundreds of doctors in Bangladesh infected with coronavirus
OPINION: Refugees must be protected during the coronavirus pandemic
"In a spirit of solidarity and at the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan, I appeal to you in the strongest terms to open your ports and allow the boats to land," Bachelet said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP news agency.
"The reportedly more than 500 men, women and children aboard these boats have been at sea for an extended period of time, and we understand that they require urgent rescue, food, medical care and other necessary humanitarian assistance."
The appeal was made to the Bangladesh government after Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the South Asian country would not accept the boats..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Rights groups urge Dhaka to allow some 500 Rohingya stuck in the Bay of Bengal to come ashore.
Description:
"The Bangladesh government has refused to allow some 500 Rohingya refugees stranded on board two fishing trawlers in the Bay of Bengal to come ashore, drawing criticism from rights groups.
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the Rohingya refugees, who are believed to have been at sea for weeks, are "not Bangladesh's responsibility."
More:
Do not push Rohingya out to sea amid coronavirus emergency: UNHCR
Hundreds of doctors in Bangladesh infected with coronavirus
OPINION: Refugees must be protected during the coronavirus pandemic
"Why you are asking Bangladesh to take those Rohingyas? They are in the deep sea, not even in Bangladesh's territorial water," Momen said, adding that there are at least eight coastal countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal.
"It's your duty to ask Myanmar government first because those are their citizens," Momen told Al Jazeera.
The two trawlers - carrying an estimated 500 Rohingya women, men and children - are in the Bay of Bengal after being rejected by Malaysia, which has imposed restrictions on all boats in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, the stranded Rohingya might "have been at sea for weeks without adequate food and water."
Momen said that just weeks ago, Bangladesh rescued a total of 396 Rohingya people from a vessel that had been adrift for about two months after also failing to reach Malaysia..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
Refugee advocates say fear of Rohingya refugees carrying the virus is not an excuse to refuse them asylum.
Description:
"Stateless Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar by boat face a "dire, and in many cases fatal predicament" at sea, and countries in the region should allow them to disembark on humanitarian grounds despite the coronavirus health crisis, the United Nations refugee agency has said.
Indrika Ratwatte, director of the UNHCR Asia-Pacific region, said on Thursday the international body is "increasingly concerned" by reports of hundreds of Rohingya refugees on board fishing boats being refused entry to countries despite the dangerous conditions on the smugglers' ships. More:
Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting
Students injured in shelling at school in Myanmar's Rakhine state
UN urged to suspend Myanmar return plan for Chin amid unrest
"We are increasingly concerned by reports of failure to disembark vessels in distress and of the grave immediate risk this poses to the men, women and children on board," Ratwatte said..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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At least 32 civilians have been killed in western Myanmar since late last month, the UN says, in fighting between the military and an armed ethnic group.
Description:
"The UN described the situation as “dire,” and said almost daily fighting was taking place in areas of Rakhine and Chin provinces.
It is unclear whether civilians were targeted or caught in crossfire between security forces and militants.
The Arakan Army militants are ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.
Myanmar’s military denies targeting civilians.
Countries including the UK and the US have called for an end to fighting amid the global coronavirus pandemic. More than 80 cases have been reported in Myanmar, along with four deaths.
The Arakan Army declared a month-long ceasefire but this was rejected by the government.
In another development, the authorities in Myanmar say they will free nearly 25,000 inmates as part of a traditional new year prison release.
Among those to be released are hundreds of Rohingya jailed for breaking travel restrictions applied to them because they are not recognised as citizens.
Groups monitoring the country’s notoriously overcrowded prisons have been campaigning to get inmates released early to reduce the likelihood of Covid-19 spreading in jail..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
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Description:
"...The conflict between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar is a multilayered problem with various interlinked causes. The disputes have spread outside the local area and become a regional problem that also involves other countries. This problem cannot be solved in the near future, not as long as the majority of Burmese citizens share the same mindset of hatred toward the Rohingya. It is impossible to fix or change the bitter history between Burmese people and Rohingya. To solve the conflict, the perspective of the Burmese toward the Rohingya must be changed – not only from the Burmese side, as the perspective of the Rohingya towards the Burmese is also hostile. The most important thing is for the Burmese government to treat the conflict seriously and sincerely. The government must find a solution to handle the situation with emphasis on humanity and human rights. I have found that the perspective and perception of the Burmese towards Rohingya depend on the education level of Burmese people. Among the well-educated, even if they believe that the Rohingya are a Bengalese migrants, they still agree that as human beings, the Rohingya should get a chance to enjoy basic human rights. The Rohingya issue is no longer just a Myanmar problem, as it already affects the international community..."
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Armed conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) State
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"...Considerable historical evidence affirms that the Rohingya Muslims are indigenous inhabitants and rightful citizens of Myanmar, who have been living in Rakhine State not for decades, but for centuries. The Myanmar government has been systematically eradicating the Rohingya people due to their Islamic religious identity. This analysis finds that the ongoing persecution on Rohingya Muslims is a manifestation of a classical model of ethnic cleansing. The disasters experienced in Rakhine State present a complete evidence of systematic, widespread and prolific human rights violations, including heinous crimes against humanity. This article presents an academic perspective on repeated incidents, based on authentic proofs to international community of ethnic cleansing committed by the Myanmar army. This research has been carried out through various types of sources, such as recent and previously published books, articles, local and international newspapers, TV channels, magazines, documentaries, human rights organizations’ reports, and eye-witness accounts of the victims. Finally, it provides suggestions to resolve the rising problems, which may bring a permanent solution to the long-lasting humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State..."
Date of entry/update:
2020-04-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide
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Format :
PDF
Size:
1.8 MB
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Sub-title:
The award was granted to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi three years ago.
Description:
"The City of London Corporation (CLC) on Thursday revoked an honour granted to Aung San Suu Kyi over the treatment of minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Elected representatives on the body that runs London's historic centre and financial district voted to revoke the freedom of the city granted to Suu Kyi three years ago.
More:
ICJ orders Myanmar to protect Rohingya
Myanmar finds war crimes but no genocide in Rohingya crackdown
'Justice served': Rohingya in Bangladesh hail ICJ order
This move in the United Kingdom followed Suu Kyi's appearance, as Myanmar's civilian leader, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in December to personally defend her country against allegations of rape, arson and mass killings against Rohingya victims..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), About Aung San Suu Kyi, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar is restricting media access to the far western state of Rakhine where the military is fighting Arakan Army rebels.
Description:
""I think I might have told you too much already. Someone will probably tell the government I've been speaking to journalists," the shopkeeper told me.
We were in Maungdaw, a once-bustling town in the northern part of Rakhine state, Myanmar.
We looked around.
There wasn't anyone who stood out as secret police.
After all, it's usually not difficult to pick them out. They are normally better dressed than villagers. A close-cropped haircut means they are most likely to be military intelligence. Sometimes there's a tell-tale sign- a walkie talkie. But the shopkeeper was still worried. He wouldn't tell us his name or give us his phone number. We were on a government-arranged media trip to northern Rakhine. This was where the Myanmar military had launched a brutal crackdown on 25 August 2017, targetting the mainly Muslim Rohingya, an ethnic minority in Myanmar.
Soldiers and Buddhist mobs were accused of killing, torturing and raping Rohingya men and women. Homes were ransacked and set ablaze. The fires raged for days and could be seen from across the border in Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"UN agencies and their partners on Tuesday launched an appeal for 877 million U.S. dollars to help Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who are in Bangladesh, as well as the hosting communities, said a UN spokesman.
The aim is to help some 855,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and more than 444,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in the communities which are generously hosting these refugees, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
More than half of the money will be for vital services and assistance, such as access to food, shelter, clean water and sanitation, he said.
This marks the third year of exile for most Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. They are clear that they want to return home, but only when they and their families will be safe, can access basic rights and see a pathway to citizenship in Myanmar, said the spokesman..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
UN agencies together with the Bangladesh authorities have appealed for $877 million to support hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, where conditions are still not conducive for their safe return, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday.
Description:
"Speaking on the sidelines of the 2020 Joint Response Plan (JRP) launch for 855,000 ethnic Rohingya, and the more than 444,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities, Mr. Grandi urged Myanmar to take quicker action to help the displaced to return home. “The solution continues to be in Myanmar”, said the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “The problem is that things that need to be done there, to create conditions for refugees to return from Bangladesh into Myanmar, are too slow or not happening yet.”
In August 2017, a military operation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in response to separatist violence prompted hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya to flee.
At the time, then High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, likened the episode to a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
Reporting to the Human Rights Council, he also cited reports of Myanmar authorities laying landmines along the border with Bangladesh and requiring returnees to provide “proof of nationality” - an impossibility, given that successive Myanmar governments have, since 1962, progressively stripped the Rohingya population of their political and civil rights, including citizenship rights.
Longstanding discrimination
At the current Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Zeid’s successor, Michelle Bachelet, noted that for over half a century, the policies of Myanmar had discriminated against religious and ethnic minorities..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Al Jazeera cameras have been allowed on a tightly-controlled, government-organised trip to Rakhine state in northern Myanmar, where the army has denied carrying out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"At least five ethnic Rohingya were killed and several injured after troops clashed with insurgents in Myanmar's conflict-torn western state of Rakhine, a lawmaker and two residents said on Sunday (March 1).
Saturday's fighting broke out after Arakan Army rebels attacked a military convoy passing the historic temple town of Mrauk U, the regional MP, Tun Thar Sein, and a spokesman for the armed group, Khine Thu Kha, said.
Two military spokesmen did not answer telephone calls from Reuters to seek comment, and the army did not immediately issue a statement on its website.
Khine Thu Kha, the Arakan Army spokesman, blamed government troops for the civilian casualties. A government spokesman said he could not comment.
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the details of the attack in the remote area, where journalists are barred and internet access curtailed.
Myanmar army artillery shells hit the village of Bu Ta Lone, killing four people, the Arakan Army spokesman said in a message.
The MP, a health worker who treated the injured, and a villager said at least five Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority, had died.
There were conflicting accounts of the number of Rohingya injured, which ranged from six to 11, along with several members of the state's Rakhine ethnic majority. Rakhine is the state from which more than 730,000 Rohingya were forced to flee for neighbouring Bangladesh after a military crackdown in 2017 that the U.N. has said was executed with genocidal intent. Myanmar denies committing genocide..."
Source/publisher:
"The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Officially, rape hardly happens in Myanmar and domestic abuse is non-existent. The reality? Violence against women is so pervasive it is regarded as normal -- and as a result -- woefully underreported, says lawyer and activist Hla Hla Yee.
"Domestic abuse in Myanmar is regarded as a family matter and even if it is reported, the police fail to take action," she explains, adding that many still view it as a normal part of marriage that women must endure.
The UN has warned violence against women and girls is a "silent emergency" in the country, with incidents spanning groping on public transport to trafficking, and has called for a zero-tolerance approach in communities, police, and the justice system. Analysis by the Demographic and Health Survey suggested at least one-fifth of women were abused by a partner in 2016.
According to government statistics, there were 1,405 rape cases in 2017, up from 1,110 the year before -- around two thirds committed against children..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Women's rights, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Afraid to return home, Myanmar's Rohingya refugees are stuck in camps in Bangladesh, three years on from a military crackdown.
Description:
"Rohingya who fled a campaign of violence against them in Myanmar remain fearful of returning home, despite the government saying it is now ready to receive them.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017.
A recent United Nations court ruling ordered Myanmar to protect them.
Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury reports from Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
": The contact group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), led by Saudi Arabia, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at his office at the UN’s New York headquarters to discuss the latest developments related to the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority community in Myanmar.
The group included representatives from Turkey, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and the OIC Observer Mission to the UN.
The Kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, lauded the efforts of Guterres to support the legitimate rights of the Rohingya, highlighting the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision demanding the government of Myanmar honor its obligations to provide protection to the group.
“The ICJ decision was the result of the efforts exerted by the OIC members states in New York and the Contact Group on Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar headed by the Kingdom,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Arab News" (Saudi Arabia)
Date of entry/update:
2020-03-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Myanmar authorities have apprehended more than 2,200 Rohingya Muslims as they attempted to illegally leave the country by sea since 2015, according to a list of the detainees obtained from a naval officer by RFA’s Myanmar Service.
Nearly 1,500 Rohingya were detained in 2015, more than 500 were picked up in 2018, and roughly 250 have been apprehended so far in 2019, according to the list provided by the officer, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to give information to the media.
The figures did not include Rohingya who fled by land from two military-led crackdowns in northern Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017. During the first round of violence, about 90,000 Muslims left and headed across the border and into Bangladesh, while the second, more brutal clampdown forced more than 740,000 into Bangladesh.
Thousands of other Rohingya have tried to leave Myanmar in the last several years to escape institutionalized persecution, grinding poverty, and insecurity in Rakhine state. They pay human traffickers hundreds of dollars each to transport them to other Muslim-friendly nations in Southeast Asia where they hope to have a better life..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Summary:
"In 1948, Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from Britain, although the promised autonomy to the Rohingya people (who are mainly Muslim), as well as other ethnic groups like the Shan and...
Description:
"In 1948, Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from Britain, although the promised autonomy to the Rohingya people (who are mainly Muslim), as well as other ethnic groups like the Shan and Kachin people was never granted. Instead, military-government led persecution and theft of land have been their lot. The Rohingya people were stripped of their nationality in 1982, and subsequently labelled as ‘Bangladeshis’.
Since 2012, especially in 2015 and 2017, there were several outbreaks of vicious attacks on the Rohingya people by the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar military forces, which forced over 700,000 to flee from Rakhine province into refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. More than a million Rohingyas live in the squalor, disease, and poverty of the refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, having fled from appalling violence and rape or sexual abuse.
According to “Physicians for Human Rights”, Rohingyas in the camps had been subject to being beaten or injured with weapons, hit by grenades or mortars, or raped or sexually assaulted. For example, in 2017, 6-year-old Abdul Wahid was shot in the head and left leg; despite surviving the attack after surgery in Bangladesh, walking is now an extreme difficulty for him. 21-year-old Rabia Basri lost five relatives when fired at by military forces, and is now unable to walk or even carry loads without the use of crutches.These examples are but the tip of the iceberg.
There are currently around ten refugee camps in Bangladesh, each housing anywhere between 9,000 and 600,000 Rohingyas. The largest camp, Kutupalong, has the highest number and contains an expansion site of makeshift camps.
International hypocrisy
The government of Bangladesh is, of course, not a benevolent force intervening in the crisis; it previously provided the Myanmar government with tens of thousands of names of Rohingyas marked for repatriation, following a joint agreement signed in 2018.
Voluntary repatriation has been refused by many Rohingya refugees over fears of further violence or sexual assault when back in Rakhine province. The government of Myanmar has also steadfastly refused to grant full citizenship to the Rohingya people, instead offering only the concession of ‘part-citizenship’..."
Source/publisher:
"The Socialist" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
The Human Rights Council on Thursday held an interactive dialogue with UN rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, on the root causes of violations and abuses suffered by the Rohingya mainly-Muslim minority and other minorities in Myanmar. She said the Government now has a historic opportunity to counteract systematic violations, "by bringing its people together, as one".
Description:
"The High Commissioner also presented her oral update, as well as country reports of the Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), followed by a general debate.
Ms. Bachelet said she welcomed the engagement and constructive input of the Government of Myanmar in the compilation of the report.
She reminded Member States that for over half a century, the policies of Myanmar had discriminated against religious and ethnic minorities. Women and girls heavily impacted
Democratic deficits, entrenched impunity, weak rule of law and the lack of civilian oversight had all contributed to human rights abuses in Myanmar, Ms. Bachelet noted, adding that women and girls were especially impacted as a result of sexual and gender-based violence. Government policies “have contributed to and perpetuated violence, extreme poverty, exploitation and dispossession. Notably, the 1982 Citizenship Law rendered stateless a significant proportion of the Rohingya and other Muslims, compounding their vulnerability”, she said. She added that the “root causes of these violations are complex, multi-dimensional and long-standing. Unpacking and untangling this multi-faceted human rights challenge requires understanding the historical, political, economic and social dimensions as a prerequisite to identifying solutions.”..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
UN rights chief makes recommendations in report on Rohingyas, other minorities in Myanmar
Description:
"Myanmar should repeal and review laws and policies that discriminate against the Rohingyas based on their ethnicity, religion, language and culture, said Michelle Bachelet, United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
“Review and repeal laws and policies that perpetuate discrimination on the basis of ethnic, religious, linguistic or cultural identity, including, but not limited to, those on citizenship, the four ‘race and religion’ laws, and laws perpetuating economic exclusion of minorities, such as in relation to land and natural resources,” she said in her report on Rohingyas, other minorities in Myanmar submitted at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday.
“The concept of ‘national races’ should be revoked to allow for self-identification on ethnic, religious and linguistic grounds for all official and legal purposes,” she added in her recommendations for the government of Myanmar, religious leaders and communities, and social media platforms active in Myanmar with respect to the Rohingya community.
“Myanmar stands at a critical point in its democratic transition. The 2020 general elections, the renewed initiative for constitutional reform and the ongoing peace process present important opportunities to address the root causes of human rights violations against minorities and to shape a common vision for the future,” said the UN rights chief in her 17-page report.
“Fundamentally, this requires an immediate cessation of ongoing violations, an end to systemic impunity, and comprehensive State reforms on democratic federal lines that removes the control of the military and ensures its accountability to elected civilian authorities,” she said..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Human rights lawyer will represent Maldives, which is joining the Gambia in taking Myanmar to court for alleged genocide
Description:
"Amal Clooney will represent the Maldives in seeking justice for Rohingya Muslims at the UN’s highest court, where Myanmar faces accusations of genocide.
The Maldivian government has said it will join the Gambia in challenging Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya people during an army crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017 that forced more than 700,000 people to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.
In a unanimous decision in January, the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague imposed emergency “provisional measures” on Myanmar, instructing it to prevent genocidal violence against its Rohingya minority and preserve any evidence of past crimes.
The ruling was an outright rejection of the defence put forward by Aung San Suu Kyi, who attended court in person to defend the military’s actions. In evidence to the court she urged ICJ judges to dismiss allegations of genocide and instead allow the country’s court martial system to deal with any human rights abuses. A final judgement is expected to take years. In a statement, Clooney, the human rights lawyer and barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, said: “Accountability for genocide in Myanmar is long overdue and I look forward to working on this important effort to seek judicial remedies for Rohingya survivors.”
Clooney successfully represented former the Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed and secured a UN decision that his 2015 jailing for 13 years was illegal.
She also represented Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who spent more than 500 days in prison in Myanmar convicted of breaking the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The journalists had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in Rakhine state. They were freed in May 2019..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
The Ministry of Information regularly arranges trips to northern Rakhine State for journalists and interesting encounters occur when their minders’ backs are turned.
Description:
"ALL IT TAKES is a quick turn around a corner to evade the scrutiny of the minders and get a better understanding of the whole picture.
“Please, sir, you need to know that we have been lying to you all along because the government employees are listening,” the young man told Frontier. “We are afraid of repercussions if we don't say what they want us to say. We don't have a choice. I am sorry.”
It would be irresponsible to publish the young man’s name or say where in northern Rakhine State that the encounter occurred.
Furtive conversations with journalists are not what the government-appointed commission headed by former United Nations secretary Mr Kofi Annan had in mind when it recommended that “the Government of Myanmar should provide full and regular access for domestic and international media to all areas affected by recent violence – as well as all other areas of the state”. Support more independent journalism like this. Sign up to be a Frontier member.
The recommendation is one of 88 in the final report that the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State released on August 24, 2017. In the early hours of the next day the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army launched a series of coordinated attacks on security posts in northern Rakhine, triggering a response from the Tatmadaw that sent more than 750,000 Rohingya fleeing to safety in Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"DHAKA: Bangladesh has yet again shelved a controversial plan to relocate some 100,000 Rohingya refugees to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, a minister said on Wednesday (Feb 26).
Authorities have long sought to relocate some of the country's million-plus Rohingya population to Bhashan Char, despite warnings the silty strip of land was prone to violent and potentially deadly monsoon storms.
The move would take some pressure off the overcrowded border camps home to huge numbers of the persecuted and stateless Muslim minority, most of whom fled neighbouring Myanmar in 2017 after a brutal military crackdown.
But rights groups say that some refugees had been coerced into agreeing to relocation and the plan has been staunchly opposed by the Rohingya community at large.
Junior disaster management minister Enamur Rahman said Bangladesh would increase its focus on diplomatic talks aimed at returning the refugees home.
"The relocation plan has been postponed," he told AFP, adding that there had been "much progress" in repatriation discussions with Myanmar with China acting as intermediary. Bangladesh and Myanmar have already signed a repatriation deal to send back some Rohingya to their homeland - but safety fears mean very few have agreed to return..."
Source/publisher:
"CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
The minister made the declaration while addressing the 43rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Tuesday
Description:
"Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has announced the Maldivian administration's decision to file a written declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, in support of the persecuted Rohingya people.
The minister made the declaration while addressing the 43rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Tuesday.
In his statement, Minister Shahid noted that the government welcomed ICJ's ruling last month, which ordered Myanmar to "take all measures within its power” to protect the Rohingya from genocide.
"The Maldives intends to support the ongoing efforts to secure accountability for the perpetrators of genocide against the Rohingya people, in line with the decision taken by the OIC during the Summit held in Makkah last year," said Minister Shahid, referring to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's calls on the ad hoc ministerial committee to launch a case over Myanmar's human rights violations against the Rohingya Muslims at the ICJ..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Rohingya Muslims displaced by communal violence with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists across western Myanmar’s beleaguered Rakhine state nearly eight years ago say prospects for the betterment of their lives look dimmer than ever as they still live in near-apartheid conditions.
The wave of brutal slayings and attacks in June 2012 left more than 200 people dead and displaced about 120,000 Rohingya, who were later forced to live in squalid camps scattered around the state.
Entire communities were burned down, including Narzi ward in Rakhine’s capital Sittwe, where Khin Maung, a 30-something year-old Rohingya lived with his family. During the violence, he, his relatives, and other residents escaped to the west side of town where other Muslims resided.
Khin Maung told RFA’s Myanmar Service that he does not know whether his family will ever be able to return to their original ward, with restrictions still imposed on the free movement of the Rohingya in Rakhine and beyond..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"In this episode of UpFront we challenge Aung San Suu Kyi's former spokesperson on allegations of genocide in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
And we debate the police response to protests in France against President Emmanuel Macron's government with La Republique En Marche MP Roland Lescure..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, About Aung San Suu Kyi
Language:
Local URL:
more
Title: Rohingya response: Proper planning for response could make Bangladesh economically benefitted
Sub-title:
JRP 2020 stated that Rohingya response should be a real joint venture ensured by aid transparency and management that should be accountable
Description:
"Demanding a single line authority for ensuring maximum benefit for the displaced Myanmar citizens (Rohingya refugees), a Cox’s Bazar based network has stated that proper planning will benefit the national and local economy at the same time.
The network, Cox’s Bazar CSO NGO Forum (CCNF), was presenting its response to the Joint Response Plan (JRP) 2020 at a press briefing in the city’s press club.
JRP 2020 stated that Rohingya response should be a real joint venture ensured by aid transparency and management that should be accountable.
The JRP in Rohingya response is being prepared by ISCG (Inter-Sectoral Coordination Group). The Rohingya response will formally be launched in Geneva in March. The plan envisages funds to the tune of around $887 million for 2020.
Barkat Mullah Maruf, joint director of Coast Trust, an NGO, said: “Localization does not necessarily mean giving response-based jobs to locals; it rather means the development of locals through using their resources.” He also stated that local traders could additionally benefit from selling necessary items to the Rohingya community..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Aung San Suu Kyi's former spokesperson Nyo Ohn Myint dismisses atrocities carried out against the Rohingya.
Description:
"In January the International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to prevent the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. Myanmar's government rejected the ruling, saying it was based on a "distorted picture of the situation".
According to the UN, at least 10,000 people have been killed and more than 700,000 have fled Rakhine state since the Myanmar military's crackdown began in 2017. Thousands of Rohingya women and girls have been raped, and around 300 villages burnt to the ground.
The former spokesman of Myanmar's de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is dismissing the allegations, describing them as "one-sided".
"Most of the international people live in the rumours, hearsay," Nyo Ohn Myint said.
"This is a political accusation … because you know, they just joined the bandwagon," he added.
Nyo Ohn Myint also questioned the evidence gathered by the international community - which has been denied access to Rakhine state by Myanmar's government.
"When I read the US State Department report that said the Rohingya women were raped by soldiers and surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, it looked like the very, you know ... third-class Hollywood movie," he said.
Nyo Ohn Myint suggested that some of the women who gave accounts of their rape to Amnesty International were lying.
"I don't know because if I, if I look at her eye, maybe she was true or maybe she was lying," he said.
This week's Headliner, Aung San Suu Kyi's former spokesperson, Nyo Ohn Myint..."
Source/publisher:
"Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Genocide
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Dozens of Rohingya Muslims, including two children, appeared in court in Myanmar on Friday, the latest group to face charges after attempting to flee conflict-torn Rakhine state. The group of about 20 were among 54 people from the Rohingya minority arrested on Wednesday on the outskirts of the commercial capital Yangon while trying to leave for Malaysia, according to judge Thida Aye.
“The immigration officer submitted the case because they found no identification cards from these people,” she told Reuters.
Some were barefoot, others clothed in colorful head-scarfs, as they were ushered into the small courtroom in Yangon. A small boy was naked from the waist down.
Defense lawyer Nay Myo Zar said they had fled Rakhine state, the western region where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya live in apartheid-like conditions and have come under increasing pressure as government troops battle ethnic rebels.
More than 730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape a military-led crackdown that U.N investigators have said was carried out with “genocidal intent” and included mass killings and rapes..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, The rights of non-citizens, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to nationality, citizenship and immigration (commentary)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"The Myanmar military announced Friday that it will investigate and open court-martial proceedings against soldiers accused of killing Rohingya Muslim civilians during a violent army-led crackdown in the country’s Rakhine state in 2017, the third such case in a country facing international criticism for failing to hold troops accountable for widespread atrocities.
In a move experts said would be unlikely to meet Myanmar’s U.N.-mandated obligations toward the Rohingya, the military said it would probe a government-appointed commission’s findings on killings in Maung Nu and Chut Pyin villages, where about 300 civilians are believed to have died at the hands of soldiers during “clearance operations.”
The military said it had reviewed reports of the killings in the two communities in a report issued in January by the Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE), a Myanmar government-appointed body tasked with probing allegations of human rights violations in Rakhine.
The ICOE made more than 20 recommendations in the report and advised both the military and the government to continue investigating incidents related to the crackdown. President Win Myint sent copy of the report to armed forces commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to be used in military investigations and prosecutions..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
Exclusive: Australia accused of giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities
Description:
"The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s defence forces – recommended by the UN for investigation and prosecution for war crimes and genocide – has met with Australia’s ambassador and says he wants to train more of his officers in Australia.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the supreme commander of Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, which has been accused of genocide in its systematic persecution of the ethnic and religious minority Rohingya.
In “clearance operations” begun in August 2017, thousands of Rohingya were murdered, women and girls were gang raped, while pregnant women were targeted for torture and murder. Other people were burned alive in their homes, and more than 700,000 Rohingya fled over the border to Bangladesh.
Australia’s ambassador, Andrea Faulkner, met Min Aung Hlaing on 29 January at the Bayintnaung Villa in the capital, Naypyidaw. The pair exchanged gifts and posed for photos. Human Rights Watch has said Australia’s decision to take the meeting risked giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Australia-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Myanmar authorities on Wednesday arrested nearly 50 Rohingya Muslims in Yangon region as they attempted to flee the country for Malaysia, a lawmaker said, while a separate group of Rohingya detainees appeared in court in Ayeyarwady region to face charges on traveling without official permission over their earlier attempt to flee.
The 49 Rohingya picked up included 28 woman, 18 men, and three children in a wooded area in Hlegu township, said Myat Marlar Tun, a lawmaker in Yangon’s regional parliament.
“They were arrested last night,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “They are being interrogated. The authorities will transfer them this evening.”
“I don’t know if they will be sent to Insein Prison or someplace else,” he added, referring to the detention center on Yangon’s outskirts.
Thazin Myint Myat Win, an attorney representing the Rohingya, told RFA that the detainees will appear in court on Friday.
“They are going through medical tests,” he said. “The authorities are preparing their case files and getting testimonies. They will go on trial tomorrow.”
It was not immediately clear whether the 49 Rohingya would be charged with traveling without official permission, or with immigration offenses..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Malaysia-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming yesterday said his country is not trying to protect Myanmar over the Rohingya issues as his country has friendly relations with both Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Responding to a question at the DCAB Talk, organised by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the National Press Club in the capital, Li Jiming said China wants an end to the crisis through dialogue with the intervention of China and international bodies.
The ambassador said “It is often said that China is protecting Myanmar on the Rohingya issue. We have friendly relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar. We are not trying to protect Myanmar. We are trying to persuade all to settle the issue through dialogue, especially bilateral dialogue,” he said.
“Rohingya crisis is a bilateral issue of Bangladesh and Myanmar. But in solving the crisis, they need helping hands, including China,” he added. Li Jiming We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added.
“China made a lot of efforts as the mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh to resolve the Rohingya crisis. China is not the main player. Bangladesh and Myanmar are the main players. China is only helping to find a solution of the crisis. We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added..."
Source/publisher:
"The Independent" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, China-Burma relations
Language:
Local URL:
more
Sub-title:
How likely is Myanmar to make policy changes after the ICJ ruling?
Description:
"oes Myanmar have any obligation to take the world court -- the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague – seriously?
The second question is whether Myanmar’s quasi-military ruler has the political will to implement the landmark judgment of January 23. Myanmar has officially rejected the International Court of Justice’s historic ruling, and accused international rights groups of making exaggerated statements about the prevailing situation. It also rejected the UN fact-finding mission’s report on the basis of being “one-sided.”
It is well understood that the ICJ has no legal jurisdiction over Myanmar or any individual nation.
The ICJ ordered Myanmar to implement vital measures to protect its Rohingya population from facing any further atrocities. This ruling has been hailed as an “accomplishment of international justice.” The court further ordered Myanmar to ensure protection from destruction of any evidence of “possible” genocide.
The ruling means that a global body, for the first time, has officially recognized the threat of abuse against the Rohingya, and ordered Myanmar to protect the community..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Sub-title:
Kirin has stakes in two breweries and donated directly to the military, which the UN says is ‘indefensible’
Description:
"Japanese beverages giant Kirin – parent brewer of a suite of Australian beer brands such as XXXX, Tooheys, and James Squire – could pull out of the brewery it co-owns with the Myanmar military, after facing international condemnation for its business partnership with an army accused of genocide.
The company’s president and chief executive, Yoshinori Isozaki, said in a statement the company recognised the “challenges of operating in frontier markets” and was working to improve its practices.
“Human rights is fundamental to all of our business activities … we are reviewing strategic options for our operations in Myanmar.”
Kirin’s review of its partnership with the Myanmar military is being led by its international advisory board, whose members include Australians Sir Rod Eddington and Paula Dwyer. Kirin owns a little over half of both Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery in partnership with Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL), a conglomerate of the Myanmar military, accused of committing genocide in its persecution of the Rohingya ethnic and religious minority.
The business partnership with Kirin provides not only much-needed foreign currency for the isolated Myanmar military – which is subject to global arms embargoes – but also, crucially, is a source of international legitimacy..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Japan-Burma relations
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Sub-title:
'We don't know how authorities in Pathein town will proceed'
Description:
"Nearly 50 Rohingya Muslims have been detained at sea by Myanmar's navy, a local official said Friday, the latest from the persecuted minority to be caught trying to flee camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar's restive Rakhine state.
It was not immediately clear where the group started their boat journey but they were likely aiming for Malaysia or Indonesia, predominantly Muslim countries with large Rohingya diasporas.
Thousands of Rohingya have taken to the sea over the years in high-risk attempts to escape sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh and oppressive conditions in Rakhine.
Village administrator Myint Thein told AFP by phone the navy had picked up 48 Rohingya men, women and children, as well as five "traffickers," at sea on Wednesday evening.
An AFP reporter saw the group arrive Friday morning at Pathein township police station.
"We don't know how authorities in Pathein town will proceed," Myint Thein said.
Some 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar's Rakhine to Bangladesh to escape a brutal military crackdown in 2017 and now languish in sprawling refugee camps.
Hundreds of thousands more remain in Rakhine, living under tight restrictions with little access to healthcare, education or livelihoods in conditions Amnesty International brands as "apartheid". The group detained at sea this week is just the latest in a series of arrests in recent months as seasonal calmer waters tempt more Rohingya to put their lives in the hands of traffickers..."
Source/publisher:
Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Description:
"On 23 January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued what amounted to a “cease and desist” order against Myanmar, ordering authorities there to end genocidal practices against the Rohingya. The ruling of the so-called “World Court” has brought hope that international justice will prevail after the horrors inflicted on women, men and children in Rakhine State by Myanmar’s security forces.
But while the court’s ruling was a landmark moment, there are still many lingering questions. What happens next? What effects will the ruling have on Myanmar’s domestic scene, where an election looms later this year? Will Myanmar comply with the order — and what happens if it does not?
The ICJ’s ruling meant that a global legal body for the first time officially recognised the real threat of abuse against the Rohingya, and ordered Myanmar to do what it can to protect them. The ICJ also called on Myanmar to prevent further breaches of the Genocide Convention, rein in abuses by its security forces and preserve evidence of past abuses..."
Source/publisher:
"Euronews" (Lyon)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Description:
" At least 15 women and children drowned and more than 50 others were missing after a boat overloaded with Rohingya refugees sank off southern Bangladesh as it tried to reach Malaysia Tuesday, officials said.
Some 138 people — mainly women and children — were packed on a trawler barely 40 feet long trying to cross the Bay of Bengal, a coast guard spokesman told AFP.
"It sank because of overloading. The boat was meant to carry maximum 50 people. The boat was also loaded with some cargo," another coast guard spokesman, Hamidul Islam, added..."
Source/publisher:
"CBS News" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Children, Children's Rights - studies, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Arakan (Rakhine) State
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Sub-title:
Genesis of sustained, institutionalized destruction of Rohingya is anchored in group’s identity as Muslims
Description:
"The International Court of Justice’s Jan. 23 interim order in a case filed by Gambia against Myanmar is designed to protect the Rohingya and preserve the crime sites. It has brought a sense of vindication to several million Rohingya victims – in the diaspora, inside Myanmar, and in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
It was by far the most significant act the international community has taken since the Rohingya have been subjected to a national policy of discrimination, disenfranchisement, displacement and destructive deportation by various organs of the state in Myanmar.
The case which Gambia brought before the court has focused narrowly on the violent events of 2016 and 2017. However, it is crucial to see this group destruction in the proper context which began under the false pretext of Myanmar’s attempts at cracking down on the “illegal immigration” across Myanmar-Bangladesh borders which stretch 270 miles.
As a matter of fact, today (Feb. 12) marks the 42nd anniversary of the first violently genocidal purge -- centrally organized by the then military dictatorship of General Ne Win in Rangoon involving various agencies, not only the government troops and police force but also departments or ministries of religious affairs, customs and various branches of intelligence
Paradoxically, this is also the date in which Myanmar celebrates “Union Day” -- when the country’s majority Buddhist Burmese public and several national minorities along the borders of colonial Burma agreed to merge their regions voluntarily to form a single federated independent nation in 1947.
On the very same day, in Rakhine, a state in western Myanmar that borders Bangladesh, Myanmar launched the first-ever violent deportation of literally hundreds of thousands of Rohingya -- the majority of whom were born and raised in the region and had official IDs and documentation that proved their Myanmar nationality.
The purges were carried out in two phases under military-style operations collectively known as Operation Dragon King.
The first phase was launched in Rakhine state’s capital Sittwe on Feb. 12, 1978, and lasted only a week, involving 200 interagency forces that resorted to various acts of violence and terror. The second phase was carried out in the northern Rakhine towns of Buthidaung and Maungdaw with 400 interagency security forces.
Myanmar troops resorted to arson, slaughter, rape and other terror methods in the region where the population was peaceful, unarmed and compliant as evidenced in the newspaper reports of the time from Bangladesh, Pakistan and other Asian regions..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Sub-title:
At least 14 people have drowned when a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank off the south coast of Bangladesh, officials say.
Description:
"The boat was destined for Malaysia and included Rohingya refugees from camps in Bangladesh, local authorities told the BBC.
All of the dead bodies recovered are reportedly of women and children.
An official told the AFP news agency that 70 people were rescued. Many are still missing.
Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know
The boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Saint Martin's island.
In August 2017, a deadly crackdown by Myanmar's army on Rohingya Muslims sent hundreds of thousands fleeing across the border into Bangladesh.
Most have been placed in refugee camps and some have tried to flee in boats to Malaysia..."
Source/publisher:
"BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
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