Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
See also Discrimination against the Rohingya in the Human Rights section
Individual Documents
Description:
"1. The National Unity Government has adopted the seals, policies, and programmes of the 13 ministries.
2. The official website of the National Unity Government https://nugmyanmar.org is now launched. It has web pages for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of International Cooperation, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Human Rights. The web pages for other ministries will be available soon.
3. The National Unity Government is releasing today a statement1 regarding the Rohingya. The statement sets out that they will be referred by NUG as 'Rohingya' and that the 1982 Citizenship Law will be repealed and replaced with a new law based on proper
citizenship criteria. It also states that the government will continue working with the international legal system to hold the military accountable for the crimes committed against the people, including Rohingyas, over many decades.
4. The NUG wishes to tell the world that the number of forcibly displaced people in the Kayin State, Shan State, Kachin State, Chin State, and Magway Region from the attempted coup of 1 February 2021 up to 27 May 2021 is 83,900. The number of displaced people up to 29 May 2021 at the IDP camps in the Karenni State is more than
80,000. The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management has already delivered humanitarian assistance worth around 300 million Kyat to the IDPs in Kayin
State, Karenni State, Yangon Region, Shan State, Kachin State, Mon State, Chin State, Mandalay Region, and Tanintharyi Region.
5. The Ministry of Defence has released Basic Principles of the People’s Defence Force 2 (PDF) and the Military Code of Conduct for the People’s Defence Force 3 (PDF). The Code of Conduct sets out Rules for soldiers, for prisoners of war (POWs) on the relations
with civilians, including women and children. The Ministry has also released a statement 4 on the members of the Tatmadaw.
6. The National Unity Government (NUG) of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the Chin National Front (CNF) signed an agreement on 29 May 2021 to fight together against the dictatorship and to bring about a shared democratic federal system.1
7. Under the guidance of Ministry of Health, Myanmar doctors in the UK have started delivering weekly online lectures via Zoom from 29 May 2021 and 30 May 2021 for medical students in Final Part II. The lessons are delivered on Saturdays and Sundays.
There were more than 2,000 participants. The lectures are being based on the curriculums of medical schools in Myanmar and those in the UK (Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester etc.) and reflect the context of the present situation in Myanmar, so the lessons will first and foremost focus on emergency care. The schedules for weekly
lectures will be announced in time on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Health 5. The lecturers will work with doctors in the US and Australia to add more lessons.
8. The Ministry of Health's motto is people-centred approach and that we recognise and honour all healthcare professionals caring patients by giving up their lives. A protocol has been set up for the early detection and prevention of COVID 19 third wave in
Myanmar. It includes strict guidelines for the individuals and the families, instructions for the suspects and mild cases, step by step guidelines for how to deal with seriously ill patients. These guidelines and protocols will be available on the Ministry Facebook and
website for public information. There will be more updates on telemedicine centers which will be set up and be opened 24 hours for advice and treatment for the suspects. The preventative measures must be distributed, and the guidelines must be
followed diligently as prevention is far more effective than the cure.
9. The Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment welcomes Total’s suspension of their cash dividends, payable to the military junta. This cash dividend suspended by Total is however a small amount compared with the full revenue flows from Total to the regime.
Therefore, the regime will continue receiving substantial amounts of revenue, risking that more money is spent enabling violence. We urge the oil and gas companies to block and cease all payments generated from oil and gas industry as soon as possible. These payments are crucial for the continuation of the military council, an organization of
state terrorists..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
268.91 KB
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Description:
"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ
www.nugmyanmar.org
သတင်းထုတ်ပြန်ချက် (၃/၂၀၂၁)
၃ ဇွန် ၂၀၂၁ခုနှစ်
၁။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ ဝန်ကြီးဌာန (၁၃) ခု၏ အမှတ်တံဆိပ်များ နှင့် မူဝါဒများ၊ လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များကို အတည်ပြုခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်သည်။
၂။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ တရားဝင်အင်တာနက်စာမျက်နှာ(Website)ဖြစ်သော https://nugmyanmar.org ကို ထုတ်လွှင့်လိုက်ပြီဖြစ်ပြီး နိုင်ငံခြားရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၊ ကျန်းမာရေး ဝန်ကြီးဌာန နှင့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဝန်ကြီးဌာန တို့၏ အင်တာနက်စာမျက်နှာ(Website) များလဲ ပါဝင်ပါသည်။ ကျန်ရှိနေသေးသော ဝန်ကြီးဌာနများ၏ အင်တာနက်စာမျက်နှာ(Website) များကိုလဲ မကြာမီအချိန်အတွင်း ဆက်လက်ထုတ်လွှင့်ပေးသွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၃။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ ထားရှိသည့် သဘောထားထုတ်ပြန်ချက် ၁ ကို ယနေ့ထုတ်ပြန်လိုက်သည်။ ယခုထုတ်ပြန်ချက်တွင် ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူအား “ရိုဟင်ဂျာ” ဟူသော အမည်ဖြင့်သုံးစွဲသွားမည် ဖြစ်ကြောင်း၊ ၁၉၈၂ နိုင်ငံသားဥပဒေကို ပယ်ဖျက်၍ နိုင်ငံသားစံနှုန်းများကို အခြေခံရေးဆွဲသော ဥပဒေသစ်ဖြင့် အစားထိုးဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်းနှင့် ရိုဟင်ဂျာများနှင့် အခြားပြည်သူတို့အပေါ် ဆယ်စုနှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာ ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် ရာဇဝတ်မှုများနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ အပြစ်ရှိသည့် စစ်တပ်၏ တာဝန်ခံမှုများကိုဖော်ဆောင်နိုင်ရန်အတွက် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာတရားရုံးနှင့် ဆက်လက်ဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း များပါရှိသည်။
၄။ အာဏာသိမ်းစစ်ကောင်စီက နိုင်ငံတော်အာဏာကို မတရားသိမ်းယူခဲ့သည့် ဖေဖော်ဝါရီလ (၁) ရက်နေ့မှစ၍ ကရင်ပြည်နယ်၊ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်၊ကချင်ပြည်နယ်၊ချင်းပြည်နယ်နှင့်မကွေးတိုင်းတို့မှ အိမ်ယာစွန့်ခွာရွှေ့ပြောင်းရသူများမှာ မေလ ၂၇ ရက်နေ့အထိ ၈၃၉၀၀ အထိရှိနေပြီဖြစ်ပြီး ကရင်နီပြည်နယ် စစ်ဘေးရှောင်စခန်းများတွင် မေလ ၂၉ ရက်နေ့အထိစာရင်းအရ ၈၀၀၀၀ ကျော်ရှိသွားပြီဖြစ်ပါသည်။ လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထားရေးနှင့် ဘေးအန္တရာယ် ဆိုင်ရာစီမံခန့်ခွဲရေး ဝန်ကြီးဌာန အနေဖြင့် ကရင်၊ ကရင်နီ၊ ရန်ကုန်၊ ရှမ်း၊ ကချင်၊ မွန်၊ ချင်း၊ မန္တလေး၊ တနင်္သာရီ ဒေသများမှ နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာထွက်ပြေးနေရသူ တိုင်းရင်းသားပြည်သူများအတွက် လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု အကူအညီများ အနေနှင့် သိန်း ၃၀၀၀ ခန့်တန်ဖိုးရှိ အကူအညီများပေးပို့ခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်သည်။
၅။ ကာကွယ်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာနက ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်မတော်(PDF)၏ အခြေခံမူဝါဒ ၂ , စစ်သည်တော် ကျင့်ဝတ်စည်းမျဉ်းများ၊ စစ်သုံ့ပန်းများအပေါ် ပြုကျင့်ရမည့် ကျင့်ဝတ်များ၊ အရပ်သားပြည်သူများနှင့် ဆက်ဆံရာတွင် လိုက်နာရမည့် ကျင့်ဝတ်များ၊ အမျိုးသမီးများနှင့် ကလေးငယ်များအပေါ် လိုက်နာရမည့် ကျင့်ဝတ်များပါဝင်သည့် ပြည်သူ့ကာကွယ်ရေးတပ်မတော် စစ်ဘက်ဆိုင်ရာ ကျင့်ဝတ်များ ၃ ၊ တပ်မတော်သားများနှင့် သက်ဆိုင်သည့် မူဝါဒသဘောထားကြေညာချက် ၄ များကို ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့သည်။
၆။ ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်၊ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ (NUG) နှင့် ချင်းအမျိုးသားတပ်ဦး (CNF) တို့အကြား အာဏာရှင်စနစ်ဆန့်ကျင်တော်လှန်ရေးနှင့် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီစနစ်ဖော်ဆောင်ကျင့်သုံးရေးအတွက် နှစ်ဖက်သဘောတူညီချက်ကို ယနေ့ မေလ ၂၉ ရက်တွင် အောင်မြင်စွာ လက်မှတ်ရေးထိုးခဲ့ပါသည်။ ၅
၇။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၏ သဘောထားမှာ ပြည်သူသည်သာအဓိက၊ ပြည်သူ့ ကျန်းမာရေးသည် ပထမဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ကိုယ်ကျိုးစွန့်လျက်၊ အသက်ပေးလျက် ပြည်သူ့ကျန်းမာရေးကို စောင့်ရှောက်ပေး နေကြသော ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ထမ်းများအား ကျေးဇူးတင်ဂုဏ်ပြုပါသည်။ ဝန်ကြီးဌာနအနေဖြင့် ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ ရောဂါ တတိယလှိုင်းကို ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရန်နှင့် ရောဂါဖြစ်ပွားမှုကို စောစီးစွာသိရှိနိုင်ရန် လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များ ဆောင်ရွက်ထားရှိပါသည်။ လူတစ်ဦးချင်းစီနှင့် မိသားစုတစ်စုချင်းစီက ရောဂါကာကွယ်ရေး လုပ်ငန်းများ တိကျစွာလိုက်နာရန်၊ ရောဂါသံသယလက္ခဏာရှိသူများနှင့် မပြင်းထန်သော လူနာများ ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် လုပ်ငန်းများ၊ ပြင်းထန်သော လက္ခဏာရှိသည့် လူနာများအတွက် လုပ်ငန်းအဆင့်ဆင့်ကို ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန၏ ဖေစ့်ဘွတ်ခ် စာမျက်နှာတွင် ဖော်ပြထားပြီး ပြည်သူများ သိရှိသင့်သည့်အချက်များကို အချိန်နှင့် တပြေးညီ ဖော်ပြသွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ သံသယလူနာများ (၂၄)နာရီ ပြသနိုင်ရန် တယ်လီကျန်းမာစင်တာများကို ဖွင့်လှစ်၍ ကုသအကြံပေးသွားမည်ဖြစ်ရာ သတင်းထပ်မံထုတ်ပြန်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ကာကွယ်ခြင်းက ကုသခြင်းထက် အဆပေါင်းများစွာ ကောင်းမွန်သဖြင့် ရောဂါကာကွယ်ရေး နည်းလမ်းများကို တစ်ဦးကိုတစ်ဦး အသိပေး၊ သတိပေး၍ သတိမလစ် ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် လိုပါသည်။
၈။ ဆေးတက္ကသိုလ်နောက်ဆုံးနှစ် အပိုင်း (ခ) ကျောင်းသားများအတွက် ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ကြီး၏ လမ်းညွှန်မှုနှင့်အညီ UK ရောက်မြန်မာဆရာဝန်များမှ အပတ်စဉ် စနေနှင့် တနင်္ဂနွေနေ့ online zoom lecture များကို၂၉-၃၀ မေလ weekend မှစတင်ပို့ချပေးလျက်ရှိပါသည်။ မြန်မာပြည်ရှိ CDM လုပ်နေသောဆရာများ၊ US နှင့် Australia ရောက်မြန်မာဆရာဝန်များနှင့် ပူးပေါင်း၍ သင်ခန်းစာ အချိန်များကို တိုးချဲ့သွားပါမည်။ ပထမနေ့တွင် zoom သတ်မှတ်ထားသော ၁၀၀၀ ပြည့်သွားသောကြောင့် ဒုတိယနေ့တွင် zoom live အပြင် ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန Facebook page မှ live လွှင့်ရာ ကျောင်းသား ၂၀၀၀ ကျော်တက်ရောက်ပါသည်။ ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် ဆေးတက္ကသိုလ်များ ၏ သင်ရိုးညွှန်းတမ်းနှင့် UK ဆေးတက္ကသိုလ်များ (Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester, etc.) သင်ရိုးညွှန်းတမ်းအပေါ်အခြေခံ၍ ယနေ့မြန်မာပြည်အခြေအနေပေါ်မူတည်၍ သင်ကြားပြီး Emergency အခြေအနေ များကို ရှေးဦးစွာ ဦးစားပေးသင်ကြားပါမည်။ အပတ်စဉ် သင်ကြားမည့် အစီအစဉ်များကို ကျန်းမာရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန Facebook page ၅ မှ အချိန်နှင့် တပြေးညီ အသိပေးကြေညာပေးသွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
၉။ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြှုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီးဌာန အနေဖြင့် Total ကုမ္ပဏီမှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသို့ စီးဝင်နေသော ဝင်ငွေတစ်စိတ်တစ်ပိုင်းဖြစ်သည့် အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုအား ရပ်ဆိုင်းလိုက်သည့်အတွက် ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ အဆိုပါအမြတ်ငွေများသည် စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အကြမ်းဖက်လုပ်ရပ်များအတွက် အဓိကအထောက်အပံ့ပြုနေသော ဝင်ငွေများ ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ယခုရပ်ဆိုင်းလိုက်သည့် အမြတ်ငွေသည် TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီမှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီထံသို့ စီးဝင်နေသော စုစုပေါင်းဝင်ငွေနှင့် နှိုင်းစာလျှင် မပြောပလောက်သည့် ပမာဏသာဖြစ်သည့်အတွက် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအနေဖြင့် ရရှိမြဲဝင်ငွေအများအပြားကို ဆက်လက်ရရှိနေမည်သာဖြစ်ပြီး ၎င်းတို့၏ အကြမ်းဖက်ယန္တရားအား ဆက်လက်လည်ပတ် နေမည်သာဖြစ်သည်။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအနေဖြင့် ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓါတ်ငွေ့ထုတ်လုပ် ရောင်းချသည့် ကုမ္ပဏီများအား အထူးတိုက်တွန်းလိုသည်မှာ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ သက်ဆိုးရှည်ရေးအတွက် အဓိက ကျသည့် ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓါတ်ငွေ့ရောင်းချရသည့်ဝင်ငွေများအား ထိရောက်စွာ အမြန်ဆုံးဟန့်တားပိတ်ဆို့ဖြတ်တောက် အရေးယူကြရန် ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Anti-coup protesters, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"In honour of human rights and human dignity and also to eradicate the conflicts and root causes in the Union, the National Unity Government aims to build a prosperous and federal democratic union
where all ethnic groups belonging to the Union can live together peacefully. This objective is clearly stated in the Federal Democratic Charter.1
Sovereignty belongs to the member states and the people of the member states as proclaimed in the guiding principles for the establishment of a federal democratic union."
Everyone in the Union has full enjoyment of fundamental human rights. All ethnic groups who are native to the Union have full enjoyment of individual rights held by individual people and collective
rights held by ethnic groups. All citizens who swear allegiance to the Union regardless of their ethnic origins are considered to have full enjoyment o f citizens’ rights.3 The National Unity Government
will not tolerate any form of discrimination. The National Unity Government regards the above-mentioned policies as a basis in addressing the matters related to the Rohingyas in Rakhine State. We are confident that extensive deliberations, which consider the positions of all stakeholders in Rakhine State, their historical backgrounds, and
national and international laws, will enable all to find shared solutions in a way that respects the human rights of all persons.
At present, the elimination of the military dictatorship has become the common goal of the entire people because of the violence committed by the illegitimate military council. It is also the period of
national resistance against the military dictatorship. The solidarity of the entire people is now at its best. We are confident that we can rebuild a Union that meets the needs of all those in the country
who have a stake in its future. After consultations with the many different stakeholders in Rakhine States, including Rohingya
groups and refugee representatives from the IDP camps, the NUG here makes clear how it will seek to apply these principles for the good of all in the Rakhine State. The National Unity Government well understands the violence and gross human rights violations
inflicted upon Rohingyas by the thuggish military and the massive displacement, with hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes during the conflicts in Rakhine State over the last decades. We are
deeply saddened by this. The entire people of Burma is sympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya as all now experience atrocities and violence perpetrated by the military. Endeavouring to bring the perpetrators to account is not only for the realization of justice but also
acts as a deterrent against future atrocities. Therefore, we regard this as a priority task. Reparation and Justice will be ensured in the future Federal Democratic Union Constitution. We will actively seek justice and accountability for all crimes committed by the military against the
Rohingyas and all other people of Myanmar throughout our history. We intend if necessary to initiate processes to grant International Criminal Court jurisdiction over crimes committed within Myanmar
against the Rohingyas and other communities. We consider that the 88 recommendations set out in the final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State chaired by Dr Kofi Annan must play a crucial role in addressing the affairs in Rakhine State.4 These recommendations are based on solutions for the root causes of violence. However, over the past four years, much has changed to make the situation worse in Rakhine State for all ethnic
groups there. Using these recommendations as well as other relevant recommendations as inputs, we earnestly believe that we can work together with all the people in Rakhine State to chart a new
course towards a democratic inclusive and prosperous future.
We would also like to highlight the importance of legal matters in seeing to the Rakhine question. We will consider the opinions and views of the entire people in the country, including those in
Rakhine State, in drafting a new constitution that can resolve the many problems caused by the 2008 At present, the elimination of the military dictatorship has become the common goal of the entire
people because of the violence committed by the illegitimate military council. It is also the period of national resistance against the military dictatorship. The solidarity of the entire people is now at its
best. We are confident that we can rebuild a Union that meets the needs of all those in the country who have a stake in its future.
After consultations with the many different stakeholders in Rakhine States, including Rohingya groups and refugee representatives from the IDP camps, the NUG here makes clear how it will seek
to apply these principles for the good of all in the Rakhine State.
The National Unity Government well understands the violence and gross human rights violations inflicted upon Rohingyas by the thuggish military and the massive displacement, with hundreds of
thousands fleeing their homes during the conflicts in Rakhine State over the last decades. We are deeply saddened by this. The entire people of Burma is sympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya as
all now experience atrocities and violence perpetrated by the military.
Endeavouring to bring the perpetrators to account is not only for the realization of justice but also cts as a deterrent against future atrocities. Therefore, we regard this as a priority task. Reparation
and Justice will be ensured in the future Federal Democratic Union Constitution. We will actively seek justice and accountability for all crimes committed by the military against the Rohingyas and all other people of Myanmar throughout our history. We intend if necessary to initiate processes to grant International Criminal Court jurisdiction over crimes committed within Myanmar against the Rohingyas and other communities. We consider that the 88 recommendations set out in the final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State chaired by Dr Kofi Annan must play a crucial role in addressing the affairs in Rakhine State.4 These recommendations are based on solutions for the root causes of violence. However, over the past four years, much has changed to make the situation worse in Rakhine State for all ethnic groups there. Using these recommendations as well as other relevant recommendations as inputs, we earnestly believe that we can work together with all the people in Rakhine State to chart a new
course towards a democratic inclusive and prosperous future.
We would also like to highlight the importance of legal matters in seeing to the Rakhine question. We will consider the opinions and views of the entire people in the country, including those in
Rakhine State, in drafting a new constitution that can resolve the many problems caused by the 2008 constitution. The views and insights of all can contribute to this process. All the people in the country, including all stakeholders in Rakhine State, are invited to participate in the process of drafting the new constitution. Such dialogue is essential to creating a shared future for the country. The process of repealing, amending, and promulgating laws, including the 1982 Citizenship Law, by the new constitution when the drafting is completed will be beneficial in resolving the conflict in Rakhine State. This new Citizenship Act must base citizenship on birth in Myanmar or birth
anywhere as a child of Myanmar Citizens. We further commit to abolishing the process of issuing National Verification Cards, a process that the military has used against Rohingyas and other ethnic groups coercively and with human rights violations. The Rohingyas are entitled to citizenship by laws that will accord with fundamental
human rights norms and democratic federal principles.
The voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas who fled to neighbouring countries from Rakhine State due to Tatmadaw violence is a crucial matter. We reaffirm the agreements signed with
neighbouring countries for the repatriation process. We are ready to cooperate with all stakeholders of good will in a special programme to implement the process. We are committed to the repatriation
of Rohingyas as soon as repatriation can be accomplished voluntarily, safely, and with dignity. The National Unity Government is a government whose primary duty is to fight the illegal military
dictatorship. While we focus on this task, we are also planning for the future. We believe it will be beneficial in building the future democratic federal union to listen to all stakeholders in a spirit of
collaboration. Therefore, we invite Rohingyas to join hands with us and with others to participate in this Spring Revolution against the military dictatorship in all possible ways..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-03
[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.), National Unity Government (NUG)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
149.44 KB
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Description:
"အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးနှင့် လူသားတို့၏ ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာကို လေးစား လိုက်နာပြီး ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီပဋိညာဉ်တွင် ရှင်းလင်းစွာဖော်ပြထားသည့်အတိုင်း ပြည်ထောင်စုအတွင်း ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့သည့် ပဋိပက္ခများ၊ အရင်းခံပြဿနာများကို အပြီးသတ်ချုပ်ငြိမ်းစေရန် နိုင်ငံသူ ၊ နိုင်ငံသားများအားလုံး ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ အေးအတူပူအမျှ အတူတကွယှဉ်တွဲနေထိုင်နိုင်သော သာယာဝပြောသည့် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပြည်ထောင်စုအား တည်ဆောက်ရန် ရည်ရွယ်သည်။
ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီပြည်ထောင်စု တည်ဆောက်ရေးဆိုင်ရာ လမ်းညွှန်အခြေခံမူများတွင် ဖော်ပြထားသည့် အတိုင်း “ပြည်ထောင်စုအဖွဲ့ဝင် ပြည်နယ်များနှင့် ယင်းပြည်နယ်များအတွင်းရှိ ပြည်သူတို့သည် အချုပ်အခြာအာဏာ၏ မူရင်းပိုင်ရှင်များ ဖြစ်သည်” ဟု ခံယူသည်။
ပြည်ထောင်စုတွင် နေထိုင်သူတိုင်းသည် အခြေခံလူ့အခွင့်အရေးကို အပြည့်အဝ ခံစားခွင့်ရှိရမည်။ လူမျိုးတိုင်းသည် လူပုဂ္ဂိုလ် တစ်ဦးချင်းအလိုက် ခံစားခွင့်ရှိသည့် တစ်သီးပုဂ္ဂလ အခွင့်အရေးများနှင့် လူမျိုးအလိုက် ခံစားခွင့်ရှိသည့် စုပေါင်းအခွင့်အရေးများကို အပြည့်အဝခံစားပိုင်ခွင့်ရှိရမည်။ ပြည်ထောင်စု၏ နိုင်ငံသားတိုင်းသည် နိုင်ငံသားများ၏ အခြေခံအခွင့်အရေးများကို အပြည့်အဝခံစားခွင့် ရှိရမည်ဟု ခံယူသည်။ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရသည် ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံမှုမှန်သမျှကို လက်မခံပါ။
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်အတွင်းရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများနှင့် ပတ်သက်သော အကြောင်းအရာများကို ကိုင်တွယ်ဖြေရှင်းရာတွင် အထက်ပါမူဝါဒများကို အခြေခံရမည်ဟု သဘောထားသည်။ ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်အတွင်းရှိ ပါဝင်ပတ်သက်သူများအားလုံး၏ သဘောထားများ၊ နောက်ခံသမိုင်းကြောင်း အဖြစ်အပျက်များ၊ ပြည်တွင်းနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေများကို ထည့်သွင်းစဉ်းစားလျက် လူတိုင်း၏ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးကိုလေးစားသည့် အားလုံးလက်ခံနိုင်သော ဖြေရှင်းမှုများကို ဖော်ဆောင်နိုင်မည်ဟု ယုံကြည်သည်။
ယခုအချိန်တွင် အာဏာသိမ်း စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကြောင့် စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ် အမြစ်ပြုတ်ရေးသည် ပြည်သူအားလုံးအတွက် ဘုံဦးတည်ချက်တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်လာပါသည်။ တစ်နိုင်ငံလုံး အတိုင်းအတာဖြင့် တွန်းလှန်နေသောအချိန်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ပြည်သူအားလုံး စည်းလုံးညီညွတ်မှု အရဆုံးအချိန် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ စည်းလုံးညီညွတ်မှုဖြင့် ပြည်သူအားလုံးတို့၏ လိုအပ်ချက်ကို ဖြည့်ဆည်းပေးနိုင်မည့် အနာဂတ် ပြည်ထောင်စုအား ပြန်လည်တည်ဆောက်နိုင်မည်ဟု မိမိတို့ ယုံကြည်သည်။
ရိုဟင်ဂျာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် ဒုက္ခသည်စခန်းများ၊ ပြည်တွင်းရွှေ့ပြောင်းနေထိုင်သူများစခန်းများမှ ကိုယ်စားလှယ်များအပါအဝင် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ပါဝင်ပတ်သက်သူများစွာနှင့် တွေ့ဆုံဆွေးနွေးမှုများ လုပ်ဆောင်အပြီး အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ပြည်သူများအားလုံး၏ အကျိုးအတွက် အောက်ပါ မူဝါဒများကို ချမှတ်လုပ်ဆောင်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင် လွန်ခဲ့သော ဆယ်စုနှစ်များအတွင်း ဖြစ်ပျက်ခဲ့သော အဖြစ်အပျက်များအတွင်း အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်၏ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများအပေါ် နည်းမျိုးစုံဖြင့်အကြမ်းဖက်ခြင်း၊ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးများကို ရက်ရက်စက်စက်ချိုးဖောက်မှုများကြောင့် လူဦးရေ သောင်းပေါင်းများစွာ နေရပ်မှစွန့်ခွာ ထွက်ပြေးရခြင်း၏ ဘေးဒုက္ခများကို ကောင်းစွာသိရှိပြီး အထူးစိတ်မကောင်း ဖြစ်ရပါသည်။ ယခုအခါ အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်တပ်၏ ရမ်းကား ရက်စက်မှုများ၊ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ကိုယ်တွေ့ မျက်မြင်တွေ့ကြုံခံစားနေရသော မြန်မာပြည်သူတရပ်လုံးကလည်း ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူတို့၏ ဆိုးဝါးလှသည့်အဖြစ်ဆိုးအပေါ် စာနာနားလည် နေကြပါသည်။
ထိုသို့ ရက်စက် ရမ်းကားမှုများ၊ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို ကျူးလွန်သူများအား တရားဥပဒေအရ အရေးယူ အပြစ်ပေးခံရရန် ကြိုးပမ်းခြင်းသည် တရား မျှတမှုကိုဖော်ဆောင်ခြင်းသာမက ထိုသို့သော အဖြစ်အပျက်မျိုး နောက်နောင်တွင် ထပ်မံဖြစ်ပွားခြင်းမရှိစေရန် ကြိုတင်ကာကွယ်ခြင်းလည်း ဖြစ်သောကြောင့် ဦးစားပေးအလေးထား ဆောင်ရွက်ရမည့် လုပ်ငန်းတစ်ရပ်အဖြစ် ခံယူပါသည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများနှင့် အခြားပြည်သူတို့အပေါ် သမိုင်းတလျောက် ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် ရာဇဝတ်မှုများနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ အပြစ်ရှိသည့် စစ်တပ်၏ တာဝန်ခံမှုများဖော်ဆောင်နိုင်ရန်နှင့် တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် ဆုံးရူံးနစ်နာခဲ့ရမှုများအတွက် ကုစားမှုများကို လူတိုင်းရရှိခံစားနိုင်ရန်အတွက် အထူးလုပ်ဆောင် သွားမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ အနာဂတ်ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီဖွဲ့စည်းပုံ အခြေခံဥပဒေထဲတွင်လည်း ပြန်လည်ကုစားရေးနှင့် တရားမျှတမှုဖော်ဆောင်ရေးတို့ပါဝင်လာစေရန် သေချာစွာ လုပ်ဆောင်သွားမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများနှင့် အခြားပြည်သူတို့အပေါ် ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအတွက် နိုင်ငံတကာ ရာဇဝတ်မှုတရားရုံး၏ စီရင်ပိုင်ခွင့်ကို အသုံးပြုနိုင်ရန် အစပျိုးလုပ်ဆောင်နေပါသည်။
ဒေါက်တာကိုဖီအာနန်ဦးဆောင်သော ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ဆိုင်ရာ အကြံပေးကော်မရှင်၏ ၂၀၁၇ ခုနှစ်၊ ဩဂုတ်လတွင် ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့သော အပြီးသတ်အစီရင်ခံစာပါ အကြံပြုချက် (၈၈) ချက်သည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ် ဆိုင်ရာ ပြဿနာများကို ဖြေရှင်းရာတွင် အရေးကြီးသော အခန်းကဏ္ဍမှပါဝင်ကြောင်း မိမိတို့မှတ်ယူပါသည်။ ထိုအကြံပြုချက်များသည် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ၏အကြောင်းရင်းများအတွက် အဖြေရှာမှုများအပေါ် အခြေခံထားခြင်းဖြစ်ပါသည်။ သို့သော် လွန်ခဲ့သည့် လေးနှစ်တာကာလအတွင်း ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်၏အခြေအနေမှာ ယင်းဒေသရှိ ပြည်သူအားလုံးအတွက် ပိုမိုဆိုးရွားလာခဲ့သည်။ ထို့ကြောင့် အဆိုပါ အကြံပြုချက်များနှင့် အခြားသက်ဆိုင်ရာအကြံပြုချက်များကို သုံးသပ်စရာအချက်များအဖြစ် မှတ်ယူ၍ ဒီမိုကရေစီနည်းလမ်းတကျ လူတိုင်းပူးပေါင်းနိုင်သည့် သာယာဝပြောသော အနာဂတ်ကို ဦးတည်သော စာမျက်နှာသစ်ကို ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ပြည်သူများအားလုံးနှင့် လက်တွဲလုပ်ဆောင်ရန် လိုအပ်ကြောင်း မိမိတို့ အလေးအနက်ယုံကြည်ပါသည်။
ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ဆိုင်ရာ ပြဿနာကို ဖြေရှင်းရာတွင် ဥပဒေကြောင်းဆိုင်ရာ ကိစ္စရပ်များ၏ အရေး ကြီးမှုကိုလည်း မီးမောင်းထိုးပြလိုပါသည်။ ၂၀၀၈ အခြေခံဥပဒေ၏ ပြဿနာပေါင်းစုံကို ဖြေရှင်းနိုင်မည့် အခြေခံဥပဒေသစ်တစ်ရပ်ကို ရေးဆွဲရာတွင် တစ်နိုင်ငံလုံး အပြင် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်အတွင်းရှိ ပြည်သူလူထု၏ အတွေးအမြင်များ၊ သဘောထားများကိုလည်း ရယူမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ အားလုံး၏ အမြင်များနှင့် မျှော်မှန်းချက်များက ဤလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်ကို အကျိုးပြုနိုင်မည်ဖြစ်သည်။ ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ပါဝင်ပတ်သက်သူများ အားလုံးနှင့် တိုင်းပြည်တစ်ဝှမ်းရှိ ပြည်သူလူထုအားလုံးကို အဆိုပါ အခြေခံဥပဒေရေးဆွဲရေး ဖြစ်စဉ်တွင် ပါဝင်ကြရန် ဖိတ်ခေါ်ပါသည်။ ထိုသို့ပါဝင်လုပ်ဆောင်ခြင်းသည် အားလုံးကမျှော်မှန်းသည့် နိုင်ငံ၏အနာဂတ်ဖော်ဆောင်ရေးအတွက် မရှိမဖြစ်လိုအပ်လှပါသည်။
၁၉၈၂ နိုင်ငံသားဥပဒေအပါအဝင် တခြားဖိနှိပ်သည့်ဥပဒေများကို ဖျက်သိမ်းခြင်း၊ ပြန်လည်ပြင်ဆင်ခြင်းနှင့် အသစ်ပြဌာန်းခြင်းလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များကို ဖွဲ့စည်းပုံအခြေခံဥပဒေရေးဆွဲအပြီး လုပ်ဆောင်ခြင်းသည် အထောက်အကူ ဖြစ်မည်ဟု ယုံကြည်ပါသည်။ ယင်းဥပဒေသစ်အရ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်မှုသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်းမွေးဖွားခြင်း သို့မဟုတ် မည်သည့်နေရာတွင်ဖြစ်စေ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသားမိဘများမှ မွေးဖွားသူဖြစ်ခြင်းကို အခြေခံစေရမည်။
ရိုဟင်ဂျာနှင့် အခြားလူမျိုးများအပေါ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှုများဖြစ်ပွားစေသည့် နိုင်ငံသားစိစစ်ရေးကဒ်များ ပြဌာန်းလုပ်ဆောင်ခြင်းလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်များကို ပယ်ဖျက်မည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများသည် အခြေခံ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးစံနှုန်းများ၊ ဖက်ဒရယ် ဒီမိုကရေစီ အခြေခံမူများနှင့် ကိုက်ညီသော ဥပဒေများ အတိုင်း နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်ခွင့်ရှိပြီး နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်သူတိုင်းလည်း အခြားနိုင်ငံသားများနှင့် တန်းတူပြည်သူရေးရာအခွင့်အရေးများကို အပြည့်အဝရရှိခံစားနိုင်ရမည်။
အကြမ်းဖက်တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကြောင့် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်မှ အိမ်နီးချင်းနိုင်ငံများသို့ နေရပ် ပြောင်းရွှေ့ နေထိုင်နေကြရသော ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ မိမိတို့ နေရပ်သို့ မိမိကိုယ်ပိုင်ဆန္ဒသဘောဖြင့်၊ ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိရှိ လုံခြုံစွာ ပြန်လည်အခြေချနိုင်ရေးသည် အရေးကြီးကိစ္စရပ်တစ်ခုဖြစ်သည်။ ထိုသို့ ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်ရန် အိမ်နီးချင်း နိုင်ငံများနှင့် ချုပ်ဆိုထားသော သဘောတူညီချက်များကို ဆက်လက်သဘောတူ လက်ခံကြောင်း ထပ်လောင်း အတည်ပြုပါသည်။ ထိုသို့ ပြန်လည်အခြေချနိုင်ရေးအတွက် အထူးအစီအစဉ်တရပ်ကို သက်ဆိုင်ရာအားလုံးနှင့် ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်ရန် အသင့်ရှိပါသည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ မိမိတို့ နေရပ်သို့ မိမိကိုယ်ပိုင်ဆန္ဒသဘောဖြင့်၊ ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိရှိ လုံခြုံစွာ ပြန်လည်အခြေချနိုင်ရေးကို လုပ်ဆောင်နိုင်သည့်အခြေအနေရောက်ရှိသည်နှင့်တပြိုင်နက် လုပ်ဆောင်သွားမည်ဟု ခိုင်မာစွာ ပြောကြားလိုပါသည်။
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် စစ်အာဏာရှင်စနစ်တိုက်ဖျက်ရေးအတွက် အဓိကတာဝန်ယူနေသည့် ကြားကာလအစိုးရဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထိုတာဝန်ကို အဓိကထားထမ်းဆောင်နေသည့်အပြင် အနာဂတ်အတွက်ကိုလည်း ပြင်ဆင်လျက်ရှိပါသည်။ အကျိုးသက်ဆိုင်သူအားလုံး၏ အသံများကို နားထောင်ခြင်းနှင့် ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်းဖြင့် အနာဂတ် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီပြည်ထောင်စု တည်ဆောက်ရာတွင် အကျိုးဖြစ်စေမည်ဟု ယုံကြည်ပါသည်။ ထို့ကြောင့် ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ အနေဖြင့်လည်း စစ်အာဏာရှင် တိုက်ဖျက်ရေး နွေဦးတော်လှန်ရေးတွင် အခြားသော ပြည်သူများနှင့် အတူတကွ ဖြစ်နိုင်သောနည်းလမ်းများဖြင့် ပူးပေါင်း ပါဝင်ကြပါရန် ဖိတ်ခေါ်အပ်ပါသည်။ စစ်မှန်သော ဖက်ဒရယ် ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပြည်ထောင်စုတွင် ညှိနှိုင်းဆွေးနွေး အဖြေရှာခြင်းဖြင့် မဖြေရှင်းနိုင်သည့် ပြဿနာရှိမည်မဟုတ်ပါ။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-03
[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.), National Unity Government (NUG)
Language:
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pdf
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Description:
"Wrapping up today their four-day visit to Bangladesh, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioners for Protection and for Operations - Gillian Triggs and Raouf Mazou - called for international support and solidarity with Rohingya refugees and Bangladesh. The protection, well-being, and concerns of refugees, as well as renewed efforts towards solutions should be at the forefront of the response.
A joint visit to Bangladesh of the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs and UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, Raouf Mazou, took place from 30 May to 2 June. It included visits to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar where the vast majority of Rohingya refugees reside, and the island of Bhasan Char, as well as meetings with senior Government officials.
Throughout the visit, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioners reiterated their sincere appreciation to the Government and the people of Bangladesh for their humanitarian spirit and generous hospitality towards Rohingya refugees as they sought protection from violence and persecution in Myanmar over decades. This includes, notably, the recent influx of more than 740,000 Rohingya refugees since August 2017. They also reiterated the urgent need to continue working towards comprehensive solutions, including the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
The Assistant High Commissioners emphasized that the responsibility for the current Rohingya refugee situation in Bangladesh rests with Myanmar, and that is where the solution lies. However, the recent developments in Myanmar make the prospects of voluntary repatriation in the short term more challenging.
“While Bangladesh has shown humanity and solidarity, in line with the guiding principles of the Global Compact on Refugees, the international community must step up and give practical effect to the obligation to share responsibility, and to protect refugees and support the host Bangladeshi Government,” said Triggs.
The Assistant High Commissioners visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and met with the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), responsible for the overall coordination of the Rohingya refugee response in Cox’s Bazar as well as the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Cox’s Bazar.
Despite the COVID-19 challenges, they noted remarkable strides have been made in preparing for and responding to the pandemic, both within and outside of the camps, for refugees and host communities alike. The Assistant High Commissioners visited a COVID-19 treatment facility in the local community of Ukhiya, which was built in just 8 weeks. This facility alone has responded to the needs of around 1,000 patients in the past year, almost 70% of whom came from the Bangladeshi host community.
“The inclusive Health Sector response in Cox’s Bazar has saved lives. The Government has set a positive example by including the Rohingya refugees in the national COVID-19 response plan and the related national vaccination plan. UNHCR opened two of a total of 12 operational COVID-19 treatment facilities and established the first Intensive Care Unit in the District hospital. Responding to the needs of both communities on an equal basis is essential to ensuring that everyone is kept safe,” said Mazou.
Additional challenges have been presented by COVID-19 and related restrictions in the camps. The Assistant High Commissioners observed a reduced humanitarian presence in the camps and associated protection risks. UNHCR advocates for essential protection services for the most vulnerable, including women and children who are particularly exposed to gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, early marriage and child labour.
In its work, UNHCR listens to the voices of refugees. During the visit to the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the Assistant High Commissioners had the opportunity to discuss with refugees and to better understand their situation and needs. Many stressed the need for the resumption of education and skills training.
The Government facilitated a visit of the Assistant High Commissioners to Bhasan Char. While on the island, they clearly recognized the significant financial investments by the Bangladeshi government in facilities and infrastructure, including housing. However, it was clear that the 18,000 Rohingya refugees currently on the island have protection and assistance needs. That is, access to meaningful livelihoods opportunities, skills development, education, health and access to cash to facilitate their daily lives.
UNHCR recognizes the potential that Bhasan Char could provide as an alternative temporary location for some Rohingya refugees while in Bangladesh. UNHCR proposes further discussions with the Government to ensure protection of refugees, as well as on our future operational engagement on the island. At the same time, UNHCR remains concerned about reports of refugees being arrested and detained for attempting to leave Bhasan Char. UNHCR strongly discourages the use of relocation to Bhasan Char as a punitive measure.
“Bhasan Char has some potential, though the human and protection elements of refugees living there must be fully considered. Refugees who decide to relocate to Bhasan Char must do so on a voluntary basis. They should have freedom of movement on the island and must be granted the possibility to return to Cox’s Bazar and to maintain family connections with those in the camps,” said Triggs.
While on Bhasan Char, UNHCR had the opportunity to talk to a large group of refugees, predominantly young men. They raised their concerns about the lack of access to livelihoods and self-reliance opportunities, skills development, as well as access to education. UNHCR was deeply concerned to learn of reports of refugees who were injured on the day of the visit to Bhasan Char.
While ultimately, the desired solution by the majority of the Rohingya refugees is to return home voluntarily, safely, sustainably and in dignity, when conditions in Myanmar allow, the crisis is now in its fourth year and refugees cannot remain fully dependent on aid.
“Livelihoods and skills training opportunities will provide refugees with a sense of purpose and autonomy while they are in Bangladesh, while preparing them for reintegration when conditions allow them to return home,” stressed Mazou.
Today, 2 June, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioners were grateful for the opportunity to meet and discuss these various issues with senior Government officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
While continuing to work together with the support of the international community towards voluntary repatriation, the Assistant High Commissioners discussed the possibility of introducing alternative solutions for Rohingya refugees, including resettlement to third countries for the most vulnerable with specific protection needs, as well as complementary pathways overseas, which could include employment and educational opportunities.
UNHCR once more calls on the international community, including through the recently launched 2021 Joint Response Plan, to continue to support the Government of Bangladesh who have taken on a huge responsibility in hosting almost 1 million Rohingya refugees in the largest refugee camp in the world. This must not become a forgotten crisis..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health, UNHCR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Description:
"Myanmar's junta leader Min Aung Hlaing cast doubt on the return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to Bangladesh in comments made in his first interview since taking power in a Feb. 1 coup.
Min Aung Hlaing was asked by Chinese-language Phoenix television whether the Muslims could be allowed back to Rakhine State - from where most fled an army crackdown in 2017 that U.N. investigators said had "genocidal intent".
"If it doesn't comply with Myanmar's laws, what else is there to consider? I don't believe there is any country in the world that would go beyond their own country's refugee laws to accept refugees," Min Aung Hlaing responded, according to a transcript of the interview.
When asked whether that meant vocal international appeals on behalf of the Rohingya were to no avail, he nodded.
Min Aung Hlaing, who headed the army in 2017 when some 700,000 Rohingya fled from advancing troops, reiterated the view of nationalists in Buddhist-majority Myanmar that the Rohingya are not one of its ethnic groups.
He said the term Rohingya had only emerged since independence from Britain in 1948.
"After we gained our independence, the census also registered the words 'Bengali', 'Pakistani' and 'Chittagong', but never the word 'Rohingya', thus we never accepted it," Min Aung Hlaing said.
Rohingya have been widely referred to as Bengali by Myanmar authorities - implying that they are outsiders from Bangladesh, although some can trace their roots in Myanmar back for centuries.
Myanmar's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was overthrown by Min Aung Hlaing on Feb. 1, had also come under international criticism for defending the army against charges of genocide relating to the Rohingya.
She and the military rejected accusations of genocide saying the security forces were engaged in legitimate operations against Rohingya insurgents when the refugees fled to Bangladesh.
Not long after the coup, Min Aung Hlaing said efforts to repatriate refugees from Bangladesh would continue, but there has been no sign of progress while the junta has struggled to impose control in Myanmar.
Bangladesh is keen to see the Rohingya go back to Myanmar from the huge camps in which most of them are living in southeastern Bangladeshi border districts.
Bangladesh's Dhaka Tribune journal reported on Monday that efforts were underway to restart talks on the repatriation between Bangladesh and Myanmar with the help of China..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Summary:
"Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) said that as the country’s lawful government it is taking all steps necessary to cooperate with the world’s highest court, the International Court of...
Description:
"Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) said that as the country’s lawful government it is taking all steps necessary to cooperate with the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), on proceedings in a case in which Myanmar is accused of committing genocide against the Rohingya.
After a brutal military crackdown in the western state of Rakhine in 2017 that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to neighboring Bangladesh, Gambia in November 2019 brought a case at the ICJ—which is an organ of the UN and is also known as the World Court—accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya. State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi defended the country against the charge in December 2019.
Gambia’s legal team listed the Myanmar military’s atrocities against the minority Muslim group in northern Rakhine state, including mass rapes, the burning of families in their homes and the killing of dozens of Rohingya children. As the case could take years, the African nation asked the ICJ to order “provisional measures” to prevent more violations.
Going further than the measures requested by Gambia, the ICJ ordered Myanmar on Jan. 23 to report on its compliance with the provisional measures in four months and then every six months thereafter. The Daw Aung San Suu Kyi-led civilian government submitted two reports prior to its ouster by the military in a coup on Feb. 1.
In a statement released on Sunday, the NUG said it is very concerned about the difficult situation facing the Rohingya, especially those who fled to Bangladesh in 2016-17.
As the lawful government, ensuring continuity of representation before the court and being mindful of the timetable established by the court are among its duties, the NUG said.
It added that it is also considering accepting the exercise of jurisdiction by a separate international court, the International Criminal Court, over the killings, torture and other crimes against civilians committed by the Myanmar junta since the coup on Feb. 1. The Myanmar military seized power from the democratically elected National League for Democracy government, detained civilian leaders and abolished the new Parliament on the day it was scheduled to convene.
Since the coup, the Myanmar regime has killed at least 840 people and arrested more than 5,500, of whom 4,409 remain in detention, according to advocacy group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, International Criminal Court, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG)
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Sub-title:
The Biden administration has a chance to reassert the United States’ moral authority on human rights.
Description:
"Justice delayed is justice denied. As lawyers who have advised nearly every international criminal and hybrid tribunal, as well as over two dozen peace negotiations around the world, we have seen firsthand the consequences of ignoring atrocities in the name of preserving peace or alliances.
The Biden administration is faced with an historic opportunity. By labeling the atrocities committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State as genocide, the Biden administration has a chance to reassert the United States’ moral authority on human rights and to lead the international community on issues of justice and accountability. The Biden administration should speak out firmly and clearly in favor of holding Myanmar and the individual perpetrators accountable for “the crime of all crimes.”
We know firsthand the gravity of the atrocities committed against the Rohingya. In March and April 2018, our pro bono law firm, the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG), at the request of the U.S. Department of State, undertook a large-scale, comprehensive human rights documentation investigation mission in the refugee camps and settlement areas in eastern Bangladesh. Our investigation mission aimed to provide an accurate accounting of the patterns of abuse and atrocity crimes perpetrated against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and to help inform the policy decisions related to accountability in Myanmar.
Our team of expert investigators interviewed over 1,000 Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps, documenting shocking patterns of violence, abuse, and widespread human rights violations committed against the Rohingya. Among the abuses are widespread killings, torture, persecution, rapes, and other sexual violence.
Our team, including many former State Department lawyers, analyzed 15,000 pages of interview responses from 1,024 questionnaires. The evidence led us to conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes have been committed against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State.
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When we sent our factual findings report and data to the State Department in 2018, the Trump administration chose not to label any of these crimes as genocide or crimes against humanity, thereby excusing the United States from any legal or moral obligation to take action.
This April, the Biden administration demonstrated its willingness to acknowledge the crime of genocide in another context, as President Biden became the first sitting U.S. president to formally call the crimes committed against Armenians in the Ottoman Empire genocide. The United States should not wait 106 years (or even 106 days) to similarly label the crimes committed against Rohingya civilians. By acknowledging the Rohingya genocide, the Biden administration has the rare opportunity to reverse a previous wrong and lead with moral clarity on the international stage.
As the international community has stayed largely silent in the face of the Rohingya genocide, we have already begun to witness the consequences.
Over 18,000 Rohingya have been relocated from the camps in Cox’s Bazar to a remote island in Bangladesh in the past six months. Those still living in Cox’s Bazar have faced deadly fires and suspiciously consistent destruction of their homes and livelihoods.
In Myanmar itself, this silence and complicity has eroded the legitimacy of democratic government and empowered the military. As Aung San Suu Kyi defended the actions of Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya population before the International Court of Justice, she both undermined her moral authority to lead a democratic Myanmar and emboldened the military to bring an end to her leadership role, as seen in this year’s coup and unrest.
To secure a durable peace in Myanmar and to provide justice, redress, and a hopeful future for the victims of the Rohingya genocide, the United States must use its position of power on the international stage to lead with values of human rights and recognize the Rohingya genocide. As an international leader, America may be “back,” but it should not be back to business as usual with delayed recognition of genocide..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"On 5 April 2021, the Government of Bangladesh instituted a second national lockdown and imposed new containment and risk mitigations measures (RRRC 05/04/2021). The second lockdown follows a steep increase in COVID-19 transmission rates. On 19 May 2021, five camps with the highest number of cases were placed under complete lockdown while the remaining 34 camps were subject to heavier COVID-19 containment and risk mitigation measures. Under the new guidance, only health activities and food and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributions will be allowed. Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities but must be implemented by Rohingya volunteers under remote management or by staff adjacent to the camps. All other humanitarian activities have been temporarily suspended, including monsoon preparedness (RRRC 19/05/2021).....Methodology: This report builds upon the 2020 COVID-19 and Secondary Impacts report and the 2020 Impact of the Monsoon and COVID-19 Containment Measures report. The report includes an analysis of publicly available secondary data and focuses on the anticipated secondary impacts resulting from the lockdown measures. It does not seek to predict the direct impact of COVID-19 in Cox’s Bazar or to assess the humanitarian response’s capability to respond to a second wave of COVID-19.....Limitations: This document should be used with additional and more specific research to inform preparedness and response planning. As this is an evolving situation, measures are changing quickly and directives are sometimes unclear. While the long-term secondary impacts of COVID-19 remain unknown, this report anticipates the short-, medium-, and expected long-term impacts based on the current situation..."
Source/publisher:
Assessment Capacities Project via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Humanitarian assistance - emergencies, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Public Health, COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
168.73 KB (6 pages)
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Sub-title:
The case of Rohingya refugee crisis
Description:
"Background: The Rohingya are a large Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar at the center of a humanitarian catastrophe. Myanmar government does not recognize them as citizens or one of the 135 recognized
ethnic groups in the country. Myanmar regards them as illegal immigrants, a view rooted in their heritage in East Bengal, now called Bangladesh.1 However, the history of the geographic region of Myanmar dates back to centuries and it is evident from
the chronological conflicts that the roots of the Rohingya community belong to that region and the people are subjected to mere communal conflicts. But before discussing their origin the question
naturally arises that where did this term “Rohingya” come from. As mentioned by Dr. Nasir Uddin, in his book “To host or to hurt”, ‘After summarizing the unpublished thesis of A.S. Bahar entitled “The Arakani Rohingyas in Burmese Society”, M. A. Alam codify the origin of the Rohingyas as follows: “ Rohang, the old name of the Arakan, was very familiar region for the Arab seafarers even during the pre-islamic days. Tides of people like the Arabs, Moors, Turks, Pathans, Moghuls, Central Asians, Bengalis came mostly as
traders, warriors, preachers and captives overland or through sea route. Many settled in Arakan, and mixing with the local people, developed the present stock of people known as ethnic Rohingya. (To host or to hurt, Nasir Uddin) The history of the region of Burma has seen a sequence of ethnic shifts, conquests, expansion and
collapse that is quite typical of the history of most regions of the world. In the last millennium and a half, there has tended to be a core state or core in the Irrawaddy Valley, which repeatedly expanded towards
and contracted from the periphery of the modern day territory of Myanmar; therefore by the mid 90’s around one third of the population of Myanmar was made up of ethnic groups distinct from the Burman
majority. This naturally reflected the history of interaction with China to the north, India to the west, Thailand and Laos to the east and Indonesia and Malaysia to the south. In particular, the mountainous
regions to the north and east of the central Irrawaddy regions have long been home to a diverse range of non-Burmese ethnicities. Some of these groups live exclusively in modern day Myanmar but many live
on both sides of the various borders. Up to the nineteenth century, the evidence points to a degree of ethnic and religious tolerance, even as the Burmese regions became increasingly dominated by
Buddhism, while more marginal groups retained animist beliefs or adopted Christianity or Islam. These discussions lead to the fact that it is particularly important to separate the history of Arakan from
that of Burma up to the 1800s. The core of the Burmese civilization in central Burma, along the Irrawaddy Valley is geographicaly and culturally linked to the tibetian region, southwest China and the
rest of East Asia. The south (the modern day Mon and Taninthayri provinces) is part of the wider Malaysian Peninsula and has sea links to the south, including Sri Lanka and parts of Indonesia. In fact,
this was the original vector for the early spread of Buddhism to Burma.
However, Arakan region in the west has always been separated from the rest of Burma by a high and difficult-to-traverse coastal mountain range. As such, for most of its early history, both in terms of ethnic
makeup and political economic interaction, the natural links of the region were across the Bay of Bengal to India rather than with the rest of Burma. It was also a relatively poor province, reliant on subsistence
agriculture and fishing, so it was generally of little interest to would be conquerors..."
Source/publisher:
Department of Architecture (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-31
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, Muslims in Burma, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
7.69 MB (86 pages)
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Description:
"Abstract: The tension and violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, Myanmar has been escalating to the extent that it could be called ethnic cleansing or crime against humanity. The international
community has insufficiently done in preventing and protecting the Rohingya that are facing persecution in Myanmar. The national mechanism in Myanmar which consists of the Rakhine
Conflict Investigation Commission, the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, and the Central Committee for Rakhine State Peace, Stability, and Development Implementation intends
to address the truth and solution to the crisis. Moreover, due to the latest incident in Muangtaw where nine policemen were killed, the Myanmar government also establishes another commission
to investigate such an incident. The international community also calls for the independent truth commission to address the Rohingya issue. It is high time to examine and assess those mechanisms
to what extent they help mete justice and accountability for atrocities in Myanmar. This paper will also compare and contrast the works of human rights and investigation commissions established
by Myanmar and the others in order to suggest the best practices to enhance the mechanisms in Myanmar.....INTRODUCTION: Atrocity crimes are pervasive in many areas of the world. They are gross human rights violations which the international community must not tolerate because they are crimes of international concern which pose a threat to peace and international security. 1 However, some
atrocity crimes happen in the areas out of sight of the world. Little is known about what has been happening in those areas, such as in Myanmar. Myanmar seems to be a peaceful Buddhist country
in Southeast Asia; however, it has been facing internal armed conflicts for decades since the country has become independent from the United Kingdom in 1948. 2 The conflicts and human
rights abuses have erupted in several states namely Kachin, Shan, Kayah, Kayin, and Rakhine.3 Particularly, in Rakhine State, Myanmar attempts to hide atrocities against the Muslim minority –
the Rohingya – from the attention of the international community to avoid responsibility and accountability. This paper focuses on the problems in Rakhine State, in particular the Rohingya
issue. The Rohingya conflict is now not only a domestic concern but being treated as an international problem. Several reports from non-governmental organizations and international affairs literatures regarding the Rohingya issues have been published. Yet, only a few legal publications and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs)’ reports have addressed or touched upon the Rohingya problem regarding the possibility of the crime of genocide and crime against
humanity. 4 None of the legal literature has examined the attempts of the government and the international community to bring justice and accountability to the Rohingya. Therefore, this will be the very first preliminary study on the transitional justice mechanisms of the contemporary conflicts. This paper will explore, examine, analyze, and assess the legal implications of the mechanisms to resolve the Rohingya issue established by both Myanmar in the domestic level and the international community at the international level. This paper argues that despite the number of mechanisms, they are fragmented, overlapping, and have not served sufficient justice and
accountability for the violence against the Rohingya. Therefore, the government of Myanmar should push more effort to address this issue.
The first part of the paper will explore the background of the Rohingya story in terms of both historical and contemporary contexts to address the root causes and figure how conflict evolves through time. The second part will describe both domestic, hybrid, and international
mechanisms dealing with the atrocity against the Rohingya in Myanmar. This will explain how those mechanisms emerge and function. The third part will assess and analyze the impacts of each
mechanisms based on their progress, procedures, and outcomes. This part will also compare and contrast the work of those mechanisms to evaluate the capabilities to probe the ongoing conflict.
The fourth part will juxtapose the existing mechanisms to the other types of mechanisms used elsewhere and will also look at the way forward to bring justice and accountability to Myanmar.
This part will also provide a critical review of the paradox of justice and peace in the Myanmar context and the introduction of the anticipated mechanisms. Lastly, this paper will conclude with
some preliminary observations of the works and studies of those transitional justice mechanisms and will provide some recommendations to enhance the capacity of the mechanisms..."
Source/publisher:
Jutha Saovabha
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-27
[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.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
320.88 KB
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Description:
"Summary: Myanmar, also known as Burma, has suffered decades of repressive military rule, poverty due to years of isolationist economic policies, and civil war with ethnic minority groups.
The transfer to civilian leadership in 2011 spurred hopes of democratic reforms. But the military maintained control over parts of the government, and security forces began a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya.
The military launched a coup in February 2021, announcing a yearlong state of emergency and arresting opposition figures, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and civil society activists.....Introduction: Throughout its decades of independence, Myanmar has struggled with military rule, civil war, isolation from global affairs, and widespread poverty. In 2011, the military junta dissolved, giving way to a military-installed transitional government and ushering in what many believed would be a new era for the Southeast Asian nation. The country’s longtime opposition party—the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi—won majorities in both chambers of parliament in 2015, and some foreign governments and companies that had previously shunned Myanmar began developing ties with it.
But the military, known as the Tatmadaw, has continued to dominate many aspects of domestic affairs. Military and civilian leaders, including Suu Kyi, have also faced international condemnation for ongoing human rights abuses and brutal violence against Rohingya Muslims in the western state of Rakhine, which a UN report said were committed with “genocidal intent.” In February 2021, the military staged a coup and officially retook control, dashing hopes for democratic progress..."
Source/publisher:
Council on Foreign Relations (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-24
[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, Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Several Groups, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Authorities impose full lockdown in 5 refugee camps while 29 others kept under close surveillance, says official
Description:
"Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh recorded the highest number of single-day coronavirus cases Sunday with 49 new infections, pushing the total tally to 992.
After testing 312 Rohingya, 49 were reported positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the office of Bangladesh’s Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) said in a report released Sunday night.
The death toll among Rohingya from the virus in the world’s largest refugee camps also rose to 15, including two fatalities recorded in the last two days, the report added.
Bangladesh is home to more than 1.2 million stateless Rohingya, most of whom fled a brutal military crackdown in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state in August 2017.
So far, 665 Rohingya have recovered from the disease, including 11 in the past day.
To stem the spread of the virus in the congested makeshift Rohingya settlements in Bangladesh, authorities on May 20 imposed a 12-day full lockdown at the five most infected camps out of a total 34, excluding new settlements of around 20,000 Rohingya on a remote island in the country’s southern Bay of Bengal.
“We have put five camps under complete lockdown while the rest have been kept under close monitoring,” RRRC Chief Coordinator Dr. Abu Toha M.R. Bhuiyan told Anadolu Agency.
Citing authorities' efforts to contain the virus in the Rohingya camps, he added that in the last 24 hours, 117 new contacts have been quarantined in isolation centers.
“Currently, 836 virus infected Rohingya are being quarantined, while the cumulative number of contacts quarantined to date is 3,361,” Bhuiyan said.
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.
Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, while more than 34,000 Rohingya were thrown into fires and over 114,000 others were beaten, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA)..."
Source/publisher:
"Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"The British government has announced shocking cuts to its aid in support of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The £27.6 million announced amounts to a 42% cut in aid to Rohingya refugees compared to what the government contributed in October 2020, and less than a quarter of what the UK contributed in 2019.
The statement, which was dated yesterday but distributed today, made no mention of the fact that it amounts to a cut of around 42% in aid to Rohingya refugees.
“Even in a climate where aid cuts were expected due to the government’s broken promise of delivering 0.7% of GNI in aid, this is still shocking”, said Karin Valtersson, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “The Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are genocide survivors, they are some of the most vulnerable people on the planet, many are survivors of sexual violence, of torture, of having witnessed family members including children being killed by the Burmese army.”
The Rohingya fled genocide at the hands of the Burma military in 2017 and the refugee camp is the largest in the world. According to official figures, over 880,000 refugees reside in the camp, over half are children.
The announcement of the slashing of support for the Rohingya refugees comes at the same time as Burma Campaign UK warns of overall cut to the Burma aid budget. The aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is not part of the Burma aid budget.
Poverty levels are rising steeply in Burma as the people are bravely opposing the military coup and at the same time are suffering the consequences of military brutality and an economic crash due to both the coup and the Covid epidemic.
“Dominic Raab talks the talk but he doesn’t walk the walk on Burma. He likes to offer statements, whether it is on justice or support to protestors, but doesn’t follow it up with action. This includes aid. In their most dire moment of need, Dominic Raab has decided to abandon the poorest people of Burma”, said Karin Valtersson.
The military coup has made it even more unlikely for the Rohingya to be able to return to Burma in the short-term, as the general that led the genocide against them, Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, is now the leader of the country. Instead of cutting aid to the Rohingya camps, the international community, including the British government, should work with Bangladesh to plan for a protracted refugee crisis with decent shelter and living conditions for the Rohingya.
“Over half of the refugees in the camp are children, and they are living in squalid conditions with not enough access to sanitation or hygiene, and very little education. The camp is fenced in by barbed wire and the security in the camp is deteriorating. The living conditions of these children are unimaginable as they are and these cuts will make their situation even worse”, said Karin Valtersson.
The way in which the UK government releases aid spending figures year on year makes it hard to do precise year on year comparisons. According to Burma Campaign UK research, the aid allocation to the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh since the genocide of 2017 is as follows:
2017-2018: £129m,
2019: £117m,
2020: £47.5m,
2021: £27.6m..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Today I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to the United States Government for announcing a new assistance fund of nearly $155 million to sustain critical efforts to support the brave Rohingya people who have been forced to flee Myanmar and live in refugee and IDP camps and host communities in Bangladesh, and other affected people in Myanmar. I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People and Government of the United States of America for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar and recognizing the NUG as a voice for the People of Myanmar. The United States has been a good friend and taken large steps to help end the cruel regime in Myanmar by issuing sanctions on the junta, many of its entities, and individuals connected with it. We are thankful that in our darkest hour, when the military junta is doing everything in their power to commit acts of terrorism against
our brave people, the United States of America is standing with and generously supporting the brave people of Myanmar in many different ways. As the Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation, and Spokesperson of the NUG, I sincerely welcome the statement below from U.S. Department of State Secretary
Antony J. Blinken: “At the launch of the 2021 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, the United States announced nearly $155 million in new assistance to sustain critical
efforts to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh and internally displaced Rohingya and other affected people in Burma. “Our assistance will help meet the immediate needs of the nearly 900,000 refugees in Bangladesh who fled from horrific violence in Burma’s Rakhine State, including women and children,” said U.S. Department of State Secretary Antony J. Blinken. FULL
STATEMENT: https/ /www.state.gov/the-united-states-announces-new.../" We are thankful for this aid and urge the international communities to not cut aid to the brave people of Myanmar, but instead to increase help sent in every way possible.
The junta is daily murdering innocent civilians and brave self-defenders, including women and children, and destroying and looting homes and supplies. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance for the International Communities to..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
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Size:
71.78 KB
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Description:
"Burma Campaign UK today releases a new briefing paper: ‘Why is Dominic Raab Refusing to Act on Accountability for Burmese Military Crimes?
The paper details how, despite British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and other government ministers repeatedly talking about holding the Burmese military to account for its crimes, in practice they are fiercely resisting pressure to take action on accountability.
Dominic Raab refuses to say he supports referring Burma to the International Criminal Court.
Dominic Raab refuses to join the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
Dominic Raab repeatedly blocked UK legislation which would have enabled the UK to make genocide determinations and take more action in response to genocide.
For decades, the Burmese military has been committing human rights violations which break international law. They have enjoyed impunity for their crimes, encouraging them to commit further crimes. Holding the military to account for their crimes is essential to ending the decades long cycle of human rights violations and military dictatorship in Burma.
The British government did not implement the recommendations of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, set up in response to the genocide of the Rohingya and violations of international law against other ethnic groups in Kachin and Shan States.
The only action the British government took against the generals in response to genocide of the Rohingya was to stop a handful of generals from taking holidays in the UK (a visa ban).
The briefing paper poses the question:
“The British government and the rest of the international community need to reflect on whether the military being allowed to get away with genocide would have been a factor in their calculations as to whether they could get away with the coup without facing serious consequences from the international community.”
“It is hypocritical of Dominic Raab to talk about accountability at the same time as refusing to act on accountability,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “There are millions of good reasons to act on accountability, millions of people suffering under the military. There is no good reason not to act."..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, International Criminal Court, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"At the launch of the 2021 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, the United States announced nearly $155 million in new assistance to sustain critical efforts to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh and internally displaced Rohingya and other affected people in Burma. Our assistance will help meet the immediate needs of the nearly 900,000 refugees in Bangladesh who fled from horrific violence in Burma’s Rakhine State, including women and children.
As the leading contributor of assistance in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, the United States is helping to support the victims of atrocities and other vulnerable people in need. With this new funding, our total humanitarian aid for those affected by the crisis in Burma, Bangladesh, and elsewhere in the region since the brutal violence by the Burmese military in August 2017 is more than $1.3 billion, including more than $1.1 billion for programs inside Bangladesh. Given the tremendous funding needs for this crisis, we welcome the contributions that some member states have made to this humanitarian response in recent months. We encourage the broader international community to do more and urge other countries and stakeholders to contribute as well.
The United States recognizes the cost and responsibility that the response has placed on host countries, especially Bangladesh. We will continue to support all countries in the region that prioritize protection of Rohingya refugees. In the aftermath of the February 1 military coup and the brutal military crackdown in Burma, we remain committed to addressing the Rohingya crisis, recognizing that the coup leaders are many of the same individuals responsible for previous human rights abuses, including atrocities against Rohingya. We continue to work with international partners to support justice and accountability for all those responsible for the coup and human rights abuses.
We continue to advocate for the rights of Rohingya and urge their inclusion in discussions about their future. We also continue to underscore the need for unhindered humanitarian access to all people requiring assistance in Burma. We urge Bangladesh to take steps to protect refugees, particularly at this time of increased risk to them, and not create conditions that would force them to return to a country where they could face persecution and violence.
The United States is committed to promoting peace, security, and respect for the human rights and human dignity of all people in Burma, including Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of State
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Humanitarian assistance, international standards and principles, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"This briefing looks at the gap between the words
and the actions of the British government when it
comes to action on accountability.
At the same time as making repeated statements
about holding the Burmese military to account for
their crimes, British Foreign Secretary Dominic
Raab is refusing to publicly support referring Burma
to the International Criminal Court, and refusing to
join the Rohingya genocide case at the International
Court of Justice.
One of many examples of a British Government
Minister talking about accountability since the
military coup on 1st February 2021 came on
Saturday 27th March.
Following the killing of more than 120 people by
the Burmese military, Dominic Raab once again
Tweeted about holding the military to account.
He stated:
“Today’s killing of unarmed civilians, including
children, marks a new low. We will work with our
international partners to end this senseless violence,
hold those responsible to account, and secure a
path back to democracy.”.....At the same time Dominic Raab: Refuses to publicly support the UN Security
Council referring Burma to the International
Criminal Court.
• Refuses to join the Rohingya genocide case
at the International Court of Justice.
• Repeatedly blocked amendments to
bills in the British Parliament to enable
determinations of genocide to be made
and more action to be taken in response to
genocide.....Impunity has encouraged further human
rights abuses: As has been well documented, the Burmese military
has been violating international law for decades.
It has done so with impunity at a domestic and
international level. This impunity encourages further
violations of international law and further horrific
human rights violations.
During the past ten years, as the British government
heralded a so-called democratic transition in Burma,
human rights violations against ethnic minorities, so
serious that they violate international law, actually
increased..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, International Criminal Court, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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pdf
Size:
426.2 KB
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Sub-title:
The Rohingyas were equal citizens and enjoyed all the rights and privileges as any other until 1982 when the Citizenship rules of Myanmar were re-written and this time it left out the Rohingya.
Description:
"Ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya – a reality: Many believe that the Rohingya have been a part of Myanmar well before the British colonists arrived and have been an integral part of the country ever since. They have been mostly concentrated in the Rakhine region of the country and have been subjected to horrific atrocities from time to time. There have been countless instances of genocide-like situations for the community before but nothing as brutal as what started in 2012 and has been going on ever since albeit with varying degrees of intensity. The events have plagued a stratum of people who have in many ways got used to living in conditions that are sub-human and have accepted the same as their destiny.
The world is aware of what has been going on in Myanmar for way too long now, but nothing has been done so far to save the countless lives that are being lost on a daily basis. As many as 800,000 people have been displaced from the Rakhine region into Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, and India. Their living conditions in those countries are not better than what it would have been had they been at the mercy of Lucifer himself. The ones who were unlucky enough to stay back have faced a greater ordeal. They have been restricted to a concentration camp-like holding areas and have been denied basic human rights like the right to movement, medical treatment, etc. They are not allowed to work or earn and are forced to live off the scraps that the government gives them. There are no medical facilities in these camps and the one doctor who treats patients is not even a doctor. Children are dying of malnutrition and of diseases like dysentery and diarrhea that are easily treatable.....The silence of a Noble Peace Prize winner: It’s almost ironic that the Prime Minister-equivalent of Myanmar is 1991 Noble Peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Her father was the one who broke the shackles of colonialism and made the country in the image of a nation that gave equal rights and privileges to all citizens irrespective of their religion, caste, creed, etc. The Rohingya in Myanmar were equal citizens and enjoyed all the rights and privileges as any other until 1982 when the Citizenship rules of the country were re-written and this time it left out the Rohingya. Stripped off their honour and right to exist, they started crumbling under the oppression meted out to them by the security forces and the ethnic Rakhine Buddhists with whom they were sharing the land.
When Suu Kyi was questioned about the genocides of 2016 and beyond by a journalist, she replied by saying that she would not go so far as to call it a genocide. Shockingly, even after the truckload of evidence and testimonials at her disposal, she continues to shrug off the genocides by calling the evidences exaggerated and asking the world to ask the question “why the same was happening” instead of telling her that “it was happening”. That was one of the most perplexing statements that I heard from a world leader in a long time.....The impact of Ashin Wirathu and his 969 Movement: Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk who was hailed by the then president of Myanmar as the son of Buddha has been known to be someone who has peddled his hate for the Muslim community under the guise of Nationalist fervour for long. He was even featured on the TIME Magazine cover with a headline that read “THE FACE OF BUDDHIST TERROR”. He was imprisoned on charges of inciting violence and was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment but with the situation in Myanmar changing and the need of a leader to mobilize mass emotion felt, he was given a pardon and released after serving 8 years of his sentence. The man immediately got back to his work and using his “969 Movement”, did exactly what the ones who had released him believed he would — spread chaos and violence with his venomous speeches.
Within a short span of time, he had incited enough hate to generate multiple riots. But he did something that was far more important for the government and military than any of the violence that he was inciting. He was able to integrate many different ethnic Buddhist groups under the common umbrella of “hatred for the Muslim Bengalis” and this let the government and the forces concentrate their full might on the Rohingya sidelining all the protest and the other disturbances from different ethnic groups that had plagued the country. The Buddhists completely forgot how brutally they were subdued by the very same government and military and were up in arms in support of what they were doing.....The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army – retribution or mistake: The Rohingya, who had faced violence for so long finally found a voice in the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), also known by its former name Harakah al-Yaqin (meaning Movement of Faith). The organization was founded by Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi, a Karachi-born Rohingya who served as an imam to a 150,000 Rohingya diaspora in the city of Mecca. He received training under the Taliban in Karachi and arrived in Rakhine, Myanmar in 2012 coinciding with the beginning of the religious riots. On 9 October 2016, Ataullah led hundreds of insurgents to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, where they attacked Burmese Border Police posts. A week later, Ataullah appeared in an online video, claiming responsibility for the attacks. Ataullah led a second large-scale attack on 25th August 2017, which resulted in the deaths of 71 people. This was just the instigation and reason that the Myanmar Army needed to get into action. Using the attacks as pretext, the army intensified its operations and cracked down with renewed vigour and never seen before horror. When asked if ARSA was a religion-based terrorist group in an interview, one of its members made it clear that they were not religious in nature and their struggle was only for the rights of the Rohingya many of whom were Hindus.....My views on the subject: It must be agreed that Myanmar’s Rohingya have been a subjugated lot for centuries. In the absence of the very basic of human rights, it is always possible for people to resort to violence especially when they are funded from outside. With the kind of torture and insults that the Myanmar Rohingya have had to face post-2012, it is no surprise that they rose up in revolt. The Myanmar government and the military used the violence on their part as a weapon against them and targeted not only terrorists but mostly innocent civilians. They threw small kids into burning houses. There was a woman who was attacked by the security forces and after being hit on the head, she fell unconscious. By the time she gained consciousness, she realized that she was raped by at least 20 different people. A 48-year-old man who, up till the attacks was a shopkeeper, never got to meet his son who was in another part of the same area and never made it back. He had a good life but he is now one of the 8 million refugees in Bangladesh lying in the mud and in a dilapidating thatched hut with 5 little children.
It is necessary to bring the terrorists to justice, but the law of my country has always taught me that it is ok to let 10 guilty escape rather than punish one innocent. That is the belief that we Indians have grown up with. To us what is happening to the Rohingya is beyond anything that we could ever learn to come to terms with. I am confident that there must have been other ways to deal with this situation. Many parts of my country are plagued by terrorism and radicalism, but we never see our military burning away villages or using helicopter-borne artillery targeting one and all. With piles of evidence and first-person accounts to contain with, it is left to be seen when the world community will do something about this ongoing genocide. It is also left to be seen if the Rohingya community will survive this extermination..."
Source/publisher:
EastMojo
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-19
[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.), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Statelessness in Burma/Myanmar, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"In recent years, the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage, particularly in conflict contexts, has become increasingly visible. Cultural heritage destruction in Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali, and Syria drew the attention of the world’s media, caused public outcry, and in one instance led to a successful International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecution (Burke 2016; González Zarandona, Albarrán, and Isakhan 2018; Kraak 2018; Moffett 2017; UN News 2017a). Although the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage in Myanmar (Figure 1) has been less visible internationally, throughout the 2017 Rohingya refugee crisis there were numerous documented examples of cultural heritage destruction both by the Myanmar authorities and by ordinary residents of Myanmar (a country often still known as Burma1). The 2017 Rohingya refugee crisis drew world attention to the circumstances of this persecuted Muslim ethnic minority and to the nature of the military crackdown that caused around 700,000 Rohingya to flee their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state for Bangladesh (UN News 2017b; OCHA 2018; UNHCR 2018).
During 2017, Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, partially or totally razed almost 300 Rohingya villages and destroyed numerous mosques in northern Rakhine state (Human Rights Watch
2017a, 2017b, 2018). The Myanmar authorities have subsequently remodelled large parts of northern Rakhine state which has included constructing at least one military base on lands previously occupied
by the Rohingya (Amnesty International 2018a, 2018b; Associated Press 2018; Child 2018). Largescale destruction of heritage in Rakhine state did not begin in 2017. During 2012, conflict between Buddhists and Muslims caused the destruction of entire neighbourhoods around the Rakhine state capital, Sittwe, displacing more than 140,000 people, overwhelmingly Muslims (Human Rights Watch 2012; Republic of the Union of Myanmar 2013).
In this article we map heritage destruction in Myanmar’s Rakhine state from the time of this 2012 violence to the present, and we consider the role of religion and recent political change in violence
towards cultural heritage in contemporary Myanmar. We trace patterns of heritage destruction as legal and/or illegal iconoclasm specifying the key elements of heritage destruction in Rakhine state.
Our analysis focusses on the use of heritage destruction as a tool of genocide, and we suggest that heritage destruction in Rakhine state ought to be understood as part of the authorities’ policies of
genocide against the Rohingya. We conclude the article with a call for UNESCO to act to extend its ‘Unite4Heritage’ campaign to include the destruction of heritage by state actors. Traditionally, iconoclasm was considered the destruction of images – paintings and statues,
mainly – for religious and political motives. Particular (Western) iterations of this phenomenon have been identified during the eighth and ninth centuries in Byzantium, and the Reformation in
Europe, where religious images were considered idols and thus erased to avoid idolatry. Nonetheless, the concept of iconoclasm has gradually evolved to start considering other types of destruction, not
only images, but also ideas, buildings, cultural property and heritage; the targets of iconoclasts because they reflect a part of a group’s identity (see Latour 2002 for an extended discussion).
In this paper, we not only consider Rohingya heritage as those culturally significant sites for them, such as mosques and neighbourhoods, but also the traditions practised by the Rohingya for
centuries in those sites. The paper does not point to a particular type of ‘heritage’, but rather it takes heritage in its broadest meaning. That is, we consider heritage not only the tangible expressions of Rohingya culture as exemplified by mosques, but also other forms considered
intangible and moveable, and providing evidence of long-term Rohingya settlement in Rakhine state such as the presence of Rohingya villages (the destruction of which can serve to erase
physical evidence of long-term Rohingya residency). In doing so, the aim of this paper is not to detail all the heritage which has been destroyed in Rakhine state, but to map the destruction of
Rohingya heritage to demonstrate the link between heritage destruction and a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
International Journal of Heritage Studies
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Criminal Court, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Statelessness in Burma/Myanmar, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.09 MB
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Description:
"Introduction: Not so many people were acquainted with the issue of Rohingya prior to the communal conflict that erupted in 2012. In fact, the conflict has brought the “hidden” issue to the surface, to a new level of visibility particularly among common people. Nevertheless, there is still relatively plenteous unknown patency behind the
tragedy that occurred to the Rohingyas, besides a simple fact that it is an ethnoreligious conflict between Buddhist majority of Burman and Arakanese against the Muslim minority of Rohingya. The United Nations, indeed, even has regarded the Rohingyas as one
of the world’s most persecuted minorities1 and among the world’s least wanted.2 This paper observes three major issues that are strongly linked and contributed to the creation of predicament for the Rohingyas. Comprehending these three issues are pivotal in order to see and possess thorough understanding about the Rohingyas The first issue covers the problem that related to the legal status of the Rohingyas. Second, the issue that related with the human rights abuse that happened toward the Rohingyas. Third, the issue of Buddhist fundamentalism.....The Birth of The Stateless Rohingya: The statelessness of Rohingya is a product of legal-political process
conducted by the Burmese regime ever since the birth of modern Burma. The main driving force behind this policy has been the (political) stance of the Burmese authority that does not consider
the Rohingya as a part of its native population (shown by the Panglong Agreement). In fact, the origin of Rohingya is still debatable hitherto. Both sides, the Burmese and the proRohingya, claim to have the most precise argument regarding the origin of Rohingya.
Based on the point of view of Burmese historians, Khin Mau Saw, for
example, stated that there had never been the term “Rohingya” before 1950’s (when the Mujahids changed their name into “Rohingyas”) supported by the fact that there was no such name as “Rohingya” in the Census of India 1921 (Burma) compiled by G.G Granthan,
I.C.S (Superintendant of Census Operation Burma) or in the Burma
Gazetter, Akyab District compiled by R.B Smart..."
Source/publisher:
Ricky Raymon
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Muslims in Burma, Statelessness in Burma/Myanmar, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
84.34 KB
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Description:
"On Feb. 1, 2021, the Myanmar military – the Tatmadaw – shattered the all too brief effort to transition to democracy in Myanmar. Over the past two and a half months, the Tatmadaw has continued its illegitimate effort to undermine the democratic elections from last year and prevent the elected government from taking power. In the face of mass popular opposition and international condemnation, the military has only escalated its use of violence against its own population – systematically stripping away rights and violently attacking protestors and dissidents, reportedly killing over 700 civilians as of Apr. 20, 2021, and detaining more than 3,000.
Despite the continued threats and extreme violence, the people of Myanmar have stood their ground and refused to be silenced. On Apr. 16, opponents of the coup from across the political spectrum announced the formation of a National Unity Government (NUG) to resist the military. Just as importantly, the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), a grassroots movement aimed at disrupting state functions and crippling the economy in order to undermine the military’s attempt to rule, has been hugely successful in galvanizing collective action since early February. In addition to the tens of thousands of CDM participants walking out of their private and public sector positions, protests across the country have seen massive youth engagement on a scale not seen in a generation. The organizing power has been impressive. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok have been used to spread awareness and coordinate protests, strikes, and other forms of peaceful resistance. The military has taken notice of the CDM’s power, issuing threats against young people protesting and shooting indiscriminately at protestors of all ages, including children. Parallel movements have arisen in areas like neighboring Thailand, with Thai youth protesting their own authoritarian government in solidarity with activists from Myanmar.
Today we launch a Just Security series that will take a deep dive into the situation in Myanmar. The series will provide insights that put the coup and civilian response into historical and modern context, deepen unexplored angles on the current crises, and survey possibilities and ways forward over the next six months to a year. This series also aims to elevate policy discussions on a number of issues, ranging from peace and accountability to religion and democracy, asking: What is happening now and why?
Within the series, contributions from authors from Myanmar and others working closely on the situation will explore topics such as youth leadership in the CDM and protests, domestic and international solidarity, environmental concerns, the dissolution of rule of law in Myanmar, and what the coup means for ongoing international accountability efforts. Below, we offer an overview of the major themes of the series, along with a timeline of the struggle for democracy in Myanmar. The current uprising against military rule must be understood in the context of these decades-long struggles for peace, democracy, accountability, and justice..."
Source/publisher:
Just Security (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, 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, Human Rights Defenders, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Criminal Court, Several Groups, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG), Various groups, Political History, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
257.17 KB
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Description:
"A brutal crackdown could happen any day. Military violence is expected every day. Soldiers have casually killed peaceful protesters throughout the four weeks since Myanmar’s military undertook a coup to remove the country’s civilian government. Military violence has incrementally, but steadily increased. Bravely, millions of peaceful protesters still take to Myanmar’s streets to oppose the military coup and demand the release of the country’s civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi. By employing tactics learned from other recent Asian protest movements, they have seemingly confounded Myanmar’s military, which has struggled to deal with the nature of protests and their scale.
But Myanmar’s military leaders are cunning and may well have foreseen elements of the protesters’ strategy and adopted their own plans accordingly. The success of anti-coup campaigners may well depend on their preparedness to continue searching for outside examples of how to successfully defeat entrenched but illegitimate rulers.
The determination and size of Myanmar’s peaceful anti-coup protests are impressive. Three weeks after the coup and despite draconian new laws that threaten to punish with twenty years jail the act of inciting “hatred or contempt” towards coup leaders, crowds have continued to grow. Protesters have numbered in the millions, with new groups joining the movement daily. A nationwide civil disobedience movement is under way, and the country’s bureaucracy, banking, and transport systems have ceased to function. The military’s legitimacy as competent managers is in tatters.
Protesters know they are facing off with one of the world’s most vicious militaries, a force with more than half a million active personnel that is known to routinely turn weapons on civilians. A 2018 UN Human Rights Council report described how the military routinely committed crimes against humanity and war crimes against ethnic minority groups. Myanmar’s military stands accused of genocide against the Rohingya during a 2017 campaign that included mass murder, widespread gang rapes of women and girls as a military tactic, and the razing of hundreds of towns and villages. Soldiers commit atrocities with impunity — those few that might ever be found guilty of crimes by Myanmar’s courts are routinely pardoned soon after.
The worst military violence is usually reserved for Myanmar’s ethnic minorities, but historically the military has also been prepared to meet popular peaceful uprisings — like the 1988 protests that first brought Aung San Suu Kyi to political prominence — with brutal force. In 1988, the military put down protests by killing thousands, making widespread arrests, and imposing decades-long prison sentences. Similar tactics were employed to end the 2007 monk-led Saffron Revolution.
A grim indication of what Myanmar’s protesters expect is that many have taken to writing their blood type on their forearms with permanent markers so medical teams can better care for them when the violence comes.
Already the military has used live rounds to kill peaceful protesters in Mandalay and the capital Naypyitaw. There are also reports that soldiers fired on ambulances and medical teams that came to assist the injured. Troops from the 33rd Light Infantry Division, infamous for their genocidal actions against Rohingya civilians, have been prominently deployed in Mandalay. Their unconcealed presence can only have been intended to instil fear in the protesters about what future violence might soon come.
So far, the military’s use of violence has not been overwhelming; they have focussed more on mass arrests than mass murder, with killings of peaceful protesters in the dozens rather than the thousands. Several hundred new political prisoners are now refilling the jails that were emptied during a recent prisoner amnesty. More are arrested daily. One explanation for the military’s seeming reluctance to meet the current protests with the same brutality they demonstrated in 1988 or 2007 is that this time the protest movement is much, much larger and represents a wider cross-section of the national population.....The protesters’ new strategies: Myanmar’s youthful protest movement has adopted strategies learned from Asia’s other youth-infused activist movements — particularly those in Thailand, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Protesters often style themselves as part of the Milk Tea Alliance of democracy campaigners. Originally symbolic of opposition to Chinese encroachment in domestic affairs and anti-authoritarianism, the Milk Tea Alliance derived its name from a perceived cultural similarity between the places from which it drew its membership — namely, an affinity for milky tea products, marking a distinction with China’s traditional love of black tea. Since the coup, #milkteaalliance has been widely used in Myanmar.
Shrewdly, protest leaders have adopted similarly diversified leadership strategies to those of other Milk Tea Alliance groups. This, and widespread participation in a national civil disobedience movement, has presented the military with genuine challenges in identifying and arresting individual movement leaders. From Thailand, Myanmar’s protesters adopted the three-finger salute as a symbol of opposition to the coup. Images of Myanmar’s frustrated population staring down armoured vehicles in the streets of Yangon while defiantly saluting for democracy appeared in media worldwide and helped keep the eyes of the world focussed on Myanmar for weeks after the coup.
Less high profile but no less significant has been the protesters’ adoption of key tactics from Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement — particularly the “be like water” mantra. This has encouraged protesters to avoid direct confrontation with soldiers and instead adopt a highly agile style of protest that forces the authorities to constantly respond and adapt to the protesters’ agenda. By behaving like political flash mobs and frequently changing tactics, protesters have seemed frequently to catch the authorities off guard. Over the last three weeks, protesters deployed an astonishing number of different tactics, from traditional marches, to sit ins and music performances outside foreign embassies. They have shut down road transport by parking “broken down” cars at key intersections and driven convoys of vehicles so slowly as to create gridlock. One protest even involved a train of elephants with their mahouts.....Has the military adopted a new strategy, too?: Regardless of the protesters’ agility, the military is yet to attempt to put down this uprising with the same ferocity it used in earlier demonstrations. This suggests the military too might be adopting a new strategy. Rather than using aggressive approaches similar to those deployed by China’s security services in Hong Kong or the Thai authorities’ mass arrest of protesters, Myanmar’s military has attempted to disrupt protests through nightly internet blackouts, by arresting those key leaders they can identify and locate, and through occasional violence at protest sites. Compared to the speedy and overwhelming violence meted out to Rohingya civilian populations in 2017, the military’s approach towards anti-coup protesters seems deliberately unhurried.
The military has used an approach closer to the Kremlin-inspired response to recent protests in Belarus, rather than aping the tactics of China’s security forces in Hong Kong. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, when facing widespread protests against his rigged August 2020 election, did not immediately use overwhelming force to crush opposition; instead, he hoped the protests would dissipate of their own accord. Protests have continued, but they have failed to dislodge Lukashenko who seems determined to weather the storm through incremental arrests of activists and the targeting of domestic journalists.
The break with Chinese-inspired anti-dissident strategies should not necessarily come as a surprise. Internationally, China is widely regarded as supportive of Myanmar’s military, and has worn significant domestic opprobrium for its refusal to condemn the coup. Anti-Chinese feeling within Myanmar is approaching feverish levels, but China has been less than fulsome in its support for the coup. China’s Ambassador told Myanmar media that the coup was, “absolutely not what China wants to see.” China’s authorities had a close relationship with Aung San Suu Kyi’s government and have had, at times, a tetchy relationship with Myanmar’s military, which may now feel they have some reason to doubt the reliability of Chinese advice.
That the military might turn to Myanmar’s other long-term defender on the United Nations Security Council, Russia, should also not be surprising. Russia has left little doubt that it regards the coup as legitimate, with Russia’s representative to the UN Human Rights Council describing it as a “purely domestic affair of the sovereign state.”
Russia, while not a major trading partner of Myanmar, is one of its major arms dealers and has extensive experience quelling revolutions in the countries on its own periphery. Myanmar’s massive street protests are certainly reminiscent of the colour revolutions of former Soviet states.
In recent years, Myanmar’s military have developed much closer ties with Russia. TASS, Russia’s official news agency, described this process as “intensive development.” Russia’s geostrategic interests are certainly served by maintaining close ties with the Myanmar military; and Myanmar, in 2018, agreed to make it easier for Russian naval ships to visit Myanmar ports, thereby enhancing Russian access to the Bay of Bengal. Just weeks before the coup, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Myanmar to discuss military cooperation with coup-leader Min Aung Hlaing. During that visit, extensive arrangements were put in place that would enable Myanmar to purchase new surface-to-air missile systems, intelligence and electronic warfare drones, and radar from Russia. It is possible, moreover, that an understanding was reached between them about intelligence cooperation, and the coup leaders’ response to Myanmar’s protest movement might now be informed by the Kremlin’s experience in undermining popular uprisings.....The protesters’ new strategies: Myanmar’s anti-coup protesters have successfully adopted many of the tactics and strategies of the Milk Tea Alliance. These tactics — which have peaceful strategies at their core — were developed in the crucible of east and southeast Asian protest. Myanmar has a long history of peaceful anti-military protest; this is the approach Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters have long advocated. However, the close ties that have developed between the militaries of Myanmar and Russia may make peaceful Milk Tea Alliance tactics less useful in the longer-term.
Pre-empting the military tactics derived from Russia’s experience of undermining anti-authoritarian uprisings might require a significant tactical rethink by Myanmar’s protest movement. For instance, key to the success of Ukraine’s 2014 Euromaidan revolution was protesters’ preparedness to themselves embrace violence in response to official crackdowns. This avoided prolonged conflict of the kind we see today in Belarus, where Lukashenko remains in power and the protest movement is steadily weakened through arrests.
The success of Myanmar’s popular uprising may now depend on its leaders’ ability to swiftly refine the approach of the Milk Tea Alliance, and to learn lessons from the experience of Belarus and Ukraine — places where anti-protest tactics inspired by Russia’s military have been successful. Afterall, there is strong evidence Myanmar’s military has already learned from Russia’s tactics.
Ronan Lee is Visiting Scholar at the International State Crime Initiative in the School of Law, Queen Mary University of London. He was formerly a Queensland State Member of Parliament (2001–2009) and served on the frontbench as a Parliamentary Secretary (2006–2008) in portfolios including Justice, Main Roads and Local Government, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships. He is the author of Myanmar’s Rohingya Genocide: Identity, History and Hate Speech..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, 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, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Saffron robed Buddhist monks, leather clad punks, shirtless muscle-bound hunks, taffeta ballgown wearing “princes protesters”, chefs in toques, black robed lawyers, construction workers in hard hats, nurses and doctors in scrubs, tattooed martial artists, nat spirit worshipers, civil servants, drag queens, trade unionists, farmers, teachers, taxi drivers, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, the old, the young, women, men, girls and boys — this week and last, these were just some of the groups who joined the biggest protests against military rule ever seen in Myanmar.
Protesters arrived on foot, in convoys of bicycles, motorcycles, horse pulled drays, cars, trucks, tractors, and boats. They represented every religion, ethnic, and age group, and they gathered in hundreds of villages, towns, and cities. One protest took place on the water using boats among the floating villages of Inle Lake, a popular tourist spot. Yangon’s shops sold out of red balloons, the colour Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party. The flags and traditional dress of Myanmar’s ethnic minority communities were proudly displayed. Yangon’s usually hidden Rohingya community even openly joined in, and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh showed solidarity by holding candle-light vigils and sharing photos displaying the three fingered salute that has been adopted by the protesters.
Amid a sometimes carnivalesque atmosphere, protesters sang songs, gave speeches, recited poetry, painted banners, and posted on social media — the protests have an undoubtedly youthful edge. It would hardly have been possible to imagine, let alone bring together, a more diverse mix of Myanmar’s fifty-five million people. But apparent within this extraordinary diversity, was unity behind a common goal: the restoration of Myanmar’s democratically elected civilian government and the removal of the military from political power.
By undertaking a coup and arresting Myanmar’s recently re-elected civilian political leaders, military boss Senior General Min Aung Hlaing precipitated nationwide social unrest. Day after day, protesters have ignored military instructions to disperse, and there is widespread and growing resistance to the new military junta with public servants and hospital staff downing their tools. Banks were reported closed because they lacked the staff to open. It seems every day more people join the resistance. Notably, this has included defections of police — usually under military control — to join the protests, labelling themselves “People’s Police” and calling for the restoration of the democratically elected civilian government.....The threat of military violence: The military will not give up easily. Every protester, however enthusiastic, knows the threat of catastrophic violence constantly looms. To hold on to power, the military could unleash unspeakable violence against peaceful protesters at any moment. They have recent form for this. In 2017, the military subjected Myanmar’s Rohingya community to indiscriminate murders, widespread sexual assaults, village burnings, and mass detention — more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh. Similar violence could easily be brought to bear on the protesters.
For the protesters, the casual brutality of Myanmar’s military was highlighted during the first days of the coup when peaceful gatherings in the capital Nay Pyi Taw were met with water cannons and rubber bullets interspersed with live rounds, leading to the shooting of a 19-year-old woman in the head. Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing, a grocery store worker who travelled from her village with her sisters, remains in a critical condition and is not expected to survive the shooting. She may not be the first protester murdered by Myanmar’s military but in a country where social mores often lean to the traditional, the optics of shooting a young woman as she peacefully asked for the return of the democratically elected government has further undermined the military’s standing.
Growing protests demonstrate the coup lacks public support and its military leaders lack legitimacy. While previous military coups have been unpopular, the military was often able to use “divide and rule” tactics to play groups off against each other and undermine coordinated resistance. However, this time the coup leaders have simultaneously unified virtually every key sector of the country against them.....Myanmar’s generational change: Before the coup, Myanmar’s demographics were already flowing strongly against continued military influence in government. While a defining feature of modern Myanmar politics has been the strong influence of the 1988 uprising that catapulted Aung San Suu Kyi and many other civilian government leaders — including ousted President Win Myint — to political prominence, more than seventy per cent of Myanmar’s population was not born when that uprising occurred. Myanmar’s young people have been kept away from power by the political endurance of those who first came to prominence in 1988 and have largely filled key leadership roles in Aung San Suu Kyi’s administration, but as time passes that situation was always bound to change.
Myanmar’s young people have grown up as Myanmar liberalised its previously highly restricted communications and media sectors, they have good links with and knowledge of the world beyond Myanmar and are accustomed to freely expressing their political opinions. The aspirations of Myanmar’s youth often contrast wildly with those of their parents and grandparents, who grew up under military-rule when the country was a hermit state closed to outside media and hostile to foreign influences. Young protesters are making clear that they do not want to be ruled by old, male soldiers and indications are they will continue to resist until the military is overthrown.
Myanmar’s street protests are also making clear many don’t merely want a return to the pre-coup status quo, which included extensive military influence in government, no civilian oversight of the military, and a military veto on constitutional change — they want the military out of politics permanently. And quickly. Much more quickly than Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian administration, tarnished internationally by its failure to oppose genocide against the Rohingya, have pushed for during its time in power.....The importance of Rohingya solidarity: Young people will hope the tide of demographics helps lead to the washing away of martial rule, but to take on Myanmar’s entrenched military, they will need all the allies they can find. This is a central point I make in my book Myanmar’s Rohingya Genocide, where I call for Myanmar’s young people and the Rohingya to embrace each other as natural allies. My hope is that as Myanmar’s younger generation move closer to political power, a more humanitarian approach towards the Rohingya could be a consequence of a generational change in Myanmar politics, and I strongly encourage the Rohingya leadership to actively engage with young people to seek common ground.
Of course, it would be understandable if some Rohingya opted to sit out these protests, treating Aung San Suu Kyi’s arrest as fair comeuppance for her endorsement of military actions against them, but the Rohingya’s leadership understands that removing the military from political power in Myanmar must be a priority — the strong solidarity with protesters already shown by Rohingya groups is proof of this.
There have been powerful examples of Rohingya solidarity with the protests and a statement condemning the coup from the Rohingya Women’s Network is a particularly significant endorsement, considering the specific targeting of Rohingya women and girls by Myanmar’s military.
The Rohingya have been disappointed by Myanmar's civilian politicians, but they support Myanmar's moves towards democracy — and they especially support calls for the rejection of the compromised 2008 Constitution that allows the military to avoid civilian government oversight. The coup and its aftermath present real opportunities for the Rohingya and Myanmar’s young people to forge common cause for the removal of the military from political influence in Myanmar permanently and reforming the constitutional framework so they can never return to power....Myanmar’s Rohingya reckoning: There are strong indications this important political realignment was already under way in Myanmar before the coup, with some youth activists concerned about the growth of racism in politics having taken action to curb it. Young inter-faith activists and groups like Generation Wave have been vocal supporters of human rights for all in Myanmar, including the Rohingya, and were strongly critical of ongoing military influence on politics.
Young political activists, especially those from ethnic minority groups, had been growing increasingly frustrated with restrictions on freedom of expression and with public expressions of racism. The #BlackLivesMatter-inspired “Don’t call me Kalar” social media campaign is an excellent example of this. “Kalar” is a pejorative often applied by racists to Rohingya and others with darker skin, but young people embraced with gusto an online campaign to end the practice, demonstrating similar cleverness, wit, and political edginess as we have seen in many anti-coup protests.
Public silence during the 2017 Rohingya crisis has increasingly been a subject of concern for anti-coup protesters, many of whom are fast coming to terms with the inconsistency of their silence when the military brutalised the Rohingya while they themselves now call for international help to remove that same military from power. It is better this realisation comes late than not at all. The sight of democracy protesters in downtown Yangon carrying signs reading, “I really regret about Rohingya crisis”, are an indication a rethink about the reaction towards the Rohingya’s most recent crisis in 2017 is underway for some.
One of many recent tweets I have received points to this reckoning, and highlights the legacy of decades of state media demonisation of the Rohingya, who were commonly portrayed as sinister foreign interlopers rather than a group indigenous to Myanmar:
Many in Myanmar have been unaware the Rohingya were uncontroversially recognised as citizens during the civilian government era that followed independence between 1948 and 1962, but had their rights restricted and their citizenship rights disputed once the military seized power in the 1962 coup that presaged five decades of military rule. The Rohingya know better than most the value of a democracy and the perils of military rule. Considering the international support they can harness, the Rohingya should now be a key ally of democracy protesters in the campaign to oust the military. The most effective way for the Rohingya and others in Myanmar to fight the military is by cooperating.
Myanmar’s coup is a step too far for most and defeating it is an opportunity for the country to at last change its constitution in order to kick the military from politics. This presents Myanmar with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the country’s future. The shared experience of military oppression of the Rohingya and Myanmar’s majority, made tangible by the coup and its aftermath, opens up a path forward — one that realises the future imagined when the country emerged from colonial rule in 1948, a time when the Rohingya played a full role in politics and were regarded as a legitimate part of the national fabric.
But achieving this future means the military’s coup first needs to be defeated — and in the short term, that’s far from a sure bet.
Ronan Lee is Visiting Scholar at the International State Crime Initiative in the School of Law, Queen Mary University of London. He was formerly a Queensland State Member of Parliament (2001–2009) and served on the frontbench as a Parliamentary Secretary (2006–2008) in portfolios including Justice, Main Roads and Local Government, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships. He is the author of Myanmar’s Rohingya Genocide: Identity, History and Hate Speech..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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555.15 KB
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Description:
"Thank you to so much for having me here at this critical moment in Myanmar. It is an honor to address the Parliament of Germany through these vital important Committees. I am here to brief you on the deepening catastrophic developments crisis in Myanmar that followed the illegal coup d'etat of 1 February. But I also come with a direct appeal from the people of Myanmar: Please support us in this, our darkest hour. Your solidarity and supports in these difficult times mean to us life. We are nearing 100 days since that fateful day when Min Aung Hlaing murderer in chief and his henchmen shattered our democratic aspirations in Myanmar. On that day, like many people in Myanmar, I feared for my life but have survived. Many have not been as fortunate. Since that horrible day, the coup leaders' forces have murdered nearly 800 patriots Nation's heroes of Myanmar and detained over 4,700, with 3,700 of my brothers and sisters currently imprisoned including our State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and our President U Win Myint . Please take note: I say the "coup
leaders' forces" and not "Myanmar military forces" because the people of Myanmar have made clear they do not recognize these forces as their own. Indeed, the mission of a nation's military is to protect and defend its people. The forces under the command of murderer in chief, Min Aung Hlaing are doing precisely the opposite - murdering, maiming and arbitrarily detaining the people of Myanmar in ever growing numbers. The people of Myanmar view Min Aung Hlaing and those who report to him as a terrorist organization inflicting devastation on our country and our people. They are detaining people without cause, without explanation, and without hearings. They are
beating and murdering on the streets of Myanmar and torturing in prisons. Reports of gender-based violence while in detention are on the rise, with rapes and sexual torture occurring in prisons and on the streets. This should come as no surprise as for decades the Tatmadaw used rape as a weapon against ethnic nationalities in Kachin,
Karen, Kayah, Shan, Mon, Rakhine and Chin States..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Germany-Burma relations, Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, 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, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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126.33 KB 66.42 KB
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"With a vast ethnic and cultural diversity,1 as well as high
levels of poverty, Myanmar has witnessed the emergence
of a myriad of armed non-state actors (ANSAs), which have
splintered and morphed over time, and has subnational
tensions arising from tremendous distinctive dynamics.
The majority of such actors, known as ethnic armed
organizations (EAOs), have primarily pursued a high level
of autonomy along with the recognition of identity and
rights. These claims have been ongoing since before the
colonial period, intensifying after independence in 1948
and still persisting in 2017. The 1980s and 90s saw important progress towards peace, with several ceasefire deals and the creation of the Border Guard Forces (BGFs) following plans for demobilization. Yet, these deals have all failed and have, therefore, generated
the proliferation of ANSAs. It was not until 2015 that the
government of Aung San Suu Kyi achieved the signing
of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA); however,
this process has failed to be inclusive, leaving aside key
actors after the government imposed restrictions for its signature and as a result, have maintained their armed confrontation.
Myanmar is composed of seven states, seven regions, six selfadministered zones (or divisions) and one union territory.2
One of the seven states, Rakhine (situated on the west coast of the country), is the site of ongoing tensions between the Myanmar armed
forces and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
Violence escalated sharply from October 2016, when ARSA
first attacked, and continued to spiral, with the last military
crackdown on 25 August 2017. Thus, in order to understand the complex setting in Myanmar, it is crucial to outline the dynamics of these longterm tensions, while focusing on the latest developments in
Rakhine state and the challenges these give rise to..."
Source/publisher:
Geneva Academy Of International Humanitarian Law And Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-06
[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, Various groups, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics, Government and Governance - Burma/Myanmar - general studies
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207.21 KB
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Description:
"We live in a rapidly changing world in which people often seek about human rights. But it turns meaningless when we see the number of refugees around the world is increasing rapidly. It will be unbelievable to hear that,the present world is facing the most global refugee crisis and we are witnessing a massive shift of humanity due to racial violent disorder, religious virulence, extreme nationalism, political and social conflict. In recent worlds Rohingya Muslims refugee have been the focus of considerable loved ones public concern .
It is believed that Rohingya Muslims are the most persecuted population all over the world.They have faced decades of systematic discrimination, stateless and targeted violence since the early 20th century. But the Rohingya affair has been largely ignored by the world community due to geopolitics , something that pushed some scholars to think that they represent a ghost and forgotten ethnic group, suffering slow burning genocide. The UN called the Myanmar authority to put an end the brutal security operation claiming the atrocities against the Rohingya as ‚a textbook example of ethnic cleansing‛
As Myanmar authorities are subjecting the Rohingya Muslim minority to collective punishment ,millions of Rohingya muslims crossed the international border and took shelter in Bangladesh. Bangladesh provided shelter for them from the humanitarian perspective as it was going on for many years with a significant spikes following violent attacks in 1978 ,1991-1992 ,2016 and finally in late August 2017.
Following the co-ordinate attack on 30 police camps and an army base by so called the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)1 a group previously known as Harakah al-Yaqin on August 25, 2017,causing deaths of 12 police officers, the Myanmar military began a major crackdown in the villages of Northern Rakhaine State. The atrocities included attacks on Rohingya people and locations, looting and burning down Rohingya villages, mass killing of Rohingya civilians, gang rapes, and other sexual violence. As a result Rohingya Muslims started to flee to save their life to avoid ethnic and religious persecution by Myanmar’s security forces and as a neighbouring country their destination is of course Bangladesh. As of 15 October 2017, the Inter-Sector Coordination Group (ISCG)2 reported that 537,0001 Rohingya refugees have entered Bangladesh since the attacks.But anoher report says that at least 720,000 Rohingya fled after the bloody crackdown and entered Bangladesh to join some 300,000 already living in the camps who took shelter during past influx. More than 6,700 Rohingya Muslims including at least 730 children under the age of five were killed in the first month of the crackdown according to Medcins Sans Frontieres (MSF) an international humanitarian medical non governmental organization (NGO) of French but Myanmar claims officially the figure is only 400. Whatever the figure is, the question arises towards international community whether it will be regarded as ‚Genocide ‚or ‚Ethnic cleansing.‛.....Ethnic cleansing defined: Ethnic cleansing and genocide seems to be same in nature but completely two distinct concept. The term ethnic cleansing is a literal translation of the Serbo-Croatian phrase :‚etnicko ciscenje‛ , that is focused in the context of the 1990’s conflict in the former Youguslavia . But the roots of the term and who started the term is still unknown. It is believed that the term ethnic cleansing is invented by Slobodan Milosevic.3 The expression ethnic cleansing has been used in resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly and has acknowledged in judgements and indictments of the ICTY.
There is no international treaty relating to the crime Ethnic Cleansing. As it has not been considered as an independent crime under international law ,so no exact definition will be given or what exact acts will be constituted for the purposes of the ethnic cleansing is not cleared. However a United Nations Commission of experts mandated to look into violations of international humanitarian law in the territory of the former Youguslavia defined ethnic cleansing in its interim report S/25274 as "… rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups from the area."4..."
Source/publisher:
Jagannath University (Dhaka)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, International Criminal Court, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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333.98 KB
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"Burma has a quasi-parliamentary system of government in which the national parliament selects the president and constitutional provisions grant one-quarter of parliamentary seats to active-duty military appointees. The military also has the authority to appoint the ministers of defense, home affairs, and border affairs and one of two vice presidents, as well as to assume power over all branches of the
government should the president declare a national state of emergency. In 2015 the country held nationwide parliamentary elections that the public widely accepted as a credible reflection of the will of the people. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader Aung San Suu Kyi was the civilian government’s
de facto leader and, due to constitutional provisions preventing her from becoming president, remained in the position of state counsellor.
The Myanmar Police Force (MPF), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (led by an active-duty general), is responsible for internal security. The Border Guard Police is administratively part of the MPF but operationally distinct. The armed forces under the Ministry of Defense are responsible for external security but are also engaged extensively in internal security, including combat against ethnic armed
groups. Under the constitution civilian authorities have no authority over the security forces; the armed forces commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, maintained effective control over the security forces. Extreme repression of and discrimination against the minority Rohingya population, who are predominantly Muslim, continued in Rakhine State. Intense fighting between the military and the ethnic-Rakhine Arakan Army (AA) that escalated in January displaced thousands more civilians, further disrupted
humanitarian access to vulnerable populations, and resulted in serious abuses of civilian populations. Fighting between the military and ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State, as well as fighting there among ethnic armed groups, temporarily displaced thousands of persons and resulted in abuses, including reports of civilian deaths and forced recruitment by the ethnic armed groups. Significant human rights issues included: reports of extrajudicial and arbitrary
killings by security forces; enforced disappearance by security forces; torture and rape and other forms of sexual violence by security forces; arbitrary detention by the government; harsh and sometimes life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; significant problems with the independence of the judiciary; severe restrictions on free expression
including arbitrary arrest and prosecution of journalists, and criminal libel laws; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including arrests of peaceful protesters and restrictions on civil society activity; severe restrictions on religious freedom; significant restrictions on freedom of movement, in particular for Rohingya; significant acts of corruption by some officials; some unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers; trafficking in
persons; crimes involving violence or threats targeting members of national, ethnic, and religious minorities; laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, although those laws were rarely enforced; and the use of forced and child labor..."
Source/publisher:
[US] Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
US State Dept. - reports on human rights in Burma, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Various groups, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
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351.45 KB
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"This thesis has been written as a response to the worrying rise of hate speech online and focuses primarily on Myanmar. It aims to analyse hate speech as a factor of Myanmar’s internal conflicts and, through my own field research and an examination of existing literature, it attempts to suggest effective, long term methods to counter hate and build peace. Building peace and resolving conflict requires commitment to constructing a foundation of activities and actors, across all levels of society, which aim to achieve sustainable reconciliation.1 As Wallensteen suggests, conflict resolution is far more than the absence of violence: it is the agreement of parties to respect each other and live together in peace.2 Therefore, the core focus of this research is to discuss how Smile Education and Development Foundation can equip young people with the tools to challenge online hate speech and bring communities together.
This research is specifically focused on Buddhist hate speech, though this is not to suggest that there is no negative rhetoric or actions from Muslims or other minority groups. However, this study would suggest that by transforming negative attitudes towards Muslims and the religious/ethnic/cultural ‘Other’, the chance of future violence from either party decreases significantly.
Myanmar has a history of intrastate conflict which is largely down to the marginalization of minority groups; the Burman (Bamar) ethnic group constitutes two thirds of the country but controls the government and military, often failing to protect the rights of the ethnically diverse remainder of the country. To further understand the complex situation, a conflict assessment of Myanmar will be conducted in chapter one, using Mathew Levinger’s four step assessment framework. The assessment will draw upon the marginalization of ethnic and religious groups as a driver of conflict and Buddhist/Muslim tensions, in addition to economic struggles and the oppressive military junta. It is important to address the key components of the conflict in Myanmar to understand how existing tensions can be exploited to spread hatred and mistrust against Muslims, who, as a consequence, are often blamed for problems within society.
One of the most common manifestations of religious intolerance, both in Myanmar and other contexts, is online hate speech. The internet has provided tools to enrich society, connect the world, and create educational information available to those who would not have had access to this before. However, these same tools have paradoxically become a platform to spread lies, prejudice and hatred that will often target religious or ethnic minority groups. Chapter two aims to deconstruct online hate speech and the consequences for Myanmar’s Muslim community, focusing primarily on Facebook – the most used social media platform in the country. While such hate speech can be brushed off by some as bigoted ranting or merely painful words, many, including Foxman and Wolf (2013), and Waldron (2012), whose work is discussed in chapter two, believe it could serve as a warning sign for more severe consequences. Worryingly for targeted minority groups such as the Muslim community in Myanmar, hate speech’s widespread appearance makes it seem increasingly acceptable. Once the youth become actively involved in these hate sites, they will be exposed to value sets and ideologies that soon become the norm. With a large percentage of internet users consisting of younger people, the focus of this report, the impact of this hate and the distorted truths that circulate online can affect many generations to come. It is what Waldron describes as a ‘slow poison’ threatening social peace.
Chapter three draws on the conclusions made in the conflict assessment of chapter one, and of chapter two’s analysis of the harm of online hate speech in Myanmar, to evaluate the best possible methods of countering hate speech for this context. Through addressing religious peacebuilding ideas from Gopin, examining existing counter hate speech campaigns in Myanmar and from around the world, and bringing in points discussed in both focus groups, I will draw conclusions about methods of prevention, regulation, and counter narratives that may be useful in bringing together Myanmar’s Buddhist and Muslim communities..."
Source/publisher:
University of Winchester (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-02
[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, Genocide, Muslims in Burma, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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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
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
205.76 KB
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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:
Format :
pdf
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:
Format :
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Size:
381.33 KB
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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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"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)
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219.72 KB
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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
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pdf
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311.33 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
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Description:
"The international community has shown great interest in the Rohingya1Muslims problem, especially in the aftermath of the violence in June and October 2012.While scores of writers in international media have focused on the subjectivity of the conflict, there are academics and policy-makers pondering what could be done to achieve long-term solutions to the inherent problem. Myanmar2 has experienced myriad ethnic conflicts since its indepen- dence from the British in January 1948, but what makes the Rohingya problem unique
and why has it caught the attention of the wider international community? Is it because the Rohingya Muslims are less fortunate community than the other groups or is it because they are distinctive?
It is puzzling to see some social or cultural groups within a society tend to express themselves more radically than the others. It is equally intriguing to see how governments often respond differently to such phenomenon. A society may be divided along the lines of culture, religion, political affiliations or other forms of divisions. One dominant theor- etical model social scientists employ to study political stability in a segmented society is “consociational democracy”. 3 Arend Lijphart defines consociational democracy as a “government by elite cartel designed to turn a democracy with a fragmented political
culture into a stable democracy”. 4 Under such political arrangement, the elites attempt to form a stable government by accommodating or integrating diverse views and interests of people belonging to different cultural groups. A successful consociational democracy
requires that the elites have the “ability to accommodate the divergent interests and demands of the subcultures” and also have the “ability to transcend cleavages and to join in a common effort with the elites of rival subcultures”. The possibility of such cooperation between rival elites would depend on their “commitment to the maintenance
of the system and to the improvement of its cohesion and stability” provided that the elites understand the “perils of political fragmentation”.5 Consociational democracy emphasizes the role of “elite behavior” in diverse societies.6 Cooperation between elites within the same group and also with elites of other groups or
cultures is essential. In successful consociational democracy, the elites find ways to accommodate different sections of the society by sharing power as well as reaching decisions by means of “consensus” or “unanimity”. 7 In an attempt to find a common
ground to establish a grand coalition government, the elites try to achieve two objectives. First, the goal of elites is to settle “conflicts of interest” that may exist among the parti- cipating members. Second, by settling conflicts of interest, the elites also want to achieve a settlement or result that is “most favorable” to their own supporters. The extent to which the elites can reach a consensus agreement is dependent upon how much each participating elite can make “concessions”. The elites know that they cannot solve conflicts of interest unilaterally, and therefore, need to make a strategic “bar-
gaining”. One elite’s interest may not necessarily be the same as that of the other elites and vice versa. Such differences would give each elite a chance to bargain for the best possible outcome that involves “competition as well as cooperation”.8 Purpose of Study
This article attempts to understand the nature of conflict between Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine9 Buddhists of Rakhine state in the Western part of Myanmar in 2012. The violent conflict first started in June, and seemingly subsided for three months, but later erupted again in October. While the two groups blamed each other for inciting the violence, they could not find a mutually acceptable peaceful solution among themselves.
The Rohingyas accused the Rakhine state government and the central government of deliberately attempting to eliminate their population and termed the violence as state sponsored ethnic cleansing. The central government denied such allegations, but failed to produce a concrete plan for long-term solutions. In this article, I attempt to explain
the underlying factors causing such mayhem and argue that consociational democracy should be pursued to achieve long-term solutions to the problem. However, I must be clear here that consociational democracy cannot work effectively or may even be irrelevant without first addressing the Rohingyas’ citizenship and identity problems. In order to understand the nature of violence in 2012, I will briefly discuss the historical context of the problem. I will then analyze the policies of the Myanmar government toward the issue, and discuss the general perception of the Myanmar people toward the conflict. I will also study the reactions of international community vis-à-vis the Rohingya conundrum. After presenting the different perspectives, I will discuss why I believe consociational democracy is the ideal approach to solve the problem..."
Source/publisher:
"Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs" via "Routledge" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-13
[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, Ethnic Cleansing, Genocide, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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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
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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:
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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
more
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
more
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
more
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:
more
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:
"The following
monograph
is
a draft background paper from
a presentation delivered
at a conference, ?The Muslim ?Rohingyas? of Burma”, organised
by the Burma
Centrum Nederland
in Amsterdam in December 1995. Given the paucity of available
data
at the time, the paper did not seek to be definitive. Rather, it was intended as a
draft for discussion, explaining dilemmas that the author had come across during the
previous decade when researching about ethnic politics in the country. The hope was
that, with the door to
Burma
gradually opening, other
analysts
and researchers would
be able to develop understanding about the sensitive ethnic
and political issues
involved.
Since this time,
the crisis in the Arakan-Bangladesh borderlands has further worsened,
with new violence, refugee outflows and a broader spread of ethnic nationality and
Buddhist-Muslim tensions within the country. In response, there has been greater
international awareness and research inter
est, but the divisions in local society and
politics have only become deeper.
This
monograph,
still
as a background draft for consultation, was published by the
Burma Centrum Nederland in a ?Rohingya Reader II” in October 1996. Scanned
versions have also
appeared on the Internet.
This version is a 2017-generated
document in
PDF. The original text has been maintained, and there are no updates. It
is intended that the text should be read in the context of the understandings and
landscape of the
Arakan-Bangladesh
borderlands in 1995."
Source/publisher:
Burma Centrum Nederland, Author
Date of publication:
1995-12-11
Date of entry/update:
2018-02-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
180.84 KB
more
Description:
"Early in the morning of 25 August 2017, members of a Rohingya armed group, the Arakan Rohingya
Salvation Army (ARSA), attacked approximately 30 security force outposts in northern Rakhine State.1 In its
response, the Myanmar Army, rather than targeting ARSA, launched an attack on the Rohingya population
in northern Rakhine State as a whole. Often working with Border Guard Police (BGP) and local vigilantes, the
military has carried out a campaign of violence that has been systematic, organized, and ruthless.
In this briefing, Amnesty International presents evidence that the Myanmar military has killed at least
hundreds of Rohingya women, men, and children; raped and perpetrated other forms of sexual violence on
Rohingya women and girls; and carried out organized, targeted burning of entire Rohingya villages. This
briefing builds on Amnesty International?s published findings since the crisis began, including on the
Myanmar military?s use of anti-personnel landmines. In seven weeks, the relentless human rights violations
have forced more than 520,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. More cross the border daily.
The attack on the Rohingya population has been both systematic and widespread, constituting serious
human rights violations and crimes against humanity under international law (see text box below). The
violations and crimes have been committed within a context of decades of systematic, state-led
discrimination and persecution of the Rohingya population and occasional large-scale outbursts of violence.
After ARSA attacks on security force outposts in October 2016, the Myanmar military carried out ?clearance
operations” marked by widespread and systematic human rights violations, including unlawful killings,
sexual violence and other forms of torture, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary arrests, which Amnesty
International concluded may have amounted to crimes against humanity. The current campaign is an
escalation, with the targeted burning of villages on a massive scale seemingly designed to push the Rohingya
population in northern Rakhine State out of the country and make it incredibly difficult for them to return..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (ASA 16/7288/2017)
Date of publication:
2017-10-18
Date of entry/update:
2017-10-18
[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:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
4.06 MB 4.84 MB
more
Description:
"Henry Van Thio, Vice President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, addresses the general debate of the 72nd Session of the General Assembly of the UN (New York, 19 - 25 September 2017)."...Mostly dealing with the current situation in Rakhine State and the Government?s responses
Source/publisher:
United Nations General Assembly
Date of publication:
2017-09-20
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Statements by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
Useful collection of material on the Rohingya and their situation....
"The Rohingya are often described as "the world?s most persecuted minority".
They are an ethnic Muslim group who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims who live in the Southeast Asian country.
The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is distinct to others spoken in Rakhine State and throughout Myanmar. They are not considered one of the country?s 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless..."....Analysis/description under several headings interspersed with 11 videos, texts, pictures...:
Who are the Rohingya?...Where are the Rohingya from?...How and why are they being persecuted? And why aren?t they recognised?...How many Rohingya have fled Myanmar and where have they gone?...Chart showing Rohingya movement since the late ?70s...What do Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government say about the Rohingya?...What does Bangladesh say about the Rohingya?...What does the international community say about the Rohingya?...What is the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army?...
Al Jazeera Staff
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera
Date of publication:
2017-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Statelessness in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: An Account of Indians in the 1931 Census, Chapter XII
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1930-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, 1931 census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.28 MB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Chapter 11 on Race and Caste from the 1921 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1920-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
5.72 MB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Extract on Arakan from the 1872 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1871-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 1872 Census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.11 MB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Extract on Indian, including seasonal migration, from the 1911 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1910-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 1911 census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.51 MB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Extract on Race from the 1901 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1900-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 1901 census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
579.48 KB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Extract on Race from the 1911 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1910-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 1911 census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.36 MB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Extract on Religion from the 1891 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1890-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 1891 Census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
365.68 KB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Extracts from the 1881 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1880-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 1881 Census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.22 MB
more
Description:
British Census Records and Reports 1872-1931: Tables on Race and Language in the 1931 Census
Source/publisher:
British Foreign Office via Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
1930-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2015-11-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. - governmental sources (non-Myanmar), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), 1931 census
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
392.39 KB
Local URL:
more
Description:
The Context: "In 1978 and 1991 Bangladesh was faced with influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. In 1978 about 200,000 refugees crossed into Bangladesh to flee persecution by the Myanmarese army in the Arakan region. Their stay in Bangladesh at that time was short lived as the problem was resolved through diplomatic initiatives in sixteen months.
The situation is somewhat different this time when about a quarter of a million of refugees took shelter in the Teknaf-Cox?s Bazar region. Following the successful completion of the Cambodian operation the Rohingya repatriation constitutes the single largest UNHCR operation in Asia. In spite of the Bangladesh Government?s agreement with the Myanmar authorities and UNHCR?s Memorandum of Understanding with both the governments on repatriation, initial steps in the repatriation has been rather slow.
Currently the repatriation process has virtually stagnated. The presence of such a large number of refugees, which at one stage appeared to be for an indefinite period, has created tensions in the host communities and impacted adversely the economy and environment of the region. It is in this setting that a study on the Rohingya refugees is being undertaken..."
Chowdhury R. Abrar
Source/publisher:
Network Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2015-10-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
Format :
htm pdf
Size:
133.12 KB 184.71 KB
more
Description:
Who are the Rohingya: "The Rohingya are genetically related to Bengalis, Indians, Arabs and Moors, reflectedin their darker skin and south Asian appearance of recognized national groups in Burma.The Rohingya are one of the two major indigenous people of Rakhine state (Historicallyknown as Arakan; other ethnic community is Rakhine Buddhists), the western provinceof Burma. The North Rakhine state is situated in the south and south East Asian junction..."
Ibrahim Dubashi
Source/publisher:
Network Myanmar
Date of publication:
2009-10-06
Date of entry/update:
2015-10-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
Local URL:
more
Description:
"...But today if Muslims are cut out of the formal political equation then Myanmar faces some really serious challenges. The country?s own history has plenty of sad examples of what happens when disenfranchised minorities have their backs against the wall.
Almost everyone involved in Myanmar?s political process deserves blame for this unedifying situation. Often critics are only prepared to target one side or another. In this case it is militarists, democrats, ethno-nationalists and conservatives who must all take responsibility for their decisions.
By ensuring that Muslims feel left out of the historic vote, Myanmar?s power-brokers will condemn their 2015 election to unnecessary international ridicule. It did not need to be this way, but such decisions ? the culmination of years of ugly anti-Muslim agitation ? do not deserve our respect.
As the election campaign continues, it is this narrow vision of fortress Myanmar ? one that deliberately excludes some of its most valuable citizens ? that will further aggravate communal tension."
Nicholas Farrelly
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2015-09-16
Date of entry/update:
2015-09-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
90.45 KB
more
Description:
"In
2012,
amidst
the
communal
violence
between
Royingha
and
Rakhine,
a
Chin
bride
father
at
Paletwa
in
southern
part
of
Chin
state
in
Myanmar
asked
twenty
lakhs
in
kyat
(approximately
equivalent
to
200
US$)
to
the
groom
for
the
bride
price
which
made
the
public
shocking
record
that
a
normal
price
range
around
5-6
lakhs
(approximately
equivalent
to
500-‐600US$).
On
the
other
hand,
the
other
bride?s
father
asked
five
thousands
kyats
for
the
bride
price
to
the
groom
in
May
2013.
These
two
cases
have
shocked
near
and
far
Chin
members
in
Paletwa.
Some
Chin
young
women
are
even
competing
for
their
bride
price.
Many
Chin
nationalists
have
then
attained
concern
for
this
circumstance
as
an
additional
ethnic
politics
issue
from
the
state?s
hegemony
nation
state
building
process.
Yet,
not
only
the
geographical
location
of
Paletwa
but
its
socio-economic
setting
also
much
interwoven
with
Rakhine
since
in
the
historical
time
(see
also
in
Kyin
Lam
Mang
2014;
CHKC
2012;
Brown
1960).
Many
shop
owners
in
Paletwa
municipal
market
have
informed
me
in
2013
(May-‐July)
how
much
they
are
affected
from
the
communal
violence
happening
in
Rakhine
where
the
flow
of
major
basic
goods
and
medicines
are
imported
from
Rakhine
is
limited.
In
Paletwa,
half
of
the
residence
belongs
to
Rakhine
ethnic
nationalities
with
a
hundred
Muslim
populations.
The
trading
disadvantage
categorized
as;
the
Muslim
on
the
top,
the
Chin
in
middle
and
the
Rakhine
on
t
he
bottom
due
to
their
socio-‐economic
networks
in
Sittwe
and
Kyautdaw
in
Rakhine
state.
That
is,
for
example,
a
trading
associated
in
Rakhine
state
have
much
facilitating
for
Rakhine
in
Paletwa
while
many
Muslim
and
the
Chin
do
not
much
deserve
to
have
such
network.
The
Chin
missionary
or
nationalists
have
claims
that
Paletwa
is
in
need
of
?taking
care”
otherwise
their
fellows
are
under
the
economic
?trapping”
of
the
Rakhine.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015.
Flora Bawi Nei Mawi
Source/publisher:
International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-26 July 2015
Date of publication:
2015-07-29
Date of entry/update:
2015-08-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political, Rakhine (Arakanese) - cultural, political, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies (ICBMS) 23-26 July, 2015
Language:
English
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"...We need to see this diversity inherent in Myanmar?s population, and this includes within the Muslim communities. How do we begin to capture the diversity and richness of Myanmar?s Muslim mosaic? Central to the politics of belonging is how Muslims define themselves. Let me take the 2014 census as an example of how Muslims are seeking to redefine their identity.
International commentary on the census primarily focused on the categories the government would use to mark religion and ethnicity, and specifically whether it would allow individuals to identify as ?Rohingya?. But there was an absence of coverage of broader Muslim responses to the census. Observers failed to see the fierce discussion and debate within Muslim communities about what categories they wanted to use to define their religious and ethnic status in the census.
Many in the Burmese Muslim community were confused: they did not want to list their ethnicity as ?Burman?, even if they identified as part Burman. This was because they felt that the ethnic category ?Burman? may be conflated by the government with ?Buddhists?, and therefore overestimated the numbers of Buddhists. On the other hand, as Muslims who take pride in their ?Burmeseness? ? both in terms of their ancestry as well as the use of Burmese language, clothing and culture ? wanted recognition that they belong to Myanmar too..."
Melissa Crouch
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-11-04
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"The most controversial aspect of the census recently held in Burma has been the denial of the large Muslim population in Arakan to identify themselves as Rohingya, the term of their choice. The government ban means as many as one million people remain uncounted in Arakan. That is scarcely surprising, as the Burmese government, Rakhine ultra-nationalists and seemingly a majority of the Burmese population have denied for years the existence of the Rohingya identity. According to them, the Rohingya ethnicity is an invention devised by immigrants from Bangladesh to take over the land in Arakan.
Few people have made more effort to deny the claims of ethnicity by the Rohingya than Derek Tonkin, former British ambassador to Thailand and editor of the website Network Myanmar. Mr. Tonkin has reached his conclusions after digging deeply in colonial British archives, where he has not found a single use of the term Rohingya. His command of the British colonial records is nothing less than impressive, but by relying almost solely on these sources he only offers a partial picture, from which I think he draws incorrect conclusions..."
Carlos Sardina Galache
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-09-22
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
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CONTENTS: I. Muslims in Burma in the Days of the Kings...
The Beginnings of Muslim Settlement in the Irrawaddy Valley...
Muslim Settlement in Arakan...
Why Burma Did Not Become Muslim ......
II. Muslims in Burma During British Rule:
Immigration from India...
Organizations of Muslim Immigrants from India..
Organizations of Burmese Muslims....
The Burma Moslem Society...
The General Council of Burma Moslem Associations...
The Renaissance Movement...
The Japanese Occupation......
III. Muslims in Burma Since Independence:
Structural Changes in the Muslim Community...
The General Council of Burman Moslem Associations...
The Burma Muslim Congress...
The Burma Muslim Organization...
The Indian Muslims after World War II...
Religious Activities...
The Arakanese Muslims......
IV. Conclusion:
Major Aspects of Muslim Community Life......
Appendices:
A. How Many Muslims Are There in Burma?...
B. Legislation on Islamic Subjects ...
C. Various Documents of the General Council of Burman Moslem Associations ...
D. Muslim Press ...
E. Persons Interviewed ...
F. Burma Newspapers Consulted...
Bibliography...
Indices...
Personal Names...
Geographical Names...
Institutions...
Groups.
Moshe Yegar
Source/publisher:
NetIPR
Date of publication:
1971-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2014-09-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakanese/Rakhine/Rohingya history
Language:
English
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Description:
"The first sight as you approach Maungdaw along a bumpy dirt road, after taking the daily ferry from Sittwe to Buthidaung, is a ?Welcome to Maungdaw? gateway erected in 2000.
A devastating blaze and alleged clashes between security forces and Muslims which rights groups say left dozens killed and a policeman missing have once again pitted Maungdaw township?s Rakhine and Rohingya communities against each other. A devastating blaze and alleged clashes between security forces and Muslims which rights groups say left dozens killed and a policeman missing have once again pitted Maungdaw township?s Rakhine and Rohingya communities against each other.
There are hints of trouble – the glass in its clock tower was cracked during violence in June 2012 and remains unrepaired; signboards in town carry messages such as ?People can be safe if there is rule of law? and ?Our town will be developed if there is peace and stability? – but for the most part Maungdaw appears peaceful.
In reality, it has for many years been torn between two very different – some would say irreconcilable – societies."
Si Thu Lwin
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2014-02-09
Date of entry/update:
2014-06-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"The government of Myanmar?s President Thein Sein, so active in its efforts to assure Western governments and investors that the new Myanmar will never return to the dark days of the previous ruling military junta, has so far wholly failed to prevent the contagious spiral of brutal attacks on Muslim communities carried out in town after town by suspiciously well-organized Buddhist gangs.
Thein Sein?s periodic appeals for ??an end to communal violence" are less than convincing given the absence of any government measures or plan to stem the anti-Muslim tide and prevent the next outbreak. Leaflets and magazines denigrating Muslims are
being churned out every day across the country.
Extremist Buddhist monks, meanwhile, continue to spread a perniciously xenophobic version of Theravada Buddhism through inflammatory sermons directed against a Muslim minority that comprises only 5% of the population in this predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million..."
Tom Fawthrop
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online"
Date of publication:
2013-07-01
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-30
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"Burma has enjoyed a remarkable several years of economic and political opening, but it is now also suffering a far darker development—serious ethnic violence. Coordinated arson attacks and periodic massacres in the remote Rakhine State have flattened entire villages and left hundreds of Rohingya men, women and children dead since June 2012. More than 140,000 are relegated to miserable displacement camps and tens of thousands have fled by sea..."
Matthew Smith
Source/publisher:
"The Wall Street Journal" via Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2014-03-13
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"Leaked Documents Implicate Government Actors in Crimes Against Humanity"...
Leaked government documents reveal severe violations of human rights of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, including restrictions on the freedom of movement, marriage, childbirth, and other aspects of daily life in northern Rakhine State, Fortify Rights said in a new report released today. The report implicates state and central government officials as perpetrators of the crime against humanity of persecution. Crimes against humanity are among the most serious crimes under international law.
?The impacts of these restrictions are severe and have been well-documented for decades, but the official orders have been kept out of the public domain until now,? said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. ?This architecture of abuse contributes to political instability and violence and must be lifted immediately.?..."
Source/publisher:
Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2014-02-25
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"Grant Immediate Humanitarian Access, Ensure Accountability for Violations"...
"The government of Myanmar should act immediately to bring an end to attacks and abuses against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, Fortify Rights said today. The government should end the mass arrests of Muslim men and boys and ensure due process rights for all those detained in areas surrounding the site of recent mass killings of Rohingya in Du Char Yar Tan village, Maungdaw Township. Unfettered access to the area should be granted to humanitarian organizations, independent observers, and national and international media..."
Source/publisher:
Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2014-01-23
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"Last month, the government of Myanmar made the shocking decision to evict M?decins Sans Fronti?res (MSF) from Rakhine State, cutting off tens of thousands of mostly-stateless Rohingya Muslims from their last refuge of lifesaving medical care.
The decision came on the heels of a new report by Fortify Rights, offering definitive proof that the Myanmar government has targeted the minority Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine State for decades. The 79-page report, Policies of Persecution: Ending Abusive State Policies Against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, is based on leaked government documents, witness testimony, and public records, revealing severe violations of human rights of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, including restrictions on the freedom of movement, marriage, childbirth, lifesaving medical care, and other aspects of daily life in northern Rakhine State..."
Taylor Landis
Source/publisher:
Harvard Law Human Rights Program via Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2014-03-21
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"Myanmar?s President Thein Sein travels to London and Paris this week, where he will meet British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande. Now that decades-long European Union economic sanctions against Myanmar have been lifted - with the exception of an arms embargo - trade and investment are expected to dominate the agenda.
But the focus should not be on trade and investment alone. Western leaders have a responsibility to address ongoing human rights violations in Myanmar. For a start, they should pressure Thein Sein to bring an immediate end to abuses against Muslims..."
in Rakhine State and call separately for an independent, international investigation into ongoing abuses occurring there.
Matthew Smith
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times Online" via Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2013-07-16
Date of entry/update:
2014-05-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
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Description:
The paper contains references to the Rohingyas and their language: "...I shall now add three dialects, spoken in the Burma Empire, but evidently derived from the
language of the Hindu nation.
The first is that spoken by the Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, and who
call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan..."
Francis Buchanan, M. D.
Source/publisher:
SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No., 1, Spring 2003, ISSN 1479-8484
Date of publication:
1798-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2012-07-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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"In August 2008 the Irish Centre for Human Rights received funding from Irish Aid to launch a project on the human rights situation of the Rohingyas/Muslims of Rakhine State in Western Burma/Myanmar. As part of the project a research unit was established at the Irish Centre for Human Rights to carry an open source research and take part in a fact-finding mission and the drafting of a report under the supervision of Prof. William Schabas.
In 2009, Nancie Prudhomme (project manager and researcher) and Joseph Powderly (project researcher) undertook a 4-week fact-finding mission to gather more detailed, first-hand and new information about the situation of the Rohingyas in Western Burma. As part of their mission Nancie and Joseph visited Burma and Thailand. In Thailand, they had meetings on the
situation of the Rohingya "boat people" pushed back to sea at the beginning of 2009 and on the status of the Rohingya issue within Asia generally and more specifically at the ASEAN level.
As part of the fact-finding mission the researchers also spent two weeks in Bangladesh visiting refugee camps and interviewing Rohingya refugees and human rights and humanitarian workers. The researchers were joined in Bangladesh by Mr. John Ralston, Executive Director of the International Institution for Criminal Investigation and former Chief of Investigations at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry for Darfur. The team interviewed Rohingya victims in and around refugee camps in Bangladesh. The mission in Bangladesh provided detailed information on the causes for flight to Bangladesh and the current situation in Western Burma.
The report of the Rohingya project was officially launched on June 16 th, 2010 by Micheál Martin, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, at Iveagh House"..... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"The plight of the Rohingyas has become better known since the start of 2009, in particular because of world-wide media coverage of the case of the so-called ?boat people”, consisting of hundreds of Rohingyas who attempted to reach Thailand by boat and were subsequently mistreated there. Despite this new interest in the Rohingya community, very little work has been done to examine the root causes behind their continuous suffering. The Rohingyas are a Muslim minority group residing in North Arakan State in Western Burma. It is estimated that there are approximately 800,000 Rohingyas in Arakan State, and many hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in other countries. There are disputes over the historical records, and whether the Rohingyas are an indigenous group or whether in fact they began entering Burma in the late 19th century. Even the very name Rohingya? has been disputed. Whatever position is taken on these questions, it is undeniable that the Rohingyas exist, and have done so for decades, as a significant minority group in North Arakan State. For many years, the Rohingyas have been enduring human rights abuses. These violations are on-going and in urgent need of attention and redress.
Irish Aid provided funding for independent research to be conducted by the Irish Centre for Human Rights on the situation of the Rohingyas. The content and views expressed in the resulting Report by the Irish Centre for Human Rights are entirely those of the authors. This Report is based on a fact-finding mission to the region, including Burma, as well as on extensive open-source research, and confidential meetings with organisations working in the region. Much of the most important information came from the many interviews conducted with Rohingya individuals in and around refugee camps in Bangladesh, where they were able to speak more freely than they can in Burma itself about the violations they had endured and which had caused them to flee their homes.
The Report examines the situation of the Rohingyas through the lens of crimes against humanity. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and international criminal law jurisprudence, especially that of the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, are used to provide detailed and clear legal foundations for the examination. As becomes evident in the individual chapters, there is a strong prima facie case for determining that crimes against humanity are being committed against the Rohingyas of North Arakan State in Burma..."
Nancie Prudhomme, Joseph Powderly, John Ralston...Supervised by Prof. William Schabas (
Source/publisher:
Irish Centre for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2010-06-16
Date of entry/update:
2010-06-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Justice and Burma, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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pdf
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2.21 MB
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"Les Rohingya, population musulmane du nord de la province birmane d?Arakan, situ? ? la fronti?re du Bangladesh, sont exclus de la liste officielle recensant les 135 minorit?s nationales, interdits de d?placement et priv?s de la plupart des droits civiques. Cet ouvrage se penche sur l?identit? des Rohingya et sur l?histoire du bassin bengalo-arakanien avant d?analyser la situation contemporaine."
...Mots-Cl?s -- Rohingya -- Birmanie -- Myanmar -- Arakan -- Rakhine -- Musulmans -- Identit? -- Ethnicit? -- minorit?s -- Etat-Nation -- Asie du Sud-Est
Gabriel Defert
Source/publisher:
Editions Aux lieux d??tre
Date of publication:
2006-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2010-05-30
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Francais, French
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pdf
Size:
3.15 MB
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Description:
"In recent months, the Rohingyas have been making headlines again. Who are they?
It was reported1 recently that Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win had told his ASEAN2
counterparts in Hua Hin, Thailand, prior to the ASEAN Summit, that the SPDC is "willing to
accept the return of refugees from Myanmar if they are listed as Bengali Muslim minorities but
not if they are Rohingyas, because Rohingyas are not Myanmar citizens". What does this
signify? To the uninitiated, what difference does it make if they are Bengalis or Rohingyas? Are
they not from Burma? In Burmese politics, however, it makes a world of difference..."
Source/publisher:
Euro-Burma Office (EBO Briefing Paper No. 2
Date of publication:
2009-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2009-04-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
48.28 KB
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Irrawaddy readers weigh in on a contentious issue..."...Some readers based their arguments on historical evidence, while others emphasized human rights considerations. But judging from the bulk of the comments we received, it was clear that race, religion and ethnicity were the major factors animating the debate over whether the Rohingya "belong" in Burma.
Few readers stooped to the blatant racism of the Burmese consul in Hong Kong, who infamously described the Rohingya as ugly, dark-skinned "ogres." Some, however, evidently viewed the matter chiefly through the lens of race..."
Neil Lawrence
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 2
Date of publication:
2009-03-31
Date of entry/update:
2009-04-02
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
English
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Description:
"Burma?s Muslims are gaining the attention of Western observers...
Burma?s importance in world affairs has long derived from its critical geo-strategic position. Now, however, it is the country?s large Muslim population and its possible links with pan-Islamist extremist organizations that is attracting the interest of Western scholars and officials.
While usually overlooked in surveys of Islam in the Asia-Pacific region, Burma is home to at least two million Muslims, or four percent of the population. Some estimates of their numbers range as high as 16 percent, or eight million people. All statistics on Burma are unreliable, but the difference between these two estimates arises from the fact that a large proportion of the country?s Muslims are denied full citizenship, and therefore not included in official surveys. Also, the latter figure usually includes a large expatriate population, possibly of 1.5 million Burmese Muslims, who are currently living in Bangladesh, Pakistan and the Middle East..."
Andrew Selth
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 11, No 7
Date of publication:
2003-08-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-11-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Delivered at the EU â? Burma Day 2003 Conference..."In contrast to the Thai-Burma border, very little international attention has been given to conditions on the Bangladesh-Burma border. Consequently, Arakan State has remained a largely ignored region of Burma. Awareness is generally limited to the cycle of exodus and repatriation of Rohingya refugees.
But Arakan is no less than a microcosm of Burma with its ethnic conflicts and religious antagonisms, and is by far the most tense and explosive region of the country. The refugee outflow to Bangladesh does not result from counter-insurgency strategies to undermine ethnic armed resistance, as it is the case for the Shan, Karen and Karenni along the Thai-Burma border, but is the outcome of policies of exclusion against the Rohingya community..."
Chris Lewa
Source/publisher:
Forum Asia
Date of publication:
2003-10-08
Date of entry/update:
2003-10-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
100.47 KB
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"While Muslims around the world protest against airstrikes in Afghanistan, Burma?s Muslims are
keeping silent, as the latest wave of communal violence continues..."
Maung Maung Oo
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol 9. No. 8, October-November 2001
Date of publication:
2001-10-31
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
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Type:
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Language:
English
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Delivered at the Medecins Sans Frontieres Conference:
?10 Years for the Rohingya Refugees: Past, Present and Future”
Dhaka ? 1 April 2002.
"As long as the situation in Rakhine State does not show any fundamental improvement, Rohingya people will continue to enter and seek shelter in Bangladesh. The refugees in the two remaining camps are only the visible side of an outflow that has never ceased. Indeed, the exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh has never stopped. Every day, new Rohingya individuals and families continue to cross the border illegally and seek sanctuary in Bangladesh. It is no longer a mass exodus, but a constant trickle. This influx seems to be encouraged and at the same time strictly controlled by the Myanmar authorities, and concurrently it is rendered invisible by the Bangladesh administration. New arrivals are denied access to the refugee camps, and these undocumented Rohingya have no other option than to survive among the local population outside the camps. Their exact number is unknown. An estimate of 100,000 has regularly been cited for several years now, which does not take into account the constant increase. According to the local press, there may be as many as 200,000 living in the Cox?s Bazar-Teknaf-Bandarban area and this amount appears to be more realistic. They are not referred to as refugees but labelled as ?economic migrants”..."
Chris Lewa
Source/publisher:
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Date of publication:
2002-04-01
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
Language:
English
Format :
htm
Size:
35.6 KB
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