BBS-Ashin Wirathu Alliance

By Latheef Farook
Source:latheeffarook.com

Is Sri Lanka heading towards a Rohingya type attack on island’s besieged Muslims?

The alliance between anti Muslim Sri Lankan racist outfit Bodu Bala Sena and Burma’s   blood thirsty Buddhist Monk Ashin Wiruthu, responsible for slaughtering thousands of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, spells disaster for the island.

This extremely dangerous alliance, brought together by their common hatred towards Islam and Muslims,

perhaps trained and financed by their new found  Israel and United States friends , has all the ingredients to turn the island into a killing field from which it may unlikely to recover for decades  to come  under the existing  local and global political environment.

This unholy alliance fits into the Zionist sponsored and United States led global anti Muslim campaign to justify the invasion and destruction of   Muslim countries. This is the reason why the Muslims suspect the hate mongers as mercenaries of foreign forces.   

The growing fear among the island’s besieged Muslim community is that “BBS-Asin Wirathu Alliance” may lead to a Rohingya type attack on the island’s Muslims.  

Already the Sinhalese extremists led by Jathika Hela Urumaya and what is perceived as its fronts such as BBS, Sihala Ravaya and Ravana Balakaya managed to poison the minds of Sinhalese against Muslims to justify such an attack on Muslims. In fact JHU’s Udaya Gammanpila even stated once that “a 1915 type Sinhala-Muslim riot is inevitable”. 

It appears this hate campaign unleashed during the past two and half years   had already dented the centuries old traditional harmonious relations between Sinhalese and Muslims.

However there are signs of hope for the island. Responsible elements among the Sinhalese started waking up to the threat posed by these extremists to their society. Many   admit that extremists have already caused considerable damage to the image of Buddhism and the Sinhalese community.

 On the other hand the Muslims begin to realize that this is not a conflict between Sinhalese and Muslims, but the work of few hundreds of extremists who do not represent   the Sinhalese community as they claim. It was under this atmosphere that the BBS leaders met Myanmar’s Monk Ashin Wirathu, described by Time magazine as the “Monk of Terror”. 

Local mainstream media which usually give wide publicity to Sinhalese extremists and help promote their agendas were quiet. However breaking the news website COLOMBO Telegraph   stated on 12 March 2014 under the headline ‘Buddhist Bin Laden’ To Visit Sri Lanka: “We’ve Not Signed Any Agreement with 969 Movement”: BBS

 

“We have not signed any agreement with Burma’s Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu or the 969 movement”, the Chief Executive Officer of the Bodu Bala Sena Dilanthe Withanage told Colombo Telegraph. He said the caption of the photograph, which is circulating via social media saying “the BBS has come to an agreement with Burma’s terrorist 969 movements”, is a slander. “This picture was taken while our secretary Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara signing the visitors’ book.” he said. Ashin Wiruthu, widely known as the Burma’s ‘Bin Laden of Buddhism’ has been invited to Sri Lanka.

Nine days later on 21 March 2014 Ceylon Today published a report by Ruwan Laknath Jayakody under the headline”BBS invites Ashin Wirathu Thera to visit SL “

The man that Time Magazine dubbed 'The Face of Buddhist Terror,' Leader of the 969 Movement in Myanmar, who is notorious for his anti-Islam rhetoric, Ven. Ashin Wirathu Thera, will be arriving in the island on an invitation by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS). 

BBS General Secretary, Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera said, "There is no need for a hullabaloo yet. We will let the relevant people know in due course. We have invited him and he will come and we will have a meeting. That is all. The media does not need to know for how long he will stay here. We will plan it and reveal it at the appropriate time." BBS Education and Research Unit Chief Coordinator, Chamila Liyanage, said, "Even though the dates are not confirmed yet, he is definitely coming.

"Buddhist countries in the Asiatic region are facing difficulties and even violence from the Muslims and the other religions in the region. The best example comes from Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh. This is the very reason why Ven. Wirathu decided to start the 969 Movement in Myanmar. We visited Thailand and Myanmar and we will be visiting other countries in East Asia. We will definitely be starting an international network with global reach with likeminded Buddhist civil society institutions, Buddhist scholars and Buddhist activist organizations in these countries. With Ven. Wirathu Thera we will be discussing strategic plans for at least a regional network for the time being, for which we need a concrete plan," he added.

These reports disturb specially Muslims.

Ashin Wirathu, leader of the anti-Muslim movement in Burma, has been a "notorious chauvinist”. In its cover story the TIME magazine described Ashin Wirathu: The Monk behind Burma’s “Buddhist Terror”. His apartheid-like speech stirred shocked reaction on Twitter, with users calling the monk a "neo-Nazi" inciting anti-Muslim pogroms in Burma.  

His 969 Anti Muslim organization, together with the Myanmar armed forces, killed thousands of Muslim men, women, children and the aged, burnt Muslim localities and indiscriminately raped Muslim women besides looting Muslim properties and belongings. They   threw bodies of hundreds of Muslims killed into the Bay of Bengal and covered the dead bodies with clothes usually worn by Buddhists   and claimed that they are the remains of Buddhist people who became victims. 

It is this Ashin Wirathu whom the BBS is inviting to Sri Lanka. This is like inviting Hitler, Mussolini, Ariel Sharon or Menachem Begin,

Sri Lanka is not Myanmar. Myanmar is a country which lived in isolation for decades.  It was cut away from the world. However Sri Lanka has a long history of civilization and played a dynamic role in the Third World affairs and earned a name for itself.

Muslim world has traditionally been friendly   with Sri Lanka.

Our economy is tied to many Muslim countries. Almost a million Sri Lankans are employed in the Gulf States and their annual remittance exceeds   six billion dollars. This brings relief to millions of   families.   In fact employment opportunities abroad have become the largest foreign exchange earner to the island. 

Muslim countries always came to rescue Sri Lanka in times of crisis. For example  in the   United Nations sponsored United Nations Human Rights  Council resolution   on March 27 in Geneva calling for a comprehensive investigation    into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights, committed by both parties in Sri Lanka,  of the 12 countries voted against five were Muslim countries. This included Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Maldives If not for these five Muslim countries Sri Lanka would have got only seven votes. Four out of 12 countries abstained were Muslims and no Muslim country voted for the resolution in the 47-member UNHRC

Do the Sinhalese extremists who have unleashed an unwanted destructive campaign against Muslims understand the seriousness of their madness?

Burning Muslim villages	Muslim families thrown out of their homes
Body of a Muslim child burnt and another child throat cut

Under the circumstance do we need to jeopardize these friendly relations for the sake of few hundreds of extremists?  Under such circumstance is it wise for Sri Lanka to allow these extremists to hijack the country and hobnob with mass murderers of Myanmar Muslims. 

On the other hand Muslims worldwide are carefully watching the ongoing anti Muslim campaign in Sri Lanka. We are not living in the pre colonial era. We are part of the world and the world is not part of Sri Lanka as these extremists think.  

The price the country will be made to pay for the ongoing attack on the island’s Muslim community will be unpredictable.  

Link:  http://www.latheeffarook.com/index.php/9-sri-lanka/861-bbs-ashin-wirathu-alliance.

The Silent Massacre of Rohingya

January 26,2014

By Harun Yahya, Istanbul 

Burma Times

The Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine province of Myanmar are going through a brutal ethnic slaughter campaign of an unimaginable size. The scale of the killings, persecution, torture and savagery are beyond comprehension.

The systematic slaughter policy waged towards Muslims since 1942 left only 70,000 out of the initial four million owing to mass murder and displacement. To date, three million Muslims have been forced to migrate to neighboring countries, hundreds of thousands of Muslims have been martyred, tens of thousands of settlement units have been burned and destroyed, tens of thousands of women have been raped, and hundreds of mosques and madrassas have been destroyed. Thousands of Muslims are known to have been imprisoned and tortured, though their fates are unknown.

Muslims living in Rakhine region have been burned alive in their homes in more than 330 attacks, which have worsened since June of last year, in which Muslim villages, including mosques and madrassas were burned. According to independent human rights organizations, in June 2012 alone 1,000 Muslims in the region were ruthlessly martyred and 125,000 people were forced from their homes and villages and left to survive in the jungle.

Just recently, another wave of attack has begun towards Rohingya people and we have heard at least 40 people died, a village of 340 houses and 4000 inhabitants emptied with many Rohingya tied up, taken as slaves, dumped, women who were raped and breasts cut off before they were killed, dead bodies taken by trucks, and arrests of men, women and children. The events that led to this violence began with another violence, the killing of eight Rohingya people by the village administrator, after which a police sergeant was also killed amid the growing clashes.

Human Rights Watch has published a 153-page report concerning the crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Rakhine Muslims in recent months: The report accuses Myanmar authorities of engaging in ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine. According to a UN statement, the Rakhine Muslims are the most persecuted social group in the world.

The state plays a part in these atrocities by either turning a blind eye or preventing humanitarian aid reaching Muslims. Furthermore, the policies and sanctions imposed on Muslims by the state are completely inhuman.

The Rohingya Muslims enjoy no citizenship rights and have no access to any state benefits. They cannot obtain passports and are not admitted to state hospitals. They are forced to work for nothing for the state or in private institutions. They have no rights to enter the civil service or even study beyond high school.

Muslims have to pay taxes simply to go from one village to another. They are not allowed out after 9:00 in the evening, even to visit relatives or neighbors, without police permission.

They have no right to a defense when a crime is committed, and are imprisoned straight away. The police or military can raid their homes on no grounds. They can be arrested arbitrarily for no reason.

The elimination of Muslims in Myanmar, ruled by a military junta between 1962 and 2011, has literally become a policy of state. Power passed to a supposedly democratic administration, still under the control of the communist military junta, in the wake of elections in which wide-ranging fraud took place: As a result, the same military junta is continuing with the same policy through a puppet government. The aim is to eliminate the Muslim population by annihilating it or forcing it into exile.

In recent years, since the Bangladeshi government has closed its borders to the refugees, hundreds of Muslims seeking to flee to that country have drowned in the seas and rivers on the frontier; and this plays into the hands of the Myanmar administration that wishes to entirely purge the country of Muslims.

There are about 150,000 Rohingya displaced from their homes, and recent attacks forces more and more every day. Myanmar government has put together these Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) into camps that are surrounded by checkpoints and wire. Clean water and food are hard to find in these camps and the inhabitants of the camps are starving. The residents are not allowed to go out and work, and no working means no money and no food.

Nine out of ten of Burma’s 53 million people are Buddhists, yet Buddhists and Muslims lived in peace for many years in the past. This is because both religions espouse peace and tolerance towards other religions and condemn killing. Yet, the ethnic conflict of the recent years has been attributed to fanatical Buddhists.  The fact is, however, the violence perpetrated against Muslims is executed by mobs and terror organizations clothed as Buddhist monks.

Now the world should hear the silent cries of Rakhine Muslims. International media should be granted access to the region. Otherwise, if the countries continue to watch the oppression, violence and slaughter inflicted on Rakhine Muslims, the ethnic Muslim communities of Myanmar may just vanish off the earth.

Those who watch the persecution and slaughter of Muslims all around the world with weary eyes and are reluctant to see Muslims act as a single body, or who regard it as unnecessary and remain passive and timid, will have to bear the conscientious responsibility for this suffering, pain and shedding of Muslim blood.

Link:  http://burmatimes.net/the-silent-massacre-of-rohingya/.

Limited health options for internally displaced Rohingya

June 9,2013
IRIN/Sittwe
Source: Gulf Times

Aid workers are calling for better health access for an estimated 140,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, most of them Rohingya Muslims.

Although a number of NGOs and government mobile clinics are providing basic health services inside the roughly 80 camps and settlements, they are limited, and emergency health referrals remain a serious concern, they say.

According to Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF), conditions inside the camps, combined with the segregation of ethnic Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya and ongoing movement restrictions, are having a severe impact on healthcare.

Movement restrictions were slapped on Rohingyas around Sittwe, the Rakhine State capital, after bouts of sectarian violence in June and October 2012.

Another concern is the negative attitude of many ethnic Rakhine to assistance provided to Muslim IDPs.

“With threats and intimidation both to health provider and patient, this becomes an irreconcilable dilemma,” Carol Jacobsen of the medical NGO Merlin said, adding that “hostile access”, limited transportation and poor security were obstacles to healthcare for the Muslim population.

Aside from IDPs, thousands of Rohingyas in their villages or places of origin - many reachable only by boat - are restricted from travelling to local township hospitals in the event of a medical emergency, aid workers report.

“MSF has just returned from areas where whole villages are cut off from basic services,” said Ronald Kremer, MSF emergency co-ordinator in Rakhine State. “What we have seen shows that current policies such as movement restrictions are having a detrimental impact on people’s health. This includes TB patients unable to access the treatment they need to stay alive, and pregnant women dying unnecessarily because they have nowhere safe to deliver.”

It’s estimated there are 5,000 pregnant displaced women living in the camps.

“Normally, these women would be going to government hospitals or clinics,” said Marlar Soe, field co-ordinator for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in Sittwe, noting that government midwives, who are largely ethnic Rakhine, are not going into the camps.

Almost one year after the initial violence in Rakhine State, more than half the IDPs are in Sittwe, one of nine strife-affected townships.

Most Rohingyas are confined to a series of camps on the outskirts of the town.

Security forces and metal barricades, topped with razor wire, prevent camp residents from leaving what activists are now describing as a ghetto-like prison. The 12-bed Dar Pai emergency hospital is the only government-run health facility for the more than 100,000 Muslim IDPs and residents in an area which encompasses 11 IDP camps and makeshift sites, as well as five Rohingya host communities.

Doctors are rarely seen and medicine is in short supply, say IDPs. “You’re lucky if you can get an aspirin there,” said Aung Win, a 57-year-old Rohingya man from the Mawlee quarter of Sittwe, referring to the hospital.

Edward Hew, head of relief operations for Mercy Malaysia, says it is time for the international community to come together with state health authorities to strengthen the Dar Pai hospital as it is currently the only option available.

“Many patients are not comfortable with being referred to Sittwe Hospital,” he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) currently provides emergency medical evacuation services to Sittwe Hospital.

“This, however, is not always easy given the security situation, as well as the limited number of beds (12) allocated for Muslims,” said one aid worker who preferred anonymity. Meanwhile, with monsoon rains having begun, there is growing concern about the risk of water-borne and communicable diseases.

“Many of the risk factors for an outbreak are present, including overcrowding, open defecation, limited potable water, poor hygiene standards and many living in makeshift shelters,” said Ingrid Maria Johansen, project co-ordinator for MSF in Sittwe, warning that an outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea could spread quickly through the camps.

 Link: http://www.gulf-times.com/mobile/asean-philippines/188/details/355677/limited-health-options-for-internally-displaced-rohingya

Special Report - In Myanmar, apartheid tactics against minority Muslims

7 hrs ago
By Jason Szep | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News

SITTWE, Myanmar (Reuters) - A 16-year-old Muslim boy lay dying on a thin metal table. Bitten by a rabid dog a month ago, he convulsed and drooled as his parents wedged a stick between his teeth to stop him from biting off his tongue.

Swift treatment might have saved Waadulae. But there are no doctors, painkillers or vaccines in this primitive hospital nearSittwe, capital of Rakhine State in western Myanmar. It is a lonely medical outpost that serves about 85,300 displaced people, almost all of them Muslims who lost their homes in fighting with Buddhist mobs last year.

"All we can give him is sedatives," said Maung Maung Hla, a former health ministry official who, despite lacking a medical degree, treats about 150 patients a day. The two doctors who once worked there haven't been seen in a month. Medical supplies stopped when they left, said Maung Maung Hla, a Muslim.

These trash-strewn camps represent the dark side of Myanmar's celebrated transition to democracy: apartheid-like policies segregating minority Muslims from the Buddhist majority. As communal violence spreads, nowhere are these practices more brutally enforced than around Sittwe.

In an echo of what happened in the Balkans after the fall of communist Yugoslavia, the loosening of authoritarian control in Myanmar is giving freer rein to ethnic hatred.

President Thein Sein, a former general, said in a May 6 televised speech his government was committed to creating "a peaceful and harmonious society in Rakhine State."

But the sand dunes and barren paddy fields outside Sittwe hold a different story. Here, emergency shelters set up for Rohingya Muslims last year have become permanent, prison-like ghettos. Muslims are stopped from leaving at gunpoint. Aid workers are threatened. Camps seethe with anger and disease.

In central Sittwe, ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and local officials exult in what they regard as a hard-won triumph: streets almost devoid of Muslims. Before last year's violence, the city's Muslims numbered about 73,000, nearly half its population. Today, there are fewer than 5,000 left.

Myanmar's transformation from global pariah to budding democracy once seemed remarkably smooth. After nearly half a century of military dictatorship, the quasi-civilian government that took power in March 2011 astonished the world by releasing dissidents, relaxing censorship and re-engaging with the West.

Then came the worst sectarian violence for decades. Clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and stateless Rohingya Muslims in June and October 2012 killed at least 192 people and displaced 140,000. Most of the dead and homeless were Muslims.

"Rakhine State is going through a profound crisis" that "has the potential to undermine the entire reform process," said Tomás Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar.

Life here, he said, resembles junta-era Myanmar, with rampant human-rights abuses and a pervasive security apparatus. "What is happening in Rakhine State is following the pattern of what has happened in Myanmar during the military government," he said in an interview.

The crisis poses the biggest domestic challenge yet for the reformist leaders of one of Asia's most ethnically diverse countries. Muslims make up about 5 percent of its 60 million people. Minorities, such as the Kachin and the Shan, are watching closely after enduring persecution under the former junta.

As the first powerful storm of the monsoon season approached western Myanmar this week, the government and U.N. agencies began a chaotic evacuation from the camps, urging thousands of Rohingya Muslims to move to safer areas on higher ground across Rakhine State.

Some resisted, fearing they would lose all they had left: their tarpaulin tents and makeshift huts. More than 50 are believed to have drowned in a botched evacuation by sea.

"THEY ALL TELL LIES"

Sittwe's last remaining Muslim-dominated quarter, Aung Mingalar, is locked down by police and soldiers who patrol all streets leading in and out. Muslims can't leave without written permission from Buddhist local authorities, which Muslims say is almost impossible to secure.

Metal barricades, topped with razor wire, are opened only for Buddhist Rakhines. Despite a ban against foreign journalists, Reuters was able to enter Aung Mingalar. Near-deserted streets were flanked by shuttered shops. Some Muslims peered from doors or windows.

On the other side of the barricades, Rakhine Buddhists revel in the segregation.

"I don't trust them. They are not honest," said Khin Mya, 63, who owns a general store on Sittwe's main street. "Muslims are hot-headed; they like to fight, either with us or among themselves."

Ei Mon Kyaw, 19, who sells betel nut and chewing tobacco, said Muslims are "really dirty. It is better we live apart."

State spokesman Win Myaing, a Buddhist, explained why Aung Mingalar's besieged Muslims were forbidden from speaking to the media. "It's because they all tell lies," he said. He also denied the government had engaged in ethnic cleansing, a charge leveled most recently by Human Rights Watch in an April 22 report.

"How can it be ethnic cleansing? They are not an ethnic group," he said from an office on Sittwe's main street, overlooking an empty mosque guarded by soldiers and police.

His comments reflect a historic dispute over the origins of the country's estimated 800,000 Rohingya Muslims, who claim a centuries-old lineage in Rakhine State.

The government says they are Muslim migrants from northern neighbor Bangladesh who arrived during British rule from 1824. After independence in 1948, Myanmar's new rulers tried to limit citizenship to those whose roots in the country predated British rule. A 1982 Citizenship Act excluded Rohingya from the country's 135 recognized ethnic groups, denying them citizenship and rendering them stateless. Bangladesh also disowns them and has refused to grant them refugee status since 1992.

The United Nations calls them "virtually friendless" and among the world's most persecuted people.

BOAT PEOPLE EXODUS

The state government has shelved any plan to return the Rohingya Muslims to their villages on a technicality: for defying a state requirement that they identify themselves as "Bengali," a term that suggests they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

All these factors are accelerating an exodus of Rohingya boat people emigrating in rickety fishing vessels to other Southeast Asian countries.

From October to March, between the monsoons, about 25,000 Rohingya left Myanmar on boats, according to new data from Arakan Project, a Rohingya advocacy group. That was double the previous year, turning a Rakhine problem into a region-wide one.

The cost of the one-way ticket is steep for an impoverished people - usually about 200,000 kyat, or $220, often paid for by remittances from family members who have already left.

Many who survive the perilous journeys wind up in majority-Muslim Malaysia. Some end up in U.N. camps, where they are denied permanent asylum. Others find illegal work on construction sites or other subsistence jobs. Tens of thousands are held in camps in Thailand. Growing numbers have been detained in Indonesia.

MOB VIOLENCE

Rakhine State, one of the poorest regions of Southeast Asia's poorest country, had high hopes for the reform era.

In Sittwe's harbor, India is funding a $214 million port, river and road network that will carve a trade route into India's landlocked northeast. From Kyaukphyu, a city 65 miles southeast of Sittwe, gas and oil pipelines stretch to China's energy-hungry northwest. Both projects capitalize on Myanmar's growing importance at Asia's crossroads.

That promise has been interrupted by communal tensions that flared into the open after the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman by Muslim men in May last year. Six days later, in retribution, a Buddhist mob beat 10 Muslims to death. Violence then swept Maungdaw, one of the three Rohingya-majority districts bordering Bangladesh, on June 8. Rohingya mobs destroyed homes and killed an unknown number of Rakhines.

The clashes spread to Sittwe. More than 2,500 homes and buildings went up in flames, as Rohingya and Rakhine mobs rampaged. When the smoke cleared, both suffered losses, though the official death toll for Rohingya - 57 - was nearly double that for Buddhist Rakhines. Entire Muslim districts were razed.

October saw more violence. This time, Buddhist mobs attacked Muslim villages across the state over five days, led in some cases by Rakhine nationalists tied to a powerful political party, incited by Buddhist monks and abetted at times by local security forces..

U.S. President Barack Obama, on a groundbreaking visit in November, urged reconciliation. "The Rohingya ... hold within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do," he said. The week he visited, Thein Sein vowed to forge ethnic unity in a letter to the United Nations.

But the violence kept spreading. Anti-Muslim unrest, whipped up by Buddhist monks, killed at least 44 people in the central city of Meikhtila in March. In April and May, Buddhist mobs destroyed mosques and hundreds of Muslim homes just a few hours' drive from Yangon, the country's largest city.

Thein Sein responded by sending troops to volatile areas and setting up an independent commission into the Rakhine violence. Its recommendations, released April 27, urged meetings of Muslim and Buddhist leaders to foster tolerance, Muslims to be moved to safer ground ahead of the storm season, and the continued segregation of the two communities "until the overt emotions subside."

It sent a strong message, calling the Rohingya "Bengalis," a term that suggests they belong in Bangladesh, and backing the 1982 citizenship law that rendered stateless even those Rohingya who had lived in Myanmar for generations.

The Rohingya's rapid population growth had fueled the clashes with Buddhists, it said, recommending voluntary family-planning education programs for them. It suggested doubling the number of soldiers and police in the region.

Rohingya responded angrily. "We completely reject this report," said Fukan Ahmed, 54, a Rohingya elder who lost his home in Sittwe.

Local government officials, however, were already moving to impose policies in line with the report.

THE HATED LIST

On the morning of April 26, a group of state officials entered the Theak Kae Pyin refugee camp. With them were three policemen and several Border Administration Force officers, known as the Nasaka, a word derived from the initials of its Burmese name. Unique to the region, the Nasaka consists of officers from the police, military, customs and immigration. They control every aspect of Rohingya life, and are much feared.

Documented human-rights abuses blamed on the Nasaka include rape, forced labor and extortion. Rohingya cannot travel or marry without the Nasaka's permission, which is never secured without paying bribes, activists allege.

State spokesman Win Myaing said the Nasaka's mission was to compile a list identifying where people had lived before the violence, a precondition for resettlement. They wanted to know who was from Sittwe and who was from more remote townships such as Pauktaw and Kyaukphyu, areas that saw a near-total expulsion of Muslims in October.

Many fled for what Win Myaing said were unregistered camps outside Sittwe, often in flood-prone areas. "We would like to move them back to where they came from in the next two months," said Win Myaing. The list was the first step towards doing that.

The list, however, also required Muslims to identify themselves as Bengali. For Fukan Ahmed and other Rohingya leaders, it sent a chilling message: If they want to be resettled, they must deny their identity.

Agitated crowds gathered as the officials tried to compile the list, witnesses said. Women and children chanted "Rohingya! Rohingya!" As the police officers were leaving, one tumbled to the ground, struck by a stone to his head, according to Win Myaing. Rohingya witnesses said the officer tripped. Seven Rohingya were arrested and charged with causing grievous hurt to a public servant, criminal intimidation and rioting.

Compiling the list is on hold, said Win Myaing. So, too, is resettlement.

"If they trust us, then (resettlement) can happen immediately. If you won't even accept us making a list, then how can we try and do other things?" he asked. The crisis could be defused if Rohingya accepted the 1982 Citizenship Law, he said.

But doing so would effectively confirm their statelessness. Official discrimination and lack of documentation meant many Rohingya have no hope of fulfilling the requirements.

Boshi Raman, 40, said he and other Rohingya would never sign a document calling themselves Bengali. "We would rather die," he said.

Win Myaing blamed the Rohingya for their misfortune. "If you look back at the events that occurred, it wasn't because the Rakhines were extreme. The problems were all started by them," the Muslims, he said.

SCORCHED EARTH

In Theak Kae Pyin camp, a sea of tarpaulin tents and fragile huts built of straw from the last rice harvest, there is an air of growing permanence. More than 11,000 live in this camp alone, according to U.N. data. Naked children bathe in a murky-brown pond and play on sewage-lined pathways.

A year ago, before the unrest, Haleda Somisian lived in Narzi, a Sittwe district of more than 10,000 people. Today, it is rubble and scorched earth. Somisian, 20, wants to return and rebuild. Her husband, she says, has started to beat her. In Narzi, he worked. Now he is jobless, restless and despondent.

"I want to leave this place," she said.

Some of those confined to the camps are Kaman Muslims, who are recognized as one of Myanmar's 135 official ethnic groups; they usually hold citizenship and can be hard to tell apart from Rakhine Buddhists. They fled after October's violence when their homes were destroyed by Rakhine mobs in remote townships such as Kyaukphyu. They, too, are prevented from leaving.

Beyond Sittwe, another 50,000 people, mostly Rohingya, live in similar camps in other parts of the state destroyed in last year's sectarian violence.

Across the state, the U.N relief agency has provided about 4,000 tents and built about 300 bamboo homes, each of which can hold eight families. Another 500 bamboo homes are planned by year-end. None are designed to be permanent, said agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan. Tents can last six months to a year; bamboo homes about two years.

The agency wants to provide the temporary shelter that is badly needed. "But we don't want in any way to create permanent shelters and to condone any kind of segregation," Tan said.

Aid group Doctors Without Borders has accused hardline nationalists of threatening its staff, impairing its ability to deliver care. Mobile clinics have appeared in some camps, but a U.N. report describes most as "insufficient."

Waadulae, suffering from rabies, was treated at Dar Paing hospital, whose lone worker, Maung Maung Hla, was overwhelmed. "We have run out of antibiotics," he said. "There is no malaria medicine. There's no medicine for tuberculosis or diabetes. No vaccines. There's no equipment to check peoples' condition. There are no drips for people suffering from acute diarrhea."

State spokesman Win Myaing said Rakhine doctors feared entering the camps. "It's reached a stage where they say they'd quit their jobs before they would go to these places," he said.

The treatment of the Rohingya contrasts with that of some 4,080 displaced ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in central Sittwe. They can leave their camps freely, work in the city, move in with relatives in nearby villages and rebuild, helped by an outpouring of aid from Burmese business leaders.

Hset Hlaing, 33, who survives on handouts from aid agencies at Thae Chaung camp, recalls how he earned 10,000 kyat ($11 a day) from a general-goods stall in Sittwe before his business and home went up in flames last June. Like other Muslims, he refuses to accept the term Bengali.

"I don't want to go to another country. I was born here," he says, sipping tea in a bamboo shack. "But if the government won't accept us, we will leave. We'll go by boat. We'll go to a country that can accept us."

(Edited by Andrew R.C. Marshall and Bill Tarrant.)

Burma’s burning

Jul 29th, 2012
By Muhammad Saad Khan
Source: My Bit for Change

Burma is burning and most of us are conveniently silent ….

Some believe that death toll is not high enough to condemn the killings because few dozens have been murdered and few women have been raped; not a big deal because they were muslims. Some others say that we are far away from Burma, so leave them alone and try to solve our own problems first while some are confused to believe the atrocities did actually happen or not.

Media (international and local) is silent because it has not received the dictation from its real masters to show ethnic cleansing of Muslims as a breaking news. Media didn’t even recognize the problem unless Amnesty International reported it. And all of those who want to keep mum are blaming social media for raising voice for the oppressed. Those who are against any check and balance on their own ‘freedom of expression’ want to have checks on social media, so that the issues like Burma are never highlighted anywhere. They are blaming the social media networks like facebook and twitter for propagating fake pictures, while forgetting their own fake stories and fake programs. The problem with electronic media is their capital influx, which they get from multinationals and governments and due to which they cannot go beyond a certain limit set by their sponsors.

Social media on the other hand has given voice to general public. Common people can use twitter, facebook and youtube to express their views and get their views across. Although in countries like Pakistan, internet access and social media usage is still limited, it is good enough to send a few shockwaves across the country. True that social media doesn’t have the access to reliable information some times and anything can get viral without authentication; the problem is not as severe as traditional media which feeds in sponsored news and deliberately corrupt the mindsets. Anything wrong if gets viral on social media, immediately a rebuttal is launched and most of the time people correct themselves.

But why do we need to speak against Muslim genocide in Mayanmar (Burma). The reason is simple, we need to speak up against all oppression, or we can be the next target. If I don’t speak against drones today, a drone can bomb my house tomorrow. Its not a matter of choice now, its an obligation.

Will merely highlighting the issue stop these atrocities? Of course not! But raising our voice is the first and least we can do, so let’s do it. It may not be enough to stop the genocide, but surely its enough to gain the momentum, pile up the courage and cry halt. It will give us strength to do more and definitely will weaken the oppressor.

It is a legitimate question that we should not be silent over the problems prevailing in our own country. We have lawlessness, bombings and target-killings coupled with economic crisis in our country. Therefore when people say that lets sort out our own mess first, it sounds logical. But my take on this is that we need to have a collective approach. We cannot address issues one by one because a long list of issues will pop up when one is resolved. This is a continuous battle, between the oppressed and the oppressor. We have to choose on which side we are standing and then continuously play our role in a collective manner. Cherry picking selective items won’t serve the purpose.

Another question which is asked by our liberal elite in same context is ‘what’s this fuss called Muslim Ummah’ ? Well Muslim Ummah doesn’t mean a bunch of rulers or a few traitors. It’s about the masses of Muslims whose hearts beat together. If any Muslim anywhere in the world is suffering, all Muslims feel the pain and if someone claims to be Muslim but not feeling the pain he should recheck his belief.

So, if Bangladeshi government led by Haseena Wajid is not feeling the pain of displaced muslims of Burma, it doesn’t mean that Muslims of Bangladesh or the world are not concerned. If OIC is silent, it is because most of the people sitting in OIC are not true representatives of Muslim Ummah. The role of UNO is also shameful. It has multiple standards for different religions and regions. Muslims being killed never get their attraction unless ‘oil’ is involved.

So in short, Buddhists, who are known to be peaceful so much so that they won’t crush an ant, are killing muslims, raping women burning villages. Thousands have been displaced so far and forced to live in concentration camps. The military of Burma is fully involved in ethnic cleansing of Muslims. The numbers are not important, what’s important is that Muslims are being oppressed and we should remember the word of Allah in Quran which says :

How is it that you do not fight in the way of Allah and in support of the helpless – men, women and children -who pray: ‘Our Lord, bring us out of this land whose people are oppressors and appoint for us from Yourself, a protector, and appoint for us from Yourself a helper’?. (ch 4 v 75)

So, if we can’t fight for our brothers and sisters, we can raise our voice at least; therefore, raise it now as its already too late.

Rakhine racists, police and Hluntin attack Rohingya in Maungdaw in absent of Army

11 June 2012
Source:Kaladan Press

Maungdaw, Arakan State: A group of Rakhine racists, police and Hluntin are attacking Rohingya properties - burning houses, destroying Mosques and killing Rohingy people today morning after the army left from Maungdaw town , according to an elder from Maungdaw town.


“Last night, after President’s speech to public through MRTV that northern Arakan was handed over to Army to control the situation. The army controlled the Maungdaw last night and the people get a little relief from tension. But, in the morning after leaving the army from town, a group of Rakhine racists along with police and Hluntin are destroying Rohingya’s properties and religious building and killing Rohingyas.”
“Today morning, after leaving the choppers, which carried the relief goods for Rakhine, the Police, Hluntin and Rakhine set on fire Karim Ullah’s house of Bo Mu para, Maungdaw town at 9:30Pm (BST).”

“Police, Hluntin and Rakhine set on fire the Ward number (5) where three houses were burnt down into ashes including Ex- MP Fazal Ahmed‘s house. In Ward number 3, one Mosque and one house owned by Kalam are being destroyed; other houses are being burnt down.”

In Ward number 2, the houses of Nurul Isam, Syed Hussein and Feroz were burnt down and some houses are still burning in front of the Middle School, not known how many houses were destroyed in arson attack. At about 12: 00 noon, Fayazi Para is surrounded by police, Hluntin and Rakhines. Later Sayed Hussain was slaughtered by Rakhines.

Five engines boats along with over 300 people including women and children from Akyab reached at Shapuri Dip of Bangladesh in the morning today, but these boats were pushed back to the sea by BGB personnel so the boat went again to the Saint Martin Island of Bangladesh where Bangladesh Coast- Guards pushed-back again to Arakan State. The fate of the people is not known after pushed back. It is learnt that some dead bodies and wounded persons are present in the boats.

At about 11:30 am, a truck with Rohingya dead bodies was seen in front of the old jail today, which was taken away by police to unknown places. These are previous dead bodies of Rohingyas.

According to the President Thein Sein’ speech, army will control the situation of the Arakan, but still slaughtering the Rohingya people by the police, Hluntin and some group of Rakhine racists. It is very surprise for the Rohingya community.

100 Rohingyas killed and 500 wounded in Maungdaw

09 June 2012
Source:Kaladan Press

Maungdaw, Arakan State: An estimated 100 Rohingyas were killed and nearly 500 wounded by Rakhine racists and security personnel since yesterday, according to an elder who collect the information about missing Rohingya and wounded in Maungdaw.

“Two young Rohingya – Kurban Ali and Amaran- were killed by riot police while they processed peaceful demonstration yesterday noon. “

“In the evening two men were wounded near the Naypaydaw junction and on old women was killed by the settlers( Natala).”

Yesterday night, 10 Rohingyas were killed and 15 wounded in the accident of Ward number 5 where Rakhine racists and security personnel set on the fire the Rohingya houses.

Recently the collection lists of dead bodies and wounded persons in different areas of villages in Maungdaw where the Rakhine racists and security personnel killed: 3 Rohingya died and wounded 5 in Myothugyi village; Sawmawna village demolished Mosque 6 died and 6 wounded; 7 died and 2 wounded in Loundon; 3 killed by army in Bagonna village; 3 wounded in Padinn and etc.

An army truck was crossing Du Cheyradan village where 2 Rohingya were shot dead by army when they were sitting in a shop on the road side and then the villagers informed to the nearest Nasaka outpost. The Nasaka told the villagers to bring the family lists of the dead persons from the village. After seeing the family lists, the Nasaka gave permission to bury the dead bodies in the village, according to a villager.

Most of the dead bodies of Rohingya who were killed by Rakhine racists and security personnel, were kept by the security personnel and nobody known where about it, said a local from Maungdaw.

The dead bodies of Rohingya are hiding in the different places of Maungdaw but, Rakhine racists and security personnel move the dead bodies by pull carts from Yoathet to other place at night today.

The security personnel and Rakhine racists are rounding together near the Seetehla of Myoma Kkayoungdan village to set on fire the village, said a Rohingya who see the crowed person near the village.

Besides, the army personnel ordered the shopkeepers of Alaythan Kyaw market today to leave the area as the army needs to set up their camp.

Over 3000 Rakhine racists are brought from Rathedaung to Inddin of Maungdaw south by the order of security personnel from Maungdaw to build up their capacity, an elder told to Kaladanpress. “We are very afraid for Rakhine attack as now heavy raining is going on in Maungdaw.”

Similarly, in Buthidaung township, Rakhine racists are given training of the defense in Nyoung Chang monastery by security personnel who were brought from other side of Arakan State.

The latest news of June 10 morning

10 June 2012
source: Kaladan Press

A young poor Rohingya girl - Zahara Begum (12) daughter of Abu Sidduque, hail from Bomu village- was killed by Tin Aye, sergeant from Maungdaw police station when she went to kitchen market to sell pea at the local village kitchen market of Kanrre village at bout 9:00am, the dead body of the girl was kept in police vehicle, said an eye-witness said to Kaladan press.

Most of the Rohingya shops have been looted by Rakhine racists with the help of Hluntin (riot) and police. All the looted goods were handed over to the Buddhist monastery where the Rakhines- from Natala (settlers) villages- are kept by authorities. The looting was led by Paungmae son of U Aung Gyi.

More than 10 floating dead bodies are seen in the stream, beside of Maungdaw- four mile road in the morning after heavy rain in yesterday. The Rohingya people believed that the dead bodies were thrown into the stream by security personnel after shooting dead.

Today the missing and wounded collection sources said more than 250 Rohingya people were killed by security personnel and Rakhine racists.

Breaking News: Current Buthidaung situation

10 June 2012
Source: Kaladan Press

Current Buthidaung situation:

Yesterday, at about 12 noon, 200 Rakhines with long swords came to Buthidaung town by two boats and landed from the U Oo Thama Park in front of police and went to straight to the Buddhist monastery. Hearing the news, the Upper Parliament member U Shwe Maung contacted with Tactical Operation Officer of Buthidaung Town to provide security by army to the Rohingyas as the people don’t rely the police security.

Again, today, about 300 Rakhines with lethal weapons came to Buthidaung town by boats from other places. Of them, some had gone to hide in the forest. But, local Rakhines females with children are sent to the secure places.

Rohingya people in Buthidaung Township have been living with constant fear of unholy alliance of Buddhist Rakhines and security forces.

Breaking News : Nearly 1000 houses burnt down in Sittwe, over 100 killed, more than 300 wounded

10 June 2012
Kaladan Press Network

Sittwe( Akyab: At about 11:00 am to 2 pm, the racist Rakhines with the co-operation of riot police (Hluntin) set on fire to nearly 1000 houses in the Rohingya villages in Sittwe( Akyab), the capital of Arakan State and over 100 killed and more than 300 wounded by Rakhine racists and security personnel. After setting fire in different villages, the security forces are in cordon the areas. When the Rohingya villagers try to distinguish and intentionally fired to them.

At present, many villagers become homeless and are staying in the open sky. They do not get any supporting from the concerned authorities. About 1000 houses were burnt down to the ashes.

Besides, Shafi Khan Mosque which is situated near the gate of Akyab airport was also burnt down by the racist Rakhines, Pakeseik Mosque and some other 6 Mosques.

Some villages have been identified as---Rohingya Para, Zala Para (village), Gumay Para, Naya para, wireless para, Paluktown para and Deram para were burnt down.More than ten thousands Rakhine participated to arson of the Rohingya villages in Akyab.

The Rohingya villagers are in panic-stricken without any help from any quarter and survival of the villagers is at stake.

Rohingya - The Forgotten Refugees.

June 21, 12012
By Foreda Begum
Source: Restless Beings

The plight of the Rohingyas should be in the spotlight even more so with it being World Refugee Day. However, whilst millions pay tribute to refugees around the world, what is being done about the persecution of the Rohingya? Despite the theme for 2012 being 'Refugees have no choice. You do.' the international response has been slow and too safely guarded, despite the calls for action.

Since the clash between the Rakhines and the Rohingyas surfaced 3 weeks ago, it has shown no signs of improvement let alone ending; the violence ferociously continues as its estimated over 6000 Rohingya people have died with cases of deaths every day of both Rakhine and Rohingya, 12,000 displaced and an immeasurable amount of homes still continue to be burned down (though according to the Rohingya Blogger, it has stopped in the Sittwe and Maungdaw township). The Nasaka, the Bumese Border Force, are left to their own devices under the rubric of National security, they have had a long run in their part in making the lives of the Rohingya a living hell. However, their crimes have taken a new height since these clashes began, aiming to systematically rid the Rohingya and make them leave Arakan, a plan which had succeeded in 1992 when a similar incident resulted in the mass exodus of the Rohingya.

Despite this, there is still no sign of relief across the border as Bangladesh still refuses to help the Rohingyas by forcibly pushing back those who want to escape the tyranny. Even as close neighbours, the Bangladesh government are refusing to recognise the grave consequences their actions have. For the Rohingya’s who have managed to cross the border to Bangladesh in recent years the majority face a bleak future. Seen as a burden to an already densely populated country, viewed as immigrants speaking a similar but still different language to the Bangladeshis, and being denied humanitarian aid, forces Rohingya refugees into dire avenues.

Our Restless Beings director Mabrur, visited the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Bangladesh in 2011 where an estimated 26,000 (2010 report) Rohingya are 'living' with a further 90,000 on the other side of the refugee camp perimeter fence. The camp was filled with an air worse than desperation- the faces of the refugees faces just blank, just surviving another day. The Rohingya women are victims of sexual violence, chidlren are denied education and there is limited access to health and medical aid. They live harassed, not being allowed to conceive and so just wait, restricted in the camp, to die. It's a stark reality that despite fleeing from hellish torment in Burma that they face a fate rarely better in Bangladesh as refugees.

In the midst of the clashes, Aung Saan Suu Kyi, who is seen as a beacon of hope to the Rohingyas, embarked on her European tour and yesterday paid a visit to the London School of Economics for a discussion on "Rule of Law". She has avoided the subject of the clash between the ethnic groups, even though it is the support of of the ethnic groups which is at the core of her prominence today. At the LSE conference she did mention and acknowledged the current state of affairs and the violence occurring on both sides, but somewhat sugar coated her outlook on the situation, placing the importance of Law being known by everyone is the way forward for Burma - “Resolving conflict is not about condemnation, it’s about finding the roots, the causes of that conflict and how they can be resolved in the best way possible”. However the law can only be effective and seen to be important when all the people concerned are recognised by the Law and the state in the first instance. Without this initial step, which the Rohingyas have campaigned for, little progress can be made.

Instead, their underlying struggles, even amidst the recent civil violence from both the Rakhines and Rohingya - none of which can be condoned, will continue largely unnoticed. On a day which is dedicated to the remembrance of refugees, it is important that these initial violations against the Rohingya do not go unnoticed and that the international community hold the Burmese state accountable.

Even after World Refugee Day and after Refugee Week this Friday, we must continue to champion and voice the Rohingyas. The smallest deed of dedicating your facebook status, or tweeting #Rohingya brings their struggle to light.

Rohingya In Depth - Interview with Maung Tun Khin

June 10,2012
By Foreda Begum
Source:.restlessbeings.org

From face value, Tun Khin is indistinguishable in our multicultural society, but he is one of the few Rohingyans who settled in the U.K after experiencing the persecution of hardship imposed on his people first hand in the Arakan stae in Burma. Though he has only been living here for a few years, he has wasted no time is trying to voice the injustices of the Rohingyas in hopes that change can happen. Tun Khin is the president of the Burmese Rohingyan Organisation UK (BROUK), who with other Rohingyan people have been working relentlessly in raising awareness of the daily injustices the Rohingyans continually face in Burma and for the scattered rohingya refugees in places such as Maylasia, Thailand and especially Bangladesh. I sat down with Tun Khin where I asked about his experiences of injustice as a Rohingyan but also what progress has been made in spreading the message of the Rohingyan people.
What was it like growing up in Burma?

I grew up in the Arakan state where I faced persecution. Travelling between villages was too hard and to other districts was really hard, but through providing bribes I travelled to Bangkok seven years ago and was able to get an education. I then travelled to the U.K and I am currently doing my PHD.
Is your family still in Burma?

My family is still there, they live in Rangoon and it is not as bad as living in Arakan.
Do you want them to leave Burma too?

No I don’t, they do not want to leave, as I am working for my people I want to go back one day and return to my country, I hope one day my country will have peace.

You visited Norway earlier this year to raise awareness for the Rohingyas, what did you do there?

Norway has an annual film festival , which I was invited to to speak in the panel discussion on the documentary, ‘The exodus of the Rohingya’; The documentary highlighted the situation of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and I spoke about their background and current situation because they need to know the root of their problem; The Rohingyas left Burma because they were (and still are) facing political, religious and social persecution in Burma. I highlighted in 1962, when military coup took power, they implemented ways to get rid of the Rohingyas in Arakan and 1990 onwards the situation was getting more worse and implemented restriction of movement, restriction of education, rape of women, religious persecutions the restriction of marriage - when they want to get married they need to get permission from the authorities and fill up an application and until today there about 10,000 pending applications, and the Rohingyas go to Bangladesh because of these human rights violations, but the injustices they find are as bad there as there were in Burma.
And what did the other panel members comment on the documentary?

They really sympathised with the Rohingya issue and were shocked by what they face on a daily basis.
What are your thoughts of the changing attitudes of the Burmese government and the worldwide attention on it? How do you think this will affect the Rohingyas?

The international community who see current so called reformist government as quite good because they are releasing political prisoners, they are bringing Aung San Su Kyi to the parliament and the bi-elections and showing a transition to democracy, but I highlight that currently the regime have not properly reformed. It is atmospheric changes, it is not genuine change; we want constitutional and legal reform. Burma’s problem is the ethnic ‘problem’; the different ethnicities do not have their own rights, we need to see every Burmese ethnic group have their own rights and then the country will have long lasting peace. The Burmese regime are engaging with the Burmese groups but there is no solution at this point.
Why do you think that the Rohingya situation is more deep rooted than other ethnic groups?

The Kachin people face their own conflict but still the Rohingya are in the worst situation in comparison to other ethnic groups because of the racial hatred which the Rohingyas face from the regime. Rohingyas who have been living there for a few hundred years, still even recently the regime say that they are immigrants from Bangladesh because our skin colour is different, our face is different, our culture and religion is different from other Burmese people and that is the mentality and attitude towards the Rohingya by the regimists.
Is the Norweigian government in any way trying to help the Rohingya situation?

Norway government is the only government engaging with the regime. I also had the opportunity to meet the former Prime Minister of Norway, Kjell Magne Bondevik, who is a supporter Human rights in democracy and a good friend of our democratic leader, Aung San Su Kyi and so I had a chance to speak about the Rohingya issue. What I recommended is that the Norwegian government can persuade Burma to stop these Human Rights violations in the ethnic areas as well as Arakan, the Rohingya area. The Norwegian public can also raise the Rohingya issue with their government to aim to restore the ethnic rights in Burma.
Are there any Rohingyas living in Norway?

There are about 15 to 20 families living in Norway and they have established a Norway Rohingya Community who work with the Norwegian government.
You also visited Belgium, how did you raise awareness for the Rohingya issue there?

In Belgium I met with the European Burma network and we structured a plan in how we can help the Rohingya issue in Burma and we agreed on which plan of action we should take, we meet every 6 months to discuss our progress. The progress which has been already made for raising awareness for the Rohingyas is a big step.
What do you hope to achieve from the conference in the House of Lords later this month?

From the conference I want the British government to support human rights democracy developments in Burma and as this is very important for the Rohingyas to receive their lost right. I feel that the British government need to speak up about the regime to include Rohingyas in the political process to restore ethnic and citizenship rights and to provide humanitarian aid to the Rohingyan refugees in Bangladesh; and also to encourage the Bangladeshi government and the Saudi government to provide humanitarian care for the refugees.

Restless Beings are working closely with Tun Khin and BROUK in raising awareness of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, by researching their plight in depth and addressing these problems to our supporters. We will also be attending the BROUK conference at the House of Lords later on this month to further draw to attention to the British government and the international community the marginalised, stateless and persecuted state of the Rohingyas.