| May 1990 |
The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung
San Suu Kyi won 392 of the 485 seats in national parliamentary
elections. The Burmese Socialist Program Party (BSPP), registered under a
new name, the National Unity Party (NUP) won only 10 seats. The
remainder of the seats were allocated to 23 other parties. Parties
representing ethnic groups achieved particular success: the Shan
Nationalities League for Democracy won 23 seats, and the Rakhine
Democracy League 11. Despite efforts by the State Law and Order
Restoration Council (SLORC) to weaken known leaders and eliminate
dissidents, 93 parties presented a total of 2,297 candidates to contest
the 485 constituencies. |
| Jul 1990 |
The SLORC announced that the recent election was only intended
to produce a constituent assembly, which is to draft a constitution
providing a strong government, under the direction of a national
convention to be established by the SLORC. |
| Aug 1990 |
Troops killed four protestors at an anti-government protest at
Mandalay, commemorating the deaths of thousands of demonstrators at the
hands of the armed forces in 1988. |
| Dec 1990 |
Opposition politicians agreed with the Democratic Alliance of
Burma, a 21-member organization uniting ethnic rebel forces with student
dissidents and monks, to form the National Coalition Government of the
Union of Burma (NCGUB). The aims of the NCGUB are to wage a war with the
military rulers and to establish a true democratic government. |
| May 1, 1991 - May 31, 1990 |
Two Muslim groups -- the All-Burma Muslim Union (ABMU) and the
Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF) B said they were ready to join
forces with the DAB "to fight the military shoulder to shoulder" in
response to what they say is a campaign of repression by the Rangoon
military government. A joint statement said thousands of Muslims have
fled their villages to neighboring India, Bangladesh, and Thailand in
recent months: "[The government] objective is to subjugate and absorb
the indigenous races, to stamp out Islam and to establish militarism in
the country" (Reuters, 05/06/91). The ABMU and the ARIF would be the
first Muslim groups to join the alliance. Their joint statement also
indicated that in November about 30,000 Muslims were uprooted from
villages in the western coastal state of Arakan and some have crossed
the border to the Chittagong area of Bangladesh. Mosques in Rangoon and
other towns have been turned into storehouses. The two groups called for
the immediate transfer of power to the NLD. |
| Jun 1, 1991 - Jun 30, 1990 |
Thousands of Burmese Muslims known as Rohingya are entering
Bangladesh illegally each month to escape alleged persecution by the
Rangoon authorities (Reuters, 06/14/91). "Our youths are being herded to
labor camps, crops are seized and movements of the Muslims are being
restricted", Zafar Alam, a leader of the Rohingya Solidarity
Organization (RSO) told reporters in Chittagong. The worst persecution
was reported in the Muslim-majority Arakan province, where "even mosques
were demolished for making the new military barracks". One refugee
activist said, "we are in close contact with other organizations such as
the All Burma Muslim Union (ABMU) and Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front
(ARIF) for the establishment of people's rights and political freedom".
Bangladeshi intelligence sources said 200,000 Muslims had been forced
from their homes by Burmese soldiers in the past six months. |
| Jul 1991 |
At a secret camp deep in the jungle, run by the RSO, young
Muslims are training to make war on the Buddhist military government of
Burma. The goal of the rebels, calling themselves Mujahideen, is to
restore the once-independent Muslim homeland of Arakan on Burma's west
coast. It was an independent Muslim kingdom from 1430 to 1784 and now is
the only Muslim majority province in Burma (The Associated Press,
07/01/91). Arakan's Muslims are called Rohingya, from Rohang, the
ancient name of Arakan. Guerrilla leaders accuse Burmese Buddhists of
massacring 200,000 Muslims in the last 50 years. Anti-Muslim activities
have increased under the current military regime. |
| Dec 1991 |
Burmese soldiers, massed at the border with Bangladesh, have
traded gunfire with Muslim rebels and reports indicate that at least 15
people were killed (The Associated Press, 12/26/91). Meanwhile, Muslim
rebels belonging to the RSO attacked a Burmese customs forward port and
kidnaped eight guards. Relations between Bangladesh and Burma cooled
recently after the influx of about 50,000 Muslim refugees into
Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Foreign Office summoned the Burmese
Ambassador for the second time in less than a week to protest troop
buildups along the border. Bangladesh shares a 175-mile strip of border
with Burma. The Burmese government claims that Muslim insurgents operate
from Bangladeshi territory -- a charge Dhaka denies. |
| Jan 1992 |
Although Burmese Muslims have fled into Bangladesh before, they
say this time the military junta is determined to drive them out once
and for all (Sunday Telegraph, 01/26/92). Although Bangladesh has said
it will not forcibly return any refugees, it does want Burma to accept
any that do go back. Burma insists that it will only accept genuine
Burmese citizens. A few newspapers in Dhaka have begun calling for a
military attack to defend fellow Muslims and to pay Burma back for a
border raid on December 21 that left one Bangladeshi solider dead and
several others wounded. |
| Feb 1992 |
Burma says the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the
Voice of America (VOA) dish out fancy versions of the "Rohingya Fable".
It states that "lately the Rohingya fable from the Rakhine (Arakan)
state has been invoked in the programmes of such broadcasting stations
as the BBC and VOA. Actually, it is not a new story at all, but a very
old and well-known story which is being dished out by these malicious
foreign broadcasting stations in new and fancy packaging" (Voice of
Myanmar, Rangoon Home Service 0713 gmt 02/07/92, BBC Summary of World
Broadcasts, 02/08/92). Bangladesh has appealed to the UN and the
international community for emergency relief to support the Rohingya
refugees. Responding to the call, the UNHCR has already released
$100,000 from the emergency fund. A team from the UNHCR is now in
Bangladesh making an assessment and meeting senior Dhaka officials. |
| Mar 1992 |
Bangladeshi military sources state that Burma is reinforcing its
border to stop more than 170,000 Muslims driven into Bangladesh by the
army from returning home (Washington Times, 03/10/92). Malaysia has
urged its fellow members in the ASEAN to reverse its non-confrontational
stance towards Burma. ASEAN has been resisting strong pressure from
Western countries to impose economic sanctions on Burma to protest
Rangoon's dismal human rights record. Kuala Lumpur has called the
attention of other Muslim countries and the UN to the refugee plight,
likening them to the Palestinians. In a letter to the UN Secretary
General, Iranian Foreign Minister Velayati calls on the UN to halt the
"genocide" of Burmese Muslims by the military government. He urges the
UN to set the stage for the recognition of the political and social
rights of Burmese Muslims as well as the return of those Muslims living
as refugees in Bangladesh (Arab Press Service Organization, 03/14/92).
Amnesty International urged Burma's rulers to halt a campaign of terror
and violence against Muslims that has caused tens of thousands to flee
the country. The report stated that "Muslim men have been rounded up in
large numbers and pressed into forced labor for the military, often as
porters". They are ill fed and abused. Many are reported to have been
beaten to death when they became too weak to carry their loads. Muslim
women [have been] raped...". According to Amnesty International, more
than 200,000 Muslims have fled Burma to Bangladesh since 1991 when the
anti-Muslim campaign began (The Associated Press, 03/19/92). |
| Apr 1, 1992 - Apr 30, 2004 |
200 people were killed when government troops opened fire at a
mosque in Arakan on April 5. Bangladeshi officials quoted refugee Azizul
Huq as saying, "Our only offense was that we used the closed-down
mosque as the venue for our prayers", marking the end of Ramadan, a
month-long period of fasting (Inter Press Service, 04/09/92). Further
signs that the purge against the Muslims is continuing is the appearance
of 20,000 Muslims from Burma's eastern provinces seeking refuge in
rebel-held territories near the Thai border. "The plight of Muslims in
eastern Burma is as serious as that confronting the Rohingyas in Arakan
state in the West", Colonel Tin Maung That, head of the All-Burma Muslim
Union told reporters at the border. Jan Eliasson, the visiting UN
envoy, was given assurances by Rangoon that it was prepared to accept
the return of the refugees back to their homeland in Arakan. Burma had
earlier refused to take back the refugees insisting the Rohingyas,
natives of Arakan, were aliens, not Burmese citizens. But Rohingya
leaders are doubtful the scheme would work. "In 1974 and in 1978, our
people went back under a similar situation with U.N. help, but our fate
did not change, so I am pessimistic about the chances of success this
time", said Younus, President of the RSO. He asserted that the Rohingya
would only return if the Rangoon government guaranteed their citizenship
and protection of their religious and political rights (IPS, 04/09/92).
During a visit to China, the Iranian Foreign Minister raised the issue
of Burmese refugees with his counterpart and noted the world of Islam's
sensitivity towards Myanmar Muslim refugees. Bangladesh and Burma
opened talks on the future of more than 212,000 Muslim refugees who have
fled Burma since March, 1991. The Foreign Minister of Burma, Ohn Gyaw,
lead a 14-member delegation to the talks. Burma says most of the
refugees are actually illegal immigrants and that it will not take them
back unless they can prove Burmese citizenship (The Associated Press,
04/24/92). An agreement was reached on repatriation that would begin
next month. The hardline General Saw Maung was ousted last week as the
head of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) by the more
pragmatic General Than Shwe. The new leader has promised another
constitution in six months. Even with a new constitution, there are
doubts that the junta, thought to be still under the control of General
Ne Win, Burma's veteran leader, will bow to democracy. |
| May 1992 |
Four Muslim groups have joined the Democratic Alliance of Burma
(DAB) (The Nation, 05/19/92). The groups are: the Central Rohingya
Jammatul Ulama, the Ittehadul Mujahiddial, the Rohingya Islamic
Liberation Organization, and the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front. Tin
Maung That of the ABMU criticized the agreement between Rangoon and
Dhaka on the repatriation of the refugees. He said the repatriation
should be monitored by the UNHCR, "otherwise history will repeat
itself". |
| Jul 1992 |
On June 19, Burmese soldiers beat elected MP Mohammed Ilyas to
death after he refused to try to persuade fellow Muslims taking refuge
in Bangladesh to return home. The troops ordered Ilyas, a member of the
Human Rights and Democracy Party, and four others to cross into
Bangladesh and try to persuade Burmese refugees to return (Washington
Times, 07/06/92). Some Burmese refugees are smuggling guns into their
camps to prevent officials from repatriating them, and Bangladesh is
taking steps to isolate the "troublemakers" (The Associated Press,
07/20/92). A Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry official stated that
"Anti-repatriation miscreants are intimidating those who are willing to
go". Bangladeshi officials state that the return of 270,000 Muslim
refugees to Burma has stalled again after Burmese authorities refused to
allow the UNHCR to monitor the process (07/24/92). |
| Oct 1992 |
A second group of refugees -- 63 members of 12 families -- was
sent to Burma. In April, Dhaka and Rangoon signed an agreement to start
the repatriation on May 15, but the deal remained ineffective, largely
because most of the refugees insisted they would not go back without
UNHCR supervision. Burma rejected this condition. |
| Nov 1993 |
About 30,000 refugees are reported to have fled Bangladeshi
camps to avoid repatriation to Burma. "We are worried by the sudden
spate in slipping out, especially after Rangoon signed an agreement on
Friday allowing the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to supervise
repatriation of the Rohingya Muslims on their side", one Bangladeshi
official said (Reuters, 11/08/93). Some 46,000 refugees have returned
home since the repatriation began in September, 1992. |
| Jan 1994 |
The police report that Muslim refugees battled villagers with
spears and knives near their camp in southeast Bangladesh, leaving at
least 20 people injured. The fighting erupted after villagers chased a
refugee, suspected of being involved in robberies. |
| Feb 1994 |
For the first time, the junta permitted a foreign visitor, US
representative Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) to meet with Aung San Suu Kai.
Richardson, a UN official, and a New York Times reporter meet twice with
Ms. Suu Kyi. The Representative delivered a letter to her from
President Clinton expressing the President's continued support for the
democratic movement in Myanmar. Richardson also met with Lt. General
Khin Nyunt, Burma's military intelligence chief. |
| Mar 1994 |
More than 100 Burmese Muslims crossed into Bangladesh,
jeopardizing efforts to repatriate more than 200,000 refugees. New
arrivals are likely to make it difficult to convince the remaining
refugees to return to Myanmar (Reuters, 03/08/94). |
| May 1994 |
Press reports from Bangladesh indicate that the army and Muslim
insurgents have stepped up activities in the north-west province of
Arakan, which borders Bangladesh. Five soldiers and two guerrillas were
killed earlier this month in separate engagements (United Press
International, 05/25/94). |
| Feb 1995 |
The repatriation of some 250,000 Burmese refugees has been
gaining momentum and is expected to end shortly, the Foreign Secretary
of Bangladesh said. (Agence France Presse, 02/02/95). Since last year,
about 150,000 refugees have returned. |
| Feb 21, 1995 |
Another 543 Myanmar Muslims returned home from Bangladesh.
Since, September of 1992, 162,440 Muslims have returned to Burma (Xinhua
News Agency, 02/21/95). |
| Mar 1995 |
Muslims at Three-Pagoda pass and nearby villages at the
Thai-Burmese border have been banned from staging gatherings of more
than five people for religious purposes. This is the first time that
such a small number of Muslims have been banned from meeting for
religious purposes (Reuter Textline: Bangkok Post, 03/31/95). |
| Apr 1995 |
Another 1470 Rohingya Muslims have left Bangladesh to return home (Xinhua News Agency, 04/01/95). |
| Apr 18, 1995 |
Members of the All Burma Muslim Union (ABMU) and the Arakan
Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF) have pledged to report the maltreatment of
Muslims in Burma to the Overseas Islamic Countries and to the
International Islamic Organization. ABMU chairman Abdul Razak states
that the SLORC has been violating the basic human rights of Muslim
communities through actions such as occupying mosques. Further, a number
of mosques in towns along the Kyaidon-Myawaddy route have reportedly
been demolished in order to construct roads. The ABMU says that Muslims
in Burma are not allowed to assume important government posts, to enter
the army, and to own land in certain towns (Reuter Textline: Bangkok
Post, 04/18/95). |
| Apr 26, 1995 |
Almost 800 Myanmar Muslims who fled Rakhine (Arakan) state into
Bangladesh in 1991 have returned to Burma under a 1992 agreement between
the Burmese and Bangladeshi governments (Xinhua News Agency, 04/26/95). |
| May 1995 |
Muslims in Burma claim that they are being unlawfully taxed for
animals that are slaughtered on the holy feast day of Eid Al Adha. The
feast day marks the end of a three month fasting period by Islamic
communities. As it is a religious rite, Muslims worldwide are exempted
from paying taxes when they sacrifice animals on the feast day. In 1994,
the SLORC decided to levy a tax on each animal killed. It is estimated
that some 25,000 cows and buffaloes and around 200,000 goats and sheep
are sacrificed across Burma (Reuter Textline: Bangkok Post, 05/10/95).
The US State Department's 1994 Report on Human Rights Practices in Burma
indicates that in early May, the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO)
detonated a number of bombs in towns and villages near the western
border of Arakan State. There were several deaths and injuries. The
report also notes that it is very difficult for Muslim groups to obtain
permission to build mosques. There are reported to be more than 5000
mosques in Burma, although the most recent one was built in 1975. The
military government has also been accused of removing cemeteries from
urban areas, despite the religious concerns of various minorities. The
State Department says that in March of 1994, four trustees of a Muslim
cemetery were arrested in Mandalay when they protested the destruction
of a historic graveyard and religious buildings (03/95). |
| Jun 1995 |
Bangladesh fears that up to 10,000 Rohingya Muslims may have
slipped out of refugee camps and spread out across the country. Of the
more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees that fled to Bangladesh in 1991,
only about 58,000 remain in nine UN-run refugee camps. Recent efforts to
repatriate the remaining refugees have stalled due to Burmese
government claims that Bangladeshis are also being infiltrated into
Burma with the refugees (UPI, 06/26/95; Asiaweek, 07/21/95). |
| Jul 1995 |
The Rohingya National Alliance (RNA) says that the recent
release of jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will pave the way
for national reconciliation. The RNA was recently formed from the merger
of two rival Muslim groups, the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO),
and the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF) (Reuters, 07/13/95). |
| Oct 1995 |
Around 200 Rohingya Muslims returned home from Bangladesh,
bringing the total to 193,000 out of an estimated 250,000 (Xinhua News
Agency, 10/14/95). |
| Nov 1995 |
Two Muslim groups, the All Burma Muslim Union and the Arakan
Liberation Party, have been expelled from the Democratic Alliance of
Burma (DAB), the umbrella group of parties that oppose the country's
military dictatorship. The two Muslim parties were among a group of five
organizations that were ousted for reportedly signing ceasefire
agreements with the SLORC (Japan Economic Newswire, 11/15/95). |
| Dec 1995 |
205 Muslims have returned home from Bangladesh. So far, more
than 195,000 of the estimated 250,000 Muslims that fled Burma in 1991
have returned home (Xinhua News Agency, 12/13/95). |
| Apr 1996 |
Over 300 Rohingyas have tried to flee Burma in the past week.
Some 30 Muslims caught at the Bangladesh border will be sent back.
Seventeen others who were also trying to flee died during their attempts
(Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Reuters, 04/21/96). |
| May 1996 |
Myanmar and Bangladesh hold their 20th high-level coordination
meeting on the repatriation of Burmese Muslim refugees. Since 1992, some
197,000 refugees have been repatriated from Bangladesh to Burma (Xinhua
News Agency, 05/20/96). |
| Jun 1996 |
An influx of Burmese Rohingyas into Bangladesh has been underway
since March. The UNHCR says some 5500 Muslims have entered Bangladesh;
other estimates put the figure as high as 10,000. The Rohingyas assert
that they are subject to forced labor and torture in Burma. Some 700
have been deported (Reuters, 06/02/96). |
| Aug 1996 |
Twenty-eight non-governmental organizations in Malaysia
including the Malaysian MuslimYouth Movement and the Burma Solidarity
Group Malaysia protest the chairman of the SLORC’s visit to Malaysia due
to the country’s human rights abuses (Agence France Presse, 08/14/96). |
| Sep 1996 |
Burmese border security forces, officially known as Nasaka, have
reportedly planted mines along the border with Bangladesh to check
cross-border violations. Officials of the Bangladesh Rifles protested
the planting of the mines and the deaths that have resulted while
meeting with their Burmese counterparts (Agence France Presse,
09/02/96). |
| Jan 1997 |
Bangladesh and Burma agree to complete the repatriation of the
remaining 26,000 Rohingya refugees by March 31. The agreement was
reached after a senior-level meeting in Bangladesh in early January
(BBC, 01/10/97). |
| Jan 15, 1997 |
Representatives of fifteen ethnic groups from across Burma,
including the Rohingya Muslims, attended a meeting in Karen-held
territory. The groups signed the Mae Tha Raw Hta agreement which calls
for the establishment of a democratic, federal union in Burma. Among
those present at the meeting were representatives of the Wa, Karenni,
Kachin, and Mon groups with whom the ruling junta has signed ceasefire
agreements over the last few years. The delegates also expressed support
for Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), and
for the need for a tripartite dialogue between the Burmese regime, the
NLD, and ethnic groups. The State Law and Order Restoration Council’s
(SLORC) efforts to draft a new constitution were described as a "sham"
(Inter Press Service, 02/12/97) |
| Feb 1997 |
Seventeen ethnic rebel factions including Rohingya Muslim groups
meet in Karen-controlled territory under the banner of the
newly-revived National Democratic Front (NDF). The NDF fought against
the military in the 1970s and 1980s until the KIA signed a cease-fire
agreement with the government in 1992 . A spokesman says that several
rebel groups are set to renege on their cease-fire deals and resume
fighting. Reports indicate that the government has launched a military
offensive in Karen areas to stop the groups from reuniting (Inter Press
Service, 02/12/97; Reuters, 02/06/97). |
| Feb 1997 |
The Rohingya repatriation was slowed last year after reports
indicated that the refugees that returned to Burma were subject to
violence and other abuses. Bangladesh also allegedly forced back some
Rohingyas which it believes are economic migrants rather than refugees.
In April last year, 15 Rohingyas drowned near Teknaf when their boat
capsized after Bangladeshi security forces ordered them back to Burma
(US Department of State Human Rights Country Reports, 02/97). |
| Mar 1997 |
Religious conflict has been growing in Myanmar since the middle
of the month and officials tightened security on March 21 after an
attack on a mosque in the capital, Rangoon. Mandalay, the second largest
city, is still under a nighttime curfew imposed last weekend when
Buddhist monks went on a rampage, attacking eight mosques and starting
street protests. The unrest in Mandalay allegedly began after reports of
an attempted rape of a girl by Muslim men. At least three people have
been killed and around 100 monks arrested. The All-Burma Muslim Union, a
group associated with Burmese exile groups based on the Burmese-Thai
border, accuses the government of being behind the latest Buddhist-
Muslim strife. It says the military regime has systematically caused
trouble for Muslims. Burma's BuddhistYouth Wing asserts that officials
made up the rape story to cover up protests over the custodial deaths of
16 monks. The military has denied the Youths’ claim, stating that the
unrest was a politically motivated attempt to stall Burma's entry in
ASEAN (Agence France Presse, 03/25/97; BBC, 03/21/97; New York Times,
03/2497). |
| Apr 1997 |
Since mid-March, attacks by Buddhist monks have spread from the
northern city of Mandalay to the capital Rangoon, the central towns of
Pegu and Prome and most recently Toungoo, a small railway town some 200
kms from Rangoon. A curfew remains in force in Mandalay and the army is
patrolling the streets in many cities. In Mandalay alone, 18 mosques
were destroyed and Muslim-owned businesses and property vandalized.
Copies of the Koran were burnt. The last time anti-Muslim riots took
place was during the peak of the pro-democracy movement in 1988. It
appears that the junta is willing to turn a blind eye to the
disturbances as hundreds of monks, many wielding batons and sticks, have
been allowed to freely roam the streets, attack and ransack mosques,
and clamber atop minarets (Inter Press Service, 04/09/97). |
| Apr 18, 1997 |
A Thai Member of Parliament expresses concern over the recent
large influx of Burmese Muslims into Thailand. He believes the Foreign
Ministry should try to solve the problem of Muslim migrants from Burma
by requesting assistance from Thailand's Muslim neighbors (The Nation,
04/18/97). |
| Apr 30, 1997 |
Human Rights Watch contends that in several cases the UNHCR has
failed to provide information on the SLORC’s abuses against returning
Muslim refugees. The HRW says that while the UN body had evidence that
some Rohingya from Burma were arrested by Burmese authorities or
"disappeared" when they returned from Bangladesh in 1992 and 1996, it
did not provide exiles in Bangladesh with that information (Inter Press
Service, 04/30/97). |
| May 1997 |
The Malaysian MuslimYouth Movement protests against what it says
is the SLORC’s actions to suppress the Burmese Muslim community and it
urges the Malaysian government to defer its entry into ASEAN (Asia
Pulse, 05/2897). |
| May 27, 1997 |
Reports indicate that since March at least 30 mosques and Muslim
properties have been attacked in Burma (Deutsche Presse-Agentur,
05/27/97). |
| Jun 1997 |
More than 3,000 Burmese Muslims have crossed the border into
Bangladesh, alleging that Burmese authorities are engaging in a fresh
wave of atrocities against minority groups. The new arrivals are from
the border towns of Maungdaw and Buthiadong (Deutsche Presse-Agentur,
06/28/97). |
| Jul 1997 |
Bangladesh forcibly returns some 212 Rohingyas housed in its
Kutupalong refugee camp to Burma. The group is the latest of some 7500
people who have been singled out to be sent back. According to the
UNHCR, only two of the families agreed to return home . Bangladeshi
anti-riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to stop the refugees’
protests against being forcibly repatriated. One Muslim refugee told a
UNHCR official that he preferred to die rather than return to Burma
(Inter Press Service, 07/2297). |
| Jul 24, 1997 |
Bangladeshi officials have postponed a scheduled repatriation of
some 200 Rohingyas amid growing unrest in two frontier camps over
claims that refugees were being returned against their will. The current
repatriation resumed amid reports of fresh attempts by Burmese Muslims
to enter Bangladesh. Bangladesh has stepped up surveillance along the
frontier to prevent a fresh influx. The US Committee for Refugees says
that some 15,000 Muslims have reportedly entered the country in the past
year despite efforts to keep them out, and Bangladesh has barred UNHCR
officials and non-governmental organizations from assisting them (Agence
France Presse, 07/24/97). |
| Jul 26, 1997 |
Malaysia says that Burma’s government should take action to stop
the alleged harassment of the country’s Muslim minority in an effort to
reassure its Islamic partners in ASEAN (e.g. Malaysia, Brunei and
Indonesia) (Japan Economic Newswire, 07/26/97). |
| Jul 31, 1997 |
Bangladesh will ask Burma to extend a deadline for repatriating
7000 Burmese Muslim refugees due to unrest and a wave of hunger strikes
by refugees who oppose their repatriation. The government had earlier
said that 7000 of the 20,000 refugees cleared for repatriation in the
Kutupalong and Noapara camps would be sent home by the August 15
deadline set by Burma. Dhaka also rejected a UNHCR request to settle the
refugees in Bangladesh (Agence France Presse, 07/30-31/97). |
| Aug 1997 |
A group representing Burmese Muslims who fled alleged
persecution in Burma contends that more refugees will flow into
Bangladesh unless their security could be guaranteed. The Rohingya
Solidarity Organization (RSO) claims that up to 14,000 new Burmese
Muslims had already crossed the border into Bangladesh since June
because of persecution from the security forces and for "economic"
reasons. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) puts
the number of Rohingyas at 7000, while the Bangladesh government
officially puts their numbers at "several thousand." The UNHCR describes
the new Rohingya arrivals as both "economic and political" migrants
(Agence France Presse, 08/03/97). |
| Aug 8, 1997 |
Some Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps state that they will
not return home until there is a democratic system in Burma. Some
reports indicate that the refugees are receiving military training in
the camps. A new organization, the Mama Democratic Rohingya Refugee
Committee, has been established in Bangladesh to pursue the refugees’
demands (Guardian, 08/08/97). |
| Aug 16, 1997 |
The repatriation of some 7000 of the 21,000 Burmese Muslim
refugees still in Bangladesh is uncertain after the expiry of
yesterday’s deadline set by Rangoon. The repatriation, which started
July 20, was stalled by violent protests by the refugees after a few
hundred were forcibly deported (Agence France Presse, 08/16/97). |
| Aug 26, 1997 |
Canada and the US have imposed economic sanctions against Burma
due to its human rights record (British Broadcasting Corporation,
08/26/97). |
| Oct 1997 |
Amnesty International calls for fresh international support for
Bangladesh to help look after the Burmese Rohingya refugees (Agence
France Presse, 10/09/97). |
| Jan 1998 |
Officials of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees are rushing
to Dhaka for talks with the government and armed refugees from
neighboring Myanmar who have seized Noapara camp in southeastern
Bangladesh. The armed refugees are thought to be members of the Rohingya
Solidarity Organization (RSO), an insurgent group in Myanmar, which is
reportedly backed by several Bangladeshi Muslim fundamentalist groups.
The official Bangladesh news agency recently reported that 10
"Pakistani-financed" insurgent groups from Arakan were operating in the
area (Agence France Presse, 01/23/98). |
| Jan 26, 1998 |
Three people are killed in a clash between the RSO and Burmese
security forces near the border with Bangladesh (AAP Newsfeed,
01/26/98). |
| Mar 1998 |
Some 64 Rohingyas are jailed after clashing with police and
setting fire to part of the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh. The
police raided the camp and arrested the militants who had seized control
of the camp several days ago (Agence France Presse, 03/07/98). |
| Apr 1998 |
Myanmar and Bangladesh agree to set up a joint commission to
bolster political and economic ties between the two neighboring
countries (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 04/17/98). |
| Jun 1998 |
Germany provides $350,000 in aid for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh (Agence France Presse, 06/15/98). |
| Jun 19, 1998 |
Amnesty International claims that the SLORC is responsible for
extrajudicial killings, forcible relocations, and torture against ethnic
minorities (M2 Presswire, 06/19/98). |
| Jul 1998 |
The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) will continue to
render humanitarian aid and services at the international level despite
the country’s economic downturn. The ABIM aid has been giving aid to
Cambodia and Vietnam but the organization has been having difficulty in
trying to help the Rohingyas in Myanmar (Malaysia General News,
07/03/98). |
| Dec 1998 |
Burmese opposition groups state that twenty-three ethnic and
political organizations attend a seminar on National Solidarity at Thoo
Mwe Klo in Karen territory from December 12 to 14. The organizations
signed an agreement that calls for the abolishment of the military
government, the establishment of a democratic, federal union, the
convening of the parliament based on the NLD electoral victory in 1990,
and a ban on foreign investment until the regime changes. A Coordinating
and Organizing Committee is formed to implement the organizations’
decisions. Among those who sign the agreement are the All Burma Muslim
Union, the Muslim Liberation Organization, the Arakan League for
Democracy, the Arakan Liberation Party, the Chin National Front, the
Chin NLD, the Karen National Union, the Shan Democratic Union, the
ABSDF, and representatives of the Wa, Palaung, and Lau ethnic groups
(British Broadcasting Corporation, 12/21/98). |
| Dec 22, 1998 |
The repatriation of Rohingya refugees staying in Bangladesh has
been stalled again less than one month after it was resumed in late
November. Burma recently conveyed to Bangladesh that it could not take
back the refugees during Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims
across the world. Bangladesh insisted that it would continue the
repatriation process in accordance with the agreement reached earlier
between the two sides (Xinhua News Agency, 12/22/98). |
| Mar 1999 |
Jane’s Intelligence Review states that India’s intelligence
organization, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), aided Burmese rebel
groups in acquiring arms from Khmer Rouge members in Thailand for nearly
two years. The groups include the Chin National Army, the Karen
National Union, and the Arakan Army (03/01/99). |
| Apr 1999 |
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) proposes that the
Bangladesh government launch some income-generating projects for the
over 22,000 Rohingyas rather than keeping them in refugee camps. It says
that these camps will receive less aid as it is being diverted to help
refugees in Kosovo, Yugoslavia (The Independent, 04/22/99). |
| Jun 1999 |
Five minority groups still fighting the Burmese junta meet in
Karen territory near the Thai-Burma to form an alliance. After two days
of meetings, the groups agree to cooperate on military, intelligence,
and political issues to unify the groups. Hosted by the Karen National
Union, the meeting is also attended by the Shan State Army, the Arakan
Liberation Party, the Karenni National Progressive Party and the Chin
National Front. A commander of the Shan State Army says that the rebels
are outnumbered 10 to 1 by the Burmese forces (Agence France Presse,
06/16/99). |
| Jul 1999 |
Burma’s Foreign Minister U Win Aung ends a three-day official
visit to Bangladesh during which both countries agreed to build a bridge
over a river to facilitate border trade. The two neighbors also decided
to establish a joint commission to speed up the settlement of disputes,
including the repatriation of all Myanmar Muslim refugees who had fled
to Bangladesh alleging persecution at home (Deutsche Presse-Agentur,
07/19/99). |
| Jul 30, 1999 |
The repatriation of the Rohingya refugees appears uncertain
again after Burma’s Foreign Minister refuses to give Bangladesh concrete
assurances that they will return home. Bangladesh expects all the
refugees to be repatriated by the end of the year. Since November of
last year, Burma has only been accepting 50 refugees a week (Inter Press
Service, 07/30/99). |
