INGO Office Attacked after Arakanese Nurse Harassed

 Irrawaddy news, 30 Oct 2009

Following an incident with a female staffer, 500 Arakanese surrounded the local office of the French international non-governmental organization Aide Médicale Internationale (AMI) and attacked its office and vehicles in Buthidaung Township in Arakan State in Western Burma on Wednesday, according to local sources.
“A Muslim officer working for AMI harassed a female Arakanese staff nurse, who reported the accident to authorities,” said a source in the township who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“When the police went to arrest him, AMI refused to hand him over. Incensed Arakanese youths who had gathered outside then attacked the office and AMI vehicles,” the source said.
“Youths threw stones at the AMI office,” an eye-witness said. “AMI vehicles were destroyed and electricity to the building was cut off.”

The two-hour attack took place on Wednesday evening, although the quarrel between the two staffers happened earlier in the afternoon and ended when security forces arrived, NGO sources in Buthidaung said.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, a staffer for AMI’s country office in Rangoon said they had discussed a report from their Buthidaung office.

“The situation has returned to normal and was not as bad as first reported,” the AMI staffer said, adding that authorities had ordered NGO staff not to talk to the media about the incident.
AMI provide medicine to local people in the Buthidaung-Maungdaw area, the staffer said. Along with foreign staff, Arakanese and Rohingya Muslims work together at the INGO.

On Friday afternoon, NGOs and UN agencies operating in Burma held a meeting to discuss the incident at the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Rangoon.
Following the incident, the army in Budthidaung Township had to calm the situation. The Rohingya NGO staffer was detained, local sources reported.

When contacted by The Irrawaddy, an officer at Rangoon Police Headquarters declined to comment, saying he did not know anything about the incident.
The Buthidaung-Maungdaw area is historically sensitive. Bloody riots between Arakanese and Muslim Rohingyas have periodically broken out since British colonial times. Rumors of Muslim men raping Arakanese women have sparked race riots.

In the 1990s, the Burmese military junta launched a military offensive against the Muslim minority in the area, causing hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee into Bangladesh.
The junta and some scholars disagree about the use of the term Rohingya for the Muslim minority in Arakan State, saying that these people were originally “Bengali.”

Rohingya forced to build fence

Aljazeera news, By Nicolas Haque on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border

On Myanmar’s side of the Naf River that marks border with Bangladesh, labourers are hard at work building a fence that will prevent them fleeing persecution.
They will not be paid for their work. Instead the men, who come from the persecuted Rohingya ethnic group, have been coerced into erecting the 230km long fence by the threat of violence against their families.
The Rohingyas are a distinct ethnic group from Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The authorities in Yangon have refused to recognise them as citizens and they have been persecuted for their cultural difference and practice of Islam.

For many, life in Myanmar has become so difficult that they have fled across the border to Bangladesh. Over the past year 12,000 Rohingyas have been caught crossing the border illegally.
Now they are being forced to build a fence to prevent such escapes. 
“The Myanmar army have forced all of the men living in the villages on the border to work on the fence,” a worker involved in the construction says. “Most of them are Rohingyas. If we don’t do as they say they beat us and our families.”

So far they have fenced off 70km of border in what experts believe is an attempt by Yangon to increase control of the lucrative smuggling trade that flourishes in the area.
“Illegal trade between Myanmar and Bangladesh has formerly been in favour of Bangladesh, but this will change now,”explains Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, from Dhaka University. “The country that controls the barriers between borders can also assert greater control over the illegal trade.”


Disputed border

Refugee special

UN: ‘wars displace record numbers’  Lebanon’s Palestinian refugees

Bangladesh and Myanmar have never agreed on their borders, and an ongoing dispute over where their maritime frontiers lie has seen tension rise along the Naf river.
The contested maritime border involves a patch of sea believed to contain valuable oil and gas. Control of these waters could make either country very rich, and experts say that diplomatic relations between the two countries has deteriorated as a result of the dispute.


“The tension was heightened last November when the Myanmar Navy came in to put a rig in what Bangladesh claims, rightly, to be our own territorial water,” says Retired Major General ANM Muniruzzaman, from the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies.
“Eventually the Bangladeshi diplomatic efforts diffused the situation, and the Myanmar navy rig went back, but the Myanmar government has consistently told Bangladesh that this is their water, and that they will come back. When that happens, perhaps the Myanmar government wants to put a dual pressure on Bangladesh, not only from the sea but also from the land border.”

That process may have already started. Myanmar has deployed 50,000 men to the border with Bangladesh, and in the past month alone, Dhaka has responded by sending an additional 3000 troops to the area in a manoeuvre codenamed “Operation Fortress.”

Officially, the Bangladeshi government denies there is tension along the border. The troops say they are there to monitor and stop the illegal trafficking of goods and people.
But the soldiers know that relations between the two countries are strained.    
“We have a border through which we can observe the other side of the river. Our troops morale is very high, under any circumstances we are ready to protect the integrity and sovereignty of our country,” says Lieutenant Colonel Mozammel, commanding officer of Border Guards Bangladesh in Teknaf.


Unregistered refugees

Many Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh

Meanwhile, the horrific conditions faced by the Rohingyas in Myanmar are prompting thousands to flee to Bangladesh.
Malika is one of those who crossed the Naf river illegally. Her feet are swollen from the three-day walk to escape Yangon’s soldiers.
She says she suffered horrific abuse there and had no choice but to leave.
“I couldn’t stay there, the soldiers raped me over and over again,” she says. ”The Myanmar army do not consider us as humans.”
But once in Bangladesh, the refugees face new problems. Of more than 400,000 Rohingyas believed to have slipped across the border into Bangladesh, just 26,000 have been offically recognised as refugees by the Bangladeshi government and the United Nations.
The authorities refuse to feed and house the rest.

Even the handful of NGOs working here are not allowed to provide food or medical aid or education facilities to unregistered Rohingyas because the government fears that this would spark tensions between poor local villagers and the new arrivals.
Fadlullah Wilmot, the director of Muslim Aid in Bangladesh, explains: “More than 44 per cent of the population in this area are ultra poor, that means that their daily income only provides their basic food needs. The literacy rate is about 10 per cent. The wage rate is low, so of course there are tensions.”


In limbo
In 1992, the Bangladeshi government, under the supervision of UNHCR, organised the forced repatration of 250,000 Rohingyas on the basis that the refugees would be given citizenship by the Myanmar authorities. That promise was never kept.
Professor Ahmad believes the refugees are trapped between a rock and a hard place.
“Myanmar’s position is they do not recognise them as citizens, they are stateless within Myanmar, and they are also stateless when they come to Bangladesh,” he says.

“No-one wants us. This is humiliating.” Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh

“If you build the fence now Myanmar will probably say it is ready to take the 26,000 legal refugees from the camp but not the unregistered because they don’t know who they are.”
Trapped in limbo between two countries that don’t want them, the Rohingyas have become a bargaining chip for both Bangladesh and Myanmar as they try to settle their border dispute.

In Bangladesh’s refugee camps, frustration and anger are rife amongst the beleagured minority.
“We cannot work. Our children can’t go to school. Our wives aren’t allowed to see doctors,” one man says. “We cannot receive any food aid. No one wants us. This is humiliating, we have no arms, but we are ready to fight and to blow ourselves up. People need to know that we exist.”

ASEAN NGO SUMMIT "PEOPLE'S CALL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE"

Source from thaingo, 19 Oct 2009

In the Name of Allah The Most Beneficient and Most Merciful .
On the specific plight of the Rohingyas as well as the people of Myanmar as whole, the governments of Myanmar and ASEAN are called upon to ensure
On the specific plight of the Muslims of South Thailand and all Thais as a whole, the governments of Thailand and ASEAN are called upon to ensure:
On the specific plight of the Bangsamoro of Mindanao, the governments of the Philippines and ASEAN are called upon to ensure:
On our part as NGOs, we undertake to:
Endorsed by :
Bangkok Declaration
ASEAN NGO SUMMIT "PEOPLE'S CALL FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE"
Islamic Center, Bangkok, Thailand
October 16th 2009

1. Nusantara Initiatives for Justice and Peace
2. Citizens International, Malaysia
3. TERAS, Malaysia
4. Secretariat for the Ulama Assembly of ASIA ( SHURA)
5. Muslim Care Malaysia
6. International Islamic Strategic Studies
7. Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia
8. Ulama Association Of Malaysia
9. Muhammadiyyah International
10. Ikatan Ilmuan Nasional, Malaysia
11. Muslimah Action Council Of Malaysia
12. Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT)
13. United Islamic Rohingya Organization for Development
14. International Students Network
15. Young Muslims Association of Thailand
16. Persatuan Ulama Kedah, Malaysia
17. Pusat Advokasi Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia (Paham), Indonesia
18. Centre for Indonesian Reform (CIR)
19. Yayasan Generasi Baru Nusantara
20. World Assembly of Muslim Youth (Thailand Office)
21. Thai Muslim Students' Association, TMSA.
22. Deep South Women's Network for Peace
23. Council of Muslim Organizations of Thailand
24. Students' Federation of Southern Thailand
25. Rohingya Human Rights Association in Thailand
26. Muslim Students' Federation of Thailand
27. Islamic Culture Foundation of Southern Thailand
28. As-Salam Institute, Yala Islamic University
29. Muslim Group for Peace (Thailand)
30. Yala Muslim Community Radio Network
31. Muslim Attorneys Centre, Thailand (MAC)
32. Thai Islamic Medical Association (TIMA)
33. Students Federation of Thailand
34. Students' Network for Protecting People
35. Pencerdasan Ummat, Malaysia (Wadah)
36. Muslim Patani Association
37. Aman News Network, Thailand
38. Muslims Association of Krabi, Thailand
39. Association of Research and Development for Consumer Protection (Thailand)
40. Halal Consumer Protection Association of Thailand (HACPA)
41. Muslimah Sisterhood of Indonesia (SALIMAH)
42. Cross Cultural Foundation
43. Islamic Centre of Thailand
44. Muslim Relations Association of Krabi
45. Peoples' Empowerment (Thailand)take the lead in bringing about a greater understanding among our people and governments, and international organisations about the conflicts and the threat they pose for peace, security and development in the region;
to address the gross violation of human rights, seek remedies for all victims and press for the provision of adequate legal and administrative protection against human rights violations;
deliberate and adopt ways to empower the people through the improvement of their socio-economic conditions;
engage ASEAN and convince the member states to be wary of any military alliance with hegemons and to seriously pursue the goal of making Southeast Asia a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality, free from foreign interference;
to establish a strong network of NGOs in the ASEAN region linked to NGOs in other parts of the world, particularly in the U.S and the European Union, that share the same strategic vision and goals and that will closely cooperate towards the above aims;
to formulate and put in place a plan of action through the set up of a regional secretariat to oversee, coordinate all the above activities and evaluate the progress. the resolution of the Mindanao conflict by addressing the root causes of injustice, colonization, poverty, underdevelopment, displacement and the illegal encroachment of Bangsamoro territory
that the Moro peoples? right to self-determination be undertaken as a distinct and independent/autonomous entity as provided for by many international treaties, such as the UN Covenant on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 1994;
the support of peaceful avenues towards attaining and achieving that right, including through the support for the full implementation of the MNLF-GRP 1996 agreement and the ongoing peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
that past injustices in the form of land seizures and colonial settlements be redressed through the formulation of a comprehensive, balanced and just agreement - that does justice to the past as well as current situation - on ancestral lands through consultation and consensus with all stakeholders
that the Bangsamoro exercise control over their territories, including on the form and nature of the utilization, preservation and protection of natural resources to benefit the present and future generations;
that the Bangsamoro are supported in the development and establishment of an effective and constructive system of education and training that is accessible to all, young and old, and that preserves and promotes the positive aspects of their cultural heritage, traditions and history of the Bangsamoro people shall be maintained;
the guarantee of freedom of movement and speech that is just and true to the traditions and aspirations of the Bangsamoro;
the rights of all vulnerable groups, such as women, children and the disabled and elderly are, in all aspects, protected, defended and promoted and that the violation of these rights are punished to the full extent of the law;
the establishment of an economic system of economic and financial resources administration and management that is inspired by the Bangsamoro heritage and aspirations the end of the Emergency Decree, Martial Law and any other laws which can lead to the abuse and unfair persecution of the Muslims of South Thailand and that the people of South Thailand enjoy the basic human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Thailand.
the end to all enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture, extortion and harassment, including sexual harassment
punishment of those responsible for the commission of any of the above crimes
the end of the persecution, injustices and the culture and system of impunity put in place as part of the suppression in South Thailand;
all paramilitary or volunteer civilian 'defense' groups are disarmed in Yala, Narthiwat, Patani, Satun and some districts of Songkla as these have worsened the violence and created distrust between and among the local communities; the full recognition to all Rohingyas and other peoples of Myanmar the right to citizenship as nationals of their country
freedom of worship and the building/rebuilding and maintenance of all mosques, temples, churches and other religious institutions;
equal access to education and vocational training;
the end to all enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture, rape, arbitrary taxation, extortion, forced slave labour and harassment
punishment, in the case of the commission of any of the above
freedom of movement;
freedom of matrimony and lift restrictions against marriages;
the end to illegal evictions, destruction of houses and confiscation of properties;
that all of Myanmar's peoples who are either internally displaced or living abroad as refugees who seek to return to their homelands are accepted and guaranteed their safety and dignity;
the opening of humanitarian space in Myanmar and the support of the humanitarian efforts by United Nations and non-governmental organisations there; and
the free and fair conduct of elections in 2010.

WE, the activists and members of the NGOs of the ASEAN region from member organizations of the Nusantara Initiative for Justice and Peace (NADI), on the occasion of the ASEAN NGO Summit in Bangkok,Thailand on the October, 16th 2009,

Remembering the tragic histories of the peoples of Myanmar, Southernmost Thailand and Mindanao and the lessons they offer to the present generations;

Reaffirming ASEAN as a regional initiative for multilateral co-orperation and mutual development;

Cognisant of the need for the encouragement of a people-to-people initiative for justice and peace within the Southeast Asian region;

Reminding all Heads of State/Government on the commitments declared in the 41st AMM 17 - 24 July 2008 in Singapore, on their obligations to the people in undertaking concrete and practical cooperation to address issues of common interests and with the view to build capacity, develop expertise and enhance coordination in areas that can contribute to the region's collective security objectives;

Reiterating the need to build an ASEAN Community that is socially just, economically sustainable, culturally rooted and vibrant, environmentally sensitive and politically stable;

Confirming that regional progress for peace and justice must be framed within the socio-economic needs and traditional and cultural roots of the people;

Affirming that all conflicts must be addressed through peaceful means on the basis of truth, justice and the rights of the people;

Condemning the high-handed military escalations and operations undertaken by many of our governments under the pretext of combating terrorism, separatism and radicalism, that have, thereby, acerbated the conflict, deepened the injustices and victimised the people by way, particularly, of arbitrary arrests, extortions, abductions, extrajudicial killings, torture, illegal confiscations of property, draconian laws and other violations of universal human rights;

Rejecting all economic, cultural, political and military intrusions and hegemony by powers outside the region through either covert or overt means; and

Noting with concern the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar, South Thailand and Mindanao and the adverse impact their perpetuation and escalation will have on the region as a whole in the absence of good will and sincere efforts towards reaching their just resolution,

HEREBY CALL ON ALL ASEAN GOVERNMENTS TO:honour the trust that the people have placed on them to guarantee the people's legitimate rights to justice and peace, to live in dignity, to the fulfillment of basic needs and to the equitable distribution of national resources;
eschew military options for the resolution of conflict but rather address and tackle all conflicts and disputes within the region peacefully and holistically in the spirit of healthy, harmonious, and cooperative regional co-existence and relations between States and peoples
promote engagement and consultation between States and their peoples and the need to live up to our collective responsibilities for the resolution of conflicts and disputes;
intensify regional and international cooperation for the promotion, sharing and implementation of policies and best practices to ensure fairness and justice and for the safeguarding of the interests, livelihood, and general wellbeing of the people;
resolve immediately the plight of the Rohingyas, the South Thailand conflict and the Bangsamoro struggle through mutual consultation and collective effort between all ASEAN governments based on the justice and legitimate rights of the people
engage with the governments of Myanmar, Thailand and Philippines in asserting the principle that the security and situation witin their juridications respectively impacts upon the security and situation of the region as a whole
work with the UN, the international community and civil society groups in protecting, assisting and according the rights of all peoples displaced from their homes by conflict or persecution to justice and fair treatment as expected by the States' own citizens and on principles of universal humanitarian grounds until such times as these same States can guarantee such displaced persons safe return to their homelands and dignified lives therein. This includes respecting the principle of non-refoulement, recognising them as persons seeking asylum and refraining from detaining them as mere undocumented migrants, and allowing UNHCR access to all asylum-seekers who have been detained in order to determine their status;
ratify the 1951 Convention Related to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and the 1990 International Convention for the Protection of the Right of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families;
give more attention to women and children in being integral part of the solution
practice and promote values and practices of good governance that give high priority to the building of a culture of integrity, transparency and accountability and that rejects oppressive and corrupted regimes;
put in place measures to enhance regional cooperation to fostering the free flow of peoples across borders and encourage cultural and commercial exchanges within the ambit of sustainable regional growth and development;
ensure that all non-State parties that are crucial to the achievement of all the above - such as the media, corporations and civil society - play positive roles in enhancing understanding and cooperation, rather than animosity and conflicts;
undertake to consult among the member states of ASEAN and to adopt a common position on matters relating to defence that affect or constitute a potential threat to the collective security of our continent;
form nation-wide truth and reconciliation commission in the countries of Myanmar, Thailand and Philippines to rebuild justice and trust among all communities and institutions by addressing and tackling past human rights violation, reviewing all national security cases;
undertake efforts towards Islamic law, especially in Muslim personal/family matters
emphase dialogue, peace talks and negotiations at all levels; and
undertake a paradigm shift in the social, economic and political and administration of South Thailand towards demilitarization.

Burmese Pro-Democracy Group Demonstrate at Burmese Embassy in Malaysia

Today about 10:30 am (Malaysian local time), about 35 Burmese Rohingyas led by pro-democracy group, National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR-South Asia Regional Office in Malaysia), submitted a memorandum to Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur, under police watch.

The group were allowed to gather at 300 meters  far from the embassy and show their play-cards, but not allowed to follow more than 3 persons according to the requirement of Malaysian Royal Police (Bukit Aman). The memorandum letter was put into the post-box of the embassy after read by member of NDPHR(exile), Mr.Sadek followed by Mr.Habib.

Standing at 300 meters far from the embassy

The Royal Malaysian authority shown their unfair interference upon the matter of Burmese that neglects the ASEAN’s current initiatives and developed strategy calls of democratization in Burma.

The memorandum is as follow;

Ref: NDPHR (SEA-R) 1990/2009/003

Date: Oct 16, 2009

A Memorandum

To

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)

Union of Burma

We, on behalf of the entire Rohingya Burmese people of Arakan State, strongly condemn the SPDC for its brutal behaviors and inhumane treatment towards innocent people of the country.
It is undeniable that your ruling authorities are pushing the country to the worst proportion, installing inhuman pogrom against ethnic minorities, particularly of the Rohingya in western border who are bona-fide ethnic citizen of Arakan and present Burma who have been rooted there before Burma Era.

We are extremely feeling upset on the exercises of SPDC against Rohingya through out forced labor, forced eviction, forced extortion, forced relocation, forced extermination, torture, extra judicial killings, rapes, model village settlement, arbitrary arrest, restriction on their freedom of movement even from one village to another, restriction on freedom of worship, thought, education, marriage, family and economic development and etc.
However, the regime cannot hide reality and it shall never be gone dim forever. Circumstance is alarming that regime must face the judgment over its inhumanity and injustice in relating to the noble objectives of economic sustainability, political stability, educational development, socio-cultural recognition, humanitarian progress and etc.

In the recent month of August and September 2009, the SPDC continued to perpetrate crimes against humanity and war crimes with total impunity, highlighting the urgent need for UN Security Council-mandated Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.

In the two-month period, the followings were documented by general information. They are: over 50 victims of extrajudicial killings by SPDC Army soldiers; at least 42 people subjected to forced labor; an additional 10,000 people forcibly displaced in attacks targeting civilians; at least 109 people subjected to arbitrary arrest and imprisonment; widespread use of torture against 100 civilians in Shan state, three in Northern Arakan State and a foreign citizen in Rangoon; at least seven cases of rape and sexual violence; systematic and widespread persecution of ethnic and religious communities; at least 13 children were recruited as child soldiers, and the use of widespread force labor in border fence constructions at 70 yards from the border demarcation line and deployment of 9 battalions along the borders with India and Bangladesh.

Of the above crimes, we are seriously concern over the unlawful order that was recently released by Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) authority, U Aung Kyaw Oo followed by departments of Immigration, Police, Municipal and Local groups of Kyauktaw Township-Arakan for urgent relocation of the largest ancestral Rohingya village known as Paitay village (Zailla Fara), consisting of over 800 homes, without any compensation, for the result of their refusal to accept Temporary Registration Card or Foreigner Censorship Card (TRC, identity for alien residents). The first refused groups of 30 Rohingya villagers are detained in Police custody of Kyauktaw Township. Frequently, electric supplies for the village and telecommunications of the town are cut-off. The government authority also ordered to submit the lists of breaded cattle, goads, ducks and chicken. In case of failure to comply, serious action will be taken against them including imprisonment and fine on their consumption of own animals.

In a last decade, at least over 100 villages and historical statues in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Ponajuann, Akyab, Maungdaw, Buthidaung, were destroyed and/or removed from their origin including Sandikhan Mosque (1433 AD) in Mrauk-U, Badr Maquaam (A.D 7 Century) in Akyab and coins from Arakan State Museum.
Moreover, mass arrest of Rohingyas in Maungdaw on their way back from praying, continuous attacks on innocent Rohingya villagers by new settlers in Northern Arakan, seizer list preparation of house holds, birds, animals and belongings of the Rohingyas in Arakan State is a total tyranny. In last month, about 70 villagers from Kyauknimaw Village of Rambre Township, were detained and fined by Government authority collaboration with local Rakhaings.

At the same time, the SPDC is keeping negligence to the victims of natural disaster and triggering burden to poor civilians by various means of extortions to support military families and to buy sophisticated weapons, while reportedly misusing international aids and monetary funds in recent year.

The SPDC is also ignoring the calls of international community to set free of all political prisoners and to have immediate democratic changes, while initiating to another Sham election in 2010 without the wills of people and that is forcefully exterminating the members of ethnic minorities with a view to increasing refugee outflows in neighboring countries. This act is a clear regional threat. Based on the refugee phenomena, Middle East and neighboring countries’ economic priority decline the protection of hosting refugees.  It effects in where the largest refugees numbers are hosting therefore, Saudi Arabia renders against their plight and about 3,000 refugees who are nab from Mecca and Jeddah areas are way to deportation without any human rights improvement but the rest of over 300,000 Rohingya refugees occur no where to go. For all these, the SPDC is fully responsible and committing crimes against humanity as well.

It is the time to take urgent step to end brutalities of SPDC and promotion of state terrorism.
In these regards, we urge upon the SPDC:

1. To unconditionally free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners including ethnic minority leaders like U Kyaw Min (a) Shamsul Anwarul Hoque, MP of NDPHR and member of CRPP;
2. To unconditionally cease all kinds of brutalities and human rights abuses in Arakan, particularly relocation of villages, model village settlement, forced labors, restriction of movement and etc.
3. To unconditionally respect the rights of Rohingyas as indigenous people of Arakan and present Burma like other ethnic minorities of different states and issue equal identity card like others;
4. To stop all kinds of initiatives towards Sham election in 2010 unless comprehensive dialogue with ethnic minorities and other pro-democratic forces both in home and exile;
5. To urgently allow international agencies in all ethnic minority area, particularly in Rohingya dominated areas of Arakan State with a view to ensure human rights, dignity and economic development;
6. To reconstruct the relief building for victims of cyclone Nargis in Irrawaddy delta and other effected areas of all over the country;
7. To urgently return the possessing of Rohingyas and reload their lands as actual owner, removing all new setters.

Executive Committee
National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR) exile
South East Asia Regional Office
Endorsed by:

1. Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization, Malaysia (MERHROM)
2. Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF), Arakan-Burma
3. Arakan Rohingya Refugee Committee (ARRC), Malaysia
4. Arakan Rohingya Ulama Council (ARUC), Malaysia
5. Rohingya Women Team

For more information, please contact:

1. Habibur Rahman        + (60) 12-2595185 
2. Mohammad Sadek     + (60) 16-3094599 
3. Mr. Zafar Ahmed      + (60) 16-6827287 

For Detail Information;
The Paitay village (Zailla Fara) is targeted to be demolished but failed for several times as it is the largest village in Kyauktaw Township and residents of 800 homes. The following listed villages were uprooted in last a decade from Southern Arakan;
Kyaktaw Township                  : Tangadawnn, Khogduk-Falung, kanpaw villages
Akyab (Sittwe) Township   : Takaybyin, Santole, Bodomuhan, Bohorfara villages
Mrauk Oo Township              : Nyaungpinzay, Aungdine, Pongnamraung, Shawegudaung, Mandarapyin
                                                                @ Kwanlon and Sandikhan Mosque-1433
Minbya Township                     : Nala, Sangyi villages
Ponnajuan Township           : Sishudaine village, were demolished and substituted by new settlers and Rohingya villagers were driven into the jungles, and uncountable devastations in Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung Townships.

Burmese Migrants Beaten, Arrested in China

Irrawaddy news, 14 Oct 2009
 
Chinese police have been cracking down recently on illegal Burmese migrant workers with beatings commonplace and about 50 migrants arrested every day, according to sources on the Sino-Burmese border.
The crackdown started around Sept. 25. Several detained migrants have alleged they were badly beaten and were charged 300 yuan (US $44) for their release. Immediately after their release, the Burmese migrants were forcibly repatriated, said the sources.

Ma Grang, a merchant in the Chinese border town of Ruili, said he met with a factory worker named Myo Win and his friend who claimed they were badly beaten by the Chinese police, and have since returned to Burma.  

“They were beaten with batons on their back, legs and chest. I saw the bruises,” said Ma Grang.  “Myo Win was not able to work for a few days.”
He said that Chinese police did not systematically beat up illegal Burmese migrant workers in the past.
“However, this time, they are treating the migrants brutally,” he said.
He added that Burmese migrant workers in Ruili—a border town in southwestern Yunnan Province which lies opposite the Burmese town of Muse—are currently living in fear and dare not go outside their living quarters.

Awng Wa, a source on the Sino-Burmese border, confirmed that the Chinese authorities had increased restrictions on migrating or visiting Burmese people.
In the past, Burmese people could cross the border and stay in Ruili for more than a week at a time. With the current crackdown, Burmese are only allowed to stay on Chinese soil for seven days. Anyone violating the rule is fined 600 yuan ($88), he said.

Sources in Ruili speculated that the police crackdown had been initiated to prevent the flow of illegal Burmese migrant workers into China. Others, however, claimed the Chinese were responding to attacks by Burmese government troops against ethnic Kokang and Han Chinese migrants in Burma in August.
During the Burmese government attacks, about 37,000 ethnic Kokang—who are widely considered to be ethnic Han Chinese—and first-generation Chinese migrants had to flee from Laogai in Burma across the Chinese border. Many Chinese reported that they had lost their businesses as a consequence.

An estimated 90 percent of businesses in Laogai are—or were—owned by Chinese businesspeople. 
Ma Grang said many businessmen in Ruili have suggested that the crackdown against Burmese migrants is a reciprocal gesture because of what happened to Chinese people in Burma recently.

Awng Wa told The Irrawaddy he believed both motives were in play—the Chinese police were cracking down on Burmese in revenge for the Laogai seizure, and to curtail the number of migrants crossing into Yunnan Province, he said.

30 Arakanese Activists Arrested In Kyautaw Township

Source from The Sail, 9 Oct 2009

30 Arakanese activists from Kyautaw Township were arrested by Immigration forces on Oct 07, 2009.

They were identified as Arakanese Rohingya Muslims from Paitay Village, Kyautaw Township, Arakan state.
According to reliable source, they were picked up by immigration forces at around 3pm and detained in police lock-up, Kyautaw Township.

For the causes of Kyautaw Township immigration forced the villager Rohingyas to accept Temporary Registration Card (TRC, identity for Bengali or migrant)， 7 Rohingya villagers who refused firstly were detained in immigration lock-up and another followers about 23 were also picked-up from the village. After that the group followed by chairman of Town Peace and Development Council, president of Township Immigration, president of Township Municipal, police chief, noticed the villager Rohingyas to accept Bengali identity, if not the military troops would launch to obey. Tyrannically, the villagers had been ordered to submit the lists of breaded own cattle, goats, chicken, ducks and others, as well as, selling or consumption of it unless permission will be punished to six months imprisonment.
That results, hundred of Rohingyas flee from village and hundred of Rohingya women and children are hiding in Paitay village Mosque. At the moment, electric supply for the village and tele communication in Kyautaw are cut-off.

An activist from the village clarified that they had not claimed ‘Rohingya’ and their detention is not for it, they have no problem to become Burmese but they are not Bengali. They are ethnic citizen from Arakan and they must be treated equally.

The spokesperson for National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR- exile) in Malaysia has also highlighted that the result of conflicts between immigration and locals in Kyaut Fru Township in last month, the immigration office was burn down. But, it was turn to only Muslims of Kyat Fru and about 70 local Muslims were arrested by Police with corporation of local Rakhines.

30 Arakanese Activists Arrested In Kyautaw Township

 Source from The Sail, 9 Oct 2009

30 Arakanese activists from Kyautaw Township were arrested by Immigration forces on Oct 07, 2009.

They were identified as Arakanese Rohingya Muslims from Paitay Village, Kyautaw Township, Arakan state.
According to reliable source, they were picked up by immigration forces at around 3pm and detained in police lock-up, Kyautaw Township.

For the causes of Kyautaw Township immigration forced the villager Rohingyas to accept Temporary Registration Card (TRC, identity for Bengali or migrant)， 7 Rohingya villagers who refused firstly were detained in immigration lock-up and another followers about 23 were also picked-up from the village. After that the group followed by chairman of Town Peace and Development Council, president of Township Immigration, president of Township Municipal, police chief, noticed the villager Rohingyas to accept Bengali identity, if not the military troops would launch to obey. Tyrannically, the villagers had been ordered to submit the lists of breaded own cattle, goats, chicken, ducks and others, as well as, selling or consumption of it unless permission will be punished to six months imprisonment.
That results, hundred of Rohingyas flee from village and hundred of Rohingya women and children are hiding in Paitay village Mosque. At the moment, electric supply for the village and tele communication in Kyautaw are cut-off.

An activist from the village clarified that they had not claimed ‘Rohingya’ and their detention is not for it, they have no problem to become Burmese but they are not Bengali. They are ethnic citizen from Arakan and they must be treated equally.

The spokesperson for National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR- exile) in Malaysia has also highlighted that the result of conflicts between immigration and locals in Kyaut Fru Township in last month, the immigration office was burn down. But, it was turn to only Muslims of Kyat Fru and about 70 local Muslims were arrested by Police with corporation of local Rakhines.

The Rohingya Refugees: Victims Of Exploitation

Source from Asian Tribune, 5 Oct 2009

 

By Kyaw Soe Aung (alias) MSK Jilani*

 

Nowadays, the Rohingya refugees are not free from exploitation in every moment of their step in countries of their first or second asylum before reaching to a meaningful solution.

It is easy to catch the circumstances in most countries of OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) as they do not have any mechanism to deal with refugee phenomena, while these are like denying their Islamic obligation. In one word, everyone can realize a thing that was eradicated by the Great Human; the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is reappearing in modern form of salvation.

 

In deed, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was the greatest peace maker throughout various agreement including the world first written and 7 Point Agreement known as “Hudaibiah Agreement” signed by both parties of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Non believers of Mecca .

 

It is also true that Islam was conquered by character and civilization, not by extremism and egoism. Meanwhile, the actual Islamic believers are modern and thus they never crossed limitation to violate human rights by any means and give dignity towards human beings and every alive.

 

At the moment, Rohingya refugees are being accused of their connection with extremist group which is undeniably away of exploitation in their marginalized situation. As of truth and authenticity, the Rohingyas are modern from their birth in country of Buddhism and grow in multi-cultural and multi-religious societies but sometimes, extremist groups have been trying to take advantage, initiating to a perfect exploitation with Islamic exploitation and thus they are deserved of international assistances to track out from the circle.

In most option, the Rohingya seek assistances from western government, rather than Islamic world as they have lost their confidence over their brethren with a view to liberating themselves from modern salvation but they don’t deny the temporary shelter and sympathy of both states and general publics of the aforesaid Muslim world. Therefore, they have to burn in cool fire of exploitation into ashes.

 

In Malaysia, the Rohingyas were underway to whip with rattan for their illegal stay in the country which was exempted by the helps of their Muslim brethren, after getting touch with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is not necessarily should count in services of Muslim world as many Rohingya refugees had to serve such prosecution of whipping, detention, deportation with UNHCR documentation.

 

Similarly, no Rohingya got chance to enjoy education facilities for long from their brethren as their government did not allow any NGO to work for the benefit of the unfortunate Rohingya refugees but likely encouraged to engage in odd jobs by means of half payment which has a better example like Harvest Centre Sdn. Bhd, a Christian Church has started a pilot project for the marginalized and refugee children in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur from the year 2004 and mostly achieved it goals to set a clear program to educate such type of children and even to make alive Rohingya child’s name with a popular ‘Fisal Cup” which has been held in every year in Kuala Lumpur.

 

After this program, a new NGO called Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation gained supports from the Government of the United States of America (USA) as an implementation partner of UNHCR and that has been running 5 different informal schools from the beginning of 2007 in Selangor Darul Ehsan and Wilayah Persekutuan like Tasik Permai, Tasik Tambahan, Taman Terati, Kampung Pandang, Ampang and Selayang, Kuala Lumpur respectively.

 

Once, the NGO developed children into read and writeable, new stranger groups are jumping into the honey pots of Rohingya’s future generation to get advantage and to exploit them to stop their hopes. It has already taken over two schools of Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation from Taman Teratia, Ampang and Kampung Pandan, Ampang with a view to expelling to the supports of USA and to build up strong Muslim group to use in anti-Malay movement in coming decade.

 

These new stranger NGOs are very busy in mobilizing the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia through their fundamentalist hand like Rohingya Information Center (RIC) to deny resettlement to third country and to boycott working together with non-Muslim Burmese oppositions and others with a full commitment of Islamist which is totally not acceptable to this marginalized Rohingya society; thus they, Rohingya refugees are struggling to liberate themselves from the circle of exploitation and wooing to be resettled in western countries as modern Muslim in order to regain their human rights and justice in multi-cultural and multi-religious societies.

 

Therefore, the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia appeal to the international community, particularly to the Government of United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, Denmark, German, Italy, Finland and all other European countries to urgently rethink the matter of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia with a view to accepting their resettlement which may be helpful to stop world threat exploitation. The almost 80% of the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia were found active for resettlement to the west by the Arakan Rohingya Refugee Committee (ARRC), Malaysia and National Democratic Party for Human Rights (exile) South East Asia Regional office and thus the extension of real and practical sympathy for these victims of exploitation would be highly appreciated.

 

* By Kyaw Soe Aung is the General Secretary of NDPHR (exile) Headquarters based in Milwaukee City , Wisconsin State ( USA ), Advisor for the ARRC, Malaysia and Rohingya rights and youth activist.

- Asian Tribune –