Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited ARAKAN and meet with ROHINGYA Muslims.

 A Turkish delegation led by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday held talks with Myanmar leaders on boosting bilateral relations as well as the plight of Rohingya Muslims in that South Asian country.

The delegation that includes Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spouse and daughter, several Deputies and bureaucrats was received by President Thein Sein who expressed pleasure over Turkey opening an Embassy in his country. He told the delegation that Myanmar would also open an Embassy in Ankara as soon as possible, Turkish media reported.

Davutoglu met with his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin in capital Naypyidaw during which he said his visit had been the first high-level one from Turkey to Myanmar. Davutoglu is also scheduled to meet Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Davutoglu later told reporters that they arrived in Myanmar to boost bilateral relations and to visit Arakan where the Rohingya Muslims faced large scale violence from extremist Buddhists. "We would like to carry on with both of our aims," he said.

Davutoglu said Myanmar granting entry to the delegation reflected Turkey's influence in the international field. "Myanmar did not do the same for any other countries. Our Ambassador worked hard," the reports quoted him as saying.

He said Myanmar was allowing only the United Nations and its staff to get into the Arakan region. A state of emergency has been declared in Arakan province following clashes between Buddhists and Muslims, and troops deployed to restore peace.

A man cries with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's spouse can't stop crying seeing this. 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's spouse can't stop crying.

Turkish Delegation visited the ROHINGYA victims.

Turkish Delegation visited & distributed relief to the ROHINGYA victims.

Sadiq Khan MP raised the voice for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Sadiq Aman Khan (British Member of the Parliament)

Sadiq Khan MP has raised concerns with the Foreign Secretary over the safety and security of Burma’s Muslim Rohingyas community.

A report from Human Rights Watch was published on 1st August, and highlights the lack of action by the Burma government to stop escalating sectarian violence between two Burmese minority populations, the Arakan Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, in June 2012.

The sectarian clashes began when an incendiary pamphlet was circulated, claiming that an Arakan woman was raped and killed by three Muslim men.


iolent reprisals by both communities continued, and escalated, until the military junta, which governs Burma, declared a state of emergency in Rakhine State on 10th June.

The state of emergency resulted in a concerted period of violence being used against Rohingya communities by state security forces. The Human Rights Watch report claims that 78 people reported to have been killed is a conservative figure, and that 100,000 persons have been displaced.

Sadiq Khan MP said: “The violence towards the Muslim Rohingya is extremely serious and causing unnecessary bloodshed and suffering.

"It is crucial that the violence ends immediately. Especially in this holy month of Ramadhan, I have been inundated with British citizens expressing concern about the plight of these innocent Burmese Muslims.


“I have written to the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development asking that the British government take action to stop the violence and provide aid to those who need it.

“We have seen positive actions from the Burmese government in recent years – such as the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest – but they need to realise that the first job of government is to secure the safety of all citizens.

“It is important that the British government uses all its influence to end this savage treatment of the Rohingya community by the Burmese authorities as a matter of urgency.”

Turkish FM meets with Myanmar's top officials for Rohingya Muslims

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu (R) shakes hands with the Myanmar President Thein Sein on Aug. 9, 2012. 

A Turkish delegation led by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, and which includes Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's spouse and daughter, arrived in Myanmar early on Thursday in a bid to both “boost bilateral relations” and “bring international attention to the plight of suffering Rohingya Muslims.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, accompanied by a Turkish delegation, paid a visit to Myanmar in a bid to both “boost bilateral relations” and “bring international attention to the plight of suffering Rohingya Muslims.”
The delegation includes Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's spouse and daughter, Davutoğlu's spouse, several deputies, bureaucrats, representatives of charities and journalists.
Davutoğlu was received by Myanmar's President Thein Sein, who expressed his pleasure about the fact that Turkey opened an embassy in his country, on Thursday. Sein stated that Myanmar would also open an embassy in Turkey as soon as possible, adding relations between the two countries would be developed by this move. Turkey opened an embassy in Myanmar in March 2012.
On the same day, Davutoğlu also met with his counterpart in Myanmar, Wunna Maung Lwin in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw. Davutoğlu said that Turkey and Myanmar were the two big states of Asia, adding that his visit had been the first high-level one from Turkey to Myanmar. Davutoğlu's meetings with both Sein and Lwin were closed to the press corps. Davutoğlu is also scheduled to meet with Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Davutoğlu stated that they arrived in Myanmar to establish bilateral relations and reach Arakan, the location of the recently escalating violence against Rohingya Muslims by extremist Buddhists. “We would like to carry on with both of our aims,” said Davutoğlu.
He said that the Myanmar government's decision to grant their visit reflects Turkey's influence in the international field. “Myanmar did not do the same for any other countries. Our ambassador worked hard,” said Davutoğlu.
Davutoğlu stated that the government in Myanmar was only allowing United Nations (UN) and their members of staff to get into the Arakan region.
Sein declared a state of emergency in Arakan province following clashes between Buddhists and Muslims and deployed troops to restore stability.
Replying to questions of journalists on his flight to Myanmar, Davutoğlu stated that this was the first high-level visit between Turkey and Myanmar. He added that they could see Myanmar's government opening up to the world step by step.
Davutoğlu also restated that he had given two instructions to the ambassador who was appointed to Myanmar, adding first one was to find the graveyards of the 1,500 Turkish soldiers who were taken to Myanmar from Çanakkale and Egypt during WWI and were killed there. “I am following very closely the graveyard issue. We are greatly indebted to those soldiers,” said Davutoğlu, adding he has written a letter to Lwin regarding the martyrs' cemeteries.
Davutoğlu added that the second instruction was to make contact with the Muslims in Arakan. He added that the problems in Arakan have gone on for decades and said that the aid they brought will be primarily taken to Muslims in Arakan then taken to Buddhist camps too. “At the moment our first aim is to set up good relationships with the government in Myanmar, then distribute humanitarian aid."
Davutoğlu stated that what the Western world can do about the Rohingya Muslims is limited and said that they will ask Indonesia to cooperate with Turkey regarding the Rohingya Muslims under the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The Turkish foreign minister underlined that Turkey is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), adding that Turkey's aid to Arakan will increase its visibility in ASEAN and around the globe.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Prime Ministry's Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) has stated that so far they have collected TL 2.1 million in their aid campaign for Muslims in Myanmar, who are facing violence and discrimination. AFAD thanked the Turkish citizens who have supported the Muslims suffering from civil war, ethnical massacre and poverty in the Arakan region of Myanmar.

EU urges Bangladesh to let groups aid Rohingyas

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission urged Bangladesh on Thursday to let humanitarian groups continue aiding Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar's Rakhine State.

Last week Bangladesh ordered three international NGOs to stop operating in the border area. EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said that she was deeply concerned about the situation of the Rohingyas.

"I strongly appeal to the Government of Bangladesh to act responsibly and offer a helping hand to all those in need, and to allow humanitarian aid organizations to do their work for the benefit of all communities," she said in a statement.

More than 800,000 Rohingya Muslims live in Myanmar, but they are not recognized by the government as one of its ethnic groups.

Deadly summer riots between the Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist majority have forced many to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where the European Union says 40,000 unregistered Rohingya already live in makeshift camps.

A further 200,000 are living undocumented in Bangladesh, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Bangladesh has continued to turn back many refugees, and last week told three NGOs to stop providing food and other humanitarian aid to Rohingyas. It said the assistance could encourage more people to try to cross the border from Myanmar.

The European Union allocated 10 million euros ($12.36 million) to assist refugees in Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2012.

US express concern about Humanitarian Access for Rohingya in Bangladesh

United States expressed deep concern regarding the ban of three nongovernmental NGOs in Bangladesh. Tuesday in Washington Mr.Patrick Ventrell spokes in a press statement.The original Statement is given below -

Press Statement
Patrick Ventrell 
Acting Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 7, 2012  

The United States is deeply concerned by the Government of Bangladesh’s stated intent to shut down nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that have been providing critical humanitarian aid to Rohingya residing in Bangladesh. We urge the Government of Bangladesh to permit these NGOs to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya, other vulnerable individuals fleeing the violence in Burma’s Rakhine State, and the local Bangladeshi population in the Bangladesh-Burma border region.
We are continuing to monitor ethnic and sectarian tensions in Burma’s Rakhine State and continue to call for restraint, an end to violence, and the upholding of principles of nondiscrimination, tolerance, and religious freedom. We have consistently urged the Burmese Government to reach a peaceful resolution as soon as possible and to bring those responsible for the violence to justice in a timely manner and in accordance with due process.

Muslim Nations Take On Myanmar Over Rohingyas

Rakhine monks during the riot in Arakan,Myanmar.

Myanmar is no stranger to criticism from Western nations and human-rights groups, some of whom still approach the once-reclusive nation with caution despite major economic and social reforms there over the past year. But as the plight of Myanmar’s Rohingya ethnic minority captures global attention, the country is now getting flak from a new quarter – the Muslim world.

Since violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in June, leaving at least 78 dead, governments and rights groups have been critical of Myanmar authorities’ actions, which they say have not afforded enough protections to the minority group. New York-based Human Rights Watch released a 56-page report last week asserting that authorities failed to prevent initial unrest, and that security forces in some cases killed and raped Rohingyas.

Myanmar officials have defended their treatment of the group and say they have helped re-establish order and cooperated with international aid organizations to bring relief to the area. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement last week that Myanmar “totally rejects the attempts by some quarters to politicize and internationalize this situation as a religious issue,” adding that the incidents of violence in Rakhine State “are neither because of religious oppression nor discrimination.”

Either way, some of the most vocal critics in the past couple of weeks have come from countries that have in the past been more welcoming to Myanmar than the West, including Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Malaysia. Many are concerned that Rohingya Muslims are being discriminated against at least in part because of their religious beliefs–an issue that hits home in their own countries with large Muslim populations.

Speaking to reporters last week, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said that his country would address the matter of violence against the Muslim Rohingyas at a summit meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in mid-August, adding that Indonesia “cannot tolerate” discriminatory treatment against the group, according to the Associated Press. This weekend, Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned the Myanmar government’s treatment of Rohingyas, saying its envoy in the country has seen extensive damage caused by the recent clashes, according to local Egyptian press.

Malaysia’s government, too, has expressed concerned for the way Rohingyas were treated following protests from Muslims in the country, and welcomed investigations that probe the cause of the violence.

Diplomats and human-rights organizations have also criticized Bangladesh for their unwillingness to accept more Rohingya refugees to the country, which already houses thousands of Rohingya refugees. Still, Myanmar–a predominantly Buddhist country–has come in for particularly vociferous criticism, including from some more extreme quarters in the Muslim world, including the Taliban, and jailed Islamic cleric Abu Bakir Bashir.

Both Pakistan’s branch of the Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban, and Abu Bakir Bashir have threatened violence against Myanmar. The cleric, in an open letter to President Thein Sein, went as far as suggesting war on Myanmar if violence against the Rohingyas continues, according to an Associated Press report.

All of this opens a new front of pressure on Myanmar to find a resolution to a problem which has burned quietly for decades. Although Western leaders have criticized Myanmar for its handling of the recent Rohingya-related unrest, and the United Nations has called for an urgent inquiry, some analysts believe Western governments are unlikely to press the issue as hard as they might have a few years ago since they’re trying hard to repair relations with Myanmar’s government following years of sanctions. Criticism from once-friendly Muslim nations could help keep the issue alive longer, making it harder for Western governments to let the issue drop.

The Rohingya problem remains one of the most challenging for Myanmar at a time when its government is expanding freedoms for most residents, including releasing political prisoners and easing restraints on the Internet after the country’s military regime stepped down last year. The Rohingya are widely seen in Myanmar as the country’s most unwanted ethnic group, and they are excluded from citizenship laws and restricted in their movements and activities, including marriage and reproduction. Myanmar officials say that many Rohingyas are living illegally in the country, and have appealed to the United Nations to assist with repatriating them or coordinating relief efforts.

Even if pressure does keep coming from the outside world, the problem will likely defy an easy solution.

“The world can lobby for humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya, which will provide short-term relief, but it won’t even come close to constructing a solution [for them],” said Greg Constantine, a photographer who has spent seven years documenting the lives of Rohingya refugees.

“It is the bigger questions that need to be addressed for any solution to come,” he added, including fundamental issues related to deciding “who belongs and who doesn’t” in the new Myanmar.

Pakistani president expresses concerns to Burma

akistan President Asif Ali Zardari Photo: presidentofpakistan.gov.pk

 Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday wrote to his  Burmese counterpart expressing concern over the loss of life and property of Rohingya Muslims during the recent ethnic clashes in western Burma. 

In a letter addressed to the President Thein Sein, Zardari called for hastening the process of rehabilitation of Rohingya Muslims so that they can return to their homes and lead a safe and secure life, according to his presidential website.

The Pakistani president made his remarks days after the Pakistani Senate adopted a resolution, expressing serious concern at the recent reported attacks on Muslims in Burma.

Religious group in Pakistan have also urged the government to officially take up the issue with the Burmese government.

In July, the Amnesty International said that communal violence was “continuing in western Myanmar six weeks after the government declared a state of emergency, with much of it directed at minority Muslim Rohingyas who have been beaten, raped and killed.”

President Zardrai said that the government and the people of Pakistan were saddened to learn about the losses of the Muslims and were deeply concerned about their plight.

Underlining the importance of peaceful co-existence of various communities for the strengthening of democracy in Burma, he said communal harmony was imperative to reap the fruits of democracy and  only peaceful coexistence of various communities would ensure that the democratic transition was not reversed.

Meanwhile, on Monday Saudi Arabia has accused authorities in Buddhist-majority Burma of “ethnic cleansing” against the Muslim Rohingya minority in the west of the country, according to wire reports.

The Saudi cabinet said it “condemns the ethnic cleansing campaign and brutal attacks against Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya citizens, as well as violation of human rights by forcing them to leave their homeland,” in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah, urged the “international community to take up its responsibilities by providing needed protection and quality of life to Muslims in Myanmar and preventing further loss of life.”

The Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday proposed sending an OIC mission to probe the "massacres" of Rohingya Muslims.

Burma’s government considers an estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners, while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility. They are denied citizenship.

International community press solution for Rohingyas

During the past two decades, Bangladesh accepted and sheltered more than 300,000 Rohingya refugees, who not only stayed back but also put heavy economic and social burden on the world's most densely-populated nation.

After violence erupted in the Rakhine state in early June, Bangladesh refused giving shelter to any Rohingya. Although the refusal drew criticism from human rights activists, it has attracted the attention of the international community to the Rohingya issue.

It is worthwhile to note that the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has launched a major international campaign to put an end to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Rakhine state of Myanmar and protect their legitimate rights. OIC offices in Geneva, New York, and Brussels are making intense efforts to foster international intervention in the issue.

The OIC is believed to be in touch with the United Nations, UN Human Rights Council, European Union and other international organisations to halt the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeledin Ihsanoglu strongly condemned the situation which has resulted in deaths of innocent civilians, burning of their homes and forced eviction from their homeland. Ihsanoglu further hoped that the Myanmar government would respond to the concerns of the international community in a positive and constructive manner, so that all its Rohingya Muslims are able to return to their homeland with honour, safety and dignity.

Furthermore, the issue was raised at the recent Asean Foreign Ministers' meeting in Cambodia. The Asean is seeking an explanation from member state Myanmar about recent ethnic violence targeting minority Rohingya group. "There will be a full explanation from Myanmar because this is an important and critical issue for Asean as a community," Asean Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan reportedly said.

On July 28, it was reported that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Judge Navi Pillay, called for an independent investigation following claims of abuses toward Rohingyas by security forces in Myanmar.

On July 25, Aung San Suu Kyi called for new laws to protect Myanmar's ethnic minority groups, highlighting one of the country's most challenging issues as it opens up to the outside world.

She urged the government to pass "necessary laws or amend laws to protect the rights of ethnic nationalities," and said protecting minority rights required more than just maintaining ethnic languages and cultures. "The high poverty rates in ethnic states clearly indicate that development in ethnic regions is not satisfactory and ethnic conflicts in these regions have not ceased," she said. She didn't, however, mention the recent violence in the Rohingya area.

Ms. Suu Kyi called for an end to discrimination against ethnic minorities as part of the "emergence of a genuine democratic country," the Associated Press reported. By focusing on the country's ethnic divisions in her first parliamentary address, Ms. Suu Kyi rightly drew attention to an issue that needs to be resolved speedily and peacefully.

While, in May, Suu Kyi met thousands of Myanmar refugees at a Thai border camp and promised to try as much as she could to help them return home, she was conspicuously silent on the Rohingya issue. During the recent trip to Europe, she talked about need for "the rule of the law" in the country and avoided the Rohingya issue, which disappointed many human rights organisations overseas.

Human-rights groups, meanwhile, have criticised Ms. Suu Kyi for failing to speak out more in favour of the Rohingyas, whom most people in Myanmar consider "illegal settlers" in Myanmar.

In mid-July, Myanmar's president told the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres: "We will take responsibility for our ethnic people but it is impossible to accept the illegally entered Rohingyas, who are not our ethnicity," according to the president's official website. However, the UN high commissioner reportedly did not agree with the views of the president on the Rohingya issue.

Since its independence, Myanmar has suffered from intense ethnic divides. More than a half-dozen ethnic groups claim autonomy from the centralised government system dominated by the Burman ethnic group.

At least one group, the Kachin, is waging a low-level war against the government, while violence in western Myanmar in early June between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas in Rakhine state (Arakan) left at least 78 people dead and led to the declaration of emergency in the state by the government.

The administration of President Thein Sein is to be credited as it has reached cease-fire deals with some restive minority groups, but peace with the Kachin has yet to take place. Many analysts say more radical changes are needed, including enactment of new laws to recognise the ethnicity of minorities in Myanmar.

It is important to note that many of the groups occupy areas crucial for the country's economic plans because they are home to large portions of Myanmar's rich natural resources, including natural gas and mined commodities.

Although Myanmar authorities have focused recently on trying to steer more economic development into ethnic areas, many investors remain wary of sinking money into regions where conflicts could flare up. The Rohingya conflict, in particular, has reportedly unnerved investors and upset rights advocates who fear the violence could escalate and destabilise Myanmar.

Myanmar will chair Asean in 2014 and, given that perspective, analysts say the Myanmar government needs to sit down for a dialogue with all ethnic groups including Rohingyas to grant equal rights and autonomy in Myanmar's political system. The deal with the ethnic groups in the late '40s (so-called Panglong Agreement) collapsed after late General Ne Win took power in a 1962 coup.

Burma Lets the Rohingya Burn

The West's faith in Burma isn't being repaid. When U.S. President Barack Obama lifted restrictions on investments by American companies in the country last month, state security forces were still committing killings, rape and mass arrests against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan state. These abuses came after the authorities failed to protect both Rohingya and Arakan Buddhists during sectarian violence that erupted in early June and which continues today.

The Rohingya, largely scorned by Burmese society, are treated as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. Because they were stripped of citizenship in 1982, even in the best of times they are subjected to forced labor, arbitrary detentions, beatings and restrictions on movement.

But they've had it worse since June. We can trace the immediate causes of the violence to the rape and murder of a young Buddhist woman, allegedly by three Muslim men, which was followed on June 3 by the retaliatory massacre of 10 Burmese Muslim travelers in the town of Toungop. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims in northern Arakan soon rioted, and then violence quickly spread to the state capital Sittwe and beyond.

Despite the large Burmese military presence in the state, local Arakan and Rohingya residents described how the authorities failed to protect them through the days of grisly violence. A displaced Arakan mother of five told me how she witnessed a mob of Rohingya kill and nearly behead her husband, chopping off his arm. A displaced Rohingya woman explained how an Arakan mob beat her and her family in their home, killing her brother-in-law when he attempted to flee.

While the army eventually contained the violence in Sittwe, local security forces still opened fire on Rohingya as they attempted to extinguish fires set by groups of Arakan. A 36-year-old Rohingya man from the largest Muslim neighborhood in Sittwe told me that an Arakan mob set fire to his family's home in the presence of security forces. "When the people tried to put out the fires," he said, "the paramilitary shot at us."

Enlarge Image

Associated Press//Khin Maung Win
Police walk toward burning buildings in Sittwe on June 12.

Scores of witnesses to the violence say the same thing. "The government could have stopped this," a young Arakan man told us in Sittwe. Just days later an ethnic Rohingya elder used the exact same words: "The government could have stopped this."

Testimonials such as this should make observers doubt the government's word. The government claims 78 people died in the violence. Human Rights Watch fears the number is significantly higher.

The Burmese government willfully ignores a human-rights disaster.

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By MATTHEW F. SMITH

Bangkok

In the predominantly Muslim townships of northern Arakan, state security forces have killed and rounded up fleeing Rohingya in violent mass arrests, holding detainees incommunicado and subjecting them to beatings and torture. Over 100,000 people have been displaced and the government has restricted humanitarian access to the Rohingya community, leaving many in dire need of food, shelter and medical care.

Successive Burmese governments have long abused both the Rohingya and Arakan populations—the Arakan because of their fierce ethnic nationalism, and the Rohingya because of a wholesale denial the group has any place in Burma, a view shared by much of Burma's population. The abuses we're seeing now are simply an extension of decades of state policies of persecution.

These human-rights abuses are worrying because they raise doubts about President Thein Sein's political-reform program. To his credit, he has instituted important changes in Burma since taking office in March 2011. Hundreds of political prisoners have been released, freedoms of assembly have been respected, and the democratic opposition now holds several seats in parliament. This is surely cause for hope.

Nevertheless, because these changes were carefully planned, it appears the government is now willfully ignoring the Rohingya stain on its human-rights record. Leave aside for a moment the fact that Burma's discriminatory citizenship law denies 800,000 to one million Rohingya their rights. Now, President Thein Sein proposes to address the crisis in Arakan by expelling them from the country. This would be the "only solution," he told the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Before Westerners treat the Rohingya story as a remote incident, consider that Arakan state is home to tens of billions of dollars worth of verified natural gas deposits. U.S. firms hope to compete in this area with Chinese, Korean, and Indian oil companies that have been there for years, but now it's in a state of emergency. If the government is violating human rights, businesses can't depend on the maintenance of law and order. Aung San Suu Kyi argued as much a few months ago.

Transition from authoritarian rule will not come without setbacks. But no one is served when the state fails to address the gravity of such abuses. Rather than generate undue optimism for the country's investment prospects, world leaders need to let Burma's rulers know they will not be rewarded for continuing these atrocities.

Mr. Smith is a researcher with Human Rights Watch and an author of the new report, "The Government Could Have Stopped This: Sectarian Violence and Ensuing Abuses in Burma's Arakan State," published last week.

Saudi Arabia accuses Myanmar of ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Muslims

Violence which erupted in June in the Myanmar state of Rakhine, between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya, has reportedly left about 80 people dead on both sides. (Reuters)

By AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES

Saudi Arabia accused authorities in Buddhist-majority Myanmar on Monday of “ethnic cleansing” against the Muslim Rohingya minority in the west of the country, state media reported on Tuesday.

The Saudi cabinet said it “condemns the ethnic cleansing campaign and brutal attacks against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya citizens, as well as violation of human rights by forcing them to leave their homeland,” in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah, urged the “international community to take up its responsibilities by providing needed protection and quality of life to Muslims in Myanmar and preventing further loss of life.”

Fighting in western Rakhine state between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya left three killed on Sunday, a government official in Yangon said.

The violence initially broke out following the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman and the subsequent lynching of 10 Muslims by a crowd of angry Buddhists.

The bloodshed has cast a shadow over widely praised reforms by President Thein Sein, that have included the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.

The head of the Saudi-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday proposed sending an OIC mission to probe the “massacres” of Rohingya Muslims.

The OIC will try to persuade the government in Yangon to accept an OIC fact-finding mission, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told an executive committee meeting of the world's largest Muslim grouping which is based in the Saudi city of Jeddah.


Violence which erupted in June in the Myanmar state of Rakhine, between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya, has reportedly left about 80 people dead on both sides. (Reuters)He “expressed disappointment over the failure of the international community to take action to stop the massacres, violations, oppression and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the government of Myanmar against the Rohingya Muslims.”

“The OIC has directed its offices at the United Nations in New York to urge the Council to look into the suffering of the Rohingya minority,” he said, quoted in a statement issued by the 57-member organization.

Violence which erupted in June in Rakhine state between Buddhists and Rohingya left about 80 people dead from both sides, official figures showed.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch said that figure appeared “grossly underestimated,” however, and accused security forces of opening fire on Muslims and committing rape.

Hundreds of Rohingya men and boys have been rounded up and remain incommunicado in the western region of the country formerly known as Burma, it said in a report.

Members of both the Muslim and Buddhist communities committed horrific acts of violence with reports of beheadings, stabbings, shootings and widespread arson in Rakhine, also known as Arakan state, the report added

On Sunday, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Ali al-Salem al-Dekbasi said the violent incidents taking place in Myanmar against the Muslims were “ethnic cleansing”.

“Thousands of Muslims in Myanmar face massacre, genocide and ethnic cleansing. I call on all Muslim leaders to urgently intervene in the incidents,” al-Dekbasi said.

“I call on the Myanmar authorities to arrest those responsible for the attacks against the Muslims. All those responsible should be tried by the International Criminal Court,” al-Dekbasihe added/.

Myanmar’s government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners, while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

Decades of discrimination have left them stateless and they are viewed by the United Nations as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

France calls on Myanmar to protect Muslims after new deaths

The Muslim Rohingya community in Myanmar has long complained of discrimination in land rights, education and public services. (AFP)

France called Monday for Myanmar authorities to protect civilians of all ethnic groups “without discrimination” after reports of renewed deadly violence between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya.

“France attaches great importance to a peaceful and concerted resolution to ethnic questions in Burma, in order to achieve national reconciliation,” foreign ministry deputy spokesman Vincent Floreani said in a statement.

The ministry called for the status of Muslims in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state “to be clarified with regard to right to nationality and for them to enjoy, whatever their status, full respect for human rights.”

“There are reports of worrying acts of violence by security forces against civilians. We call on the Burmese authorities to protect all civilian populations, without discrimination, and to investigate possible abuses,” Floreani said.

Fighting in western Rakhine state has killed 80 people from both sides since June, with six reportedly killed on Sunday, although authorities say the situation has been generally calm in recent weeks.

The violence initially broke out in June following the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman and the subsequent lynching of 10 Muslims by a crowd of angry Buddhists.

The bloodshed has cast a shadow over widely praised reforms by President Thein Sein, including the release of hundreds of political prisoners and the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Myanmar forces of opening fire on Rohingya, as well as committing rape and standing by as rival mobs attacked each other.

Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya stateless and they are viewed by the United Nations as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

UN urges Bangladesh to give access to Rohingya Muslims

NGOs provide essential services to unregistered people coming to Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, such as this mother who had been unable to feed her baby properly. Photo: UNHCR /S. Kritsanavarin

The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday called on the Bangladeshi authorities to ensure that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can continue to provide assistance to unregistered people who have fled the violence in neighboring Myanmar’s Rakhine state, after reports emerged of Government authorities banning them from carrying out their activities.

“Last Thursday, three non-governmental organizations – Médecins Sans Frontières, Action Contre La Faim and Muslim Aid UK – were ordered by the Bangladeshi authorities to stop their activities in and around unofficial camps near Cox’s Bazar in the southeast,” the spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards, told reporters in Geneva.

“If the order is implemented, it will have a serious humanitarian impact on some 40,000 unregistered people who had fled Myanmar in recent years and settled in the Leda and Kutupalong makeshift sites,” he added, noting that locals nearby will also be affected as they have also been benefited from basic services provided by the NGOs.

In June, serious disturbances in Rakhine state, located in western Myanmar, led to the country’s Government declaring a state of emergency there. According to reports, the violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims left at least a dozen civilians dead and hundreds of homes destroyed, while affecting some 80,000 people, many of whom fled to Bangladesh.

In addition to the unregistered population, UNHCR said there are some 30,000 registered people living in two official camps in the Bangladeshi town of Cox’s Bazar.

“UNHCR is urging the Government of Bangladesh to reconsider its decision in line with its long tradition of hospitality towards people who have fled Myanmar over the years,” Edwards said. He added that the refugee agency will continue to watch developments closely following reports of renewed violence over the weekend.

“UNHCR has received unverified accounts of some villages being burnt in the Kyauk Taw township north of the state capital, Sittwe. Many of the young men have reportedly fled, leaving mainly women and children behind,” the spokesperson noted.

So far, the agency has distributed emergency aid – such as plastic sheets, blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and kitchen sets – to more than 40,000 people. Other UN agencies, such as the World Food Program (WFP), are also reaching out to affected people by providing food relief.

WFP reported that since the beginning of the crisis in June, it has provided a total of 2,109 metric tons of food, with food given to more than 102,000 people in June and close to 78,000 people in July. The agency, however, has expressed concern over high malnutrition rates among the displaced population.

OIC to send fact-finding mission to Myanmar

OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

RIYADH — The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is planning to send a fact-finding mission to Myanmar to probe the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, according to OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

He said after the conclusion of the Executive Committee meeting of permanent representatives on the Rohingya issue held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah Sunday that the OIC will communicate with the government of Myanmar.

Ihsanoglu expressed his disappointment over the failure of the international community to take action to stop the ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the government of Myanmar against the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.

Speaking at the extraordinary meeting of the OIC Executive Committee on this issue, he said that the indifference of the international community with regard to the rights of the Rohingya people, and the disunity among the 25 Rohingya organizations had motivated the OIC to take efforts to unite these organizations at the OIC headquarters last May.

Ihsanoglu declared that the OIC has directed its UN office to work in coordination with OIC member states which are non-permanent members of the Security Council, like Azerbaijan, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo, to urge the Council to look into the sufferings of the Rohingya minority.

He suggested looking into the possibility of forming an Islamic fact-finding committee to find an ever-lasting and just solution to this pending issue.

Ihsanoglu called on the OIC Permanent and Independent Human Rights Commission to study the crisis of Myanmar Muslims and its human rights implications during its next session which will be held in Turkey by the end of this month.

The OIC secretary general wished if Bangladesh could review its position on the Muslim refugees from Myanmar, and at the same time said that he understands Bangladesh position and the sensitivity of the issue.

Dr. Waqar Uddin, Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU), who broke down in front of the participants, pleaded the OIC to render support to its brothers and sisters who are being killed and displaced in Rakhine State.

He supported imposing economic sanctions on the Myanmar government and tightening of Western sanctions imposed on it.

Dr. Waqar Uddin made a presentation on the condition of Myanmar Muslims at the OIC Executive Committee meeting.

In a report this week citing witnesses and interviews with 57 people in Rakhine state, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said there was evidence of “state-sponsored persecution and discrimination” against the Rohingyas, which number at least 800,000 in Myanmar.

The report said security forces had carried out extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest and torture and had done nothing to intervene to stop the lynching of 10 Muslims by a Buddhist mob, which preceded a week of riots, arson and knife attacks that killed 77 people and displaced tens of thousands.

UN special rapporteur Tomas Quintana's Full Statement on Myanmar visit

UN special rapporteur Tomas Quintana

I have just concluded my six-day mission to Myanmar - my sixth visit to the country since I was appointed Specia

l Rapporteur in March 2008. I would like to express my appreciation to the Government of Myanmar for its invitation, and for the cooperation and flexibility shown during my visit, in particular for my visit to Rakhine State.

Tomas Ojea Quintana

Tomas Ojea Quintana
In Nay Pyi Taw, I met with the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (also the Minister of Labour), the Minister of Immigration and Population, the Deputy Minister of Health, the Deputy Minister of Education, the Attorney General, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Vice-Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw and members of several parliamentary committees. 

In Yangon, I met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Border Affairs, as well as members of the National Human Rights Commission, members of the 88 Generation Students Group, and representatives of civil society organizations. I discussed a broad range of human rights issues with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Also, in Yangon, I met with three prisoners of conscience in Insein Prison, including a staff member of the United Nations who has been detained in connection with the events in Rakhine State, as well as a prisoner in Insein Hospital, Phyo Wai Aung, who was granted amnesty yesterday and released. And, I met with members of the United Nations Country Team and briefed the diplomatic community. I would like to thank the Resident Coordinator and the Country Team for the support provided to me during my mission.

In Rakhine State, I accompanied a visit organized by the Government for members of the diplomatic community and the United Nations Country Team. In Maungdaw, I met with state and local authorities, and members of the Muslim community. I visited burned Rakhine villages and observed the construction of new shelters. In addition, my team and I visited camps for internally displaced persons for both Rakhine Buddhist and Muslim communities in Sittwe and Maungdaw. I also interviewed five United Nations staff in Buthidaung Prison who have been detained in connection with the events in Rakhine State, and met a lawyer who was considering representing one of the staff. I would like to thank the Government for the access granted to my team and myself to areas where tensions remain high.

My mission took place against the backdrop of continuing change and transition in Myanmar, which have had a dramatic impact on the country and its people. I welcome recent achievements, such as the adoption of a joint strategy with the International Labour Organization for the elimination of all forms of forced labour by 2015 and the signing of an action plan with the United Nations to prevent the recruitment and use of children by Myanmar’s armed forces. I am encouraged to see the increasing engagement of civil society, political parties and other stakeholders in the reform process. During my mission, there was greater openness in discussing human rights issues and more critical debate and analysis on the direction, pace and scope of reforms, in particular on the challenges and risks. State and national institutions that have important roles in furthering democratic transition and ensuring respect for human rights, such as Parliament and the National Human Rights Commission, have continued to develop. In this respect, I see that the National Human Rights Commission has continued to undertake important activities, such as the review of complaints and the conduct of missions to investigate allegations of human rights violations, including most recently to Kachin State. While there is a long way to go before this body is fully compliant with the Paris Principles and independent, it seems to have embraced its important role in promoting and protecting human rights and is trying to address its shortcomings in order to enhance its credibility and effectiveness.

I also acknowledge efforts towards building a society based on the rule of law. Central to this is the continuing review and reform of legislation and the adoption of new laws. I am encouraged that relevant stakeholders, such as civil society and international organizations, are being consulted on some of the draft laws being prepared. More time should be given to enable broader consultation and proper consideration of draft laws. I am also encouraged that draft laws are now being published in the media prior to their consideration by Parliament. At the same time, given the scope and pace of the legislative reforms, it is vital that equal attention be paid to implementation as well as to raising awareness of new laws amongst the general public. Additionally, greater coordination, priority-setting and clarity in the timetable for legislative reform is needed, particularly with respect to the laws that I have previously identified as not being in full compliance with international human rights standards, such as the State Protection Law, the Electronic Transactions Law and the Unlawful Associations Act.

Central to upholding the rule of law is an independent, impartial and effective judiciary. I was encouraged to see that the Supreme Court has engaged with and sought capacity-building and technical assistance from the international community, which goes some way towards addressing my previous recommendations on this issue.

Despite these positive developments, Myanmar continues to grapple with serious human rights challenges which, as the events in Rakhine State demonstrate, need to be addressed for democratic transition and national reconciliation to properly take hold.

The human rights situation in Rakhine state is serious. I witnessed the widespread suffering of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods as a result of the violence and express my sympathy to the victims from both communities. I note the actions taken by the Government to restore law and order, including the deployment of additional security forces to the area, and the establishment of a commission to investigate the incidents that sparked the communal violence. I am concerned, however, at the allegations I have received of serious human rights violations committed as part of measures to restore law and order. These include the excessive use of force by security and police personnel, arbitrary arrest and detention, killings, the denial of due process guarantees and the use of torture in places of detention. While I am in no position to be able to verify these allegations at this point in time, they are of grave concern. It is therefore of fundamental importance to clearly establish what has happened in Rakhine State and to ensure accountability. Reconciliation will not be possible without this, and exaggerations and distortions will fill the vacuum to further fuel distrust and tensions between communities. Therefore, I join the calls of others for an independent and credible investigation into these allegations of human rights violations as a matter of urgency. And I offer my assistance in this regard.

I welcome the actions taken by the Government and international organizations to attend to the immediate needs of the displaced and provide humanitarian assistance. But the situation still requires urgent attention to address concerns of access to food, water, sanitation and health care for those displaced, particularly in the larger camps. I therefore encourage the international community to respond to the Myanmar authorities’ appeal for increased humanitarian assistance. I am also concerned at the sentiments against the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations, particularly regarding perceptions amongst the Rakhine Buddhist community that humanitarian assistance is not being provided according to the principles of impartiality and neutrality. I encourage the international organizations involved to work jointly with the Government authorities to counter these perceptions. 

Further, while the Government is clearly trying to respond to the immediate humanitarian needs and has a medium-term plan for the resettlement for those displaced, attention must be paid to the development of a longer-term strategy for rehabilitation and reconciliation – one that is based on integration and not separation of the two communities. This strategy should be anchored in ensuring that the fundamental rights of all are respected and address the underlying causes of the violence. I am extremely concerned about the deep-seated animosity and distrust which exists between the communities in Rakhine State. The situation will only further deteriorate unless brave steps are taken by the Government. 

In this respect, I have, throughout my mandate, consistently highlighted concerns regarding systematic discrimination against the Rohingya community. Such concerns include the denial of citizenship or legal status to Rohingyas, restrictions on their freedom of movement, marriage restrictions, and other discriminatory policies. I hope that steps will be taken to address these issues, including a review of the 1982 Citizenship Act to ensure that it is in line with international human rights standards.

The international community also has a role to play in helping to identify durable solutions, premised on human rights principles, to the statelessness of the Rohingyas. I urge Myanmar’s neighbours and States across the region to recognize that they have an obligation under international law to protect the human rights of all persons within their borders regardless of whether or not they are recognized as citizens of that country and to guarantee respect for the international principle of non-refoulement.

During my mission, I interviewed six United Nations staff members, in Insein and Buthidaung prisons, who have been detained in connection with the events in Rakhine State. I have also received information that a number of staff of international non-governmental organizations have been similarly detained. Based on my interviews, I have serious concerns about the treatment of these individuals during detention. I am of the view that the charges against them are unfounded and that their due process rights have been denied. This is reminiscent of the experiences of prisoners of conscience whom I interviewed in Insein Prison. I therefore call for the immediate release of these individuals and a review of their cases. I have also received information that the lawyer I met has received threats to deter him from representing one of the United Nations staff. I call on the authorities to guarantee that the individuals I met do not face reprisals and to ensure their protection and that of their families at this time.

I also met with other prisoners of conscience at Insein Prison. While I commend the President for the recent release of an additional number of prisoners last month, I am concerned that there are remaining prisoners of conscience being held not only in Insein but also in other prisons; information which was also conveyed during my mission. I must therefore once again call for the release of all remaining prisoners of conscience without conditions or delay. National reconciliation and democratic transition cannot move forward without this necessary step. And the international community needs to remain engaged on this issue.

In this respect, while I am aware of continuing efforts to address discrepancies in the numbers of remaining prisoners of conscience from different sources, I believe that a comprehensive and thorough investigation is still needed to clarify records and determine accurate numbers. This must be done urgently and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, such as former prisoners of conscience and civil society. Regardless of these efforts, there are prisoners whose identities and cases are known and there is no reason why their release should be further delayed.

In Insein Hospital, I also met with Phyo Wai Aung, whom I had met on my two previous missions. I was informed yesterday that Phyo Wai Aung had been granted amnesty and was released. I welcome this news and commend the President and the Government for taking this positive step.

During my mission, I discussed developments and progress made in addressing the ongoing tensions and conflict with armed ethnic groups in border areas, particularly in Kachin State. I welcome the ceasefire agreements reached with 10 ethnic armed groups thus far and am aware of efforts to attend to post-ceasefire needs, dialogue with ethnic groups and progress ceasefire agreements into peace agreements. Efforts towards finding a durable political solution to the conflict should be accelerated and should address long-standing grievances and deep-rooted concerns amongst ethnic groups.

Yet, as a result of ongoing conflict, particularly in Kachin State, I continue to receive allegations of serious human rights violations committed, including attacks against civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, internal displacement, and torture. Furthermore, I received allegations of the use of landmines, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labour and portering committed by all parties to the conflict. I must therefore reiterate that it is vital for these allegations to be addressed as a matter of priority. The Government and all armed groups must do more to ensure the protection of civilians during armed conflict. International human rights and humanitarian law must be respected.

I must also emphasize that the needs of those displaced and affected by the conflict, including in non-Government controlled areas, must be addressed as a matter of priority. The United Nations and its humanitarian partners must have regular, independent and predictable access to all individuals in need, regardless of whether they are in Government or non-Government controlled areas. 

Finally, I remain of the opinion that addressing grievances from decades of human rights violations is crucial for democratic transition and national reconciliation. Acknowledging the suffering of victims and allowing them to heal will help to prevent future violations from occurring.

In this regard, I have discussed with different stakeholders, including ethnic groups, political party leaders, and members of Parliament, the establishment of a truth commission. I believe that Parliament, as the only multi-party and multi-ethnic public institution, is the most appropriate body for the creation of such a commission and for this difficult but necessary task. As a first step, there should be a process of consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including victims of human rights violations, in order to get their advice and views on how this truth commission should be shaped. Lessons should be learned from other countries that have experience in these processes. Assistance may be provided by the United Nations and other international organizations.

To conclude, as reforms deepen in Myanmar, my mandate can help to highlight the importance of placing human rights standards and principles at the very heart of this process. Take, for instance, the flood of foreign investment that is beginning to enter the country. Adopting a human rights-based approach ensures that the principles of participation, non-discrimination, transparency, accountability and the rule of law guide this process. With this guiding framework of human rights, investments will serve to create a more fair and just society, in which the human rights of the people of Myanmar are fulfilled. The time to firmly embed a human rights-based approach in economic and social development is now.

More generally, I believe that human rights should not fall off the agenda, and human rights concepts and principles need to be at the forefront of the entire reform process, driving it forward and keeping it focused on addressing the needs and aspirations of the people of Myanmar. It is my responsibility, as Special Rapporteur, to continue to emphasize this point.

I want to again thank the Government of Myanmar for its invitation and cooperation. I look forward to another visit to the country before my next report to the Human Rights Council in 2013. And I reaffirm my willingness to work constructively and cooperatively with Myanmar to improve the human rights situation of its people.