{"id":28020,"date":"2013-04-22T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T11:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=28020"},"modified":"2015-05-06T12:53:14","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T11:53:14","slug":"burma-end-ethnic-cleansing-of-rohingya-muslims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2013\/04\/burma-end-ethnic-cleansing-of-rohingya-muslims\/","title":{"rendered":"Burma: End \u2018Ethnic Cleansing\u2019 of Rohingya Muslims"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unpunished Crimes against Humanity, Humanitarian Crisis in Arakan State<\/b><\/p>\n

(Bangkok, April 22, 2013) \u2013 Burmese authorities and members of Arakanese groups have committed crimes against humanity in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State since June 2012, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.<\/p>\n

The 153-page report, \u201c\u2018All You Can Do is Pray\u2019: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma\u2019s Arakan State,\u201d describes the role of the Burmese government and local authorities in the forcible displacement of more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Burmese officials, community leaders, and Buddhist monks organized and encouraged ethnic Arakanese backed by state security forces to conduct coordinated attacks on Muslim neighborhoods and villages in October 2012 to terrorize and forcibly relocate the population. The tens of thousands of displaced have been denied access to humanitarian aid and been unable to return home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Burmese government engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya that continues today through the denial of aid and restrictions on movement,\u201d said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cThe government needs to put an immediate stop to the abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable or it will be responsible for further violence against ethnic and religious minorities in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following sectarian violence between Arakanese and Rohingya in June 2012, government authorities destroyed mosques, conducted violent mass arrests, and blocked aid to displaced Muslims, Human Rights Watch said. On October 23, after months of meetings and public statements promoting ethnic cleansing, Arakanese mobs attacked Muslim communities in nine townships, razing villages and killing residents while security forces stood aside or assisted the assailants. Some of the dead were buried in mass graves, further impeding accountability.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch travelled to Arakan State following the waves of violence and abuses in June and October, visiting sites of attacks and every major displaced person camp, as well as unofficial displacement sites. The report draws on more than 100 interviews with Rohingya and non-Rohingya Muslims and Arakanese who suffered or witnessed abuses, as well as some organizers and perpetrators of the violence.<\/p>\n

All of the state security forces operating in Arakan State are implicated in failing to prevent atrocities or directly participating in them, including local police, Lon Thein riot police, the inter-agency border control force called Nasaka, and the army and navy. One soldier told a Muslim man who was pleading for protection as his village was being burned: \u201cThe only thing you can do is pray to save your lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Displaced Rohingya told Human Rights Watch how in October security forces stood by or joined with large groups of Arakanese men armed with machetes, swords, homemade guns, and Molotov cocktails who descended upon and attacked their villages. In some cases, attacks occurred simultaneously in townships separated by considerable distance.<\/p>\n

Satellite images obtained by Human Rights Watch from just 5 of the 13 townships that experienced violence since June show 27 unique zones of destruction, including the destruction of 4,862 structures covering 348 acres of mostly Muslim-owned residential property.<\/p>\n

In the deadliest incident, on October 23, at least 70 Rohingya were killed in a daylong massacre in Yan Thei village in Mrauk-U Township. Despite advance warning of the attack, only a small number of riot police, local police, and army soldiers were on duty to provide security, but they assisted the killings by disarming the Rohingya of their sticks and other rudimentary weapons they carried to defend themselves. Included in the death toll were 28 children who were hacked to death, including 13 under age 5. \u201cFirst the soldiers told us, \u2018Do not do anything, we will protect you, we will save you,\u2019 so we trusted them,\u201d a 25-year-old survivor told Human Rights Watch. \u201cBut later they broke that promise. The Arakanese beat and killed us very easily. The security did not protect us from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn October, security forces either looked the other way as Arakanese mobs attacked Muslim settlements or joined in the bloodletting and arson,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cSix months later, the government still blames \u2018communal violence\u2019 for the deaths and destruction when, in truth, the government knew what was happening and could have stopped it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considerable local organizing preceded and backed October\u2019s attacks, Human Rights Watch said. The two groups most influential in organizing anti-Rohingya activities were the local order of Buddhist monks (the sangha) and the regionally powerful Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), which was founded in 2010 by Arakanese nationalists. Between June and October, these groups and others issued numerous anti-Rohingya pamphlets and public statements, explicitly or implicitly denying the existence of the Rohingya ethnicity, demonizing them, and calling for their removal from the country, at times using the phrase \u201cethnic cleansing.\u201d The statements frequently were released in connection with organized meetings and in full view of local, state, and national authorities who raised no concerns. Local authorities, politicians, and monks also acted, often through public statements and force, to deny Muslims their rights to freedom of movement, opportunities to earn a living, and access to markets and to humanitarian aid. The apparent goal has been to coerce them to abandon their homes and leave the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocal officials and community leaders engaged in an organized effort to demonize and isolate the Muslim population as a prelude to murderous mob attacks,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cMoreover, since the bloodshed, the central government has taken no action to punish those responsible or reverse the ethnic cleansing of the forcibly displaced Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch uncovered evidence of four mass-grave sites in Arakan State \u2013 three dating from the immediate aftermath of the June violence and one from the October violence. Security forces actively impeded accountability and justice by digging mass graves to destroy evidence of crimes, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n

For instance, on June 13, a government truck dumped 18 naked and half-clothed bodies near a Rohingya displaced person camp outside of Sittwe, the state capital. Some of the victims had been \u201chogtied\u201d with string or plastic strips before being executed. By leaving the bodies near a camp for displaced Rohingya, the soldiers were sending a message \u2013 consistent with a policy of ethnic cleansing \u2013 that the Rohingya should leave permanently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey dropped the bodies right here,\u201d said a Rohingya man, who saw the bodies being dumped. \u201cThree bodies had gunshot wounds. Some had burns, some had stab wounds. One gunshot wound was on the forehead, one on the chest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arakan State faces a major humanitarian crisis brought on by the Burmese government\u2019s systematic restrictions on humanitarian aid to displaced Rohingya.<\/p>\n

More than 125,000 Rohingya and non-Rohingya Muslims, and a smaller number of Arakanese, have been in displaced person camps in Arakan State since June. While President Thein Sein\u2019s government has hosted high-profile diplomatic visits to displacement sites, it has also obstructed the effective delivery of humanitarian aid. Many of the displaced Muslims have been living in overcrowded camps that lack adequate food, shelter, water and sanitation, schools, and medical care. Security forces in some areas have provided protection to displaced Muslims, but more typically they have acted as their jailers, preventing access to markets, livelihoods, and humanitarian assistance, for which many are in desperate need.<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of Rohingya face a range of deadly waterborne diseases if they are not moved to higher ground before the rainy season begins in May, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem with aid delivery in Arakan State is not a failure of coordination, but a failure of leadership by the government to allow displaced Muslims access to aid and freedom of movement,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cAn entirely predictable and preventable humanitarian crisis is just weeks away when the rains fall and camps flood, spreading waterborne diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n

The displaced Rohingya have not been consulted on their right to return to their original towns and villages, heightening concerns of a long-term intent to segregate the population, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n

Lacking aid, protection, and facing violence and abuses, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled the country by sea since June with hopes of reaching Bangladesh, Malaysia, or Thailand, and many thousands more appear ready to do the same \u2013 several hundred people have already died at sea.<\/p>\n

Under international law, crimes against humanity are crimes committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack by a government or organization on a civilian population. Among the crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya since June were murder, deportation and forcible transfer of the population, and persecution.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthnic cleansing,\u201d though not a formal legal term, has been defined as a purposeful policy by an ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.<\/p>\n

Central to the persecution of the Rohingya is the 1982 Citizenship Law, which effectively denies Burmese citizenship to Rohingya on discriminatory ethnic grounds, Human Rights Watch said. Because the law does not consider the Rohingya to be one of the eight recognized \u201cnational races,\u201d which would entitle them to full citizenship, they must provide \u201cconclusive evidence\u201d that their ancestors settled in Burma before independence in 1948, a difficult if not impossible task for most Rohingya families.<\/p>\n

The government and Burmese society openly consider the Rohingya to be illegal immigrants from what is now Bangladesh and not a distinct \u201cnational race\u201d of Burma, denying them consideration for full citizenship. Official government statements refer to them as \u201cBengali,\u201d \u201cso-called Rohingya,\u201d or the pejorative \u201ckalar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch urged the Burmese government to urgently amend the 1982 Citizenship Act to eliminate discriminatory provisions and to ensure that Rohingya children have the right to acquire a nationality where otherwise they would be stateless.<\/p>\n

\u201cBurma should accept an independent international commission to investigate crimes against humanity in Arakan State, locate victims, and provide redress,\u201d said Robertson. \u201cBurma\u2019s donors need to wake up and realize the seriousness of the Rohingya\u2019s plight, and demand that the government urgently stop abuses, promote the safe return of displaced Muslims, and ensure accountability to end the deadly cycle of violence in Arakan State.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the embargo period, \u201c\u2018All You Can Do is Pray\u2019: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma\u2019s Arakan State\u201d is available at:<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/hrw.org\/embargo\/node\/114872?signature=c0ecda483a2c8b1909156d8c8743c024&suid=6<\/a><\/p>\n

Upon release, it will be available at:<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/hrw.org\/node\/114882<\/a><\/p>\n

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Burma, please visit:<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.hrw.org\/asia\/burma<\/a><\/p>\n

For more information, please contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Bangkok, Phil Robertson (English, Thai):\u00a0+66-85-060-8406<\/a>\u00a0(mobile); or\u00a0robertp@hrw.org<\/a>. Follow on Twitter @Reaproy<\/p>\n

In Bangkok, Matthew Smith (English):\u00a0+66-850-280-044<\/a>\u00a0(mobile); or\u00a0smithrm@hrw.org<\/a>. Follow on Twitter @matthewfsmith<\/p>\n

In Washington, DC, John Sifton (English):\u00a0+1-646-479-2499<\/a>\u00a0(mobile); or\u00a0siftonj@hrw.org<\/a><\/p>\n

In San Francisco, Brad Adams (English):\u00a0+1 510 926 8443<\/a>\u00a0(mobile); or\u00a0adamsb@hrw.org<\/a><\/p>\n

In London, David Mepham (English):\u00a0+ 44-020-7618-4726<\/a>; or\u00a0+44-7572-603995<\/a>\u00a0(mobile); ormephamd@hrw.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPHS<\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Ethnic<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
Ethnic Arakanese with weapons walking away from a village in flames while a soldier stands by. Arakan State, Burma, June 2012.
\n\u00a9 2012 Private<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"<\/a>

An overpopulated IDP camp outside Sittwe. Tens of thousands of Rohingya who fled their homes in June 2012 now reside in such camps. The government constructed semi-permanent shelters in some camps, raising concerns about the government\u2019s willingness to respect the rights of the displaced persons to return home.
\u00a9 2012 Human Rights Watch<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A police officer points his rifle at street level in Sittwe in June 2012. The government claims a total of 211 people died in the June and October violence; Human Rights Watch research indicates far greater loss of life.
\u00a9 2012 Private<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Local<\/a>

Local Arakanese dismantle and loot the site of a destroyed mosque in Sittwe, June 2012.
\u00a9 2012 Private<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Embargoed for Release<\/i>
\nNot for Publication Until:<\/i>
\n10:31 in Bangkok, Monday, April 22, 2013<\/i>
\n03:31 GMT, April 22, 2013<\/i><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 hrw.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 153-page Human Rights Watch report, \u201c\u2018All You Can Do is Pray\u2019: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma\u2019s Arakan State,\u201d describes the role of the Burmese government and local authorities in the forcible displacement of more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims and the ongoing humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,56,183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-militarism","category-asia-pacific","category-religion-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28020\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}