Rohingya people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people

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Rohingya

Total population
About 720,000 (United Nations estimate 2009)
Regions with significant populations
Burma (Arakan), Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,Thailand, Malaysia ,
Languages
Rohingya language
Religion
Sunni Islam

The Rohingya is a Muslim ethnic group of the Northern Arakan State of Western Burma (also known as Myanmar). The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated in 2 bordering townships of Burma to Bangladesh namely Maungdaw and Buthidaung, and spread in 3 townships of Akyab, Rathedaung and Kyauktaw.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Language 3 Religion 4 Human rights violations & refugees 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

It is thought that beginning in the 7th century, merchants from the Arab, Moorish, and Mughal areas began to settle in Arakan territory. In the 19th century, the British captured control of Burma after the third Anglo–Burmese War which is the main reason of later Bengali migrations to Arakan.^[1]

The Arakanese people, other ethnic groups of Burma and the Burmese military government mention that wave of later Bengali migrations to Arakan started in the 19th century after the British occupation.^[2]

[edit] Language

Main article: Rohingya language

A coin from Arakan used in Bengal minted 1554/5

The Rohingya language is the modern written language of the Rohingya People of Arakan (Rakhine) State in Burma (Myanmar). It is linguistically similar to the Chittagonian language spoken in the southern area of Bangladesh bordering Burma. Rohingya scholars have successfully written the Rohingya language in different scripts such as Arabic, Hanifi, Urdu and Burmese. Hanifi script is of newly developed alphabets mainly derived from Arabic and four characters added from Latin and Burmese Scripts. But above all, the latest and the most successful one is that which has been developed using only Roman script making it compatible with today’s modern technology. While designed intuitively to accurately represent Rohingya tongue, yet it is made so easy to learn and write in a very short time even for non-Rohingyas. This modern writing system is known as Rohingyalish which has been recognized by ISO with ISO 639-3 “rhg” code.^[3]

[edit] Religion

Religion is particularly important to the Rohingya people, who are predominantly Muslims. Mosques and religious schools occupy most villages. Traditionally, men pray in congregation and women pray at home.

[edit] Human rights violations & refugees

According to Amnesty International, the Muslim Rohingya people have continued to suffer from human rights violations under the Burmese junta since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result:^[4].

“The Rohingyas’ freedom of movement is severely restricted and the vast majority of them have effectively been denied Burma citizenship. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage. Rohingyas continue to be used as forced labourers on roads and at military camps, although the amount of forced labour in northern Rakhine State has decreased over the last decade.”

“In 1978 over 200,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, following the ‘Nagamin’ (‘Dragon King’) operation of the Myanmar army. Officially this campaign aimed at “scrutinising each individual living in the state, designating citizens and foreigners in accordance with the law and taking actions against foreigners who have filtered into the country illegally.” This military campaign directly targeted civilians, and resulted in widespread killings, rape and destruction of mosques and further religious persecution.”

“During 1991-92 a new wave of over a quarter of a million Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh. They reported widespread forced labour, as well as summary executions, torture, and rape. Rohingyas were forced to work without pay by the Burmese army on infrastructure and economic projects, often under harsh conditions. Many other human rights violations occurred in the context of forced labour of Rohingya civilians by the security forces.”

As of 2005, the UNHCR had been assisting with the repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh, but allegations of human rights abuses in the refugee camps have threatened this effort.^[5]

Despite earlier efforts by the UN, the vast majority of Rohingya refugees have remained in Bangladesh, unable to return because of the negative attitude of the ruling regime in Myanmar. Now they are facing problems in Bangladesh as well where they do not receive support from the government any longer.^[6] In February 2009, many Rohingya refugees were rescued by Acehnese sailors in the Strait of Malacca, after 21 days at sea.^[7]

Over the years thousands of Rohingya also have fled to Thailand. There are roughly 111,000 refugees housed in 9 camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. There have been charges that groups of them have been shipped and towed out to open sea from Thailand, and left there. In February 2009 there was evidence of the Thai army towing a boatload of 190 Rohingya refugees out to sea. A group of refugees rescued by Indonesian authorities also in February 2009 told harrowing stories of being captured and beaten by the Thai military, and then abandoned at open sea. By the end of February there were reports that of a group of 5 boats were towed out to open sea, of which 4 boats sank in a storm, and 1 boat washed up on the shore. February 12 2009 Thailand’s prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said there were “some instances” in which Rohingya people were pushed out to sea.

“There are attempts, I think, to let these people drift to other shores. [...] when these practices do occur, it is done on the understanding that there is enough food and water supplied. [...] It’s not clear whose work it is [...] but if I have the evidence who exactly did this I will bring them to account.” [2]

The prime minister said he regretted “any losses”, and was working on rectifying the problem.

[edit] See also

• Rakhine people
• Persecution of Muslims in Burma
• Islam in Burma
• Burmese Indians
• Muslims of Manipur
• Rohingya massacre

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Assessment for Rohingya (Arakanese) in Burma
2. ^ Saw Yan Naing. “Unwanted: Dead or Alive“. Irrawaddy, February 10, 2009. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15082. Retrieved 2009-02-10. 
3. ^ ISO 639 Code Tables – SIL Internationl
4. ^ Myanmar – The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental Rights Denied, Amnesty International, 2004.
5. ^ “UNHCR threatens to wind up Bangladesh operations“. New Age BDNEWS, Dhaka. 2005-05-21. http://www.newagebd.com/2005/may/21/front.html#9. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 
6. ^ Burmese exiles in desperate conditions
7. ^ [1]

[edit] References

• “Rohingya“. Banglapedia, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/R_0217.htm. Retrieved June 2005. 
• “A Short History of Arakan“. Mohammed Ashraful Alam. http://www.freerohingyacampaign.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29. Retrieved June 2005. 
• “Myanmar, The Rohingya Minority: Fundamental Rights Denied“. Amnesty International. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA160052004?open&of=ENG-MMR. Retrieved August 2005. 
• Amnesty International (English)
• The Muslim “Rohingya” of Burma by Martin Smith 1995 Arakan Rohingya National Organisation

[edit] External links

*Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO)

• Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
• Rohingya and Burmese news Agency International
• Arakan Rohingya Co-operation Council Europe
• Free Rohingya Campaign
• Rohingya Times
• Rohingya Sprache
• Rohingya News (Burmese)
• Golden Arakan
• Kaladanpress Network
• UNHCR Homepage
• Rohingya League for Democracy
• Rohingya Students Development Movement
• Arakan Today News in (Arabic)
• Arakan Today News in (Urdu)

Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people“

Categories: Ethnic groups in Burma | Indo-Aryan peoples | Muslim communities

Burma’s exiled Muslims

http://www.khilafah.com/index.php/news-watch/asia/7819-burmas-exiled-muslims

Monday, 12 October 2009 19:22

Guardian

About 3,000 Rohingya families are awaiting deportation in Saudi prisons, but like the rest of their people, they have nowhere to go

Syed Neaz Ahmad

They have been described as some of the world’s most persecuted refugees, and among the most forgotten, too. During my imprisonment in Jeddah I saw and met hundreds of inmates from Burma.

Thousands of Burmese Muslims from Arakan – often called Rohingyas – were offered a safe haven in Saudi Arabia by the late King Faisal, but with the change in monarch the rules changed too. What was to have been a permanent abode of peace for these uprooted people has now turned into a chamber of horrors.

There are about 3,000 families of Burmese Muslims in Mecca and Jeddah prisons awaiting deportation. Women and children are held in separate prisons nearby. The only contact the men have with their wives and children is through mobile phones.

But the interesting question is: where will they be sent when they are eventually deported? Burma doesn’t want them. Bangladesh, with a large population and poor economy, doesn’t have the inclination or the ability to handle a refugee population of this size. The Rohingyan refugees in Bangladesh are having a rough time as it is. Other Muslim countries play silent spectators.

Pakistan’s offer to accept some of the Rohingyas – those awaiting deportation in Saudi prisons – is seen as a mere diplomatic exercise. Against the background of Islamabad’s shabby treatment of some 300,000 stranded Pakistanis living in camps in Bangladesh, Rohingya inmates look at the Pakistani overture with suspicion.

The people who call themselves Rohingyas are Muslims from what is known as the Mayu frontier area, the Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships of Arakan (Rakhine) state, a province isolated in the western part of the country across the Naaf river which forms the boundary between Burma and Bangladesh. After Burma gained independence from the UK in 1948, the ethnic and religious group first favoured joining Pakistan but later called for an autonomous region instead.

The Burmese government, however, has consistently refused to recognise the Rohingyas as citizens. According to Amnesty International, in 1978 more than 200,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, following the Burmese army’s Operation Nagamin. Most – it is claimed – were eventually repatriated, but about 15,000 refused to return. In 1991, a second wave of about a quarter of a million Rohingyas fled Burma to Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, it is estimated that there are more than 200,000 Rohingyas, 28,000 of them in overcrowded camps. There are a further 13,600 registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia (although there are thousands yet unregistered), an estimated 3,000 in Thailand and unknown numbers in India and Japan.

Some Rohingyas have resided in Malaysia since the early 1990s, but continue to be rounded up in immigration operations and handed over to human traffickers at the Thai-Malaysia border. About 730,000 remain in Burma, most of whom live in Arakan state.

Conditions in Arakan state continue to deteriorate, increasing the likelihood of further outflows into neighbouring countries. It’s an irony that countries in Asia and elsewhere – particularly Muslim countries – have shown little or no desire to help ease the situation.

The UNHCR spokeswoman in Asia, Kitty Mckinsey says: “No country has really taken up their cause. Look at the Palestinians, for example, they have a lot of countries on their side. The Rohingyans do not have any friends in the world.”

The late King Faisal’s decision to offer them a permanent abode in Saudi Arabia was a noble gesture. However, later Saudi rulers have found the Burmese Muslims a thorn in their side. With strict regulation on their employment and movement within the kingdom, they are easy targets for extortion and torture.

There are said to be about 250,000 Burmese Muslims in Saudi Arabia – the majority living in Mecca’s slums (Naqqasha and Kudai). They sell vegetables, sweep streets and work as porters, carpenters and unskilled labour. The fortunate ones rise to become drivers.

In Saudi Arabia it is not uncommon for poor Rohingyas to marry off their young (sometimes underage) daughters to old and sick Saudis in the hope of getting “official favours”. But this hasn’t worked for many. Rohingyan wives of Saudi men, who have to survive as second class human beings on the periphery of society.

Those whom I met in Jeddah prisons seem to have accepted the situation as a fait accompli. But it is unfortunate that they are being made to suffer in a country considered to be the citadel of Islam.

World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day

Samuel M. Witten

Acting Assistant Secretary

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

National Geographic Society

Washington, DC

June 19, 2009

http://www.state.gov/g/prm/rls/remarks/125180.htm

First, I would like to relay to all of you Secretary Clinton’s regrets that she could not be with us today. She was planning on joining these proceedings for World Refugee Day to express her personal commitment to the plight of refugees and reaffirm the U.S. Government’s support for UNHCR and the other organizations serving refugees.

On behalf of the Secretary, and the State Department, I want to thank the National Geographic Society for hosting World Refugee Day. I want to express our appreciation to Ann Curry for hosting us today, and for her commitment to journalistic excellence and for reporting on conflicts and the displaced all around the world. And I want to thank and acknowledge Angelina Jolie for her tireless efforts as Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has done fabulous work to help increase international attention to the needs of refugees and other persons of concern to UNHCR, thereby providing a voice to those whose plight often goes unheard.

World Refugee Day is an opportunity to reflect on the lives of millions of refugees who have been forced to flee tyranny and conflict. It is also a time to honor their courage and resilience, and to recognize the contribution of those who have been able to return to their communities or have sought new lives in their country of refuge or resettled in a third country.

The theme of this year’s World Refugee Day is “Real People, Real Needs,” and the posters of three young people here today tell the story better than I can. On this day we also salute the courage, the determination and the resilience of refugees. Today we will hear from Kagendra and Ganga Baral, Bhutanese refugees resettled in Phoenix. They will tell the story of their flight, their struggles as refugees, and the new life they now have in the United States.

 We will also hear from Rose Mapendo, a resettled refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a founder of Mapendo International, an organization that protects vulnerable African refugees and resettles them to the United States. Rose survived 16 months of imprisonment in the DRC.

I want to end my brief remarks by paying tribute to UNHCR and its staff for their amazing efforts to improve the plight of humanity by assisting nearly 32 million refugees and others of concern around the world, often putting their own lives at risk. Much of UNHCR’s work takes place in difficult and dangerous places. We note with sadness the senseless loss of life of UN humanitarian workers in Pakistan this month, including from UNHCR. While refugees continue to face challenges throughout the world, some languishing in refugee camps without a solution in sight, it is encouraging to see the progress being made by the international community in resolving longstanding refugee situations in places such as Liberia, South Sudan, Burundi, and Bhutan.

I’m very proud that the United States is the world leader in supporting UNHCR, and am grateful for our wonderful partnership with High Commissioner Antonio Guterres and his terrific staff. We are proud to be UNHCR’s strongest donor and supporter, covering approximately 25% of UNHCR’s budget. In Fiscal Year 2008, we contributed over $500 million in support of UNHCR programs.

The United States is working hard to enable those who have fled to return home in safety and dignity, and to provide those unable to return home either an opportunity to locally integrate in their countries of asylum or to start their lives anew in the United States. Our commitment to resettling refugees remains strong, with our history of resettling the largest number of refugees per year.

Finally, I would like to recognize and congratulate the winners of the poster competition and welcome them to Washington. We appreciate the fine work of UNHCR, the participating schools, teachers and children for raising awareness of the needs of refugees around the world – including the needs of refugee youth. This effort by American school childr

en to reach out to children less fortunate than themselves is in the best tradition of America.

PRESS STATEMENT, WORLD REFUGEE DAY: REAL PEOPLE, REAL NEEDS.

This year 2009, all Refugees around the world live in the most critical situation. The on going suffering of Refugees life is challenge by the global economic crisis. While the world populations are facing retrenchment, it has been worst for the Refugees situation. In some host countries, the Refugees are not recognized. Therefore they are not allow to work. They are not able to feed themselves and their families. Those who are working are not paid for months and cheated. This has become the second biggest issue for Refugees beside their legal status in host countries.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Antonio Guterres has expressed his anxiety over the possible decrease of funding from donors countries due to current global economic crisis. What more with us the Refugees? The anxiety among Refugees are unexplainable without a job and legal status.

 At the end of 2008, the number of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) around the world stood at 47 million. Though the number is decreased from the previous year but the number of IDP is increasing in 2009. This issue must be addressed urgently by the relevant agencies before it become worst and forcing this population to flee the countries and become refugees.

In the current difficult situation, we urge the source, host and receiving countries of refugees to push aside the greediness and selfishness for the sake of vulnerable Refugees population. The legal status, employment, health care and education remains the significant issues for Refugees around the world and must be given priority.

 The United Nations agencies especially the UNHCR and UN Security Council must increase their dialog and active interventions with the source, host and receiving countries for the protection of Refugees.  Realizing that 80 % of the host countries are developing countries, the United Nations agencies and the develop countries must work hand in hand with the host countries to reduce their burden. 

The Burma issue is not an internal issue. It is a world issue that needs the world intervention. The change cannot come from inside as the people of Burma were oppressed by the junta. Now, it is the responsibility of the International Community and World Leaders together with the UN Security Council to resolve the long pending humanitarian crisis in Burma.

Everyone have the significant role to play. We applaud the Malaysian government for working together with the UNHCR to stop deportation of Burmese Refugees to Thailand border. However we hope that the Malaysian government will also stop the arrest on refugees and allow us to work to continue living. By doing this, we could contribute to the country economic growth. 

 We hope for the UNHCR and the Resettlement Countries not to exclude Rohingya Refugees in the Resettlement program. At the moment very small number of Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia resettled in the third countries. 

We urge the Non-governmental Organizations who work on the Refugees issue to genuinely work for the course of Refugees and not to discriminate and practice double standards toward Refugees from different ethnic groups. All refugees must be treated equally regardless of race, religion, ethnic etc. All Refugees must have the rights to seek for Permanent Solution and not Temporary Solution forever.

We seek for the better treatment for Refugees around the world. We hope the tragic incident such as the bad treatment of the Thai government to the Rohingya boat people in December 2008 will never happen again. 

We search for the better future from the current darkness and uncertainty.

 Thank you.

 Yours sincerely,                  

 Mr.Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani

President of Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM

Tel No: 6016-6827287

Protests marking Suu Kyi birthday

Activists across the world are marking the 64th birthday of Burma’s detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, with vigils and protests.

Celebrities including author Salman Rushdie and actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts have signed an online petition demanding that she be freed.

The European Union has also renewed its calls for her “unconditional release”.

Burma’s military rulers have held the Nobel Peace Prize winner under house arrest for most of the past 19 years.

She is currently on trial for breaking the terms of her detention.

Aung San Suu Kyi was charged after an American man swam to the house where she is being held, and stayed there overnight.

 

Inside Burma’s Insein prison Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

Observers say the charges – which carry a maximum punishment of five years in jail – are designed to keep Ms Suu Kyi imprisoned until after a general election which the junta has scheduled for next year.

While she is on trial, Ms Suu Kyi is imprisoned in Rangoon’s Insein jail – a notorious facility where many political prisoners are held.

Protesters in at least 20 cities – from Geneva to Kuala Lumpur – are marking her birthday with calls for her to be set free.

The BBC’s Jonathan Head, in Bangkok, says one of the most poignant events was the small celebration at the Rangoon headquarters of her political party, the National League for Democracy.

Her supporters there released balloons and small birds, and made offerings of food to Buddhist monks in her honour.

Burmese exile groups have launched a website called “64 for Suu” and invited celebrities, politicians and members of the public to send a 64-word birthday message to Ms Suu Kyi.

Advertisement

Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters in Manila made a birthday cake and and spelled out the words “not guilty” with hundreds of red roses

In his message, British tycoon Richard Branson called her a “shining light for us all”.

Another message came from a group of female Nobel Peace Prize laureates including Guatemalan rights activist Rigoberta Menchu and US anti-landmine campaigner Jody Williams.

They said: “Your imprisonment and trial are a stark illustration of the brutality and lawlessness of the Burmese military regime.”

European Union leaders also joined the chorus of celebrities, activists and political leaders calling for Ms Suu Kyi’s release.

“Unless she is released, the credibility of the 2010 elections will be further undermined and the EU will respond with appropriate measures,” a European Council draft statement said.

Ms Suu Kyi has been under house arrest and banned from seeing all but a small group of people for 13 of the past 19 years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8108473.stm

PRESS STATEMENT DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI’S 64th BIRTHDAY – AN INTERPRETATION OF A BARBARIC MILITARY RULER.

PRESS STATEMENT

19^th June 2009

 Dear Chief Editor,

DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI’S 64^th BIRTHDAY – AN INTERPRETATION OF A BARBARIC MILITARY RULER.

Today is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 64^th Birthday but this date is not to be celebrated by her or the people of Burma. All the people of Burma are waiting for her release at the end of May 2009. The day that bring change to the future of the people of Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi is going to have power but junta will never allow this to happen in order to sustain their power. Despite of her release she was arrested again and facing 5-7 years imprisonment.

Despite of the International pressure, the military junta remains stubborn and arrogant. The International pressure does not have any impact on Aung San Suu Kyi’s plight. Recently the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and his Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari have received a petition from over 670 000 people around the world urging them to pressure military junta to release all political prisoners. The signatures were collected in 220 countries. It was very sad to see very small number of the world population supporting the petition to release the political prisoners. The Burmese people are hoping for more support and pressure from the International Community to bring change in Burma.

We hope for the bright future with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, but we were taken backward with her unjustified arrest. There must be a genuine effort to end the gross human rights violations in Burma.

Today the people around the world celebrate her birthday but it was meaningless with her being in the prison waiting for the sentence. She suffered from health problems while in the prison. But we do not know whether she have the access to medical treatment or not. Together with her, there were another 2100 political prisoners in the prisons. They were continuously abused and tortured by the military junta and being in the prison for a very long period.

 Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) urges the United Nations to take stern action against the military ruler. The General Than Shwe and others involved must be brought to the International Court of Justice for the humanitarian crime they committed. The delay in doing this will only allow them to kill more people and increase the number of the Burmese refugees in the region.

 Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

 Mr.Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani

President Of Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)

Tel No: 016-6827287

Britain renews call to Myanmar to release Suu Kyi

  Myanmar activists shout slogans during a rally demanding the immediate release of their pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, May 30, 2009. Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi urgently needs medical attention in the Myanmar prison where she is being held, her party said Friday, while closing arguments in her trial were delayed until the end of next week. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

By Vijay Joshi Associated Press Writer / May 30, 2009

 

SINGAPORE—Britain renewed its call for Myanmar’s military junta to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying Sunday that people around the world support her and her followers’ struggle for democracy.

Britain’s Minister for International Defense and Security Ann Taylor used a high-profile regional meeting to show solidarity with Suu Kyi, whose trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest has drawn international outrage.

“The people of Burma have suffered half a century of isolation and conflict,” Taylor said, using the former name of Myanmar.

“But Aung San Suu Kyi is not alone. People all around are standing with her and the Burmese people,” she told the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum of defense ministers, academics, experts and analysts.

Suu Kyi’s supporters fear that the military junta will use the trial to keep her in detention through next year’s elections, which it claims are part of its “roadmap to democracy.” But few believe that the generals will readily give up power.

Suu Kyi, who has been in detention without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, has pleaded not guilty but faces up to five years in jail if convicted for sheltering American John W. Yettaw after he secretly swam to her lakeside residence in early May.

“The continued imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi is a reminder that we cannot take for granted the institutions of democracy. We say to the generals: Now is the time for transition to democracy, starting with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Suu Kyi’s party overwhelmingly won the last elections held in 1990 but was not allowed to take power by the military, which has run the country since 1962.

Taylor’s comments came as the European Union was talking of introducing tougher sanctions in response to the trial. The administration of President Barack Obama has also announced it will continue its economic penalties.

Obama renewed sanctions, which were set to expire, against the country after Suu Kyi’s arrest.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2009/05/30/britain_renews_call_to_myanmar_to_release_suu_kyi/?rss_id=Boston.com+–+Latest+news

 

Suu Kyi’s witnesses ‘rejected’

Ms Suu Kyi’s trial has drawn international condemnation Lawyers for the detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi say judges have rejected their request to call four defence witnesses. They say only one defence witness is being allowed in her trial on charges of breaking house arrest regulations. This, they say, means a verdict could be reached as soon as Thursday. Ms Suu Kyi has spent the past six years under house arrest. She was put on trial after an American man swam to her home across a lake earlier this month. The BBC’s Jonathan Head, reporting from neighbouring Thailand, says there has been little pretence at fairness by the Burmese authorities during the eight-day trial. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers have been barred from discussions with their client and she was given no time to prepare her testimony. Charges ’spurious’ Now three of the four witnesses summoned by the defence have been rejected by the judges and the prosecution has been allowed to call 14. This, says our correspondent, lends support to US President Barack Obama’s description of the process as a show trial on spurious charges. With only one defence witness now allowed to take the stand, our correspondent says, the government should be able to wrap up the case within one or two days and deliver the expected guilty verdict. Yettaw said he came here because God asked him to. Nyan Win, NLD spokesman At Wednesday’s closed hearing at Rangoon’s Insein prison, the man at the centre of the case, John Yettaw, 53, said he had swum to Ms Suu Kyi’s home to warn her that her life was in danger. Nyan Win, a spokesman for Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, who is also on her legal team and was in court, told AFP: “Yettaw said he came here because God asked him to. He said the reason he came was in his vision he saw that Aung San Suu Kyi was assassinated by terrorists. Because of his vision, he came here to warn Aung San Suu Kyi and also the government.” In a written statement to the court on Tuesday, Ms Suu Kyi blamed Mr Yettaw’s visit on a breach of security and said charging her showed the one-sidedness of the prosecution. The trial has been widely condemned abroad as a ploy to keep her in detention until after the 2010 elections. Faces up to five years Ms Suu Kyi is the head of the NLD, which disputes the legitimacy of the polls and the conditions in which the military junta want to hold them. Ms Suu Kyi, 63, had been due for release on Wednesday after her latest six-year detention, but was re-arrested this month after Mr Yettaw’s visit. She says she was not immediately aware of the late-night visit, but had been informed later by her assistant. Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate, faces up to five years in jail if convicted. President Obama called on Tuesday for her “immediate and unconditional” release. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8069397.stm

Address the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka now

SUARA RAKYAT MALAYSIA

 Address:  433A, Jalan 5/46, Gasing Indah, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Telephone: +6 03 7784 3525                                Fax: +6 03 7784 3526

Email: suaram@suaram.net                                Web: www.suaram.net

 Press Statement: 2 June 2009

 Address the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka now

SUARAM would like to express our great concern on establishing long lasting peace and human rights in Sri Lanka after the end of three decades civil war. We also condemn the long history of racial discrimination against the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka. We are of the opinion that now is the time for Sri Lankans to work towards healing wounds and unite regardless of ethnic and religious identity, while the interest of the people of Sri Lanka should be prioritised.

 

The bloodbath between the Sinhalese government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) began in 1983 when the Tamil minority which has been suffering systematic discrimination, demanded for an independent state in the north and the east of the island. Since then, civilians have become the victims of both Sinhalese government and the LTTE attacks.

 

According to statistics from the United Nations, at least 7,000 civilians were killed in the final offensive, and between 80,000 and 100,000 people were killed since the war began in 1983. The ongoing war crimes and violation of human rights have culminated in a dark history of humanity.

 

SUARAM is of the view that whenever there are violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, proper investigation should be instituted. This is important to address the truth and reconciliation process and to restore the dignity of victims. Investigations are also important as a record of historical events and to identify lesson to prevent the same incident from recurring.

 

We also acknowledge the commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka to resettle the internally displaced persons (IDPs) before the end of this year. There are more than 300,000 displaced civilians living in the IDP camps. However, we would like to highlight that the present conditions within the IDP camps remains as a grave concern of human rights groups.

 

We call on the government of Sri Lanka to immediately heed the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call to allow greater access to the U.N., the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international relief organisations to the IDP camps.

 

SUARAM calls upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity by both the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE and to prosecute those found to be responsible for such crimes. The United Nations Security Council should refer the civil war of Sri Lanka to the ICC for investigations and prosecutions.

 

Lastly, SUARAM calls for the government of Sri Lanka to fully respect the rights of ethnic minorities and treat every ethnic and religious groups – Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslims – equally as without equal treatment, sustained peace and real democracy cannot be achieved.

For further details, please call Suaram at 03-77843525/77835724.

Western outcry over Suu Kyi case

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8050545.stm