Rohingya people

Rohingya people

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

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Rohingya
Flag of the 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

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[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

[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

[edit] External links

*Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO)

Published in:  on October 13, 2009 at 1:10 am Leave a Comment

Eleven days in Saudi Gitmo

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/14/saudi-mecca-islam-deported-muslim

Eleven days in Saudi Gitmo

I have no idea why I was detained in Mecca and Jeddah in dire conditions for days and then deported, but I know this is not Islam

 

I worked as a senior lecturer at Umm al-Qura University in Mecca until last January. I taught English language, linguistics and creative writing. Over 28 years I signed three contracts with the university and had no problem whatsoever, either with students or the administration.

I taught graduates and undergraduates and, as a tribute to my good standing, I was often asked to teach for the women’s campus – which involves use of CCTV whereby the pupils can see the teachers but the teacher cannot see them.

In collaboration with a Saudi colleague I co-authored a series of three books on writing for students of engineering and Islamic architecture. In addition I wrote weekly columns for the two Jeddah-based English newspapers, the Saudi Gazette and Arab News. I appeared on Saudi TV chat shows and was often interviewed on Jeddah FM radio. For more than fours year I also worked as an online editor of Saudi Gazette.

When my tenure with the university ended, I was offered the post of editorial consultant at the Muslim World League – a non-government organisation based in Mecca. Since I am a British citizen my job transfer had to be approved by the interior ministry in Riyadh and I signed a one-year (usually renewable) contract. All my papers were in order.

In May, I was called unexpectedly to the Mecca passport office and detained for several hours without any apparent reason. On that day they confiscated my passport and my residence permit. When I protested that I would not be able to drive my car or go out on the street without a valid residence permit they gave me a temporary one valid only for Mecca. I was not allowed to leave the city: my confinement had already begun.

On the morning of 7 June, while working at the Muslim World League office, I was asked to return to the passport office. I was detained in the main office for several hours with no explanation and then transferred to another outfit run by the interior ministry.

I had no idea why I was being detained or where I was being sent. They took away my briefcase and my mobile phone and pushed me into a room that was already full with around 500 inmates. The air conditioning and the fans did not work. There was no drinking water. The toilets were dirty and three of the five toilets were without water and electricity. One can only imagine the stink. In June temperatures in Mecca run up to 50C.

Inmates in this Saudi Gitmo were moved from one room to another every two hours or so. As there was not enough room to sit or stretch your legs it added to the stress and strain. We were made to sleep on bare floors and fights for sitting/sleeping space were not uncommon. There was a stabbing over a small sum of money – I don’t know if the victim survived.

The guards in Mecca were very “kind” to me. They never missed an opportunity to call me “animal”, kick my ankles with their boots or step on my toes.

After four days handcuffed in Mecca, I was transferred to a detention centre in Jeddah where conditions were even worse. In warehouse-like halls with no air conditioning, no fans and temperatures rising to 50C, about 1,500 people were locked up.

We were provided with food but we ate only enough to survive as it was rumoured that the food was drugged to make us sleep. From the sleeping patterns of the inmates, this was probably true.

After 11 days of hell I was deported to Bahrain from where I made my way back to England. I had to leave everything – my car, my flat and my belongings.

I still do not know why I was singled out for this treatment which has left me jobless, broke and with a traumatic experience that is hard to overcome. As a Muslim I know that this is not Islam.

Published in:  on at 1:04 am Leave a Comment

Burma’s exiled Muslims

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/12/burma-muslims-rohingya-saudi-prisons

Burma’s exiled Muslims

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

 

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

Published in:  on at 1:01 am Leave a Comment

Burma’s bittersweet independence

Published in:  on at 12:48 am Leave a Comment

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

Burma’s 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.

Published in:  on at 12:44 am Leave a Comment

Burma’s exiled Muslims

Burma’s 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.

Published in:  on at 12:27 am Leave a Comment

U.S. Assumes Seat on the UN Human Rights Council

http://www.state.gov/p/io/rls/rm/2009/129168.htm

U.S. Assumes Seat on the UN Human Rights Council

 Esther Brimmer
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Organization AffairsRemarks Before the High-Level Session of the Human Rights Council
Geneva, Switzerland
September 14, 2009

Thank you, Mr. President.

 It is indeed an honor and a privilege to address the Council today on this important occasion for my country.

 The United States is pleased to join the rest of our colleagues on the Human Rights Council. It is with a sense of mutual respect that we take our place on the Council, next to the friends and partners we will work with to forge common ground on one of the most fundamental roles of the state: to protect and advance human rights.

 The charge of the Human Rights Council ties closely to the United States’ own history and culture.

 Freedom of speech, expression and belief. Due process. Equal rights for all. These enduring principles have animated some of the proudest moments in America’s journey. These human rights and fundamental freedoms are, in effect, a part of our national DNA, just as they are a part of the DNA of the United Nations.

And yet, we recognize that the United States’ record on human rights is imperfect. Our history includes lapses and setbacks, and there remains a great deal of work to be done.

But our history is a story of progress. Indeed, my presence here today is a testament to that progress, as is the Administration I serve. It is the President’s hope and my own that we can continue that momentum at home and around the world.

Our decision to join the Human Rights Council was not entered into lightly, and was reached based on a clear and hopeful vision of what can be accomplished here. Our vision is not merely made in America, but rather reflects the aspirations embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the mandate of the Human Rights Council itself.

 Building on those bedrock foundations, the United States’ aspirations for the Human Rights Council encompass several key themes.

The first is universality. Last year we celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The principles contained there are as resonant today as they were when Eleanor Roosevelt led the Commission that enshrined them. We can not pick and choose which of these rights we embrace nor select who among us are entitled to them. We are all endowed at birth with the right to live in dignity, to follow our consciences and speak our minds without fear, to choose those who govern us, to hold our leaders accountable, and to enjoy equal justice under the law. These rights extend to all, and the United States can not accept that any among us would be condemned to live without them.

The second is dialogue. The Human Rights Council is unique in its ability to draw together countries for serious, fact-based and forward looking debate on human rights abuses. We will strive for discussions that are thoughtful, focused and open to all viewpoints and perspectives. Geneva is the place for this critical dialogue, and the United States will be an active and constructive participant. This dialogue is a long-term proposition. We will not resolve our differences overnight, nor end abuses with the wave of a hand or even the passage of a resolution. Creativity, flexibility and sensitivity will be demanded all around. We approach this mindful of the long-haul, ready to devote the time it takes to build understanding and shared will to act.

The third is principle. We have come together as Human Rights Council members on the basis of shared principles. Our challenge lies in taking these principles – reflected in the Universal Declaration and many other broad based human rights instruments – and applying them in an even-handed way to situations that defy easy resolution. Defending our core principles from compromise and applying them fairly under all circumstances will require steadfastness and courage from all of us.

The fourth is truth. Make no mistake; the United States will not look the other way in the face of serious human rights abuses. The truth must be told, the facts brought to light and the consequences faced. While we will aim for common ground, we will call things as we see them and we will stand our ground when the truth is at stake.

These four principles – universality, dialogue, principle and truth will guide us as we turn attention to a series of key issues in the coming months.

The United States will work with others to address the most egregious human rights abuses at the Council. The United States is inspired by the impassioned demands of human rights defenders under siege around the world who look to us and to the Council for action. We are also motivated by the pernicious machinations of countries seeking to obscure and deny their abuses. Country-specific resolutions demonstrate our collective will to address some of the most important human rights situations around the world. They provide space for human rights defenders to carry out their valiant work and, through the work of the mandate holders, offer monitoring mechanisms and recommendations that can guide reform. We urge states to support the independence of human rights special procedures as vital resources in the fight for human rights.

As President Obama expressed in his June speech in Cairo, the United States seeks to build cooperation based upon mutual interest and mutual respect. To that end, the United States is dedicated to working with other nations who share our commitment to protecting freedom of expression and fighting against discrimination and negative stereotyping. The HRC is designed to offer a forum for governments to address difficult issues, and it is vitally important that we find ways to work together on these themes. The United States believes that governments have a responsibility to condemn hateful speech and to promote respect and tolerance. We also believe fundamentally that that the best way to fight intolerance and hate is through open and free debate and discussion of ideas – in such an open environment hateful and racist remarks are held up to bright light of public scrutiny and seen for the scourge they are.

We will ask others to stand with us in supporting the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, whose stature makes her an indispensible voice on human rights issues worldwide. The United States is proud to be the OHCHR’s top donor. The OHCHR, working through its local and regional offices, serves as an “early warning system” ringing alarm bells to draw attention to human rights abuses. The United States is dedicated to ensuring the operational independence of the OHCHR and will continue to support its technical assistance activities across the globe.

As the United States seeks to advance human rights and fundamental freedoms across the globe, we embrace a commitment to live up to these ideals at home and to meet our international human rights obligations. Along these lines, the United States looks forward to the upcoming UPR process, which is an opportunity for both self-reflection and transparency. We anticipate a thought-provoking process with our colleagues on the Council and in civil society that culminates in a review that demonstrates progress as well as areas of unfulfilled potential.

 Finally, we will join with you to reinforce the importance of accountability and good governance within the Council, ensuring that our own operations and deliberations reflect the values we are entrusted to uphold. And we will seek to enhance the Council’s impact through a productive and effective review of the Council in 2011. We hope others will join us in approaching that process mindful of our shared principles but open to creative new approaches.

 International peace and security and global prosperity are strengthened when human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and protected. We recognize and value the importance of this institution in promoting human rights norms and rallying our collective will to address human rights abuses where they occur.

 To this end, we have set a goal for this Council as elusive as it is simple. Progress. It is the same goal that my countrymen and women set for ourselves, and it is the same goal that we continue to hold ourselves to today. It is also, I believe, the most basic expression of what we all hope for in this Council today and going forward.

 So, to that end, let us endeavor to end this session with a more strengthened and robust human rights mechanism than we had before we gathered here today.

 Thank you.

Published in:  on at 12:11 am Leave a Comment

MALAYSIA – Arrest All Rapists of Penan Girls and Women!

PRESS RELEASE

MALAYSIA – Arrest All Rapists of Penan Girls and Women!

(11 September 2009, Bangkok) The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUMASIA)

urgently calls on the Malaysian government to immediately identify, arrest and bring to court

rapists and sexual rights violators of Penan girls and women of Baram, Sarawak. The organisation

with 46 members across Asia said this is the logical follow-up to the report of the National Task Force

formed by the Cabinet to investigate the alleged sexual abuse of Penan girls and women by logging

camp workers in the said territory.

The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Affairs took about a year to release the report

despite repeated requests by public and civil society. FORUM-ASIA expressed shock and deep

disappointment that, although as early as September 2008, indigenous peoples’ rights advocates

released reports of and campaigned against the abuses against Penan girls in their own ancestral

homes, it took a month for the government of Malaysia to organise the Task Force. Despite

conducting the investigation one month later, ten months passed without any report to the public. The

delayed responses by the relevant government authorities are violations of the right of the victims to

justice.

“We would like to state that while we appreciate the report of the Task Force, this is only a step to

justice to the victims. More has to be done now that the abuses have been validated”, said Bernice

See, the Ethnic Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Programme Officer of the organisation.

Malaysian government is obliged to undertake measures to protect the child from all forms of sexual

exploitation and sexual abuse, according to the Child Right Convention (CRC) (Art. 34). The

government promised the indigenous peoples to take measures “to ensure that indigenous women and

children enjoy the full protection and guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination”

(United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Art. 22).

The appalling condition of the victims and their communities – poverty, lack of basic services and

access to justice, lack of knowledge of their rights, destruction of the sources of their subsistence -

leads further to violations of the Penans’ human rights. Malaysia has committed to take appropriate

measures to address the particular situation of women who live in rural areas, including the Penan,

like providing access to adequate health care, social security, education and training, and other such

measures that would allow them to “enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to

housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications” (Committee on the

Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Art. 14). Further, it has committed to guard children,

against all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, and exploitation including sexual

abuse (CRC Art. 19) and has assured that every child has “the right to a standard of living that will

enable her or him to realise her or his total development” (CRC Art. 27).

FORUM-ASIA urges the Malaysian government to redress the violations of the human rights of the

Penan girls, women and their communities by bringing to court the perpetrators of the crimes,

rehabilitate the victims, expeditiously investigate the human and development conditions in Penan

communities in Baram and other logging areas. “The conditions of logging concessions with the

substantive participation of affected communities must be reviewed, allowing them to live in the spirit

and intent of the native customary rights of the Penan and other indigenous peoples. Further, we urge

the Malaysian government to take measures to ensure the physical, mental integrity and security of

the Penan women and children”, See added.

For inquiries, please contact:

•

Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director, tel: +66818689178, email: yap@forum-asia.org

•

tel: +6626532940-1, email:

Bernice See, Ethnic Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Southeast Asia Programme Officer,emseap@forum-asia.org

Published in:  on October 12, 2009 at 11:59 pm Leave a Comment

Deadline to apply for junta issued passports set

http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2733:deadline-to-apply-for-junta-issued-passports-set-&catid=87:human-rights&Itemid=285

Thursday, 17 September 2009 17:56 Hseng Khio Fah

Thai employers of Burmese migrants working in Thailand have been informed again by Thai authorities to finish submitting the completed new nationality identification forms by November, according to a copy of an official document received by SHAN.

On 4 September, the provincial employment office of Chiangmai informed employers to urge their workers to apply for passport documents under the national verification process.

The deadline is by 30 November for people from Burma and 30 December for people from Cambodia.

However, most migrants were in fear to give the factual biographical information to the Burmese government because of reports of some of their families left behind being forced to pay extra taxes to the junta on monthly or yearly basic, said an employer who wishes not to be named.

Rights groups also share the same concern with the migrants.

On 16 September, rights groups: the State Enterprise Workers Relations Confederation (SERC), the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) and the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) submitted a petition to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants to make an urgent inquiry into the commencement of a nationality verification process for Burmese migrants in Thailand because both the Thai and Burmese government have disseminated little information which is likely to be ineffective and places 2 million migrants at high risk.

“We hope the UN will actively take attention to this case and will try to discuss with Thai authorities to work together as we have requested,” Sein Htay from Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF).

The national verification process began at the end of July. Passport issuing offices are being opened along the Thai/Burma border at Myawaddy, Tachilek and Kawthaung (Victoria Point).

The only information publically disseminated is from the Burmese government about processes on its side of the border.

However, private brokers are springing up and providing answers and services at unreasonably high costs, according to their joint submission.    

“Tour buses carrying migrants to border processing centres are leaving main migrant population centers in Thailand and migrants are then crossing borders to Burma and returning at varying costs with temporary Burmese passports and visas,” reads the letter.

The letter stated that the nationality verification process is two-track. Migrants can either submit their biographical information to brokers to get nationality verified and obtain a passport within months, or submit this information formally to employment offices and receive a slow response. The formal government costs are low (approx. 600 to 2, 100 baht/US$17- 60) but broker fees are unregulated and getting higher (starting costs approx. 7, 500 baht/US$200).

The groups said they fear for their safety and are disturbed at what appears to be another wave of exploitation.

According to the Royal Thai Government announcement that no migrants would remain illegally in Thailand after 28 February 2010, as all registered Burmese migrants must undertake nationality verification before this time by means of a 13-stage process involving both governments or face deportation.

The letter urges the Burmese government to conduct the verification process in Thailand and not in Burma.

Published in:  on at 11:46 pm Leave a Comment

BN 2009/1056: October 12, 2009

 

http://www.altsean.org/Reports/InternationalcrimesinBurma.php
INTERNATIONAL CRIMES IN BURMA CONTINUE:

UNSC COMMISSION OF INQUIRY STILL URGENTLY NEEDED

 

  • Since the publication of “International crimes in Burma: the urgent need for a Commission of Inquiry,” the list of the SPDC’s crimes grows longer.
  • In August and September 2009, the SPDC continued to perpetrate crimes against humanity and war crimes with total impunity, highlighting the urgent need for a UN Security Council-mandated Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.
  • In the two-month period,  the following were documented:

ý Over 50 victims of extrajudicial killings by SPDC Army soldiers.

ý At least 42 people subjected to forced labor.

ý An additional 10,000 people forcibly displaced in attacks targeting civilians.

ý At least 109 people subjected to arbitrary arrest and imprisonment.

ý Widespread use of torture against 100 civilians in Shan state, three in Northern Arakan State and a foreign citizen in Rangoon.

ý At least seven cases of rape and sexual violence.

ý Systematic and widespread persecution of ethnic and religious communities.

ý At least 13 children were recruited as child soldiers.

 

 

Murder

  • 3 August: SPDC soldiers from LIB 514 attacked and beheaded a 29-year-old woman in Mongkeung Township, Shan State.[1]
  • 28 August: SPDC Army soldiers summarily executed over 50 Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) soldiers who defected after the regime offensive against the Kokang.[2]

 

Enslavement

  • 13 August: SPDC Army LIB 273 forced two villagers from Kyauktalin, Tenasserim Division, into service as porters carrying military and food supplies for two days from Kyauktalin to Natkyizin, Tenasserim Division.[3]    
  • 8 September: Karen Human Rights Group released a report saying that the SPDC Army and DKBA subjected villagers to widespread abuse, including forced labor as porters, minesweepers, and forced recruitment of soldiers.[4]  
  • 28 September: The commander of LIB 266 based in Thantlang Township, Chin State, ordered 40 villages to provide 40 villagers each to perform forced labor to renovate SPDC Army camps.[5]

 

Forced displacement

  • 5 August: SPDC officials in Myitkyina, Kachin State, notified representatives of over 60 villages that they must relocate in order to make way for a new dam project.[6]
  • Through early August: The SPDC Army’s military offensive against civilian populations in Central Shan State forced an estimated 10,000 people in Central Shan State out of their villages and burned more than 500 homes.[7] In Laikha Township alone, the SPDC Army displaced residents from over 40 villages and killed at least three villagers and tortured over 100.[8]
  • August: Over 200 Karen fled from Eastern Karen State and sought shelter in camps across Thailand’s Tak Province after their IDP camp was overrun by the junta-sponsored Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).[9]

 

Arbitrary detention

On 4 September, the Thailand-based Assistant Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said that the number of political prisoners in Burma had reached a record-high of 2,211.[10] In August and September, the SPDC intensified its crackdown on pro-democracy activists, arresting 101, including 59 NLD members, and imprisoned eight, including four NLD members.[11]

 

Torture

  • 7 September: Na Sa Ka personnel from Area 8 in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, tortured two local Rohingya women to get a signed confession that their husband had fled to Bangladesh.[12]
  • 20 September: Burma-born US citizen Nyi Nyi Aung told US embassy staff who visited him in Insein prison that SPDC authorities had subjected him to torture, including severe beating, sleep and food deprivation, and denied medical attention for the injuries he sustained.[13]
  • 24 September: Na Sa Ka personnel from Kalizabanga camp in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, tortured a 17-year-old local boy who was performing sentry duty.[14]

 

Rape and sexual violence

  • 2 August: SPDC Army forces gang-raped a woman in front of her husband in Laikha Township, Shan State.[15]
  • 5 August: An SPDC Army Captain and other soldiers from IB 132 gang-raped a 15-year-old girl in Kehsi Township, Southern Shan State.[16]
  • Mid-August: Since August 15, SPDC Army soldiers from MOC 5 in Thandaung Township, Northern Karen State, have raped four women from villages in the area.[17]
  • 8 September: SPDC police raped and murdered a 14-year-old Lisu girl in Mongkoe Township, Shan State.[18]

 

Persecution of identifiable groups

Rohingya and Muslims:

  • 11 August: Na Sa Ka personnel in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, arrested a 45-year-old local Rohingya on charges of allowing two workers to stay overnight at his house.[19] 
  • 17 August: Na Sa Ka personnel in Northern Arakan State arrested eight local Muslims who returned from a prayer at a local mosque.[20]
  • 30 August: Na Sa Ka from Area 8 in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, arrested two local Rohingya for repairing a mosque.[21]
  • 1 September: Na Sa Ka personnel from Area 5 arrested five local Rohingya farmers following a clash with Natala villagers.[22]
  • 25 September: Na Sa Ka personnel in Maungdaw Township, Arakan State, severely beat a local 18-year-old Rohingya boy.[23]

 

Monks:

  • 5 August: SPDC authorities in Yenanchaung, Magwe Division, barred monks at the Myat Saw Nyi Naung pagoda from reciting sutras during a full moon religious ceremony.[24]
  • 11 August: Plain clothes policemen in Rangoon’s Bahan Township arrested and forcibly disrobed 36-year-old monk U Sanda Dika.[25]
  • 27 August: SPDC authorities arrested an assistant chief monk form Shwe Zaydi Parli University monastery in Yenanchaung Township, Magwe Division.[26]
  • 28 August: SPDC authorities arrested a young monk from Mandalay monastery in Pakokku, Magwe Division.[27]
  • 29 August: SPDC authorities in Chauk Township, Magwe Division, arrested U Thumana, a monk from Pakokku.[28]
  • 29 August: Special Branch police arrested abbot U Gaw Thita, as he landed at Rangoon International airport from Taiwan.[29]
  • 30 August: SPDC authorities in Chauk Township, Magwe Division, raided the room of the head monk U Yaywada of Ngwe Taung monastery.[30]
  • Early September: The SPDC stepped up surveillance of monasteries in Rangoon, Pakokku in Magwe Division, Myingyan in Mandalay Division, and Akyab in Arakan State.[31]

                                         

Child soldiers

  • 1 August: SPDC Army recruited six Rakhine youth from the Indo-Burma border area in Chin State.[32]
  • 17 August: SPDC Army IB 32 forcibly recruited five youths from Three Pagodas Pass in Karen State.[33]   
  • 21 September: The family of two children, aged 16, in Pegu Division filed a complaint with the ILO alleging that the SPDC Army forcibly recruited the children and then punished them for trying to escape.[34]

 

 

[1] SHAN (11 Aug 09) Teenage girl gang raped by Burmese Army personnel; SHAN (06 Aug 09) Burmese Army troops behead woman

[2] Kachin News Group (04 Sep 09) Burmese soldiers kill over 50 Kokang allies

[3] HURFOM (10 Sep 09) LIB no. 273, forced resident to serve portering into their operation

[4] KHRG (08 Sep 09) Abuse in Pa’an District, Insecurity in Thailand: The dilemma for new refugees in Tha Song Yang; DVB (08 Sep 09) Army abuse still rife in Karen state

[5] Khonumthung News (28 Sep 09) Forty villages undergoing forced labour

[6] DVB (26 Aug 09) Dam forces relocation of 60 villages

[7] Irrawaddy (13 Aug 09) 10,000 Villagers Forcibly Relocated in Shan State: Rights Groups; DVB (13 Aug 09) 500 Shan houses burned in scorched earth campaign

[8] Irrawaddy (13 Aug 09) 10,000 Villagers Forcibly Relocated in Shan State: Rights Groups

[9] Irrawaddy (21 Aug 09) 30 More Karens Flee Hlinebwe; DVB (06 Aug 09) More Karen refugees flee to Thailand

[10] Mizzima News (04 Sep 09) Political prisoners on the rise in Burma: AAPP; Mizzima News (04 Sep 09) Former air force officer sentenced to two years

[11] See Altsean Burma August-September 2009 Burma Bulletins

[12] Kaladan News (14 Sep 09) Two Rohingya women tortured in Nasaka camp    

[13] AP (25 Sep 09) American claims mistreatment in Myanmar prison; AP (26 Sep 09) U.S. Issues Formal Myanmar Complaint; Mizzima News (24 Sep 09) US embassy protests maltreatment of detained citizen; DVB (24 Sep 09) US citizen arrest a ‘political smear campaign’; DVB (24 Sep 09) US detainee in Burma allegedly beaten

[14] Kaladan News (28 Sep 09) Sentry tortured brutally in Maungdaw

[15] SHAN (07 Aug 09) Burmese Army personnel gang-rape Shan woman 

[16] SHAN (11 Aug 09) Teenage girl gang raped by Burmese Army personnel 

[17] Free Burma Rangers (04 Sep 09) Burma Army Troops Rape Four Women as Abuses Continue Against Villagers in Northern Karen State

[18] Kachin News Group (21 Sep 09) Teenage Lisu girl gang-raped and murdered by Burmese policemen

[19] Kaladan News (13 Aug 09) Nasaka’s surprise checks upsets villagers in Maungdaw

[20] Kaladan News (21 Sep 09) Curfew for security on Maungdaw border

[21] Kaladan News (14 Sep 09) Two Rohingya women tortured in Nasaka camp

[22] Kaladan News (07 Sep 09) Clash between Rohingya and Natala settler in Maungdaw 

[23] Kaladan News (28 Sep 09) Student severely beaten by Nasaka in Maungdaw   

[24] Irrawaddy (06 Aug 09) Burmese Authorities Ban Chanting of Metta Sutta

[25] Mizzima News (04 Sep 09) Political prisoners on the rise in Burma: AAPP

[26] Mizzima News (01 Sep 09) Monks under close surveillance

[27] Mizzima News (01 Sep 09) Monks under close surveillance

[28] DVB (03 Sep 09) Monks intimidated close to 2007 anniversary

[29] Mizzima News (08 Sep 09) Abbot returning from Taiwan arrested

[30] Mizzima News (01 Sep 09) Monks under close surveillance

[31] Irrawaddy (05 Sep 09) Security Tight on Anniversary of Monk-led Uprising; Kaladan News (07 Sep 09) Security beefed up in major religious places in Akyab; Narinjara News (27 Sep 09) Burmese monks demonstrate in Dhaka on 2nd anniversary of Saffron Revolution; Narinjara News (09 Sep 09) Security Tightened in Sittwe for Ottama Day; Irrawaddy (17 Sep 09) Eight Democracy Activists Arrested

[32] Narinjara News (04 Aug 09) Six Youths Conscripted into Burmese Army

[33] Kaowao News(31 Aug 09) Burmese Army recruit escapes with injury 

[34] DVB (23 Sep 09) Child soldier sentenced for deserting

Published in:  on at 11:13 pm Leave a Comment
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