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

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

 

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  • guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 July 2009 12.30 BST
  • Article history

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.

Burma’s bittersweet independence

In pictures: Philippines floods

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8276374.stm

Thousands of people have been forced from their homes as flooding caused by heavy rain brought chaos to the Philippines capital Manila.

Philippine flood death toll rises

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8279801.stm Philippine flood death toll rises

Weather forecasters are predicting more heavy rain later in the week The Philippines government says 246 people are now known to have died in severe flooding caused when Tropical Storm Ketsana struck on Saturday. The country has appealed for foreign aid to deal with the disaster, which has displaced 450,000 people and left 380,000 living in makeshift shelters. Public buildings including schools, universities and the presidential palace have become relief centres. The storm has now hit Vietnam, where at least 22 people are said to have died.   In pictures: Relief effort Eyewitness: Philippines floods The Vietnamese government earlier ordered the evacuation of more than 170,000 people as strong winds of up to 150km/h (93mph) and heavy rain began to affect the central coast. Local media report that Ketsana, which has now strengthened into a typhoon, has caused flooding and power cuts. Vietnam Airlines has suspended all flights to the coastal cities of Danang and Hue. Weather forecasters are predicting more heavy rain later this week, with a new storm forming in the Pacific likely to enter Philippine waters on Thursday, making landfall on the island of Luzon. Fragile situation “Evacuees will be given shelter in available areas among the Malacanang [palace] buildings and in tents that will be put up in between the buildings,” Philippines President Arroyo said in a statement announcing the opening of the palace compound. She said that if required, palace employees would “yield their work stations to provide more space for our displaced countrymen”, and that she had temporarily moved her office to another section of the compound along the Pasig river.   FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE More from BBC World Service After word of the offer spread, hundreds of people converged on the palace and received plastic bags filled with noodles and canned sardines. “We just heard it in the news that they are giving relief goods at the palace so we walked for one hour,” street sweeper Rosette Serrano, 31, told the AFP news agency. Ms Serrano lost everything except her clothes when her house was submerged on Saturday. But officials said people would not be permitted to remain inside the presidential compound unless they were first checked by aid organisations. “We cannot just allow every evacuee in because of logistical and security problems,” Wilfredo Oca, an aid to Mrs Arroyo, told AFP. The sharp rise in the death toll – up 100 from the previous figure – came after more than 90 deaths were recorded in Manila, the National Disaster Co-ordinating Council said in a statement. The toll is expected to rise further as thick mud is cleared from the worst affected parts of the city. Troops, police and volunteers have so far rescued more than 12,000 people. Appeal Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the situation could become worse if aid supplies ran out.   The scene in three of the worst hit areas Earlier, Mr Teodoro appealed for humanitarian assistance from the international community. “We are trying our level best to provide basic necessities, but the potential for a more serious situation is there,” he said, in a nationally televised address. “We cannot wait for that to happen.”   AT THE SCENE Alastair Leithead, BBC News, Manila Half the covered basketball court in Bagong Silangan has been converted into a mortuary; the other half is sleeping space for some of the hundreds of people left homeless by the storm. This little community in Quezon City was hit more badly than most by the flooding. Hundreds of homes by the river were swept away and those which were not destroyed have been swamped by mud. Queues of people spent the day lining up waiting for what little aid there was available in this area to be handed out. In one centre small plastic bags containing just a few clothes were being given and at another, run by a church group, those identified as being most in need were given a few tins of food and bottles of water. More from Alastair Leithead   Correspondents say many people have been complaining that aid has been coming too slowly and is not sufficient. President Arroyo said those who had suffered had a right to complain, but asked them to also consider the scale of the disaster. “We’re responding to the extent we can to this once-in-a-lifetime typhoon emergency,” she said in a statement. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is sending food supplies for 180,000 people to the Philippines. WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said the organisation would support the Philippines to ensure a “swift and co-ordinated recovery effort”. Rescue workers are continuing to pull bodies from the mud and swollen rivers. But the BBC’s Alastair Leithead in Manila says the rescue operation is now focusing on getting supplies to those who have been displaced. Ketsana, with winds of up to 100km/h (62mph), hit the Philippines early on Saturday, crossing the main northern Luzon island before heading out toward the South China Sea. Over the weekend, the government declared a “state of calamity” in Manila and the 25 storm-hit provinces, including many that have not experienced widespread flooding before, allowing access to emergency funds. Officials say more than 40cm (16in) of rain fell on Manila within 12 hours on Saturday, exceeding the 39cm average for the whole month of September.

A night out with Rela

http://www.thenutgraph.com/a-night-out-with-rela

A night out with Rela2 Oct 09 : 8.00AM

By Mien Ly
editor@thenutgraph.com

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(All pictures and videos courtesy of Mien Ly)

“BUKA pintu! Buka pintu!” shout the volunteers through the grill door, into the hallway of the shop lots in Pudu. They are from Rela, a civil volunteer corp formed by the Malaysian government in 1972 to help preserve “peace and national security”. They are conducting a raid on undocumented migrants here, in the middle of Ramadan, on 2 Sept 2009.

A man comes sleepily to the grill door. The three Rela volunteers, dressed in their green combat-like uniforms, demand that he opens the door fast or they will cut it. They speak in Bahasa Malaysia. The man seems to understand them — he slowly comes out of his daze and realises what is going on. He responds in English, “Wait, wait, I go get the keys.”

When he retreats, another Rela volunteer arrives on the scene with a cutter. The Rela volunteers cut the lock on the grill door. When the man returns with his keys, the Rela men say to him in Malay, “You’re slow, we had to cut.”

They proceed down the hallway, and knock on all the other doors. Another door opens, revealing a senior man and teenage boy, both equally dazed from being awakened. The Rela volunteers demand to see their identity cards (ICs) or any documents. The older man asks to see a search permit. The volunteers say, “The police are down there, the immigration [officers] are down there, go ask permits from them.”

The teenage boy produces their ICs — MyKads. “My son,” the old man explains when the Rela volunteers ask about the boy. “I live with my family.” The Rela volunteers demand that the older man open all the doors to see if he is harbouring any undocumented migrants or what they call “Pati” — pendatang asing tanpa izin, or literally “foreign migrants without permission”. No “Pati” is found here. A Rela volunteer apologises for the inconvenience. The rest go upstairs to knock on more doors. The older man swears in Cantonese under his breath at this intrusion, and possibly also because he now has to buy another lock.

At another apartment, a group of women are awakened from their sleep, asked to change out of their pyjamas and bring their passports down for immigration officers to check. Five men in Rela uniforms wait outside their room, constantly knocking, and sometimes threatening to knock the door down if they don’t hurry up. The women only comprehend when a Rela volunteer speaks in Mandarin to them. One woman asks, “Can’t you check now? I’ve to leave early in the morning to Penang for work.” The volunteer responds that he is unable to check their passports — only immigration personnel can — and that it will only take five minutes. The clock on the wall says 2am. The women grudgingly oblige, change into t-shirts and shorts and go downstairs with a Rela volunteer.

Rela’s ark

Watch videos of Rela’s raid here

On the street downstairs, the women are asked to line up with the other migrants that have been ushered down from nearby apartments. The Rela volunteers ask the migrants to hold their documents. Some people are holding up Malaysian ICs. When a journalist asks about this, Rela volunteers explain that these people were staying with migrants and are thus “suspicious”. Their ICs will be checked by the National Registration Department, whose officers are also part of the night’s raid.

The men and women are lined up, two by two. Some look disorientated or confused, some anxious and annoyed, and some fearful. Accompanied by three Rela women volunteers and a few more Rela men volunteers, the group walk together towards a main post set up by the Malaysian Immigration Department and Rela for the night. During that five-minute walk, sounds of Rela volunteers fill the night. They shout for doors to be opened, for documents to be shown, and at migrants running away. The rest of the neighbourhood is asleep.

The main post is at a corner of some shop houses, two doors from a nightclub that is playing loud techno music. Three immigration officers sit at a portable table. They have a briefcase with a laptop inside it. Beside them, rows upon rows of migrants are made to squat in line. Rela volunteers collect the documents from the migrants and bring them to the immigration officers. The officers then type out the numbers on the documents into their laptop. If the document — whether it is a passport or work permit — does not show up in their machine, the document is considered invalid and thrown into a plastic bag. The person who owns that document will be hauled into one of the three trucks there — two for men, one for women.

The truck looks exactly like the ones used for prisoners — with planks for seats and grills all around. An Indonesian man in the truck is very upset — he says he has been paying around RM3,000 every year for his work permit. He shows his work permit card for the past three years that proves he has been working in Malaysia and says it has never given him problems.

This year, however, his boss gave him the I-Kad instead of the usual work permit. The immigration officer didn’t tell him what was wrong with his I-Kad, just hauled him up the truck. He didn’t get a chance to borrow someone’s phone to call his employer, who is holding his original passport. He says he tried to talk to a Rela volunteer guarding his truck, and was told to keep quiet and stay in the truck.

“The quota for tonight is 50 people. We have surpassed it already — it’s time to close shop,” says an officer who identifies himself as Major Aminuddin. He is the top man for tonight’s raid. He points at his watch — it is now 3am. As the briefcase is being packed, a man arrives, seeking to release his employees. Two women come down from the truck and go off with the man after 10 minutes of negotiations with Rela and immigration. Meanwhile, the people whose documents check out are given back their documents and are told they can now go home. They happily disperse into the quiet night. The trucks that are crammed with people now head back to Rela’s office.

Back at the office

At the office, Rela volunteers segregate the migrants into rows according to nationality. “It is for documentation purposes,” says a volunteer. “I am a refugee,” says a Myanmarese man repeatedly to anyone who is near enough to listen, and repeats the number of his registration card issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Three Rela volunteers come over to reprimand him for not keeping quiet.

Just three hours before this, before heading off for the raid, an officer who identified himself as Lieutenant Johan said, “If the person holds a UNHCR card, he [or she] will be released.” But there are UNHCR cards in the plastic bag containing the “invalid” documents and the owners of the cards, mainly Myamarese, are squatting among the migrants here.

When asked about this, Johan says that it is the jurisdiction of the immigration department — if immigration says bring them in, Rela has to bring them in. The documentation here is to be filed as a police report, and then all those rounded up will be taken to the Lenggeng detention camp.

A man, squatting at the back, holds himself tightly and shivers. No one takes any notice. He continues squatting and shivering — he does not have the right documents.

---

Mien Ly is an independent filmmaker, and went on the raid as a translator for a documentary filmmaker from Australia. She has been given permission by the filmmaker to write about her experience. Before she witnessed the raid, a refugee activist from Malaysian human rights organisation Suaram told her that Rela would be on their best behaviour when being watched by the media.

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Deadly tsunami strikes in Pacific

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8281616.stm

Advertisement Radio DJ Lupe Lohmann describes the moment a tsunami hits American Samoa A tsunami triggered by a strong quake in the South Pacific has killed more than 100 people in several islands. At least 77 people were reported dead in Samoa, more than 25 in American Samoa and at least six in Tonga. Residents and tourists fled to higher ground as whole villages were destroyed. Boats were swept inland and cars and people out to sea. The 8.3-magnitude quake struck at 1748 GMT on Tuesday, generating 15ft (4.5m) waves in some areas of the islands. The Samoa islands comprise two separate entities – the nation of Samoa and American Samoa, a US territory. The total population is about 250,000. A general tsunami warning was issued for the wider South Pacific region but was cancelled a few hours later.   Each and every family is going to be affected by someone who’s lost their life Togiola Tulafono, American Samoa Governor Pacific tsunami: Countries hit Big quake strikes off Indonesia Eyewitness: On air when tsunami hit In pictures: Pacific tsunami Tsunami alerts warn islanders Samoa’s vulnerable islands Separately on Wednesday a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck a different fault line off the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing at least 75 people. The prime minister of Samoa, Tuila’epe Sailele Malielegaoi, said the latest death toll there was 77, including four overseas visitors, with 150 more people being treated in hospital. He said he was shocked at the devastation. “So much has gone. So many people are gone,” he told Australia’s AAP news agency. He said there had been extensive damage but that hospitals were coping well and that he was considering aid offers from New Zealand and Australia. “Had it happened in darkness, there could have been more disaster in terms of the number of those who died or are missing,” he said. US President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in American Samoa, enabling federal funding to be made available to help victims. He pledged a “swift and aggressive” government response. False alarm American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono said the effects of the tsunami would touch everyone. Survivors in Samoa describe the tsunami “I don’t think anybody is going to be spared in this disaster,” he said. Eni Faleomavaega, who represents American Samoa in the US Congress, said the waves had “literally wiped out all the low-lying areas in the Samoan islands”. He said the tsunami had struck too quickly for a full evacuation. Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister Misa Telefoni told AAP that the ocean had receded, heralding the oncoming tsunami, “within five minutes” of the quake. “With the location and the intensity… I don’t know if anything better could have been done.” Officials at the Samoa Meteorology Division said many of those who died were killed by a second wave after they went to gather fish that had been washed up after the first.   There’s not a building standing… There will be people in a great lot of need around here Graeme Ansell, eyewitness UK toddler feared dead Animated guide: Tsunamis Sirens reportedly blared out across the Samoan capital, Apia, again late on Tuesday but the warning was thought to be a false alarm. Dr Lemalu Fiu, at a hospital in Apia, said the number of casualties was expected to rise as people arrived from coastal areas bringing reports. Mr Telefoni said there were fears the major tourism areas on the west side of Upolu island – the eastern of the two main Samoan islands – had been badly hit.   “We’ve had a pretty grim picture painted of all that coast,” he said. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd confirmed the death of two Australians – a six-year-old girl and a 50-year-old woman. Samoan officials say it could take a week before the full extent of the damage is known. Homes gone A government official in Tonga said at least six people had been killed there and four more were missing.   High waves damaged property and swept cars out to sea But New Zealand’s acting Prime Minister Bill English said Tongan officials had told him a “considerable number of people” had been swept out to sea. Mr English added: “Over the next 12 hours the picture could look worse rather than better.” The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said the quake struck at a depth of 33km (20 miles), some 190km (120 miles) from Apia. Radio New Zealand quoted Samoan residents as saying that villages were inundated and homes and cars swept away. Graeme Ansell, a New Zealander near Apia, told the radio station the beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale had been “wiped out”. “There’s not a building standing. We’ve all clambered up hills, and one of our party has a broken leg. There will be people in a great lot of need around here,” he said. Witnesses have reported scenes of destruction. “It’s horrible… The village is gone and my once beautiful beachfront villa has now been submerged in water,” Josh Nayangu told the BBC after fleeing the area on a small fishing boat with his wife and son.

18 detainees die each month

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.aspfile=/2009/10/2/nation/4824880&sec=nation

18 detainees die each month

JOHOR BARU: Immigration detention centres in the country must observe better health standards to ensure they do not become a breeding ground for viruses, a Suhakam commissioner said.

Suhakam commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam raised the seriousness of the matter, saying that about 1,300 detainees had died in six years from infection.

Siva Subramaniam: ‘Vigilant health checks need to be conducted not only for inmates at these facilities but for officers who work around them’

This means an average of 18 people die at the nation’s 22 centres each month.

“Many of them die because of tuberculosis and chikungunya,” Siva said after visiting the Pekan Nenas centre here yesterday, adding that there were also skin diseases.

He added that if these inmates did not undergo proper medical checks, they might spread diseases locally.

“Deaths in custody is a serious matter and vigilant health checks need to be conducted not only for inmates at these facilities but for officers who work around them,” he said.

So far, no immunisation jabs were provided for immigration officers and those working in the imm­i­gration department, he said.

“Officers working closely with illegal immigrants have also not been given medical inspections.

“We should not put their health at risk,” he said.

He also said that the process of deporting illegal immigrants should be speeded up as this could reduce the spread of diseases within the facility.

“We have even received reports that some foreigners waited almost two years to be deported.”

In pictures: Indonesian quake

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8284208.stm In pictures: Indonesian quake

Rescuers are searching for people trapped under buildings after this week’s earthquake in Sumatra. Troops have now joined the rescue effort. Warning: some of the pictures that follow may be disturbing. Next Image| Previous Image| | previous At least 1,100 people have died in the earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday, the UN humanitarian chief has said. John Holmes said many hundreds more had been injured, and both figures were set to rise further. Rescuers are working into the night to find survivors in the rubble of hundreds of collapsed buildings. The 7.6-magnitude quake struck close to the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. The earthquake brought down hospitals, schools and shopping malls, cut power lines and triggered landslides.   AT THE SCENE Karishma Vaswani, BBC News, Padang As every hour passes, the scale of this disaster becomes all too clear. Dozens of homes and office buildings have collapsed. A restaurant frequented by college students is now a pile of rubble. Officials say at least 60 people are trapped underneath. Scenes like this are repeated all across Padang. Rescue efforts have been hampered by poor communication lines and bad roads. The first flights carrying food and aid arrived this morning but it’s nowhere near enough. Hospitals in Padang have been severely damaged in this disaster. People are being treated in makeshift tents. There are still many parts of the city that rescue workers haven’t been able to reach which is raising fears the number of dead will almost certainly rise. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited some of the worst-hit areas. “I ask rescue workers to continue working in teams with clear goals to keep looking for survivors…,” he said. “This is a natural disaster, so let us remain strong in dealing with it.” Meanwhile US President Barack Obama, who spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, said he was “deeply moved” by the suffering caused by the quake. “Indonesia is an extraordinary country who has known extraordinary hardships from natural disasters. I know that the Indonesian people are strong and resilient and have the heart to overcome this challenge,” he said. UN appeal? UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told reporters: “The latest figures we have suggest the death toll has risen already to 1,100. “Obviously [there are] many hundreds of injured people as well, and again these numbers, I fear, will rise as more information becomes available.” An assessment team is to arrive in Padang on Friday, and UN officials will decide whether to launch an emergency appeal or take money from the organisation’s Central Emergency Relief Fund, Mr Holmes added. Indonesian health officials have already predicted thousands of deaths, comparing the quake to one in the Javan city of Yogyakarta in 2006. A second quake of 6.8 struck close to Padang at 0852 local time (0152 GMT) on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.   In pictures: Sumatra earthquake Eyewitness: Sumatra earthquake The Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ The first earthquake struck at 1716 local time (1016 GMT) on Wednesday, some 85km (55 miles) under the sea, north-west of Padang, the US Geological Survey said. One of the worst disasters appeared to be the collapse of a school in Padang. One mother, Andriana, told AFP news agency she had been at the school since the first quake occurred, hoping for news of her 14-year-old daughter. “I haven’t been home yet and keep praying to God my daughter is alive.” Police said nine children had been found alive but that eight bodies had also been pulled from the rubble so far. Rescuers and medical workers are struggling to cope with the amount of destruction and the sheer number of victims. Titi Moektijasih, of the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AFP that emergency efforts so far were insufficient.   PADANG: KEY FACTS Population of 900,000, capital of West Sumatra province On coastal plain, surrounded by mountains inland Lies on one of world’s most active fault lines Near major quake epicentres in March 2007 and April 2005 Profile: Padang “Compared to the extent of the damage, you see there should be more equipment, more people to do this.” David Lange, a doctor with Surfaid International, told the BBC one of the hospitals was “completely destroyed” and medical workers were struggling to cope. “They are trying to operate in the parking lot, in a tent, in the mud.” Bob McKerrow, Red Cross head of operations in Indonesia, told the BBC it had more than 400 personnel on the ground, including 50 doctors flown in on Thursday morning. “But it’s just such a vast area to be working in with such bad infrastructure,” he said. “I mean the roads and bridges have all been damaged, so [there is] a challenge ahead of us.” The quake brought down telephone lines, severely affecting communications with the region and making it difficult to assess the scale of the damage. Power has now been restored to some parts of Padang. Health ministry teams and Indonesian soldiers have arrived in the city to aid the search for survivors. A shortage of heavy machinery remains a problem.   MAJOR INDONESIAN QUAKES 26 Dec 2004: Asian tsunami kills 170,000 in Indonesia alone 28 March 2005: About 1,300 killed after a magnitude 8.7 quake hits the coast of Sumatra 27 May 2006: Quake hits ancient city of Yogyakarta, killing 5,000 17 July 2006: A tsunami after a 7.7 magnitude quake in West Java province kills 550 people 30 Sept 2009: 7.6 magnitude quake near Sumatran city of Padang, thousands feared dead 1 Oct 2009: Second of two quakes near Padang, magnitude 6.8 – no damage or casualties reported Animated guide: Earthquakes Padang’s race against time UK charities in Pacific appeal Food, medicine and body bags have begun to arrive. Tents and blankets are also on their way. Wednesday’s quake struck about 600km north-west of Padang, along the same fault line that spawned the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Geologists have long warned that Padang – a city of 900,000 people – could one day be completely destroyed by an earthquake because of its location. The earthquake struck nearly 12 hours after a powerful quake in the South Pacific that triggered a devastating tsunami but experts said the two events were unrelated. “They were 10,000km (6,200 miles) apart,” New Zealand seismologist Bill Fry told AFP news agency. “You can get quakes that are close temporally and spatially as one transfers stress to another place against the fault, but that’s not possible this far apart.” Australia is among the countries that have offered to send emergency assistance to Indonesia if needed. next

Altsean-Burma] An unfair sentence, a dark future for the country – FIDH/BLC/Altsean-Burma Press Release

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Burma Lawyer Council (BLC) and The Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma) express their outrage regarding the condemnation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi by the Insein prison court in Rangoon to 18 months house arrest.
 
“This shocking verdict illustrates once more the Burmese junta’s total disregard for its international human rights obligations and shows the real face of the regime. With the main opposition leader and 2,100 political prisoners behind bars, the elections planned by the regime for next year will be nothing but a mockery,” said Aung Htoo, General Secretary of BLC.
 
In an advocacy note released today, FIDH, BLC and Altsean-Burma demonstrate that the widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law documented by numerous Burmese, regional and international NGOs and UN mechanisms over the past years amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes. FIDH, BLC and Altsean-Burma therefore call for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry by the UN Security Council.
 
“The condemnation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is not an isolated act of repression: it is taking place in a context where crimes against humanity and war crimes have been perpetrated for decades in Eastern Burma together with other grave human rights violations in the rest of the country. The international community must move immediately to stop this inhumanity: the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry by the Security Council is the first step for any process of justice to be initiated,” concluded Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH.
 
“The ongoing atrocities in Burma increase the urgency for a Commission of Inquiry. Even now, men, women and children continue to be subjected to extreme and systematic forms of violence and murder. The world should not allow this to go on”, emphasized Debbie Stothard, Coordinator of Altsean-Burma.
 
The Report entitled “Burma: An International Commission of Inquiry more urgent than ever,” can be downloaded at  http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/bu08.pdf
 
Press contacts
 
Gael Grilhot, FIDH Press Office:                + 33 1 43 55 90 19        
Debbie Stothard, Coordinator of Altsean-Burma:                +668 1686 1652        
Aung Htoo, General Secretary of BLC:                + 46 70 866 4159        

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