Rohingya Cleric Tortured to Death in Buthidaung

By Anwar M.S.January 17, 2017 

By Rohingya Mirror | January 17, 2017

 

Buthidaung — A Rohingya Cleric was tortured to death by the Myanmar military in Buthidaung Township last Sunday (on Jan 15), a reliable source has reported. 

The victim cleric is identified as Mv. Badullah (60) from the village of ‘Ngaran Chaung’ in ‘Taung Bazaar’ area in Northern Buthidaung.

Last Friday (on Jan 13), approximately 30 military personnel from the ‘Battalion 552’ raided the house of Mv. Badullah and arrested him was along with his son Hala Bodiya apparently with the accusation of possessing weapons.

The cleric was inhumanely tortured for two days leading him to an unfortunate demise on Sunday.

On Monday (Jan 16) morning, the military took the dead body of the cleric to Taung Bazaar hospital for autopsy. Afterwards, the military summoned the remaining family members of the cleric and some elderly persons from his (the deceased’s) neighborhood and forced them to give statement and sign (on papers) that he was an asthma patient and died because of the disease.

After that, the military handed over the dead body to the family members for funeral and he was buried in the evening.

Earlier, the military arrested three more villagers of Ngaran Chaung on January 9 on arbitrary allegation of involving in the raids on the three Border Guard Police (BGP) posts in Maungdaw on October 9, 2016. They were publicly tortured after the arrests and taken to the Battalion 552. From there, they were transferred to the Buthidaung Prison in the evening on January 9 without any trial.

They are:

1) Abu Sufyan

2) and his son Burshah

3) Sultan Ahmed

The Myanmar military have since recently started conducting sporadic raids on Rohingya villages in ‘Taung Bazaar’ area on pretext of searching weapons hidden in the region. The military have ordered the villagers of ‘Ngaran Chaung’ through the village administrator, U Maung Lone, to stay home and also threatened them (the villagers) to be shot dead in case of fleeing from homes (in fear of arrests) during raids.

Source by: http://www.rvisiontv.com

OIC will push Myanmar to halt Rohingya crisis

• 18 Jan 2017

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman speaks during a press conference a day before the Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers at a conference centre in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. (AP photo)

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s foreign minister said Wednesday that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is expected to call for a halt to violence against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority and for the safe return of refugees.

Malaysia, which has urged Myanmar to stop what it calls a policy of genocide towards Rohingya, is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from OIC nations in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to discuss the crisis.

Security forces in Buddhist-majority Myanmar are accused of widespread abuses against Rohingya, including killings, rape and the burning of thousands of homes, that have driven an estimated 65,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh in the past three months.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said the matter is worrying to the OIC because it was established to protect the Muslim community.

He said the OIC envoy for Myanmar, Syed Hamid Albar, will brief the ministers from the 57-member OIC about the crisis.

A communique to be issued at the end of the one-day meeting is expected to call on Myanmar to “abide by its obligations under international law and prevent the worsening of what is now an acute humanitarian crisis” in its Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live, he said. It will also urge Myanmar to ensure the safe return of displaced Rohingya, he said.

Anifah said Malaysia will push for Myanmar to allow “unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance to reach the Rohingya.”

Myanmar’s army began a crackdown in Rakhine in October after nine policemen were killed in attacks along the border. The government and the army have rejected accusations of abuses and killings, saying they have simply been conducting a “clearance operation” in the region.

Rohingya villagers and activists say hundreds of civilians have been killed. The number cannot be verified because authorities have limited access for aid workers and journalists to areas where the deaths occurred. Recent satellite images show thousands of houses were burned.

Despite living in Myanmar for generations, an estimated 1 million Rohingya are barred from citizenship in the nation of 50 million, and instead live as some of the world’s most persecuted people. More than 100,000 Rohingya are living in squalid internal displacement camps.

There have been expressions of serious concern by international human rights groups, UN agencies and Western governments about treatment of the Rohingya.

In Myanmar, there was a rare show of solidarity for the Rohingya cause Wednesday as more than 40 civil society groups announced their support for an independent investigation into the situation in Rakhine. Prejudice against the Rohingya is widespread in Myanmar, with ultra-nationalist Buddhist monks spearheading campaigns against the minority. Those showing sympathy for the Rohingya have sometimes been harassed themselves.

“Despite concerns voiced by governments and human rights organisations … the situation across Rakhine state continues to worsen, and tensions continue to rise,” the groups said in a statement.

They called for a “commission of inquiry to fully assess the totality of the situation in Rakhine state and provide clear recommendations for the current government to effectively address and prevent further problems.”

A commission with a similar mandate was established last year with former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as its chief, but critics charge that some of its Myanmar members are biased against the Rohingya.

source by: http://www.bangkokpost.com

Myanmar groups call for independent probe into alleged abuse of Rohingya Muslims

Shashank BengaliContact Reporter

Dozens of ethnic minority groups called on Wednesday for an independent international investigation in western Myanmar, adding to pressure on the government to account for alleged human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims.

A statement signed by 41 civil society organizations was a show of broad-based concern inside Myanmar about the ongoing crackdown in Rakhine state, where security forces have been accused of razing Muslim villages and torturing and killing civilians.

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The groups called for “an international and truly independent investigation … to fully assess the totality of the situation in Rakhine state and provide clear recommendations for the current government to effectively address and prevent further problems.”

Human rights groups said the statement was significant because the Myanmar government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has rejected calls for an international inquiry in Rakhine in part because it would face opposition from “local people.”

The signatories include Buddhist and ethnic Burman groups, which make up the majority of Myanmar’s 53 million people. Hard-line Buddhist monks have been widely accused of leading 2012 pogroms in Rakhine that killed hundreds of Rohingya Muslims.

The estimated 1 million Rohingya in Myanmar are one of the world’s most persecuted people, denied citizenship and basic rights by the government, which regards them as interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh.

Since Rohingya militants were blamed for attacks against Myanmar security forces in October, at least 86 civilians have been killed and an estimated 66,000 people have fled into Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown.

Preliminary results of a government investigation released this month found no human rights violations and described media reports as “fake news” and “an attempt to cause misunderstandings about Myanmar.” It also denied reports of a humanitarian crisis in Rakhine, despite United Nations data showing that the military operation was causing widespread hunger and malnutrition in the coastal state.

Last month, a group of Nobel laureates called on the government to open an international inquiry. The message underscored how Suu Kyi, an icon for her decades-long opposition to Myanmar’s former military junta, is growing isolated internationally for her refusal to account for abuses against the Rohingya.

The statement Wednesday by women’s groups, academic institutions and advocacy organizations working with ethnic minority communities came on the eve of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an international body of 57 member states, to discuss the Rohingya issue. The group’s envoy to Myanmar has called for a U.N. intervention in Myanmar to stop what he termed “genocide.”

The statement “is important for the entire country,” said Matthew Smith, chief executive of Fortify Rights, a human rights group working in Southeast Asia. “It’s time for the government to get on board and support the establishment of an impartial and independent inquiry.”

Source by: http://www.latimes.com