MEMORANDUM

Tuesday, 10 July 2012

MEMORANDUM

Date: 04/07/2012

The ASEAN,

The Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

The United Nations

RE:      ONGOING VIOLENCE AGAINST DEFENCELESS UNARMED ROHINGYANS IN ARAKAN STATE OF WESTERN BURMA.

According to the information we received in the past 23 days, the death number of Rohingyan is exceeded over 10,000 from Sittwe city alone and similar number from Maungdaw, Rathedaung and Kyauktaw townships. Most of them were shot dead, brutally beaten to death, burnt alive and killings of thousands of the rest of those taken away by security forces into hidden areas.  At least, 25,000 of Rohingya houses were burnt down and more than 100,000 are homeless all over Sittwe, Maungdaw, Rathedaung, Rambre Island and Kyauktaw townships.

It is not fighting each other but it is another terror of well planned genocide by Rakhines in collaboration of local Rakhine security forces. Curfew Order has been applied only to Rohingyas who have been confined within their home since it began while armed Rakhine Buddhists have been openly allowed to attack Rohingya villages, rape, robs, loots, massacre, destroy household tools and even cooking pans.

The Local security forces who are also Rakhine have sided with the Rakhine people till today and exploded more brutal crimes that include shooting fires into the houses and letting its partisan Rakhines to torch fire. Fleeing Rohingyas from the burning houses were shot dead and brutally beaten to death and slaughtered by Rakhine and its partisan Rakhine security forces while those who were unable to escape, including children, old-folks, and women were burned alive within the burning houses.

An incontrovertible source has revealed that the ongoing onslaughts on the Rohingyas is a well pre-planned ethnic-cleansing program planned by the Rakhine Nationalities and Development Party (RNDP) in collaboration of the local Rakhine security forces, for the RNDP failed to form Rakhine State Government though it won 18 seats out of the 47 in the State Hluttaw/Assembly because of the Rohingya Muslims who voted for the USDP led by the U Thein Sein (President cum Prime Minister).

Moreover, in advance/prior to the onslaughts, waters, electric, foods were cut-off for Rohingyas and various restrictions were imposed on Rohingya villages since 3 June. So, it is all about well planned ethnic-cleansing pogrom systematically turned into religious violence. Likewise, the government also shows its sympathy by setting up relief centres and contributing aid to those attacker Rakhines' family members. While there is no consideration at all about homeless Rohingya victims: women, children and those injured ones have been starved by the policies of the local authorities as they have imposed curfew order affecting the Rohingyas only.

Apart from the other painful and unbearable experiences, the Rohingya people have suffering from starvation since the curfew order began as they even cannot go out to buy and find their daily needs because the Rakhine security forces along with their partisan Rakhine.

On the one hand, the Rohingyas have not received any aid or any kinds of assistance, rather they have been forced to supply forced labors, for Rakhine people and security forces to build more model villages/new settlements at the localities of the Rohingyas so as to appear the localities as if their lands. On the other hand, the Rakhine people have been enjoying all sorts of cares and daily needs from authorities. Besides these, the Rakhine Buddhists are free to attack and rob Rohingyas as they wishes under the support of the Rakhine police and their partisan military.

The Rohingyas are in need foods, clothes, medicines, shelters, for they have been experiencing starvation, lack of medical care, shelters and clothing as they have been confined within home by the discriminate curfew order only affecting them while the Rakhine Buddhists have been allowed to move around freely as their likes.  

It's a serious crimes carry out against Rohingya in inside Arakan state that ignited from unrelated a Rakhine girl (Ma Thida Thwey) dead in her own Rakhine village of Tha-bray-chaung ward of Kyauknimaw village on 28 May 2012. Relating to this, Rakhine members of "Wanthanu Rakheta Association" distributed leaflets of blaming Muslim on the day of 3 June early morning in Taungup township. It is just an excuse of racial instigation while Rohingya people are not allowed to enter or cross into Rakhine villages. Following this, ten Muslim pilgrims killed in a mob attacks by 300 Rakhines in Taungup township on the same day. Since Gwa, Taungup, Tandwe and Ponnagyuan townships defined as Muslim-free-zones within Arakan state from year 1983, there were several hundreds of Rohingyans were killed in similar way in these regions and such crime will be continued to carry until the government implemented such draconian act.

This is a certain consequence in Rohingya history again soon after Rakhine rebel group- "Arakan Liberation Party-ALP" entered into Arakan state. We don't know the secrecy of what type of promise established between Rakhine rebel-ALP and the RNDP or State government. 

Historically, such ethnic-cleansing pogroms and/or programmes were taken place against Rohingya in years 1784, 1942, 1949, 167/68, 1978 and later of 1991 A.D. This time it was well organized one that Rakhine people received direct supports from the government armed forces and local Rakhine security forces.

The situation in Arakan was/is very abusive and totally horror even in a normal condition that every month, at least, hundred of Rohingyans were arrested with false charges and a few died during interrogation in detention.

The Rakhines people with their evil intention and ulterior motive describe Rohingyans as recent migrants. In fact, in the past five decades, there were no Rakhine settlements found in the territory of Northern Rakhine State. The majority Rakhine Buddhists found in these regions brought from the neighbouring country and settled them in the Rohingyas’ lands. The new settlements of the model villages in the Rohingyas’ localities have been started by the former regime since 1991.  It's true that there are a few hundred thousands of Bengali people in Burma but they are mostly living in central Burma and Mon state. In Arakan state, Bengali population is not more than a few hundreds.

While international media are unable to reach into the areas where the current onslaughts against the Rohingyas have been carried out by terrorist Rakhines in collaboration of Rakhine security forces, the local Burmese news groups have been prepared to misinform the world by filming of the dead bodies of Rohingyans after defacing their faces, dressing-up with yellow-robes of monk and putting guns on captive Rohingyans. Including Yangon Press International, VOA , RFA and other anti-Rohingya news agencies release fabricated news in the beginning. However, the nature of Burmese officials and Burmese news/ Burmese government mouthpiece is well known to the world. And International media reports must represent the victims' voices rather than the ones who are historically tyrants.

Rohingya people occasionally face intolerable violences are also part of the government's responsibility for revoking citizenship rights of the Rohingyas as a whole by amending Emergency Regulation 1974 and subsequently in 1982 – New citizenship law – the both laws were passed under the previous Socialist regime led by the infamous General U Ne Win.  

International community, including the world leaders need to increase/enhance pressures on the Burmese government to urgently halt the ongoing brutal attacks against defenceless-unarmed Rohingyas, to take action against those involved and to restore Law and Order and to restore equal rights of native Rohingya people including their citizenship right.

Rohingyans are ending-up between gun-fires of security forces and lethal knives of Rakhine people. This time they can't escape because security forces rounded them up all the way out, those hiding in remote areas were also attacked by Rakhines and security forces and navy forces are patrolling across the beach and eliminating them.

There is urgently in need of effective international intervention. UN's verbal pressure would not enough to ease ongoing violations supported by local authority and that would not save the lives of remaining vulnerable Rohingyans. The matter of Rohingya is directly related to international principle and UN must effectively interfere urgently.

The present onslaught on the Rohingyas is very well organized and planned ways as follows:-

1.         the Rakhine police and their partisan military soldiers terrorize the Rohingyas going from villages to villages;

2.         on and off, Rakhines and security forces enter break enter into the Rohingya houses thereby they abuse them, rape them, destroy their household tools/pans, loot their valuable things, and if any boy and man found during the operation, arrest them and took to unknown places or killed therein;

3.         The Rohingyas have been confined within their homes, have not been allowed to move out of the house, even to buy their respective daily needs;

4.         The Rohingyas have been openly told by the security forces to run away from Burma in saying the remaining Rohingyas will be finished in Burma after this;

5.         The Rakhine police, on and off, arrest Rohingyas and demand huge sum of money for not kill them or to release them; and 

Thus, untold hash treatment and suppression on the Rohingyas have been continued till today though the strategies are not opened, but slow and steady ways. These persecutions to be continued under the support of the authorities unless International community step in and convince the Myanmar Government by able means to respect the Human Rights  so as to spare/save lives of Defenceless Rohingya innocent people. 

We would like to call upon the United Nations (UN), United Nations Organizations (UNOs) and International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) and international communities to directly monitor the situation.

And we demand and request:-

1.         To immediately deploy International Peace Keeping Forces in Rohingya villages in order to protect the remaining Rohingyans;

2.         To send International Rescue Team to rescue Rohingyans who are floating between Burma-Bangladesh waters;

3.         To immediately stop various arrest, brutal abuses including sexual abuses and killing of Rohingyans;

4.         To immediately supply aid and medicines and provide shelter for homeless Rohingyans;

5.         To immediately release those thousands of Rohingyans who have been taken away by authorities and security forces to unknown hidden places;

6.         To bring into account for Rohingyans those lost lives and lost properties and houses;

7.         To compensate all affected Rohingya victims;

8.         To assist in relocation of their own lands and reconstruction of their houses on the same-their own lands; and

9.         We again and again appeal and request International community particularly ASEAN, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and United Nations to immediately launch an independent inquiry/investigation or a fact finding mission to find out actual and accurate casualties in the current onslaught on the Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State, Western part of Myanmar.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

(SAWMEE ULLAH)

For/-

Pro Tem Committee

The Union of the World Rohingya Organizations (Uni-World Rohingya)

Kuala Lumpur.

The following report is a brief of ongoing attacks on Muslim Rohingyas crisis in Arakan, and  is developed day after day based on information attained from inside Arakan by the help of Rohingya activists in both home and exile.