March 7-13, 2015

Situation of the Rohingya

State/private media

The Myanmar Times National News – “Teachers fear census language barrier in northern Rakhine State” March 9, 2014

• Teachers that have been assigned to work at schools in the Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships in northern Rakhine State fear that the data census that they have been asked to collect will be limited due to the local language dialect barriers.
• Most of the Rohingya Muslims only speak Myanmar and Rakhine, languages that many of the teachers do not understand.
• The government of Myanmar and many of the citizens reject the term Rohingya and insist that the Muslims in Rakhine State are Bengalis. This can be seen as a direct reflection of the very limited and low interaction between the ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya communities of the region.
• U Khin Yi, Minister for Immigration and Population suggests that this language barrier could be dealt with through interpreters.
• The uneasy tensions in the Rakhine region have been developing over time, with some violent outbreaks from both the ethnic Rakhine and the Rohingya. Nevertheless, both Rakhine and Rohingya residents say they are enthusiastic about participating in the census and hope that it will be carried out smoothly. 

MSF and other NGOs in Rakhine

Joint State/Private media

The Myanmar Times National News – “MSF Rakhine negotiations making headway: rights group” March 12, 2014

• Tom Andrews, the president of US-based advocacy group United to End Genocide, stated in an interview that MSF (Medecins Sans Frontiers), who was expelled from Rakhine by the government in late February, is moving in a positive direction and hopes that the MSF clinics will be able to re-open soon.
• There are hopes that the many clinics and MSF will be able to reopen soon, following negotiations and agreements with the Myanmar government.
• Andrews visited the camps in the Rakhine State in order to assess the impact of MSF’s shutdown.

Private media

Radio Free Asia – “Myanmar’s Rakhine Lawmakers Mull Shutting Down Unregistered NGOs” March 7, 2014

• Rakhine state legislature will consider a plan to shut down unregistered NGOs operating in the state following the expulsion of the MSF last week.
• An estimated 70 NGOs have applied to work in Rakhine since the violence broke out in 2012 between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas. 
  • However, only 15 international NGOs and 4 domestic groups have been approved. Consequently, many NGOs operate without formal papers in the region.
• More than 200 people have been killed, tens of thousands have been displaced and the authorities in the Rakhine majority state have suggested that NGOs provide “preferential treatment” to Rohingyas.
• Lawmaker Aung Win, from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) submitted a proposal to officially remove all unregistered NGOs from the region in order to prevent them from “causing bigger problems” between the two ethnic communities.
  • Win explains that these INGOs and NGOs creating a bad image for the country, even stating that the RNDP has seen some organizations act disrespectfully to the local people. 
• Other RNDP lawmakers express their concerns with the illegal operations of the NGOs in the Rakhine state and suggest that, “the best way to carry out any work is to work according to law,” meaning by being legally registered.

Government dismisses allegations of Rohingya Killings

Private media

The Irrawaddy – “Government Investigation Dissmisses Allegations of Rohingya Killings” March 11, 2014

• The 20-page final report released by the Burmese government on the alleged killings of dozens of Rohingya Muslimsin northern Arakan State (DuuChee Yar Tan village) in January denies such violence took place.
• The investigation commission was established on February 6, 2014 and conducted its field assessment from February 15 to 21, 2014, with a mandate that focused on finding the root cause of the death of the policeman.
• Much of the focus of the report focused on expressing the government’s displeasure with the work of the UN and MSF-Holland in the region.
• State officials told the press that investigations found no evidence that point towards the killings of the Muslim civilians.
• UN human rights rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana said on February 20 that the Arakhan had been informed that around 100 policemen carried out operations that killed over a dozen Rohingyas.
• The report explains how media coverage and media organizations that published the statements made by the UN, MSF and human rights organizations about the alleged killings, did so without concrete evidence.
  • The commission recommended that, “strong measures be taken to counter the false allegations made by the media. This includes sharing of information with the public and establishing mechanisms to counter the false allegations.
• Finally the report also recommends that the government keep a tight control on the Rakhine State operations of international NGOs. The report condemns UN operations in the region, saying that, “instead of working together with the Myanmar Government to resolve any misunderstandings and problems, the UN has focused on trying to prove the veracity of its report, thereby wasting its time”.

Ceasefire and Peace process

Private media

Democratic Voice of Burma – “Peace efforts bearing fruit, says Khin Maung Swe” March 12, 2014

• In an effort to move forward with the peace process, the 11-party Federal Democratic Alliance held a closed door meeting with the ethnic groups’ Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT).
• Khin Maung Swe, chairperson of the FDA and leading member of the National Democratic Force, urged the NCCT to achieve a nationwide peace before the 2015 elections so that the gaps in the 2008 constitution can be fixed and democratic reforms, human rights mechanisms and a framework for federalism enacted.
• The NCCT met on March 8-9 with representatives of the government’s Internal Peace Making Working Committee in Rangoon, where they reached an agreement to form a joint-committee to finalize the drafting of a nationwide ceasefire agreement. 

Democratic Voice of Burma – “SSA-S says it seeks separate ceasefire deal” March 12, 2014

• The Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) said it will not fully adhere to any nationwide ceasefire agreement, but will work towards a separate peace deal with the Burmese government.
• SSA-S spokesperson Sai La said that the SSA-S is participating in the country’s peace process as an ethnic armed organization, however with regard to the nationwide ceasefire agreement, the SSA-S will only sign clauses they agree with.
• The SSA-S delegation met in January with the IPMWC’s deputy-chair Minister Aung Min who pledged a second round of talks the following month, but the meeting did not go ahead.  

HRW: Myanmar army still among most abusive in the world

Private media

Myanmar News.net – “Myanmar Army: ‘Among Most Abusive in the World’” March 13, 2014

• Human Right’s Watch criticized the UN for raising the possibility of Myanmar contributing UN peacekeepers. In a letter sent to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, HRW says the nation’s military remains among the most abusive in the world, despite Myanmar’s democratic opening. The military remains unreformed and continues to use child soldiers.
• This issue was raised to the special adviser on Myanmar when he met with Myanmar’s commander in chief earlier last month.
• Myanmar’s UN mission did not immediately comment.