Skip to main content
Apply Visit Give

News

August 22-28, 2014

Weekly Media Monitoring report for Burma
Posted on August 28, 2014

Contents

Compiled by Amy Goldsworthy, MIGS Desk Office

  1. Visit of UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor to Burma
  2. Arakanese leaders propose detention camps for Rohingya
  3. Rohingya fleeing Burma by sea 
  4. Farmers ordered to destroy property on farmland
  5. Thein Sein admits corruption rife in Burmese government
Visit of UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor to Burma
Private media

Democratic Voice of Burma – ‘UN advisor Nambiar concludes trip to Burma,’ 26 August 2014

  • The UN Secretary General’s Special Advisor to Burma, Vijay Manbiar, visited Burma for the 8th time on an official visit. He left the country on Monday.
  • During his time in Burma, he met senior officials in Naypyidaw, discussed the restart of international aid with leaders in Arakan State, and observed peace negotiations in Rangoon.
  • According to a UN press statement, Nambiar is reported to have ‘conveyed a key message to all stakeholders to take a leap of faith and to MIGS Media Monitoring Report: Burma | 22 August – 28 August 2014 set aside all narrow agendas in the common interest of peace and a unifed Myanmar.’
  • When visiting Arakan State to discuss the need for the urgent resumption of humanitarian aid, the envoy was met with resistence among members of the Arakanese community, who took exception to his views on human rights and citizenship with regard to Rohingya Muslims.
  • Khine Kaung Zan, a representative for the Wonlet Foundation, said, ‘We told the UN envoy that the Bengalis [Rohingyas] should follow and respect the Constitution and laws of our country. And, we told him, we know from experience that some external influences are supporting the Bengalis.’ 
Arakanese leaders propose detention camps for Rohingya
Private media

The Irrawaddy – ‘Arakanese leaders to propose detention camps for undocumented Rohingya,’ 22 August 2014

  • Buddhist Arakanese leaders are considering a proposal that would see Rohingya Muslims without documentation proving their right to citizenship detained in camps.
  • The plan is due to be discussed further in the following days, as a citizenship verification project is restarted for Muslims in Arakan State.
  • Clashes between Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya in Arakan State broke out in mid-2012 and around 140,000 people mostly Rohingya, now live in temporary camps after fleeing the area.
  • The Ministry of Immigration is currently carrying out a nascent verification process to find out who is entitled to citizenship based on how long their families have been in Burma.
  • Than Tun, an Arakanese leader and member of the state’s Emergency Coordination Committee, told press that the proposal to round nondocumented Rohingya into detention camps was, ‘just a draft.’ They will ask for the public’s agreement at a public meeting this week, and proceed to send the draft to the President. ‘Firstly, they migrated to our land and they were illegal immigrants. But they had children, and those children are born in our land, so we cannot say their children are illegal. But, their children are still illegal settlers,’ he said.
  • An estimated 1 million Rohingya live in Arakan State, many of whom are able to trace their roots in the area back many generations. Only a few have cooperated with the citizenship verification process and agreed to identify themselves as Bengali.
  • One Rohingya activist pointed out that many people who were forced to flee the area due to fighting did not have time to bring their documents. ‘They should not say that those who do not have documents are stateless,’ he proclaimed.
Rohingya fleeing Burma by sea
Private media

Phuketwan – ‘Rohingya fleeing Burma by sea,’ 24 August 2014

  • A new UNHCR report on irregular maritime movements in Southeast Asia has shown that over 20,000 people risked their lives in sea crossings in the area in the first six months of this year. Many of these were Rohingya fleeing Burma, and suffered malnutrition and abuse during the journey.
  • In the two years following the June 2012 outbreak of violence in Rakhine State, an estimated 87,000 people, mostly Rogingya and also Bangladeshis, took the journey across the sea away from their homelands.
  • In Thailand, the survivors of these journeys were packed into pick up trucks on arrival and forced to sit or lie on top of up to 20 other people. They were taken to smugglers camps, and many confined for up to 6 months behind wooden fences. Many had to pay up to 2200 US dollars to buy their release.
  • UNHCR cited ''a very challenging protection environment'' for refugees in the region. States, including Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, are not signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention and do not possess formal legal frameworks for dealing with refugees.''Without a legal status they are often at risk of arrest, detention, and deportation under immigration laws,'' said Adrian Edwards, UNHCR spokesperson. ''It also makes legal employment impossible and drives many people, including women and children, into exploitative and vulnerable situations.''
 Farmers ordered to destroy property on farmland
Private media

Asian Human Rights Commission –  ‘Burma: Military demands farmers destroy their own homes,’ 22 August 2014

  • The Township Adminsitrative Office in Burma has ordered farmers from Ngetpyawtine village tract, Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Division to remove houses on their farmland. If they fail to do so, they they will be prosecuted.
  • Over 200 soldiers have been destroying the farmers’ crops on the confiscated land since July 22 2014. Approximately 5000 of 13000 acres have already been destroyed.
  • When the Burmese military first began to grab land from farmers, they reasoned that they were carrying out ‘training exercises’ on the land.
  • Although farmers have staged protests, authorities say that farmers do not possess the documents that show that they own the land. If they do not vacate the area, they will be liable for more serious prosecution.
President Thein Sein admits corruption rife in Burmese government
State-owned media

Myanmar Times – ‘President wants civil service to change mindset over corruption,’ 25 August 2014

  • During a meeting between senior government ministers at the Presidential Palace last week, President Thein Sein made clear that he intended to maintain full momentum in fighting corruption within his government for the rest of his term.
  • Thein Sein wants to target the mentality of civil servants in particular, as well as step up action to end bribery and corruption in the coming year.
  • The Burmese government has already has an Anti-Corruption Law, and formed an Anti-Corruption Commission, earlier this year, but has yet to publish any reports.
  • The effectiveness of another body, the Anti-Bribery Commission, has already been thrown into question. ‘We have no power to take action, just analyse complaints,’ said T Thinn Maung, head of the commission’s information team.
  • Over 400 of the complaints the commission has received so far relate to land-grabbing disputes, but the government has yet to take action regarding this issue.