January 30 - February 5, 2015

Human Rights Watch releases report on Burma

Private media

Democratic Voice of Burma, January 30: "Human Rights in Burma a ‘Car Crash’"

• A Human Rights Watch report, World Report 2015, said that the human rights situation in Burma regressed in 2014.
• Progress made since President Thein Sein took power in 2011 has derailed
• “After two years of steady if uneven progress, Burma’s human rights situation was a car crash in 2014,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. 
• The HRW analysis of Burma shines a spotlight on the repression and persecution of Burma’s 1.1 million strong Rohingya Muslim minority. It accuses both prominent antiMuslim group the “969 Organisation” and the government-backed The Association for the Protection of Race and Religion or Ma Ba Tha as it is commonly known, of inciting violence in the country. 

International media

International Media Human Rights Watch, January 29: “Burma: Rights Heading in the Wrong Direction”

• This report covers the same details as above, also mentioning that the military-dominated government repressed ethnic Rohingya Muslims, curtailed burgeoning media freedoms, and blocked crucial constitutional changes in advance of the planned 2015 elections.
• It provides more context, detail and statistics on the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya. 

‘Rohingya is the name of a terror group’ – police officials

Private media

Burma Times, January 31: “Rohingya is the name of a terror group”

• Police officials have informed a local crowd of over 200 people at Buthidaung Town Bazar that Rohingyas are not a people but a terrorist group
• “Rohingya is not the name of a group of people but a terrorist group,” said a senior police official in an apparent reference to banned group Rohingya Solidarity Organisation. He said that anyone who insists on being identified as a Rohingya will be branded as a terrorist and necessary legal actions will be taken against them.
• Another police official told the crowd that anyone wishing to stay in the country must obey their rules. “Obama and Ban Ki Moon does not know the history of our country,” he said, “anyone wishing to stay in Myanmar must obey our laws.”
• Last few weeks have seen increased concerns by the UN which passed a non binding resolution urging the government to ensure equal rights for Rohingyas, and recognition of the term Rohingya.

Youths promise ethnic cleansing of Arakanese Muslims

Private media

Burma Times, February 1: “Youths promise ethnic cleansing of Arakanese Muslims”

• Rakhine nationalist youths at Akyab have pledged to cleanse the Arakan of Muslims in a public gathering on Friday.
• At the gathering, Rakhine youths pledged that there will be further attacks on Muslims until there are none left in Arakan. They reported discussed methods to achieve the ethnic cleansing.
• They said Buddhists were unfairly blamed for violence in the region.
• Arakan is the former name of the Rakhine State of Burma.

Response to Rakhine Action Plan

State-owned media

Myanmar Times, February 2: “Despite Action Plan, IDP Resettlement a Distant Dream”

• A government resettlement program for IDPs in Rakhine State (‘Rakhine Action Plan’) is not expected to move forward in 2015 as scheduled, aid workers and displaced people say, in part due to election-year politics and resistance to a citizenship verification program. 
• An estimated 140,000 people – mostly Muslims – remain in displaced persons camps. Previous efforts to move Muslim IDPs to semi-permanent shelters have faced fierce protests from Rakhine nationalists, who say the IDPs are foreigners who should not be allowed to own land. 
• The Rakhine Action Plan was drafted in response to mounting international criticism of the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State and treatment of the Muslim Rohingya. It is supposed to set out a blueprint for displaced persons leaving the camps.
• However, only those with formal identification documents would be allowed to resettle. Muslims without documents could only get them by agreeing to be classified as Bengali, which is how the government refers to the Rohingya.

Private media

Burma Times, February 2: “Paramilitary harasses Rohingya based on Rakhine Action Plan”

• The Burmese military has been harassing Rohingya who are cooperating with the Rakhine Action Plan.
• The military harasses chiefs of houses, threatening and forcing them to be enlisted in the ongoing Forced Bengalization.
• According to the Rakhine Action Plan, people “who reject definition in the existing laws” will be ineligible for citizenship, because the term “Rohingya” does not appear on a list of 135 officially-recognised “national races.”

Attacks on Livelihood

Private media

Rohingya Blogger, January 31: “Rakhine group attacks Rohingya fisherman in Pauktaw village”

• A group of fishermen were attacked in an ancient Rohingya village in Pauktaw village. 
• A group of Rakhine men shot at the fishermen, and threw stones into their boats.

• Rohingyas in Pauktaw fear that the government and Buddhist nationalists have organised groups of Rakhine thugs to attack Rohingya fishermen and rob their assets. This is meant to deprive the Rohingyas of one of their last source of livelihoods.
• There were several attacks of Rohingya fishermen by Rakhine men in the area earlier this week.
• Rohingyas have few livelihood options, as they cannot legally leave their designated zones

• 100 Rohingya families have been forced out of their homes by threats from local politicians and authorities.
• These families lived in shelters provided by their employers, fishermen who exploit Rohingya for cheap labour in deep sea fishing.

Lawmakers debate religious protection bills

Private media

Irawaddy, January 30: “Lawmakers Debate Religious Protection Bills”

• Burmese parliament is debating a series of ‘religious protection bills,’ including a prohibition on interfaith marriage that was drafted by U Wirathu.
• Arakan National Party rep: “We are trying to protect our religion because we are worried that other religions will influence our religion.” 
• However, Aung Kyi Nyunt from the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) rejected the legislation on human rights grounds. 
• “Our country signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but our country is trying to implement this law. This would violate UN law,” he said. 

White Card holders eligible to vote on constitutional reform

Private media

The Irawaddy, February 3: “White Card Holders Eligible to Vote on Constitutional Reform”

• Burma’s Union Parliament passed a law granting temporary citizens the right to vote in a constitutional referendum slated for later this year.
• The 2015 referendum law automatically enfranchises about 1.5 million “white card” holders, who live in Burma but do not enjoy full citizenship rights. This includes Rohingyas.
• Critics said that granting the vote to non-citizens would hurt Burma’s sovereignty. 
• Burma’s roughly 1 million Rohingya Muslims were stripped of citizenship by the former junta (military dictatorship).
• The proposal was approved by a vote from MPs, with 328 votes in support, 79 objections and 19 abstentions. 

• This article summarises what is stated above.

• The Rakhine National Party (RNP) and some civil society organisations have voiced their opposition to parliament’s decision to allow holders of temporary identification documents, or white cards, to vote in the constitutional referendum.
• RNP in Rakhine State have vowed to “relentlessly fight” the move “via various means.” 

• Nationalist monks and laypeople plan to stage seven days of protests beginning on Monday to denounce a parliamentary decision this week allowing temporary citizens to vote in a nationwide referendum on constitutional reform.
• Protests will be held in Rangoon and Rakhine State. 
• The National Democratic Force (NDF) party has also joined in the backlash against Parliament, releasing a statement on Wednesday urging the legislature to reconsider and reverse its decision granting temporary citizens the right to vote in the referendum. 

Backlash over UN Human Rights Envoy comments

Private media

Irawaddy, February 4: “Government Chastises UN Rights Envoy for Burma Criticism”

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday condemned the UN human rights envoy to Burma, saying many of her concerns “don’t reflect the overall positive aspects of the current situation” and “interfere in state sovereignty and domestic jurisdiction,”
• This is the same envoy who was the target of slurs by Buddhist monk U Wirathu last week.
• The government’s statement criticised her use of the term Rohingya in her report. “Use of such a term by the United Nations would certainly draw the strong resentment of the people of Myanmar, making the government’s efforts to address the issue more difficult,” the statement said. 

• Yanghee Lee United Nations human rights envoy to Burma on Thursday hit back at government claims she was infringing upon state sovereignty and exacerbating tensions in the country, saying the criticism was “hard to comprehend.”
• “I have a mandate to monitor and report on the human rights situation of Burma and it’s really difficult to understand why the sovereignty issue was brought up,” Lee told Irawaddy.
• The rapporteur questioned the ministry’s assertion that the race and religion draft laws were in accordance with the will of the people, describing the four bills as “clearly against all international norms” and in breach of Burma’s international human rights treaty obligations. 
• She also defended her use of the term Rohingya.

Reuters, February 4: “Myanmar condemns UN official for using term ‘Rohingya’

• Myanmar condemned UN envoy Yanghee Lee for calling conditions in Rohingya camps ‘abysmal.’
• Story contains general details about Rohingya refugees and the political situation in Myanmar.

Conditions in refugee camps

Private media

Burma Times, February 5: “Kutupalong refugees face harassment”

• In Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, Rohingya Muslim refugees are facing increased harassment due to the activities of the camp authorities
• One source says that he was prevented from leaving the camp, and describes it as a ‘detention centre.’
• Refugees in the camp requested the government of Bangladesh and human rights group to intervene in Kutupalong refugee camp. 

• Camp authorities at Nayapara refugee camp have threatened to take action against refugees who have turned in their ration cards protesting the absence of the term ‘Rohingya’.
• Refugees say that although the term ‘Rohingya’ was inscribed in their ration books when they were first allocated in 1992, since 2005, the camp authorities have gradually erased the term since 2005 after pressure from Burmese government which does not recognise the ethnic group.
• Lately Rohingya refugees have turned in their ration cards after their ethnic identity was not inserted. In response camp authorities have told them that they will lose their status as refugees and will be ejected from Nayapara altogether.