The Ethnic Rohingyas of Arakan:Living Under the Oppressive Claws of a Tyrannical Regime in Burma

The Situation Of Rohingyas In Arakan-Burma(Myanmar).

Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan( BRAJ)
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Introduction

The Arakan State of Burma, bordering Bangladesh, is inhabited by two
ethnic sister communities, the Rakhine Buddhist and the Rohingya
Muslim. The Rakhine Buddhists are the majority group while the
Rohingya Muslims are minority group. The Rohingyas numbering
approximately 1.5 million, enduring continued persecution and the
ethnic cleansing policy of military regime in Burma. Also about 1.5
million Rohingyas have been living in exile in many countries all
over the world. The Rohingyas in Burma continue to suffer from
several forms of restrictions and human rights violations. The
Rohingyas freedom of movement is severely restricted and right to
education is harshly deprived. The Rohingyas have effectively been
denied Burmese citizenship by the current SPDC military regime,
although the previous democratically elected governments had
recognized them as the citizens of Burma. They are also subjected to
various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land
confiscation , forced eviction and house destruction and
restrictions on marriage. Rohingyas continue to be used as forced
labors on roads and at military security camps.

Historical Background

The Rohingyas, whose settlements in Arakan dated back to 788 AD, are
an ethnic group develops from different groups of people. They trace
their ancestry to Arabs, Moors, Persian, Turks, Mughals, Pathans,
Bangalees, Rakhine, Chakmas, Dutch and Portuguese.

Rohang / Roshang, the old name of Arakan, was very familiar with the
Arab seafarers even during the pre-Islamic days. The descendants of
the mixed marriage between the local people and Arabs founded the
original nucleus of the Rohingyas in Arakan. The Rohingyas speak a
particular language mixed primarily with words from the Urdu, Hindi
and Arabic languages but also from the Bama, Rakhine and English
languages. The Rohingyas preserved their own heritage and culture
even with the impact of Buddhist environment.

Historically and geo-politically, Arakan was a part of Bengal. It
was separated from Burma by impassable Arakan Yoma range. Before the
Burmese domination, Indo- Arian culture flourished and Indian people
settled in mass there. All early dynasties of Arakan were Indians.
All historic monuments inscriptions and religious edifices were
Indian in character. Here the Rohingyas are the descendants of Indo-
Arian people of early Arakan. Some of them, of course mixed with the
Rakhine. Until the 17th century, there were many colonies of Arab
traders in Arakarn. Rohingyes got the religious of Islam through
there direct contact with these Arabs.

The last dynasty of Arakan was the Mrauk Oo dynasty which ruled from
15th to 18th centaury. It was highly influenced by Muslim culture.
The official language was Persian, the written language of Muslims
of that time. The basis of Muslim religious faith, the kalima was
inscribed on all of the coins. Almost all kings had Muslim titles.
Courteous, arm forces and personnel in many other fields were almost
all Muslims. So Rohingya Muslims are not migrant people as is
accused today by the military government of Burma. They are natives
of that region of Burma. The colonial British census records in 1825
A.D show one Muslim for every two Buddhists in Arakan. The year 1825
is a landmark in the history of Burma. All of Burma's constitution
and citizenship acts provide indigenous status to all people who
were permanently residing in Arakan or in the Union of Burma before
1825. So, above mentioned Muslims prior 1825 (before British
occupation of Burma) were counted as one of the lawfully indigenous
race's of Burma. But, today the military regime is blindly denying
historical reality and accusing all Rohingyas as to be Bangladeshi
illegal immigrants. It is a deliberate conspiracy on the part of
military government to make Rohingyas stateless.

Until the advent of the military regime, Rohingyas have enjoyed full
fledge Burmese citizenship. There have been foreigner's acts and
foreigner's Registration Rules. Rohingyas were not required to
register under those acts and rules. According to the Burmese
Constitution's of 1947 and 1974, as well as according to 1948
Citizenship Acts, Rohingyas are Burmese citizens. Rohingyas enjoyed
public employment and obtained Burmese Passport. The Rohingyas got
the rights to elect and to be elected in all levels of
administrative institutions including parliament.

The general elections for the Constituent Assembly was held in
Arakan in 1947 (before the independence of Burma), excluding two
areas of Maungdaw and Buthidaung. After independence, however,
elections were held there; Mr.Sultan Ahmed and Mr. Abdul Ghaffar,
both Rohingyas, were elected from those two areas. From the holding
of the Constituent Assembly elections (1947) until the 1962 military
takeover, three parliamentary general elections were held for both
houses of Parliament in 1951, 1956, and 1960 respectively. In the
1951 general elections Rohingyas won 5 seats, four in the Lower
House, and one in the Upper House. The Rohingyas had no political
Party of their own. They stood either as independents or as
supporters of AFPFL. In 1956 and in the 1960 general elections
Rohingya retained all their five seats of north Arakan. Rohingyas
had parliamentarians, parliament secretaries, even ministerial
posts. Mr.Sultan Mahmood, Ex-Parliamentary Secretary, in the British-
India Legislative Assembly was inducted into the Cabinet of Former
Prime Minister U Nu as a Health minister in 1961.

In 1990 SLORC sponsored multiparty general elections; however, the
Rohingyas were not only able to vote but were allowed to stand as
candidates, a right normally denied to non-citizens. The National
Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR), a Rohingya political
Party, won four seats, capturing all the constituencies in
Buthidaung and Maungdaw. Subsequently, the NDPHR was, like many
other political parties, which won seats in the 1990 elections,
deregistered by the military regime in March 1992.

Denial of Citizenship

The Rohingyas of Burma are vulnerable as they have no legal status
in their homeland and are considered non-citizens. The plight of the
Rohingyas demonstrate how people without citizenship rights in their
own country can be forced out and become refugees, leaving them
still vulnerable and without citizenship in their country of origin.

The "so-called" Burma Citizenship Law of 1982, which violates
several fundamental principles of customary International Law
standards, has reduced the Rohingyas to the status of Stateless
people. Although the 1982 Citizenship law is also discriminatory
towards the vast majority of the Indian and Chinese populations of
Burma, as the promulgation of this law took place soon after the
exodus of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh in 1978. Once the
refugees had been repatriated, this law was specifically designed
effectively to deny Rohingyas the right to a nationality. The 1982
Citizenship law has had the effect of rendering the vast majority of
Rohingyas ineligible to be Burma citizens. The law also makes no
provision in relation to stateless persons. (i.e. Rohingyas)

The current 1982 Burma citizenship law unlike , the preceding 1948
Act, which conferred equal right on all citizens, creates three
classes of citizen; full citizens, associate citizens and
naturalized citizens (the Rohingya don't qualify into any of these
three). The Rohingyas are not issued any new national identity cards
which are issued to other citizens. The withholding of citizenship
has become a mechanism for discrimination and persecution on the
basis of ethnicity. ID cards are very essential in all national
activities. ID cards must be carried at all times and a card number
has to be given when buying, or selling anything, staying overnight
with friends or relatives outside own council area, applying for any
civil service and professional post and other daily activities.

Most of the National Registration cards (NRCs) issued to the
Rohingyas during the parliamentary governments or before SLORC/SPDC
regime has been confiscated by the authorities. The authorities had
issued Temporary Registration Cards (TRCs) to some Rohingyas in
Maungdaw and Buthidaung, locally known as "white cards" against
their protest. This was nothing but a design to degrade their
national status and put them in a state of uncertainty. In the past
few months the authorities in the capital Rangoon arrested and
detained several Rohingyas who had been living there for more than 4
decades and got National Scrutiny cards legally. The authorities are
extorting money from their family members and those who are unable
to pay are sent to jail.

Restriction of Movement

Rohingyas in Arakan State must routinely apply for permission to
leave their village, even if it is just to go another nearby
village. This has had serious repercussions on their livelihood and
food security, as they are often unable to seek employment outside
their village or trade goods and produce unless they have official
permission and obtain a pass which they must pay for .Most Rohingyas
cannot afford to pay on a regular basis for these permits. As two-
third of the Rohingyas is poor day laborers, the restrictions on
their movement also greatly affect their ability to find work in
other villages or towns.The constraints on freedom of movement are
one of the major problems facing Rohingyas. These restrictions
prevented people from seeking work in other villages, trading,
fishing or even attending a funeral of a relative or visiting a
doctor.

When Rohingyas want to travel to a village in the same township they
must obtain a local travel pass at the VPDC. If they need to go
further, for example to another township, they need to apply for a
different kind of travel permit at the Immigration department at the
Nasaka camp, the so- called "form 4". It is almost impossible for
Rohingyas of Maungdaw and Buthidaung to visit Sittwe, the capital
city of Rakhine State (Arakan). If Rohingya from Sittwe manage to
travel to north Rakhin State, it is extremely difficult for them to
return to their homes in Sittwe, let alone travel to Yangon.

Freedom of movement is fundamental human rights, upon which other
human rights are contingent. Rohingyas' inability to travel freely
greatly inhibits their ability to earn a living, obtain proper
health care, and to seek higher education. In October 2004, over 165
Rohingya students were deprived of appearance in their supplementary
examination as they were denied issuing their travel document to go
to Sittwe by the authorities. The reason given was that DPDC
Chairman was directed not to issue any travel documents without the
knowledge of the Western Command Commander Brig.General Maung Oo
based in Ann town, Arakan state. The ordinary Rohingyas can hardly
think of going to Sittwe where students are sometimes allowed to
travel with the special travel permission from authorities under
very much humiliating conditions and by paying large sums of money.

The sweeping restrictions on the movement of Rohingyas are
disproportionate and discriminatory; they are imposed on all
Rohingyas because they are Rohingyas, not on members of other ethnic
nationalities in Rakhine State. They are broad and indiscriminate in
their application and such are unlawful. They have a severe negative
impact on the lives of thousands of Rohingyas who have not committed
any offence. Especially serious is the fact that these restrictions
constitute, in addition, violations of other basic human rights for
the Rohingyas including the right to work, and the right to an
adequate standard of living.

Forced Labor

North Arakan has turned into a militarized zone resulting in the
increase of forced labor and other violations of human rights. Still
forced Labor is phenomenal all over Arakan, particularly in the
Rohingya areas, although under increasing pressure from ILO. The
SPDC officials are extracting statements from the people that there
is no forced Labor .The armed forces routinely confiscate property,
cash, food and use coercive and abusive recruitment methods to
procure porters.

The Rohingyas have to build, without wages, military establishments,
roads, bridges, embankments, pagodas and ponds.According to an
elder, the Rohingya villagers of Alay Thankyaw and Myint Hlut
village tracts of Maungdaw South have been engaged in forced Labor
at Na Ka Pa camp since 27th February 2005.The villagers have had to
plough the farm land and grow various vegetables, to construct
buildings of the camps, to carry woods from the forest to bake
bricks, to clean up the camp compounds everyday, and to repair the
damaged roads and the streets nearby the camps . Besides, since
January 2, 2005, the villagers have also to pay sentry guards for Na
Ka Pa along the rivers and seashores from 5pm to 6am everyday.

Forced labor demands from the authorities' place a large burden on
the Rohingya population as it leaves them with not enough time to do
their own work. The kind of forced labor that is requested and
frequency differs from place to place and appears to be related to
the attitude of local authorities and number of military or Na Sa Ka
camps near the village. Most of the times it is the poorest who must
undertake forced labor, as people who can afford it often are able
to pay a bribe to the authorities.

The burden of forced labor demands from the authorities falls mainly
on the Rohingya population as the Rakhine population living in the
same areas appears to often be exempted from it. In Maungdaw and
Buthidaung and to a lesser degree in Rathidaung township, only
Rohingyas are normally required to perform forced labor .The forced
labor situation has become so excruciating that the Rohingyas have
been rendered jobless and shelter less.

Land Confiscation, Forced Eviction and House Destruction.

The confiscation of land in Northern Rakhine state is related to the
establishment of "model villages", the construction or expansion of
Na Sa Ka, military and police camps and establishing plantations for
security forces and also for new settlers. Recently the process of
forced eviction had been intensified by the authorities.The military
regime policy of relocating Rakhine Buddhists and other non-
Rohingyas to especially established model villages to Northern
Arakan state has resulted in the confiscation of land from the
Rohingya population.

A model village is usually built to house about 100 families. Each
family receives four acres of land, a pair of oxen and house .These
model villages have been built on land that was confiscated from the
Rohingya population. Houses and health centers in the model villages
are built by forced labor by the Rohingya. The majority of people in
model villages do not cultivate the land allocated to them and
instead rent it out to Rohingya farmers, in some cases the same
people from whom the land was originally confiscated. The
confiscation of land from Rohingyas to build model villages deprives
them of opportunities to sustain their livelihood as these are rice
field, shrimp farms grazing grounds for their cattle. Furthermore,
the Rohingya population of nearby villages is often forced to build
the houses and other facilities of the model villages without pay.
They had to provide the building materials as well.

The building and the extension of military camps mainly for the Na
Sa Ka have also led to land confiscation. Moreover the Na Sa Ka has
confiscated land for commercial purposes, mainly to establish shrimp
farms but also rice fields for themselves. The Rohingya never
receive compensation and are also forced to work on the same fields
that were confiscated from them. Since 2002 the Na Sa Ka intensified
in strictly implement land use policies and this has led to numbers
of evictions of Rohingyas from their homes. Due to population
growth, some families built their houses on land registered as paddy
fields decades ago. Recently they have been issued with expulsion
orders and forced to dismantle their homes.

The eviction process strictly implemented about two years ago. First
they evicted 40 houses in a village near Maungdaw. Eighteen families
protested and refused to dismantle their houses. They were arrested
and sent to Buthidaung jail. They are still there. They detained
mostly the head of the family but they also jailed some women, even
one pregnant woman. She gave birth inside the jail. They were not
given any other place to go. These have forced the Rohingyas to
become increasingly landless, internally displaced, to eventually
starve them out to cross the border into Bangladesh. The right to
housing is a basic right which is a fundamental component of the
right to an adequate standard of living and central to the enjoyment
of other human rights.

Restrictions on Marriage of Rohingyas Since the creation of Na Sa Ka
in 1992, the authorities in Northern Rakhine State have forcefully
introduced a regulation that the Rohingyas are required to ask for
permission to get married. This restriction is only enforced on the
Muslim in this area and not on the Buddhist Rakhine population, nor
any of the other ethnic minority groups living in the region. In
fact, there are no written rules or procedures for the marriages of
Rohingyas. All are verbal orders but they are to be followed without
question. Non-compliance is resulted in heavy punishment.

In recent years, imposition of restrictions on marriage of Rohingya
couple has further intensified. The marriageable age is at 18 for
girls and 20-25 for boys. Marriages need to be solemnized with the
consent and sometimes, in the presence of the army officers. It is
near impossible for the intended couples and their guardians to
observe all the formalities which include medical tests,
recommendations from various administrative departments and army
commanders including Na Sa Ka border security forces and other law
enforcing agencies and police.

Since 2002, the authorities had begun to demand large amounts in
taxes from Rohingyas who request for permission to get married. The
authorities also appear to have limited the number of permissions
given each year. People have had to wait for two to three years to
get permission, even after paying large sums of money, and they had
to go to the Na Sa Ka camp several times for it. In general,
Rohingya couples must pay a substantial amount of money to the Na Sa
Ka varying from 50,000 to 300,000 Kyats. Usually the bride and groom
must each pay the same amount of money. After payment, permission is
not always given. This restriction especially affects poor people,
who are unable to obtain such large amounts of money. In some
villages there have been no marriages at all during the last year
because of this restriction. There are also consistent reports of
young couples fleeing to Bangladesh because this is the only way for
them to get married. Once in Bangladesh it is very difficult for
them to return, as their names have often been removed from their
family list by the authorities.

Arbitrary Taxation and Extortion

Rohingyas in northern Rakhine State are subjected to extortion and
arbitrary taxation at the hands of the authorities. These vary from
tax on collecting firewood and bamboo to fees for the registration
of deaths and births in the family lists, on livestock and fruit -
bearing trees, and even on football matches. The type of taxes and
the amounts people have to pay appear to be applied in an arbitrary
fashion and vary from place to place, depending on the local
authorities.

The authorities imposed very high rate of taxation on the food
grains and on various agricultural products of Rohingya including
staple food, rice. In addition, shrimp tax, vegetable tax, animal or
bird tax (for cows, buffalos, goats, fowl), roof tax , house-
building or repair taxes, etc, are collected by force. Every
Rohingya who breeds either cattle or domestic livestock has to pay
certain amount for each and every item they possess. Every new born
or death of the above has to be reported paying a fee.

The Rohingyas have to pay taxes for everything, for cutting bamboos
or woods in the jungles, fishing in the rivers and breeding animals
at homesteads from December 2002. A Rohingya family has to pay kyats
1500 when a new child is born and Kyat 1000 when a member dies, to
register it in their family list.

The Rohingya villagers have to pay yearly a new tree tax of Kyat
2500 per betal-nut tree and kyat 5000 per coconut tree. Na Sa Ka
authorities have appointed agents for every essential item and
warned the Rohingya not to sell their products directly except
through such agents. They are paid prices fixed by the Na Sa Ka,
which is usually one- third of the market price.

There have been several reports of Rohingyas being arrested and
accused of breaking various regulations such as having been to
Bangladesh or failing to pay their taxes. If they can pay a sum of
money, which varies but is often extremely high, they can be
released.

Registration of Births and Deaths in Families

All Rohingya households are obliged to report any changes to the
family list to the authorities for the registration of births and
deaths in families. Rohingyas are forced to pay fees to the VPDC or
the Na Sa Ka. The amounts people have to pay to register births and
deaths are different from place to place and vary from 1000 to 8000
kyats. On some occasions people had to work for the authorities. The
sale of the cattle must also be registered and paid for.

There have also been reports that since mid-2002, Rohingya pregnant
women have had to register themselves in person at the nearest Na Sa
Ka camp, which may be some hours walk away from their village. Women
were asked to show their faces and their abdomens.

Deprivation of Right to Education

Since promulgation of new Burma Citizenship law in 1982, the
Rohingya students are denied the right to education. It becomes a
great problematic matter to pursue higher studies while professional
courses are barred to them. Rohingya students who stood in selection
tests and got formal admission in various institutions located in
Rangoon and Burma proper are unable to pursue their studies as they
are disallowed to travel. During recent years about 1500 students
have to stop their further studies.

In October 2004, over 165 Rohingya University Students were deprived
of appearance in their supplementary examination as they were denied
issuing their travel documents to go to Sittwe by the authorities.
The reason given was that DPDC chairman was directed not to issue
any travel documents without the knowledge of the western Command
Commander Brig. General Maung Oo based in Ann town, Arakan State.
The ordinary Rohingya can hardly think of going to Sittwe where
Rohingya Students are sometimes allowed to travel with the special
travel permission from authorities under very much humiliating
conditions and by paying large sums of money. Furthermore, in
February 2005, the SPDC authorities had totally banned the Rohingya
students from going to University in Sittwee and Yangon.

Arbitrary arrest, torture and Extra- Judicial Killing

While Arakan remained totally shut from outsiders, the Burmese
authorities has been carrying out a relentless torture and killing
campaign in Arakan particularly against the youths without putting
anyone on trail. Over 100 innocent Rohingyas have been killed during
last one year in different parts of Arakan. Hundreds of Rohingyas
are put behind the bar and are subjected to inhuman torture. They
are also used as human shields and are forced at gun point to act as
watchmen against any possible rebel attack.

The inhuman forced labor treating the Rohingyas as human cattle is
on the increase. They are treated worse than slaves and are
subjected to severe beatings and random killings while pottering or
engaged in other works.

Aftermaths of the removal of Gen.Khin Nyunt, the then Prime Minister
and Military Intelligence Chief, hundreds of Rohingya businessmen
have been arrested by the authorities alleging them as the
collaborators of his military intelligence or corrupt Na Sa Ka
officers.

On 27th January 2005, two men were killed and two others were
injured by gun fire by Na Sa Ka at Inn Din Village of Maungdaw in
Arakan State. The men were fired by an army of the battalion No.233,
now as Na Sa Ka, while they were trying to flee from a boat in which
they were loading rice, goats, and fowls in a creek of Inn Din
Village and it was to be carried to Maungdaw town by sea.

The dead persons were identified as Sultan Ahmed 29, son of Mr.Ali
Ahmed and Mohamed Meah 27 son of Mr.Ali Abbas while Abu Taher and
his sons were injured by bullets.All the dead and injured person
were hailed from Inn Din village.

The Rihingya elected representative in 1990 General Elections of the
NO.1. Constituency of Buthidaung Township Arakan State, U Kyaw Min
(a) Mr. Mohamed Shomshul Anwarul Hoque, 55, was arrested by the
authorities for unknown reason. He is an executive committee member
of National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR), which is only
Rohingya political party with the winner seats in 1990 General
Elections. He is also a member of Committee for Representatives
Peoples Parliament (CRPP). He was picked up from his Rangoon home by
the Burmese military agent on 17th March 2005. Special Police agent
went to his house around midnight and told him to follow them for
some questions and then he was carried away by police car. His
family members do not able to trace his whereabouts.

Abuse of Rohingya Women and Elders

Rohingya women have become victims of rape, molestation and
dishonor, increasingly at the hands of security forces. They are not
allowed to wear hijab; their age of marriage is limited and is
subjected to forcible contraception. Many Rohingya women were
forcibly married by security forces and then left them away.
Rohingya women are compelled to stay in camps set up by the security
forces for so-called training where they are subjected to rape and
dishonor. Under various pretexts, the SPDC armed forces intruded the
houses of Rohingya villagers in odd times and seized and carried
away the women to their camps for unholy purpose. There were many
instances that women were raped in their houses before the very eyes
of the children or parents.

Rohingya religious figures and elders are increasingly harassed,
tortured and sometimes their beards are shaven off and are forced to
issue religious decree to allow un Islamic practices.

The authorities continued to discriminate against members of
minority religions, restricting their educational, proselytizing and
Mosque building activities. Mosque buildings are totally banned
since 2000 in Arakans State while several existing Mosque and
madarasa were dismantle by Na Sa Ka. The Rohingyas religious houses
dismantling process is intensified recently in Arakan. In the first
week of September 2004, Col. Tun Tun Oo, the commander of the Na Sa
Ka sector No.6 of Maungdaw Township ordered the villagers of Zum
Baina to destroy the ancient Mosque of the village. The Na Sa Ka
arrested 3 members of Mosque committee for not complying the order
of Na Sa Ka. The arrestees are Zahir Ahmed, 56 son of Omer Abbass,
Molvi Zakaria son of Lukman Hakim and Abul Kasim 54, son of Tanda
Meah on 25th September 2004. However, they were released on 2nd
October after bribing Kyat 1.5 million to the concerned authorities.
But the order is not withdrawn yet and the Mosque still exists. This
is an ancient Mosque in the village built with concrete and roofed
with tin sheets.

Depopulation

Frequently, the Burmese military regime launches drive operations,
create communal riots, and make forced relocations to sweep of the
Rohingya population. With a view to controlling the birth rate of
the Rohingya, the women were pushed infertility injection by
coercion. At the time of marriage, the bridge has to undertake that
he will never do second marriage. But other minority groups are
exempted from these procedures. In Burma birth control is officially
discouraged and abortion is punishable offence. Yet SPDC is forcibly
applying this abhorrent method on Rohingya alone. Now the married
couples are strongly warned not to produce more then 3 children.

The Forgotten Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

The Roingyas have faced continuing persecution by the military
government in Burma and have escaped to Bangladesh in large numbers,
with the biggest influx in 1991-1992 when about 270000 of them
crossed the border. Although many of these refugees have since then
been repatriated to Burma under the supervision of UNHCR, there are
still about 20000 refugees living in two camps in southern
Bangladesh. The refugees are completely dependent on UN and aid
agencies for food. In addition, an estimated 100,000 Rohingyas are
living illegally in Bangladesh without access to protection or
humanitarian assistance. Since economic opportunities in Bangladesh
are limited, the Rohingya outside of camps are not living in
Bangladesh for economic security, rather they are fleeing a history
of persecution and human rights abuses in their hearths and homes by
the Burmese government.

At first the Government of Bangladesh was welcoming towards the
Rohingyas and made efforts to accommodate them. In recent years,
however, it has pushed for all refugees to be sent back to Burma and
has rejected any possibility of local reintegration for them.
Recently, the Government of Bangladesh, in order to improve economic
relations with Burmese military regime, has declared that the
remaining Rohingya refugees in the camps should be repatriated by
any mean. Meanwhile the military Government of Burma has not cleared
most of the refugees in the two camps for return and accuses them of
having contact with insurgents. The Burmese military regime has
created a complicated system of bureaucratic conditions and
procedures which make it very difficult for refugees to be cleared
and repatriated. Even though the Government of Bangladesh wants the
refugees to leave, there is a very slow rate of repatriation.

The refugees who eventually make it to Burma find conditions there
as bad as before, with restrictions on movement, forced labor,
violence and intimidation. They often have no choice but to reenter
Bangladesh. In last six months, over 1000 of those who have been
sent back to Burma have returned to Bangladesh.

Conclusion and Appeal

Widespread violations of basic human rights against Rohingyas
population in Burma continue unabated at the hand of Burmese
military regime despite the presence of UNHCR officials. These
rights abuses are carried out severely in places not out of the
sight of UNHCR, but misleading and false propaganda are often
circulated to conceal the truth. One cheap propaganda is that the
Rohingyas are leaving Arakan for economic reasons. But the truth is
never spoken. In fact, there is no security of life, property,
honor, and dignity of the Rohingya. Extra-judicial killing and
summary executions, rape of women, arbitrary arrest and tortures,
forced labor, force relocation, confiscation of moveable and
immovable properties, religious sacrileges etc are regular
occurrences in Arakan.

Severe poverty, unemployment, lack of education and official
discrimination affecting mainly the youths and work force. The
future of the community seems to be bleak. The exodus of Rohingya
into the Bangladesh is in cyclic order and is recurring again and
again. Any democratic changes in the country are expected to be a
breathing space for the Rohingya but not solution to their problems
as the democratic leaders and opposition forces of the country are
ambivalent towards Rohingya and are not accommodating to them on
democratic principles.

Appeal

To solve the Rohingya problem once and for all it needs a viable
political solution without which the Rohingyas will continue to be
battered over again and their problem will never end. To this
fact "Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan (BRAJ)" invites the
attention of the international community. The United Nations and
international community may be apprised that the ruling Burmese
military SPDC is a regime characterized by brutality, and is bent on
exterminating the Rohingya people from Arakan by using of force,
distorting their history, spreading malicious propaganda,
perpetrating genocide and grave human rights abuses against them.

Appeal to the International Community

Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan (BRAJ) appeal to the
international community for the following.

To explore a permanent solution to the outstanding Rohingya problem
within the frame work of international law, pacts, human rights and
other international practices;

To pressurize SPDC to nullify Burma citizenship law 1982 in order to
bring them into line with international standards and recognize the
Rohingya people of Arakan as one of the indigenous nationalities and
therefore, natural citizens of Burma;

To urge SPDC to give and guarantee the Rohingyas all their due
rights at par with other national groups of the country;

To urge SPDC to put an end travel bans currently imposed on
Rohingyas in Arakan State;

To pressurize SPDC to fully cooperate with the ILO with regard to
the total elimination of forced labor;

To continue assistance to the Rohingyas refugees in Bangladeshi
camps and elsewhere for their basic necessities. Those governments,
notably the United States, Japan, European Union countries, which
have contributed funds to the Rohingya refugee and repatriation
programmed, should encourage Bangladesh to continue allow refugees
to enjoy asylum.

The international community must step up efforts to ensure that the
human rights situation in Burma is improved and conditions are
created under which the Rohingyas could voluntarily return in safety
and dignity

Coordinated pressure must be applied with Western and Asian
governments working together through the United Nations Secretary
General's office in carrying out his mandate to ensure the
implementation of the General Assembly resolutions on Burma and the
work of the UN special Reporter to Burma, with particular attention
to the call for Burma to end forced labor and to amend it
citizenship law.

Ensure that UNHCR is adequately resourced to give priority and
effect to its mandate in relation to persons who have been rendered
effectively stateless in Burma.

Ensure that the UNHCR should continue to press for measures to
ensure that any return of Rohingya refugees in voluntary as well as
for access to those arriving in Bangladesh from Burma. In order to
allow refugees to make an informed decision about whether or not to
return, the UNHCR must regularly provide detailed and objective
information on the situation in Arakan including information
concerning human rights violation.

To urge SPDC to stop all kinds of human rights abuses and release
all political prisoners including recently detained prominent
Rohingya political leader U Kyaw Min and politicians implicated in
false crime cases in Arakan and in all Burma.

To mount effective pressure on the SPDC for the initiation of the
meaningful "Tripartite Dialogue" with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
leader of the NLD and representative of the non-Burma ethnic
nationalities including Rohingyas of Arakan.

Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan( BRAJ)
e: mail: brajtokyo@yahoo.comThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it