Bangladesh to compile list of Rohingyas for repatriation: UNHCR

Dhaka, Bangladesh (Kaladan): The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), South and Southeast Asian representative, based in Bangkok, Kitty McKinsey has said it is necessary for Bangladesh to have a list of the Rohingyas living in the country, unregistered, otherwise Burma, may object to repatriating the Rohingyas who are not registered.

UNHCR Regional Representative, Raymond Hall, said an initiative should be taken to resolve the Rohingya issue, but cautioned that Burma may raise objections in repatriating the Rohingyas living in Bangladesh, if they were not registered by August 9.

“Burma has allowed UNHCR to work there. The UN body has taken initiatives to improve the residential areas of the Rohingyas,” Hall told Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque.

On other hand, Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni thanked the UNHCR representative for their support to Bangladesh, regarding the Burmese refugees living in Bangladesh, on August 9 at the Foreign Ministry Office. She mentioned that more than 28,000 registered refugees were living in two camps and nearly 4,00,000 unregistered refugees living outside the camps, were a heavy burden on Bangladesh economically, socially, environmentally and also in terms of law and order.

Bangladesh has called on the Burmese regime to improve living conditions for Burma’s Rohingyas in order to stem the flow of refugees. Both Dipu Moni and Hall agreed that Burma must improve its internal environment to stop the influx of Rohingya refugees, into Bangladesh, according to the Bangladesh Foreign Minister’s statement after the meeting.

“They are a heavy burden economically, socially, environmentally on Bangladesh,” Moni said. “Burma has to improve its environment to stop the influx of Rohingya people into Bangladesh,” she emphasized.

A total of 236,599 Rohingyas have been repatriated since 1992, when an influx of the community began from Arakan in Burma, following religious and political persecution. But, their repatriation came to a halt since July 2005, raising concerns for the government.

During the meeting, Dr Dipu Moni and Dr Razzaque said repatriation and rehabilitation of the Rohingyas in their homeland, Burma, is the permanent solution, and this must be done without delay. Bangladesh will take a bilateral initiative to address the problem and sought UNHCR assistance in this regard.

Regarding registering the Rohingyas, the minister said whenever any initiative was taken to register them, they infiltrated into Bangladesh in more numbers.

“Bangladesh has provided shelter to the Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds, but they are spreading to different areas of the country and creating pressure on the limited resources here and creating social problems as well,” the Minister told the UNHCR representative.

“If the Rohingyas are registered, they will get international organization assistance, and they would be able to go to any developed country for permanent residence,” said the Minister.

However, the UNHCR representative said the Rohingyas enter Bangladesh because Burma restricts their movements, marriages and sends them to jails for violation of the restrictions.

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Dhaka Delegation in Naypyidaw for Border Talks

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

A delegation of Bangladeshi experts on border issues met with Burma’s foreign minister in Naypyidaw on Friday to discuss an territorial dispute between the two countries, according to Burma’s state-run media.

The Burmese-language Myanma Alin newspaper reported that talks with the Dhaka delegation focused on efforts to reach an agreement on disputed maritime boundaries. The delegation, led by retired commodore Khurshed Alam, an expert on maritime affairs, arrived in Naypyidaw on July 29.

The meeting comes as rival claims to offshore deposits of natural gas have raised tensions between the neighboring countries. Earlier this month, Bangladesh raised the stakes of the conflict when it granted nine offshore gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal to two foreign oil firms, ConocoPhillips and Tullow Oil.

Tin Soe, an editor with the Bangladesh-based Kaladan News Network, said that the Burmese military regime told Dhaka that three of the offshore gas blocks belong to Burma.

“The delegation has to go Burma because they are worried about a disagreement with the Burmese government over the offshore exploration contracts,” he said.

Dhaka has said that it wants to discuss multiple issues with Burma, including the border dispute and the repatriation of Rohingya refugees. It has recently sent four delegations to Burma, but has made little progress on either issue.

In October 2008, the junta’s No 2, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, also visited Bangladesh to discuss maritime boundaries, trade and economic ties between the two nations.

After the trip, however, tensions between the two nations grew over the issue of maritime boundaries, prompting both countries to step up their military defenses in the Bay of Bengal.

In March of this year, Burma set up a 200-km fence along the border, claiming that it was to prevent human trafficking of Rohingya people.

There are nearly 30,000 Rohingya refugees from Burma’s Arakan State living in two makeshift camps in Cox’s Bazar District in Bangladesh, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Many more are believed to live outside the camps.

In early July, about 400 crude dwellings belonging to Rohingyas living near the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar were destroyed or relocated, and an estimated 1,000 people were forcibly evicted by Bangladeshi police and camp management, said the UNHCR.

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority who face severe discrimination in Burma. Many have fled the country to escape human rights abuses, including forced labor by the Burmese army. They also face abuses in Bangladesh. Right groups say that many Rohingya have died while traveling by boat to Thailand or Malaysia in search of work.

In June, the Burmese regime agreed to allow the Bangladesh government to repatriate Rohingya refugees. However, Dhaka said it fears the Rohingya will return if there is no improvement in the human rights situation in Burma.

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Three Burmese Defectors Missing After Arrest in Bangladesh

Dhaka (Narinjara): Three Burmese soldiers that defected from the army have been missing since they were arrested by Bangladesh Rifles in the border area of southern Chittagong Hill Tract on 20 February, 2009, said a relative of one.

The three were identified as Maung Maung Than, Soe Thwe, and Than Htay Haing, from Light Infantry Battalion 538 based in Rathidaung, 20 miles north of Sittwe.

The relative said that he came to Bangladesh last week to inquire about them but received information that they were sent back to Burma in April 2009 by Bangladesh authorities along with other Burmese prisoners.

The soldiers were arrested by Bangladesh Rifles at Headman Maung Shwe Sein's village in southern Bandarban in February while they were looking for shelter in the area.

According to a local source, the three defected from the Burmese army after some of their ammunition magazines went missing during a trip with their column to inspect the border pillars.

The Burmese army severely punishes soldiers that lose ammunition or military equipment, so the three soldiers fled from their column to Bangladesh out of fear of punishment.

After their arrest, the Bangladesh authorities reportedly brought them to Dhaka for interrogation.

A Burmese refugee staying in Cox's Bazar said the three soldiers were reportedly handed over to Burma by Bangladesh authorities at the Maungdaw border point along with other Burmese prisoners during an arranged repatriation in April 2009.

He added that the Burmese military authority has never disclosed information in such cases. The military may have sentenced them to long prison terms or executed them without providing any information to their relatives.

The three soldiers are Arakanese nationals from Shwe Lon Din Village in Rathidaung Township.

The relative said, "We heard they were fleeing to Bangladesh from the Burmese army. Because of that I came to the border town of Teknaf to inquire about their situation but now they are not in Bangladesh."

The Burmese army has no procedure for relatives to inquire about soldiers if they defect from the Burmese army.

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Push-Back of Muslims to Burma Continues

Cox’sbazar (Narinjara): While the Bangladesh government is keen to repatriate Muslim refugees to Burma from Bangladesh, the number of Muslims entering the country illegally from Burma is reportedly continuing by the day.

Because of the continued increase, Bangladesh border forces have had to continually push back many Muslims from Burma repeatedly after arresting them on the border.

According to a local source, over 1,000 Muslims from Burma were pushed back to their homes in Arakan by Bangladesh authorities in the last two months.

Even though there is a high risk that they'll be caught and returned, Rohingya people from Burma continue to enter Bangladesh by crossing the Naff River.

Yesterday, Bangladesh Rifles at Teknaf pushed back 28 Burmese Muslims to Burma after arresting them.

According to a local source, the group included seven men, 11 women, and ten children.

They were held by Bangladesh border security at Shah Parir Dwip in Teknaf Town after they attempted to enter Bangladesh without authorization by crossing the Naff River.

Deputy Commander of 42 Rifles Battalion Major Shahinur Rahman also confirmed the incident.

Maung Tha Aye, who is a social activist on the border, said that the plan for repatriation would be good if it were possible, but it is not currently possible at present because there are many human rights violations being committed in Arakan State by the Burmese military authorities. The Bangladesh government needs to address the root causes of the migration into Bangladesh in order to solve the problem, he added.

READ MORE---> Push-Back of Muslims to Burma Continues...

4,000 Burmese Migrants Arrested in June

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

Some 4,000 Burmese migrants were arrested by the Thai authorities in Thailand in June, according to a Thai Web site, www.manager.co.th.

The Thai news and entertainment Web site said that the Burmese migrants were arrested in different regions by the Thai authorities, but the majority were arrested in Phop Phra District in Tak Province.

It is believed that many of those arrested were sent back to Burma, while others are being detained or were released.

A Thai police officer in Phop Phra told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that many Burmese are coming to Thailand in the hope they can get new work permits, because a fresh registration of migrants in Thailand begins in early July.

The Thai government announced in June that the country needed some two million foreign workers for the multitude of jobs available, including those jobs known as the “3 Ds”—dirty, dangerous or degrading—which most Thai workers refuse.

There are up to five million Burmese migrants living and working in Thailand, says the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) in Chiang Mai. However, only 500,000 registered at the Thai Ministry of Labor last year.

The Thai government is currently offering new one-year work permits to those who registered last year.

However, Jackie Pollock, a founding member of MAP, said that some migrants cannot afford to pay the 3,800 baht (US $112) fee for registration because they don’t have jobs due to the economic crisis in Thailand.

Moe Swe, the head of the Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association in Mae Sot in Tak Province, said that many of the Burmese migrants in Mae Sot couldn’t afford to pay the registration fees due to poor wages.

Burmese workers generally get paid about 1,500 baht ($44) per month working at a factory in Mae Sot, he said.

Thailand has recently tightened its border security to prevent an influx of Burmese migrants into the county. Meanwhile, in Chiang Mai, police have set up nighttime roadblocks as part of an ongoing campaign to crack down on Burmese migrants.

Meanwhile, the Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia and MAP Foundation in Thailand have called on the Malaysian and Thai governments to protect the rights of Burmese migrants and ensure that migrants can exercise their labor, social, cultural, economic and political rights.

In a joint statement released last week, the groups called for a halt to unjust, discriminatory and unconstitutional policies on migrants.

A report released by the US State Department in June claimed that Thailand had not complied with international labor laws and that Thai authorities frequently abused migrants’ rights.

READ MORE---> 4,000 Burmese Migrants Arrested in June...

Groups Fear Malaysia to Deport Burmese Protesters

By JULIA ZAPPEI / AP WRITER
The Irrawaddy News

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian authorities might deport up to 14 Burmese nationals who were arrested at a demonstration to mark jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday, human rights activists said Wednesday.

Police detained 16 Burmese nationals at a rally outside a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall Friday, but two of them were released after they were found to have valid immigration documents, said Latheefa Koya, a lawyer whose opposition party helped organize the demonstration.

At least five face the threat of being sent back to Burma, Latheefa said. The other nine are registered by the United Nations' refugee agency as asylum seekers who fled their military-ruled country, so they might be allowed to remain in Malaysia, she added.

Khalid Abu Bakar, police chief of central Selangor state, said officials were investigating whether the detainees were illegal immigrants. Some of them would be handed to immigration officials within two weeks, he said, but it was not clear when they might be deported.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Malaysia to free all the detainees, who joined the demonstration to protest Suu Kyi's detention in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar.

"By detaining Burmese asylum seekers who were calling for democracy in their homeland, Malaysia was broadcasting support for Burma's despotic generals," the group's deputy Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said in a statement late Tuesday.

The UN refugee agency has registered more than 48,000 refugees in Malaysia, most from Burma. But community leaders estimate the number of people from Burma living in Malaysia is about twice that.

Those caught staying illegally face arrest and can be whipped as punishment before being deported. The government said recently that those who flee persecution in Burma and are registered as refugees are generally not deported.

Concerts, candlelight vigils and other gatherings for Suu Kyi's 64th birthday were held in cities worldwide last week. She has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial, mostly under house arrest.

Suu Kyi is being held in Rangoon's Insein Prison while being tried for violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison.

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Thai government urged not to repatriate Karen refugees

by Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (mizzima) – The government of Thailand has been urged by Asian lawmakers and activists not to repatriate Karen refugees, who recently fled to Thailand in the wake of fighting along the border.

Kraisak Chunhavan, chairman of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) expressed concern over the situation on the Thai-Burma border where the fighting between the Burmese Army and an ethnic armed group is on, resulting in several thousand Karen villagers fleeing for shelter on the Thai side.

Kraisak insisted that the Thai government should provide humanitarian aid to these villagers and AIPMC will propose to the Thai government, as the current chairman of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), to work with member countries to promote democracy and sustainable peace in Burma.

“We are worried because the situation is still vulnerable. Many more refugees are coming to Thailand and we believe that the Thai government will not send these people back while the fighting continues because it is the principle of the Asean Charter to protect the rights of the people,” Kraisak said.

On Monday, the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO) released a statement expressing concern over the current situation of repatriation of families who recently arrived in Thailand in Tha Song Yang of Tak Province.

KWO said these women, if repatriated, will be vulnerable to abuses including sexual harassment and the children are already exhausted from running. Evidence of two Karen teenaged girls raped and killed is proof of a well founded fear of women being abused if they return. The group called on the international community to do whatever they can to stop possible repatriation by the Thai Army.

The group said, the Thai government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should urgently chalk out a procedure to obtain proper consent from the villagers, over the possibility of returning to their villages or to ask if they want to take refuge in Thailand. They should not be forced back in keeping with respect for international law.

"The Thai authorities should at least wait and observe the situation. Forcing back these people during the rainy season and to the place where they still have every reason to fear for their lives is inhuman and a violation of their rights," said Dah Eh Kler, the Secretary of KWO. "These people just fled to the border a few weeks ago from fear and fresh memories of attacks."

Similarly, Action Network for Migrants, a network of migrant workers activists and organization also in a statement urged the Thai government and related organizations to reconsider the policy that will not register new refugees to live in refugee camps along the borders. The authorities should allow non government organizations to provide education for the new comers children, which is a basic human right.

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Karen women beg Thai government not to repatriate them

By The Nation

A border relief organisation on Monday accused the Burmese soldiers and their allies of raping women fleeing battles inside the country and called on the Thai government to halt forced repatriation of ethnic Karen women and children, citing humanitarian and security reasons.

In a statement issued Monday, the Karen Women Organisation said it was "very concerned about the current situation of repeated forced repatriation of the families recently arrived to Thailand in Tha Song Yang by Local Thai authority since June 16, 2009"

" We are particularly concerned for the security and safety of women and children who just ran away from fighting in their areas. KWO fear that women are vulnerable to rape if they are forced to return and the children are already tired of running," the statement said.

KWO said at least two Karen teenage girls raped and killed recently.

"Thai authorities should at least wait and see the situation. Forcing back these people during the rainy season and to the place where they still have every reason to fear for their lives is inhumane and a violation of their rights." said Dah Eh Kler, the Secretary of KWO.

"These people just fled to the border a few weeks ago with fear and fresh memories of their attacks," she said.

In the Monday statement, KWO called on the international communities to "do whatever they can to stop the possible forced repatriation by the Thai local Thai army."

The organisation called on the Thai government and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to "urgently develop a procedure of obtaining proper informed consent from villagers, for decisions about returning to their villages or asking for refuge in Thailand."

Nearly 3,500 people, mostly women and children, from 20 villages along the ThaiBurmese border have fled into the Thai side of the border to escape heavy fighting since June 2, 2009.

READ MORE---> Karen women beg Thai government not to repatriate them...

Burmese Schoolteacher and Family Repatriated

By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News

A Burmese schoolteacher in Ranong in southern Thailand was arrested by Burmese police in Kawthaung after he and his family were repatriated by Thai officials on January 11, according to sources at the Thai-Burmese border.

Ko Gyi, who had been living in Ranong since 1995, was reportedly sent back to Burma with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, and is currently being detained in a police station in the Burmese border town of Kawthaung.

Sources said Ko Gyi had become a target for Burma’s military authorities because of his supposed links with Burmese opposition groups, as well as allegedly providing information to exiled Burmese news organizations.

Ko Gyi has previously been interviewed by BBC Burmese Service and The Irrawaddy.

Thai authorities also raided his home and school in Ranong and seized some computers and his car.

Ko Gyi founded a primary school in Ranong with the help of Jesuit Refugee Service, an international Catholic organization that provides assistance to refugees, forcibly displaced persons and Burmese migrant workers.

Ko Gyi and his wife worked at the school, which has provided free education to the children of Burmese migrant workers since 2003.

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