Rights group concerned over Thai policy on refugees, migrants

By Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Deteriorating human rights records is in evidence in Thailand given the country’s policy on migrant workers and refugees, the Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2010.

The HRW released a 612-page report on Wednesday, the organization's 20th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It evaluated the situation in Thailand, and said that the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had largely failed to fulfill its pledges to make human rights a priority.

Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch said while Prime Minister Abhisit sometimes said the right things about human rights in 2009, his actions didn't match his words. "The government continually undermined respect for human rights and the due process of law in Thailand."

Abhisit's government blatantly flouted Thailand's obligations under international law to protect refugees and asylum seekers, the group said.

The expression of the hostile policy towards refugees and asylum seekers, was in evidence in January 2009, when in his capacity as chairman of the National Security Council, Abhisit approved a directive authorizing the military to intercept boats carrying ethnic Rohingya from Burma and Bangladesh.

The Thai Navy subsequently intercepted several boats transporting Rohingya and towed the rickety vessels back to the ocean with inadequate supplies of food and water. While Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the Thai government has an obligation under international law of nonrefoulement (non-return) of persons to places where their life or freedom is at risk.

"Prime Minister Abhisit did not honour his pledge to uphold human rights principles and international law in 2009," Adams said. "Getting Thailand back on track as a rights-respecting nation in 2010 is crucial both for the country and the region."

The Thai government gave the green signal to the army to deport more than 4,600 Lao Hmong refugees and asylum seekers on December 28, despite international concerns including that of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Secretary-General.

HRW also noted the failure to act against official abuses by the police. Despite the government's strong opposition to the violent approach to drug eradication by the exiled former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, it remained unwilling to bring to justice officials allegedly responsible for more than 2,500 unresolved extrajudicial killings and serious abuses committed during Thaksin's 2003 "war on drugs" and the ongoing drug suppression operations by the police.

“At the local level, the government continued to ignore systemic police violence and extortion targeting the over two million migrant workers from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos,” HRW noted.

In addition, the other human rights backslide in Thailand are the growing crackdowns on protesters and other political critics, including intensive surveillance of the internet and a failure to curb abuses by security forces in response to the longtime insurgency in the south.

Burma Newscasts - Rights group concerned over Thai policy on refugees, migrants
Friday, 22 January 2010 15:31
http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/3418-rights-group-concerned-over-thai-policy-on-refugees-migrants-.html

READ MORE---> Rights group concerned over Thai policy on refugees, migrants...

An ‘Evening with Rohingya People’

KPN - An ‘Evening with Rohingya People’ was an event organized by the London based Burmese Rohingya community with the help of the Burma Campaign UK to share the dilemma of the Rohingya and discuss other Burmese multi-ethnic conflict topics on August 27, at 28 Charles Square London, said Tun Khin, the president of Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK).

An Evening With Rohingya People

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Despair, then death: The Rohingya riddle

The deaths of two teenagers held for seven months at Ranong detention centre highlight the inadequacies of government policies and facilities to deal with boat people

by: Piyaporn Wongruang

(Bangkok Post) -They say that despair can kill a man, and so it did with two teenage Rohingya held in the Ranong detention centre for seven months. Two doctors who treated the detainees at the centre said the pair basically starved themselves to death after becoming dispirited and refusing to eat or exercise. The official reason for the two teenagers' deaths is "natural causes" caused by cardiac arrest.

WAITING: Rohingya refugees at the immigration detention centre in Bangkok.

"Their minds were just so sick that they lost enthusiasm for everything," said one of the doctors based at the centre who preferred to remain anonymous. "They refused to take food and they refused to move around. They told me that they were desperate and didn't know what to do with their lives any more. They told me that it's better to kill them than to detain them like this."

The deaths go to the heart of Thailand's problems dealing with illegal immigrants and refugees, and the inadequacy of current policies and facilities to deal with the growing number of cases.

Abdul Salam, 18, died on June 30 on the way to Ranong Hospital. Hammatula, 15, was found dead in the detention centre at 4am on Aug 13, a day after a medical check by one of the doctors. The two were among 78 ethnic Muslim Rohingya boat people fleeing Burma who were intercepted by the navy near Surin Island on Jan 26, and sent to the centre a few days later.

Abdul's and Hammatula's bodies were covered in wounds, after allegedly being tortured by the Burmese military during their boat trip, according to the doctor at the centre. The medical team treated the teenagers' wounds in the first few months of their detention, but the pair were overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness. According to the same doctor, they gradually became fatigued, hardly moving and sitting or lying down most of the time.

READ MORE---> Despair, then death: The Rohingya riddle...

They died from hopelessness

By: Voranai Vanijaka

(Bangkok Post) -Time heals all wounds, as the saying goes. Not only that, time also makes you forget and helps you to move on. In one particular case, it seems time has made Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the people of Thailand forget about the Rohingya refugees.

Before the Songkran riot, before Sondhi Limthongkul's attempted assassination, before the Thaksin phone-ins and before the controversy over appointing the new police chief, the Rohingya was the issue that rocked the young prime minister's newly appointed government.

In January, Rohingya refugees arrived on the shores of Thailand. The story made headlines across the world due to alleged abuses by Thai security forces - abuses that included accusations of systematic torture and shipping them back out to sea with no food or water, to die. PM Abhisit went on CNN and other western media outlets, promising to investigate the matter and to rectify the Rohingya problem.

The media submitted photos and video clips of the alleged torture to the authorities. An internal government investigation found the evidence inconclusive, and then everyone forgot about the Rohingya.

We all moved on until this past week's reports that two Rohingya refugees, or illegal immigrants, died in the detention centre in Ranong. According to human rights activists, Abdul Salam, 18, died two months ago after vomiting blood several times. Last week Hammatula, 15, died without any signs of distress. However, Thongchai Keeratihatthayakorn, a doctor in Ranong, said the two had died of sudden inflammation of the heart.

An 18-year-old and a 15-year-old died from heart attacks? That's suspicious. Some reports speculate that they died from starvation. That's more likely, but yet they were fed regularly at the detention centre. Did they starve themselves to death on purpose? But then, to what purpose?

Read also: Despair, then death: the Rohingya riddle

No, heart attack or starvation may have been the nail in the coffin, but the true cause of their death was hopelessness. According to a source who's a doctor at the detention centre, the detainees received food and medical care in the Ranong detention centre. Which obviously wasn't five-star service, but nor was it death-inducing.

What the two Rohingya lacked, according to the source, was hope, a future.

Why were they hopeless?

Seven months of detention and counting, over 70 refugees (each has been fined 2,000 baht by the Ranong Court for entering Thailand illegally) cramped in a single room in a two-storey building. These aren't hardened criminals or prisoners of war. These are simply third world villagers and peasants. People who have suffered through poverty and oppression in their homeland, then braved the sea to find new hope and opportunity, only to be allegedly abused by Thai security forces and thrown into prison. Sitting cramped and idle for seven months and counting, not knowing what's to become of them.

The world has forgotten about them. They don't know how long they will remain there. Nobody tells them anything. They may not have been mistreated in the detention centre, but they have been neglected and mistreated all their lives and, for the past seven months, by the Thai authorities and all those concerned at the policy level.

Neglected and mistreated because the authorities did not have the care, the time or the inclination to solve the Rohingya problem. No direction, no policy and no solution. For seven months the two Rohingya who died sat cramped and idle.

Without hope and without a future, they simply became withdrawn, stopped eating and stopped caring. They had lost the will to live. Whether it's a sudden heart attack, vomiting to death, or simply lying down and dying - it's all one and the same. They died from hopelessness. If things do not change, Abdul Salam and Hammatula are simply the first two to go.

Meanwhile, another 10 or so have fallen sick due to fatigue and malnutrition from their long detention. The remaining Rohingya have been transferred to the detention centre at Suan Phlu, in Bangkok.

It has been seven months since the Rohingya story first broke. From then until now, the only change for these Rohingya has been from one detention centre to another. Meanwhile, the prime minister, the media, the people of Thailand and the world have moved on to what we see as "bigger problems" - and of course, the red versus yellow and the economy are issues that affect our lives directly. What happens to 78 (minus two) Rohingya won't change our lives any.

Deputy Immigration Bureau chief Phitak Jarusombuti said the bureau would not reveal how long the Rohingya would be detained. That's exactly the problem. How long will they have to endure until more of them simply lose all hope, lay down and wither away?

For the world at large, time may change, time may heal, time may make us forget and move on. But for the two dead Rohingya, nothing did change for seven months. They simply sat in the same place, looked at the same walls, cramped and idle, with nothing to do but see and remember their sufferings, locked in a prison in body and mind, unable to move on. Hopelessness.

Email: voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th

READ MORE---> They died from hopelessness...

After deaths, refugees moved to Suan Plu

By Boonluan Phromprathankul

Foreign agencies concerned about the treatment of detainees

Ranong (The Nation)- Following the deaths of two Rohingya detainees in the Ranong immigration checkpoint detention cells, the remaining 55 detainees have been moved to the Immigration Bureau in Bangkokกฆs Soi Suan Plu area.

Immigration checkpoint inspector Pol Lt-Colonel Nattarit Pinpak said the evacuation order came from the Royal Thai Police and Ranong authorities had prepared two vehicles for the late-night trip to the capital.

A source at the Immigration Bureau said the move followed concern from many parties over the Rohingya detention, especially following the two deaths and several reports of serious illness. The source said the situation had led international organisations to criticise Thailand and its treatment of the Rohingya refugees, most of whom were boat people from Burma.

The source said that during a recent visit by human rights groups and lawyers, detainees had complained that when they fell sick and called for medical attention, Thai guards didnกฆt allow them doctors but gave them basic medicine such as painkillers.

On July 1, detainee Abdul Salam, in his 20s, died. Fellow detainees said he had vomited blood many times, but when they alerted guards to get him treated, they were ignored.

On August 13, Hamma Tula aged about 18, died without any symptoms and was buried according to the Islamic faith on the same day. Reports said there were many more sick Rohingya people in detention who needed urgent attention.

Three welfare groups the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB), the Cross Ethnic Integration in Andaman Project and the Sathiarakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation have asked the government to take action. They had three requests:

** The Rohingya be given medical care and an appropriate place to live, not the Ranong detention cells that were harmful to life and health.

** Since the Rohingya are Muslim, officials must allow them to perform religious activities during the Rama-dan period, starting from August 21.

The government must announce a clear policy not to push the Rohingya back to possible death or torture.

At the Ranong immigration checkpoint, there were initially 86 Rohingya detainees กV a batch of 78 rounded up in January, combined with several others arrested earlier. Since then two have died, 29 were sent to Bangkok for Bangladesh national identification, and 55 remained in detention.

READ MORE---> After deaths, refugees moved to Suan Plu...

Rohingya Teenagers Die in Thai Detention Camp

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

Two young Rohingya migrants have died in the past three months in a detention camp in southern Thailand, the Bangkok English-language daily newspaper, The Nation, reported on Tuesday.

13 other inmates are in poor health, The Nation reported.

The Ranong camp, near Thailand’s southern border with Burma, is holding 55 Rohingya illegal migrants who were arrested on the Thai coast in January after they fled in open boats from Burma. Thai authorities allowed the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to visit the camp in January and February but have not granted access since then.

Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh. (Photo: Reuters)

The two dead migrants were aged 19 and 15. An immigration officer, Pol Lt Col Nattarit Pinpak, told The Nation that they had refused food or drink for several days. They were depressed and homesick, the police officer said.

UNHCR regional spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that requests for access to the camp had not been granted.

“We have asked the Thai government many times for access there. We told the Thai government that we are ready to help them [the detained migrants]. We want to know what their protection needs are. But we are not getting access.”

Twenty nine Rohingyas who were also arrested in January were deported to Bangladesh after their documents showed they were Bangladesh citizens.

Despite extensive discussions with Thai immigration officials, Burma has refused to take back the remaining Rohingyas, saying they are not Burmese citizens.

Hundreds of Rohingyas, Muslim victims of discrimination and human rights abuses in Burma’s Arakan State, have been fleeing in open boats, hoping to reach Malaysia. Unknown numbers have drowned on the open sea, and international rights groups have accused the Thai navy of turning back boats that tried to land in Thailand. The Thai government has denied the charges.

READ MORE---> Rohingya Teenagers Die in Thai Detention Camp...

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.

READ MORE---> Bangladesh to compile list of Rohingyas for repatriation: UNHCR...

Father fined for son sleeping in shop

Buthidaung, Arakan State (KPN): A father was fined by Burma’s border security force, Nasaka because his son slept in his shop instead of at home. He was penalized when the authorities were checking the family list on July 20, according to a friend of father.

The victim was identified as Abul Boshor (60), of Ward. No. 6 of Krinthama village of Buthidaung Township.

His son Shabbir Rahman (35) has a shop in Ward No. 4, though he is living in Ward No. 6. On that night, his son was sleeping in the shop when the Nasaka came to his house to check the family list. The Nasaka did not find Shabbbir Rahaman in his house. His father had already told them that his son was not present.

However, the Nasaka wanted to extort money from Abul Boshor and fined him kyat 100,000 and another 100,000 kyat for his son, said a local elder.

Nasaka and other concerned authorities barged into the Rohingya villages for extortion from the community by making false and fabricated allegations, said a schoolteacher on condition of anonymity.

“Though there is no activity of any rebellion group in Arakan, the concerned authorities create harassment for the Rohingya community and extort money by making allegations, which are not relevant,” said a local youth on condition of anonymity.

August 1st, 2009

READ MORE---> Father fined for son sleeping in shop...

Nasaka orders shooting Rohingy youth in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State (KPN): On July 15, the Commander Burma’s border security force Nasaka of area No. 9 in Buthidaung Township ordered his armed forces to shoot a Rohingya youth wherever and whenever they find him as he did not comply with the order of Nasaka, said a close relative of the victim preferring not to be named.

The victim was identified as Md. Yasin (20), son of former village chairman Saber, from Paungdaw Pyin vllage of Buthidaung Township.

The victim Md. Yasin fell in love with Arafat Begum (18), daughter of Noor Mohamed, from the same village. But, this information reached the Nasaka camp through their secret agent. As a result, he was summoned to the camp, but he did not appear. The Nasaka also tried to arrest him, but failed.

The Nasaka called his father Saber to the Nasaka camp and asked him to bring his son to the camp or to pay kyat 500,000. So, the father agreed and was released after he had fulfilled their demand, said a friend of Saber.

However, after getting the money, the Nasaka again demanded extra kyat 2 million from his son. The son fled. The Nasaka Commander was very angry with him and ordered his armed forces to shoot him wherever they seem him.

Recently, the Nasaka authorities have increased their activities against the Rohingya youths whether they are involved in love affairs with girls or not and extort money,, said a local youth who declined to be named.

Nasaka has imposed marriage restrictions on the Rohingya community for a long time and the Rohingya youths and girls are facing many difficulties. Rohingya youths and girls who are able to give a huge bribe to the concerned authorities are able to tie the knot. There are many poor youths and girls who are not able to marry because of money to get marriage permission. The authorities deliberately do not give permission in time, said a local businessman requesting not to be named.

READ MORE---> Nasaka orders shooting Rohingy youth in Maungdaw...

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.

READ MORE---> Dhaka Delegation in Naypyidaw for Border Talks...

Burmese Muslims attack government office

(DVB)–Around 40 Muslims in western Burma were detained for allegedly ransacking a local immigration office after officials there assaulted a local Muslim man for not paying a fine.

A resident in Arakan state’s Kyauk Ni Maw village said the dispute started after a local Muslim man who returned from travelling refused to pay a fine for exceeding stay outside of the village as shown in his travel permit.

Muslims in Arakan state are required to get a document known as the Form-4 from government immigration if they want to travel outside of their region.

“He said he couldn’t pay the money they asked for as he had already paid a lot acquiring the [permission] document and the officials [at the immigration office] beat him up,” said the village resident, adding that he was left with a broken arm and vomiting blood.”

News on the attack quickly spread to Kyauk Ni Maw village where 75 percent of the population are Muslim. Some local villagers, including the man’s relatives, were enraged.

“They went to the immigration office and beat up the people who beat up the man. They also tore down the office building and broke some flag poles,” he said.

Following the incident, authorities arrested around 40 people, including some who were not involved, the villager said, and detained them in nearby Yanbyal township jail.

The detainees are due to appear in court on 10 August where they will face charges for breaching peace.

“They just arrested random people, but all Muslim, in the village without identifying who was involved in the attack,” said the villager. “Some people had already fled in fear of getting arrested in connection with the case.”

Muslims living in Burma have long been marginalized by the military government.

Three prominent ‘anti-Muslim’ riots have erupted in Burma in the past 12 years following heightened tension between Muslims and Buddhists.

Their situation was thrown into the spotlight earlier this year when around 1000 Rohingya refugees washed up in boats on Thailand’s shores, only to be towed back out to sea and set adrift by Thai authorities.

The Rohingya, who are a minority Muslim population, are not recognized by the Burmese government and suffer frequent discrimination due to their lack of legal status.

Reporting by Thurein Soe

READ MORE---> Burmese Muslims attack government office...

BDR pushes back illegal Burmese nationals

Teknaf, Bangladesh (KPN): More than 71 Burmese nationals were pushed back to Burma by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) from different transit points of the Burma-Bangladesh border area since last week, a source from BDR of Teknaf said.

On July 22, over 28 Rohingya people, (19 children, 8 women and two men), who were living with the local people at Kosubana village under Naikongchari Upazila, were arrested in an operation by the police at night, according to a local from Naikongchari.

The police handed over the Rohingya people to the 17 BDR Battalion so that they could be sent back to Burma. The BDR pushed them back through the transit point of Gumdum from Bangladesh, the local said.

According to BDR sources, since last week they have pushed back a total of 71 Rohingya ethnic people to Burma including women and children.

The BDR pushed back 8 Rohingya people of Burma from Sabrang by the 42 Rifles Battalion, 28 persons from Gundum by 17 BDR Battalion and 35 persons from Chakdala border point of Naikongchari of Bandarban hill district by the 15 BDR Battalion.

The Rohingya ethnic, who had entered illegally into Bangladesh, were harassed by the Burmese military junta and were trying to escape from persecution. However, the Bangladeshi authorities also ordered the border security force to arrest Burmese nationals and push them back to Burma. “Where will they go to save their lives?” a local elder from Naikongchari Upazila asked.

READ MORE---> BDR pushes back illegal Burmese nationals...

Youth arrested by Nasaka for marrying

Maungdaw, Arakan State (KPN): A youth was picked up by Burma’s border security force, Nasaka on July 19, in Maungdaw Township for marrying without informing, said a close relative of the victim requesting anonymity.

The victim was identified as Abul Hussain (25), son of Abdu Salam hailing from Maung Nama Village of Maungdaw Township.

On July 19 night, a section of Nasaka personnel from Pawet Chaung outpost camp in Maungdaw Township went to the victim’s house and arrested him on the allegation that he had married without informing the authorities. He was hustled to the Naska camp.

He tied the knot with a girl two years ago. He had submitted an application to the Nasaka, but he did not get permission because he failed to pay money to the local officer. He went ahead and married a girl in 2007 without informing the Nasaka, said a local trader on condition of anonymity.

The Nasaka camp received the information, albeit late, so Abul Hussain was arrested for extortion. They (Nasaka) only want money from the Rohingya community, locals alleged.

However, the victim was released on July 22, after paying Kyat 600,000 to the Nasaka officer, according to an elder related to the victim.

There are many unmarried girls in northern Arakan given the scarcity of youths. This is because many youths have fled Burma following persecution by Burmese authorities. The youths are unable to marry because of financial crisis and not being able to pay a huge bribe to the Nasaka, said a religious leader who declined to be named.

Since 1999,

Burma's border security force
has imposed marriage restrictions on
the Rohingya community

. The marriageable age was fixed at 24 years for bridegrooms and 18 years for brides. The couples are not allowed to have more than two children and the bridegroom cannot take more than one wife. The grooms also have to be clean-shaven to be eligible for marriage permits. A few people have got marriage permits after offering huge bribes to the Nasaka.

23 July 2009

READ MORE---> Youth arrested by Nasaka for marrying...

Bangladesh Minister pressurizes Burmese envoy on Rohingya issue

Dhaka, Bangladesh (KPN): Bangladesh’s Food and Disaster Management Minister, Dr. Mohammed Abdur Razzak has raised the Rohingya refugee issue with Burmese Ambassador, Phae Thann Oo, seeking an immediate solution through regular diplomatic meetings, a senior government official said yesterday.

Rohingya boatpeople died in Andaman Sea on a drifting boat (photo)

Dr. Mohammed Abdur Razzak pointed out the urgency during a discussion with Burmese Ambassador, Phae Thann Oo, at his office, the official said.

“Regular meetings at diplomatic levels between both the friendly countries should be held to solve the problems related to these issues, which will strengthen the existing friendly relations,” the Minister told the envoy.

“Bangladesh gave shelter to the Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds and created scope for them to earn their living as per the ability of the country, though many of them got mixed up with the locals,” the minister added.

The Burmese Ambassador agreed on the Rohingya refugee issue with Dr Razzak and said they would soon send in a delegation to the Cox’s Bazaar camp housing the refugees.

“The problem regarding Rohingya refugees is no longer a problem only for Bangladesh, it is a regional issue. And it would be a bigger problem for the region in future,” said Prof Imtiaz Ahmed, at another discussion meeting on 'The Rohingyas: From stateless to refugee', which was organized by the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) at its office in the city, with its Director General Maj Gen. Sheikh Md Monirul Islam as chairperson yesterday.

There are still at least 0.2 million undocumented Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, besides those living in the camps, though they were supposed to have returned to Myanmar in 1978 and 1992, under an agreement between the two countries, said Prof Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, of the Department of International Relations of Dhaka University, while presenting keynote speech at a panel discussion.

He said, “It has been a problem for the country year after year and remains the same and there has been no change in the situation. Thailand, India and Indonesia have already got involved in the issue and we had hoped there would be some change this time. There has to be international pressure to resolve the problem.”

Prof Anwar Hossain said, “Multi-dimensional effort is necessary to address the problem regarding Rohingya refugees. Firstly, the problem is humanitarian, then demographical and it is also concerned with the security of the country. The only way out is to address the problem multilaterally with the involvement of regional countries.

Former Defence Attaché of Bangladesh to Myanmar Brig Gen (retd) Salim Akhtar said, “Bangladesh provides support to the Rohingya refugees in terms of their skill development and education and the government should also track down the undocumented refugees, because they may get involved in international gunrunning and militancy and the country also suggests bringing the Rohingya leaders to the negotiating table to understand the realities of the situation and finding out a key solution.”

Ambassadors of Indonesia, India and Thailand were also present at the discussion and felt the necessity of a combined regional effort to solve the problem.

“Camps are expensive to run. Camps are also discriminatory for the Bangladeshi people living around the area where the Rohingya camps are located,” Arjun Jain, acting representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Dhaka said.

"The issue has become a forgotten matter in the global context and the international community should pay more attention to it," said Arjun Jain.

“We had come here to escape the persecution of the ruling Burmese junta, a long time ago and now we have more than 1.5 million people all over the world. We don’t want to stay in any other country if we get all the facilities as the other ethnic groups of Burma. We need the support of the international community to get this opportunity,” said Aman, a Rohingya politician from Bangladesh.

Rohingya boatpeople reached Indonesia shore with drifting boat (photo)

“There is no security in Arakan, Burma, so we came to Bangladesh. We were not safe here too, so we tried to find a safe place by the sea route, where our community lost thousands of lives in the Andaman Sea last winter,” he added.

23 July 2009

READ MORE---> Bangladesh Minister pressurizes Burmese envoy on Rohingya issue...

Cemetery seized by TPDC in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State (KPN): The Township Peace and Development Council, (TPDC) chairman of Maungdaw Township has seized a Rohingya Muslim cemetery in the Township for use though there are many vacant places for the authorities to set up camps or other buildings, said a local elder on condition of anonymity.

On July 1, the Maungdaw TPDC Chairman along with other officers went to Basara (Thawin Chaung) village in Maungdaw Township and ordered the villagers not to bury their dead in the cemetery. If anyone did not comply with the order, he or she would be fined Kyat 50,000.

The authorities destroyed some Kobors (file of the soil of bodies in the cemetery) and the fence of the cemetery which was established a long time ago near the village. Recently, a Nasaka outpost was set up close to the cemetery on the north.

The villagers were asked to bury new bodies at the bottom of a mountain on the eastern side of the village, a mile away.

Villagers do not know why the authorities seized the ancient cemetery of the villagers, although vacant places are available, said a local trader requesting not to be named.

A village trader said, “There are many vacant lands to build government buildings. Why did they have to seize the cemetery of the Muslims? What are the reasons? Is there any country in the world which seizes cemeteries?”

In 2008, the authorities also had seized the cemeteries in Baggona and Gora Khali villages of Maungdaw Township.

Earlier, in Buthidaung Township, the authorities seized Buthidaung Town cemetery, Taung Bazaar cemetery, the Thiganet cemetery though there were many places to construct government buildings, said a local elder from Buthidaung Township.

READ MORE---> Cemetery seized by TPDC in Maungdaw...

Asean Calls for Inclusive Election; Release of All Political Prisoners

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

PHUKET, Thailand — Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) called for the immediate release of Burma’s political prisoners including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as free, fair and inclusive elections in 2010, at the conclusion of the two-day Asean Ministerial Meeting on Monday in Phuket, Thailand.

“We encouraged the Myanmar [Burma] Government to hold free, fair and inclusive elections in 2010, thereby laying down a good foundation for future social and economic development,” said the joint communiqué of the 42nd AMM.

Although Asean’s statement is the same essentially as that of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Burma, it focuses on different principles from that of two significant stakeholders in Burmese politics such as Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) and various ethnic ceasefire armed groups.

The NLD and the main ceasefire groups, such the United Wa State Army and the Kachin Independence Army, have emphasized the need for a review of Burma’s new constitution to resolve the political crisis and promote genuine national reconciliation.

In the Asean foreign ministers’ joint-statement, titled “Acting Together to Cope with Global Challenges,” said the release of political prisoners was a way to pave the way for meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders in Burmese politics.

Asean ministers also seemed to support what they call a “constructive engagement policy” on Burma by reiterating that the Burmese delegation said “international pressure and economic

sanctions on Burma for changing course were ‘hampering’ democratization and development of the country.”

Critics of Asean’s “constructive engagement policy” towards Burma say that for more than a decade, the policy has failed to bring positive changes to Burma.

The statement mentioned the regional problem of human trafficking and the need to enhance cooperation between the countries of origin, transit and destination as a way to address the issue. No mention was made of the North Korea issue or of the Rohingya immigration issue.

READ MORE---> Asean Calls for Inclusive Election; Release of All Political Prisoners...

Malaysian Officers Held over Burmese Migrant Sale

By JULIA ZAPPEI / AP WRITER
The Irrawaddy News

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian authorities have arrested five immigration officers suspected of selling illegal immigrants from Burma to human traffickers, police said Tuesday.

It is the first time Malaysia has found evidence that government officials were involved in the forced labor exploitation of Burmese migrants at its border with Thailand—an accusation that prompted the US State Department to put Malaysia on a list of top trafficking offenders last month.

Police federal crimes investigation head Mohamad Bakri Zinin said authorities have arrested five Immigration Department officers and four bus drivers over the past five days.

Investigations showed the officers brought Burmese migrants—who lived in Malaysia without valid travel documents—to Malaysia's northern border with Thailand and handed them to human traffickers in exchange for up to 600 ringgit ($170) for each.

The traffickers took the migrants into Thailand and told them to pay 2,000 ringgit ($570) each for their freedom or they would be forced to work in the fishing industry, Mohamad Bakri said.

"These things really happen," Mohamad Bakri said.

All nine arrested could be charged for profiting from the exploitation of trafficked persons, he said. The bus drivers allegedly helped transport the migrants to the border.

If convicted, they face up to 15 years in prison.

The officers arrested were reportedly senior state-level personnel. Immigration officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

In April, a report by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said illegal Burmese migrants deported from Malaysia have been forced to work in brothels, fishing boats and restaurants across the border in Thailand if they had no money to buy their freedom.

The US State Department recommended that Malaysia fully implement and enforce its anti-trafficking laws—which have been in place for several years—and increase prosecutions, convictions and sentences for trafficking.

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

READ MORE---> Malaysian Officers Held over Burmese Migrant Sale...

Trafficking syndicate: Malaysia busts officials

Bangladeshi labourers board a bus at a construction site in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian police have arrested five immigration officials for involvement in an international trafficking syndicate dealing in refugees from Myanmar, a top officer has said. (AFP/ File / Saeed Khan)

KUALA LUMPUR, July 21, 2009 (AFP) – Malaysian police have arrested five immigration officials for involvement in an international trafficking syndicate dealing in refugees from Myanmar, a top officer said Tuesday.

The five were among nine people detained for receiving payments from a syndicate that "sold" refugees mostly from Myanmar's Rohingya minority as forced labour, Criminal Investigation Department head Mohammad Bakri Zinin told state media.

His comments were confirmed to AFP by police.

"According to a victim, the suspects were directly involved in human trafficking, starting from the Malaysia-Thai border" to other "exit points to international countries," he told state news agency Bernama.

"Upon reaching the exit point, the victims were handed over to a syndicate before being taken to a neighbouring country," he added without identifying the exit points.

Bakri said the refugees were charged between 300 to 600 ringgit (85 to 169 dollars) each and those who could not afford to pay would be sold to owners of fishing industries in Thailand until they worked off their debts, the New Straits Times reported.

He said the five immigration officers had been operating their network since last year with the other four people arrested responsible for transporting the illegals across the county, the paper reported.

Police were made aware of the group's existence in March this year.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said recently his country was being used as a transit point for illegal immigrants.

One of Asia's largest importers of labour, Malaysia relies on its 2.2 million migrants to clean homes, care for children and work in plantations and factories.

The Bengali-speaking Rohingya Muslims are from mainly Buddhist Myanmar, which denies the minority group citizenship and property rights, leading to their abuse, exploitation and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their country.

READ MORE---> Trafficking syndicate: Malaysia busts officials...

Bangladesh to file case against illegal entry

Teknaf, Bangladesh (Kaladan): Bangladeshi authorities have decided to file a case against Rohingya entering Bangladesh illegally, according to sources.

On July 19, six Burmese nationals were arrested from Shapuri Dip by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) for intrusion. They were handed over to the police station in Teknaf in the evening, according to a BDR source.

The arrested are: Ali Akbar (38), Mohamed Hamid (28), Yar Mohammad (22), Mohamed Salim (27), Mohamed Yasin (25), and Dulal Hussain, hailing from Zalia Para of Akyab, Arakan State Burma.

A case has been filed against the six arrested in the Teknaf police station, the acting officer-in-charge Jamal Ahamed Chowdhury said.

The Township Officer of Teknaf, Md Tofayel Islam also said “Earlier we pushed back many Rohingyas to Burma several times. As it did not work, we have now decided to file cases against them.”

But, a social worker from a NGO in Teknaf said the influx will not stop till there is restoration of law and order and human rights in Burma.

"The Rohingya influx will not stop unless there is a qualitative change in Arakan state, in western Myanmar where the Rohingya people live,” Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said.

READ MORE---> Bangladesh to file case against illegal entry...

Burmese trying to enroll in Bangladeshi voters list arrested

Dhaka (Narinjara): Eighteen Burmese Muslims were arrested on Wednesday by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on the border when they were trying to enter Bangladesh to enroll in the country’s voters list, said an official report.

Bangladeshi election authorities are now updating the country’s electoral rolls. So some Burmese nationals are trying to sneak into Bangladesh to enroll their names in the voters list. Should they succeed in registering their names in the voters list, they will become Bangladeshi citizens, the report said.

The Burmese nationals were arrested from different areas of Nakhongshari Township, opposite MaungdawTownship in Burma during a joint operation by the Bangladeshi security forces, official sources said.

“Acting on secret information, they entered Bangladesh territory to enroll themselves in the updated voters list. We caught them on the border,” said an official.

The BDR also arrested 11 Burmese nationals from different villages in Nakhongsari Township on Sunday and Monday while they were intruding into Bangladesh.

Despite Bangladeshi border authorities arresting many Burmese Muslims and pushing them back to Burma the exodus of Muslims from the neighbouring country continues unabated.

Most from the Muslim community in Arakan are entering Bangladesh to flee the economic crisis in the State. The people as a whole in Arakan are mired in financial crisis making it difficult for them to eke out a living, reports from Arakan say.

READ MORE---> Burmese trying to enroll in Bangladeshi voters list arrested...