Report Introduction:
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) completed an international fact-finding mission in Malaysia from 18 – 24 January 2007. The mission was assisted by its member organisation in Malaysia, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram). In particular, the mission was assisted by Ms. Koula Koumis, a Suaram volunteer, who accompanied the mission to many meetings, assisted in facilitating and briefing the mission members for meetings with refugee groups and worked tirelessly to confirm arrangements. Koula died tragically in a road traffic accident on 4 March 2007 in Kuala Lumpur. This report is dedicated to her and to the impact she made on the lives and human rights of so many people.
The objective of the mission was to investigate the situation of undocumented migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. Its main focus was on the provisions of the Immigration Act and the process of enforcement of immigration laws and policies. The conditions of detention in the immigration depots and the process of removal of persons who contravene the Immigration Act were also addressed. It was not intended to cover issues such as the working conditions of documented and undocumented workers, assess the claims of persons to protection under the Geneva Refugee Convention or deal with the questions relating to trafficking in persons in any depth. Bymeeting with a range of actors at the national level, the mission sought to gather information provided by those individuals and groups on these issues and to use this information provided as a basis for formulating recommendations in order to guide Malaysia developing and strengthening its human rights protections for these vulnerable groups and remedy shortcomings in the current system.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Undocumented migrants and refugees in Malaysia:Raids, Detention and Discrimination
Bangladesh Border Security Force Changes Tactics Against Burmese Muslims
Teknaf, 25 March 2008
Bangladesh Border Security Force Changes Tactics Against Burmese Muslims
Bangladesh border security forces have for the last few months been using a new tactic against Muslim migrants from Burma who attempt to enter Bangladesh territory, said a merchant from Teknaf.
In the past, Bangladesh border security forces would take migrants into custody for illegally entering Bangladesh territory and would send them to prison for processing.
Recently, border forces have been avoiding arresting the Burmese Muslim migrants they encounter, and have instead been pushing them back to Burma.
The merchant said that a five-member family from Buthidaung Township in Arakan State faced this new tactic on Saturday when they encountered a Bangladesh Rifles team as they were entering Bangladesh territory through Sapuri Island in the Naff River.
The family, including two minors, was being led by Nobi Hussan and entered Bangladesh to seek asylum as refugees, but was pushed back into Burma by the BDR forces.
Recently, many Muslim families from Burma have faced similar action by Bangladesh authorities when trying to enter Bangladesh without documents to seek refuge.
Nearly 1,000 Burmese nationals, mainly Muslims from Arakan State, are currently being detained in several Bangladesh prisons for illegally entering Bangladesh.
After being arrested, Bangladesh authorities are unable to deport them because the Burmese authority refuses to accept them on claims that they are not Burmese citizens.
It is because of these difficulties in repatriating undocumented Burmese migrants through normal channels that Bangladesh border security forces have likely switched to this new tactic of pushing them back across the border without arresting them, the merchant said. #
Hundreds of Burmese Migrants Rounded Up in Malaysia
The Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee (BWRPC) said the Burmese, who included individuals recognized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), were among more than 500 undocumented migrants arrested in a RELA crackdown. They included some 200 Rohingya refugees, pregnant women and about 50 children who were participating in basic education classes organized by the UNHCR.
Please see full tax-
Solidarity Statement with the Movement of Tibetans led by Dalai Lama
Arakan -Burma
Ref: 08/RYDF-ST/002
Date: March 25, 2008
Solidarity Statement with the Movement of Tibetans led by Dalai Lama
We, at the Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF), Arakan-Burma would like to express our whole-hearted solidarity with the movement of Dalai Lama, the leader of Tibet's exile community.
The Tibet’s people have rights to enjoy their freedom in their respective territory. We support the call of Ms. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, to denounce China in the wake of its crackdown in Tibet.
Statement on MP U Kyaw Min’s 3 years imprisonment completion
Ref: 02/2008
Date: March 16, 2008
Statement on MP U Kyaw Min’s 3 years imprisonment completion
We, an alliance of 6- political parties of the ethnic Rohingyas of Burma in overseas namely, the Arakan Rohingya Organization – Japan (JARO), the National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR –exile) USA (HQ), World Rohingya Congress (WRO) in USA, Burmese Rohingya Association in United Arab Emirates (BRA – UAE), Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF), and National Council for Rohingyas in Malaysia (NCR) strongly demand to the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military government in Burma for the immediate and unconditional release of U Kyaw Min @ Mohammad Shamsul Anwarul Hoque along with his family members on this day of March 17, 2008 which marks the completion of 3 years prison sentence in the notorious jail of Burma.
Statement on the SPDC Announcement on Referendum
Ref: 03/2008
Date: March 16, 2008
Statement on the SPDC Announcement on Referendum
We, at the six-party alliance of the ethnic Rohingyas of Burma in exile totally reject the Announcements No 1/2008 and 2/2008 and Declaration No 3/2008 unilaterally released by the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) and condemns their undemocratic elements against the will of all Burmese people. The SPDC has been trying to install additional militarized system in the country through its continuous dictatorial policy. Mention may be made here that the SPDC has never contributed to national reconciliation or national unity.
So, we, at the alliance hereby declare the following as our firm position:
The Alliance sees this Constitutional Referendum is a dirty trick played by SPDC which desperately tries to push Burmese people into a dilemma position where there is no choice for Burmese people except to dance along with the dirty tune played by regime;
The SPDC’s state constitution does not reflect the will of the political parties, which contested in the 1990 general elections, or that of the ethnic minority leaders, or the people like Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, Shan, Rohingya, Pa-o, Palaung, Naga, Kuki etc. So, the alliance totally denounces it.
The Alliance express its firm decision to commit ourselves to work together with all the people in strongly opposing the SPDC's state constitution as well as all the phases of its "roadmap" which are attempts to ratify its state constitution.
The Rohingya Alliance strongly condemn this constitutional referendum as a dirty trick of SPDC and the alliance also would like to advise all Rohingya Arakanese people as well as all other ethnic nationalities of Burma to demonstrate their objection by all means towards such kind of constitutional referendum immediately in order to more pressure upon the SPDC to respect the will of all people of Burma which demand a meaningful tripartite dialogue to pave the way of national reconciliation.
The Rohingya Alliance strongly urges SPDC to abandon its dirty and undemocratic trick at once and to go into meaningful dialogue with sincere intention without further delay with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, political forces and ethnic nationalities that only to step forward for a real change into genuine federalism.
The arrogant attitude of the SPDC military junta to disregard the international call especially, the suggestion of the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Burma, Mr. Ibrahim Gambari to amend the Constitution for accommodation of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the political process and SPDC planned national election in 2010 roughly tarnishing the image of the country and people of Burma in the comity of the nation’s of the world.
The Alliance request to the international community, especially our neighboring countries, including China, India and ASEAN, to mediate a tripartite negotiation among the SPDC, the 1990 election winning party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the representatives of ethnic minority nationalities that only to bring peace and stability not only in Burma but also in the region.
Member organizations of the Alliance are:
National Democratic Party for Human Rights (exile) Headquarters, USA
Arakan Rohingya Organization-Japan (JARO)
Burmese Rohingya Association in United Arab Emirates (BRA-UAE)
Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF), Arakan-Burma
World Rohingya Congress (WRC), USA
National Council for Rohingyas (NRC), Malaysia
For media contact: -
Salim Ullah (Japan) Tel: +81-276-73-8079
Kyaw Soe Aung (USA) Tel: + 414 736 4273
Sunday, February 17, 2008
How to Stop Human Rights Violations against Rohingyas
Sun, 2008-02-17 03:30
By - Ahmedur Rahman Farooq
The Rohingya community of Arakan, Burma is one of the most down-trodden ethnic minorities of the world.They are victim of political oppression, economic exploitation, cultural slavery and communal violence in their ancestral land Arakan where they have been living centuries after centuries.
Arakan which is a land of one of the most fertile regions in Asia with great variety of unexplored resources, has turned into a land of bloods and tears since the beginning of the 20th century where the Rohingyas have been groaning under the crushing wheels of either state sponsored terrorists or the religious fanatics decades after decades.
Restortoration of Democracy n Burma:
There is no denying the fact that it is the lack of democratic atmosphere which has closed all the doors for the restoration of human rights of Rohingyas. Despite the continuous outcries of the international peace loving community to restore peace and democracy in Burma, the military regime has been continuously playing game to defuse the international outrage and to trample the people of Burma under the military boots for an indefinite period. Refusing to hand over power to the overwhelmingly elected representatives of the people of Burma during the General Election of 1990, detaining the national icon of democracy, peace and liberty, Daw Aung San Suu Kyie and all other popular leaders of democratic movement and ethnic minorities years after years and brutally cracking down all anti military protests, the Generals have demonstrated the world that there is no words like "human rights" in their vocabulary and they have no interest to learn what democracy or civil liberty means. So, the restoration of democracy in Burma is a precondition to stop human rights violations against the Rohingyas.
Restoration of Citizenship of Rohingyas:
Nevertheless, as a part of groundwork for any sort of human rights violations against Rohingyas under the aegis of law, the most notorious action which the military rulers have done is the amendment to the country's Citizenship Law in 1982 which has reduced the Rohingyas to the status of a Stateless Gypsy Community of the world, depriving them of citizenship and making them illegal immigrants in their ancestral motherland where they have been living for centuries having a long history, a language, a heritage, a culture and a tradition of their own that they had built up in their motherland through the ages of existence which can be traced back to the 7th Century.
Under the aegis of this notorious law, the military rulers have adopted all sorts of mechanism to turn Arakan into a "Rohingyaless" land through the series of genocidal operations and all other sorts of human rights violations. Through this act, the military regime has incited racism, xenophobia, inequality, intolerance and discrimination against the Rohingya, depriving them of their fundamental rights to citizenship, movement, education, job, marriage, property, healthcare and other civic liberty. So, in order to restore human rights of Rohingyas, it is the foremost need for the government of Burma to annul the black amendment of citizenship law of 1982 and to sign and ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and to remove all the obstacles in the way to let the Rohingyas enjoy the right to citizenship as well as for all their children who were born in exile as both documented or undocumented refugees.
Restoration of Communal Harmony in Arakan:
Another heinous tactics that the military rulers have been engaged in since the military take over of Gen. Ne Win in 1962 to exterminate Rohingyas from Arakan, is to fuel extreme communal frenzy among the Rakhines and Rohingyas in Arakan. The people of Arakan who had been once living in peace and perfect amity, have to witness many often recurrent phenomenon of communal violence, social anarchy and widespread unrest goaded by the despotic military rulers.
Today, Arakan is a land of communal enmity and hatred which has reached at such a scale that the Rohingyas can hardly pass through the Rakhine localities. The movement of Rohingyas from one place to another by buses, launches or steamers is always full of risks and hazards. Thousands of highly Rohingya educated personalities have fallen victims of assassination at the hands of a section of the Rakhine communalists. In fact, it is the military regime which has turned the land into an earthly hell where tens of thousands of innocent human beings are being offered as the requiem of the communal conflagration with a notion "Kill a Rohingya first if a cobra and a Rohingya are found together". So, without restoration of communal harmony between the two sister communities of Arakan, the Rohingyas and Rakhines, any effort to stop human rights violations against the Rohingyas, is bound to end in debacle. Peace can prevail in Arakan only when these two communities will be able to create an atmosphere where they can live in peaceful coexistence like two petals of a flower.
Presence of International Agencies in Arakan:
However, in Arakan which has been tormented decades after decades by the military rulers during the long 46 years of Reign of Terror, the matter of restoration of human rights of Rohingyas can not be imagined without the presence of monitoring agencies of international bodies including the UNHCR and ILO who must have full access to each and every corner of Arakan to see for themselves what is going on on the people of Arakan as well as the Rohingyas. They must have full freedom to carry out their international mandate and also to monitor all the situations which have been going on in reality.
Furthermore, the authorities must abrogate all black laws which serve as the tools for the violations of human rights against the civilians including the Rohingyas and they must fully comply with the UN Declaration of Human Rights and other covenants like Health ICESCR (International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) where as per Article 12.1: everyone has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Shelter ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) where as per Article 12.1: everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence and Livelihood ICESCR where as per Article 6.1: everyone has the right to work, which includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to safeguard this right.
Most importantly, the authority must abolish the practice of forced labor in compliance with the 1930 International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention on Forced Labor and as per the recommendation of the ILO, the government must repeal the sections of the Village and Towns Acts that legally sanctions the conscription of labor. The government also must protect the Children's rights in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991.Children must not be forced to work under any circumstances and they must abrogate all written or unwritten rules which stand as the stumbling block for Rohingya students to get education. They must give up all practices which compel Rohingyas to go gradually away from their ethnic culture, heritage as well as language. All Rohingya students must have their right to retain their own Rohingya name and no Rohingya student will be compelled to adopt a Burmese name which, in fact, has been serving as a tool for the military rulers in their way to Burmanization.
Presence of NGOs in Arakan:
Arakan which has turned out to be a land of restlessness, antagonism, discrimination, persecution, anarchy and disappointment during the long military rule and where the peace-loving people pass their life in utmost grief and distress, fear and frustration, the voice of restoration of human rights of Rohingyas can be a far cry there, if the NGOs are not allowed to work for alleviation of sufferings of all the hapless people including the Rohingyas.
It is the NGOs which can heal at least some level of scars caused by despotic rule over the decades pushing tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children towards disasters. Through their grassroot level activities, the NGOs can play a significant role in changing the life of the distressed human beings from the wounds caused by the systemic oppression, socio-economic and political exploitation and social anarchy as well as the havocs of the communal violence.
The NGOs can play a major role in restoration of human rights of Rohingyas if they are allowed to work in Arakan through multidimensional programmes like emergency relief, food security and agriculture, infrastructure and health and education. Under the emergency relief programme, the NGOs can concentrate to the internally displaced Rohingyas. They can pay special attention and concentration to reduce mortality and morbidity and help the distressed people to return to normalcy and let them understand the fact that human rights are not the mercy of a state and that as per Vienna Conference on Human Rights in 1993 which clearly states that "States declare that human rights are the legitimate concern of the international community", human rights obligations are voluntarily confirmed obligations of states or nations towards populations within their jurisdiction, and this obligates States or nations to have consistent efforts and strive towards a complete spectrum of human rights - starting from an effective 'right to health,' within the availability of States resources to the absolute prohibition of torture.
Presence of human rights groups in Arakan:
Another important aspect for the restoration of human rights of Rohingyas is to allow different human rights organizations to be present in Arakan where human rights violations have turned out to be a common phenomenon during the decades long military rule.
In fact, Human Rights and Human Survival are inalienably linked. In concrete terms, the endurance of the society is a human right. But this basic human right to live with peace and security, liberty and equality and prosperity cannot be rejuvenated by any govemment faced with all those factors which endanger the peaceful living of human society. Violence can be termed as one sort of violation of norms of human behaviour recognised by all civilised people of the world. By spreading violence and panic among people, it hits the very roots of democracy. So every society cherishing the democratic way of life is bound to fight any sort of violence and cause panic. Therefore, the implementation of human rights had come to be acknowledged internationally as a major concern and essential in the development of not only the individual but also the nation and, ultimately the world.
So, there can be no meaningful improvement in the restoration of human rights of Rohingyas without the presence of human rights organizations in Arakan who can serve as the watchdogs of all sorts of violations of human rights, whether that violation comes from government, from terrorists, from criminals, or from self-appointed messiahs operating under the cover of politics or religion.
Presence of News Media in Arakan:
Robert Heinlein said, secrecy is the beginning of tyranny. It is the news media which mainly bring most of the secrets to the surface. A journalist witnesses an incident, films it and releases it and thus opens the eye of people, organizations and governments as well as the international community through his report, his video and other online technologies about the human rights violations and thus, he brings a change in the society and in a nation.
The news media play an immense role in the restoration of human rights of a community or a nation. It has an unimaginable power to organize the "people power" against any injustice and tyranny and build a culture of freedom. Moreover, the role that the broadcast media plays in changing the face of a society is beyond description. Because of satellite links which now enable broadcast news organizations to originate live programming from any part of the globe, the entire world is becoming one "global village" as Marshall McLuhan said or as the famous line of Shakespeare "all the world's a stage".
Nevertheless, in a country which the military rulers have turned into a secret state of terror where human rights are constantly violated and where the guns of the army point out the way of life of the people, the voice for the presence of human rights groups or news media organizations in Arakan is a far cry. It is only a democratic atmosphere which can pave the way to stop human rights violations against Rohingyas and bring an end to the chapter of genocide and ethnic cleansing operations against them.
Ahmedur Rahman Farooq, Chairman, Rohingya Human Rights Council (RHRC).
- Asian Tribune -
NDPHR (exile) USA (HQ) pays Tribute to KNU General Secretary Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY FOR HUMAN RIGHTSNDPHR (exile) USA (HQ)
PO. Box 210178, Woodhaven, NY-11421,USA
Phone: 1-646-625-9407 , 1- 414 - 736- 4273
e-mail : ndphrexile_usa_ hq@yahoo. com
Ref: NDPHR(USA) 34- 48/2008
Date:- February 14, 2008
NDPHR (exile) USA (HQ) pays Tribute to KNU General Secretary Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan
We, the members of the National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR - exile) USA (HQ) are deeply shocked to hear the news of the tragic demise of Karen national leader, Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan who was assassinated by unknown gunmen on February 14, 2008 at his home in Maesot, Thailand.
Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, 64, is the General Secretary and spokesperson for the Karen National Union (KNU) which is one of the largest ethnic groups of Burma struggling for the cause of emancipation of the Karen ethnic community as well as the establishment of justice, equality and peace in Burma. Padoh Mahn Sha has made a lot of sacrifice in his life for the restoration of human rights and democracy, establishment of genuine Federal Union including self-determination of all minority people. He has two sons and two daughters.
Padoh Mahn Sha, a History graduate was one of Burma’s most prominent leaders. He joined Karen Revolutionary movement led by KNU in 1966 and in 1988 when the late General Saw Bo Mya was the President of KNU, DAB and NCUB, he became a personal secretary of General Saw Bo Mya and in 2000 KNU’s 12th congress, he was elected as General Secretary of KNU. Simultaneously, he became a member of National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) secretariat.
The assassination of Padoh Mahn Sha is a great loss for all freedom loving people of Burma and it indeed is a deadly blow to the entire pro-democracy and human rights struggle of all ethnic nationalities of Burma.
On this saddest moment, we, the members of the National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR - exile) USA (HQ) and the Rohingya ethnic minority people extend our deepest condolences to all members of the KNU, all ethnic Karen community and also to his family and pray for the eternal peace of his departed soul.
Maung Sein @ Mohiuddin
( President)
Central Executive Committee
National Democratic Party for Human Rights (exile - HQ)
United States of America.
RYDF condemns assassination of Karen leader Padoh Mahn Sha
Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF)
Arakan-Burma
Ref: 08/RYDF-ST/001
Date: February 15, 2008
RYDF condemns assassination of Karen leader Padoh Mahn Sha
Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF) today expressed its “deep shock, sadness and outrage” at the assassination of the General Secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), Padoh Mahn Sha, in Thailand .
Mahn Sha is one the most prominent ethnic leaders of Burma . He was shot dead at his home on the Thai-Burmese border on 14th February 2008. We believe that the assassination was done by Burmese military regime. We strongly condemn this inhuman act.
It is also no doubt, the murder was plotted by the ruling military SPDC. We strongly condemn this cowardly act.
Badoh Mahn Sha is one of those who are widely respected by all peace and freedom loving people of Burma , regardless of ethnicity, race, religion and color. He is not only the great comrade of Karen people but the friend of the Rohingya people and others.
The assassination of Padoh Mahn Sha is an irreparable loss for all pro-democracy and human rights movements; and all freedom loving people of all ethnic races in Burma .
On this tragic occasion, we, Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF) and all members of ethnic Rohingya share the grief and extend our deepest condolences to the family of Padoh Mahn Sha, to his political comrades, to his friends and to his supporters and particularly to the members of the KNU who, we believe, will not lose their courage even for a moment at this cowardly act by the assassins.
We hope that the KNU will revolve the shock of losing Padoh Mahn Sha into power to continue their struggle to put an end to the plight of the Karen people as well as to the despotic rule of the Burmese military rulers.
Central Executive Committee
Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF)
Arakan - Burma
For further Contact:
Mohammad Sadek
General Secretary, RYDF Tel: +60 163094599
E-mail: sadek_brefugee@yahoo.com
Thanks to the Human Rights Activists
February 14, 2008
Concern over the presence of Criminals in the Guise of Politics
We, Rohingya Human Rights Council (RHRC), express our deepest thanks and gratitude to Neeti Gobeshona Kendro, a research organization, for organizing a seminar on ‘Rohingya issue: national and international perspective’, which was held at the Chittagong University’s social science faculty’s conference room on 13.02.2008. We also express our deep appreciation to Prof. Dr Sheikh Tawfique, Prof. Dr.Gazi Saleh Uddin, Professor Abdun Noor, Professor Hossain Kabir, Sadaf Noor Islam, Sher Mahmud of the soil science department Sher Mahmud of Chittagong University, Ms Julia Louise Payson, representative of MSF -The Medicins Sans Frontieres ( Holland ), Mohammad Shafiullah, a Rohingya researcher and the trustee director of the Neeti Gobeshona Kendro, Mahbubul Haque Ripon for raising their voice for the protection of Rohingyas from human rights violations. We also express our gratitude to all those human rights activists and students of Bangladesh who attended the seminar.
There is no denying the fact the people of Bangladesh are very sympathetic to the never ending story of plight of Rohingyas and the sufferings of Rohingyas remind them their own plight during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 when millions of people of Bangladesh were compelled to take refuge in neighboring India to escape the Genocide. And the arrangement of such seminar is a manifestation of their sympathy to the suffering Rohingyas.
But it is also true that the humanitarian people of Bangladesh never indulge in communalism and they have already demonstrated in 1991/92 and afterwards that there is no place in Bagnladesh for ARIF (Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front) led by Mr Nurul Islam and RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organization) headed by Dr Yunus. So, the presence of some known faces of guerilla warfare of communalist spirit, has tarnished the image of the seminar and raised concern. Those communalists have never done anything good for the interest of Rohingya community, but have constantly launched their operations to materialize the master plan of their foreign communalist god fathers, capitalizing the sufferings of Rohingyas and, thus, brought an irreparable damage to the cause of emancipation of Rohingyas as well as their image.
However, we would like to hereby caution the Bangladesh government that they will not be able to escape the responsibility if they tactfully pave the way for the come-back of criminals and communalists under the guise of politics which is against the spirit of the peace loving people of Bangladesh and also against the interest of Rohingyas. They must take necessary steps to prevent their come-back in the soil of Bangladesh.
With thanks and best regards.
A. Rahman Farooq
Chairman, Rohingya Human Rights Council (RHRC)Address: 2975 Vang i Valdres, NorwayContact: +4797413036 Email: rohingyas.rhrc@yahoo.com, rohingyas.rhrc@gmail.com
RHRC Condolences for Karen Leader “Padoh Mahn Sha La Phan
February 14, 2008
Our Deepest Condolences for
Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan
We are deeply saddened to learn the tragic incident of assassination of Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, a leader of the Karen National Union (KNU) which is one of the biggest ethnic groups fighting the Burmese military rulers.
Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan, 64, is the General Secretary of the KNU. He was killed at his two-storey wooden home in Mae Sot, Thailand by unknown gunmen on 14.02.2008, which his son Hse Hse, another senior member of the predominantly Christian Karen rebel movement, blamed a Buddhist Karen splinter group which brokered a truce with the Burmese military rulers in the mid-1990s.
The assassination of Padoh Mahn Sha is an irreparable loss for all pro-democracy and human rights movement of all people of all ethnic races in Burma and also for all freedom loving people of Burma.
On this tragic occasion, we, Rohingya Human Rights Council (RHRC) and the the people of Rohingya ethnic community share the grief and extend our deepest condolences to the family of Padoh Mahn Sha, to his political comrades, to his friends and to his supporters and particularly to the members of the KNU who, we believe, will not lose their courage even for a moment at this cowardly act by the assassins. We hope that the KNU will turn the shock of losing Padoh Mahn Sha into power to continue their struggle to put an end to the plight of the Karen people as well as to the despotic rule of the Burmese military rulers, through Saw Ba U Gyi’s four principles for arm struggle of the Karen Revolution as well as through Mass Campaign, Political Campaign, Diplomatic Campaign, International Campaign and Media Campaign as nourished Padoh Mahn Sha.
With deepest tribute to Padoh Mahn Sha Lah Phan.
A. Rahman Farooq
Chairman, Rohingya Human Rights Council (RHRC)Address: 2975 Vang i Valdres, NorwayContact: +4797413036Email:rohingyas.rhrc@yahoo.com, rohingyas.rhrc@gmail.com
Thursday, January 31, 2008
U Kyaw Min of Burma:A Member of Parliament without Citizenship
Burma, a resource-rich country of 678,500 sq. km and 57.6 million people which the military rulers have turned into a secret state of terror during its 46 years of unbroken despotic rule and where a Nobel Peace Laureate like Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and many other members of parliament are languishing in detetion or jails years after years, the issue of U Kyaw Min can not usually make a story.
But the case of U Kyaw Min alias Master Shamsul Anowarul Hoque deserves special attention as it is different in nature from legal point of view and it carries a different perspective which is related to the fate of 4.5 million Rohingya ethnic minority of Arakan, Burma.
U Kyaw Min is a Rohingya by ethnicity. He has been sentenced to 47 years imprisonment and at the same time his wife Daw Tiza, his two daughters Kin Kin Nu and Way Way Nu and his son Maung Aung Naing have also been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment respectively. Now all of them have been passing a nightmarish life in the jail in Burma. The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) which is serving as a government in exile with its headquarter in Washington D.C., states about him, "U Kyaw Min(age 54), the representative-elect (MP) of Butheetaung Township constituency (1), belongs to the National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR) and a member of the CRPP, was detained on 17 March 2005, A statement was released by CRPP on last Union Day, in which U Kyaw Min took in active part. Besides, he met with ILO delegation, which visited Burma on 21st to 23rd of February 2005. He was sentenced to 47 years imprisonment on 29 July 2005. His wife, two daughters and a son were also sentenced to 17 years respectively. The junta banned the NDPHR under order No. 8/92 on 18 March 1992, and at that time U Kyaw Min was a member of the party's Central Executive Committee. U Kyaw Min received a Bachelor of Economics degree from the Rangoon Institute of Economics in 1968, and in 1969 he began working as a teacher. In 1983, he received a Diploma in Education and served as the Deputy Head of Buthidaung Township Educational Department. In 1985 he became a middle school principal but was dismissed from the position in 1989 because of his involvement in the August 1988 uprising. U Kyaw Min received 30,997 valid votes or 74 % in the 1990 elections."
(http://www.ncgub.net/staticpage s/index.php/MP-update-August200 7)
U Kyaw Min was born in the village "Mikyanzay" under Buthidaung Township in Arakan State of Burma in 1944. In 1988, he led anti government democratic uprising as the chairman of "Democracy Fighting Committee" of the Mayu Division and at the same time he was the executive member of Arakan State Peace Commitee whose chairman was the then Head Monk of Arakan State and which was maintaining the law and order situation in the whole Arakan State during the two months of chaotic and volatile period of 1988 when there was virtually no governance in Burma. He was also the adviser to the " 88 Generation of Mayu Division". However, after the landslide victory of U Kyaw Min in the general election of 1990, the military rulers took it as a big dust on their eye. In 1992, he was put in detention for 3 months in the custody of the military intelligence during operation "prataya". He was again put in detention for 15 days when a senior official of the UN visited Buthidaung in Arakan State. In 1994, an insurgent group launched several offensives in western Arakan, then the military intelligence again put him in detention for 45 days eventhough he has never supported any separatism and has continuously raised his voice for the communal harmony and peaceful coexistence of all communities of Arakan particularly the Rohingyas and Rakhines under the Union of Burma. Finally, in March 2005, he was arrested from his residence in Rangoon and was charged under Section 18 Citizenship Law 1982 and section 5(j) Anti State Emergency Law .
Mentionably, after he joined the CRPP (Committee Representing the People's Parliament) in 1998 at the invitation of Daw Aung Suu Kyie to represent the Rohingya ethnic minority, the main pro-regime party"NUP" (National Unity Party) invited him to join NUP to support military backed national convention and to resign from CRPP. But he did not agree and this has brought serious wrath of the military rulers and the ultimate consequence was the handing of 47 years imprisonment.
From February 21 to 23.2005, a high power delegation of ILO (International Labor Organization) has visited Burma and they have held an exclusive meeting with him and after the visit of that delegation, Burma was suspended from ILO and then the military rulers suspected him to have played an active role in the suspension of Burma from the ILO.
However, the imprisonment of U Kyaw Min under the allegation of not being the citizen of Burma, is a part of systematic persecutions of Rohingya ethnic minority of Arakan. U Kyaw Min has got his graduation from the Rangoon University on the subjects of Bachelor of Economics. As per the Burmese law, this subject is not allowed to study for foreigners. For 18 years, he has held a number of different positions in the government job, which is not allowed for someone who is not the citizen of Burma. It is also true that the Election Commission of Burma never allows a foreigner to participate in a general election. But despite the Election Commission knew it very well that he is a Rohingya, he was allowed to run the election after scrutinizing his nationality status.
Mentionably, an amendment to the Burma citizenship law in 1982 deprived the Rohingyas of citizenship, suddenly making them illegal immigrants in their ancestral motherland where they have been living centuries after centuries and whose presence in the region can be traced back to the 7th Century. However, this amendment has reduced them to the status of a Stateless Gypsy Community of the world.
The Burmese military rulers do not want to know and let others know that the Rohingyas have a long history, a language, a heritage, a culture and a tradition of their own that they had built up in Arakan through their long history of existence there and in order to garner support among the Buddhist majority Burma, the military rulers have continuously run their criminal propaganda against the Rohingyas to such a level that many people still believe that Royhingyas are foreigners and that they do not belong to Burma.
Particularly since the takeover of General Ne Win in 1962, the Burmese military rulers have been continuously stepping up their systemic program to ethnically cleanse the Rohingyas from their ancestral homeland and they have been altering the demography of the region through extermination and displacement of the Rohingya population, demolition and confiscation of Rohingya properties and construction of Pagodas and monasteries on the demolished sacred sites of the Rohingyas to obliterate the identity of the Rohingyas. In Arakan there is a vast number of written and unwritten discriminatory rules which govern the lives of Rohingyas. They are subjected to severe restrictions of movement, which affect their ability to trade and to seek employment as well as limit their access to health care and education. The Rohingyas must apply for written permission to travel out of their home villages, and another permission document to sleep overnight in another village. Akyab (Sittwe), the capital city of Arakan, is totally off limits to them. Marrying without permission ?and permission is often denied or delayed ?can bring hefty fines and prison sentences and turns children of such "illegal" marriages into stateless non-persons. For the decades-long downtrodden and poverty-stricken Rohingyas, complying with the myriad restrictions requires an onerous and mostly unofficial payment every step of the way. Arbitrary confiscation of land without compensation continues, either to provide land for new Buddhist settlers or to build and enlarge military camps, including plantations to grow crops for the military for their own food as well as for commercial purposes.
Since the promulgation of the new Burma Citizenship Law 1982, the Rohingya students are denied their basic rights to education outside Arakan. It is important to point out that all professional institutes are situated outside Arakan. Thus, the Rohingya students are unable to study there because of such travel prohibition. In recent years, the Rohingya students are prohibited from even going to Akyab (Sittwe) to attend Sittwe University for their studies. These draconian measures barring Rohingyas from attending universities and professional institutes are marginalizing them as the most illiterate section within the Burmese population. They are forced to embrace a very bleak future for them.
Traditionally, the Rohingyas are a farming community that depends on agricultural produce and breeding of cattle and fowls. Unfortunately, they are forced to pay heavy taxes on everything they own: cattle, food grains, agricultural produce, shrimp, tree, and even roof of their homes. Even for a minor repair of their homes, they are forced to pay tax. They are required to report birth and death of a livestock to the authority while paying an arbitrary fee. Extra-judicial killing and summery executions, rape of women, arrest and torture, forced labor, forced relocation, confiscation of moveable and immoveable properties, religious sacrileges, etc., are regular occurrences in Arakan.
As a result, severe poverty, unemployment, lack of education and official discrimination are compelling the Rohingyas to lead an inhuman life, causing a negative affect to each Rohingya, especially its youths and workforces. The future of the community remains bleak and exodus into neighboring Bangladesh has become a recurrent phenomenon. The new arrivals unfortunately often face arrests and/or pushback from the Bangladesh security forces. And there is no international agency to look after the interest of these stateless Rohingyas. Because of their lack of legal identity, they are not allowed to work or hold work permit by any name. To survive, many work as illegal workers in different countries of the world where in many places they and their children are deprived of basic human rights.
However, in response to the efforts of the UNHCR to facilitate the survival of Rohingyas, the military rulers have agreed by middle of 2007 to issue Temporary Registration Certificate (TRC) for a limited number of Rohingyas, enabling them to inland travel from township to township or to apply for marriage permission. The UNHCR is present in northern Arakan state for the past 14 years, monitoring the welfare of more than 230,000 Rohingya former refugees who returned from next-door Bangladesh from 1992 onwards.
Nevertheless, after the resignation of the rest three Rohingya MPs under the pressure of the military regime, U Kyaw Min who proved to have the courage to stare at the eye of death, remained the only member of parliament among 4.5 million Rohingya Community to represent the political future of the Rohingyas in the National Parliament of Burma, in different strata of the state level of Burma and also to represent the Rohingya community in the UN and other World Bodies. He is a visionary leader and an illustrious son of the soil of Arakan. His ideal remains a luminary for the Rohingyas to build up a future even standing in the debris.He inspired hundreds of thousands of Rohingya youths to think as to how to emancipate the stateless Rohingya community from their decades-long sufferings.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyie is regarded by the people of Burma as well as Rohingyas as the icon of peace and liberty and at the sametime U Kyaw Min is regarded by the Rohingyas as the ray of hope as well as the crown of their respect which has been reflected in his landslide victory in the 1990 General Election and which has been recognized as a significant landmark for representation and which came after 26 years of military dictatorship. In fact, it was the first time when the people of Burma got an opportunity to vote for a government of their choice. It was one of the free and fair elections that had taken place in the South-East Asia region at that decade. He made unprecedented contributions for the cause of emancipation of the whole Rohingya community and as a great Rohingya scholar, he has shown the Rohingya community the road to emancipation through the restoration of communal harmony between Rohingyas and Rakhines under the Union of a democratic government of Burma.
U Kyaw Min tried his level best to inject the spirit of brotherhood among all communities of Arakan particularly the Rohingyas and Rakhines to work shoulder in shoulder for the build up of a prosperous future. He lives with dignity in the hearts of tens of thousands homeless Rohingyas. By imprisoning him on the charge of being an alien, the military rulers will not be able to wipe out his name from hearts of Rohingyas as well as other democratic forces of Burma. They have rather set with it another example of forcefully snatching away the rights of Rohingyas to citizenship and thus to compel them to born, live and die in this world without having the basic rights as stipulated by the UN Declaration of Human Rights.#
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Ahmedur Rahman Farooq, Chairman, The Council for Restoration of Democracy in Burma (CRDB) and a member of The Union of Rohingya Communities in Europe (URCE). Address: 2975, Vang i Valdres, Norway. Media Contact:+4797413036 Email: rohingyascrdbinfo@gmail.com , crdbinfodept@yahoo.com
Protection of Rohingya Undocumented Refugees in Bangladesh
The Rohingya refugee problem in Bangladesh is a decades-long pending issue. According to the official record, there are some 26,000 Rohingya refugees in two official camps in Cox's Bazar, a southern district of Bangladesh bordering Burma. The government of Bangladesh manages these camps with assistance from UN refugee agency, UNHCR. These refugees are the remainder of some 258,000 Rohingyas who left Burma to escape the genocidal operation led by the Burmese military rulers against the Rohingyas in 1991- 92.
On the other hand, some estimates suggest that there are over 400,000 Rohingyas who are living in Bangladesh as undocumented refugees without any status and there are about 300,000 Rohingyas who are living in different countries of the world with Bangladesh passport. These refugees are among those who crossed to Bangladesh over the past to escape the systematic genocidal operations and gross human rights violations in their ancestral motherland Arakan which is now a state under the Union of Burma.
In fact, the Rohingya community of Arakan is one of the most unfortunate and down-trodden ethnic minority groups of the world, who are not recognized as the citizens of Burma and they have been constantly subjected to gross human rights violation decades after decades by the Burmese military rulers who have turned the country into a secret state of terror since 1962.
The Rohingya community constitutes some 4.5 million people both at home and abroad and out of it, about 1.5 million have been uprooted from their motherland and those displaced Rohingyas have been leading a gypsy life in different countries of the world mostly in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia etc as undocumented and stateless refugees without having any recognized status as refugees to avail protection as per the International Law for Refugees.
Although the slavish history of the Rohingyas begins with the invasion of Arakan in 1784 and its subsequent annexation with Burman territory, but the story of their large scale persecution and oppression begins with the beginning of the 20th century and during the Pogrom of 1942 which is worldwide known as "Biyallisher Kharakhari" over 2 hundred thousand Rohingya men, women and children have been massacred which has also been recorded by the world history. During that Pogrom, the Rohingyas of 22 villages known as Baishfajja in Mrohaung Township which was the capital city of Ancient Arakan Kingdom and also the Rohingyas of 14 villages known as Chaiddafajja of Kyawktaw Township, have been purely massacred without leaving a single Rohingya alive in those villages. During that time, tens of thousands of Rohingyas crossed to neighboring countries. And particularly since Gen. Ne Win's seize of power in 1962, the exodus of Rohingyas from Arakan has turned out to be a regular phenomenon in order to escape the systematic genocidal, ethnic cleansing and drive out operations led against the Rohingyas by the Burmese military rulers.
And during the anti-Rohingya genocidal operation known as Dragon King Operation of 1978 over three hundred thousand Rohingyas took refuge in neighboring Bangladesh and later about 180,000 Rohingyas have returned to Arakan following the intervention of the international community to force the Burmese military rulers to take back its citizens. But due to the lack of an all-out guarantee of their security in Arakan, the rest portion of the refugees refused to return home and later, many of them got mixed with the local people of Bangladesh and started leading a gypsy life here and there as undocumented refugees and many of them crossed to different countries like India, Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia etc.
However, the Rohingya undocumented refugees now living in Bangladesh are a group of people who never exist officially and there is no record of their life and death on the basis of their ethnic entity as Rohingya. Being uprooted from their original hearths and homes in their ancestral land Arakan, most of them have been leading an inhuman life in Bangladesh without having any regular source of income to feed themselves. Most of them have been living years after years in some huts made of filthy plastic and bamboo cane, where parents and children live huddling together like packs of rats in a sewer. And due to the lack of any recognized status as refugees, there is no scope for them to receive any financial or food aid, medicine or education.
However, since the last many years a serious concern has been growing in Bangladesh over the issue of Rohingya undocumented refugees. In December 29.2005 , the then State Minister for Communications of Bangladesh Salauddin Ahmed MP asked the government officials in a meeting of the district law and order committee of Cox's Bazar to enroll the unlisted Rohingyas so that they can be repatriated to their homeland in due time and accordingly the district administration has conducted a survey of the Rohingyas living in different areas of Cox's Bazar.
On November 15.2007, a seminar was held at the National Press Club of Bangladesh on 'Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: Issues and concerns' where the participants at the discussion have raised serious concern over the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. They also urged the Bangladesh government to work internationally to link Rohingya refugee problem to the ongoing democratic movement in Burma and to focus the Rohingya issue before the international community properly to help end their problems. They also said that Rohingyas are not confined to Cox's Bazar and Chittagong only, they are also living in the slum areas of Dhaka and other big cities. They suggested that the Bangladesh government should allow international organisations to provide better facilities for Rohingya refugees. They also called on the media to play its due role to place the issue before the international community.
And one of the major problems which the Rohingya undocumented refugees in Bangladesh have been facing over the last one year is with passport. Since the Rohingyas are not recognized as citizens of Burma, so there is no way for them to get any passport of Burma.
Since the long past, the Rohingya undocumented refugees have been continuing to use Bangladesh passport to travel abroad for the interest of their easy survival as there was no problem to get a passport in Bangladesh after applying for the passport using some fake address along with some fabricated documents because there was no pragmatic procedure for the passport department of Bangladesh to investigate the genuinity of the documents as well as the origin of the applicants.
But since the last one year, there is no scope for Rohingyas to get any passport in Bangladesh due to strict process of scrutiny or verification as to whether an applicant is in fact a bona fide citizen of Bangladesh. Now no passport is issued until the passport office gets a concrete verification report of the police to the fact that an applicant is in fact a citizen of Bangladesh. And also the police department is maintaining so strict procedure to verify an applicant that now they never submit any report to the passport office without going directly to the spot of the address as mentioned in the application form and then verify it minutely.
In fact, such a situation has caused a serious problem for the survival of the Rohingya undocumented refugees in Bangladesh. And more importantly, if the Bagnladesh government refuses through whatever means to renew the passports of the Rohingyas who are living in different countries of the world with Bangladesh passport or to reissue their passports if it is lost, then it will cause a big Human Tragedy as thousands of Rohingya immigrants who have been living in different countries of the world, will become illegal immigrants abroad facing the risk of loss of jobs, jail or deportation and many of them will become stranded there and they will not be able to reunite with their families - wife,children, fathers,mothers ,brothers, sisters and other near and dear ones, and many of them will not even be able to see for the last time their dying mothers or any other near and dear ones at their death bed. And more importantly, in that condition of becoming an illegal immigrant for example in the Middle East with the loss of passport, if any Rohingya dies whose family is in Bangladesh, the family of the deceased Rohingya will not be able to get back even his dead body and see him for the last time.
Similarly, over the recent past there was a strong voice in the news media of Bangladesh against the inclusion of Rohingyas in the voter list and finally the Election Commission of Bangladesh has clearly stated that there is no scope for inclusion of Rohingyas in the voter list and accordingly they have already taken all out steps to drop the Rohingyas from the voter list which means that the door for getting any passport for Rohingyas has been permanently closed.
In fact, Bangladesh is a small country of only 147,570 square km with an overwhelming population of 134.6 million people out of which 70 million people live below the poverty level and out of them 45 million people live on below a dollar a day. Despite these so many limitations and limited resources, Bangladesh has given shelter to tens of thousands of Rohingya undocumented refugees over the past. But it is quite impossible for the people of Bangladesh to shoulder the burden of so many refugees for an indefinite period.
It may be mentioned here that giving citizenship to Rohingyas in Bangladesh or resorting to any other arrangement for their permanent resettlement in Bangladesh is not a solution to their problem. Any such move will rather aggravate their problem further. Such move will encourage the Burmese military rulers to launch more exterminatory operations against the Rohingyas in order to push the rest of Rohingyas from Arakan to Bangladesh and turn Arakan into a purely "Rohingyaless" land, because the Burmese military rulers have snatched away the citizenship right of Rohingyas on a false allegation that the Rohingyas are the British Era immigrants of the then East Bengal (now Bangladesh) and as such, this type of move will indirectly justify the allegation of the Burmese rulers. On the other hand, the burden of so many refugees will cause a tremendous problem to the poverty stricken people of Bangladesh. And, this type of move, which can literally be called as Bengalization of Rohingyas, will lead to the loss of an ethnic community "Rohingya" from the world in the long run.
So, the best option towards the solution to their problem is to let them live in Bangladesh until a democratic government comes to power in Burma and to recognize them as refugees for their easy survival and to provide them with Travel Document to facilitate them to travel abroad for their livelihood.
In fact, the people of Bangladesh are very sympathetic to the never ending story of plight of Rohingyas and the sufferings of Rohingyas remind the people of Bangladesh of their own plight during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 when millions of people of Bangladesh were compelled to take refuge in neighboring India to escape the Genocide. But in order to ensure prevention of any sort of conflict of interest between the Rohingya undocumented refugees and the people of Bangladesh for today or sometime in the future, a comprehensive initiative must be taken at the state level in collaboration with the UN to create an atmosphere in Bangladesh where these refugees will not be treated as parasites of the human society of Bangladesh and where they will not be subjected to any sort of discrimination in enjoying their fundamental human rights. Otherwise, these refugees may naturally try sometime in the future to avail the citizenship of Bangladesh by hook or by crook to avoid discrimination and for the interest of their easy survival.
It may be mentioned here that at present there is no effective tool in Bangladesh for the protection of refugees and identification of illegal immigrants and there is no institutional mechanism for refugee status determination (RSD) by the government of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is not a party to the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees, 1951, and it's Protocol of 1967. It also does not have any national legislation to deal with asylum or refugee issues. Though Article 31 of the Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees equal protection of law for "every other person" staying in the country for the time being, however, there is a lack of judicial interpretation and common understanding of the clause.
But Bangladesh has been a party to major international human rights instruments. It has also been a member of the UNHCR's Executive Committee since 1995. So, the state is already under obligation to extend protection to asylum seekers and refugees in the country.
Nevertheless, the ongoing process of marginalization of Rohingyas through the voter enlistment programme of the Election Commission of Bangladesh, has caused a question of life and death for tens of thousands of Rohingya undocumented refugees in Bangldesh. After the finalization of the ongoing process of voter enlistment within the Year 2008, the Bangladesh government will provide ID Card to all the voters. And this ID Card will be essential in all walks of life and without ID Card, it may be impossible to even buy a medicine or get treatment in a hospital. In such a situation, the survival of these Rohingyas in Bangladesh without any recognized status will be quite impossible and it will cause a big human tragedy if no specific step is taken in advance to solve their problem.
So, as a part of their protection, the Bangladesh government should take urgent step to recognize them as refugees and to raise the issue in the international forum with a view to find out a durable solution to their problem.
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Ahmedur Rahman Farooq, Chariman, The Council for Restoration of Democracy in Burma (CRDB) and a member of The Union of Rohingya Communities in Europe (URCE). Address: 2975, Vang i Valdres, Norway. Media Contact:+4797413036 Email: rohingyascrdbinfo@ gmail.com , crdbinfodept@ yahoo.com