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Tag: Aung San Suu Kyi

  • Anti-Rohingya Protests Greet Malaysia Rohingya Aid Ship

    Anti-Rohingya Protests Greet Malaysia Rohingya Aid Ship

    A Malaysian ship carrying aid for thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled a bloody army crackdown arrived in Yangon Thursday, where it was met by nationalist protesters.

    Health workers and activists crowded onto the deck of the Nautical Aliya as it docked at Thilawa port near Myanmar’s commercial capital carrying food, medical aid and clothing.

    Myanmar’s social welfare minister was among a delegation meeting the ship, which has been at the centre of a rare diplomatic spat with fellow ASEAN member Malaysia.

    Outside the docking area, dozens of Buddhist monks and demonstrators waited waving national flags and signs reading: “No Rohingya.”

    “We want to let them know that we have no Rohingya here,” a Buddhist monk named Thuseitta, from the Yangon chapter of the Patriotic Myanmar Monks Union, told AFP at the docks.

    Myanmar denies citizenship to the million-strong Rohingya, despite many of them living on its soil for generations.

    Buddhist nationalist groups are especially strong in their vitriol, rejecting them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

    Hundreds of Rohingya are thought to have been killed in a brutal campaign launched by security forces in October, which the United Nations says may amount to ethnic cleansing.

    Tens of thousands have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, bringing harrowing tales of murder and rape.

    Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya has sparked criticism from Muslim-majority Malaysia, in a rare spat between Southeast Asian neighbours.

    Myanmar initially refused to allow the ship into its waters and has barred it from sailing to Rakhine’s state capital Sittwe.

    Part of the aid will instead be unloaded in Yangon and transported overland to the north of Rakhine state, site of the military crackdown.

    The rest will be taken to Teknaf port in southern Bangladesh, where almost 70,000 Rohingya have fled since October to escape the violence.

    The government has also demanded that the aid be distributed to both Rohingya and Buddhist ethnic Rakhines.

    The delivery comes days after a blistering report from the UN accused Myanmar’s security forces of carrying out a campaign of rape, torture and mass killings against the Rohingya.

    Based on interviews with hundreds of escapees in Bangladesh, investigators said the military’s “calculated policy of terror” very likely amounted to ethnic cleansing.

    For months Myanmar has dismissed similar testimony gathered by foreign media and rights groups as “fake news” and curtailed access to the region.

    The UN’s top official on preventing genocide, Adama Dieng, said this week that a government commission tasked with investigating allegations of abuse was “not a credible option”.

    Critics have rejected the state-appointed body, which is led by retired general and Vice President Myint Swe and includes no Muslims, as toothless and biased.

    In a meeting on Wednesday Myint Swe admitted that “among the facts and accusations included in the (UN) report, there may be something special to be investigated,” state media reported.

    Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com

  • 3 Myanmar Police Officers Found Guilty Of Abusing Rohingya Civilians, Sentenced To 2 Months Detention

    3 Myanmar Police Officers Found Guilty Of Abusing Rohingya Civilians, Sentenced To 2 Months Detention

    YANGON —  Three police officers have been sentenced to two months detention over a video showing them abusing Rohingya civilians, security sources told AFP on Wednesday (Feb 8), saying those involved had “no intention” to cause harm.

    Authorities detained several officers last month for beating Rohingya villagers during operations in the north of Rakhine state, where security forces are hunting militants behind raids on border posts.

    Nearly 70,000 Rohingya have fled to camps in southern Bangladesh since the lockdown started four months ago, bringing horrific stories of mass rape, murder, torture and arson.

    A UN report released on Friday based on interviews with escapees said hundreds of people have likely been killed in a “calculated policy of terror” that may amount to ethnic cleansing.

    Despite the mounting evidence, Myanmar’s government has largely dismissed allegations of widespread abuses against the Muslim minority, who most in the country consider a group of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

    The beating video, which appeared online in Dec, was a rare exception where authorities have taken action.

    The footage showed police hitting a young boy around the head as he walked to where dozens of villagers were lined up in rows seated on the ground, hands behind their heads.

    Several officers in uniform then start attacking one of the sitting men, beating him with a stick and kicking him repeatedly in the face.

    Three junior police were handed down two month sentences over the video, police sources told AFP, including the officer who filmed it previously named as Zaw Myo Htike by state media.

    However the officers are not serving their time in a civilian prison, but instead in a jail for police.

    Three senior police including a major were also demoted and their service terms were reduced for failing to enforce discipline.

    “They didn’t have any intention to hurt them,” a senior police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring to the treatment of the Rohingya villagers.

    “During the operation, villagers said abusive words to security forces… such action was taken because they failed to follow police procedure.”

    A local police officer in Maungdaw also confirmed the officers were sentenced last month, blaming the events on the stress of working in northern Rakhine.

    “Police are dealing with many pressures on the ground and we have to risk our lives dealing with terrorists,” he said.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Human Rights Watch: Myanmar Commanders Must Be Punished For Rape Of Rohingya

    Human Rights Watch: Myanmar Commanders Must Be Punished For Rape Of Rohingya

    YANGON: Human Rights Watch on Monday called for Myanmar to punish army and police commanders if they allowed troops to rape and sexually assault women and girls of the Rohingya Muslim minority.

    The New York-based campaign group said it had documented rape, gang rape and other sexual violence against girls as young as 13 in interviews with some of the 69,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar security forces responded to attacks on border posts four months ago.

    “The sexual violence did not appear to be random or opportunistic, but part of a coordinated and systematic attack against Rohingya, in part because of their ethnicity and religion,” a Human Rights Watch (HRW) news release said.

    Reuters was unable to contact a Myanmar government spokesman to respond to the allegations.

    An estimated 1.1 million Rohingya live in the western state of Rakhine, but have their movements and access to services restricted. Rohingyas are barred from citizenship in Myanmar, where many call them “Bengalis” to suggest they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

    Independent journalists and observers have been barred from visiting the army’s operation zone in northern Rakhine since the Oct. 9 attacks that killed nine border police.

    The government has so far dismissed most claims that soldiers raped, beat, killed and arbitrarily detained civilians while burning down villages, insisting instead that a lawful operation is underway against a group of armed Rohingya insurgents.

    The HRW report comes just days after United Nations investigators said Myanmar’s security forces had “very likely” committed crimes against humanity, posing a dilemma for de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

    The Nobel Peace Prize winner took charge of most civilian affairs in April after a historic transition from full military rule, but soldiers retain a quarter of seats in parliament and control ministries related to security.

    U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said on Friday that Suu Kyi had promised to investigate the U.N.’s allegations.

    HRW said it had gathered evidence on 28 separate sexual assaults, including interviews with nine women who said they were raped or gang raped at gunpoint by security forces during the army’s so-called “clearance operations” in northern Rakhine.

    The women and other witnesses said the perpetrators were Myanmar army troops or border police, who they identified by their uniforms, kerchiefs, arm bands and patches, HRW said.

    “These horrific attacks on Rohingya women and girls by security forces add a new and brutal chapter to the Burmese military’s long and sickening history of sexual violence against women,” said HRW senior emergencies researcher Priyanka Motaparthy.

    “Military and police commanders should be held responsible for these crimes if they did not do everything in their power to stop them or punish those involved.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Wanita Dirogol Secara Sistematik Di Myanmar

    Wanita Dirogol Secara Sistematik Di Myanmar

    Ketika  tentera kerajaan Myanmar semakin menghampiri kampung Pwint Phyu Chaung, penduduk hanya mempunyai beberapa pilihan.

    Noor Ankis, 25 yang membuat keputusan untuk tidak melarikan diri mengatakan beliau dipaksa melutut dan kemudian dipukul sebelum dibawa ke suatu tempat rahsia untuk dirogol tentera kerajaan.

    Rashida Begum, 22 pula memilih untuk terjun ke dalam sebuah sungai bersama tiga anaknya. Seorang anak Rashidah yang masih bayi hanyut dan gagal dijumpai dalam kejadian tersebut.

    Cerita-cerita dari pelarian Myanmar ini yang kini tinggal di Bangladesh memberikan gambaran jelas mengenai keganasan tentera kerajaan sejak beberapa bulan lepas.

    Kisah mereka juga selari dengan laporan yang didedahkan oleh pertubuhan-pertubuhan hak asasi manusia.

    Dalam laporan tersebut, tentera kerajaan memasuki kampung-kampung di utara Rakhine dan melepaskan tembakan secara rawak, menembak pelancar roket dan memusnahkan kediaman sementara kanak-kanak dan wanita dirogol secara sistematik.

    Dari imej satelit yang didedahkan Humans Right Watch (HRW), kira-kira 1,500 kediaman telah dimusnahkan.

    Kempen kekejaman kerajaan Myanmar pula kini beralih ke arah selatan dan didakwa tidak akan berhenti sehingga kumpulan etnik Muslim, Rohingya dihapuskan.

    “Kami tak tahu langkah tentera kerajaan seterusnya, tapi kami tahu serangan ke atas orang awam sedang berterusan, kata Matthew Smith dari kumpulan Fortify Rights, dipetik laporan Irish Times.

    Lawan pengganas konon

    Sebuah suruhanjaya yang ditubuhkan kerajaan minggu lalu menafikan dakwaan pembunuhan beramai-ramai yang dilakukan tentera kerajaan di kampung-kampung yang telah dikepung.

    Para wartawan dan para penyiasat dari kumpulan hak asasi manusia pula dilarang menjejakkan kaki ke kampung-kampung tersebut.

    Myanmar menafikan melakukan sebarang pencabulan hak asasi, kecuali kejadian polis Myanmar yang dirakam membelasah penduduk Rohingya.

    [ARTIKEL BERKAITAN: Video polis Myanmar pukul etnik Rohingya viral]

    Penerima Hadiah Nobel, Aung San Suu Kyii pula dikecam kerana berdiam diri dan ketawa apabila soalan-soalan berkenaan penindasan etnik Rohingya ditujukan kepadanya.

    Kempen kekejaman kerajaan dilaporkan bermula pada Oktober selepas sembilan anggota polis dibunuh dan dipercayai dilakukan kumpulan pemberontak bersenjata dari etnik Rohingya.

    Sehingga kini, tiada sebarang suspek kejadian dikenal pasti.

    Kerajaan Myanmar menyifatkan orang ramai ‘tersalah anggap’ mengenai kempennya yang menyasarkan penduduk etnik Rohingya.

    Sehingga kini, dianggarkan 65,000 pelarian etnik Rohingya sudah melarikan diri ke Bangladesh, kata laporan Organisasi Migrasi Antarabangsa (IOM).

    Semua dirogol, semua dibakar

    Tentera kerajaan dilaporkan pergi dari rumah ke rumah untuk menangkap lelaki dewasa dan kemudian merogol wanita dan membakar rumah.

    Kampung Kyet Yoepin yang mengandungi 245 kediaman musnah dalam operasi dua hari pertengahan Oktober lepas, kata HRW.

    Muhammad Shafiq yang berusia 20-an mengatakan askar kerajaan akan membariskan lelaki berasingan dari wanita.

    Ketika seorang askar memegang tangan kakaknya, Shafiq melawan dan beliau dibelasah dengan teruk oleh tentera kerajaan dan ditinggalkan untuk mati.

    Shafiq kemudian melarikan diri bersama anaknya sambil dihujani peluru yang dilepaskan tentera kerajaan.

    Beliau kemudian bersembunyi di sebuah jelapang padi dan melihat dari jauh kampung Kyet Yoepin dibakar oleh kerajaan.

    “Dah tak ada rumah lagi. Semua sudah dibakar,” kata Shafiq.

    Tentera kerajaan suka wanita muda

    Noor Ankis mengatakan tentera kerajaan membongkar semua rumah pada waktu pagi untuk mencari wanita muda.

    “Mereka kumpulkan kesemua wanita beramai-ramai dan membawa mereka ke satu tempat.

    “Yang mana mereka suka, mereka rogol. Di tempat itu, hanya ada tentera kerajaan dan wanita, tiada orang lain,” jelas Noor Ankis.

    Sufayat Ullah, 20 terjaga dari lena tidur selepas dikejutkan dengan bunyi tembakan.

    “Tentera menggunakan parang apabila mereka sudah dekat dengan penduduk.

    “Kalau jauh, mereka tembak,” kata Sufayat mengingati kejadian ngeri berkenaan.

    Sufayat melepaskan diri selepas terjun ke dalam sungai dan berenang sejauh yang boleh.

    Beliau tinggal di dalam air selama dua hari sebelum mendapat tahu tentera kerajaan telah membakar kediaman keluarga. Ibu, ayah dan dua adik beradiknya ditinggalkan di dalam rumah yang sedang dibakar dan maut.

    “Saya rasa tidak tenteram. Mereka sudah bunuh ibu dan ayah saya. Apa lagi yang tinggal untuk saya di dunia ini?” katanya sambil mengelap air mata.

     

     

    Source: SinarHarian

  • Ethnic Rakhine MPs Refuse To Meet UN Envoy Probing Rohingya Abuse

    Ethnic Rakhine MPs Refuse To Meet UN Envoy Probing Rohingya Abuse

    The ruling party in Myanmar’s Rakhine state government said Friday (Jan 13) it refused to meet a UN envoy who is probing allegations of horrific abuse of Rohingya Muslims by security forces in the region.

    Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, was expected to hold talks with members of the Arakan National Party in the state capital Sittwe, before travelling north to an area under military lockdown on Saturday.

    Lee has faced threats and been branded a “whore” by Buddhist hardliners on previous visits for her criticism of how Myanmar treats the Rohingya, a stateless group that has suffered years of poverty and repression.

    They have been targeted by security forces during a three-month crackdown in northern Rakhine that the UN said has seen at least 65,000 Rohingya flee across the border to Bangladesh.

    “They offered to meet with us from their side but we have no plans to meet them,” the vice president of ANP, Khine Pyi Soe, said of Lee’s arrival.

    “I don’t think that meeting with them is very important,” he added.

    Lee’s spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

    Parts of northern Rakhine have been under military control since October as the army launches “clearance operations” to find Rohingya insurgents allegedly behind deadly raids on police border posts.

    The crisis has drawn a storm of international criticism for the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which took power in March.

    Lee has slammed the lockdown as “unacceptable” and called for an international investigation into claims troops have raped, murdered and tortured civilians from the Muslim minority.

    Ahead of her trip, she said violence in Rakhine had contributed to “disquiet regarding the direction that the new government is taking in its first year”.

    Muslim-majority Malaysia has lashed out at Nobel laureate Suu Kyi for not stopping the violence, and next week will host foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for talks on the crisis.

    Bangladesh has urged Myanmar’s government to end the violence and take back the thousands of refugees that have entered already overcrowded camps along the border.

    “Bangladesh has demanded (the) quick restoration of (a) normal situation in Rakhine state so that Myanmar nationals… can quickly go back home,” foreign minister A.H. Mahmood Ali said after meeting Myanmar’s special envoy in Dhaka this week.

    Myanmar’s foreign ministry said the two sides had “agreed to commence consultations for verification and repatriation” of those who had fled the lockdown.

     

    Source: CNA