The Specter of Mass Killings in Burma

Religious intolerance is threatening the country’s tenuous transition to democracy.

An ethnic Rakhine man walks in front of houses burnt during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe, the capital of Burma's Rakhine state, in 2012. (Reuters)

January 31-2014

With all the dispiriting news about democracy these days, it is easy to lose sight of the promising transitions underway in Tunisia and Myanmar (Burma). After the recent constitutional bargain between the moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, and its secular opposition, Tunisia now seems headed toward viable democracy. Burma, however, remains a long ways from that achievement.

Rohingya MP claims police involved in Maungdaw blaze

January 31-2014

Shwe Maung, a Rohingya MP in Burma’s Lower House who represents Buthidaung constituency, has said that local Maungdaw police were involved in the fire that ripped through the west tract of Duchira Dan village on 28 January, razing between 16 and 22 homes belonging to Rohingya families.

Speaking exclusively to DVB on Thursday, Shwe Maung said that until the day before the fire, local Rohingya men were assigned as lookouts to guard the three village tracts since most of the residents living there were women.

UK minister condemns violence against Muslims

January 31-2014

Violence targeting Muslims and the escalating humanitarian situation in Rakhine State could gravely undermine Myanmar’s reform process, Britain’s Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire warned in Yangon on January 30.

Mr Swire expressed disappointment at the government’s apparent reluctance to address inter-communal violence.

An Old Lady, Eye-Witness of Fire on Rohingya Homes in Duchiradan Village, Killed by Myanmar Government Force

MYARF Report | Written by M.S. Anwar

30th January 2014

rvisiontv.com

Maungdaw, Arakan: around 8:30PM on 28th January 2014, Myanmar Military, Security Force and Police together conspired and torched Rohingya homes at the west-hamlet of the violence-hit village, Duchiradan (Kilaidaung), in Arakan State. Yesterday (i.e. on 30th January 2014) afternoon, at the village, officials from Maungdaw District Administration and Maungdaw Township Administration, Military officers, Security Force, Police and other regional authority held a meeting with the village administrators and elders from neighboring villages.

Pictures of Rohingya Homes Burnt Down in the Violence-Hit Village, Duchiradan (Kilaidaung)

M.S. Anwar | Pictures by Hayat and Report by MYARF

30th January 2014

rvisiontv.com (Browse Down to See Pictures)

Maungdaw, Arakan: around 8:30PM on 28th January 2014, Myanmar Military, Security Force and Police together conspired and torched Rohingya homes at the west-hamlet of theviolence-hit village, Duchiradan (Kilaidaung), in Arakan State. (Read Details:http://www.rvisiontv.com/breaking-news-the-violence-hit-rohingya-village-duchiradan-set-ablaze/, http://www.rvisiontv.com/conspiracy-myanmar-authority-set-rohingya-homes-on-fire-at-violence-hit-rohingya-village-to-mislead-foreign-observers/) As the security force and police set Rohingya homes on fire, 18 houses were burnt into ashes, while many other houses remained hal-burnt. The houses that got totally turned into ashes were owened by the following people.

Genocide And Ethnic Cleansing of the Rohingya People in Myanmar

Displacement and discrimination continue to affect Rohingya (Evangelos Petratos EU/ECHO January 2013)

by Sufyan bin Uzayr

January 30, 2014

A few days back, I read about yet another vicious attack on Myanmar’s helpless and persecuted Rohingya minority. This time, the venue was Du Chee Ya Tan village in the Rakhine state, which lies pretty close to Bangladesh. Just in case you are thinking that the rioters shamelessly justified their misdeeds by claiming that the victims were illegal Bengalis trying to sneak into Myanmar—yeah, you’re right.

Conspiracy: Myanmar Authority Set Rohingya Homes on Fire at Violence-Hit Duchiradan Village to Mislead Foreign Observers

Written by M.S. Anwar

29th January 2014 | Maungdaw, Arakan

rvisiontv.com

Around 8:30PM yesterday (i.e. on 28th January 2014), Rohingya homes at the west-hamlet of the violence-hit village, Duchiradan (Kilaidaung), southern Maungdaw, were set ablaze. Consequently, 17 Rohingya homes burnt into ashes. Initially, locals were unsure of how the fire started. Now, they have confirmed that it was a conspiracy by Maungdaw Police and Hlun Hteins (Security Force) and possibly by the instruction of higher officials from the central government of Myanmar like U Ye Htut.

Govt Rejects Call for Int’l Investigation Into Alleged Rohingya Killings

Police stand guard in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, in this June 2012 photo, after communal violence saw houses torched and residents driven from their homes. (Photo: Reuters)

January 29-2014

RANGOON — Burma has publicly rejected calls by the US government for the involvement of international officials in an investigation into the alleged massacre of dozens of Rohingya Muslim villagers in Arakan State’s Maungdaw District.

Myanmar Police Burn down Rohingya Homes in Rakhine State

January 29-2014

Burmese police set fire to at least 70 Rohingya homes in the village of Du Char Yar Tan, where at least 48 Muslims were said to have been killed by a Buddhist mob amid renewed sectarian violence, it has been claimed.

Breaking News: The Violence-Hit Rohingya Village, Duchiradan, Set Ablaze

By M.S. Anwar | 28th January 2014

rvisiontv.com

The west-hamlet of the village of Duchiradan (Kilaindaung) in southern Maungdaw is on fire now. The fire caught Rohingya houses at around 9PM on 28th January 2014 (MyanmarStandard Time-MST).How the fire started in the village is unknown yet. Neither Rohingya from any other village is allowed to go the village nor many locals of the village live there because of the fear of becoming the victims of violence again. Those who were living in the village are believed to have fled to their nearby village as soon as the fire started.

Myanmar in denial over Rohingya massacre

The Nation January 28, 2014 1:00 am

The latest incident of anti-Muslim violence shows the hollowness of authorities' commitment to reform and reconciliation

Myanmar authorities have responded to credible reports of a massacre of Rohingya villagers with denials and indignation. Far from helping to resolve the chronic ethno-religious conflict raging in the northwest state of Rakhine, this response will only further undermine the country's ongoing reform process.

Muslims in Myanmar 'Treated Like Animals', Says Rohingya Activist

A Muslim woman sits near a mosque in Yangon

January 28-2014

Unprecedented political reforms in Myanmar have been widely celebrated, but these achievements are marred by increasing religious extremism and horrific levels of violence aimed at the region's Muslims.

About 90% of the country's population of 55 million are Buddhist, with Muslims making up between 4% and 8%. Despite tensions, the Buddhist majority has lived largely peacefully along with the Muslims for the past decades. But over the last two years, several violent episodes against Muslims led by angry Buddhist mobs have tainted the picture of a progressive Myanmar painted by president Thein Sein.

Why Single Out the Case of the Rohingya Vis-A-Vis Other Unfolding Atrocities Around the World?

ASIA & THE PACIFIC, 27 January 2014

by Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service

Today world is a violence-soaked place. A glance at Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of Africa, and so on speaks volume about the nature of the current world order without a rudder or a moral compass, or inspiring revolutionary humanism.

Thai police rescue hundreds of Rohingya in raid on suspected traffickers' camp

January 27-2014

By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Andrew R.C. Marshall

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police have rescued hundreds of Rohingya Muslims from a remote camp in a raid prompted by a Reuters investigation into human trafficking, police officials said on Monday.

Patterns of impunity and deceit in Myanmar

The Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar continues to suffer from violent attacks [Reuters]

January 27-2014

A UN supervised investigation is needed before more atrocities are committed against the Rohingya Muslims.

Yet another deadly attack on Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority made the news recently, this time taking place in the village of Du Chee Ya Tan, Rakhine state, not far from the border with Bangladesh. It is the latest in a series of incidents over the past 18 months in which the nation's Muslim community in general, and the predominantly Muslim Rohingya in particular, have experienced violence at the hands of Buddhist mobs.

New Attacks on Muslim Villagers in Myanmar’s Rakhine State

A man walks out from a destroyed mosque that was burnt down in recent violence at Thapyuchai village, outside of Thandwe, in the Rakhine state, October 3, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

January 27-2014

By Anagha Neelakantan (@anaghaneel)

Since 2012, Myanmar has seen outbreaks of inter-communal and anti-Muslim violence, first in Rakhine State, where there is a large population of Rohingya Muslims as well as other Muslim communities such as the Kaman.

Instances of Myanmar Regime’s Recent Crimes against Innocent Rohingya People

By M.S. Anwar based on the report by MYARF

26th January 2014

Maungdaw, Arakan State

We learnt how Myanmar Military and Security Force (Hlun Hteins) resurrected the violence against Rohingya people by making a full-fledged assault on a Rohingya village called Duchiradan (Kilaidaung) in southern Maungdaw, Arakan State, on 14th January 2014. They mutiliated and killed around 50 innocent people. They raped women/girls. Rohingyas’ homes were destroyed and their properties were looted by Rakhine extremists. They arbitrarily arrested many people. More than 300 people are still missing. People believe they were also massacred by the military and the secuity force in cooperation with Rakhine terrorists.

The Plight of the Rohingya Has Anything But Ended

January 26-2014

To anyone not familiar with the Rohingya people of Myanmar, commonly known by its former name Burma, here's a quick primer.

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnicity living in a predominantly Buddhist state.

Myanmar’s Rohingya, stateless and unwanted

25 January 2014 

 Fatal clashes between security forces and Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state have uprooted over 110,000 people in Buddhist-Muslim violence in the past 18 months.

Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million people, has been grappling with sectarian violence for nearly two years.

UN urges Burma to investigate Rohingya deaths after latest violence

Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights. She said: 'By responding to these incidents quickly, the Burmese government has an opportunity to show transparency and accountability.' Photograph: Salvatore Di Nolfi/AP
January 24-2014
UN human rights agency says it has information of 48 Muslims killed in Rakhine by Buddhist mobs, the deadliest in a year

At least 48 Muslims were killed when Buddhist mobs attacked a village in an isolated corner of western Burma earlier this month, the United Nations has said, calling on the government to carry out a swift, impartial investigation and to hold those responsible accountable.

Britain trains Burmese army despite rape, rights violations

January 24-2014

By Mark Inkey

The British army provided training to Burmese armed forces personnel this month despite the Southeast Asian nation’s refusal to sign the UN Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) and fresh reports of rape of ethnic women by Burmese soldiers.

Another Rohingya massacre, another media problem for Burma

January 24-2014

As more details emerge of the massacre on January 13 of at least 40 Rohingya men, women and children in western Burma, the government predictably has gone on the defensive. The UN is now claiming that police in the remote village of Du Chee Yar Tan, northern Arakan state, were among the mob of Arakanese who attacked and killed villagers, allegedly in response to the slaying of a policemen following an earlier bout of violence  in January that left at least eight dead. Even though the death toll is likely a conservative one, it stands as the deadliest single incident in Arakan state since October 2012.

Myanmar mobs killed at least 40 Muslims: Rights group

January 23-2014

YANGON: Buddhist mobs killed at least 40Muslims when they stormed a village in western Myanmar last week, hunting down residents with knives, a human rights group said, citingwitness testimony and a wide network of local sources. 

Burma mobs 'kill 30 Rohingyas'

The attacks were said to have taken place near the town of Maungdaw

January 23-2014
More than 30 Rohingya Muslims were killed in attacks by Buddhists last week in Burma's Rakhine state, the BBC has been told.

Two international aid officials who were granted access to the area in the far west of the country said they had found evidence of a mass killing.

Myanmar: Buddhist Authorities Order Mass Arrests of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State

Reuters

A Muslim woman, whose home was burnt down during recent violence, cries in Pauktaw village, outside of Thandwe in the Rakhine state, October 3, 2013

January 23- 2014

Buddhist authorities have allegedly ordered a round-up of all male Rohingya, including children over the age of ten, in areas surrounding the Myanmar village of Du Char Yar Tan (Duchidaran) where at least 40 Muslims were killed and several hundred displaced in renewed sectarian violence.

Rights group says Muslims massacred in Myanmar amid official denials

January 23-2014

(Reuters) - Security forces in western Myanmar massacred at least 40 Rohingya Muslims last week, including women and children, a human rights group said on Thursday, quoting witness accounts, despite official denials of the killings.

AP defends Maungdaw coverage

23-01-2014

The Associated Press has moved to defend its coverage of the recent flare-up of violence in northern Rakhine State, following a release from the Ministry of Information that indicated AP had been issued a warning during a meeting between bureau staff and representatives of the Ministry's News and Periodicals Enterprise (NPE).

Top UN officials call for probe into latest violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state

Humanitarian chief Valerie Amos (centre), on a visit in December 2012 to the the Ma Gyee Myaing camp in Sittwe Town, Myanmar, where displaced from Rakhine state are hosted. Photo: UNOCHA/David Ohana

23 January 2014 

 The United Nations human rights and humanitarian chiefs on Thursday voiced deep concern about reports of alarming levels of violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, including the killing of many civilians and a policeman, and called for an immediate investigation by the authorities.

Adnan Oktar: “Let us announce the persecution going on in Myanmar to the whole world.”

January 22-2014

Mr. Adnan Oktar once again lent an ear to the voices of activists who keep making calls for help in the face of the most recent attacks against the people of Rohingya in Myanmar.

The Burmese government's rocky path toward nation-building

January 22-2014
The country is about to launch its first census in decades

I

n March, Burma will count its people for the first time in decades.

In 2012, one year into its disputed age of reform and 39 years after its last census, the Burmese government launched the country's third attempt at taking stock of its population. International observers described the early stages of the process — a "mandatory"

Calls for Transparency After Reports of Violence in Arakan State

January 21-2014

RANGOON — As the Burma government insists there is no truth to reports that Rohingya Muslims were killed in the village of Du Char Yar Tan last week, calls are growing for a full investigation into what took place in the village in northern in Arakan State.

HRW World Report 2014: Burma

January 21-2014

Burma’s uneven reform process continued in 2013 with notable improvements in some sectors, but serious problems continuing throughout the country. Basic freedoms of assembly and association improved but laws were enforced inconsistently and in several instances peaceful demonstrators still faced arrest. Media freedoms continued to flourish in 2013, but at time of writing the government was seeking new laws that could roll back important recent gains.

Burma: Communal Violence Undercuts Rights Gains

January 21-2014
Anti-Muslim Abuses, Legal Setbacks Highlight Fragility of Reforms

(Bangkok) – Burma’s improved rights record in 2013 was undermined by renewed violence against the Muslim minority and setbacks in law reform, Human Rights Watch today said in its World Report 2014.  

Relentless Attempts by Rakhine Terrorists to Conspire Violence against Rohingyas on Larger-Scale

MYARF Report | Written by M.S. Anwar

20th January 2014 | Maungdaw, Arakan

RvisionTV.com

Rakhine terrorists have been attempting to place a dead body of Rakhine woman in Rohingya village for days now.

On 16th January 2014 night, they tried to secretly place the corpse in the village of Gawdusara (a village neighboring Du-Chira-Dan) but it failed because of the people on sentry duty.

Take Immidiate Action To Freed 38 Rohingya Women Confined in a Rakhine village

MYARF Report | Written by M.S. Anwar

20th January 2013 | Southern Maungdaw, Arakan State

rvisiontv.com

Around 3AM on 14th January 2014, a joint force of Myanmar Military, Security Force (Hlun Hteins) and Rakhine terrorists made a brutal assault on a Rohingya village called Du-Chira-Dan (Kilai-Daung) in Southern Maungdaw, Arakan state. Since then, they have killed many innocent villagers, arrested many others, abducted many men/women and raped many women/girls. They have literally deserted the village. The village has been totally blocked and declared to be No-Entry Zone for Rohingyas and observers. The brutalities against Rohingyas are beyond one’s imagination.

Brutalities Beyond Imagination: Some Details on Numbers of Rohingyas Killed, Arrested, Women/Girls Raped

MYARF Report |Written by M.S. Anwar

18th January 2014| Maungdaw, Arakan

rvisiontv.com

Around 3AM on 14th January 2014, a joint force of Myanmar Military, Security Force (Hlun Hteins) and Rakhine terrorists made a brutal assault on a Rohingya village called Du-Chira-Dan (Kilai-Daung) in Southern Maungdaw, Arakan state. Since then, they have killed many innocent villagers, arrested many others and raped many women/girls. They have literally deserted the village. The village has been totally blocked and declared to be No-Entry Zone for Rohingyas and observers. The brutalities are beyond one’s imagination.

Update on Maungdaw Situation: Four More Rohingyas Arrested, Two Women Killed

MYARF Report | Written by M.S. Anwar

Rvisiontv.com

17th January 2014

Maungdaw, Arakan: Around 2AM on 17th January 2013, Maungdaw authority arrested four more innocent Rohingyas in a raid in the village of Gawdusara, a village adjacent to the village of Du-Chira-Dan, Southern Maungdaw. Besides, around 8AM of the same day, two Rohingya women were killed by the security force in the village of Du-Chira-Dan.

Govt denies Buddhist mob attacked, killed Muslims in Maungdaw

Muslim children gather outside a water-well in northern Arakan's Maungdaw township, September 2013. (PHOTO: AP)

January 17-2014

The Burmese government denied on Friday that a Buddhist mob ripped through a town in an isolated strife-torn corner of the country this week, attacking Muslim women and children. Villagers and a rights group said more than a dozen people may have been killed, and that hundreds have fled their homes.