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Cbe ~rakan jfiews

lVlonthly News and Views of Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), Arakan (Burma)

Issue: 04

I!tApri12t)10

Q Caver story ;

Buemcsc junta announces pol itical

party registration law OJ

o Edjtoriat:

Crucial moment of oW' history 02

o UN Envoy Seeks WIJI Crim es Probe

against Burmese junta 3,

o Bangladesh Delegation left for Burma to

discuss rnari lime boundary issue 4

o t, t 60 Rohingya refugees arrested - Attacks by security forces and citizens'

committees 4

o 3 7 Rohm~yas pushed back to Burma by

BDR 4

o Malaysia detains g3 Rohingya boat people who ha -c: been at sea for 30 days

By The Associated Pres (CP) 4

a N asaka erecting barbed wire fence and constructing road close to zero] ine, at

some place, iaside Bangladesh territory 5

o Robillgya man beaten. to dead! 5

0. PM Lt. General Thein Sein visited

N orthem Arakan, cancelled scheduled

vi,it to M"ungdnw 6

o Bangladesh FM requests UNHCR to

resume Rohiogya repatriation 6

o Children Die of Starvation at Unregistered

Refugee Camps in Bangladesh 7

Q RohiDgya Refugees went on strike, 7

o Infrastructure development of North Ataka.n bordering B .. gladesh continues

with full speed 8

Q Burmese Rofuge es Face Deeper Crisis Follcwjng Aid Group', Exit from

Bangladesh Camp 8

Please vis it , www.arakanyoma.org,

Burmese junta announces political party registration law

Tern pn rary registrati nn ca rd hold ers allowed to fnrm pnlltleal p arttes: an attern pi to' mislead the world abo u t Ro hl n gya~' righ Q'

By Dr, Mohammed Yunus

On March 8, Burmese military junta announced politico] party registratico I. w fc llowed by other electoral 1. wg for belding the much talked about general election to be held in 20 I O. The' Election Commission has been given sweeping powers to hold or not to hold elections in places affected by natural catastrophes or security reasons. The electoral law also hans anyone serving in jail to form poli tical parties oreven to become a member of a political party.

According to the political party regi stration law citizens, guest citizens and Temporary Registration Card (TRC) holders can form political parties, Since 1982 promu lgation of the new Burma citizenship law Rohmgyas are branded as non-nationals and treated as stateless people. However in every elections hel d before the m il itary came to power in 1962, and during Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) one-psrty rule (1974 to 1988) and the multi-party general elections held ill. 1990 and tile recently held referendum in 2009, Rohingyas were allowed to vole and to stand as candidates at though there bad been !l1UC h restrictions and manipulation in the election procedures in Muslim majority North Arakan, For example in the whole of Burma with every 100,000 population a constituency is formed whereas ill the Muslim North Arakan this procedure was Dot followed.

Rchingyas ha ve been. effecti vely barred from receiving N aticnal Registration Cards (NRC) since the time of BSPP rule and. those who obtained earlier bad their NRCs confiscated. Since last 2-3 yearn the SPOC regime has been issuing the so-called whit" cards officially termed as Temporary Registration Cards (TRC) to til e Rohingyas and in 2009 and in 2010 it was freely issued to them. The 1948 citizenship act and 1982 citizenshjp law did DOl mention and specify who the Temporary Registration Card holders are, eitber they are citizens or uon-eitizens.

In the backdrop of mounting international pressure on the Burmese junta as to the den ial of citizenship an dother human ri ghrs abuses agai nst the Rohingya, the junta wanted to mislead the international community by showing that the Rohingyas are not deprived of their rights by allowing them to participate io the election, The attitude of the internarional community on the junta would thus be softened concerning their treatment of Rohingya as they were Dot barred from election process,

But the question to be reckoned with by the international community is that the Rohi ngya had also been allowed to participate in. the election. before whhout ascertaining their citizenship status,

P jeese CODmUC! to Page -03

Published by : Publicity & Media Deptt. Rohiogya Solidarity Organization (RSO) Arakan (Burma), Please Visit :www.arakanyoma.org

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Editorial

Crucial moment of our bistory

Meanwbile the Burmese regime had been rendered ineffective by Mujahid insurrection. The regime used carrot and stick tactics to control the rebellion. Lastly il succeeded to disarm the resistance by promising world of things. However DO soon" than the roil itary took 0_ power in I %2 aU the promises made to the Musl ims were blown away in the dust. The armed operations became severe. Many people fled 10 Pakistan and Middle East visualizing a dark future. The backbone of Muslim economy was crushed

No cruel precedence had ever over powered us than we have today befallenin, We are just staring at ignominious and cruel incidences taking around us every day dumbfounded without knowing what (0 do. Total frustrati 00 and helplessness is the condi tion of Our lot. Some are finding ways of escape with the illusion of m.ki~g life better and enjoyabl e. Some are harbouring during the early military rule and continued during one-party Socialist rule. The Burmese and communal Rakhincs we," planning to deal a last blow, In 1978 the notorious Nagamin (k_Ll1g dragon) operation was launched The Nagamin left a

false hope' by consigning their rate at tile mercy of their own tormentors, Alas I Who.t a pili ful s ltuariou we arc in today?

Meanwhile our leaders are prescribing different panacea. trail of devastation in Muslim north, Mass arrest and torture, however untested. It SCOrns that no leader or group has yet gang rape,summary executions lock a heavy 1011 of Muslim been able to convince the mass overwhelmed by ignorance. lives triggering refugee exodus of a big scale number more Our nation has become like a boat wi thout rudder drifting than 300,.000 10 Bangladesh. In refugee earn ps several aimlessly. We are crib cizing others and putting the blame thousandlost their lives due to inadequate food and health on others' shoulders for the failure of our own. We have care. Most of them were returned under a bilateral never bee" able to diagnose the ""ITCet ailment of our agreement. Their return was, however, followed with tho nation. We have come across mirages a ncr mirages for the enactment of new ci tizenship 1.0."" "" hich declared them to be last six woeful decades. We. are going around like blinded stateless people in their own country! Then came tbe cattle walked On the harvest toseparate the grain from the Pyithaya operation in late 1991 and early 1992 .. Again a huge hay and poor fellow may think that he bas traversed quite a influx numbering almost the same number of the previous 10Dg distance! one took place. N O'W the si tuation has broken all the past Let us look back at our immediate past which everyone has records, Muslims have become worst than sla ves to be ki lIed not yet forgotten. It starts with [942 massacre, Over 100,000 or tortured at the sweet will of th .• master,

unarmed and iMOCe-UI members of Our eommUDity have lost Did we ever try 00 draw lessons from our past situations? their li ves, Thousands of others had been able to reach the Wby these things are happening and how we can protect safe zones of M3ungdaw and Buthidaung and across the from them! It seem, thaI the tide of de-Muslimlzation of river Naf in the British controlled territory. But not an were Arakan will not come to a halt, this way or thaI way. This able 00 return home after peace returned following British conspiracy has long been hatched. However the most re-entry. The" BTF massacre comes next. It was in 1949 after pathetic matter is that we have never given serious thought Burma gained independence. The BTF leI 100'. a reign of to consult the right physician end already taken it for terror in tile Muslim majority towns and villages of North granted that the disease is incurable. Here by the right Arakan, Hundreds of villages had been burnt down, Several physician it meant to follow the right path, Actually dozens people, particularly community leaders, hade been Almighty God is testing us whether we truly belieNe. Him or killed, The BTF massacre triggered refuge. exodus just mere giving Lip service, If we really believe in Him we

2

numbering more than 50,000 to the then East Pakistan. Then came armed operations one ufter the other every year in the name 0 f findi ng out illegal iromi grants and counter insurgency operations in wbich many MllSlim villages were uprooted and the i nrnates bad boon compelled 10 migrate to Pakistan, particularly those of the border areas.

have to resort to those prescription s wh ich He had recommended fer us and net something which (}U!" Limited faculty dictates us, One of which says He will Dot change the condition 0 f a people unless they first change themselves.

UN Envoy Seeks War Crimes Probe against Burmese junta

Bangkok, March 13

BANGKOK~A United Nation, special envoy has called for a PT{)OO into whether BUJTI!"s IUliog junta is guilty of war crimes andcrimes against humanity, in a report to be addressed Monday by the V.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Tnmas OJ ea. Quintan. cited "systematic violation of human rights" when be visited the country in F ebruary, fueling an international outcry against repression and abuses against the Burmese poop Ie ..

"According to consistent reports, the possib: I ity exists that some o r these human rights violations may entail categories ofcrimes agal nst humanity or war crimes under the term, of the statute of the lntemati ona I Crimina l Court, n said the report.

Quinlan. said the "mere existence of this possibility" requires Burma 10 i!lVcsl;gMe th .• allegations.

The junta has fai led to remedy a buses such as the recruitment of child soldiers, eli scrimination against the Muslim minori ty in northern Arakan [Rakhine 1 State, and the depri vation of basic nghlJl 10 food, shelter, health, and education,

"Given this lack of accountability; U.N. institutions may consider the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry with a specificfacl-finding mandate to address the question of international crimes," he sal d. Rights via lations "are the result of a state policy that originates from decisions by authorities in the executive, rniutluy, and judiciary at all 1"\1<)1,," be said.

Ro hingya cited

Burma's "severe humanrlghts abuses'v=such as deaths in custody, rape, and torture-were also highlighted this week in th 0 U. S. State Department's annua I report on human rights worldwide. With a mounting i nternaticnal outcry over abuses suffered by the m lnori ty Rohingya people, the rapporteur notably said be was "deeply co nc om ed about the sys temati c and endemic disc"; m ination faced by the Mus lim community"

"This discrimination! which 'is framed as an immigration

problem, leads to basic and fundamental human rights being denied to this population. Measures taken against this population inel ude restriction of movement, limitations on permission 10 many, and forced la bot.

"The Special Rapporteur urges the government to end the unacceptable di scrirninatiou, human rights abuses and resulting se vere economic depri vation they face. This ethnic minority continues to be denied citizenship, under the 1982 Citizenship Act ... ". Boston-based Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) this week called OIl the V nited Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, (UNHCR) 10 "assert its mandate to protect and assist" Musli_P1 Rohingya who are languishing in an unregistered refugee camp in Bangladesh. The report also called 00 the UNHCR "to press the government of Bangladesh to allow humanitarian aid to flow unhindered tothe Rohingya and to 1auoch a coordinated appeal to donor nations for humani tori an relief and protection for this neglected population."

"Thousands of Rohingya wbo fled intolerable persecution in Burma now face equally bleak conditions in Bangladesh, because the government there has refused to recognize their status as refugees," said Richard Sollom, director of research and investigations at PHR. PHR said the Bangladesh government mUSI end its arrest and forced repatriation of Rohingya into Burma and end a campaign of ethnic incitement against the group within irs borders.

It condemned the Bangladesh government's failure to protect the refugees, as well as human rights violations in Burma that have caused an estimated 300,000 Rohingya to cross the border to the north.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told reporters in Bangkok Friday that Washington's Dew policy of engagemeat with B uno. appeared to bc failing.

3

From Pagc-O) Burmese junta

Th is lime around also the junta wanted 10 play the same game. It makes no d i fferen ce in their dai ly I; fe if the Rohingya could participate or cou Id not participate in the election. The JUDta only wants to gain a point by allowing them to participate in the election, The fact that. the Rohingya bad been recognized nOI only as ·citizens but also as an indigenous e funic group of Burma could be ascertained from the statements made by Ex-Prime Minister U Nu, Ex-Defence Misnister V Ba Swe, Ex-Vice Chief of Army Staff Brig, GM. Aung GyL Commander of Frontier Administn!tion, Col. Saw MyiDt and Commando, of tile Western Military Command, Col. Ye Gong at different times. The undermining of their political status by the present mili tary JUD1,. is the result of a j oint conspiracy between it and Rakhine communalists of Arakan.

The critical question at the moment is denial of their citizenship rights and execution of a well planned scheme

of ethnic cleansing, extermination and genocide compelling them 10 leave their motherland, Arskan. Unless the Rohingyas could be a free people 1 ike other peoples of Burma without any discrimination to their ethnicity and religion participation in the election would have no real affect on their future.

Bangladesh Delegation left for Burma

to discuss maritime boundary issue By our Staff correspondent

Dhaka: Mareh 16,20 I 0

An It-member high-level team comprising experts and technical persons under the leadership 0 f addi tional Foreign Secretary, Rear Admiral (retd) M Khorshed AI"", on Monday left Dhaka for Yangon to discuss maritime, boundary issue. The delegation will sit with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Burma (Myanmar) U Maung My;nt on March 16-17, "Last time Myanmar agreed to demercate maritime boundary through a coordinated policy having the 'principle of equity' and 'equidistance system', however, we are hopeful to get a good outcome [rom this meeting" a tap official of the foreign ministry said.

In December meeting beta Bangladesh and Myanmar reached a consensus to formulate the coordinated policy to resolve the maritime boundary dispute because of which Bangladesh failed to award its offshore areas to the iotemational roes f<>r last one year, The December meeting decided that the Mitt meeting would be held in Burma in April this year,

Foreign ministry sources said Bangladesb has proposed fixing the maritime boundary following the "principle of equity" while Myanmar recommended per-line. based "cquidistance system." The dispute Was created over tbe maritime boundary between the' two neighboring countries as Bangladesh protested Burma's move for extracting mineral resources from a disputed block in the Bay of Bengal in 2008. Bangladesh formally raj sed the issue. at the Arbitration Tribunal of the United Nations in October 2009 to settle the matter,

1,160 Robingya refugees arrestedAttacks by security forces and

citizens' committees source: (Pre&. Rele.s.) Society forTh .. atenec P."ple. Date: 1 0 March 2010

S orne I, 160 Rohingya refugees from Burma ha ve been arrested sino. January 20 I 0 in Ba"gladesh and most of them deported to their homelands, states the Society for Threatened Peoples SIP (Gesellschaft IUr bedrohte Volker Gfb V), There they are threatened witb further persecution. "A t least 366 of those arrested were p lcked up immediately after they crossed the borde, and handed over to Burmese security forces", reported Ulrich Delius, Asia consultant of the human rights organisation centred in Gottingen on Tuesday. "Many of those arrested have been mishandled. A

representative of the Rohlngya was seized in the refugee camp of Kutupalong andbeaten because he had reported during a visit of EU parliamentarians On 15th February 2.oJ 0 about the difficult situation of the refugees.

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37 Rohingyas pushed back to

Burma by BDR

By our Staff correspondent Teknaf March 15, 20 I 0

Bangladesh border security force BDR belonging to 42 Battalion based in Teknaf arrested 37 Rohingyas ill the border on March 14 and pused them back to Burma the same day, According to source oneg,oup of Rohmgyas consisting of 14 male, 4 female and one child have been arrested at Damdamia point and tho other group consisting of 11 male and 7 female were arrested at Sador point at Teknaf,

Our eomm ent: In spite of severe crackdown on the Rohin gyas in Bangladesh, Rohingyas are still flowing into Bangladesh taking all risks , One can also learn that 93 Rohingya boat people were i.n~ by Malaysia" Davy recently, The reason of their flight is obvious. Some media outlet in Bangladesh is claiming that "the Rohingyas are coming to Bangladesh to enj oy the assistance of Aid agencies, We would like to question such people why Rohingyas are taking So mucb risk to go out of their homes? Why not a single Rakhine Buddhist from Arakan is doing so'/ The people of Bangladesh mUSI know what fate 'is a waiting for them if the Rohingyas are fill ished in Arab".

Malaysia detains 93 Robingya boat people who have been at sea for 30 days

(By The Associated Pres (CP» Kualalumpur: March 12, 2010

Malaysian authorities have picked up 93 Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar who said they spent 30 days ot sea in a crowded wooden boat, an official said Friday.

The Rohingya men, an ethnic group not recognized by Myanmar's military regime" had apparently been chased OU t of Thai waters before they were detained Wcdoesday off Malaysia" northern resort island of Langkawt, said Zainuddin Mehemad Saki, an officer with the M.l.y.s ian Maritime Bnforcement Agency. The Thais denied they chased the boat away, A fishing boa! had earlier reported to the agency that the men were as king for food and water from passing vessel s after their open boat experienced engine failure, he said,

Initial investigations showed they had been at' sea for 30 days after fleeing their homeland, lie said.

"Some of the men said they were chased out of Thai waters

earl ier before th~y made their way to Langkawi, They said they were sailing aimlessly ill the hope of finding a country that wi II accept them," Zainuddin told The Associated Press.

Vimcc Kidchob, spokeswoman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, however, said troops gave the men food and wale" !uggesliug the men left Thai waters of their Own accord. "The Rnhingyss were not chased out of the Thai waters, Thai troops on the Andaman Coast found a group of 00"- Thai peoplein boats, so they gave the people food and water and 1"1 them continue their j cumey," she said, Thailand has acknowledged in the past towing away boats of Rohil\gyas, hoping they will land in other COUu tries,

The Muslim Robingyas Dumber about 800,000 in Myanmar where they arc denied full citizenship and rare widespread abuses including forced labour, land seizures and rape, rights groups say.

Hundreds of thousands have fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Middle, East. and rights groups have expressed concern they will be tortured or killed if forced to return to Myanmar,

Zainuddin said some of the men detained suffered minor injuries and have been given medical treatment.

All 93 have been banded Over to the immigration department in northern Kedah state and are likely to he sent to • detention centre, he added. Kedah immigration officers could not be immediate) y reached far comment. Ma laysia has the biggest number of Rohingya refugees in the region, more than 14,000, many of whom have stayed for yearn in the country, working illegally in plantations 0' factories, officials said.

Nasaka erecting barbed wire fence and constructing road close to zero line, at some places inside

Bangladesb territory

By our N aikhougchari correspondent

N aikhongcheri, March J3; Burma's border security force N osaka has reportedly been erecting barbed wire fen.re and constructing mad at Duichori border very close to zero line of the common border between Burma and Bangladesh" Work has been started since mid February bringing in bulldozers and ether heavy equipmen ts, Al SOm" p lares, [or example, at Nuinnarziri area near herder pillar number 52, the N asaka bas penetrated wi thin Bangladesh territory and carrying out the road construction and fencing work there, Even they have set up temporary shelters to bouse labourers,

Banglade •. h border security force BDR has lodged a wever there is no tension i..u the area according r(I him.

Robingya man beaten to death

By our Maungdaw correspondent

Maundaw, Marc 19: A Rohingya man namely Abul Hussain, 45 Son of Ali belonging to Naing Chaung, Gun apara WIUl beaten 10 death by Nasaka, Burm a 's notorious border security force, on March 17,2010,

'The story of the incidence is that Abu] Hashim along with several. other Rohingyas have been. posted for sentry duty around the house of the chairman Mr_ Mus. of the village peace and development committee by Nasaka belonging to are. number 5, as be was in appr-ehension of attack from some cf'his rivals,

At (me stage deep at nighl when the Nasaka was checking ~ the people on sentry duty, Abu! Hashim was found asleep, ~ He was So seriously beaten by a Nasaka captain namely

Win naung that the next day at 4:00 pm be died of bis

injuries, His dead body WIUl sen! to his family for burial

with strict warning not to raise any hue and cry,

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From Page-08 Burmese Refugees Face Deeper

beginning to die of starvation, this withdrawal can only worsen an al ready desperate situation."

SOUOID returned last week from a Dine-day visit 10 tbe region, about 300 miles southeast of Dhaka and just across the River Naf from Burma. He and " colleague, Parveen Parmar, an emergency physician at Harvard University, surveyed heal th conditions at ope makeshift camp that is born" to pearly 30,000 Burmese refugees, Th.e PHR team found an alarming rate of acute malnutrition, and beard of many hardships faced by women whose husbands bad been arrested aDd forciblyexpelled back into Burma.

The refugees are all memoers of a Muslim minority group called Rohingya, who tled to Bangladesh 10 escape pers ecu tion in Burma. B ecause the Bangladeshi government bas arbi trarily refused to register the vast maj ority of them, however, they have been deniedthe types

and amounts of aid they would otherwise recei ve. In recent months, many have faced increas lng persecution in Bangladesh, a poor country that considers itself illequipped to deal with a large influx of refugees.

"The government of Bangladesh has a legal obligation Dot to expel these refugees, and a moral responsibility to allow rh re rn!emalion"l ooom:"mity to help l!lem,H says Sollom. "Instead, it is making it so difficult for humanitarian groups to operate in the region that some feel forced to pull OUI."

Islamic Relief, an international aid group based in the United Kingdom" announced thai it would end ilS program in the Rohingya camp where it works on February 28, saying that growing government obstruction of its operations left the group with "DO choice but to leave," The PHR medical team will publish its complete findings in a forthcoming report, but PHR experts arc available immediately for interviews.

••

PM Lt. General Thein Sein visited Northern Arakan, cancelled scheduled visit to Maungdaw

By our Butbidaung Correspondent Buthi daung: Marco 17,. 20 1.0

Prime Minister of Burma's ruling junta, Lt. General Thein Sein arrived Buthidaung town at about 2: 3 OPIl1 on Tuesday with his entourages by three helicopters, according to a local [torn Buthidaung,

According 10 an offi cia! source! he vis ited Tactical Operation Command (TOC) and Mili tary operatic n Command (MOC) where PM explained abou t the recently announced electoral laws to the army officers au d ga ve tie I:CS s ary directions to the concerned a mho r; lies for the deve lopmen t of border

Burmese PM.ltGiJ.n Theln Sefn areas,

His visit is to promote the newly enacted election laws. But on the other hand, a senior government official from Maungdaw denied tho wid. spread rumors of PM's vis; t. "His tour is unrelated to the election campaign rather he came to the area to inspect the Sain Din hydropower

project", said the official On condition of anonymity.

After tbe meeting, be flew 10 Akyab from Buthidaung at 3 pm. He cancelled his scheduled visi [ to Maungdaw, a key Musl.im majority town on the western Burmese border. It is expected that he may visit some major towns in Arakan Slate, including Mrauk U, Kyauk Pru, Ann, Taungup and Thandwe.

Bangladesb FM requests UNHCR to resume Robingya repatriation Mar1,2mO

Foreign minister of Bangladesh, Dip". Moni bas requested the newly appointed representative of Uuited NatioJ1.\ High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sleven Craig Sanders 10 resume the repatriation process of "all Burmese refugees in lb. soonest possible time", rejecting, all options for their rehabilitation in Bangladesh .

Dipu Mnni's call comes i.Q the wako of inremaLional media reports on the plighL of the Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh. Some alleged human rights violations by Bengladeshauthorities and urged the govenanenr to allow their integration wifh Ihe local people. "She (Dipu Mo"i) put emphasis on resuming lb. repatriation process al the sooeest possi ble," said a forei gn ministry press statement on the meeting. The foreign minister .1'0 "rg¢d the UNHCR to work for improving the condi 1.1 ens io Burma', northern Amkan state of tho Muslim minority Rohingyas, who have been fiwing persecution and hard conditions in their homeland, to di,eoW'llg. entry into Bangladesh,

"Sbe reiterated Bangladesh's ]>O,il;o" on th.e issue of MYlI"mor refugees that r"1l repaciation 0 r the refugees, now I iving in two camp, in Nay.para and Kutupalong, remained the only viable solution to this protracted problem," sa id tho foreign minisny statement.

'She ruled out any other option in this regard," il added. Dip" Moni sa id Burma .• uthorities had already agreed 10 take back .11 refugees confirmed to be their nationals, Bangladesh bas been host;"g thousands of Rohingya refugees in CoX'! Bazar distri.CI bordering Myarmor for years. An eslimated 300,000 Rogingya refugee, took shelter in 1991·92 as the Myanmar military launched a massive crackdown on the Muslim minority.

The forci!llJ minister On Sumlay said tho recent international media reports referring 10 alleged rights abuses of undocumented Myanmar nanonals living in Bangladesh were "baseless and malicious",

'Such unbelp ful reports must be stopped in the interest of all," tho foreign ministry statementquoted,

Children Die of Starvation at Unregistered Refugee Camps in

Bangladesb

1012010

Cox's Bazar : Nearly 50 children h. ve died of starvation in the last two months al unregistered refugee camps located outside of the official Kurupalong Rohingya refugee camp! in Bangladesh, sa id a refugee (In the condition of ancnymity,

Th e refugee said. "We have been facing serious hunger in tho camp since January this year because of a extreme shortage of food supply. During this period, about 50 chi ldren ha ve died of starvati 00_ II However, there hAV~ been no official reports about the deaths.

"We already informed the concerned authorities of Bangladesh about OUr refugees' situation, but there has been no action. Most femilies outside the camp are unable 10 eat twice a day," he said. There are over 8,000 Robiogya refugee farni lie. livi ng in rnakeshi ft huts outside the refugee camp, Though some 1000 families of these makeshift huts able to eat once per day (regular basis), mOSI of them are unable to eat even on. meal daily on regular basis. "S orne families could have something toeat

• .1 least ODCe per day but some families can no. Some families can take dinner but most cannot. Most families are unable to take food daily in the camp," he said.

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are now prohibited by Bangladesh authorities from working outside the camps. The refugees have also been prohibited from Ira vcling to the markets to buy food. "We have DO right 10 go outside for a job. If we go, the authority arrests us and pushes us back to Burma So we are now staying ins ide the camp without any jobs or income," the source said. Even though many families are facing hunger in the camps, there are no non-govcrnrnen lSI organ lzatlons provi ding food to III c

refugees.

Another refugee said, "MSI' is working for refugees outside the camp, but only for medical purposes. We received modi ei no and soap from MSF, not food Or other i terns, Indeed, we need food now mare than other materials."

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Rohingya Refugees went on strike

By Our Cox's Bw Corrc>pDOde"1 Cox's Bzar, Maroh 4,2010

Rohillgy. refugees at N ayapara registered RohiDg.Y" Refugee camp wont 0." strike YOSlerd.y, February 3, 20 I 0 .fre, an ugly In.i"''''l happened in the government run health centre in the camp,

In the momiag while the patients war. standing in queue for showing the doctor to get treatment" a recently delivered woman namely Qynis Fatcma 22 gol vel)' tired due to 'tanding for a long lime. She requested her father Noor Mohammed to inform the doctor so thaI she may be treated early, The father wen! into the room of the doctor to tell about the condition of his daughter, The doctor on duty" Mr, Saifullah, got angry; came out of hi' room and kicked the pauem Qynis F atem causing her 10 fell on the ground. Unable to bear the humiliating lreatmenllbe father exchanged hOI words with the doctor and both ['lhor and daughter wen! away to Iheir sheds, All the other refugee. patienll; dispersed with oUI taking treatment, After some limo a person said to be broiher of tho said doctor wentto the shed of Noor Mohammed; pulled him out and beat him. However the refugees intervened and r es cued Noor Mobammcd,

After , while most of the women refugees marched in the camp area protesting the. humiliating treatment of the doctor, They also reported the maned 10 the UNHCR officials. Hearing the hue and cl)' in the camp police mil' ansar posted iD tile camp came to the SpOI and dispersed the striking refugees,

Our cammenn Rohingya refugees are human beings. However some people think thai !hey are not equal willi them and does not deserve humanly treatment; instead they should be (re"lcG as human rubbish fil 10 be thrown inro d"sl bin, Violating the ethics of a medical doctor who is supposed to provide physical and mental succor to his patients h. was arrogara and haughty iD dealing with the most oppressed people of the world. If the victim Qynis Fatema happened to be his own sister bow would be behave with her? Tho, doctor must know that even if escapes justice in this world, he caaao; escape from the grasp of Gad in the hereafter ..

Please visit: www.arakanyoma,.org

Infrastructure development of North Arakan bordering Bangladesh

continues with full speed

Since early 2009, the Burmese military junta. has been deploying huge military force in North Arakan bordering Bangladesh following its attempt to explore oil and gas in the disputed area of Bay of Bengal claimed by both countries.

Since independence of Burma. the Arakan province remained a backwater of Burma and no industrial development took place there. The communication remained very poor. It is carried out mostly by river crafts in a region where mostly tidal rivers and creeks intertwined. Most of the roads in Arakan have' been constructed during British time which become dilapidated and out of use, There are only a few kilometers long all weather concrete roads in the whole province. There are DO highways, Communication with border areas remained extremely difficult and has to be carried out mostly On foot.

However following the maritime dispute with Bangladesh the junta brought in heavy arms and equipments like tanks, artillery, APCs and military trucks which Deed bard roads to reach to the hot spots and. for speedy deployments of troops. Among various measures to bolster defense capability; the junta has been making hectic efforts to construct concrete roads which could easily reach to the border with Bangladesh. Tbe lfi-mile long Maungdaw-Buthidaing road is the main artery linking Akyab, the capital of Arakan with the border region. Although it is an all weather concrete road it is still IlIIITOW and passes through two British era tunnels situated in the half-way. Now army engineers are broadening the road and necessary repair' work has been carried out in the runnels as well. Just adjacent to the two tunnels a bypass road is being constructed now culling the bills SO that in the event of any problem iII the tunnelsthe bypass road could be used. Another concrete bypass road to avoid the tunnels has already been constructed across Mayu range linking th.e Main Maungdaw-Buthidaung road vi" Ngakyida"k mountain pass. This road enters into the Ngakyidauk pass at the eastern side of Mayu range at N gakyi dauk and come out in the western side of Mayu range close to N asaka Headquarters located at Gyiganbyin.

Other wads being constructed with full speed are Dabruchaung (Hq of MOC 15)- Taungbazar mad, Letwedatt-Fansi Bazar (north of Buthidaung) wad on the eastern side of Mayu range, Bawlibazar-Shab Bazar-Fakira Bazar-Amtola road in the western side of Mayu range, and Hancehurara (Alaythankyaw)Myio Hlut-Angu Maw road (near mouth of Mayu river in the south). A ring road is also being built connecting Taung Bro wi tb Medai and continuing northward along the border Roads are also built connecting Fakira Bazar with Hlaing Si and Falcira Bazar with Shiddar Bil located close to the border. Another road connecting Bawli Bazr with Taung Bro isalso in progress. However due to interruption of Pruma creek, vehicles cannot ply directly yet. The authorities are planning to build II bridge OV~r Pruma creek so that Bawlibzar can be linked witb border town of Taung Bro directly.

Source: Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) Dale: 25 Feb 20 to

Cambridge, MA - A public health expert with Physicians for Human Rights (pHR), just returned from wi tnessing the cris is of B urmese refugees in Bangladesh, has documen ted the escalating persecution of the Rohingya people and is raising an alarm about acu te malnu tritinn, PHR warns that the imminent

departure of the internati onal charity Islamic Relief from (I camp in southern Bangladesh will worsen the plight of the swelling population of Burme.;e refugees.

"Islamic Relief was OM of just a few humanitarian organizations providing aid to those refugees i 0 that area," notes Richard Sollom, Director of Research and Investigations in PHR's program On Human Rights in Armed Conflict. ·'1.0 a place w bere !>"opl" are already

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Burm~.se Refugees Face Deeper Crisis Following Aid Group t s EIiI from B anglad esb Camp