Rohingya refugees fleeing for sanctuary in Bangladesh

Therefore, there is no scope for Bangladesh to take the matter easy. Moreover, mere sending the Rohingyas back cannot address the fundamental cause of the crisis

A Myanmar military campaign kills more than 30,000 and sends more than 500,000  Rohingya refugees fleeing for sanctuary in Bangladesh. The Myanmar military campaign to wipe out  Rohingya community has rained violence down on Myanmar's Rakhine state since 25 August 2017. About 30,000 Rakhine Extremist Rakhine mobss and Hindus have also been removed to safer places, as ethnic and religious cleansing carve out through the western state of Rakhaine. The  Rohingyas are a stateless group as the Extremist Rakhine mobs-majority country Myanmar refuses to recognise them as citizens. The United Nations (UN) has accused Myanmar of waging a text book ethnic cleansing campaign against the  Rohingyas. As the crisis unfolds, access to the epicentre of unrest – the northern wedge of Rakhine – has been blocked by the government. As a result the soldiers and vigilante Extremist Rakhine mobs mobs teaming up to empty out communities and burn those to the ground. The weary and wounded Rohingyas arriving in Bangladesh have told consistent accounts of village massacres. The Myanmar government refutes the accusations. Instead it says the army has carried out targeted operations to snuff out the alleged “militant” group. The Myanmar government says that an alleged attack on police posts in late August 2017 unleashed the massive military response. Where tens of thousands of people are actually still on the move, here is what we still to know about who is left in violence-ravaged Rakhine’s empty villages. A census report published in 2015 said 3.1 million people lived in Rakhine, including an estimated 1.1 million  Rohingyas. Of them about 500,000 has already been driven out to Bangladesh to join earlier 500,000 already living in makeshift camps in Chittagong of Bangladesh for long. According to Myanmar government figures, Rakhine's northernmost Maungdaw district was home to around three quarters of that population. But a government spokesman Zaw Htay said that nearly 40 percent of its  Rohingya villages have been completely abandoned in the past three weeks ending on 13 September 2017. He told reporters on 13 September 2017 night, that out of 471  Rohingya communities in total "There are 176 villages where the whole village fled". According to him the recent refugees in Bangladesh amount to more than a third of the total number of  Rohingyas once based in Myanmar.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Rakhine extremist Rakhine mobs and Hindus have also been removed from their homes to safer places since late August 2017, saying they were targeted by the so called  Rohingya “militants”. Without specifying their ethnic identity the Myanmar government said on 14 September 2017 that some 4,000 people had started trickling back to their villages in Maungdaw as clashes between the army and “militants” ebbed. Myanmar's Information Committee has said that over 7,000 homes have been destroyed by fire across at least 59 villages. The vast majority of those belonging to "Bengalis" as the Myanmar government pejoratively call the  Rohingyas.

Amnesty International’s new satellite images released on 15 September 2017 showed that since 25 August 2017 more than two dozen villages in the  Rohingya-majority area had been set alight with patches of grey ash marking the area where structures had stood. The reporters say that they have seen abandoned villages and homes reduced to ashes – while on their government-steered press trips.

Almost every day from across the Naf River in Bangladesh, where the  Rohingya refugees are massing in ramshackle camps, columns of smoke from the gutted villages have also been visible. The  Rohingya refugees say after being driven out of their homes with gunshots and other threats, the Myanmar officers and extremist Rakhine vigilantes started the fires. Amnesty has described this tactic as an "orchestrated campaign" of ethnic cleansing. It is not surprising that the communal Myanmar authorities deny that, alleging that the “militants” have torched the villages in a bid to attract global sympathy.  

It is to everybody’s understanding that while some one is on the run at gun points how he can find time to set his house on fire! Yanghee Lee, a South Korean academic and a UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar feared "it's going to be one of the worst disasters that the world and Myanmar has seen in recent years". Lee expressed scepticism about Myanmar authorities' claims that the  Ruhingyas were burning their own houses, pointing out that nearby Extremist Rakhine mobs villages were untouched – and it is the rainy season. She questioned that, "If you have got people with guns (chasing you) and you're running away and it's damp, how easily can you set your own house on fire?".

Tens of thousands of  Rohingyas are still trekking through the monsoon-soaked area. To reach the Bangladesh border for those fleeing fire-hit areas further south, it may take weeks to cross over difficult terrain, blanketed by Myanmar security forces. Since the violence erupted in late August 2017, aid groups have been unable to access northern Rakhine, compounding the humanitarian crisis. A spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Pierre Peron said that "Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, may be trapped in remote areas far from the border with limited food and medical supplies and are unable to reach safety". From Amnesty International, Laura Haigh said that  Rohingyas who have stayed in their villages are living in fear and struggling to survive without the food deliveries that have supported their impoverished communities for years. She told the press that "They are essentially locked in and markets are not functioning".

Although the details of the project are scant and assumedly ridiculous, Myanmar has said it will establish camps in  Rohingya-majority areas of Maungdaw to provide relief. The Information Committee said on 14 September 2017 that shelters will be set up for s "who can guarantee they are no way connected to the terrorists". Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay has also said that the country would not allow all of those who crossed into Bangladesh to return. These are comments to fuel allegations Myanmar is intentionally ejecting the  Rohingyas. The presence of  Rohingyas in Myanmar has incensed powerful Extremist Rakhine mobs nationalists for years. "Some reached the other side of border. If they come back, we cannot accept all of them," Zaw Htay said, adding that returnees would need to be "scrutinised". These are the opinions of the blood thirsty Extremist Rakhine mobs nationalists of Myanmar in whose religion “killing of living beings is a great sin” – which they willfully forget for the sake of ethnic cleansing.

Now obviously the pertinent question arises as to who is left in Rakhine’s empty villages while  Rohingyas are on the run for safety in Bangladesh? The Bangladesh’s octogenarian Finance Minister has rightly said that Myanmar has declared war against Bangladesh by forcing “Rohingyas” (s) to take shelter in Bangladesh. It is because of no fault on Bangladesh’s part. Moreover, Myanmar’s war helicopters and drones are continually violating the airspace of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has not yet retaliated. We don’t want war.

Therefore, there is no scope for Bangladesh to take the matter easy. Moreover, mere sending the  Rohingyas back cannot address the fundamental cause of the crisis.

 

The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre

Rohingya refugees fleeing for sanctuary in Bangladesh

Therefore, there is no scope for Bangladesh to take the matter easy. Moreover, mere sending the Rohingyas back cannot address the fundamental cause of the crisis

A Myanmar military campaign kills more than 30,000 and sends more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees fleeing for sanctuary in Bangladesh. The Myanmar military campaign to wipe out Rohingya community has rained violence down on Myanmars Rakhine state since 25 August 2017. About 30,000 Rakhine Extremist Rakhine mobss and Hindus have also been removed to safer places, as ethnic and religious cleansing carve out through the western state of Rakhaine. The Rohingyas are a stateless group as the Extremist Rakhine mobs-majority country Myanmar refuses to recognise them as citizens. The United Nations (UN) has accused Myanmar of waging a text book ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingyas. As the crisis unfolds, access to the epicentre of unrest the northern wedge of Rakhine has been blocked by the government. As a result the soldiers and vigilante Extremist Rakhine mobs mobs teaming up to empty out communities and burn those to the ground. The weary and wounded Rohingyas arriving in Bangladesh have told consistent accounts of village massacres. The Myanmar government refutes the accusations. Instead it says the army has carried out targeted operations to snuff out the alleged militant group. The Myanmar government says that an alleged attack on police posts in late August 2017 unleashed the massive military response. Where tens of thousands of people are actually still on the move, here is what we still to know about who is left in violence-ravaged Rakhines empty villages. A census report published in 2015 said 3.1 million people lived in Rakhine, including an estimated 1.1 million Rohingyas. Of them about 500,000 has already been driven out to Bangladesh to join earlier 500,000 already living in makeshift camps in Chittagong of Bangladesh for long. According to Myanmar government figures, Rakhines northernmost Maungdaw district was home to around three quarters of that population. But a government spokesman Zaw Htay said that nearly 40 percent of its Rohingya villages have been completely abandoned in the past three weeks ending on 13 September 2017. He told reporters on 13 September 2017 night, that out of 471 Rohingya communities in total There are 176 villages where the whole village fled. According to him the recent refugees in Bangladesh amount to more than a third of the total number of Rohingyas once based in Myanmar. Tens of thousands of ethnic Rakhine extremist Rakhine mobs and Hindus have also been removed from their homes to safer places since late August 2017, saying they were targeted by the so called Rohingya militants. Without specifying their ethnic identity the Myanmar government said on 14 September 2017 that some 4,000 people had started trickling back to their villages in Maungdaw as clashes between the army and militants ebbed. Myanmars Information Committee has said that over 7,000 homes have been destroyed by fire across at least 59 villages. The vast majority of those belonging to Bengalis as the Myanmar government pejoratively call the Rohingyas. Amnesty Internationals new satellite images released on 15 September 2017 showed that since 25 August 2017 more than two dozen villages in the Rohingya-majority area had been set alight with patches of grey ash marking the area where structures had stood. The reporters say that they have seen abandoned villages and homes reduced to ashes while on their government-steered press trips. Almost every day from across the Naf River in Bangladesh, where the Rohingya refugees are massing in ramshackle camps, columns of smoke from the gutted villages have also been visible. The Rohingya refugees say after being driven out of their homes with gunshots and other threats, the Myanmar officers and extremist Rakhine vigilantes started the fires. Amnesty has described this tactic as an orchestrated campaign of ethnic cleansing. It is not surprising that the communal Myanmar authorities deny that, alleging that the militants have torched the villages in a bid to attract global sympathy. It is to everybodys understanding that while some one is on the run at gun points how he can find time to set his house on fire! Yanghee Lee, a South Korean academic and a UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar feared its going to be one of the worst disasters that the world and Myanmar has seen in recent years. Lee expressed scepticism about Myanmar authorities claims that the Ruhingyas were burning their own houses, pointing out that nearby Extremist Rakhine mobs villages were untouched and it is the rainy season. She questioned that, If you have got people with guns (chasing you) and youre running away and its damp, how easily can you set your own house on fire?. Tens of thousands of Rohingyas are still trekking through the monsoon-soaked area. To reach the Bangladesh border for those fleeing fire-hit areas further south, it may take weeks to cross over difficult terrain, blanketed by Myanmar security forces. Since the violence erupted in late August 2017, aid groups have been unable to access northern Rakhine, compounding the humanitarian crisis. A spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Pierre Peron said that Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, may be trapped in remote areas far from the border with limited food and medical supplies and are unable to reach safety. From Amnesty International, Laura Haigh said that Rohingyas who have stayed in their villages are living in fear and struggling to survive without the food deliveries that have supported their impoverished communities for years. She told the press that They are essentially locked in and markets are not functioning. Although the details of the project are scant and assumedly ridiculous, Myanmar has said it will establish camps in Rohingya-majority areas of Maungdaw to provide relief. The Information Committee said on 14 September 2017 that shelters will be set up for s who can guarantee they are no way connected to the terrorists. Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay has also said that the country would not allow all of those who crossed into Bangladesh to return. These are comments to fuel allegations Myanmar is intentionally ejecting the Rohingyas. The presence of Rohingyas in Myanmar has incensed powerful Extremist Rakhine mobs nationalists for years. Some reached the other side of border. If they come back, we cannot accept all of them, Zaw Htay said, adding that returnees would need to be scrutinised. These are the opinions of the blood thirsty Extremist Rakhine mobs nationalists of Myanmar in whose religion killing of living beings is a great sin which they willfully forget for the sake of ethnic cleansing. Now obviously the pertinent question arises as to who is left in Rakhines empty villages while Rohingyas are on the run for safety in Bangladesh? The Bangladeshs octogenarian Finance Minister has rightly said that Myanmar has declared war against Bangladesh by forcing Rohingyas (s) to take shelter in Bangladesh. It is because of no fault on Bangladeshs part. Moreover, Myanmars war helicopters and drones are continually violating the airspace of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has not yet retaliated. We dont want war. Therefore, there is no scope for Bangladesh to take the matter easy. Moreover, mere sending the Rohingyas back cannot address the fundamental cause of the crisis. The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre