SECURITY OPERATIONS AGAINST ROHINGYAS

Little regard for rights: UN

The ongoing security operations in Myanmar’s Rakhine state against Muslim population, commonly known as Rohingya, are being conducted with little regard for the rights and dignity of the majority population residing in the affected areas, the United Nation has accused. “Over and over it has been said that trust needs to be built between the two communities in Rakhine State; that they need to learn to live together, as they had done for decades before. But I believe another important relationship that requires trust building is the relationship between the people and the government, particularly with the security forces in this instance,” UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee said in her end of mission statement in Yangon on Friday. “By conducting a security operations with seemingly little regard for the rights and dignity of the majority population residing in the affected areas, the security forces have further weakened the trust the Muslim population had cautiously put into the new government,” she said. “It should not be a surprise, in this context, that many from among the Rohingya population have not welcomed the announcement of the resumption of the citizenship verification exercise and resumption of the issuance of the identity card for national verification subsequent to the expiry of the TRC,” she added.
During her 12-day visit to Myanmar, the envoy visited parts of Kachin, Rakhine and Mon states as well as Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw. In Kachin, she stayed one night in Myitkyina as she was not allowed to go to Laiza and Hpakant. In Rakhine, she went to Koe Tan Kauk in Rathedaung, Buthidaung prison, and four villages in Maungdaw north. In Nay Pyi Taw, the envoy met with the state counsellor as well as ministers of all the ministries she had asked to meet except for two. One was away and another ministry declined to see her as did the commander-in-chief of army. “There is one word that has hung heavily on my mind during this visit – reprisals. In every one of my visits and in every one of my meetings, I ask the government of Myanmar to ensure that the people I speak to and even work with, do not suffer reprisals for speaking out on rights issues or expressing their opinions,” said Lee. “Yet, distressingly several people I met during this visit would say to me, “I don’t know what will happen to me after our meeting,” she said.  Lee, a South Korean national, said, “What has been said to me over and over by government representatives regarding the 9 October attacks is that this was not an inter-communal violence or crisis, that this was a calculated attack against the sovereignty of Myanmar and that the government rightly launched a security response.”
 “Whilst authorities are required to respond to such attacks – the response must be carried out within the parameters of the rule of law and in full compliance with human rights,” she said.
“I saw with my own eyes the structures that were burnt down in Wa Peik and it is hard for me to believe that these are consequent to actions taken in a hurry or haphazardly,” she added.
The envoy went on to say, “I was told by government officials – as had been reported – that it was the villagers who had burnt down their own houses. And the reason they would burn down their own houses was because these houses were of poor quality and by burning down their own houses, they can expect to get international actors to come in and help build them better houses. The authorities offered no evidence for this, and I find this argument quite incredible.”
“Considering the policy of systematic and institutionalised discrimination against the Rohingyas with limited access to education and healthcare services – basic services that the international actors have been ready to supply but blocked from providing, it would be quite far-fetched for them to suddenly think that the authorities would allow international actors to help build them better houses,” she said.
“The alternative argument given by the authorities was that this was part of the Rohingya villagers’ propaganda campaign to put the security services in a bad light. Again, I find it quite incredible that these desperate people are willing to burn down their own houses (where they may have lived for generations) to be without a home, potentially displaced, for five years or more like those in Sittwe, just to give the government a bad name,” Lee said.
“I must remind again that these attacks took place within the context of decades of systematic and institutionalised discrimination against the Rohingya population. Desperate individuals take desperate actions. And while such desperate actions in this case are not justified in any way, I do believe if the affected population had felt that the new government would start addressing their situation and grievances, then extreme elements would not have easily been able to hijack their cause,” she said.
When the allegations of human rights violations consequent to the security operations started surfacing, the government’s immediate response was to deny them, said the envoy, adding that even when a scientifically-based analysis of the burning and destruction of houses was presented, the immediate response was dismissal.
Furthermore there has been no progress on the fundamental issues which have plagued previous attempts at conducting a citizenship verification exercise under the 1982 citizenship law, Lee said.
 She said that access is slowly starting to improve in the North of Rakhine state, but it remains mostly limited to national staff, with international staff stuck in towns unable to do their jobs.
 “The government’s response to all of these problems seems to currently be to defend, dismiss and deny. And this response is not only counterproductive but is draining away the hope that had been sweeping the country,” said the envoy.  “It pains me to see when talking to the ordinary people of Myanmar during this visit their feelings of optimism and hope slowly fading just after one year when the whole country was elated with the outcome of the last general elections,” she said.  She encouraged the government to appeal to all communities in the country to be more open and understanding of each other, to respect each other instead of ‘scapegoating’ others for the sake of advancing their own self-interests.  “It would be particularly important for the security forces to always act within the parameters of the rule of law and in compliance with human rights,” she said.  “I would like for the government, the military side including, to be open and accepting of the offer of assistance from other international actors, particularly the UN that always stand ready to support the successful democratic transition of Myanmar,” she added.

SECURITY OPERATIONS AGAINST ROHINGYAS

Little regard for rights: UN

The ongoing security operations in Myanmars Rakhine state against Muslim population, commonly known as Rohingya, are being conducted with little regard for the rights and dignity of the majority population residing in the affected areas, the United Nation has accused. Over and over it has been said that trust needs to be built between the two communities in Rakhine State; that they need to learn to live together, as they had done for decades before. But I believe another important relationship that requires trust building is the relationship between the people and the government, particularly with the security forces in this instance, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee said in her end of mission statement in Yangon on Friday. By conducting a security operations with seemingly little regard for the rights and dignity of the majority population residing in the affected areas, the security forces have further weakened the trust the Muslim population had cautiously put into the new government, she said. It should not be a surprise, in this context, that many from among the Rohingya population have not welcomed the announcement of the resumption of the citizenship verification exercise and resumption of the issuance of the identity card for national verification subsequent to the expiry of the TRC, she added. During her 12-day visit to Myanmar, the envoy visited parts of Kachin, Rakhine and Mon states as well as Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw. In Kachin, she stayed one night in Myitkyina as she was not allowed to go to Laiza and Hpakant. In Rakhine, she went to Koe Tan Kauk in Rathedaung, Buthidaung prison, and four villages in Maungdaw north. In Nay Pyi Taw, the envoy met with the state counsellor as well as ministers of all the ministries she had asked to meet except for two. One was away and another ministry declined to see her as did the commander-in-chief of army. There is one word that has hung heavily on my mind during this visit reprisals. In every one of my visits and in every one of my meetings, I ask the government of Myanmar to ensure that the people I speak to and even work with, do not suffer reprisals for speaking out on rights issues or expressing their opinions, said Lee. Yet, distressingly several people I met during this visit would say to me, I dont know what will happen to me after our meeting, she said. Lee, a South Korean national, said, What has been said to me over and over by government representatives regarding the 9 October attacks is that this was not an inter-communal violence or crisis, that this was a calculated attack against the sovereignty of Myanmar and that the government rightly launched a security response. Whilst authorities are required to respond to such attacks the response must be carried out within the parameters of the rule of law and in full compliance with human rights, she said. I saw with my own eyes the structures that were burnt down in Wa Peik and it is hard for me to believe that these are consequent to actions taken in a hurry or haphazardly, she added. The envoy went on to say, I was told by government officials as had been reported that it was the villagers who had burnt down their own houses. And the reason they would burn down their own houses was because these houses were of poor quality and by burning down their own houses, they can expect to get international actors to come in and help build them better houses. The authorities offered no evidence for this, and I find this argument quite incredible. Considering the policy of systematic and institutionalised discrimination against the Rohingyas with limited access to education and healthcare services basic services that the international actors have been ready to supply but blocked from providing, it would be quite far-fetched for them to suddenly think that the authorities would allow international actors to help build them better houses, she said. The alternative argument given by the authorities was that this was part of the Rohingya villagers propaganda campaign to put the security services in a bad light. Again, I find it quite incredible that these desperate people are willing to burn down their own houses (where they may have lived for generations) to be without a home, potentially displaced, for five years or more like those in Sittwe, just to give the government a bad name, Lee said. I must remind again that these attacks took place within the context of decades of systematic and institutionalised discrimination against the Rohingya population. Desperate individuals take desperate actions. And while such desperate actions in this case are not justified in any way, I do believe if the affected population had felt that the new government would start addressing their situation and grievances, then extreme elements would not have easily been able to hijack their cause, she said. When the allegations of human rights violations consequent to the security operations started surfacing, the governments immediate response was to deny them, said the envoy, adding that even when a scientifically-based analysis of the burning and destruction of houses was presented, the immediate response was dismissal. Furthermore there has been no progress on the fundamental issues which have plagued previous attempts at conducting a citizenship verification exercise under the 1982 citizenship law, Lee said. She said that access is slowly starting to improve in the North of Rakhine state, but it remains mostly limited to national staff, with international staff stuck in towns unable to do their jobs. The governments response to all of these problems seems to currently be to defend, dismiss and deny. And this response is not only counterproductive but is draining away the hope that had been sweeping the country, said the envoy. It pains me to see when talking to the ordinary people of Myanmar during this visit their feelings of optimism and hope slowly fading just after one year when the whole country was elated with the outcome of the last general elections, she said. She encouraged the government to appeal to all communities in the country to be more open and understanding of each other, to respect each other instead of scapegoating others for the sake of advancing their own self-interests. It would be particularly important for the security forces to always act within the parameters of the rule of law and in compliance with human rights, she said. I would like for the government, the military side including, to be open and accepting of the offer of assistance from other international actors, particularly the UN that always stand ready to support the successful democratic transition of Myanmar, she added.