A Crime against Humanity

[Banglar Bir]

The Guardian view on the slaughter in Myanmar: a crime against humanity
Editorial
The brutal, bloody, and ultimately pointless mistreatment of a Muslim minority shames Aung San Suu Kyi

Smoke billows above what is believed to be a burning village in Rakhine state as Rohingya take shelter in a no-man’s land between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Photograph: KM Asad/AFP/Getty Image
Monday 4 September 2017 19.30 BST Last modified on Monday 4 September 2017 22.59 BST

The Rohingya are a Muslim people living in the north-west of predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, which borders mainly Muslim Bangladesh. In Myanmar they are seen as Muslims, and in Bangladesh as foreigners. Neither country claims or even wants them. Neither will allow them citizenship, though these families have lived in Burma for centuries at least. Now the military in Myanmar will not even tolerate their existence, and in recent weeks the almost genocidal pressure on their villages has greatly increased, sending tens of thousands trying to flee across a guarded border into an uncertain future. The army appears to be trying to starve out the population from areas where the armed resistance is most active, sending an unprecedented flood of refugees across the border. It has blocked UN agencies from delivering food, water or medicine to the affected areas, leaving an estimated 250,000 people without regular access to food.

There is very little for the refugees if they do get out alive. The Bangladeshi authorities are extremely reluctant to recognise that they are fleeing from persecution, even if local people have responded with great generosity.

For years Myanmar government forces have descended on villages to slaughter or drive out their inhabitants. Amnesty International has accused the regime of crimes against humanity. One of Myanmar’s most influential Buddhist preachers, Ashin Wirathu, preaches compassion towards mosquitoes but death for Muslims. Although he has served time in prison for earlier sermons, he is now more popular than ever, and widely believed to have the support of the army, which ruled the country openly for years and is still a powerful force behind the scenes.

The persecution has, predictably, led to an armed resistance, which, just as predictably, has provoked greater repression and cruelty. The Buddha had something to say about such chains of violence and revenge but it appears that the Myanmar’s Buddhists would rather use chains as weapons, the way Hells Angels did, than be freed from them. This story would be tragic and an outrage to the conscience of the world if it ended there. But there is every chance it will not. There is no repression savage enough to empty the whole of Rakhine state of its inhabitants and finally crush the resistance. Neither can the armed resistance movement hope for any final victory. But it can hope to enlarge the scope of the conflict, and present it as a religious one in which Muslims are being persecuted for their faith.

That is at least half true, but it is a destructive as well as a powerful narrative. It adds Myanmar to the long list of countries where Islam appears to be the religion of the persecuted and the outcast, and to frame the justification for their own violent and intolerant revenge. There are already insurgencies of that sort – all of them building on existing ethnic divides and antagonisms – in many parts of south-east Asia, from Thailand to the Philippines.

There is a horrible irony in the involvement here of Aung San Suu Kyi, who appeared to be bringing to Myanmar the message of universal human rights – which would transcend or at least set limits to the brutalities of the old world. The Nobel prize winner, who appeared for decades as the epitome of principled and unflinching defence of human rights, now appears as the unfeeling figurehead of a vicious regime.
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...n-the-slaughter-in-myanmar-a-against-humanity

 

[pothead]

can anyone find their article on Kashmiri hindus?

 

[TopCat]

can anyone find their article on Kashmiri hindus?

Indian government suppose to give protection to the kashmiri hindus. Would you like Islamic army to be sent as peace keeper in India?

 

[pothead]

Indian government suppose to give protection to the kashmiri hindus. Would you like Islamic army to be sent as peace keeper in India?

So, there is no article, right?
Cool, as expected. After all it's only genocide of filthy Hindus and not the pious kind.

 

[Banglar Bir]

Who are the Rohingya and what is happening in Myanmar?
Fresh outbreak of violence after decades of ethnic tensions has prompted tens of thousands of people to flee to Bangladesh
Rare footage smuggled out of Rakhine
Global development is supported by

Rebecca Ratcliffe
Wednesday 6 September 2017 01.09 BSTLast modified on Thursday 7 September 2017 12.09 BST
Who are the Rohingya?
Described as the world’s most persecuted people, 1.1 million Rohingya people live in Myanmar. They live predominately in Rakhine state, where they have co-existed uneasily alongside Buddhists for decades.

Rohingya people say they are descendants of Muslims, perhaps Persian and Arab traders, who came to Myanmar generations ago. Unlike the Buddhist community, they speak a language similar to the Bengali dialect of Chittagong in Bangladesh.

The Rohingya are reviled by many in Myanmar as illegal immigrants and they suffer from systematic discrimination. The Myanmar government treats them as stateless people, denying them citizenship. Stringent restrictions have been placed on Rohingya people’s freedom of movement, access to medical assistance, education and other basic services.
What has been happening to them?
Violence broke out in northern Rakhine state on 25 August when militants attacked government forces. In response, security forces supported by Buddhist militia launched a “clearance operation”.
Refugees have spoken of massacres in villages, where they say soldiers raided and burned their homes. The government claims the Rohingya have burned their own homes and killed Buddhists and Hindus, a claim repeated by some residents.

Aid agencies have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in overstretched border camps and of the dangers facing Rohingya people trapped in conflict zones.

How many have been killed, injured or forced to flee?
The military has reported that 400 people have been killed in the violence. The UN says 123,000 people have fled to Bangladesh. Those who have made it to the border have walked for days, hiding in jungles and crossing mountains and rivers. Many are sick and some have bullet wounds.

More than 30,000 Rohingya are estimated to have sought shelter in the refugee camps of Kutupalong and Nayapara in Bangladesh, which are now believed to be full. Many others are living in makeshift sites and local villages. An unknown number could still be stranded in a narrow strip of no man’s land that separates the two countries, where access to aid is limited. Around 400,000 stateless Rohingya people are thought to be trapped in conflict zones.

On Tuesday the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, said it was “gravely concerned”about the continuing conflict and about reports that civilians had died while seeking safety. On Monday the UN said its aid agencies had been blocked from supplying life-saving supplies such as food, water and medicine to thousands of civilians in northern Rakhine state

Smoke billows above what is believed to be a burning village in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Photograph: KM Asad/AFP/Getty Images
What’s the background to the story?
For decades ethnic tensions have simmered in Rakhine state, with frequent eruptions of violence. Last October nine police officers were killed by armed men, believed by officials to be Muslims. Amid the ensuing violence, 87,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh and government troops expanded their presence in Rakhine state.

At the time, a senior UN official alleged that the Myanmar government was seeking to rid the country of its Muslim minority – an accusation that has repeatedly been made by human rights groups. The government denies the charge.

Last month Myanmar further increased the number of troops in Rakhine, after seven Buddhists were found hacked to death. The buildup of troops prompted warnings of a fresh wave of violence.

The most recent violence is seen as a major escalation not only because of the scale, but also because of the involvement of a new Rohingya militant group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. It says the attacks on government forces were an act of self-defence.

What is the Myanmar government saying?
As well as claiming the Rohingya are burning their own villages and killing Buddhists and Hindus, the Myanmar military has said the majority of those killed in the violence were “terrorists”. Such claims are impossible to verify as access to Rakhine is limited.

The government has accused international aid workers of helping “terrorists”besiege a village in Rakhine state. The claim was condemned as dangerously irresponsible by aid workers, who fear for their safety.

The Myanmar government has repeatedly denied accusations of “ethnic cleansing”. In June it said it would not cooperate with a UN investigation focusing on allegations of killings, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims.

An effigy of Aung San Suu Kyi is placed against a wall during a protest in Kolkata, India, against the persecution of Rohingya Muslims. Photograph: Bikas Das/AP
Why hasn’t Aung Sun Suu Kyi done anything about it?
When Aung San Suu Kyi rose to power there were high hopes that the Nobel prize winner would help heal the country’s entrenched ethnic divides. But she has been accused of silently standing by while violence is committed against the Rohingya. International pressure is growing on her to curb the military operations.

Last year she appointed Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, to lead a commission looking at long-term reconciliation in Rakhine state. But she has failed to criticise violence against the Rohingya.

Some argue that Aung San Suu Kyi fears an unpredictable military. Despite her position as state counsellor, the military has retained significant political power, with an allocated 25% of seats in parliament.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-...the-rohingya-and-what-is-happening-in-myanmar

 

[Homo Sapiens]

can anyone find their article on Kashmiri hindus?

Kashmiri hindus are living like a king in Jammu and Delhi.All other bharati hindus idolize them and they are a privileged group living within their own country.Compare this with Rohingya people.But the shameless bhakt will cry their imaginary persecution here and there although, they are in a control.

 

[EndangeredSpecies]

Indian government suppose to give protection to the kashmiri hindus. Would you like Islamic army to be sent as peace keeper in India?

TopCat bhai, what happened to your picture? I used to like that cat picture.

 

[TopCat]

TopCat bhai, what happened to your picture? I used to like that cat picture.

Some jealous kept on complaining about my avatar and moderator kept on removing them and asking me to pick a new one.

 

[EndangeredSpecies]

Some jealous kept on complaining about my avatar and moderator kept on removing them and asking me to pick a new one.

Too bad! Mind if you post it somewhere? I will keep that small picture. Used to love that show a lot. Old show is indeed gold.

 

[silver_dragon]

Where is so called Islamic Military Alliance of 34 nations lead by Saudi? Not a single act is seen.

 

[Banglar Bir]

https://www.facebook.com/

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https://www.facebook.com/

 

[The BrOkEn HeArT]

Humanity???
I will be surprised if Muslims understand the definition of this word.
As all I can see around the world , its Muslims vs humanity.
If you go through the history of Islam and present situation around the globe, I will not be surprised if Rohngiya type situation emerges in every non Muslim country.
Muslims must learn to respect other faiths and law and orders of a country wherever they live in.
Its becoming serious situation day by day for Muslims. Please look with in you before it's too late.

 

[Banglar Bir]

https://www.facebook.com/

https://www.facebook.com/

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[Banglar Bir]

https://www.facebook.com/

 

[Banglar Bir]

September 11, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 11:24 AM, September 11, 2017
Bangladesh hospital struggles to cope with Rohingya wounds

Shoabib, 7, lies on the floor next to his father at Sadar Hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. Shoabib got a bullet injury on the chest when Myanmar soldiers attacked his village. He and his father lost track of their family members when fleeing to Bangladesh. Photo: AP/Bernat Armangue
AP, Cox’s Bazar

The 7-year-old Rohingya boy lies on a tattered mattress on the floor of a crowded government hospital in Bangladesh, bandages covering the spot where a bullet fired by Myanmar troops tore through his chest a week earlier.

He is one of 80 Rohingya patients -- most males with gunshot wounds -- being treated at this overwhelmed medical facility in a coastal city now deluged with nearly 300,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled a two-week surge in violence and a lifetime of persecution in neighboring Myanmar’s Rakhine state. He is the youngest of six patients with gunshot wounds interviewed by The Associated Press on two recent visits.

“The soldiers just started firing he said. I saw my son on the ground,” the boy’s father Abu Tahir said.

In the chaos that followed they lost track of the rest of their family before Tahir carried his son across the border to safety. Now he watches as his child’s ribs rise and fall in the hospital, praying that he recovers.

Sadar Hospital is the main medical facility for the Cox’s Bazaar area. At the best of times it’s stretched to the limit, with 20 doctors responsible for the treatment of hundreds of patients. Now it’s at nearly twice its capacity and for the first time its doctors are dealing with injuries like gunshot wounds, blunt force trauma and stab wounds on a massive scale as Rohingya refugees pour in.

“We have never seen such violent injuries before,” said Dr. Shaheen Abdur Rahman Choudhury, the head of the hospital.

The violence and exodus began on Aug. 25 when Rohingya insurgents attacked Myanmar police and paramilitary posts in what they said was an effort to protect their ethnic minority from persecution by security forces in the majority Buddhist country. In response, the military unleashed what it called “clearance operations” to root out the insurgents.

Accounts from refugees show the Myanmar military is also targeting civilians with shootings and wholesale burning of Rohingya villages.

Abdul Karim lies on a mat in another corner of the hospital. A mob of soldiers and Buddhist monks attacked his village in Rakhine state, set the houses on fire and sprayed the area with automatic gunfire that nearly blew off his left foot at the ankle. Another bullet wound marked his right shoulder.

The stench from his ankle made clear that Karim would lose his foot.

“We carried him on a blanket,” his brother Asir Ahmed said, pointing to his shoulders to indicate how the family carried Karim and walked for days to reach Bangladesh.

In the first week of the exodus, doctors at Sadar Hospital treated 30 Rohingya for gunshot wounds. The next week they treated another 50. The hospital is now setting up a separate area for the Rohingya and expects even more in the weeks and months ahead.

Choudhury said he fears that there will be grievous injuries and deeply infected wounds as the refugees wade through filthy creeks and walk in the humid heat will no medical attention along the way. He said his hospital will need a lot more help and money if they are to cope with what lies ahead.

“This is a desperate situation,” he said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/country...m_medium=newsurl&utm_term=all&utm_content=all