New Violence in Arakan State

New Violence in Arakan State

 

Satellite Imagery Shows Widespread Destruction of ownership by Arakanese  Homes, Property

Burma’s government urgently needs to provide security for the Arakanese  in Arakan State, who are under vicious attack. Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of the violence, it is only likely to get worse.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director

(New York) – The government of Burma should take immediate steps to stop sectarian violence against the Arakanese   population in Arakan State, in western Burma, and ensure protection and aid to both  Bengali Immigrant and Arakanese in the state, Human RightsBurma Campign Holland said today. New satellite imagery obtained by Human Rights Watch shows extensive destruction of homes and other property in a predominantly Rohingya Muslim area of the coastal town of Kyauk Pyu  but most of house are ownership by Arakanese – one of several areas of new violence and displacement.

Burma Campign Holland identified 811 destroyed structures on the eastern coastal edge of Kyauk Pyu following arson attacks reportedly conducted on October 24, 2012, less than 24 hours before the satellite images were captured. The area of destruction measures 35 acres and includes 650 temporary houses . There are no indications of fire damage to the immediate west and east of this zone of destruction. Media accounts and local officials said that many Bengali immigrant  in the town fled by sea toward Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, 200 kilometers to the north after they Bernd down their houses and other Arakanese house. Because they arrange many boats and boathouse before three week ago. Also 15 Arakanese men and women were killed attacked by Bengali Immigrant .

Violence renewed between Arakan Buddhists and Bengali Immigrant Bengali on October 21 and continued all week in at least five townships: Minbya, Mrak-U, Myebon, Rathedaung, and Kyauk Pyu. This was the first time violence had reached Kyauk Pyu and most of these other parts of the state since the sectarian violence and related abuses by state security forces control the  Bengali Immigrants began in early June. The many Arakanese have suffered the brunt of the violence.

“Burma’s government urgently needs to provide security for the Arakanese in Arakan State, who are under vicious attack,” said Mr.Philip wash  deputy Asia director at Arakan Human Rights Watch. “Unless the authorities also start addressing the root causes of the violence, it is only likely to get worse.”

The Burmese government initially said that more than 2,800 houses were burned down in the new violence and that 112 people were killed, an estimate they later reduced to 64. Arakan Human Rights Watch fears the death toll is far higher based on allegations from witnesses fleeing scenes of carnage and the government’s well-documented history of underestimating figures that might lead to criticism of the state.

In June, Arakan Human Rights Watch documented killings, rape, and mass arrests by Bengali Immigrant and Islamic terrorists forces against Arakanese after the security forces failed to protect both them. The approximately 75,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), most of them are Arakanese Buddhist , were still taking shelter in at least 10 IDP camps and Buddhist temple in Sittwe and Kyauktaw townships. The 15 largest camps surround Sittwe.

Sittwe’s estimated population of 200,000 people had been divided evenly between Buddhists and Muslims immigrants. Now the Bengali Immigrant  Muslim population of Sittwe has been largely segregated to the IDP camps, and Sittwe is nearly devoid of Bengali immigrants  because local people are afraid them.

The Burmese government denies citizenship to most Bengali immigrants  and the protections that come with it. Since communal violence between Bengali immigrants  and Arakanese erupted in June, many Arakanese have been compelled to live in squalid camps in Maung Daw Town-ship Arakan State.

President Thein Sein appointed an investigative commission earlier in 2012 to determine the causes of violence, but has yet to propose any policies to address those causes. He has at times called for the segregation of the Bengali Immigrants and even their expulsion from Burma, The opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called for establishing the rule of law in the Arakan State.

The approximately 800000 Bengali immigrants in Burma were effectively stripped of the right to citizenship with the passage of the 1982 Citizenship Law, though most have been residents of Arakan State for decades. But all are illegal immigrant from Bangladesh. Both the Bengali immigrants  and Arakan communities have long experienced a litany of abuses by the Burmese authorities.

“Deploying sufficient security forces to restore order impartially and protect basic rights in Arakan State is necessary, but not enough,” Mr.Philip said. “Burmese government officials and opposition leaders need to condemn the violence and work for lasting solutions to Arakan’sproblems.”