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London, UK -- The Burma Human Rights Network is calling upon the international community to speak out against the Burmese-Bangladesh plan for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees back to Burma scheduled to begin on August 22nd. Over 800,000 Rohingya fled Burma between 2016 and 2017 as the Burmese military waged a genocidal campaign, veiled as counter-insurgency, against the civilian population. Similar agreements to repatriate the Rohingya have been planned before, with massive resistance from the Rohingya population who said conditions were not safe or just enough for them to return voluntarily. This most recent announcement also seems to have been planned without input or consent of the Rohingya, and if carried out may amount to refoulement.
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London, UK -- The Burma Human Rights Network welcomes the public designation of four senior military figures by US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, but calls on the United States to follow with targeted sanctions against military owned companies and businesses. The four military figures were Burma’s Military Commander and Chief, Min Aung Hlaing, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, Brigadier General Than Oo, and Brigadier General Aung Aung. The US sanctioned the four for their roles in crimes in northern Rakhine State against the Rohingya and what the State Department described as ethnic cleansing. The designation will prohibit travel to the United States for the four generals and their immediate families but does not affect them economically.
“The State Department’s public designation of Min Aung Hlaing and three others is a major step in acknowledging and punishing their cruel and inhumane actions against the Rohingya and other minorities inside of Burma. We would like to thank Mr. Pompeo and the dedicated staff at the State Department for taking these steps but we also ask them to go further as the military will not be thwarted from committing further crimes by symbolic actions alone. We are hopeful that targeted sanctions against military owned companies and businesses will follow, and that other nations will do the same. It is time that the world recognizes the awful crimes committed by these men and that they are held accountable,” said BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
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National Verification Card – A Barrier to Rohingya Repatriation
The Burma Human Rights Network, in cooperation with Queen Mary University of London’s International State Crime Initiative, is proud to reveal its latest report, NVC: A Barrier To Rohingya Repatriation focusing on Burma’s deeply troubling National Verification Card (NVC) process. The NVC is often portrayed as a stepping stone to citizenship for the Rohingya but BHRN believes this process to further marginalize the Rohingya and that it ultimately enhances apartheid conditions in Rakhine State. BHRN disputes claims by the Burmese authorities that the NVC is being used as a stepping stone to citizenship for the Rohingya or that it has any useful purpose as a tool to verify the identities of returning refugees.
“Burma has convinced many in the world that the NVC process will help the Rohingya to become citizens and grant them greater rights in the country but this is clearly false. The NVC has been in use for years as a tool to identify Rohingya as foreigners and they have not received any greater rights as a result. The international community must not go along with Burma on this endeavor and should instead insist upon citizenship and full rights for the Rohingya,” said BHRN’s executive director, Kyaw Win.
