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London, UK -- A mob of 50 people, including three Monks, in Setsi village in Ann Township, Rakhine State attacked a group of Christian worshippers on December 24th in a temporary shelter set up to celebrate Christmas. One Christian priest was injured in the attack and was admitted to the hospital. The leader of the Tidim Baptist Convention, Salai Aung Lai, said the group would lodge a complaint against the attackers with the police and will also write a letter to the President to inform him of the attack. He said the event was organised with permission from the local authorities.
“Non-Buddhists in Burma have been under persecution for decades and these recent events further demonstrate the dangers of religious nationalism inside of the country. The Burmese Authorities must ensure the human rights of minorities and prosecute those responsible for these horrendous attacks,” said Burma Human Rights Network’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
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London, UK -- The Burma Human Rights Network believes that the current exodus of Rohingya fleeing from Burma by boat is part of the ongoing genocide against the Rohingya by the Burmese authorities. The Rohingya who are fleeing from Rakhine State are mostly leaving IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps in Sittwe, where they have been stuck in squalid conditions with no hope of resettlement since 2012. The Rohingya in Sittwe have no prospect of being returned to their own villages, no freedom of movement, limited access to medical treatment, and lack even the most basic of human rights.
“The Rohingya fleeing are doing so due to conditions implemented and maintained by the Burmese government and security forces. In creating these conditions they have made life unbearable for the Rohingya, forcing them to seek ways to leave the country as part of a broader campaign of genocide against the Rohingya,” Said BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
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London, UK -- Burma Human Rights Network has interviewed several young Rohingya men living in refugee camps in Bangladesh who say they are preparing to flee Bangladesh by boat for Malaysia, in a similar exodus to the one witnessed in 2014 where thousands of Rohingya attempted to reach Indonesia and Malaysia by boats. Some of the men BHRN interviewed have likely left already, according to the timeline they provided. Similarly, many Rohingya living in IDP camps inside of Sittwe, Burma, have fled the country by boat in an attempt to flee to Malaysia.
A boat carrying 93 Rohingya from Sittwe was intercepted by Burmese authorities On November 27th. Many of those fleeing appear to be working with human traffickers who will entrap them in some form of modern slavery through ‘loans’ Rohingya are told they can pay off once they arrive in Malaysia.
