Bangladesh aid not for Muslims

by Tin Thein
Burma Times Correspondent: August 28, 2015
The aid given by the government of Bangladesh for flood victims in Myanmar has become a sensitive subject for the government which is increasingly relying on a Buddhist nationalist network to entrench their rule.

Speaking by phone, Rohingyas working closely with the government said there was much distrust the moment Bangladesh government announced an aid package for the country. In most times, aid for flood victims is welcome. But many in the government suspected the Bangladeshis were keen on aiding the Muslims in Arakan state that shares a common border from where relief materials could have been rushed in.

The suspicions became even more profound when the Bangladesh government said it was ready to transport the aid over the border. The government quickly refused the offer saying it would only be ready to accept the relief from Yangon and Mandalay, which is very far from the Bangladesh border, taking an airlift of more than an hour.

Places in the Arakan state such as Maungdaw where the floods have taken a harsh toll are less than an hour’s drive from the Bangladesh border. But authorities and nationalists fear the Bangladesh relief efforts will aid the Muslims. These would have been a sore point for especially the nationalists who are wary of perceived Muslim influence in the Buddhist majority nation.

While publicly, the government praised Bangladesh efforts to aid the people of Myanmar, in private there is much derision about the country and their Prime Minster Sheikh Hasina for trying to aid the Muslims through this supposedly friendly gesture of aid delivery.

Rohingyas in Arakan state say the government response of ignoring flood affected Muslims have worsened an already desperate humanitarian situation and is part of the long term approach to expel them from the country.

The government has also shunned requests for a Bangladeshi medical team fearing they will face harsh treatment in a society where anti Muslim sentiments are on the rise.

Tin Thein | August 28, 2015 at 3:36 am | Categories: World News | URL: http://wp.me/p4iovb-3sn
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Discriminatory ‘Race and Religion’ bills in Myanmar: Threaten to fuel tensions ahead of elections

Jakarta, 22 August, (Asiantribune.com):

The Myanmar Parliament’s passage of two bills targeting religious minorities constitutes an attack on religious freedom and threatens to stoke inter-communal tensions and violence less than three months ahead of critical general elections, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today.

The bills, which place restrictions on religious conversion and polygamy, are the final two pieces of legislation in the so-called ‘Race and Religion Protection’ package, which has been pushed by Buddhist hardliners.

“They should really be called the ‘Race and Religion Discrimination’ bills, as they are fundamentally discriminatory and represent a grave threat to religious freedom and minority rights in Myanmar,” said APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago, a member of parliament in Malaysia. “They run counter to international norms and appear purposely designed to fuel rising Buddhist extremism in the country.”

The Religious Conversion Bill, passed this week, requires all individuals wishing to change their religion to seek permission from regulatory bodies, made up of local officials authorized to question converts to determine if their decisions are voluntary or coerced.

“Requiring government permission to convert violates international standards of religious freedom and the right to personal choice,” Santiago said. “This bill was flawed from the start, yet the government and ruling party moved forward anyways, making no attempt to address human rights concerns or bring the legislation into line with international standards.”

The second draft law passed this week, the Monogamy Bill, criminalizes polygamy and extramarital affairs. Parliamentarians noted that criminalization of extramarital relations constitutes a violation of individual privacy rights, while the bill’s prohibition of polygamy is redundant, as existing statutes already deem the practice illegal.

“The military government is playing a dangerous game. It appears to be purposefully pandering to sentiments of xenophobia, racism, and nationalism for its own political gain and at the expense of the rights of millions of Myanmar’s minority citizens,” Santiago added.

In May, APHR criticized the passage of another bill in the package, the Population and Control Healthcare Bill, which parliamentarians argued represents a step toward ethnic cleansing by allowing the government to institute restrictions on reproductive rights in specific areas of the country.

Another of the draft laws, the Buddhist Women’s Special Marriage Bill, was passed by parliament in July. It places restrictions on interfaith marriage, requiring interfaith couples to obtain permission from local authorities in order to wed. Such regulations violate the rights of women and minority residents in Myanmar, parliamentarians cautioned.

APHR said that the passage of all four bills institutionalizes discrimination against religious minorities, including Christians and Muslims, and threatens to enflame increasing anti-Muslim sentiment nationwide. Violent attacks on Muslims have taken place throughout the country in recent years, and the government’s new moves could lead to more violence, particularly as elections approach, APHR warned.

“Myanmar is at a precarious moment in its political development. The passage of these bills threatens the country’s democratic future by undermining the fundamental rights of its people and fueling already rampant religious hatred, which could lead to violence,” Santiago said.

- Asian Tribune -

The 8 Stages of Genocide Against Burma’s Rohingya Faine Greenwood

May 27, 2013
Rohingya Muslim’s in Burma’s Rakhine state have now been ordered to adhere to a years-old two child policy by the government, in what authorities claim is an effort to defame ongoing tension between the Buddhist and Muslim communities. In reality, this is ethnic cleansing. And it is ongoing in Burma today.

Council: Myanmar gov't greed to blame for Rohingya fate

22 August 2015 12:27 

European Rohingya Council says Myanmar goverment has manipulated ethnic groups of Rakhine against Rohingya to gain from its rich resources

By Satuk Bugra Kutlugun (ANKARA)

It's an economic situation akin to that of pre-Second World War Germany, says European Rohingya Council Chairman Khairul Amin.

But while the Nazi Party sought to persecute anyone who didn't fit their Aryan ideal in an effort to unify a bankrupt post World War Fatherland in a common enemy, he says the Myanmar government has targeted just one group - Muslims.

"If we search for the root cause of our problem, is it down to economics or is it because of an inherited hatred that exists among the Rakhine [Arakan] Buddhists?" he asks in an interview with Anadolu Agency. 

"No; it's down to the Burmese [Myanmar] governments, who have manipulated the Rakhine people into hating us to divide us and rule us."

Myanmar has to solve its Rohingya crisis: Watkins

Diplomatic Correspondent

Robert D Watkins

Bangladesh would be free from the refugee problem if its neighbour Myanmar addresses the Rohingya crisis at home, the United Nations thinks.

Appreciating the role of Bangladesh in helping the refugees, the UN resident coordinator in Dhaka Robert D Watkins said on Tuesday the Bangladeshis “can't stop them from coming because the actual problem lies in Myanmar.”

“Right now they (Rohingyas) are very much discriminated, persecuted... Refugee problem can stop when the problem in Myanmar stops,” he noted, maintaining that the UN has to work with Myanmar authorities to initiate a domestic process to solve the problem. 

The top UN official, who is also the UNDP’s resident representative in Bangladesh, made the observations during an exchange of views with senior journalists of Bengali daily Prothom Alo at its office on Tuesday. Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman moderated the discussion.