Burma commission to probe deadly ethnic clashes

Burmese authorities have set up a new commission to investigate deadly ethnic clashes between Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists in the west of the country, after coming under sharp criticism from rights groups over its handling of the situation. By News Wires AFP - Myanmar has set up a new commission to probe sectarian clashes that saw scores killed and displaced tens of thousands, members told AFP, following intense scrutiny of its handling of the issue. The nation's authorities have faced heavy criticism from rights groups after deadly unrest between Muslim Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in western Rakhine state. The 27-member commission, which includes religious leaders, artists and former dissidents, will "expose the real cause of the incident" and suggest ways ahead, state mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar said. The newspaper said its remit is to establish the causes of the June violence, the number of casualties on both sides and recommend measures to ease tensions and find "ways for peaceful coexistence". "As an independent commission was formed inside the country... it is a right decision which showed that we can create our own fate of the country," Aye Maung, the chairman of Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, told AFP. In June, the government established a committee to investigate the sectarian strife. But its findings, originally expected by the end of that month, were never released by President Thein Sein. The regime also invited the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the world's largest Muslim grouping, to visit the country in an effort to diffuse mounting outcry over the treatment of the Muslim Rohingya. Official figures say some 80 people died in the initial spasm of violence, but rights groups say the toll is likely much higher -mainly on the Rohingya side. The commission is expected to call witnesses and be granted access to the areas rocked by the violence, which saw villages razed and left an estimated 70,000 people -- from both communities -- in government-run camps and shelters.

Thein Sein has overseen a series of reforms since the end of outright military-rule last year, but the Rakhine bloodshed cast a long shadow over those changes. Myanmar's government has rejected accusations of abuse by security forces in Rakhine, after the United Nations raised fears of a crackdown on Muslims. New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Myanmar forces of opening fire on Rohingya during the June outbreak of unrest, as well as committing rape and standing by as rival mobs attacked each other. Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya stateless, and they are viewed by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities. A statement issued on behalf of foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- which Myanmar will chair in 2014 -pledged regional support to "humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State". Welcoming moves by Myanmar to address the situation, the statement said "harmony" among the nation's different communities should be an "integral part of Myanmar's ongoing democratisation and reform process".

Burmas Rohingya minority are the Roma of Asia

More than 80 people have been killed and thousands displaced in a wave of violence between Muslims and Buddhists in west Burma. Among those targeted in the clashes is the Muslim Rohingya minority, called Asias Roma by researcher David Camroux. By Charlotte Oberti Western Burma has been rocked by violence since the start of June, when the rape and murder of a 27-year-old Buddhist woman, allegedly by local Muslims, triggered a series of reprisals between communities. The attacks have left more than 80 people dead and have displaced thousands, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency in Rakhine, a state formerly known as Arakan. According to David Camroux, a researcher at the Paris-based Sciences Po-Ceri (Centre for international studies and research), the wave of communitarian violence was a disaster waiting to happen in a country torn between different ethnic groups.

A deeply divided society Named after a Buddhist ethnic group that makes up the majority of the population, Rakhine state also counts a sizeable Muslim minority, which includes the Rohingya, a particularly persecuted group. The 800,000-strong Rohingya are pariahs: they are stateless, and pejoratively called Bengalis by the Burmese, who consider them to be refugees from neighbouring Bangladesh. But those who have tried to flee by boat to Bangladesh, where they are equally despised, have been turned back. The Rohingya are the Roma of Asia, nobody respects their human rights, David Camroux told FRANCE 24. In a country where 89% of the population embraces Buddhism and only 4% Islam, anti-Muslim sentiment is rampant British colonisation left its mark on Burma. Britains strategy was to divide and conquer, pitting the various ethnic groups against each other. After independence [in 1948] the Burmese became more nationalist, and nowadays xenophobia is common, said David Camroux. The Rohingya, who were stripped of their Burmese citizenship in 1982 by military dictator Ne Win, are not represented in parliament, whereas other ethnic minorities such as the Karen, the Shan and the Kachin are. They have no political leader and they live in poverty, said David Camroux. Forgotten by the international community Since securing independence in 1948, Burma has struggled to create a feeling of national unity from a patchwork society. The Burmese government, which has renamed the country Myanmar, officially recognises 135 distinct ethnic groups but the Rohingya are among them. Opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi called for national reconciliation in her Nobel Peace Prize speech in Oslo last Saturday. On her first trip to Europe in two decades, she also told Burmese exiles we have to avoid saying and doing things that will make the problem worse, we have to calm it down, referring to the sectarian clashes. But she stopped short of adopting a clear stance [on the Rohingya issue], said David Camroux. The Rohingya have been forgotten by the international community. Meanwhile, the situation on the ground remains unclear, especially as much of northern Rakhine state is a no-go area for journalists and independent observers, making it difficult to verify conflicting versions of events. While local authorities say calm has returned to the area, a statement on Thursday by the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organizations Malaysia (Merhrom) said the situation was becoming worse day by day.

Suu Kyis silence on Rohingya draws rare criticism

(AP) BANGKOK - She is known as the voice of Myanmars downtrodden but there is one oppressed group that Aung San Suu Kyi does not want to discuss. 3

For weeks, Suu Kyi has dodged questions on the plight of a Muslim minority known as the Rohingya, prompting rare criticism of the woman whose struggle for democracy and human rights in Myanmar have earned her a Nobel Peace Prize, and adoration worldwide. Human rights groups have expressed disappointment, noting that the United Nations has referred to the Rohingya _ widely reviled by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar _ as among the most persecuted people on Earth. They say Suu Kyi could play a crucial role in easing the hatred in Myanmar and in making the world pay more attention to the Rohingya. Analysts and activists say that Suu Kyis stance marks a new phase in her career: The former political prisoner is now a more calculating politician who is choosing her causes carefully. "Politically, Aung San Suu Kyi has absolutely nothing to gain from opening her mouth on this," said Maung Zarni, a Myanmar expert and visiting fellow at the London School of Economics. "She is no longer a political dissident trying to stick to her principles. Shes a politician and her eyes are fixed on the prize, which is the 2015 majority Buddhist vote." The Rohingya have been denied citizenship even though many of their families have lived in Myanmar for generations. The U.N. estimates that 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar where they face heavy-handed restrictions: They need permission to marry, have more than two children and travel outside of their villages. Myanmar considers the Rohingya to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh but Bangladesh also rejects them, rendering them stateless. Longstanding resentment between the Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists erupted in bloody fury in western Rakhine state in June. They attacked each other with spears and machetes and went on rampages burning homes and razing entire villages. Human Rights Watch estimates that 100,000 people were displaced by the fighting and says the governments tally of 78 dead is "undoubtedly conservative." Rights groups claim the government did little to stop the violence initially and then turned its security forces on the Rohingya with targeted killings, rapes, mass arrests and torture. Most of the worlds outrage has come from the Muslim world. Saudi Arabia has accused Myanmar of launching an "ethnic cleansing campaign" and King Abdullah announced Saturday he would donate $50 million in aid to the Rohingya in Myanmar. Islamic hard-liners in Indonesia and Pakistan have threatened attacks against the Myanmar government. The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the violence at a summit this week and said it will present its concerns to the upcoming U.N. General Assembly. But the outrage stops at Myanmars borders. A tide of nationalist sentiment against the Rohingya has put Suu Kyi in a nowin situation. Speaking up for the Rohingya would risk alienating Myanmars Buddhist majority and angering the government at a time when Suu Kyi and her opposition party are trying to consolidate political gains attained after they entered Parliament for the first time in April. By not speaking up, she has offended some of her staunchest 4

supporters in the international community _ the very groups who lobbied tirelessly for her freedom during 15 years of house arrest. Though, many are cautious about directly criticizing Suu Kyi, who is hailed as a human rights superhero and often called the Gandhi of this generation. Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch called it "unfortunate" that Suu Kyi did not confront the issue during her triumphant tour of Europe in June, shortly after the violence occurred. At news conferences in Geneva, Dublin and Paris, Suu Kyi dodged journalists questions about the Rohingya by giving vague, scripted answers about a need for "rule of law" in Myanmar. "The root of the problem is lack of rule of law," Suu Kyi said in Dublin, seated beside the rock star Bono at a news conference. Asked if the Rohingya should be granted Myanmar citizenship, the Oxford-educated Suu Kyi replied: "I dont know." Canadian-based academic Abid Bahar, a Bangladesh-born expert on Myanmars ethnic groups, said he was "shocked" by Suu Kyis failure to take a more principled stand. "As a Nobel Peace Prize winner she has a big role to play, to work as a conscience for humanity, which she has ignored," Bahar said. "I thought she was the only person the Rohingya could depend on." President Thein Seins popularity at home has surged since the June crackdown, analysts say. Many in Myanmar rallied behind his proposal in July to send all of Myanmars Rohingya to any country "willing to take them," a suggestion quickly shot down by the U.N. refugee agency. "This is an unexpected difficulty that we have faced in our march to democracy," Thein Sein said in an interview with Voice of America broadcast this week. He denied accusations of genocide from Muslim countries, saying that images posted online showing piles of bodies were "fabrications" and from "incidents that happened in other countries, not here." Thein Sein has won widespread praise for introducing a wave of reforms since taking office last year, following decades of repressive rule. But the United Nations and others say the violence in Rakhine state shows Myanmar still has a long way to go, and needs to place human rights at the top of its reforms. "The situation in (Rakhine) state is giving the so-called new Burma a black eye _ in the eyes of the international community," said Robertson of Human Rights Watch. "As a political leader with moral authority, Suu Kyi should take this on," he said. "No one is saying she can dictate policy to the government, but if she speaks out everyone will pay attention." Associated Press writer Xinyan Yu contributed to this report.

Golda Meir: "One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely
because it does not fit the present."