Rohingya, other Muslim communities under attack in Myanmar (Burma): Amnesty International

By M Elahi Jul 20th, 2012 ( 2 Comments )

London: Amnesty International says Six weeks after a state of emergency was declared in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, targeted attacks and other violations by security forces against minority Rohingyas and other Muslims have increased.

The rights group accuses both security forces and local Rakhine Buddhists of carrying out attacks against Rohingyas in the region and says they received credible reports of other human rights abuses against Rohingyas and other Rakhine Muslims– including physical abuse, rape, destruction of property, and unlawful killings – carried out by both Rakhine Buddhists and security forces.

The group’s Asia researcher, Benjamin Zawacki, says while both Buddhists and Muslims have been targeted, recent violence has been directed primarily against Rohingyas.

Tensions between the Rakhines and the Rohingyas are longstanding, partly because many Rakhines consider Rohingyas to be illegal settlers from neighboring Bangladesh.

The government says clashes in May and June left at least 78 people dead, but unofficial estimates exceed 100.

A state of emergency was declared June 10 and since then, Myanmar’s Border Security Force (nasaka), army, and police have conducted massive sweeps in areas that are heavily populated by Rohingyas. Hundreds of mostly men and boys have been detained, with nearly all held incommunicado, and some subjected to ill-treatment.

Amnesty International demanded of the Myanmar’s Parliament to amend or repeal the 1982 Citizenship Law to ensure that Rohingyas are no longer stateless.