Asia

Ill-Treatment of Rohingya in Myanmar

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Hundreds of thousands Rohingya, a Muslim minority from the western part of Myanmar, have fled the country to escape poverty and oppression.  The military rulers do not recognize the Rohingya as Myanmar citizens.  They are denied citizenship under the1982 citizenship law, and often harassed and beaten by the security forces.  They must obtain an official permit to travel from town to town.

Rohingya are subjected to routine forced labor in Myanmar.  Chris Lewa at the Arakan Project says that typically a Rohingya man will have to give up one day a week to work on military or government projects, and one night for sentry duty. However, Myanmar Buddhists living in the area are not required to do this.

Myanmar’s senior official has described the Rohingya as “ugly as ogres.”  According to the South China Morning Post, the country’s Consul General Ye Myint Aung wrote to heads of foreign missions in Hong Kong and local newspapers stating the Muslim tribe should not be described as being from Myanmar.  “In reality, Rohingya are neither Myanmar people nor Myanmar’s ethnic group,” he said.  The envoy also contrasted the “dark brown” Rohingya complexion with the “fair and soft” skin of people from Myanmar, the Post reported.

The US has called on Junta to stop persecuting its Rohingya Muslim minority.  “The US was aware of the fleeing of Rohingyas from Myanmar for persecution and economic reasons,” Mr. Boucher told a news conference in Dhaka.  “It’s a matter of concern and the US wants that Myanmar stops the persecution of Rohingyas.”

According to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), about 230,000 Rohingya now live in Bangladesh, having fled from abuse by Junta.  Refugees have told stories about how the military authorities there have beaten and abused them.  Many have shown scars on their bodies they claimed were caused by Burmese soldiers whipping them as a warning not to return to the country.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Myanmar envoy brands boatpeople ‘ugly as ogres’: report – 11 February 2009

BBC – Burma ‘must stop Rohingya abuse‘ – 09 February 2009

BBC – What drives the Rohingya to sea? – 05 February 2009

Jurist – Mistreatment of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority requires coordinated regional response – 11 February 2009

Thai Soldiers Accused of Torturing in the South

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – On January 13th, Amnesty International released a report accusing the Thai military of engaging in “systematic torture” on suspected Muslim insurgents in the Southern Thailand.

The Thai government has been engaged in a conflict with Malay separatists in the South since 2004 where 3,500 have died. The Muslim majority in the South mainly speaks a Malay dialect. In 2004, a group of Muslim insurgents stormed an army depot, killed 4 soldiers, stole weapons, and burned down 20 schools. As a response, the then-Thai government wanted to “win the hearts and minds” of the Muslim majority and promised a new approach to the South. Currently 30,000 Thai soldiers are stationed in the South.

Torture is outlawed in Thailand. However, in Amnesty International’s report, it documented instances of torture by Thai security forces since 2007.  34 torture cases were cited, which included four torture victims who died in custody.

Amnesty International believes there are 21 unofficial detention centers where insurgent suspects are detained and mistreated. NGOs, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, are denied access to these facilities making it difficult for human rights groups to monitor abuses. The detainees are also denied visits by relatives and lawyers.

The Muslim paramilitary units are also blamed for violence. Since 2004, insurgents have attacked civilians, targeted Buddhist monks and school teachers, and tortured and killed soldiers and police. “We understand the pressure they are under. But there are simply no circumstances under which torture is justified,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International South East Asia team.

The new Thai government also promised a new approach to the South. On December 25, 2008 the government formed an investigation team to look into the death of Yapa Kaseng, a local Muslim Imam. The inquest named Thai soldiers responsible for Kaseng’s death. Human rights advocates argue that criminal charges should be brought against those responsible in order for the new government’s claims to have credibility.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Thai Troops ‘Torturing in South’ – 13 January 2009

BBC –Thailand’s Savage Southern Conflict– 13 January 2009

Financial Times – Thai Army Accused of Torture in Report– 13 January 2009

HRW: New Bangladesh Government Should Reform Human Rights

By Pei Hu
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

DHAKA, Bangladesh – International human rights group, Human Rights Watch, urged the new Awami League government of Bangladesh to reform human rights policies. In the past there have been reports of abuses by Bangladeshi police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite security force that rights groups hold accountable for extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and torture.

Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch Asia director, said, Bangladesh’s “ new government has a large majority and a public hungry for reform …We look forward to the government using the strong mandate the prime minister and her party have obtained to tackle the very serious abuses that Bangladeshis face at the hands of the security forces and others.”

A human rights group told APF, security forces in Bangladesh unlawfully shot or tortured to death at least 149 people in 2008 when the country was ruled by an army-backed government.

Reportedly, 137 people were shot dead by police and the RAB, and 12 were tortured to death. The Bangladesh government said the killings occurred when suspects resisted arrest or were caught in crossfire between criminals and security forces. A surge in “crossfire” deaths began in 2004 when the then-democratically elected government set up the RAB to stem rising crime. Since RAB’s inception, the elite force has been accused of killing more than 540 people, mainly crime suspects and outlawed Maoists.

However, Odhikar, a Bangladeshi human rights group, said the killings were unlawful. The organization said, “What worries Odhikar and others is the absolute impunity enjoined with extrajudicial killings … None of the killings are investigated or perpetrators made to account.”

When an army-backed government took over in January 2007 after a state of emergency was imposed, people were killed, elections were cancelled, and press freedom curbed.

On December 29 2008, the secular Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina, who had served previously as a prime minister, won the elections. Adams said, “How the government responds to recommendations for human rights progress at the Human Rights Council will be an early test for the new government.”

For more information, please see:


APF – Bangladesh Security Forces Illegally Kill 149 in 2008: Rights Group -17 January 2009

Daily Star –149 Killed in Extra-judicial Action in ’08 – 8 January 2009

HRW – Bangladesh: New Government Should Act on Rights – 29 January 2009

UN Reviews China’s Human Rights Record

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Report, Asia

BEIJING, China – The United Nations Human Rights Council opened its fourth session of the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva last week.  The session will examine the human rights records of 16 countries, including Germany, Canada, China, Cuba, Mexico, Russia and Saudi Arabia.  In a hearing, while European delegations called on Beijing to end the death penalty and halt torture in prisons.  Many Asian and African countries praised China’s achievements in the promotion and protection of human rights, and said China is an example for them to follow.

However, days before UN’s review on China’s Human Rights record, the officers stationed outside a government building in Beijing took away at least eight people.  They are members of a group of 30 who had traveled to the capital from around the country, protesting various problems involving local corruption.  One member carried a banner says “Safeguard human rights. I love China”.  Li Fengxian, a gray-haired woman, held up a sign with the character for “injustice”.  Li, 65, said she has spent years fighting officials in her village who give away a poverty allowance allotted to her family to other officials.

The incident is not unusual.  These people often come with stacks of documents and pictures of their loved ones.  Most are detained by police and sent home.  “My goal today is to defeat corruption with the law and win some justice,” said Chen Xinchun, a 40-year-old farmer from Sichuan province. He has come to Beijing five times trying to plead with the Cabinet, the courts and the public security bureau for an investigation into the death of his mother at 20 years ago.  Chen said someone connected with local police beat his mother to death.

China presented a report on human rights in the country to the United Nations.  In the report, China said, “The international community should respect the principle of the indivisibility of human rights and attach equal importance to civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights as well as the right to development.”

China’s ambassador, Li Baodong, defended his country’s rights record to the council.  He rejected suggestions from Western countries that China uses torture and jails dissidents and insisting China’s policies are guided by the rule of law. “China is the world’s largest developing country. We are fully aware of our difficulties and challenges in the field of human rights,” he said.

Some human rights activists were angered by the report, stating China had failed to address key concerns such as persecution on religious and ethnic grounds and press censorship.  The report omits any references to abuses that are occurring across China, according to Amnesty International.  It fails to mention the unrest in Tibet last year, the crackdown on Uighurs in the western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and the persecution of religious followers, including members of Falun Gong, the London- based group said.

For more information, please see:

AP – China hammers dissent despite looming UN review – 07 February 2009

AP – China police take away citizens airing grievances – 06 February 2009

Reuters – China human rights record stirs struggle at home – 08 February 2009

Reuters – China says protects human rights, West voices doubt – 09 February 2009

Wall Street Journal – Human Rights, the U.N. and China – 09 February 2009

XinHua – Foreign Ministry: UN human rights review important to China – 05 February 2009

UN Envoy Ibrahim Gambari ‘s Visit to Myanmar

By Ariel Lin
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari visited Myanmar last week. During the trip, he met with detained National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and with government ministers and diplomats.  However, he was not granted an audience with Senior General Than Shwe, the top military ruler of Myanmar.

Junta has detained Suu Kyi for 13 years.  She told Mr. Gambari that she would only hold talks with the junta if all political prisoners are released and the results of 1990 elections won by her National League for Democracy are recognized.  Last August, Suu Kyi declined Mr. Gambari’s visit despite being held under house arrest since May 2003.  Analysts believe her snub was to show displeasure at the acceptance by the United Nations of planned 2010 elections in Myanmar.

NLD members also said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon should not visit until all Burma’s political prisoners are free.  According to the U.S. State Department, currently more than 2,000 political prisoners are held in Myanmar’s jails.

Junta accused her of setting unrealistic conditions for talks.  “A dialogue will be practical and successful only if the discussions are based on the reality of prevailing conditions,” Information Minister Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan said in a statement carried by state media yesterday. “There will be no success if it is based on unrealistic conditions.”

Mr. Gambari asked Myanmar’s Prime Minister Thein Sein to release political prisoners, to have a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and to make the military-guided political process inclusive for all.  However, Thein Sein told Gambari that the UN should press for the lifting of international sanctions to promote political improvements in the country.  “If the U.N. wants to see economic development and political stability, the U.N. should first try to remove economic sanctions and visa bans,” was the prime minister’s response, according to state television.

For more information, please see:

BBC – UN envoy’s Burma trip criticized – 04 February 2009

Bloomberg – Myanmar Junta Calls Suu Kyi’s Conditions for Talks Unrealistic – 05 February 2009

New York Times – Opposition Leader in Myanmar Expresses Frustration With U.N. – 04 February 2009

Reuters – Myanmar’s Suu Kyi meets UN envoy, sticks to terms – 02 February 2009