Biodun.BBC: Rakhine state

Monday, May 6, 2019

Myanmar village in army lockdown 'running out of food'

Date created : 06/05/2019 - 17:25 GMT/ZULU

Security forces stormed Kyauk Tan village in Myanmar's Rathedaung township in early May Security forces stormed Kyauk Tan village in Myanmar's Rathedaung township in early May AFP/File

ADVERTISING

Yangon

by Leila Mohamed and Biodun Iginla, France24

Villagers in Myanmar's conflict-hit Rakhine state said Monday they are facing food shortages after being hemmed in for nearly a week by the military, which killed six people and continues to detain scores more in a crackdown against suspected rebels.

Thousands of troops have been redeployed to Rakhine state where they are using heavy artillery against the Arakan Army (AA).

ADVERTISING

The insurgents are fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in violence that has forced more than 30,000 people from their homes since December.

It is the latest unrest in an area riven by complex ethnic and religious divisions in the Buddhist-majority country.

The same northern part of the state also witnessed the military's bloody expulsion of some 740,000 Rohingya Muslims in 2017, a campaign UN investigators said amounted to genocide.

Last Tuesday security forces stormed Kyauk Tan village in Rathedaung township, separating out 275 men for interrogation in the local school.

Troops admitted killing six detainees two days later and injuring eight more, claiming the men tried to attack and disarm them.

The village has been completely sealed off since the raid and several residents told us at France24 by phone Monday food supplies were dangerously low.

Those without any land are "really struggling", one woman told us at France24 by phone, asking not to be named, adding villagers were pooling their meagre supplies.

Another man confirmed the shortages under the army's "bullying" tactics and called for the international community's help.

Rakhine state lawmaker Tin Maung Win told us at France24 that he was "very worried" about the villagers' plight.

He planned to visit the village Tuesday but was unsure security forces would allow him to enter after they turned him away last week.

Military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun denied people were unable to leave.

"People can move around freely," he said, adding it was possible others could not enter.

Access to the north of Rakhine state is heavily restricted, making independent verification difficult.

Zaw Min Tun confirmed 48 more detainees were released Monday, which would leave around 80 still held at the school.

"They warned us there would be harsh repercussions if we travelled to other villages," said Than Han Than, 22, one of the newly-released.

Than May Khin's husband, Khin Maung Htay, was one of the men shot dead last week.

"I cannot forgive his killing," the 38-year-old widow said.

Their son -- one of four -- left just before the army operation and did not yet know of his father's death, she added.

The killings followed the deaths in April of three other ethnic Rakhine men in army custody.

Rights groups have condemned the military's "total impunity".

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

25 October 2018 - 02H02 GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME

by Biodun Iginla, France24, New York (United Nations)

UNITED NATIONS (UNITED STATES) -

A genocide is still underway against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, a UN fact-finding team said Wednesday as it presented a report at the Security Council calling for the matter to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Marzuki Darusman, chair of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, told a press conference that beyond mass killings, the conflict included the ostracization of the targeted population, prevention of births, and widespread displacement in camps.

"It is an ongoing genocide," said Darusman.

"We consider the genocide intent can be reasonably inferred," he added as he presented the team's report at a Security Council meeting called by Western powers but opposed by China and Russia.

The fact-finding mission's explosive 444-page report was first made public last month. It called on the council to refer the Myanmar situation to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, or to create an ad hoc international criminal tribunal, as was done with the former Yugoslavia.

The report said that Myanmar's top generals, including Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, must be investigated and prosecuted for genocide in Rakhine State.

Myanmar has rejected accusations that its military committed atrocities in the crackdown last year that forced 720,000 Rohingya to flee over the border to Bangladesh.

The conflict has also seen some 390 villages destroyed and 10,000 Rohingya killed, said Darusman.

"The conditions are not in place for a safe, dignified and sustainable return of the Rohingyas in Bangladesh," to Myanmar, he warned, adding any attempt would just risk more deaths.

He added Myanmar's internal inquiries have "proven to be ineffective failures" so far.

The UN's Special Envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener added: "Accountability is one of two important pillars for national reconciliation, the other is inclusive dialogue.

"Credible fact-finding is the first step towards accountability."

The Myanmar government rejected the UN mission's findings, questioning its independence and pointing out that it had established itself an independent investigative commission made up of Asian diplomats.

Myanmar maintains that the violence in Rakhine was triggered by Rohingya extremists who attacked border posts in August 2017.