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July 19, 2015 - Issue 1. www.burmatimes.net info@burmatimes.net

Movement restrictions will be over if green card is accepted, say Lawaka

Lawaka officials entered Sidhar

fara in Maungdaw on Wednesday

afternoon.

They asked Rohingya Muslims in

the area to accept the green card

as it would mean an end to all their

troubles.

An official told the Rohingyas that

the government was saddened by

the sufferings of the Muslims and

has thus devised the green card

scheme for them.

The green card is given to

foreigners naturalised by the state.

Rohingyas however claim they are

indigenous to Arakan.

Rohingyas told the Lawaka men

that there was a checkpoint every

kilometer to prevent them from

moving. They expressed fears that

things will not change even with

the green card.

The Lawaka men however claimed

once they accepted the green

card, the movement restrictions

will be over.

Under the laws of Arakan state,

Rohingya Muslims are forbidden

from moving from one area to

another unless authorised by local

authorities. Movement restrictions

have greatly limited livelihood

options for Rohingyas and created

near starvation conditions in many

neighbourhoods.

Starvation in Pauktaw

Starvation is spreading in the Pauktaw IDP camp as hundreds are

simultaneously denied aid and the

right to work.

In October 2012, violence erupted

in the township after blood frenzied

Buddhist mobs attacked Muslims,

mainly from the Kaman community.

The mob engaged in an orgy of

rape and murder driving out the

Muslims from the area.

As things calmed down, many

Muslims, both Kaman and

Rohingyas gradually returned and

settled in an IDP camp built under

government supervision. However

the authorities do not let the

displaced Muslims leave the camps

thus depriving them of any

livelihood option.

However around 500 residents

have been cut off from aid. As a

result, many spend days without

food.

Officials who sympathised with the

plight of Muslims were moved out

after complaints from their

colleagues.

01

02

Rohingya children keep dying in Bangladesh, no access to medical care.

Burma Times Correspondent: July

14, 2015

Rohingya refugees in Shaplapur

say that they suffer from a

complete lack of medical

treatment. The situation is same in

the nearby Leda refugee camp

where Bangladesh government

has halted all aid operations since

March.

Due to an outpour of sympathy

from the world community,

especially Muslims, aid to

Rohingyas in Bangladesh has

increased. But many destitute

refugees say the aid seldom

makes it to them. Even when they

get the aid, as soon as the donors

are gone, they have to pay a

percentage to the community

leaders and religious clerics.

In light of such a situation,

refugees are asking the

international Muslim community

and Rohingya leaders based

abroad if there was any way to

improve medical facilities for the

entire community. That way, there

will be less corruption and

Rohingya refugees will receive

more tangible benefits.

Refugees say if the donors could

establish medical facilities, at least

the number of infant deaths would

most certainly drop.

Many Rohingya children in

Bangladesh die from easily

preventable diseases. Scores

have died this year alone as

parents have been unable to

organise medical treatment.

Segregation in Maungdaw high school.Students in Maungdaw high school have been separated by religious affiliation

following the collapse of the classroom roof.

In the past few days, heavy rain has destroyed the roof of the class ten room.

When the roof started leaking, all the Buddhist students were moved to another

more secure room. But the Rohingya Muslim students are still in the old room

under the broken roof.

Students say they have to do their classes often under the heavy rain and the

remaining portion of the roof can collapse anytime. The head teacher however

said that locals will get preferential treatment over foreigners.

Rohingya students have also been warned not to cross the boundaries of the

school in the break time though Buddhist students have no such restrictions.

Students say before the 2012 riots, there was easy going relationship between

the children of the two communities. But since then, they have been segregated

along religious and ethnic lines. Buddhist children speaking to the Rohingyas

are reprimanded by higher authorities.

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occaecat adipisicing mollit deserunt.

Rights group condemns bill on interfaith marriage. July 10, 2015

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday condemned the bill on interfaith marriage saying the

government was playing with fire.

Its shocking that Burmas parliament has passed yet another incredibly dangerous law, this

time legislating clearly discriminatory provisions targeting the rights of religious minority men

and Buddhist women to marry who they wish without interference, said Phil Robertson,

deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division.

The Buddhist Womens Special Marriage Bill passed Tuesday effectively bars Buddhist

women from marrying men of other religions. The law was passed following campaign by

Buddhist nationalist groups who fear that Muslims are converting Buddhist women to Islam.

03

Living through Ramadan in shelters.Burma Times: By Harun Yahya -15 July 2015

WHILE we are breaking fast at the

plentiful tables of Ramadan, which

inspires tranquillity in our hearts with

its profound spirituality particular to it

and is enjoyed by about 1.5 billion

Muslims, we must not fail to recall our

brothers of faith who are being

oppressed in every corner of the

world.

Without a doubt, the Rohingya

Muslims are among our brothers we

call to mind in every bite.

The world has come to such a state

that innocent people are amassed in

boats and left to die on the high seas

on one hand, while millions of people

are attending meetings in their offices

during the day, messaging each other

via social media, watching television,

eating with friends at a restaurant or

sipping their coffee.

These people, who are struggling to

stay alive for years and have been on

the international agenda time and

again, are the Rohingyas, one of the

most persecuted communities in the

world.

The Rohingyas have been denied

citizenship since 1982 in their own

countries and were given refugee

status on that account. They have

been living as stateless persons ever

since and taking shelter in camps

where eight to 10 families are forced

to reside one within the other.

Recently, the Rohingya people were

impelled to set out on a dreadful

journey to save their lives due to the

overwhelming oppression by the

Buddhist Myanmar administration;

hundreds of them have been set on

fire alive, beaten by the dozens, their

wives and daughters raped and their

property seized.

As a consequence, scores of

Rohingyas crammed onto rickety

boats were towed out to sea to an

unknown destination with nothing but

the clothes on their backs.

The entire world bore witness to the

humanitarian plight of these

unguarded human beings in the 21st

century in a way beyond words while

they remained stranded at sea for two

months on the brink of hunger and

starvation.

What is more, the number of

Rohingyas that were tortured by the

human traffickers and lost their lives

on these boats is estimated to reach

over one thousand. Reactions from

the international arena grew and

Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to

take in the Rohingyas adrift and offer

shelter to them.

The Rohingyas, who were given

temporary shelter and provided with

clothing and food aid, have

expressed their gratitude to the

Indonesians and Malaysians for their

support and how delighted they were

to be able to worship freely and fast

during Ramadan. Nevertheless, their

concern and their longing for their

families they left behind are read in

their faces.

One of the rescued Rohingya

migrants stated that they were taken

out of Myanmar by force in a group of

450 people, not given food most of

the time and stayed alive on only

10kg of rice.

Another one, a 35-year-old teacher,

explained they were rescued off the

coast with around 580 other migrants,

and were thankful to God because a

Muslim country accepted them.

Others, such as 16-year-old

Muhammad Shorif, said he missed

his mothers cooking while he was in

the refugee camp but added that he

was very happy to be in Aceh.

The 13-year-old Muhammad Abdul,

who came ashore by jumping from a

boat, described the horror he

encountered with the following words:

They kept us under the deck in the

boat. We asked for water, but they did

not fetch it.

We were beaten by the guards.

Some were even beaten to death. I

saw that the dead bodies of children

and adults were thrown into the sea.

One of the most intense concerns of

These people, who are struggling to stay alive

for years and have been on the international

agenda time and again, are the Rohingyas, one of the most persecuted

communities in the world..

aid,

gratitude to

Malaysians

have

the

their

...

04

all the Rohingya rescued off the boats

is being sent back to Myanmar again.

Abdul Razik recounts why he does

not want to go back to his homeland:

I never want to go back to my country

again. My home was set afire. The

houses of all my friends here were set

on fire. My mother was burnt alive.

We want to stay here.

On this basis, we have to be mindful

of the fact that Islam is a religion

commanding all Muslims who have

faith in God, a love of God and who

act in the way of God to come

together in unity like a well-built wall

and be guardians of one another.

Therefore, it is the responsibility of all

Muslims in the world to protect and

take care of the Rohingyas who are

so ruthlessly persecuted in their own

land, whose villages and homes are

set on fire, and mothers, fathers and

children are tortured, whose

men are slain in cold blood,

and who are forced to take

shelter in other countries in

difficult conditions.

The Rohingyas held high-

ranking offices as grand

viziers, scribes, governors,

generals and ministers and

contributed significantly to

the political history of their

country for more than 350

years.

However, their Muslim identities were

denied following the 1962 coup, and

they were declared to be foreigners

by means of various propaganda

methods, expelled from their offices

and all their rights and freedoms were

restricted. Turning a blind eye to the

plight of our Rohingya brothers,

whose very right to exist has been

denied to them, would mean

assenting to the oppression of

ruthless rulers.

For that reason, the responsibility

falling upon all believers with good

conscience in every part of the world

is to defend the rights of our brothers

of the Rohingya Muslims just like all

the other innocents who suffer at the

hands of oppression and tyranny and

we must make the utmost effort in

order to put a halt to their

maltreatment and improve their living

conditions.

It is obvious that taking a step to that

end in order to establish public

opinion so that they may win their

rights and carry out the most

influential efforts in that regard is an

obligation for all Muslims.

We are gratified with joy as our love

and devotion to God, our Lord, is

strengthened by means of this holy

month of Ramadan, and we pray and

ask from God for the salvation of all

persecuted Muslims and our

Rohingya brothers during our fast.

Thus, we must never fail to remember

that we need to make utmost effort to

hasten the Islamic Union, which is the

essential principle for the serenity and

security of the Islamic world. This is

how our prayers must be so that we

can put behind us the separation and

resentment between Muslims and

establish unity as soon as possible.

The writer has authored

more than 300 books

translated in 73 languages

on politics, religion and

science. He may be followed

at @Harun_Yahya and

www.harunyahya.com

Living through Ramadan in shelters.......

from page 3

05

November 8 is election day

The date for the much-anticipated

election has been set at November 8,

according to Burmas Union Election

Commission (UEC). Despite a playing

field heavily tilted in favour of the

military backed reformist regime, this

is the first time in more than two

decades a competitive election is

taking place amidst much excitement

both locally and internationally.

The main opposition party NLD which

commands wide support among much

of the populace has however not

confirmed its participation. Without the

participation of the NLD, the election

will lose significance. The leader of

the party Aung Saan Suu Kyi is barred

from standing as president.

Meanwhile recent reports indicate

reformist president Thein Sein might

stand for another term.

Altogether 1,171 seats will be

contested between the Union

Parliament and regional legislatures.

Teenager tortured on

false rape allegations

A teenager has been tortured by BGP

on false allegations of rape in Merulla,

Maungdaw South.

On Monday, 15 year Anwar Sadek

was arrested by the BGP on

allegations of raping a 17 year

woman.

Our sources however confirm the

woman was forced into a sexual

relationship with a local BGP

commander who threatened to kill her

father if she refused.

The woman is now four months

pregnant. Neighbours have long

known about the threats of the BGP

commander and his nightly visits to

the womans home.

The BGP commander advised the

woman to marry the teenager and

claim that Sadek had committed the

rape.

Sadek was released on Wednesday

after being continuously tortured.

Police arrest Mandalay

Muslim activist

Police arrested a Muslim peace

activist in Mandalay on Tuesday.

Zaw Zaw Latt was accused of

having links with a blacklisted

organisation.

Visitors have been refused access

to meet him.

Zaw Zaw Latt is a member of Thint

Myat Lo Thu Myar, which works to

promote harmony between

different religious groups.

In recent years, a small number of

activists from all religions have

taken a stand against the hatred

preached by Buddhist nationalists.

However, the nationalist lobby has

more influence with the regime

and has been popular among

large segments of the populace.

Burma Times Desk Report: July 09, 2015