‘Rohingya want to see peacekeepers’

[Banglar Bir]

‘Rohingya want to see peacekeepers’ says UN source
www.thestateless.com/2017/10/rohingya-want-to-see-peacekeepers-says-un-source.html

UN human rights spokesman says refugees from violence in Myanmar demand protection
By Fatih Erel / AA
GENEVA: A UN human rights spokesman on Friday told Anadolu Agency Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar wanted to see a peacekeeping force protecting them.

Rupert Colville said there was “an obvious need for the international community, whether it is the UN Security Council, an individual state or so on, to absolutely find a way out of this situation, and the only possible solution is that the Rohingya are allowed to go back home.”

He also said there should be a political and security response to violence Myanmar: “In order to be safe, Rohingya refugees would like to see peacekeeping operation.”

“The international community needs to deal with that. This is a very, very serious situation. You cannot let an entire population be ethnically cleansed into neighboring countries,” Colville added.

“Clearly, there should be international action. Interestingly, some of the refugees do highlight they would like to have full citizenship and safety to return to Rakhine state [in Myanmar],” he said.

So far, the UN has not considered sending a peacekeeping force to Myanmar to end the violence, despite numerous reports saying attacks on Rohingya Muslims have been a concerted, well-organized campaign explicitly meant to push them out of the country into Bangladesh and block their return.

The humanitarian operations of some of UN agencies, including UNICEF, have been halted in northern Rakhine state because of the violence and security concerns.

The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings — including of infants and young children — brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.

According to UN, landmines were planted after Aug. 25 on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh in order to prevent the Rohingya population from returning.

The refugees are fleeing a military operation in Myanmar which has seen security forces and Buddhist mobs killing men, women and children, looting homes, and torching Rohingya villages.

 

[tarpitz]

But your text books revealed the truth.
RIP Monkey.

http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...-appears-endorse-myanmar-propaganda-rohingya/

 

[Banglar Bir]

http://www.dhakatribune.com/banglad...-appears-endorse-myanmar-propaganda-rohingya/

Yes,as most of our School books were printed in India by the RAWami BAL Government.Now the real truth:
Fight the lie with the truth
Forrest Cookson, October 10, 2017

Nothing short of crimes against humanity. Photo: SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
The truth about Myanmar must be told, 10,000 times
10 years, the government of Myanmar has committed genocide against the Rohingya people. This is not a complicated issue, it is a straightforward instance of one religion, Buddhism, abusing and killing members of another, Islam.

It is a remarkable act of bravado; Buddhism is the one major religion that, the Pew survey is reporting, is declining in number of members, whereas Islam, already with many more members, is gaining conversions faster than any other religious faith. The Muslim world is far more powerful than the Buddhist.

The nation that bears the immediate cost of Myanmar’s actions is Bangladesh. In a previous article “The great lie,” I estimated that with another 600,000 Rohingya likely to cross the border in 2017, there will be a total of more than one million refugees here in Bangladesh.
The great lie
To maintain these refugees at a minimum level of economic welfare is going to cost $200 million per year.

Myanmar is waging war against Bangladesh. Exporting a tremendous economic and security burden.

The previous article argued that Bangladesh should bring a legal case against the leaders of Myanmar, accusing and proving them guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. The objective should be to see them jailed for life.

This will take a long time, as the strength of the international judicial system is still weak. This legal approach is important but it is not enough. The great lie must be fought with truth telling.

The resources of China and Russia are lined up against Bangladesh on this to say nothing of Thailand and India.

But this is still not enough. The presence of a large number of desperate refugees is also a threat to national security. If the refugees do turn in their frustration to an extreme view of Islam, it will be dangerous for Bangladesh.
No turning back
The first task is to settle these people in refugee camps, to insure that there is a secular school system put in place and to find ways to put the refugees to work.

The school system should be built on the best teachers one can find among the refugees [who should receive a salary for their work].

Text books in the Rohingya language can be prepared and used. The refugees should contribute to their upkeep. It is very unlikely that the Myanmar government will ever accept them back.

The leaders are cruel, desperate individuals who have failed their nation. Planning for the refugees must be realistic and should assume that there is no returning them.

What is a sensible program? First, to tackle all the major countries of the world and get them to accept some of these refugees. Perhaps in a period of five years it might be possible to get half of them resettled.

But to do so several things are going to be necessary. During the interim period, the children must be schooled, careful security rules must be in place to ensure that the authorities have blocked infiltration by Muslim fundamentalists preaching violence, and the population must contribute to their own upkeep.

These are difficult objectives but it is likely that there will be support from Islamic countries and perhaps the Western nations.

It is the North American and European states that have to be persuaded to accept some of the refugees, so it is important to prepare along the lines that they want. Some Islamic states will probably also agree to take some of the refugees.

Such actions will be opposed by China, India, and Russia. But this will ultimately be achieved to their disadvantage. Bangladesh should stand for its own interests and openly tout the fact that these nations are supporting genocide.
Myanmar cannot be trusted
Another tricky area is relations with Myanmar. There is no doubt that the actions of the Myanmar government are equivalent to an act of war. Sending one million persons across the border is a clear attempt to harm and destabilise Bangladesh. It cannot go unanswered.

Myanmar cannot be trusted. The Bangladesh army should be deployed along the border, the readiness level of the divisions upgraded with additional manpower, equipment, war fighting ammunition stocks, and a clear policy to push back against any violation of the border.

This should include shooting down any Myanmar helicopter that comes into Bangladesh airspace, shooting back at any Myanmar security force-shooting into Bangladesh, and actively helping refugees being abused within one mile of the border on the Myanmar side.

The prime minister has worked to build up the armed forces; these can now be used to protect the country against this aggression.

The Bangladesh Border Guard does not have the weapons to present a plausible deterrent to Myanmar army.

The development of genocide and crimes against humanity must be systematically argued and presented. With the UN General Assembly just past us,this is the time to put forth the strong case against Myanmar.

This is the time to fight the spreading of the great lie. This is the time to force the rest of the world to recognise what has been done here and to demand that they stand with Bangladesh.

We can expect the Russians and the Chinese to stand strongly with Myanmar and to propagate the great lie. But most nations will see this for what it is and support Bangladesh.

To fight the great lie, the truth must be told 10,000 times. An active public relations policy should be followed to achieve this.

It is particularly urgent for the Bangladesh government to take control of the support for the refugees and do a superior job.
In the hand of the government
At present, most of the work is being done by Islamic organisations. Bangladesh is a secular state where Islam is the dominant, important religion. Hence the management of the Rohingya welfare, education, and financing must be in the hands of the government.

Assistance from NGOs or religious groups should be allowed only with well defined rules.

No time should be wasted in gaining control of the refugee situation.

Left unattended, the refugee crisis is going to become increasingly difficult as it will be the target for recruitment by violent Islamic groups.

The western countries will refuse to take any refugees and there will be continuing trouble from criminal activities.

The nation may be stuck with all of these refugees indefinitely.

One issue that is very difficult is the question of the ARSA, the Arakan Salvation Army. Should covert support to this group be provided in return for guidance and partial control? I do not know the answer to this, but it needs to be considered by the Bangladesh security leaders.

Bangladesh’s security, economic stability, and religious equilibrium depend on the government playing a strong hand, gaining control of the management of the refugees, defending the border, and publicly arguing the case for crimes against humanity and genocide.

It is no surprise that China and Russia are supporting Myanmar and trumpeting the great lie. These nations have never had a moral particle in their political stances, both have killed millions of their own citizens to further maintaining power.

But it is shameful that India is taking the side of Myanmar and putting forth the great lie. India will try to manipulate the PM to agree with their side. But India will never succeed in this.

Her strong upholding of the secular state while understanding the central importance of Islam will protect Bangladesh from those proclaiming the great lie.
Forrest Cookson is an American economist.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/10/10/fight-lie-truth/

 

[Banglar Bir]

 

[Banglar Bir]

UN rights chief threatens to push for intervention over Myanmar's Rohingya crisis
Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, The UN human rights chief, is threatening to seek the Security Council's intervention if the perpetrators of the Rohingya crisis are not punished. Al-Hussein spoke with Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna.

https://www.facebook.com/

 

[Michael Corleone]

UN rights chief threatens to push for intervention over Myanmar's Rohingya crisis
Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, The UN human rights chief, is threatening to seek the Security Council's intervention if the perpetrators of the Rohingya crisis are not punished. Al-Hussein spoke with Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna.

https://www.facebook.com/

He has no power... China, Russia will continue vetoing them out. But if peacekeepers are sent, that should help stop violence against them... we must make sure our troops can go over to protect them. Shame really if your own countries army (Burmese military) fails to protect their own people.

 

[Banglar Bir]

Rohingya crisis: Opt for multilateral negotiation
Interminable influx into Bangladesh of thousands of Rohingya Muslims—-whose number is approaching 600,000—-seems not to stop as Myanmar’s trigger-happy military in tandem with 87.9 per cent Therav?da Buddhist slaughterers are hell-bent on exterminating and hounding out the entire minority Muslims.

The UN, the EU, the OIC, Malaysia are ardently active to combine forces with Dhaka; but our Government and Foreign Ministry appear to be inconspicuous and diffident and are acting rather slowly, sporadically and in fits and starts.

Common sense dictates that our diplomatic machinery needs a shot in the arm and stimulus to mobilise world opinion for which PM Hasina should personally meet heads of governments of Russia, China, the US, UK, France i.e. all the UNSC permanent members so that they take steps with due seriousness and urgency.

Home Minister is leaving for Yangon on October 23, but it is hard to say if it would be useful.
If our Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali thinks the crisis can be solved bilaterally then it may perhaps be a pipe dream. We do not think he will cut any ice in dealing with a neighbour where the rulers are bloodthirsty hook, line, and sinker regarding Muslims.
We see no wisdom in pursuing bilateral approach to such a colossal behemoth of a crisis, so we wish to reiterate that involvement of the UN, Mr. Kofi Annan, the EU and the OIC is a must.

Suu Kyi has opened the way for people like Wirathu to act with absolute impunity.
Ashin Wirathu, the monk who dubs himself the “Burmese bin Laden” and leads the viciously anti-Muslim 1969 Movement.
Wirathu had recently visited Rakhine State, giving hate-filled anti-Muslim speeches to crowds of thousands in which he calls for expelling the Muslims from the country. [Vide The Rohingya and Myanmar’s ‘Buddhist Bin Laden’ by Alex Preston, 12 February 2015 gq-magazine.co.uk/ article/myanmar-rohingya-muslim-burma]

Although the rulers of Myanmar misrepresent the history, to set the record straight, the Rohingyas have had a well established presence in Burma since the twelfth century.

The Rohingya were once counted as a part of the Mrauk-U (Mrohaung) kingdom in Arakan which stood independent of both the Burman kingdoms in the Irrawaddy delta and central Burma as well as Bengal and the Moguls to the west. Muslim traders came to the area in the eighth century when the local dynasty was seated at Wesali, not far from contemporary Mrauk-U and some of the traders settled along the shores. More Muslim sailors made their way to the Arakan region during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

In the 1400s, when Mrauk-U was invaded by forces of the Burman kingdom at Ava, King Narmeikhla sought help from Bengaland expelled the invaders with the help of a Muslim army. The link between Bengal and Mrauk-U from this point solidified, to the extent that the Mrauk-U king began to use Muslim court titles along with traditional ones.
Buddhist kings ruled Mrauk-U but Muslim officials often played a significant role in the court. Indeed, the inclusion of a variety of ethnic minority and religious officers in courts was a common practice throughout the mainland Southeast Asian sub-region. [Vide hrw.org/reports/2000/burma/burm005-01.htm]

Meanwhile, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs has viewed dozens of burned and destroyed villages in northern Rakhine during his recent tour by air, and called on Myanmar to investigate allegations of human rights abuses by security forces.

The final report of the Advisory Commission chaired by Kofi Annan dated 23 August puts forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine State. It builds on the Commission’s interim report released in March of this year. [Vide rakhinecommission.org/the-final-report/]

The Commission members have travelled extensively throughout Rakhine State, and held meetings in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Geneva.

The final report—-the outcome of over 150 consultations and meetings held by the Advisory Commission since its launch in September 2016—- addresses in depth a broad range of structural issues that are impediments to the peace and prosperity of Rakhine State.
Several recommendations focus specifically on citizenship verification, rights and equality before the law, documentation, the situation of the internally displaced and freedom of movement, which affect the Muslim population disproportionately.

Kofi Annan believes the recommendations, along with the interim report, can trace a path to lasting peace and respect for the rule of law in Rakhine State.

Whether or not a coincidence, a twist of fate or an adverse turn of events, Rohingya crisis intensified as Indian PM Modi arrived in Burma for talks. [Vide Max Bearak’s report, 2017 September 5, washington post .com /…/wp/ rohingya-crisis -intensifies- as-indias-modi-arrives -in-burma-for-talks].

Again, in Susma Swaraj’s “very short meeting” with Sheikh Hasina in New York “the Rohingya crisis did not come up for discussion”. Why on earth the best friend and closest neighbour looks the other way while Dhaka is literally in dire straits?

What is more, India is pushing Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh. “Our directions are very clear, and that is to push all Rohingyas into Bangladesh”, said an Indian border guard in West Bengal [Vide dailymail.co.uk/ indiahome/ India news/ article -4981898/ Bangladesh-steps- security-India-border-Rohingya-fears.html, dated 15 October 2017].

Given that two of the five permanent members in the UN Security Council refused to adopt any motion to take decisive action against Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas, the world community is yet to reach a consensus.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s five-point plan deserves to be mulled over with due seriousness by the UN.
Besides, the Kofi Annan Commission’s recommendations made earlier have to be implemented in letter and spirit.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=4&date=0#Tid=14935

 

[UKBengali]

He has no power... China, Russia will continue vetoing them out. But if peacekeepers are sent, that should help stop violence against them... we must make sure our troops can go over to protect them. Shame really if your own countries army (Burmese military) fails to protect their own people.

The Myanmar military is the one killing and raping the Rohingyas.

This situation will only be fixed by northern Arakan seceding from Myanmar. BD will have to annex that territory to provide protection for Rohingya.

 

[Banglar Bir]

12:00 AM, October 25, 2017 / LAST MODIFIED: 12:26 AM, October 25, 2017
Case for a UN Interim Administration in Rakhine

Photo: Reuters/ Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Farhaan Uddin Ahmed
The Myanmar military's latest campaign against the Rohingyas began after the attack on multiple police posts in Rakhine on August 25, 2017. The country's military leadership, with the support of radical Buddhist elements, is perpetrating an “ethnic cleansing” campaign killing, raping, maiming, and setting ablaze one Rohingya village after another.
Nearly 600,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed into Bangladesh within a span of two months. The world has not witnessed such a large exodus of people in such a short period since the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
As a result of this brutal campaign, the majority of Rohingyas are now residing in Bangladesh.

The situation has been further aggravated by the fact that host Bangladesh is itself a poor country, with a high population density, and that the country's southeast region is not the most geographically accessible area, with hilly terrains and lack of proper infrastructure.
All these factors have culminated in a crisis that has potentially high political, economic, and social costs for Bangladesh.
Despite that, it has continued to keep its borders open for the Rohingyas and has been doing as much as possible to meet their basic needs.

Of late, the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar have been negotiating the repatriation of the Rohingyas, although it is not clear yet whether the negotiations will bear any fruit. However, mere repatriation, without addressing the causes that led to the persecution in the first place, will not guarantee the rights and safety of the returnees. After repatriation, it is quite likely that the Rohingyas will continue to suffer because of the deep-seated hatred and hostility that has been sown into the Burmese society by the radical Buddhist elements.

Additionally, most of their homes have been decimated; hence, for the Rohingyas, repatriation at this stage would mean being transferred from one camp (in Bangladesh) to another (in Myanmar). Therefore, the best possible way to ensure a lasting peace and reconciliation would be to establish a UN Interim Administration in the Rakhine.

A UN Interim Administration supported by a UN Peacekeeping Force could be established with a specific mandate to:
a) maintain peace and security,
b) support humanitarian efforts, and
c) oversee the implementation of the recommendations made by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State in its Final Report (Kofi Annan Report).

Implementation of the Kofi Annan Report is vital to ensure that there is a possibility of lasting peace in Rakhine. The Report's recommendations deal with issues of citizenship, freedom of movement, humanitarian access, access to media, health, education, security, and justice for the Rohingyas.
In time, a permanent UN Observer Mission could be established to monitor the maintenance of peace and security in the long run.

Such a mechanism is not without precedent in history.

UN peacekeeping missions and interim administrations are established through UN Security Council Resolutions by the exercise of powers enunciated in Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
There are numerous instances of the establishment of UN Interim Administrations to maintain security and oversee the transition to peace.
UN Interim Administrations in East Timor, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo are some well-known examples.
Such interventions are generally supported by a Peacekeeping Force and the Interim Administration is headed by a Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), who is endowed with legislative and executive authority, including the administration of justice so as to be able to implement the mandate.

Of course, Myanmar could unilaterally set up “safe zones” which could be monitored by the International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations or some other international bodies. But such a move by the Myanmar government seems quite improbable, meaning the onus now is on the UN to exercise its Chapter VII powers.

That said, there are concerns that Russia and/or China may veto such a motion in the Security Council. This is where international politics and diplomacy come into play.

Bangladesh and the supporters of such measures must allay the geopolitical concerns of Russia and China.
Russia would most likely not veto such a measure as long as China does not, since Russian geopolitical interests in the region are quite different from that of China. However, China is quite unlikely to support the measure since it fears losing its foothold in Myanmar to its geopolitical rival India.

India has been supporting the Myanmar government from the beginning and has steered away from condemning the military's actions in Rakhine, hoping that it would be able to counter China's influence in Myanmar.

But India is also facing increasing pressure from its northeastern states over the influx of refugees; its civil society and the general public have been also quite critical of its position.

Now, if both India and China publicly take the same stance on the issue of UN intervention, then neither would risk losing much ground in regional geopolitics to the other.

In the Security Council, it is not necessary for China and/or Russia to actively support the measure.
A Security Council resolution to intervene would be passed even if they abstain or do not participate in the voting, which has been the case on numerous occasions in the past.

This would, in turn, maintain the current geopolitical balance while providing the Rohingyas a much-needed respite from the persecution.
The world stood by and allowed such atrocities to take place in the past—in Bosnia and Rwanda. It cannot allow the same thing to happen again.
Farhaan Uddin Ahmed is a researcher of international law and legal theory, and lecturer at the School of Law, BRAC University.
Email: farhaan17@gmail.com
http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/perspective/case-un-interim-administration-rakhine-1481185

 

[Banglar Bir]

Draft UN resolution pressures Myanmar over Rohingya crisis
Agence France-Presse | Published: 08:45, Oct 26,2017

Nurij, 65, an exhausted Rohingya refugee woman is carried by fellow villagers to a port after crossing from Myanmar, in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, October 25, 2017. — Reuters photo
The UN Security Council is weighing a draft resolution that would pressure Myanmar to address the violence that has driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee, according to the text obtained by AFP on Wednesday.

The proposed resolution, drafted by Britain and France, would call on Myanmar authorities to ‘immediately cease military operations’ and allow refugees now living in makeshift camps in Bangladesh to return.

The six-page text does not threaten sanctions, but lays out a series of concrete demands.

But diplomats said the draft resolution, which would be the first formal response from the top UN body, faces strong opposition from China and they expect tough negotiations ahead to reach agreement.

‘The Chinese are not on board,’ said a Security Council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘They want us to say nothing and do nothing on this issue.’

China, a supporter of Myanmar's former ruling junta, maintains that it is using private channels to pass on the message that the violence must end and the refugee crisis must be addressed, according to diplomats.

Since late August, more than 600,000 Rohingyas have fled an army campaign in Myanmar's Rakhine state that the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar authorities say the military operation is aimed at rooting out Rohingya militants who staged attacks on police posts two months ago.

The draft resolution condemns the violence in Rakhine state and attacks by Rohingya militants, while expressing ‘grave concern that the Myanmar security forces and vigilantes have been responsible for human rights violations and abuses.’

It calls on Myanmar to allow humanitarian aid workers safe access to Rakhine state, where Rohingyas who managed to escape the army campaign are now fleeing amid dire food shortages.

The draft resolution also demands that UN rights investigators be allowed access to Rakhine to report on allegations of atrocities, and calls for the appointment of a UN special advisor on Myanmar.

And it urges Myanmar to implement the recommendations of a commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan that said the Rohingya should be granted citizenship rights.

The 1.1 million Rohingyas have faced decades of discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and have been denied citizenship since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless.

Rights groups have accused the Security Council of dragging its feet on Myanmar and are calling for tougher measures, such as an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against those responsible for the attacks against the Rohingya.

Addressing the General Assembly's committee on human rights, UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee of South Korea said the council should adopt a ‘strong resolution’ to tackle a potential threat to the region.

‘The crisis in Rakhine state has not only been decades in the making, but has been spilling over and continues to spill over beyond Myanmar's borders,’ said Lee.

‘For a very long time now, this issue has not been simply a domestic affair.’

A recent report by the UN human rights office accused Myanmar of seeking to permanently expel the Rohingya by planting land mines at the border with Bangladesh where the refugees are sheltering.

UN rights officials spoke to refugees who gave accounts of soldiers surrounding homes and firing indiscriminately as residents ran for their lives, and of uniformed men gang-raping women and girls.
http://www.newagebd.net/article/26976/draft-un-resolution-pressures-myanmar-over-rohingya-crisis

 

[bdslph]

if its comes to peace keepers by UN then at least 10 k peacekeepers will be needed

 

[Banglar Bir]

if its comes to peace keepers by UN then at least 10 k peacekeepers will be needed

I foresee NO problems here ,BA troops in Blue helmet ops,under an U.N Commander's direct supervision could be deployed in his volatile region along with other Global Peacekeepers.

 

[Banglar Bir]

Rohingya need a guarantee of safety
Tribune Editorial
Published at 05:52 PM October 25, 2017
Last updated at 06:41 PM October 25, 2017

Aung San Suu Kyi has said the Myanmar government has started the repatriation process of Rohingya who have crossed over to the Bangladesh side
Aung San Suu Kyi has said the Myanmar government has started the repatriation process of Rohingya who have crossed over to the Bangladesh side.

But what will really be the fate of the 600,000 refugees — people who have fled Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing operations — once they are repatriated to a country which does not recognise them as rightful citizens?
Will the killing stop?
If repatriation does happen, of course, it should happen under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s five-point proposal, and the recommendations of Kofi Annan’s advisory commission.

As it stands, we must be thoroughly sceptical of what Myanmar has promised to do.

Global watchdog Human Rights Watch has reported that Myanmar has been setting up camps for the refugees, which would effectively function as open air detention camps.

We must also take seriously HRW’s fear that the movement of the Rohingya will be severely restricted, and they may be deprived of basic day-to-day necessities.

In short, they will be no better off than they were before, which is why so many Rohingya say they want to stay back in Bangladesh in spite of what is promised.

To make sure Rohingya rights are being upheld, the safe zones proposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina must be set up properly and enforced.

To that end, UN agencies and other groups should be granted full access to Myanmar, in and around these safe zones, to ensure more human rights violations are not taking place.
If Myanmar means what it says, then it should have nothing to hide.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/opinion/editorial/2017/10/25/repatriation-makes-sense-killing-stops/

 

[Banglar Bir]

'Rohingya crisis spinning out of control'
Reuters . London | Update: 00:12, Oct 27, 2017

A combination of escalating violence, worsening health and poor access to conflict zones in Myanmar's Rakhine state is fueling a humanitarian crisis that is "spinning out of control", senior aid officials said on Thursday.

"We've seen a massive increase in violence not just between armed actors but also civilians, which is tearing families apart and leaving people to feel completely abandoned and disenfranchised," Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed the border to neighbouring Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when coordinated Rohingya insurgent attacks on security posts sparked a ferocious counter-offensive by the Myanmar army.

The United Nations says killings, arson and rape carried out by troops and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist mobs amount to a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya.

"I worry that this continued context of fear and violence is spinning out of control and will only lead to displacement of more people," Maurer said.

Myanmar has blocked humanitarian agencies apart from Red Cross organisations from accessing the northern part of Rakhine state in western Myanmar, where the conflict worsened at the end of August.

"Being one of the only actors able to operate in Myanmar presents a considerable challenge in terms of accessing villages and knowing where displaced people are," Maurer said.

"Some of my colleagues have had to walk for six-seven hours to a village, only to find it's been deserted," he said, although he added the Myanmar authorities had recently authorised Red Cross staff to use two helicopters to better track displaced people.

Maurer said high levels of inter-communal violence meant that aid workers were sometimes met with a "mixed reception" by communities and had to take "extreme care to convince people that we are not here to take anyone's side".
'NO END IN SIGHT'
The humanitarian crisis is compounded by a worsening health situation, experts say.

Nipin Gangadharan, Bangladesh country director at aid organisation Action Against Hunger, said refugees arriving in Bangladesh were "taking a longer time to get here because of the constant violence, so their health is deteriorating significantly."

"We're seeing rising levels of malnutrition, particularly among children, and people who survive on one meal a day," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, adding that his organisation was treating malnourished children and providing mental health support to refugees suffering from trauma.

"There's no end in sight to the conflict, so us humanitarian actors are in it for the long run," Gangadharan said.

Maurer shared his view, saying that "we're still in emergency response mode, handing out survival kits, two months after the conflict escalated."
"I fear that's still going to be the case for the next few weeks."
http://en.prothom-alo.com/bangladesh/news/164471/Rohingya-crisis-spinning-out-of-control-Aid