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| A camp outside the Ralhine State capital, Sittwe, for Rohingyas displaced by violence in 2012. CREDIT: David Longstreath/IRIN) |
EXCLUSIVE: UN warns Myanmar that demolishing Rohingya homes
will ‘heighten tensions’
The UN has warned authorities
that plan to demolish hundreds of homes belonging to ethnic minority Rohingya
Muslims will “heighten tensions” in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where the military
is accused of abusing civilians during counterinsurgency operations.
The warning came in a 28 December letter, obtained by IRIN
and addressed to Rakhine State Chief Minister Nyi Pu. It said that more than
100 structures have already been destroyed, and the UN has “received reports
that the Border Guard Police have served orders to demolish 819 buildings owned
by Muslims, including 696 houses.”
The UN is also concerned about a “household survey” underway
in areas where tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled military operations,
according to the letter. The survey could mean that the displaced are struck
from the official list of residents, leaving them unable to legally return home
once the violence stops.
UN officials have confirmed the authenticity of the letter,
which was signed by the UN’s senior advisor on Rakhine State, Chris Carter.
In the letter, Carter called the demolitions and the survey
“provocative”.
The demolitions and survey are taking place in northern
Rakhine State, where the military has been conducting "clearing
operations" after a Rohingya insurgent group attacked border police posts
on 9 October. Rohingya who fled over the border into Bangladesh have told
journalists and rights groups that soldiers have committed widespread
atrocities, including burning houses, as well as raping and killing civilians.
SEE: Myanmar says Rohingya rape
and abuse allegations “made up”, despite mounting evidence
Government confusion
Demolitions are not unusual in Myanmar, where laws require
the destruction of structures built without permits. But there is confusion
among government officials as to why the survey and demolitions are taking
place now, while the military is clashing with insurgents and about 80,000
civilians have been displaced.
“We already told them to hold their plan in this very
sensitive situation,” said Zaw Htay, a spokesman for the office of President
Htin Kyaw, referring to orders given to state officials. “The central
government has already intervened.”
A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IRIN
the UN has received similar assurances from the central government, but
structures are still being destroyed.
“We are still trying to determine whether the ongoing
demolitions are just actions by rogue local officials... or a more calculated
move by others,” the official said.
Tin Maung Shwe, the deputy director for Rakhine State at the
central government’s powerful General Administration Department, told IRIN
there has been “a misunderstanding at the grassroots level”.
“We are making inquiries,” he added.
Growing tensions
Rohingya Muslims comprise about a third of Rakhine State’s
population of just over three million, where the majority are ethnic Rakhine
Buddhists. There have long been tensions between the communities, and violence
in 2012 killed hundreds of people and displaced about 140,000. Almost all the
victims were Rohingya, and about 100,000 still remain in camps.
Almost all Rohingya are stateless, having had their
citizenship stripped by Myanmar’s former military rulers. Although Rohingya
have lived in the area for hundreds of years, many in Myanmar consider them
illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. They are forced to live under
an apartheid system in which their movements are strictly controlled.
Rakhine State conducts the household survey on a yearly
basis for the purpose of monitoring the Rohingya community. Only those on the
“household lists” produced by this exercise are eligible to reside in their
homes.
“It usually takes place in January in northern Rakhine, but
began in November this year,” said the UN official. “It's not happening
elsewhere in Rakhine at this time, only in the three northern townships.”
The three northern townships of Rathedaung, Buthidaung and
Maungdaw have been highly militarised since 9 October. The townships are home
to most of the state’s Rohingya – and all of those displaced by the
counter-insurgency operations. That means tens of thousands of people who have
fled their villages could be made permanently homeless, since they can’t take
part in the survey.
The decision to conduct a household survey now and destroy
homes will have the effect of “heightening a state-led campaign of atrocity
crimes and ethnic cleansing,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify
Rights, a group that has recently collected testimonies from Rohingya of
atrocities committed by soldiers.
“If they aren't on the list, they will have no choice but to
flee to Bangladesh,” he told IRIN. “Giving people no option but to flee the
country can be considered forced deportation.”
The UN has similar concerns. The letter refers to reports
that the “names of missing people identified by the new household survey are
being permanently struck from the household lists.”
More than 50,000 Rohingya have fled into neighbouring
Bangladesh in the past three months, according to the
government there, while the UN has said another 30,000 people are internally
displaced.
As many as half a million Rohingya are already living in
overcrowded camps Bangladesh, having crossed the border during attacks against
their communities since the 1970s.