UN Human Rights Envoy visits some affected villages of Maungdaw north today

By Mir Ahmed Siddiquee
The UN Human Rights envoy, Ms. Yanghee Lee has visited some of the violence affected villages of Maungdaw north today, 15 January 2017.

It is 5th visit of Ms. Yanghee Lee to Myanmar since her appointment as an UN Rights Envoy to observe the human rights situation in many states, particularly Arakan where gross human rights violations continued by government of Myanmar.

She has visited Wa Baik village of Kyi Kan Pyin (Khawarbil) village tract, Pyon Pike village of Ngasa Kyu (Nysa Furu) village tract, Nga Khuya village tract, Sin Thae Pyin village of Long Doon village tract of Maungdaw north and met with many victims of violence where hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed and arrested, hundreds of women sexually raped and thousands of homes have been burned to ash. Local source said the victims have talked to Lee freely about their sufferings and submitted evidences too.

Local sources said from Nga Khu Ya village tract, her interpreter is not truly interpreting the villagers arguments. Villagers said, while mother of Jinna Khan said about her son was killed and 2 of grand-son were also arrested by Myanmar authorities, the interpreter changed the subject as "two of her grand-sons were left to Bangladesh for the fear of death." The reality is 2 of her grand-sons were arrested and still no information about either they are alive or killed."     

The U.N. human rights envoy for Myanmar arrived in tense Rakhine state on Friday, where Myanmar soldiers are accused of widespread abuses such as torture, raping women and killing of civilians including burning of thousands of homes in Maungdaw north.

U.N. rapporteur Yanghee Lee began a three-day visit to western Myanmar to investigate the situation in northern Rakhine, where an army crackdown has forced an estimated 65,000 people to flee to Bangladesh in the past three months.

The crackdown began in October after nine policemen were killed in attacks by a shadowy group along the border. The army denies any abuses, but Rohingya sympathizers say hundreds of civilians have been killed. The claim cannot be independently verified because authorities have limited access of aid workers and journalists to the area. Official figures put the death toll under 100 and don’t make clear the circumstances under which the deaths took place.

Lee is on a 12-day visit to Myanmar at the invitation of the government, during which she is to meet political and community leaders, representatives of civil society, victims of human rights violations and members of the international community. Lee said she will present a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council in March.

On Friday, Lee visited the Rakhine capital, Sittwe, in the southern portion of the state, where she said she was hopeful she could get permission to visit the most affected area in the north.

Ms Lee in Aung Mingalar, Sittwe

She visited an enclave in Sittwe where 4,000 Rohingya are confined, but residents there were pessimistic that her mission would improve their situation.

“We want to tell her about the difficulties we have here. We are so much in trouble. We have been living in here like in prison for almost five years,” said Tin Soe, a 46-year-old Rohingya man in the Aung Mingalar community.

Ms.Lee in Aung Mingalar, Sittwe

“In five years, there have been many things that the government and international communities are doing, but nothing has changed for us here,” he said, adding that only Myanmar’s government could improve their conditions.

“We have been living here for generations and the government keeps saying that we are not citizens of this country. It really hurts me. We should have our citizens’ rights,” he said.

Forty-year-old Zaw Zaw, another Aung Mingalar resident, also questioned why nothing had changed despite several previous visits by Lee to the area.

“We live here without any freedom inside this area, which is like living inside a box. We are all controlled in many different ways under the law by the government,” he said. “My potential is wasted because I am not allowed to work anywhere.”

This is Lee’s fifth mission to Myanmar. Previous visits provoked the wrath of extreme Buddhist nationalists. One, a firebrand monk named Wirathu, branded her a “whore” after she criticized laws on race and religion.

The crisis in Rakhine state has been the biggest test for the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi since it took power last year.

“We understand that the current government is also facing a lot of challenges but as a government, they should grant our rights as citizens who were born here. This is what we are requesting,” Zaw Zaw said.

Sources: Local WhatsApp and WeChat media, confirmed through phone call by author.