Mob in Western Myanmar Kills Rohingya despite Police
Guards
The New York Times
July 4, 2017
YANGON, Myanmar — A mob in Myanmar's western Rakhine
State killed a member of the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority and injured six
others who were on a police-guarded trip Tuesday from the displacement camp
where they live to the city that many Rohingya were forced to flee five years
ago.
The seven were given a ride by police to the dock area of
Sittwe, the Rakhine capital, to purchase some boats. The Rohingya are normally
confined to the camp, and police provide rides in a closed truck to both
restrict and protect them.
A police officer and one of the men said the group was
attacked by about 100 members of the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group, whose
violent assaults in 2012 drove most Rohingya residents from their Sittwe homes.
Communal tensions have not eased much since the 2012
violence, which killed hundreds and drove about 140,000 people — predominantly
Rohingya — to camps for the internally displaced, where most remain. The
Rohingya face severe discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where they
are widely regarded as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh stealing Myanmar
land, although many have been settled in the country for generations.
Violence in recent years has been more widespread in
northern Rakhine, where there is a bigger Rohingya population but spread across
unguarded villages. Last October, the army launched counterinsurgency
operations there after the killing of nine border guards. U.N. human rights
investigators and independent rights organizations charge that soldiers and
police killed and raped civilians and burned down more than 1,000 homes during
the operations.
The camps near Sittwe are generally safer from attack but
with unhealthy conditions and little chance to make a living. The Dar Paing
camp from which Tuesday's victims came houses about 8,000 people. A small group
of Rohingya remain in Sittwe in a closed-off ghetto.
"As one of the Kalars got off from the truck and was
talking to another guy, some of the Rakhine Buddhists started shouting 'the
Kalars are entering the city' and attracted the mob," police officer Phyo
Wai Kyaw told The Associated Press. "Kalar" is a widely used
derogatory term referring to Rohingya.
"The Rakhine started beating the Muslims up. One of
the Kalars died on the spot and six were taken right away to the hospital. The
two police guarding the Muslim guys couldn't do anything as it was a big mob.
The mob even followed the injured guys to the Sittwe hospital. The hospital
gate needed to be shut because of the big mob."
Abdu Alam, 65, one of the injured men, was hit in the
head by a brick. His account of the attack was similar to the police officer's.
He said that when one of the seven people in the police
truck got out to talk with the boat seller, some Rakhine men saw him and
started shouting, drawing others to attack them.
"They started stoning us. Some guys grabbed wooded
sticks to beat us. Things happened so fast that we were stuck in the vehicle
and the mob started attacking us," said Abdu Alam, who was able to return
to his camp later from the hospital.
"The policemen tried to stop them but there were too
many of them and it was impossible to stop them. Finally we all got injured and
taken to the hospital by the police."
Source: https://nyti.ms/2uGjz40
====================
Arakan Times (Rohingya Media)
1 Rohingya killed, 6 injured in Sittwe
At least one Rohingya laborer battered to death and six
other critically injured by Rakhine extremists in Dar Phaing IDP camp of Sittwe
while they were working at a work site in Sittwe down town (Tuesday) early
morning 4 July 2017.
The laborers suddenly went under attack by Rakhine
extremists while they were breaking the boat as instructed by police. Among the
7 laborers, one was died at the spot and the other six were seriously injured
following attack by Rakhine miscreants.
Later, the other 6 injured persons were rushed to the
Sittwe General Hospital where they are under treatment there.
Now the police have initiated an investigation regarding
the incident in the area. Security forces have adopted a heightened security
postures and reinforced presence of forces and increased patrols in Sittwe
including around the hospital following the tense situation.
Furthermore, the Area Security Coordinators are in
constant communication with the security forces, community leaders and local
partners.
However, the situation is still panic and the Rohingya
residents are in terror following the terrible incident occurred in the area,
said an eyewitness to Arakan Times.
============
At least one Rohingya killed, scores injured in Extremist
Rakhine Mob Attack http://www.thestateless.com/2017/07/at-least-one-rohingya-killed-scores-injured-in-extremist-rakhine-mob-attack.html