European
Rohingya Council says extra troops sent to Rakhine state to advance destruction
of Muslim minority
By Safvan Allahverdi
and Kyaw Ye Lynn
WASHINGTON
The deployment of
extra troops to Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state is to further the “Rohingya
genocide”, according to a group representing the Muslim minority on Tuesday.
The army dispatched
a battalion, around 500 soldiers, to the Maungdaw area of northern Rakhine,
where Rohingya Muslims form the majority, on Thursday last week.
Hla Kyaw, chairman
of the European Rohingya Council, said the troops were from the 33rd Light
Infantry Division, which he described as “the most notorious military unit when
it comes to the serious violation of human rights against ethnic communities”.
He said the
deployment was designed to establish a permanent military presence in Rakhine
as well as “the advancement of Rohingya genocide.”
In emailed comments
to Anadolu Agency, he added: “The advancement of Rohingya genocide is the
primary goal of the army. The instability in Rakhine state is used as an excuse
for the heavy and permanent presence of the army in Rakhine state.”
Rising tensions were
exacerbated by the killing of seven villagers in the Maungdaw area late last
month.
The government
blamed “extremists” for the killings and said it had found “terrorist hideouts”
in the state’s northern May Yu mountains.
However, Kyaw said
the killings were a pretext created by “high-level military intelligence”,
citing unspecified sources.
“First, the military
intelligence created a pretext or problems,” he said. “Then the state
propaganda media spread rumors that the Rohingya are involved in the
killing[s]… without any evidence or proper investigation.”
Tens of thousands of
Rohingya have sheltered in refugee camps in Rakhine since communal violence
flared in mid-2012.
The state is home to
around 1.2 million Rohingya, who have long been officially labelled “Bengali”
-- a term suggesting they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Suu Kyi complicit
Despite having lived
in the area for generations, Rohingya have been effectively denied citizenship
by a 1982 nationality law and have restricted basic rights such as freedom of
movement.
Last October, a
security crackdown was launched after nine police officers were killed in
Maungdaw.
In a report on the
four-month operation, the UN said it had uncovered human rights violations by
security forces in Rakhine that indicated crimes against humanity.
During interviews
with Rohingya refugees in neighboring Bangladesh, the UN documented mass gang
rape, killings, including of babies and children, brutal beatings and
disappearances.
Representatives of
the Rohingya minority have said approximately 400 people were slain during the
operation.
The government has
refused entry to a UN team probing the allegations.
“We have been
documenting an extraordinary escalation of daily abuse of Rohingya by the army
since the mobilization of the army,” Kyaw said. He accused State Counselor Aung
San Suu Kyi of complicity in abuses again Rohingya.
“Unfortunately, Aung
San Suu Kyi is on board with the army in the advancement of the Rohingya
genocide agenda. To make the situation worse, the West is completely silent on
this matter.
“We urge the EU, the
UN and regional governments to pressure the Myanmar government to end the
complete destruction of the Rohingya community."
At the weekend,
Buddhist protests called for international aid agencies to be thrown out of
Rakhine state, claiming they supported militant groups.
Last month, the
World Food Program said nearly 226,000 Rohingya were on the brink of
starvation.
Its report said
nearly a third of the populations in northern Rakhine were identified as
severely food-insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance. Among them were
an estimated 80,500 children under the age of five.
Source: http://v.aa.com.tr/884653