New Satellite Images Show Destruction Indicating
Obstruction of Justice
Burmese Government Demolishes Rohingya
Villages: https://youtu.be/CZnL6jM334o
Time series animation of satellite imagery capturing the demolition of multiple villages in Maungdaw township between January 8 and February 19, 2018. © Satellite imagery: 2018 Planet Labs, Inc.
HRW (Rangoon) – New satellite imagery reveals the Burmese government has been bulldozing scores of depopulated Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. The United Nations Security Council, the UN and its agencies, and Burma’s donors should demand the Burmese government immediately halt the demolition of Rohingya villages, which should be treated as crime scenes that should be preserved until the UN Fact-Finding Mission is given access to the area to carry out investigations.
Since late 2017, the Burmese government has cleared at
least 55 villages of all structures and vegetation using heavy machinery. Most
of these villages were among the 362 villages completely or partially destroyed
by arson since August 25, 2017, during the security forces’ ethnic cleansing
campaign against the Rohingya. However, the satellite images show that at least
two of the villages demolished were previously undamaged by fire and likely
inhabitable. Hundreds of buildings have been demolished in 10 other villages
partially destroyed by arson.
“Many of these villages were scenes of atrocities against
Rohingya and should be preserved so that the experts appointed by the UN to
document these abuses can properly evaluate the evidence to identify those
responsible,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Bulldozing these areas threatens
to erase both the memory and the legal claims of the Rohingya who lived there.”
Human Rights Watch reviewed a time series of satellite
imagery recorded between November 11, 2017, and February 19, 2018. The images
show that two villages in the Myin Hlut village tract that were not burned in
the late 2017 attacks were intact prior to being bulldozed. Between January 9
and February 13 they were destroyed and smoothed over by heavy machinery. Human
Rights Watch could not independently verify if any of the destroyed villages
were inhabited when the demolition began. Satellite imagery reviewed by Human
Rights Watch suggests that the demolitions are ongoing.
Rakhine State demolition map by HRW: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/supporting_resources/201802asia_burma_demolitionmap.pdf
The satellite images show that the initial demolition of
heavily damaged or destroyed buildings in northern Rakhine State began in
Maungdaw town in November 2017. This was followed by a pause of approximately
one month. In early January 2018, clearance operations resumed in villages
south of Maungdaw town along the coast, and then rapidly spread northward from
where the demolition began.
Government Demolition and Construction Plans
On January 12, Burmese state media reported that eight
backhoes and four bulldozers had begun clearing areas of northern Rakhine State
on January 7 in locations where the government had announced repatriated
refugees from Bangladesh would be processed and temporarily located. State
media and the Office of the President have also reported construction in
several areas across Rakhine State, some of which has been focused on road
improvements and has involved clearing villages.
The State Counsellor Office Information Committee said on
December 1 that the government had built houses in over 20 villages across
Rakhine State. Win Myat Aye, the social welfare minister, was quoted in
Agence-France Press on February 12 stating that the bulldozing of villages was
part of a plan to rebuild villages to a higher standard. He said that the
government was “trying to have the new village plan,” and that “when [the
refugees] come back they can live in their place of origin or nearest to their
place of origin.”
Government development efforts are being led by the Union
Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development (UEHRD),
which was formally established in October 2017, and is chaired by Burma’s de
facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The UEHRD coordinates with several
national-level ministries, state and regional governments, and security forces,
as well as private companies. It has solicited cooperation from national and
international organizations, so-called partner nations, and UN agencies.
The government has said that it will develop village
plans based on the UN International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial
Planning and other international guidelines.
Aung Tung Thet, chief coordinator for the UEHRD, told
local media in October that because the monsoon season begins in April, there
is “little time to complete this work,” referring to development projects in
northern Rakhine State. As a result, he said, “We must implement this project
with great momentum.”
Since militant attacks last August on dozens of security
posts, the Burmese military has committed widespread killings, rapes, arbitrary
arrests, and mass arson in hundreds of predominantly Rohingya villages in
northern Rakhine State, forcing more than 688,000 Rohingya to flee to
neighboring Bangladesh. The governments of Burma and Bangladesh have concluded
several agreements that outline the intention and process by which refugees in
Bangladesh could be returned to Burma. However, no refugees have returned to
Burma, and Rohinyga continue to flee from Rakhine State. During a briefing to
the UN Security Council on February 13, the UN high commissioner for refugees,
Filippo Grandi, stated, “Conditions are not yet conducive to the voluntary
repatriation of Rohingya refugees.”
International law provides that refugees and internally
displaced persons who were arbitrarily or unlawfully deprived of their homes,
lands, properties, or places of habitual residence have the right to return to
their place of residence or choice, and the return of their property. Those
unable or unwilling to return to their homes have the right to choose
compensation from the government for their loss of homes and property.
Rohingya Crisis: https://www.hrw.org/tag/rohingya-crisis
Bulldozing Evidence, Failure to Investigate Abuses
Any bulldozing of villages that has destroyed evidence of
crimes is apparent obstruction of justice. The Burmese government has failed to
credibly investigate serious alleged abuses committed by security forces since
August 25, which Human Rights Watch has found amount to crimes against
humanity.
A Burmese military investigation concluded in November
that no violations or abuses were committed by security forces, contrary to
information reported by the UN, media outlets, and human rights groups,
including Human Rights Watch. Following the discovery of a mass grave in the
village of Inn Din in late December, the Burmese military admitted that members
of the security forces and Rakhine villagers had unlawfully killed 10 men and
violated the “rules of engagement.” The government has arrested 16 people in
connection with the massacre, and says it will “take action according to the
law.”
The Burmese government has refused to grant visas to the
UN Fact-Finding Mission, which was created by the Human Rights Council in March
2017, preventing it from collecting evidence in affected areas of northern
Rakhine State. Furthermore, it has effectively blocked all independent media
and human rights groups from gaining meaningful access to northern Rakhine
State.
“The government’s clearing of dozens of villages only
heightens concerns about Rohingya families being able to return home,” Adams
said. “Deliberately demolishing villages to destroy evidence of grave crimes is
obstruction of justice. Donor governments should ensure they don’t provide any
direct or indirect support that would hamper justice or assist those
responsible for ethnic cleansing in their efforts to pretend the Rohingya do
not have the right to return to their villages in northern Rakhine State.”