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Ethnic groups don’t want to leave Burma, says Nai Hongsa
Sunday, 28 September 2014 Burma Times: Burma’s ethnic minorities will never cede from the country, providing their rights are respected and a genuine federal union established, said Nai Hongsa, one of the leading negotiators for the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) on Saturday. Speaking at a briefing for Burmese political parties in the wake of a five-day round of ceasefire talks between the NCCT ethnic alliance and a government delegation, Mon leader [more]
Hardline Myanmar Buddhist monk Wirathu to battle ‘jihad threat’ with Sri Lanka monks
Sunday , 28 September 2014 Burma Times:COLOMBO – A controversial Buddhist cleric from Myanmar announced Sunday he is linking up with hardline monks in Sri Lanka, alleging that their religion is under threat from Islamic jihadists. The Mandalay-based monk Wirathu, addressing a convention in Colombo of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or Buddhist Force, said they would work together to protect their common religion. The BBS has been accused of instigating hate attacks [more]
Become ‘Bengali’ or we’ll detain you: Myanmar’s draft plan for Rohingya
Burma Times: 28 Sep 2014 Myanmar’s national government has drafted a plan that will give about a million members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority a bleak choice: accept ethnic “reclassification” and the prospect of citizenship, or be detained. Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya already live in apartheid-like conditions in western Rakhine state, where deadly clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012 displaced 140,000 people, mostly Rohingya. The plan, shared by [more]
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Non-Islamic false-representation of Islam
Posted on September 30, 2014 by admin
Burma Times: By Harun Yahya 30 Sep 2014
The word “Islam” is in the headlines and news reports we read and listen to every single day. Yet only a very few of those reports and headlines refer to the real Islam as revealed by God in the Qur’an. Although we all read a lot of news articles about terror organizations that claim to have Islamic roots, today it has become a widely acknowledged truth that those terror organizations are actually “non-Islamic”.
The word “Islam” is derived from the word “silm” meaning “peace” in Arabic. Anyone with a basic level of knowledge regarding religions should know that Islam is a religion revealed to mankind with the intention of presenting a peaceful life through which the infinite compassion and mercy of God is made manifest on Earth. In the Qur’an, the one and only source of Islam, God calls all people to Islamic morals so that compassion, mercy, peace and love can be experienced all over the world. In doing so, God addresses all those who believe as a whole:
O You who believe! Enter absolutely into peace (Islam). (Surat al-Baqara, 208)
In this call of God to mankind there is compassion, there is love and there is the promise of a peaceful, decent life in which people of all nations would live together as brothers. However when we look at what is written and what is said about this uniquely liberating, uniquely peaceful religion, we see that over the ages it has been totally misrepresented. We, the Muslims, the believers of this time, are all responsible of making that right.
Before all else, it should be made clear that in Islam, “There is no compulsion where the religion is concerned.” (Surat Al-Baqarah; 256) As God commanded in this verse, Islam strictly prohibits believers to compel others – especially when religion is concerned. Surely in Islam, no one can be forced to believe or accept any lifestyle.
“Say, ‘Now the truth has come from your Lord: let those who wish to believe in it do so, and let those who wish to reject it do so.” (Surat Al-Kahf;29)
As the Qur’an states, we can clearly say that what we read today about so-called “Islamic” organizations’ brutal compulsion and their beheading of those who do not believe God in the way they do are in direct conflict with Islam.
Before all else, we should say that for a Muslim killing an innocent person who poses no threat to them whatsoever is strictly forbidden. God says that killing such a person is like murdering all mankind. (Surat Al-Furqan; 68) A Muslim would never kill in cold blood and surely would never advocate a system which regards killing such inoffensive people in cold blood as a form of “jihad.”
In this respect we need to make it clear that the concept of “jihad” in the Qur’an is nothing similar to what those “non-Islamic” organizations wage. The word “jihad” comes from the Arabic word “jahd” which means to work, strive, labor and make sacrifices. It means to control one’s own lower-self. God describes the concept of jihad in the Qur’an as teaching people good morals and striving to turn people away from evil with kind words, with love and compassion. A Muslim engaged in “jahd” strives to spread love, peace and affection and to teach people to turn away from all sorts of evil. A Muslim gives that struggle in a self-sacrificing, kind and loving manner. In all his interactions with people from other religions, a Muslim should sustain that kind and loving manner; that is because in the Qur’an God commands Muslims to “Only argue with the People of the Book in the kindest way” (Surat Al-Ankabut; 46)
When this is the case, it would be safe to say that trying to portrait Islam as the “source” of the twisted misconception of “jihad” conducted by those “non-Islamic” terror organizations would be a mistake. A Muslim’s jihad, a Muslim’s struggle, is with his own lower-self before all else as jihad involves becoming a good person by turning away from evil, hatred and anger.
It is true that radicals are behaving in a way that shows their ignorance about this undeniable fact. However there is no point in threatening or bombing those who imagine that they are waging “jihad” by killing inoffensive people. That is because, before all else, we should be well aware that none of the false information in their minds can be erased by weapons or bombs. Even if a small fraction of them could be eliminated with the use of weapons, their ideas will continue to produce people of their kind, feeling an even stronger rage and resorting to even fiercer acts of violence. The only way to neutralize any idea is to wage a struggle against that idea with the truth; there is no other way. The lack of education, the lack of proper understanding of the Qur’an is the most crucial fact that we, the Muslims of the world, should realize and strive against. That struggle is one that should be given with love and in peace, not with weapons. This ignorance at the root of the terror we all suffer from today can only come to an end through careful and scrupulous education by those who only use the language of peace. This is also the only solution for the sufferings of Muslims all over the world from East Turkestan to Myanmar, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Palestine to Somali.
It is true that keeping the language of peace and love vibrant in a community that lives in aggression requires special virtues and maturity. But we should never forget that being virtuous and mature is a major part of being a “Muslim.” Teaching the radicals who think that killing is a solution that it really isn’t and that by doing so, they are doing what God has prohibited and that they would be held accountable for such acts is the only solution to put an end to the terror they are executing. The only way to do that is to use the language of peace in the way Qur’an demands us.
Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and fair admonition, and argue with them in the kindest way. Your Lord knows best who is misguided from His way. And He knows best who are guided.
(Surat An-Nahl; 125)
The writer has authored more than 300 books translated in 73 languages on politics, religion and science. He may be followed at @Harun_Yahya and www.harunyahya.com.
Posted in Article | Tagged Burma times, false, harun, ISIS, Islam, Muslim, Non-Islamic, representation, Rohingya | Leave a reply
UNDP and OHCA missed Fundamental Direction
Posted on September 18, 2014 by Ibrahim Sah
By Ibrahim Shah Thursday, 18 September 2014
Burma Times: On 11th September, UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Haoliang Xu and OCHA Director of Operations John Ging had released joint press release on their conclusion of a two-day visit to Rakhine State.
The joint press release of Mr. Xu and Ging did not describe evidently which communities are indeed in unacceptably dire situation. As the repressive regime led by Hitlerite Killer President Thein Sein warned UN delegations to refrain from expressing the term Rohingya, Mr. Su and Mr. Ging reported about the critical situation of the victims of the 2012 violence without identifying the ethnicity of the communities. Here the omission of the ethnicity of those communities who face catastrophe in western Burma is a kind of double standard of UNDP and OHCA.
According to the multiple reports of former UN Envoy for human rights in Burma Mr. Quintana and the current one Ms. Yanghee Lee, the situation of internally displaced people in western Burma is appalling. Amongst the IDPs, mostly are Rohingya and small quantity are Rakhine and Kaman Muslims. The ethnic Rakhine can move freely but Rohingya are confined.
Accordingly, the joint statement made by Mr. Xing and Mr. Ging indicates that UN endorses the ongoing so called Citizenship Verification process which is being carried out forcibly over Rohingya people under pilot Project according to the 1982 Burma citizenship Act. The so called Burma Citizenship Act established since 1982 under Junta Ne Win’s era is internationally notorious for it used double standard policies preferring racism and ethnocentric Buddhism.
Mr Xu said that by starting the verification process the government had shown a willingness to confront the problem. Though it remains unclear what will happen to those who are deemed to not meet the criteria, Mr Xu said that the pilot process was an important starting point that could provide an opportunity to find a sustainable solution to the issue, according to Myanmar Times.
Here it appeared that Mr. Xu completely recommends the overt ethnic cleansing of Rohingya community by the disguised reformist President Thein Sein and it is evident that UN has changed its direction from protection of human rights into multiple business sectors.
Rohingya community was an officially recognized ethnic group in Burma until 1982. The ongoing so called Verification Scheme over Rohingya community in western Burma is a kind of wasting time and harassment to them.
“The people living in Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships are Rohingya, ethnic of Burma” said Burma’s firstdemocratically elected prime minister U Nu in a public speech on 25 September 1954 at 8 pm. “The Rohingya has the equal status of nationality with Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Rakhine and Shan” said the prime minister and minister for defense U Ba Swe at public gatherings in Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships on 3 and 4 November 1959.
Here we could obviously perceive that Rohingya is a Burmese officially recognized ethnic group. The ongoing verification scheme for them is unnecessary and it is just the deception of Burmese genocidal rulers who have been perpetually enacting ethnocentric Buddhism policies to convert the entire Burma into Theravada Buddhism after eradicating other religions.
Apparently, it is regrettable how the two high-profile responsible personalities of UNDP and OHCA could knowingly omitted the ethnical term of those who are indeed in dire situation in western Burma. To conceal something knowingly is a sort of crime which cannot be replaced in return.
If those personalities who advocate for human rights of the UN initiated to step into racism and prostitution, how the ongoing global calamity will be perished? If oppressors victimize someone, the third party should protect the victim from the hand of oppressors. The world has changed the system that oppressors are going to be protected by third party who is in super power than the oppressors and the third party follows according to the tricky propaganda of oppressors.
Article 13 of “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”: (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state; (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
According to the above article of the universal declaration of human rights, Mr. Xu and Mr. Ging had already violated the universally declared Act of human rights. Thus UNDP and OHCA should scrutinize the matter why the Mr. Xing and Mr. Ging had violated Acts declared by UN assembly and should bring criminal charges against them as they tried to change the direction of UN from protection of human rights into racism and prostitution.
UNDP and OHCA should send those responsible persons who can differentiate right and wrong in Burma as the ruling quasi-military regime led by Killer president Thein Sein pulls international community into tricky trap by sweetheart voices and several deceptions in the way Hitler did.
It is unimaginable how Rohingya community badly experience state-sponsored catastrophe in western Burma and no one could be able to think without physically arrival there whether indeed Rohingya are in dire situation or it is just a rumor.
Here is attached a link for Mr. Xu and Mr. Ging so they can be able to inquire whether Rohingya people are indigenous residents of western Burma or illegal immigrants according to the accusation of the killer President Thein Sein . http://burmatimes.net/let-rohingya-fill-up-the-ethnicity-by-rohingya-in-myanmar-census-2014/
Reference
(http://www.mm.undp.org/content/myanmar/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2014/09/joint-press-release–undp-assistant-administrator-haoliang-xu-an/)
Posted in Article | Tagged Burma times, Fundamental Direction, OHCA, Rohingya, UNDP | Leave a reply
Refugees: Stopping the madness
Posted on September 9, 2014 by admin
Burma Times: By Harun Yahya 9 Sep 2014
Widespread violence around the world has caused millions of people to suffer and live in poverty.
Muslim countries are rocked by war, hunger and poverty. The cries for help of people who live amid death, injury and destruction are heartbreaking.
In the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, thousands of homes were demolished and damaged in Gaza, while tens of hospitals and health centers were affected by the war. The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) says that 300,000 Palestinians have sought shelter in UN schools. The number of injured exceeded 10,000. Gaza urgently needs assistance in food, health care and housing.
Palestinians live in difficult conditions, not just in Gaza, but also in refugee camps in neighboring countries. About 18,000 Palestinians are struggling to survive in Syria’s Yarmouk camp, due to widespread hunger as a result of a year-long siege. It is impossible to forget the images of people who starved to death in Yarmouk.
Palestinians who fled the Arab-Israeli wars over the past six decades sought refuge in other countries, including Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Numerous diseases have spread inside camps due to unsanitary conditions. It is becoming harder to treat the injured. Almost 2 million people are internally displaced in Gaza and the West Bank. The total number of Palestinian refugees is nearly 5 million.
In Iraq, Christians, Turkmen, Shiites and Yazidis fleeing attacks by the Islamic State now represent a new wave of refugees. Children are the worst affected by the harsh conditions.
Syrian refugees are also faced with a humanitarian catastrophe. According to the United Nations, over 191,000 people have been killed and several hundred thousand injured. In total, there are approximately 9.5 million internally displaced persons (IDP) and refugees — 6.5 million within Syria and 3 million in neighboring countries. It is totally unbecoming of any Muslim to turn a blind eye to these facts, be unwilling to assist and fail to help find long-lasting and deep-rooted solutions.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that because of climate conditions and high food prices, 33 countries, 26 of which are in Africa, require external food aid. According to the FAO, 870,000 people are in need of food aid in Somalia, 3.5 million in South Sudan and 5 million in Sudan.
The problems in Muslim lands are by no means limited to Syria and Palestine. Many Muslims, including Uighur Turks, Iraqis, Afghans, people from Rakhine, Somalis and Sudanese, are looking to people of good conscience for help.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that because of climate conditions and high food prices, 33 countries, 26 of which are in Africa, require external food aid. According to the FAO, 870,000 people are in need of food aid in Somalia, 3.5 million in South Sudan and 5 million in Sudan, particularly IDPs or those living in poverty in rural areas. UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator for South Sudan Toby Lanzer states that the situation in South Sudan is as dangerous as that in Syria. Are we really unable to provide enough aid for people who are suffering?
Professor Per Pinstrup-Andersen, a leading figure in the FAO campaign against food wastage, states that 100 million tons of food are thrown away in Europe every year. According to the most optimistic FAO estimates, one-third of the food produced for human consumption in the world is either past its sell-by-date before it can be eaten or simply thrown away.
In conclusion, the data shows that there is enough food resources to feed all of the 7 billion people in the world. In that case, the most pressing matter is to get these resources to areas where they are most needed, and then to establish systems to ensure that nobody in the world goes hungry.
Food is only one aspect of waste. The greatest waste is the amount of money spent on weapons made for fighting and the bombs built to devastate cities. Since love is imprisoned in the world today, countries are arming themselves in an insane frenzy; hatred results in destruction and more suffering. When waste of all manner is prevented, and when mechanisms of distribution are set up for God’s sake, these problems will be eradicated.
The real sickness in the world is lovelessness. There is a profound lovelessness behind hatred and conflict. It is lovelessness that underlies disagreements and violence between different communities on the basis of race, sect or belief. The world is now waiting for people of love to govern, bring justice and put an end to the bloodshed.
The writer has authored more than 300 books translated in 73 languages on politics, religion and science. He may be followed at @Harun_Yahya and www.harunyahya.com.
Adnan Oktar’s piece on Fair Observer:
http://www.fairobserver.com/region/middle_east_north_africa/refugees-stopping-the-madness-01650/
Posted in Article | Tagged Burma times, harun, madness, Refugees, Rohingya, Stopping | Leave a reply
Muslims of Arakan and Baxter Report
Posted on August 30, 2014 by admin
Burma Times :By Aman Ullah 1 Sep 2014
Muslims of Arakan and Baxter Report
By Aman Ullah
Following the 1935 Government of India Act’s reforms, the British granted Burma a larger autonomous status with the Government of Burma Act. However, with very few educated Burmese available to do the necessary tasks, most of the government affairs continued to be run by the Indian subjects. This attitude of the British government was resented by most Burmese who started the ‘Burma for Burmese only’ Campaign. The Burmese mob marched to the Muslim (Surti) Bazaar. While the Indian Police broke the violent demonstration, three monks were hurt. Burmese newspapers uses the pictures of Indian police attacking the Buddhist monks to further incite the spread of riots. Muslim properties: shops, houses and mosques were looted, destroyed and burned. They also assaulted and killed Muslims. It spread all over Burma and a recorded 113 mosques were damaged. The Burmese also resented the fact that all the anti-government and race riots were quelled by Indian troops and police forces.
New waves of anti-Indian violence (more specifically anti-Muslim) were stirred up in July-August 1938 by the Burman in the country’s major cities while general strikes (workers, civil servants and students) paralyzed the economy of the province. Riots began in the capital of Rangoon and spread to almost all of southern and central Burma, including Mandalay. The rioting lasted for a month, officially causing the death of 204 people and leaving 1,000 injured. Buddhist monks took a leading role in organizing these riots. On September 2, 1938 another outbreak of anti-Indian rioting occurred in Rangoon. Although somewhat less severe and restricted to Rangoon only, the disturbance lasted for six days.
On September 22, 1938, the British Governor set up an inquiry committee to investigate the reasons behind the riots. The Riot Inquiry Committee found out that the real cause was the discontent in the Ba Maw government regarding the deterioration in socio-political and economic conditions of Burmans.
In March 1939 there were serious communal and agrarian troubles in Shwebo and Myaungmya. Later in the same month additional Military Police units had to be sent to Myaungmya because of Burmese attacks on Indians. Military Police units were also sent to patrol Shwebo and parts of Katha in the north because of attacks by Burmese on Muslim and Zerbadi (Indo-Burmese Muslim) villages. The troubles spread to Tharrawaddy district as well. By April, 1939, riots had spread to Bassein, Pyapon, Pegu, Lower Chindwin, Shwebo and Myaungmya.
Then the Government of Burma issued a communiqué declaring its intention to examine the question of Indian immigration and announced the nature and scope of the agreed upon between the Government of India and Burma. As a result of correspondence with the Government of India has been reached on a Commission of Enquiry that was entrusted to a sole commission to whom one Burman and one Indian were attached as assessors.
According the Government of Burma in a Resolution, dated the 15th July 1939, after consultation with the Government of India, appointed the Hon’ble Mr. J. Baxter to examine the question of Indian immigration into Burma, with the assistance of two assessors, U Tin Tut, I.C.S and Mr. Ratilal Desai, M.A,. Later Dr. H. Bernardelli, D. Phil., Head of Department of Economics, University College Rangoon was appointed Secretary to the Commission of Inquiry.
The Commission held eighteen meetings and interviewed over seventy-five witness. Memoranda on questions relating to the enquiry was received from representatives of the more important business firms, from employers of Labour, from a member of Government Departments, from Chambers of Commerce and others. A special enquiry on industrial labour was carried out in connexion with which information in the form of required was received from 1,392 industrial establishments.
The Report of the Commission, more commonly known as the Baxter Report, was completed in October 1940 and was published in Rangoon in 1941 by the Government Printing and Stationery Office. The Report made recommendations which were generally accepted by the Governments of Burma and India. The Agreement provided that the existing Immigration Order of 1937 would continue at least until 1 October 1945, while Indian immigration into Burma would be subject to the new rules contained in the Agreement with effect from 1 October 1941.
The Government of Burma recognize that, “Indians who were born and bred in Burma, have made Burma their permanent home and regard their future and the future of their families as bound up with its interest are entitled to be regarded as having established a claim if they which to make it, to a Burma domicile and therefore on the benefit of section 144 of the Government of Burma Act, 1935.”
About the Indian in Arakan, in chapter VII, paragraph 66 of the Baxter Report mentioned that, “Indian immigration into Arakan shows special characteristics, due to fundamentally to the existence of a Land frontier with India across which movement between Chittagong in the Province of Bengal and Akyab District of Arakan is, because of the natural configuration of this region, easy, quick and cheap. About 97 percent of Indian population in Arakan in 1931 was concentrated in Akyab District. In Arakan Division, total population was 1,008,538 and Indian population was 217, 801.”
Indian population was distributed as under: -
Akyab District
210, 990
Arakan Hills Tract
500
Kyauk Pyu District
4, 321
Sandoway District
1, 990
Total
217, 801
In Akyab District
Total population was 637, 580
Indian population was 210, 990.
The numbers of Indians in Akyab District born in and born outside Burma respectively as follows: -
Born in Burma
Born outside Burma
Males
86, 000
38, 000
Females
81, 000
6,000
Total
167, 000
44,000
“Females constituted 48.5 per cent of the Indian born in 13.6 per cent of Indian born outside Burma. The great deficiency of females in “born out” population indicates the highly immigrant and unsettled nature of that part of the Indian population while on the other hand the approximation to sex equilibrium in the “born in” population is indicative of its settled character.”
In paragraph 67, it shows the racial constitution of the Indian population in Akyab District as follows: -
Total
Born in
Born out
M
F
T
M
F
T
M
F
T
Chittagonian
104769
81558
186327
80680
76153
156833
24089
5405
2994
Bengali
10998
4588
15586
5320
4276
9596
5678
312
5990
Hindustani
2955
632
3587
311
366
677
2644
266
2910
Oriyas
3809
10
3819
18
4
22
3791
6
3797
“The Oriyas were practically born outside Burma and were practically all males. Only 677 of 3, 558 Hidustanis were born in Burma and 2, 955 of totals were males. 0f the Bengalis other than Chittagonians, 61 per cent were born in Burma. Of the “born in” the sex ratio was about four females to five males. Of the 5,990 Bengalis born outside Burma only 312 were females. Over 88 per cent of all Indians in Akyab District were of Chittagonians origin and 84 per cent of all Chittagonians were recorded as having been born in Burma. The sex distribution of Chittagonians born in Burma was in the proportion of 94 to 95 females to every 100 males while that Chittagonians born outside Burma was in the ratio of 22 to 23 females to every 100 males.”
“Of the males earners engaged in agriculture, 9,442 were cultivating landowners, 12, 848 were cultivating tenants and 19, 436 were agricultural labours. It is of interest to note that only 5,570 of the agricultural labours were born outside Burma.”
In the paragraph 11 of that report, commenting on the population in the Arakan Division, which showed an Indian population of 197,990 in 1911 against a total of 839,896, the report says, “For the reasons already given, the 1881 to 1911 Indian population figures are probably too high since they are believed to include a considerable number of Arakanese Muslims. In 1911, for example, the Hindu and Mohamedan populations in Arakan together amounted to 202,320 persons or only 4,330 more than the number who returned an Indian vernacular.” It is also important to note here that the percentage of Indian population in Arakan actually show a downward trend from 1911 to 1931 going down from 23.5% to 22.7% in 1921 to 21.6% in 1931.”
In Chapter III, Paragraph 21, the report also provides some information about the Indians living – permanently or temporarily – inside Burma and Arakan when the censuses were taken.
Year
Total Indians in Burma
Born in India
Born in Burma
1881
243123
184761
58362
1891
429830
282947
146883
1901
568263
419863
148400
1911
743288
499696
243592
1921
887077
586243
300834
1931
1017825
630090
387735
There was a major influx of Indians moving into Burma after the entire country was colonized by the British government. As already noted, many of them came with the colonial administration. A comparison with the census data in 1891 also points to the fact that the 1881 census data for the Indian population born in Burma is unreliable. At the time of 1931 census nearly 77% of the Indians in Arakan were born in Burma.
Indians born in India and born in Arakan was given as bellow: -
Year
Total Indians in Arakan
Born in India
Born in Arakan
1891
137972
62884
75088
1901
173884
76445
97439
1911
197990
46591
151399
1921
206990
51825
155165
1931
217801
50565
167236
In the Paragraph 7 the Baxter report, it’s mentioned that, “There was an Arakanese Muslim community settled so long in Akyab District that it had for all intents and purposes to be regarded as an indigenous race. There were also a few Mohamedan Kamans in Arakan and a small but long established Muslim community around Moulemin which could not be regarded as Indian. There is no record of the numbers of any of these categories of Mohamedans in the 1872 census returns and consequently no allowance can be made for them by way of deduction from the Hindu and Mohamedan population figures.”
In the table provided on Section 8, page 5 of the report it mentioned that, “for the censuses 1881 to 1911 inclusive are probably too high. There is reason to believe that some of the Arakanese Mohamedans returned an Indian vernacular as their mother tongue since although they used Burmese in writing, among themselves they commonly speak the language of their ancestors. The number of Arakanese Muslims who returned an Indian vernacular in 1021 was estimated in the 1931 census report at ten to fifteen thousand persons.”
Thus, in sum according to the Baxter report, we can say that: –
There was an Arakanese Muslim community settled so long in Akyab District that it had for all intents and purposes to be regarded as an indigenous race. There were also a few Mohamedan Kamans in Arakan and a small but long established Muslim community around Moulemin which could not be regarded as Indian.
The 1881 to 1911 Indian population figures are probably too high since they are believed to include a considerable number of Arakanese Muslims and the figures are inaccurate.
At the time of 1931 census nearly 77% of the Indians in Arakan were born in Burma.
The Government of Burma recognize that Indians who were born and bred in Burma, have made Burma their permanent home and regard their future and the future of their families as bound up with its interest are entitled to be regarded as having established a claim if they which to make it, to a Burma domicile and
Posted in Article | Tagged Baxter Report, Burma times, Muslims of Arakan | Leave a reply
International community ought to stand against Myanmar`s antagonistic attempt to obliterate the name”Rohingya”
Posted on August 22, 2014 by admin
Burma Times: 22 August 2014 By Nurul Islam (GWAB)
The Rakhine State (historically known as Arakan), is one of seven ethnic minority states which were formed under the constitution of 1974. The Rohingya Muslim population is mostly concentrated in the three northern townships: Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. The Rohingyas speak a Bengali dialect similar to what is spoken in the Chittagong region of Bangladesh , mixed primarily with words from the Urdu, Hindi and Arabic languages, but also from the Bama and English languages. The first Muslims who settled in this region were believed to be Arab mariners and traders that arrived on the Rakhine coast in the 8th and 9th centuries. Other Muslims who came to the area in later centuries include Persians, Moghuls, Turks, Pathans and Bengalis. During the British colonial period from 1824 until 1948 there was also migration from Chittagong to what is now the Rakhine State.The Muslim ethnic minority, generally known as the Rohingyas, who live in northern. Rakhine State , western Myanmar , continue to suffer from several forms of restrictions and human rights violations. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage. Rohingyas continue to be used as forced labourers on roads and at military camps.Rohingyas are victims of religious and racial discrimination.
Myanmar’s successive military regimes persisted in a policy of denying citizenship to the Rohingya Muslims , especially in the frontier area. They stubbornly grasped the 1982 Citizenship Law that allowed only the ethnic groups who had lived in Burma before the First Anglo-Burmese War that began in 1824 as the citizens of the country. By this law those Muslims had been treated as aliens in the land they have inhabited for more than a century. In 1978 the Burmese junta created a situation for the Arakanese Muslims that forced them to leave their country for safety elsewhere.
According to Amnesty International, in 1978 over 200,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh, following the Burmese army’s Operation Nagamin. Most – it is claimed by Yangon – were eventually repatriated, but around 15,000 refused to return. In 1991, a second wave of about a quarter of a million Rohingyas fled Myanmar to Bangladesh. An estimated one million Rohingyas are now living in Rakahine state and 1.5 million of Rohingya population are in Diaspora particularly in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan , Saudi Arabia , UAE, Thailand and Malaysia .
A family list is crucial to the Rohingya’s ability to prove residency. Many of the Rohingyas whose testimonies were made available to Amnesty International complained that people have been dropped from the family list if they were not present during a population check by the local authorities. Where someone is not present for such a count and their absence is not covered by a travel permit, in many instances the authorities have deleted people from the family list. Rohingyas in northern Rakhine State must apply for permission to go to another nearby village. This practice does not apply to the Rakhine population in the Rakhine State. Rohingyas’ freedom of movement, therefore, is considerably more limited than that of other residents of the Rakhine State. This has had serious repercussions on their livelihood and food security, as they are often unable to seek employment outside their village or trade goods and produce unless they have official permission and obtain a pass which they must pay for. Most Rohingyas cannot afford to pay for these permits. In 2012, two eruptions of violence between Rohingyas and majority Buddhists in Rakhine State in western Myanmar killed at least 192 people and made 140,000 homeless. Most were Rohingya, who live in wretched camps or under apartheid-like segregation with little access to healthcare, schools or jobs. Govt`s security forces were directly (or) indirectly involved in the communal violence. As Impact of the communal violence the sufferers (Rohingya Muslims ) have fled Burma by sea in unprecedented numbers over the past years.
‘According to the 1983 census Muslims in Arakan constituted 24.3 percent and they were categorized as Bangladeshi. The SPDC rejects the existence of a separate ethnic group called “Rohingya”. The fact is that the Rohingyas are not originally from Bangladesh. They are the children of the first settlers of Arakan, which is part of Buddhist Myanmar (Burma),today.Their ancestors livid in Arakan since time immemorial. When the British occupied Arakan in 1824, 30 percent of the population was Muslim, who are now known as the “Rohingya”. About 1 million Rohingya people are believed to live in Arakan State, where they face government-imposed restrictions that make it nearly impossible for them to access health care, education and other basic services.
A majority of victims from the 2012 violence were Rohingya, and today they continue to live in squalid camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). government immigration officials began verifying the citizenship of Muslims in limited parts of Arakan State. It appears the process stalled last year, amid resistance to requirements that the Rohingya identify as Bengali. The government refers to the Rohingya as Bengali, suggesting that they came to the country illegally from Bangladesh, though many trace their family roots back to Burma for generations. Mohamed Salim, a Rohingya spokesman for the National Development and Peace Party in Rangoon, criticized the verification process as biased. “We do not accept the term ‘Bengalis.’ The Muslim people in Arakan State are Rohingya,” he told The Irrawaddy. “If they want to conduct an examination based on the 1982 law, they need to first amend the law in accordance with international standards, since it currently includes much discrimination, and after that they can exam us.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday ( August 9, 2014 )met Thein Sein and discussed plans for elections in 2015 and concerns over the treatment of the minority Muslim Rohingya. In particular, he addressed the designation of the term “Bengali” which the Rohingya see as underscoring an assertion they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though many have lived in western Burma for generations. “The name issue should be set aside,” he said. “To force any community to accept a name they consider to be offensive is to invite conflict, and if the goal is to prevent conflict, then it’s better to set that aside, ”he said. Matthew Smith, director of the international human rights group Fortify Rights, says giving Rohingya equal access to citizenship rights is crucial to preventing the conflict in the future. He says foreign nations should press the government more on the issue. “The fact that the immigration department is handling this issue is indicative of the perception that all Rohingya come from Bangladesh,” Smith said. “Immigration is an issue on all of Myanmar’s borders, but the wholesale denial of Rohingya citizenship, Rohingya ethnicity, has contributed to these abuses that we’ve been documenting now for two years.” The Muslim stateless residents of northern Rakhine state have long identified themselves as “Rohingya,” a term recognized by the United Nations, and foreign nations, including the United States. But not by Myanmar’s government. Instead, authorities are asking them to register as “Bengalis”(IINA).
Conclusion
The international community has welcomed Myanmar’s historic transition from military to civilian rule. While some governments have expressed grave concern regarding the human rights situation within the country. The risk of further mass atrocity crimes being committed against Muslims in Myanmar is high. In particular, the government must address the endemic discrimination against Rohingya and grant them access to citizenship. It must hold accountable those who incite ethnic and religious hatred and provide appropriate protection for Muslim communities against violence and other human rights abuses. The government must allow unhindered humanitarian access to those affected by previous violence.
The collection of census data in Rakhine State remains stalled because of the issue of Rohingya self-identification. Negotiations to enable census information to be collected from “Bengalis” had been fruitless because it regards them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. But the international ethnicity law is allowing any ethnic group to name themselves as they choose. But Myanmar government is forcing Rohingyas to identify them as “Bengali”. So, international community should apply pressure on Myanmar government to repeal or amend the 1982 Citizenship Law in order to conform with international standards and to stop the segregation of communities in Arakan and replace it with a proactive policy of ‘peaceful co-existence’.
Sources:-
1.Reports of Amnesty International-2004,
2. Articles by Dr. Habib Siddiqui,
3. Burmar`s missing Dots By Dr. Abid Bahar
4. The Plight of Stateless Rohingyas by Prof. Imtias Ahmed, Dhaka University,
5. Irrawaddy News,
6. Radio Free Asia (RFA) News,
7. International Islamic News Agency ( IINA )
Not for publication
Nurul Islam,
6, R.M Lane, Chittagong-4000,Bangladesh.
Posted in Article | Tagged arakan news, Burma times, Muslim, News, Rohingya news | Leave a reply
Burma Times Report on “Premeditated Violence occurred in Mandalay on 1st July 2014”
Posted on July 31, 2014 by admin
Burma Times: 31 July 2014
Burma Times Report on “Premeditated Violence occurred in Mandalay on 1st July 2014”
Burma Times Media Project published a report titled “a circumstantial report on premeditated violence against minority Muslim by Majority Buddhist in Mandalay division known as central Burma triggered from first to fourth July 2014” about the thuggish activities of President Thein Sein’s depraved administration. This report is the first official report of Burma Times Media project about the state-sponsored violence so called religious clashes or communal violence that takes place against minorities in particular Muslims and it is challenged that all the facts described in the report is 100% reliable and authentic.
Burma Times Media Project worked hard with relentless efforts from every corner to disclose the covert master plot of the ruling President Thein Sein’s quasi-military regime which are being carried out by several brutal methods in order to remain in quasi-military power until some terms.
According to the report of internal source obtained by Burma Times, the thuggish activities of depraved administration of ruthless President Thein Sein will not be ceased under any circumstance and will perpetually accomplish all the plots of former Juntas enacting militaristic Acts in order.
Fundamentally, this report is written to disclose in details about the mob attacks in reality state-sponsored violence which have been taking place against minotiry in particular ethnic Muslims of Burma including Rohingya community from western Burma.
In this report it is revealed that the most unrevealed strategies of Burmese quasi-civilian regime that how it was premeditated to trigger state-backed violence in the name of inter-communal clashes or religious conflicts to remain in power by military influence. Moreover, Isamophobia was highlighted because it is a political trick of President Thein Sein who defends the leader of anti-Muslim movement 969 Wirathu standing from every corner as he,Wirathu, is used by government as political tool to covertly suppress NLD and other democratic forces, and to eradicate Muslims from Burma and to syndicate Chinese commercial zones under government’s control in Mandalay.
According to the leaked information through internal source obtained by Burma Times Media project, the ruling Burmese successive President Thein Sein’s thuggish administration might trigger more violence in upcoming days to win a landslide victory and to hold legitimacy for 2015 poll.
The full report can be downloaded from here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/235528957/Report-by-Mandalay-Violence-on-1st-July-2014
Posted in National News | Tagged 1st July 2014”, Burma, Burma times, Mandalay, occurred, Report, violence, “Premeditated | Leave a reply