Sectarian Violence fueled by the Government of Myramar
Posted by Akashma Online News
Rohingyas Refugees October 30 2012 Jakarta News
A new wave of sectarian violence in western Myanmar leaves five people dead and dozens hurt in recent days, triggering another exodus of thousands of Rohyngyans to emergency camps.
Hundreds of houses were burned in the last days of unrest in Rakhine State, where sectarian violence erupted again. 95 people has lost their life since June and the displaced are counted by the hundreds of 1000′s, based on the government bodies estimates.
“At least five person died, and 80 were hurt in four days since October 21 in four townships,” stated Rakhine spokesperson Myo Thant.
Houses were also torched in another town on Thursday morning, he told AFP on the phone in the Rakhine State, capital of Sittwe.
“Soldiers are actually assisting to provide security,” he added. Claim that it is dismiss by majority of refugees that flee Rakhine.
The Rakhine formerly known as Arakanese, is a nationality in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma they form the majority of the residents along the coastal region of present day Rakhine State (formerly Arakan State). They constitute approximately 6 % or more of Myanmar’s total population but no accurate census figures exist. Rakhine people also live in the Southeastern parts of Bangladesh, especially in Chittagong and Barisal Divisions. A group of Arakanese descendants, living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh at least since the 16th century, are known as the Marma people. These Arakanese descendants have been living in that area since the Arakanese kingdom’s control of the Chittagong region.
Arakanese descendants spread as far north as Tripura state in India, where their presence dates back to the ascent of the Arakanese kingdom when Tripura was ruled by Arakanese kings. In northeast India, these Arakanese people are referred to as the Mog, while in Bengali, the Marma (the ethnic Arakanese descendants in Bangladesh) and other Arakanese people are referred to as the Magh people
Rohingyas Refugees languish in poor refugee camps
Tensions stay at boiling point in Rakhine State, the curfew imposed as emergency measure adding more pressure in the area, while more than 75,000 Rohingyan languish in poor refugee camps.
More Rohingyan refugees have showed up in Sittwe, the Capital of Rakhine State by boat, looking to find shelter within the camps.
The refugee agency believes that more than 1,000 displaced people had arrived at Sittwe in recent days.
“Many more are meant to be in route,” stated speaker Vivian Tan in Bangkok. “These individuals are all visiting the IDP (internally displaced persons) camps near to Sittwe, that are already overcrowded.”
About 75,000 individuals are believed to become uprooted in Rakhine State, mostly from Rohingya origin.
The UN referring to the Rohingya people to be probably the most persecuted and unprivileged people in the world.
In Myanmar their 800,000 Rohingya residents are seen as illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh the Myanmar government and lots of people call them “Bengalis”.
The bloodshed has cast a shadow over broadly recognized reforms by Leader Thein Sein, such as the liberation of hundreds of political prisoners and also the election of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to parliament.
Independent journalists and humanitarian organizations fear that the real dying toll might be much greater that the official number.
“We are like dead people. I want to go to another country. I cannot keep suffering like this,” said Rahima, 55, whose husband and 25-year-old son were killed in clashes in western Rakhine state in June of this year.
“We are like dead people. I want to go to another country. I cannot keep suffering like this,” said Rahima, 55, whose husband and 25-year-old son were killed in Buddhist-Muslim clashes in western Rakhine State in June.
“I don’t have enough food. How long can I keep living here?” she told AFP in a recent interview, since which a fresh wave of violence has left dozens more dead and displaced about 30,000 people.
In the past Bangladesh was the destination of choice, but the neighboring country has now closed its doors, turning away boatloads of Rohingya who attempted to flee the violence in June. Many have since hung their hopes on Muslim-majority Malaysia.
But for now, Rahima’s home is one of the mud-strewn camps where tens of thousands of Rohingya have sought shelter since the conflict exploded in the flashpoint western region of the country formerly known as Burma.
Akashma Online News 