Empirical Observations from a local researcher in Rakhine

An Analysis from a local on the ground: Observations: According to our network, security force come to house to house and check phones of rohingya guys in Buthidaung city. Zadibyin village Rethedaung Township, Mosque door was broke and fired by rakhine guys few days ago There was a rally of Rakhine Women Network, they invited burma military to attack more on rohingya few weeks ago, i think Rakhine can go to buthidaung and maung daw by bus , but not rohingya Mg daw Market, Rakhine shops are open, but Rohingya shops are still closed The whole Mg daw township, people are not allowed to travel cross village to village Buthidaung Market is open and people can go around. We heard many Rohingya civilians were killed by air raid, we can not verify how many people died Kofi Annan commission are visiting to Sittwe currently Kofi Annan commision met with UN and INGO in sittwe hotel today Analysis more attack against each other could occur in future, it is like cycle Rohingya guys attacked on security force seem rebellion or insurgent , they did not attack civilians at all. it is NOT terrorist attack Rohingya insurgent has aim and objective as other ethnic arm groups do Humanitarian aid to Rohingya community in NRS after fighting stops, Rakhine and Burmese Army could accuse of INGO are supporting terrorist groups. ANP could facilitate the event of attack on the INGO office again like 2014 Peace building and education activities in NRS would be challenge Tension is high in sittwe and central Rakhine, community conflict could happen any time soon. NLD has less controlled Burmese army in NRS so NLD relies on NGO by getting information on ground NLD rakhine govt is not exist, Border affair guy ( Htin Lin) and State GAD head ( Khine Mg shwe) have more power than any NLD guys n sittwe Embassies did not response the mg daw issues strongly because they fall in love with Daw Suu however,they responded strongly to Thein Sein govt time ================================ http://yangon.sites.unicnetwork.org/ Myanmar: UN expert warns of worsening rights situation after “lockdown” in Rakhine State Myanmar: UN expert warns of worsening rights situation after “lockdown” in Rakhine State GENEVA (18 November 2016) – A United Nations expert has called on the Government of Myanmar to take immediate action to tackle the deteriorating human rights situation in northern Rakhine State. The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, criticized the authorities for placing the region on “lockdown” for six weeks. She said a Government-led two-day visit to the area in early November by a UN official and nine ambassadors had produced only limited results in terms of addressing the humanitarian crisis. Ms. Lee expressed particular concern at reports from the area that the security operation had been stepped up since the international delegation conducted its visit. “The Government has now admitted using helicopter gunships in support of ground troops, and there are unverified claims of reprisals against villagers who had shared their grievances with the delegation,” said Ms. Lee. “The security forces must not be given carte blanche to step up their operations under the smokescreen of having allowed access to an international delegation. Urgent action is needed to bring resolution to the situation.” Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes amid a security operation triggered by armed attacks on border posts in October. Residents, including members of the Rohingya minority and other Muslim communities, are reported to have suffered serious human rights violations including torture, rape and sexual assault, summary executions, and the destruction of mosques and homes. Humanitarian programmes providing health, food, education and nutrition assistance have been suspended and civilians are reported to be caught up in military action including attacks by helicopter gunships. Ms. Lee said allegations of human rights abuses, including the alleged rape and sexual assault of women and girls, needed to be investigated. “State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has recently stated that the Government is responding to the situation based on the principle of the rule of law. Yet I am unaware of any efforts on the part of the Government to look into the allegations of human rights violations,” said Ms. Lee. “It would appear, on the contrary, that the Government has mostly responded with a blanket denial. This begs the question as to whether relevant evidence is being preserved to enable perpetrators to be held to account for their wrongdoings. Pointing fingers without definitive answers should be avoided. However, it is crucial to recognize the issue at hand – as objectively as possible – and immediately embark on a transparent, non-partial, independent investigation.” “It is not acceptable that for six weeks there was a complete lockdown, with no access to the affected areas,” she added. Ms. Lee echoed a statement by the Chair of the Rakhine Advisory Commission, Kofi Annan, for all communities to renounce violence and for security services to act in full compliance with the rule of law. She expressed hope that even before the Commission publishes a report next year, the Government would start taking interim measures in line with past recommendations to prevent further restrictions and violations of human rights suffered by the Rohingya population as well as other religious and ethnic minorities. A group of UN human rights experts* has already urged the Government to address the growing reports of violations emerging from Rakhine, calling on the authorities to allow access for humanitarian groups; to conduct thorough and impartial investigations of killings; and to implement concerted efforts to fight and prevent acts of incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence against minorities. Ms. Lee stressed that the need for urgent action was undiminished. “In my address to the General Assembly last month, I reiterated the need for humanitarian access to resume as soon as possible so that the needs of those affected and displaced are met, particularly the most vulnerable,” she said. “Also of vital importance is for impartial and independent investigations to be undertaken to address the allegations of serious human rights violations, with their perpetrators held to account.” This statement has been endorsed by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsak-Ndiaye. *Read the previous statement from the group of UN experts: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20742&LangID=E The UN Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. For more information, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/Welcomepage.aspx UN Human Rights, country page – Myanmar: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/MMIndex.aspx For more information and media requests, please contact Azwa Petra (+41 22 928 9103 / apetra@ohchr.org) For your news websites and social media: Multimedia content & key messages relating to our news releases are available on UN Human Rights social media channels, listed below. 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