Ethnic Cleansing in Myanmar

[Avatar]

So much for a Nobel laureate!!

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/05/opinions/rakhine-state-rohingya-genocide-opinion/index.html

 

[Adisa]

Disgusting. But no one cares, so nothing will happen.

 

[diarm]

It's incredible that these things can still happen. Shameful.

 

[Neutral]

So much for a Nobel laureate!!

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/05/opinions/rakhine-state-rohingya-genocide-opinion/index.html

I made this post more than a year ago - Nov 12, 2015

After her party won the elections.

Bigger fraud than Obama.

Her Nobel prize - is she had an ounce of integrity, she would have returned it.

The ethnic cleansing going on in Myanmar with regards to the Rohingya is disgusting. The Rohingya have been there for over at least 150 years and yet, they are now being killed...pushed out and those who remain were denied the right to vote. But it's cool - they're muslims...so, we'll just let it slide.

She has not only turned a blind eye to it, but downplayed it, further encouraging the killings and forced expulsions.

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/aun...y-in-myanmar-parliament.411473/#post-18381932

Sadly...it still holds true today.

 

[GloryHunter07]

Not something i was aware of - thanks for posting. Somewhat underreported.

 

[11101]

I know it happened the first time but didnt know it had started again. My company is doing quite a lot of business in Myanmar. They have huge investment flowing in from overseas and can't imagine they would be thrilled if this carries on.

 

[Neutral]

I know it happened the first time but didnt know it had started again. My company is doing quite a lot of business in Myanmar. They have huge investment flowing in from overseas and can't imagine they would be thrilled if this carries on.

Your company like the rest of the world won't care. Myanmar is 'open for business' and in the end that's all that matters.

Not judging - just the way it is.

 

[11101]

Your company like the rest of the world won't care. Myanmar is 'open for business' and in the end that's all that matters.

Not judging - just the way it is.

They will care about bad press. Just depends if it makes the news or not.

 

[Dumbstar]

I don't know about atrocities in African countries (there are usually a few there too) but Myanmar is probably the worst ongoing crisis at the moment. So sad. Since no one else is caring one has to wonder what the likes of Saudi, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia even are doing about this.

 

[Neutral]

I don't know about atrocities in African countries (there are usually a few there too) but Myanmar is probably the worst ongoing crisis at the moment. So sad. Since no one else is caring one has to wonder what the likes of Saudi, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia even are doing about this.

Bangladesh despite being poor has and is doing more than its fair share.

Bangladesh already houses ~300,000 Rohingya refugees. They've been in Bangladesh for 20+ years. As for the current round of ethnic cleansing - the UNHCR says 21,000 refugees have crossed into Bangladesh (so those are the ones that have been accounted for). Actual numbers are closer to 100,000

Bangladesh officially has a policy of pushing back the refugees and it's one I agree with. These Burmese cnuts have refused to take back the original 300,000 refugees from 20 years ago and they're working from the same playbook this time around. Push them out - ride out the international 'outrage'. End result is a win for them.

This is like the Palestinians who were expelled by the Israelis - they became permanent refugees. Motherfecking Burmese shouldn't be rewarded for ethnic cleansing.

Pakistan - busy trying to sell their shitty fighter jets to the Burmese

Malaysia - is going to get really tough...they'll refuse to play sports

Saudis - cnuts are busy funding terrorists around the world and bombing funerals in Yemen

 

[RedTiger]

From a few years ago but it shows the Nobel laureate's disdain for muslims

 

[Neutral]

Peace my ass....

Two Nobel 'Peace' Prize winners aka Hypocrites United

Prof Yunus from Bangladesh (GrameenBank) - a cnut who cares about NOTHING but money and of course the darling of the west (Obama visited Myanmar twice in his 8 years in office!)

 

[Snow]

Hasn't this been going on for years?

 

[RedTiger]

Bangladesh had an agreement in place last year that the Burmese would stop referring to the people as Bengalis and start identifying them as Rohingya, they've complied by and large but there have been recent reports that now the Burmese are calling other ethnic muslims such as Kachin, Chin, Mon and shan as "Bengali Kalars". It's very evident what they're trying to achieve.

 

[VorZakone]

Peace my ass....

Two Nobel 'Peace' Prize winners aka Hypocrites United

Prof Yunus from Bangladesh (GrameenBank) - a cnut who cares about NOTHING but money and of course the darling of the west (Obama visited Myanmar twice in his 8 years in office!)

Care to elaborate on why Yunus is a cnut? I was under the impression that he has been praised a lot for his work in microfinance.

 

[Neutral]

Care to elaborate on why Yunus is a cnut? I was under the impression that he has been praised a lot for his work in microfinance.

His intentions were good - absolutely no doubt about that. But, he lost his way a long time ago and the only thing he has cared about for the last decade has been HIS bottom line.

Money and power (he's really close to Hillary) have changed him.

Not to mention - now that there is more data available, people are starting to see, micro finance isn't the miracle it's meant to be. I actually think, Sir Fazle Abed and BRAC have done more for the poor and in a much more ethical manner.

 

[RedTiger]

I actually think, Sir Fazle Abed and BRAC have done more for the poor and in a much more ethical manner.

Fully agree.

 

[Neutral]

Looks like mighty nuclear power, financial juggernaut Myanmar is untouchable.

Absolutely no one gives a feck as the cnut Burmese continue to ethnically cleanse Arakan -something they've done periodically for decades. Driving these people out of Burma forever and their destination being Bangladesh.

90,000 Rohingya have fled Burma in the past couple of weeks and more continue to stream into Bangladesh.

 

[Moiraine]

Some terrible clips have emerged on social media, their monk is openly spreading hate and calling for the rape of Muslim Women, wiping out the whole community. Their "Noble Piece Winner" is in complete denial for whats happening around. Here is their leader...

I hate the world we are living in, so much hate and bloodshed...

 

[Aboutreika18]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-aid-to-civilians-at-heart-of-rohingya-crisis

 

[Brwned]

I hate the world we are living in, so much hate and bloodshed...

It's the same world we've always lived in. If we focus specifically on this part of the world, you find that the birth of Myanmar as we know it can be traced back to the Nanzhao people violently overthrowing the Pyu people in the 9th century. The Mongols came to rape and pillage their lands in the 13th century, leading to the collapse of the Pagan Empire and a fragmented state for another couple of centuries. During that time the Chinese periodically raided parts of the region. The Toungoo dynasty then took over for more than two centuries, ceding some control to the Portuguese for a couple of decades, before being invaded by the British empire in the 19th century. To demonstrate how little interest (or how much disdain) there was for the peoples they invaded, you need only look at the death toll recorded in wiki: "Unknown but significantly higher than the British (15,000)". We've always hated the others. The creation of artificial, ethnically insensitive borders as a result of colonialism didn't help much in that sense, as we can see here, but our treatment of the others hasn't changed all that much.

 

[whatwha]

Some terrible clips have emerged on social media, their monk is openly spreading hate and calling for the rape of Muslim Women, wiping out the whole community. Their "Noble Piece Winner" is in complete denial for whats happening around. Here is their leader...

I hate the world we are living in, so much hate and bloodshed...

I think it's a bit disgusting that Time are trying to make a point out of the Burmese majority being Buddhist, or of the so-called monk being Buddhist, or of the terror being Buddhist in nature.

As far as I've understood, this issue is mainly ethno-nationalist.

You won't find a single incitement to or justification of violence in any Buddhist scripture, unlike some other religions. Of course you'll find violent assholes who claim to be Buddhist, but Buddhism does not in itself create extremists of any sort.

 

[PedroMendez]

The creation of artificial, ethnically insensitive borders as a result of colonialism didn't help much in that sense

Have the political entities (states/empires/nations; no idea how to call it) in the region had homogeneous populations before colonial powers changed their character? (Genuine question)

In most parts of the world colonial powers took over very diverse regions/empires. In this regard the legacy of colonialism isn't that it shuffled people together who never lived together before, but that it changed the character of the state (nationalism, centralism, modern bureaucracy/institutions).

 

[Neutral]

I think it's a bit disgusting that Time are trying to make a point out of the Burmese majority being Buddhist, or of the so-called monk being Buddhist, or of the terror being Buddhist in nature.

As far as I've understood, this issue is mainly ethno-nationalist.

You won't find a single incitement to or justification of violence in any Buddhist scripture, unlike some other religions. Of course you'll find violent assholes who claim to be Buddhist, but Buddhism does not in itself create extremists of any sort.

Yeah...I'm glad that's what you found to be 'disgusting'

The day the pamphlet was distributed, a Buddhist monk in Sittwe who spearheaded the effort told Human Rights Watch:

This morning we handed our pamphlet out downtown [in Sittwe]. It is an announcement demanding that the Arakanese people must not sell anything to the Muslims or buy anything from them. The second point is the Arakanese people must not be friendly with the Muslim people. The reason for that is that the Muslim people are stealing our land, drinking our water, and killing our people. They are eating our rice and staying near our houses. So we will separate. We don’t want any connection to the Muslim people at all.

A bonafide apologist - I like it. Do, carry on.

 

[Neutral]

The monk Ashin Sandarthiri likewise told BBC that Rohingya have no right to stay in Burma: “Around the world there are many Muslim countries. They should go there. The Muslim countries will take care of them. They should go to countries with the same religion.”

The “Rathedaung Statement,” which attendees approved and then released after the meeting, espoused arguments promoting ethnic cleansing. It calls for the establishment of a “rule to control the birth rate of the Muslim Bengali community living in Arakan”

Invidious Stereotyping and Unfounded Allegations of Rohingya “Terrorist” Plots

Many Arakanese view the Rohingya as monolithic group intent on waging an anti-Buddhist war in Arakan State or at least spreading fundamentalist Islam there, and throughout the country. Although Burma has a long and continuing history of ethnic armed movements, according to Martin Smith in his seminal work on Burma’s ethnic groups, “no insurgent group has made much progress in the Muslim community.”[18] Non-state armed groups called the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF) were established in northern Arakan State in 1982 and 1987, respectively. But Smith and others agree these groups and others never posed a serious threat to the Burmese military state, their principal target, nor to Burmese society.[19]

Yet several Arakanese interviewed by Human Rights Watch referred to Rohingya as “kalar terrorists” and claimed “every mosque” in Arakan State has a store of weapons and that every imam has connections with al-Qaeda.[20] Local police and the Nasaka (officially Nay-Sat Kut-kwey Ye, the interagency border guard force comprising military, police, immigration, and customs) directly fueled these beliefs after the June violence, making statements to monks and the Arakanese populace that attributed violent characteristics to the Rohingya as a whole.

For instance, the Buddhist monk in Sittwe who initially led the campaign to isolate Muslims after the June violence told Human Rights Watch:

In Arakan State, the biggest mosque is near the Noble Hotel [in Sittwe]. The government found two boxes filled with weapons there, but they didn’t say anything to the media. Arakanese soldiers [police] told me they found it. They told the people too. The reason why the government is silent is that if they announce it, the problem will get bigger, not only in Burma but throughout the world.[21]
Another Arakanese man in Sittwe said:

It was widely rumored that arms and ammunitions were found in some of the mosques [after the June violence]. In my opinion, I think it is about 80 percent true. I heard some police officers say it. But the government didn’t say anything about that. I don’t know why.[22]
An Arakanese elder in Sittwe said: “About 50 percent of the so-called Rohingya Muslims are Taliban-minded. They study in the madrassas [Islamic religious schools]. Their ideology is the same as the Taliban. The police know this and discuss it [with us].”[23] And another Arakanese man in Sittwe said the authorities told him that they found weapons owned by Rohingya hidden in NGO offices[24] – an allegation that was never substantiated by any government official.

Moreover, government-controlled media has blamed the violence in Arakan State on Rohingya “terrorists,” and this has become a widely held belief in Burma.[25] Online social media sites are replete with such allegations, accessed primarily by Burmese in urban centers, and the sentiment has been disseminated in sermons by popular Buddhist monks and widely discussed in teashops, monasteries, and other places of public discourse.

Importantly, such allegations have been expressed publicly and privately by members of the highest political offices. For instance, the director of President Thein Sein’s office and a graduate of the military’s elite Defense Services Academy, Zaw Htay (also known as Hmuu Zaw), posted inflammatory remarks on Facebook, which have since been removed. He wrote:

It is heard that Rohingya Terrorists of the so-called Rohingya Solidarity Organization are crossing the border and getting into the country with the weapons. That is Rohingyas from other countries are coming into the country. Since our Military has got the news in advance, we will eradicate them until the end! I believe we are already doing it. ...We don’t want to hear any humanitarian issues or human rights from others. Besides, we neither want to hear any talk of justice nor want anyone to teach us like a saint.[26]

 

[NoLogo]

Tribalism is a hell of a drug. If you can make one group of people believe that another group of people is the enemy there is someone very likely to profit from that. Religion, nation or race doesn't even matter as long as you can make them believe that those tribes still exist in a globalized world.

It sadness and angers me to see this lived out in it's most revolting form. We need to overcome every form of tribalism if we one day want to live in a better world for all people.

 

[Brwned]

Have the political entities (states/empires/nations; no idea how to call it) in the region had homogeneous populations before colonial powers changed their character? (Genuine question)

In most parts of the world colonial powers took over very diverse regions/empires. In this regard the legacy of colonialism isn't that it shuffled people together who never lived together before, but that it changed the character of the state (nationalism, centralism, modern bureaucracy/institutions).

I'd imagine @Neutral has a better grasp on the history of that region than I do, but yes I think your point is broadly true - heterogeneity (in terms of culture and ethnicity) has been a historical reality in almost every part of the world, pre- and post-colonialism. Your more nuanced point was broadly what I was trying to get at. It's not so much about the geography but about the power structures imposed, and the impact that has on the various sub-regions.

In the case of Myanmar it was primarily inhabited by the Pyu (2nd century BC), Mon (6th century), Bamar (12th century) and Shan (13th century) people, so ethnic diversity is built into the region. There is evidence of direct influence of British colonialism adding to that, though, in the country's (supposed) 3rd largest ethnic group now - the Karen people.

The term "Karen" is an umbrella term that refers to a heterogeneous lot of ethnic groups that do not share a common language, culture, religion or material characteristics. A pan-Karen ethnic identity is a relatively modern creation, established in the 1800s with the conversion of some Karens to Christianity and shaped by various British colonial policies and practices and the introduction of Christianity.

The Rakhine people - a sub-group of which are under genocidal attack currently - are (supposedly) the 4th largest ethnicity and have a particular history in that even in modern times they were almost granted indepenent state status for a period of time, before autonomy was taken away again. That said they were part of the Pyu and Bamar regions since way back when so, again, your point holds true - it was never straightforward.

Foreign invasion

The country had been invaded several times, by the Mongols, Mon, Bamar and Portuguese and finally the Bamar in 1784 when the armies led by the Crown Prince, son of King Bodawpaya, of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma marched across the western Yoma and annexed Rakhine. The religious relics of the kingdom were stolen from Rakhine, most notably the Mahamuni Buddha image, and taken into central Burma where they remain today. The people of Rakhine resisted the conquest of the kingdom for decades after. Fighting with the Rakhine resistance, initially led by Nga Than Dè and finally by Chin Byan in border areas, created problems between British India and Burma. The year 1826 saw the defeat of the Bamar in the First Anglo-Burmese War and Rakhine was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Yandabo. Sittwe (Akyab) was then designated the new capital of Rakhine. In 1852, Rakhine was merged into Lower Burma as a territorial division.

Independence movement

Rakhine was the centre of multiple insurgencies which fought against British rule, notably led by the monks U Ottama and U Seinda.

During the Second World War, Rakhine was given autonomy under the Japanese occupation of Burma and was even granted its own army known as the Arakan Defense Force. The Arakan Defense Force went over to the allies and turned against the Japanese in early 1945.

 

[Neutral]

@Brwned I wouldn't really have much of a grasp of the conflict - despite my parents being from Bangladesh. But, any insight I have is oddly because the apartment I rented while at uni was owned by a Burmese exile (the Junta had killed her pro democracy activist father).

We mostly initially spoke of the fight for democracy in Burma and over time into the plight of the Rohingya.

The Kamein/Kaman are muslims that the Burmese actually consider to be citizens - though they only number 50,000. The Rohingya are much larger in terms of demographics - though the number within Burma has now by some estimates been superseded by the exiled population (half a million in Bangladesh, another half a million in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, India has 40,000+)

Officially the Burmese including that cnut Suu Kyi have tried to sell this is an ethnic issue and one of illegal immigrants. Fine, let's go with that. People that moved to a region a couple of hundred years ago quite simply can't be called illegal immigrants.

This isn't mexicans crossing the border 2 years ago. We are speaking of generations and generations.

But, if we stop believing the lies and see it for what it is...and simply listen to the words of those inciting the violence and murder - this is about muslims being persecuted.

The world wants to right the wrongs of the horrible Armenian genocide (rightly so!), yet, it turns a blind eye to what is happening in Burma.

Humanitarian assistance and refugee camps aren't the answer - that's what the Burmese want. These people kicked out and never ever given a right to return.

 

[Brwned]

@Brwned I wouldn't really have much of a grasp of the conflict - despite my parents being from Bangladesh. But, any insight I have is oddly because the apartment I rented while at uni was owned by a Burmese exile (the Junta had killed her pro democracy activist father).

We mostly initially spoke of the fight for democracy in Burma and over time into the plight of the Rohingya.

The Kamein/Kaman are muslims that the Burmese actually consider to be citizens - though they only number 50,000. The Rohingya are much larger in terms of demographics - though the number within Burma has now by some estimates been superseded by the exiled population (half a million in Bangladesh, another half a million in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, India has 40,000+)

Officially the Burmese including that cnut Suu Kyi have tried to sell this is an ethnic issue and one of illegal immigrants. Fine, let's go with that. People that moved to a region a couple of hundred years ago quite simply can't be called illegal immigrants.

This isn't mexicans crossing the border 2 years ago. We are speaking of generations and generations.

But, if we stop believing the lies and see it for what it is...and simply listen to the words of those inciting the violence and murder - this is about muslims being persecuted.

The world wants to right the wrongs of the horrible Armenian genocide (rightly so!), yet, it turns a blind eye to what is happening in Burma.

Humanitarian assistance and refugee camps aren't the answer - that's what the Burmese want. These people kicked out and never ever given a right to return.

No doubt it's religious/ethnic cleansing and as such is despicable in every sense, but is there merit to the suggestions that a minority of the group are particularly threatening (i.e. sharing ideology with the Taliban and possessing weapons)? It wouldn't justify it but it would make it easier to understand why the nation, the region and the world are finding it easier to turn a blind eye to this. Or is it simply because the West like "democracy champion" Aung San Suu Kyi, and all key narratives flow off of that?

 

[RedTiger]

@Brwned I wouldn't really have much of a grasp of the conflict - despite my parents being from Bangladesh. But, any insight I have is oddly because the apartment I rented while at uni was owned by a Burmese exile (the Junta had killed her pro democracy activist father).

We mostly initially spoke of the fight for democracy in Burma and over time into the plight of the Rohingya.

The Kamein/Kaman are muslims that the Burmese actually consider to be citizens - though they only number 50,000. The Rohingya are much larger in terms of demographics - though the number within Burma has now by some estimates been superseded by the exiled population (half a million in Bangladesh, another half a million in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, India has 40,000+)

Officially the Burmese including that cnut Suu Kyi have tried to sell this is an ethnic issue and one of illegal immigrants. Fine, let's go with that. People that moved to a region a couple of hundred years ago quite simply can't be called illegal immigrants.

This isn't mexicans crossing the border 2 years ago. We are speaking of generations and generations.

But, if we stop believing the lies and see it for what it is...and simply listen to the words of those inciting the violence and murder - this is about muslims being persecuted.

The world wants to right the wrongs of the horrible Armenian genocide (rightly so!), yet, it turns a blind eye to what is happening in Burma.

Humanitarian assistance and refugee camps aren't the answer - that's what the Burmese want. These people kicked out and never ever given a right to return.

Muslims have been in Rakhine since before the Bamar took over in the 17th century (Chittagong was actually ceded to the British after the Anglo-Burma war). This whole thing is part religion and part race, they are really pushing the "Kalar is different" narrative quite forcefully by either referring to dark skinned Muslims as Bengali and dark skinned Hindus as Indian. In fact a large group of Hindus came over with some Rohingya last week from Rakhine after their villages were also burnt down

http://www.thedailystar.net/world/s...eing-persecution-myanmar-violence-1456756?amp

 

[Neutral]

No doubt it's religious/ethnic cleansing and as such is despicable in every sense, but is there merit to the suggestions that a minority of the group are particularly threatening (i.e. sharing ideology with the Taliban and possessing weapons)? It wouldn't justify it but it would make it easier to understand why the nation, the region and the world are finding it easier to turn a blind eye to this. Or maybe is it simply because the West like "democracy champion" Aung San Suu Kyi, and all key narratives flow off of that?

Anyone that says 'Allahu Akbar' is now said to share ideology with the Taliban. When people are threatened, what do they cling to - their faith (this isn't just true of muslims). This strife predates the Taliban. Bangladesh was forced to take in a huge number of refugees in the early 80's....you think the Burmese authorities were worried about 'Taliban ideology' back then too

Possessing weapons - yes, there is an armed rebel group which is now active and has killed government troops and security personnel.

What do you think, killing women, children and burning down their homes does to young Rohingya men...don't you think it might lead more of them to join up with those who share an ideology with the Taliban?

*Don't get me wrong*

The Burmese are well within their rights to fight against insurgents - what country wouldn't? But, that's not what they're doing - they're burning down entire villages and then pushing people across the border.

Thanks to AQ/Taliban/ISIS - any group of muslims who stand up for anything are now labeled as extremists and said to share ideology with jihadi groups.

Take the Uighurs in China and what has been done to them historically and what is being done to them in their homelands currently - the Chinese govt by virtue of state sponsored policies is transplanting other ethnic groups in order to make them minorities in regions where historically they are the majority.

Some of these Uighurs and Hui in recent years have turned to jihadi groups - absolutely no denying it. But, the narrative being put out is, we're clamping down on them because they are jihadis...ignoring the fact, oppression played a part in turning some towards jihadi groups.

I am in my mid 30's and very much 'woke' (a man in his 30's using the term 'woke' - kill me now!). I am well aware of how the real world works and why it does the way it does. The Bosnians are the last muslim victims of genocide who will get help in the form of an intervention. Muslims in the past 15 years, particularly in the last 10 have cost themselves a whole lotta goodwill from the world at large (blowing up cafes, buses, schools tends to do that and I'm not even going to delve into what was done to the Yazidi!).

But, I want people to be intellectually honest. I don't begrudge people their biases - I just don't want them to pretend like they don't exist.

 

[Neutral]

Burma: Satellite Images Show Massive Fire Destruction

700 Buildings Destroyed in Single Muslim Village in Rakhine State



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New satellite imagery obtained by Human Rights Watch shows the complete destruction of the village of Chein Khar Li

Satellite imagery © DigitalGlobe 2017
(New York) – New satellite imagery shows several hundred buildings burned in Burma’s Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. Imagery from the Rohingya Muslim village of Chein Khar Li in Rathedaung township shows 700 buildings burned, a near total destruction of the village.
The Burmese government should urgently grant access to independent monitors to determine the sources of fires and assess allegations of serious human rights violations made by ethnic Rohingya refugees who have fled into neighboring Bangladesh.

Launch Map


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Map locating 700 buildings destroyed in August 2017 in the Rohingya-majority village of Chein Khar Li, Burma.

© 2017 Human Rights Watch
“This new satellite imagery shows the total destruction of a Muslim village, and prompts serious concerns that the level of devastation in northern Rakhine State may be far worse than originally thought,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “Yet this is only one of 17 sites that we’ve located where burnings have taken place. Independent monitors are needed on the ground to urgently uncover what’s going on.”

Human Rights Watch identified a total of 700 destroyed buildings in Chein Khar Li from an analysis of satellite imagery recorded on August 31, 2017. The imagery shows that 99 percent of the village was destroyed. Damage signatures are consistent with fire, including the presence of large burn scars and destroyed tree cover.

This imagery builds on previously published data collected by Human Rights Watch indicating burnings taking place at 17 separate sites across northern Rakhine state between August 25 and 30, 2017. Those burnings followed a series of coordinated attacks by ethnic Rohingya militants of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on the morning of August 25, 2017 against dozens of Burmese government police stations and checkpoints, government offices, and an army base.

Satellites initially detected active fires in the early afternoon of August 25 in the village tract of Koe Tan Kauk in Rathedaung township, where Chein Khar Li is located. There are two adjacent villages located north and south of Chein Khar Li (Muslim village) that appeared intact in the satellite imagery—Koe Tan Kaung and Chein Khar Li (an ethnic Rakhine-populated village with the same formal name as the destroyed village).

Human Rights Watch analysis indicates that the large areas shown as burnt in the satellite imagery means it is very likely the burning was deliberate. Given the current monsoon weather conditions in Rakhine State, it would have been very difficult to set fire to such a significant number of buildings. The scale of the fire destruction suggests that burnings either were done with significant numbers of people or over a significant period of time to carry out this widespread degree of burning.

The Burmese government has blamed the setting of fires on ARSA militants and Rohingya villagers who the government claims set fire to their own homes. The government has not provided any evidence to support these allegations, nor did they ever prove similar allegations made by the government during the burning of Rohingya areas between October 2016 and December 2016. Human Rights Watch and others determined that Burmese security forces deliberately set those fires.


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Rohingya refugees walk towards Bangladesh after crossing the Bangladesh-Burma border in Teknaf, Bangladesh, September 1, 2017.

© 2017 Mohammad Ponir Hossain / Reuters
Numerous Rohingya refugees who had recently fled from various other villages in northern Rakhine State to Bangladesh told Human Rights Watch that Burmese soldiers and police had burned down their homes and carried out armed attacks on villagers. Many of these Rohingya refugees suffered from recent bullet and shrapnel wounds.
The Burmese government should immediately grant visas to the three commissioners of the Fact Finding Mission appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

“These new satellite images show exactly why it is critical for international investigators to be allowed on the ground in Rakhine State,” Robertson said. “The UN Fact Finding Mission should get the full cooperation of the Burmese government to fulfill their mandate to assess human rights abuses in Rakhine State and explore ways to end attacks and ensure accountability.”

===============================================

More pics -

Govt security forces

 

[berbatrick]

Centre refuses to give undertaking in SC to stop deportation move against Rohingyas
(in India, where many of them are fleeing)
http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...ya-refugees/article19620660.ece?homepage=true


In unrelated events in my secular country:
We must accommodate Hindu Bangladeshi migrants: Modi in Assam

Edit: Bonus -
This is the judge that is hearing the case

He was part of the bench that upheld the constitutional validity of criminal defamation provisions in the IPC. It said these did not muzzle free speech and asked the petitioners—which included Rahul Gandhi, Subramanian Swamy and Arvind Kejriwal —to face trial.

Justice Mishra was part of the bench that ordered playing of the National Anthem in the beginning of a film in theatres.

 

[whatwha]

Yeah...I'm glad that's what you found to be 'disgusting'



A bonafide apologist - I like it. Do, carry on.

Not gonna dignify this shit with a response. You come off as a complete arsehole and an idiot. You misjudged my post completely.

 

[berbatrick]

Not gonna dignify this shit with a response. You come off as a complete arsehole and an idiot. You misjudged my post completely.

If you followed your train of thought further, you might find that it's tribal identity (which can manifest as religious or national) that often leads to mob violence, terrorism, or genocide, rather than the character of the religion or the nation involved.
Many ostensibly peaceful religions have been involved in pogroms.

 

[whatwha]

If you followed your train of thought further, you might find that it's tribal identity (which can manifest as religious or national) that often leads to mob violence, terrorism, or genocide, rather than the character of the religion or the nation involved.
Many ostensibly peaceful religions have been involved in pogroms.

I'm not contesting this. I just find what Time does to be dishonest. And I find Neutral's post to be DEEPLY offensive. Don't you? Because I wish to defend Buddhism I am a fecking supporter of genocide?!

 

[RedTiger]

I'm not contesting this. I just find what Time does to be dishonest. And I find Neutral's post to be DEEPLY offensive. Don't you? Because I wish to defend Buddhism I am a fecking supporter of genocide?!

Unfortunately this is now the world we live in, there's no nuance in opinion and everyone is compartmentalised into identities whereby anything done by the group you are assigned to must be owned by you. Shame.

 

[berbatrick]

I'm not contesting this. I just find what Time does to be dishonest. And I find Neutral's post to be DEEPLY offensive. Don't you? Because I wish to defend Buddhism I am a fecking supporter of genocide?!

I generally don't feel the need to defend any religion (individual followers are a different question). Many of the leaders of the violence are indeed Buddhist monks, and their rhetoric is a mix of religion and nationalism. So what they are doing is spreading terror under the banner of Buddhism.

If you can accept a picture of Mullah Omar with "The fact of Islamic terror", I don't see this as any different.

 

[KM]

Yeah...I'm glad that's what you found to be 'disgusting'



A bonafide apologist - I like it. Do, carry on.

I hope you're not calling him a genocide apologist just because he thinks his religion doesn't condone violence.

 

[KM]

Unfortunately this is now the world we live in, there's no nuance in opinion and everyone is compartmentalised into identities whereby anything done by the group you are assigned to must be owned by you. Shame.

Very well said.