Dublin Protest Against Crimes against Rohingya In Arakan

Dublin, Ireland: We are very grateful to all who are here to support and stand side by side and hand in hand against the crimes being committed in a relatively unknown place called Arakan in western part of Burma, a place where the world most persecuted people, Rohingya are living for hundreds of years, a place where birth rights are denied, a place where Rohingya are wipe out from being citizen of our own country, a place where Rohingya have been under systematic discriminations, a place which is currently under immense terrors from our sister community, Rakhine.

It is the saddest moment for all people of Burma to see the current crisis when the country has taken steps towards Democracy after half a century rules under dictator and military junta. Some groups of people specially Rakhine extremists are creating the communal tensions with Rohingya, and directly affecting the national commitments towards reconciliation for all the ethnic people of Burma.

It is the saddest moment for all Rohingya and those who respect peace and human rights to face the organized, systematic atrocities created by Rakhine along with Burmese military under the leadership of the rightist, the extremist and the racist leaders of Rakhine. These people have the history of creating racial tensions against Rohingya under numerous and various operations like of 1942 genocidal acts before our independence, 1949 massacre after the independence, 1978 and 1992 ethnic cleansing during Ne Win dictatorship and now 2012 ethnic wipe out under the new so-called civilian government. These operations on Rohingya have led hundreds thousands of Rohingya being killed and made more than half of Rohingya population to seek refuge in different parts of the world.

It is the saddest week for all Rohingya and all peace loving people around the world to see the crackdown of a peaceful demonstration and turning it into violence by the Burmese police and boosting the so-called Rakhine extremists who are ready to attack and ready to cleanse Rohingya from our native land. The current crisis started on 8th June when a group of Rohingya people were heading towards mosques to pray for the soul of 10 Muslims brutally killed on 3rd of June while they were returning home in Yangon from Arakan state. The demonstrators were intervened and shot fired killing two people. The pre-organized Rakhine people have started attacking Rohingya and burning their houses.

I would like to tell you one thing here that we, Rohingya are not allowed to be police or army officers and thus making police department with almost full of Rakhine people. With the supports of the police force, Rakhine have burnt and killed many Rohingya on the first day. Soon, the situation has got worse by spreading to all over the state. By the night, curfew was applied and then Marshell law or state of emergency was announced.

It is the saddest feeling for defenceless Rohingya people to face the Marshall law and curfew applied to one and only Rohingya while Rakhine people are freely able to attack, burn, loot, vandalize and kill Rohingya and their properties. It is reported from our Rohingya people on the ground that Rakhine people are fully supported by their police and army forces while Rohingya people who are trying to go out are shot on the spot and Rakhine people are freely able to move 24 hours a day burning, looting Rohingya properties. I have called so many Rohingya in the state, and they described the current situation the most horrible. They also said that they are very afraid of losing more than half of Rohingya inside the state. Furthermore, due to the Marshall law and curfew, Rohingya are dying starving because of no food and water, people are shot dead if go out and people are burnt alive at night if they stay inside.

It is the saddest experience for all ethics following mass media to see and read many Burmese and their affiliated media which are fabricating news against Rohingya. These media are reporting by manipulating the real situation. They report burning of Rohingya houses and villages as Rakhine houses and villages. They report Rohingya dead bodies as Buddhist monk by shaving the heads of deceases and wearing monk sarongs. They report interviews done only on Rakhine and never approach to Rohingya. Most importantly, they are going to report the upcoming planned program in which Rakhine people will be wearing Muslim dresses and Rohingya people who were forced by army and police to hold arms and dress like terrorists.

This is ultimately creating immense phobia and racism against defenceless Rohingya people.It is the saddest treatment for all Rohingya to see our neighbour Bangladesh who have pushed back over 300 boat people who were trying to escape from being brutally killed in their home state and making them to fall again into the dead zone. This showed Bangladesh have betrayed as being a good neighbour as well as violating international laws and codes of humanity to provide shelter to defenceless people.

I would like to end here with what we want to seek from the government of Burma as well as from the international communities. We would like to see the urgent stopping of violence, ethnics cleansing and protecting Rohingya in Arakan state. We would like to see rule of law.

We would like to see stopping of racism, discrimination and restoration of citizenship rights.

We would like to see the local and the international media to be present in the state and report without bias by including Rohingya people who are trapped inside the houses. We would like to see providing food, water and medical helps. We would like to see opening up of the national commitment and reconciliation along with Rohingya. And last not the least opening a real inquiry on the killing of Rohingya by Rakhine with cooperated police forces.

With my greatest thanks to all of you who are present here and my sincere prayers for the peace, justice and safety of Rohingya brothers and sisters in our state, Arakan.