Chittagong, Bangladesh: In a first meeting of its kind, an Arakanese Rohingya, the President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation, UK (BROUK), Maung Tun Khin detailed the situation of Arakanese Rohingya in northern Arakan, Burma in the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues on May 27, 2010 afternoon, according to Tun Khin, the President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK).
Mr.Tun Khin, the President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) discussed about Arakanese Rohingya situation in northern Arakan, western Burma in OSI conference room
“It is the first ever meeting about the terrible plight of Burma's Rohingya minority at the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues among Dr. Elsa Stamatopoulou, Mr. Tun Khin of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, the eminent philosopher Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Professor Yasmine Ergas of Columbia University, Professor Benjamin Conisbee Baer of Princeton University, Attorney at Law Chaumtoli Cabrera and Dr. Golbarg Bashi from Rutgers University,” Tun Khin said.
“Dr. Elsa Stamatopoulou was very sympathetic on hearing about Arakanese Rohingya people’s situation. She heard about it for the first time. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, who is a well known professor from Columbia University also joined the meeting,” Tun Khin added.
Signboard of the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues office
“Thanks to Mr. Tun Khin for the opportunity to be present in Thursday’s meeting in the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, where I had learnt more than I could have imagined about Arakanese Rohingya and I am inspired to help, in anyway,” said Dr. Golbarg Bashi from Rutgers University.
“I have also created a page on Facebook named Rohingya Alert in which I will regularly post news and other commentary to raise awareness-- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rohingya-Alert/130589153619281?ref=mf,” she said.
“I am honoured and inspired to be part of this awareness raising effort on behalf of our Arakanese Rohingya sisters and brothers,” she added.
Dr. Elsa Stamatopoulou, Mr. Tun Khin of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, the eminent philosopher Professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Professor Yasmine Ergas of Columbia University, Professor Benjamin Conisbee Baer of Princeton University, Attorney at Law Chaumtoli Cabrera and Dr. Golbarg Bashi from Rutgers University in the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues office
“I have been working for the Arakanese Rohingya and produced a report on my visit to the Bangladesh-Burma border; I have arranged briefings for Members of Parliament, and drafted parliamentary questions to raise the plight of the Arakanese Rohingya in parliament. In November 2008, I took three Arakanese Rohingya to Brussels, to brief members of the European Parliament, Commission and Council. And earlier this month, Maung Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), and I, travelled to Washington DC,” said Benedict Rogers, the East Asia Team Leader at the international human rights organisation Christian Solidarity Worldwide.
Moreover, the Arakanese Rohingya issue was raised and discussed in the Open Society Institute (OSI) conference room on “Exposing Statelessness: Understanding the Plight of Burma's Rohingya” with speaker: Maureen Aung-Thwin, Director, Burma Project/Southeast Asia Initiative, Open Society Institute, Maung Tun Khin, founding member, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Saiful Huq Omi, Photographer, "The Disowned and the Denied: Stateless Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh", Richard Sollom, Director of Research and Investigations -Armed Conflict and Public Health, Physicians for Human Rights, Rupert Skilbeck, Litigation Director, Open Society Justice Initiative, together with a program of the Open Society Institute Burma Project, “documenting the plight of stateless Rohingya via reports and photography,” which was organized by OSI
Over view of discussion meeting in OSI conference room
In the meeting, more than 100 people joined in, including Dr Thaung Tun from Burma Fund and other NGOs. Most of the participants supported raising awareness a bout Arakanese Rohingya people in Burma. Most of the participants were shocked to hear about Arakanese Rohingya people’s situation in northern Arakan, western Burma and Bangladesh, said Mr. Tun Khin.
Burmese food was offered before the panel discussion.
The Arakanese Rohingyas are from northern Arakan, western Burma. As a Muslim minority group, they face systematic discrimination by the military regime. The Arakanese Rohingya are not considered citizens and are unable to move, marry, or find jobs without obtaining permits or paying bribes. Without the basic rights afforded by citizenship, they are helpless to avoid arbitrary taxation, forced labour, or confiscation of their land.
Maung Tun Khin with Dr.Elsa Stamatopoulou in the Secretariat of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues office
In the 1990s, nearly a quarter of a million Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in the hope of escaping persecution in Burma. The government of Bangladesh declared the Rohingya illegal immigrants and put them in refugee camps.
Since the mass exodus two decades ago, 28,932 Rohingya still live in official camps in Bangladesh, with another 40,000 live without support in nearby makeshift camps. Around 300,000 more are denied official refugee status and labeled "illegal economic migrants,” living in cities in Bangladesh.
Over view of discussion meeting in OSI conference room
Those who fled to Bangladesh live without protection of the law and are restricted from formal education, reliable health care, and regular sources of food or income. Those who remain in Burma continue to face similar discriminations. With no resolution in sight, many young men choose to leave Bangladesh for third countries like Malaysia, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia in order to send money home to impoverished families. The plight of the Rohingya demonstrates the discrimination, exploitation, and abuse that people face when they are rendered stateless.
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