Government troops, ethnic Rakhine Buddhists go on a rampage, reports Asia Sentinel
Burmese authorities have resumed a brutal crackdown on Rohingya minorities throughout Arakhan province, according to terrified sources in the villages who contacted Asia Sentinel, saying they are burning homes, beating women and children and arresting Rohingya males as the majority ethnic Rakhine go on arampage, destroying and confiscating property.
Policemen walk towards burning buildings in Sittwe, capital ofRakhine state in western Burma. Pic: AP.
The UN intervention is seemingly not effective,” said an exiled leader of the Paris-based National Democratic Party for Human Rights.
Scores of people are said to have died so far in the violence, which is being compounded by refusal to allow Rohingya access to relief supplies. At least four Rohingya in Sangadaung village were said to have died from starvation and exposure to the elements.
The reports are difficult to corroborate independently. The government has tightened press controls on reporting from the region which borders the Andaman Sea in western Burma, spurring the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders to issue a statement saying the government is continuing to restrict press freedom despite recent promises to end censorship.
“Until now, the government has been relaxing its abusive control of the media but, as it does not know how to assist the media in the new, rapidly emerging political and economic environment, it has reacted in an instinctive manner to what it regards as the excessive liberties the media are taking and has initiated at least three prosecutions since the start of the year,” the organization said on its websiteFriday.
The Rohingya, who are minority Muslims whose centuries-old origin is in India and Bangladesh, are continuing to face attacks and abuses by both authorities and the ethnic Rakhine majority in the province, the villagers say. Although Myanmar President Thein Sein has been attempting to promote ceasefires between government forces and ethnic minorities, it appears to have had little effect in the province.
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