By Harun Yahya
January 29, 2014
The below letter has been sent by Mr. Harun Yahya
(Adnan Oktar) to the United Nations, human rights organizations and other
authorities as an urgent appeal to investigate the recent violence against
Rohingya thoroughly, to document and expose to the eyes of the world
We are deeply concerned over the recent reports of
violence against Rohingya people in Myanmar, and we are writing to you in order
to urge you to put pressure to bear on the government of Myanmar.
As you also know, Myanmar’s government considers the
estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners while many citizens
see them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and view them with hostility.
According to numerous human rights organizations and
many news published on international media, the Myanmar government is
instigating a program of ethnic cleansing against the Muslim civilian
population. We are aware that you have knowledge of the communal violence going
on in Myanmar and that you have previously taken steps toward easing the situation;
however, the current events require the world’s immediate attention and
possibly the application of sanctions to halt the acts of brutality against
ethnic minorities.
Beginning on Jan 13, in Kilai-Daung (Du-Chira-Dan)
village, or Duchiradan village tract, Maungdaw, we heard reports of Rohingya
taken as slaves, tied up, killed, chopped into pieces and dumped in the gutter,
then starting the night of 13th and running through 14th January, women who
were raped and had their breasts cut off before they were killed, a grandmother
age 103 years and her grandchildren were reported as killed as police watched
and stood by. There are also reports of dead bodies being taken away by
security forces on trucks to be buried, as well as sweeping arrests of men, women,
and children of all ages. Yet the government refuses to acknowledge anyone
except a policeman had been killed.
In lights of reports, the event that led to this
violence is actually the killing of eight Rohingyas by the village
administrator of Duchiradan, Aung Zan Phyu. This event was witnessed by a
Rohingya laborer who then informed the Rohingya villagers. The villagers found
the bodies that were hacked into pieces and they took one body back to their
village. The police and village administrator, who tried to hide the crime,
tried to arrest the villagers, opened fire and were reported as having even
raped a girl while this was going on. As the tension heightened one police
sergeant and more innocent villagers were killed. Here you may find more detail
and some of the names that were killed during the brutal attack.
The witnesses state that the number of people who died
are multiple times more than that, the list of names is only a fraction of the
actual number of those killed.
The village that hosted 340 houses and 4000
inhabitants is now empty. It is totally blocked and declared to be
No-Entry-Zone for Rohingyas and observers.
The hostility has escalated so much that there is a
standing order from central government Naypyidaw administration to arrest
Rohingya males and boys above 10. This is a signal of possible wave of Rohingya
genocide in the coming days in Myanmar.
We are now in an effort to call the relevant
authorities to action by raising awareness on the social media both in Turkey
and abroad. Our work has born very good results. Yet it requires an official
and independent organization like the UN to press the issue and make thorough
investigation.
We have learnt that both the US and Britain and also
the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar
urged the Myanmar government to investigate and clarify reports about the
clashes of January 14 between security forces and Rohingya Muslims in the
village of Du Char Yar Tan ; however, due to claims that the government either
turns a blind eye to this persecution or even worse takes part in these
attacks, we believe it is not the Myanmar government’s place to make these
investigations; but rather, should be entrusted to an independent organization
like the UN or other human rights organizations. Therefore, we request all the
relevant authorities to take interest and demand that the Myanmar government
fully open its doors to these areas for foreigners as impartial observers as
soon as possible, as this is not the first clash and we fear it will not be the
last.
The fact that the evidence of these clashes is very
hard to document and along with the eyewitnesses’ claims that the security
forces hastily wipe out the evidence, taking the bodies to the forest, or
burying them right away, makes the current situation even more urgent to
clarify and expose to the eyes of the world.
Yet the evidence of the past crimes against Rohingya
and Burmese Muslims is vast. Witness testimonies are numerous, and now even
there are talks of videos of police standing by during attacks. On top of this
there are numerous reports of systematic rape of Rohingya women, and also other
ethnic minorities around the country, at the hands of Burmese soldiers or
police. These reports are well documented, and Human Rights Watch has very
thoroughly covered many of them. What is more is that these rapes, gang rapes,
and murders of women almost always happen with the knowledge or participation
of higher ranking officers. Last year there were reports that Rohingya women
were being kidnapped and placed into military facilities to act as sex slaves.
This is ongoing and there are human rights organizations still investigating
these incidents and compiling evidence.
The biggest issue Rohingya people are in need of is
citizenship which would give them some rights for protection and also allow
them to live lives with the same basic human rights as the rest of the country.
Simple things like owning property, getting married, having children, having
access to water and medicine are all things that are denied to Rohingya
regularly.
Besides these acts of brutality, there is the issue of
Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) of about 150,000 Rohingyas. Violent attacks
like that of January 14, cause more and more Rohingya into area of refuge. We
also hear that the local people have been banned to shelter these displaced
people.
What Can Be Done?
The ethnic or religious discrimination going on in
Myanmar is unacceptable. Both Buddhist teachings and Islam are peaceful and
tolerant towards other religions. Therefore the dialogue between these two
major religions should be developed.
The Myanmar government should embrace all ethnic
minorities living in its borders with equal conditions and grant them
citizenship and respect their human rights according to the UN Charter.
The UN Security Council has the authority and the
credibility in the world’s eyes to urge the Myanmar government to respect the
human rights of ethnic and religious minorities living within its borders. The
right to life, liberty and security of Rohingya should be reinstated.
To guarantee the safety of Rohingya people, the UN
peacekeeping force should be allowed in the region. Furthermore, international
media should be given access to any location to investigate and pursue the
issue.
By generating political and economic pressure from the
Western countries, the Myanmar government can be motivated and advised to
continue its democratization process.
Furthermore, the Myanmar government should be pressed
to reform its constitution of 1982 that states that anyone who arrived Myanmar
after 1823 is not considered a citizen, thus isolating ethnic groups such as
Rohingya and denying them the rights offered to citizenship.
The torturing, raping, looting, arbitrary arresting,
murdering and killing of innocent Rohingya should immediately come to an end.
Additionally, action should be taken against those who killed innocent men,
women and children.
The world recalls with deep regret its
non-interference in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994; while the UN and the Western
world did act in the case of Serbia and its catalog of human rights violations
and oppressions, the Rwandan Genocide took place before the eyes of a horrified
world, with no way to stop it once it had begun. It is not too much to say that
had the UN intervened more decisively prior to the massacre, it could have been
prevented. At the end of the Second World War, as the world looked over the
ruins of vast swathes of the planet, at the lives destroyed through systematic
genocide, humanity collectively said, “Never again.” And while humanity might
have failed in the example of Rwanda, the situation in Myanmar presents us with
an opportunity to live up to the promise we made to ourselves almost seven
decades ago. Let us take action in regard to Myanmar, and look back with some
sense of pride that mankind prevented a massacre, and not have to look back in
regret at our failure to do so.
Respectfully yours,
Adnan Oktar
Istanbul,Turkey
Photo Jointly attacked by Rakhine and Burmese security forces in Myanmar against minority Rohingya and other Muslims have increased in Rakhine State.
Kabir Ahmed (age 14), from Duchiradan, with bullet wound. He was shot by the Security Force and Fortunately Escaped Alive (Photo Credit: Ali)
Comments