File Photo
Mizzima
In its latest Burma Coup Watch for the month of February ALTSEAN Burma highlighted the suffering of the Rohingya under the Myanmar junta
On 12 February, the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative (ROHRingya) reported that fighting between the AA and the junta since late Jan in four Buthidaung Township villages had destroyed 175 houses, killed 24 Rohingya civilians, and injured more than 117 others.
They reiterated that the AA had used Rohingya villages as staging sites for attacks and that the junta had specifically targeted Rohingya communities in their attacks.
In a 9 February Human Rights Watch report, several Rohingya locals stated that, while the AA had promised security for Rohingya once fighting finished, they were presently confiscating food and other support from Rohingya villagers.
Other Rohingya civilians added that they felt trapped between both sides of the conflict. On 28 February, a group of 26 Rohingya organisations released a joint statement calling for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to act to prevent further atrocities from being carried out against the Rohingya in Arakan State. Signatories called for the British government, as penholder on Burma, to convene a UNSC meeting on the junta’s non-implementation of the ICJ’s provisional measures and the crisis in Burma.
On 9 February, Myanmar Now reported that the junta’s strengthened restrictions on movement for IDP camp residents, recent cuts in food aid, and rising commodity prices due to ongoing fighting had displaced Rohingya and Kaman (another muslim minority in Arakan) people in Kyaukphyu amongst the hardest hit communities in Arakan State.
One camp resident stated that many residents had gone into debt as they had borrowed money simply to feed their families. They added that the junta now was only allowing ten people to leave camps at a time in order to seek medical treatment.
Conscription order targets Rohingya IDPs as junta tries to sharpen ethnic divisions
The junta abducted more than 500 Rohingya IDPs in Feb for conscription and began pressuring Rohingya and Kaman communities in Arakan to form militias.
During 17-23 February, in Kyaukphyu Township (Arakan State), junta administrators entered Kyauk Ta Lone Rohingya IDP camp, collected a list of at least 160 men aged 18 – 55 years old, and announced they would
begin conscription there. Afterwards, at least 21 people of conscription age fled the camp. On 25 February, it was reported that more than ten young people who had fled the camp sought refuge in AA-controlled areas.
On 27 February, junta soldiers returned to the IDP camp and abducted 107 Rohingya men for conscription. They reportedly threatened to “beat to death” those who refused to join military training and said they would “drive away like dogs” the families of those who had already fled.
On the same day, they arrested at least 40 relatives of IDPs who had fled conscription in the camps.
On 18 February, Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) reported that the junta had taken at least 300 Rohingya from Baw Du Pha IDP camp in Sittwe for a three-day military training course. The junta reportedly threatened to stop accepting the ration cards of people who refused conscription and promised money, rice, and National ID cards to those who complied.
On 19 and 20 February, in Buthidaung Township, the junta abducted another 100 young Rohingya men for military conscription.
The junta reportedly demanded that larger villages from Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Sittwe Townships hand over 100 people for conscription and that smaller villages give 50. Legal experts commented that the conscription law does not apply to Rohingya people because the junta did not recognize their citizenship status.
Rohingya civilians added that the junta’s efforts to conscript Rohingya were likely part of the junta’s efforts to sow division between Rohingya and ethnic Arakanese people.
On 9 and 18 February, the junta held a meeting with Rohingya community leaders in Maungdaw Township and Kaman IDPs in Kyaukphyu Township (Arakan State) and stated they would supply them with weapons if they formed a pro-junta militia.
Community leaders rejected the proposals. The junta threatened those who did not join the military or pro-junta militias with five-year prison sentences. Bangladesh blocks Rohingya from crossing border
On 5 February, the Cox’s Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RCCC) stated that hundreds of mainly Rohingya and Chakma civilians were waiting to cross into Bangladesh to escape fighting in Arakan State. He stated that the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been instructed to prevent asylum seekers from crossing the border into Bangladesh.
The RCCC later added that Bangladesh was “overburdened” by Rohingya and that providing refuge to Rohingya had become a threat to Bangladesh “security and law and order”.
On 5 February, the Border Guard Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Coast Guard began patrolling the River Naf, which splits Bangladesh and Arakan State. Later that day, the BGB pushed back four Rohingya crossing near Teknaf.
On 6 February, the BGB pushed back a boat of 65 Rohingya crossing the River Naf.
On 7 February, the Bangladesh Minister for road transport and bridges restated that Bangladesh “will not allow any more Rohingya to enter the country”.
On 10 February, the Bangladesh government banned civilian vessels on the River Naf.
On 14 February, the UNHCR’s representative informed Bangladesh authorities that roughly 900 Rohingya were waiting at 19 different Burma-Bangladesh border points. They asked Bangladesh to accept the asylum seekers on humanitarian grounds but were rebuffed by the Foreign Secretary.
Frequent fires highlight dismal camp conditions
On 20 February, Rohingya activist Kyaw Min Tun stated that camp fires had become a far too frequent issue during the dry season in Cox’s Bazar and that the recent Jan 2024 fires had been among the worst in recent memory.
The use of highly flammable makeshift construction materials in the camps by humanitarian agencies, fencing around camps, and growing population density in the camps had raised the likelihood of large-scale fires. Additionally, armed groups operating in the camps frequently used arson as an intimidation tactic, to the large detriment of innocent civilians.
The failure to address fires in the camps will drive young people to risk their lives to leave camps via dangerous sea routes. He called on Bangladesh authorities and UN agencies to better hold perpetrators accountable and improve nighttime security in the camps.
On 24 February, a gas leak on Bhasan Char led to a large fire which killed five children and injured four others, two of whom received treatment for severe burns.
Anti-Rohingya online hate campaign likely coordinated
On 1 February, a boat carrying more than 130 Rohingya refugees arrived in East Aceh.
On 8 February, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported that online misinformation had been the main driver of a campaign to push Rohingya back to sea.
An AFP Fact Check investigation determined that several videos viewed millions of times across Facebook and TikTok contained false or misleading information about new Rohingya arrivals in Indonesia. A TikTok analyst at the Bandung Fe Institute said anti-Rohingya videos had been spreading since late 2023 and had received more than 90 million views on the platform.
The wave of hate started when local media outlets began using sensationalized headlines to reporton the arrival of Rohingya in Aceh.
Later, fake UNHCR accounts bombarded videos on Rohingya with comments, and users began posting videos with misleading, false, and hateful information on Rohingya.
Another analyst from Drone Emprit stated that anti-Rohingya narratives “seemed coordinated” but were presented online as “if they were organic”.
The Aceh Fishermen Community secretary general noted that online hate speech diverged dramatically from realities on the ground in Aceh, he said, “in our daily lives, things seem normal.
