Burma: Problems in Rakhine state go beyond religious violence

 Jul 02, 2013
Asian Correspondent
Casey Hynes

The media reports coming out of Burma’s Rakhine state in recent months focused predominantly on the violent flare-ups between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims and the displacements of nearly 150,00 people into overcrowded refugee camps.
While this story is an important one and must be followed, Rakhine Buddhists continue facing a slew of other problems as the Burmese government invites foreign investors to develop resource extraction projects in Rakhine state, with potentially devastating effects for the people who live there.

A Buddhist monk walks along ancient pagodas in Mrauk-U, Rakhine state, western Burma. Pic: AP.

Although the government seems more complacent when it comes to the anti-Muslim rhetoric, Rakhine Buddhists repeatedly face persecution and tension with the government as well, especially when it comes to protests over resource extraction projects and land confiscation.
“I would say it’s a politically astute and active population for the most part,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights International and formerly of Human Rights Watch. He noted that Rakhine monks were among the first to take to the streets at the beginning of what came to be known as the Saffron Revolution.
Citizens in Rakhine (formerly known as Arakan) state have been protesting foreign development projects, not necessarily because they against the projects in and of themselves, but because of the lack of transparency and input by community members.
According to Human Rights Watch, several were arrested at a protest in Maday Island in May when hundreds of villagers gathered to voice concerns over the Shwe gas pipeline, construction of which is scheduled to begin this year. Ten protesters were arrested on the grounds that they had violated Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, which stipulates that a permit is needed in order to hold a lawful demonstration. Villagers had reportedly applied twice for permits, and been denied twice.
Smith said that concerns among Rakhine villagers about development and land confiscation “pre-date the latest round of violence between Buddhists and Muslims.”
The government has demonstrated a clear interest in attracting foreign investment and developing a natural resource industry, but such development comes at a high price, especially for villagers whose livelihoods are being upended due to these projects.
“The loss of land in a country like Burma has serious repercussions,” Smith said. He said that outside the urban areas, you find largely agrarian communities, and some farmers are being compensated inadequately or not at all for their land.
A major problem is that as it stands now, there is no framework through which those in Rakhine can voice their opinions and concerns about these projects, which can have potentially adverse effects on the economic and environmental landscapes in their communities. Instead, farmers are informed by the government that a company will be starting a project and that their land will be confiscated, and told how much compensation will be given. In some cases, only a certain portion of the land is paid for or nothing is paid.
Paul Donowitz, campaigns director at Earth Rights International, said the compensation schemes are problematic because the money given to farmers typically runs out quickly, and is not enough for them to purchase new land.
In one instance, Donowitz described the digging of a trench which led to muddy build-up on farm land making it impossible for farmers to work the land. They needed heavy machinery to move the mud, which they could not afford. The companies involved refused to provide the machinery for fear it would be damaged, leaving the farmers stuck. They were compensated for one year’s worth of crops but have no means of buying sufficient land to work in the coming years.
Without another method for participating in these decisions, Rakhine villagers have little choice but to protest and express their grievances. However, with law enforcement able to arrest them under laws such as Section 18 and no apparent moves to make them part of the process, they are likely to face continuing pushback from the government.
Another issue is that when foreign companies enter the scene and start these natural resource extraction endeavors, locals don’t really benefit. The resources are used in foreign countries and many of the jobs generated go to Chinese or Indian workers, as opposed to those living in Burma.
While the Burmese government has said that future projects will be established to benefit Burma first, there is a clear financial incentive to partner with other, wealthier nations.
“The world market is going to pay for that energy at a much higher rate than the people of [Burma] are going to be able to pay” for sometime, Donowitz said.
Disheartening though it is to see decisions and deals made without the input of those who will be most deeply affected, there is reason for optimism in places such as Rakhine. With community members coming together to affect change, there may eventually be changes to the process that allows for them to have a say.

“A few years ago, there wasn’t this civil society organizing,” Donowitz said. With community-driven organizations coming together to make their voices heard, they are the ones who groups such as Earth Rights International point to for recommendations on what needs to be done in terms of transparency, compensation and participation.

Burma’s Muslims bear brunt of prosecutions a year after riots

Muslims villagers flee sectarian violence in Rakhine state in western Burma in June 2012. Pic: AP.

June 18, 2013

Asian Correspondent

Casey Hynes

Last week marked the somber one-year anniversary of the violent sectarian conflict in Rakhine state that broke out last June and enflamed tensions between Buddhists and Muslims there. That set off a long 12 months of disquiet and tragedy for Burma’s Muslim population, and their woes are likely to be exacerbated as they continue to see higher rates of punishment for the unrest.

What began as conflict between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has spread in the last year to more widespread anti-Muslim violence throughout Burma and increasing instability for thousands upon thousands of people. To date, there are 150,000 displaced Muslims living desperate existences within the confines of overcrowded IDP camps.

A 40-year-old woman named Daw Khin Htwe, a Muslim married to a Rohingya man, told her harrowing story to IRIN News. She and her children witnessed the brutal murder of her mother-in-law and another relative. IRIN quotes her as saying, “We know who did this, but also know nothing will come of it. How can our communities ever reconcile if such crimes go unpunished? Will there be any accountability? Only if the authorities arrest and punish those responsible is there any real prospect for reconciliation. What will happen to us if we return to our homes now? It could happen all over again.”

Daw Khin Htwe raised an important point about crimes going unpunished, as Muslims seem to bear the brunt of the prosecutions that result from these all-too-frequent outbreaks of violence.

“Anti-Muslim discrimination by the state in Myanmar [Burma] runs deep. We can see it in the disproportionate arrests and prosecutions of Muslims in the aftermaths of anti-Muslim violence,” Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights International, said via email.

Smith noted that by the government’s own admission, 75 percent of the arrests made in regard to the June riots have been of Muslims, a staggering number when you consider that many of the outbreaks were due to anti-Muslim sentiment.

A Muslim man was sentenced to 26 years in prison last week, after being accused of lighting a Buddhist woman on fire and setting off two days of anti-Muslim rioting in Lashio. In May, two Muslim men were arrested for their alleged involvement in the deaths of two Buddhists during rioting in Meikhtila in March. The violent, deadly riots were largely targeted at Muslims, with Buddhist monks stirring anti-Muslim sentiment. However, Buddhists have up this point seen less harsh punishment than Muslims. Voice of America reported on May 21 that no Buddhists had been convicted in connection with the riots up to that point.

On May 10, five Buddhists who had been arrested on charges of defaming religion, aggravated burglary, unlawful assembly and vandalism, were released on bail, according to Democratic Voice of Burma.

However, two Buddhists were arrested in early May following an attack on a Muslim-owned shop.

The disproportionate targeting of Muslims for prosecution seems to fall in line with a larger trend of the government seeming to further, rather than alleviate, the tenuous situation.

Human Rights Watch accused the Burmese government of engaging in an ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya, and condemned its actions and lack thereof when it comes to acting on the rights of this people.

“The situation in Rakhine State is not improving. Instances of violence by state security forces against Rohingya are continuing, entire communities of displaced Muslims still lack adequate aid, and the authorities have made no moves to facilitate the voluntary returns of displaced Muslims,” Smith said. “It has been an entire year of displacement and tens of thousands of displaced Rohingya still lack adequate access to health care. This is not due to a lack of expertise in the country. The problems are the result of persecution.”

Even if more proportionate arrests and punishment are seen, that will not address the underlying causes of the violence. The anti-Muslim sentiment that has spread throughout parts of the country can only serve to further divide the people living in Burma and cause more poverty and hardship for tens of thousands who live there. The government has sanctioned military action against Muslim communities, and as Smith pointed out, done little to improve their living conditions. This kind of institutional discrimination, in addition to the jailings, will only reinforce prejudices against them and pave the way for more violence. A genuine defense of basic human rights is necessary to prevent the need for arrests and jailings in the first place.