A discouraging view on the unrest in Burma – No justice for Muslim Rohingya

Seven months after the outbreak of violence between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine in Burma, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) offers a discouraging view of the coming to terms with the unrest. "More than 960 Rohingya are still detained because of their alleged involvement in the riots," said the STP's Asia-expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Friday. "The detainees have no chance for a fair trial in Burma." Members of the minority group who were released had later reported about regular abuse or torture in prison – solely because of their ethnic background and their religious belief. The STP sends an urgent appeal to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, to advocate for fair trials for those who are detained because of the unrests.

At least 168 people were killed in June and October 2012 during fierce clashes between the Rohingya and the Rakhine. Members of both groups were responsible for the violence. "However, it is to be noted that the number of detained Rohingya is more than four times higher than the number of detained Rakhine," said Delius. "These figures suggest that the Rohingya are also being discriminated against in the legal proceedings that follow the riots." According to official figures, 233 Rakhine people were detained in Burma in December 2012 – since then, however, many of them were released on a legal basis or by paying a bribe.

Released Rohingya have reported catastrophic prison conditions and regular assaults by prison guards or by Rakhine inmates. According to eyewitness reports, at least 68 Rohingya got killed while in custody. "Burma presents itself to the rest of the world as a state that is willing to allow reforms – but for the Rohingya, prison conditions are the same as during the worst days of the dictatorship," said Delius.

Rohingya human rights activists are having difficulties drawing international attention to the disastrous situation. When Tomas Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur for Burma, visited the state of Arakan last Tuesday, the police took Aung Win – a well known human rights activist – into custody for a few hours, to keep him from meeting Quintana. "These are bad practices we already know from China," said Delius. "The international community should not uncritically accept these assaults on human rights activists."

Also, the human rights organization criticized that aid workers from abroad are being kept from taking care of the 110,000 refugees who are on the run from the clashes. Repeatedly, the aid organization "Doctors without Borders" was denied access to the Rohingya camps. The Rohingya are being kept from seeking treatment in hospitals – even if their health situation is critical. The sanitary and medical situation in the camps is often disastrous.