Joint Statement
Date 10th October 2016

We, the undersigned organizations, are deeply concerned about a violent crackdown killing innocent Rohingyas which began yesterday in Maungdaw, Arakan State, Myanmar.

Last Saturday night/early Sunday nine police officers were killed in attacks by unknown assailants on three police posts in Maungdaw, Arakan State.

After the incident more than 10 innocent Rohingyas were killed by Burmese military forces and police forces. Mass arrests are taking place. Many Rohingya women were arrested in Wabek village, in Maungdaw Township.

In the past few hours 7 Rohingyas were shot dead by military forces in Myo Thugyi village in Maungdaw.

Central governments in Myanmar have officially stated that it is unknown who carried out the attack. There are no known armed Rohingya organizations, but other non-Rohingya armed organizations do exist in Arakan State. It appears some security or local government officials are privately briefing media that Rohingya people carried out the attack. There is no evidence for this. They may be doing so because the attack took place in Rohingya areas, or to use the attack as a pretext for a crackdown on Rohingya.

These attacks must not be used by security and military forces as a pretext for a violent crackdown on the Rohingya involving arbitrary executions, mass arrests and further persecution of the Rohingya people. This already appears to be happening. These are criminal acts against innocent and must cease immediately.

The National League for Democracy led government must take immediate steps to ensure rule of law is followed by the military, police and other security services.

Action must also be taken against nationalists who are trying to exploit the deaths of these police officers to whip up anti Rohingya and anti-Muslim hatred and violence.

It is also vital that the international community intervene with the NLD led government to ensure it enforces the rule of law.

We, therefore, request the international community, United Nations, OIC, EU, ASEAN, US and UK to put pressure on NLD-led government:

(1) To stop the killing of innocent Rohingyas in Maungdaw and other parts of Arakan

(2) To restore all basic freedoms, including freedom of movement, marriage, education, healthcare and peaceful-living, and to lift all aid restrictions in Rakhine/Arakan State.

(3) To end all persecution and ghettoization and to immediately rehabilitate and reintegrate all IDPs in their original places and properties.

Meanwhile, we urge upon the international community to support a UN Commission of Inquiry into the atrocity crimes against Rohingya and other Burmese people in order to publicly announce its findings and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Signatories;

Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Bradford Rohingya Community in UK
Burmese Rohingya Community in Denmark
Burmese Rohingya Association Japan
Burmese Rohingya Community Australia
Rohingya Community in Germany
Rohingya Community in Switzerland
Rohingya Organisation Norway
Rohingya Community in Finland
Rohingya Community in Italy
Rohingya Community in Sweden
Rohingya Society Netherlands
Rohingya Society Malaysia
Rohingya Arakanese Refugee Committee

End

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad.  She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”