humanrightswatch:

Burma: End ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ of Rohingya Muslims

Burmese authorities and members of Arakanese groups have committed crimes against humanity in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State since June 2012.

Human Rights Watch research describes the role of the Burmese government and local authorities in the forcible displacement of more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Burmese officials, community leaders, and Buddhist monks organized and encouraged ethnic Arakanese backed by state security forces to conduct coordinated attacks on Muslim neighborhoods and villages in October 2012 to terrorize and forcibly relocate the population. The tens of thousands of displaced have been denied access to humanitarian aid and been unable to return home.

Photo 1: Ethnic Arakanese with weapons walking away from a village in flames while a soldier stands by. Arakan State, Burma, June 2012. © 2012 Private

Photo 2: An overpopulated IDP camp outside Sittwe. Tens of thousands of Rohingya who fled their homes in June 2012 now reside in such camps. The government constructed semi-permanent shelters in some camps, raising concerns about the government’s willingness to respect the rights of the displaced persons to return home. © 2012 Human Rights Watch

Photo 3: Local Arakanese dismantle and loot the site of a destroyed mosque in Sittwe, June 2012. © 2012 Private

Photo 4: A police officer points his rifle at street level in Sittwe in June 2012. The government claims a total of 211 people died in the June and October violence; Human Rights Watch research indicates far greater loss of life. © 2012 Private

Photo 5: The riverine Rohingya village of Zailya Para in Minbya Township burns after attacks by Arakanese mobs in October 2012. © 2012 Private