Contents
Background
As Rohingya refugees fled fresh violence committed in the mostly Rohingya town of Maungdaw, around 200 were killed in strikes on 6th August by the Arakan Army. The AA’s leader Twan Mrat Naing, refuses to recognise the indigenous status of the Rohingya and regurgitates the theory that they are Bengalis, a theory promoted by the genocidaires. The Arakan Army captured the mostly Rohingya town of Buthiduang on May 17th, and went on to massacre hundreds of civilians and forcing an estimated 150,000 to flee. Even town elders who came out to negotiate with the Arakan Army were butchered.
The violence by the Arakan Army in both Maungdaw and Buthiduang, in the last few months, have shown that the Arakan Army is no better than their opponents in the military and some are calling this latest period, a new wave of genocide. The Arakan Army is part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance, loosely connected to a group called “National Unity Government”, made up of exiles from the 2021 coup. Although the NUG has its own army fighting the military, the “People’s Defense Force”, they have allegedly worked together with the TBA, and are claimed by NUG as supporting them.
The “National Unity Government” is recognised by the European Union as the legitimate government in Myanmar, which although vocal on human rights violations in Myanmar since the coup, have been almost silent on the Rohingya Genocide, which was supported by many members of the government in exile. It also keeps relations with various countries.
The oppression of the Rohingya is not new, with decades of oppression, including a genocide taking place, which has been perpetrated with the help of the military, and covered up by the former government made up of members of the NUG. Between 2017 and 2018 alone at least 25,000 Rohingya were killed, and at least 700,000 had fled Myanmar, with both numbers growing in the subsequent years. The United Nations has said that the Rohingya are the most persecuted community in the World.
Take Action
- Write to your foreign ministry demanding that any support for the Myanmar opposition is conditional on the rights of the Rohingya.
- Please forward any responses you might have to us at info@ihrc.org, so that we can continue to develop this campaign further.
- Share this alert and encourage others to take part.
- Please share verified stories and information. We need to not let this issue be forgotten.
- Keep visiting our website (https://www.ihrc.org.uk/) to see any updates on this case
- https://www.ihrc.org.uk/donate/rohingya-appeal/ – can you promote our appeal
- Previous event to promote: https://www.ihrc.org.uk/author-evening-the-rohingya-crisis-a-people-facing-extinction-with-dr-muhammad-abdul-bari-2/
- https://www.ihrc.org.uk/rohingya-photo-diary-the-most-persecuted-minority-in-the-world/ – we have a photo diary on our field work
- https://www.ihrc.org.uk/the-most-persecuted-minority-in-the-world-the-genocide-of-the-rohingya/ – also a full report from our field work in 2017 in Bangladesh
Template Letter
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
Dear [Insert name],
Re: The Rohingya and the Arakan Army
I am writing with deep concern about the actions of the Arakan Army and their attacks on innocent Rohingya civilians. The Rohingya have been suffering from a genocide perpetrated and supported by various groups in Myanmar, and it seems that the Arakan Army have now also become involved. Whilst it is true that the military has been attempting to sow division between the Rohingya and Rakhine people, it is also clear that the Arakan Army has, under this influence, partook in atrocious massacres against the Rohingya. On May 17th they took control of Buthiduang and killed hundreds of people, whilst causing many thousands to flee and on 6th August they killed an estimated 200 people fleeing from Maungdaw. The Arakan Army’s leader Twan Mrat Naing has also claimed that Rohingya are Bengalis.
You have spoken out against human rights abuses committed by the Myanmar military, particularly in orchestrating the coup of 2021, but if you are to be taken seriously on these claims you must also speak about the human rights abuses committed against the Rohingya, which have been not only committed by the military, but were defended by members of the “National Unity Government”, and more recently are being committed by the Arakan Army, whom the NUG claim are fighting in their name. Therefore, I insist that you release a statement condemning the actions of the Arakan Army against the Rohingya, demand that they cease in these activities, declare that you will undoubtably support the right of Rohingya to full citizenship, the right to identify as an indigenous ethnic group, and who should be given the legal tools to protect themselves from any future genocidal acts. That you demand that they are given the same rights that you would wish for the Bamar, Karen, Shan, Chin, or any other native ethnic group within Myanmar. Finally, that you will not provide any support, whether diplomatic or financial to the “National Unity Government”, unless they also pledge to do so as well.
Yours Sincerely
[Your name]
Addresses
Australia,
Penny Wong
RG Casey Building
John McEwen Crescent
Barton ACT 0221 Australia
Alternatively, you can contact her on this link
Canada,
The Honourable Melany Joly
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
K1A 0A6
Alternatively, you can email her at melanie.joly@parl.gc.ca
Denmark:
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Asiatisk Plads 2
DK-1448
Copenhagen
CVR nr. 43271911
Alternatively, you can email him at udenrigsministeren@um.dk
European Union:
Josep Borrell Fontelles
European External Action Service
EEAS Building
9A Rond Point Schuman
1046 Brussels
Belgium
Alternatively, you can contact them here
France:
Stéphane Séjourné
Hôtel du ministre des Affaires étrangères,
37 Quai d’Orsay,
Alternatively, you can contact him on this link
Germany:
Annalena Baerbock
Federal Foreign Office (Berlin Head Office)
Auswärtiges Amt
11013 Berlin
Alternatively, you can contact them on this link
Qatar:
His Excellency Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani
Al Mirqab Tower
West Bay
Doha
Qatar
Alternatively, you can contact him on this link
The Seychelles:
Louis Sylvestre Radegonde
P.O. Box 656
Maison Quéau de Quinssy
Mont Fleuri,
Mahé,
Seychelles
Alternatively, you can email him at ps@mfa.gov.sc
Turkey:
Hakan Fidan
Dr. Sadık Ahmet Cad.
No:8
Balgat/ANKARA
Postal Code:0610
Alternatively, you can contact him on this link
United Kingdom:
Rt. Hon David Lammy
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
United Kingdom
Alternatively, you can email her at fcocorrespondence@fco.gov.uk
United States:
Antony Blinken
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
Washington,
DC 20500
Alternatively, you can contact him on this link
