Rohingya refugee plight highlighted by CSW

Media Invite: 6:30 – 8:30 pm, Thursday 27 August, Burma Campaign UK, 28 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) East Asia Team Leader, Benedict Rogers, will present first-hand evidence detailing the brutal persecution of the Rohingya people in Burma by the country’s military regime, at an event organised by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK and hosted by the Burma Campaign UK.

The awareness raising talk will unveil details of interviews with two defectors from the regime’s ‘Na Sa Ka’ (border security force) confirming reports of human rights abuses targeting Rohingyas. This presentation follows CSW’s first fact finding visit to the Bangladesh-Burma border in August, 2008.

The President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Maung Tun Khin will also address the gathering, highlighting the urgent need for humanitarian aid and an urgent request to the Thai and Bangladesh Governments to provide safe havens for refugees, who are regularly deported back to Burma.

Burma is ruled by one of the world’s worst regimes, a military dictatorship which is guilty of every possible human rights violation. In addition to the widespread use of forced labour, rape and torture which all the ethnic nationalities in Burma suffer, the Rohingyas are denied full citizenship rights. The Rohingyas are refused National Registration Cards (NRCs) or Citizenship Scrutiny Cards (CSCs), which are issued to all other Burmese citizens, and instead they are given Temporary Registration Cards (TRCs). The military regime has imposed severe restrictions on freedom of movement, access to education, marriage and freedom of religion, specifically targeted at the Rohingyas. Mosques and religious institutions have been destroyed and permission to renovate, repair, rebuild or extend mosques is usually denied. Furthermore, Rohingyas are specifically targeted for extortion.

Benedict Rogers, CSW’s East Asia Team Leader, said: “The Rohingyas are among the most persecuted and oppressed of Burma’s people groups. It is absolutely vital to highlight their plight, and to urge the international community and the Government of Bangladesh to take steps to improve access to education, health care and livelihood for all the Rohingya refugees.”

Notes to Editors:

CSW launched a joint campaign with Partners Relief and Development last year, to highlight human rights violations in Burma. The Change for Burma! campaign includes calls for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity, and a universal arms embargo. Details can be found at www.changeforburma.org