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Saturday 30 September 2017

by Admin,

Fundraising event with-
Australian Peace Organization jointly with Australia light Foundation 
from 1pm at-
Al Muntada Centre 
424 Barry rd Coolaroo Victoria.

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Wednesday 27 September 2017

UN Security Council moves to confront Myanmar crisis

Source Dailymail, 26 Sept 

Rohingya rehugees walk along a road on the proximity of the refugee camp of Thwangkhaneari near the Bangladeshi locality of UkhiaRohingya rehugees walk along a road on the proximity of the refugee camp of Thwangkhaneari near the Bangladeshi locality of Ukhia

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors on Tuesday to discuss the violence in Myanmar, moving to step up its response to the exodus of 480,000 Rohingya Muslims in what has been condemned as "ethnic cleansing."

The meeting will set the stage for a public session of the top UN body on Thursday, during which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set to brief on the crisis and China, along with other council members, will deliver remarks.
International alarm is growing over the fate of the Rohingya who have been fleeing an army campaign in Rakhine state that the United Nations says has included killings, rape and the torching of villages.

The military operation followed attacks on August 25 by Rohingya militants on police posts.

British Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Allen said the council must "send a clear message to the authorities of Myanmar that the violence needs to stop."
Humanitarian aid must be allowed in Rakhine state and the status of the Rohingya, who are stateless in Myanmar, must be addressed, he said.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said he was pushing for a "strong and united response" from the council to pile pressure on authorities in Myanmar.
China, a supporter of Myanmar's former junta, backed a council statement earlier this month calling for an end to the violence, but the exodus has continued.
Rights groups, which have accused the council of dragging its feet on Myanmar, are calling for urgent action to address what they have denounced as crimes against humanity against the Rohingya.

"The council urgently needs to consider an arms embargo against the Burmese military and targeted sanctions against those responsible for the criminal campaign against the Rohingya," said Human Rights Watch's UN director Lou Charbonneau.
"We hope the secretary-general will drive home the importance of urgent action now by the council," he said.

France, which takes over the council presidency in October, has invited former UN chief Kofi Annan to brief next week on his recent report which advocates citizenship for the Rohingya.

Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has disappointed human rights groups who had campaigned for her freedom during the Nobel Peace Prize winner's 15 years under house arrest by a military junta.

The council meeting will measure the level of support Suu Kyi still enjoys with Western allies after her nationwide address last week failed to quell the outrage.

ABRO supported Human Appeal International Australia's fundraising for Rohingya refugees

by Admin, 23 Sept
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Human Appeal's president speaking at the event
Many communities including representatives from mosques, community leaders, special guests from Sydney, individuals were actively took-part in the event of Human Appeal International Australia fundraising for recent arrival Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

This event was organised by Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) and raised about AUD 228,467.

ICV chairman has briefed about the crisis and Human Appeal's president displayed some video footage of Rohingya refugees'situation.
.. After the event, the issues of Rohingya refugees living in Australia were also shortly mentioned.
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Sunday 10 September 2017

Rally in Solidarity Rohingya

by Admin, 

Video link at: 
1( https://web.facebook.com/myo.myint.9619/videos/1953890144884504/ )
2( https://web.facebook.com/myo.myint.9619/videos/1953893768217475/ )
3( https://web.facebook.com/myo.myint.9619/videos/1953897888217063/ )
4( https://web.facebook.com/myo.myint.9619/videos/1953902238216628/ )
5( https://web.facebook.com/myo.myint.9619/videos/1953906704882848/ )
6( https://web.facebook.com/myo.myint.9619/videos/1953912188215633/ )

Largely participated by members from various communities including Jewish democratic societies, Srilanka, RISE refugee organization, Sikh communities, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indian and from Middle East.


A Rally at State Library of Victoria by 2pm of 9 Sept 2017, organized by Islamic Council of Victoria





Speakers include: 
President of ICV, Aboriginal community leader, MP Maria (Federal member for Calwell), 
MP Richard Di Natale (senator for Victoria and leader of Australian Greens), 
Ronan Lee (Researcher and former member of QLD Parliament), 
ABRO founder and spokesperson Habib, Burmese muslim leader Ko Min Min, 
Somalian community leader, and others..

Slogans by Rohingya youth Shahid

 ..Researcher and former member of QLD- Ronan Lee: "Rohingyans are part of Myanmar's History".
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Statement read out by Habib as follow-


Today we are here to raise our voices on behalf of oppressed Rohingya and Kaman people who are facing ongoing genocide in Rakhine (Arakan) state of western Myanmar (Burma).


Like the past military dictators, the late NLD government led by Aung San Suu Kyi  bureaucratically cover up the crimes of her government' authorities and generals by inviting of Koffi Annan Commission that has no power to conduct inquiry, nor to materialize its recommendations. It is also very cleared since the NLD government has taken no step to fulfil recommendations made by Koffi Annan's interim report of March 2017. Also rejecting the entry of United Nations Inquiry Commission and keeping the humanitarian crisis alive across Rakhine, Shan and Kachin states.

Before the release of Koffi Annan Commission's final report, the government has provoked absurdly by heavily beefing up of armed forces, establishing joint forces by arming Rakhine civilians and introduced various forms of horror actions involving arbitrary arrests, tortures, rapes, looting, extortion, actively blocking of food transports in Rohingya populated regions of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Rathidaung townships from 11 Aug 2017 and attacking Arakan Army in Kyauktaw township region. In response to that, a small self reliance Rohingya armed group has confronted for the sake of saving Rohingya civillians by driving out of military and joint forces from some village posts.

However, it made an opportunity for resuming unprecedented killings against innocent unarmed Rohingya civilians and retaliated attacked very indiscriminately, heavily by using fight helicopters, tanks, rocket launchers, machine guns, and torching houses, shooting women , children, over aged people and slaughtering, and burning alive. In 10 days from 25 Aug 2017, more than 30,000 houses from total about 56 villages (over 20 villages from Maungdaw, 19 villages from Buthidaung, and 18 villages from Rathidaung townships) were burnt down completely, more than 3,000 innocent unarmed Rohingya civilians mostly women, children and elderly people dead, displacing over 200,000 people and half of them including a small number of Hindhu population have been pushed out along Bangladesh border and some about 20,000 people trapped in Maungdaw South and over 30,000 people trapped in Buthidaung mountains.

The government authorities who never had given a hand for general public (i.e 2008 Cyclone Nargis period and how nealy a million of displaced people were left out without any support from the government) but now the government tactically showing sympathy by providing full security, accommodation, foods and supports towards Rakhine people living in Maungdaw and pushing them to say false stories about Rohingya, when Rohingya women, children, elderly people fleeing from homes were mercilessly shot dead, burnt alive and beheaded and placing landmines along the path of refugee fleeing.

Aung San Suu Kyi not only silent on Rohingya matter but she bluntly denying the actual facts and telling false stories about the crisis. Authorities are now forcing Hindhu and Rakhine people to construct the false stories by wearing muslim dresses and setting fire of houses and airing widely across Burmese media. Rohingya villagers have been told to burn down own houses at least 20 houses from each village, if not the authorities will burn all village one after one.

From 8 of  June 2012, the Rohingya and Kaman situation in Arakan state is nothing improve but worsening day to day. Diplomats around the world including UN envoys are just touring into the regions under the watch guards of military and not even achived aid and food delivery freely. This latest state sponsored genocide began from June 2012 caused total destruction across (13) different townships reached at (97) religious buildings, about (23,000) houses from (95) villages, killing thousands of Rohingyans and Kamans and nearly 200,000 people displaced of whom about (110,000) people are in 13 to 15 camps of Sittwe (Akyab) city and the rest about (65,000) those from other 8 regions in 26 camps are in aid workers unreachable areas. It has been over five years now our Rohingyas and Kamans of Rakhine (Arakan) state have been totally excluded, segregated, trapped into concentration camps, confined systematically, blocking aid and food supplies, permanently barred from education, medicare and livelihood.
Taking into account of vigilant attacks that later spread across central Burma in Yangon, Mandalay, Pagu, Saigaing, Magwe regions where killing hundreds, and displacing ten of thousands and burnt down thousand of houses. It is clear that the attacks target entire muslim population of Burma. There are other ethnic group in Rakhine state called Kaman who are recognized within 135 ethnic groups but they too were ended up similarly and pushed into concentration camps and labelled as ''illegal immigrants''. So, this ongoing attacks are very vigilant, very organized, well palnned by government authorities. And it is not clashes, it is government sponsor genocide aim to cleanse entire muslim community from Rakhine state.

Currently, the number of arbitrary detention reached over 800 that added to previous 12,00 Rohingyas and Kaman detained in 2012, mainly from Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Sittwe townships. Many organizations including Red Cross Society, Healthcare clinics are puppet bodies of the government and not delivering services for Rohingya and Kaman. The Rohingya youths those teaching Rohingya kids, distributing rations, language supporting workers, elders those providing medical assistance in the camps, bearing phones, having radio, having foreign contacts are instantly taken away by security forces.

NLD government has crediting the military generals and washing out their past brutal crimes throughout instigating widely, dividing and bridging racial hatre between Rohingya and Rakhine communities by radicalizing of Rakhine people and releasing of reverse information across its website. The NLD government has been following the same footpaths and tactics of the past regimes. It keeps minority issues under military orders, routinely attacking and waging wars against minorities such as Chin, Karen, Kachin, Shan, Rohingya and Kaman. That is no more strange to see confrontation by the self-reliance Rohingya armed resistant group like 43 other armed ethnic groups that grow from repression as it is only way to exist, protect their own people, lands and rights from aggressive military operations, tyrant abuses and genocide.

Suu Kyi government must uphold its aforesaid rules of laws to equally guarantee safety, security and respect the dignity and rights of the entire population regardless of race, religion and colour and to ensure a free, fair and equal justice system available to all. The NLD government must immediately halt all forms of ongoing persecution, oppression, restriction, segregation and vigilant attacks against minority groups; particularly the Rohingya and Kaman from Arakan state of western Burma.
Various forms of population checks are conducted ever for Rohingya only, and forcing to accept foreigner identity, seizing and destroying their residential documents and not allowing to recourse to become new citizenship even under 1982 citizenship act. Practically, Rohingyans are even qualified to be citizen and ethnic group under 1982 citizenship laws. However, it is the authorities who are intentionally reluctant to accept the Rohingya people historical existences and ancestral evidences that earlier than 1824 British occupation.

Developed nations including Australia, international communities and United Nations must not forgive the heinous  crimes of the tyrant Burmese rulers, military dictators, continuous attacks and waging wars against minorities. We therefore would like to earnestly urge the UN and its member countries, countries including Australia, countries those have business ties with Burma, other countries those have heavily bearing of Rohingya refugees and resettlement countries those resettling Rohingya refugees, and funding countries, must join and take action together onto Burmese government to end the humanitarian crisis, to halt all forms of brutalities and crimes and to reload the rights of Rohingya.

We strongly condemn the central ruler governments who are repeatedly terrorizing civilians for decades and destablizing of the country's peace and harmony and breaking the domestic and international norms.

We also would like to remind the world that this case of Rohingya is not a clash, not a sectarian attack, not a melee. But it is  a total destruction of a community with a full swing of genocidal actions of ethnic cleansing, arbitrary killings, corporal and collective punishment, slaughtering, burning alive, beheading, rapes, systematic confinement, pushing into concentration camps, destroying identities, barring permanently from a right to have rights, divide and segregation, eradication from home land, destruction of historical and ancestral existences, blocking aid and foods, education, medicare and livelihood and cutting off of electricity and waters.

For decades, Rohingyas have been oppressed, victimized and terrorized by the both government authorities and extremist Rakhine people that been recorded commonly in 1942, 1949, 1967, 1978, 1991, 1994/95, and continuously from 2002. In each occasion, killing thousands of Rohingyans, hundred of thousands uprooted  as refugees and still languished in neighbouring countries. We therefore would like to kindly ask China and Russia not to block the United Nations Security Council taking action against ongoing genocide in Burma. 

We, Australian communities here therefore would like to strongly and earnestly urge the Australian government to press to achieve the following:
1) Australia to persuate its counter part China not to object in UNSC discussion for Rohingya.
2) UN and its smember countries including Australia to use veto power to allow UN Inquiry Commision for investigation and  to take effective and solid action against government authorities, military generals and other Rakhine politicians who are the main perpetrators and directly involved in  crimes..
3) UN to use special power to immediate deploy international peace keeping forces on the ground before human catastrophe and effectively act onto the NLD government to immediately lift all kinds restrictions, and halt corporal and collective punishments, arbitrary killings, arrests. And to immediately suspend the blockages of food and aid supplies and to grant special power to aid agencies to enable to supply food and aid on the ground freely without handing over to Rakhine authorities.
4) UN to achieve for immediately and unconditional release of muslim political prisoners from central Burma and thousand of Rohingya prisoners involving as young as aged 12 mostly detained in Sittwe Central Jail, Buthidaung Jail and many other who are detained in police lock-up and military camps.
5) UN to monitor in granting of citizenship of Rohingya and Kaman people and to stop forcing and pressuring to accept foreigner identity.
6) UN must eventually pave a path way to establish a safe territory or special region for Rohingya and Kaman people within Arakan state, when central government, local authorities and general public are jointly denying the existence of Rohingya and wiping out of entire Rohingya and Kaman people from Arakan state.
7) UNHCR in Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia to provide adequate protection, accommodation, aids and supports for all recent and previous arrival  Rohingya refugees.

Wednesday 6 September 2017

Rally for Ongoing Genocide in Arakan State of western Burma

by Admin, 7 Sept

Also read : Australia’s Rohingya call for international action on Myanmar refugee crisis
Refugee advocates say Australia should consider a special resettlement program as UN warns military attacks on ethnic minority risks becoming ethnic cleansing.
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 ‘Stop killing our children’: Rohingya in Australia plead with the government to do more to end the current violence.
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Australian communities including Rohingya base in Melbourne today hold a protest against ongoing genocide in Arakan state of western Burma.

The rally was held at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (55 Collins St of Melbourne) and  organized by National Union Workers (NUW) and speakers include Nina Springle from Australian Green Party member for State Parliament of Victoria, ACTU president Jetkearney, Tim Nelthorpe from NUW, Rohingyan speakers: Shawfikul, Salima, Solim, Majid, Aminah Khatun, Habib (spokesperson, member of IRC and co-author of Taboo Burmese).
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Members from Sikh community, Refugee Action Collective Melbourne, Australian Jewish Democratic Society, RISE refugee organizatrion, have also joined the rally to show solidarity and expressed their concerns for Rohingya people.
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Slogans given by by Ko Min Min (representative of Burmese muslim community), and Shahid from Rohingya youths.
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Habib  has read out long statement detailing the crisis..



Resuming of unprecedented genocidal operations against innocent unarmed Rohingya civilians and responded very indiscriminately, heavily by using fight helicopters, tanks, rocket launchers, machine guns, and torching houses, shooting women , children, over aged people and slaughtering, and burning alive. Despite the government has provided reverse information and understated the death toll to cut international pressure, it is  in 10 days from 25 Aug 2017, more than 30,000 houses from total about 56 villages, (over 20 villages from Maungdaw, 19 villages from Buthidaung, and 18 villages from Rathidaung) were burnt down, more than 3,000 innocent unarmed Rohingya civilians mostly women, children and elderly people dead, displacing over 200,000 people and half of them including a small number of Hindhu population have been pushed out along Bangladesh border and some about 20,000 people trapped in Maungdaw South and over 30,000 people trapped in Buthidaung mountains.

The government authorities who never had given a hand for general public (i.e 2008 Cyclone Nargis period) but now tactically showing sympathy by provideing full security, accommodation, foods and supports towards Rakhine people living in Maungdaw and pushing them to say false stories about Rohingya, when Rohingya women, children, elderly people fleeing from homes were mercilessly shot dead and burnt alive. Hindhu people whose facially and speaking language similar to Rohingya are forced to utilize to portray the bad image of Rohingya, and arming Rakhine people using from front-line confrontation.

From June 2012, it has been over five years now Rohingyas and Kamans of Rakhine (Arakan) state have been totally excluded, segregated, trapped into concentration camps, confined systematically, blocking aid and food supplies, permanently barred from education, medicare and livelihood. For decades, Rohingyas have been oppressed, victimized and terrorized by the both government authorities and extremist Rakhine people that been recorded commonly in 1942, 1949, 1967, 1978, 1991, 1994/95, and continuously from 2002. This latest state sponsored genocide began from June 2012 caused total destruction across (13) different townships reached at (97) religious buildings, about (23,000) houses from (95) villages, killing thousands Rohingyans and Kamans and nearly 200,000 people displaced of whom about (110,000) people are in 13 to 15 camps of Sittwe (Akyab) city and the rest about (65,000) those from other 8 regions in 26 camps are in aid workers unreachable areas.

Currently, the number of arbitrary detention reached over 800 that added to previous 12,00 Rohingyas and Kaman detained in 2012, mainly from Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Sittwe townships. Many organizations including Red Cross Society, Healthcare clinics are puppet bodies of the government and not delivering services for Rohingya and Kaman. The Rohingya youths those teaching Rohingya kids, distributing rations, language supporting workers, elders those providing medical assistance in the camps, are instantly detained by security forces.





Under the banner of citizenship verification that only ever designed for Rohingya, the authorities are forcing Rohingya and Kaman people to accept foreigner identity, seizing and destroying their residential documents and not allowing to recourse to become new citizenship even under 1982 citizenship act. Practically, it is just an excuse with the 1982-citizenship laws that stripped off citizenship because Rohingyans are even qualified to be citizen and ethnic group. However, it is the authorities who are intentionally reluctant to access the Rohingya's historical existence and ancestral evidence that prove primary and secondary ancestral evidences earlier than prior to 1824 British occupation.

Developed nations including Australia, international communities and United Nations must not forgive the heinous  crimes of the tyrant Burmese rulers, military dictators, continuous attacks and waging wars against minorities. We therefore would like to earnestly urge the UN and its member countries, countries including Australia, countries those have business ties with Burma, other countries those have heavily bearing of Rohingya refugees fleeing genocide and resettlement countries those resettling Rohingya refugees, funding countries, must join and take action together onto Burmese government end the humanitarian crisis and to halt all forms of brutalities and crimes.
We strongly condemn the central ruler governments who are terrorizing civillians for decades and destablizing of the country's peace and harmony and not abiding domestic and international norms.
We also would like to remind the world that this case of Rohingya is a total destruction of a community with a full swing of genocide with the actions of ethnic cleansing, arbitrary killings, corporal and collective punishment, slaughtering, burning alive and rapes, systematic confinement and pushing into concentration camps, destroying identities, barring permanently from a right to have rights, divide and exclusion, eradication from home land, destruction of historical existences, blocking aid and foods, education, medicare and livelihood and cutting off of electricity and waters.

We, Australian communities here therefore would like to strongly and earnestly urge the Australian government to press to achieve the following:
1) UN to use special power to immediate deploy international peace keeping forces on the ground before human catastrophe.
2) UN to force Burmese government to immediately suspend the blockages of food and aid supplies and to grant special power to aid agencies to enable to supply food and aid on the ground freely without handing over to Rakhine authorities.
3) UN to effectively pressurise onto the NLD government to immediately lift all kinds restrictions, and halt corporal and collective punishments, arbitrary killings, arrests.
4) UN to monitor in granting of citizenship of Rohingya and Kaman people and to stop forcing and pressuring to accept foreigner identity.
5) UN to achieve for immediately release of muslim political prisoners from central Burma and thousand of Rohingya prisoners involving as young as aged 12 mostly detained in Sittwe Central Jail, Buthidaung Jail and many other who are detained in police lock-up and military camps.
6) UN and its member countries to use veto power to allow UN Inquiry Commision for investigation and  to take effective and solid action against government authorities, military generals and other Rakhine politicians who are the main perpetrators and directly involved in  crimes..
7) UN must eventually pave a path way to establish a safe territory or special region for Rohingya and Kaman people within Arakan state, when central government, local authorities and general public are jointly denying the existence of Rohingya and wiping out of entire Rohingya and Kaman people from Arakan state.
8) UNHCR in Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia to provide adequate protection, accommodation, aids and supports for all recent and previous arrival  Rohingya refugees.

For more info, pl contact;
Tim: 0429 030 436 (Rally organizer)
Shawfikul: 0416 161 846 (Community Affairs)
Habib: 0406 310077 (media contact)

Monday 4 September 2017

WHY ARE ETHNIC GROUPS FLEEING MYANMAR?

Source TheWire,


Play
00:00
03:40

A fresh surge of refugees from a Muslim-majority region in the west of Myanmar, also known as Burma, have been fleeing to Bangladesh following a recent spate of violence. The Rohingya people, native to the Western state of Rakhine, have been fleeing their homeland in the thousands following what many are calling state-sponsored violence.
Habibrahman from the Australian Burmese Rohingya Oragnisation explained to The Wire why the Rohingya people feel that they have to leave
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