patterns of anti-muslim violence in burma: a call for accountability and prevention

7/30/2019 Patterns of Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma: A Call for Accountability and Prevention

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Patterns o Anti-Muslim

Violence in Burma:

A Call or Accountability

and Prevention

Physicians or

Human Rights

August 2013

A mother looks out rom her tent alongside

her children at a camp or internally displaced

persons on the outskirts o Sittwe, Burma.

Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

physiciansorhumanrights.org


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For more than 25 years, PHRs use o science and medicine has been

on the cutting edge o human rights work.

About Physicians or Human Rights

1986

Led investigations o torture in

Chile, gaining reedom or heroic

doctors there

1988

First to document the Iraqi use

o chemical weapons on Kurds,

providing evidence or prosecution

o war criminals

1996

Exhumed mass graves in theBalkans or International Tribunals,

and sounded the alarm about

reugee camps in Bosnia and

Kosovo

1996

Provided evidence o genocide or

the International Criminal Tribunal

or Rwanda

1997

Shared the Nobel Peace Prize or

the International Campaign to BanLandmines

2003

Warned U.S. policymakers on health

and human rights conditions prior

to and during the invasion o Iraq

2004

Documented genocide and sexual

violence in Darur in support o

international prosecutions

2010

Investigated the epidemic o

violence spread by Burmasmilitary junta

2012

Trained doctors, lawyers, police,

and judges in the Democratic

Republic o the Congo, Kenya, and

Syria on the proper collection o

evidence in sexual violence cases

2013

Won frst prize in the Tech

Challenge or Atrocity Prevention

with MediCapt, our mobile appthat documents evidence o torture

and sexual violence

physiciansorhumanrights.org

2013 Physicians or Human Rights.

All rights reserved.

Library o Congress Control Number:

2013946389

ISBN 1879707764


3/44

Physicians for Human Rights

Contents

A Muslim Rohingya man sits at his burnt home at a village in

Minpyar in Rakhine State on October 28, 2012.

Photo: Than WIN/AFP/Getty Images

2 Executive Summary

4 Acknowledgments

5 Introduction

8 Sites o Anti-Muslim Violence in

Burma Since June 2012

9 Methods

10 Protecting Witnesses, Limitations

11 Anatomy o Anti-Muslim Violence

in Burma Since June 2012

14 Acts o Courage

17 Human Rights Violations

24 Humanitarian Needs

26 Conclusion

28 Policy Recommendations

32 Historical Timeline o

Burmese Muslims

36 Endnotes


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2

Patterns o Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma: A Call or Accountability and Prevention

Executive Summary

Violence against ethnic

and other minority

groups living in Burma(ocially the Union o

Myanmar) has marked

the countrys history over

the past several decades. Burmas ormer

military regime made common practice

o targeting ethnic communities or

orced labor, sexual violence, and other

serious crimes. Under Burmas current

nominally democratic government,

violence against marginalized groups

has escalated to an unprecedented

level as Rohingyas and other Muslims

throughout Burma ace renewed actso violence. Persecution and violence

against Rohingyas, a Muslim group

long excluded rom Burmese society

and denied citizenship, has spread to

other Muslim communities throughout

the country. Recent waves o anti-

Muslim violence and reprisal attacks

have resulted in the displacement o

nearly 250,000 people, as well as

the destruction o more than 10,000

homes, scores o mosques, and a dozen

monasteries.

The successive waves o violence too

oten go unpunished by the Burmese

government. At times, the crimes have

even been acilitated by the police. The

ailure o the Burmese government to

properly protect its people and address

human rights violations committed by

police ocers signals serious obstacles

ahead on the path rom military dicta-

torship to a truly democratic country

where everyone has a voice and the

rights o all people are respected and

protected.

One o the most extreme and alarming

examples o anti-Muslim violence was

the March 2013 massacre o dozens o

Muslim students, teachers, and other

community members in Meiktila, a

town in central Burma. Physicians or

Human Rights (PHR) conducted an in-

depth investigation into those killings

and released a report in May 2013 de-

tailing the crimes. In an eort to place

this particular incident in the wider

context o ongoing violence, PHR

produced this report to analyze and

asses patterns o extreme violence

rom various sites across the country,

which indicate that the governmenthas consistently ailed to properly ad-

dress attacks driven by hate speech

and racism. Further investigation by an

independent commission is necessary

to uncover additional details about the

organization and motivation behind the

recent violence.

There are no simple solutions to stem ris-

ing tides o religious hatred and violence.

The people o Burma ace the signicant

task o choosing how to grapple with

intolerance and anti-Muslim hatred, aswell as myriad abuses by the government

against other marginalized groups. The

ultimate responsibility, however, rests

with the Government o Burma, which

must ensure that people are protected

rom violence and that any perpetrators

are investigated, arrested, and charged

according to air and transparent legal

standards. As this report demonstrates,

while there have been several arrests

ollowing some o the most extreme

outbreaks o violence, the government

must do more not only to respond to the

individual acts o violence, but also to

promote an atmosphere o tolerance and

acceptance where the rights o all people

are protected. The Burmese government

also has the responsibility to nd durable

solutions to end violence that respect

ethnic diversity. Institutionalized displace-

ment and segregation are abhorrent and

unsustainable responses that have devas-

tating consequences or those displaced

by violence or ear o persecution.

PHR conducted eight separate investi-

gations in Burma and the surrounding

region between 2004 and 2013. PHRs

most recent eld research in early 2013

indicates a need or renewed attention

to violence against minorities andimpunity or such crimes. The ndings

presented in this report are based on

investigations conducted in Burma over

two separate visits or a combined

21-day period between March and

May 2013.

The Government o Burma, civil society

leaders, and the international community

must act immediately to stop anti-Muslim

violence in the country. The unhampered

spread o violent incidents across Burma

exposes concerning indicators o utureviolence. There is, or instance, rapid

dissemination o hate speech against

marginalized groups, widespread impu-

nity or most perpetrators, and inaction

or acquiescence by many leaders in gov-

ernment and the democracy movement.

As we have witnessed in the past, these

elements are ingredients or potential

catastrophic violence in the uture,

including potential crimes against

humanity and/or genocide. I let

unchecked, this particular combination

could lead to mass atrocities on a scale

heretoore unseen in Burma.


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Executive Summarycontinued rom page 2

A ormerly unctioning mosque that was reduced to rubble during the violence in Meiktila, Burma in March 2013.

Photo: Richard Sollom.

internationally recognized legal norms.

The international community must not

be reluctant to conront a country just

because it has made some recent po-

litical improvements. Instead, all those

dedicated to ending violence must see

the crimes in Burma as a horrible ex-

ample o what happens when impunity

reigns and demagogues are not con-

ronted, and as an urgent warning sign

o potential atrocities.

The impunity o the ormer Burmese

regime and the renewed waves o

recent violence demand an immediate

response not only to properly address

the crimes o the past, but also to

stem the escalation o violence. All

people o Burma deserve decisive and

eective action to combat hate speech

and impunity, within the bounds o

For ull policy recommendations,

please see page 28.


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Patterns of Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma: A Call for Accountability and Prevention

4 Acknowledgments

This report was written by

Andrea Gittleman, JD,

Physicians or Human Rights(PHR) senior legislative

counsel; Marissa Brodney,

PHR senior program

associate; and Holly Atkinson, MD,

FACP, PHR volunteer medical advisor,

and past PHR president.

This report is based on eld research

conducted in March, April, and May

2013 by Holly Atkinson and Richard

Sollom, MA, MPH, ormer PHR director

o emergencies.

This report has beneted rom review

by PHR leadership and sta, including

Donna McKay, executive director;

Susannah Sirkin, director o internation-

al policy and partnerships and senior

advisor; Hans Hogree, chie policy

ocer and Washington director; DeDe

Dunevant, director o communications;

and Stean Schmitt, director o the

International Forensic Program.

Stephen Greene, PHR senior communi-

cations advisor, and Eliza B. Young, PHR

publications coordinator, copyedited

the report.

The report has beneted rom

external review by Deborah Ascheim,

MD, PHR board chair, associate

proessor in the Departments o Health

Evidence and Policy and Medicine/

Cardiovascular Institute at the Icahn

School o Medicine at Mount Sinai,

and clinical director o research and

director o the Clinical Research Unit

at the International Center or Health

Outcomes and Innovation Research

(InCHOIR) at Mount Sinai; and Michele

Heisler, MD, MPA, PHR board member,

proessor o internal medicine and

health behavior and health education

at the University o Michigan Medical

School and research scientist at the

Ann Arbor VAs Center or Clinical

Management Research, co-director

o the University o Michigans Robert

Wood Johnson Foundations Clinical

Scholars Program, and associate

director o the University o Michigan

Medical Schools Global REACH

program.

PHR consultant Brendan Sozer conduct-ed background research and drated

material or this report in consultation

with PHR interns Brianna Buckingham,

Anna Patten, Katherine Robbins, and

Irina Vol.

Support or the investigations and

report was provided by the Open

Society Foundations.

Anti-MuslimViolence:

June 2012

to Present

May 28, 2012A 27-year-old Buddhist Rakhine seamstress is

raped and murdered by a group o men. The

next day, police arrest three Muslim suspects.

June 3, 2012A Rakhine mob pulls 10 Muslims rom a bus

and kills them in retaliation or the rape and

murder o the seamstress. Anti-Muslim

leafets are distributed beore the attack.


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Introduction

Burmas Muslims have aced

an unprecedented number

o attacks since mid-2012,resulting in injury, displace-

ment, economic hardship,

and death. The recent

upsurge in violence began in June

2012 ater three Muslim men allegedly

raped and killed a Buddhist woman

in Rakhine State in western Burma.1

A mob o Buddhists then pulled 10

Muslimsnine men and one woman

o o a bus and lynched them, spark-

ing riots by ethnic Rohingya Muslims

in the northern Rakhine townships2

o Maungdaw and Buthidaung.3

Non-Muslim Rakhine civilians retaliated to

the reported June incident in orce,

in some cases supported by police o-

cers and members o the military. The

immediate result was approximately

200 people killed, 100,000 people

displaced, and 8,500 homes destroyed,

according to estimates rom the

Burmese government.4 The violence in

Rakhine State was ollowed by another

wave in October 2012 that resulted in

more than 80 deaths and displaced

over 35,000 people.5 Since then,sporadic attacks against Muslims have

continued across the country resulting

in even more killing and displacement.

Reports released in May and June o

2013 indicate that anti-Muslim violence

and reprisal attacks have resulted in

the displacement o nearly 250,000

people,6 as well as the destruction o

more than 10,000 homes,7

scores omosques, and a dozen monasteries.8

Burma (ocially the Union o

Myanmar) is a diverse country with

many dierent ethnic groups, lan-

guages, and religions. The majority

Burman ethnic group makes up 60

to 70 percent o the population and

has controlled the government and

military or six decades.9 The country is

nearly 90 percent Buddhist, according

to government gures; other religions

in Burma include Christianity, Islam,Hinduism, and Animism.10 Muslims in

Burma are a diverse community among

themselves, tracing their roots to sever-

al waves o migration that began with

Persian traders beore the advent o

Islam.11 Muslims currently comprise an

estimated 4 to 10 percent o Burmas

total population.12 The largest Muslim

population living in Burma today isconcentrated in Rakhine State, which is

home to approximately 800,000 ethnic

Rohingya.13

The root causes o the anti-Muslim

violence are complex. Though Muslim

minorities have a long history in Burma,

it has not always been peaceul. With

a longstanding ear o perceived out-

siders, Buddhist nationalist groups

and individuals have dredged up old

confictssuch as the mujahidre-

bellion or independence in RakhineState ollowing World War IIin an

eort to incite Buddhist nationalism.14

Hate speech by prominent monks and

anti-Muslim movements, which has

been acilitated by the opening up o

June 7, 2012The Burmese government launches an

investigation into the murder o the

10 Muslim pilgrims.

June 8, 2012Rohingyas riot ater Friday prayers; sectarian

violence breaks out in several towns across

Rakhine State. Muslims report security

orces and mobs o Rakhine subjecting

them to arbitrary arrests, physical attacks,

rape, and killings.

Ethnic Rakhine demonstrators protest at the

Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon ater unrest

ared in western Burma and seven people

were killed in June 2012.

Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/GettyImages.

Reports released in May and June o 2013

indicate that anti-Muslim violence and reprisalattacks have resulted in the displacement o

nearly 250,000 people, as well as the destruction

o more than 10,000 homes, scores o mosques,

and a dozen monasteries.


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6 Introductioncontinued rom page 5

access to the Internet and social media

websites, allows anti-Muslim rhetoric

to spread arther and aster than be-ore. International news media accuse

a Buddhist nationalist movement called

969 and a notorious radical monk,

Wirathu, o spearheading anti-Muslim

propaganda.15 The 969 movement

promotes the boycott o Muslim busi-

nesses and encourages Buddhists to

display 969 logos on their homes,

businesses, and vehicles in a show o

solidarity. Wirathu and other monks

linked to the 969 movement delivered

anti-Muslim speeches in early 2013

in Mandalay Region,16

GyobingaukTownship,17 Minhla18 in Bago Region,

Okkan,19 Taunggyi,20 and near Lashio21

in the days beore anti-Muslim vio-

lence erupted in those towns. A recent

news report noted that Wirathu called

the massacre o Muslims in Meiktila

a show o strength.22 Following the

attacks in Meiktila, DVDs were sold in

Mandalay that contained video oot-

age, reportedly shot during the Meiktila

riots in March 2013, o Muslims being

burned and beaten to death. The DVDs

were being sold by Buddhists withpride and glee, according to a person

who bought them.23

The Burmese governments long history

o sponsoring Buddhist nationalism

and the marginalization o all ethnicminority groups, combined with weak

attempts to stop violence as it occurs

and its history o cultivating impunity

or human rights violators, have ueled

the spread o anti-Muslim violence.24

Despite widespread rumors connecting

political elites or other infuential

people with the recent spikes in

violence,25 corroboration o these

reports has been dicult. While

additional investigation is necessary

to uncover the nature and extent o

the connections between high-levelpolitical elites and any organizers o

the recent violence, the Government

o Burmas ailure to appropriately stop

attacks and protect those at risk implies

an unacceptable measure o support

or the acts o violence.

Current Burmese laws do little to pro-

vide protection or ethnic and religious

minorities, especially Muslims. Criminal

law in Burma since the 1960s has

heavily avored state security over

the protection o citizens rights. TheBurmese legal system has operated

or decades as an arm o state op-

pression rather than an institution

dedicated to promoting justice and

accountabilitythe system was set up

to arrest whomever those in power

wanted to arrest.

26

A 1982 law that listscitizenship requirements or Burma,

as well as a statement by the ormer

junta that excludes Rohingyas rom

the arbitrary 135 recognized national

races o Burma, have rendered the

Rohingya stateless. The eects o state-

lessness have had a signicant impact

on Rohingyas, such as restrictions on

education27 and marriage, though the

marriage regulations apply only to

Rohingyas living in the northern part o

Rakhine State.28 Forced labor,29 extor-

tion,30

restrictions on movement, andtargeted taxation31 by the government

also apply specically to Rohingyas in

northern Rakhine State.31

Other Burmese Muslims have also elt

the eects o this exclusion. While they

are issued identity cards, in order to

acquire them, they requently have to

pay a bribe and declare that they are

rom another country, such as Pakistan

or India.33 Most Muslims rerain rom

working in the police and military,

where they ace institutional discrim-ination.34 The eects o decades o

state-sponsored discrimination against

ethnic minorities are twoold: rst, they

create an environment in which abuse

June 10, 2012President Thein Sein declares a state o

emergency.

Police patrol in a

truck on the streets

o Sittwe, capital

o Rakhine State,

in June 2012.

Photo: STR/AFP/

GettyImages


9/44


Introductioncontinued rom page 6

against ethnic minorities is acceptable,

and second, the lack o eective ac-

countability mechanisms emboldensperpetrators to commit abuses without

consequence. There is thus little risk or

people who attack Muslims in Burma.

Not all Buddhists in Burma are

anti-Muslim; many o them have

risked their own lives to protect their

Muslim neighbors, and several groups

have spoken out against recent vi-

olence.35 Monasteries in Shan State

and Mandalay Division have sheltered

Muslims feeing the violence.36 Groups

o Buddhist monks, such as the AllBurma Monks Alliance, have issued

statements condemning the violence.37

Dozens o civil society groups

including Interaith Youth Coalition

on AIDS in Myanmar (IYCA-Myanmar),

Mizzima Youth Network, Interaith

Peace Network, and Myanmar Youth

Resource Society (MYRS)have held

events promoting religious understand-

ing and nonviolence.38

Between 2004 and 2013, Physicians or

Human Rights (PHR) documented sys-

tematic attacks by the Burmese militaryagainst the countrys minority ethnic

groups in eight investigations in Burma

and bordering countries.39 The attacks

on Muslims in the past year are a con-

tinuation o that trend o targeting

vulnerable groups. The Government o

Burma has the responsibility to protect

its citizens, and its ailure to do so has

created widespread impunity. Broad

popular support or the atrocities,

combined with this climate o impunity,

has led anti-Rohingya attitudes to

metastasize into anti-Muslim sentimentthat has spread across the country.

In order to more deeply document the

recent upsurge in anti-Muslim violence,

PHR sent two researchers to Burma in

March 2013 to investigate the situation

in Rakhine State. While they were

there, anti-Muslim violence erupted in

Meiktila, Mandalay Division. The PHR

researchers immediately traveled to

Mandalay Division to conduct a prelimi-

nary investigation, and PHR sent a

second team to do a orensic assessmento a massacre at a Muslim school in the

Mingalar Zayyone quarter o Meiktila.

PHR released an emergency report

with detailed ndings rom the school

massacre in May 2013, but the reportdid not cover the widespread and sys-

tematic nature o the current wave o

anti-Muslim violence in Burma. This re-

port uses data rom both investigations

to demonstrate the broader nature o

the rising tide o violence across the

country.

Consistent patterns o behavior by

government entities, and consistent

patterns o abuse, may imply that

police or military were ollowing orders

rom their superiors, thus suggestinga government role in the abuses.

Evidence o direct orders, unding

streams, and material support remains

elusive and requires additional indepen-

dent investigation. Even i there were

no direct orders and high-level

organization to promote abuse, the

deeply engrained disdain or Muslims

and other minorities that allowed

or such patterns o human rights

violations demonstrates a deep

problem that the Government o

Burma must address.

June 18, 2012The Rohingya men arrested or the rape and

murder o a Rakhine seamstress in May are

sentenced to death.

Rohingya Muslim

children rom

Burma cry while

kept under watch

by Bangladeshi

security ofcials

ater disembarking

rom an intercept-

ed boat in Tekna,

June 2012.

Photo: MUNIR

UZ ZAMAN/AFP/

GettyImages.


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8 Sites o Anti-Muslim Violence


Sitkwin

Tharyarwaddy

Win Kite

Thaketa

Minhla

Letpadan

Oakkan

Bago

Othegon

Rangoon

Nay Pyi Taw

Sittwe

Mandalay

Lashio

Hpakant

Meiktila

Mine Tauk

Mrauk UParein

Minbya

PauktawKyein Ni Pyin Camp

Dates of Violence

JuneOctober 2012

February 2013

March 2024, 2013

March 2526, 2013

March 2728, 2013

April 30, 2013

May 2013

JuneJuly 2013

Myebon

Kyauk Phyu

Toungup TownshipThandwe

Yamethin

Tatkon

Shwe Dar

Padigon

Zigon

Okpho

Thegon

Nattalin

Gyobingauk

Tharsi

Maungdaw TownshipButhidaung

Mawlamyine

Kawkareik

Key

China

Thailand

LaosBangladesh

India

100 km

Major City

June 25, 2012Security orces begin resettling displaced

Rohingyas in Rakhine States capital

o Sittwe.

July 2, 2012Thirty people are arrested in connection

with the murder o the 10 Muslims on

June 3.

July 5, 2012Ten aid workers are detained by the Burmese

government in Rakhine State, some o whom

are charged with criminal oenses.


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Methods

The ndings o this report are

based on eld investigations

conducted by Physiciansor Human Rights (PHR) in

Burma rom March 22 to

March 29, 2013 and rom

April 20 to May 2, 2013. The PHR team

consisted o Richard Sollom, MA, MPH,

ormer PHR director o emergencies;

and Holly Atkinson, MD, FACP. The

team interviewed 71 people in total,

including Muslim, Buddhist, and

Christian community leaders,

as well as victims and witnesses o the

violence.

In the Sittwe displaced persons camps,

PHR investigators used modied

chain-reerral sampling to identiy

internally displaced persons (IDPs) rom

each village or quarter in Sittwe who

were living in the camps. Chain-reerral

sampling is a technique that enables

researchers to identiy subgroups o

people based on reerrals rom other

participants in the survey.40 PHR

researchers conducted in-depth inter-

views with 32 people rom six rural

villages and 12 neighborhoods in the

town o Sittwe, addressing a total o

18 geographic locations where sepa-

rate incidents o violence had occurred.

PHR researchers used similar methods

in central Burma to identiy victims and

witnesses o human rights violations.

In central Burma, PHR interviewed 39

people in the cities and surrounding

villages o Mandalay, Meiktila, Nay Pyi

Taw, and Rangoon (Yangon).

PHR researchers sought eyewitnesses

rom as many dierent locations where

outbreaks o violence occurred as was

possible, given logistical and securityconstraints. By taking this approach,

PHR researchers were able to identiy

patterns o human rights abuses, ex-

amining how the police, military, and

Buddhist monks behaved in dierent

locations.

PHR epidemiologists have used such

pattern identication in prior investi-

gations elsewhere in Burmaas well

as in Aghanistan, Darur, Kosovo, and

Sierra Leoneto examine whether the

government or military played an activerole in the perpetration o human rights

abuses.41

July 11, 2012The Myanmar National Human Rights

Commission reports no abuses by security

orces during violence in June, states all

aid needs are being met, and does not

acknowledge the plight or existence o

Rohingyas.

July 12, 2012President Thein Sein announces that the

only solution to the inter-ethnic violence

is to send all 800,000 Rohingyas to other

countries or put them in camps run by the

United Nations High Commissioner or

Reugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR rejects

the proposal.

August 4, 2012UN Special Rapporteur or Human Rights

in Burma Toms Ojea Quintana calls or an

investigation into the June violence in Rakhine

State over allegations o human rights abuses.


12/44


10 Protecting Witnesses Limitations

Given the sensitive nature

o this research and the

risk o community orgovernment reprisals

against witnesses, PHR

investigators made every

eort to protect the identities o the

interview subjects. PHR researchers did

not record names, nor did they make

audio or video recordings o the inter-

views. They conducted interviews with

only one interpreter in private areas out

o sight and earshot o passersby.

PHR investigators obtained inormed

oral consent rom each participant ol-lowing a detailed explanation o PHR,

the purpose o the investigation, and

the potential benets and risks o

participation. Oral rather than written

consent was obtained to ensure

anonymity and security. In the case o

a minor, permission was also obtained

orally rom the childs parent or

guardian to ensure that he or she

was condent that the saety, rights,

and interests o the child were being

saeguarded during the interview.

Participants could stop the interviewat any time or reuse to answer

any questions.

PHR investigators employed additional

saeguards or respondents under 12

years o age: the investigators listened

to their uninterrupted narrations and

did not ask probing questions. Those

interactions were kept purposeully

short. In each interview with respon-

dents under 12 years o age, at least

one parent was either present or

nearby during the interview. Interviews

were halted i the child became

distraught in any way. O the nine

interviews conducted with minors who

were eyewitnesses, the PHR eld team

terminated three o them early because

o emotional distress.

Due to security concerns,

PHR was unable to ac-

cess internally displacedpersons (IDP) camps in

Rakhine State that were

urther inland rom Sittwe

or to interview Muslims in the north-

ern Rakhine towns o Maungdaw or

Buthidaung. For security and logistical

reasons, PHR investigators also were

unable to access all o the towns where

violence had occurred, and thus could

not speak with eyewitnesses about the

violence that had occurred in those

areas. Because PHR did not use random

sampling to identiy victims o abuses,these data may not be representative

and cannot be extrapolated to a larger

population.

PHRs Ethical Review Board (ERB) ap-

proved this research. PHR has had an

ERB since 1996 to ensure protection

o human subjects in its research and

investigations. PHRs ERB regulations

are based on Title 45 CRF Part 46 (see:

http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/guidelines/45c-

r46.html) provisions, which are used by

academic Institutional Review Boards(IRBs). All o PHRs research and investi-

gations involving human subjects must

be approved by the ERB and conducted

in accordance with the Declaration o

Helsinki as revised in 2000.

August 17, 2012President Thein Sein announces the creation

o a 27-member commission to investigate

the causes o the sectarian violence that oc-

curred in June.

October 15, 2012Thousands o Buddhist monks march in pro-

test over o the establishment o an oce or

the Organisation o Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

in Rakhine State.

President Thein Seins oce announces that

it will not permit the OIC to have a presence

in Burma.

Buddhist monks take part in a demonstration against

the Organisation o the Islamic Conerence in Rangoo

on October 15, 2012.

Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/GettyImages


13/44


As the descriptions

below demonstrate,

the patterns o violenceagainst Muslims tend to

stem rom one incit-

ing incident. In several

geographic locations, word o these

initial incidents spread widely and led

to extreme violence. An overview o

the violence across the country allows

several discernible patterns to emerge.

Oten the initial incident that leads to

uture violence includes elements o

sexual violence or an attack on a reli-

gious gureacts that can promote

eelings o ethnic or religious purity.Whether these initial acts are violent or

innocuous, the retaliatory attacks tend

to target an entire community and not

the individual perpetrators o that par-

ticular inciting incident.

PHR was not able to determine

whether arrests and convictions were

carried out in a manner consistent with

internationally-established norms o

police work or rule o law. Convictions

can only be an indicator o justice

i these norms are upheld, and theGovernment o Burma is notorious

or jailing people without cause. The

convictions in Burma may be a sign that

the government is taking action to stop

the violence; however, the international

community should not use these num-

bers as the only measure o progress

on this ront.

Rakhine State:

June 810, 2012

The violence in Rakhine State in June

2012 started when a group o men

allegedly raped and murdered a

27-year-old Rakhine seamstress.42 Three

Muslim men were arrested the next day

or the crime.43 On June 3, some 300

Buddhists pulled 10 Muslims rom a busand lynched them in a retaliatory at-

tack.44 Prior to the lynching, pamphlets

were handed out in Rakhine State,

calling or retribution or the murder

o the Buddhist woman.45 On June 8,

Rohingyas rioted ater Friday prayers,

resulting in the destruction o numerous

homes and the death o seven people,

our o whom were Rakhine.46 Over the

next our days, the violence quickly es-

calated as it spread to other townships

across Rakhine State. Rohingyas and

other Muslims reported that securityorces and Rakhine mobs subjected

them to discriminatory and arbitrary

arrests, physical attacks, rape, killing,

and destruction o property.

47

PHR documented multiple instances o

police attacking Rohingyas, providing

covering re or Rakhine mobs that

were attacking Rohingyas, and watch-

ing while Rohingyas were attacked.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the

Situation o Human Rights in Myanmar

stated that 1,100 people were detained

in relation to the June 2012 violence

and subsequent violence in October,

the vast majority o whom wereRohingya men and boys.48 In an August

2012 presentation, Burmas Ministry o

Border Aairs stated that 858 people

were detained in Rakhine State ater

the violence in June; 734 o those

people are Rohingyas (listed by the

government as Bengali).49 Ocial

government documents use the term

Bengali to reer to Rohingyas, refect-

ing the governments allegations that

Rohingyas come rom Bangladesh and

have little claim to Burmese citizenship.

October 21, 2012Violence erupts throughout Rakhine State.

Security orces reportedly stand by as

Rakhine mobs attack Rohingya villages

and neighborhoods, killing inhabitants

and burning down houses.

October 27, 2012President Thein Sein acknowledges

that whole villages were burned down

in Rakhine State.

Anatomy o Anti-Muslim Violence


Burmas president, Thein Sein.

Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images


14/44


12 Anatomy o Anti-Muslim Violence

in Burma Since June 2012continued rom page 11

Rakhine State:

October 2124, 2012

Ater a mob killed a Rakhine merchantor selling rice to Muslim customers

in Mrauk U on October 21, a wave

o violence spread to nine townships

within three days. Witnesses described

thousands o armed Rakhines descend-

ing on Muslim towns and villages,

burning houses as the inhabitants

fed.50 Entire villages, neighborhoods,

townships, and cities, including Sittwe,

were emptied o Muslims; those

who fed were orced into makeshit

camps.51 Over 35,000 people were

displaced by this round o violence,more than 97 percent o whom were

Muslim.52

On December 8, 2012, then minister

o border aairs, Lieutenant-General

Thein Htay, released the ocial number

o those detained in connection with

the violence in June and October in

Rakhine State. The minister stated that

1,121 people in 12 townships had been

detained, 849 o whom were Rohingya

(listed as Bengali), 233 were Rakhine,

27 were Hindu, eight were Burmese(listed as Myanmar), and our were

Maramagyi.53 Prisoners were reportedly

reused bail or access to legal counsel.54

In February 2013, a report released by

the Democratic Voice o Burma stated

that 966 Rohingyas have remained

incarcerated since November 2012.

55

The detained Rohingyas were more

likely to ace charges carrying sentenc-

es o up to 13 years, while detained

Rakhines allegedly aced charges that

carry sentences o 6 months to a year.56

As o February 2013, 68 people had

reportedly died while in custody, 62 o

whom were detained in Buthidaung

prison.57 Four Rakhines suspected o

involvement in the October violence

were released in April 2013.58 On July

9, 2013, senior Burmese government

ocials stated that 1,169 people hadbeen arrested in connection with the

violence in Rakhine State, and that 507

had been convicted in 195 court cases,

while 662 others were still on trial in

45 other cases. There was no indication

o the religious or ethnic breakdown o

those arrested.59

The Burmese governments combined

estimates o those killed during the

June and October 2012 violence range

rom 17660 to 211 people,61 with all

estimates indicating that proportionallymany more Rohingya were killed.62

In contrast, Rakhine States National

Democratic Party or Development

reports that more than 500 people

were killed in October 2012 alone.63

According to Burmese ocials, the

violence in October let 89 people dead,136 injured, and over 5,300 houses and

religious buildings destroyed.64 As o

May 2013, as many as 140,000 inter-

nally displaced persons (IDP) resided in

89 locations across Rakhine State.65

Rangoon:

February 2013

Several hundred Buddhist nationalists

attacked a Muslim school and businesses

in the Thaketa Township o Rangoon

in February 2013. The mob had mis-

takenly thought the school was beingturned into a mosque ater it requested

permission to make repairs to the roo.66

Police reported that they detained

our people ater the attacks, but all

were released shortly thereater.67

Thus ar, no other reports have been

released to indicate additional

detentions or arrests.

October 28, 2012Over 35,000 people displaced by

violence that started on October 21

increase the total number o IDPs in

Rakhine to 100,000; nearly all are Muslim.

A Rohingya girl

stands next to a

shelter in an

unregistered/

unofcial IDP camp

near Sittwe.


15/44




Mandalay & Bago Divisions:

March 2629, 2013

The violence in Mandalay reportedly

started with a quarrel between a

Buddhist couple and the employees o

a Muslim-owned gold shop over the

value o a gold hair clip in the city oMeiktila. The argument became phys-

ical as the employees reportedly beat

the husband in the street; police arrived

and detained the owner o the shop

and the Buddhist woman.68 Onlookers

became enraged and destroyed the

gold shop, as well as several other

Muslim-owned shops nearby while

reportedly shouting anti-Muslim slurs.69

In retaliation, a group o local Muslims

reportedly killed a Buddhist monk.

As news o the monks death spread,

mobs o Buddhists attacked Muslims in

the city and destroyed Muslim homes,religious buildings, and shops.70 The

violence continued or several days as

it spread to other villages in Mandalay

Division and south to Bago Division.71

Eyewitnesses told PHR that over the

course o three days, 12 o Meiktilas

13 mosques were destroyed, along

with 1,500 homes.72 Witnesses told

PHR that in the days leading up to

the violence, the number 786 was

spray-painted on Muslim homes.73

This numberwhich is signicant to

Muslims in the region74was apparent-

ly used in this particular case to identiyhomes to be attacked.75

One eyewitness to the violence in

Meiktila told PHR that one week beore

the ghting, Buddhists throughout

the city had put 969 stickers on their

homes. He said groups o people

October 29, 2012Explosions reportedly caused by hand

grenades occur at two mosques in

Kawkareik Township in Karen State.

November 1, 2012Thousands o Rohingyas in Pauktaw

Township reuse to sign government

registration orms because authorities re-

placed the term Rohingya with Bengali.

November 4, 2012Doctors Without Borders reports that

pamphlets and posters being distributed

in Sittwe threaten any aid workers who

treat Muslims.

Mobs destroyed

the school and

mosque in the

Mingalar Zayyone

quarter o Meiktila,

site o the massacre

o scores o

students, teachers,

and residents.

Photo: Heim Aung


16/44


14

were going door-to-door and giving

Buddhists stickers to mark their homes

so that they would not be targeted orburning.76 Eyewitnesses told PHR

that they saw monks instigating the

violence, some carrying weapons.77

PHR interviewed eyewitnesses who said

police watched without trying to in-

tervene while Muslims were killed and

their homes and mosques burned.78

The number o people arrested or the

Meiktila violence varies considerably

among sources. Mandalay Region

Advocate General Ye Aung Myintreported on May 27 that 87 people had

been arrested in connection with the

events in Mandalay, 38 o whom are

Buddhist.79 In a brieng on April 3, the

minister or oreign aairs stated that

142 people had been detained and

that action was being taken against

32 perpetrators o the violence in

Mandalay and Bago.80 The police stated

that 70 people had been arrested, in-

cluding 28 Muslims and 42 Buddhists.81

Witnesses reported that Burmese

authorities questioned and thenreleased a number o those arrested.82

As o the writing o this report, the

government had arrested 44 people,

both Muslims and Buddhists, or inci-dents that occurred in Meiktila. In April

2013, the gold shop owner, his wie,

and an employee were sentenced to

14 years each or assault and thet.83 In

May, seven Muslim men were convicted

on various charges or the killing o the

Buddhist monk, receiving sentences o

2 to 28 years in prison.84 In July, two

Buddhists were sentenced to seven

years or murder committed during

the riots.85 Between July 9 and July 11,

2013, 25 Buddhists and our Muslims

were convicted or crimes committedduring the violence in Meiktila.86 The

25 Buddhists were sentenced on

several charges, including arson, incit-

ing unrest, assault, thet, and murder;87

those convicted o murder received

10 to 15 years in prison.88 The our

Muslims received sentences ranging

rom seven years to lie imprisonment

or their roles in one murder specical-

ly.89 On July 12, one Buddhist and two

Muslims were sentenced to ve years

imprisonment or arson and destruction

o property.90 One student activist romRakhine State, Ye Min Oo, was acing

six years in prison or sedition and

inciting religious hatred during the

violence in Meiktila; he was arrested on

March 25, but no verdict had been giv-

en as o the writing o this report.91

Some positive stories have emerged rom

this new chapter o atrocities in Burma.

Civil society groups are leading eorts to

build peace and social reconciliation; the

government can learn much rom these

groups. The Interaith Youth Coalition

on AIDS in Myanmar (IYCA-Myanmar),

Mizzima Youth Network, Interaith Peace

Network, Myanmar Youth Resource

Society (MYRS), and other Burma-based

groups have held several events promot-

ing religious understanding and nonvi-

olence.92

In addition, PHR interviewedMuslim victims o the violence in Sittwe

who spoke o groups and individuals who

protected them. For example, a Rohingya

person described how Rakhine sta o

the Myanmar Red Cross stopped Rakhine

mobs rom beating them, provided

treatment, and evacuated them to the

hospital.93 Other Muslim victims said that

their Buddhist neighbors hid them rom

the mobs and helped them escape the

ghting.94 A Burman policeman diverted

Rakhine mobs rom one Muslim section

o town, enabling Rohingyas to escapeunharmed.95 PHR documented two

occasions in which Buddhist monks tried

to intervene to stop the violence.96

Acts o Courage



November 15, 2012The United Nations Oce or the

Coordination o Humanitarian

Aairs (UN OCHA) announces that

115,000 displaced persons are in

58 locations in Rakhine State, more

than hal o them located near Sittwe.

November 17, 2012Satellite evidence obtained ater the violence

in October shows the complete destruction

o Rohingya villages and neighborhoods

throughout Rakhine State.

November 17, 2012President Thein Sein promises to address

the underlying problems o the violence in

Rakhine State in a televised address and letter

to the UN.


17/44




At the time this report was written,

44 people had been convicted in total,

28 o whom were Buddhist (sentencesranging rom 3 to 15 years).97

Police in Bago Division claim that they

have arrested between 50 and 60

people thought to have participated

in vandalizing homes and property.98

In the town o Moenyo, only 4 people

have reportedly been questioned in

connection with the riots, while 21

people have been detained or violat-

ing the curew put in place during the

violence.99 Ten people were reportedly

convicted or violating the curew andsentenced to three months in prison.100

One Muslim was sentenced to two

years or insulting religion ater

removing a 969 sticker rom a shop

in Bago Division on April 20. He was

tried two days ater the incident and

sentenced the ollowing day.101

Oakkan, Rangoon Division:

April 30May 1, 2013

The violence in Oakkan and the sur-rounding areas reportedly started ater

a Muslim woman bumped into an

11-year-old novice monk, causing him

to drop and damage his alms bowl.102

Ater police detained the woman,

rumors spread that Muslim residents

were going to mount a revenge attack.

Mobs o armed Buddhists ormed

with the supposed intent o catching

Muslims by surprise, descending on

Muslim villages in the surrounding

area.103 Residents described groups o

200 to 300 armed Buddhists drivinginto villages on motorcycles and de-

stroying homes and mosques.104 Some

o the attackers were purportedly local

residents, while others were likely rom

elsewhere.105

Twenty-one people were arrested in

connection with the violence in Oakkan

and the surrounding villages in May

2013.106 The woman who allegedly

bumped into the novice monk was

among those arrested and was charged

with insulting religion through delib-erate and malicious acts.107 She and

another Muslim woman have been

convicted and sentenced to two years

o hard labor.108 No one else had been

convicted at the time this report was

written.

Hpakant, Kachin State:

May 4, 2013

A group o approximately 30 Buddhistsattacked Muslim-owned shops and

houses in three areas o Hpakant

Township on May 4, 2013. There are

no reports o what may have sparked

the outbreak o violence.109

Two Buddhists were subsequently de-

tained, but there had been no additional

arrests, charges led, or convictions

when this report was written.110

Lashio, Shan State:

May 2829, 2013The violence in Lashio reportedly

started ater a Muslim man got into a

quarrel with a emale Buddhist gaso-

line vendor.111 In the ensuing ght, the

Muslim man poured gasoline on the

vendor and lit her on re.112 The suspect

was detained by police soon thereater.

A mob ormed around the police sta-

tion demanding that the police release

the man to them. When the police

reused, the mob burned a mosque.113

The violence escalated rom there, asmobs o armed men roamed the streets

on motorcycles, while a group o men

in the market reportedly cheered and

sang nationalist Burmese songs as they

destroyed shops.114 Journalists and

humanitarian aid workers reported

being threatened and attacked by the

crowds during the violence.115

December 7, 2012Following a our-day visit to Burma, Valerie

Amos, UN under-secretary-general or

humanitarian aairs, states that the situation

or IDPs in Rakhine State is dire.

December 24, 2012The UN General Assembly unanimously

approves a non-binding resolution expressing

concern over violence in Rakhine State and

advocates that Burma protect the rights o

Rohingyas.

February 11, 2013Government authorities instruct immigration

ocials in Rakhine State to prevent Muslims

rom moving outside their townships.


18/44


16

Shan State government spokesperson,

Wai Lin, stated that 44 people were

arrested in connection with the vio-lence in Lashio, most o whom were

Buddhists.116 Police spokesman, Major

Moe Zaw Linn, stated that 60 people

were arrested during the violence.117

Fourteen people were still on trial or

their involvement in the violence as

o mid-June, with additional suspects

reportedly under arrest.118 However,

the only person convicted so ar is the

Muslim man accused o setting re to

the Buddhist petrol vendor; he was

sentenced to 26 years in prison or

attempted murder, causing grievousharm, and two separate drug-related

crimes.119

Mone, Bago Division:

May 29, 2013

This bout o violence was reportedlytriggered by a ght between two

brothers-in-law, one Muslim and one

Buddhist, during which the latter was

supposedly injured.120 Both were taken

to the police station, ater which res-

idents reportedly stated that a crowd

o Buddhists surrounded the station

and demanded that the Muslim man

be charged with a serious crime.121

Aterward, the crowd destroyed a

mosque and madrassa.122

As o the writing o this report, no ar-rests had been reported in connection

with this violence.123

Thandwe, Rakhine State:

June 30July 1, 2013

The unrest was reportedly sparked aterword spread that one or two men

who were purportedly Muslimraped

a woman.124 Ater hearing the news,

a mob o 50 people reportedly gath-

ered outside o a police station and

went on to destroy several Muslim-

owned homes and injure three Kaman

Muslims.125 The next day, the mob

burned down another Muslim-owned

home.126

As o July 2013, only one Muslim man

accused o rape had been arrested.127



February 16, 2013UN Special Rapporteur Toms Ojea Quintana

condemns the Burmese governments treat-

ment o the Rohingyas.

The overall culture o impunity

demands sweeping legal reorms and

a concerted initiative by politicaland civil society leadership in Burma.

UN Special Rap-

porteur Toms Ojea

Quintana talks to

the media ollowing

a press briefng

on the situation in

Rakhine State.

Photo: Ye Aung Thu/

AFP/GettyImages


19/44


Human Rights Violations

Between June 2012 and July

2013, attacks on Muslims

occurred in dozens o townsacross Burma. PHR investi-

gators interviewed 89 key

inormants and eyewitnesses

to the incidents in 19 locations across

Rakhine State, Mandalay Division, and

in the city o Rangoon. Several patterns

that emerged rom these interviews

suggest that the violence now spread-

ing throughout Burma might represent

more than random acts o communal

violence, and instead might have been

instigated and sustained by anti-Muslim

groups. Patterns o neglecting the vi-

olence are evident in the government

response across the broader geographyo the attacks. The apparent ailure o

authorities to respond appropriately

and in a manner that protects human

rights o all persons also indicates pos-

sible collusion in the violence. In each

situation, PHR documented the ailure

to protect civilians and prosecute per-

petrators. The overall culture o impu-

nity demands sweeping legal reorms

and a concerted initiative by political

and civil society leadership in Burma.

The especially egregious actions by po-

lice and military units in Rakhine State,

combined with an overall absence o

the rule o law, enabled the violence to

spread to other areas o the country.

The patterns evident in PHRs primary

data are refected in reports by jour-

nalists and by other human rights in-

vestigators who have traveled to other

sites o violence in Burma where PHR

did not go. To highlight the similarities

o events across Burma, this section

presents PHRs ndings in parallel with

reports rom other areas o the country,

categorized by human rights violation.

February 18, 2013Several hundred Buddhist nationalists attack a

Muslim school and businesses in the Thaketa

Township o Rangoon.

February 20, 2013In northern Maungdaw Township,

13 Rohingya women and girls are beaten

and gang-raped by the Nasaka, Burmas

border security orce.

February 21, 2013Deputy minister o immigration and popu-

lation denies the existence o the Rohingya

ethnic group in Burma during a parliamentary

question session.

Residents look

at the charred

remains o burnt

bodies in riot-hit

Meiktila on March

23, 2013.

Photo: Soe Than

WIN/AFP/Getty

Images


20/44


18 Human Rights Violationscontinued rom page 17

Burmese Authorities Fail to Protect

Civilians rom Assault128

There is no help rom the government.

The government is looking at us as an

enemy.129

Community leader, Sittwe IDP camps

Police and military actions during the

violence ollowed similar patterns

across the country. Eyewitnesses rom

13 o the 17 locations where PHR in-

vestigated in Rakhine State said they

saw police during the attacks. In those

13 locations, police were seen ring

weapons into crowds in eight separatesites,130 and were seen watching but not

intervening our times.131 Eyewitnesses

told PHR that police sometimes red

into the air and other times red directly

at people, sometimes killing those in

the crowd.132 In only two situations

did police intervene to help evacuate

injured Muslims.133 In some cases, the

police did nothing at rst, but later

helped move Muslims to saety.134

The armys record was only slightly

better. PHR documented nine times

in which military troops were seenduring outbreaks o violence. On two

occasions, troops red their weapons

at Muslims,135 on three occasions they

did nothing to stop the violence,136 and

in six cases they evacuated wounded

Muslims to hospitals or trucked them to

IDP camps.137

Witnesses o the violence in Kyauk

Phyu, Meiktila, and Rangoon told PHR

that local government ocials warnedRohingyas not to attack Rakhines

and said that they could not protect

Muslims.138 Although local authorities

knew in advance that violence would

erupt, they did nothing to prevent it.

During the violence, we had no pro-

tection rom the police. But we got

some help, but only a little, rom the

armyto take us to the hospital.139

Male IDP, Sittwe camps

Beore [Rakhine people] attacked ourvillage, they destroyed our boats, so

we couldnt escape. The next morning,

some military came, a battalion rom

Mrauk U. They said, Well tell the

Rakhine not to attack you again.

We had no ood, so many women

rom the village went out to fnd

oodnot men; they were araid they

would be killed by Rakhines. Three

days later, the army and Rakhine

people came into the village, and the

army watched while Rakhines looted

our houses. We lived like this or twomonths; we ate grass as ood. When

the army came the last time they said,

We only have a ew more days to

protect you, so it is better or you to

go away, go to another place.140

Female IDP, Sittwe camps

June 2012, Rakhine State,

PHR Field Reporting

Key inormants told PHR they sawpolice stand back and watch as Than

Daw Li village and Narzi quarter erupted

in fames.141 One key inormant told

PHR that state-owned equipment was

used to destroy mosques and Rohingya

homes, stating: They smashed

everything with a bulldozer; it was a

government bulldozer rom a jetty.142

Other key inormants told PHR that

they called state authorities to ask

or protection when armed mobs

o Rakhine people arrived in theirneighborhoods, but that authorities

took no action.143

March 20, 2013Buddhist mobs attack Muslim quarters in

the city o Meiktila ollowing a dispute

between a Muslim gold shop owner and

Buddhist customers.

The entire Muslim

Mingalar Zayyone

quarter was totally

destroyed as part

o the anti-Muslim

violence that swept

through Meiktila in

late March 2013.

Photo: Heim Aung


21/44


October 2012, Rakhine State,

PHR Field Reporting

Approximately 60 miles down the coastrom Sittwe, police and Army Battalion

34, commanded by a Burman,144

were positioned around the Muslim

quarter in the town o Kyauk Phyu.

Muslims rom Kyauk Phyu told PHR

that they were grateul or the pro-

tection and sent ood and presents

to the police and soldiers.145 The local

government then replaced Battalion

34 with Battalion 543, commanded by

a Rakhine.146 The Kyauk Phyu district

government also warned Rohingyas to

rerain rom retaliating against the at-tacks.147 One eyewitness told PHR, We

called on the phone to Kyauk Phyu

district government or help. They said,

I you burn one Rakhine house, then

you will be killed.148 Eyewitnesses told

PHR that on October 23, once the vio-

lence had started, police and Battalion

543 provided covering re or Rakhines

who were throwing Molotov cocktails

at Muslim houses.149 Several Rohingyas

were wounded and killed.150

Beore the violence, we heard that

Rakhines would attack usthere was

talking at the market. I was araid.The local government told us not to

attack the Rakhinesthat the Rakhines

would burn our houses i we did. The

Union Solidarity and Development

Party (USDP) district government sent

us a letter; it said, Muslim people,

dont attack Rakhines or they will burn

your house.151

Male armer, Kyauk Phyu

March 2013, Mandalay Division,

PHR Field Reporting

PHR spoke with eyewitnesses o theviolence in Meiktila in March 2013

who saw police stand by as crowds

destroyed Muslim homes, schools, and

businesses. PHRs May 2013 report,

Massacre in Central Burma: Muslim

Students Terrorized and Killed in

Meiktila, documented that police

watched while groups o armed

Buddhists killed at least 20 children

and our teachers.152

PHR also spoke with eyewitnesses rom

Mandalay Division who saw police ailto act as mobs attacked their communi-

ties. One male resident o Meiktila saw

a crowd orm near a police station and

start to move toward the market. He

joined this group o people and reported

getting trapped in the crowd, where he

counted approximately 10 monks,

ve o whom he saw handing out iron

bars to people. This eyewitness alsosaw res in several Muslim storeronts,

and said that the monks blocked the

passage o re trucks that arrived on

the scene. He reported that he ob-

served several policemen who stood

at the scene and watched.153

This eyewitness also said that when

he tried to take a video o the scene,

he heard a man yell, Theres a Kalar

[a derogatory term or Muslim]; hes

taking photos o us. Eight people then

began attacking him with sticks. Hesaid that two o the policemen who

were standing in ront o him grabbed

his arms, pulled him up, and took him

to the nearby police station. The eye-

witness stated that, en route to the

station, people in the crowd hit him

with bars, and the police did little to

stop them. PHR researchers noted that

this eyewitness had very obvious

periorbital ecchymoses (black eyes),

and a deviated nasal bridge, which

was presumably broken. He was still

suering rom severe back pain romwhere he was struck with iron bars.154

March 21, 2013At least 20 students and our teachers are

reportedly killed by a Buddhist mob that

attacked a madrassa in the Mingalar Zayyone

quarter o Meiktila.

March 24, 2013Violence in central Burma spreads as mobs at-

tack Muslim homes, businesses, and mosques

in towns outside Meiktila and Rangoon.

March 26, 2013The ocial death toll rom the violence in

Meiktila is raised to 40. UN Special Adviser

on the Prevention o Genocide Adama Dieng

voices concern over the violence.

Anti-Muslim violence spreads to several

villages in Bago Division, resulting in the

destruction o mosques, shops, and homes.

Many Muslims in the villages are orced

to fee.

Human Rights Violationscontinued rom page 18


22/44


20 Human Rights Violationscontinued rom page 19

PHR interviewed one emale head o

household who was stopped twice by

police while attempting to fee romviolence in her village, during which

time she witnessed police verbally

authorizing armed civilians to attack

Muslim neighborhoods or a period

o 30 minutes. She said she tried to

drive her children and grandchildren

out o her village on the evening o

March 23 ater witnessing about

40 to 50 people attack Muslim shops

and light res. Police ocers stopped

her at a roadblock and told her to turn

around and go home. When she began

to drive back toward her village, shesaw violence spreading in the direc-

tion o her home and drove back to

the checkpoint. She then overheard a

group o men on the roadside talking

to a policeman who appeared to be in

charge o the checkpoint. She heard

the policeman say to the group o men,

armed with sticks, that he would give

the group 30 minutes to loot and burn

Muslim businesses, but then hed have

to do something. At this point, she

was allowed through the checkpoint,

but the police ocer threatened her bysaying, I you tell anyone about what

you saw, well come nd you and beat

you.155

As we drove out o town I saw a

mosque burning and a fre truck.

People were blocking the fre truckrom reaching the mosque.156

Female IDP, Meiktila

Reports rom Elsewhere in Burma

Journalists detailing the Lashio riots in

May 2013 recounted a similar pattern,

reporting that the re brigades did

not respond to burning buildings; they

claimed they were not ordered to re-

spond to the res so they did not go.157

Legal Analysis

Internationally accepted police guide-

lines obligate police ocials to protectall persons against illegal acts,158

thereby obliging police to intervene

when witness to unlawul destruction

and threats to civilian lives. In the

Burmese context, police and military

incompetence or timidity cannot be

an explanation or their reluctance

to act. Throughout Burmas history,

and especially during pro-democracy

protests in 1988 and 2007, police and

military have disrupted civilian protests

with brutal eciency. In the last year,

government orces put down peaceulprotests and arrested protestors in

Letpaudaung, Maday Island, Mandalay,

Rangoon, Lashio, and Shwebo.159 The

police orce should operate as an insti-

tution that protects civilians, not one

that only reacts to peaceul protests

deemed threatening to the state.

March 28, 2013President Thein Sein warns potential instiga-

tors o violence that he has the ability and

resolve to use orce to protect citizens.

March 29, 2013A mob o around 50 men attacks a Muslim

neighborhood in the Gyobingauk Township

o Bago Division, causing hundreds o

Muslims to fee.

April 2, 2013In Rangoon, 13 boys die in a re at a madras-

sa. Burmese ocials say that the re was an

accident, but people close to the school claim

that oul play was involved.

The police orce should operate as an

institution that protects civilians, not onethat only reacts to peaceul protests

deemed threatening to the state.


23/44


2

Burmese Authorities Fired on and

Arbitrarily Executed Civilians in

Rakhine State

160

Police in Rakhine State ailed to protect

Rohingyas during the violence there.

Police also red deadly weapons at

Rohingyas to prevent them rom de-

ending their property against mobs o

armed Rakhines. In the incidents that

PHR investigated, Rohingyas sometimes

deended themselves and their property

with knives, sticks, or other rudimen-

tary weapons. Even though Rohingyas

were armed at times, the response by

police was excessive and appears tohave amounted to arbitrary execution

in some cases.

June 2012, Rakhine State,

PHR Field Reporting

Beore the burning, Army Battalion

542 fred onto the roos o the

Rohingya houses. Then Rakhines

burned the houses with petrol

bombs.161

Male armer, Kyauk Phyu

A middle-aged ather told PHR that

police watched while Rakhine peo-

ple set re to Rohingya homes in hiscommunity.162 He testied that on

June 11, ater Rakhine residents set

re to Rohingya houses, police shot at

Rohingyas as they exited their burning

homes.163 This same eyewitness told

PHR that on the road to the IDP camp

he witnessed police ocials orce a

12-year-old boy to lie down ace-up on

the street, at which time police shot

him once in the chest with a rife.164

The eyewitness claimed to have been

about three bamboo pole lengths

(approximately 100 eet) away romthis shooting when it happened.

Aterwards, he ran with his amily

away rom the scene.165

In several cases, eyewitnesses told

PHR that authorities provided covering

re or Rakhines who were burning

Rohingya houses. Although Rohingyas

tried to deend their property, they

were turned back by gunre. One

eyewitness told PHR, I saw Rakhine

people throwing petrol bottles on

the roo o a Rohingya house. TheRohingyas attacked them back. Then

the police started shooting at the

Rohingyas. Some were hit in the leg

and some were hit on the body.166

Another eyewitness said, Some

Rakhine people were marching to the

mosque and the madrassa. Our villagerstried to stop them by attacking, but the

police shot at us. Four Rohingyas were

killed; I saw all our get killed.167

When the Rakhines started burning

our houses, we wanted to deend our-

selves. We attacked them with sticks

and knives to make them stop. Then

Lon Htein [police commandos] started

shooting at people.168


I saw about 50 commando policecome in frst; they pointed guns at

Rohingyas and fred. I saw about

10 people killed. At the same time,

Rakhines started burning the town.

Later we retrieved the bodies.169

Female IDP, Sittwe camps

April 5, 2013A plan to resettle Rohingya IDPs in Kyauk

Phyu Township is scrapped ater local

Rakhines oppose allowing Rohingyas to

be resettled near them.

April 10, 2013Dozens o people are arrested throughout

Bago Division in connection with the

anti-Muslim riots in March 2013.

April 11, 2013A Muslim gold-shop owner, his wie, and an

employee are sentenced to 14 years in prison

or assault and thet during an altercation

that sparked anti-Muslim violence in Meiktila.



24/44

22

Patterns o Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma: A Call or Accountability and Prevention

Reports rom Elsewhere in Burma

Most o the direct assaults on Muslims

by Burmese authorities occurred inRakhine State. The police ailure to

prevent anti-Muslim violence and arrest

perpetrators in other parts o the coun-

try most likely played a role in enabling

or even encouraging attacks. PHR did

not independently veriy any incidents

o police or military shooting civilians

outside o Rakhine State.

The only other reported case o

police ring on civilians outside o

Rakhine State was in Pyay Township

in Mandalay, where people were in-jured and hospitalized ater being shot

with rubber bullets on March 27, 2013

during riots sparked by the Meiktila

violence.170

Legal Analysis

The UN Code o Conduct or Law

Enorcement Ocials limits police use

o deadly orce to those occasions

when strictly necessary and to the

[minimum] extent required or the

perormance o duty.171 UN Basic

Principles on the Use o Force urtherstipulate that law enorcement ocials

may only use rearms against people

posing imminent threat o death or se-

rious injury, and even then only when

less extreme means are insucient

means o protection.172

Forced Displacement173

Forced displacement exacts a devas-tating toll on entire communities. Such

displacement oten involves the strip-

ping away o livelihoods, the loss

o amily and other interpersonal

connections, the inability to access

basic services, including health and

education, and uture vulnerability to

human rights abuses.174

June and October 2012, Rakhine

State, PHR Field Reporting

During the initial wave o violence in

Sittwe, Muslims fed the ghting andgathered in Aung Mingala quarter, one

o the largest Muslim quarters in town,

seeking saety in numbers. Ater a ew

days, the population o the quarter

swelled to several times its normal size.

Local military commanders came to the

quarter and said they would evacuate

IDPs. According to eyewitnesses, the

army sent six or seven trucks to move

IDPs to the edge o town. These trucks

dropped them o where the IDP camps

are located today. Eyewitnesses said

the relocation was voluntary becausepeople eared or their lives and wanted

to get out o Sittwe. Several thousand

more people walked rom the Aung

Mingala quarter to the edge o town.

Eyewitnesses said they were attacked

by Rakhine civilians and monks as they

fed, but were protected by the army.

PHR interviewed Muslims who fed their

homes during the June 2012 violence

and were grateul to Burmese Armysoldiers or protecting them.175

The army acilitated the exodus o all

o the Muslims in the town o Sittwe,

with the exception o those who chose

to remain in Aung Mingala ghetto.176

Aung Mingala remains the only Muslim

quarter in Sittwe not burned to the

ground and evacuated. The quarter is

surrounded by police, and people are

not permitted to enter or leave without

paying a bribe. The army drove people

out ostensibly or the Muslims saety,but the result was to concentrate the

Muslim population in camps outside o

town, where they have remained or

over a year.

One Rohingya woman told PHR that

ve days ater violence began in Sittwe,

police kicked out all Rohingya am-

ilies rom her village o Pauktaw and

orced them toward the shore.177

April 18, 2013A Burmese government spokesperson rejects

calls or an international investigation into the

anti-Muslim violence, saying the violence is

Burmas internal aairs.

April 29, 2013The Rakhine State Conficts Investigation

Commission calls or more security orces

in Rakhine, segregation between Muslims

and Buddhists, and limiting the population

growth o Rohingyas.

April 30, 2013Anti-Muslim mobs destroy several businesses,

homes, and a mosque in Oakkan and sur-

rounding villages. At least one person is killed.



25/44

2

Burmese Authorities Promote

Segregation and Prevent Muslims

rom Fulflling Basic Needs

178

June and October 2012, Rakhine

State,179 PHR Field Reporting

PHR researchers documented several

instances o government restrictions

on reedom o movement. During the

ghting, Rohingyas feeing violence in

Kyauk Phyu by boat were turned away

rom entering the IDP camps in Sittwe

because authorities wanted them in a

dierent camp. The Nasaka, Burmas

border security orce, red over shing

boats trying to land IDPs at the Sittwebeach and beat Rohingyas as they

disembarked.180

[Ater we landed at Sittwe IDP camp,]

the army called us. They said, You

cant land here, go to Rathedaung.

We said we did not want to go there,

and they said, Talk to the prime minis-

ter o Rakhine State to see where you

should go. We said, Were Kaman

Muslims, we have citizenship, take us

back to Kyauk Phyu. But the prime

minister said no. They want to send usto difcult areas to discriminate against

us. They are sending us there to get

attacked by Rakhines again; these areas

are not sae.181


Rohingyas are even less sae outside

the IDP camps, where they may be

susceptible to attacks rom civilians.The Burmese authorities are not

orcing Rohingyas to stay in the camps,

but because they will not give them

protection i they leave, the Rohingyas

have no choice but to remain there.

Toms Ojea Quintana, the UN special

rapporteur on the situation o human

rights in Myanmar, visited these camps

in February 2013 and said the camp in

Myebon elt more like a prison than

an IDP camp.182

Nasaka will let us go [on boats to othercountries] but will not let us return.183

Community leader, Sittwe IDP camp

Because Rohingyas in the camps can-

not travel to the markets in Sittwe to

buy ood, those not receiving rations

rom the World Food Program (WFP)

must rely on sympathetic Rakhine truck

drivers to buy them ood in the markets

and deliver it to the camps. These truck

drivers, who have been harassed by

monks and beaten by Rakhine mobs in

the markets, told PHR that they receiveno protection rom the police.184

The Rakhines will kill Rohingyas i they

go downtown. There is no government

protection. We cannot go to the hospital,to the market.185

Community leader, Sittwe IDP camp

The Burmese police and military ailed

to protect Rohingyas rom attacks

during the 2012 violence, and they

have not been able to provide protec-

tion since then. Rohingyas in the areas

around Sittwe cannot travel reely

outside o IDP camps. Most IDPs in

Sittwe interviewed by PHR said they

would return home to Sittwe i the

government would guarantee theirsaety, though at the time o the

interviews they elt this was not the

case.186 One emale IDP told PHR,

100 percent I want to go home to

Sittwe i I can get saety and protec-

tion rom the government. That is my

home.187

I want to live in peace with the

Rakhine people, like in the past.188


1982 [the citizenship law] is not orus. We need rights. This is our country

too; we vote, and we have been elect-

ed. They dont want to recognize us

as citizens because we are Muslim.189


May 1, 2013A mob o about 100 Buddhists armed

with sticks reportedly threatens to burn

the Muslim village o Win Kite and kill its

residents, but is pushed back to a nearby

Buddhist village by police.

May 2, 2013The U.S. Commission on International

Religious Freedoms lists Burma as one o the

worst oenders in denying religious reedom.

May 4, 2013A crowd o 30 people destroys a

Muslim-owned shop in Hpakant

Township in Kachin State. Two

Buddhists are arrested at the scene.


Physicians or Human Rights


26/44


24 Humanitarian Needs

PHR interviewed three groups o com-

munity leaders who lived in IDP campsnear Sittwe, as well as community

leaders who were organizing aid or

IDPs in Meiktila. In the Sittwe camps,

leaders complained o limited ood

supplies and a lack o shelter.190 IDPs in

the camps near Sittwe who had regis-

tered with WFP received regular rations

o rice, oil, and salt. Unregistered IDPs

received ood aid rom private donors

rom Rangoon. Unregistered IDPs

said these ood rations did not come

regularly, and they were constantly

worried about running out o ood.191

PHR was not able to access all camps in

Rakhine State, and some private donors

in Rangoon told PHR that they could

not visit particular camps because the

government did not provide them with

security rom hostile local civilians.192

IDPs were living in canvas tents pro-

vided by the United Nations HighCommissioner or Reugees (UNHCR),

in bamboo houses, and in grass-

thatched huts that were too low to

permit standing. The IDP camps are

interspersed with villages that existed

beore the displacement. Altogether,

they cover about nine square miles.

This area is located on a coastal plain

an extremely fat site with no drainage.

In many places, latrines were only a ew

yards rom the houses.

Community leaders o one unregisteredsettlement o about 67 households said

they had our water pumpsonly two

o which were workingand 10 toilets

or their community. They said most o

the children had diarrhea and malaria.193

PHR investigators were not able to visit

camps or Rakhine IDPs in Sittwe, butobserved them rom nearby. These

camps were much closer to the town

o Sittwe, and all were made up o

bamboo houses with iron sheets on the

roos; PHR investigators saw electric

wires running into the houses and elec-

tric streetlights. PHR researchers also

saw housing construction on the edge

o the town o Sittwe, where locals said

houses would be built or displaced

Rakhine people. So ar, there is no

government plan to move Rohingyas or

other Muslims out o the IDP camps.194

Muslim community leaders in Mandalay

told PHR that they were raising mon-

ey to support Buddhist and Muslim

IDPs. They said that the government

asked them to build 1,100 homes or

Muslims who had fed Meiktila, but

that the government requested they

use a contractor known to be a crony

o the old regime. Community leaders

said they were given 30 days to resettle

an estimated 9,000 Muslim IDPs rom

Meiktila.195

May 7, 2013The Dalai Lama denounces attacks on

Muslims by Buddhist monks in Burma,

saying that killing in the name o religion

is unthinkable.

May 21 , 2013Seven Muslims are convicted or crimes

related to the violence in Meiktila in

March and receive sentences ranging

between 2 and 28 years in prison.

May 23 , 2013Seven Rohingya are charged with criminal

oenses ater they are arrested or reusing to

register as Bengali with the government.


27/44


Humanitarian Needscontinued rom page 24

While temporary shelters have been

built or an estimated 71,000 IDPs inRakhine State (only slightly more than

hal o the 140,000 IDPs),196 the UNHCR

estimates that 69,000 IDPs are living

in food-prone areas or in tents

or makeshit structures that cannot

withstand the rainy season.197 Eorts

are under way to build temporary

structures capable o resisting the rain

or the remaining IDPs. The Rakhine

government, with assistance rom the

central Burmese government, has been

tasked with the construction o shelters

or 45,000 people, while the UNHCRis constructing shelters or 25,000

people.198 However, many o these

structures have to be elevated over rice

paddies, since the Burmese government

was reportedly unable to secure more

suitable land.199 According to Doctors

Without Borders, the water, sanitation,

and hygiene (WASH) conditions are

ar below international standards in

a number o camps in Rakhine.200

The United Nations Oce or the

Coordination o Humanitarian Aairsstated in a press release that, despite

eorts to improve the situation or IDPs

in Rakhine State, there are still severe

gaps in humanitarian assistance that

need to be addressed. Restrictions

on IDPs reedom o movement have

prevented them rom being able to

seek employment, health services, and

education.201 There are also ears that

the construction o semi-permanent

shelters will result in the establishment

patterns of anti-muslim violence in burma: a call for accountability and prevention

Documents