World Urges Rohingya Deaths Investigation

As the Burma government insists there is no truth to reports that Rohingya Muslims were killed in the village of Du Char Yar Tan last week, calls are growing for a full investigation into what took place in the village in northern in Arakan State.

 Reports have emerged of a violent crackdown on the night of Jan. 13 in the village in Maungdaw Township after a policeman went missing in the Rohingya-majority area.

The Thailand-based NGO the Arakan Project said it had received multiple reports that possibly dozens of Rohingya were killed by security forces and Arakanese Buddhists. Official media and the Ministry of Information have strongly refuted the reports.

International organizations are calling for clarity as independent observers have not been able to visit Du Char Yar Tan village to confirm either the allegations or the government line. A high security presence is reportedly still in place in the area.

Shwe Maung, a Muslim member of Parliament for Buthidaung Township in Arakan State, who is currently in Naypyidaw, criticized local authorities for issuing a blanket denial of the reports, and called for the government to be more transparent in dealing with the incident.

He said Rohingya villagers had still not been allowed back into the village to confirm whether missing loved ones are dead or alive.

“They should let the people get back to inside the village. Now some people believe that their people were killed as they can’t get inside the village,” Shwe Maung said.

He said he had been sent photos of the bodies of people purportedly killed last week, and was trying to confirm their veracity. “I just got five photos of dead people,” he said. “When I get full confirmation, I will raise it to Parliament.”

He said the entire population of the village, nearly 4,000 people, had fled their homes, although he could not confirm how many people had been killed.

Abu Tahay, a Muslim leader from the Union National Development Party, said he had a list of 24 names of people killed. He also called for the authorities to thoroughly investigate and present their findings in a transparent way.

The state-owned New Light of Myanmar on Saturday quoted local police denying the incident, which was reported Friday by the Associated Press (AP) and The Irrawaddy.

“AP, Irrawaddy falsely reports violence occurred in Rakhine State,” the newspaper’s headline read, saying the media outlets were “instigat[ing] unrest” by reporting claims of deaths in Du Char Yar Tan village.

According to information published on the Facebook page of the Burmese military-owned Myawaddy newspaper, the Ministry of Information has spoken to AP reporters about their coverage last week. Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut could not be reached for comment Monday.

 Source: Irrawaddy