Myanmar forces erect security structures atop burned Rohingya land: Amnesty

Published March 12, 2018
In this file photo taken on November 28, 2017, Rohingya Muslim refugees wait to be called to receive food aid of rice, water and cooking oil in a relief centre at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. — AFP
In this file photo taken on November 28, 2017, Rohingya Muslim refugees wait to be called to receive food aid of rice, water and cooking oil in a relief centre at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. — AFP

Myanmar is building security installations on top of razed Rohingya villages, Amnesty International said on Monday, casting doubt on the country's plans to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled northern Rakhine state to Bangladesh since Myanmar launched a brutal crackdown on insurgents six months ago that the United States and United Nations (UN) have called ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar rejects that accusation, saying it was responding to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late August.

But critics accuse the military of using the insurgent attacks to launch disproportionate, scorched-earth “clearance operations” as a pretext to push out the loathed minority.

The new Amnesty report, “Remaking Rakhine State,” uses satellite imagery and interviews to point to a rapid increase in military infrastructure and other construction since the start of the year that researchers say amounts to a “land grab”.

Satellite imagery  point to a rapid increase in military infrastructure and other construction since the start of the year that researchers say amounts to a “land grab”. — AFP
Satellite imagery point to a rapid increase in military infrastructure and other construction since the start of the year that researchers say amounts to a “land grab”. — AFP

“The new evidence and the rebuilding that Amnesty has documented in our latest research shows that the Myanmar authorities are building over the top of the very places the Rohingya need to return to,” Tirana Hassan, Amnesty's crisis response director, told AFP ahead of the report's release on Monday.

“In some instances there has been the destruction of existing homes.”

Though admitting the images only paint a partial picture, the rights group says structures for security forces, helipads and even roads have been built in and around torched Rohingya properties.

Satellite imagery of one village called Kan Kya on the outskirts of Rakhine's Maungdaw town taken two months after the August attacks shows a settlement scarred by fire.

But by early March buildings could be seen on the revamped land. Amnesty believes they are part of a new base for security forces.

Similar building activity was also detected in Inn Din village, where Myanmar has admitted that its security forces took part in the killings of 10 Rohingya residents in September.

Rakhine state has been largely sealed off from rights groups, the media and UN investigators.

Myanmar and Bangladesh were supposed to start repatriating Rohingya refugees in late January but many are reluctant to return to a place without guarantees of basic rights and safety.

The report also highlights concerns that abandoned Rohingya land will be set aside for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and other non-Muslim groups in the area, and that alterations to the landscape will erase evidence of alleged atrocities by the military.

Myanmar officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Myanmar has denied claims it is covering up evidence, saying it is improving the standard of living in one of the poorest states in the country.

Opinion

Editorial

Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.
Concerning measures
Updated 03 Nov, 2024

Concerning measures

The govt must seek political input and consensus on the changes it is seeking to make and be open about its intentions.
Short-lived relief?
03 Nov, 2024

Short-lived relief?

POLICYMAKERS must be jumping with joy. At the close of the first quarter of FY25, the budget posted a consolidated...
Brisk spread
03 Nov, 2024

Brisk spread

THE surge in polio cases has reached distressing levels with a tally of 45 last reported, after two cases emerged in...