Since last Friday 25 August 2017, the Myanmar military force supported by local extreme Rakhine Buddhists and the government, who are allegedly claiming to be fighting armed Rohingyan forces, have been massacring and killing innocent Rohingyan Muslims. Al-Jazeera reported on the 26th of August that the Myanmar military forces are shooting indiscriminately at innocent Rohingyan civilians, including elders, women and children.

The following are some facts of the recent events:

● About 3000 Rohingyan civilians have been reported to be killed in the past week. Many more have been massacred but were not reported due to media restrictions.

● More than 35 villages have been burnt down by the Myanmar military where civilians were also set alight and the remaining survivors of these villages have been displaced.

● Many families trying to return to their villages have been shot at and are forced to hide in the forests for safety, without any food or shelter.

● More than 50,000 Rohingyan civilians fled to Bangladesh escaping the massacre.

The Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia (BRCA) notes the following in this respect:

1. The Rohingyans have long been subjected to relentless persecution and violence for decades, which claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives and displaced millions because of the Burmese government. Since 1982, the Rohingyans were denied citizenship in their own land where they have lived for centuries. The NLD government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, deliberately avoid to identify the Rohingyan as citizens of Myanmar to eradicate our identity.

2. The government of Myanmar and the Burmese Army has violated UN’s universal declaration of Human Rights by unlawfully and arbitrarily engaging in mass shooting, torture, discrimination and sexual violence upon innocent Rohingyans. They have forcefully raided and looted entire villages, burnt down homes, killed hundreds of innocent souls and raped young women. No lives have been spared. Everyone including young children, women and the elderly are victims to their ruthless crimes.

3. Consequently, the Rohingyans were forced to flee their homes and villages to neighboring countries and villages or in remote and barren country sides, wherever they could take refuge. Bangladesh have long been opposed to the Rohingyan issue. Recently, SBS has reported that the Bangladeshi government is willing to work closely with the Myanmar government to fight Rohingyan Muslims.

4. Finally, these atrocities are a violation of the Australian standards of human rights, something we are privileged with: the right to food, shelter, clothing, prosperity, equality, justice, freedom, nationality and social security. The Burmese Government needs to be held accountable for their violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights before the Rohingyan people are eradicated.

Signed by:

1. Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia (BRCA)
Website: www.brca.org.au
2. Burmese Rohingya Association in Queensland-Australia (BRAQA)
Website: www.braqa.org.au
3. Queensland Rohingya Community (QRC)
Website: www.qrc.com.au
Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia (BRCA), Burmese Rohingya Association in Queensland-Australia (BRAQA), Queensland Rohingya Community (QRC)