Tens of thousands of Muslims displaced in last year’s ethnic cleansing in Arakan State of Myanmar are forewarned to immediately shift to a higher ground as a tropical cyclone is approaching the Bay of Bengal, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday.
Published : 14 May 2013, 11:34 AM
Half of the approximately 140,000 ethnic Rohingya and Kaman Muslims displaced by violence and persecution that began in June 2012 are currently living in flood-prone paddy fields and coastal areas that may be vulnerable to storm that is expected to surge with Cyclone Mahasen the coast of western Burma and Bangladesh late on Wednesday.
The storm could affect many low-lying areas in coastal Bangladesh and western Burma. Displaced people sheltered in the camps will be particularly at risk.
“The Burmese government didn’t heed the repeated warnings by governments and humanitarian aid groups to relocate displaced Muslims ahead of Burma’s rainy season,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the HRW. “If the government fails to evacuate those at risk, any disaster that results will not be natural, but man-made.”
Burma’s government undertook limited evacuations for some of the displaced on May 13 and 14, as well as for the general population throughout Arakan State, but numerous camps for the displaced remain occupied with no apparent plans for people to be moved or official warnings about the impending cyclone. Humanitarian workers are afraid that Muslim families who attempt to flee on their own may be subject to violence from ethnic Arakanese Buddhist residents and local security forces.
Arakan State government spokesman Win Myaing told The Irrawaddy magazine that “All camps located near the coast are being resettled,” but humanitarian aid workers and displaced Rohingya persons said that coastal camps with tens of thousands of displaced persons had not been evacuated as of May 14, and that in some cases Rohingya were for unknown reasons being moved closer to the sea.
Burmese authorities should focus on moving the displaced people to higher ground, work with humanitarian agencies to provide adequate shelter for all in need without discrimination, and ensure that Muslims and other vulnerable groups are secure from attacks or other violence before and after the cyclone.
According to the United Nations, more than 140,000 displaced in Myanmar’s Arakan State are confined to squalid camps, many of which are said to have inadequate shelter, food, water and sanitation, medical care, and other basic services. At least 69,000 live in shelters insufficient to withstand the rainy season – much less typhoon strength winds. These camps are located in low-lying areas at severe risk of flooding and storm surges.
Authorities continue to place severe restrictions on the movement of camp residents, preventing them from leaving camps that may be in harm’s way when the cyclone hits.
“Vulnerable Muslim populations are at risk not only from the cyclone, but from violence at the hands of ethnic Arakanese communities and the very local security forces that are responsible for their displacement in the first place,” said Adams.
Among the displaced population are tens of thousands of “unregistered” Rohingya who have not been formally recorded by the Burmese authorities, even though they live in areas where the security forces deny them freedom of movement and their presence is known to the aid community.
Unregistered Rohingya have repeatedly told Human Rights Watch and humanitarian aid groups that they lack food, shelter, medicine, potable water, clothing, and other necessities. The government has not authorized humanitarian aid for unregistered displaced persons, and it appears that they are not being considered in the government’s slow-moving plans to relocate people out of danger from the cyclone.
Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called on international donors to continue to press Burma’s government to ensure the safety of vulnerable displaced populations, including by evacuating them to safer areas and providing adequate shelter, and permitting full and unfettered access by humanitarian aid organizations.