Crimes Against Humanity
The Case of the Rohingya People in Burma
Harassed and beaten
Northern Rakhine state is one of the poorest and most isolated in Burma, But the burdens imposed on the Rohingya by Burma's military rulers make their situation awhole lot worse than other people living in the area."Economic hardship and chronic poverty prevents many thousands of people in north Rakhinestate from gaining food security," says Chris Kaye, the country director for the UN's WorldFood Programme who visited there two months ago."Many do not have land rights or access to farmland to grow food, and the restrictions andlimitations on the movement of people, goods and commodities places additional stress onpeople's livelihood opportunities."For a start, the Rohingya are denied citizenship under Burma's 1982 citizenship law, whichleaves them out of the 135 ethnic groups officially recognised by the state.The official view of the Burmese military is that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladeshor their descendants.Rohingya trying to leave Burma are often harassed and beaten by the Burmese securityforces, but then allowed to leave, and told never to return.They are also unable to travel freely. The military demands that they obtain an official permiteven to travel to the next town.It is almost impossible for them to get permission to travel outside northern Rakhine.