Report by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.
In June and October 2012 there were large scale violent attacks against the ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State. Ethnic Kaman Muslims were also targeted. In addition there were widespread and numerous other incidents of violence, intimidation and harassment against the Rohingya.
Estimates of those killed in the violence range from several hundred to more than a thousand. The UNHCR has said that in the two years since the violence began more than 80,000 Rohingya have fled Burma by boat. Around 140,000 Rohingya who were forced to flee their homes now live in temporary camps where humanitarian access is severely restricted as a result of Burmese government policies and the failure of the government to ensure a secure environment for delivery of aid.
While the appalling conditions of the Rohingya in camps in Rakhine State since 2012 has received international attention, the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State is not new. Since the 1960s governments in Burma have gradually introduced laws and policies designed to repress and impoverish the Rohingya, and drive them out of Burma.
Increasing poverty and blocking economic development of the Rohingya is a deliberate and integral part of the Burmese governments Rohingya policy. Since the reform process began under President Thein Sein in 2011, the application of these policies has been stepped up, leading to a serious deterioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation in Rakhine State.
This report calls on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to personally take the lead in negotiating free and unhindered international humanitarian access in Rakhine State.