Death Sentence for Arakan Rape-Murderers

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| June 18, 2012 | 

 

Two men have been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of an ethnic Arakanese woman that sparked recent sectarian clashes in western Burma.

The Provincial Court of Kyaukphyu Township, in northern Ramree Island of Arakan State, convicted the pair on Monday morning. They were arrested along with a third man two days after the May 28 slaying of Thidar Htwe, the authorities reported.

Ba Shein, a lawyer and Lower House MP for the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party who attended the sentencing, told The Irrawaddy that, “the verdict was made before noon under section 302(1c) [of the Burmese Penal Code].”

One of the original three men arrested, Shaun Shou (aka Htet Htet or Phyo Zayyar Kyaw), committed suicide in prison on June 9, state-run media reported on June 11.

The rape and murder case enflamed sectarian tensions between Buddhist Arakanese and Rohingya Muslims in the region with 10 Muslims pilgrims killed by a lynch mob in Taunggok Township on June 3 in apparent retaliation.

On the first day of the case being heard on June 8, a riot broke out as a group of Muslims returned from Friday prayers and torched dozens of Arakanese houses in Maungdaw Township.

Fighting spread all over Arakan in subsequent days including the state capital Sittwe. Official figures reveal that 50 people were killed, 54 people injured and more than 2,500 houses burned down in the ensuing violence. More than 30,000 people in the region have been forced from their homes as a result.

A 6 pm to 6 am curfew was imposed immediately after violence broke out in Maungdaw and a state of emergency was also declared in Sittwe.

The trial was heard in public with the victim’s family and other local residents present in the courtroom. The accused pleaded guilty on June 15.

Ba Shein said the case was concluded within a couple of weeks because there were plenty of witnesses. He also paid tribute to the local police force for their efforts in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The accused were charged under Burmese Penal Code section 376 for rape, section 302 (1c) for murder and section 392 for looting properties.

The two convicted on June 18, Hla Win (aka Marme or Yaw Pi) and Lu Lu (aka Myint Swe or Wushee), were sent back to Kyaukphyu Prison after the sentencing hearing.

They both have the right of appeal to the Union Supreme Court in Naypyidaw, added Ba Shein.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7112a
 

Gold Miners March on Naypyidaw

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| June 11, 2012 | 

 

More than 1,000 gold miners from Mandalay Division began marching to Naypyidaw on Monday after their demands to keep working in the area were rejected.

The miners began by walking from 12 gold mine zones in the Moehti Moemi area to the center of Yamaethin Township which lies 40 miles (64 km) away. They will continue towards the capital on Tuesday.

A Moehti Moemi resident told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the miners left the area that morning.

“The gold miners planned to go with trucks but the number two gate did not allow them to cross, therefore, they had to walk,” she said. “But some people who had motorbikes have used them to travel.”

Moehti Moemi Monastery Abbot U Sandaw Batha and 10 other monks from the area are also accompanying the miners on the march.

Tens of thousands of gold miners began protesting in the first week of June after the Myanmar National Prosperity Public Company (MNPPC) told them to halt mining in the 6,000-acre Moehti Moemi area.

The company reached a verbal agreement with around a thousand small mining companies and individual miners in December 2011 which allowed them to excavate gold from the area for the length of its five-year government contract.

MNCCP is contracted to supply the Ministry of Mining with a certain amount of gold, while the smaller companies would receive half the ore that they excavated and contribute the rest.

But MNPPC has apparently since reneged on the deal and told miners to work for the company directly instead. All mining operations were halted on May 5 in an apparent effort to attract larger investments from international mining companies.

The gold miners postponed their protest at the weekend while an inspection to measure the feasibility of work recommencing was carried out by MNPPC. However, it now appears the company has decided against reopening the pits.

The marching miners, who arrive in Yamaethin on Monday evening, will stay at the Shwe Myay Tin Pagoda seven miles from town for the night before advancing the 48 miles (78 km) to Naypyidaw on Tuesday, according to worker activist Thaung Htike.
 

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/6475 

Tense Calm Returns after Latest Outbreak of Violence in Arakan State

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| June 9, 2012 | 

 

The situation in northern Arakan State is stable but tense in the wake of a wave of mob violence that claimed at least seven lives and saw the complete or partial destruction of nearly two dozen villages in two townships on Friday, according to official and local sources.

The authorities in Maungdaw Township, the scene of the worst violence, imposed an indefinite curfew last night after around 1,000 Muslims swept through 22 predominantly Buddhist villages, attacking residents and burning houses and other buildings. A two-month curfew was also set in Buthidaung, a neighboring township also located near Burma’s border with Bangladesh.

As part of the dusk-to-dawn curfews, public gatherings of more than five people are banned, according to a notice published by state-run media.

The attacks marked the latest escalation of tensions between the two communities, after 10 Muslims were dragged from a bus and beaten to death last Sunday. That incident followed growing anger over the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman, allegedly by three Muslim men, late last month.

According to information posted on the website of the President’s Office on Saturday morning, in addition to the seven dead, 17 people were seriously injured in the attacks. Damage to property included the destruction of 494 houses, 19 shops and one hotel.

Local sources said, however, that the authorities have not yet completed their survey of the area and are still looking for additional casualties. They added that at least 300 people who had fled to nearby mountains to escape the attacks had been rescued.

State television announced on Saturday that troops had been sent to the area to reinforce local police who struggled to control the rampaging mobs. According to the state-run newspaper Myanmar Ahlin, security forces opened fire on the rioters to restore order on Friday. No casualties were reported.

The Ministry of Information also reported on its website that the area had been visited by Defense Minister Lt-Gen Hla Min and other senior civilian an military officials, including Arakan State Chief Minister Hla Maung Tin, Western Regional Commander Brig-Gen Ko Ko Naing and Relief and Relocation Deputy Minister Phone Swe.

According to a local resident, Hla Min assured people living in the area that the government would guarantee their security.

Meanwhile, aid for those affected by the violence has begun to flow in from other parts of Arakan State. “Donors are providing emergency assistance for people sheltering at a monastery near my home,” said Maungdaw resident Shwe Maung Thein. “Support is needed for about 400 people,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Information website, three monasteries are being used as temporary shelters for displaced villagers. A monk living in the area said that the villages that came under attack are home to around 5,000 people, of whom only several hundred have so far been accounted for.

The government also announced on Saturday that it had formed a Stability, Relief and Rehabilitation Management Committee to provide shelter, security, healthcare and food support to the victims of the violence.