ARNO Welcomes the European Parliament Resolution on the Situation of Burmese Refugees in Thailand

ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION

ARAKAN, BURMA

Press Release

6th February 2009

ARNO Welcomes the European Parliament Resolution on the Situation of Burmese Refugees in Thailand

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation welcomes the European Parliament resolution of 5th February 2009 on the situation of Burmese refugees in Thailand. We also fully support the Media Release from Mr. Glenys Kinnock MEP, who led the European Parliament call for Thailand not to send Rohingya refugees back to Burma to face repression and torture.

In a Parliamentary resolution voted on 5th February, EU MPs also urged Thailand to ensure the refugees were treated according to humanitarian standards. They call on the Thai government to investigate a thorough and impartial enquiry into allegations of mistreatment of the Rohingya by the Thai military and to give the UN High Commissioner for Refugees immediate access to determine their needs. In addition the MPs condemned the Burmese regime for their continuous persecution of the ethnic group. They demanded the junta to restore the Burmese citizenship of the Rohingya, lift the restrictions on their right to education, right to get married, freedom of movement and to cease human rights violations across the country.

Mr. Glenys Kinnock said "the Rohingya have long suffered abuse at the hands of Burma's brutal military dictatorship. In desperation they have been driven to the sea only to be met with yet more cruelty and suffering. The conduct of the Thai military in this case is deeply concerning and the Thai government must investigate urgently to ensure no more vulnerable refugees are put at risk. This situation serves to underline the urgent need for recognition, protection and asylum for the refugees."

We are grateful to European Parliament and its MEPs for this timely resolution which is a source of inspiration for the persecuted Rohingya people.

The full text of the resolutions is:

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma and Thailand,

- having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas hundreds of Rohingya (Burmese Muslim) refugees are feared dead after being pushed back into the sea by Thai authorities, according to human rights organisations based in Thailand,

B. whereas up to 200 people are missing and more than 300 others are believed to have died after they were set adrift by Thai soldiers,

C. whereas Thai military authorities have denied these accusations and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has promised a full investigation,

D. whereas Rohingya face harsh treatment and discrimination by Burmese authorities as they are prohibited from travelling outside their native Arakan state,

E. whereas in the past few months, thousands of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Burma have allegedly been rounded up by Thai soldiers and transferred to an island off the coast of southern Thailand, near Ranong,

F. whereas on 19 January 2009, a 41-year-old Australian writer of Greek-Cypriot origin, Harry Nikolaides, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in Thailand for "insulting the country's royal family" in a novel,

G. whereas Nikolaides told reporters that he had endured "unspeakable suffering" during his pretrial detention, as was evident when he appeared in court,

1. Calls on the Thai Government to take all measures necessary to ensure that the lives of Rohingya are not at risk and that they are treated in accordance with accepted international humanitarian standards;

2. Demands that the Government of Thailand not push the Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers, including the boat- people, back to Burma, where their lives will be in danger, and that it conduct an impartial inquiry and take appropriate action against those responsible for the loss of lives and tragedy of the boat-people;

3. Calls on the Government of Thailand to allow UNHCR access to the Rohingya boat-people in Thai custody to determine their status;

4. Stresses that the issue of the boat-people, which affects Thailand and other countries, is essentially a regional issue having an international perspective which needs to be addressed;

5. Calls on the Thai authorities to repair this flagrant human rights violation and to free immediately the writer Harry Nikolaides and allow him to return home;

6. Condemns the Burmese SPDC's continuous violations of human rights; demands that Burmese citizenship be restored to the Rohingya and that all restrictions on their right to education and freedom of movement be lifted immediately; demands a halt to religious persecution and the cessation of all human rights violations across the country;

7. Calls on the SPDC to start a genuinely all-inclusive democratic and political process, in accordance with the will of the people of Burma, and to free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, U Kyaw Min, U Khun Tun Oo and all political prisoners;

8. Calls for the immediate release of U Gambria, a known figure in the Burmese opposition who played a key-role in the large "monks' processions" of September 2007, which was violently repressed by the junta;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments and Parliament of Thailand and Burma/Myanmar, the UNHRC and to Mr Harry Nikolaides.

Nurul Islam,

AFK Jilani,

Email: info@rohingya.org, www.rohingya.org