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| No Mass Graves Found During Official Inspection of Gutar Pyin, Government Says Posted: 02 Feb 2018 08:39 PM PST YANGON – No mass graves were found in Gutar Pyin village of Buthidaung Township in northern Rakhine State during an inspection of the area on Friday by officials and Muslim community leaders, the government's Information Committee said. On Feb. 1, The Associated Press published an article stating that mass graves had been found in Gutar Pyin. The report was based on video footage provided by Rohingya refugees now living in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. The AP said it had interviewed at least two dozen refugees. The following day, the Union government ordered the Rakhine State government to investigate the claims. It immediately established a 17-member team comprising border police officers, township administrative officials, a deputy superintendent of Buthidaung Hospital, immigration officials, township police and legal officials, fire service department members and five community leaders. While it stopped short of issuing a blanket denial of the existence of mass graves, the Information Committee said in a statement that the team had inspected locations identified in the AP report but found nothing. The community leaders and local residents said there had been no mass killings, but reported that heavy clashes had erupted between government security forces and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants in Gutar Pyin on Aug. 28. Military offensives in the area have driven out at least 650,000 Rohingya since late last year in an operation the United Nations has described as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". The Bangladesh and Myanmar governments agreed in January to start voluntary refugee repatriation but that has been delayed until Friday. According to the government's statement, 19 ARSA militants were killed in fighting after about 500 militants attacked security officials with firearms, knives, slingshots, and darts. Officials buried the bodies of the dead militants systematically and opened a criminal case under counter-terrorism Article 50 (i) at Nyaung Chaung police station. The statement did not elaborate on whether security forces buried the ARSA casualties in the Gutar Pyin graveyard or in other locations. The press released stated that the government was not necessarily denying the allegations and would investigate further if reliable new information comes to light. If any rights violations were found to have occurred, action would be taken against the perpetrators in line with existing laws, it said. However, Rakhine State government secretary U Tin Maung Swe insisted that "Muslim community leaders say there was no mass killing in Gutar Pyin village as has been reported by media outlets. It's all based on groundless information." He said seven Muslim men from Gutar Pyin village assisted government officials in Friday's inspection. No journalists from independent media were invited to join Friday's trip, though employees of state-owned newspapers and a member of the Press Council participated. At least one local resident said he had heard stories similar to those reported by AP, however. Muslim civil servant U Tun Thar (name changed to protect his safety), who lives in Rathaedaung Township, said Gutar Pyin village is located a 15-minute drive from the downtown area. Approximately 3,000 people lived there before government security forces launched clearance operations against ARSA after it ambushed police border outposts in Maungdaw district in late 2017. Locals described Gutar Pyin as a tract comprising three villages — Muslim, Daingnet and Arakanese — but said the vast majority of the population had been Muslim. However, the Muslim part of the village had since been reduced to ashes while the two Arakanese villages remain intact following the security forces' operations, he said. According to U Thun Thar, one-third of Gutar Pyin's former Muslim population has been sheltering in neighboring villages or with relatives in Buthidaung Region, while the rest fled to Bangladesh by boat. He said he had also heard about several burial sites having been found in Gutar Pyin village recently but Muslim residents had not been able to produce the actual bodies as they were not allowed to enter the area, which is restricted. Residents speculate that around 400 Muslims were butchered at Gutar Pyin. "No one [among the Muslim population] dares to visit the burned villages; only the Rakhine residents, because only the two Rakhine villages are left," he said. Rakhine government secretary U Tin Maung Swe acknowledged that the village was previously dominated by Muslims, adding that some are currently still living in the village. Asked about claims of arson, he said some parts of Gutar Pyin village were set alight by ARSA militants. He declined to provide specific information about the remaining Muslim homes in Gutar Pyin. The post No Mass Graves Found During Official Inspection of Gutar Pyin, Government Says appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| This Week in Parliament (Jan. 29-Feb. 2) Posted: 02 Feb 2018 07:26 PM PST NAYPYITAW — Lower House Speaker U Win Myint rebuked the Construction Ministry for what he said was its poor oversight of construction companies that win tenders for state-funded road projects, claiming that "public funds are being wasted" as a result. In the Upper House, U Kyaw Ni Naing of Shan State Constituency (11) asked the government whether it planned to designate a Kokang National Day for ethnic Kokang people in the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. Union Ethnic Affairs Minister Nai Thet Lwin replied that ethnic Kokang people in Myanmar and elsewhere can agree to designate such a day themselves, adding that this doesn't require designation by the government. U Ye Htut of Sagaing Constituency (5) proposed that the Information Ministry grant tax-exempt status for the book publishing industry's supply chain, ranging from printing and publishing to importing and distribution of books and publications. Deputy Information Minister U Aung Hla Tun said he agreed with the idea of reducing taxes on book publishing, but added that his ministry had no authority over taxation issues. He urged lawmakers to participate when the Parliament debates tax law this year. Tuesday (Jan. 30) The Lower House recorded a proposal from Oktwin Township lawmaker Daw Cho Cho urging the government to do more to attract foreign investment and spur development of labor-intensive industries in Myanmar. Wednesday (Jan. 31) The Union Parliament discussed the government's annual debt report for fiscal 2016-17. Lower House lawmaker Daw Thet Thet Khaing of Dagon Township asked the Central Bank of Myanmar to reduce its interest rate on deposits from 8 percent to 7 percent and the rate on credit from 13 percent to 11 percent. The lawmaker argued that the current rates had caused the interest rate on government bonds to rise from 9 percent to 9.2 percent, which had in turn increased the government's debt burden. The vice governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar agreed that reducing interest rates would be friendly to businessmen, but around 80 percent of savers at private banks are grassroots and middle-class families and pensioners, who do not own businesses. However, the lawmaker urged the government to consider whether it is better to cater to the large pool of savers who do not engage in business activity, or encourage more people to invest their savings in enterprises. Thursday (Feb. 1) State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the national legislature on the second anniversary of its election, urging the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to work together with a sense of comradeship. The Upper House expressed condolences on the passing of Daw Sheila Nang Tawng, 64, chairperson of the Upper House Ethnic Affairs Committee and National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker from Kachin State Constituency (2), who died on Jan. 31. Lawmakers also agreed to contribute from their daily allowances to assist families when a lawmaker dies. In the Lower House, lawmaker U Min Thein of Taungdwingyi Township asked whether the Health Ministry would recruit more psychiatrists to district-level government hospitals. Health Minister Dr. Myint Htwe replied that his ministry is taking steps to fill the shortages, but added that the number of people suffering from psychiatric disorders remained high in Myanmar. Friday (Feb. 2) In the Upper House, U Aung Kyi Nyunt of Magwe Region (4) asked what actions the government planned to take against selling foods prohibited by and not registered with the Food and Drug Administration. Health Minister Dr. Myint Htwe replied that his ministry would make the issue its top priority in 2018. The post This Week in Parliament (Jan. 29-Feb. 2) appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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