The staff stopped in recent days for "interrogation". The government has not yet provided official responses to their conditions. The NGO has suspended humanitarian activities for safety reasons. The area was the scene of sectarian violence between Buddhists and Muslims. Tens of thousands of refugees still living in refugee camps.

Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Burmese authorities have arrested ten aid workers - including some United Nations personnel - in the western state of Rakhine, Myanmar, where there have been violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims Arakan Rohingya in recent weeks have causing at least 80 dead and tens of thousands of displaced people. In an official note the UN reports that some people involved in projects to assist the people were detained in recent days for "interrogation" and have not been released yet. The Burmese government, the statement continues, has not answered questions about the conditions of the detainees, among whom are six employees of the NGO Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF).

MSF has also intervened on the matter, saying it has "no detailed information" since last month when the international NGO suspended its activities in Rakhine State and reduced staff to a minimum for security reasons. Even today, tens of thousands of displaced people are living in shelters and refugee camps set up by the Government, with the help of the UN World Food Program (WFP) that provides daily meals for about 100 thousand people.

A state of emergency is still in force in the area. According to reports by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Burmese security forces have carried out "mass inspections " and other abuses against the Muslim communities of the area. For activists, local authorities are responsible for acts of "discrimination" against minorities, because they leave the Buddhist Arakan unpunished and assail the Rohingya.

In June, the District Court Kyaukphyu, Rakhine State sentenced to death three Muslim, held responsible for the rape and killing in late May of Thida Htwe, a young Arakanese Buddhist, the origin of violent sectarian clashes between Muslims and Buddhists ( cf. AsiaNews 19/06/2012 Rakhine, ethnic violence: three death sentences for the rape-murder of a woman). In the following days, an angry mob, killed 10 Muslims who were travelling on a bus and were totally unconnected with the violence. The spiral of hatred, has resulted in a guerrilla war and caused the deaths of 29 others, including 16 Muslims and 13 Buddhists, as well as 38 wounded. According to official sources at least 2600 homes have been burnt, hundreds of Rohingya have sought refuge on the coasts of Bangladesh, but were rejected by the authorities in Dhaka.

Myanmar is composed of more than 135 ethnic groups, and has always found coexistence difficult. In the past the military junta used an iron fist against the most recalcitrant. Myanmar Muslims constitute about 4% of a population of 60 million people. The UN says there are 750 thousand Rohingyas in the country, concentrated mainly in Rakhine State. Another million or more are scattered in other countries: Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia. The state of emergency is the first under Thein Sein, President for over a year, who is ferrying the country from military dictatorship to an at least minimal democracy.

 

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