Against All Odds

The Strength To Endure
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

Nowhere Left To Run.

Imagine for a moment that you have lost everything you have, everything you value, everything you cherish in this life. Imagine for a moment that the place you call home has been burned by your neighbors and all that remains is rubble and ash. Imagine that you have been driven from your house by people you once knew from what now seems like a previous life. Listen to their screams as they threaten you and your family. Listen to the malicious hatred they spew as they rip apart the life you at least felt comfortable living. Watch as they set your house to the torch and carry off any of your possessions they wish. Watch as they brutalize your family and friends as you run for safety. Watch as they turn into animals, engulfed in this barbaric orgy of violence, consumed by absolute hate. 

In pogroms this is how the hate needed for genocide manifest itself. It is a flash point where every last grudge, every vile word spoken beneath one's breath, every vengeful thought that has ever passed through their minds comes to fruition. In that moment the gates of hell itself fling open as the worse part of mankind is realized. It is in that moment that the savage side of our existence triumphs over our otherwise pacifist side. Love dies, if only for a moment, as hate replaces anything that once resembled civility.

In Bosnia the outbreak of war brought the opportunity for long held resentments to flourish as neighbor was pitted against neighbor. In Rwanda the machete felt it's first taste of blood as the long ignored warning signs faded beneath a crimson tide. In Burma... in the Arakan... this flash point was the exploitation of one tragedy so as to plunge an entire people into a far worse one. Yet in every case the reason for this spirally collapse of society was predictable. 

But this post isn't about pointing the blame... 

Today we look at what has happened since those flood gates were opened. 

Every year a tidal wave leaves the shores of the Arakan. Like clockwork, this human migration takes place without fail. Raggedy vessels that are barely seaworthy at all take to the waves as desperate souls hedge their bets upon uncertain means of escape. Each one of these Rohingya add to a collective that comprises a wave of refugees that risk their lives to run. But run to where?

Poseidon And The Dmōs

In the past the Rohingya had fished the very waters they now set out upon. Yet we should not fantasize that the Rohingya people now voyaging out onto the seas are seafaring individuals. These are people from all walks of life and with varying knowledge of what it takes to stay alive at sea. This act of bribing a vessel to carry them away from the Arakan is one of desperation. It is not one they seem to wish for or yearn for in any manner. This journey is a last resort for a broken people. 

Actual war, classically romanticized by the imagery of two sides battling it out, would be preferable to the hell that the Rohingya boat people are fleeing. Mass starvation and the constant threat of pogroms sends these people to the waves. Without the ability to find security back home they are forced to sacrifice everything for one last glimmer of hope. But what hope does the god of this ocean offer?

To first make it aboard a vessel the Rohingya refugees must pay their way. It is a heavy toll for a refugee that has either lost everything or sold everything in hopes of making this journey. They are either promised safe passage or a little light at the end of their tunnel. But any way about it they are taken for every last valuable possession they have just to leave their homeland.

Then the journey begins. 

Food, water, and fuel are not guaranteed. The owner of the vessel maximizes profits by offering nothing in the way of safety or comfort. The analogy between these vessels and slave ships of day past is not far from reality. Refugees on these boats are simply made to wait and see just how their luck will turn out. If the food or water disappears before a safe landing place is found... well, that is where prayers and a fading sense of hope fill the gap. 

For some the journey will end with the wrath of Poseidon himself. The seas upon which they travel can become treacherous for even the most experience sailors. And with the reality of their ship's limited seaworthiness made blatantly clear, hope for salvation must surely fade fast. For the sea is the least forgiving place on earth. It bears no mercy for mankind; it never has and never will. 

In 2012 there were an estimated 13,000 Rohingya who fled their homeland by sea. That year the UN High Commissioner for Refugees admitted to knowing at least 485 of these refugees had died at sea. Their deaths, no matter how unrecognized they might be, remain a testament to the harrowing journey their comrades had taken in fleeing Burma's grinding genocide in the Arakan. There is no justifiable reason why they had to die. 

As for those who live... for these hell may have just begun to open up.

If the vessel the refugees are aboard makes it's way to Thailand there are differing ways the journey could end. The devil beneath the waves gives way to the cruelty of man as the refugees watch their hope slip away. Either they will make it ashore and risk being sent back to Myanmar by Thai officials or something far more sinister awaits. 

Thai Navy ships in 2013 were reported to have opened fire on Rohingya refugees as their vessels raced toward the shore. These boats attempted to make their way to the beaches in hopes of slipping through the Thai defenses. When caught they were towed out to sea where they were left with little or no fuel. The intent on the part of the Thai Navy was clear... allow starvation and thirst to kill the refugees rather than let them make it back to the Thai coast. 

This strategy of "dealing with the boat people" has however given way to even more savage exercises by Thai officials and the Navy. In recent months the dirty secrets of Thai officials' involvement in the illegal trade of human flesh has come to light. Their open trafficking of Rohingya refugees was released to the world by brave journalist who risked their own freedoms on behalf of the beleaguered Rohingya people. The response to the boldness of their actions in this war against injustice was met immediately with retaliation by the Thai government. But the facts are already out there and the bell has already rang for all to hear. 

Where the Thai Navy had once dragged Rohingya back out to sea to die they are now handing them over to traffickers, for a fee of course. Where they had been shooting at Rohingya who dared to abandon ship and swim to shore they are now capturing them and selling them. The Thai officials had clearly discovered that there was a profit to be had if they only sold their own souls first. 

And then there are the Rohingya who make it ashore.

Hope must be a wonderful thing for those who can manage to obtain it and/or keep it through all of this. But I would be far to cynical to imagine that there isn't at least a few Rohingya who manage to hold onto that last glimmer of hope. Even after having survived more than most people could ever bare, I have to imagine that at least some Rohingya keep that hope alive. 

For those who come ashore there must be a moment where they feel relief. In that moment before the Thai military comes rushing toward them, that moment where the whole world lay stretched out before them... that must be the moment where hope still lives. 

If taken into custody by police in Thailand the Rohingya refugees are offered no sense of dignity. In cramp quarters with no access to toilets or a place to sleep, hundreds of Rohingya refugees are kept caged like animals by Thai police. They are considered illegal by the government of Thailand. They are given no opportunity to apply for asylum in Thailand. They are given no access to resources that other refugees would be granted. In Thailand the genocide that the Rohingya had risked everything to escape is alive and well. 

For many of these Rohingya the time in prison is a sort of limbo. They know that they are destined to be returned to Myanmar. They know that starvation and every form of indignity awaits them once they are taken back over the border. There really is no end the depravity that exist within the hearts and soul of the two nations actively participating in this genocide. 

In The Hand's Of Thanatos

Then there are those who cannot run. Those who are left to starve in camps, those who are left to wait for death at the hands of soldiers and mobs, those who are left to watch the world crumble around them. These are the masses of Rohingya who dare to simply exist upon the land of their ancestors. These are the Rohingya that take each breath with the hope that it wont be their last. 

Those who live in the camps wake up each day with the thought of where their next meal is coming from. They are left in a hellish condition of endless hunger. Mothers watch their children slowly dwindle before their eyes. Food, such a precious commodity, is not guaranteed from one day to the next. It is a resource that must be guarded and protected at all cost in a place where so little of it can be obtained. 

From the outbreak of the this latest wave of genocidal "ethnic violence" thousands of Rohingya have been forced into these ghettos. Burma has worsened their plight by labeling these refugee camps as illegal and therefore attempting rationalize the military's blockades of Rohingya camps and villages. Putting up barriers and posting guards, Myanmar almost immediately transformed refugee camps into concentration camps. The places where Rohingya had taken refuge from the violence became prisons.

In 2012 CNN reported upon the starvation that was (and still is) running rampant in Rohingya camps within the Arakan. In a report that consisted of kissing President Barack Obama's boots, CNN managed to at least point out that Rohingya citizens had been made homeless through pogroms (though CNN calls it "communal violence"). They managed to show the world that once placed in camps the Rohingya were being denied access to basic needs. And yet that is where the world community left off. 

In the months that followed the world ignored the plight of starving Rohingya as Burma continued to flirt with the Western powers. The promise of economic gains by appeasing Myanmar's rabid appetite for the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya has stunted any response by outside governments. Agencies that are supposed to record and report such atrocities appeared to turn their eyes away as the world community gawked at figures like Aung San Suu Kyi. The desire to recognize genocide where and when it is occurring once again failed as we forgot those two words... "never again".

Once the camps were quarantined off by Burmese military and police the conditions for starvation were established. Having killed countless Rohingya in often staged pogroms, the state forces had permitted themselves an excuse to sell the world. This method of siege warfare was now "justified" in the eyes of the Burmese government due to the "threat of communal unrest". Death by starvation and disease was somehow preferable to actually reinstating the rule of law.

In many ghettos the blockades have not lifted. What little aid makes it to the Rohingya behind the barricades is not secure and can be taken away at any given time. Those living behind these barriers are subjected to every indignity the Burmese security forces wish to cast upon them. Organized rape of Rohingya women and girls is apparently permissible within the ranks of Myanmar's police and military. Forced labor is a common method of deteriorating the health and well-being of Rohingya men and boys. The goal here is the same as it was in Warsaw... a slow grinding death that lingers at the gates as those trapped inside pray for relief.

And then there is the threat of liquidation.

Warsaw had the option of resisting. It was an enigma in the ghetto system the Germans had established across Europe. But it did take that option. And for what little time those brave souls could... the fought like hell to survive the inevitable.

Places like Aung Mingalar had no such option. The ability to fight, the ability to resist, had been stripped away the moment the Burmese police established Aung Mingalar ghetto. Barbed wire and armed checkpoints were put in place and the residents of the ghetto searched for any weapons. Total totalitarian rule was put in place as Myanmar allowed conditions within the ghetto to rapidly deteriorate.

In August of 2013 Aung Mingalar's ghetto took the first steps toward liquidation. There may not have been and Auschwitz to which the Rohingya could be sent, but there were larger concentration camps away from the Buddhists inhabitants of Sittwe. Thus the hundreds of Rohingya forcibly moved from one hellish confine to the next could do little to stop the abuses they would endure.

Myanmar has received no real international condemnation or sanctions for it's abuses against Rohingya citizens. If a ghetto is to be liquidated in the same way the Nazi's did with Jewish ghettos, it is hard to believe at this point that the UN, EU, or United States would even bother to speak out. The behavior of treating the Rohingya like cattle has already been rewarded by the resounding sound of silence that has wafted across the globe in response to Burma's excesses. Since the events at Aung Mingalar were not punished it is likely that in the near future Myanmar's government could escalate it's offenses and move closer to the 1940's definition of liquidation.

As for now, those Rohingya still living under the oppressing weight of Myanmar's blockades must cling to life in any way they can manage. Water, food, medicine, and the basic needs of daily life must be scavenged or gone without. Children who should be in school will now grow up without any knowledge of what life should be like. Parents who should be providing for their families must now watch as what is left of them falls apart before their very eyes.

This isn't living...

It's simply existing from one day to the next.

Astraea's Death

In cases of ethnic cleansing during the 21st century the use of sexualized violence is often overlooked yet remains a hallmark of this barbaric crime. Bosnia and Rwanda showed the world that during acts of genocide women and children are particularly vulnerable. They not only suffer from outright killing but also from acts meant to leave permanent scars upon the targeted community as whole. And this is what rape, especially when used as a weapon, does to a community already fractured by genocide. 

Myanmar's use of rape has spread across every state where the military has engaged in what it calls war. In the Kachin the use of rape was implemented as a method of pushing the Kachin people off their homeland and thus giving access to the government to the resources upon which the Kachin sat. When used against the Shan it was unmistakeably utilized as a method of ethnic cleansing. And when put into practice in the Arakan state, this method of dehumanization was intended to allow troops to fragment what little sense of community the Rohingya people had left. 

Rape leaves the community vulnerable. This is especially true when the victims' families and community have no means of defense or access to legal reprisals against the assailants. When committed in this manner it violates the sense of security that both the woman and her family feel. This insecurity often manifest in distrust amongst members of the targeted community. And thus the fractures left by the initial crime begin to multiply.

For the Rohingya rape has been utilized in multiple ways. In many incidents it is used spontaneously as security forces come in contact with Rohingya trapped behind blockades or in camps. At other times it is used against Rohingya women who are already being used as forced labor. While in more sinister cases, becoming more frequently reported, it is used by the Burmese military in "rape camps" where Rohingya girls are abducted and forced into sexual slavery by the Burmese government. 

Rape camps were nearly perfected by the Serbian forces during the Bosnian Genocide. The use of these camps was meant to kill women through both physical and sexual abuse. Those who survived were intended to be rejected by their community. The potential offspring would be outright killed or allowed to live as a reminder to the Bosnian community of the crimes committed against them. It was in it's essence an absolute manifestation of the perverse nature of genocide and the complete lack of humanity it embodies. 

Burmese use of this crime once again highlights the world community's lack of teeth when dealing with violence committed against women and children. Our countless resolutions come up short when we never bother to put muscle behind the vague words we so often apply to worthless paper. And in the end it is the women of victimized communities that pay the highest price for our indifference to their suffering. 

"A man from NaSaKa [Burma’s border security force] came to my house. He kicked the door and told me I had to go and work as a sentry instead of my husband. I had to go immediately with my young child and without food. Later in the evening while I was at my post someone else from NaSaKa came. He told me "your husband is not there, I will stay with you; I want to live with you." That night the man raped me in the shed in front of my boy.

We [women] feel at peace in Bangladesh. There is no food and some problems, but there is no rape, we have peace."

~ 26 Year-old Rohingya Female Refugee In Bangladesh

These accounts are sadly the normal tales that come out of the Arakan. Rapist within the government's forces are not punished. Their crimes are encouraged by a country that wants to devalue the worth of an entire ethnic group. Their abuses are rewarded by a military that promotes excessive violence as a means of progress for Myanmar's future as a country. 

For those left to pick up the pieces after these attacks there are lasting affects of rape (no matter what the context). 

Rohingya women and girls who have been victimized will often remain silent in fear of the stigma that comes with the crime itself. Their willingness to speak up would bring direct condemnation from others in the community at large. In many cases the victim is blamed for the crime as the community itself seeks an answer why an unjustifiable crime was committed in the first place. And thus more motivation is created on the victims part to remain silent. 

Depression, anxiety, and withdrawing from others are all symptoms that hamper the victim's ability to help their community survive the stress of the overall genocide itself. If by chance these reactions to the rape culminate in the death of the victim the end goal of genocide is also achieved. 

For those who survive to carry on there is the question of why? Why did they have to suffer this wretched offense? Why they were left to carry on in silence? Why nobody cares and why nobody will help?

The Strength To Endure

When we set down to write up this piece we knew that this post would only be able to touch upon a portion of what the Rohingya people are suffering in Myanmar. We picked these three portions of the story so as to help those reading realize just what genocide looks like in Burma. You wont get the complete picture from us, we would never dream of being able to tell it all... it is just too vast a subject for any one post. But we did set down with one thing in mind; and that was to create a scream that the world will not be able to ignore. 

The Rohingya people are suffering a tragedy in slow motion as the world watches somewhat blindly and with a muted sense of outrage. We want to change that. We want to restore the hope that Myanmar is stripping from each and every Rohingya trapped under it's crushing weight. We seek to bring our voice like swords, cutting to the bone without remorse, so that those left defenseless have at least one ally on their side. 

Alder's Ledge is seeking to motivate our readers to get involved. For the past year this has been a struggle on our own part. We took some time away from this subject because we felt it was gaining traction amongst those who could help. Sadly, this hasn't happened yet. The Rohingya's plight is still worsening and our so called "activists" are losing the strength to keep up the fight. 

Our hope comes from individuals we have met along the way. 

In Thailand we have friends who live in just as much poverty as anyone here in the states could ever imagine. They struggle to keep their phones turned on as they work any given job to pay the next bill. Yet they give every spare bit of cash to the cause. And more importantly, they give every spare moment to the fight. 

In China, where the subject is barely ever spoken about, we have team members that take material we provide them into their communities and literally scream. They risk their own reputations in a country where that is almost 90% of their personal value within society. In their schools, in their work places, and in their neighborhoods they take our motto of screaming to it's most direct extent... making sure nobody can say they didn't know. And all this because the genocide which we speak of is happening just across their border and yet nobody around them bothers to wake-up and recognize it. 

Then there is twitter... 

For those reading this twitter may be the only way you feel you can reach out to the world and scream. It may be the last refuge for you to feel like somebody is listening. And if that is the case then we encourage you to scream... scream till your energy is gone, and then scream even longer. Your voice counts. Your effort will not go unnoticed. 

On twitter we have watched as people like Jamila Hanan (@JamilaHanan) toil away on behalf of the Rohingya people. Within the network that encircles great people like Jamila are others who take their voices and apply them to actions on and off the Internet. We have seen over the past year beautiful souls that have purchased food and other necessities that otherwise would had never made it to the Rohingya. We have watched dedicated warriors for the cause organize efforts to petition governments and agencies around the world on behalf of the Rohingya.  And all this because it's simply the right thing to do. 

So if you are reading this we aren't asking you to do these things because nobody else is. We are asking you to get involved because those already on the field are more than ready for reinforcements. We are asking that you contact us on twitter (@alders_ledge and @AL_Staff) so that we can point you toward people who are actively engaged in this struggle. We are asking that you lend yourself to the cause along with us.

Ready to do more than tweet or email?

Money is the root of all evil.

Or so that is what they say... In Myanmar it has been the driving force behind the silence of the world community at large. It keeps the Burmese military in the field as foreign investors pour cash into the genocidal government's back pocket. And yet it is the one thing that can make the difference between whether a Rohingya family eats or starves.

Chances are if you are reading this you have some of that said cash available after all your bills are paid each month. Chances are you spend some of that on things you really don't need. For example: name brand coffee, movie tickets, music downloads, or maybe even fast food. None of this really has to be purchased. And if you could spare any of your "wants" for some of what the Rohingya need... well why wouldn't you?

We here at Alder's Ledge make monthly donations to organizations that directly help the Rohingya people of Myanmar. Our team members are asked to provide whatever they can in our effort to put our money where our mouths are. We know that our words have power, but we also recognize that at times... this being one of them... cold hard cash speaks louder than good intended words.

One of our favorite organizations to provide our support to is Partners Relief and Development. You can learn more about Partners and how they help the Rohingya by clicking: here.

Once you have researched what organization you want to provide your financial support to we ask that you make this a habit. However often you can donate, please do so. Whatever you can give, please do so. Make it a part of your day to day life.

"A screamer is somebody who witnesses genocide and refuses to remain silent. 

How wonderful it would be if there were more screamers in the world today."

Want To Learn More?

Contact Alder's Ledge on Twitter: @AL_Staff

Source Documents

(note: not all listed)

Press TV

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/01/04/281765/13000-people-fled-myanmar-in-2012/
-
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/12/29/342615/myanmar-uses-rohingyas-as-sex-slaves/ 

Radio Australia 

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-pacific/thai-navy-lawsuit-threatens-media-freedom-hrw/1238492?autoplay=1238586

UNHCR

http://www.unhcr.org/5143076c9.html

Phuket Wan Tourists News

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/north-phuket-rohingya-tell-killings-beatings-nightmare-voyage-burma-19454/

-

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/2008-2013-five-years-hell-boatpeople-thailand-secretly-tries-options-19358/

-
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/mystery-flow-thousands-rohingya-thailand-deepens-families-flee-shelter-19529/

Time
http://world.time.com/2014/01/07/thailand-asked-to-end-rohingya-trafficking/

Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/01/06/thailand-protect-rohingya-boat-children

Irrawaddy News
http://www.irrawaddy.org/rohingya/muslims-trapped-in-ghetto-after-clashes-in-burma.html

Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/08/24/myanmar-relocates-hundreds-residents-from-muslim-ghetto-to-refugee-camps/

Women Under Siege Project
http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/conflicts/profile/burma

Burma Campaign UK
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/reports/License_to_rape.pdf

Kachin Women.org
http://www.kachinwomen.com/images/stories/publication/ongoing_iimpunity%20.pdf

Raised By The System

Now It's Time To Rise Against Them
(The Darkness Visible series)

''They are nationalists, fascists. No one wants to hear it, but it's true."

~ Kyaw Kyaw, lead singer of Rebel Riot.

When nobody else will speak out against an apparent wrong there is always someone that will do something out of the ordinary. Crossing the lines that we in society draw between what we know is right and what we will actually do to stop evil, this individual is the misfit. They trample upon the status quo without regard for their own image. Standing up for what they know is right, this one person refuses to follow societies lead. In the West these people, the ones that rock the boat, are often referred to as punks.

In the 80's this rebellious spirit was harnessed by a musical movement that would give punks their fashion. Spikes, leather, studs, and chains all replaced the soft resistance to conformity that had followed the 60's and 70's. Like a fire, the spirit of the punk movement burnt away that which held us to a system that robbed us of everything that made us unique. For this desire to be free at last we turned to anarchy.

30 years later the punk is still alive within the hearts and minds of those who shrugged off the image of what society wanted them to be. Now new generations of punks replace those who came before them. The music, the fashion, the spirit is still fast, violent, and loud.

"All I can really say is, people should look at the teachings of Buddha and ask themselves, is this what he meant?"

~ Ye Ngwe Soe, lead singer of No U Turn

This spirit of anarchy can be seen in Burma amongst a brave few. These punks live under one of the most oppressive governments the world has to offer. Their society is as tightly wound as it can possibly be with police given almost complete impunity. The military still has every right to round up any citizen at any time and simply make people disappear. Yet the punk spirit rises out of Burma like a phoenix.

In a country where the national religion, Buddhism, is considered an integral part of national identity the willingness to speak out against Buddhist extremist is shocking. It is even more shocking to Burmese society when someone is willing to speak out against the most revered members of Burmese society... the monks. And that is exactly what the a handful of punk in Yangon have done.

Crossing the line between society's accepted norm and over into the realm of dissent the punks choose to speak out against the monks who have spread the 969 movement. This has put the punks of Burma in the same situation American punks faced during the 80's with a resurgence of American hate groups. Yet for Burma's punks it is a stand against the oppressor, an oppressor that they very recently knew all to well, it is a fight to the death with a system that embraces the hate group while rejecting them.

"No fear! No indecision! Rage against the system of the oppressors!"

~ Rebel Riot

The main issue the punk movement faces in Burma is that there are many more 969 supporters and very few "punks". Burma after all is a traditionalist society. It has a long history of rejecting new aspects of social behavior. Conformity is king in a society where fear was the law of the land. Those who act out, those who behave differently, are considered outsiders. All the while those who would divide society so as to conquer it are treated as idols.

Perhaps this is the aspect of Burma that the punk scene has highlighted most. In a country where religion is given the authority to segregate there can't really be freedom. In a country where hate is fed to the masses under the guise of love there will never really be unity. Chaos and anarchy aren't likely in the streets of a police state. But they will always reside in the hearts of disenfranchised youth as long as the government clings to the chains of previous oppressive regimes.

If leaders like Aung San Suu Kyi are going to promise the everything from democracy to the moon they will find it hard to maintain the repression that has long ruled Myanmar. They will not be able to keep the influences of the free world out of their children's headphones and off the computer screens of their students. Once the images and sounds of freedom leak into the minds of the youth they become fountainheads. The tide that flows forth from this cannot be held back. It is a catalyst in societies that refuses to surrender to the will of tyrants.

This desire... this, the most natural yearning of the human spirit... for liberty is alive in the hearts of the few punks in Yangon. It prompts them to speak out when no one else wants to. It is a fire that cannot be stifled by the threat of a jackboot's heel.

For 969 and the nationalist in Myanmar's government it is a threat. Just as with all oppressors, liberty is seen as anarchy. For the fascists freedom is perceived as chaos. Proof of this can be seen in how the regime in Myanmar has responded to the Rohingya support (both in Burma and around the world).

“I also use a laptop secretly, everybody uses a laptop secretly..."

~ Rohingya Activist in hiding.

In an effort to stop the flow of information out of concentration camps in the Arakan state the Burmese government during the last week of July raided countless camps. They weren't looking for papers or letters. They weren't looking for particular individuals per say. These stormtroopers were after the new age version of Anne Frank's diary... laptops and smart phones. Like the SS looking to seal off the ghettos in Poland, Burma's military set out to confiscate electronic communications that could possibly reach foreigners. 

This practice fits Burma's old junta style government well. In the past the Burmese military had pushed refugees right out to the border only stopping when foreigners could see their soldiers' atrocious behavior. The confiscating of computers and laptops shows the desire to keep the outside eyes from seeing what is going on inside camps that the UN called "inhumane". It shows a desire on the part of Burma to silence the already voiceless Rohingya people. And even more sinisterly it shows a government prepping camps for liquidation. 

This is the government and it's actions that the punks of Yangon so boldly spoke out against. Though just two years ago they would had all been rounded up and taken to prison without question, they spoke out anyway. Even though nobody really knows where the line between the old regime's censorship and the new regimes patience is really drawn, they spoke out anyway. They spoke out against the savaging of Rohingya women and children by Myanmar's military. They spoke out against the pogrom of Rohingya villages in the name of Buddhism. They spoke out because no one else would. 

In a world where nobody is willing stand up to jackbooted thugs it is at very least reassuring to know that a handful of punks will. 

Want to learn more about the Rohingya and their plight at the hands of Burmese nationalist?

Follow us on Twitter: @Alders_Ledge

Follow us on Facebook: Alder's Ledge

Source Documents
(Note: Not all sources listed)

Bangkok Post
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/363116/punk-rockers-break-myanmar-silence-on-religious-attacks

Post Bulletin
http://www.postbulletin.com/entertainment/music/punks-break-myanmar-s-silence-on-religious-attacks/article_8a71a907-1fd3-514f-a33b-cdce950b0969.html

SBS News
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1793794/Punk-is-alive-and-well-in-Myanmar

Irrawaddy
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/40864

A Rose By Any Other Name

Why Their Name Is Actually Important
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

As the campaign of ethnic cleansing drags on in Burma the Rohingya continue to suffer from starvation, easily preventable diseases, and forced isolation. When the Rohingya do anything that the Burmese officials dislike they run the risk of prison time, attacks, and possible death. This is all compounded by the fact that according to the government of Myanmar there aren't any Rohingya within Burma to begin with. And it is this aspect of the genocide that shows where Burma has the most success at carrying out their campaign of ethnic cleansing.

For a government to "cleanse" their country of a given targeted community the end result would be exactly what Myanmar's leaders already claim... the complete absence of the targeted community. The act of attacking the very name of a targeted community gives the state the power to attack without impunity. It robs the targeted community of its very core identity thus breaking apart the unity that arise from ethnic and cultural bonds. This allows the wedge to be driven in and permits the state leverage against their helpless victims. This is the very reason Burma has set out to deny the Rohingya the right to their own name, their own identity.

This act of "cleansing" a society of a targeted community not only robs the peoples of their identity but leaves them helpless. A government who is simply attacking its own citizens is clearly unable to be stopped (example: Syria). It is only when the government's attacks can be linked to the identified stages of genocide that outside organizations can claim ethnic cleansing... or genocide. But if the targeted community officially exist, well the term genocide is difficult at best to apply to the government's actions. And complicity to ethnic cleansing is hard to prove if there is no ethnic group recognized in the first place.

In recent months more prominent leaders have come out with documents and public addresses that state that all either claim the Rohingya are actually "Bengali" or never have existed within Burma before. One of the key figures in this long line of government puppets has been Aung San Suu Kyi. Or to be more accurate, a spokesperson that spoke to the press on her behalf.

(Source: Global Post http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/myanmar/130501/suu-kyi-no-rohingya)

Once again the Euro poster child of democracy in Burma upheld the myths that Myanmar has been working so hard at establishing in world history books. Her statement, given through a spokesperson, coincides with the notion that Rohingya are nothing more than Bengali illegal immigrants that either established themselves during British rule or swept over the border as "economic migrants" (a term popular amongst Chinese leaders when talking about North Korean defectors). This once again leaves the world to assume that Suu Kyi truly does believe the propaganda her government has created or is more than willing to help spread it beyond Burma's borders.

However the main theory that Rohingya are immigrants or invaders isn't new. For decades now the Rakhine have been spreading myths like this one to discredit and isolate the Rohingya from the rest of Burmese society. And in an ethnocentric society, like that of Myanmar, the very idea of being an outsider is in ways worse than death itself. Once you have been made an outsider in a society that so desperately craves conformity you have no right to claim any given identity outside that  which has been handed down to you. For the Rohingya this denial of belonging to the Burmese society at large has been a tragic reality since the British left.

For Suu Kyi to come forward with her statements is, in a manner of speaking, an attempt on the part of Burma itself to reinforce the divide between what it means to be Burmese and what it means to be on the outside looking in. It is a divisive step that capitalizes on the fears of Rakhine individuals and the Buddhists population of Burma at large. It is the step that alienates the Rohingya and at the same time degrades them below the level of what it means to be human within Myanmar. In effect, it is the marrying of the first stage of genocide (classification) with the third stage of genocide (dehumanization). A fact that I would believe an intelligent woman such as Suu Kyi could and would understand long before making such damaging statements.

The name, the identity, of any given population is a treasure that cannot be measured. However, as ironically as it might seem, it is also a commodity that is decisively measured when used as a tool against them. Jews, Armenians, Bosnians, and any community who has suffered the tragedy of genocide should be able to understand this. But for the rest of the world it is a tragic aspect of society that they cannot understand until they see it in action. With the Rohingya are sadly showing the world what it means to have the most valuable part of your cultural identity used as a weapon against you.

Enduring a campaign of "begalization" in which they are forced to sign away their cultural identity, the Rohingya are pleading with the world to keep their name. Those who resist the policies Suu Kyi's words lead to are beaten and tortured. Those who resist their tormentors wrath are killed. This is the reality of what it means to be denied the most fundamental rights a community would seek to preserve for its individuals.

If the world was to watch they would see the bravery in the humble resistance. By not signing away their culture, the Rohingya show courage in ways the rest of the world has yet to show. They are already starving as the Burmese refuse them food and water. They are already plagued with disease as the government of Myanmar prevents them access to medicines. And yet the Rohingya hold onto their name.

So what does a name mean? Why would anyone risk their very existence to keep something we in the Western world are trained to overlook?

Shakespeare romanticized the surname in his classic Romeo and Juliet:

"What is in a name? That which we call a rose 

By any other name would smell so sweet;"

~ Juliet

Our surname is after all the first sense of identity that we get beyond ourselves. It is the watermark of our ancestral past that links us to generation after generation of people we often idealize. That name is a point of personal affection and conflict for so many of us. Yet for all the emotions that might boil up within us it is a part of us that most of us could never depart from. It simply has that much of a hold on how we identify ourselves. 

The next form of identity we are often stuck with is also passed down through generation after generation of ancestors. It too has a name. That being the name of our cultural and ancestral past, otherwise known as our ethnic heritage. For many in America it can be as simple as our skin color. For others it could be as specific as the faith our ancestors passed along to us. And for some it is the specific ethnic heritage from where our ancestors immigrated from (ie; Irish, German, Chinese, ext). But wherever the name comes from, it is part of us. We have proven over time in our collective past that is something we are more than willing to fight for. It becomes part of us in ways that we don't realize till it is already too late to change. And at the same time the question remains, why should we?

In that same monologue however Shakespeare gives the reader the essence of what drives us to defend that name. He hints at how others attack that name, and subsequently us as well. 

"Tis' but thy name that is my enemy;"

~Juliet

We aren't built to separate ourselves from the names that are passed down to us. It is part of human nature to cling to the identities we are given from the first breath we take. From those waking moments when we first become aware of who we are and from where we came we find ourselves attached to those parts of our own identity. They are parts of our worth. They are what defines how we see ourselves and how we imagine others see us. So when asked to "refuse our father, and deny thy name" we find ourselves dumbfounded. The most alien of concepts is that of altering our identity to fit the desires of another person (even more alien when it is a faceless figure such as the state). 

For the Rohingya this must be one of the many reasons they find strength to fight for their name... their culture. At the very least I have to imagine that it is a driving motivation, for it is the best way I can describe it; how I can rationalize it. 

In the same monologue Shakespeare's words lead us to a major motivator behind ethnic cleansing. For countries such as Burma it is the name that becomes the enemy. When they are able to isolate the targeted community it becomes the name and not the human being that is subjected to death. By destroying the name of a culture, a community, the attacker can justify their actions without rationalizing their hate. It is that devastating relationship between the first and third stages of genocide that must be made for a government to tolerate the actions it first inspired. 

For this reason alone perhaps Shakespeare had no other way to end his classic play but in tragedy. We aren't capable of making that leap from our identity to betrayal so easily. And that is exactly what it is for those who are faced with this wretched decision. For them it is a betrayal to their own identity. It goes against the long heritage they have with their fathers and their father's fathers. It is a point in time where they are asked to deny their ancestors and take up the facade someone else would forced upon them. It is the cleansing of their name and purges them of some amount of self worth. 

"A glooming peace this morning with it brings;

The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head;

Go hence, to have more talk of these sad thing..."

If you would like to help you can follow the link below and read and sign the petition. Show your support to allow the Rohingya to keep their identity and help fight the Burmese campaign of cultural extermination. 

Petition created by +Jamila Hanan 

http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/allow_the_rohingya_to_register_their_name/

The Death Of The Individual Is A Tragedy

The Deaths of Thousands Are A Statistic
~ Joseph Stalin 
(part of The Darkness Visible series and Screamers series)

Almost a year ago the pogroms of the Rohingya in the Arakan began in earnest. After months of Nazi style propaganda being pumped into the region the murmur of hatred erupted into violence. We were told that the "ethnic violence" went both ways. We were told that the Rohingya started the ethnic clashes and therefore could not be considered the victims. This all came from countries that had just previously lifted their sanctions upon Myanmar and were suddenly interested in doing business with the second most reclusive country on the planet. Of course, with Burma opening up the country did jump up in the rankings leaving North Korea alone once again.

Yet with all the talk about how horrible (code in the West for inconvenient) the slaughtering of Rohingya men, women, and children; the supposedly civilized world did nothing to stop the bloodshed. European leaders welcomed Suu Kyi and Thein Sein to endless events and even awarded the two architects of death with the Nobel Peace Prize. When Thein Sein's military establishes concentration camps and converts Rohingya neighborhoods into ghettos... automatically nominated for a Peace Prize. When Suu Kyi tells the West that the Rohingya "question" can only be answered by Burma and that her country will decided who gets citizenship or not... pat on the back and oh yeah, Peace Prize.

Then there is Obama. The great supporter of democracy. The anointed leader of a failed agenda to get the world to love America once again. And yet all he can afford the Rohingya is a short speech and some hollow promises about America's support for equality and justice. But to be fair, this was another Nobel Peace Prize winner who did nothing to earn it. So it only makes sense that Obama, like Suu Kyi, shouldn't have to denounce the murderers and admit that Myanmar is committing genocide.

On April 22nd, 2013 Human Rights Watch once again released a report in which they spell out just how the government of Myanmar is committing "crimes against humanity" and "ethnic cleansing". Once again the human rights organization spells out the long list of sins the leaders of Burma have committed and just where and when these crimes were committed. The report is aptly named "All You Can Do Is Pray" (link: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/04/22/all-you-can-do-pray-0 )

Time and time again Alder's Ledge has recorded events from the Arakan without much help from our usual supporters. We have reported on the attempts by the Burmese government to force Rohingya out of Burma by driving them into the sea or over the border and into Bangladesh. This was then followed by reports of Burmese officials helping Buddhists "Burmese" to immigrate from Bangladesh and take over the suddenly unoccupied Rohingya neighborhoods and villages. Yet with the striking similarities to past and other present cases of ethnic cleansing the world remains silent.

For the past year Alder's Ledge has made it a top priority to highlight the plight of the Rohingya people. Now we are asking our old followers and our new ones to join with us and help spread the news about the Rohingya genocide. This is a simple act that helps break the silence surrounding the genocide and raises awareness of it. We here at Alder's Ledge call it "screaming".

All you have to do to take part is to share these articles here and the reports we share such as this one by Human Rights Watch. By posting the links on your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or even Instagram you allow these articles a wider audience than they would otherwise receive. Reports like this one from Human Rights Watch are only usually given blips in news reports and short articles by media around the web. Your sharing them allows this important topic to be seen by people who might never hear about it otherwise.

Help Alder's Ledge bring some form of recognition to the plight of Rohingya people. Let us not fall into the mindset illustrated by Joseph Stalin. May we never believe for even a moment that the death of one person is somehow more of a tragedy than the deaths of thousand of innocent people.

Scream.

Behold Us Caesar...

...Those Who Are About To Die
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Herero Victims During German's Genocidal Campaign in Namibia 1904-1907)

Genocide is a heartless act that knows no bounds. When it begins it is often hard to define and often hidden from view. But once it is underway, once the dead start to pileup, genocide is almost impossible to mistake. We know it because we have all at one time participated in it in one role or the other. We have seen it. We have felt it. We are the reason it still exist. 

Without the cooperation of good and decent people genocide has no ability to rack-up the horrific numbers it achieved in the 20th century. Without complacency of the virtuous portion of the population it is powerless. And yet in the last century it has killed more people than the number of those who died in combat in both world wars. A feat that would be unimaginable had it not been for the lack of resistance to it from the civilized world. 

The deads' voices still linger to this day. Their faces peer back at us from faded images and grainy video reels. Like ghost, they wait to be acknowledged. They wait for justice to be served. And yet to this day we as a world community seem unwilling to give them the peace they so desperately desire. 

The pain of the holocaust still shows up from time to time. The Armenians' agony still rips its way through modern flesh as the heart of a people breaks every April. The sorrow of the Herero still lingers in modern Namibian society as the people of a forgotten genocide still try to cope with what was done to them. All of these murders were committed by men and women who are all gone or near dead today. And yet the wounds still remain open. 

(Jewish Boys In Ghetto During The Holocaust)

These wounds refuse to heal for a reason. They will never nor can never be closed till the world learns to deal with genocide when it is happening and as it is happening. It would be a crime against our tragic past to forget the sorrows our ancestors lived through only to have to witness those same events over and over again. 

Today there are more genocides occurring at one time than we have ever seen in modern history. From ethnic cleansing, deportations, to campaigns of total extermination... genocide is on the rise. And it will only continue to spread as long as the morality within our societies remains numb to its presence around us. 

In Syria we have watched for over two years as a minority sect of Islam has sought to subjugate the majority through political tyranny and genocidal military action. Even as the world community rallied around the consensus that Assad needed to step down from power we ignored the massacres he had committed in the name his faith and lust for power. It was a step too far for us to recognize the intentions of the beast. The UN and its supporters seemed to believe it was the right of a regime to kill its own people as long as the blood stayed within its borders. 

Sudan continues to grind down it's undesirables through a ruthless and never ending genocide. Starvation, massacres on grand scales, and aerial bombardment are all hallmarks of the Sudanese government in Darfur. And despite the dire situation in which Darfur civilians are forced to live the West remains silent. Taking only small steps to "persuade" the Sudan toward a "desirable" outcome, the UN refuses to bare its teeth with the homicidal leaders in Sudan's government.

Somalia, a regular offender of human rights and perpetual state sponsor of genocide, has continued to operate outside the realms of international law. Its government uses tribal hatred to help control a population it can not bring under its boot. Groups who find themselves on the wrong side of even a minor issue are up for grabs. And yet the living memory of "Black Hawk Down" keeps outsiders on the fence when it comes to dealing with ethnic cleansing and the genocidal tendencies of the Somalian warlords. 

Christian communities throughout the Arab world affected by the "Arab Spring" continue to feel the pain of being a religious minority in countries turning toward fundamentalist Islam. In Libya the world ignored the hints of ethnic cleansing of Coptic Christians and black Africans as Gaddafi fell from power. In the typical rush to be first to back a popular movement, the Western world failed to insure the safety of minority groups across Libya as Islamist leaning rebels took control. This was repeated in Egypt and Syria as the Arab Spring fever spread unchecked. And as one government collapsed the power vacuum it created proved detrimental to Coptic Christians and other minority religions. Yet the UN and West all together failed to recognize the potential for genocide and continued to blindly support a "democratic" movement that has failed to produce a representative government since it first began. 

Then there is Bahrain. While the Arab Spring seemed more profitable for the West in other countries it never panned out in Bahrain. Instead the continued oppression and bloodshed remains under a cloak of darkness as the world tries desperately to ignore the tragedy all together. And yet it was in Bahrain where we first heard the genocidal government refer to its people as "cockroaches". This phrase should have send chills up the backs of those who remember Rwanda. But nothing ever happened. Instead the West closed its eyes to the suffering of the oppressed and turned their attention to Egypt... the payday of the Arab Spring. In doing this they have let the politicide of the Bahrain go unchecked and unabated. 

(Roma Being Deported By Nazi SS, World War Two)

Burma. A country that just recently opened up to the outside world... or at least cracked the door a little. It was a fleeting moment in time when we all thought that Myanmar was actually moving toward democracy. That brief moment where Aung San Suu Kyi was first paraded as the symbol of hope and freedom for a religiously and militarily oppressed country. Where the hell did that go?

During the summer of 2012 the old junta reared its head in the Arakan as the Nasaka and military helped perpetrate genocide against the Rohingya people. In response to religious propaganda and political pressure from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party the pogroms began. Whipped into a frenzy with the excuse of a single crime, the Rakhine majority descended upon the Rohingya minority. And every since the story has remained the same. A radical group of monks or politicians spreads hate filled propaganda and soon after the Buddhist majority is up in arms and ready to kill. Yet the UN and Western world seems to be unable or unwilling to recognize the simple progression genocide takes (both in Burma and everywhere else it takes root). 

The pogroms of the Rohingya people illustrate the very reason the wounds of past genocides never seem ready to heal. The very reason for their existence in the first place is still with us. The very act that put these wounds in place has not yet been removed from us. So for what reason should they heal?

It is in the shared history of our cultures that we are able to relate to those still suffering this affliction. Once, no matter how long ago, we too where put through these same flames. The faces of our past now look back at us, if not from faded images, but rather from living flesh and blood. So how is it that we still find it possible to look away? 

If we do not deal with genocide here, today, we will deal with it again in the very near future. It does not go away simply because we detest it so. Instead it seems rather persistent in showing its ugly face throughout the pages of history. As if it too seeks some form of rationalization... an end.

When the victims of the circus in Rome were dragged out before Caesar their faces portrayed the imagined words of Shakespeare. In their eyes said what their lips could not, "Behold us Caesar, those who are about to die." 

Today the Western world is our Caesar. We hold the power to save lives or damn them. Our wealth, our power... all of this puts us in a place of responsibility. And yet as the innocent victims of genocide are paraded before us we seem unwilling to spare them this fate. Even in situations where their plight could be diminished or ended, we do nothing as they perish. 

Their voices are crying out. Their screams just need help to be heard. And in this world where genocide is treated like the ancients' circus, they look to us for help.

A Fire Inside

The Screamer's Response To Burma
(Screamers Post)

For almost a year now the world has ignored the genocidal ambitions of the Burmese government. World leaders in the West have turned a blind eye to blatant ethnic cleansing of Muslims in the Arakan state. When faced with a "civil war" in the Kachin region the government of Myanmar has established a campaign of genocide to wipe the Kachin people off the map. A clear pattern of expulsion and annihilation has been laid out by the history of Burma's Junta when dealing with Myanmar's ethnic minorities.

The leaders of Europe were among the first to swoon over Burma as it slowly cracked its doors and started to allow foreign eyes into the dark abyss the Junta had created. And yet the Europeans did not focus upon the wholesale slaughter of "undesirables" or the indiscriminate use of slave labor throughout the country. Instead the European leadership began to drool over the puppets the old Junta had put out to entertain it's new guests. The EU paraded its favorite puppet around shamelessly as they fawned over Suu Kyi. And in doing all of this, Europe turned its back upon the helpless still stuck beneath the heels of the old Junta leadership.

Democracy comes slow in a country once ruled by ruthless dictators. And in a country of religious bigotry it comes like a fire.

This is something that America should had understood. Or would have understood a long time ago when it too had suffered oppressive rule of a seemingly foreign power. Yet now days its leadership falls in line with the very powers that once had placed their boots upon American throats. Obama's administration tiptoes in the footsteps of the EU and its socialist leadership as it too fawns over Burma's democratic facade. Hollow words and self interest are all Obama's America has to offer the suffering minorities in Myanmar.

For those of us who have been following Burma's destructive behavior there is a sense of urgency forming as March begins. We have been told by those in Burma that the Rakhine are organizing for a third wave of ethnic cleansing in Burma. This next pogrom has been eluded to by the extremist as being the Rohingyas' version of the Final Solution. It is a promise that calls upon the worst genocide in living memory and eludes to the ambitions of the Rakhine (Buddhists) in the Arakan state.

These threats grow with each passing day. Unlike the people we believe to be leading us, we cannot look away. We are the ones who watch. We are the ones who cannot remain silent in the face of evil. We are the screamers.

A fire is growing in Burma. It began with a spark upon the tongues of propagandists. Their incendiary words set the Rohingya villages ablaze. And for a short time in the summer heat, their words turned to bloody violence the turned the Arakan into an inferno.

The fire is smoldering. It flared up in the fall of last year. The memory of which has been driving countless Rohingya to flee to the sea and off to foreign lands. The smoke of their villages, the memory of their lives before this, still lingers over all that they do as the Rohingya try to outrun the coming blaze.

A similar fire is growing inside of us. For those who are watching the sense of urgency is a fire that drives us on. It is a reason to fight. A reason to grow louder, to fight harder, and to scream longer than ever before.

The Rohingya will not die without the world knowing. We will scream till the entire world knows their plight. But to achieve this we need your help. We need your voice.

It is easy to scream...

One way to scream is to share news articles and blog pages like this one. You can do so by posting them to Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Tumblr, and other social media websites.

Another way to scream is to write your congressman or other elected officials. By making your voice known and your concern for this issue you can let your government know what you expect it to do and what you care about. Voting against those who support the murders (and telling them you will) is one way to affect the change you want to see in both your country and Burma itself.

The most direct way to scream is somewhat odd in the fact that it doesn't involve the spoken word or written word at all. It is just as simple however. It requires you to put your money where your mouth is.

By donating to organizations such as Partners Relief and Development (see link below) you can help fight the good fight when dealing with the Rohingya Genocide. This is one of the most direct methods in giving hope to the helpless. Your dollars can go much further than your next cup of coffee or your next iTunes purchase. Your money can give a Rohingya family a fighting chance to survive in the long run. Partners Relief and Development is one of very best organizations in helping your money go directly to the front lines.

Whatever you do, please scream with us. Literally millions of lives are counting upon the actions of good men and women like you.





Partners Relief and Development
http://www.partnersworld.org/
Donate
http://www.partnersworld.org/donate

West's Burmese Parrot Finds Her Own Voice

Just As Vile A Voice As Any Other Nationalist
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(The Ironic Ideologue) 

Almost from day one of her imprisonment the outside world begged and pleaded for Aung San Suu Kyi to be released. Their misguided pleas were intended to help bring about the "democratic revolution" that the idealist believed Suu Kyi stood to represent. It was believed that universal human rights were right around the corner for Burma. And Suu Kyi was the poster child for the movement.

Well here we are today and Suu Kyi is released and free. She is an active participant in Burma's ruling party. Her voice is clearly heard in Myanmar as the voice of the people... or at least those whom Burma considers to be human beings. And for some time now she has been the voice of democracy in Burma for the outside world transfixed with her every move. 

For those who have been watching the Arakan region of Suu Kyi's country one would wonder where the democracy she speaks of is. Universal human rights are as far from reality for the Rohingya as food and water are. There is nothing human about the way Burma is treating it's native ethnic minorities... especially the Rohingya. 

So what does Suu Kyi think about Burma's Muslim minorities? 

Till recently Suu Kyi had parroted just what the West wanted to hear about the situation in the Arakan. During her visits tot he West she has been the polite pet of the Western governments as she collected her awards and spoke when told to do so. When watching Suu Kyi in her parades across Europe you could almost see how she mirrored just what her audience had projected upon her. In doing this, Suu Kyi's performance has been impeccable... much like other famous nationalists of days long past.

“A country must decide its citizenship for itself..."

~ Aung San Suu Kyi 

Suu Kyi recently responded to critics of her country's 1982 Citizenship Law in much the same way as her leader, Thein Sein, has in the past. Dancing around the phrases "mind your own business" and "shut-up", Suu Kyi made it clear that Burma's laws will only be made and decided upon by the Burmese. This has been state policy every since the law was made after all. 

On February 20Th, 2013 Deputy Minister of Immigration and Population Kyaw Kyaw Win told the Burmese Parliament that there was no such thing as a "Rohingya" minority in Myanmar. Leaders, such as Suu Kyi and Thein Sein, seem to agree since not one of them decided to make a rebuttal to the idiotic claim. In fact there has only been one government official (Shwe Maung) to even bother to correct the Minister of Immigration and Population (note who made the initial claim and his position in government). 

Suu Kyi's party took the opportunity to once again claim that the Minister of Immigration and Population was technically correct since Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya at all. This once again helped to solidify the fact that Suu Kyi herself does not disagree at all with Myanmar's current stance upon the genocide of the Rohingya people. Instead it points to the fact that Suu Kyi, much like the rest of her party, believes that the "stateless" Rohingya are simply illegal immigrants... no matter how long ago they may have "immigrated" to what is now modern day Myanmar. 

"We have to be very clear about what the laws of citizenship are and who are entitled to them."

~ Aung San Suu Kyi

It is this embed racism and bigotry that has helped fuel the complicity of Arakan state officials and Myanmar military leaders in the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya throughout Burma. It is the underlying reason that the ethnic violence has been allowed to spread from the Rakhine region on into the capitol city of Rangoon. And it is the reason that the Burmese government itself has no reason nor will to stop the violence that started in mid 2012. 

Suu Kyi's complacency in the genocide should show the West that as long as Burma is not forced to recognize that its actions (and inaction) are violations of international law then Myanmar will do nothing to correct its criminal behavior. In addition to this the fixation with Suu Kyi herself will forever show future and present war criminals that the West's (and international) affection can be bought. Her cult of personality shows that even genocide can be forgiven as long as the killer is willing to portray himself/herself in the light the world finds comfortable.

Suu Kyi's awards should have been revoked or withheld after the conflict began. It would not have been long before the world could had noticed that this "ethnic violence" was in fact ethnic cleansing. And had we not been so busy praising Suu Kyi, we would have noticed her lack of concern and complacency with the slaughter. 

If silence is as much a crime as doing the killing itself. Then Suu Kyi is a murder, not the victim.

Source documents 

(note not all sources are listed)

The Irrawaddy

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/27763

Democratic Voice of Burma

http://www.dvb.no/news/mp-hits-back-at-official-denial-of-rohingya/26571

Evidence of Sustained Abuse

Slavery and Rape as Weapons of War
(part of The Darkness Visible series)

(Generally, forced labour in Burma is more pervasive in border areas, in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities, and in all regions with a heavy military presence. ~Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro)

Slavery...

"I was required to provide labour usually for a total of one month per year. During this time I would do whatever the authorities asked, the gathering of firewood; the construction of a shrimp/prawn culture embankment, etc. One time I was taken to do forced labour for 26 days. The forced labour was 46 miles from my home and I had to sleep in the open along with 200 other people. 300 people from my village were involved in this work, the construction of a two-mile long shrimp culture embankment. We were not given food or water; they were expecting us to supply this. We dug a well to have easy access to water. Beatings were commonplace during this work. Some beating resulted in serious injury such as broken arms and legs. No medical assistance was provided. After 26 days of working on the project I escaped and during the next two nights I made my way back home; hiding during the day and walking at night. Some time after my return NaSaKa caught up with me and forced me to pay 200,000 kyats in compensation. To pay for this I had to sell my livestock."

~ Rohingya Refugee 

In 1996 the International Labour Organization carried out a detailed investigation into forced labour practices being carried out by the Burmese Junta government. This investigation was so condemning that the report it yielded led to annual discussions about Burma's crimes. But unfortunately that is where the ability to force change in Burma ended. In 2004 Burma proved this point by executing four individuals they claimed had contacted the International Labour Organization in the 1996. This was both meant to send the message within Burma that talking to outsiders was "treason" and to tell the West to leave Burma's policies alone. 

The reality of Burma's scale of "crimes against humanity" goes far beyond slavery and forced labour however. With the increase of military strength throughout Myanmar the governing body of Burma has found itself incapable of supporting its own weight. This has led the Junta to demand support from all citizens and those they consider to be less than human in the first place. This compulsory servitude is the only mechanism with which Myanmar's government has to lean upon to continue to grow its government's totalitarian rule. Without slavery there would be no Myanmar. 

For the Rohingya within the Arakan this means that they are subject to unlawful seizures of land, livestock, and monetary capital. It also means that the Rohingya are expected to subject themselves to forced labour for the local Rakhine authorities, NaSaKa, and Myanmar military. Those who do not comply with these demands are subject to severe punishment and the ever present threat of death. 

"The military rely on local labour and other resources as the result of the incapacity of the Government to deliver any form of support for their activities (the self-reliance policy). The Special Rapporteur has received many allegations of villagers being severely punished outside the framework of the law because they refused to perform forced labour and of the unlawful appropriation of their land, livestock, harvest and other property. While Myanmar has increased the number of its battalions nationwide since 1988, the implementation of self- reliance policies by the local military during the past decade has contributed to undermining the rule of law and damaging the livelihoods of local communities."

~ The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar talking about the Arakan 

When you factor in the long history of systemic discrimination within Burmese culture against the Rohingya ethnic minority you find that in the Arakan it factors into their disproportionate abuse through forced labour. This has led to the Rohingya being singled out as the single group in Northern Arakan to be used as slave labourers when the military needs workers to build up the border region with Bangladesh. It has also led to the fact that Rohingya were the only minority used to build and maintain "model villages" along the border with Bangladesh even though the Rohingya are banned from occupying said villages. 

This perversion of culture by infusing it with ideals of racial superiority and religious mandate has left the Rohingya as outsiders in their own homeland. It strips them of their ability to maintain or pursue a sense of self-determination in their own cultural practices and daily communal life. This is only further exacerbated by their constant use as slaves by NaSaKa and military officials. 

The forms of abuse however range from being used as mules to being used as all out slaves in massive construction projects. In areas where the roads are poor or undeveloped Myanmar officials often force young men and boys to carry their heavy equipment and supplies. These loads are often given estimated weights but in all reality are only limited by how much the Rohingya man or boy is capable of carrying (or what their slave driver believes they should be capable of carrying). This form slave labour is often referred to as "portering". It is estimated that a man or boy from every Rohingya home in Northern Arakan is currently used in such a manner. 

"Whereas previously civilian porters were forced to work by a battalion for several weeks on end, it is now more likely that a column of soldiers will pass through a village and demand “emergency porters” to carry goods to the next village where they will be released if other porters can be secured. SPDC soldiers typically show up in a given village and demand porters to carry rations and ammunition. Alternatively, they send order documents to the village head, who must then take responsibility to arrange the stated number of labourers."

~ National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma

The work these porters are made to do is extremely difficult even for the most able bodied individuals. The loads are often made excessively heavy so as to maximize the amount of ammunition and supplies the Myanmar military is capable of transporting. Absolutely no care for the safety and well-being of the Rohingya slave is given by the government of Burma or the military commanders. Instead the Rohingya are forced to march without rest or face beatings and the constant threat of death. 

"Usually carried in woven cane or bamboo baskets, with straps across the shoulders and an additional strap across the forehead. When excessive loads were carried for prolonged periods, the straps of the basket and the basket itself dug into the flesh of the shoulders and back, causing serious injuries and sometimes exposing the bone. Injuries to the feet were also common."

~ International Labour Organization 

Rohingya who are taken as porters are rarely told informed of how long they will be expected to work. Rohingya abducted for this form of slavery right outside their homes or farms are not allowed to tell their families where they are going or why. This absolute disregard for the Rohingya worker's family and community once again shows the embedded hatred the Rakhine authorities hold for the Rohingya ethnic minority. It also shows that abduction of Rohingya for any reason would be hard to prove due to longstanding policies that provide criminals cover due to prior government sponsored activities in the area. 

In addition to porting for the military, police, and NaSaKa forces, Rohingya are expected to subject themselves to forced labour as as to help in construction and repairs of state property. This means that Rohingya can be abducted or ordered as entire villages to help build roads, bridges, military bases, police stations, model villages, and any other structure the NaSaKa, military, or local authorities demand. 

In 2008 Rohingya from around Buthidaung and Maungdaw were called upon to repair a road between the two townships. Hundreds of Rohingya were forced out into the mud and dirt to work as slaves as the military enforced this action. They were given up to ten day shifts that they were demanded to work. Children as young as 10 years old were called upon to do the hard labour. Those who could not keep up pace with the demands were extorted for their "shortcomings" and then beaten and dismissed. 

The most humiliating, and most indicative evidence of ethnic cleansing, form of slave labour in this form is that of forcing Rohingya to build "NaTaLa". These are model villages that are commissioned by the Ministry of Development of Border Areas and National Races. The villages are meant to help steal land from Rohingya while funneling it to Rakhine settlers that the NaSaKa either import from Bangladesh or other areas throughout Burma itself. These settlers are then persistently reminded that their new homes are "under threat" by the very people that built the villages they come to inhabit.

In 2005 the NaSaKa commissioned a model village just outside of Maungdaw. This village was made possible by first confiscating Rohingya land and then demanding that two to three hundred Rohingya build the village to house Rakhine settlers. In 2008 the village was expanded upon by once again seizing Rohingya farmland and once again ordering Rohingya slaves to expand upon the village so that one hundred more Rakhine settlers could be imported to the area. This time the Rohingya slaves were expected to build not just homes but also a school and pagoda for the new Rakhine immigrant settlers. 

Once construction projects are completed the Rohingya are then called upon to maintain the structures or the Military, NaSaKa, or Police stations they were forced to work for previously. This form of slave labour is simply referred to as maintenance work and is a form of slave labour that Rohingya are forced to carry out year round. Unlike construction, a seasonal form of slave labour, maintenance never end. 

Recent reports reveal that NaSaKa used around 30 Rohingya slaves per day to maintain a golf course they had built near Kyin Kan Pyin. This goes to show that Rohingya are thought of in much the same way as African Americans were thought of by white slave owners in the old south. It helps to prove that Rohingya are most definitely not considered equals and are clearly considered to be less than human by their fellow countrymen. 

Other forms of slavery in the Arakan include but are not limited to forced guard duty (or sentry duty) and agricultural development and cultivation. 

Sentries are called upon by the NaSaKa to basically encourage Rohingya to spy upon their fellow Rohingya to supply NaSaKa with information to use to obtain extortion and to commit arbitrary arrests. It is also employed to harass Rohingya villages and communities by keeping them under constant watch and depriving the individual of sleep and security. This form of slavery serves to drive a wedge in targeted villages by implanting distrust and suspicion amongst the community. In many cases if the individual called upon to serve does not turn in suitable information than he/she is punished instead. Thus fulfilling the reason behind this form of slavery in the first place.

"The current regime in Burma pursues limited market economic reform with no pretence of democratic political, social reforms. Control of land and property has been central to state authority in Burma since independence and many laws concerning property rights in land have been passed. There is lack of ownership rights, no right to transfer and lease, buy and sell, or right to use land for growing crops of one’s preference."

~ Hudson-Rod and Htay in; Arbitrary Confiscation of Farmers’ Land by the State Peace and Development Council Military Regime in Burma

One of the most common forms of slave labour imposed upon Rohingya within the Arakan is that of agricultural labour. It is a stinging form of slavery in the fact that Rohingya are not allowed to keep the food they grow. They are not allowed to cultivate the land they call their own and yet are forced to cultivate the land the government claims they do not own. The food they grow is used to feed the mobs that have targeted them in countless pogroms. The work they put into the land saps them of strength while their stomachs go empty routinely.

Agricultural slavery can be applied in three basic ways in Burma. It can involve the Rohingya being dragged out to government owned land (all land in Burma is technically government land) where they are forced to cultivate the land for NaSaKa and military use. It can also require that Rohingya give up random chunks of their land to government authorities. It also can require that Rohingya grow specific crops upon their own land to be handed over to Rakhine upon harvest. The last method also serves to leave Rohingya vulnerable to extortion if the crop is less than demanded. 

In the recent bout of ethnic cleansing this form of slavery has been used to implement a campaign of ethnic cleansing through forced famine. The famine however was not a new concept since Burma has been moving toward this policy for decades now. Through confiscation of cultivable Rohingya land and the forcing of Rohingya to grow inedible crops the Burmese government has been increasing starvation amongst Rohingya communities for decades. 

"Farmers will no longer need to buy diesel for their tractors and vehicles if they grow such a profitable crop. So, physic nut plants should be grown on vacant lands, and on the areas where no other crops thrive for environmental conservation, raising the income of local people, and contributing towards fulfilling the future fuel requirement...Now, thanks to the visionary [sic] of the Head of State, farmers can enjoy fruitful results directly. I would therefore like to exhort farmers to grow physic nut on a commercial scale for their brighter future."

~ Senior General Than Shwe

In 2005 General Than Shwe launched a campaign to increase the land upon which physic nuts could be grown. Publicly the campaign was to increase the supply of an alternative fuel source. In reality it was a campaign to force Rohingya to grow a crop that they could not eat nor would have access to anyhow. The "vacant lands" mentioned by Than Shwe in "The New Light of Myanmar" were those occupied by the Rohingya within the Arakan state. As with most Burmese authorities, Than Shwe did not see the Rohingya as human and therefore had no reason to respect their needs or their lands. In addition the campaign he put in place would serve to deplete the Rohingya of food and substance upon which to survive. 

In the end the use of forced labour is according to the International Criminal Court as a "crime against humanity". It is a crime that is punishable in many ways including formal sanctions. However it is also a crime that has rarely been persecuted due to the toothless nature of the ICC. 

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court:

~ Article 7 (1) 

For the purpose of this Statute, ‘crime against humanity’ means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:... (c) Enslavement

~Article 7 (2)

“Enslavement” means the exercise of any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over a person and includes the exercise of such power in the course of trafficking in persons, in particular women and children.

~Article 7 (1) (c)

1.    The perpetrator exercised any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership over one or more persons, such as by purchasing, selling, lending or bartering such a person or persons, or by imposing on them a similar deprivation of liberty.

2.    The conduct was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

3.    The perpetrator knew that the conduct was part of or intended the conduct to be part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

But despite all this the ICC finds it hard at best to find it within their jurisdiction to prosecute Myanmar's leadership for blatant abuses and countless crimes against humanity. 

Rape...

“A man from NaSaKa came to my house. He kicked the door and told me I had to go and work as a sentry instead of my husband. I had to go immediately with my young child and without food. Later in the evening while I was at my post someone else from NaSaKa came. He told me ‘your husband is not there, I will stay with you; I want to live with you’. That night the man raped me in the shed in front of my boy.

We (women) feel at peace in Bangladesh. There is no food and some problems, but there is no rape, we have peace”

~ Rohingya Woman, 26 years old. 

Sex is a weapon unlike any other form of terror experienced by its victims. The use of rape as a weapon has been a horrific hallmark of war since the beginning of time. It is also a defining trait of dictatorships and tyrannical governments. Plus, it has been used almost every time governments begin to practice genocide against a targeted community. 

In Burma the government has identified rape as a means of dividing Rohingya communities while also providing a perverse moral boost to its military troops. Myanmar's troops are allowed to rape Rohingya girls without mercy and without repercussions. Rohingya women have no rights. 

In 2002 Shan Human Rights Foundation and Shan Women's Action Network published "License to Rape". In this publication the organizations spelled out just how Burma's Junta style government has allowed their troops to commit mass rapes. It spells out ‘173 incidents of rape and other forms of sexual violence, involving 625 girls and women, committed by Burmese army troops in Shan State, mostly between 1996 and 2001.’. 

"the Burmese military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan State. The report illustrates there is a strong case that war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the form of sexual violence, have occurred and continue to occur in Shan State."

~ License To Rape

From 2002 through the present day UN affiliated organizations investigated the claims made by "License to Rape". Organizations throughout Burma joined the fight to combat the epidemic rape culture within Myanmar. Refugee International provided 125 cases of rape in Karen State between 1988-2004, 37 cases of rape in Mon State between 1995-2004, 38 cases of rape in Chin State between 1989- 2006, and 26 cases of rapes across Burma between 2002-2004.

"Widespread rape is committed with impunity, both by officers and lower ranking soldiers. Officers committed the majority of rapes documented here in which the rank of the perpetrator was known. The culture of impunity contributes to the military atmosphere in which rape is permissible."

~ Refugee International 

Some of the cases involved gang-rape. Others were cases in which the victims were raped in front of family and friends. Most were rapes in which the attacker was not alone but accompanied by other military comrades. 

"According to information received, in all states in Myanmar, both in conflict areas and in ceasefire areas, Government forces subject women and girls to multiple forms of violence including abduction, forced marriage, rape, including gang rape, mutilation, suffocation, scalding, murder, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence. These acts are reportedly often committed by commanding officers, or with their acquiescence. In many cases, women and girls are subjected to violence by soldiers, especially sexual violence, as ‘punishment’ for allegedly supporting ethnic armed groups. Women and girls are in these cases reported to have been detained and repeatedly raped by the soldiers, sometimes leading to their death."

~ UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Special Rapporteur on Torture, and the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women 2006

For the Rohingya today in the Arakan this warning is just as important as it was in 2006. During recent pogroms committed by Rakhine extremist the Rohingya reported countless cases of rape and sexual violence. Their reports of sexual "punishment" are almost identical to those depicted in the 2006 report. Their stories mirror the culture of rape the organizations first recorded in 2002. And yet the UN still to this day shows little ability to punish the Burmese government for their depraved crimes. 

In 2007 the Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, and the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention lodged a complaint with Burma. In this complaint they depicted the gang-rape of four Kachin girls between the ages of 14 and 16.

"Army officials gave money to the girls and their parents to persuade them not to report their case to the police. However, in late February, the incident was reported by an independent news agency. After the information was released, the four girls were immediately arrested and are now detained at Putao Prison, Kachin state."

Today this same incident is playing itself out over and over again. Rohingya girls and women who attempt to flee or have their stories leaked out are often subject to the same arbitrary arrest by Burmese police. Once they have been victimized by the military they are open to constant harassment by NaSaKa and police forces throughout Burma. If their victimizer even believes that their victim has told somebody they can have the girl killed or arrested (a fate that often leads to death anyhow). 

As of 2008 the UN Secretary-General hinted at the situation the Rohingya face in his report following the Security Council Resolution on Women and Peace and Security.

"In Myanmar, recent concern has been expressed at discrimination against the minority Muslim population of Northern Rakhine State and their vulnerability to sexual violence, as well as the high prevalence of sexual violence perpetrated against rural women from the Shan, Mon, Karen, Palaung and Chin ethnic groups by members of the armed forces and at the apparent impunity of the perpetrators."

As for seeking help amongst the Rohingya themselves... 

Refugee International notes:

"The military’s use of rape to control both eastern and western Burma has been documented for at least fifty years. Despite the longevity of this brutal practice, talk about rape has never been acceptable. Such discussion among Burma’s ethnic women is considered taboo and is usually conducted in hushed tones and with lowered heads. For women to acknowledge that they have been raped is to declare openly that they are “unclean,” and to face possible discrimination at the hands of their family and community members who hold them responsible. For men to acknowledge it is to admit they have been unable to protect their wives, mothers and daughters. For communities to discuss it is to confront the pain, shame, and impotence of people under siege by their own country’s army."

The uncomfortable nature of facing the rape leaves many Rohingya women in a prison comprising of their own hearts and minds. Trapped by a crime that was thrust upon them, these victims find it hard to admit that they were victimized. Many find it even harder to admit to their families that they were attacked. And even if they can tell others there is the possibility that others will hold this crime against them. 

"This is contributing to double victimization, first for having been sexually violated and second for having to bear the fear, shame and stigma that surrounds sexual violence, and to a culture of silence that essentially impedes victims’ access to justice and remedy, and allows impunity to persist."

~ UN Security-General 

For Rohingya who are victimized there is no possibility that they will find justice. If a rape was ever reported there is never the actual possibility that the authorities would investigate. For the most part there is a well understood policy to never investigate a rape against ethnic minorities. This allows the rapist to commit his act without fear of reprisal. It permits the rape to be committed without allowing the victim the ability to ever fight back. 

"In most cases, especially when the perpetrators are Government officials, victims do not lodge complaints to the authorities on any acts of violence committed against them, for fear of retaliation by the perpetrators. In many instances, those that do complain are invariably instructed to accept meagre compensation under the threat that if they do not retract their complaint, they would be subjected to more violence. Alternatively, they are arbitrarily arrested and detained until they withdraw their complaints. Sometimes the families of the victim are threatened as a means of exerting pressure on the victim. On one occasion, a community leader who reported a rape of one of his villagers was beaten and tortured to death by the military. It is also reported that medical personnel who treat a rape victim are reluctant to take any action with the authorities out of fear of possible reprisals against them. As a result of this, victims are entirely discouraged from making complaints; investigations are as a result rarely initiated and perpetrators are seldom brought to justice. The existence of such as widespread culture of impunity exacerbates the magnitude of violence against women and girls in Myanmar."

~ Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women

The added aspect of a deeply patriarchal society only further embeds the fear women hold in reporting rape. In following many rather conservative forms of Islamic law the Rohingya women are especially vulnerable to the cruel realities rape brings both during and after it has been committed. Then when you add upon the Islamic culture the fact that their society is being oppressed you have the possibility of these victims being further victimized by community members. 

In many cases during previous genocides the victims of rape in religiously conservative communities have suffered ostracizing by their own community, blackmail by other women, and corporal or capital punishment by community leaders. This leads many of the rape victims to hide their "shame" at all cost. It also leads to repeat victimization of the rape victim through indirect and direct consequences of the initial crime itself. 

"The Committee expresses its deep concern at reports that Muslim women and girls in northern Rakhine State endure multiple restrictions and forms of discrimination which have an impact on all aspects of their lives, including severe restrictions on their freedom of movement; restricted access to medical care, food and adequate housing; forced labour; and restrictions on marriages and pregnancies. The Committee is also concerned that the population in northern Rakhine State, in addition to being subject to policies imposed by the authorities, maintains highly conservative traditions and a restrictive interpretation of religious norms, which contribute to the suppression of women’s and girls’ rights."

~ UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

The complex situation that arises out of this horrid crime is one that has perplexed UN officials and Human Rights activist around the world. In the past, highlighted in Bosnia, we as a world community have been incapable of adequately facing this crime head on. However despite our shortcomings when addressing sexual violence and rape, we do know that this crime is in fact a "crime against humanity". That point we can all agree upon. 

And yet the evidence of this heinous crime against humanity mounts in the Arakan...

"Information received from over 30 interviews with Myanmar Muslim women from Rakhine state and other women from areas of armed conflict indicated that a large number of rapes by entire groups of Myanmar military had been taking place. Many women provided testimony that women in villages relocated by the army were rounded up and taken to military barracks where they were continually raped. In other circumstances, women have allegedly been taken by the military when the husband, or other male in the family, had fled at the approach of the army. Often, the "pretty" or young ones were raped immediately in front of family members and then taken away. Women who had returned to their villages stated that some of the women among them had died as a result of the continual rapes. Two female health workers interviewed by the Special Rapporteur reported that in their clinic, women with rape wounds had been admitted and had later died from bleeding or subsequent infection."

~Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Myanmar noted in a 1993 report.

"Female headed-households are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuses, including rape. Women and teenage girls are also at risk when left alone at home while their husbands forcibly work as sentries or are absent. NaSaKa patrols routinely enter homes at night searching for unlawfully married couples or unregistered guests. Girls have also been raped while collecting firewood."

~ Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women 2008

"In many of the incidents documented, the women were not only raped, but were also physically tortured in other ways, including being beaten, suffocated by having plastic put over their head, and having their breasts cut off. In the following ex-ample, the woman was beaten unconscious and raped, and her pregnant sister murdered."

~ Refugee International, "No Safe Place" report.

International law is very clear on rape however. It was defined by the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda:

"Like torture, rape is used for such purposes as intimidation, degradation, humiliation, discrimination, punishment, control or destruction of a person. Like torture, rape is a violation of personal dignity..."

However during most prior cases in which rape was brought up as a subject of trial in the International Criminal Court the definition of rape had involved the penetration of the penis into the vagina. In Burma it is important to note that the ICC had expanded upon the definition of rape in international court while reviewing cases that arose out of the former Yugoslavia. 

"The actus reus of the crime of rape in international law is constituted by: the sexual penetration, however slight: (a) of the vagina or anus of the victim by the penis of the perpetrator or any other object used by the perpetrator; or (b) of the mouth of the victim by the penis of the perpetrator; where such sexual penetration occurs without the consent of the victim. Consent for this purpose must be consent given voluntarily, as a result of the victim’s free will, assessed in the context of the surrounding circumstances. The mens rea is the intention to effect this sexual penetration, and the knowledge that it occurs without the consent of the victim."

And was finally fully defined later with the following ICC definition. 

"International criminal rules punish not only rape but also any serious sexual assault falling short of actual penetration. It would seem that the prohibition embraces all serious abuses of a sexual nature inflicted upon the physical and moral integrity of a person by means of coercion, threat of force or intimidation in a way that is degrading and humiliating for the victim’s dignity."

Yet here we are in 2013 without a single case being brought up against Myanmar and its brutal military. While courts have well defined rape as a crime against humanity we have yet to see a Burmese soldier or general brought up on this crime before the ICC. 

These two crimes are often combined. In so many cases the Rohingya man and boys are forced away from the home as slave labour while the women and girls are raped. Both are tools of ethnic cleansing that work toward the same end result. These are weapons that the Rakhine extremist not only support but fully implement in their goal of ethnic cleansing. 

If these two methods were even remotely removed from the arsenal of the Burmese regime countless Rohingya lives could be saved. Without these two tools the Myanmar government would have just a little less control over the Rohingya community. But more importantly it could save many Rohingya the indignity that these two crimes manifest.

Source documents

http://t.co/Avn34obI