C. Violence in 2012
3. Torture and ill-treatment at Buthidaung prison
1341 CI-065.
1342 DI-039.
1343 CI-061, CI-136, CI-173, CI-175, DI-025.
1344 CI-061, CI-065, DI-003, DI-004, DI-025, DI-037, DI-038, DI-051, DI-056, QI-106.
bribe, others transferred to Buthidaung prison. One interviewee was told by a police officer that his name was on a list of persons “who pass information to the international community”.
The police officer said that he had received orders “from higher authorities” to monitor and report on him and asked him to pay a bribe.1345 Fear of arrest meant that many Rohingya mostly stayed at home or in hiding when security forces approached their village.1346 Rohingya started suffering from hunger, especially children.1347
(b) Sittwe violence – June 2012
641. It is estimated that before the June 2012 violence Sittwe town was home to about 73,000 Muslims (Rohingya and Kaman), about half of the total population.1348
642. Soon after violence commenced in Maungdaw on 8 June 2012, there was violence in Sittwe, more than 100 kilometres to the south.1349 Most of the violence took place in the first few days. According to the report of the Rakhine Inquiry Commission, the violence in Sittwe led to the death of 11 Rakhine and 24 Rohingya as well as the destruction of 666 Rakhine houses and 2,967 Rohingya houses.1350 The actual scale of casualties and destruction in Sittwe is believed to be much higher.
643. The violence saw the burning and looting of houses, murders, summary executions and large-scale displacement affecting both ethnic Rakhine and Muslims. The majority of the Muslim population of Sittwe town was displaced by the violence. Six years on, most still live in displacement camps and sites built in the Sittwe countryside, totally segregated from the ethnic Rakhine population. Aung Mingalar, often referred to as a “Muslim ghetto”, is the only remaining Muslim area in Sittwe town.1351
644. Given its lack of access to Myanmar, the Mission has not been able to gather sufficient information on the violence perpetrated against ethnic Rakhine in Sittwe in June 2012.
According to credible reports, groups of Muslims carried out arson attacks against houses of ethnic Rakhine and monasteries.1352 This warrant further investigation.
Involvement of security forces
645. The security forces played an active role in the violence against Muslims in Sittwe, often attacking them and their houses alongside ethnic Rakhine.1353 In other cases, security forces provided support to Rakhine who were leading the attacks1354 or refused to assist Muslims who sought their protection.1355 One Kaman interviewee who sought protection was told by the security forces that they could not assist in the absence of an instruction from higher authorities.1356 Similarly, a Rohingya interviewee explained that, on 10 June, a large group of ethnic Rakhine attacked his village and Rohingya families took shelter in a house.
They called the police for assistance but, when the officer understood that they were Rohingya, he hung up.1357
Murders and summary executions
646. Ethnic Rakhine, police officers and Tatmadaw soldiers killed Muslims in Sittwe in June 2012. In the majority of cases, ethnic Rakhine killed their victims with large knives,1358
1345 CI-061
1346 DI-025.
1347 DI-009, DI-054, DI-075.
1348 V-237
1349 CI-096; K-076.9.15.
1350 Inquiry Commission on Sectarian Violence in Rakhine State, Final report (July 2013).
1351 See this chapter, section B.2.d: Specific restrictions in central Rakhine State.
1352 KI-076.9.01, KI-076.18.
1353 CI-066, CI-086, CI-166, DI-020, DI-023, DI-035, DI-049, DI-050, DI-055.
1354 CI-069, CI-086.
1355 CI-066, CI-166.
1356 CI-166, V-166.
1357 CI-066.
1358 CI-066, CI-075, CI-078, CI-086, CI-097, DI-020, DI-049, DI-050.
while the security forces used guns.1359 Sometimes, ethnic Rakhine perpetrators were known to Muslims villagers. 1360 One interviewee from Yasina hamlet explained how he recognised some of the ethnic Rakhine who were armed with large knives:
I recognized many of them. We had a very good relationship before. When I saw this, I had tears in my eyes. These were people with whom we used to share our meals for Eid and now they were standing there to kill us.1361
647. In contrast, the Mission received an account from one Rohingya describing how an ethnic Rakhine person saved the life of her mother who was about to be killed by another Rakhine.1362
648. In some cases, ethnic Rakhine slit the throats of their victims.1363 In other cases, they mutilated their bodies, including the breasts of women.1364 In addition to killings by ethnic Rakhine, Tatmadaw soldiers, police officers or Lon Htein1365 shot indiscriminately at Muslims, including while their houses were being burned.1366 One interviewee described seeing his brother shot and killed when soldiers opened fire on a group of Muslims sitting in a paddy field.1367 Another interviewee described the killing of her neighbour by a Tatmadaw soldier in Sittwe town, because he was outside five minutes after the curfew started.1368 Arson attacks
649. There was extensive burning and destruction of houses and mosques in Sittwe.1369 Narzi hamlet was one of the most affected. Houses of ethnic Rakhine were also burned, but Muslims were disproportionality affected. Security forces actively participated in the burning of Muslim houses. In some cases, ethnic Rakhine and security forces jointly burned Muslim houses. Witnesses described to the Mission how the Tatmadaw and/or the police either helped set the houses on fire1370 or provided physical protection to ethnic Rakhine who were doing so.1371 For example, ethnic Rakhine threw bottles filled with petrol on Muslim houses, while security forces shot at the bottles causing the fire to spread.1372 In other instances, security forces set houses on fire on their own, targeting Muslim houses.1373 The security forces also shot at villagers attempting to extinguish the fires.1374 One interviewee described his experience in Narzi hamlet on 12 June:
First, the Rakhine were throwing bottles filled with petrol on huts. Muslims were trying to stop the burning by pouring water on the fire, but the police and Tatmadaw soldiers shot at them to prevent them from doing this. Afterwards, security forces came and started using fire launchers to burn the buildings that had not yet burned properly.1375
1359 CI-077, CI-086, DI-007, DI-020, DI-023, DI-035, DI-049, DI-050.
1360 CI-066, DI-023.
1361 DI-023.
1362 DI-050.
1363 CI-097, DI-023.
1364 CI-077, CI-078, CI-086, DI-020, DI-049; KI-076.9.16.
1365 Lon Htein is short for Lon-chon-hmu Htein-thein Tat-yin, or “security preservation battalion”. It is also known as the “special police” or “riot police”.
1366 CI-069, CI-077, CI-086, DI-007, DI-020.
1367 DI-020.
1368 DI-050.
1369 CI-066, CI-067, CI-068, CI-069, CI-078, CI-086, CI-096, CI-097, CI-156, CI-159, CI-166, DI-007, DI- 020, DI-023, DI-035, DI-049, DI-050, DI-055, K-076.1
1370 CI-066, DI-007, DI-020, DI-035, DI-055.
1371 CI-068, CI-069, CI-077, CI-086.
1372 CI-066, DI-035, DI-055.
1373 DI-023.
1374 DI-007, KI-076.9.15; KI-076.9.16, V-166.
1375 DI-007.
Displacement and move to IDP camps
650. Most Rohingya and Kaman from Sittwe town and the surrounding areas were displaced.1376 Some fled to Muslim villages outside Sittwe town.1377 Some left on the advice of the authorities.1378 One interviewee described how Muslims sheltering in a mosque in Konchi hamlet were removed by police and left at gunpoint.1379 In some instances, Tatmadaw soldiers provided support to Muslim victims, although one victim reported that this was on the condition that they leave the town.1380 Soldiers escorted victims outside Sittwe town towards Muslim villages in the countryside, with some such as pregnant women and children transported in military cars.1381 Muslims initially took refuge in places such as schools, later moving to displacement camps. As of 30 September 2013, 95,500 people were displaced in Sittwe Township, mainly Muslims (Rohingya and Kaman) with a smaller number of ethnic Rakhine.1382 One elderly interviewee from Narzi hamlet shared the pain associated with leaving his village:
We cried when we left. 25 years of hard work was lost. If I do something wrong to you, then you can do something back to me. But if I am innocent, why are you torturing me? What did we do wrong? My time is almost finished, but what will happen to my children and my grandchildren?1383
(c) Kyaukpyu violence – October 2012
651. Kyaukpyu Township is a coastal township in Rakhine State, along the Bay of Bengal, about 120 kilometres southeast of Sittwe with a population of approximately 165,000 people.1384 Prior to October 2012, the township had a majority ethnic Rakhine population, with Kaman and Rohingya minorities. There was no major violence reported in Kyaukpyu in June 2012.1385 However, a larger number of security forces were deployed there after June.1386 652. From 22 to 25 October 2012, ethnic Rakhine attacked Rohingya and Kaman in Kyaukpyu, destroying mosques, burning houses, and looting properties.1387 Several wards and village tracts were affected, with Paik Seik ward being one of the most affected areas.1388 The report of the Rakhine Inquiry Commission stated that violence led to 11 deaths, 42 injuries (affecting both ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya) and the destruction of 860 Rohingya houses. However, the number of casualties is believed to be much higher. The Mission interviewed ethnic Rakhine, Kaman and Rohingya in relation to the violence in Kyaukpyu.
653. Ahead of the October 2012 violence, there was increased tension in Kyaukpyu and rumours about possible attacks on Muslim villagers by ethnic Rakhine. Muslim villagers were informed by their ethnic Rakhine friends of the likelihood of an attack.1389 One interviewee recalled a phone call from an ethnic Rakhine friend, informing him that there was a “high chance” that there would soon be an attack by Rakhine and the security forces.1390
1376 CI-066, CI-069, CI-077, CI-078, CI-096, DI-007, DI-023, DI-035.
1377 CI-096, DI-007.
1378 DI-023.
1379 DI-035.
1380 CI-069.
1381 CI-066, CI-077, CI-078.
1382 K-69.
1383 DI-007.
1384 Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, Department of Population, “The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census – Rakhine State, Kyaukpyu district” (October 2017).
1385 CI-165, CI-167, CI-168, CI-170.
1386 CI-084, CI-088, CI-165, CI-168, CI-170.
1387 CI-167, CI-168, CI -170, DI-021; KI-109, V-050.
1388 Including the wards of Ah Yar Shi, Paik Seik (East and West) and Than Pan Chaung; and the village tracts of Taung Yin, Pyin Hpyu Maw and Myin Pyin.
1389 CI-085, CI-165, CI-167, DI-021, V-050.
1390 CI-165.
A meeting was held shortly before the violence when Muslims were warned about the possibility of such an attack.1391
654. The Paik Seik ward was mixed, with Kaman the majority in the east and ethnic Rakhine in the west. After the June 2012 violence, villagers were already paying the security forces for protection.1392 Security forces initially provided such protection but left Paik Seik on 22 October 2012. At 8pm on 22 October 2012, a group of ethnic Rakhine arrived and set fire to a Muslim house, leaving shortly afterwards.1393 Other security forces were in the vicinity when this happened.1394
655. On 23 October, more than 100 ethnic Rakhine, armed with swords, knives, slingshots and other rudimentary weapons, attacked east Paik Seik. They also brought tyres and bottles filled with flammable liquid.1395 There were violent attacks on both Kaman and Rohingya villagers, and the looting and burning of their properties.1396 The ethnic Rakhine were accompanied by the police and soldiers armed with rifles.1397 Witnesses stated that they did not recognize the majority of the ethnic Rakhine who participated in the violence.1398 656. There was a clash between ethnic Rakhine and a large group of Rohingya and Kaman around the Jame mosque in east Paik Seik.1399 The mosque was partially burned1400 and some people were injured,1401 with Muslim houses burned.1402 The report of the Rakhine Inquiry Commission states that two ethnic Rakhine were killed in the clashes.1403
657. Soldiers told villagers to return to their houses, but they then opened fire at Kaman and Rohingya villagers gathered near the mosque.1404 Ten persons, including a child, were killed and a number of others injured.1405
658. On the same night, ethnic Rakhine and security forces burned Kaman and Rohingya houses in west Paik Seik.1406 Soldiers and police opened fire on the Rohingya and Kaman who tried to extinguish fires, killing two and injuring others.1407 One interviewee explained how he and others had tried to extinguish burning houses, but that members of the security forces had pointed their weapons and told them not to do so.1408
659. Many Kaman and Rohingya villagers were forced to spend the night on the beach, from where they watched their village burn.1409 The burnings continued the following day, with the police and soldiers using “launchers”,1410 alongside the ethnic Rakhine using bottles filled with flammable liquid.1411 Soldiers were also seen removing dead bodies from the
1391 QI-076, KI-109, V-050.
1392 CI-165, DI-021, DI-024, KI-109.
1393 CI-168, DI-021, QI-076, KI-109, V-050, V-051.
1394 DI-021, V-050.
1395 CI-165, V-050.
1396 CI-083, CI-165, CI-168, CI-170, DI-024, QI-076.
1397 BM-025, CI-083, CI-165, CI-168, DI-021, QI-076; V-050.
1398 CI-085, DI-021; V-050.
1399 CI-083, CI-085, CI-088, CI-165, CI -168, CI-170; V-051.
1400 CI-085, CI-165, CI-168, CI-170.
1401 CI-168, V-051.
1402 CI-083, DI-022.
1403 CI-083, CI-084, CI-088.
1404 CI-085, CI-165, CI-167, CI- 168, CI-170, QI-076; K-109; V-049, V-050.
1405 CI-083, CI-085, CI-165, CI-167, CI-168, CI-170, DI-022, DI-024.
1406 CI-088, CI-170, QI-076.
1407 QI-076, DI-021; V-050.
1408 QI-076.
1409 CI-083, CI-084, CI-165, CI-170, DI-021, DI-022, QI-076; V-051.
1410 Tatmadaw soldiers used weapons referred to by victims as “launchers”. They were described as making loud explosive sounds, after which a whole building or set of buildings rapidly caught fire.
“Launcher” likely refers to a weapon that fires a munition that explodes upon impact.
1411 CI-088, CI-165, CI-170, QI-076.
village.1412 Ethnic Rakhine and the security forces came to the seashore and prevented villagers from returning to the village, while those still in the village were forced to go to the seashore.1413 A 15-year old boy, who reportedly had a mental disability, was stabbed to death by a group of ethnic Rakhine in the presence of security forces.1414 Ethnic Rakhine and security forces then looted the empty houses and shops.1415 One man described being ordered to leave his house by the police and carrying his elderly mother:
The police kept saying that time was up. One police officer hit me on my hands with a stick, and I dropped my mother. She hurt her back and died 10 days later. I still remember the incident and cannot bear it. My mother died because of me.1416
660. When the tide was sufficiently high, towards nightfall, many Muslim villagers left on approximately 50 fishing boats. Most boats headed north towards Sittwe.1417 The majority of the displaced from Paik Seik ultimately moved to the displacement camps and sites in Sittwe.
661. The violence continued in many areas of Kyaukpyu until 25 October 2012. Credible satellite imagery analysis indicates that the areas affected by burning and destruction in Kyaukpyu were all predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods.1418
(d) Sexual and gender-based violence during the 2012 violence
662. During the 2012 violence, Rohingya women and girls were raped, mutilated, abducted and killed. For example, a female eyewitness from Maungdaw town described how in June 2012 she saw her 16-year old neighbour being raped outside her house and then killed by soldiers and police.1419 A 27-year old female from Sittwe described the killing of her cousin:1420
On Monday 12 June, my 14-year old cousin went out of the house to look for her mother and never returned home. At around 2am, her dead body was found. She was covered with a piece of cloth. I was shocked when I saw her body. Her left breast was cut and the other one was severely injured, with bite marks. It was difficult to recognize her face as her neck was twisted and it was not in the right position. I think she was raped.1421
663. There are also credible reports that up to 20 women and girls were abducted in June 2012 from the Narzi quarter of Sittwe and subjected to sexual slavery by soldiers.1422 Another woman, approximately 22-years old, was reportedly detained at a military hospital and forced to marry a soldier from the Tatmadaw medical corps.1423 In most cases of sexual violence during this period, the alleged perpetrators were members of the Tatmadaw, the NaSaKa or other security forces. Sexual violence was perpetrated during home searches1424 or on security forces’ compounds.1425 Most sexual violence was not reported to the authorities as Rohingya considered that this would result in ill-treatment or arrest.1426
1412 CI-088, DI-022; V-050.
1413 CI-085, CI-088.
1414 CI-085, CI-168, CI-170, V-051.
1415 CI-083, CI-168, DI-021, V-050.
1416 CI-165, V-050.
1417 CI-170.
1418 Human Rights Watch, Damage Assessment Summary for Kyaukpyu – Based on satellite imagery recorded on morning of 25 October 2012; Human Rights Watch, Burma: New Violence in Arakan State – Satellite Imagery Shows Widespread Destruction of Rohingya Homes, Property (26 October 2012).
1419 DI-038.
1420 CI-077.
1421 CI-077.
1422 K-076.19.
1423 K-076.19.
1424 K-076.6.
1425 K-076.7.
1426 K-076.8.
2. Kaman Muslims of Rakhine State
664. Unlike the Rohingya, Kaman Muslims are one of the 135 officially recognized ethnic groups of Myanmar, the only Muslim group to have been granted this status. The Rohingya not having been counted in the 2014 census, most of the 28,700 Muslims recorded in Rakhine State were likely Kaman. Despite being citizens of Myanmar, and not appearing to have problematic relationships with ethnic Rakhine neighbours prior to the 2012 violence,1427 the Kaman have suffered serious human rights violations. This has significantly worsened since the 2012 violence, possibly attributable both to the prevailing anti-Muslim sentiment and to the frequent absence of distinction between the Kaman and the Rohingya. One Kaman refugee, who previously lived in Kyaukpyu, stated:
In Myanmar, it is a crime to be a Muslim. The authorities are saying that the Rohingya are illegal Bengalis. Then what about us? We are nationals of Myanmar. I believe the main issue for the authorities is religion.1428
665. In March 2018, a former Minister and member of Parliament from the Union Solidarity and Development Party opposed a decision by the Government to resettle a small group of Kaman from displacement camps to Yangon. He reportedly said:
I think it will be more appropriate if we treat the cancer that is occurring in Rakhine State within Rakhine State itself. Allowing the Kaman families to resettle in Yangon would be like allowing the cancer to spread across the country.1429
666. The Kaman were directly affected by the 2012 violence, particularly the second wave in October. Kaman were killed and injured, including by security forces. Many were displaced and moved to several displacement camps and sites in Rakhine State. The actual number of Kaman affected is unclear. The report of the Rakhine Inquiry Commission provided no information on Kaman, referring only to “Bengali Muslims” or “Muslims”.1430 667. The Kaman have shared similar experiences to the Rohingya, including being insulted and called “Kalar”.1431 One interviewee stated that at school Kaman students were only referred to as “Kalar” and never by their names, and he was told by a teacher that he was slow in class because he was an “uneducated Kalar”.1432 Like the Rohingya, Kaman had to obtain authorisation to travel between townships (known as a “Form 4”), even though they do not fall into the category of either “foreigners” or “Bengali”.1433 The process to obtain a travel authorisation is expensive, lengthy and involves considerable bribes.1434
668. Thousands of Kaman remain in displacement camps and sites in Rakhine State, six years after the 2012 violence. Others have moved to Yangon or abroad. The Myanmar authorities appear to have taken no concrete steps towards facilitating the return of Kaman to their places of origin. Recently it was reported that, although more than 1,000 Kaman continue to live in a displacement camp close to their place of origin in Kyaukpyu, the authorities continue to deny their right to return, citing unspecified security concerns.1435 3. Torture and ill-treatment at Buthidaung prison
In Buthidaung prison, the situation was terrible. They beat everybody with wooden sticks. There were restrictions on everything: going to the toilets, speaking, moving.
When we went out of the cell we were beaten, and when we came back we were beaten.
1427 V-355.
1428 CI-165.
1429 V-355.
1430 A. South and M. Lall (editors), Citizenship in Myanmar: Ways of being in and from Burma (ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/Chiang Mai University Press, 2017).
1431 CI-052, CI-167.
1432 CI-167.
1433 See this chapter, section B.2.b: Requirement for a temporary travel permit to travel between townships.
1434 CI-052, CI-167, CI-171.
1435 V-356.