Myanmar’s Democratic Transition
267
Identifying a review of the minority group’s right to citizenship as a priority,
the report recommended that ‘the Government should not only apply existing
national laws but also proceed in line with international agreements.’24 In light
of international attention and to quell inflammatory rhetoric from all sides in
the conflict, the Commission also encouraged the government to be transparent in sharing information about the situation in Arakan.25
Displaced Muslim communities now reside in makeshift camps prone to
flooding. Access to drinking water and health care is extremely limited and
malnutrition rates are high.26 Diarrhea, tuberculosis, and dengue fever are
widespread. The only schooling available to children consists of community
madrassas. Government delays in granting travel authorization and intimidation by Rakhine community leaders have obstructed humanitarian aid. Under
orders that are strictly enforced in Northern Rakhine State, Rohingya must
seek permits for travel (even inside townships), marriage, and repair of houses
and religious buildings.27 They cannot pursue sustainable livelihoods, but no
plans appear to be under way to enable the displaced communities to return.
According to one observer, ‘Aside from the shells and facades of a few mosques
here or there in the city, there is absolutely no Muslim presence in Sittwe today.
It is like it has been totally erased.’28 According to the government, tensions are
24
25
26
27
28
Ibid 65.
Ibid 68-69.
Refugees International, ‘Myanmar: Protecting Minority Rights Is Non-Negotiable’ Refugees
International Field Report (30 May 2013). According to RI, ‘The government does not permit foreign doctors to provide secondary health care, and Rohingya patients die unnec
essarily as a result.’ See also IRIN, ‘Myanmar: Displaced Rohingya Living “Worse than
Animals,”’ IRINNews (4 October 2012), <www.irinnews.org/report/96449/myanmar
-displaced-rohingya-living-worse-than-animals> accessed 24 September 2013; Jared Ferrie
and Vickie Hawkin, ‘Muslims Blocked from Rakhine Township Hospitals, Says MSF,’ ABC
Radio Australia (22 October 2013), <http://networkedblogs.com/PPG3P> accessed 23
October 2013 (reporting that Muslims can only seek treatment at Sittwe General Hospital
in part because medical staff in township hospitals fear reprisals for providing treatment
to Muslims); Nyein Nyein, ‘Children Are Victims in Arakan State, UNICEF Says,’ The
Irawaddy (8 October 2013) <www.irrawaddy.org/burma/children-victims-arakan-state
-unicef-says.html> accessed 23 October 2013 (reporting that unrest has caused children
psychological trauma and ‘made it nearly impossible for many affected children to continue their education or access health care’).
Refugees International, ‘Myanmar: Protecting Minority Rights’ (n 26).
Refugees International, ‘Life in the Rohingya’s Myanmar: A Q & A with photojournalist
Greg Constantine’ (20 June 2013), <http://refugeesinternational.org/blog/life-rohingyas
-myanmar-q-photojournalist-greg-constantine> accessed 24 September 2013.
tilburg law review 19 (2014) 261-275
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