ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION

ARAKAN, BURMA

Press Release

(18 August 2010)

Statement of ARNO on the junta’s election

Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) denounces the holding of a general election on November 7, 2010 by ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) without creating conducive political environment in Burma.

Concludes Report from Irish Centre for Human Rights,NUI Galway

Thursday, 16 June, 2010: The Rohingya minority group in Western Burma has been victim
of human rights violations amounting to crimes against humanity, according to a report
released today by the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway. The report, entitled
Crimes against Humanity in Western Burma: The Situation of the Rohingyas, was officially
launched by Micheál Martin, the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, at Iveagh House, Dublin.
“For decades now, the Rohingya minority group has endured grave human rights violations in
North Arakan State. Every day, more Rohingya men, women and children are leaving Burma,
fleeing the human rights abuses in the hope of finding peace and security elsewhere,” said
Professor William Schabas, director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway.
The Report is based on extensive open-source research and on a fact-finding mission to
Burma, Thailand and Bangladesh conducted by experts in international criminal
investigation. As well as interviewing organisations working in the region, investigators met
with Rohingya victims in and around refugee camps in Bangladesh. The Rohingyas’ plight
has been overlooked for years and the root causes of their situation still remain underexamined.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights’ Report identifies and discusses some of these
causes.

ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION

ARAKAN, BURMA

Press Release

(19^th June 2010)

Today is the 65^th birthday of Burma democracy icon, noble peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She is spending her birthday in detention away from her relatives and friends. She has spent almost 15 years in detention since 1989.

Upon the initiative of the Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the department of Muslim Minorities and Communities invited leaders of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Burma, to setup a platform for unification in coordination with Euro-Burma office based on the OIC 37th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) resolution No. 4/37- MM.  The Secretary General welcomed the outcome of the meeting, which set a structure for a new organization that will bring all stake holders and representatives of Rohingya refugee groups together from around the world. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on 9 June 2010 which unified the Leaders’ stand for their causes and legal demands in Arakan Rohingya region.