Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

Top Menu

  • About US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
  • Islamic Culture
  • Da’wah
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
  • About US
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Comment
  • Question and Answer
  • Watch us Live

logo

Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

  • Home
  • Viewpoint
    • Abortion isn’t about Roe v Wade but Truth v Hypocrisy

      June 27, 2022
      0
    • Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic ...

      June 24, 2022
      0
    • The Sectarian Card – Shia and Sunni divisions under the spotlight

      June 5, 2022
      0
    • Making Sense of Pakistan

      April 16, 2022
      0
    • How Should We View the War in Ukraine?

      March 30, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • DEEP DIVE: The Weaponisation and Politicisation of British Citizenship Laws

      March 12, 2022
      0
    • Our Role in the Ukraine war is to Expose the Propaganda

      March 2, 2022
      0
    • Muslims Should Rejoice Over the Islamic Ruling System

      January 21, 2022
      0
  • Islamic Culture
    • Reading Quran

      The story of the man who was told to “Enter Paradise” and ...

      January 24, 2022
      0
    • Significance of Rabi’ul-Awwal

      October 10, 2021
      0
    • Virtues of the Month of Muharram

      August 10, 2021
      0
    • The significance of first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah

      July 10, 2021
      0
    • The Honour of the Prophets

      April 30, 2021
      0
    • A to Z of Ramadan

      April 19, 2021
      0
    • The Dawah to Allah (swt)

      December 29, 2020
      0
    • Miracle of the Quran

      Q & A - Compilation of The Holy Quran During the Reign ...

      December 27, 2020
      0
    • Imam Bukhari: A Role Model for the ‘Ulema and Da’wah Carriers to ...

      November 17, 2020
      0
  • Da’wah
    • Call to action against Hindutva and Zionist aggression

      July 16, 2022
      0
    • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | ...

      June 18, 2022
      0
    • Public Demonstration - Independence Not Intervention

      April 22, 2022
      0
    • VIDEO : [LIVESTREAMED] Pakistan in Crisis: The Players, Politics, and People

      April 20, 2022
      0
    • Ramadan Message: The World Needs Islam - We Must Work for the ...

      April 1, 2022
      0
    • The India Hijab Issue from an Islamic Perspective

      March 24, 2022
      0
    • Ramadhan event: Kyiv to Kabul: The World Needs Islam

      March 20, 2022
      0
    • Obituary of a Dawah Carrier Dr. Youssef Haj Youssef

      December 30, 2021
      0
    • Open Letter to Imams and Muslim Leaders

      September 28, 2021
      0
  • Media
  • People
    • Sheikh Taqiuddin an-Nabahani (Founder)
    • Sheikh Abdul Qadeem Zallum (Successor)
    • Sheikh Ata Abu Rashta (Ameer)
    • Abdul Wahid
    • Abu Yusuf
    • Jamal Harwood
    • Taji Mustafa
  • Books
  • Youth
  • Covid-19
News Watch
Home›News Watch›At least 130 Burmese refugees drown in shipwreck

At least 130 Burmese refugees drown in shipwreck

By Editor
November 1, 2012
798
0
Share:

At least 130 refugees fleeing violence in western Burma have drowned after the overcrowded fishing boat they believed was carrying them to safety capsized and sank. Six survivors were rescued by local fishermen, local activists said.

The shipwreck is the single most lethal incident linked to the ongoing clashes between the Muslim Rohingya minority and local Rakhine Buddhists in Burma’s Arakan state. The death toll has reached 80 in the last 11 days, according to official estimates. Thousands of homes have also been destroyed, along with places of worship.

Exact details of the wreck are unclear. But there were fears it could fuel further communal violence, which itself threatens to jeopardise the reform process in Burma. Last week UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said that “the vigilante attacks, targeted threats and extremist rhetoric must be stopped [or] … the opening up process being currently pursued by the government is likely to be jeopardised”.

The crisis has also posed a major challenge to Nobel laureate and pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been criticised for failing to speak out strongly enough on the issue. Her National League for Democracy party has remained silent since releasing a brief statement on 24 October.

“[Aung San Suu Kyi] has an obligation to do something about the crisis but for some time she has been silent,” said Abu Tahay, a Rohingya politician in Yangon, the country’s commercial and cultural capital.

A first round of violence in June led to 75,000 people, mainly Muslims, fleeing their homes. The clashes over the last 10 days have forced nearly 30,000 more from their villages, according to the United Nations. The vast majority are Rohingya, who are not recognised as citizens of Burma and suffer widespread discrimination. Ethnic Rakhine communities have also suffered.

“I am very worried about the coming weeks. The situation is very unstable. In five minutes the violence could be everywhere,” Abu Tahay said.

On Wednesday a standoff continued on Ramree Island, close to the centre of recent clashes, as security forces attempted to protect Rohingya villages from crowds of local Rakhine.

About 7,000 new refugees, including many who had been living on boats for several days, landed near the port town of Sittwe on Tuesday, NGO workers said.

Many had been forced to leave their homes in the town of Kyauk Ni Maw, where the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman, allegedly by Muslims, in May sparked the sectarian violence that engulfed much of the state the following month.

Hundreds have taken to boats or sought refuge on unpopulated coastal islands over recent days, refugee sources said.

Neighbouring Bangladesh, which already has an estimated 300,000 Rohingya refugees, has closed its border, an act which activists claim violates international law.

Rohingya campaigners on the Bangladeshi side of the border contacted by the Guardian said they had seen boats full of refugees offshore which were unable to land despite running low on water and food.

Thousands of Rohingya try to leave Burma by boat every year. Many vessels are unseaworthy and every year several sink.

Chris Lewa, an activist who tracks the ships, said that about 7,000 made the journey from Burma to Malaysia, often via Thailand, during the 2010-2011 sailing season.

“They are often loaded out to sea and, though some are in better condition than others, they are all packed,” she said.

Refugees pay between $1,700 (£1,000) and $2,000 for a place but usually only put down a $400 deposit.

Experts say the crisis is rooted in ethnic and religious tensions that were suppressed during nearly 50 years of brutal military rule.

Hand grenades were thrown on Sunday night at two mosques in Karen state in the east of the country, causing no casualties, domestic media reported.

Some of those now fleeing their homes were Burmese Muslims from the officially recognised Kaman minority. “It’s the first time that we’ve seen the Kaman targeted. That’s very worrying,” said Mabrur Ahmed, of Restless Beings, a UK-based human rights group.

The UN estimate there are 800,000 Rohingya in Burma. Although many have lived in the country for generations, they are considered illegal immigrants and face widespread hostility.

In June President Thein Sein suggested the best solution to the violence was that the UN resettle Burmese Rohingya outside the country.

The Guardian

Previous Article

A roll call of corporate rogues who ...

Next Article

Theresa May strips British passport from Muslim ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +

National Conferences

Join US on Telegram

Podcast

Latest Posts

Press Releases

The Champions of Free Speech Haven’t a Leg to Stand on

Despite all Muslims being the victims of hate speech against the Prophet ﷺ and His companions (May Allah be pleased with all of them), the ardent secularists in the British ...
  • From Al-Hind to Al-Quds – Establish the Khilafah – End the Oppression

    By Yahya Nisbet
    July 17, 2022
  • Call to action against Hindutva and Zionist aggression

    By Editor
    July 16, 2022
  • From Al-Hind to Al-Quds Conference – Speak Out – Act – Liberate

    By Yahya Nisbet
    July 14, 2022
  • Abortion isn’t about Roe v Wade but Truth v Hypocrisy

    By Taji Mustafa
    June 27, 2022
  • Bangladesh Floods: farcical mantra of economic success disguising failure to provide basic protection

    By Editor
    June 24, 2022
  • National Conferences : From al-Hind to al-Quds: Speak Out | Act | Liberate

    By Editor
    June 18, 2022
  • Two July Conferences on Indian and Zionist Oppression Organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain

    By Yahya Nisbet
    June 10, 2022
  • Press Centre