SLORC mounted a religious pogrom ag

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: SLORC mounted a religious pogrom against Muslim Rohingyas

via Rangoon Post

In 1991-92 SLORC mounted a religious pogrom against Muslim Rohingyas in
Arakan State. It is unknown
how many were massacred, but at least 300,000 fled to Bangladesh to
become refugees. At least
200,000 of them have now been forced back to Burma by Bangladeshi
authorities with the support of the
UNHCR [UN High Commissioner for Refugees]. UNHCR made agreements with
SLORC and the
Bangladesh government (but not with any refugee representatives) to
support this forced repatriation and
tell the world it is "voluntary" as long as they can get a monitoring
presence on both sides of the border.
They now have that presence. There are serious concerns raised by
Rohingyas and Non-Governmental
Organizations about the forcible nature of the repatriation, and
furthermore that Rohingya returnees are
being used extensively for forced labour and are not having their land
returned. Rakhines (who form the
Buddhist majority in Arakan State) report that UNHCR has confiscated
land without adequate
compensation and that they are fuelling racial tensions in Arakan. UNHCR
claims that forced labour in
Arakan is an "isolated occurrence", and that new Rohingya refugees
coming to them in Bangladesh have
"false claims".