Satellite images show 'burning marks of 288 Rohingya villages'

The Dhaka Times Desk This time the satellite image has been released. It found 'burning marks of 288 Rohingya villages'. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said this.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that 288 Rohingya villages were burned down in just one month. This is the only information available so far after the military operation in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Analyzing satellite images, the human rights organization said that between August 25 and September 25, thousands of houses in those villages, which were inhabited mainly by Rohingya Muslims, were partially or completely destroyed.

According to a report by HRW yesterday (Tuesday), analyzing images from artificial satellites, two things became clear to them.

First of all, the main target of this burning in the army campaign was the village of Rohingya. Satellite images have shown many places where Rakhine Buddhist villages are completely intact next to the ruins of Rohingya villages.

And secondly, the Myanmar government claims that the military operation has stopped, yet new villages are seen burning in this satellite image.

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi came under international pressure to address the Rohingya crisis for the first time on August 18 and claimed that there had been no more repression in Rakhine after September 5.

However, HRW said satellite images it had had evidence of at least 66 villages being burned between September 5 and 25.

The military crackdown, which began on August 25 following a coordinated attack on 30 police posts and an army camp in Rakhine, has been described by the United Nations as an 'ethnic cleansing operation'.

On the other hand, the Myanmar government blames a group of Rohingya guerrillas for the attack. They call the army's suppression campaign 'fight against terrorism'!

Phil Robertson, deputy director of HRW's Asia division, said in a statement, "The satellite image shows why 5.5 million Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in just a few weeks."

"The Burmese military has burned down hundreds of Rohingya villages," the statement said. They have committed various crimes against humanity including murder and rape. Rohingyas are forced to flee to save their lives.”

According to the HRW report, they analyzed the data of 866 villages from satellite images of Maungdoo, Rathedong and Buchidong areas of Rakhine. Among them, Maungdoo area was the most affected. 62 percent of the villages in that area were partially or completely destroyed within this one month of operation. In the southern part of Mangdu, 90 percent of the villages were burnt.

According to the news, some satellite images also showed signs of fires burning simultaneously in different areas. Some areas were seen burning for several consecutive days.

HRW said the Myanmar government has blamed the insurgent group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and local Rohingya for the village-by-village attacks, but no evidence has ever been found to support that claim.

The human rights organization said that it has interviewed hundreds of Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh and said that none of the interviewees blamed the Rohingyas for the attacks, looting and arson.

HRW's statement also says that the Myanmar government has not conducted an impartial investigation into the crimes committed against Rohingya in villages, and Kao has not even been brought to justice!

"In this situation, UN member states and the international community must put pressure on the Myanmar government to allow the UN fact-finding mission to investigate Rakhine," the HRW statement said.

HRW's statement also said, "Also, the UN Security Council should immediately impose an arms embargo on Myanmar." Myanmar military officers behind human rights abuses in Rakhine should face travel bans and asset freezes. All UN member states must stop all military cooperation with Myanmar."

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW, said, “The images of the horrific devastation in Burma and the plight of millions of people in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh are two sides of the same coin. Concerned countries should increase pressure on Myanmar to stop Rohingya persecution, and also ensure that emergency aid reaches everyone."