Description:
Introduction: "The monsoon season in South and Southeast Asia brings catastrophes to these regions every
year. Storms, cyclones and floods are yearly events which bring about loss of crops and lives
and heavy human migrations, particularly in certain areas.
At such a time in the year
1991, news of Muslims fleeing
from Arakan (Rakhine State of
Burma) to Bangladesh broke out. The Burmese
Army as well as the Bangladeshi Army
posted along the Arakan-
Bangladesh border was increased, and both sides accused each
other of violating the peaceful
co-existence of neighbours. Consequently, the issue of military
abuses against the "Rohingyas" in
Arakan was raised. This was vehemently denied by the
military government in Rangoon (Yangon). They
stated that Burmese immigration authorities
were undertaking a routine check of illegal immi
grants along the country?s
different borders and
claimed that most of the "Rohingyas" were illegal immigrants or new settlers coming from
overpopulated Bangladesh because
of natural catastrophes, hunger and other reasons. This
was also vehemently denied by the Bangladeshi authorities.
In the mean time, the number of
people on the Bangladeshi side
grew so that in December
1991 some newspapers reported t
hat about 200,000 (two hundr
ed thousand) were already
concentrated there. However,
the number of refugees according
to Bertil Lintner was nearly
20,000 (twenty thousand)2. It can not be ruled out becaus
e of printing error one zero was not
there (by Bertil Lintner) and therefore, it became twenty thousand instead of two hundred
thousand..."
Source/publisher:
Network Myanmar
Date of Publication:
2005-00-00
Date of entry:
2015-10-30
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
372.99 KB