12th March, 2018
Amnesty International on Monday accused the Myanmar military of “land grabbing” for construction of its bases in Rakhine State after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to avoid violence.
“What we are seeing in Rakhine State is a land grab by the military on a dramatic scale.
“New bases are being erected to house the very same security forces that have committed crimes against humanity against Rohingya,” Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International’s Crisis Response director, said, as quoted in the press release.
The organisation added that military construction in the area of leveled Rohingya villages escalated in January,
according to eyewitnesses and analysis of satellite photos, as shown in Amnesty’s “Remaking Rakhine State” report.
“This makes the voluntary, safe and dignified return of Rohingya refugees an even more distant prospect. Not only are their homes gone, but the new construction is entrenching the already dehumanizing discrimination they have faced in Myanmar,” Hassan added.
Myanmar has seen internal ethnic conflicts since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.
In 2015, the government and eight ethnic armed groups signed a nationwide ceasefire, which was joined by two more armed groups on Feb. 13.
The most recent escalation happened in late August, after Rohingya insurgents attacked government security posts
in Rakhine state.
The attacks prompted a response by Myanmar’s authorities, resulting in clashes and the death of hundreds of Rohingyas.
The violence also forced thousands of others to cross into Bangladesh.