Myanmar nationals in USA and Japan stage protests for six deportees from Singapore

17 Jul 2019

Nay Yaung Min | DMG

17 July, Sittwe

About 150 people held a protest in front of the Singapore and Myanmar Embassies in Washington DC in the U.S.A on 15 July as a move to object the actions of the Singaporean government.

The Arakan Youth Association (Japan) also organized to protest in front of the Singapore Embassy in Japan on 17 July.

Authorities from the Singapore arrested and deported six Arakanese people from Arakan Association (Singapore) including the brother of the Arakan Army’s chief accusing them of fundraising and providing financial assistance for the AA and its political wing the ULA and mobilizing and organizing the Arakanese communities in Singapore to support the AA’s violent activities in Arakan State. 

Currently, the Myanmar Army’s ongoing fighting with the Arakan Army is intensifying and the international community have condemned the Myanmar Army for unlawful arrests, torture, killing, using civilians as human shields during military operations, forced labour and other acts that transgress human rights against Arakanese people in Arakan State. 

Meanwhile, the Myanmar Army has blatantly violated human rights in each and every ethnic region, including carrying out intensive clearance operations that forced over 700,000 Muslims from Arakan State to flee to Bangladesh in 2017. 

So, Arakanese and other ethnic people of Myanmar in the USA and Japan expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the actions taken by the Singaporean government and staged a protest headed by the Arakan American Community (AAC) and the Arakan Youth Association (Japan).

Ko Khiang Myo Tun, information official of the AAC, said that the statement of the Singaporean government was one-sided and the arrested people were not raising financial aid for the AA but they were providing aid for IDPs in Arakan State.

“They are not supporting the AA as the Singaporean government claims. Because these people are Arakanese, the Singaporean law enforcement officials and government use that fact as a weak pretext for arresting and deporting them. Guilt by association means you’re guilty until proven innocent, and that’s just wrong in the eyes of the world,” he said.

The organizers also said that they denounced the Singaporean government for transferring the leaders of the Arakan Association (Singapore) to the Myanmar police force despite knowing the Myanmar Army is committing war crimes in ethnic regions. 

These actions show that the Singaporean government lacks any moral responsibility and it threatens the security and lives of the Arakanese communities, both domestically and abroad, the organizers said. 

The six Arakanese people were arrested on 9 and 10 July by the authorities in Singapore. Two of them, Ko Tin Hlaing Oo and Ma Aye Myat Mon (aka) May Gyi, were arrested by the highway police near Nay Pyi Taw on 11 July after they were deported to Myanmar on July 10. 

Moreover, the other four Arakanese deportees: Ko Aung Myat Kyaw brother of AA’s Chief, Ko Hein Zaw, Ko Thar Lay (aka) Ye Kyaw Htet and Ko Tun Aye were reportedly arrested at the Yangon International Airport in Myanmar on July 12 but the DMG could not confirm where they have been detained so far. So, family members of the detained leaders are very much concerned about the safety of their children and relatives, and they (family members) were not allowed to meet with the detainees. 

To make matters worse, there are 86 Arakanese people altogether, the Singaporean police have a list of Arakanese people who may also face the arrest by Singaporean authorities and deportation to Myanmar where they would surely be arrested and detained like their colleagues according to sources from the members of the Arakan Association (Singapore).

So, family members and close friends are quite disturbed about their security and further possible arrests in Singapore and deportations to Myanmar.

The Myanmar Government or Tatmadaw has not released any official statement so far regarding the arrests and detention of the six Arakanese people yet.

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