Hindus massacred by Rohingiyas : Amnesty International

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Bina Bala, 22, who survived the attack by Rohingyas in Myanmar/ Courtesy:

Official website of Amnesty International

 

New Delhi: At a time when there is a dormant, underlying ongoing debate on the deportation of Rohingyas from the country, it has come to light that armed Rohingya groups massacred up to 99 Hindu women, men and children in the Rakhine state as recently as August 2017. A report by Amnesty International released on Tuesday has thrown light on the brutality with which the Rohingyas targetted and killed Hindu groups in the Rakhine state in Myanmar.

According to the Amnesty report, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked Hindu community in Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik village in northern Maungdaw Township. On August 26, 2017, they killed six Hindus- a man, three children, and two women near Maungdaw town, near Myo Thu Gyi village.

According to the report, Kor Mor La, 25, one of the survivors told Amnesty, “The people who shot us were dressed in black. … I couldn’t see their faces, only their eyes. … They had long guns and swords. My husband was shot next to me. I was shot [in the chest]. After that, I was barely conscious.”

“[It was morning], I was praying at the time,” 22-year-old Bina Bala, one of eight women taken to Bangladesh by ARSA fighters told Amnesty. “They came to our house. Some were wearing black and others were wearing normal clothes … I recognized them [from the village].” According to her statement, the men confiscated their mobile phones and ordered them to stand in the courtyard. “[The men] held knives and long iron rods. They tied our hands behind our backs and blindfolded us. I asked what they were doing. One of them replied, ‘You and [ethnic] Rakhine are the same, you have a different religion, you can’t live here’. He spoke the [Rohingya] dialect. They asked what belongings we had, then they beat us. Eventually, I gave them my gold and money.”

Rika Dhar, 24, another survivor said- “We didn’t have a chance to run… I was blindfolded, and they tied my hands behind my back.” The report cites that “After blindfolding the Hindu villagers, ARSA fighters marched them to a creek area on the outskirts of the village. They then divided the men from the women and children, and brought the women into the forest.”

“The fighters killed, execution-style, 53 of the Hindus from Ah Nauk Kha Maung Seik, according to a list of the dead seen by Amnesty International that is consistent with testimony from survivors, other Kha Maung Seik residents, and Hindu community leaders. The victims include 20 men, 10 women, and 23 children, 14 of who were under the age of 8. Only 16 people – eight women and eight of their children – survived, their lives spared on the condition that the women agreed to “convert” from Hinduism to Islam and then marry people selected by ARSA fighters”- the report cites.

According to all eight survivors, the ARSA fighters took the men away and killed them. One of the survivors told the organisation that the Rohingya men “came back with blood on their swords, and blood on their hands. They told us that they had killed our husbands and the village headman.” “They slaughtered the men. We were told not to look at them … They had knives. They also had some spades and iron rods. … We hid in the shrubs there and were able to see a little. … My uncle, my father, my brother – they were all slaughtered. … After slaughtering the men, the women were also slaughtered.”

Citing two of the survivors – Aur Nika, around 18; and Formila the report says that as the fighters were leading them away, “they looked back and saw women being killed.” “I saw men holding the heads and hair [of the women] and others were holding knives. And then they cut their throats,” she said

Archbishop Philip Wilson to step down amid child abuse

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Canberra: Australian Catholic Archbishop Philip Wilson, who is convicted of concealing child sexual abuse, said on Wednesday he will step down from his position on Friday and if need be take even further formal steps. The Archbishop of Adelaide was found guilty of covering up the crimes of a paedophile priest by a court on Tuesday. Wilson, the most senior Catholic in the world to be convicted of the offence, said he would step aside from his duties on Friday.

“It is appropriate that, in the light of some of… findings, I stand aside from my duties as Archbishop,” the BBC quoted Wilson’s statement as saying. “If at any point in time it becomes necessary or appropriate for me to take more formal steps, including by resigning as Archbishop, then I will do so.” He, however, did not indicate whether he would appeal the Newcastle court’s conviction, for which he faces a maximum two-year sentence.

On Tuesday, the court ruled that Wilson had known about a paedophile priest’s abuse of altar boys in the 1970s and failed to report the crimes to police. A magistrate found that Wilson, who was told about the abuse from young victims, dismissed their stories because of his desire to protect the Church’s reputation, the BBC said.

Child sexual abuse survivors in Australia have praised the verdict as a milestone in confirming the church’s legal accountability for such crimes.

Pradhan urges Saudi Arabia for price stability

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India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has pressed Saudi Arabia to keep prices stable and moderate amid crude prices touching $80, saying that spike in rates would have a negative impact on Indian consumers as well as the economy.

Pradhan conveyed India’s concerns when Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih called him last evening “to discuss continued joint cooperation between the two countries and in particular the current oil market situation”, an official statement said.

Brent crude oil, which breached $ 80 a barrel mark yesterday, was trading at $ 79.54 today, the highest level since November 2014.

The rally is being attributed to a combination of factors — renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran, the third-largest producer of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, shrinking supplies from Venezuela, and the International Energy Agency saying that a global surplus has finally been eliminated due to output cuts by OPEC and its allies.

“Pradhan expressed his concern about rising prices and its negative impact on consumers and the Indian economy,” the statement said. “Pradhan emphasized his desire for stable and moderate prices.” Al-Falih, on his part, assured that supporting global economic growth is one of Saudi Arabia’s key goals.

He (Al-Falih) reiterated his commitment towards stable supplies and that the Kingdom together with other producers will ensure availability of adequate supplies to offset any potential shortfalls and ensure that prices remain reasonable.

Oil Ministry Statement

The rally in international oil prices and a weakening rupee against the U.S. dollar has led to a spike in domestic retail prices of petrol and diesel.

Petrol prices have risen by about a rupee per litre since Monday when the state-owned fuel retailers resumed daily revision in retail prices after a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus. Diesel prices have gone up by Rs 1.15 a litre during this period.

Petrol price was today hiked by 29 paise, the second steepest increase since daily price revision was introduced in mid-June last year. It costs Rs 75.61 per litre in Delhi, the highest in almost five years.

Diesel rates went up by a similar proportion to take the retail price to its highest ever rate of Rs 67.08 a litre, according to a price notification issued by state-owned oil marketing companies.

To make up for the almost $5 per barrel increase in price of benchmark gasoline price since April 24, when the freeze on retail rates came into effect, a Rs 4 per litre increase in petrol price is warranted. Of this 98 paisa has already been affected and the remaining is likely to be passed on to consumers in near future.

Similarly, on diesel, the benchmark rate has gone up by $ 4.8 per barrel, necessitating an Rs 3.5-4 a litre increase. Of this, Rs 1.15 has already been affected.

The Saudi Minister updated Pradhan on his ongoing consultations with colleagues from major producing countries both inside and outside of OPEC, including Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and UAE Oil Minister Suhail Al Mazroui, Minister, who is also the President of the OPEC Conference, the statement said.