deliberately deprived of basic necessities of life like food, medicare, education and employment due to new forms of taxation imposed since 1992, which they are unable to meet. Due to unabated oppression and widespread indiscrimination, the Ruhingya ethnic population now is in danger of existence and survival. They have no alternative but to leave Arakan, which the Myanmar regime wants to happen.

Amnesty International reports that the Ruhingyas continue to suffer from several forms of restriction, discrimination and human rights violation on the basis of their ethnicity. The Ruhingya`s freedom of movement is severely restricted and the vast majority of them have effectively been denied Myanmar citizenship. They are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction; house destruction; financial restriction on marriage and extra judicial executions. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) reject the existence of a separate ethnic group called 'Ruhingya'. They are not recognized as one of the 135 'national race' as provided by section 3 of 1982 Law. (1)

Freedom of MovementThere is no freedom of movement for Ruhingyas, Ruhingyas are not allowed to travel anywhere beyond their village boundaries without getting prior permission. Request to travel must be made to the village council, which then passes on the request to the nearest NaSaKa base. Here, the IMPD, police, riot police, military intelligence, and customs all have to agree to the request. Once that happens, a permit must be purchased. In most cases passes are only given for a twelve-hour round trip to nearby villages: only in exceptional cases are Muslims permitted to stay overnight. To travel further, for instance to the township capitals at Maungdaw or Buthidaung, or the state capital at Sittwe, is virtually impossible. Being unable to travel, even within Arakan state, makes it extremely difficult for landless Ruhingyas to find work during the dry season, when there is very little agricultural work available.

Arbitrary Taxation:

In addition to the land tax, Ruhingyas have also been subject to increasing new forms of taxation since 1992. It seems that all forms of business are now taxed. Every family in northern Arakan has to pay a chili tax, regardless of whether they actually grow chilies. As a result, many Ruhingyas are forced to buy chilies at the market rate of 500 kyats, and "sell" them to the NaSaKa at the government rate of 100 kyats. Human Rights Watch reprts that that they had to pay a fee when going on to the river to fish and when going the forest to cut bamboo. The fishing fee only applies to the Ruhingyas, as Buddhist Rakhines do not fish. New arrivals in 1997 said that the taxes had been extended to farm animals; the owners of a cow must pay 80 Kyats a year, while a goat is assessed at 30 Kyats a year. Finally, Ruhingyas have to pay for permits to travel from their village to the next, or to the market village to sell whatever produce they may have. A thirty-five-year-old man from Maungdaw township interviewed by Refugees International in July said he had to pay 20 Kyats every time hewanted to travel to the market to sell his eggs or chicken meat. In the end it was not worth his while, because once at the market the military would whatever they wanted come to his stall and take without paying for it.

Confiscation of Land

and Property:

In addition to having to work for the government for no pay, their land had been confiscated by the military, leaving them with no means of livelihood. Ruhingyas are not permitted land use rights. Nevertheless, customary law applies in most villages, and Ruhingyas have been able to acquire tenancy of land over the years. In many parts of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Kyauktaw townships, however, the military has confiscated land to build roads, "model villages" (see below), military barracks, hydroelectric stations, prawn farms and other commercial activities. In cases where land is taken in this way, there is no compensation for the owner and no recourse to law. The confiscation of land for development occurs throughout ethnic minority areas of Burma. (2)

Denial of citizenship:

Ruhingya Muslims have been denied citizenship rights since an amendment to the citizenship laws in 1982 and are treated as illegal immigrants in their own home. Human Rights Watch observes, Ruhingyas in Burma continue to be non-citizens under the prevailing law, which was designed to exclude them as an ethnic group and make naturalization virtually impossible. Deprivation of citizenship has resulted in deprivation of fundamental rights, to which all persons, citizens and non-citizens alike, are due. The withholding of citizenship has become a mechanism for discrimination and persecution on the basis of ethnicity. Thus, Ruhingyas are doubly at risk in a country where citizens face abuses such as forced labor, forced relocation, and denial of freedom of speech, association and assembly on a daily basis. (3)

Exodus of Rohingyas:

The human rights violation, physical extermination, large scale persecution and uprooting of villages and eviction of inmates in Arakan has led to thousand of Ruhingya ethnic group fleeing neighboring countries. About 1.5 million Ruhingyas have so far been evicted from Arakan since the year of Burmese independence in 1948.

As a result they have escaped to Bangladesh in large numbers, with the biggest influx in 1991 and 1992 when about 2, 50,000 of them crossed the border. Although many of these refugees have since then been repatriated to Myanmar, there are still about 21,500 refugees living in two camps in southern Bangladesh. The refugees are completely dependent on UNHCR. In addition an estimated 1,00,000 Ruhingyas are living illegally in Bangladesh with limited