E/CN.4/1993/62 page 64 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Sia Geok Hee, 37 Leong Soon Yong, 18 Gim Kah Hun, 37 Ng Lee Fang, 23 Lau Lih Yan, 23 Chew Keng Leng, 23 Teng Mui Fong, 27 Teh Lily, 33 Tan Sook Kuan, 15 Tan Yew Chuan, 34 Tan Choon Hun, 36 Tan Guat Ling, 31 See Seng Teck, 54 Lai Ah Lik alias Lai Boey, 52 Wong Chok Chang, 42 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. See Yee Al, 23 Tan Tian Chiew, 32 Lim Kai Tong, 62 Chew Kwang Sang, 25 Chew Kwang Seok, 22 Chew Kwang Sim, 21 Ng Lee Ling, 22 Ruth Ooi Lee Eng, 22 Goh Lai Eng, 50 Wong Yau Chee, 57 Lim Yew Lee, 57 Lee Kaw alias Lee Toong Lam, 43 Ng Nyet Chin, 34 Leong Ha alias Leong Keong On, 47 Ivy Ong" Myanmar 45. In a communication of 16 October 1992 addressed to the Government of the Union of Myanmar, the following information was transmitted by the Special Rapporteur: "Persecution of Muslims According to the information received, since late 1989, the Rohingya citizens of Myanmar who belong to the Muslim faith and live predominantly in the northern part of Rakhine State (Arakan) located in the northwestern part of the country have been subjected to persecution based on their religious beliefs involving extrajudicial executions, torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, intimidation, gang-rape, forced labour, robbery, setting of fire to homes, eviction, land confiscation and population resettlement as well as the systematic destruction of towns and mosques. Muslims are said to make up approximately 4 per cent of the country’s population and unofficial estimates place the Muslim population in Rakhine State between 1.4 and 2 million people. Approximately 300,000 Rohingyas are reported to have fled to Bangladesh by the end of April 1992, at the rate of more than 2,000 per day as a result of the repression. The persecution of Rohingyas is said to have intensified in late 1991, forcing them to flee at the rate of 5,000-7,000 per day by March 1992. Several thousand are said to have been killed by border guards while thousands more are reportedly kept in custody. Numerous Muslims born in Burma are said to have been detained for years on charges of illegal immigration. Many of those who have fled allegedly refuse to leave Bangladesh and return to their homes in Myanmar for fear of continuing persecution and some are said to have also fled Bangladesh for this reason. A similar campaign during which more than 200,000 Muslims fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh is said to have been launched by the authorities in 1978. In addition, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) is said to have issued a statement according to which Rohingyas are not citizens of Myanmar and therefore cannot return. The human rights violations against the Rohingyas, which rose sharply in early 1991, are reportedly primarily being committed by the armed forces and are said to have been particularly numerous in the Maungdaw and Buthidaung