Press Release:  Date: December 31, 2007 BLACK DAY   223rd Anniversary of Downfall of Arakan Sovereignty Today is the 223rd anniversary of downfall of Arakan sovereignty or Arakan Kingdom. The Arakan kingdom was invaded and occupied by the alien Burman on December 31, in the year 1784. After the annexation of Arakan kingdom, the bloodthirsty Burman king Bodaw Maung Wyine and its barbaric forces cold-bloodily exterminated hundreds and thousands of non-combatant innocent Arakan people indiscriminately disregarding the Teaching of peace and Metta. The invaders from the other side of Arakan Yoma who pretended to be the defenders of our nation and People did not show slightest mercy even to the Co-religionist Rakhines and other Buddhist People. Moreover, creating a new slogan "Kill the Arakanese first at sight instead of a Cobra (poisonous Snake) if you find both together". Countless Men, women and children were slaughtered alive, raped our mothers and sisters including teenagers and Minors, robbed the valuable assets and Jwelleries, destroyed the Arakan palace, royal Libraries, Pagodas, Monasteries, Temples, Mosques and other Islamic Institutions and all symbols of the honor and dignity of the Arakan people, they have taken away the most revered and symbol of Buddhism the shrine of Maha Muni Para (Statue) from Arakan showing dis-respect to the Buddhist of the home-land. Thousands of peace loving Arakan people were made slaves and carried away to Mandalay to serve the Masters. The extermination of the Arakan people by the Burman king and invading forces was tantamount to the destruction of Jews by the Nazis during the Second World War. To escape the genocidal operations of the Burman king, hundreds of thousands of the then Populace fled into neighboring Bangladesh for asylum who are today found in the name of Moughs (Rakhines) and Rohai (Rohingya) by Bangali name.   Since the fall of Mrauk-Oo dynasty, the last Arakan Kingdom; the people of Arakan have been left without an independent and sovereign country through the present time. Naturally, restoration of our lost Arakan nation is our highest and ultimate political goal. While we do not forget our lost of Arakan nation and the atrocities committed by the inhuman King Bodaw Maung Wyine, we do support the establishment of a genuine Democratic Federal Union of Burma, where the ethnic Burman and non-Burman peoples including Rakhine, Rohingyas ands tribal hilly people of Arakan will all equally enjoy freedom and self-determination. On this tragic day, we strongly urge the ruling Burmese military regime, State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to: 1. Stop immediately the ethnocentric Burman rule and all forms of discrimination against the ethnic non-Burma peoples particularly the Karen, Karenni, Chin, Shan, Rohingyas, kuki, palaung etc. 2. Stop immediately its entire human rights violations in the country, including its large-scale confiscation of land from the Rohingyas of Arakan to resettle the new model Villages with non-Arakan people from Burma proper. 3. Withdraw immediately all its troops from the ethnic non-Burman territories, including Arakan State; 4. Release all political prisoners, the Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, U Khun Tun Oo, U Win Tin including U Kyaw Min (aka) Master Shamsul Anwarul Hoque, the leader of NDPHR and CRPP member. 5. Rescind all the undemocratic and unjust laws, decrees and orders particularly 1982-84 Citizenship law that made Rohingyas stateless. 6. Negotiate with all the democratic and ethnic Opposition parties including the leaders of the Rohingyas of Arakan in a genuine Tripartite Dialogue as demanded by the peoples of Burma as recommended by the United Nations, United States, EU and Asain countries. On this Black day -31st December of Arakan historical and unforgettable day, we, the members of the Six Party alliance humbly request and urge the entire people of Arakan disregarding race, religion, color and language to come forward to realize the root   causes of the down-fall of Arakan, degeneration and degradation of Arakan People as well as the failure of our part to restore our lost dignity and honor. If we scrutinize seriously and ponder in cool-mind, we can easily understand that due to lack of national Unity and solidarity, mis-understanding and suspicion of each other on racial line, wrong fear of the threats of friends instead of foes, mis-calculation on siding religious extremism, lack of world-political Diplomacy and above all internal hostility in the homeland. So, we earnestly request all Arakan people in homeland and overseas to forget the past hostility and forgiving each other and let there be a new spirit, aspiration and determination of New Year - 2008 Resolution to rebuild Arakan National Unity and Solidarity to create a congenial atmosphere of peace and stability with united forces of Rakhines, Rohingyas and hilly tribal people. By making disunity and creating chaos in the past we lost our freedom, Independence and Sovereignty, so, by forging unity and solidarity we can reverse to the freedom. The only Solution is it's opposite, that means restoration and rebuilding of our unity like cemented wall to face the enemy who wants to keep us SLAVES forever as a Colonized nation in the world. Saddened with the memory of the Loss of Arakan Sovereignty, independence, dignity and all kinds of honor, Let us rename it as the BLACK DAY - DECEMBER -31st, Day of downfall of Arakan kingdom, First day of Slavery! The day un-forgettable and scar in the hearts! (President) Dr. Than Aung alias Mohammed Ali Media Contact Persons: - 1 – Salim Ullah (Tel: 81 90-4968-6779) 2 – Mohammed Sadek (Tel: +016 3094599) 3 – Kyaw Soe Aung (Tel: +414 736 4273)

                                                                                            Date: March 17, 2007

PRESS RELEASE

A demand for immediate and unconditional release of MP U Kyaw Min, his family members and all other political prisoners in Burma

We, an alliance of 6 - parties in overseas namely the Arakan Rohingya Organization -Japan (JARO), the National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR - exile) USA (HQ), World Rohingya Congress (WRC) in USA, Burmese Rohingya Association in UAE (BRA-UAE), Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF) and National Council for Rohingyas in Malaysia (NCR) strongly demand jointly and unitedly in one voice to the SPDC government for the immediate and unconditional release of Rohingya MP U Kyaw Min (aka) Mohammed Shamsul Anwarul Hoque and his family members on this day of March 17, 2007 which marks the completion of 2 - years (730 days) illegal imprisonment in the notorious Insein jail on the ground of nationality by the unjustified court order of SPDC military government on March 17, 2005.

U Kyaw Min (aka) Mohammed Shamsul Anwarul Hoque is one of the political prisoners in Burma where more than other one thousand political prisoners of conscience are languishing in various prisons and jail.

U Kyaw Min was the elected MP of the National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR) for Buthidaung Township constituency No. (1) in Arakan State of Burma . He was also a Central Executive Committee member of the National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPHR) and moved with his family members to Rangoon , the Capital City of Burma after 1990 general election. U Kyaw Min earned a Bachelor of Economics Degree in 1968 from the Rangoon Institutes of Economics, and in 1969 he began working as a Schoolteacher. He also earned a Diploma in Education in 1983 and served as the Deputy Head of Buthidaung Township Educational Department. In 1985 he became Principal for a middle School in Buthidaung Township, but he was dismissed from the position in 1989 because of his active involvement in the course of 1988 Students led democratic revolutionary uprising throughout Burma.

U Kyaw Min who is also a member of the Committee Representing the Peoples' Parliament (CRPP), was arrested on the date of March 17, 2005 by a group of Police Special Branch of the SPDC military government and later his family consisting wife and three children were also arrested by the said Police Special Branch.

On the date of July 29, 2005, the CRPP member and MP of NDPHR U Kyaw Min was sentenced for 47 years without any justifiable ground and proper case on the fabricated and so-called Emergency Provision Act 5J and acts relating to nationality laws along with his wife and three children with 17 years jail terms on the same ground. They were tried by a court situated within the prison, and have been denied the right to access to a lawyer and to receive visitors during the period of trial.

Beside this, the SPDC military government also confiscated the house of U Kyaw Min and locked it with the court seal and order at the front door.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) has assigned one of its legal advocates U Nyan Win to defend U Kyaw Min and his family members at the court. NLD advocate U Nyan Win submitted the appeals to proceeding the case of U Kyaw Min in Open court within the laws, but, SPDC military court dismissed the appeal repeatedly.

In fact, it was a pretext to sentence U Kyaw Min and his family members on nationality ground and improper immigration documents. The actual reason of arrest was his active involvement in peaceful political activities and joining the CRPP led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the cause of democracy and freedom of all Burmese people.

It is a matter of surprise and against the natural law that if 47 years conviction to U Kyaw Min on nationality and improper document was on authentic ground, then, how U Kyaw Min was allowed to participate in the 1990 general election to become one of the MPs which was dully registered, recorded and recognized by the Multi-Party Democracy General Election Commission after scrutinization of concern national Immigration Office. Moreover, the Multi - Part Democracy General Election Commission would never allow a non-citizen to participate in a general election without scrutinizing the facts and his nationality status. So, the show - cause of SPDC military government on U Kyaw Min's nationality is totally false and unacceptable.

It is clear that the imprisonment of U Kyaw Min and his family members was based on fabricated allegation and false accusation of their nationality status where as U Kyaw Min and his family members were born and brought up in Burma and they are genuine bona-fide citizens of Burma .

* Today March 17, 2007, on the Occasion of 2 years completion of illegal imprisonment of MP U Kyaw Min, we call upon the SPDC military government to immediately release CRPP member and MP U Kyaw Min with his family members without any condition as his conviction on nationality ground was completely unjustifiable and beyond the reasonable doubt;

* On this day, we also strongly demand the SPDC military government for the immediate and unconditional release of Nobel Peace prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo, the Vice-Chairman of NLD;

* We also appeal to UN, ASEAN, EU, OIC, SAARC, Russia, China, the Government of Japan, The Government of USA, South Africa, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qarter, WAMY, Muslim World League, IGOs, NGOs, neighboring countries, and all human rights and Humanitarian Organizations, including Amnesty International to take urgent and proper action for the immediate release of MP U Kyaw Min with his family members, Burmese pro-democracy icon Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo, U Khun Tun Oo and all other political prisoners and leaders
representing other ethnic races of Burma.

Signed by :

1 - Salim Ullah (JARO)
2 - Maung Sein (NDPHR-exile)USA(HQ)
3 - Dr. Zaw Myint Thein (WRC)
4 - Dr. Than Aung (BRA-UAE)
5 - Mohammed Sadek (RYDF)
6 - Ghiyathudeen (NCR)

The original article can be read at the below URL :

http://www.asiaobserver.com/component/option,com_joomlaboard/Itemid,91/func,view/id,545/catid,3/