break. it watching d.w. news from berlin up next our documentary on the systematic persecution of myanmar strange our population i want to. thank for me on the team for watching. go beyond. the stories that matter to. come to. whatever it takes to keep the running. good. you made for mines.

i did they how they it was raining that day the river had flooded. before and we couldn't cross the river with our babies and children and we were sitting on the riverbank and when his soldiers came and surrounded us. by someone as a beginner again in the land. there and then when i started stabbing our men and shooting at them the same they shouted shop. they hit us the women good long sticks wrangling in than a mile and. a lot of only. very very brave 10 soldiers carried me off along with 6 other women that are there done

that the minute. that i can run and i don't know as they took us away my youngest brother said to me family and my sister. in law i can't say all the terrible things they did to us. what happened was called a cleansing operation. in the summer of 2017 the myanmar army laid waste to the western state of rakhine formerly our contracts . nearly 500 villages were burnt down.

the row hinge a population fled to the forests and hills muslims one wanted in a mainly buddhist country. after days on foot the survivors reached the border. on the opposite bank bangladesh. i had heard about this when we had enough time anymore the soldiers beat us. i lost my daughter she is a little bigger than this child here i bother my mother missing when they set the

village on fire i took my wife and the children who were there and ran away as fast as i could since then i don't know where my daughter is 400. therefore they got in the street and by the river i saw many dead bodies including children wherever we looked there were mutilated and burned bodies there because the no food idea. of it. following. the crackdown left thousands dead in rakhine the province where the range of people used to live. most

of them led myanmar their own country. bangladesh has taken 700000 refugees. the situation remains a textbook example of ethnic cleansing can anyone rule out the elements of genocide maybe present. genocide. international law is yet to decide but that's what many academics and diplomats are calling the situation. what is not in doubt is that the events were premeditated. and that requires decisions by people in power that requires time and resources to

plan. unless it be meditated nothing any amount happens without a plan there's always a master plan. i. 2 bangladesh is home to the largest refugee camp in the world. the raw in-joke all told the same story citing the same violence the same methods.

the name of one village has become synonymous with crimes against humanity. to not told. far from their homeland the survivors in this village tell their stories. to describe a well oiled machine. that the mother left that day at 8 in the morning and it is soldiers attacked our village from the north they set our houses on fire and fired their guns we knew we had to get away. with a lot of we took our things and fled and. died i don't why don't the lot of they go . for then we knew that we took our bags and our children and ran to the beach

we hid by the riverbank. again the soldiers surrounded us like a mother to decide oh about the. most of them lot of them are among the people ran away in all directions some fell down others jumped in the water. in them they drove us all out of the bank many miners couldn't download it then they separated the men and the women who did it over in buffalo really. one of the players they were nominated shot and killed the man the alphabet and then out of the barrel. of a dialogue with them with a got there to escape the bullets we jumped into the river and there were 4 or 5 of us we fled to the opposite riverbank from there we saw what they did to my wife and the other women. we had to watch what was happening. so i think. they didn't stop

shooting we watched and cried. my wife and i had a baby it was our 1st child. i watched and i wept. with one of my little women all the men were dead they started to throw the babies in the water and they killed the children with machetes before they threw them in the river to the wall. and i watched them beat and kill people they set my house on fire and threw my baby into the file. after they had killed the men and children they started dragging the women off in groups of 5 or 6. battle with a little girl i knew they brought this to my house blindfolded us and bound arms

and legs they raped us. they knew massey. were doing this. when. the soldiers came to us 3 times then they left us lying on the ground and luck to see. it was late afternoon. i thought i was going to die. i close my eyes and said my last prayer. at that moment they set the house on fire. but i managed to crawl out. i used to be afraid of death but i'm not afraid anymore. men and women separated children massacred systematic rape. they used the same

methods and almost all the villages they attacked. matthew smith has an ngo that defends human rights in asia. he's investigating the violence suffered by the right people. we documented upwards of 11000 soldiers from 27 battalions that were operational during these attacks that requires decisions by people in power that requires time and resources to plan so all of these all of these aspects certainly speak to a genocidal intent. on.

the eyewitness accounts of the. vipers are unanimous the soldiers want to love. their men it is our destiny and it would be handsome soldiers acted together to yes they are with you there are at least $500.00 of them to do jump in villages listen kill people and burn down houses and that thing that i saw them attacking people with knives cutting people's throats and throwing babies into the fire. the ha ha ha they did it on the soldiers orders the minute it out of there then an ingot of the. civilians and soldiers acting together. at.

the. deli and these images filmed by a myanmar soldier an officer in combat care is addressing some buddhist villagers. these people are breeding like rabbits there are more and more of them that's why they're a threat to our ethnic minorities. they want to populate the whole of rakhine. then they will conquer the whole country and take control of it that's what they're planning to do. we can't be afraid of these foreigners. where you are. the officer reveals the myanmar army's plans. we will hit them hard and fast have no doubt we will cleanse their villages. one group of soldiers will be in charge of cleansing the area while another group will prevent the russian ship from escaping. so they don't scatter eyes were.

there you know them is essentially describing what the military ended up doing which was attacking rethinking villages in some cases blocking them from from from fleeing and then massacring them and in other cases just driving them out towards bangladesh oh i though i know well we have no backpacks no food and we won't sleep we have come only with our guns and bullets so that we can defeat them. but we are counting on your help in this mission to show your courage. on yourself with machetes he sticks we even have to fight people don't and small children to make sure we defeat them. then you hear the soldiers encouraging the civilians to themselves take up arms and so and we ended up seeing this this this ended up taking place villagers were armed with farming equipment with long

swords with knives in some cases with firearms and they flanked me i'm army soldiers and police one eyewitness described it to us after watching some of these trains described to us as they were being trained to kill it looked like they were being trained to kill he said to us. harming civilians creating a militia to attack an ethnic group amounts to a war crime. was a crime against humanity.

in the last few years one man has played a central role in changing mindsets. starting in 2012 when he was released from prison this month has been touring the country to convince the poor of the dangers of islam. a holy man turned politician. so. 'd 'd 'd we run through his harness the anti rohingya hatred inherited from the colonial era . during the 2nd world war prior to independence a muslim minority supported the british. many buddhist imune mark never forgave him

. 'd he met the market the height of his fame. sometimes they call me the neo nazi the bald nazi or the bin laden of myanmar but i've already made my statements about that. they loved him. the racist creature was protected and financed by the generals in power. ah machine iraq the exploited his popularity to have mixed faith marriages prohibited. i think. a little bit cool i'm very active on social media especially on the issues of

foreigners and the rape i. listen and the biggest threat to all of us are the muslims who marry several women and have lots of children because they want to become a majority i mean on mar day. i asked quite a bit a. little by little the radical mosque saw its influence growing with hindsight his words could be understood as a warning. the government made the right decision they no longer use the word. they say they are illegal immigrants and they should be put in a camp where they would even be prepared to send them to another country. also. driving the real hinge of muslims out of me and mar

the country where they had lived for centuries. that day the monk revealed the general's plans years before any action was taken. it was also at this time that london based academic thomas pick managers went to southern rakhine. there were media reports about the problems with muslims there were reports about muslims raping buddhists making the front pages of the media. there were a group of monks touring the country to explain to schoolchildren the problems of islam. a specialist in state crimes mcmanus quickly became convinced that an act of

genocide was imminent. this is part of a stigmatize ation stage of genocide you problematize another group they're still accepted to the still part of society but you point to them and you say look what they do there's something wrong with them and that is the 1st stage in genocide. the theatrics to turn from words into actions. led by radical monks and accompanied by the police the buddhists attacked muslim villages. it was the 1st act of

a tragedy that would last 5 years. in june 2012120000 broken just muslims were driven from their villages and forced into camps. southern rakhine had been cleansed. and. little by little the ropin just lost the remaining rights. they could no longer study seek health care or even leave the camps.

or any. of. those not in prison camps but confined to their villages in a rest day like. we were. all hoping. well not. really well. on earth gone. but after years of persecution in our movement was born in regard to rock n roll in just salvation army. only going to jews of this mysterious guerrilla army and these propaganda films. that are murdered are murdered. and you have

a murder but. without uniforms and under equipped the militants attacked me and more police stations in the summer of 2017 the powderkeg had been lit. when august 25th came around and running in the attendance attacked and killed a handful of. myanmar officials the authorities essentially activated what appeared to be a very well planned operation. a massive repression of the wreckage a minority led to the myanmar army being accused of crimes against humanity.

you don't. want to bother with rakhine state to me and mark. the region is off limits to journalists. since 27000. humanitarian organizations have also been banned it's a territory devoid of outside witnesses. i mean if you're. going to if you don't know where to go about it let me know when i go. to defend itself against accusations of genocide the myanmar government invited in a handful of journalists. but

the trip is tightly controlled. we take the only road leading north to where the injured list before they were driven out. everywhere military camps and forts took the place of birth villages the ruins of which are barely visible. slow down please. love low life slow down but stop it's up to question each time we pass

a bill in the car speeds on. we passed what used to be broken jakarta needs only the charred stops of palm trees remain. the driver seen it all. but he has been warned. he has only one word to say color. a pejorative ethnic slur used by the region's buddhists to describe the region. as soon as we arrive in the northern capital of rakhine were taken to a press conference. went by saying. in a propaganda lesson delivered by the governor and a handful of officials in the finest room talent. in

a minority a little bit when we look back in history we see it was always the muslims who attack the local buddhists. they seized the land whenever they had the opportunity . the government just did what was necessary to retain our national territory. the official version of the genocide. i mean. it was neither the police nor the army who drove these people out nobody forced them to leave it was rohingya terrorists who burned down their houses forced them to flee with. the accusations of crimes against humanity or brushed aside by the mayor.

there was no genocide here it has never happened and never will. if that were true why are muslims still living in the region. but how can that be. if it had really been genocide then they wouldn't be here anymore. and you know that even when the moment. they've managed to kill 22000 then my estimates range and drive up to a 1000000 out of the country without any repercussions and they've managed to convince the people that this is all fake news that this never happened that the root in their own houses unless on their own accord. after the genocide it's the last stage it's about denial it's about rewriting history it's about understanding what happened in another way as part of the new national story.

what has happened since the injured were driven out. of. the convoy heads to northern rakhine their trucks everywhere. the road is still being built but whole villages have appeared only one year after the wreckage of flood. prefabricated houses that the government has given to buddhists moving here from other parts of the country. the settlement show that the engine land did not stay empty for long.

the international community is increasingly taking a stand and denouncing the crimes against the injured. but justice takes time.

in the corridors of the palace of nations one woman is once again preparing to defend the range of cards. since 2014 yankee league has been the un special rapporteur for human rights for me and mark. there's no water provided i'm talking about you. know i'll go get some q. about it i think. mr president distinguished representatives ladies and gentlemen i'm honored to once again to address you and represent you in my report to this council on the

situation of human rights in myanmar. i read the international community going to tell bangladesh they must continue their generosity indefinitely for a crisis but that was caused in myanmar are we going to tell the road into refugees that they are going to have to endure the situation indefinitely the answer to the above questions must be unequivocally no i implore you to stop the talking and start doing i thank you for attention thank you. for instance to interject this is an easy time for children to snuffle to interview guests of course it's been delayed a long and as you know justice delayed is justice denied. yeah the high level of generals who can really get the ordering. on atrocity crimes they must be tried and as long and as well as the others need to make. it.

please know that exceptionally who are these others to whom the diplomat refers. given her knowledge of the workings of the myanmar political machinery at the start of her mandate young he leave regularly met with nobel peace prize winner. but in 2015 the lady from young gone refused to express an opinion on the right into question. we met her briefly during her election campaign. but since we weren't sure. yet. i think it's a very complex love i think that you value and. once

appointed state council or her position became clear it was that of the military with whom she shared power. during the lead of the nobel peace prize winner had been close for years. for the 1st time a south korean diplomat revealed what was said during their last meeting. i would have a tete a tete very private meeting and i would raise any issues or had a very good we talk you know she asked about my mother about how my father is doing we talked about family when i met her and her 1st fight after she was elected

usability and she said oh no we don't use the word range and i told her no i can't use something else and principle i am going to separate right. despite having a mandate from the united nations the diplomat was only able to visit north america once. when i saw her in 2017 she was very better. and. and i asked her i need more access to different areas and and july she said to me if you continue the gnat this narrative of the west general to you may not get any access. 3 days later. as in march parliament to withdraw the diplomats accreditation young he lead was forced to leave me and mark.

she had built up a lot of political capital over the years she is a nobel peace prize winner and she used this capital to provide cover for the military to carry out their operations every time the international community came in and said look we have reports we have evidence they were frankly bamboozled by anson sushi using her capital she built up over the years to provide cover for the military to carry out a genocidal campaign this is complicity in genocide and uncensored she should be investigated for complicity in genocide. if our own sons who choose image has been tarnished by the road into crisis those who caused the chaos of rakhine are using it to their advantage.

after 50 years of dictatorship in 2011 in march started moving toward democracy. a transfer of power from the military to a civilian government. but in fact it didn't happen the general still controlled the country. is going to benefit from the destruction of their injuries from their annihilation the genocide the military need a way of explaining to the burmese people why they still need such a huge military at all. so the question is do we need a minute's rise country so that so the military are creating problems like the ranger so that the country will rally around the military is that her defenders

they remained in power there in complete control of the country the strategy was a success. a strategy that worked in the general's favor not only on a political it could also mean big profits. we know state is resource rich so we know that the military are going to want to get their teeth into the resources that are there it shouldn't have been one of the poorest state and. we have some evidence some my points are that in central. there is a you're a new. there is nicole there is all those what you call it specialists and that is official government secret almost where you have no access to any

information there's no data and so to have access to those resources. we can't have people living there. having driven out the undesirables you mark claims to be ready to welcome them back . at least that's the official line adopted under international pressure. to forty's take us to the border to the bridge over which hundreds of thousands of rangers are meant to cross on their return. the myanmar authorities promised to house them or him in this empty camp. the

camps are guarded by the same brigades which drove them from their villages. inside officials are waiting for the new arrivals the scene is carefully staged. yet although i would you say this is the authority for immigration and identification. all return east will register here. then we will issue them with this identity card. and whatever the card is a condition of their return. and. then they can apply for an official i.d. card. but it doesn't mean they are citizens of myanmar. this card

merely states that the holder is an immigrant who wants to live in myanmar then they. will have it big yeah yeah. yeah. if they accepted the revenge or we have heard their burmese nationality. they all refuse. the last visit to the camp on the border in myanmar. these rohinton chose to stay in their country. in markers and present them behind barbed wire.

how is it possible to believe a 1000000 exiles will return to trust the promises of a country which tortures. what is going to happen next for the ranger come bangladesh absorb them into their size what does that mean for the right india as a culture. the genocide is continuing is going on as we speak so people have to ask the question how do we get through hinge a whole and how do we rekindle their culture how do we get people back together and if we don't do it the genocides continuing so so every day that nothing is done is the world continuing the genocide of their engine. 2 2 2 with no guarantees for their safety with no recognition of their identity the range i don't want to return to their land. one of the most persecuted minorities

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