Greeting from Y. Sato of the Uni. of Tokyo

Dear Mr. Zaw Min Htut,
Sorry for late in my reply. Thank you for your infomation. Allan Mackie, who is a senior immigration judge and testified on refugee law in Tokyo district court for Rohingya case a few years ago (so you should have known him.) agree on speak on refugee togehter with you at the University of Tokyo when he visit Japan in October. Is it OK with you to speak on Rohingya refugees and Japanese policy on Thursday 20 October 2005. If you can, I wish to invite you as a main speaker togehter with Allan.

This seminar will be open to public and funded by our Peace-building Studies Group and co-sponsored by HSP (Human Security Program) of the UoT. Pls inform me of your availability and topic you wish to speak. I wonder it be a sort of comparative study b/n UK and Japan over Rohingya refugees which have implication on refugee policy, affected by the recent incidents in London (my concern is that refugee could be labeled as terrorist potentional - you know anti-government people could be accused of easily). Also I should be happy to contact with Mr. Nurul Islam,the president of Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, ARNO. I think it better for you to introduce me to him by email or so.

Now this week I shall go on my mission to Europe and be back on 3 Sep. and leave for Japan on 7 Sep. So I do not know I can have time to see him anyway. For your info. I shall have a lunch with staff and director of Asian region of Amnesty International on Mon. 5 Sep.

Regards,

Yasunobu Sato

--- "Burmese Rohingya" ---

My dear honourable Sato Sensei,

Thanks a lots for your email and interest in Rohingya case.I have been a friend of Professor Arakaki since 1999.I hope he knows me very well.
I am living in Shibuya city, Tokyo.I will be available to see you in any time and at any vanue where is convenience for you.Please let me know when you come back to Tokyo after finishing your schedule in abroad.I will be waiting for your mail. In the meantime when you are in London,I would like to introduce you our Rohingya leader in London.His name is Mr. Nurul Islam,the president of Arakan Rohingya National Organisation ,ARNO.He is very eager to see you when you are in London.When I was talking to him yesterday about you on phone conversation,he requested me to have a meeting with you while you are in London.If you have time please see him at your convenient.

He is a long time Rohingya leader and very nice person.I believe he can provide you a lots of information regarding Rohingya case and I hope you will be able to advice him how to carry on our longstanding problem.His email is ...nuromor@yahoo.com and telephone number is 442084780986 or mobile is...4407947854652. It will be very highly appreciated if you give us a chance to present our issue to the Human Security Program which is headed by yourself.Under the current military regime in Burma about two million Rohingyas are suffering inhumanely.

They are treated as subhuman being by the Gov.Due to the lack of human security in Burma,half of the total population of Rohingyas had been fled their motherland to be scattered around the world. Thank you again for your coming forward to help the vulnearable Rohingya as a savior of them.
Please allow me to keep in touch with you,Sir.

Yours,

Zaw Min Htut Tokyo

sato@hsp.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp wrote:

Dear Mr. Zaw Min Htut,

This is Yasunobu Sato, Professor of the University of Tokyo, Human Security Program. Your email was forwarded to me by Osamu, who is one of my best friends and a former colleague of UNHCR. He suggested that we should invite you as speaker for our open seminar.

I am interested in your experience so that i wish to see you in the near future. I am now in London amd be back to Tokyo on 8 Sep. but on 15 again out of country and come back on 25 Sep. Where do you live? May I see you in Tokyo in October? We wish to learn from you on the case of Rohingyas. Yours sincerely, Osamu, pls follow it up.

Yasu

8888 BRAJ Statement Page-1

8888 BRAJ Statement Page-2

Letter to Mr.Niitsu San by Zaw Min Htut

Dear Niitsu San,

How are you doing? I hope you and Fukushima Sensei including all of your office staffs are fine. I was so pleased with your words and deed provided to vulnerable Rohingya peoples suffering in Burma. I couldn’t find much better wards to express my appreciation to you and fukushima sensei rather than “thank you very Much from the bottom of my heart’. I believe Rohingya people will not forget it forever.

On 10th July, I was invited to Kagoshima for a lecture on Human Rights at the Shgakukan , University. Prof. Dr. Arakaki, Who invited me is a very well-known human rights expert with a lots of experience at UN, Australia, Newzealand . He is now Refugee Adjudication counselor appointed by Ministry of Justice in the new asylum system. I stayed one night there and discussed a variety of issue especially for Rohingya and refugee problem with the professor. We talked about Fukushima Sensei a lots and I found he really respects her and very eager to see her one day. And he asked to re quest you to have a meeting with Fukushima sensei at your convenience time.

Dr. Arakaki is also a member of Japan Peace Building committee (PBC) which comprises ten top professors from around Japan including Tokyo University. They are now dealing with the Srilanka Civil war and giving recommendation to the Japanese Gov. regarding on that crisis. I discussed about the Rohingya issue to take a consideration by the PBC and he agreed it. He told me that he will invite me to the PBC’s meeting to present Rohingya issue.

I also dissussed with him about the Fukushima san’s idea of having a meeting with Madam Sadako Ogata and prof. Yozu Yokota regarding Rohingya problem. He told me he would like to participate at that meeting as well. He was so impressed by the great idea of Fukushima Sensei . I think he would present his view on that particular issue from the perspective of international human rights standard . I hope you will arrange it in the near future.

Again I am planning to travel to Bangkok to attend a three days seminar on the “Rohingya’s History” at the Cholalankon University in Bangkok by the end of next month. I would like to present a paper at the seminar but I am not sure I could get Thai Visa due to reluctance of Thai Gov. to admit Burmese dissident in their country.

I hope to hear from you soon about the idea of Fukushima sensei to view of Madam Ogata.

With the best regards and highest respect.

Yours,

Zaw Min Htut

President (BRAJ)

Position Statement on Recent Lengthy Imprisonment of U Kyaw Min.

Date : 2nd August 2005.
Press Release: No. 5/ BRAJ/ 2005

Position Statement on Recent Lengthy Imprisonment of U Kyaw Min

Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan (BRAJ)

We, the Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan (BRAJ), feel extremely shocked to know the unexpected news of verdict, a 47 year term of imprisonment on U Kyaw Min, (alias) U Shomshul Anwarul Hoque, a prominent Rohingya intellectual and politician. He is an elected Member of Parliament of National Democratic Party for Human Rights from Buthidaung Constituency, Arakan State and one of the members of the Committee for Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP).

U kyaw Min was arrested on the 17th of March from his residence in Rangoon without any concrete reason and detained in the most notorious Insein Jail in Rangoon without any legal charges since then, His wife , one son and two daughters who are still students were picked up later and locked up in the same jail. They all were tried by a military court situated within the prison with Emergency Provision Acts and Acts relating to nationality.

U Kyaw Min was given a 47 year prison term and his wife and three children were each given 17 year term. During the period of their detention and trail, they were not allowed to be visited by their relatives or any friend, nor permitted to hire a lawyer in defense. The military court also fined them 50,000 Kyat each and if they were not able to pay, the court ordered them to serve 2 extra years each. The health conditions of U Kyaw Min’s wife and one of her daughters are reported to be deteriorating. It is also learned that the hefty sentences were imposed on the family after U Kyaw Min refused to sign a pledge promising to quit the CRPP and to resign from the Member of Parliament.

Hence, it is quite clear that the verdict is nothing more than an over-act of exercise of judicial system. We assume it as an act of “State Terrorism” and intimidation up on its own people by the SPDC particularly upon democratic forces and ethnic minorities.

Indeed, the imprisonment of Rohingya Leader U Kyaw Min and his family members was politically and racially motivated. The fact is that it also based on religious discrimination. We are very much concerned for their safety and security. It is absolutely unfair and unjust. We at BRAJ strongly condemn such a cruel and unlawful action of military regime.

We demand to the military regime of Burma for the immediate release of U Kyaw Min and his family members. In this regard, We BRAJ solemnly call up on the international community and all Peace Loving People around the world to take a necessary and urgent action for the immediate release of U Kyaw Min and his family members, national democratic leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all the political detainees.

Executive Committee
Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan (BRAJ)