As the article notes, they must be backsliding toward China.
"In Myanmar, state officials profiting from mass exodus" by Todd Pitman and Esther Htusan | Associated Press November 09, 2014
MYIN HLUT, Myanmar — The small wooden boats leave the shores of western Myanmar nearly every day, overloaded with desperate Rohingya Muslims who are part of one of the largest boat exoduses in Asia since the Vietnam War.
Helping them on their way: Myanmar’s own security forces, who are profiting off the mass departure of one of the world’s most persecuted minorities by extracting payments from those fleeing.
A recent report released by the Bangkok-based advocacy group Fortify Rights indicates that the practice is far more widespread and organized than previously thought, with Myanmar naval boats going so far as to escort asylum seekers out to sea, where larger ships operated by transnational criminal networks wait to pick them up.
‘‘Myanmar authorities are not only making life so intolerable for Rohingya that they have to flee, they’re also complicit in the process — they’re taking payments and profiting off their exodus,’’ said Matthew Smith, director of Fortify Rights.
Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing dismissed the allegations as ‘‘rumors,’’ saying he has not ‘‘heard of anything happening like that.’’ He said any naval boats approaching such vessels were likely aiming to help fishermen in need.
More than 100,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s western shores by boat since Buddhist-Muslim violence erupted in Rakhine state two years ago, according to estimates provided by experts tracking their movements.
Chris Lewa, director of the advocacy group Arakan Project, said increasing desperation is behind a huge surge since Oct. 15, with an average of 900 people per day piling into cargo ships parked offshore.
I'm glad to se my Zionist War Media take such an interest in the plight of Muslims, aren't you?
The deepening crisis comes ahead of a visit by President Obama to Myanmar this week for a regional summit, his second in two years.
Oh, I see. It's an axe-grinding agenda-pushing effort leading up to the summit.
Obama, who has repeatedly pointed to democratic changes in Myanmar as a foreign policy bright spot, called President Thein Sein to express concerns about a reform process analysts say has been backsliding for months.
That means cooperating with China.
Related: Suu Kyi says Myanmar’s reforms have stalled
She's the local CIA asset so I guess she would know.
Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 50 million that is struggling to emerge from half a century of military rule, is home to an estimated 1.3 million Rohingya, and most are considered stateless.
Though many of their families arrived from Bangladesh generations ago, almost all are denied citizenship by Myanmar as well as Bangladesh.
Also see: Bangladesh court upholds death for Islamist leader
Related: Bashing Myanmar Over Bangladesh
That's the theme.
In the last two and a half years, attacks by Buddhist mobs have left hundreds dead and 140,000 trapped in camps, where they live without access to adequate health care, education, or jobs.
Doesn't seem to be a big deal when it's Palestinians living in them for decades.
Smith said officials in Myanmar have been profiting off the Rohingya for decades, and extracting money from those departing was only one way.
If Rohingya residents attempt to travel to neighboring villages without permission from local authorities, they risk being arrested and forced to pay bribes for their freedom, he said.
Many of those fleeing today have been forced to sell everything they have, including precious belongings — land, cattle, gold — to human trafficking brokers who typically charge $2,000 for passage to Malaysia, a Muslim country.
Many end up in secret jungle camps in Thailand, where they face extortion and beatings until relatives come up with enough money to win their release.
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