By Takaloo
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Arakanese youth in exile have inaugurated their newly formed human rights organization by holding a press-conference at the launch of their organizational website on Sunday in Mae Sot, Tak Province, Thailand.
Arakan-Human-Rights-Development-Organisation-AHRDO
The organization is named the "Arakan Human Rights and Development Organization” and is said to have been formed for watching and reporting on human rights abuses and oppression resulting from the many international business projects in Arakan state, including the Shwe Gas Project, the Kaladan Project and a number of other hydropower projects.
“There is a lot of talk about progress in Burma, but we have seen little improvement in Arakan State where the majority of the population continues to live in poverty. We have established the AHRDO to help give our people a voice,” said Aung Marm Oo.
He said those projects implemented by the Burmese regime in partnership with foreign entities in Arakan State have not benefitted the local people and instead the population has been facing widespread human rights violations, land confiscations and demolition of their houses since those projects were initiated in their region.
“We would especially work on documentation and reporting of abuses and suffering of the people, as well as the environmental damage caused by those projects in our homeland. We will also help our nationals who have migrated into Thailand and Malaysia for various reasons”, he said.
The organization is structured with nine different working departments that include the Research and Documentation Department (RDD), the Health and Education Department (HED), the Human Rights and Development Department (HRDD), the Environmental and Ecosystem Protection Department (EEPD) and the Women Affairs Department (WAD) under a board of directors and an advisory board.
