Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)

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Title: UNICEF Myanmar Humanitarian Situation Report #5 - May 2019
Description: "In May, UNICEF Myanmar issued a press statement calling for the urgent protection of children in Rakhine State as schools re-open and expressing concern about reports of killing of children as a result of direct targeting and indirect actions, detention and mistreatment of children, and the use of schools for military purposes, since the conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) intensified in 2019. • UNICEF continues to support distribution of supplies to “newly” displaced populations in central and northern Rakhine State as a result of Tatmadaw/AA fighting, while continuing to advocate for, and request, consistent unfettered access to provide more comprehensive services to those in need. • Ninety-five percent of IDP students, including 449 girls, participating in UNICEF-supported formal and non-formal primary education activities, passed the Government primary school matriculation examinations this year. Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs In Kachin, residents continue to benefit from the Governmentdeclared ceasefire which has been extended until 30 June 2019. However, displaced families remain concerned about returning to their areas of origin either due to insecurity, explosive ordinance and remnants of war, or lack of services given the protracted displacement. The total number of displaced in Kachin State has remained constant since November 2018— 97,265 people in 140 camps or camp-like settings. There have been some intermittent or ad-hoc returns; however, contamination of explosive ordinance remains a significant concern. In May, three incidents related to explosive ordinance were reported including the death of a 17-year-old boy. In northern Shan State, fighting between ethnic armed organizations continued with additional displacement. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted that since January 2018, nearly 47,000 people have been displaced due to fighting in Kachin and northern Shan states resulting in a total displacement of over 106,000 people—over 35 percent of whom reside in nongovernment-controlled areas. OCHA reports that in government-controlled areas, access is also increasingly difficult and there are nearly 20,000 people who cannot be accessed due to lack of travel authorization and inconsistent access is impacting service delivery to over 55 percent of those in need. In northern Shan State in particular, many families have suffered multiple displacements. For children, the constant displacements create additional vulnerabilities such as disrupted education, potential separation from families, or increased exposure to landmines. UNICEF and other international actors continue to be denied access to non-government-controlled areas of Kachin and northern Shan States resulting in an increasing burden on host communities and national NGOs who are responding to the increasing needs. In more remote or rural areas where access is difficult or inconsistent, communities may not be receiving required assistance from the humanitarian community; consequently, updated information on needs is not available. In Rakhine State, UNICEF and partners retain access to the 2012-established IDP camps principally housing Rohingya IDPs. Access to “newly” displaced people—as a result of conflict between the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw—varies depending on the location; in some areas access is consistently denied. Agencies continue to work with the government and local groups to provide assistance whenever possible given these access challenges; to date this has largely been a commodity-based opportunity-led response rather than comprehensive and sustained service delivery. UNICEF, working with UNFPA, and UNHCR, has received access in both central and northern Rakhine State to conduct “needs verification” trips and in some cases, follow up visits to provide relief items. However, access to some UN and NGO development activities have been impacted by the fighting and additional access restrictions; OCHA reported in May that approximately 50,000 direct or indirect beneficiaries have been affected by access restrictions in Kyauktaw and Ponnagyun townships alone. For access to be granted, agencies must navigate numerous bureaucratic obstacles which prevents any itinerary deviations due to changing circumstances on the ground; as a result, identification of needs and response activities remains a challenge. On 28 May, UNICEF Myanmar released a statement expressing concern on the reports of killing, detainment, and mistreatment of children as well as the use of schools for military purposes. The statement further urges all parties to ensure the safety of children and protect them from violence. Amnesty International released a report titled “No One Can Protect Us’ on 29 May 2019 which further highlights reported violations of international humanitarian law and a number of human rights abuses as a result of the conflict by the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw since the start of 2019. Amnesty International reported targeting of civilians, damage to homes and property, obstruction of humanitarian service provision or movement of injured to medical facilities, and other violations..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
Date of publication: 2019-06-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.17 MB
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Title: Dalai Lama on peace, youth, and the Rohingya crisis
Description: The world's most violent conflict zones also often happen to be places with high populations of young people, according to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). Despite the challenges of growing up in turmoil, though, many young people are striving to make a difference and several of them this month travelled to India to seek guidance from Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The young peacebuilders - from countries across Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East - visited the Dalai Lama's compound in Dharamsala to meet each other and discuss the challenges they face in the second such event organised by the USIP. Participants say they're looking forward to building both the practical skills and the personal resilience needed to foster peace in their home countries. So how do you build peace and what can these young people learn from one of the most famous leaders in the world?
Creator/author: Dalai Lama
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera (The Stream)
Date of publication: 2017-11-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Journey towards Mrauk U World Heritage nomination
Description: With the deadline fast approaching for the submission of the World Heritage Nomination Dossier for Mrauk U in 2020, heritage experts, consultants and affiliated professionals are hard at work to finish in time. Mrauk U, the capital of the historical Arakan Kingdom in present-day Rakhine State, is an outstanding example of ancient urbanization preserving architectural remains such as forts, temples, stupas, and other structures, all of which exhibit a variety of multicultural elements. ‘First, we must protect Mrauk U heritage region,’ said Thura U Aung Ko, Minister of Religious Affairs and Culture. ‘Secondly, this protection must be in line with international standards.’ The city served as an important trading port on the Bay of Bengal between the 16th and 18th centuries. In particular, historians and experts are convinced that the power of the Mrauk U Kingdom and its crucial military and economic role in the region derived from a well-engineered water management system. Recent investigations carried out by a multi-disciplinary team lead by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture - Department of Archaeology and National Museums (DoA) and UNESCO have contributed to a better understanding of this complex engineering system. The combination of water management and defensive infrastructure including trenches, fortified walls, water gates and canals, and their strategic siting inside and outside the city, demonstrate in part why Mrauk U was such an important and powerful capital. The city is ‘an exceptional testimony to the Rakhine cultural tradition of extant and advanced water military-agrarian landscape settlement’, said Dr Shikha Jain, a Cultural Heritage expert. With the complex, continuing conflicts and rapid economic development in Rakhine State, World Heritage inscription is all the more important to help protect the site and raise awareness about the cultural and communal values at stake. While World Heritage inscriptions safeguard cultural components of the site, the local community and other sectors must benefit from nomination as well. ‘For sure, the nomination raises awareness about heritage issues, gives people pride about their legacy as well as their history and it challenges people to feel responsible for the ruins,’ said Dr Jacques P Leider, an historian and Rakhine expert from the renown Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient. ‘Rakhine people are already very proud of their heritage and the nomination can truly transform this energy into the noble aim of preserving the historical sites according to international standards.’ An additional challenge is to guarantee that the nomination will have a positive impact on the local economy to contribute to much-needed positive change in Rakhine State. In this sense, topics such as community development, tourism planning and environmental management are also addressed during the process leading to nomination as more stakeholders are brought into the conversation. To achieve long-term sustainability of Mrauk U, local authorities, relevant ministries and other participants need to coordinate their efforts. The conservation of cultural values needs to be balanced with people’s expectations, mitigating factors that may affect the site while promoting the livelihoods and development of the local community. ‘Every step of [the] planning process must be done in a transparent, inclusive and participatory manner,’ said Min Jeong Kim, Head of UNESCO Myanmar Office, adding it is necessary to avoid potential conflict and ensure that mistakes from the past are not repeated. With support from UNESCO, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, World Bank, Southeast University and other national and international experts, the DoA is coordinating the joint effort to inscribe the ancient capital on the World Heritage list.
Source/publisher: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
Date of publication: 2019-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: A BRIEF AND INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN MYANMAR FROM 2010 TO 2018
Creator/author: Gert Rosenthal
Source/publisher: Office of the UN Secretary General
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 278.04 KB
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Title: UN chief accepts independent report on Myanmar, highlighting ‘systemic’ failure surrounding Rohingya crisis
Creator/author: Knut Ostby
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2019-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 277.67 KB
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Title: UNDP and Rakhine State Government sign 2nd Letter of Agreement confirming support to Township Democratic Local Governance Project
Description: A 2nd Letter of Agreement (LoA) was signed by Peter Batchelor, UNDP Resident Representative and H.E. U Kyaw Aye Thein, Minister for Finance, Revenue, Planning and Economics of Rakhine State Government to implement 19 infrastructure projects selected in the UNDP supported participatory township planning process for 2019/20 fiscal year. The total amount covered in the LoA 2,959,202,360 Kyats is provided by the Government of Japan and is part of a larger support to Rakhine State. The funds provided are reflected in Rakhine State’s budget and earmarked for township development projects. The projects, from bridges and road constructions, to new schools and health centers, have been identified by the people and their representatives through a series of participatory planning workshops with the Township Planning and Implementation Committees and technical support from UNDP. The project which started in 2018, is now in its second phase. The five townships (Gwa, Ponnagyun, Thandwe, Toungup and Ramree) were selected in close consultations with the State Government, the Hluttaw and the various communities in Rakhine as suitable townships for this approach which empowers township officials to systematically include people in prioritization of development projects in their township. The LoA confirms commitment of the Rakhine State Government to continue its support for a more inclusive and participatory township planning and local decision making. UNDPs Township Democratic Local Governance project also cover 10 townships in Mon State and 5 townships in Bago region.
Creator/author: Peter Batchelor, H.E. U Kyaw Aye Thein
Source/publisher: UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
Date of publication: 2019-06-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Case Study: Central and Northern Rakhine State Case Study: Revisiting emergency response and recovery projects in disaster and conflict affected communities
Description: "ES1 The Rakhine case study contributes to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Myanmar Country Programme Evaluation (CPE) from 2011 to 2016. This case study seeks to provide a collective picture of FAO emergency response interventions in Rakhine State over the course of the programme period under review and inform future emergency and recovery programming in the region...ES2 Central and northern Rakhine State (NRS) experienced recurrent natural disasters and several intercommunity conflicts. The region’s population is generally divided into two major religious groups further characterized by their ethnic origins. These differences, in addition to other factors, have resulted in violent confrontations beginning in 2012, causing loss of life and destruction of farms and infrastructure. Floods, mudslides and cyclones along with the sporadic violence have displaced many households over the years. Those who remain in their villages face similar risks, with limited attention and support services...ES3 The study covered six emergency and recovery/rehabilitation projects where FAO responded to humanitarian emergencies brought about by disasters or conflict from 2011 to 2015 in six townships in central and northern Rakhine State. This includes: Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk U, and Sittwe. The study involved review of project documents and consultations with various stakeholders in Rakhine, and interviews with beneficiary households and communities...ES4 FAO’s response provided seeds for rice, pulses, ground nut, and vegetable, fertilizers, bio-pesticides and agricultural inputs, livestock (cattle, goats, poultry), fishing gears and equipment, rehabilitation of infrastructure, training in improved agro-technological and livestock production...ES5 There is general positive feedback on the inputs provided by FAO in various projects gathered from post-distribution surveys and group discussions. Among the positive characteristics are the good quality in the rice, legume and vegetable seeds, fertilizers and livestock (cattle and buffalo are more preferred for farming)...ES6 FAO’s strong partnership with the government provided needed support for its activities. However, there is general weakness in FAO’s partnership with other development agencies and civil society organization in Rakhine...ES7 The impact of FAO’s intervention has been in preventing farmers from spiralling into further debt; however, the positive impact of FAO’s support remains short-term due to the recurring shocks faced by communities over the course of a year. A number of the project areas were beset with landslides, floods and saltwater intrusion due to strong wind and rains during or immediately after project implementation...ES8 There is conscious effort in FAO implementation to target women, female headed households and vulnerable groups with limited economic opportunities, especially in the distribution of poultry and small ruminants. Communities appreciate the specific targeting of landless, women and elderly...ES9 The impact of FAO’s intervention has been in preventing farmers from spiralling into further debt. FAO-assisted communities have been more stable and are more able to re-engage in their farming activities following shocks...ES10 FAO should explore developing a Rakhine programme focusing on building resilience of Rakhine and Muslim agriculture communities. Through a programmatic approach, FAO could address immediate and medium-term needs around emergencies and shocks while addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability and contributing to social cohesion and peacebuilding over the long-term..."
Source/publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Date of publication: 2017-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.47 MB
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Title: Life-saving assistance for conflict affected people in Northern Rakhine
Description: "A series of events prompted by the armed attacks against the Myanmar border security forces by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on 25 August 2017 in the northern part of Rakhine State, precipitated a massive movement of Muslims and other ethnic minority groups making the current situation in Northern Rakhine as one of the fast-growing humanitarian crises in the history. As a result, it is estimated that approximately 700 000 refugees had crossed the border into Bangladesh. People who remained in their villages are facing substantial hardships, including significantly reduced access to markets and agricultural land, which have created a compounding negative effect on their livelihoods and increased the need for immediate humanitarian assistance. While the majority of humanitarian actors active in Northern Townships of Rakhine State focused on provision of immediate food assistance, FAO and its implementing partners MHDO and LBVD supported the local agriculture productions to stabilize and increase the availability of foods..."
Source/publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Date of publication: 2018-06-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 505.29 KB
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Title: UN & Asean Continue To Exclude Rohingya Refugee Voices
Description: "Yesterday AFP media reported a leaked copy of the ASEAN Preliminary Needs Assessment for Repatriation in Rakhine State. The document is secret and we Rohingya refugees were not consulted in the assessment. The ASEAN say Myanmar will only accept 500,000 Rohingya back to Myanmar but there are over 1 million of us living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. The experts in the UN IFFM report last year said 725,000 Rohingya fled violence and persecution in Myanmar in 2017 and 2018. So we want to ask what will ASEAN and Myanmar do about other 500,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladsh? The ASEAN report congratulate Myanmar for increase the security forces in Rakhine in Rakhine State. Rohingya has been victims of genocide by Myanmar security forces for decades. What will ASEAN and Myanmar do to stop these forces from continuing the genocide against Rohingya when we return home? The ASEAN report also does not use our ethnic name: Rohingya. Many ASEAN countries like Malaysia and Indonesia visit the camp to take photo with us and call us Rohingya to our face but now they refuse to give us dignity. Why is ASEAN organization not using our ethnic name? Just like the recent extension of the Myanmar, UNDP and UNHCR secret MoU, Rohingya refugee leaders are not being consulted about the decision that directly affect our human rights. Why is it so difficult for ASEAN and the UN to consult us and respect our human rights and dignity? We know the answer to all of these three questions. ASEAN and UN view Roingya as a crisis and problem. They do not view us as human being with rights and dignity. We want to make it clear to the world that ASEAN and UNHCR do not speak on behalf of the Rohingya refugees. Rohingya refugees can speak for ourselves. There will be no repatriation without talking to us..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via " Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights"
Date of publication: 2019-06-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Wai Wai Nu, Rohingya activist: "I am not free. My community is not free. My country is not free."
Description: "Wai Wai Nu had never committed any crime, but at 18, she was told she was going to prison. She had just started law school when the sentence was handed down to her father, and by consequence, to Wai Wai, her mother, sister and brother. The family believed they would be released after a few months, but for seven years, they were forced to endure squalid, overcrowded conditions in Myanmar’s infamous Insein Prison. Her brother was sent to another prison. According to the authorities, Wai Wai’s crime was being the daughter of Kyaw Min, a school teacher and political activist from Rakhine State in western Myanmar. For the last few decades, northern Rakhine State has been the epicentre of crisis. Wai Wai’s family belongs to the marginalised Rohingya community, a community in Rakhine that continues to suffer persecution and mass displacement today. Since mid-2017, nearly one million Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. In March this year, UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet described a situation of ‘systematic discrimination and pervasive restrictions on freedom of movement’ when delivering the Office’s report to the Human Rights Council. "When the judge first gave us our sentence, I didn’t cry, I didn’t want to show my sadness or weakness. I also didn’t want my parents to feel guilty about what happened to us. But when I arrived at the prison with my mum and my sister, we cried for three days. "When we started the sentence, I had two more years of law school to go. Each day, at the time when school would have started, I felt like I was dying inside. No youth should go to prison without committing any crime. Their place is not prison, their place is at university." Wai Wai finally earned her law degree when she left prison, graduating from Yangon East University. She looks back on her time in prison describing it as her ‘life university,’ and how it was one of the main triggers for her work as a human rights defender today. "I realised how deep discrimination was towards women in all aspects of their life: access to education, to healthcare, to economy, to politics and to decision-making processes." Today she travels the world, speaking publicly on the plight of Rohingya women and girls. She was recently in Geneva, presenting to the UN’s Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. A recent report by the Committee shows an ongoing devastating situation for Rohingya women and girls, highlighting ongoing widespread atrocities– sexual violence, deprivation of nationality, restriction of freedom of movement, and a severe lack of access to healthcare, education and housing. Despite repeated requests from the UN and the international community, the report notes that there ‘has been no evidence of measures taken to effectively prevent and address the human rights violations committed.’ As one example, it says Myanmar authorities continue to deny that any sexual violence has been committed, concluding that ‘no genuine efforts’ have been taken to hold perpetrators accountable..."
Creator/author: Wai Wai Nu
Source/publisher: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication: 2019-06-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: CULTURE, CONTEXT AND MENTAL HEALTH OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES
Description: "In August 2017, a major humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine State of Myanmar triggered a mass exodus of around three-quarters of a million stateless Rohingya refugees into neighbouring Bangladesh, adding to the estimated 200,000–300,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who had fled Myanmar earlier and the estimated 73,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. Limited information is available on the culture and mental health of the Rohingya, which poses significant challenges to the provision of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and related services to this group. Therefore, UNHCR commissioned this document with the aim of providing a concise review of the literature concerning the culture, context, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Rohingya refugees. The content of the document is based on an extensive review of the published and grey literature including various sources of information provided by United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, and governments. The search included published and unpublished archival data, academic articles, documents, and other relevant documentary materials from disciplines ranging across the social sciences, anthropology, ethno-cultural studies, psychology and public health. A core group of multidisciplinary personnel wrote and reviewed draft versions of the document after which an advanced draft was sent out for wide review among academics, NGO staff and UN experts. The first part of the review provides a broad overview of the general context focusing on the historical, geographic, demographic, economic, political, religious, gender, and cultural factors relevant to the Rohingya people. The Rohingya are the largest Muslim group in Myanmar. Their history is complex, involving exposure to a long legacy of human rights violations including torture, rape, assault, extrajudicial killings, and restricted access to education and health care. Many, and probably most. Rohingya have been displaced, either within Myanmar or as refugees now residing in Bangladesh, Malaysia and other countries. The second part of the report focuses on the mental health of the Rohingya people, including the epidemiology of mental health conditions, the range of risk factors (e.g. exposure to potentially traumatic events, poverty, shortage of food, shelter, healthcare, loss of identity, being stateless, sexual and gender-based violence), and protective factors (e.g. religion, spiritual adherence and practice, formal and informal social support). This section also describes the various terms in the Rohingya language to indicate mental health conditions. These concepts are not equivalent to the psychological concepts of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder or anxiety disorder, although they could overlap to some extent overlap with them. Thus, MHPSS service providers need to clearly explain what they mean when they use international constructs of mental ill-health in conversations with Rohingya clients. Rohingya cultural idioms of distress (common modes of expressing distress within a culture or community) and explanatory models (the ways that people explain and make sense of their symptoms or illness) are closely related to religious ideas and concepts held by the person. The Rohingya worldview of the self/ person tends to distinguish between the brain (mogos/ demag), the mind-soul (dilor/foran), and the physical body (jism). It is important that MHPSS providers working with Rohingya have a global idea of these concepts since they influence the expectations and coping strategies of their Rohingya clients. The third part of the review describes the current humanitarian context, particularly in Bangladesh where multiple agencies are involved in MHPSS interventions within various sectors such as health, nutrition, education and protection (including child protection, community-based protection and prevention and response around sexual and genderbased violence – SGBV). This review highlights the importance of understanding the key sociocultural aspects of mental health and wellbeing to assist humanitarian agencies, government, and non-government organizations in providing effective culturally informed services to the Rohingya. An overarching aim in providing this information is to encourage a consistent and coordinated multi-sectoral approach to address the mental health needs of the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2018-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.21 MB
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Title: For Rohingya Refugees, There’s No Return in Sight
Description: "The Rohingya Muslims have faced persecution in Myanmar for decades. And yet no violence in their recent history has compared to that which the Myanmar military inflicted in August 2017. After militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked police and army posts in northwestern Rakhine State on August 25, the military responded by killing thousands of Rohingya civilians, raping hundreds of Rohingya women and girls, and burning entire villages to the ground. In the course of a little more than three months, more than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee for their lives to Bangladesh. Myanmar authorities claimed they had conducted a “clearance operation” to rid the country of militants. In reality, they were fulfilling a long-standing dream of Myanmar’s Buddhist nationalists: the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslims. The refugees joined hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who were already in Bangladesh seeking refuge after previous attacks, bringing the total to 1.2 million. Today, more Rohingya live as refugees than remain in Myanmar. Bangladesh and humanitarian organizations are struggling to provide for the needs of refugees, while Myanmar refuses to take the steps necessary to ensure the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingya to their homes in Rakhine State. International attention to the plight of the Rohingya has waned, even as the Myanmar military continues to terrorize those who remain in Rakhine State. Many Rohingya in the camps in Bangladesh say that they fear they will soon be forgotten..."
Creator/author: Meenakshi Ganguly, Brad Adams
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-06-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UNICEF Myanmar Humanitarian Situation Report #4 - April 2019
Description: "During the month of April, the unilateral ceasefire called by the Myanmar Military in December for four months and then extended through June generally continued to hold in all areas of the country except Rakhine. In Kachin, this ceasefire has led to a relatively longer period of calm than has been experienced in several years. While this is a positive step forward, UNICEF and other humanitarian actors continue to have difficulty accessing different population groups—for assessment or response activities; this is particularly true in areas not under government control. In Shan State, though military action taken by Myanmar armed forces has halted, fighting and conflict among different armed ethnic groups continues to cause small-scale displacement for communities. Many of these communities have been displaced multiple times. While local communities are among the first to respond and support displaced populations, they have noted to humanitarian colleagues that their ability to provide assistance is becoming strained as resources are stretched due to the increasing frequency of displacement. In Rakhine State, fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA) continued in April causing a near doubling of displaced people. Impacted townships include Mrauk-U, Minbya, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Rathedaung and Buthidaung and impacts mostly ethnic Rakhine populations, though Rohingya and other minority groups have also been affected. In Chin State, the number of IDPs in Paletwa township also doubled in April. Sixteen international non-governmental organizations released a statement on 1 April urging all parties to the conflict to ensure protection of civilian and be provided with unfettered and sustained access to all affected populations. The statement further identifies that at least 95,000 people living in the affected areas are unable to access basic and essential services which could jeopardize their health, food security and wellbeing. The Government of Myanmar, local communities, the Red Cross Movement, and the World Food Programme (WFP) continue to be the providers of first response but are calling for an increase in the number of nationals and international organizations to be allowed to access populations in need. With the onset of the rainy season, agencies are particularly concerned about the potential for disease outbreaks and contamination due to overcrowded, poor shelters in some locations, and a lack of required services. Support to over 128,000 Rohingya IDPs in camps in central Rakhine continues..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
Date of publication: 2019-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1003.43 KB
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Japan will stay beside Bangladesh
Description: Terming the prevailing situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state complicated, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Hiroyasu Izumi has said his country will stay beside the host country for immediate resolution into the crisis. “Japan is beside Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue and it will continue its supports resolving the crisis,” Izumi said while addressing a press conference at his Baridhara residence in Dhaka yesterday evening. "Claiming that Myanmar Army has been fighting against the Arakan Army for nearly two years after the exodus of Rohingyas to Bangladesh, the ambassador said the overall situation in Rakhine state has become more complicated than before. Responding to a query on whether Japan would put any pressure on Myanmar to smooth repatriation of Rohingyas, Izumi said, “Only pressure is not enough. Dialogue with Myanmar is a must to put an end to the crisis”. About safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas, he said, “We will support and advocate for the implementation of Kofi Annan Commission’s report resolving the Rohingya crisis. Earlier on June 5 and 6, Izumi along with a popular Japanese football player and Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF Japan, Makato Hasebe, visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Addressing the press conference, Makato Hasebe said he was surprised to see that so many children in the refugee camps are being deprived of the rights of education. The world community should come forward to help in ensuring the education of the Rohingya children, said the internationally famed footballer..."
Creator/author: Hiroyasu Izumi
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-06-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya Refugee Crisis - WHO Bangladesh Bi-Weekly Situation Report #11, 09 June 2019
Description: "There are an estimated 911 359 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, according to the latest ISCG situation report (April 2019). This includes 34 172 refugees from Myanmar who registered before 31st August 2017. All refugees, including new arrivals, face compounding vulnerabilities, including in health. WHO has been responding to this crisis since September 2017. A summary of response actions from epidemiological weeks 21 and 22 of 2019 is presented below by WHO functions..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via World Health Organization (WHO)
Date of publication: 2019-06-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 932.59 KB
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Title: Rohingya refugees: an urgent need for quality education (video)
Description: "More than half of all refugees living in the Rohingya settlements in Cox’s Bazar, south-eastern Bangladesh are children under the age of 18. Currently, approximately 36% of Rohingya children aged 3-14, and 91% of young people still lack access to any learning opportunities in the overcrowded refugee sites. Many Rohingya children also lacked schooling in Myanmar. They and their parents are eager to have more and better quality education opportunities which can give them the skills to help rebuild their communities in the future..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-06-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: (English subtitles
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Title: Rakhine And Rohingya Civilians Continue To Suffer Most From Rakhine Conflict
Description: "Burma Human Rights Network remains extremely alarmed by the number of civilian casualties and injuries suffered by members of various ethnic groups in the areas of conflict between the Burmese Army and the ethnic armed group, the Arakan Army. Civilians have been killed or maimed by guns, landmines, and artillery shells with near silence from the international community. Among those casualties are Rakhine, Rohingya and Chin civilians. As of now, nearly 40, 000 civilians in Rakhine have been displaced due to this conflict. “The fighting between the Burmese Army and the Arakan Army has significantly harmed the communities of all ethnic groups living in the region. As minorities their lives are too often treated as less valuable to the military. It is imperative that Rohingya and Rakhine can achieve some unity now to amplify their voices to call for peace and that the international community acts to help them do so,” said BHRN Executive Director Kyaw Win. Between March of 2019 and today, BHRN believes that at least 35 civilians have died in the conflict based on confirmed ground sources and news reporting, though this number is a conservative estimate. Among the dead were five children and at least two elderly individuals. All of these deaths were the result of direct violence such as gunshots, artillery shelling, landmines, or aerial bombardments and do not include deaths which may have occurred due to sickness or starvation resulting from displacement. It is worth noting that the Burmese Military has not utilized the same scorched earth policy against civilians they deployed against the Rohingya in response to Rohingya militant attacks in 2016 and 201 but the disregard for civilian life while using heavy artillery, aerial bombardments, and landmines remains excessive and deadly. On top of deaths and injuries, Rohingya continue to frequently find themselves unable to seek medical help due to travel restrictions imposed on them by the Government and NGO access during the conflict is extremely limited. At the same time, reports are now emerging that Chin civilians are being forced to serve as porters in the conflict by the Burmese army, a serious human rights violation. In this conflict the Burmese Military continues to show disregard for International Law and guiding principles and norms. In particular, the Military has clearly violated the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 3 which guarantees the right of life liberty and security of person, Article 4 which prohibits slavery or servitude, Article 5 which prohibits the use of torture, Article 9 which prohibits arbitrary detention, and Article 13 which assures freedom of movement. The Burmese military have also disregarded the Principle of Proportionality which states, “Before launching an attack there is an obligation to assess whether or not the impact on the civilian population is excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.” Finally, the Military is operating in defiance of the ASEAN Charter Article 2 2(I) and 2(J) which call for the protection of human rights and upholding of International Humanitarian Law. The Burmese Government must be reminded that these cases should be referred to the International Criminal Court and that the civilian government also bears responsibility for the military operations taking place in Rakhine State. While the National League for Democracy has often escaped blame for Military operations, their continued enabling, excusing, and minimising of the violence of the military has made them culpable as well. These instances should be pertinent to the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and when conducting further military actions Burma should be aware that any crimes are being monitored and documented. BHRN calls upon the international community to increase pressure on the Burmese Military to cease the conflict in Rakhine State and immediately end arbitrary attacks on civilians and the use of heavy weapons in civilian areas. The international community must impose targeted sanctions on the Military’s economic interests, including businesses connected to senior military and known cronies. An arms embargo against the Burmese Military is also necessary and requires the participation of all ethical governments. Simultaneously, the Arakan Army must stop the use of landmines and IEDs in or near civilian areas. Unimpeded access for NGOs must be granted and all residents in Rakhine State must be allowed freedom of movement, especially in order to obtain medical treatment..."
Creator/author: Kyaw Win
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "Burma Human Rights Network"
Date of publication: 2019-05-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar military committing war crimes in Rakhine: Amnesty
Description: "The same units of the Myanmar military that in 2017 were implicated in a brutal crackdown that drove hundreds of thousands of mainly Muslim Rohingya from the country are again committing war crimes as they step up their campaign against ethnic Rakhine rebels, Amnesty International has said. The conflict in western Myanmar's Rakhine state escalated in January after 13 police officers were killed in a co-ordinated attack by the Arakan Army, prompting the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi to order the armed forces to "crush" the group, which recruits from the largely-Buddhist ethnic Rakhine community. In a new report on Wednesday, Amnesty said its investigations showed war crimes and human rights violations were being committed by soldiers from the Rakhine-based Western Command, which was also implicated in atrocities against the Rohingya in August 2017. Victims also identified soldiers from the Myanmar Army's 22nd and 55th Light Infantry Divisions, units that usually operate in other parts of the country. Rebels clash with Myanmar forces, thousands displaced (2:30) "Less than two years since the world outrage over the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya population, the Myanmar military is again committing horrific abuses against ethnic groups in Rakhine state," Nicholas Bequelin, regional director for East and Southeast Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement. "The new operations in Rakhine state show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorising civilians and committing widespread violations as a deliberate tactic." More than 730,000 Rohingya, a minority ethnic group denied citizenship by Myanmar, were driven into Bangladesh in the bloody crackdown in 2017. A United Nations fact-finding mission has called for the prosecution of top Myanmar generals for crimes against humanity and genocide over the violence..."
Creator/author: Kate Mayberry
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Military commits war crimes in latest operation in Rakhine State
Description: "The report examines the period of intense military operations that followed coordinated attacks on police posts by the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group, on 4 January 2019. The new operation followed a government instruction to ‘crush’ the AA. “Less than two years since the world outrage over the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya population, the Myanmar military is again committing horrific abuses against ethnic groups in Rakhine State” said Nicholas Bequelin, Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia at Amnesty International. “The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorizing civilians and committing widespread violations as a deliberate tactic.” Amnesty International conducted 81 interviews, including 54 interviews on the ground in Rakhine State in late March 2019 and 27 remote interviews with people living in conflict-affected areas. They included ethnic Rakhine, Mro, Rohingya and Khami villagers, belonging to the Buddhist, Christian and Muslim faiths. The organization also reviewed photographs, videos and satellite imagery, and interviewed humanitarian officials, human rights activists and other experts. While ethnic Rakhine communities have long fostered political grievances against Myanmar’s central government, the AA is led by a younger generation of ethnic Rakhine nationalists. Today the AA is estimated to have a fighting force of up to 7,000 troops. Established in 2009, it has fought alongside other ethnic armed organizations in northern Myanmar and in recent years has clashed sporadically with the military in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin State. Fighting intensified in late 2018..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: MYANMAR: "NO ONE CAN PROTECT US": WAR CRIMES AND ABUSES IN MYANMAR'S RAKHINE STATE
Description: "On 4 January 2019 the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic Rakhine armed group, launched coordinated attacks on four police posts in northern Rakhine State, killing 13 police officers and injuring nine others. The attacks – which came after months of low-level yet steadily increasing clashes between the group and the Myanmar military – triggered a major escalation in the conflict. Since then, Rakhine State – the site of the military’s horrific attacks on the Rohingya population in October and November 2016, and again from August 2017 – has plunged further into crisis. Days after the AA attacks, a government spokesperson announced that the military, officially known as the Tatmadaw, had been instructed to “crush” the AA. The military deployed additional combat division troops to the region, and the authorities suspended humanitarian access for most UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations. In the months that have followed, the fighting has intensified with regular clashes between the two parties. As is so often the case in Myanmar, civilians have paid the heaviest cost. This briefing documents violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses in Rakhine State since 4 January 2019, the overwhelming majority of which have been committed by the Myanmar military. It is based on research undertaken between January and May 2019, including 81 interviews with people directly affected by the conflict, 54 of which were done in-person in Rakhine State in March 2019 and another 27 by telephone. In addition, Amnesty International interviewed local and international humanitarian officials; local human rights activists; and journalists covering the conflict. The organization also reviewed photographs and videos related to human rights violations and analysed satellite imagery of the affected areas. Amnesty International’s research found that the military has fired indiscriminately in civilian areas, killing and injuring civilians and damaging homes and other property. Compounding the situation, soldiers have at times obstructed access to medical treatment for civilians injured by such attacks. In late January, a seven-yearold ethnic Rakhine boy died after a mortar exploded in Tha Mee Hla village, Rathedaung Township, during fighting between the AA and Myanmar military. Although he was severely injured, it took several hours before soldiers gave his family permission to take him to a hospital; he died the following day. In another incident in early April, a helicopter opened fire on Rohingya workers cutting bamboo in the forest close to the Sai Din waterfall in Buthidaung Township, killing at least six civilians and injuring at least 13 more. An ethnic Rohingya man who was severely injured during the attacks told Amnesty International, “The helicopter came from behind the mountain. Within minutes it fired rockets… I was running for my life thinking about my family and how I would survive..." .....“၂၀၁၉ ခုနှစ်၊ ဇန်နဝါရီလ ၄ ရက်နေ့တွင် ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်မတော် (အေအေ) က ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်မြောက်ပိုင်းရှိ ရဲစခန်းလေးခုကို တစ်ပြိုင်တည်း တိုက်ခိုက်ခဲ့သဖြင့် ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့ဝင် ၁၃ ဦးသေဆုံးပြီး ကိုးဦးဒဏ်ရာရခဲ့သည်။ ပြီးခဲ့သည့်လပေါင်းများစွာကတည်းက အေအေအဖွဲ့နှင့် မြန်မာ့တပ်မတော်တို့အကြား တိုက်ပွဲလေးများ တစတစတိုးမြှင့်ဖြစ်ပွါးနေခဲ့ရာမှ ယခုတိုက်ခိုက်မှုကြောင့် တိုက်ပွဲ၏အရှိန်အဟုန် ကြီးမားစွာ ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာခဲ့သည်။ ယင်းအချိန်မှစ၍ ၂၀၁၆ အောက်တိုဘာလနှင့် တစ်ဖန် ၂၀၁၇ သြဂုတ်လမှစတင်ပြီး ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအပေါ်စစ်တပ်က ရက်စက်စွာတိုက်ခိုက်ခဲ့သော ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင် ကြီးမားသော ပဌိပက္ခကြီးတစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာခဲ့သည်။ အေအေ၏တိုက်ခိုက်မှု ပေါ်ပေါက်ခဲ့ပြီး ရက်ပိုင်းအတွင်းမှာပင်…”
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/0417/2019)
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : PDF PDF pdf pdf
Size: 1.78 MB 342.47 KB 1.35 MB 334.29 KB
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Title: Will Human Rights turn around in 2019?
Description: "2018 has been a difficult year for human rights in South Asia. Crackdowns on the Right to Freedom of Expression intensified across the region. Enforced disappearances continued to scar communities in Pakistan and Bangladesh; civilian casualties remained at record highs in Afghanistan, civil society organisations continued to be harassed and shut down in almost every country. Journalists continued to be targeted, members of the political opposition were arbitrarily arrested, religious and ethnic minority groups and Indigenous Peoples continued to be demonised. The year began with the tragic news of the death of one of the region’s strongest, most prominent and fearless voices for human rights, the Pakistani lawyer and activist Asma Jahangir. For decades, she exemplified the struggles of millions in South Asia—and her loss came at a time when she was perhaps needed the most: blasphemy-related violence and violent protests threatening the lives of religious minorities intensified in Pakistan. The space to speak freely shrank dramatically, with a pall of fear descending over newsrooms where self-censorship is routinely exercised while social media users came under attack from the authorities. In India, under the regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, impunity for human rights violations continued to flourish. Attacks on religious minorities and marginalised communities have not just become a threat, but also a norm in the new India. The authorities continue to remain openly critical of human rights defenders and organisations, often contributing to a climate of hostility against them. The government has failed to credibly investigate and at times even acknowledge the attacks..."
Creator/author: Biraj Patnaik
Source/publisher: Amnesty International
Date of publication: 2019-01-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rights group accuses Tatmadaw of war crimes in Rakhine State
Description: "Amnesty International has accused the Tatmadaw of committing war crimes in its operation against the Arakan Army in Rakhine State and has called on United Nations Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. The global rights watchdog issues the call in “No one can protect us”: War crimes and abuses in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, a 46-page report issued on May 29. Amnesty says that intensified fighting between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army since January has been accompanied by indiscriminate attacks, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances. “Less than two years since the world outrage over the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya population, the Myanmar military is again committing horrific abuses against ethnic groups in Rakhine State,” Amnesty’s regional director for East and Southeast Asia, Mr Nicholas Bequelin, said in a statement ahead of the report’s release. “The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorizing civilians and committing widespread violations as a deliberate tactic,” he said. Frontier was unable to reach Tatmadaw spokespeople for comment on Wednesday. The report, which notes that the fighting intensified after a government order to “crush” the AA following its deadly attacks on security posts on January 4, Union Day, also calls on the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar. “With Myanmar’s military committing atrocities as brazenly as ever, it’s clear international pressure needs to intensify,” Bequelin said. “Again and again, the international community has failed to stop the Myanmar military’s crimes and protect the civilian population. The Security Council was established to respond to exactly these kinds of situations, it’s time it took its responsibility seriously,” he said. Many of the violations documented in the report were committed by troops from the Tatmadaw’s 22nd and 55th Light Infantry Divisions, identified by their distinctive shoulder patches. “The decision to deploy these units, which are usually based in other parts of Myanmar, could only have come from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, suggesting that the current operation against the AA is being overseen at the highest levels of the Myanmar military,” the report said. It alleged that other violations were committed by soldiers from units under the Western Command, the regional military command based in Rakhine State “which has been implicated in atrocities against the Rohingya population”. “The fact that violations – including war crimes – have been committed not only by units long based in Rakhine State and associated with previous atrocities, but also by newly-deployed units, highlights the institutionalised and systemic nature of military abuse in Myanmar,” the report said. “Even after the significant international attention of recent years, the Myanmar military has shown no sign of reform. On the contrary, and as this report shows, it appears intent on repeating a decades-old pattern of discrimination and violence,” Amnesty said. Amnesty said it conducted 81 interviews for the report, including 54 on the ground in Rakhine, and spoke to Rakhine, Mro, Rohingya and Khami villagers, belonging to the Buddhist, Christian and Muslim faiths..."
Source/publisher: Frontier Myanmar
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 31 May 2019
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 574.56 KB
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Title: Life After Conflict: Healing the Environmental Wounds of War | earthrise - (video)
Description: "Life After Conflict: Healing the Environmental Wounds of War: earthrise looks at ways of healing one of the silent and often forgotten casualties of war – the environment. In conflict, one of the silent and forgotten casualties is often the environment. From the chemical contamination of soils with chemicals, and the collapse of water and food supplies, to the habitat damage caused by displacement, war has devastating consequences. Not only man-made infrastructures but also natural ecosystems are destroyed and lives lost. But even amid the most vicious struggles, there are people fighting to protect the world we live in and recover what was lost. "Protection of the environment is a norm. It's something which we do, where are standards in place. Yet, during conflict, it is almost as if anything goes. You can cause whatever damage you like and there is no accountability, there's no redress," says Doug Weir, director, The Conflict and Environment Observatory The Rohingya and the elephants In August 2017, a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing began in Myanmar. The military and armed fighters claimed the lives of more than 6,000 Rohingya in just one month. Fearing death, thousands more fled the country for the forests of Bangladesh. The scale of the exodus was enormous, and today they are still unable to return home. Over 1.2 million refugees are living in the sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh. When they arrived, they were unaware that the forest in which they took shelter was already occupied - by wild elephants. Shortly after they settled, elephants began to rampage through the camp, killing 13 people in the space of five months. "All the camps used to be forest, they used to be elephant habitat," says Raquib Amin, an IUCN Bangladesh representative. "There is a space we call elephant corridor ... since the camp, [we are] completely blocking that corridor. Elephants cannot pass through the camp ... it is in search of its shelter, its food, its migration path." earthrise travelled to Kutupalong Camp in Bangladesh to find out how the Rohingya are learning to live with their elephant neighbours and how they are saving lives, both human and elephant, in the process. Saving Syria's Seed Bank In Lebanon, ICARDA seed bank, where seeds are saved from a bank in Aleppo, Syria, is helping scientists develop new pest and weather resistant crops. Crop diversity, which is so essential for food security, has declined by three quarters since the 1900s. The world's insurance policy is a network of 1,750 seed banks which safeguard plant biodiversity and can be turned to in times of crisis. But conflict can make even the seed banks themselves vulnerable. "It became impossible to access the gene bank in October 2015 because we were banned from accessing the centre by the armed group controlling the area," says Syrian seed conservationist Ali Shehadeh. "They stole the vehicles, they stole a lot of equipment ... nothing was left in the headquarters except the building and the gene bank." We meet a remarkable team of scientists who have fled the horrors of the Syrian war and are rebuilding the ICARDA seed bank in the heart of the fertile crescent where agriculture began..."
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-05-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: President’s Office Says It Had No Role in Release of Rohingya Massacre Soldiers
Description: "Seven soldiers jailed by the military for killing 10 Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2017 were released under the military justice system and not by presidential pardon, a spokesman for the Myanmar President’s Office said Friday. The four officers and three soldiers were dismissed from the military and sentenced to 10 years with hard labor at a remote prison in April last year for their participation in the massacre, the military announced at the time. However, they were released in November 2018, after serving less than one year, under a pardon authorized by the military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. At a press conference in Naypyitaw, President’s Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay said, “They have been released according to military justice,” when asked by The Irrawaddy whether the Army informed the President’s Office about the release in advance. “It’s not by presidential pardon,” he said. Along with the soldiers, three policemen and six villagers were also arrested. U Zaw Htay said one of the police officers, Police Private Zwe Maung Maung, who received a three-year sentence for his involvement in the incident, was also released, after serving one year and seven months. “He submitted an appeal and was released on May 8, one day after the Reuters journalists were set free,” he said, referring to two local journalists working for the news agency who were arrested for investigating the incident early last year. Both Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo walked free on a presidential pardon early this month after serving 16 months behind bars. However, the spokesperson didn’t mention the fate of the other two policemen and villagers other than to say that “villager U Tun Aye is still serving his five-year prison sentence.” Myanmar military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that the soldiers were found not to have had any intention to kill, but their actions were simply not in line with procedures while serving in a time of conflict. He added that given the soldiers’ dutifulness during their time in the Army, and in consideration of a petition filed on their behalf by a group of people including monks, the military chief reduced their prison sentence from 10 years to one year with hard labor in accordance with military justice. In Myanmar, the Constitution grants the military chief the final say in questions of military justice, stating that “the decision of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services is final and conclusive.”.."
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
Date of publication: 2019-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya crisis a lesson for world
Description: "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the Rohingya crisis is a lesson for other situations of crises in the region and elsewhere in the world to overcome chaos with the power of peace, humanity and development. “We have sought dialogue and consensus over discord, even in the face of extreme provocation and crisis. We are not only responding to a humanitarian call, but we’re also aware about not allowing the crisis to escalate into chaos and regional instability,” she said. The PM was delivering her keynote speech at the 25th International Nikkei Conference on Future of Asia at Imperial Hotel here yesterday with the theme “Seeking a New Global order - Overcoming the Chaos”. Hasina said despite having extreme limitations, Bangladesh offered shelter to over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas as a responsible nation. “The future of the world lies in convergence of interests common to humanity. As a member of the global community, Bangladesh will continue to work with all friends and partners to ensure a stable and sustainable world order for our future generations.” The PM shared some of her ideas with the Asian leaders to make a better Asia. “Today’s world is confronted with challenges and conflicts in many ways. We need to pledge to strengthen the world with greater openness, jointly address global challenges, safeguard fairness and justice and inject new impetus to cooperate using innovative ideas and measures.” Economies should take innovative practices surpassing alliances, Hasina said, adding that partnerships need to build on mutual trust and respect, common development and prosperity for a win-win strategy and to the benefit of people. She said Asian countries need to cooperate with each other in the spirit of openness, inclusiveness, equality, sharing benefits and joint contributions. Asia’s future would depend on sustainable and balanced development, improving international order and establishing win-win international relations, the PM observed. Mentioning that human civilisations flourished despite having suffered the horrors of war and the scourges of nature, the premier said she was confident that the daunting challenges confronting human civilisations would ultimately produce a positive outcome through strong, rational and responsible leadership and through partnerships among nations. In this regard, she firmly said the power of humanity and positive forces is bound to prevail. “The global community is looking up to us, the rising Asia, to innovate, aspire, and lead the world towards continued peace and prosperity.” Hasina said despite positive experience, the growing trend of trade protectionism has been seen in recent years. On the other hand, Asia has long been in support of liberalising trade and investment. Forthright, the protectionist move from many countries may eventually lead to a worldwide trade tension. “It’s a simple economics that tariff rise will cause decline in GDP growth.” The PM hoped that the Nikkei Forum would suggest how to strengthen the cooperation between the Asian countries and how to deal with protectionism within multilateral trading regime. Putting emphasis on UN system and multilateralism, she said, “Our emphasis has always been to promote peace and progress that would directly benefit people. In a multi-polar world, we would strive to strengthen the UN system and multilateralism for all countries.” Increasing close interdependence among economies in Asia and beyond would add further wealth to the economies and societies. Cross-border movement of goods and people cause exchange of a wide range of knowledge and experience and ideas, Hasina told the programme. “It is the dynamism of connectivity that forms the cornerstone for peace and prosperity around the world. Infrastructure, free trade and liberal investment give foundation to Asian development.” The premier said the unprecedented levels of wealth and opportunity, rising life expectancy, greater access to education, falling infant mortality and reductions in absolute poverty have been witnessed in recent years. Laying emphasis on facing development challenges collectively, Hasina said, “We may pool together as a group to boost world peace and stability, promote a multi-polar world and protect legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.” Terming private sector the main engine of Bangladesh’s economy, she said her government attaches utmost priority to private entrepreneurship and investments, both domestic and foreign. She said Bangladesh has one of the most liberal foreign investment regimes in South Asia, which includes legal protection of foreign investment, generous tax policy schemes and concessionary duty on import of machinery. “We also offer 100 percent foreign equity, unrestricted and full repatriation of dividend and capital on exit. We enjoy preferential access to most of the leading world markets, including the EU, Canada, and Japan. All these generate significant incentive for global investors, and we’re witnessing growing interest from foreign investors,” she said..."
Creator/author: Minister Sheikh Hasina
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UN REFUGEE CHIEF VISITS MYANMAR THIS WEEK
Description: "The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, began his five-day visit to Myanmar this morning. This is the first visit by the head of the UN Refugee Agency to Myanmar since August 2017. Grandi is scheduled to spend the first two days in Myanmar’s Rakhine State where he will visit communities in Sittwe, and the northern townships and will meet with state and district officials. Later in the week, the UN refugee chief is scheduled meet senior Myanmar Government officials in the capital Nay Pyi Taw. This week’s visit to Myanmar comes on the heels of the High Commissioner’s mission to Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh at the end of April. More than 900,000 stateless Rohingya refugees currently live in crowded settlements in Cox’s Bazar, of whom an estimated 741,000 fled from Myanmar since August 2017. In the course of his stay in Myanmar, Grandi will follow up on a range of issues raised by refugees from Myanmar and will discuss Myanmar’s efforts to find comprehensive and durable solutions to the crisis in Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "The UN Refugee Agency"
Date of publication: 2019-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Tokyo stands by Bangladesh over Rohingya repatriation issue
Description: "According to the statement delivered following their talks at the Japanese premier’s office, the two leaders discussed finding a “durable and early solution” to the protracted Rohingya crisis erupted with the displacement of over a million Rohingya populations from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina appreciated Japanese realization of the gravity of the crisis as “Prime Minister Abe and I discussed finding a durable and early solution to the humanitarian and political crisis”. “Japan understands that the solution to this crisis lies in the early, safe and dignified return of this displaced people to their homeland Myanmar and it is necessary for Myanmar to create conducive atmosphere in Rakhine State of Myanmar for the return of the displaced people,” she said. Sheikh Hasina thanked the Japanese government for their generous support to Dhaka in handling the crisis, and for their efforts to support early repatriation of the forcibly displaced people to Myanmar. The prime minister said she and Abe reiterated their commitment to take Bangladesh-Japan relations to new heights of cooperation and partnership..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya crisis ‘our problem’ too, says SKorea actor Jung
Description: "“The refugee issue is not only their problem, it is our problem,” Jung told a group of reporters during an interview held at the office of the UNHCR in central Seoul. “When I say ‘we,’ it could be taken as a limited meaning, but it is a problem (for all) of humanity and we belong to it.” Jung, who has been a UNHCR honorary ambassador since 2014, visited the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh from May 19-23. An estimated 910,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Rakhine state in northern Myanmar and now live outside Myanmar. About 55 percent are under the age of 17. The Rohingya are denied citizenship by Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country that sees them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. This has led to the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis. “In other refugee camps, they had hope that they could go back home. But Rohingya refugees had doubts about whether they could go back to the land (where) they feel at home. They are the ones who are in the most devastating and appalling situations,” Jung said. What frustrates Rohingya refugees the most is the lack of access to education for their children, he said. Acknowledging that a political solution is needed to end the ongoing crisis, Jung said the burden should not lie solely on the Bangladeshi government. “Economically developed countries in Asia, such as South Korea, should more proactively perceive (the problem), sympathize and continue to give support,” he said. “We cannot leave Bangladesh, Myanmar and Rohingya Muslims with the burden of finding a solution.” Jung also stressed the role of Koreans and the Korean government. Recalling how South Korea rose from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War with the help of the international community, Jung said, “I think we, who are living in the contemporary world, should take more interest in the refugee issue.” He also expressed concerns about the hateful anti-refugee sentiment that exists within Korean society, as well as the government’s proposal to toughen the Refugee Act. “We are giving temporary opportunities for them to stand on their own feet while protecting their dignity because they are people who are in difficulty,” he said. “Toughening the act would be about controlling, alienating and managing refugees, which is far from the purpose of the act.” After all, every refugee is an individual who dreams of the lives all Koreans dream of, he said. As a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR, Jung has visited refugee camps in Nepal, South Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Malaysia and Bangladesh. His book, “If You Could See What I Have Seen,” based on his five years with the refugee agency, is set to be published next month..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya repatriation: UNHCR, UNDP signs extension of MoU with Myanmar
Description: "The MoU was first signed in Naypyiday on June 6 last year, which has been extended for one more year. The MoU provides a framework of cooperation to create improved and resilient livelihoods for all communities living in northern Rakhine state, according to a press release. All the parties – UNHCR, UNDP and Myanmar’s Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population – have reaffirmed their full commitment to the timely and effective implementation of the MoU, it said. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a deal on repatriation of the Rohingya in November, three months after some 750,000 Rohingya had fled military crackdown by the Myanmar military. Repatriation was scheduled to start in November last year, but the Rohingyas did not agree, saying the conditions in Myanmar were not conducive. Talking about the extension of the tripartite MoU, Ro Nay San Lwin, coordinator of Free Rohingya Coalition, a worldwide network of Rohingya diaspora, said to The Daily Star that it is regrettable that the UN is cooperating with Myanmar, which is not doing anything to improve the conditions of Rakhine for their return. “UN agencies have not even consulted the Rohingyas, the survivors of genocide,” he told The Daily Star from Germany over phone. There is no guarantee of safety of the Rohingya or their citizenship there. The genocide survivors cannot return to a country under such conditions, he said, demanding that the UN should expose these to the world..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Find lasting solution to Rohingya crisis
Description: "Planning Minister MA Mannan yesterday urged the international community to find a permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis. He said the recent influx of more than one million Rohingyas from Myanmar was a considerable stress on Bangladesh’s development efforts. “I call upon the international community to come forward in support of these forcibly displaced people and to devise a permanent solution to this problem,” he said. He was addressing a session at the 75th annual conference of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap) in Bangkok, Thailand. The minister said Bangladesh was one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change although its contribution to the global carbon emission was almost zero. He said disasters caused by climate change were creating extreme poverty in the country, posing a threat to people’s empowerment and founding of an equitable society. He said it was also leading to massive migration of rural people to urban areas, posing a challenge to sustainable urbanisation and creating climate refugees within the country. “Therefore, I would appeal to the whole international community through the Escap for collective action without any delay to save the people and the planet. Otherwise, all of our development efforts would be meaningless.” About the country’s growing economy, Mannan said over the last decade, the country has gained commendable success in achieving gender parity in education. Female enrolment rate at the primary school is now 99.4 percent and about 2.7 million girls are receiving stipend at the secondary and higher secondary levels, he added. With a view to bringing quality healthcare services to the doorsteps of the rural people, the country has set up more than 14,000 community clinics across the country. The average life expectancy has increased to 72 years while the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate has dropped significantly, according to the minister. Monowar Ahmed, secretary to Economic Relations Division, was also a part of the Bangladesh delegation..."
Creator/author: MA Mannan
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya massacre: Myanmar grants soldiers early release
Description: "The soldiers were sentenced in 2018 to 10 years in prison for the Inn Din village killings, but they "are no longer detained", prison officials say. Reuters, which uncovered the massacre and first reported the early releases, said the men were freed in November. They are the only people to have been convicted for the 2017 crackdown on Rohingya in the western Rakhine State. More than 700,000 people fled the country as a result of the military operation there. On Monday, a spokesperson for the prison department told reporters that the seven soldiers convicted over the Inn Din executions were "no longer detained in our prisons," without giving further details. One of the soldiers confirmed to Reuters that he had been released but declined to comment further, saying: "We were told to shut up." Two fellow inmates told the news agency that the release came in November - less than a year into the 10-year prison term. The journalists who exposed the massacre were sentenced to seven years in prison for their reporting..."
Source/publisher: BBC News
Date of publication: 2019-05-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: MNHRC MUST TAKE STAND ON EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS OF RAKHINE VILLAGERS - ရခိုင်ရွာသားများ ဥပဒေမဲ့သတ်ဖြတ်ခံရခြင်းနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ MNHRC မှ မှန်ကန်သည့် ရပ်တည်ချက်ပြရန်လို
Description: "We, the 24 organizations of the CSO Working Group on MNHRC Reform, call on the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) to act independently of the Myanmar military, and take firm, decisive action in regards to gross human rights violations committed in ethnic, conflict-affected areas. We are particularly disappointed that the MNHRC has unquestioningly accepted the Myanmar military’s version of events after six ethnic Rakhine villagers were shot dead while in custody of the military, despite on the ground reports that their killings were unlawful. On 30 April, 2019, the Myanmar military detained all male villagers between the ages of 15 and 50 from Kyauk Tan Village, Rathaedaung Township, Rakhine State on suspicion of having ties with the ethnic armed organization, the Arakan Army (AA). On 2 May, six of the detainees were shot dead and at least eight were injured. The Myanmar military has sought to absolve itself of any liability, claiming that the actions of their soldiers were in self-defense. Yet according to eyewitnesses, the soldiers fired indiscriminately into the crowd after one of the detainees started yelling and trying to run away. This is just the latest in a series of allegations that the Myanmar military is committing gross human rights violations throughout northern Rakhine State as it seeks to flush out the AA. Just last month, another three villagers from Latka Village, Mrauk Oo Township died in custody, after 27 people had been detained on suspicion of being part of the AA. The military claimed the causes of death were suicide, heart attack, and withdrawal from drug addiction, but the rushed cremation and the fact the families were not notified of their death points to extrajudicial killing. In this context it is vital that the MNHRC fulfils its mandate as a national human rights institution to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the deaths of these civilians. Yet in its statement, dated, 3 May, 2019, it simply echoes the military’s version of events, stating that “during detention, about 2am, May 2, 2019, some detainees started shouting and attempting to attack the security force. Therefore, the security forces fired to defend themselves and to separate the mob which caused 6 deaths, 8 injuries and 4 missing.” There was no attempt by the MNHRC to verify the claims of the Myanmar military, which contradict what eyewitnesses and other detainees have said what has happened. A similar statement was made by the MNHRC to Parliament in May 2018, when two Kachin men who, according to witnesses, were arrested while tending to buffalo in January 2018, were later found buried after being executed by the Myanmar military. A Kachin Independence Army (KIA) uniform had been put on one of the men. Despite medical reports that said they could have been tortured, the MNHRC stated that they were KIA soldiers, and had been killed in battle, contradicting all reports and testimony from the people on the ground that they were merely civilians and the Myanmar military had taken them away while they were in the fields. In times of armed conflict, where unspeakable human rights abuses are being committed against civilians, Myanmar needs a strong, effective and independent national human rights institution. In the cases outlined above, the MNHRC has been the opposite, unquestioningly siding with the Myanmar military’s version of events, despite the decades of misinformation and propaganda that the military has disseminated to try and hide its abuses. At best, the MNHRC is whitewashing the military’s crimes, and at worst, is complicit in them. We therefore urge the MNHRC to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the killings of Kyauk Tan Village. It must accompany such an investigation and any subsequent recommendations with public pressure to ensure that relevant parties, especially the Myanmar military, are held accountable. It is time for the MNHRC to show whether it is on the side of human rights, or the Myanmar military..." "မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အမျိုးသားလူ့အခွင့်အရေးကော်မရှင် (Myanmar National Human Rights Commission – MNHRC) အနေဖြင့် လက်နက်ကိုင်ပဋိပက္ခဖြစ်ပွားရာ တိုင်းရင်းသားနယ်မြေများတွင် အစိုးရစစ်တပ် ကျူးလွန်သည့် ရက်စက် ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ လွတ်လပ် အမှီခိုကင်းပြီး မှန်ကန် ခိုင်မာပြတ်သားသည့် အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှုများကို လုပ်ဆောင်ရန် မိမိတို့ အဖွဲ့အစည်းပေါင်း ၂၄ ဖွဲ့ ပါဝင်သည့် အမျိုးသားလူ့အခွင့်အရေးကော်မရှင် ပြုပြင်ပြောင်းလဲရေးဆိုင်ရာ အရပ်ဘက်အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ လုပ်ငန်းအဖွဲ့ (CSO Working Group on MNHRC Reform) မှ တောင်းဆိုလိုက်ပါသည်။ စစ်တပ်မှ ဖမ်းဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းထားစဉ်အတွင်း ရခိုင်တိုင်းရင်းသားများ ဖြစ်ကြသည့် ရွာသားခြောက်ဦး ပစ်သတ်ခံခဲ့ရပြီး သက်သေသတင်းများအရ ယင်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုများသည် ဥပဒေနှင့် မညီကြောင်း ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုကြသော်လည်း စစ်တပ်၏ အကြောင်းပြချက်ကို MNHRC က ကျိုးနွံစွာ လက်ခံလိုက်ခြင်းနှင့် ပတ်သက်၍ မိမိတို့မှ အထူးပင် စိတ်ပျက်မိပါသည်။ ၂၀၁၉ ခုနှစ် ဧပြီလ ၃၀ ရက်နေ့တွင် စစ်တပ်က ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ် ရသေ့တောင်မြို့နယ် ကျောက်တန်းရွာရှိ အသက် ၁၅ နှစ်နှင့် ၅၀ နှစ်ကြား အမျိုးသားအားလုံးကို ရက္ခိုင့်တပ်တော် (Arakan Army – AA) နှင့် ဆက်သွယ်သည်ဟူသော သံသယဖြင့် ဖမ်းဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းခဲ့ပါသည်။ မေလ ၂ ရက်နေ့တွင် ထိန်းသိမ်းခံရသူများထဲမှ ခြောက်ဦး ပစ်သတ်ခံရပြီး အနည်းဆုံး ရှစ်ဦး ဒဏ်ရာရရှိခဲ့သည်။ ထိုသို့ဖြစ်ရခြင်းသည် စစ်သားများက မိမိကိုယ်ကို ကာကွယ်သည့်အနေဖြင့် လုပ်ဆောင်ခြင်း ဖြစ်သည်ဟု စစ်တပ်ကပြောဆိုခဲ့ပြီး ၎င်းတို့တွင် အပြစ်မရှိကြောင်း ဖြေရှင်းချက်ပေးရန် ကြိုးစားခဲ့ပါသည်။ သို့သော်လည်း မျက်မြင် သက်သေများ၏ ထွက်ဆိုချက်များအရ ထိန်းသိမ်းခံထားရသူတစ်ဦး အော်ဟစ်ပြီး ထွက်ပြေးရန် ကြိုးစားချိန်တွင် စစ်သားများက လူအုပ်အတွင်းသို့ အရမ်းကာရောပစ်ခတ်ခဲ့ခြင်း ဖြစ်သည်ဟုဆိုပါသည်။ ဤသည်မှာ AA ကို အပြတ်ရှင်းရန်အတွက် ကြိုးစားရာတွင် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်မြောက်ပိုင်း၌ စစ်တပ်က ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် ရက်စက် ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှုဖြစ်စဉ်များထဲမှ နောက်ဆုံးရ သတင်းတစ်ခုဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ထို့အတူ ယခင်လက မြောက်ဦးမြို့နယ်ရှိ လက္ကာရွာမှ အရပ်သား ၂၇ ဦးကို AA အဖွဲ့ဝင်များ ဖြစ်သည်ဟူသော မသင်္ကာမှုဖြင့် ထိန်းသိမ်းခဲ့ရာ ရွာသား သုံးဦးမှာ ထိန်းသိမ်းခံရစဉ်အတွင်း သေဆုံးသွားခဲ့ပါသည်။ သေဆုံးရခြင်းအကြောင်းရင်းမှာ မိမိကိုယ်ကို သတ်သေခြင်း၊ နှလုံးရောဂါနှင့် မူးယစ်ဆေးပြတ်မှု တို့ကြောင့်ဖြစ်သည်ဟု စစ်တပ်ကပြောခဲ့သော်လည်း ချက်ချင်း မီးသြင်္ဂိုလ်လိုက်ခြင်းနှင့် ၎င်းတို့သေဆုံးခြင်းကို မိသားစုဝင်များအား အကြောင်းမကြားခြင်းတို့က ယင်းသေဆုံးမှုသည် ဥပဒေမဲ့သတ်ဖြတ်မှု ဖြစ်ကြောင်းကို ညွှန်းပြနေပါသည်။..."
Creator/author: Moe Thway, Thet Thet Aung
Source/publisher: 24 Civil Society Organizations
Date of publication: 2019-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 564.57 KB 248.81 KB
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Title: Myanmar soldiers jailed for Rohingya killings freed after less than a year
Description: "The soldiers were freed in November last year, the two inmates said, meaning they served less than one year of their 10-year prison terms for the killings at Inn Din village. They also served less jail time than two Reuters reporters who uncovered the killings. The journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, spent more than 16 months behind bars on charges of obtaining state secrets. The two were released in an amnesty on May 6. Win Naing, the chief warden at Rakhine's Sittwe Prison, and a senior prison official in the capital, Naypyitaw, confirmed that the convicted soldiers had not been in prison for some months. "Their punishment was reduced by the military," said the senior Naypyitaw official, who declined to be named. Both prison officials declined to provide further details and said they did not know the exact date of the release, which was not announced publicly. Military spokesmen Zaw Min Tun and Tun Tun Nyi declined to comment. The seven soldiers were the only security personnel the military has said it has punished over the 2017 operation in Rakhine, which drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. UN investigators said the crackdown was executed with "genocidal intent" and included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson. Myanmar denies widespread wrongdoing and officials have pointed to the jailing of the seven soldiers in the Inn Din case as evidence Myanmar security forces do not enjoy impunity. "I would say that we took action against every case we could investigate," the military's commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, told officials from the UN Security Council in April last year, according to an account posted on his personal website. The army chief cited the Inn Din case specifically. "The latest crime we punished was a killing, and ten years’ imprisonment was given to seven perpetrators," he said. "We will not forgive anyone if they commit (a) crime." Reached by phone on Thursday, a man named Zin Paing Soe confirmed that he was one of the seven soldiers and that he was now free, but declined to comment further. "We were told to shut up," he said..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Protection Sector - Inclusive of Child Protection and GBV Sub-sectors - Rohingya Refugee Response Plan, Cyclone Preparedness & Response Sector Plan, April 2019
Description: "Starting from 25 August 2017, targeted violence against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State, Myanmar, forced hundreds of thousands of people - mostly women and children - to flee their homes, reaching a total of 909,861 refugees as of 15 March 2019 1 and leading to what has been defined as one of the largest and the ‘fastest growing’ refugee crisis in the world2 . The Rohingya refugee crisis is a protection crisis, where refugees were forced to flee to Bangladesh to seek refuge from persecution, discrimination, gender-based violence and other serious human rights violations. The crisis has also a particular gendered nature, because of the significant number of women and girls now in the refugee camps who had experienced severe forms of abuses and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) while fleeing Myanmar. Many refugees have witnessed family members killed, sexually assaulted and abused or endured long separation and are in deep psychosocial distress. Additional risks and needs are placed onto them in displacement, as a result of the current living conditions, with one-third of refugee families having at least one specific protection vulnerability that requires specialized protection attention3 . Additionally, 55 percent of all refugees being children, the majority of whom do not have access to formal education, adding to their vulnerability as education is an essential protection factor. While the overall influx has significantly slowed since the onset of the crisis, in 2018 a total of 16,765 Rohingya refugees continued to cross into Bangladesh4. As of August 2018, at the peak of last year’s monsoon season, around 200,000 individuals were estimated to be at risk of landslides and floods, while an additional 49,000 were already affected in some way by weather-related incidents as a result of monsoon rains. Bangladesh is in fact prone to natural hazards and disasters, and camps are yearly exposed to two seasons at risk of cyclone in April-May and October-December, as well as the monsoon season from June to September when heavy rains further generate floods, flash-floods, water-logging and landslides. In coastal areas, particularly in Teknaf, storm surges also represent a significant threat. Fire is also a serious hazard across all camps, given the widespread presence of flammable materials, light construction materials used, high congestion and proximity of shelters. Considering the aforementioned risks, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and emergency preparedness and response (EPR) are key planning and programming priorities and must be integrated into regularly yearly humanitarian cycles, in order to effectively prevent exposure to further risk and protect girls, boys, women and men of different ages and diversity determinants. In support of the Government of Bangladesh and its people who welcomed the Rohingya refugees, opening their borders and their homes to them, the humanitarian community rapidly scaled up its operations to provide life-saving assistance and protection. The majority of refugees who arrived since August 2017 settled in camps in expansion areas adjacent to existing registered camps of Kutupalong and Nayapara, and makeshift settlements in Teknaf and Ukhia Upazilas. By the end of 2018, a total of 34 camps had been demarcated. An additional camp in Choukhali, in Northern Teknaf, is currently being developed. Severe congestion in most camps, especially in the Kutupalong Mega-camp (home to more than 600,000 refugees and divided into 23 camps) presents serious general and specific protection risks. As refugees spontaneously settled in these largely unplanned settlements, density is as high as 10m of land per person, compared to the international UNHCR emergency standard of 45m5 . Over-congestion and a difficult terrain, mainly constituted by steep slippery slopes and flood-prone low-lying areas, make it very challenging to improve refugees’ access to humanitarian services, in particular for those with impaired mobility and disabilities. As such, access and outreach of mobile teams and volunteers, as well as ensuring that vital information reaches all persons, in particular during cyclone and monsoon seasons, should be a key priority for all Sectors. Close proximity of shelters increases fire hazards and heightens the risks of spreading of communicable disease, should a weather-related emergency arise. Deforestation, including caused by collection of firewood, also exacerbates risks of landslides and flooding, and impairs a peaceful coexistence with the host community. These harsh conditions can also trigger or intensify psychosocial and mental distress, increase community tensions and prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and violence against children. In order to mitigate environmental risks, relocations to safer locations, structural improvement works and stabilization of the terrain, as well as the building of essential infrastructure for basic service provision were successfully carried out by SMSDS Agencies as much as possible. In 2018 and at the beginning of 2019, the humanitarian community strived to stabilize and improve the camp conditions; including in order to mitigate risks in the 2019 monsoon and cyclone seasons. However, the situation in most camps continues to pose serious challenges for mobility and physical protection from the natural elements, particularly during the monsoon season and is expected to severely worsen during a cyclone (i.e. non-permanent shelters and absence of cyclone safe shelters for the largest majority of the refugee population). Among the several lessons-learned and good practices from 2018, community based protection networks of volunteers have been established and have continued to work closely within the rest of the community. In this regard, women volunteers form a substantial part of the community networks and their inclusion and direct participation is crucial to an equitable and efficient mobilization and providing information related to the emergency linking them to existing static and mobile protection teams. It is within this historical background and operational context and based on the lessons-learnt from the 2018 emergency response, that the Protection Sector, jointly with its GBV and CP Sub-Sectors, is leading the cyclone emergency preparedness and response protection plans in 2019; with substantial support of the Sector Lead Agencies and in partnership with all protection partners..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Date of publication: 2019-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
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Title: "Progressive Voice" 13 - 19 May, 2019
Description: NATIONALISTS FOILED BY COMMUNITY SPIRIT.....STATEMENTS AND PRESS RELEASES: ရခိုင်ရွာသားများ ဥပဒေမဲ့သတ်ဖြတ်ခံရခြင်းနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ MNHRC မှ မှန်ကန်သည့် ရပ်တည်ချက်ပြရန်လို By 24 Civil Society Organizations...MNHRC Must Take Stand on Extrajudicial Killings of Rakhine Villagers By 24 Civil Society Organizations...Release of Journalists in Myanmar: Foreign Secretary’s Statement By Foreign Secretary of United Kingdom...ကယားပြည်နယ် လွိုင်ကော်မြို့တွင်ထားရှိသော ဗိုလ်ချုပ်အောင်ဆန်းကြေးရုပ်ထုနှင့် ပတ်သက်သည့် ကယားပြည်နယ်အစိုးရအဖွဲ့နှင့် ဝန်ကြီးချုပ် ဦးအယ်လ်ဖောင်းရှို၏ သဘောထားအပေါ် ကန့်ကွက်ခြင်း By Myanmar Cultural Research Society...Rohingya Refugees and International Supporters Welcome and Endorse UN Fact-Finding Mission’s Timely Call for Withdrawal of Financial and Other Support to Myanmar By The Free Rohingya Coalition...UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar urges financial isolation of Myanmar military By UN High Commissioner for Human Rights...UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar Urges Financial Isolation of Myanmar Military By UN Human Rights Council.....REPORTS: ရေးမြို့နယ်တောင်ပိုင်း၊ မန်ကျည်းကျေးရွာအုပ်စုရှိ တောင်သူများ လယ်ယာမြေလုပ်ပိုင်ခွင့်လက်မှတ် (ပုံစံ-၇) လျှောက်ထားရာတွင် ကြုံတွေ့နေရသော အခက်အခဲများ အစီရင်ခံစာ မှတ်တမ်း By Mon Area Community Development Organization.....RELATED POSTS: New Report Identifies Freedom of Religion or Belief As Key to Peace, Reconciliation and Democratisation...Burma’s Identity Crisis: How Ethno-religious Nationalism Has Led to Religious Intolerance, Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide...Statement on Discrimination and Coercion Faced by Minority Groups in Citizenship Registration Process...Buddhist Mob in Rakhine State Attacked Christians Celebrating Christmas...Enlightenment or Entitlement? Jack Dorsey’s Irresponsible Tweets.
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice"
Date of publication: 2019-05-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UN INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL FACT-FINDING MISSION ON MYANMAR URGES FINANCIAL ISOLATION OF MYANMAR MILITARY
Description: "The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM) urged the international community on Tuesday to cut off all financial and other support to Myanmar’s military, saying its commanders need to be isolated and brought before a credible court to answer charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. FFM Chairperson Marzuki Darusman said the measures were needed because Myanmar has not done enough to resolve the nation’s conflicts and protect human rights, including those of over a million ethnic Rohingya civilians who have been forced into exile. “There has been no movement toward a resolution of the crisis,” Darusman said at the conclusion of a 10-day visit to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. “The situation is at a total standstill.” The FFM’s 444-page report, submitted to the Human Rights Council in September 2018, documented how Myanmar’s military brutally and systemically violated the human rights of ethnic minorities throughout the country. It focused on the military’s ‘clearance operations’ against the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State in 2017, when security forces killed thousands of Rohingya civilians, raped and sexually abused women and girls and burned their villages in an explosion of violence that forced the exodus of more than 700,000 people in two months. Both military and civilian sides of Myanmar’s government persistently deny the facts and disclaim any responsibility for crimes under international law. Following this violence, Myanmar authorities have leveled empty Rohingya villages with bulldozers, effectively destroying criminal evidence, while making no substantive progress in resolving the ethnic animosities that have helped fuel the crisis..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council via "Progressive Voice"
Date of publication: 2019-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Strategic support necessary to deal with Rohingya crisis: UNHCR envoy
Description: "Although there was a great support from the Bangladesh government as well the host community, I still see a lack of political solution for the Rohingya refugees," he told UNB in an interview during his second visit to Bangladesh to see the Rohingya situation on the ground. Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.2 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar with around 741,000 fleeing Myanmar since August 2017, officials say. Despite living in Myanmar for generations, the Rohingya people lost their citizenship following a change in Myanmar laws in 1982. Talking about his role in helping these vulnerable people, the UNHCR envoy said there are people who do not even get to know about them as the conflicts continue other parts of the world. "There's a need for everyone to know about these problems globally. So, my role is to share the stories to people in Korea and around Asia and the plights of refugees, which I believe, may lead to a solution for them," said Jung who has undertaken extensive awareness and fundraising activities for Rohingyas that he has met in Cox's Bazar twice..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Take action to enable Rohingyas to return home: UNHCR tells Myanmar
Description: "Grandi who concluded his five-day visit to Myanmar on Friday, had "constructive and substantive" meetings on Thursday with State Counsellor Daw Aung San SuuKyi and other senior officials, and conveyed UNHCR call. He noted the positive efforts of the government to develop a national strategy on closure of IDP camps, and stressed the need for sustainable, safe and voluntary solutions to their plight in full consultation with the communities concerned. On Thursday, Grandi also signed a separate Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Disaster Management of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement covering UNHCR's broader activities throughout the country. The High Commissioner indicated his satisfaction that the Tripartite MoU will soon be extended for a further year and appreciated the commitment of the government to improve conditions. Small projects are carried out by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and UNDP teams, under the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the government of Myanmar in June 2018 and have the potential to help foster positive relations between communities, according to UNHCR..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Longer dry season shrinks water supply for Rohingya refugees to critical levels
Description: "Low rainfall in parts of southeast Bangladesh’s Teknaf peninsula means that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and partners are expecting in the next 10-12 days to begin trucking water to more than 140,000 Rohingya refugees living there. With only sporadic rainfall since November, the water table has dropped to the point where water supplies for refugee settlements are now at critical level. Already, two weeks ago, the daily ration of water for refugees was reduced from the normal minimum standard of 20 litres a day per person to 15 litres a day. As always, reducing water availability increases concern over hygiene and health standards and the potential of water borne diseases - something humanitarian agencies fight hard to prevent. Trucking water is expensive, but it is a life-saving measure. We estimate that the cost of transporting water by road to settlements sheltering some 140,000 refugees could be up to $60,000 a month. Current weather models are not forecasting rain any time soon. The geography of refugee settlements in southern Teknaf means that groundwater is not available through boreholes. All water must be preserved by capturing rain water in small reservoirs – something that is now depleted. Water shortages in this part of Bangladesh occur during the summer period and affect refugees and the local population alike. This year the situation is being compounded by the El Niño phenomenon – an abnormal weather pattern that affects the global climate and disrupts normal weather patterns, which as a result can lead to intense storms in some places and droughts in others. During the summer, temperatures in this part of Bangladesh can reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the settlements. With the monsoon due to arrive in June, UNHCR is expanding efforts to build better facilities to capture and preserve rain water. Hundreds of refugees are currently being involved in a project run by the World Food Programme (WFP) with humanitarian agency ADRA and supported by UNHCR to create a new local reservoir to capture monsoon rain in Teknaf and preserve it throughout the year. This project should improve the situation temporarily..."
Creator/author: Stephen Pattison, Joseph Tripura, Andrej Mahecic
Source/publisher: The UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-05-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UAE launches major campaign to assist Rohingya refugees
Description: "The UAE has launched a major campaign to help support hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees forced to flee Myanmar. The nationwide drive aims to assist those from the minority Muslim group who now find themselves in camps in India, Bangladesh and elsewhere. Under the initiative, organisers hope to provide education, food, health services, sanitation and shelter for some of the more than 1.2 million people. The figure includes an estimated 720,000 children, 240,000 women, and 48,000 elderly. Announcing the campaign on Thursday, Dr Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, Secretary-General of the Emirates Red Crescent, highlighted the escalating predicament faced by many of the Rohingya. "The UAE has always been proactive in its solidarity with Rohingya refugees, especially children and women, and has worked from the very first moment to support them," he said. "There is no doubt that the consequences of the Rohingya crisis have caused a difficult reality for refugees. “We are now in a new phase of the UAE's humanitarian response to them. This is a continuation of the previous stages and in keeping with the challenges posed by the worsening refugee situation and the escalating crisis.” Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2017 in the midst of a brutal campaign of violence described by the UN as ethnic cleansing and possible genocide. Many were from Rakhine state in the west of the country, where a military-led crackdown which claimed to be targeting militants resulted in villages razed and thousands killed. The government of Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, has refused to give the Rohingya citizenship, claiming they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh..."
Creator/author: Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Source/publisher: The National
Date of publication: 2019-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya Man, 8-Year-Old Son Killed in Blast in Northern Rakhine
Description: "An explosion killed a Rohingya boy and his father and severely wounded another adult in northern Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township on Tuesday, according to a village official. The victims were identified as Mohamad Shofi, 38, his son Husson, 8, and Mohammad Shazam, an adult of unknown age, according to Ah Lel Kyun village administrative official U Win Hla Tun. Mohammad Shazam was transported to Sittwe Hospital for medical treatment this morning, U Win Hla Tun said. The victims were from Ah Lel Kyun, a village 8 km north of downtown Kyauktaw, said U Win Hla Tun. Ah Lel Kyun is a mixed community, with Buddhist and Muslim settlements within half a mile of one another, he said. U Win Hla Tun said there had been armed conflict between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) on Monday but that the situation had returned to normal. Then, unexpectedly, there was an explosion near the village on Tuesday morning. He could not clearly determine the nature of the blast that occurred near Mohamad Shofi’s home..."
Creator/author: Moe Myint
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
Date of publication: 2019-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The grim reality behind Rohingya crisis rhetoric
Description: "There are over a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh – the latest batch of 800,000 came after August 25, 2017, joining 250,000 that had arrived since the first exodus of mid-1990s. As Myanmar nationals, Rohingya Muslims have historically faced ethnic and religious persecution, culminating in 2017 in a fierce, protracted genocidal campaign by the Myanmar army against its own people. The military launched a violent crackdown leading to arbitrary killings of Rohingya, including children and the elderly, gang rape of women, inhuman torture, and razing of village after village that forced communities to seek shelter in Bangladesh, unleashing a humanitarian crisis unprecedented in recent history.False starts In the last two years, there have been many twists and turns concerning the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees to their homeland. First, a repatriation agreement signed in November 2017 failed due to the unwillingness of the Myanmar government to recognise the rights and citizenship of Rohingya Muslims. Second, Myanmar imposed an unfair screening and verification process to eliminate so-called illegal Bengali Rohingyas from the list of returnees. Third, in November 2018, a much-publicised repatriation bid for some 2,000 families was stalled after the refugees refused to return for fear of fresh persecution and confinement in newly-built camps across the border in Rakhine state. Fourth, the planned relocation of 100,000 Rohingya to Bhasan Char Island in the Bay of Bengal found no voluntary takers among the refugees for such a remote home on a flood-prone island. Finally, according to a UN official, the repatriation plan is now at a “total standstill”. With no solution to the refugee crisis in sight, there is growing concern in Dhaka and among the host communities in Cox’s Bazar, who have been severely impacted by the influx of huge numbers of outsiders in their neighbourhoods. There is equal disquiet among Bangladesh government officials about the future of the refugee situation. The challenge is to find the right balance between the official rhetoric calling for their speedy return and long-term plans for the refugees in Cox’s Bazar camps, supported largely by external aid and assistance. The ongoing initiatives for more durable houses, improved roads, solar street lamps, training and employment for women, markets/shops within the camps, and finally provisions for schools for the kids are all indications of a much longer – or even permanent – stay..."
Creator/author: Mohammad Zaman
Source/publisher: The Nation via "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 20 May 2019
Description: "A delegation led by Mr. Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, flew by Myanmar airlines to Sittway yesterday afternoon. They were welcomed at Sittway Airport by officials from the Rakhine State government and UNHCR. The High Commissioner and delegation then went from Buthidaung to Maungtaw in the evening. The delegation held a meeting with the District Administrator and discussed about the implementation process of the MoU signed between the Union Government and the UNDP and UNHCR and possible extensions, holding coordination meetings between the State government and UN agencies, accepting returning IDPs, and proliferating the benefits of holding an NVC card. This is the second visit by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and his delegation to Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-05-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 305.04 KB
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Title: Ramadan, Iftar evoke feelings of nostalgia among Rohingyas
Description: "Ramadan is the month when Muslims try to get closer to each other with greater love and affection with the spirit of the holy month. But the Rohingya Muslims living in Cox's Bazar camps find it painful when they get together for having iftar meal as their tragic memories constantly haunt them. "We used to take Iftar and offer prayers together with our family members and relatives before August 25, 2017. Now, we've got detached from our homeland and beloved ones. Having Iftar with them is merely a memory now," recalls Rafiq Alam, a Rohingya now living at Balukhali Moynaghona camp No-11. Visiting 32 Rohingya camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf, the UNB correspondent found no shortage of Iftar items there but a sense of isolation and sadness was there among the Rohingya people. Rohingya Lalu Mia, a resident of Balu camp, said, "We had simply water for Iftar during Ramadan last year. Now, there's no scarcity of Iftar meal, but a feeling of sadness grips us as we couldn't meet our relatives for the last two years after being displaced from our homeland in Maungdaw under Rakhine State." Some female Muslim Rohingyas like Yasmin, 21, of Naikhong area, Julekha, 25, and Mayesha of Mijjiripara also shared their own tragic stories..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya Crisis: Amir remembers when he was a citizen - video
Description: "Amir is 68, and a refugee living in Bangladesh. He fled Myanmar in 2017 but remembers when he had citizenship in Myanmar. To this date, he still has the papers that document his previous status..."
Source/publisher: The UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-05-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 20 May 2019
Description: "A HIGH level meeting on locating the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Rakhine State in safe housing before the arrival of monsoons was held yesterday in Sittway, the state’s capital. At the meeting, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye said, “The rule of law and socio-economic progress are the Government’s highest priority programs for Rakhine State. “The relevant ministries, committees and organizations, and the public, are joining hands to enforce the rule of law in Rakhine State,” he pointed out, adding, “The socio-economic progress of the state is the most focused program of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine State (UEHRD), the related ministries, social organizations, NGOs, INGOs, entrepreneurs and the people.” The Union Minister also explained his ministry’s role in fulfilling the needs to ensure equality among the peoples of Myanmar, and reforms whose priority was based on the degree of requirements. “Because of its volume of requirements, Rakhine State is included in the priority list,” he added..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-05-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.03 MB
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Title: Turkey pledges support to end Rohingya crisis
Description: "Turkey is committed to working with Bangladesh in regional and international levels to bring an end to the Rohingya crisis that has been affecting Bangladesh in socio-economic, environmental and even diplomatic fronts. Turkish Member of Parliament Ravza Kavakci in a briefing session reiterated the steadfast commitment and firm determination of Turkish government in this regard. He was speaking at the session “Bangladesh-Turkey: Solidarity for Humanity” organised by Bangladesh Consulate in Istanbul on Saturday. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque presented the latest situation of the Rohingya crisis, which has exacerbated mostly since the influx of some 750,000 Rohingyas from August 2017 following military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 18 May 2019
Description: "TATMADAW columns are cooperating with the Myanmar Police Force, departmental officials and local residents to gather information on members of the AA group who are instigating fighting and hiding among the villages in Rakhine State. During the course of these security operations, the police received information that AA members were masquerading as villagers of Shwe Pyi Thar village in Kyauktaw Township. Police and Tatmadaw columns conducted a surprise investigation on 16 May. They noticed U Thein Soe Aung, who is in charge of the village, taking photos of the security forces from his home. Upon inspecting his phone, they discovered photographic evidence of his connection with the AA. They also discovered sacks of dried rice, cartons of instant noodles, rehydration salt packets and other foodstuff packaged in his home. The Office of the Commander- in-Chief of Defence Services has released news that they are working in line with the proper rules and regulations to take legal action against U Thein Soe Aung for his connection to the AA group..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 395.61 KB
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Title: 62 Rohingyas rescued in Cox’s Bazar, 5 ‘traffickers’ held
Description: "Informed by locals, police went to Karimdad Mia’s jetty in Ujantiya area of the upazila around 1:30am and rescued the Rohingyas, who had gathered there to board a Malaysia-bound engine boat, said Mohammad Iqbal Hossain, additional superintendent of Cox’s Bazar police. Some Rohingyas and the crew of the boat managed to escape, the official said, adding that the rescued Rohingyas fled from the refugee camp in Kutupalong of Cox’s Bazar. They were allured of opportunity to be sent to Malaysia by traffickers, Iqbal Hossain also said. Police are trying to identify the human traffickers and their middlemen operating in the area, he added. In St Martin’s Island, a patrol team of Coast Guard Bangladesh intercepted a boat carrying Rohingya refugees in Dakkhin Beach area last night, according to a press release of the Bangladesh Coast Guard’s Detective Branch. They rescued 17 Rohingya refugees who were being trafficked to Malaysia and also arrested five traffickers, the press release added..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Building a Better Future for Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
Description: "Eighteen months on from the mass expulsion of 740,000 Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh, no sustainable solution for the refugees is in sight. Repatriation to Myanmar should remain the long-term goal – not only to relieve the huge burden on Bangladesh but also because that is the strong preference of the refugees themselves. But the unfortunate reality is that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will be unable to return home to Myanmar for the foreseeable future. Systems are now largely in place to provide for their essential humanitarian needs in the sprawling refugee camps. It is now time to move beyond the emergency phase of managing this crisis. Shifting focus in this way requires Bangladesh to ease its restrictions on longer-term assistance. Specifically: The Bangladesh government should lift its ban on the provision of formal education in the camps; local and international organisations are ready to provide such education. It should also improve law and order in the camps, where militants and gangs increasingly operate with impunity and are consolidating control to the detriment of non-violent political voices and leaders. This requires instituting a regular and effective Bangladeshi police presence in the camps and investigating crimes and bringing perpetrators to justice. For their part, donors should help Bangladesh not only to meet the refugees’ immediate humanitarian needs but also to cover the costs of measures that improve their lives and prospects for the future..."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group (ICG)
Date of publication: 2019-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Over 250,000 Rohingya refugees get identity documents, for many a first
Description: "Over a quarter of a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have now been jointly registered and provided with identity cards by the Bangladesh authorities and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Rohingya refugees sheltering in Bangladesh are stateless. Despite living in Myanmar for generations, the Rohingya lost their citizenship following a change in Myanmar laws in 1982. Today, more than 900,000 Rohingya refugees are in crowded settlements in Cox’s Bazar, 741,000 of these being people who have fled from Myanmar since August 2017. The registration exercise, which began in June 2018, is about safeguarding the right of Rohingya refugees to be able to return home voluntarily to Myanmar in future. So far, the Government and UNHCR have registered 270,348 refugees (59,842 families) in the settlements in Cox’s Bazar district. Each day, over 4,000 refugees are registered at six different locations, where more than 450 staff are working long hours with the goal of completing the process by late 2019. Comprehensive registration is important for improving the accuracy of data on refugees in Bangladesh. It provides national authorities and humanitarian organizations with a better understanding of the population and their needs. Data will facilitate the planning of programmes and the targeting of assistance to where it is needed most, particularly for people in acute need, such as women and children heading families and people with disabilities..."
Creator/author: Joseph Tripura, Stephen Pattison, Caroline Gluck, Andrej Mahecic
Source/publisher: The UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-05-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Asian allies boost Myanmar’s pariah military
Description: "Three years after Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was elected to power, temporarily ending the nation’s decades-long pariah status under military rule, Naypyidaw is already back in the world’s bad graces. But that hasn’t stopped Asian governments from pragmatically supporting Suu Kyi’s controversial regime, now accused of genocide by the UN and others for its violent expulsion of over 700,000 Rohingya, in the form of strengthened defense ties. As de facto leader, Suu Kyi and her government has failed to stop a fresh spate of violence instigated by its Buddhist majority population on the Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim group. Its inaction on the humanitarian issue has resulted in economic sanctions from the West, with the United States, European Union and Canada imposing arms embargoes and penalties on Myanmar military officials. Its inaction on the humanitarian issue has resulted in economic sanctions from the West, with the United States, European Union and Canada imposing arms embargoes and penalties on Myanmar military officials. In contrast, Asia has ramped up security relations with the NLD administration and autonomous military, which controls the powerful defense, home and border affairs ministries..."
Creator/author: NYSHKA CHANDRAN
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-05-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UN mission urges cutting off financial ties with Myanmar army
Description: "A United Nations fact-finding mission has urged cutting off all business with Myanmar's military as part of efforts to hold the army accountable for human rights abuses. In a statement on Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Council said there had been no progress towards resolving the crisis over Myanmar's mostly-Muslim Rohingya minority, more than one million of whom have fled military "clearance operations" in the northwest Rakhine region. "The situation is at a total standstill," said Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. Reporting Myanmar's Rohingya story (9:53) Myanmar authorities have razed deserted Rohingya villages and those remaining in the country live in displacement camps in fear of further military reprisals. "Due to the gravity of the past and continuing violations, attention must be given to the political, economic and financial ties of the Myanmar military - to identify who and what should be targeted so we can cut off the money supply as a means of increasing the pressure and reducing the violence," Christopher Sidoti, a member of the mission, said in the statement. The mission found that the military committed atrocities against many ethnic groups living within Myanmar. It also faulted armed ethnic groups for committing human rights abuses. Myanmar denies allegations of human rights violations, saying its security forces have not targeted civilians and have taken action only in response to attacks by Rohingya fighters. UN officials and others have likened the actions to ethnic cleansing, or even genocide. The fact-finding mission is to hand its findings to a new group of the Human Rights Council, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, in September. That organisation was set up to handle criminal prosecution of violations of international law. The crisis in Rakhine has soured Myanmar's relations with the United States, which had rolled back economic sanctions over the past decade to support political change in the country as it transitioned towards democracy. The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Myanmar security forces and Washington has barred Myanmar military officials involved in the Rakhine operations from US assistance. Britain has also cut some support and the UN, as well as independent rights advocates, want governments to do more to hold the military accountable..."
Creator/author: Jorge Silva
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Bangladesh police rescue dozens of Rohingya being trafficked to Malaysia
Description: "Bangladeshi police prevented dozens of Rohingya Muslims, most of them women, about to be trafficked to Malaysia by boat, authorities said today. Traffickers had picked up at least 69 Rohingya from refugee camps in the Cox's Bazar district, promising them work in Malaysia where many Rohingya already live, police said. Scores of Rohingya Muslims have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, part of what authorities fear could be a new wave of people smuggling by sea after a 2015 crackdown on trafficking. An estimated 25,000 Rohingya crossed the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia in 2015, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Forget pardons, press freedom requires real reforms
Description: "Myanmar’s president released more than 6,000 prisoners on Tuesday, including two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists imprisoned for reporting on a military crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine state. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who work for the Reuters news organization, were arrested in 2017 and, after a corrupt trial engineered by the military, sentenced to seven years in prison. While the presidential pardon is welcome, there are still a number of serious, ongoing issues for freedom of expression and democracy in Myanmar. The influential military and its supporters in the government continue to work against press freedom in particular, waging what a UN human rights report referred to last year as a “political campaign against independent journalism.”..."
Creator/author: KYLE SPRINGER
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-05-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Reporting Myanmar's Rohingya story | The Listening Post (Feature) - (video)
Description: "Vox pop - or Vox populi is Latin for "voice of the people" and in journalism it means interviewing people to get a sense of what they think on the ground. Vox pops are often buried in the middle of a news piece among the opinions from politicians and "experts" and its subjects are frequently not named. Our feature this week begins with vox pops, and they are of Rohingya refugees. Nurul Mustafa, Bosir Ahmed and Mohamed Jubair all fled to Bangladesh in 2017 with their families and have been watching one outlet to get their news: Rohingya Vision. As Bosir Ahmed says, "Rohingya Vision is very useful for us. It means we can share our news and tell the story of our suffering to the world." Since 2017, almost three-quarters of a million Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. For most of us, these people are invisible because Myanmar's government has done a good job of cracking down on information. But there are always pockets of resistance. Rohingya Vision TV has been reporting the story from the inside. It is run by exiled Rohingya and it relies on undercover reporters to get information out. The stories they tell contest state narratives keen to silence them - as well as the work of media outlets in Myanmar that have closed ranks with the authorities. This piece on Myanmar was made by the Listening Post's Johanna Hoes. We are re-airing it on the week that two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were released from jail after more than 500 days behind bars. The men had been jailed for their investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar security forces. If the story is hard to tell by journalists with an international news organisation as their protective seal, imagine what it is like for those reporting with less backup..."
Creator/author: Aye Aye Win, Mark Farmaner
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-05-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The Rohingya Crisis in 90 Seconds - (video)
Description: "The humanitarian crisis caused by escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is causing suffering on a catastrophic scale. As of 27 September, over 500,000 Rohingya refugees had fled across the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh since 25 August. Thousands more reportedly remain stranded and in peril in Myanmar without the means to cross the border into Bangladesh. The United Nations and our partners are working closely with the Government of Bangladesh to scale up and coordinate the humanitarian response so as to ensure that refugees are protected in line with international standards, and to provide desperately needed support including food, shelter, health care and water..."
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of publication: 2017-10-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: 24 Rohingya rescued from traffickers in Bangladesh
Description: "Twenty-four Rohingya refugees have been rescued from being trafficked to Malaysia in the capital Dhaka in Bangladesh, a police official said. Police also detained four traffickers as well as seized dozens of Bangladeshi passports from the smugglers, Mazedul Islam told the local daily Prothom Alo. Of the 24 rescued Rohingya refugees, 22 were women aged between 15 and 22, officials said. Islam said the traffickers have brought the refugees to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar and kept them confined at a house. Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012. According to Amnesty International, more than 750,Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA). More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience." Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added. The UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- and brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity and genocidal intent.000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women, and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017..."
Creator/author: SM Najmus Sakib
Source/publisher: Asia Pacific
Date of publication: 2019-05-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Bangladesh: Chinese Envoy Rapped for Linking Rohingya Crisis to Economic Trade
Description: "A Bangladeshi official and political observers on Friday criticized a statement by the Chinese ambassador, who suggested this week that the Rohingya refugee crisis could be solved through economic development in neighboring Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Linking the plight of Rohingya Muslims to trade and infrastructure investments in the sub-region would be tantamount to disregarding the human rights issues that led to a massive exodus of refugees from Myanmar, the official and analysts told BenarNews. “Development alone could not resolve the Rohingya crisis,” Mohammad Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told BenarNews on Friday. “The political will of Myanmar’s government is most crucial,” he said. “Unless the rights of the Rohingya people in Rakhine are not ensured, the crisis will not be over.” BenarNews asked Kalam and others in Bangladesh for their views on a remark made by Chinese Ambassador Zhang Zuo on the Rohingya during a news briefing the envoy gave in Dhaka on Wednesday about Beijing’s massive One Belt, One Road (OBOR) infrastructure initiative. “The real solution of the problem lies in development,” Zuo said, referring to the 740,000 Rohingya refugees who fled their homes and crossed into Bangladesh at the height of a Myanmar military crackdown in 2017. “We hope that after the violence is stopped and the people are repatriated, the Rakhine state could be further developed.” “We also hope that in the process of implementing the BCIM economic corridor, we could come up with a very good solution to the Rohingya problem,” the ambassador added. BCIM is an acronym for the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation, a sub-regional organization also known as the BCIM Economic Corridor. It was conceptualized in the early 1990s to improve trade between the four Asian nations. Without elaborating, Zuo said repatriation was “only part of the overall solution proposed by China.” As proposed, the BCIM Economic Corridor would connect Kunming, the capital and largest city of Yunnan province in southwest China, with Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. The connection would run through the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and Mandalay, the second-largest city of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: Benar News
Date of publication: 2019-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Good News, but Not the News We Need
Description: "The release of two reporters—Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo—delighted journalists in Myanmar and around the world. And while it was certainly good news for the reporters personally, I don’t see it as great news for the country’s media. One reason is that the pair were released thanks to the intervention of the civilian government, but they should never have been arrested, as they were entrapped by the police. Their release offers no assurances that journalists will not face similar set-ups, arrests and charges in the future at the hands of security forces. Their release was a rescue by the government, making what use it can of its limited presidential power. When I heard the news on the way to The Irrawaddy office on Tuesday morning, I was overjoyed—but not surprised. Since the two Reuters journalists were sentenced in September 2018, I had been expecting that they would be released sometime around the Myanmar New Year’s Day in mid-April. On many occasions since then—at meetings with diplomats, and my foreign and local friends—I was asked if and when they would be freed, after they were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for their reporting on the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslims by the Army in Rakhine State in 2017. My consistent answer was: “They are likely to be freed in January or April [2019].” Specifically, I said, their release could come on or around Jan. 4—Myanmar’s Independence Day—or in mid-April for the traditional New Year, when the Thingyan water festival is held. During those times, the government tends to release prisoners to mark auspicious moments for the country..."
Creator/author: Kyaw Zwa Moe
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
Date of publication: 2019-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya repatriation: Dhaka pins hope on Asean involvement for progress
Description: "Bangladesh has been trying to get the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a bloc of 10 nations that includes Myanmar, involved in the process of Rohingya repatriation, which was supposed to begin more than 15 months ago as per an agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Dhaka hopes that Asean will be involved as a civilian monitoring entity in the repatriation process, to boost confidence among the brutally-oppressed Rohingyas – currently living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar – to safely return to Rakhine. Recently, Bangladesh has been pitching the idea – wherever possible – of involving the bloc with the repatriation process. On May 3, during the fourth meeting of Bangladesh-Myanmar joint working group (JWG) in Naypyidaw, Dhaka highlighted the need for allowing greater engagement of Asean in improving ground situation as well as raise confidence among the Rohingyas. Senior government officials told Dhaka Tribune that Myanmar is always reluctant to involve the United Nations or any other multinational entities in the repatriation process. However, Naypyidaw seems to appear “a bit soft” regarding getting the southeast Asian bloc involved, due to its membership and trust in most of the members in the organization, they added. Of the Asean members, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore are Buddhist-majority countries, while Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei are predominantly Muslim nations, and the Philippines has an overwhelming Christian majority. Keeping all the relevant aspects in mind, Bangladesh is “deeply engaged” with Asean to convince it to be a part of the Rohingya repatriation process to ensure it is sustainable, which is “difficult, but doable,” the officials said..."
Creator/author: Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Study: 32% Rohingya children chronically undernourished, 13% acutely
Description: "More than half of over 700,000 Rohingyas who have fled to Bangladesh since August 25, 2017 are children A new research has revealed that about 32% of Rohingya children, aged between six and 59 months, who arrived in Bangladesh after August 2017 are chronically undernourished, while another 13% are acutely undernourished. The study also found that 36% of Rohingya children in the same age group who took refuge in different Cox’s Bazar refugee camps before August 2017 are chronically undernourished, while another 12% are acutely undernourished. The report was launched at a workshop on forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals in Bangladesh, organized by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), at a Dhaka hotel on Thursday. BIDS conducted the study jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institution (IFPRI) last October. The report was presented by researchers Mohammad Younus and Binayak Sen of BIDS, and Paul Dorosh of IFPRI. Rohingya children’s nutritional status improved between 2017 and 2018, but their undernourishment remains unacceptably high due to poor maternal nutrition and hygiene conditions in the camps, the report revealed. Speaking at the programme as the chief guest, Planning Minister Abdul Mannan said although the Bangladesh government’s performance in most cases is criticized, its role in tackling the Rohingyas has been largely commended in the international arena. “The Rohingyas are actually not in good condition,” said the minister..."
Creator/author: Md Saidun Nabi
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: World Bank grants $165 million for multi-sector Rohingya crisis response
Description: "The World Bank has given a $165 million grant under the project "Emergency Multi-Sector Rohingya Crisis Response" to help Rohingya people in Bangladesh. An agreement was signed, between Bangladesh's government and the World Bank at Economic Relation Division (ERD) of planning commission on Wednesday. Dandan Chen, World Bank acting country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan said: "The government and people of Bangladesh have shown generosity to almost a million Rohingya refugees, but now they need to address: basic services, sanitation, education, and environment. "This project addresses the current refugee crisis but goes further to help strengthen the government's overall capacity to plan, coordinate, and respond to emergencies." Under the project, 53 multi-purpose disaster shelters in-and-around the Rohingya camp will be built. It will pave more than 200km of roads, provide water and sanitation services for around 200,000 people and set up 1,500 solar streets light..."
Creator/author: Bilkis Irani
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-05-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: ABUSE OR EXILE: MYANMAR’S ONGOING PERSECUTION OF THE ROHINGYA
Description: "One million Rohingya refugees continue to live in Bangladesh, with little prospect for safe return to their homeland in western Myanmar. Forcibly displaced by years of persecution and a brutal ethnic cleansing campaign at the end of 2017, the Rohingya are understandably afraid to go home. The government of Myanmar has neither addressed the atrocities committed in the past nor improved the wretched conditions for the few hundred thousand Rohingya estimated to still be living in the Rakhine region of Myanmar. In fact, the government is pursuing policies that are causing the situation of the Rohingya to deteriorate further. This population continues to be denied citizenship and faces severe human rights abuses, heavy restrictions on their daily lives, and little access to humanitarian aid or basic services. In February and April 2019, Refugees International interviewed Rohingya who had arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar just days before. Those interviewed described ongoing harassment, arbitrary detention, and forced labor at the hands of Myanmar’s security forces. The newly arrived refugees also reported that the security situation in the Rakhine region had recently deteriorated. In early 2019, the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group from the non-Rohingya Buddhist community in Rakhine State, carried out several attacks against police stations in the region. In response, Myanmar security forces initiated a crackdown that displaced more than 20,000 people and contributed to a sense of growing insecurity in those areas to which Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh would seek to return. The long-term trendlines for the Rohingya in Rakhine show no signs of improvement. For example, more than 120,000 Rohingya have been living in displacement camps since 2012 in what the UN has described as deplorable conditions. The government’s plans to close the camps have resulted in little more than shifting the displaced to structures next to the camps with no greater degree of freedom of movement or opportunity to return to their lands of origin..."
Creator/author: Daniel P. Sullivan
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "Refugees International"
Date of publication: 2019-04-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 793.72 KB
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Title: Medical Teams in Rohingya Refugee Camps Adapt to Prolonged Crisis - (video)
Description: "The flood of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh in late 2017 created a sudden medical emergency that now has turned into a protracted crisis. For VOA News, reporter Dave Grunebaum shows how the health care community is adapting..."
Creator/author: Dr. Khalid Eltahir
Source/publisher: VOA News
Date of publication: 2019-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: ROHINGYA ACTION IRELAND: STATEMENT ON THE RELEASE OF REUTERS JOURNALISTS
Description: "Rohingya Action Ireland welcomes the release of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo who were jailed for reporting on the massacre and other devastating human rights abuses directed at the Rohingya in Myanmar. We hope the release marks in some way a recognition of the long-standing record of Human Rights Abuses at the hands of Myanmar Military. There is evidence and proof, verified by international agencies, including the UN that Myanmar security forces are responsible for genocide, arson, enforced disappearances, extortion, arbitrarily imprisonment, severe restrictions on movement, and lack of food, education and health care. There are also verifiable reports of sexual violence being committed by the armed forces in ethnic minorities regions. The release of the Reuters reporters is a positive move. However, there are still thousands of Rohingya civilians arbitrarily detained during the campagins of genocide. They are denied legal representation, justice and are separated from their loved ones. There continuous to be severe restrictions on the Freedom of the Press and intimidation of journalists from reporting on the human rights abuses being committed by the military. We must continue to call the Myanmar military to account for their ongoing crimes against humanity..."
Source/publisher: Progressive Voice via "Rohingya Action Ireland"
Date of publication: 2019-05-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Deaths in Army Custody Need Independent Inquiry
Description: "Myanmar authorities should independently investigate the killing of detainees held by the military in Rakhine State, Human Rights Watch said today. On May 2, 2019, army soldiers shot and killed at least six villagers from among several hundred who had been detained in Kyauk Tan, Rathedaung township, for suspected links to the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group. On May 5, the military said that it had created a team of five officers that has been investigating the incident since May 3. However, the Myanmar army has a long history of failing to effectively or credibly investigate alleged abuses by its own forces, rarely holding military personnel accountable. “The Myanmar military concedes that they killed six villagers that they were holding in Rakhine State, but only a genuinely independent investigation will get to the bottom of what happened,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “An independent and impartial investigation is needed to bring to justice anyone responsible for wrongdoing.” Fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army has displaced over 33,000 people in Rakhine and Chin States since November 2018. The media have reported that the army has detained scores of people during military operations. On the morning of April 30, soldiers rounded up about 275 villagers in Kyauk Tan – all men and boys between the ages of 15 and 50 – on suspicion of involvement with the Arakan Army, according to media reports. The men and boys were detained in a local schoolhouse for two days of interrogation, with some reports that they were denied food and water..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2019-05-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The Rohingya Crisis: What to Watch for in 2019
Description: "Bangladesh and the UN must continue to work together to improve the conditions for nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees. The year 2018 was a dire and desperate year for the Rohingya minority from western Myanmar. Two-thirds of the population that had been living in western Rakhine State before the end of 2017 remain displaced in crowded camps in Bangladesh. The several hundred thousand who remain in Myanmar face serious restrictions, and what the chair of an independent, international fact-finding mission describes as an “ongoing genocide.” What will the year 2019 have in store for the Rohingya? Here are key developments to keep an eye on and some thoughts on what must be done to improve the outlook..."
Source/publisher: Fair Observer
Date of publication: 2019-01-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar frees Reuters journalists jailed for reporting on Rohingya crisis
Description: "Two Reuters journalists imprisoned in Myanmar for their reporting of the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims have been pardoned and released after spending more than 500 days in jail. Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, were arrested in December 2017 and accused of breaking the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, and have been imprisoned in Yangon’s Insein jail ever since. The pair were released on Tuesday as part of an amnesty of 6,520 prisoners by President Win Myint. The chief of Insein prison, Zaw Zaw, confirmed Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been freed. Speaking moments after his release, Wa Lone said: “I’m really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues. I can’t wait to go to my newsroom. I am a journalist and I am going to continue to be.” Images showed Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo’s emotional reunion with their wives and children hours after being released. Wa Lone’s first child, Thet Htar Angel, was born while he was behind bars so this was the first time he was able embrace his daughter as a free man. Kyaw Soe Oo was pictured holding his daughter, three-year-old Moe Thin Wai Zan, tightly. During the trial she would steal brief embraces with her father outside the courtroom before he was bundled back to jail and would cry “Papa, Papa!” as the van drove off. “Now the three of us can hug each other and we are so happy for that,” said his wife Chit Su Win..."
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-05-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Arakan Army chief cries out in Myanmar
Description: "Myanmar’s upstart Arakan Army (AA) has intensified its insurgent operations in recent months, opening a new front of instability in the nation’s long-running ethnic civil wars. The armed conflict has compounded volatility in Rakhine state, from where over 700,000 Muslim Rohingya have been expelled in government “clearance operations” beginning in 2017 the United Nations and others suggest may have had “genocidal intent.” In January, over 300 AA troops raided four border posts in northern Rakhine state, underscoring the 10,000-strong armed group’s rising capabilities since its formation in 2009, with support among the state’s ethnic Rakhine Buddhist majority. The Myanmar government has doubled down in its tit-for-tat reprisals, classifying the group as a “terrorist organization” and threatening reporters who cover the AA’s side of the surging conflict with unlawful association, an anti-state criminal offense. Asia Times spoke to the AA’s leader and founder General Tun Myat Naing in mid-April in Pangsang at the 30th anniversary celebrations of the United Wa State Army, another armed group which enjoys de facto statehood within Myanmar. In a wide-ranging interview, Tun Myat Naing spoke to his ambition of achieving autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and what he and his fighters are willing to do to achieve it. Excerpts follow..."
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Bangladesh for early start to Rohingya repatriation
Description: "Myanmar was also urged to remove barriers preventing commencement of the repatriation at the meeting of the joint working group on Rohingya repatriation. The fourth meeting of the joint working group was held in Nay Pyi Taw today where these issues were discussed, said a press release of the foreign ministry. Discussions were held on all issues related to safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the forcibly displaced Myanmar residents to their homeland. Bangladesh emphasised on concrete steps for creating conducive environment in Rakhine and particularly on removing legal and administrative barriers to ensure such environment. Bangladesh called to ensure basic rights of the returnees including freedom of movement, guaranteeing their safety and security, and positive steps towards a well-defined time-bound pathway to citizenship that would encourage the Myanmar residents to return voluntarily. Referring to dispute on eligibility of more than two thousand prospective returnees from the first batch of verification, Bangladesh proposed to host the first meeting of the dispute settlement mechanism soon to which Myanmar agreed, the release said. Bangladesh highlighted the need for deeper engagement between Myanmar authorities and prospective returnees with a view to convincing and motivating them. Foreign Secretary (Asia and Pacific)Mahbub Uz Zaman led the Bangladesh side during the talks. The Myanmar side was led by its foreign Secretary U Myint Thu..."
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Climate change experts warn of disproportionate impacts and financial burdens on poor countries as Cyclone Fani bears down on India and Bangladesh
Description: "As Cyclone Fani approaches India and Bangladesh, CARE experts have warned that the increased occurrences of disasters in poorer countries is saddling millions of innocent people with the “debt of climate change.” Severe cyclonic storm Fani is expected to result in very heavy rainfall and cause significant destruction in parts of India and Bangladesh between May 3rd and 4th, weather forecasters have predicted. This comes as the toll from Cyclone Kenneth is beginning to emerge across northern Mozambique. Last week, the southern African country was struck by Kenneth, a Category 4 storm described as one of the strongest cyclones to hit Africa since modern record-keeping began. It came barely a month after Cyclone Idai killed more than 1,000 people across Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique. While no study has specifically measured how climate change affected the likelihood of these cyclones, global warming is known to intensify certain tropical storm effects. Although poorer countries in the global south – such as Mozambique and Bangladesh – have contributed the least to climate change, they are already experiencing devastating climate impacts and will bear the brunt of future global warming, according to CARE experts. “We know that poor countries are being forced to shoulder the burden caused by fossil fuel emissions,” said Sven Harmeling, CARE’s global policy lead on climate change. “They not only endure the worsening impacts of climate change, resulting in more frequent and intense disasters, but also face a worsening financial situation. We call on the countries and companies most responsible for the causes of climate disruption to heed our warning: if coordinated climate action is not urgently taken, poor countries will suffer even more from increasing injustice.” Mozambique - considered one of the most indebted countries in the world - was last week granted a $118.2 million rebuilding credit facility by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following the climate-linked cyclone Idai disaster. Though this appears generous, it still leaves the country responsible to pay off the substantial loan..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: World Vision warns millions of children at risk from Cyclone Fani
Description: " World Vison is ready to respond to Cyclone Fani, which continues to intensify, threatening millions of families and their children in Bangladesh and India. The major coastal cities and communities in Bangladesh and India are among those in the path of the storm, which is forecast to make landfall in eastern India on Friday. Ahead of a severe cyclone, evacuation has started for thousands of people from areas along India's eastern coastline. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says Cyclonic Storm Fani is the first severe, cyclonic storm to have formed in April in India’s oceanic neighbourhood since 1976. "Cyclone Fani is the strongest recorded cyclone in years for this part of the world at this time of year. Tens of millions of people are in its path. We are extremely concerned about the impact on children and families living in coastal areas, where winds will be strongest, as well as those living in low lying areas that will be prone to flash-floods and landslides,” says World Vision Bangladesh National Director, Fred Witteeven. Heavy rains are also forecast to lash the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, home to over 900,000 Rohingya refugees in the coming days. “World Vision has emergency supplies ready to go in the camps and we have had thousands of refugees working on improvements to camp roads and drains over the previous months. Nevertheless people are living in homes made of bamboo and on steep hillsides, which puts them at even greater risk." World Vision’s emergency response leaders in Bangladesh and India said World Vision is closely coordinating with other INGOs and government authorities, in their respective countries and are ready to respond. “World Vision is well prepared to immediately respond to the needs of the communities when cyclone Fani makes landfall. Plans for immediate procurement and distribution of emergency relief material have also been made. All programmes where World Vision works, along the path of Cyclone Fani have been alerted and we have activated the disaster preparedness plans at the community-level. These grass-roots disaster management taskforce’s are the first responders and are trained by World Vision,” says Franklin Jones, Interim Head, Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs, World Vision India. World Vision is strategically positioned in the areas in path of the cyclone to be able to mobilise quickly when it makes landfall. “Asia Pacific region is the world's most disaster-prone region, and millions of children are at risk. That’s why we believe disaster preparedness and climate change awareness are so important in building local and national-level resilience to mitigate the risks of future disasters. World Vision invests in building community resilience and the resilience of children to cope with disasters. A prepared community makes for a resilient community. World Vision, in India and Bangladesh, is geared to take action, focusing on the needs of the most vulnerable communities, especially children,” Meimei Leung, Regional Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Director, Asia Pacific, World Vision..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-05-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: EU extends ban on arms sales to Myanmar over Rohingya crisis
Description: "The measures, which include an embargo on weapons and other equipment that could be used for repression, will stay in place until at least April 30, 2020. "The sanctions include an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression, an export ban on dual-use goods for use by the military and border guard police, and export restrictions on equipment for monitoring communications that might be used for internal repression," the EU said in a statement. About 14 top military and border officials are under individual EU sanctions - barring them from travelling to or through the European bloc and freezing any assets they hold in Europe - over alleged human rights violations, including killings and sexual violence. It also recalled that it had last adopted conclusions on Myanmar in December 2018 and called on the government of Myanmar to take "meaningful action" without further delay and to make progress in all areas of concern set out in the council's previous conclusions in February 2018. The EU also refuses to cooperate with, or provide training to, the Myanmar military. The Rohingya, described by the United Nations as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012..."
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: “We do not believe Myanmar!” – The Rohingya Survey 2019
Description: "The Rohingya have been fleeing persecution and ethnic cleansing since escalating waves of violence against the Rohingya people started in Myanmar in the 1970s; entire families started fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh in search of protection. Despite their presence in Myanmar dating back to the seventh century, the Government of Myanmar continues to deny the Rohingya their most basic human rights. This marginalisation and denial of rights was enshrined and legitimised through the introduction of the 1982 Citizenship Law. The Law introduced unobtainable and unrealistic requirements for minority groups, like the Rohingya, to be able to claim formal citizenship - thereby de facto excluding them the chance to be recognised as equal citizens. As one of the largest stateless populations in the world, their access to employment, education and healthcare, as well as movement within Myanmar, is fraught with extreme difficulty. The most recent wave of violence hit the Rohingya in August 2017 when the Myanmar military began a disproportionate and indiscriminate campaign of ethnic cleaning which saw 745,000 Rohingya – most of whom were children – seek safety in neighbouring Bangladesh. Today, there are nearly a million Rohingya living in temporary camps in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. For many Rohingya born and raised in the camps, Bangladesh is all they know. Despite this, Bangladesh considers Rohingya as “illegal immigrants”, instead of refugees, and subsequently their access to basic human rights, such access to education, employment or freedom of movement, are severely restricted. Nineteen months after the mass exodus in August 2017 the situation on the ground is moving from humanitarian disaster to a crisis of protracted displacement for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya that arrived since then, bringing with it new and pressing concerns. As such, Xchange decided to return to Bangladesh for a sixth time to speak first-hand to the newly arrived Rohingya awaiting solutions..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-05-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Expert suggests Bangladesh follow Indira Gandhi’s way to deal with Myanmar
Description: "Prof Imtiaz Ahmed, who is also the director of the Center for Genocide Studies in Dhaka University, says Bangladesh needs to change the “body language” when it deals with Myanmar on the Rohingya refugee issue. “It would be easier to do it now than at any time before. We have had the election. We (the government) have a five-year mandate. So I think the government should be in a position….the body language ought to change,” he said, speaking at a seminar in Dhaka on Sunday. The Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) organised the seminar titled ‘Rohingya crisis: International Role for Tangible Solutions in Rakhine’ with its president Raheed Ejaz in chair. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam was present as chief guest while UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh Steven Corliss spoke as a panelist. DCAB General Secretary Nurul Islam Hasib made welcome remarks. Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque, secretaries to the foreign ministry Md Khurshed Alam, Kamrul Ahsan, Mahbub Uz Zaman, and Khalilur Rahman were also present. Prof Imtiaz said this body language change is “very important” in diplomacy. “The body language must change with Myanmar when we are negotiating. They are the ones who committed genocide, not us,” he said. “Look at the body language of Indira Gandhi way back in 1971”. Gandhi was a staunch supporter of Bangladesh against Pakistan’s genocide in 1971. “I can give examples of an extraordinary number of people that I know back in India and back in 1971 and what was their body language. “That body language ought to change particularly given the fact that this regime or part of the members was responsible for committing genocide,” he said, urging media to “keep a constant gaze” on Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: bdnews24.com
Date of publication: 2019-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: 'Do not forget the Rohingya': UN urges support for refugees
Description: "Top United Nations officials have urged the international community not to forget the plight of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and called for global support to ensure their safe and voluntary return to Myanmar. Speaking to reporters following a visit to refugee camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar on Friday, Mark Lowcock, the UU under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the body was seeking to raise nearly a billion dollars to help the Rohingya refugees and their host community. More than 700,000 members of the persecuted minority fled Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown in response to attacks by a Rohingya armed group. More than 1.2 million now live in overcrowded and squalid refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh. Lowcock said the "great exodus" of Rohingya refugees arriving at Cox's Bazar "caused all sorts of issues"...."
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-04-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar court rejects final appeal by jailed Reuters journalists
Description: ''The highest court of Myanmar has denied the final appeal of the two Reuters journalists who were imprisoned for their reporting on the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims, upholding the seven-year prison sentence and dashing the last hope that justice would be served. The swift ruling, by Myanmar’s highest court, was a devastating blow to Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, who were arrested in December 2017 and accused of breaking a colonial-era Official Secrets Act, and have now been in jail for 16 months. They had already lost a previous appeal at the Yangon court earlier this year. On Tuesday morning, Supreme Court Justice Soe Naing announced the ruling to the court in a brief statement that went into no detail about why the appeal was rejected. “The Supreme Court upholds the conviction made by the previous court,” he said. As a result, the pair will have to serve out the original seven year sentence handed to them in September. In a statement, Reuters Chief Counsel Gail Gove said: “Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo did not commit any crime, nor was there any proof that they did. Instead, they were victims of a police set-up to silence their truthful reporting. We will continue to do all we can to free them as soon as possible.” At the time of their arrest, the pair were working on an in-depth investigation into the brutal violence carried out against the Rohingya in Rahkine state by Myanmar’s military...''
Creator/author: Hannah Ellis-Petersen
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know about the crisis
Description: "Risking death by sea or on foot, nearly 700,000 have fled the destruction of their homes and persecution in the northern Rakhine province of Myanmar (Burma) for neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017. The United Nations described the military offensive in Rakhine, which provoked the exodus, as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing". Myanmar's military says it is fighting Rohingya militants and denies targeting civilians. The Rohingya, who numbered around one million in Myanmar at the start of 2017, are one of the many ethnic minorities in the country. Rohingya Muslims represent the largest percentage of Muslims in Myanmar, with the majority living in Rakhine state. They have their own language and culture and say they are descendants of Arab traders and other groups who have been in the region for generations. But the government of Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, denies the Rohingya citizenship and even excluded them from the 2014 census, refusing to recognise them as a people..."
Source/publisher: BBC News
Date of publication: 2019-04-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Play your role
Description: ''Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the United Nations to play a role in sending back over one million Rohingyas from Bangladesh to their homeland Myanmar. They need to go back to their homeland and the UN could help Bangladesh return them, she told three top UN officials at her Sangsad Bhaban office, reports UNB. After the meeting, PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters. The UN officials are in Bangladesh on a three-day joint visit to highlight the need for support for the humanitarian assistance to over one million Rohingyas living in Cox’s Bazar. The officials are UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Antonio Vitorino and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock. She mentioned that over one million Rohingyas are a big burden for Bangladesh. “How long will it continue?” she said. The PM said the local residents of Cox’s Bazar are suffering due to the influx of Rohingyas. “But still they’re listening to me, they’re extending their cooperation to the government. Their cultivable lands are being destroyed, even though Rohingyas have been given shelter destroying the forests.” The UN officials reaffirmed UN’s commitment to continue support and cooperation particularly for the education and other basic needs of the Rohingya children...''
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya crisis: 3 top UN officials arrive Wednesday
Description: "With no progress in sight in regards to the protracted Rohingya crisis, Bangladesh is going to receive yet another high-profile group of dignitaries from the United Nations (UN), which, according to many, has failed hundreds of thousands of persecuted people from Myanmar's Rakhine State. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) António Vitorino and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock will arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday on a three-day visit to Bangladesh. The objective of the joint visit is "to highlight the ongoing need for support for the humanitarian needs of almost a million Rohingya refugees," a UNHCR press release said on Monday. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, government officials concerned did not appear to be optimistic about any qualitative changes to the ongoing crisis due to this kind of high-profile visit. The country witnessed many visits similar to this, but the situation remains as it was in the beginning of the latest crisis in August, 2017, they said. All the UN needs to do is to put pressure on Myanmar to take their people back, and that is something the global body is not doing or unable to do, they added...''
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Brunei Sultan for ‘just and permanent solution’ Tribune Desk
Description: "Brunei Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah has put emphasis on “just and permanent solution” to the Rohingya crisis during a bilateral meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “We should make all sorts of efforts so that the Rohingyas can return,” Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque quoted the Sultan as saying, while briefing reporters after the talks on Monday morning, reports BSS. The talks were held at Baitul Mesyuarah of the Istana Nurul Iman, the official residence of the Sultan, in Brunei. During the meeting, Shahidul said, the prime minister sought Asean’s major involvement on the Rohingya issue. She also sought the Sultan’s cooperation in this regard, he said. The foreign secretary said Sheikh Hasina briefed the Brunei Sultan about her government’s steps for developing Bhashan Char island for the temporary shelter of the Rohingyas forcibly displaced from Myanmar. About the Asean, the Sultan assured that Brunei will continue to help to strengthen the cooperation between Bangladesh and the regional forum. Earlier, the prime minister had a general audience with the Sultan and the Royal family at Cheradi Laila Kenchana at the Istana Nurul Iman. Sheikh Hasina is now in Brunei on a three-day official visit at the invitation of the Sultan..."
Creator/author: Tribune Desk
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-04-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Host community furious over badly affected livelihood
Description: "The compassion of most of the locals in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas appear to have reached its limit, as many say, their lives were badly affected due to the lengthy stay of over 1.1 million persecuted Rohingya refugees, from neighbouring Rakhine state of Myanmar. Their compassion, which was exemplary at the beginning of the exodus in late August of 2017, now seems to have turned into fury, which is occasionally expressed by the host community in the form of processions and human chains. During visits to some parts the two upazilas, between Thursday and Saturday, the Dhaka Tribune came across quite a few people who expressed their fury, not only against the Rohingyas but also against the government, for what they called a “great mess.” Talking to this correspondent, the people, without any exception, said they want the government either to send the Rohingyas back to Rakhine or spread them across the country..."
Creator/author: Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-03-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya repatriation: Stalemate continues, no breakthrough in sight
Description: "Nearly twenty months into the latest exodus of Rohingyas to Cox’s Bazar from Rakhine, there appears to be no sign of a breakthrough in the repatriation of the persecuted people to their homes. An agreement on repatriation was signed by the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar more than sixteen months ago, but there has been no further progress.The stalemate in regards to repatriation has made both the Bangladesh government and Rohingya refugees equally frustrated. On August 25, 2017, Myanmar security forces, aided by local Buddhist mobs and people from different ethnic groups, launched a brutal crackdown on the Rohingyas, forcing hundreds of thousands to cross into Cox’s Bazar. Since the crackdown, which many including the United Nations say amounts to genocide, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, more than 730,000 Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh’s coastal district of Cox’s Bazar. This figure is in addition to about 3-4 four million Rohingyas who have long been living in Bangladesh, causing a number of socioeconomic problems. High profile delegations from Myanmar and Bangladesh have held several meetings with each other in both countries since the crackdown began, and a repatriation agreement was signed in Naypyidaw on March 23. According to the deal, repatriation should have begun within two months of the signing of the instrument. Furthermore, the deal calls on Myanmar to take all necessary measures to ensure a favourable environment for the safe, secure and dignified return of the Rohingyas, but the country has failed to do so despite making repeated pledges..."
Creator/author: Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-03-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: 'State of the Rohingyas’ mental health and physical well-being is worrying'
Description: "In an exclusive interview recently with the Dhaka Tribune's Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, Magali Roudaut, the country chief of MSF in Bangladesh, talks about the different health challenges faced by Rohingya refugees in the country, and how the organization provides services to both the refugees and the host communities The mental health and physical wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas living in overcrowded refugee settlements in Cox’s Bazar remain a serious cause for concern, Magali Roudaut, the Bangladesh country representative of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), has said. “Mental health continues to be a significant concern. Many of our Rohingya patients experience flashbacks, generalized anxiety, panic attacks, recurring nightmares and insomnia, as well as illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder and major depression. We are also seeing more chronic mental health problems and psychiatric needs,” she said. “The result of trauma experienced in Myanmar, a lack of livelihood opportunities, and concerns about their future impacts their mental health wellbeing,” said Roudaut, a French national. Médecins Sans Frontières, which means Doctors Without Borders in English, is a Geneva-based international independent medical humanitarian organization. They have been providing services in the refugee camps since the latest episode of Rohingya crisis began in August 2017. “As well as providing mental health services to Rohingya refugees, a significant portion of MSF’s mental health activities serve local communities around the refugee settlements, ensuring that the mental health needs of the local population are also addressed. From late August 2017 till February 2019, we have conducted 23,751 individual mental health consultations and 37,202 group consultations for mental health,” she added. Asked about the challenges to their physical health, Roudaut said: “Overcrowded living spaces in the camps and bad quality water contribute to the risk of disease outbreaks in the camps. Many of these contagious diseases can be easily prevented through vaccination.” Currently, children until two years of age are receiving routine vaccinations, but older children have not been systematically vaccinated and remain vulnerable to preventable diseases, like measles or diphtheria, she said, stressing the need for inclusion of all children above two in the routine vaccination program..."
Creator/author: Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: United Nations seeks US$920 million for Rohingya humanitarian crisis in 2019
Description: "United Nations aid agencies and NGO partners launched today the 2019 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. The appeal seeks to raise US$920 million to meet the massive needs of more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities. Critical aid and services such as food, water, sanitation and shelter represent more than half of the funding needs this year. Other key sectors of the appeal include health, site management, protection activities including child protection and addressing sexual and gender-based violence, education and nutrition. More than 745,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine State to Bangladesh since August 2017, escaping violence in Myanmar and joining roughly 200,000 others already displaced in the Cox’s Bazar area by previous cycles of violence. With the generosity and support of the Bangladeshi authorities and local communities, who were the first to respond to the emergency, critical needs were met and many lives were saved..."
Source/publisher: The UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: United Nations seeks US$920 million for Rohingya humanitarian crisis in 2019
Description: "United Nations aid agencies and NGO partners launched today the 2019 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. The appeal seeks to raise US$920 million to meet the massive needs of more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities. Critical aid and services such as food, water, sanitation and shelter represent more than half of the funding needs this year. Other key sectors of the appeal include health, site management, protection activities including child protection and addressing sexual and gender-based violence, education and nutrition. More than 745,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine State to Bangladesh since August 2017, escaping violence in Myanmar and joining roughly 200,000 others already displaced in the Cox’s Bazar area by previous cycles of violence. With the generosity and support of the Bangladeshi authorities and local communities, who were the first to respond to the emergency, critical needs were met and many lives were saved..."
Source/publisher: The UN Refugee Agency
Date of publication: 2019-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Bangladesh deploys armed border guards on island
Description: ''Bangladesh on Sunday deployed armed border guards to an island near its southern border with Myanmar for the first time in 20 years, according to officials. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) distributed images showing dozens of troops carrying assault rifles disembarking at Saint Martin’s island, a small island in the Bay of Bengal that has caused diplomatic tensions between the neighbors. The BGB said the troop deployment was part of “regular activities” to protect the border and tackle drug trafficking. But the force’s lieutenant colonel, Sarker Mohammad Mustafizur Rahman, told AFP it was the first time since 1997 that their guards had been deployed there. “After more than 20 years we felt we should deploy,” he said. The deployment comes just two months after Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry summoned Myanmar’s ambassador in Dhaka to protest the inclusion of Saint Martin inside their territory in some maps printed inside the Southeast Asian country. He was also summoned in October last year, after a Myanmar government website depicted the island as within Myanmar’s territory. Ties between the neighbors have soured since the Myanmar military launched a crackdown on the Rohingya minority in Rakhine, a troubled western state bordering Bangladesh...''
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-04-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya relocation to island now uncertain
Description: ''The planned relocation of 100,000 Rohingyas from refugee camps near the Myanmar border to Bhasan Char, an island off the coast of Bangladesh, may not happen, the Bangladesh Chronicle reported on March 27. The Chronicle quoted Bangladesh’s foreign minister AK Abdul Momen as saying that he and his government thought the Rohingya would get a better life on the island, but various international organizations have placed conditions on the move, insisting it would have to be voluntary. On March 25, the United Nations stated it appreciated Bangladesh’s efforts to seek alternative locations for the Muslim refugees from Myanmar. The UN statement went on to say that “we’re discussing with the government the critical protection and operational issues that should be considered before any relocations take place in order to ensure that refugees would be able to live in safe and sustainable living conditions on Bhasan Char.” According to Momen, Bangladesh hosts about 1.1 to 1.2 million Rohingya in the Cox’s Bazar area in the southeasternmost corner of the country. Bangladesh has been engaged in talks with the Myanmar government about the future of the refugees, most of whom arrived in 2016 and 2017. But it seems clear that the Myanmar government does not want them back and the Rohingya have said they won’t return to Rakhine State across the border unless the international community can ensure their safety, and they are recognized as citizens of Myanmar, which is unlikely to happen...''
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-04-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Crimes Against Humanity, Mass Graves, and Human Trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia from 2012 to 2015
Description: ''On April 30, 2015, Thai authorities announced the discovery of a mass grave in a makeshift camp in a forested area near the Malaysian border. The grave contained more than 30 bodies of suspected victims of human trafficking believed to be Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals. Less than one month later, on May 25, the Royal Malaysian Police announced the discovery of 139 graves and 28 suspected human-trafficking camps in Wang Kelian, Perlis State, Malaysia. Rohingya Muslims have faced military-led attacks and severe persecution in Myanmar for decades. Fortify Rights, the United Nations, and other organizations determined that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Myanmar authorities committed genocide against Rohingya—a crime that continues to today. These crimes forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to flee the country in recent years. Most fled with hopes of finding sanctuary in Bangladesh and Malaysia, the nearest predominantly Muslim countries. This report documents how a transnational criminal syndicate—a group of individuals or organizations working together for common criminal interests— in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia preyed on Rohingya refugees, deceiving them into boarding ships supposedly bound for Malaysia. Motivated by profit, between 2012 and 2015, a transnational criminal syndicate held Rohingya as well as Bangladeshis at sea and in human-trafficking camps on the MalaysiaThailand border. Traffickers provided their captives with three options: raise upwards of 7,000 Malaysian Ringgit (US$2,000) in exchange for release, be sold into further exploitation, or die in the camps. Members of a syndicate tortured, killed, raped, and otherwise abused untold numbers of men, women, and children, buying and selling them systematically in many cases, in concert with government officials. Days after the mass-grave discovery in Thailand in 2015, Thai authorities arrested a Rohingya man from Myanmar named Anwar, also known as Soe Naing, for alleged involvement in a human-trafficking ring. Thai authorities went on to arrest 102 other suspects, including senior Thai government officials. Thai authorities then began the largest human-trafficking trial in the history of Southeast Asia. On July 19, 2017, a newly established, specialized human-trafficking court in Bangkok convicted 62 defendants for crimes related to the trafficking of Rohingya and Bangladeshis to Malaysia via Thailand. Those found guilty included nine Thai government officials, including Lieutenant General Manas Kongpaen, a military general who reportedly received approximately US$1 million (3.49 million Malaysian Ringgit) in profits from the trafficking trade, including payments amounting to more than US$400,000 (1.39 million Malaysian Ringgit) in just over one month alone. In contrast, since 2015, Malaysian courts convicted only four individuals of traffickingrelated offenses connected to the mass graves discovered at Wang Kelian. All those convicted were foreigners, including one Thai national, two individuals from Myanmar, and a Bangladeshi national. The Royal Malaysian Police reportedly arrested 12 police officers but eventually released them due to a lack of evidence. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)—the agency mandated to protect refugees—estimates that more than 170,000 people boarded ships from Myanmar and Bangladesh bound for Thailand and Malaysia from 2012 to 2015 and that the criminal syndicate organizing the vessels generated between US$50 million (174.5 million Malaysian Ringgit) and US$100 million (349 million Malaysian Ringgit) annually. Each ship reportedly earned traffickers an estimated US$60,000 (209,400 Malaysian Ringgit) in profits, according to UNHCR. The majority of people trafficked during this period were Rohingya Muslims; however, in late 2014 and 2015, the syndicate began targeting Bangladeshi nationals as well. This is a joint report by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM, referred to in this report as “the Commission”) and Fortify Rights. It documents human rights violations perpetrated against Rohingya Muslims trafficked from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Thailand and Malaysia from 2012 to 2015, the discovery of mass graves in Wang Kelian in Malaysia’s Perlis State, and the Malaysian authorities’ response to the discovery of the mass graves. It analyzes the violence against Rohingya within the framework of relevant international law...''
Date of publication: 2019-03-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-04-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: An Unholy Alliance: Monks and the Military in Myanmar
Description: ''With almost 90 percent of Myanmar's population being devoted Buddhists, the religion has been at the heart of the nation's very identity for centuries. But while the pillars of Buddhist teachings are love, compassion and peace, there is a very different variation to the philosophy being taught at the Ma Ba Tha monastery in Yangon's Insein township. The monks there are connected to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, the systematic persecution and genocide of the Rohingya in Rakhine state. Al Jazeera's unprecedented access to the Ma Ba Tha monastery and its leaders offers a glimpse into how their ultra-nationalist agenda is becoming the blueprint for the political structure of the country. Is the joining of forces between monks and generals threatening Myanmar's young and fragile democracy?...''
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2019-03-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-03-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Title: BURMA MUST ALLOW AID ACCESS FOR ALL AREAS OF RAKHINE STATE
Description: ''Burma Human Rights Network reiterates its calls on the Burmese Government to allow unhindered and complete access for NGOs in northern Rakhine State. Since the military campaign against the Rohingya began on August 25th, 2017, residents have complained of widespread shortages of food and medical aid in Buthidaung, Rathedaung and Maungdaw Townships. While some aid slowly trickled in during the past year, several areas have reported ongoing shortages or no access to aid at all. With the recent conflict between the Arakan Army and Burmese Security forces, aid has been further pushed out leaving the Rohingya and many ethnic Rakhine in an even worse position. “The Burmese authorities continue to show there is no limit to their cruelty and callousness by depriving civilians of aid as punishment for conflicts they have no control over. The international community cannot ignore widespread hunger and disease are likely to spread through Rohingya and Rakhine communities who have been with limited aid since 2017,” said BHRN’s executive director, Kyaw Win. While nearly 800, 000 Rohingya fled the Burmese Military’s genocidal campaign between 2016 and 2017, many stayed behind. BHRN has received regular reports from villagers of food shortages, illness, and widespread suffering. Villagers in Rathedaung have complained to BHRN of not receiving aid for the past 4 months and villagers in remote areas of Buthidaung have said they’ve gone without access to medical care since 2017. NGO access has been limited, and due to the recent conflict has been nearly shut off for the Rohingya. The current conflict between the Burmese military and the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army is completely unrelated to the Rohingya, but they are suffering severely for it...''
Source/publisher: Burma Human Rights Network via "Progressive Voice"
Date of publication: 2018-02-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-03-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: CRISIS IN RAKHINE STATE, VIOLENCE COULD DERAIL GAINS IN MYANMAR’S PEACE PROCESS, SPECIAL ENVOY WARNS SECURITY COUNCIL, CALLING FOR UNIMPEDED HUMANITARIAN ACCESS
Description: ''Fragility, tensions and violence in Myanmar — including, but not limited to, the recent crisis in Rakhine State — risk jeopardizing important strides made in that country’s peace process, the top United Nations official in Myanmar warned the Security Council today, urging the 15-member organ to continue to lend support. “While Bangladesh and host communities have been very generous, we cannot expect this to continue indefinitely,” said Christine Schraner Burgener, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy, referring to the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled across the border from Myanmar 18 months ago. While refugees continue to live in extremely challenging conditions with few signs of hope, she added that military and civilian tensions persist in Myanmar ahead of general elections in 2020. Peace remains fragile as the country continues to wrestle with the legacy of decades of military rule and fundamental human rights issues. Calling for an end to violence, unfettered humanitarian access, efforts to tackle the root causes of tensions and inclusive sustainable development, she emphasized that the recently launched United Nations Joint Response Plan for 2019 — aimed at supporting both refugees and host communities — requires urgent funding. “Accountability is essential for combating impunity and genuine reconciliation,” she stressed, noting that Myanmar’s Independent Commission of Enquiry has responded positively to her recommendation that it engage with United Nations human rights entities. In that context, she urged the international community to continue to work to build trust with the Government. As Council members took the floor, some stressed that insufficient action has been taken by the Government of Myanmar to improve the situation in Rakhine State — thereby allowing for the safe, voluntary and dignified return of refugees. Several called for the prompt and full implementation of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, known as the Annan Report, and the memorandum of understanding agreed between the Government and several United Nations entities. Meanwhile, others warned that, if justice is not delivered to victims of serious crimes, the Council has the power to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. The representative of the Dominican Republic was among those speakers who voiced grave concern that few signs of a clear, lasting solution to allow the return of Rohingya refugees have been seen to date. Noting that tensions in Myanmar are increasing, discrimination continues and security on the ground remains thin, he declared: “This is a disastrous situation on both sides of the border.” Condemning the serious violations of human rights and horrendous crimes perpetrated against the Rohingya, he said the time has come for the Council to move past its paralysis on the issue and act to prevent further atrocities...''
Source/publisher: UN Security Council via "Progressive Voice"
Date of publication: 2018-02-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-03-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: ORAL STATEMENT TO THE CEDAW COMMITTEE ON MYANMAR: REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS FROM NORTHERN RAKHINE STATE
Description: ''After the Myanmar military launched its campaign of ethnic cleansing in August 2017, Human Rights Watch researchers spoke with Rohingya women and girls from 19 villages in Rakhine State who had been raped by security forces. We witnessed their deep pain, shame, and distress, born not only from the recent violence but also from the chronic fear, persecution, and neglect long faced by the Rohingya. In every case of sexual violence described to us, the perpetrators were uniformed members of the security forces – mostly soldiers, some police. All but one of the rapes were gang rapes, often involving groups of soldiers who also sometimes stripped, beat, bit, laughed at, and taunted their victims. Women described soldiers in boots kicking them and beating them with rifles. Fifteen-year-old Hala Sadak had considerable scarring on her leg from where soldiers had stripped her naked and then dragged her from her home to a nearby tree where, she estimates, 10 men raped her from behind. We documented six cases where military units committed “mass rape” of villagers, gathering women and girls in groups and gang raping them, sometimes then locking them in shelters that they set on fire. Many rape victims were murdered. And yet, despite the overwhelming evidence of these and other grave crimes, the Myanmar government continues to assert, as it did in its report to this Committee, that there is “no evidence to support these wild claims.” Civilian and military authorities continue to shield soldiers and their commanders from prosecution. Myanmar’s recent submission to the Committee of denial after denial is a dark document. It shows outrageous disrespect for survivors of rape, for the truth, and for the work of this Committee. It’s an affront to accountability for vicious crimes, and to ending the military’s use of fear – including by rape – to reach its objectives. Widespread sexual violence has long been a hallmark of the Myanmar military’s culture of abuse and impunity, and it is this profound lack of accountability which allows it to continue...''
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch via " Progressive Voice"
Date of publication: 2019-02-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-03-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women examines the situation of Rohingya women and girls in northern Rakhine state
Description: ''The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women this afternoon reviewed the situation of Rohingya women and girls in northern Rakhine state, based on a report submitted by Myanmar under the exceptional reporting procedure. Introducing the report, Win Myat Aye, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of Myanmar, said that the situation in Rakhine state was highly complex and too complicated for outsiders to comprehend, and that any solution would require a thorough understanding of the local context and historical background, and most importantly, time. Terrorist attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in 2016 and 2017 had undermined the Government’s efforts to bring peace, stability and socio-economic development to Rakhine state. The recommendations from the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, led by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, helped find a sustainable solution, he said, adding that the process of repatriation for verified residents of Myanmar from Bangladesh continued despite some naysayers. Myanmar was committed to ensuring accountability for human rights violations, including sexual violence, and stood willing and able to investigate allegations of crimes and human rights violations in its territory. In that vein, the Independent Commission of Enquiry had been set up to investigate allegations of human rights violations and related issues following the terrorist attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), with a view to seeking accountability and ensuring peace and stability in Rakhine state...''
Source/publisher: reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-02-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Mark Lowcock, Delivering better outcomes for women and girls in humanitarian crises, 22 February 2019
Description: ''A few days after starting this job, in September 2017, I went to Diffa in Niger, on the border with Nigeria, a place to which huge numbers of people, most of them women and girls, had fled from the Boko Haram terrorists who were wreaking havoc in their homelands. I met a woman called Achaitou, and her four young children. They were living under a plastic sheet. Achaitou was terrified of violence, especially fearful that she and her daughters might be abducted by armed men roaming over the border. To protect them, she took her children into the bush every night, risking disease and snakebites. A few weeks later I was in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, listening to the stories of women who had fled the violence of the Myanmar authorities in Rakhine. Stories of being forced to watch as their husbands, sons and fathers were killed. And then being themselves subject to the most extreme forms of rape and sexual violence. A few months later, I met Monga Albertine and her children, in a camp near the shores of Lake Tanganyika in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her husband had been killed in tribal fighting, and she fled to try to save her children. She was trying to survive under a plastic sheet on a wet, slippery hillside, with not enough to eat, no school for the children and no way of making a living. And two months after that, I met a woman called Fatima in another camp in South Kordofan, in Sudan. She described the risks she took every day, gathering firewood in an area where women are frequently assaulted and raped. Most people caught up in humanitarian crises round the world are just like this. The majority are women and girls – although there are many men and boys too. Most of them are caught up in conflict. And the thing that makes it hardest to help them is how the men with guns and bombs behave in those conflicts. The world’s humanitarian agencies do a good job in saving lives and reducing suffering among people caught up in conflict. But we do not do a good enough job for women and girls. In my dozens of visits to countries caught up in crisis, the stories of women and girls have stuck with me more than any others. Stories of escape from violence and terror. Stories of barbaric acts committed against them. Stories of fear for their children and loved ones. But, stories also of resilience and hope. Women and girls defiant...''
Source/publisher: reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-02-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 190.26 KB
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Title: 2019 Joint Response Plan for Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis (January-December)
Description: ''The Rohingya people have faced decades of systematic discrimination, statelessness and targeted violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar. Such persecution has forced Rohingya women, girls, boys and men into Bangladesh for many years, with signiicant spikes following violent attacks in 1978, 1991-1992, and again in 2016. Yet it was August 2017 that triggered by far the largest and fastest refugee inlux into Bangladesh. Since then, an estimated 745,000 Rohingya—including more than 400,000 children—have led into Cox’s Bazar. The immediate cause of their light was described by the UN-mandated Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar as a “widespread and systematic attack on [civilians]” including “murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, persecution, and enslavement” with “elements of extermination and deportation” as well as “systematic oppression and discrimination [that] may also amount to the crime of apartheid.” The Government of Bangladesh has kept its borders open to leeing Rohingya and leads the humanitarian response. The people of Bangladesh continue to show exceptional hospitality in the face of human tragedy on a massive scale. In keeping with its national policies, the Government of Bangladesh refers to these Rohingya as “Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals” in the present context. The UN system refers to this population as Rohingya refugees, in line with the applicable international framework for protection and solutions, as well as the resulting accountabilities for the countries of origin and asylum in addition to the international community as a whole. These terms refer to the same population...''
Source/publisher: Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.67 MB
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Title: Myanmar army shelling villages in Rakhine state, rights group told
Description: ''Myanmar soldiers are shelling villages, detaining civilians and blocking aid as part of a new crackdown in Rakhine state by some of the army units implicated in atrocities against the Rohingya, a rights group says. Villagers and local activists in the northern Myanmar state have told Amnesty International that artillery or mortar shells are being fired in the vicinity of townships and people are returning to abandoned communities to find properties looted and damaged. Military activity in the restive state has intensified since early January when an armed ethnic Rakhine group called the Arakan Army attacked four police posts, reportedly killing 13 officers. More than 5,200 people have been displaced by the subsequent fighting, the UN says, and dozens of families have reportedly fled into neighbouring Bangladesh. Nearly a million Muslim Rohingya people are sheltering in sprawling refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, but most of those displaced in the latest fighting belong to Buddhist ethnic minorities who, unlike the Rohingya, are recognised as Burmese citizens...''
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-02-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: United Nations seeks US$920 million for Rohingya humanitarian crisis in 2019
Description: ''United Nations aid agencies and NGO partners launched today the 2019 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. The appeal seeks to raise US$920 million to meet the massive needs of more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities. Critical aid and services such as food, water, sanitation and shelter represent more than half of the funding needs this year. Other key sectors of the appeal include health, site management, protection activities including child protection and addressing sexual and gender-based violence, education and nutrition. More than 745,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine State to Bangladesh since August 2017, escaping violence in Myanmar and joining roughly 200,000 others already displaced in the Cox’s Bazar area by previous cycles of violence...''
Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Date of publication: 2019-02-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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