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

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Title: Bangladesh to verify Myanmar’s claim of ‘voluntary’ Rohingya repatriation
Sub-title: Myanmar Embassy in Dhaka claimed 46 displaced persons returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh
Description: "Bangladesh will verify Myanmar’s claim over voluntary nature of some Rohingyas to Myanmar as Myanmar keeps spreading misleading information to the international community to avoid repatriation. "We will issue a press statement after verifying the claim," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters on Thursday, reports UNB. The Myanmar Embassy in Dhaka in a Facebook post claimed 46 displaced persons returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh on their own volition through TaungPyoLetwe and NgaKhuYa Reception Centers on Thursday. Myanmar claimed that the returnees were warmly received by the officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, and Ministry of Labour, Population and Immigration, and other officials concerned. Myanmar also claimed that a total of 397 displaced persons have voluntarily returned from Bangladesh to Myanmar till date and they were duly provided with rice, cooking oil and foodstuff monthly by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. A diplomatic source said the UNHCR and the officials at the RRRC are not aware of such voluntary return..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-03
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Title: Number of hostages ‘killed’ as Rakhine rebels, Myanmar army clash
Description: "A number of hostages seized by ethnic Rakhine rebels in a raid on a ferry packed with scores of Myanmar security forces have been killed, the insurgents and army said late Sunday, blaming each other for the deaths. On Saturday rebels from the Arakan Army (AA), who are fighting for greater autonomy for Rakhine Buddhists from the state, forced a ferry to the shore taking around 50 people hostage including 14 soldiers and 29 police officers. The army said it deployed attack helicopters in pursuit of the rebels who tried to escape with the detainees loaded onto three boats. Both sides confirmed some of the hostages were killed in a melee, but did not give a number for the dead and traded blame for who was responsible. The AA released a statement late Sunday saying military attack helicopters armed with machine guns and rockets hit the group as they were being “taken for questioning to a safe place in boats.” “Some detainees we took for questioning were killed, two boats were completely destroyed.” The army refuted the allegation saying the AA “killed them before the fighting took place” with security forces..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-10-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-03
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Title: Rohingya refugees turn down second Myanmar repatriation effort
Sub-title: Bangladeshi official says potential returnees fear for their safety in Rakhine state
Description: "A second attempt to repatriate the thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh has failed after the authorities failed to convince the refugees it would be safe to return. The Myanmar government had approved more than 3,000 Rohingya to be brought back to the country beginning on Thursday but, as during the first repatriation attempt in November, no refugees agreed to voluntarily board the buses to Myanmar. A Bangladeshi government official confirmed that four families, or about 18 people, from Shalbagan camp 26 in Cox’s Bazar had initially expressed interest in going back. They had almost boarded a vehicle to cross the border, but were dissuaded by fellow refugees who told them they would not be able to return to their original villages or have a pathway to citizenship. A statement from the UN refugee agency said: “So far none of those interviewed have indicated a willingness to repatriate at this time. UNHCR will continue assisting the government of Bangladesh in this process to ensure that all those cleared for return are interviewed.”..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-03
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Title: Rohingya Repatriation: Dhaka seeks effective role from Asean
Description: "Bangladesh wants a strong and effective role of the Asean in the Rohingya repatriation as the regional bloc begins its four-day summit in Bangkok today. Dhaka says the problem, created by Myanmar, is now turning into a regional crisis, with the Rohingyas spreading across the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The crisis will aggravate in future if it is not resolved. “As a member of Asean, Myanmar’s role is more important now than ever before,” Col (retd) Faruk Khan, chair of the parliamentary standing committee on the foreign ministry, told The Daily Star yesterday. He led a parliamentary delegation to Thailand, the current chair of Asean, and Singapore, with the specific objective of convincing those countries to come forward with a stronger role in making sure that Myanmar creates conducive conditions in Rakhine for the return of the Rohingyas. The delegation highlighted the negative consequences of the Rohingyas’ prolonged stay in Bangladesh and some other Asean countries, and requested them to strongly raise the Rohingya issue at the summit with due importance..."
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Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-11-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-03
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Title: Be firm on ‘genocidal’ Myanmar regime, Asean told ahead of leaders summit
Description: "A Rohingya rights group today urged Asean leaders to review their relationship with Myanmar over its treatment of the minority group as country leaders meet in Bangkok for the 35th Asean Summit. Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (Merhrom) also asked if it was ethical for countries to do business with a “genocidal state”, adding that a stable regional environment is necessary for sustainability. Merhrom president Zafar Abdul Ghani said the 35th Asean Summit, themed “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, was contradictory to the reality in the region. “How do we expect to advance partnership for sustainability when Rohingya genocide is ongoing in Asean and affecting Asean member states and the rest of the world? “Nothing has changed despite thousands of reports published, thousands of testimonies from the genocide survivors recorded and thousands of visits to the largest refugee camp in the world,” he said. “The most persecuted ethnic group in the world remains.” In a statement, he said the region had become desensitised to the atrocities committed against the Rohingya, adding that a “state of denial” would continue to exist until the genocide is stopped..."
Source/publisher: "Free Malaysia Today" (Malaysia)
Date of publication: 2019-11-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
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Title: Civilians abducted by insurgents in Myanmar's western state reach 82 this year
Description: "Villagers and students, abducted by an ethnic insurgent group in Myanmar's western Chin state during this year, reached 82 as of the end of October since Jan. 31, according to the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services Friday. The abductees taken away by the Arakan Army (AA) are from Paletwa township of the state. They were kidnapped during the months of January, June and August respectively. Families of the abductees complained to the authorities that they did not receive any contact from them until Oct. 31.The families were seeking help from the Chin state government and the National Reconciliation and Peace Center to save the detainees from the AA, according to the military office. The AA group was charged with conducting acts of disrupting peace and rule of law as well as abducting public servants and innocent civilians..."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication: 2019-11-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
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Title: It Isn’t Just the Rohingya. Myanmar Is Now Attacking Buddhists in Rakhine State, Too.
Sub-title: This latest battle could be the army’s undoing.
Description: "MRAUK U, Myanmar—Here in the town of Mrauk U, in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state, there has been little to celebrate during this October’s Thadingyut, the second-most important annual festival of the Buddhist calendar. Normally, the auspicious full moon would be hailed with a floating armada of delicate candlelit paper lanterns and song, theater, and dance. Yet this year, there are no celebrations. Instead, at 9 p.m. sharp, a curfew falls as soldiers from the Myanmar Army, known as the Tatmadaw, emerge from their posts to pull barbed wire and steel barricades across roads. Shops and businesses shutter, the streets empty and lights flickering out. Under the looming gaze of hundreds of medieval temples—relics of a time when this was the capital of one of the richest and most powerful states in Southeast Asia—parents gather up their children by flashlight and head into makeshift bunkers, dug into the soft clay beneath their houses. These gimcrack dugouts, ringed with old sand-filled cement bags, may not look much, but they provide at least some shelter from the shells, rockets, and bullets now increasingly flying between the Tatmadaw and local rebels, up above..."
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Source/publisher: "Foreign Policy" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
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Title: Myanmar guards kill Bangladeshi fisherman
Description: "A Bangladeshi fisherman was shot dead and another was injured allegedly by Myanmar’s Border Guard Police on the Naf river in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf upazila yesterday. The incident happened when the two men went fishing in the morning, locals claimed. The dead was identified as Noor Mohammad, 38, while the injured was Abul Kalam, 32, both of East Moheshkhalia Para in Teknaf. Lieutenant Colonel Md Foisal Hasan, commanding officer of BGB-2, said a team of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) found Noor Mohammad’s body and a bullet-hit Abul Kalam near sluice gate No 5. Abul Kalam was first taken to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Cox’s Bazar General Hospital. Noor’s body was sent for an autopsy. He left behind his wife, four daughters and a son. Local Union Parishad member Jahed Hossain claimed the incident took place when the two were setting up nets in the Naf river..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-11-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-11-01
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Title: Asean must lead in Rakhine crisis
Description: "'We are hungry for sustainable solutions. Four times we have been refugees. We need to stop being refugees", said a Rohingya man at Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh. Southeast Asia's leaders are expected to discuss the issue of Rohingya refugees and ways of enhancing Asean's role in facilitating the voluntary repatriation process at their regional summit in Bangkok later this week. As this year's Asean chair, Thailand has a critical leadership role to play in supporting durable solutions for Rohingya displaced in Myanmar as well as for those living in exile as refugees in Bangladesh and across the region. This must include prioritising refugee participation in decision-making. Days before the second anniversary of the Rohingya refugee crisis in August, the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to start repatriation. This announcement was a surprise to many, including Rohingya refugees. So far, no refugees have volunteered to go back. The refugees have sent a message and Asean must pay heed: Without meaningful progress in realising equal rights, citizenship and justice for Rohingya, one of the world's largest refugee crises will continue..."
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Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-10-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
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Title: Thailand: Ensure Accountability for Mass Trafficking of Rohingya, Provide Compensation for Survivors
Sub-title: Court to deliver verdict on appeals of Thailand's largest-ever human trafficking trial
Description: "The Government of Thailand should establish a public trust fund to provide financial reparations for tens of thousands of Rohingya survivors of human trafficking through Thailand from 2012 to 2015, said Fortify Rights today. The Thai judicial system should also ensure all perpetrators responsible for the mass-scale trafficking of Rohingya refugees and others are held legally accountable. The Criminal Court Division for Human Trafficking in Bangkok is expected to issue decisions tomorrow in response to appeals submitted by the prosecution and the defense in the largest human trafficking case in Thailand’s history, which concluded in July 2017. “The lower court set an important precedent in Thailand and the region by convicting scores of human traffickers involved in horrific abuses against Rohingya refugees. These earlier convictions demonstrated a welcomed commitment to combatting trafficking,” said Amy Smith, Executive Director of Fortify Rights. “The court and the government now have an opportunity to reiterate the message that there are severe consequences for human trafficking and that survivors will be protected and compensated.” The prosecutor and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security as co-plaintiffs submitted an appeal to the court, calling for increased sentences against those convicted in 2017 for trafficking Rohingya and others and reconsideration of the cases against 28 defendants dismissed by the lower court. The defendants also submitted an appeal seeking a reduction in the sentences imposed by the lower court..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
Date of publication: 2019-10-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-31
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Title: Domination and Dereliction: Exploring the State's Roles in Burma
Description: "WHAT THESE FOUR QUITE different books broadly share is a focus on the role of the state in Myanmar society. Current scholarship describes the authoritarian state in Myanmar, which has been controlled by the army since 1962, as either dominantly present or neglectfully absent. Censorship and the repression of autonomous spaces in society, on the one hand, and the failure of the state to enforce efficient health and environmental policies, on the other, are keywords in these works that illustrate the double-faced appearance of the state’s existence and role in society. Myanmar: The State, Community and the Environment is a collection of twelve papers presented at the seventh Myanmar/Burma Update conference in Singapore in July 2006. Since 1999, the aim of the Myanmar/Burma Update conferences based at the Australian National University has been to record recent developments and report on current issues. Like the other published tomes of the Update conferences (the latest being Ruling Myanmar: From Cyclone Nargis to National Elections edited by Nick Cheesman, Monique Skidmore, and Trevor Wilson, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010), this volume provides information on a country that has been represented in the international media in a simplistic and monotonous way precisely because it has remained vastly understudied. The 2006 conference tried to assess political and military developments after the purging of Prime Minister (Lt. Gen.) Khin Nyunt from power, dealt with the economic situation after the banking crisis of 2001, and pioneered an examination of the environmental and social impact of the exploitation of natural resources. The authors are deeply familiar with or have been professionally involved with the country for extended periods of time, which is largely responsible for the quality of their observations. Vicky Bowman, a former British ambassador, gives a depressing account of the country’s political situation in 2006. Against the background of the excessively slow implementation of the seven-step roadmap towards democracy, the authoritarian leadership was trying to consolidate its support in rural areas while the major opposition group, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was weak and effectively marginalized. Bowman’s bleak outlook on political and economic progress is mirrored in Sean Turnell’s account of the economy in 2006 and Trevor Wilson’s paper on foreign policy..."
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Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2012-04-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
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Title: Forging Buddhist Credentials as a Tool of Legitimacy and Ethnic Identity: A study of Arakan’s Subjection in Nineteenth Century Burma
Topic: Arakan (Burma), Th eravada Buddhism, colonial history, ethnic identity, monastic historiograp
Topic: Arakan (Burma), Th eravada Buddhism, colonial history, ethnic identity, monastic historiograp
Description: "Th ere is an abundance of scholarly material on the relation between the temporal and the spiritual power in Southeast Asian Buddhist kingdoms some of which I discuss in the notes or refer to in the bibliography. Th e latest contribution to the field is Ian Harris, ed. Buddhism, Power and Political Order (London: Routledge, 2007). 2) Steven Collins’s discussion of “kingship and its discontents” in his land-mark Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities: Utopias of the Pali Imaginaire (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) contributed to a “new vision of Buddhist history” because his analysis leads beyond earlier approaches such as Melford Spiro, Burmese Supernaturalism (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1967), Melford Spiro, Buddhism and Society: A Great Tradition and its Burmese Vicissitudes (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970), and Stanley J. Tambiah, World Conqueror and World Renouncer: A Study of Buddhism and Polity in Th ailand against a Historical Background (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976). Collins argues that “most ethnographies and histories do not make [. . .] a separation” between “Buddhism as constructed by scholars” and the “socio-cultural life . . . lived historically, first in the conditions of pre-modern agrarian states, and then in the context of modernization, nation-building, colonialism and capitalism”: Collins, Nirvana and Other Buddhist Felicities: 568..."
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Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2008-05-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
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Title: From Aracan Mahomedans to Muslim Rohingyas
Description: "The present essay contributes to the investigation of the historical background of the Rakhine State crisis which, since 2012, has attracted wide international attention for the Muslim Rohingyas. Arguing that the changes in names used by and for Muslims in the frontier region of Bengal/Bangladesh and Burma/Myanmar reflect the political, social and demographic development, the essay calls for an archive of naming practices as a pool of references and information to be included in the ongoing debate..."
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Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2018-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
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Size: 5.5 MB (33 pages)
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Title: History and Victimhood: Engaging with Rohingya Issues
Description: "II n today’s world, the immediacy of humanitarian crises tends to bar a deeper interest in the complexity of the historical roots of a conflict. The deteriorating situation of the Muslim minority in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, a group now widely known as the Rohingya, is a case in point. They have been presented as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world due to a track record of human rights violations, while the local Islamic history and the emergence of Muslim nationalism at the margins of Muslim Bengal (East Pakistan/ Bangladesh) and Buddhist Burma (Myanmar) has barely begun to inform international understanding of the regional conflict. The present article argues in favor of historical research as a prerequisite both for understanding the nature of the conflict and for keeping opportunities for competing historical interpretations alive. It also contributes to the ongoing question of collective representations of “voiceless” non-Western victims as deprived of political agency.1 The article supports the argument that victimhood is a form of agency, but, as in the case of the Rohingya crisis since 2012, it bears the risk of encapsulating people and isolating them from their historical context..."
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Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2018-01-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
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Title: Traders and Poets at the Mrauk U Court
Description: "From 1580 to the early 1640s, the kingdom of Arakan was an aggressively expansive polity in the Eastern Indian Ocean whose very existence depended on constant warfare against its immediate neighbors, the Mughal emperors and the Burmese kings. At the same time, trade thrived and a culturally diverse society flourished at the kingdom’s capital until the late seventeenth century. While focusing on the commercial network and the presence of Bengali poets at the Mrauk-U court, the paper faces the apparently contradictory fact that trade and cultural flowering were dependent on the results of Arakan’s war-driven policies..."
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Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2011-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-30
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 29 October 2019
Description: "A search and rescue column of Tatmadaw founded Police Constable Sai Naing Aung near Kyauktan village in Rakhine State, according to the report of Office of Commander in Chief. He was one of the abductees taken AA armed group on 26 October. The police constable and the released abductees said that a Tatmadaw officer purchased a ticket for Shwenadi Watercraft from Sittway to Buthidaung, mentioning his name and military rank. The information about a military officer in the passengers was released and AA armed group stopped the vessel near Yemyat village. They called the name of that military officer and took him and some passengers. The AA members also used three motorboats to bring the remaining passengers, heading to Kyauktan village. While some members of AA group and passengers were awaiting vessels on the bank, the five abductees, including Police Constable Sai Naing Aung, were tied and shot by small weapons before dropping into water. The police constable was flowing in the water with a gun injury before he was found by the search and rescue column of Tatmadaw. Tatmadaw used helicopters and ground units to find the abductees, and 15 of them have been rescued until now. Shwenadi Watercraft line is under investigation for the information release about passengers and the Tatmadaw search and rescue columns are finding more abductees..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-10-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-29
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Title: How the Rohingya crisis destroyed Suu Kyi’s legacy
Sub-title: Is she the only one to blame?
Description: "The Rohingya crisis has dramatically changed the portrayal of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Western media, which once romantically touted her as “The Lady,” has now turned on her. Amnesty International withdrew the prestigious “Ambassador of Conscience” award from her. Petitions, calling for stripping her of her Nobel Prize, are being signed. It seems that Suu Kyi is on the receiving end of most of the criticism relating to the Rohingya genocide. Considered to be one of the most respected world leaders even a few years ago, she has now become an international pariah. But can she alone be blamed for the Rohingya genocide? Most people aware of the civil-military dynamics in Myanmar know that the Tatmadaw is still the most powerful political force in the country. The military’s hold on power was weakened after the 2015 election, in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory. However, the role of their military in national politics was far from over. The 2008 constitution guaranteed the military an influential position in Myanmar’s decision-making process. The Tatmadaw controls the ministries of home affairs, defence, and border affairs..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-29
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Title: Rohingya issue: NAM calls for creating conducive conditions in Rakhine
Sub-title: They also stressed the implementation of the arrangement of Rohingya repatriation signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar in this regard, UNB reported on Sunday
Description: "The heads of state and government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) have underscored the importance of creating “conducive conditions” in Rakhine State of Myanmar for the voluntary return of Rohingyas to their place of origin in a “safe, secure and dignified” manner. They also stressed the implementation of the arrangement of Rohingya repatriation signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar in this regard, UNB reported on Sunday. Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Cox’s Bazar since August 25, 2017 amid military crackdown on them in Rakhine State. The 18th Summit of the heads of state and government of NAM, a forum of 120 member countries, 17 observer countries and 10 observer organizations, was held on October 25-26 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also attended the Summit. It was preceded by the Preparatory Senior Officials Meeting on October 21-22 and the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting on October 23-24, where Azerbaijan took over the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement for the next three years, said an official. On October 24, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee called for sanctions against Myanmar military-run companies and commanders responsible for serious rights violations..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-29
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Title: Rohingya man arrested in Bangladesh after $5m drug haul
Sub-title: Special police staged raid on a beach in Cox's Bazar following tip that trawler carrying drugs would land there.
Description: "The spokesman said 800,000 pills were found in sacks in the trawler and one Rohingya suspect was detained while several others escaped. About 740,000 Rohingya arrived in Bangladesh after a Myanmar military crackdown in August 2017 and drug dealing has become a growing problem in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar where they live. The seizure was the biggest made this year of the methamphetamine pills, known as yaba, which have become a popular drug among young people in the nation of 168 million. Since a crackdown was launched last year, more than 500 suspected drug traffickers - including at least 25 Rohingya - have been shot dead by police and security forces..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-29
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Title: Rohingya repatriation: Bangladesh, Myanmar, China joint mechanism begins work
Sub-title: The tripartite forum held its first meeting last week, according to Foreign Ministry sources
Description: "The joint mechanism among Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China, aiming to expedite the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to their homes in Rakhine, Myanmar, has begun its operation, with its maiden meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week, diplomatic sources have told Dhaka Tribune. The director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Southeast Asia wing, and ambassadors of Myanmar, and China in Bangladesh are the members of the tripartite forum. Following the foreign minister-level meeting among Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, US on September 23, the formation of such a mechanism was agreed upon to expedite the repatriation process. “Yes, we have started our activities, having held the forum’s first meeting last week,” a senior foreign ministry official told Dhaka Tribune. “At the first meeting, the director general and the two ambassadors talked about the modalities for moving forward to begin the repatriation,” he said, adding that another meeting is scheduled for next week..."
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Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-29
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Title: Arakan Army Trains Fighters to Oppose Myanmar’s Military
Description: "In Myanmar, several hundred young people kick up dirt as they run early one morning along a dusty path. They are preparing to join groups such as the Arakan Army (AA), which operates training camps in the northern state of Kachin. The area also is home to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), another armed group. The AA was formed in 2009 and now claims to have 7,000 troops. It is fighting in Rakhine State against troops loyal to the government of Myanmar, also called Burma. The Arakan Army says it is fighting for more self-rule and control over their territory. “The reason I joined the Arakan Army and train as a female soldier is because I don’t want to see the Myanmar army oppress and kill Rakhine people anymore,” says Soe Soe. The young woman carried an AK-74 rifle on her shoulder as she spoke to a VOA reporter. “The Myanmar army bullies and treats us badly in every way they can. I can’t take it so I made a decision to serve my nationality and army,” Soe Soe added. The AA is just one group belonging to the Northern Alliance. Others include the KIA, the Ta-ang Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA)..."
Source/publisher: "VOA Learning English" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
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Title: Competing Identities and the Hybridized History of the Rohingyas
Description: "The successive waves of violence and aggression involving Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state of Myanmar1 in 2012 and 2013 attracted widespread international attention. The communal violence resulted in the death of more than 200 people and the displacement of over 130,000, mostly Muslims, as well as the destruction of housing properties. It highlighted ethno-religious tensions, harsh social problems and long-standing resentment. It also demonstrated, over the last two years, the risks inherent in the political transformation of the country, releasing tensions that had been repressed for decades 1 The word “Rakhine”, a spelling adopted after 1991, is an ethnonym and can be used as an adjective. Rakhine state is the official name of the state in western Myanmar that is still known in most history books as Arakan. The people of the state are the Rakhine or Arakanese, and they refer to their country as “Rakhine-pray”. For reasons of convenience, as this article mostly deals with history, the name “Arakan” will be used to refer to the former kingdom whose territory extended, at times, far beyond the borders of the current administrative division, to the colonial province, and to the current Rakhine state. UN organizations and international non-government organizations that deal with the situation of the Muslim Rohingyas have established the acronym NRS, that is, Northern Rakhine State, referring to the area where Muslims form the majority population. The majority people of Myanmar will be referred to as “Burmese”..."
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Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2015-07-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
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Title: A Daring Helicopter Rescue After Rebels Capture a Ferry in Myanmar
Description: "When the ferry pushed off from a dilapidated pier in western Myanmar, few of the passengers could have predicted how dangerous the journey would turn out. Later on Saturday, along a riverbank dotted with mangroves, a rebel group abducted dozens of soldiers and government workers from the ferry at gunpoint. That drew a risky rescue attempt by army helicopters, which swooped in to try to free the hostages as their captors then spirited them away in three separate boats. Gunfire erupted on both sides, and the army later said it had rescued 14 of the 58 hostages. The rebels said some were killed by helicopter fire, and they were keeping the survivors for “further investigation.” The drama unfolded in a rural section of Rakhine State, a strip of land on the country’s west coast where Myanmar’s army, known as the Tatmadaw, staged a brutal ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in 2017. Sign up for The Interpreter Subscribe for original insights, commentary and discussions on the major news stories of the week, from columnists Max Fisher and Amanda Taub. SIGN UP The scale of the abduction suggests that the rebel group, The Arakan Army — a guerrilla force from the Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group that makes up most of the state’s population — is using increasingly brazen tactics to press its demand for independence..."
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Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
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Title: Deaths reported after rebels abduct dozens in Myanmar's Rakhine
Sub-title: Arakan Army rebel group says three military helicopters attacked three boats carrying kidnapped troops and two sank.
Description: "An ethnic rebel army in Myanmar said some of the several dozen soldiers, police and civilian officials it abducted from a ferry were killed in a subsequent attack by government helicopters. A statement posted on Sunday on the website of the Arakan Army (AA), a rebel group in the western state of Rakhine, said three helicopters attacked three boats carrying the captured personnel after they were seized on Saturday, sinking two..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 28 October 2019
Description: "UNION Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye held a coordination meeting at the building of Rakhine State government yesterday to provide humanitarian aid to the civilians who fled their homes due to armed conflicts in Rakhine State and the resettlement of internally displaced persons from the Maungtaw violence in 2017. In his opening remark, the Union Minister called for stronger efforts on the government’s projects in Rakhine State and providing effective assistance to them. Myanmar government formed the Central Committee for the Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State in 2016, with four working sub-committees. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement is responsible for resettlement and socioeconomic development committee. The Union Minister said that humanitarian assistance to civilians at temporary shelters must be systematic to ensure good results for them. He also advised to implement the national- level strategy adopted by the relevant state departments, international organizations and international experts for the resettlement of IDPs and the Govt discusses resettlement programme for displaced civilians in Rakhine closure of temporary camps. The Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development in Rakhine (UEHRD) is implementing development programmes with the cooperation of the public and private sectors, partner countries, local and international organizations and UN agencies, while neighbouring countries and ASEAN members are also providing assistance in this issue..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 4.96 MB
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Title: 29 more displaced people return to Myanmar from Bangladesh
Description: "Twenty-nine more displaced people have returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh as the second group back on their own volition, according to the immigration authorities Thursday. The displaced, made up of five families including 11 women, were received at the Taung Pyo Letwe reception center in Maungtaw, Rakhine state, on Tuesday. The Myanmar authorities managed their repatriation process, providing them with humanitarian assistance after scrutiny in accordance with the immigration and security rules. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in August 2018 at the two countries' ministerial meeting held in Nay Pyi Taw for early repatriation of displaced persons from the Myanmar western state who fled to Bangladesh. On June 6, 2018, Myanmar also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on assisting Myanmar's repatriation process of displaced people from Rakhine state..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication: 2019-10-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi scolds world for lacking focus on Rakhine 'terrorists'
Description: "Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has bemoaned the lack of global scrutiny on extremism and "terrorists" inside Rakhine state, where her country's army stands accused of committing genocide against Rohingya Muslims. The comments from the Nobel laureate are part of a longstanding defence of the army campaign against the Rohingya, which drove nearly three-quarters of a million of the minority into Bangladesh in 2017. That campaign brought US sanctions on key military figures and allegations of genocide by United Nations investigators. The Myanmar military has said its actions were necessary and proportionate to stamp out Rohingya militants - a defence Ms Suu Kyi reiterated in an interview with Japan's Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday (Oct 23). "There are certain extremist elements who do not want peace in Rakhine... because for many terrorists, problems are what they thrive on," she said, referencing attacks by Rohingya rebels in 2017 that sparked a scorched-earth army operation..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication: 2019-10-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: No quick Asean fix for Rakhine state
Description: "When Asean's leaders meet in Bangkok for their summit on June 22-23, they will discuss a preliminary report about Myanmar by the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre). According to news reports and press releases, this report -- which remains confidential -- makes an initial assessment of the preparations for the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees. The emphasis of Asean's efforts to support Myanmar with the Rohingya repatriation will be on "low-hanging fruit", the assumption being that practical measures will contribute to creating a conducive environment for the safe, dignified return of Rohingya refugees..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-06-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Iran to mount pressure on Myanmar
Sub-title: Iran would continue their support to Bangladesh on Rohingya issue, says President Rouhani
Description: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said his country will work to mount pressure on Myanmar from international side to resolve the Rohingya crisis. “We will work to create international pressure on Myanmar (to resolve the Rohingya crisis),” he said during a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the bilateral booth of Baku Congress Center where the NAM Summit is taking place. Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque on Friday briefed reporters that the Iranian leader said they would continue their support to Bangladesh on Rohingya issue, reports UNB. Thanking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for sheltering Rohingyas, he said, Bangladesh and Iran have a cordial, cultural and historical relation. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked the Iranian President for his country's support to Bangladesh on Rohingya issue. She emphasized united efforts of Islamic Ummah. “The Islamic Ummah should resolve their internal conflicts internally. If they can do this, then the Islamic Ummah can emerge as a big power in the world,” she said..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar is 'ready' for the return of Rohingya
Description: "Myanmar wants the Rohingya refugees to return, and preparations have been made to receive them, according to the minister in charge of the process. "We will accept them back anytime," said Dr Win Myat Aye, Myanmar's Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. "Whoever wants to come back voluntarily, we can accept," he said. He also urged Bangladesh to immediately return the 400 or more Hindu refugees who have agreed to be repatriated, as this could help kick-start the stalled repatriation programme. The minister made his comments in an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, amid growing international criticism of Myanmar's repatriation efforts and Bangladesh's accusations that Myanmar is to blame for the failure of the process..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-10-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Ambiguous Plight of the Rohingya
Sub-title: The case of 30 men, women and children raise worries about the opaque treatment of the Muslim minority in Southeast Asia.
Description: "THE extended detention of dozens of Rohingya men, women and children is raising new concerns from the international community about the treatment of the Muslim minority in Myanmar, and that government’s commitment to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled persecution. Thirty Rohingya, including nine youths traveling in the group, were arrested on Sept. 26 in the country’s Ayeyarwady Region after arriving there by boat from Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar’s conflict-stricken Rakhine state, on their way to Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, according to local media reports. A week later, a court sentenced the adults to two years in prison for breaking immigration laws for not carrying official papers, while the same court sentenced the children to a youth detention center south of Yangon. According to Human Rights Watch, a 5-year-old child was among those arrested and is currently being held in prison with his mother..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: US News (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Shun Repatriation to Myanmar, Want Safety Guarantee
Sub-title: No Rohingya Muslims staying in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh turned up for a planned repatriation to Myanmar because they want to be guaranteed safety and citizenship first.
Description: "COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — None of the thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh turned up for a planned repatriation to Myanmar on Thursday, demanding they first be guaranteed safety and citizenship. "Not a single Rohingya wants to go back without their demands being met," Bangladesh refugee commissioner Abul Kalam told reporters. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh after Myanmar's military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against them two years ago, a campaign that involved mass rapes, killings and the burning of homes. A U.N.-established investigation has recommended top generals be prosecuted over the crackdown. Rohingya Muslims have long demanded that Myanmar give them citizenship, safety and their own land and homes they left behind. The Buddhist-majority nation has refused to recognize Rohingya as citizens or even as one of its ethnic groups, rendering them stateless, and they also face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination. Myanmar had cleared more than 3,000 refugees from more than 1,000 families as eligible for repatriation and said the operation to return them would begin Thursday. Kalam said none of the 295 families interviewed by the Bangladesh government and the U.N. refugee agency had agreed to return to Myanmar. "I'll go to Myanmar only if I have citizenship. Otherwise they will shoot and burn us," 26-year-old Abdul Hossain told The Associated Press. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government will not force the refugees to return and the repatriation will only happen if they are willing..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA) via US News (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UN Mission Head Says Risk of Genocide Recurring in Myanmar
Sub-title: The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar says that "there is a serious risk of genocide recurring" against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.
Description: "The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar warned Tuesday that "there is a serious risk of genocide recurring" against the estimated 600,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority still living in the country. Marzuki Darusman told the General Assembly's human rights committee that "if anything, the situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine state has worsened," citing continued discrimination, segregation, restricted movement, insecurity and a lack of access to land, jobs, education and health care. The government of Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority nation, has refused to recognize Rohingya as citizens or even as one of its ethnic groups, rendering the vast majority stateless. Myanmar's military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against the Rohingya in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and burning of their homes. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which Darusman heads, said in its final report last month that Myanmar should be held responsible in international legal forums for alleged genocide against the Rohingya..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Associated Press (USA) via US News (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Abe calls on Suu Kyi to ensure Rohingya can return to Myanmar
Description: "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday to create an environment in her country that will allow Rohingya Muslim refugees to return from Bangladesh. "With regard to the alleged human rights violations in Rakhine State, it is indispensable that the Myanmar government and military take appropriate measures promptly," Abe was quoted by the Japanese Foreign Ministry as telling Suu Kyi in their meeting in Tokyo. Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown in Myanmar and their repatriation remains a challenge. Since 2017, some 742,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh in search of safety, according to the United Nations. The Rohingya are considered stateless people in Myanmar where they have for decades faced discrimination and persecution. Suu Kyi expressed her intention to address the Rakhine issue "correctly" and take necessary steps, the ministry said. Abe pledged Japan's support. Abe kicked off a series of back-to-back meetings with foreign leaders visiting Japan to attend Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony on Tuesday. Suu Kyi is among the dignitaries from over 180 countries expected to take part in the imperial event..."
Source/publisher: "Japan Today" (Japan)
Date of publication: 2019-10-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh says thousands of Rohingya agree relocation to island
Sub-title: Rights groups have warned the island might not be able to withstand violent storms during the annual monsoon season.
Description: "Bangladesh's refugee commissioner has said thousands of Rohingya living in Bangladesh refugee camps have agreed to move to an island in the Bay of Bengal despite fears the site is prone to flooding. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar in August 2017 in the face of a military crackdown, joining 200,000 refugees already in makeshift tent settlements at Cox's Bazar. Dhaka has long wanted to move 100,000 refugees to the islet, saying it would take pressure off the overcrowded border camps where almost a million Rohingya live. "Approximately 6,000 to 7,000 refugees have already expressed their willingness to be relocated to Bhashan Char [the island]," the Bangladesh official Mahbub Alam told AFP news agency from Cox's Bazar, adding that "the number is rising". He did not say when the refugees would be moved, but a senior Navy officer involved in building facilities on the island said the relocation could start by December, with some 500 refugees sent daily..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Facebook, the Rohingya, and internet blackouts in Myanmar
Sub-title: Online restrictions imposed on the Rohingya in Myanmar and in refugee camps in Bangladesh should be repealed.
Description: "The role of social media, particularly Facebook, in facilitating hate speech and spreading disinformation in countries such as Myanmar has undermined assertions by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that his platform promotes “well-being”. Nevertheless, the United Nations has argued that internet access is a “key means” by which individuals can exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression. This makes internet blackouts a significant human rights issue around the world and as the world becomes more connected, they are becoming more common. Not surprisingly, the Rohingya, Myanmar’s perpetually oppressed ethnic minority, are now facing internet restrictions on both sides of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. In June the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications directed information and communications technology operators to disable internet services in nine townships in western Myanmar where the military are in conflict with the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army. Although also containing Rakhine civilians, several of these townships were majority-Rohingya and have been sites for attacks on Rohingya civilians..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Interpreter"
Date of publication: 2019-10-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Genocide: Gambia to file case against Myanmar at ICJ
Topic: ICJ, Bangladesh rohingya crisis
Sub-title: Gambia will be taking Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to face charges of genocide against its Rohingya minority, said Gambia's Attorney General and Minister for Justice Abubacarr Marie Tambadou.
Topic: ICJ, Bangladesh rohingya crisis
Description: "The charges, which will be filed by the Gambian Ministry of Justice's legal team, will be the first time that the Myanmar authorities will be accused of the crimes of genocide at the International Court of Justice, according to Asia Justice Coalition. "I can confirm that on October 4, I have instructed our lawyersto file the case at the International Court of Justice," the Asia Justice Coalition quoted Tambadou as saying at a conclave on 'Justice and Accountability for the Rohingya' at the Hague recently. Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Cox's Bazar since August 25, 2017 amid military crackdown against Rohingyas in Rakhine State. Tambadou said, "I could smell the stench of genocide from miles away when I visited the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. It was all too familiar for me, after a decade of interacting with the victims of the Rwandan mass rapes, killings and genocide." Tambadou previously served as a special assistant to the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Japan: Hold Myanmar to Account for Atrocities
Sub-title: Oppose Investments Harming Ethnic Rohingya, Benefiting Military
Description: "The Japanese government should publicly hold Myanmar to account for military atrocities committed against Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, Human Rights Watch said today. It should discourage Japanese investment that would benefit the military or at the expense of minority groups. On October 21, 2019, Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, is slated to speak in Tokyo at a conference sponsored by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) to promote investment and business opportunities in Myanmar. When she has spoken at previous investment forums in Japan, Aung San Suu Kyi has downplayed or ignored the military’s serious abuses against the Rohingya. “The Japanese government has been pitifully reluctant to speak out against abuses by Myanmar’s military, so officials should use Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit to raise these issues directly,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Japan’s recent re-election to the UN Human Rights Council should encourage the government to improve its human rights foreign policy, including by calling on Japanese companies not to contribute to rights violations in Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: The Assimilation Wars
Description: "Despite two years of effort fewer than a thousand of the million ethnic Rohingya Burmese pushed into neighboring Bangladesh have returned. This has caused a diplomatic problem but otherwise is ignored by most Burmese. No compromise seems possible and with a powerful ally like China (and its UN vet0 and economic clout) to block major UN action Burma can afford to just let the situation simmer and concentrate on the other ethnic problems it must cope with. All this is the result of how the modern state of Burma was created after World War II. That process was messy and it was in part become no one had done it before. This was all about the relentless spread of nationalism over the last few centuries. This eventually became a European effort to ensure that everyone belonged to some kind of nation. Before that large portions of the world were inhabited by humans but there was no local government or ownership. By the 20 th century that was no longer acceptable, at least to the European nations that had taken, or simply assumed control over the many remaining blank spaces where there was no government that owned or controlled an area. Bringing education, modern medicine and the industrial revolution to these areas proved to be more expensive than anticipated. Then there were a lot of locals who become more aware of nationhood and demanded it for themselves. So between the late 1940s and 1960s most of the colonial areas were turned into sovereign states..."
Source/publisher: "StrategyPage"
Date of publication: 2019-10-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Overview of the August 2019 3W - Rakhine State
Description: "The MIMU 3W gathers inputs from participating humanitarian and development agencies on Who is doing What, Where, across Myanmar. It is conducted every 6 months and provides information on agencies’ activities at various levels (village/village tract/township and IDP camps). 226 agencies participated in the August 2019 3W, providing information on their humanitarian, development and peacefocused activities across 22 sectors and 155 sub-sectors as defined by technical/sector working groups. 3W reporting is quite comprehensive for projects of INGO, UN and Red Cross agencies, but there is under-reporting of activities of local NGOs and CBOs since not all are participating. Agencies must report to a sufficiently detailed level (village or camp level) for their work to be reflected fully in the MIMU 3W products. This Overview describes projects under implementation in Rakhine as of August 23, 2019. Further information on planned and recently completed projects is available from the 3W dataset, published on the MIMU website. Projects under implementation can also be viewed in our interactive dashboards - 3W Township Dashboard, 3W Village Tract Dashboard, and the 3W Technical Assistance Dashboard..."
Source/publisher: " Myanmar Information Management Unit" (Myanmar) via Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-10-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.08 MB (13 pages)
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh exhorts Germany to put pressure on Myanmar
Description: "In his maiden bilateral meeting with his German equivalent, Momen outlined the four points proposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the 74th United Nations General Assembly last month. He also urged the European nation and the international community to take 'effective steps' to ensure that Myanmar facilitates the safe, secure, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees. He also sought Germany’s support in ensuring accountability for the atrocities committed against Myanmar's Muslim minority group. During the meeting, Momen also highlighted the success story of Bangladesh as a 'development miracle' of the world and called on German businesses to invest in Bangladesh and take advantage of the country’s demographic dividend and lucrative promotion packages for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The whole gamut of bilateral relations between the countries were discussed in the meeting, the foreign ministry said..."
Source/publisher: "bdnews24.com" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh imposes more restrictions on Rohingya refugees
Sub-title: Following failed repatriation attempts and the murder of a local politician, Bangladesh authorities are cracking down on Rohingya refugees.
Description: "The government of Bangladesh has recently put severe restrictions on Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Many have had their mobile phones taken away. And some Rohingya children have been forced to drop out of Bangladeshi schools. Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury reports from Cox's Bazar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Efforts of the Government of Indonesia in Negotiating Peace on the Rohingya Crisis Through Humanitarian and Political Support: A Multi-stakeholders Humanitarian Diplomacy Practice
Description: "Rohingya ethnics who are Muslim, and which are an ethnic minority in Myanmar are known, from some media sources, to get racial discrimination by the majority of Buddhist ethnic in the State of Rakhine, Myanmar. This racial discrimination it has drawn much criticism. Myanmar, which has historically been held by the military junta and is currently in the process of developing democratization, has become the spotlight of the world media with this case. Basically, the conflict in Myanmar is more likely to be known as ethnic conflict, not religious conflict. Because, unintentionally, Rohingya ethnic group are Muslims and Rakhine people are Buddhist. Rohingya people has been discriminated for years by their own country and also by the major ethnic group in Myanmar because they are seen as minority by language, religion and physical characteristics. They are not considered as ‘native’, not a part of Burma and considered have a closer relation to Bangladesh. Too many forms of discrimination experienced by the Rohingyas, such as no citizenship given, limitation of employment opportunity, human rights violations, property confiscation, forced labour, extrajudicial killings, rape, and village combustions. Many of the Rohingya people flee the country from this devastating situation seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and just recently, to Indonesia. In Bangladesh, with help from international organizations such as UNHCR, WFP, etc., the refugee camp is built in Cox’s Bazaar. In Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, they are arrived by boat and the Governments of those three countries had initial response as ‘refusing’ the Rohingya people to enter the country. However, as a commitment of humanity, the Government of Indonesia (GoI), through the Army Force Commander, executed orders to assist these refugees by delivering food and clean water to their boats that has been floating for quite some time over Malacca Straits. Because the GoI is still unable to grant permission to these boats to dock to Indonesian shores. But in the higher level of diplomacy, Indonesia is one of the countries who, oftentimes, highlights and supports solidarity for peace making process in Myanmar at Governmental level..." .
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations (Switzerland) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2018-12-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 796.75 KB (9 pages)
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Title: Indonesia and the Rohingya Crisis
Description: "Indonesia has performed a delicate balancing act with respect to Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis. Led by the Foreign Ministry, the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has tried to demonstrate concern for the Rohingya without alienating a fellow member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It has tried to pre-empt domestic calls for harsher measures against Myanmar by embracing some Islamist groups within a moderate government-sanctioned humanitarian coalition. It has tried to engage Myanmar on other issues, including counter-terrorism, to ensure that channels to the government were kept open even as relations with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi deteriorated in late 2017. By mid-2018, Indonesia’s Rohingya policy was focused primarily on getting aid to the camps around Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. But its newly secured position on the United Nations Security Council opened the possibility that it could work for a resolution of Rohingya refugee crisis and conflict in Rakhine State more generally. If it is to have any chance of success, however, all ministries and government agencies will have to take the same line. Indonesia’s relations with Myanmar are driven by its commitment to (ASEAN); its belief – especially during the government of Thein Sein – that its own democratic transition offered models for Myanmar; its desire to be a peace broker; its efforts to ensure access for humanitarian aid; and its need to respond to domestic pressure to defend fellow Muslims under attack. The Jokowi government’s response to the 2017 violence against ethnic Rohingya and resulting refugee outflow began with highly visible diplomacy on the part of Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. As it became clear that Myanmar (and Aung San Suu Kyi in particular) did not welcome an activist Indonesian role, the Foreign Ministry focused on the provision of humanitarian assistance in partnership with a civil society coalition. The partnership, led by Indonesia’s two largest Muslim organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, serves two main purposes. It keeps the government engaged on the Rohingya issue when it has little leverage to affect Myanmar’s policies in Rakhine state, and it provides an outlet for Indonesian NGOs to put their anger at the violence against fellow Muslims to constructive use. It also appears to be a reasonably effective response to Islamist critics of President Jokowi, who at the height of the crisis in September 2017 were calling on his administration to do more..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Institute For Policy Analysis Of Conflict" via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2018-06-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 192.06 KB (17 pages)
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Title: Life in Everyday Death: The Rohingyas in Bangladesh and Myanmar
Description: "A 12-year-old boy in ragged clothing shoulders a child, his younger sister of 3 years, as they walk mile after mile, escaping their home, because their father was shot dead on the spot and their mother was raped in front of them and killed thereafter. They are fleeing with many others who have similar experiences. Some of them lost their parents, or brothers and sisters while others saw their entire families burn alive. Two pregnant women walk for miles with inexplicable hardship, but try their best to keep their babies inside alive. The group finally enters Bangladesh after walking one day and seven hours, crossing lands and hills, and riding by boat. Like this group, more than half a million Rohingyas have fled persecution in Myanmar to Bangladesh since the military crackdown started on August 25, 2017. Following an alleged attack on 30 police camps and one military base by the radical Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Myanmar security forces indiscriminately fired on Rohingya civilians, burnt their houses down, raped girls and women, and killed hundreds of Rohingyas mercilessly. The intensity of atrocity was so extreme that the global community, including the United Nations, the European Union, human rights groups like International Organization of Migration (IOM), Amnesty International, and the Human Rights Watch, came forward to stand beside Rohingyas and condemn Myanmar for its deadly violence, severe brutality, and crimes against humanity. The United Nations Human Rights Council termed it as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and major international media outlets like the New York Times, ABC News, and CNN have called it genocide..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BERKLEY CENTER for Religion, Peace & World Affairs" (USA) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2017-10-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 151.16 KB (3 pages)
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Title: Rebels Dressed as Soccer Players Abduct Bus Passengers in Myanmar
Sub-title: Gunmen stopped the vehicle on a highway outside the town of Mrauk U and seized 31 people, most of them firefighters, the authorities said.
Description: "Gunmen dressed in soccer uniforms halted an express bus on a main highway in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine State and kidnapped 31 people, most of them firefighters, the authorities said on Sunday. The abduction happened Friday morning, and began when a man stepped onto the highway in the bus’s path outside the ancient town of Mrauk U and forced it to stop, according to a military spokesman, Col. Win Zaw Oo. More than 10 armed men in soccer uniforms, identified as members of a rebel group called the Arakan Army, then emerged from the jungle and boarded the bus, he said. They ordered the passengers to take their belongings and marched them away...."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Safeguarding Rohingya Population
Description: "Torment on Rohingya minority has been once again flared up on Friday, allegedly, scores of men purportedly from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), assaulted on Myanmar security forces, killing at least a dozen of personnel. Since 1982 after the denial of Rohingya citizenship in Myanmar (former Burma) several violent attempts have been fabricated to evacuate Rohingya minority from Rakhine state withal Myanmar. Recurrence of tension in Rakhine-state of Myanmar is harrowing world community's sentiment as well. Rohingya people are an ethnic Muslim group primarily located in Rakhine state (formerly Arakan-state). Rohingya Muslims usually follow sufi trends, one of the noteworthy versions of Islam. They are estimated 1-1.5 million in number out of 50 million population of Myanmar. But irony of fate that they are treated like aliens in their own fatherland while Myanmar military junta have turned down their citizenship via new citizenship law of 1982. As human being they hardly get rights to live profoundly. To get citizenship they must provide evidence that they are living in Myanmar hereditarily since 1823. For getting married and having work they must need permission from the government by showing symbolic white cards. Very often they face torture by the security forces and local Buddhists i.e brutal beating, gang rape, abduction, molestation, arson, mass killings and so on. Even women and children do not get rid of the turmoil. After being harassed on diverse military campaigns and communal violence they seek to get shelter vastly on Bangladesh and rest on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2017-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 160.45 KB (4 pages)
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Title: Tracing the Exclusion of the Rohingya in Myanmar: Research Notes
Description: "Myanmar is a non-secular Buddhist majority country. The majority of Myanmar peoples are Buddhist, including both ethnic Burmans and non-Burman ethnic minorities. Buddhists make up 89.8 percent of the population, Christians 6.3 percent and Muslims 2.3 percent. In the contemporary climate of Myanmar, Many Buddhists see Islam as a threat to Buddhism; they use Bangladesh, Indonesia and Afghanistan as examples of Islam’s takeover of previously Buddhist majority locations. Myanmar was born out of the ashes of the murder of its integrationist freedom 5ghter leader General Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi. He was assassinated on July 19, 1947, a few months before the independence of Burma on January 4, 1948. His legacy of seeking integration and the violence associated with his murder still alludes Myanmar today. These research notes witll set forth the history of Muslims in Mynamar as in attempt to understand the contemporary exclusion of the Rohingya from the modern nationstate of Mynamar and to argue for the continued failure of Myanmar to become a multicultural society of ethnoreligious equality and plurality..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Mahidol University" (Thailand) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2017-09-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
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Title: Ethno-Political Conflict: The Rohingya Vulnerability in Myanmar
Description: "This study has been conducted to find out the root causes and consequences of ethnic conflict regarding especially the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. As Rohingya crisis in Myanmar is a contemporary and crucial issue not only in South and Southeast Asia but also in the world; that is why, it has been selected as a research topic. This study is conducted in qualitative approach. In this study, secondary sources have been used for data collection which is based on content analysis. Text books, journal articles, reports of government and non-government organizations, television and newspaper reports are the main sources of data. In this study it has been found that the Rohingya people are considered as the world’s least wanted groups. They are the world’s most persecuted minorities. About 43 percent of the Rohingyas are still refugees and of them 87 percent are deprived from basic needs. The main objectives of the study are: (i) to examine the root causes of ethnic conflict; (ii) to analyze the current humanitarian vulnerability of the Rohingyas. Rohingya conflict begins with mainly the denial of separate identities and rejection of their citizenship. A large number of Rohingyas are now stateless refugees who are too much vulnerable. The study will reveal the current vulnerable conditions of the Rohingyas. The findings of the study may help the different global organizations of human rights in policy supports for the Rohingyas..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2015-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 239.12 KB (8 pages)
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Title: Myanmar: Who are the Rohingya?
Description: "Shortly after Myanmar's independence from the British in 1948, the Union Citizenship Act was passed, defining which ethnicities could gain citizenship. According to a 2015 report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School, the Rohingya were not included. The act, however, did allow those whose families had lived in Myanmar for at least two generations to apply for identity cards. Rohingya were initially given such identification or even citizenship under the generational provision. During this time, several Rohingya also served in parliament. After the 1962 military coup in Myanmar, things changed dramatically for the Rohingya. All citizens were required to obtain national registration cards. The Rohingya, however, were only given foreign identity cards, which limited the jobs and educational opportunities they could pursue and obtain. In 1982, a new citizenship law was passed, which effectively rendered the Rohingya stateless. Under the law, Rohingya were again not recognised as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups. The law established three levels of citizenship. In order to obtain the most basic level (naturalised citizenship), there must be proof that the person's family lived in Myanmar prior to 1948, as well as fluency in one of the national languages. Many Rohingya lack such paperwork because it was either unavailable or denied to them..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2017-09-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 726.06 KB (32 pages)
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Title: Myanmar's Crimes Against Humanity
Sub-title: State Policy to annihilate Rohingya
Description: "Apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning “apartness,” describes an ideology of racial segregation that had been practiced in South Africa from the time of the Cape Colony’s founding by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. Keeping two different traffic lights in the black and white in the same road may damage both. Similarly, implementing the 1982 citizenship law for Muslims excluding Buddhists will never bring democracy and peace in Myanmar. This legal analysis considers persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar constitute genocide, as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Genocide Convention, 1 which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 and entered into force in 1951, declares that genocide is a crime under international law. I will present legal point of view and historical point of view to see the clear picture of crime against humanity against Rohingya in Myanmar. Though Rohingya enjoyed citizenship right as well as indigenous ethnic right until 1965, during the dictatorship era, General Ne Win planned to annihilate Rohingya through State policy. Ne Win, changed name of Rohingya first, then, started the institutionalized persecution. Military junta, since 1988, systematically committed genocidal process against Rohingya. The 153-page report, “‘All You Can Do is Pray’: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s Arakan State,” describes the role of the Burmese government and local authorities in the forcible displacement of more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Burmese officials, community leaders, and Buddhist monks organized and encouraged ethnic Arakanese backed by state security forces to conduct coordinated attacks on Muslim neighborhoods and villages in October 2012 to terrorize and forcibly relocate the population. The tens of thousands of displaced have been denied access to humanitarian aid and being unable to return home..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2016-12-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.45 MB (47 pages)
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Title: Myanmar’s Rohingya: Human Rights Abuses and Systemic Violence
Description: "Large scale violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state directed at the Rohingya Muslim minority group can be traced to March 1997 where allegations of the rape of a Buddhist woman by a Muslim man led to Buddhist monks instigating violence which led to the burning of entire Muslim neighborhoods in Mandalay. This coincided with the Mahamuni Buddha incident where Muslims were accused of stealing a large ruby from the sacred Buddhist site of pilgrimage (Schober 2007, 58). Alleged rapes of Buddhist women by Muslim men have led to major violence in June 2012 which left hundreds dead in Sittwe Rakhine state as well as 2013 and 2014 in other areas of Myanmar (BBC 2014). Increasing tension between ethnic groups and frequent outbreaks of violence led the military junta to create ‘safe’ villages for Rohingya Muslims. In effect this forced ethnic enclaving on the part of the government led to camps where Rohingya were sealed off from other communities and could not engage in economic, social or other activities outside of their patrolled villages. The latest round conflict erupted in late 2016 and continues at present with massive destruction of over 400 Muslim villages in Rakhine state being burned due to military operations against this minority group (Human Rights Watch 2017) and tens of thousands being displaced (Barry 2017). At present UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee is being denied access to Muslim villages in Rakhine state during her investigatory visit and is instead reportedly being allowed access to government vetted and approved individuals (Al-Jazeera 2017). The paper seeks to analyze the context of violence against the Rohingya from Galtung’s perspective of structural and cultural violence. In particular the author will detail the internal and external plight of the Rohingya and identify mechanisms which have failed to protect these people and finally provide some insight into drivers of this conflict and some possible pathways to peace..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Journal of Urban Culture Research via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2017-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 905.36 KB (18 pages)
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Title: Rohingya: A Crime Against Humanity
Description: "Persecuted and oppressed in Myanmar, Rohingyas flee across the border into Bangladesh. Starving and stateless, they live in squalid makeshift camps. The recent ethnic clashes between Rohingya Muslims and the Rakhine Buddhists in the Rakhine (Arakan) province of Myanmar have attracted global attention. It is as if a veil had been lifted to reveal a hideous blemish. The terrible ethnic and religious violence recently happened in June 2012, in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine, pitted Buddhists against the mostly Muslim Rohingyas minority. The latest—when an ugly incident of rape and murder of a Buddhist woman allegedly by three Rohingyas—turned into a disaster for the Rohingya Muslims community in Myanmar. According to United Nations (UN) reports, there are more than 800,000 Rohingyas residing in Myanmar, mostly in the province of Rakhine, and many hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in other countries. Thus, Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. The ruling Junta stripped Rohingyas of all the rights of a citizen through a law called “Citizenship Law” in 1982, thus making Rohingyas the only stateless community of the world. However, the ruling Junta in Myanmar did not want to know nor let others know that the Rohingyas have a long history, a language, a heritage, a culture and a tradition of their own that they had built up in the Rakhine, through their long history of existence there. Moreover, through their “criminal propaganda”, the Buddhist majorities have been feeding so much misinformation against the Rohingya. According to Siddiqui (1999), the level of disinformation has reached such an alarming level that if some of the people were to talk with a Rakhine Buddhist, they would say that the Rohingyas are refugees in Rakhine and they do not belong to Myanmar, but that they belong to Bangladesh. However, such allegations are unfounded. Some scholars distinguished that in fact the forefathers of Rohingyas had entered into Rakhine from time immemorial (Karim, 2000)..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2015-03-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.82 MB (10 pages)
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Title: The Slow-Burning Genocide Of Myanmar's Rohingya
Description: "“What can we do, Brother, they (the Rohingya) are too many? We can’t kill them all.” Ex-Brigadier General, formerly stationed in Arakan or Rakhine State, and Ambassador to Brunei, Fall, 2012.1 “How can it be ethnic cleansing? They are not an ethnic group.” Mr. Win Myaing, the official spokesperson of the Rakhine State Government, May 15, 2013.2 “We do not have the term ‘Rohingya.’” Myanmar President Thein Sein, Chatham House, London, July 17, 2013.3 “There are elements of genocide in Rakhine with respect to Rohingya . . . . The possibility of a genocide needs to be discussed. I myself do not use the term genocide for strategic reasons.” Tomás Ojéa Quintana, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, London Conference on Decades of State-Sponsored Destruction of Myanmar’s Rohingya, April 28, 2014.4 Over the past thirty-five years, the State in Myanmar has intentionally formulated, pursued, and executed national and state-level plans aimed at destroying the Rohingya people in Western Myanmar. 5 This destruction has been state-sponsored, legalized, and initiated by a frontal assault on the identity, culture, social foundation, and history of the Rohingya who are a people with a distinct ethnic culture..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Compilation © 2014 Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal Association via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2014-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 347.88 KB (72 pages)
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Title: Japan continues to help Myanmar whitewash the Rohingya crisis
Description: "Braving the sweltering summer heat, more than 100 businesspeople gathered in central Tokyo on Aug. 6 to get the latest update on Myanmar’s economy. Participants were showered with promises of lucrative investment opportunities in sectors including health, education and infrastructure, and repeatedly told about the two countries’ wonderful bilateral relationship. A sobering breeze set in, however, when the keynote speaker, Myanmar Ambassador to Japan Thurain Thant Zin, was asked about the United Nations-mandated Fact-Finding Mission’s latest 111-page report on the Myanmar military’s business ties. Among the Japanese companies noted in that report are beer manufacturer Kirin Holdings, for providing financial support to the military, and tobacco manufacturer Japan Tobacco, for having a joint venture with military-operated Myanmar Economic Corp. (MEC). Kirin Holdings publicly acknowledged last year after an investigation by Amnesty International that it donated $6,000 for “humanitarian assistance” to the Rakhine state government in 2017. After an internal investigation last December, Kirin admitted it could not determine whether the donation was used for said purposes. Japan Tobacco denied having a joint venture with MEC..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Japan Times" (Japan)
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: World Bank under fire for Rakhine development plan in Myanmar
Topic: World Bank, Myanmar, Asia, Rohingya
Sub-title: Rights groups are concerned that the development initiative could exacerbate divisions in the conflict-torn state.
Topic: World Bank, Myanmar, Asia, Rohingya
Description: "Aid groups and human rights advocates have warned the World Bank that a $100m development project it is planning for Myanmar's conflict-riven Rakhine State could worsen tensions in the area. Last Friday, the World Bank published the first details of a proposal to fund cash-for-work programmes and support small businesses in one of Myanmar's poorest regions, with a plan to funnel these funds through the Myanmar government. "It is difficult to imagine how meaningful recovery and development are possible in Rakhine without addressing the underlying human rights issues that currently impact every aspect of life for communities," more than a dozen Myanmar-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said in a letter to the World Bank's Myanmar office..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-05-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Health access denied in northern Rakhine
Sub-title: Massive shortfalls in government services, blocks on NGOs and travel restrictions for residents continue to starve communities in northern Rakhine State of access to healthcare and flout the recommendations of the Kofi Annan commission.
Description: "In March this year, a young woman carrying twins went into labour in a village nine kilometres from the government hospital in the town of Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State. After two days in labour under the care of an untrained traditional midwife, her condition had sharply deteriorated and her family took her to the hospital, a 40-minute drive away. It was too late to save the twins, who were delivered dead, but the mother survived and was able to return home after a few days in hospital. The mother’s ordeal is just one example of the suffering and unnecessary death caused by inadequate healthcare in northern Rakhine. After the crisis of 2017, the situation become critical, but it has worsened further in northern as well as central Rakhine since fighting escalated this year between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. I have worked in public healthcare in northern Rakhine since 2017 and have seen the deterioration firsthand. Much more needs to be done, especially in primary healthcare, reproductive health services, immunisation and emergency support, for those in need. United Nations figures show that more than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh during the military “clearance operation” that followed attacks by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on security posts in northern Rakhine in August 2017. About one-third of the Rohingya population, or about 300,000 people, remained in northern Rakhine after the exodus, and along with other residents they have since been waiting for a significant improvement in access to healthcare..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar's Arakan Army is Recruiting and Training to Fight Government
Description: "On the edge of a mountainside in Northern Myanmar’s Kachin state, several hundred young army recruits kick up the dust as they jog down a trail during early morning military drills. New recruits are joining groups such as the Arakan Army which has set up training camps in Kachin state, home to fellow Northern Alliance member, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The Arakan Army (AA) formed in 2009 and is currently fighting in Rakhine State against government forces in ongoing skirmishes that have escalated in recent months, amid faltering cease-fire talks. The AA is the armed wing of the United League of Arakan, headquartered in Laiza. Laiza is the capital of KIA - controlled Kachin State, bordering China. The Arakan Army say that they have a current force of 7,000 troops. Like most of the ethnic armed groups within the country who haven’t signed peace agreements, the Arakan army say they are fighting for more self-autonomy and control over their territory..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Voice of America (VOA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Fresh list of 50,000 Rohingyas handed to Myanmar: Foreign minister
Topic: Myanmar Rohingya crisis, Rohingya repatriation
Sub-title: Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen today said a new list of around 50,000 Rohingyas has been handed over to Myanmar to expedite Rohingya repatriation efforts.
Topic: Myanmar Rohingya crisis, Rohingya repatriation
Description: "The minister disclosed this talking to a small group of reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On July 29, Bangladesh handed over a list of 25,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for verification before their repatriation to their place of origin in Rakhine State. Bangladesh has so far handed over names of around 55,000 Rohingyas to the Myanmar authorities. Turning to Abrar murder he said diplomats' comments over Abrar murder is "unnecessary " as the government has taken strong action immediately. "I think this should be stopped," said the minister noting US government's failure to arrest anybody after the recent US shooting that claimed 4 lives. "I think they (diplomats) go beyond norms." "It shouldn't be headache of someone else, " he said commenting on installation of coastal surveillance system. Bangladesh on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction regarding the UN statement on the murder of Buet student Abrar Fahad which the government sees as an internal matter of Bangladesh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called UN Resident Coordinator here Mia Seppo at the office Director General (UN Wing) Nahida Sobhan and also explained the government position and the "prompt actions" taken so far and being taken since the killing, said a diplomatic source..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: China to enhance cooperation with Myanmar, Bangladesh to resolve Rakhine issue
Description: "An informal trilateral meeting involving officials from China, Myanmar and Bangladesh at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York on Monday produced three points of consensus on the Rakhine issue. The meeting was presided over by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and saw the participation of Myanmar's Minister of the State Counselor's Office U Kyaw Tint Swe, Bangladeshi Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, and the UN Secretary-General's special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener. Wang said that since last year, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh have held three informal foreign ministers' meetings, with each of them having made progress, and that a lot of work has been done concerning the repatriation of people fleeing the chaos in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. The conditions for resolving this issue are accumulating and maturing, he said, adding that all parties should further strengthen communication and consultation and push for substantive progress on the repatriation issue as soon as possible. As a friend of both Myanmar and Bangladesh, China is ready to provide assistance within its capacity, he added. The two officials from Myanmar as Bangladesh as well as Schraner Burgener greatly appreciated and thanked China for its substantial and constructive efforts in promoting the proper settlement of the repatriation of people fleeing from chaos in the Rakhine state, and agreed to further seek effective ways to solve the issue as soon as possible through cooperation. The meeting has reached three points of consensus. Firstly, it is the strong political will and important political consensus of the three parties to realize the repatriation as soon as possible. Both Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed that this issue cannot be postponed any longer and should be resolved at an early date..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication: 2019-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Language Guidance for Rakhine State
Topic: Health
Topic: Health
Description: "These Rohingya language guidelines provide cultural background and linguistic context for humanitarian program managers, field workers, and interpreters who work in health programs. They accompany the TWB Glossary for Myanmar, which contains more than 200 health-and education-related terms. It is available in four languages online and offline via mobile app in written and audio format. https://glossaries.translatorswb.org/myanmar/ We compiled and verified these terms through interviews and focus group discussions, complemented by desk research. The Rohingya people’s understanding of health combines ancient Indian traditions like Ayurveda, religious concepts like the Islamic jinns and nazar, Myanmar culture, and Western medicine. These culturally rich beliefs of how and why people get sick are valuable to understand when designing health interventions for the community. The language used by the Rohingya community when describing medical conditions reflects these various influences. In central Rakhine, most communication to and from the Rohingya community flows through Rakhine-speaking interpreters and field staff. As such, it is important for program staff to be familiar with Rakhine and Rohingya terms. As the official language, and thus the one used by the health ministry, Myanmar influences both Rohingya and Rakhine. Newly acquired terms are often in Myanmar, and wholly adapted into the latter two languages. For example, the word for nutrition in both Rohingya and Rakhine is ahara, which was borrowed from Myanmar. Similarly, both Rakhine and Rohingya borrow the Myanmar word for vaccine, kaa-kway-see, albeit with a slight difference in pronunciation. These guidelines focus on medical concepts in Rohingya, to take into account low literacy rates and limited secondary language knowledge among Rohingya women and older people..."
Source/publisher: " Translators without Borders" via Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 1.01 MB 460.38 KB
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Title: Rakhine rebels disguised as sports team abduct dozens after storming Myanmar bus: Army
Description: " Suspected ethnic Rakhine rebels disguised as a sports team stormed a bus in rural Myanmar and took 31 hostages - mostly off-duty firefighters and construction workers - authorities said Sunday (Oct 13). The state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar said the bus - travelling to the Rakhine state capital of Sittwe - was flagged down by a man dressed in civilian attire before 18 rebels in sportswear emerged from the forest and ordered the passengers off at gunpoint. "We are still following them," Colonel Win Zaw Oo told AFP, adding the insurgents may have mistaken the firemen for members of the armed forces. The Arakan Army, which is fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, could not immediately be reached for comment. Myanmar's army has deployed thousands of troops to the state to try to crush the rebels. Rights groups say Myanmar's military has abducted civilians and tortured detainees, but the army points to targeted shootings, roadside bombings and kidnapping by insurgents. Rakhine state was also the site of a deadly crackdown that in August 2017 drove some 740,000 minority Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of publication: 2019-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Civilians in Myanmar’s Conflict-Torn Rakhine State Left to Fend for Themselves
Description: "SITTWE, Rakhine State—Ma Aye Myint, 24, has a bullet wound on her right arm from when Myanmar military troops were shooting near Mahamuni Village in Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township on July 31. When reporters from The Irrawaddy met her, she was sitting outside the rented guesthouse room where she lives. A baby, almost two months old, was lying next to her. In the Rakhine language, she told what happened to her. Ma Aye Myint was hit when Myanmar military troops shot at a motorbike driver who refused to stop after the soldiers ordered him to, according to her husband Ko Zaw Zaw. The couple’s home sits next to the Yangon-Sittwe highway, diagonally opposite from the village’s Mahamuni Pagoda, where Myanmar military troops were stationed until recently. The soldiers shot the motorbike driver out on the highway and people in the surrounding houses hid when they heard the sound of gunfire. All of Ma Aye Myint’s family members ran to hide inside the trench under the barn, or lay down, but she was pregnant and couldn’t hide as quickly. After she was hit, she was taken to Sittwe Hospital where she was treated for 21 days. On Aug. 16, while still in the hospital, Ma Aye Myint gave birth to a girl, but because of her injuries, she still can’t hold her daughter. Someone else has to help her breastfeed, bathe the baby and change the baby’s clothes. When The Irrawaddy asked the Myanmar military’s Western Command spokesperson Colonel Win Zaw Oo about the incident, he said at the time that there was no fighting near Mahamuni..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-10-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya issue 'more economic than identity crisis or religious'
Description: "In Myanmar the constitutionally defined ethnic categories are often described as derive from the colonial state. But the contemporary scholarship would not support the inflexibility of such categories of the ethnic identification because it rejects the reification of ethnic distinctions and the obscuring of recesses of ethnic change. The Rohingya Muslims are living in Arakan since 1400s CE. The majority Buddhist Burmese conquered Arakan in 1785 and started to execute the Rohingya from the region. In 1826, the British took control over Arakan and encouraged farmers from Bengal to come to the depopulated area of Arakan. “The sudden influx of immigrants from British India sparked a strong reaction from the mostly-Buddhist Rakhine people living in Arakan at the time, sowing the seeds of ethnic tension that remain to this day”(Kallie S, Asian History). In the aftermath of Britain's withdrawal from Indian subcontinent, religious conflicts between Muslim and Buddhist took place in several times. In 1962, General Ne Win occupied the power of Burma and started to deny Burmese citizenship to the Rohingya people. “Since that time, the Rohingya in Myanmar have lived in limbo” (Kallie S, Asian History). The Burmese Government is always claiming the Rohingya are migrated from the British India and from the western part of Bangladesh. But the previous notes show the distinct history about their living in Burma. Rather than “during the four decades of Burmese rule (1784-1824), because of ruthless oppression, many Arakanese fled to British Bengal. According to a record of British East India Company, about thirty-five thousand Arakanese..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "South Asian University" (India) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2015-11-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 245.94 KB (11 pages)
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Title: Rohingya Refugees Who Returned to Myanmar on Their Own Say They Still Face Hardship
Description: "Some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal military-led crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017 and sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh say they have not been able to go back to their original villages after returning to Rakhine of their own volition. Thousands of members of the Muslim minority group were killed during the violence, and more than 740,000 others escaped across the border, where they now live in sprawling displacement camps in southeastern Bangladesh. About 6,000 of the refugees took up shelter in a so-called “no-man’s land” near a border crossing point along Bangladesh’s frontier with Myanmar. They, along with others in camps in Bangladesh proper, have demanded that the Myanmar government grant them citizenship, ensure their safety, and rebuild their destroyed houses before they agree to return home. But about 300 refugees who returned to Rakhine state of their own volition say they still face unfavorable conditions that persecute them and prevent them from being able to live in their original villages, which were burned down during the crackdown..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya: The History of a Muslim Identity in Myanmar
Description: "The name Rohingya denotes an ethnoreligious identity of Muslims in North Rakhine State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). The term became part of public discourse in the late 1950s and spread widely following reports on human rights violations against Muslims in North Rakhine State during the 1990s, and again after 2012. Claims for regional Muslim autonomy emerged during World War II and led to the rise of a Rohingya ethnonationalist movement that drew on the local Muslim imaginaire, as well as regional history and archaeology. To explore the historical roots of distinctive identity claims and highlight Buddhist-Muslim tensions, one must reach back to the role of Muslims in the precolonial Buddhist kingdom of Arakan and their demographic growth during the colonial period. Civic exclusion and state harassment under Burma’s authoritarian regimes (1962–2011) put a premature end to political hopes of ethnic recognition, and yet hastened a process of shared identity formation, both in the country and among the diaspora. Since the 1970s, refugees and migrants turned to Bangladesh, the Middle East, and Southeast Asian countries, forming a transnational body of Rohingya communities that reinvented their lives in various political and cultural contexts. A succession of Rohingya nationalist organizations—some of whom were armed—had negligible impact but kept the political struggle alive along the border with Bangladesh. Although Rohingya nationalists failed to gain recognition among ethnic and religious groups in Burma, they have attracted increasing international acknowledgment. For postdictatorial Myanmar (after 2011), the unresolved Rohingya issue became a huge international liability in 2017, when hundreds of thousands fled to Bangladesh following military operations widely interpreted as ethnic cleansing. In December 2017, the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights acknowledged that elements of genocide may be occurring..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History" via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2018-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 303.73 KB (38 pages)
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Title: Myanmar jails 21 Rohingya, detains children, for trying to travel
Sub-title: Rights groups say group is being punished for trying to escape dismal camps amid severe restrictions on everyday life.
Description: "A five-year-old child is among 30 Rohingya who have been arrested in Myanmar for attempting to travel to the main city of Yangon from western Rakhine state, where they were among hundreds of thousands confined to squalid camps in a system some rights groups have compared with apartheid. Twenty-one adults from the group were last week jailed for two years under a law that bars using false identity cards after a one-day trial in which they were reportedly denied a lawyer, Human Rights Watch said. Eight of the children have been sent to a “training school” in Yangon region while authorities say they are still deciding what to do with the five-year-old. Thousands displaced amidst Myanmar violence (2:00) “These 30 men, women, and children are being punished for simply seeking an escape from the daily brutality they’ve been subjected to for years,” said Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director. The Rohingya, who are mostly Muslim, are frequently arrested for attempting to leave Rakhine state, where tens of thousands have been living in camps since fleeing their homes after communal riots in 2012..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Abe meets Myanmar military chief
Description: "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called on Myanmar's military chief to address allegations of human rights violations against minority Rohingya Muslims. Some 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since Myanmar's security forces launched a massive sweep operation against Rohingya militants in 2017. On Wednesday in Tokyo, Abe held a meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's Defense Services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Abe said Japan hopes efforts by Myanmar's military will improve the situation. He also recognized the commander-in-chief's decision to halt military action against the minority people..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "NHK WORLD-JAPAN"
Date of publication: 2019-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh: Scores of Rohingya children expelled from schools
Description: "Almost one million Rohingya refugees are living in camps in Bangladesh. For years, government-run schools have quietly welcomed Rohingya refugee children. But recently, scores of children have been expelled..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Five-year-old boy among 30 Rohingya arrested for travelling in Myanmar
Sub-title: Nine children sent to juvenile detention centres as remainder of group face up to two years in prison for failure to produce ID cards
Description: "Myanmar faces calls to release 30 Rohingya men, women and children arrested in September while trying to travel from Rakhine state to the city of Yangon. A total of 21 Rohingya face up to two years in jail under Myanmar’s Residents of Burma Registration Act, which stipulates that citizens must be in possession of “registration cards” to prove their identity. The act has been used against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority, who are denied citizenship of the country and are officially stateless. Nine children travelling as part of the group were sent to juvenile detention centres. A five-year-old boy’s fate is yet to be decided, activists said. Authorities told Radio Free Asia that the Rohingya, having left villages in Rakhine state where they reportedly faced violence and ethnic cleansing, were attempting to reach Malaysia. They allegedly paid traffickers between 500,000 and 700,000 kyats (£270-£380) to transport them to Yangon, where they hoped to find work or passage out of Myanmar. “It’s a cruel irony that these Rohingya will be trading what was effectively confinement to open-air detention in Rakhinestate for confinement in a state prison in Pathein,” said Brad Adams, executive director at Human Rights Watch (HRW)..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication: 2019-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: International community failed to influence Myanmar on the Rohingya crisis
Sub-title: UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Dhaka Mia Seppo said: 'UN alone cannot be blamed; there is a collective failure to influence Myanmar.'
Description: "The United Nation (UN) on Wednesday recognized the international community’s failure to influence Myanmar in taking back the Rohingyas and find a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis. UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Dhaka Mia Seppo said: “UN alone cannot be blamed; there is a collective failure to influence Myanmar.” She was speaking at a press meet DCAB Talk organized by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAP) at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) auditorium in the Dhaka. Mia Seppo spoke about how the UN has an unwavering commitment to resolve this crisis, bringing together member states to the table to talk about the crisis and has made progress in accountability on human rights violations by Myanmar. “It is really important to keep in mind that any solution provided for the Rohingya crisis has to be sustainable. “Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Bangladesh on August 25, 2017 amid military crackdown on Muslims there,” she added..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar facing several challenges including Rakhine issue in democratic transition
Description: "Myanmar is facing several challenges in its delicate and sensitive democratic transition with Rakhine issue being one of the most complex ones, said Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. The remarks came from the statement of Dr. Win Myat Aye submitted to the high-level meeting on statelessness, general discussions from each UN member nation held at United Nations Assembly Hall in Geneva, Switzerland on October 8. “Myanmar is facing several challenges in its delicate democratic transition. The issue in Rakhine is one of the most complex challenges. As we address the delicate and sensitive issue deeply rooted since colonial time, we cannot see and address any issue in isolation. We need to look at the issues from the multidimensional perspective. We must listen to the voices of all communities,” said Dr. Win Myat Aye. “As a result of ARSA terrorist attacks in 2016 and 2017, many people were displaced. Myanmar is ready to receive those displaced persons who had resided in Myanmar. The displaced persons now in Cox’s Bazar, who had been residents in Rakhine, have different legal status. We cannot classify all of them as stateless. Some have identity cards issued by the Myanmar government. Those who qualify for citizenship under the existing Law will be issued citizenship cards. Those who do not have any identity card will be issued NVCs immediately. They will proceed with the process to apply for citizenship, at the same time,” added Dr. Win Myat Aye..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya refugees hesitant to return to Myanmar
Description: "Bangladesh is warning that it is no longer able to bear the economic burden of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in the country. They may be safe there but their status remains unresolved. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker has the story from Kutupalong camp in southeast Bangladesh..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Two civilians killed in Rakhine fighting
Description: "Two civilians were shot dead Tuesday in a village in Rathedaung township during a fierce clash between Myanmar forces and the Arakan Army (AA), RFA reported quoting local residents and military officials. A 17-year-old mentally disabled man and a 70-year-old woman died during the armed conflict, they said, and their bodies were left with caretakers who remained behind after most others fled to safety. The arrival of a Myanmar military unit in Hteeswe village, close to Kyauktan village, earlier this week prompted most of the residents from both communities to flee their homes, residents said..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Seoul Conference on Rohingya Genocide [Day 1] Wrap-up by Dr. Zarni
Description: "International Conference on Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide "Rape as a Weapon of Wars and Genocides, Past and Present in the Region"..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Free Rohingya Coalition"
Date of publication: 2019-10-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Seoul Conference on Rohingya Genocide [Day 2] Wrap-up by Dr. Zarni
Description: "International Conference on Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide "Rape as a Weapon of Wars and Genocides, Past and Present in the Region"..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Free Rohingya Coalition"
Date of publication: 2019-10-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UN, NGOs accused of bungling effort to educate Rohingya children
Sub-title: Questions raised over efforts to give Rohingya children and youth formal education under Myanmar curriculum.
Description: "On May 13, a group of Rohingya refugee education leaders had the rare chance to ask some of the questions that had been weighing on their minds for more than two years. For the first time, they were meeting representatives from the United Nations and international NGOs tasked with providing education to about half a million Rohingya refugee children living in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Minutes of the meeting obtained by Al Jazeera, show how the community leaders questioned the officials about the slow effort to give refugees formal education, the absence of a Myanmar curriculum in the camps, and the lack of consultation with the community. "Two years we have been living in the camp with no access to education, why is this?" said Khin Maung, a Rohingya youth activist who was at the meeting..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Armed men rob villagers, kill cattle in Myanmar western state
Description: "Seven armed men have robbed gold and cash from five houses in two villages, shooting dead two cows in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, Myanmar Police Force said Tuesday. In civilian clothing, the seven armed men fired shots into the air and entered Yathedaung township's Sinkondaing village, robbing gold and cash from a house on Sunday and similarly, they also broke into another house in Luntaung village and committed the robbery on the same day. A case has been opened by the local police to arrest the robbers. Meanwhile, police seized a passenger vehicle in southern Bago region which refused to get checked in Ottha Myothit town on Sunday by crashing into the police vehicle. The two men on board attempting to run away were arrested with some psychotropic tablets and three tons of illegal teak timber being seized. The local police force also opened a case with the two men..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication: 2019-10-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh plans to relocate Rohingyas to 'refugee island'
Description: "More than a million Rohingya refugees live in sprawling camps in Bangladesh. But, with the host community turning against the refugees and concerns about security, the government wants to relocate them. Last week, a renewed bid to return several thousand of them to Myanmar failed as not a single refugee agreed to sign up. Now the government is planning to relocate 100.000 of them to the remote island of Bhasan Char, possibly against their will. DW gained exclusive access to the island..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Submits Draft of Mrauk-U World Heritage Bid to UNESCO
Description: "Myanmar’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture submitted a draft to UNESCO of its nomination for Mrauk-U to become a World Heritage Site on Sept. 24, amid concerns that ongoing violence in the area could wreck local residents’ hopes for the future of their town. “If there were peace, I am sure Mrauk-U would be recognized by UNESCO, as our cultural heritage meets the selection criteria but with the fighting, it can’t become a World Heritage Site,” Daw Khin Than, chairwoman of the Mrauk-U Heritage Trust, told The Irrawaddy. Myanmar is set to submit its final application to UNESCO by Jan. 31, 2020 and experts from the independent International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) will conduct a field visit to Mrauk-U in September 2020. Daw Khin Than said she wants to see stability restored in Mrauk-U before the visit. Based on the findings of the ICOMOS officials, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will issue a verdict on the application at the group’s 45th session in 2021..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-10-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Responding to the Genocide of the Rohingya People in Burma
Description: "On the Oct.1, 2019 broadcast of "Talking Foreign Policy," Dean Scharf discusses the international response to the Rohingya genocide in Burma with five panelists, who are experts on peace negotiations, national security, human rights and war crimes. Panelists include: Ambassador Todd Buchwald, former Ambassador at Large for War Crimes.."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Case Western Reserve University School of Law (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Wild elephants destroy Maungdaw monastery plantation
Description: "Nearly 20 wild elephants entered into the compound of Longdon village monastery under Maungdaw township of Arakan on Friday night and destroyed several banana plants. According to an eye witness, the herd of elephants arrived there at around 11 pm on 6 September and destroyed over 400 banana plants. Head of the monastery confirmed that the herd comprised around 20 elephants and they destroyed over 400 banana and several other fruit trees inside the campus. It may be mentioned that Longdon village is close to Bangladesh border and its neighbouring locality has a mountain range named Mayu Taung which gives shelter to a good number of wild animals including elephants. However, the number of wild animals is now decreasing due to scarcity of habitats, alleged the locals. During the military regime in Myanmar, four white elephants were captured from the Mayu Taung mountain range. White elephants are believed to be sacred and precious in Burmese culture. The rulers at that time took those captured white elephants to Yangon and Nay Pyi Daw for public viewing as their propaganda. “The elephants often enter our village in search of foods as there is not enough stuff in the mountain range. The forest area is shrinking as the local businessmen continue cutting trees for producing charcoals,” informed a village leader..."
Source/publisher: "Narinjara" (Myanmar) via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar is not safe for Rohingyas to return: Lee
Topic: UN United Nations Rohingya Bangladesh Myanmar Bangladesh in foreign media
Topic: UN United Nations Rohingya Bangladesh Myanmar Bangladesh in foreign media
Description: "The UN's independent investigator on Myanmar says it's not safe for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to return because Myanmar has failed to dismantle its "system of persecution" of Rohingyas. Yanghee Lee said in a report to the General Assembly circulated Friday that living conditions for the remaining Rohingyas in northern Rakihine state "remain dreadful", reports Associated Press. The Rohingya can't leave their villages and earn a living, she said, making them dependent on humanitarian aid whose access "has been so heavily diminished that their basic means for survival has been affected." "While this situation persists, it is not safe or sustainable for refugees to return," said the UN special rapporteur appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, adds AP. Lee also expressed concern that a household-counting exercise in Rohingya villages "is an effort to erase the Rohingya from administrative records and make their return less possible." She said the government's requirement that any refugee who returns must be issued "a national verification card" is not a solution to citizenship for the Rohingya, the news agency also adds..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Prothom Alo" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-10-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar to build one more bridge to link southwestern region with western state
Description: "Myanmar is set to build one more bridge to link Ayeyarwady region with Rakhine state beginning November, according to the Ministry of Construction on Monday. The Chaungwa Bridge lying along the Rakhine coast will be the third to be built in addition to the two under construction which are Makyizin and Pathein No. 2. The Chaungwa Bridge, which passes through Ngaputaw township of Ayeyarwady region and link Gwa township of Rakhine state, will be built at a cost of 3.6 billion kyats (2.4 million U.S. dollars), said project manager-in-charge Daw Thin Thin Aung. The iron reinforced bridge of 259 meters in length and 7.2 meters in width, which can withstand 60 tons of load, would benefit the transport in the two regions. Upon completion, the bridge would speed up the flow of trade between the two regions and help develop socio-economic status, she added. Rakhine state is uniquely located to support the emergence of economic and industrial zones with its range of pristine beaches and cultural heritage sites..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication: 2019-10-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Encounters between Tatmadaw and AA broke out in two Arakan townships
Description: "Armed clashes between Myanmar security forces (Tatmadaw) and ArakanArmy (AA) members broke out in two northern townships of Arakan on 29 September, where three civilians received injuries. Residents of Miwa village under Kyauk Taw township namely U Tha Tun Oo (63), Maung Naing Lin Soe (22) and Thaung Htay sustained injuries as the encounter took place near to their village adjacent to Kaladan river. Father of Maung Naing Lin Soe informed that they were working in their farmland for seasonal crops at 8 am on Sunday and suddenly heard the sound of firings from the riverside. “We all tried to hide under a big mango tree and then a bullet hit my son. But fortunately, the injury is not much serious,” added the local farmer. However, another villager named U Tha Tun Oo received serious injuries and he was sent to Sittwe general hospital for necessary treatments. “The bullet hit on his back and the shell was already taken out by the operation. His condition is improving now, but may have to continue treatments for some days,” he revealed. According to the local sources, AA members attacked a ferry ship operated by the security forces on the Kaladan river near to Miwa village in the morning hours. The soldiers retaliated with several gunshots towards the mountain range. Those artillery shells are suspected to wound those three locals..."
Source/publisher: "Narinjara" via "BNI Multimedia Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: UN investigator: Myanmar is not safe for Rohingyas to return
Description: "The U.N.’s independent investigator on Myanmar says it’s not safe for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to return because Myanmar has failed to dismantle its “system of persecution” of Rohingyas. Yanghee Lee said in a report to the General Assembly circulated Friday that living conditions for the remaining Rohingya in northern Rakihine state “remain dreadful.” The Rohingya can’t leave their villages and earn a living, she said, making them dependent on humanitarian aid whose access “has been so heavily diminished that their basic means for survival has been affected.” “While this situation persists, it is not safe or sustainable for refugees to return,” said the U.N. special rapporteur appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. Lee also expressed concern that a household-counting exercise in Rohingya villages “is an effort to erase the Rohingya from administrative records and make their return less possible.” She said the government’s requirement that any refugee who returns must be issued “a national verification card” is not a solution to citizenship for the Rohingya..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Washington Post" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Rejects Rohingya Refugee Visit to Rakhine State to Inspect Conditions For Repatriation
Description: "Myanmar has rejected an offer by China to facilitate a visit by a group of Rohingya refugees to its Rakhine state to investigate the situation there ahead of a possible repatriation from temporary camps across the border in Bangladesh, a senior Myanmar foreign ministry official confirmed Thursday. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told reporters on Wednesday that Myanmar’s government had dismissed the proposal, originally floated by Li Jiming, the new Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, during talks with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar last month and formally discussed during a meeting last week between Myanmar, Chinese and Bangladeshi delegates on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Thursday, Aung Ko, the director general of the political affairs department for Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told RFA’s Myanmar Service his government had never agreed to the offer and is waiting for Bangladesh to “allow” the refugees to return to the border, whereupon they will be accepted following individual assessments..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Can the ICC bring justice to Myanmar?
Sub-title: An investigation of crimes committed in Myanmar would be a historic undertaking, but many hurdles remain.
Description: "More than 700,000 men, women, and children, many identifying as Rohingya, crossed the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into Bangladesh in 2017, fleeing violence at the hands of the military and security forces. A UN Fact-Finding Mission was established to determine the facts and circumstances of alleged human rights violations, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) will soon decide whether to authorise an investigation into alleged international crimes that partly occurred in Bangladesh. Given the complexities of recent history in Myanmar and the workings of the ICC, it’s worth looking at some questions raised by this possibility. Why is the International Criminal Court’s decision important? The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s determination will be significant for those seeking justice. The Fact-Finding Mission has documented killings, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labour, forced recruitment of soldiers, and torture across Myanmar, with a particular focus on the Rohingya. That mission has now handed over materials to a UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). It commenced work in July and has a mandate to collect and analyse evidence for future national, regional, or international prosecutions. Some countries have sanctions in place against senior Myanmar military figures, but the ICC is currently the only international mechanism where judges are reviewing these allegations..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Interpreter"
Date of publication: 2019-10-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rohingya refugees continue to risk lives to seek safety: UNHCR
Sub-title: Rate of fatalities rises among refugees and asylum seekers who embark on sea journeys in Southeast Asia, report says.
Description: "Refugees from Southeast Asia, many of whom are members of Myanmar's Rohingya minority, continue to risk their lives to reach safety, according to a new report by the United Nations, which also highlights a much higher rate of deaths over the last year. The report released on Tuesday by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said one person in every 69 refugees and asylum seekers who embarked on a sea journey last year in the region died or went missing at sea. That is up from the one in every 81 ratio between 2013 to 2015, at the height of Southeast Asia's refugee and migrant boat crisis in the Andaman Sea. "As long as the root causes of displacement are unresolved, refugees will continue to feel compelled to undertake dangerous journeys in search of safety for themselves and their families," UNHCR Director for Asian and the Pacific Indrika Ratwatte, said in a statement..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: In Myanmar, underground poetry nights build bridges between Rohingya and Burmese writers
Description: "The first of three poetry readings over the summer and into the fall in Yangon, the events created space for Rohingya and Myanmar communities to share and exchange ideas in an otherwise deeply polarized society: Nearly two years earlier, the Myanmar military waged a brutal campaign against the Rohingya in Myanmar that drove over 740,000 of the persecuted Muslim minority into neighboring Bangladesh. Those who remain in Myanmar live in "urban ghettoes," a UN official said this summer. That campaign was the culmination of deep social and political tensions that have existed for decades in Myanmar, where the predominantly Buddhist country has long denied citizenship to the Rohingya along with education, healthcare, freedom of movement and other human rights. The word Rohingya itself is taboo in Myanmar, where citizens pejoratively refer to Rohingya as “Bengalis,” implying their status as immigrants from Bangladesh..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Public Radio International (PRI)" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Rohingya problem: Is there an ASEAN solution in sight?
Topic: Asean, Myanmar, Repatriation, Rohingya
Sub-title: ASEAN’s commitment to decision-making by consensus and non-interference in the internal affairs of member states severely restricts its ability to play an effective and pro-active role in the Rohingya crisis.
Topic: Asean, Myanmar, Repatriation, Rohingya
Description: "On 22 August 2019, Myanmar’s authorities launched a third repatriation attempt to facilitate the return of displaced Rohingya Muslims. The government dispatched buses to Cox’s Bazaar tasked with bringing back some 3,000 Rohingya refugees to their place of abode in Rakhine State. Not a single refugee boarded the transportation provided. Unlike the first two repatriation attempts, this third attempt was of heightened significance. A team from ASEAN was at the Myanmar reception centres to witness the repatriation exercise. For Myanmar, the presence of ASEAN officials was an opportunity to validate its preparations for the repatriation exercise and to affirm that Myanmar was serious in facilitating the return of the displaced Rohingya. In this sense, the presence of ASEAN officials had good public relations value for Myanmar. Reactions to the failed repatriation attempt have been varied. The Myanmar authorities expressed surprise at the refugees’ refusal to return to Rakhine. They blamed the presence of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) for this failure, asserting that the group was active in Cox’s Bazaar, deterring Rohingya from returning home. The Myanmar government accused the Bangladeshi authorities of not doing enough to counter its activities and facilitating the return of the Rohingya Muslims..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh urged to speedily repatriate those expressing wish to return, ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction over Myanmar: Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe
Description: "Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe of State Counsellor Office called on Bangladesh to faithfully implement the bilateral agreement, which is the only feasible way to resolve the issue of the displaced persons and allow the speedy repatriation of those who have long expressed their desire to return, responding that ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction over Myanmar. The remarks came from Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe’s statement to the high-level General Debate on the fifth day of the74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly held on 28 September 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. “We call on Bangladesh to faithfully implement the bilateral agreement, which is the only feasible way to resolve the issue of the displaced persons. We also call on Bangladesh to allow the speedy repatriation of those who have long expressed their desire to return, including some 400 people of Hindu faith. Grand standing, introducing new elements, putting forward new conditionalities will be a futile exercise,” said Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe. “Our democratic transition is still young and as yet incomplete. As we struggle to step out from poverty’s shadow, while striving for inclusive development and peace, we must overcome a range of challenges, from imperfect Constitution to continued conflicts. The situation in Rakhine State, an issue that has deep and historical roots, counts amongst these challenges,” said Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: MPs urge strong security at Myanmar-Bangladesh border fence
Description: "U Tun Aung Thein, Pyithu Hluttaw member from Buthidaung Township, urged the security forces to guard the border fence between Arakan State and Bangladesh carefully because Muslim people in Bangladesh are entering Arakan State illegally. “Although we have border guard troops along the border fence, Muslim people got through the fence. We heard that two families entered Myanmar and a terrorist is among their group. We heard that the authorities found out only after they entered [Myanmar]. This shows why it is important to make our border fence better,” he said. On September 22, according to a report by the locals, Myanmar security forces arrested a Muslim in Maungdaw who allegedly entered Myanmar illegally from a refugee camp in Bangladesh. The incident has made residents in Maungdaw worried about their security. U Maung Ohn, Pyithu Hluttaw member from Maungdaw Township, said that the authorities should take action against those who entered through the border fence illegally. “We have to examine this kind of thing. We have to take action against them under the immigration laws. Only if we arrest them, we can reduce this kind of illegal entry. Otherwise, it is likely they will keep entering into our country illegally,” he said. Some lawmakers also urged Muslims who fled to Bangladesh because of the 2017 terrorist attacks in Maungdaw to come back Myanmar on the dates set by the Myanmar and Bangladesh governments..."
Source/publisher: "Development Media Group" via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar wants controlled Rohingya return
Description: "Wary of international interference, Myanmar insisted Saturday it wants Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to neighboring Bangladesh repatriated to their former homes so they can live in a “more conducive environment” than the one they left. But it said such a relocation must take place under controlled conditions. Kyaw Tint Swe, Myanmar’s minister for the office of the state counselor, said in his nation’s address at the U.N. General Assembly that Myanmar is working with Bangladesh and the United Nations to find “long-term and practical solutions” to bring home some of the more than 740,000 Rohingya in the country’s Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh. “We fully share the concern of the international community over the violence that affects communities in Rakhine,” Kyaw Tint Swe said. “Our priority now is to expedite repatriation and to create a more conducive environment for verified returnees.” He also warned of “destructive movements in the camps aimed at preventing repatriation.” Myanmar’s military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against Rohingya Muslims in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and burning of their homes. Many of them are residing in camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, a Bangladeshi town near the border with Rakhine..."
Source/publisher: "The Japan News" (Japan)
Date of publication: 2019-09-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Over 20 displaced persons return to Myanmar from Bangladesh
Description: "Some 27 displaced persons have returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh, arriving at a reception camp in Maungtaw, Rakhine state, according to the immigration authorities Monday. The displaced people, who returned on their own wishes, made up of 14 families including some children. They were received at the Nga Khu Ya reception center last week. The Myanmar authorities managed their repatriation process, providing them with humanitarian assistance and issuing to them national verification cards after scrutiny in accordance with the immigration and security rules. A total of 3,450 verified displaced persons had been expected to be repatriated to Myanmar on Aug. 22, but the repatriation attempt failed, before Monday's announcement of the repatriation of the 27 displaced persons. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in August 2018 for early repatriation of displaced persons from Myanmar's western state who fled to Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication: 2019-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: The United Nations in Myanmar calls for internet resumption in areas under shutdown in Rakhine State
Description: "Yangon, 30 September 2019 -The United Nations in Myanmar urges the Government to end the shutdown of mobile internet services in Ponnagyun, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw, and Minbya Townships in Rakhine State. While welcoming steps taken to restore service to five out of the nine townships affected by the shutdown, the United Nations also notes that for those townships which remain cut off, the shut-down will have reached its 101st day on 30 September 2019. Uninterrupted availability of the internet is indispensable and mobile internet services are a key enabler of the humanitarian and development work of the United Nations in Myanmar. The shutdown has therefore been a significant impediment to our work, complicating our ability to communicate in field locations, including with affected people. More broadly, the public in these areas, many of whom were already severely affected by the ongoing armed conflict in the area and by related constraints on humanitarian access, are facing additional difficulties related to the shutdown and in their daily lives. The internet is critical for access to information and freedom of expression, which enable other fundamental human rights. The shutdown is in contradiction to the principles and values of the Sustainable Development Goals, signed by the Government of Myanmar, which call for no one to be left behind, and has the potential to further undermine basic rights around access to food, education, health services and information.
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Myanmar via Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: 'Destructive movements' in Rohingya camps preventing repatriation, alleges Myanmar minister at UN
Sub-title: A senior official of Myanmar alleged at the United Nations on Saturday that "destructive movements in the camps (in Bangladesh) aimed at preventing repatriation and exploiting the plight of dispersed person (Rohingyas)."
Description: "However, Union Minister for the Office of the country's State Counsellor, Kyaw Tint Swe, did not specifically point out or clarify what did he mean by the term "destructive movement". Kyaw Tint Swe said in his speech on the fifth day of debate in the UN General Assembly in New York, US, "We call on Bangladesh to faithfully implement the bilateral agreement which is the only feasible way to resolve the issue of displaced person." "We also call on Bangladesh to allow the speedy repatriation of those who have long expressed their desire to return including some 400 people of Hindu fate," he said in his speech. "… introducing new elements, putting forward new conditionality will be a futile exercise," he said adding that exertions of discriminatory scrutinisation and political pressure with malicious intent will not contribute to our efforts in resolving the problem. Myanmar is prioritizing the repatriation of scores of people who fled violence in northern Rakhine state for Bangladesh, he said. Smooth and successful repatriation require genuine repatriation and committed efforts as well as strict adherence to signed agreements, he said at the UN assembly..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Barbed wire fences for Bangladesh Rohingya camps
Sub-title: Officials frustrated by collapse of refugee repatriation attempt
Description: "Bangladesh is set to erect barbed-wire fencing, guard towers and cameras around Rohingya camps, the home minister said Thursday citing security concerns, in a move critics said would turn the refugee settlements into prisons. Dhaka has been growing frustrated with the Rohingya in Bangladesh – who number nearly a million – since the collapse of a recent repatriation attempt to encourage them to return home to Myanmar. The stateless Muslim minority live in large camps in southeastern border towns, with the majority having fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state in August 2017 after a military crackdown. “There are three large camps. We’ll fence the three camps with barbed wires,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters Wednesday. “Watch towers and CCTV cameras” would also be set up to monitor activity in the Cox’s Bazar district settlements, he added..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2019-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Beijing sees Solution to Rohingya Crisis
Description: "China sees a “very good solution” to the ongoing Rohingya crisis in the process of implementing the BCIM (Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar) Economic Corridor stressing that its “real solution” lies in development. “China pays very close attention to Rohingya issue. We also hope that in the process of implementing the BCIM Economic Corridor, we can come up with very good solution to the problem,” said Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Zhang Zuo at a briefing at Westin Hotel here on Wednesday evening. Bangladesh has been “actively promoting” the BCIM Economic Corridor, a key BRI project connecting China with South Asia and the resourceful Indian Ocean. Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun recently said Bangladesh is centrally situated along the BCIM Economic Corridor and expected to be hugely benefited from the enhanced connectivity..."
Source/publisher: "Belt & Road News" (China)
Date of publication: 2019-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: OIC to Myanmar: Keep your commitments over Rohingya repatriation
Description: " It also urged Myanmar to shoulder its responsibility in providing indiscriminate protection to all citizens Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Dr Yousef A Al Othaimeen has urged Myanmar to honor its commitments as to its pledged full cooperation with Bangladesh regarding the repatriation of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State. He called upon the international community to keep up its support to Bangladesh over Rohingya issue as Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas. The OIC secretary general also urged Myanmar to shoulder its responsibility in providing indiscriminate protection to all citizens as well as full observance of all international human rights agreements, according to OIC headquarters on Thursday. Secretary General Othaimeen and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and discussed the Rohingya issue. Othaimeen paid tribute to the efforts made by the Prime Minister Hasina and the people of Bangladesh in their generous hospitality to over one million Rohingyas, offering them shelter and care, in addition to Bangladesh’s firm commitment to the cause of the Rohingya. The OIC secretary general has commended Saudi Arabia’s efforts for the Rohingyas and advocated support for Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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