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

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Title: Rohingya Refugees Risk Going Back to Another Genocide in Myanmar
Description: "Myanmar’s government is pushing for the more than 1 million Rohingya refugees currently in Bangladesh to start returning to the country, in an effort to project an image of peace and reconciliation to the outside world. Yet as grim as the situation is for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where they live in what is now the world’s largest refugee settlement, their prospects back in Myanmar are even worse. It is little surprise, then, that few if any Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, have taken up the offer. This is Myanmar’s second attempt at facilitating the repatriation of Rohingya, after an earlier effort failed last November. Bangladesh’s government, which supports repatriation, has been making life harder for Rohingya refugees in the country. In early September, it shut off mobile internet access in refugee camps, a move condemned by human rights groups because it could make it more difficult to deliver humanitarian services. The Bangladeshi government desperately wants to close the overcrowded camps, fearing major disease outbreaks, but only if Rohingya refugees leave the country and do not integrate into Bangladeshi society. It fears the refugees’ impacts on the job market and social stability..."
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Source/publisher: "World Politics Review (WPR)"
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-27
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Title: WFP Myanmar Country Brief, August 2019
Description: "Rakhine: New small internal displacements were reported during August due to the ongoing armed conflict. In northern Rakhine State, WFP’s emergency relief assistance continued to reach 97,700 conflict-affected people including 1,900 newly displaced people from 165 Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships. In addition, WFP reached over 7,800 children under 5 years and pregnant and lactating women (PLW) through nutrition interventions. In central Rakhine State, WFP continued to assist 110,800 food-insecure people including 2,200 who were newly displaced through emergency relief food assistance. In addition, WFP extended its lean season support to over 4,400 most vulnerable people in Rathedaung Township. WFP’s nutrition assistance reached 5,200 PLW and 24,600 children under five years of age. Kachin: WFP provided emergency food assistance to 43,700 displaced and flood-affected people in Kachin State using cash and E-Money transfers. Over 1,860 PLW and children under 2 received nutrition assistance from WFP. Shan: Armed clashes have flared up in Shan State since mid-August causing over 9,000 temporary internal displacements. Urgent needs of the displaced people were covered by the assistance from the Government and local well-wishers. WFP emergency relief distributions continued to support 7,300 displaced populations from northern Shan State. Hampered by the armed clashes, WFP could not reach about 8,000 targeted people in conflict-affected villages of the KoKang Self-Administered Zone. Over 1,400 PLW and children under 2 received nutrition assistance in Shan State..."
Source/publisher: World Food Programme (WFP) (Italy) via Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-27
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Title: Will China’s Belt and Road (BRI) Diplomacy Facilitate a Rapprochement Between Myanmar and Bangladesh?
Description: "China’s active diplomatic efforts in trying to resolve the “Rohingya” issue can facilitate a rapprochement between Myanmar and Bangladesh that strengthens their trilateral cooperation through the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) and secures a second corridor for Beijing to the Afro-Asian (“Indian”) Ocean complementing the one that it’s already pioneered through the global pivot state of Pakistan via CPEC. Xinhua reported earlier this week that China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh held their third informal Foreign Minister meeting since last year on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and agreed to three points of consensus on the “Rohingya” issue that’s plagued bilateral relations between Beijing’s two Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) partners for the past two years already. The outlet described the outcome of their talks as resulting in “the strong political will and important political consensus of the three parties to realize the repatriation as soon as possible”; “unanimously agree[ing] to establish a China-Myanmar-Bangladesh Joint Working Group mechanism…to be responsible for the concrete implementation of repatriation-related work”; and that “development is the fundamental way to solve the Rakhine issue”. Interestingly, this is exactly what the author proposed in his September 2017 analysis about “The Rohingya Crisis: Conflict Scenarios And Reconciliation Proposals“. China’s interest in the “Rohingya” issue stems from the lasting impact that it could have on the stability of Myanmar and Bangladesh if it’s not responsibly resolved, which could in turn jeopardize its investments in both of them and especially the viability of its planned China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) that will run parallel to its existing pipelines through the country to connect the Yunnan capital of Kunming with the port of Kyaukphyu. This corridor to the Afro-Asian (“Indian”) Ocean is expected to complement the existing one that China already pioneered through the global pivot state of Pakistan via BRI’s flagship project of CPEC and thus ensure the reliability of the Silk Road across the Eastern Hemisphere’s centrally positioned body of water by avoiding the increasingly militarized South China Sea and the US Navy-controlled choke point of the Strait of Malacca. As regards China’s interests in Bangladesh’s stability, the South Asian state is one of its closest regional partners and has already been the recipient of approximately $38 billion worth of investments..."
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Source/publisher: "Global Research"
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-27
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Title: Another landmine blast on Burma-Bangladesh border kills Rohingya refugee
Description: "A landmine explosion has killed a Rohingya refugee on the Burma-Bangladesh border, according to Lieutenant Colonel Ali Haidar Azad Ahmed, Commanding Officer of 34 BGB Battalion, Cox’s Bazar. The explosion occurred near the Ambagan area, at Thoyangaziri Pillar number 38/3 under Naikhyangchari in Bandarban, at around 8 am on September 23, and is the second such incident this month, according to the officer. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Abdul Mazid, 35, son of Mohammad Abdul Malek, from Block-D/1 of Kutupalong mega camp, under Ukhiya police station of the district. On receiving information, police with the help of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered the body from the zero-point area, said Anwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Naikhongchhari Police Station. It was not known why the refugee went to the border region, said Anwar Hosen. But former Ghumdum UP Member Md Farid said Rohingyas usually use these border routes to smuggle illegal goods into Bangladesh. Rohingya refugee Abdul Mazid crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar borderline on September 23 morning, but 50 yards inside Myanmar he stepped on a landmine and was seriously injured when it exploded. Later, local people rescued him from the Myanmar side and sent him to a BGB physician, according to witnesses and 34 Border Guard Bangladesh-BGB personnel. He died while under treatment due to heavy bleeding, BGB personnel said. Later, the BGB handed over the body to the Ghumdum police camp asking them to take necessary steps. Confirming the matter, Ghumdum Investigation Centre In-Charge Emon Chowdhury said the deceased’s body will be sent to the Bandarban Sadar Hospital morgue Dil Mohamed, a Rohingya community leader who lives in the makeshift camp on the tiny strip of “no man's land,” said the incident took place near their camp and was very frightening for them..."
Source/publisher: "Kaladan Press" (Bangladesh) via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-26
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Title: Effective planning needed to curb flood disasters in Sittwe
Description: "Flooding occurs in wards of Arakan State’s capital Sittwe when it is raining continuously, especially in low-lying areas. Local residents relocate their important possessions from downstairs to upstairs; they have no other options. Flood disasters in the region became much more apparent two decades ago and the situation has become more precarious. Some local residents tried to tackle the problems that flooding creates. They have elevated the ground around their homes to keep rising waters from seeping into their homes. They have also built roadside ditches in front of their house to function as makeshift drainage systems. But, the problem of overwhelming flooding that occurs annually cannot be solved because effective plans have yet to drawn up to divert water from vulnerable areas. Extremely heavy rain causes floods that create deep pools of water, any attempt to successfully reduce the risk of flooding in the region has not been seen so far. Previously, under junta rule, all houses in the wards in Mrauk-U town were instructed to build roadside ditches in front of each and every house. Residents from wards and villages had to build roadside ditches on days authorities designated. Owners of the land, even if no house was on the property, had come and build roadside ditches for fear of being fined by authorities. But, ditches were not built systematically and lacked maintenance so they became ineffective. It needs to have a plan that works effectively to alter the movement of water. Elevating the land or digging ditches are not perfect solutions. Meanwhile, bad planning increases the risks of floods in the region while creeks are shallower than before. Rainwater in Sittwe city flows into river from Myo Lae, Khawathay and Sat Yoe Kya creeks. But, the runoff cannot enter into the river because of the Sittwe city extension project used soil that blocks the natural path of rainwater into the river. That creates higher embankments of land at the mouth of the creeks and rain water gets rerouted into the city. In addition, a road project under the former chief minister U Maung Maung Own did not include road culverts to redirect the flow water from the wards into rivers. The project makes the road better, but it becomes a barrier for water in the city. An authority from Shwe Pyar ward said that he was worried that the ward would face more flooding because the water channel from the ward to the river was filled with earth for the city extension project on Strand road. He mentioned to authorities to restructure the water channel, but nothing has been done..."
Source/publisher: "Development Media Group" (Myanmar) via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-26
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Title: Three nations to jointly evaluate Rohingya repatriation progress
Description: "An informal trilateral meeting involving officials from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and China has led to the formation of a “tripartite joint working mechanism” to evaluate the situation on the ground for Rohingya repatriation, according to Dr AK Abdul Momen, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister. Myanmar agreed with the Chinese proposal after some initial objections and together with Bangladesh and China will evaluate progress jointly on the ground, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister told the media after the three nations’ joint meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2019. The first meeting of the tripartite working body is likely to be held in October, the minister said. Despite Myanmar taking all the necessary steps to take back their nationals, Bangladesh said Myanmar has been unable to build confidence among the Rohingyas yet. “They’ll return, only when they feel that they have safety, security and free mobility after their return,” said the minister. “The good news is that Myanmar has agreed to take their nationals back as soon as possible,” the minister added. Two attempts at Rohingya repatriation have failed as the Rohingyas are unwilling to go back to their place of origin amid lack the required conditions in Rakhine State for their return..."
Source/publisher: "Kaladan Press" (Bangladesh) via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-26
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Title: World must take steps to compel Myanmar for Rohingya return: PM
Sub-title: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the world must take all measures to compel Myanmar to create conditions enabling the Rohingyas’ safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation to their ancestral homes.
Description: "“Rohingya crisis is a formidable challenge for Bangladesh … we want a peaceful and immediate resolution of the crisis. Myanmar has created the crisis and the solution lies in Myanmar,” she said. The prime minister made the comments while participating in an interactive dialogue — “A conversation with Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina” — at the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) here on Wednesday afternoon local time. The premier also placed a four-point proposal to fight terrorism and violent extremism terming the twin social menaces as a significant challenge to Bangladesh’s economic progress and humanity. She said,”I would like to propose the following steps in order to fight against terrorism and violent extremism:” Firstly – the source of supply of arms to the terrorists must be stopped; secondly – the flow of financing to the terrorists and their outfits must be stopped; thirdly – the divisions within societies must be removed and fourthly – the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes through dialogue for a win-win situation must be pursued. Sheikh Hasina said the government of Myanmar, through a planned atrocity, cleansed Rohingya minority from Northern Rakhine State. “The Rohingyas fled violence and atrocities and we opened our border to shelter them on humanitarian ground,” she said..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-26
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Title: Bangladesh, China, Myanmar to jointly evaluate progress over Rohingya repatriation
Sub-title: Bangladesh, China and Myanmar have agreed to form a "tripartite joint working mechanism" to evaluate the situation on the ground for Rohingya repatriation.
Description: "Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen came up with the development after a joint meeting with his Chinese and Myanmar counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. "On the ground, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar will evaluate the progress jointly," Dr Momen told reporters after the meeting adding that Myanmar agreed with the Chinese proposal though Myanmar had some objections initially at the meeting. The first meeting of the tripartite working body is likely to be held in October. Though Myanmar claimed that they have taken all the necessary steps to take back their nationals, Bangladesh said Myanmar could not build confidence among the Rohingyas yet. "They'll return, only when they'll feel that they've a safety, security and free mobility after their return." Dr Momen said the good news is that Myanmar has agreed to take their nationals back as soon as possible. Two attempts of Rohingya repatriation have failed as the Rohingyas are unwilling to go back to their place of origin amid lack of required conditions in Rakhine State for their return. Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Cox's Bazar since August 25, 2017. Welcoming Chinese involvement in repatriation process, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has recently said Chinese involvement has a "great deal of potential" to help bring the Rohingya crisis to an end noting that involvement of wide range of countries can resolve the crisis..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Bangladesh, Myanmar, China Call for ‘Working Group’ on Rohingya Issue
Description: "Representatives from Myanmar, Bangladesh and China called this week for enhanced cooperation in repatriating Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh back to their homes in Myanmar, saying political will is needed to move the issue forward, media reports said. Meeting informally on Monday on the sidelines of U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, Bangladesh foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momen, and Myanmar Minister of the State Counselor’s Office Kyaw Tint Swe also called for the creation of a trilateral working group “mechanism” to oversee repatriation efforts. Strong political will and improvements in the economic conditions of Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state to promote regional stability are needed for real progress to be made, said parties to the meeting, which was presided over by China’s foreign minister, with Christine Schraner Burgener – the U.N. Secretary-General’s special envoy on Myanmar – also attending. Speaking later to Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews, Hou Do Suan – Myanmar’s permanent representative to the U.N. – downplayed China’s proposed new role in the working group, saying a bilateral group already exists in promoting joint efforts by Myanmar and Bangladesh, and that only “sincere will” is needed to bring the Rohingya refugees back. “I want to clarify that the forming of this working group is not a [new] mechanism,” Hou Do Suan said, adding, “We already have a joint working group. “China is just helping us in facilitating the implementation of the agreements we already have,” he said. “Speaking frankly, if we can implement the bilateral agreement for repatriating these people with the real intention to get it done, we will succeed,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "BenarNews"
Date of publication: 2019-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Dr M slams UN, Myanmar govt over Rohingya crisis
Description: "The United Nations and Myanmar government came under fire on Tuesday for their inaction in resolving the Rohingya crisis which has displaced more than a million people in the country. The UN’s silence on the crisis is deafening, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, adding that the 75-year-old organisation has not fulfilled its purpose of preventing such man-made atrocities. “Without Security Council's action, others must do their part to resolve the crisis and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said at a high-level side event “Rohingya Crisis - A Way Forward” at the United Nations headquarters on Tuesday. Also present was Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. Myanmar’s military has been accused of murdering thousands of Rohingya in western Rakhine state since 2017, which has resulted in the mass exodus of these Muslim minorities to neighbouring countries, and led to the world’s largest refugee camp at Cox Bazar in Bangladesh. Dr Mahathir said what happened in the Rakhine State is genocide. “What took place were mass killings, systematic rape and other gross violations of human rights,” he said. He commended the Organisation of Islamic Conference's (OIC) effort to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice, and hopes that other countries would support OIC to ensure the perpetrators do not get away with the heinous crimes they have committed..."
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Source/publisher: "New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of publication: 2019-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Myanmar military chief seeks Muslim redemption
Topic: UN, MYANMAR, ROHINGYA, MIN AUNG HLAING, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Sub-title: Min Aung Hlaing, accused of war crimes against Rohingya Muslims, has evidently had a change of heart
Topic: UN, MYANMAR, ROHINGYA, MIN AUNG HLAING, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Description: "Myanmar’s internationally reviled military chief, widely accused of commanding “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” against the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority, has evidently now discovered religious tolerance. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, and several of his deputies made a rare, if not unprecedented, late August visit to a Muslim mosque in the town of Pyinmana, close to the national capital of Naypyitaw. Two weeks later, in what some see as a sort of public relations roadshow, the military chief visited the Joon Mosque in the central city of Mandalay. Then, on September 17, in the commercial capital Yangon, he visited the Muslim Free Hospital, a local clinic established in 1937 that despite its name is actually a multicultural charity. As is customary for religious shrine visits in Myanmar and elsewhere, Min Aung Hlaing made donations of rice, oil, salt, peas and cash to the mosques, offerings that were earmarked as given by himself, his family and his deputies’ families. Less familiar, the military chief also offered up messages of tolerance, inclusion and unity to his Muslim audiences, noting at one stop that all Myanmar citizens are “living in the same land, drinking from the same source and living under the same roof.” That’s, of course, unless you’re among the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya forcibly driven out of the country in 2017 by his military’s “area clearance” operations in Rakhine state, and are now languishing in abysmal refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication: 2019-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Myanmar: A Violent Push to Shake Up Ceasefire Negotiations
Description: "A trio of ethnic armed groups have escalated their fight with the military in Myanmar’s Shan State. This alliance has long been outside the country’s peace process. With China’s help, the government should pursue bilateral ceasefires – and longer-term rapprochement – with the three organisations. What’s new? On 15 August, an alliance of ethnic armed groups staged coordinated attacks against strategic targets in northern Myanmar. The offensive left up to fifteen people dead, and clashes reportedly continue in the northern part of Shan State, creating concerns for civilians’ safety. Why did it happen? The three ethnic armed groups behind the attacks have been largely excluded from the peace process for the past five years. In recent months, the government has proposed bilateral ceasefires to the groups but has set unrealistic demands and accompanied the offers with military pressure. Why does it matter? The attacks mark a serious escalation in Shan State’s conflict. They represent a rejection of bilateral ceasefire terms that the Myanmar government has proposed to the armed groups. While the Myanmar military has not yet responded with significant force, the brunt of mounting violence will inevitably fall on civilians. Myanmar’s military has not retaliated in the heavy-handed way many observers expected, given the attacks’ provocative nature. Instead, it has focused on securing key infrastructure and reopening the highway to the border with China. Contrary to most expectations, the military has also extended its unilateral ceasefire from 31 August to 21 September. The government negotiating team has moved quickly to resume talks with the groups, with meetings held on 31 August and 17 September. On 9 September, the Brotherhood Alliance announced a one-month ceasefire but also warned that it would retaliate if attacked. China, which wields strong influence in the border areas and over some of the groups, has also been encouraging dialogue and de-escalation. The Myanmar military could still decide to strike back, however. A counteroffensive would have dire consequences for the area’s civilian population, particularly ethnic Ta’ang (also referred to as Palaung), whom government forces suspect of providing support to the TNLA. Myanmar’s military and, to a lesser extent, the three ethnic armed groups have a history of human rights violations. Already, there are reports of indiscriminate shelling and mortar fire, as well as attacks on local aid groups’ vehicles and civilian cars and trucks on the highway. Thousands of residents have fled their homes, some pre-emptively out of fear of being targeted by forces on either side. Humanitarian access, which is already constrained, is likely to become more difficult..."
Source/publisher: "International Crisis Group (ICG)" (Belgium) via Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Drug trafficking and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Sub-title: Statelessness, restricted refugee camps and lack of accessibility to basic services have acted as strong push factors for Rohingyas to take up ‘Yaba’ drug trafficking in Bangladesh.
Description: "In 2018, a major attack on drug trade, especially of ‘Yaba’, popularly known as the madness drug, took place in Bangladesh where a record 53 million methamphetamine pills were seized. Nearly 300 suspected drug dealers were killed out of which 40 were from Teknaf area near to Rohingya camps. Some 25,000 were arrested, out of which few were Rohingyas. As Reuters reports, Bangladesh has become a big market for traffickers who source the drug from factories in lawless northeastern Myanmar. Why and how these stateless people are getting involved in this crime needs to be looked at. Bangladesh currently harbours more than 900,000 Rohingyas in their overpopulated camps. Already cramped and burdened, the living conditions in these camps are appalling. Though the Rohingyas are finally getting a chance to live in a settlement, some restrictions on procuring legitimate work is paving way for new illegal ones. The men, women and children, who travelled from their war torn villages, arrived at this side of the border either without their spouses or parents or children who they lost in the brutal military crackdown. While some could carry money or clothes, most couldn’t since their villages were lit on fire. Under such harsh physical and mental conditions, they are settled in the overpopulated camps where there are restrictions to work outside the camp areas. The relief they receive from the humanitarian organisations are in kind. They are only allowed to work in occupations created by the UNHCR organisations within the camps but the money they earn in exchange is meagre in order to support themselves and their families. The food supply remain limited and thus, having extra money helps to procure better ration and other basic necessities..."
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Source/publisher: "Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of publication: 2019-03-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
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Title: House to vote on Rohingya genocide: the time to act is now!
Description: "The House of Representatives is set to vote on the BURMA Act of 2019 (H.R. 3190) as early as tomorrow, September 24. The legislation has garnered 53 cosponsors in the House, but will need even more support to move forward. The Rohingya are in a more dire situation than ever, with those who remain in Myanmar subjected to ongoing atrocities, while those seeking safe haven as refugees in Bangladesh are being squeezed by Dhaka via a series of rights-effacing restrictions. It’s time for Washington to step up its response to this clear-cut genocide. The Trump Administration must take a much harder line with Myanmar, sending a strong message that the regime cannot get away with such atrocities and hollow sham repatriation attempts. It must also share more of the burden with Bangladesh so as to assuage the country’s mounting frustration with the continued presence and needs of the Rohingya. The BURMA Act provides a solid strategy for meeting both of these objectives by acknowledging the extent of the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military, activating counter-impunity mechanisms like robust sanctions against the top architects of the genocide, and increasing humanitarian assistance to help Bangladesh better manage the response. As a recap, in August of 2017, a brutal campaign waged by the Myanmar military apparatus, known as the Tatmadaw, triggered a mass exodus of more than 750,000 Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh — an operation that rights groups, the UN, U.S. elected officials, and even some governments have branded a genocide. It has been two years since the “final solution” against the Rohingya began, but their circumstances have not improved since the horrific crackdown. If anything, they have continued to deteriorate. The Rohingya in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, have been living in a purgatorial limbo for the past two years — caught between a homeland that yearns for their extermination and a host country that wants them out. The Rohingya are essentially being squeezed by both sides, systematically stripped of their dignity and deprived of their rights with ever-increasing severity..."
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Source/publisher: "Jewish World Watch" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: EU urges UNSC sanctions against Myanmar human rights violators
Description: "The European Parliament has called on the UN Security Council to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. It also called on the Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). So far, the UN Security Council has been divided over any concrete action against Myanmar for opposition of veto powers – China and Russia. The European Parliament adopted a resolution with 546 votes in favour, 12 against and 94 abstentions on Thursday on “Myanmar, notably the situation of the Rohingya”. Over 730,000 Rohingyas fled brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 2017, which according to the UN independent investigators, amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity. The Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh, and two attempts of repatriation failed as the refugees said the guarantee of citizenship and safety was not ensured. The remaining 600,000 Rohingya in Rakhine still face the threats of genocide, according to the UN investigators. They are subjected to ongoing discriminatory policies and practices, systematic violations basic rights, while there are tight military controls in place limiting access to aid agencies and media in Rakhine. On April 29 this year, the EU extended a ban on selling arms to Myanmar and prolonged sanctions against high-ranking officials over their role in the Rohingya crisis. The embargo on weapons and other equipment that could be used for repression would stay in place until at least April 30, 2020. In Thursday’s resolution, Members of European Parliament (MEPs) expressed grave concern about the ongoing and long-lasting conflict and called upon Myanmar government and the security forces to immediately stop the violations..."
Source/publisher: The Phnom Penh Post (Cambodia) via "Asia News Network" (Thailand)
Date of publication: 2019-09-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-23
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Title: Myanmar’s Rohingya persecuted, living under threat of genocide, UN experts say
Description: "The 600,000 Rohingya remaining inside Myanmar face systematic persecution and live under the threat of genocide, an independent international UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar says in a new report. “The threat of genocide continues for the remaining Rohingya,” said Marzuki Darusman, chair of the fact-finding mission, recalling that a year ago the mission said it had found “genocidal acts” in Myanmar’s 2017 “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee for their lives to Bangladesh. “Myanmar is failing in its obligation to prevent genocide, to investigate genocide and to enact effective legislation criminalising and punishing genocide,” Darusman said. The report, published on 16 September, was to be presented the following day to the UN Human Rights Council, which created the mission in 2017. It says Myanmar’s ethnic groups have a common – but not identical – experience of marginalisation, discrimination and brutality at the hands of the Myanmar armed forces, the Tatmadaw..."
Source/publisher: "ALIRAN"
Date of publication: 2019-09-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Genocide of Rohingya Muslims A Classical Model of Ethnic Cleansing
Topic: Rohingya Muslims, Rakhine State, Genocide, Humanitarian Crisis, Citizenship.
Topic: Rohingya Muslims, Rakhine State, Genocide, Humanitarian Crisis, Citizenship.
Description: "Considerable historical evidence affirms that the Rohingya Muslims are indigenous inhabitants and rightful citizens of Myanmar, who have been living in Rakhine State not for decades, but for centuries. The Myanmar government has been systematically eradicating the Rohingya people due to their Islamic religious identity. This analysis finds that the ongoing persecution on Rohingya Muslims is a manifestation of a classical model of ethnic cleansing. The disasters experienced in Rakhine State present a complete evidence of systematic, widespread and prolific human rights violations, including heinous crimes against humanity. This article presents an academic perspective on repeated incidents, based on authentic proofs to international community of ethnic cleansing committed by the Myanmar army. This research has been carried out through various types of sources, such as recent and previously published books, articles, local and international newspapers, TV channels, magazines, documentaries, human rights organizations’ reports, and eye-witness accounts of the victims. Finally, it provides suggestions to resolve the rising problems, which may bring a permanent solution to the long-lasting humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA) via "AL-SHAJARAH" (Malaysia)
Date of publication: 2018-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 876.04 KB
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Title: Rohingya: The History of a Muslim Identity in Myanmar
Topic: Arakan, Rakhine state, ethnonationalism, Rohingya, Burma, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, state oppression, refugees
Topic: Arakan, Rakhine state, ethnonationalism, Rohingya, Burma, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, state oppression, refugees
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: "Academia.edu" (USA) via Oxford Research Encyclopedia (UK)
Date of publication: 2018-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya: The Identity Crisis
Topic: citizenship, colonialism, crisis, identity, Myanmar, Rohingya.
Topic: citizenship, colonialism, crisis, identity, Myanmar, Rohingya.
Description: "The people who call themselves Rohingya are the Muslims of Mayu Frontier area, present-day Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships of Arakan (Rakhine) State, an isolated province in the western part of Myanmar across Naaf River as boundary from Bangladesh (Chan, 2005). For the past three decades, the Rohingya have been seeking to restore their unrecognised ethnic identity, for any ethnic group has the right to identify itself or decide what name it should be called. Rohingya identity crisis began when they were divested from their cultural, national and ethnic identity in 1982, while Cheesman (2017) argues that 1982 citizenship law did not affect the Rohingya though he mentioned in the abstract that ‘people who reside in Myanmar but are collectively denied citizenship – like anyone identifying or identified as Rohingya – pursue claims to be taingyintha so as to rejoin the community.’ Recently, almost all news channels and agencies, social and human right activists, journalists etc. have addressed and tackled the Rohingya crisis. Much of the focus was on the ongoing violence and systematic ethnic cleansing committed by some fanatic Buddhists and military forces. Thus, this 21st century most outrageous tragedy has nearly prevailed all social media, depicting the worst discrimination and bloodiest atrocities ever..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of publication: 2018-05-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
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Title: Impose arms embargo on Myanmar
Sub-title: European Parliament urges UNSC; calls for targeted sanctions
Description: "The European Parliament has called on the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations against the Rohingyas. It also called on the Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). So far, the UN Security Council has been divided over any concrete action against Myanmar for opposition of veto powers -- China and Russia. The European Parliament adopted a resolution with 546 votes in favour, 12 against and 94 abstentions on Thursday on “Myanmar, notably the situation of the Rohingya”. Over 730,000 Rohingyas fled brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 2017, which according to the UN independent investigators, amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity. The Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh, and two attempts of repatriation failed as the refugees said the guarantee of citizenship and safety was not ensured. The remaining 600,000 Rohingya in Rakhine still face the threats of genocide, according to the UN investigators. They are subjected to ongoing discriminatory policies and practices, systematic violations basic rights, while there are tight military controls in place limiting access to aid agencies and media in Rakhine..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" ( Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Impose arms embargo on Myanmar
Sub-title: European Parliament urges UNSC; calls for targeted sanctions
Description: "The European Parliament has called on the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations against the Rohingyas. It also called on the Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). So far, the UN Security Council has been divided over any concrete action against Myanmar for opposition of veto powers -- China and Russia. The European Parliament adopted a resolution with 546 votes in favour, 12 against and 94 abstentions on Thursday on “Myanmar, notably the situation of the Rohingya”. Over 730,000 Rohingyas fled brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 2017, which according to the UN independent investigators, amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity. The Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh, and two attempts of repatriation failed as the refugees said the guarantee of citizenship and safety was not ensured. The remaining 600,000 Rohingya in Rakhine still face the threats of genocide, according to the UN investigators. They are subjected to ongoing discriminatory policies and practices, systematic violations basic rights, while there are tight military controls in place limiting access to aid agencies and media in Rakhine..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" ( Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Estonian MEP: EU must put pressure on Myanmar to end atrocities against Rohingyas
Description: "Members of the European Parliament discussed the situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar at a plenary session in Strasbourg. Estonian MEP Urmas Paet said in his speech that due to the continued violence of the Myanmarese government and army against the Rohingya, the European Union must make new decisions as to how to put pressure on the state. "The latest UN fact-finding mission in Myanmar said that some 600,000 Rohingyas remaining in the state are living in fear of a new genocide," Paet said. "The crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmarese army and war crimes against ethnic communities are continuing, and the army and government are enjoying impunity," he noted. The Estonian MEP said that the Rohingya in Myanmar are being discriminated against and have been deprived of their basic rights. "They are facing the threat of arbitrary arrest, they have no freedom of movement and only have limited access to healthcare services," he added. Paet said that some 700,000 Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh to escape the violence of the Myanmarese army are also facing several problems. "The Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh is overcrowded. The conditions there are unsanitary and the access to healthcare is limited," he said. "Children lack opportunities for receiving an education and human trafficking is on the rise." The Estonian MEP said that the European Union and other international organizations must make an effort to gain access to the Myanmarese conflict regions in order to provide aid and monitor the system on the spot. Human rights violations in the state must be investigated in depth and the perpetrators have to be held responsible..."
Source/publisher: "The Baltic Times" (Latvia)
Date of publication: 2019-09-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: European Parliament adopts resolution urging UNSC to impose full arms embargo against Myanmar
Sub-title: UNSC urged to refer Myanmar to International Criminal Court
Description: "The European Parliament passed a resolution yesterday, urging the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar. They also urged the UNSC to adopt targeted sanctions against those natural, and legal individuals who appear to be responsible for serious human rights violations. In a resolution titled “Myanmar, notably the situation of the Rohingya,” the members of European Parliament (MEP) reiterated their strong condemnation of all past and present human rights violations which, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity, perpetrated by the armed forces of Myanmar against the country’s minority Rohingya population. They expressed grave concern about the ongoing and long-lasting conflict, and once again urged the Myanmar government, and its security forces to immediately stop the violations. The resolution also commended the efforts undertaken by the government, and people of Bangladesh to provide refuge, and security to Rohingya refugees. It also urges the Bangladeshi side to fully respect the principle of non-refoulement, and not force Rohingya refugees back into Myanmar, where their lives could be in danger. The MEPs welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor to open a preliminary investigation into crimes under the court’s jurisdiction, committed against the Rohingya population since 2016..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Action to end Myanmar war crimes urged
Topic: MYANMAR, WAR CRIMES, JUSTIC, EGENOCIDE, SHAN STATE, RAKHINE STATE, OHCHR, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, RIGHTS, KAREN STATE, UN FACT-FINDING MISSION, MYANMAR MILITARY, 'FLYING TOMATO', UNHRC
Topic: MYANMAR, WAR CRIMES, JUSTIC, EGENOCIDE, SHAN STATE, RAKHINE STATE, OHCHR, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, RIGHTS, KAREN STATE, UN FACT-FINDING MISSION, MYANMAR MILITARY, 'FLYING TOMATO', UNHRC
Description: "The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (aka Forum-Asia), Progressive Voice and the Karen Human Rights Group are calling on member and observer states of the UN Human Rights Council to take concrete action to ensure justice and accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes perpetrated against ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar. We are deeply concerned regarding the escalation in conflict, particularly in Rakhine and Shan states, and are urging the UNHRC to broaden the mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar regularly to document and report violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in that country. Shan state has observed an escalation in conflict since the factions of the Northern Alliance’s Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), Arakan Army (AA) and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) carried out attacks against the Myanmar military’s Defense Service Technological Academy at Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Region, as well as a toll gate, customs house and police security outpost on August 15. The military was quick to retaliate, with some of the worst fighting observed in Lashio and Kutkai. In Lashio, the military used Buddhist temples to fire shells into villages, resulting in the death of a 52-year-old farmer. In Kutkai, parents and family grieved the death of three Kachin children due to heavy shelling between the Northern Alliance and the military..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-09-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Landmine blast on Bangladesh-Myanmar border kills Rohingya refugee
Description: "A Rohingya refugee has been killed in a landmine explosion along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, Bangladesh officials said on September 3, 2019. The body of the deceased was recovered near the Ghumdhum border of Naikhongchhari Upazila on the Bangladesh side, an official said. BGB regional commander Ali Haider Azad Ahmed has said the dead man is believed to be a Rohingya refugee. Locals have identified him as Md Shahjahan, aged 32, resident of a Rohingya refugee camp, Bangladesh border guards said they heard a loud explosion on September 3 and saw several men leaving behind a badly wounded person at the border village of Ghumdum. The body was sent to the Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue. The state of the body suggested that he was killed in a landmine explosion, as his legs were blown clean off, according to Ghumdhum police outpost in-charge Emon Chowdhury. “We suspect he was killed in a landmine explosion inside Myanmar and then these people carried the body to Bangladesh territory,” a senior Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) official said on condition of anonymity. The incident took place along the border around 7 pm on September 3, 2019..."
Source/publisher: "BNI Multimedia Group" via Kaladan Press (Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UN expert implores Myanmar’s Suu Kyi: “open your eyes, listen, feel with your heart
Description: "A UN human rights expert has implored Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to ‘feel with her heart before it is too late’, saying that even if refugees wished to return they have little to go back to. Yanghee Lee, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, told the Human Rights Council the situation in Myanmar was of extreme concern, and was not what she and others had hoped to see nearly four years after the election of the National League for Democracy. “I would like to ask the State Counsellor if the Myanmar that exists today is what she had truly aspired to bring about throughout the decades of her relentless fight for a free and democratic Myanmar? I implore you Madame State Counsellor to open your eyes, listen, feel with your heart, and please use your moral authority, before it is too late.” Despite international condemnation, Lee said Myanmar had done nothing to dismantle the system of violence and persecution against Rohingya, and that the Rohingya who remain in Rakhine live in the same dire circumstances that they did prior to the events of August 2017. “They are denied citizenship and recognition, face regular violence (including in the context of the ongoing conflict between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw), are unable to move freely and have little access to food, healthcare, education, livelihoods and services,” she said. “Myanmar claims to have done what is necessary for the repatriation to be successful, and continues to blame Bangladesh for any delay,” she said. “However, information I have leads me to believe that the contrary is true.” Lee noted that satellite imagery showed the development of 34 camps, but said their precise purpose was unclear. She said they may be intended to detain the remaining Rohingya population and those who decide to return..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via UNHCR (Switzerland)
Date of publication: 2019-09-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Has the world failed Rohingya Muslims | Inside Story
Description: "The UN warns hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims remaining in Myanmar face a "serious risk of genocide" Two years after Myanmar's military crackdown on the Rohingya, UN Investigators say conditions remain 'deplorable' for the muslim ethnic minority, 600,000 Rohingya living in Rakhine state face a serious risk of genocide and that it is impossible for hundreds of thousands who fled to Bangladesh to return. Last year, the UN fact finding mission found that military officers carried out a campaign against the Rohingya with "genocidal intent". The investigators are now calling for Myanmar to be held responsible, and army generals to face trial over rapes and killings. But would that be enough to end the suffering of one of the most persecuted minorities in the world?..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera English (Qatar)
Date of publication: 2019-09-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar security forces conduct airstrikes in Arakan
Description: "As the fighting between Myanmar security forces and Arakan Army (AA) members intensified after three days of encounters, the Myanmar Tamadaw today used three helicopters to launch airstrikes in Min Bya township of Arakan. According to a witness, the strikes were conducted at around 2 pm and it lasted for 20 minutes only. “Three helicopters flew over the mountain range of Kyaw Kha, near to Dai Thar village under Min Bya township, from where the security forces conducted the airstrikes,” added the witness. Kyaw Kha range witnessed the encounters since the morning hours and by 2 pm the airstrikes were reported. A young woman from Pyin Young village, which is 2 miles away from the location, informed that they could see a wave of smoke in the sky over the battlefield. A village administrator of the area revealed that the fighting broke out on Saturday and it continued till Monday, where both sides have used small guns and artilleries..."
Source/publisher: "BNI Multimedia Group" (Myanmar) via Narinjara
Date of publication: 2019-09-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Nobel Peace Laureate Could Face Prosecution Over Myanmar Military’s Actions
Description: "Myanmar’s civilian leader, a Nobel laureate once extolled as a champion of democracy, could face prosecution for crimes against humanity because of the military’s attacks on Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups, United Nations investigators said on Tuesday. Their statement was a new sign of how far the leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, had fallen from grace in the three years since she took office, overshadowed by the military’s campaign against the Rohingya. She was first acclaimed as an icon of the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar, having won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and endured many years of house arrest. Now she has become an international pariah for her government’s response to brutal oppressions by Myanmar’s military. In a report to the United Nations top human rights body in Geneva on Tuesday, a panel of investigators, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, said the 660,000 Rohingya people who remain in Myanmar face systematic persecution..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of publication: 2019-09-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya repatriation: Bangladesh likely to sit with China, Myanmar
Topic: Rohingya repatriation, Ethnic Rohingya refugees
Sub-title: Bangladesh is likely to sit across the table with representatives of China and Myanmar in New York this month to resolve the much-talked-about Rohingya repatriation issue.
Topic: Rohingya repatriation, Ethnic Rohingya refugees
Description: "The trilateral meeting will be held on the sideline of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to be held in New York by this month, Lt Col (Retd) Muhammad Faruq Khan, president of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs said today. The parliamentary committee today held a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Complex with Faruq Khan in the chair and discussed the latest development about the repatriation process of Rohingyas to Myanmar. During the meeting, the foreign ministry informed that representatives of the three countries will hold talks during the general assembly of the United Nations, he said. The parliamentary committee also expressed disappointment over the diplomatic efforts which have been so far to repatriate the Rohingya to their homeland in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, he said. There is lacking in the ongoing efforts and the committee asked the ministry to take stronger and more effective move to ensure the repatriation of the Rohingyas, Farook Khan said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" ( Bangladesh)
Date of publication: 2019-09-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Akter, 20, expelled from university for being Rohingya
Sub-title: Rahima Akter has become the face of the struggle of Rohingya refugees who want, but are not allowed to pursue education.
Description: "Rahima Akter hid her Rohingya identity to enrol at a private university in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, but her dreams of pursuing higher education were dashed after she was suspended by her university earlier this month. The 20-year-old from Kutupalong refugee camp has become the face of the struggle of Rohingya refugees who want to study, as Bangladesh does not allow Rohingya to enrol in schools or colleges. Last October, she was featured in a video story by the Associated Press in which she talked about being a Rohingya and her dream to study human rights so she could raise her voice for her persecuted community. Nearly a year after it was published, the video went viral after which she was expelled from Cox's Bazar International University where she was studying law. "I was in college when the video started showing up on people's phones. Suddenly, everyone was asking me, 'Are you Rohingya?' Some people started a negative campaign, saying I should be sent back," said Akter, over the phone. "I was hiding my identity only so I could study. I feel guilty but I did not have an option. Is getting an education a crime? she asked..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera English"
Date of publication: 2019-09-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Some 65,000 displaced in Myanmar's Rakhine, Chin states since January: UN expert
Topic: Rakhine, Chin State, Arakan Army,Tatmadaw, IDPs, United Nations, Yanghee Leetorture
Topic: Rakhine, Chin State, Arakan Army,Tatmadaw, IDPs, United Nations, Yanghee Leetorture
Description: "Tens of thousands of people have been displaced across Myanmar's Rakhine and Chin states this year, as the military battles the Arakan Army, a UN rights expert said Monday. "Up to 65,000 people have been displaced by the conflict across northern Rakhine and southern Chin States since January," said Ms Yanghee Lee, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights situation in Myanmar. Myanmar's army has deployed thousands of troops there in recent months to try to crush the AA, which is fighting for more autonomy for ethnic Rakhine. Presenting an update on the situation in Myanmar to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Lee pointed out that the military had been "using helicopter gunships against the Arakan Army." "Both sides are accused of indiscriminate use of heavy artillery fire, gunfire and landmines in civilian areas," she said. At the same time, humanitarian access "remains heavily restricted by the state government in conflict-affected townships, significantly depriving at least 100,000 people of assistance and basic services." And "imposed curfews are preventing people from reaching livelihoods, medical treatment and safe passage," she warned. Lee said in recent months she had continued to receive reports of civilians, including children, being killed, either because they were targeted or hit with indiscriminate fire in the region..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar) via AFP
Date of publication: 2019-09-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Civilian Dies, 6 Hurt as Villages Shelled in Clash Between AA, Myanmar Military
Description: "One civilian was killed and six others were injured in a clash between the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army (AA) in Kyauktaw Township, Rakhine State at around 1.00 a.m. on Sunday. U Ni Tun, 70, was struck in the leg by shrapnel when an artillery shell hit his house in the village of Kan Thone Sint, north of Kan Sauk hill in Kyauktaw. He died of blood loss while he was being taken to a hospital. “An artillery shell fell on U Ni Tun’s house at around 1 a.m. [on Sunday]. He died en route as we were taking him to the hospital in a motorboat,” Kan Thone Sint village administrator U Hla Maung told The Irrawaddy. The artillery shell was fired from east of the village, and villagers kept the shrapnel, he said. In another incident, six civilians were injured when artillery shells struck their houses in Thingana and Sabel Hla villages on the Kalandan River, local residents said. “The fighting took place at around 1 a.m. [Sunday]. Tatmadaw Navy [ships] heading to Paletwa [in Chin State] along the Kaladan River were fired upon from the forest. The Navy returned fire, and [an artillery shell] hit our village,” Ko Kyaw Thaung, a resident of Sabel Hla Village, told The Irrawaddy..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar police seize massive haul of meth pills
Description: "Myanmar authorities seized more than 10 million meth pills worth $13.3 million over the weekend, police said Monday, another massive haul in a country widely believed to be the world's largest methamphetamine producer. High-grade crystal meth -- or 'ice' -- is smuggled out of Myanmar via sophisticated networks to lucrative developed markets as far away as Japan, South Korea and Australia. Lower-quality pills, cut with caffeine and known in the region as "yaba" or "crazy medicine", are pumped out to feed the voracious domestic market as well as large drug-addicted communities in nearby Thailand and Bangladesh. Two different busts took place in the west of the country at the weekend, state-run media said Monday, one in Magway region and one in Maungdaw in Rakhine state. "It's the biggest drugs seizure this year in the country and the biggest ever in Maungdaw region in Rakhine State," police colonel Win Ko Ko told AFP. The pills were likely destined for Bangladesh, where they have become an easy source of income for the Rohingya Muslim refugees who have poured across the border since a 2017 military crackdown. Most of the drug production, however, takes place on the other side of Myanmar, in conflict-ridden eastern Shan state..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" via AFP
Date of publication: 2019-03-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Bangladeshi government cracks down on Rohingya freedom of expression and movement
Description: "The Bangladeshi government has taken steps to restrict Rohingya refugees’ freedom of movement and communication. The hosts have adopted an increasingly repressive attitude towards the Rohingya Muslims living in refugee camps in Bangladesh in recent weeks. The Burmese government embarked on a campaign of genocide and murder in August 2017, prompting some 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border in search of safety. There are now around 940,000 living in makeshift refugee camps along Bangladesh’s Southeast border. The Bangladeshi government is following a playbook of repression On September 3, the Bangladeshi government cut access to 3G and 4G cellular services in the border towns of Teknaf and Ukhia. The two towns are home to 36 refugee camps. While 2G services remain, the move all but signals the complete restriction of internet access for the Rohingya refugees. Abu Saeed Khan, a senior policy fellow at the LIRNEasia think tank said the shutdown, “effectively means the shutdown of the internet. With 2G network, it will be almost impossible to access.” Mobile phone operators were given seven days to provide reports to the government outlining the steps they have taken to limit connectivity in the camps...."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Students find joy in new classrooms in Rakhine State
Description: "Schoolchildren in Baw Du Pha village, Myanmar, have found new reasons to get excited about going to class, thanks to a brand new school building constructed by Islamic Relief. “Around 80 of us used to huddle in a classroom,” says thirteen-year old Mg Hla Myint, describing the makeshift classroom at her old school in Rakhine state. The schoolgirl is one of 12,300 people living in one of Sittwe’s two camps for those uprooted from their homes by communal violence. Thanks to Islamic Relief, she and her classmates now have a new school building with fit for purpose classrooms and brand new desks. “We shared a small desk. When I moved, I would hit my deskmate’s elbows… [now] our classroom is spacious. I feel fresh throughout the day as it is no longer crowded. I’m so happy!” The new classrooms can host a student-teacher ratio of 1:55, a huge improvement from the previous 1:90. Head teacher U Chit Swe commended the work of Islamic Relief, adding that children can now thrive in better learning environment. Islamic Relief, which has been working in Myanmar since Cyclone Nargis struck in 2008, built the school with the support of Organization of Islamic Cooperation Humanitarian Relief Fund (OICHF)..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via Islamic Relief
Date of publication: 2019-09-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: ASEAN should show true leadership on Rohingya, Myanmar
Description: "Two years on, Asia is no closer to ending its worst refugee crisis in decades. Over 900,000 Rohingya are in Bangladesh alone, including 759,000 who fled a campaign of violence by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State that began in August 2017. Hundreds of thousands had already left in earlier episodes of violence to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, as well as in India and further afield. This is an Asian crisis, but Southeast Asia should show stronger leadership. Southeast Asia’s leaders will come together on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this month and during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in November. ASEAN has been one of the few actors able to engage the Myanmar government since 2017. The region’s leaders must show compassion for the Rohingya and push Myanmar to take steps to end the violence, discrimination, and persecution that forced out the Rohingya. Otherwise this tragedy will continue. As a medical humanitarian organisation providing health care to Rohingya in Malaysia, Myanmar and Bangladesh, MSF witnesses the daily struggles they face. In Bangladesh and Malaysia, the Rohingya do not have refugee status and need some form of temporary legal stay. In Myanmar, they are denied citizenship and treated as foreigners. Statelessness is the root of their vulnerability. In Malaysia, MSF treats Rohingya patients badly injured in work accidents who are deterred from seeking medical care at public hospitals due to fear of being reported to immigration. Yet recent research demonstrates that including refugees in the legal workforce could add millions to gross domestic product and tax revenue, as well as create jobs for Malaysian citizens..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via Médecins Sans Frontières
Date of publication: 2019-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh: Internet Blackout on Rohingya Refugees
Topic: Refugee Rights, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced People
Sub-title: Shutdown Hinders Emergency Response, Risk Lives
Topic: Refugee Rights, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced People
Description: "New telecommunications and internet restrictions on Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh will disrupt critical humanitarian and emergency services, Human Rights Watch said today. The network shutdown imposed on camp locations in Teknaf and Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar severely limits communications and access to information for nearly one million refugees. On September 9, 2019, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission directed all telecommunication operators to shut down 3G and 4G services in the camps, media reports said. Camp residents report that high-speed service has been shut down since September 10. A week earlier, the government had ordered a shutdown of all 3G and 4G services between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. While 2G services appear to remain available, this may only allow limited calls and text messaging. The Bangladesh government should immediately lift the restrictions. “The Bangladesh government has a responsibility to ensure safety and security in the Rohingya camps, but shutting down internet access isn’t the way to do it,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Restricting communications in the refugee camps will hinder desperately needed services, worsening already dire living conditions and putting lives at risk.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch"
Date of publication: 2019-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Military Says Remote Landmines Pose Major Threat in Rakhine
Topic: Arakan Army, Landmines, Rakhine State, Tatmadaw
Topic: Arakan Army, Landmines, Rakhine State, Tatmadaw
Description: "Myanmar military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun has said the Arakan Army (AA) presents a major threat because the ethnic armed group now uses modern technologies in the violent conflict in Rakhine State. The military spokesperson said the military needs to take extra security precautions as the AA has been using remote-detonated explosive devices in their attacks. “Bombings can be carried out via mobile phones and walkie-talkies, so we need to pay greater attention to security,” said Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun. He made the comments in response to a recent report by Indian intelligence agencies that the AA is using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies to trigger landmines targeting the Myanmar army. The Indian government is concerned about the threat the AA poses to the Kaladan Project, a multimodal transport project now under development that will link the Indian port of Kolkata with the port in Sittwe, Rakhine State’s capital and a key gateway for India to access Southeast Asia..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh PM blames Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation failure
Description: "Bangladesh's prime minister has blamed Myanmar for the failure of a recent attempt to repatriate Rohingya refugees, saying its neighbouring country did not do enough to win the community's trust. The comments from Sheikh Hasina came three weeks after a fresh push to return the Muslim minority to Myanmar's conflict-scarred Rakhine state that fell flat when no-one turned up. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled their villages in Rakhine following a military crackdown in August 2017, joining nearly 200,000 already living in squalid camps across the border in southeast Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Diplomats from ASEAN and UN organizations meet displaced persons re-entering Myanmar
Description: "Heads and diplomats of embassies of ASEAN countries and the representatives from the UNDP and the UNHCR met the displaced persons who had re-entered Myanmar, the Ministry of Information reported on September 11. The delegation comprising the heads and diplomats of embassies of nine ASEAN countries and neighbouring countries China, India and Bangladesh and the representatives of the UNDP and the UNHCR led by Deputy Minister Khin Maung Tin of the Ministry of State Counsellor Office left for Rakhine State by flight on September 10. Next, the delegation members met 11 Hindus who recently re-entered Myanmar at the guesthouse of Sittwe State on September 10. The heads and diplomats of embassies of nine ASEAN countries and neighbouring countries China, India and Bangladesh and the representatives of the UNDP and the UNHCR asked 11 Hindus questions. Replying to the questions raised by delegation members, 11 Hindus said that their family members were lost during the attack of ARSA terrorists in August in 2017; they said they were fetched to Bangladesh; they said Myanmar government brought them back for the information of Indian government and a religious leader of Hinduism in Rakhine State; they said they were threatened by the ARSA to murder; they said they were safe in living after returning Myanmar; they said they would like to settle and have livelihoods in Maungdaw; and they said they were holding NVCs, according to the report of the Ministry of Information..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group"
Date of publication: 2019-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar’s Hindu Refugees in Bangladesh Want to Go Home, But None Have so Far
Description: "Hindu Rohingya refugees who fled a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar have appealed to State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to let them leave refugee camps in Bangladesh and return to Rakhine state, according to a mobile phone video obtained by Radio Free Asia (RFA), a BenarNews sister service. Several hundred Hindus along with more than 740,000 Muslim Rohingyas fled to safety in southeastern Bangladesh after deadly attacks on border police outposts by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) insurgents provoked a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine two years ago. Though the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to repatriate refugees now living in sprawling displacement camps, none have returned under two previous attempts, failing to show up at the border for re-entry processing. The stateless Rohingya, who face systematic discrimination in Myanmar because they are viewed as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, have refused to return unless they are granted full citizenship, recognition as a national ethnic group, and basic rights, as well as guaranteed a safe environment. The Rohingya say they had Myanmar citizenship, but it was stripped away in 1982..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: " BenarNews"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Campaign launched to highlight “data darkness” internet shutdown in Rakhine State
Description: "Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business and three partners have launched a campaign to highlight the impact of an internet blackout on residents of four townships in Rakhine State. The campaign will culminate on September 30 with “Myanmar Internet Blackout Day 101” to “show solidarity with over 600,000 people in Rakhine who will have had not access to the internet for 101 days,” MCRB said in a statement on its website. “On that day, MCRB encourages anyone who cares about internet access, whether from business, government or non-government organisations and individuals to turn off their mobile data, turn off their wifi, put an out-of-office message on email, and close Facebook, and see what it feels like,” it said. “Alternatively, tell us why you can’t survive one day without internet access, let alone 101.” The campaign to highlight the government’s “unprecedented order” on June 20 to shut down all mobile phone operators in eight Rakhine townships and Paletwa Township in neighbouring Chin State, which affected more than one million people, also involves civil society groups Free Expression Myanmar, Myan ICT for Development Organisation (MIDO) and community tech hub, Phandeeyar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Crimes against Humanity: Myanmar continues to act with impunity
Sub-title: Int’l communities’ inertia to blame, says UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Rohingya
Description: "Inertia at the international level has removed pressure on Myanmar and its allies and enabled impunity despite the country’s military being accused of crimes against humanity and genocide, said UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on the rights of the Rohingya in a report published on Tuesday. “Despite the widespread recognition that crimes, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity and genocide, were committed, the Myanmar military are yet to experience meaningful consequences either criminally or politically,” it said. Myanmar is not only unable and unwilling to investigate and prosecute international crimes, the international community are enabling them to continue to act with impunity. Members of the UN Security Council are blocking routes to international justice and enabling barriers, the report said. The report titled A New Shape of Catastrophe was published two years after the Myanmar military crackdown in Rakhine that caused an influx of over 743,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), chaired by Anne Main MP and co-chaired by Rushanara Ali MP, has called for the UK, as penholder on Myanmar at the Security Council, to lead on a Chapter VII UN Security Council resolution, setting out current conditions and the need for referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC)..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya influx in a climate vulnerable country
Sub-title: The Rohingya refugee crisis is putting a great amount of pressure on a country that is already in peril
Description: "The geographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Bangladesh makes the country particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Around 77% of people in Bangladesh depend on natural resources and the degradation of the natural resources and biodiversity has a direct impact on the livelihood of the people. Further, sea level rise and extreme weather conditions as a result of climate change impacts will be more perilous. Threatening food security, agriculture and affecting the livelihood of the communities, as well as economic impacts would be stronger; Dhaka, the capital, attracting people around the country in search of better work opportunities, would be one of the most climate vulnerable cities in the world. A combination of factors -- poverty, oppression, safety and better opportunities -- lead to displacement of people and crossing of the national border. Migration of people to a country, which is already climate vulnerable, expands a number of problems, including the environmental concerns that eventually affect the livelihood of people. Rohingya refugees are stateless and one of the most widely persecuted minorities in the world. The violence in Myanmar led one million Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh in 2017. Though, the displacement of people from Myanmar has started since the 1990’s. From time to time environmental consequences make the safety and protection of people as well as sustainable use of the resources a massive task. The large influx of Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar District has been putting enormous stress on the local resources and the livelihood, challenging the development, infrastructure, and health care..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune"
Date of publication: 2019-09-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Repatriation Failure: PM blames Myanmar
Sub-title: Says Rohingyas scared of returning home as Myanmar has not created conducive environment
Description: "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Myanmar is dragging its feet on resolving the Rohingya crisis although it signed bilateral agreements with Bangladesh following pressure from the international community, including the United Nations. Referring to the two failed attempts to start the Rohingya repatriation, Hasina said, “We’ve seen that Myanmar could not win Rohingyas’ trust in creating a conducive situation [in Rakhine state] for their dignified return.” She said Myanmar should have ensured a sustainable Rohingya repatriation by guaranteeing their security, freedom of movement and work opportunities in Rakhine. Replying to a query from Awami League MP Rumana Ali in parliament yesterday, the PM also said Bangladesh sent Myanmar information about 55,511 Rohingyas for verification, but the country identified only a part of these people as their citizens.” She said, “We had full preparation, but still the repatriation did not start as the Rohingyas did not agree to return. “We have seen that the Rohingyas are scared of going back to Rakhine due to various reasons, including no improvement of the security situation there. “Myanmar is not doing a family-based Rohingya verification and uncertainty looms over Rohingyas’ getting back their homes, land and other properties.” Fleeing military atrocities, including killings, rapes, tortures and burning of houses in the Rakhine State, more than 743,000 Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh since August 25, 2017. They joined the 300,000 others who had arrived earlier..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar camps built on destroyed Rohingya villages
Description: "Two years after more than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya fled from a savage military operation, they remain stuck in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh. A second attempt to start repatriating the refugees failed last month. The government of Myanmar says it is committed to bringing them back, and recently brought a group of journalists to northern Rakhine state, which is usually off-limits, to see their preparations. However, our correspondent Jonathan Head was able to find evidence that, far from welcoming the Rohingya back, the authorities In Rakhine state have been erasing all trace of their villages..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BBC News"
Date of publication: 2019-09-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar insurgent group using 'Bluetooth' to trigger landmines, Indian agencies worried
Sub-title: The Arakan Army has set up several camps in areas across Mizoram's Lawngtala district, posing threat to the Kaladan Project.
Description: "A fresh report by the intelligence agencies has suggested that Arakan Army, an insurgent group of Myanmar, is using 'Bluetooth' and 'Wifi' technology to trigger landmines against Myanmar Army. The Arakan Army has set up several camps in areas across Mizoram's Lawngtala district, posing threat to the Kaladan Project, which is a multi-modal transit transport project and considered India's gateway to the Southeast Asia. The insurgent group also has presence in Mizoram. This is the reason why Indian security agencies are verifying the use of such technology by insurgent groups to trigger landmines. “We have requested Assam Rifles to find out about the use of 'Bluetooth' technology to trigger the landmines by insurgent groups,” said official working with Indian security establishments..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "ZEENEWS"
Date of publication: 2019-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: ‘A New Shape of Catastrophe’: Two years on from the 2017 Rohingya Crisis
Description: "Cross-party MPs say it is still unsafe for Rohingya refugees to return home and call for tougher sanctions on Myanmar and greater support to Bangladesh September 10th, 2019, London - A cross-party group of MPs has warned that continued violence and discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar mean conditions are still unsafe for returns, leaving Bangladesh hosting over a million refugees. They urged the UK Government to step up pressure on Myanmar, including introducing tougher sanctions and referring the situation to the International Criminal Court. The recommendations are part of a series made in a new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Rights of the Rohingya, which is published today. The APPG, chaired by Anne Main MP and co-chaired by Rushanara Ali MP, received oral and written evidence from a wide range of humanitarian and human rights organisations, Rohingya civil society groups and UK Government officials. The report condemns the impunity for the atrocities of August 2017, described by UN officials as ‘ethnic cleansing’, which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya people across the border to Bangladesh. The MPs call for measures to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the Government of Myanmar, including by working with the European Union to expand targeted sanctions to include companies run by the military. It also calls on the UK Government to use its leadership role at the UN Security Council to draft a resolution that refers the situation to the International Criminal Court. Rushanara Ali MP, co-chair of the APPG on the Rights of the Rohingya, said: “For years, parliamentarians have been raising the alarm about the atrocities inflicted on the Rohingya community in Myanmar. The events of August 2017 were the latest in a history of ongoing human rights violations and discrimination for which the Myanmar military have never been held accountable. Without justice, recognition of their rights and citizenship, the Rohingya community will remain in limbo as refugees in Bangladesh and across the region. The UK must show leadership and uphold human rights and international laws on the world stage. At the UN Security Council, the UK should work with like-minded partners to end the stalemate and refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court immediately. We must bring to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via Government of the United Kingdom
Date of publication: 2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 445.45 KB
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Title: ‘Rohingya return to Myanmar depends on accountability of perpetrators’
Description: "The voluntary and sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar will depend partly on a process of accountability for those most responsible for the crimes that uprooted them from their homes, said the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). In its first report submitted to the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, IIMM’s head Nicholas Koumjian said that each day passes without accountability for international crimes brings concomitant sufferings for the hundreds of thousands of stranded in makeshift refugee camps outside Myanmar, and hoping and waiting to be able to safely return to their homes. “Few are likely to seek to return to a place where those that perpetrated serious crimes against them, or their families, still reside with impunity and retain the means or authority to inflict further harm,” he said. Over 743,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar amid military crackdown in Rakhine state, which was termed by the UN Fact-Finding Mission as having “genocidal intent”. The IIMM was established by the UN Human Rights Council to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse the evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It is also mandated to prepare files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings in accordance with international law standards in national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have or may in the future have jurisdiction over the crimes. IIMM Head Nicholas Koumjian, who officially began his functions in Geneva on July 1 this year, focused on putting in place a broad strategy and concept of operations for the mechanism so that it be operational as soon as possible..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-09-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Bangladesh: End Policies Preventing Communication for Rohingya
Description: "The Burma Human Rights Network is calling on Bangladesh to rescind policies that would stop Rohingya refugees from purchasing sim cards. The Rohingya depend on sim cards to communication their plight to the world and to contact friends and family living outside the camps. The sale of sim cards to refugees was already been regulated to prevent sales to anyone without a National Identity Card, but Bangladesh has now taken the extraordinary steps this week of working with private telecommunications companies to achieve both of the following outcomes. First, to shut off access to areas within the refugee camps during evenings and second enforcing the blocking of sales of sim cards to refugees. There have been recent incidents of violence in the camps, the origin of which is at times unclear; in some cases, Bangladesh suggests it was the fault of the Rohingya. In other cases evidence suggests that the violence resulted from unprovoked attacks against them by Bangladesh natives. However, there is speculation that the crackdown on sim cards may be in response to a rally held by the Rohingya on August 25th. That rally was organised to recognize 2 years since the Burmese army began a genocidal campaign against the civilian population in 2017. The rally drew over 200,000 refugees who were well organized and by all accounts it was a peaceful event. “Access to sim cards has been a vital service for the Rohingya for years and they have utilized them extremely effectively to raise awareness of their plight to the world. By blocking access to communication for the Rohingya, Bangladesh will effectively isolate them from the world and prevent them from engaging in basic communications they have depended on to make sure the world hears their concerns. The misdeeds or violence in the camps should be addressed by security services fairly and proportionately by addressing those who engage in such activities. There is no reason to punish the rest of the refugee population by further cutting them off from the world,” Said BRHN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
Date of publication: 2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 91.81 KB
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Title: The Bangladeshi government rallies humanitarian support for its Rohingya island relocation
Topic: Bhasan, CharCox's, Bazar, Myanmar
Sub-title: Bangladesh’s plan to relocate Rohingya refugees to a small silt island will expose them to worse threats than they already face. With repatriation still impossible, humanitarian agencies must push the government to work with communities on more sustainabl
Topic: Bhasan, CharCox's, Bazar, Myanmar
Description: "The World Food Programme and other UN agencies are preparing to facilitate Bangladesh’s plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees to the small silt island of Bhasan Char. Bangladesh is now home to more than one million Rohingya who have fled Myanmar. The Bangladeshi government claims that relocating 23,000 refugees from Cox’s Bazar refugee camp as soon as April will relieve overcrowding issues. Humanitarian agencies and human rights groups have questioned and opposed the plan. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee visited Bhasan Char in January and has emphasized that Bangladesh would need the full, prior, and informed consent of the refugees. But the Bangladeshi government has yet to hold any official public consultations with Rohingya refugees. Based on Yanghee Lee’s comments, it seemed that the UN wouldn’t back the plan. However, UN humanitarian agencies are now facilitating the move. They’ll be complicit in a plan that exposes the refugees to additional risks, rather than addressing problems with the current camps..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of publication: 2019-04-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: End Campaign to Deny Rohingya Citizenship and Erase Identity - “လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှု၏ လက်နက်ကိရိယာများ" နိုင်ငံသားစိစစ်မှုသက်သေခံကဒ်ပြားများနှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာမွတ်ဆလင်များ၏ နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်ခွင့်ကို ငြင်းပယ်ခြင်း
Sub-title: Fortify Rights’ latest 102-page report exposes new details on root of Rohingya crisis
Description: "The Government of Myanmar should end discriminatory measures that deny Rohingya equal access to citizenship, said Fortify Rights in a new report today. The report exposes a systematic campaign to erase the identity of Rohingya Muslims. “The Myanmar government is trying to destroy the Rohingya people through an administrative process that effectively strips them of basic rights,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. “This process and its impacts lie at the root of the Rohingya crisis, and until it’s addressed, the crisis will continue.” The 102-page report, “Tools of Genocide”: National Verification Cards and the Denial of Citizenship of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, reveals how Myanmar authorities forced and coerced Rohingya to accept National Verification Cards (NVCs), which effectively identify Rohingya as “foreigners” and strip them of access to full citizenship rights. Myanmar authorities tortured Rohingya to accept NVCs and restricted the movement and livelihoods of Rohingya who refused NVCs. Due to a highly restrictive environment created by the government, international humanitarian agencies also effectively furthered the government’s NVC policies and erasure of Rohingya identity, according to the report. The violations documented in the report associated with the government’s NVC process and the denial of citizenship are within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to consider in its investigation into atrocity crimes against Rohingya in Myanmar, Fortify Rights said.....“လူသားတို့၏ ကိုယ်ပိုင်သရုပ်လက္ခဏာဖြစ်တည်မှုနှင့် ပတ်သက်ပြီး နိုင်ငံရေးလွှမ်းမိုးမှုများကို ဆထက်တိုးပြုလုပ်ခြင်း၊” အကာအကွယ်ပေးခံရသော အုပ်စုများအား ပစ်မှတ်ထား ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံသည့် “အစီအမံများ သို့မဟုတ် ဥပဒေများ” ချမှတ်ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း အစရှိသည့်လုပ်ရပ်များသည် “ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများဖြစ်ပွားစေရန် အားပေးအားမြှောက်ပြုသည့် အနေအထားတစ်ခုကို ဖန်တီးသည့်” လုပ်ရပ်များဖြစ်ကြပြီး၊ ထိုကဲ့သို့သော လုပ်ရပ်အချို့နှင့်ပတ်သက်ပြီး လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှု ဟန့်တားရေးဆိုင်ရာ ကုလသမဂ္ဂရုံးမှ သတိပေးချက်ထုတ်ပြန်ထားပါသည်။ လူအုပ်စုတစ်စု၏အဖွဲ့ဝင်များအား သတ်ဖြတ်မှုကဲ့သို့သော သီးခြားတားမြစ်ထားသည့် လုပ်ရပ်များအပြင် လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုများအား ကျူးလွန်သော နိုင်ငံများသည် ၎င်းတို့ပစ်မှတ်ထားသည့် အုပ်စုတစ်စုအား တိုက်ခိုက်ဖျက်ဆီးရန်အတွက် အထောက်အပံ့ဖြစ်စေသော ဥပဒေနှင့်အုပ်ချုပ်မှုဆိုင်ရာ နည်းလမ်းများအား “အလုံးစုံ သို့မဟုတ် တစ်စိတ်တစ်ပိုင်းအနေဖြင့်” မကြာခဏ အသုံးပြုကြပါသည်။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်အစိုးရအဆက်ဆက်သည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာမွတ်ဆလင်များ၏ ဖြစ်တည်မှုနှင့် အခွင့်အရေးများအား ဖျောက်ဖျက်ရန်အတွက် အစီအမံများနှင့် ဥပဒေများကို အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ခဲ့ပြီး၊ လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုအတွက် လုပ်ဆောင်နိုင်သော အနေအထားတစ်ခုကို ဖန်တီးလျှက်ရှိပါသည်။ ဤအစီအရင်ခံစာမှ မြန်မာအစိုးရသည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအား နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်ခွင့်ကိုငြင်းပယ်ရန်အတွက် ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံသည့် အုပ်ချုပ်မှုဆိုင်ရာအစီအမံများပြုလုပ်နေကြောင်းကို မှတ်တမ်းတင်ထားသည်။ အစိုးရက ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအား “နိုင်ငံခြားသားများ”ဟု ခွဲခြားထားသည့် နိုင်ငံသားစိစစ်ရေးကဒ်များကို ရိုဟင်ဂျာများက လက်ခံလာစေရန် အင်အားသုံးခြင်း၊ အတင်းအကျပ်ခိုင်းစေခြင်းတို့ကို ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ပြီး၊ မြန်မာအာဏာပိုင်များမှ..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 9.37 MB 8.85 MB
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Villages destroyed for government facilities
Description: "Myanmar, a majority Buddhist country, continues to deny its troops carried out ethnic cleansing and genocide. It now says it is ready to take some refugees back. But last month, a second attempt to start repatriating Rohingya refugees failed, after none of the 3,450 people approved by Myanmar to return agreed to do so. They cited the lack of accountability for atrocities committed in 2017, and uncertainty over whether they would get freedom of movement or citizenship. Myanmar blamed Bangladesh, and said it was prepared to receive large numbers of returnees. To demonstrate this they invited journalists, including the BBC, to see their facilities. Access to Rakhine is normally tightly restricted. We travelled in a government convoy, and were not allowed to film or interview people without police supervision. But we were able to see clear evidence of the deliberate eradication of Rohingya communities..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: BBC News
Date of publication: 2019-09-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Student suspended for being Rohingya refugee
Sub-title: Formal education in Bangladesh is forbidden for refugees
Description: "Bangladesh university has suspended a student for being Rohingya, officials said Sunday, as impatience with the refugees grows following a second failed attempt to repatriate them to Myanmar. Some 740,000 of the Muslim minority fled to southeast Bangladesh after a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in August 2017, joining 200,000 Rohingya already there. Formal education in Bangladesh is forbidden for refugees. Cox’s Bazar International University said it had suspended Rahima Akter Khushi, 20, and would investigate her case after local media said she hid her Rohingya identity to enrol. “Rohingya can’t be admitted to our university, because they are refugees,” the institution’s head Abul Kashem said. “Foreigners can study here, but they must follow a procedure.” He said the young woman had supplied documents showing she completed high-school studies in Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong. Khushi, who was studying law, told AFP the private university’s decision had “mentally shattered” her..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: 6 Rohingya refugees sent back to Myanmar
Sub-title: Earlier, 22 Rohingyas were also sent back by BGB when they were caught trying to enter Bangladesh within a space of two weeks
Description: "Bangladesh Border Guards(BGB) sent back six Rohingyas, three women and three children who were trying to enter Bangladesh yesterday. They were sent back to Myanmar from the Nayapara border in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf upazila, in the early hours. "A BGB team of the Hila Nayapara camp in Teknaf, led by Nayek Subedar MD Sha h Alom, detained six Rohingyas who were crossing the Hila Nayapara border near the Naf river to enter Bangladesh. Later, they were sent back to Myanmar through the same border,''said Shariful Islam Jomaddar, deputy commanding officer of BGB 2 Battalion in Teknaf. Earlier, 22 Rohingyas were also sent back by BGB when they were caught trying to enter Bangladesh within a space of two weeks. “We will not allow any Rohingyas to enter Bangladesh any more. We have beefed up surveillance along the Myanmar border to stop the influx of Rohingyas entering our territory,” added Jomaddar. The ones that remain in Myanmar are living under extreme duress and this is why they want to cross the border into Bangladesh repeatedly, explained Mohammad Alom, chairman of the Teknaf Leda Rohingya camp..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune"
Date of publication: 2019-09-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: China's fast-track solutions in Myanmar fail to take off
Sub-title: Beijing's attempt to kick-start Rohingya repatriation reveals lack of oversight
Description: "The stand-off between Myanmar and Bangladesh over the planned repatriation of tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees continues. But things have just got a bit more complicated with China's intervention. Beijing -- with all good intentions -- is now trying to soothe the troubled waters, in part, a result of their earlier misjudged involvement, having proposed a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in New York in the coming weeks -- sponsored by the UN secretary-general -- to try to find a way out of the growing impasse. But it will only succeed if China takes a realistic approach to solving the problems and if the two countries directly involved are really prepared to compromise and not just pay lip service to cooperation. Of course, it can only move the process forward if the legitimate concerns and interests of the refugees are at the heart of any future repatriation plans. The latest episode in this saga was last month's rushed attempt to start the repatriation process -- at China's persistent insistence -- which quickly turned into a fiasco when not a single refugee got in the buses that had pulled up in the camps to transport the returning refugees back to Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post"
Date of publication: 2019-09-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Large haul of stimulant tablets, marijuana seized in Myanmar's western state
Description: "Myanmar authorities seized large haul of narcotic drugs including 454,670 stimulant tablets and 4 kilograms of marijuana in Rakhine state, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) on Saturday. Stimulant tablets worth over 909 million kyats (606,227 U.S. dollars) were confiscated from two houses in Maungtaw township late Friday. Three suspects were charged under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law while searching for one suspect who fled the scene was underway. Meanwhile, four kilograms of marijuana was confiscated at a highway bus station, along with a suspect in Ann township, Rakhine state on Thursday, the committee's release said. On the same day, 1,950 kilograms of caffeine worth 195 million kyats (130,000 U.S. dollars) were seized from two cars in Tachileik town, Shan state. Also, the anti-narcotic taskforce seized 39,900 stimulant tablets worth 79.8 million kyats (53,200 U.S. dollars) and 660 grams of heroin worth 66 million kyats (44,000 U.S. dollars) in Momauk township, Kachin state, said the Saturday's release..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Xinhua"
Date of publication: 2019-09-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Leaked ASEAN report shows Rohingya must determine their own repatriation process
Topic: Myanmar, Rakhine State, Rohingya
Sub-title: A leaked ASEAN report ignores risks to Rohingya and violence in Rakhine, showing that plans for repatriation will need to be driven by refugees themselves.
Topic: Myanmar, Rakhine State, Rohingya
Description: "A leaked ASEAN report seen by AFP and others has drawn sharp criticism from Rohingya groups, civil society, and former state officials and diplomats across ASEAN. The report allegedly claims that 500,000 of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will make a “smooth” return to Myanmar over the next two years. The region’s leaders will meet in Bangkok for the ASEAN summit on June 22-23 and the new report is on the agenda. ASEAN made a commitment to support Myanmar with its Rohingya repatriation efforts. To fulfil this promise, ASEAN must change the mandate of the team behind the report—the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre)—so that they specifically address violent conflict in Rakhine and the marginalisation of both the Rohingya and the ethnic Rakhine. Any viable repatriation plan must be driven by input from Rohingya in both Bangladesh and Rakhine State and must respect their right to self-determination..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of publication: 2019-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Bangladesh: Clampdown on Rohingya Refugees
Sub-title: End Restrictions on Movement, Internet; Investigate Killings of 4
Description: "The Bangladesh government should end restrictions on Rohingya refugees’ freedom of movement and access to the internet and online communications, Human Rights Watch said today. Government restrictions have intensified following a failed attempt to repatriate refugees to Myanmar, a large rally by Rohingya refugees, and the killings of a local politician and four refugees. “Bangladesh authorities have a major challenge in dealing with such a large number of refugees, but they have made matters worse by imposing restrictions on refugee communications and freedom of movement,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The authorities should take a level-headed approach instead of overreacting to tensions and protests by isolating Rohingya refugees in camps.” On September 1, 2019, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) ordered telecommunication operators to shut down mobile phone services in the camps within seven days. The next day, the BTRC ordered mobile network operators to shut down 3G and 4G services in the camps each day between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. While the authorities say the shutdown is to enhance security, they have not explained how. The 13-hour daily shutdown puts approximately one million refugees at serious risk by cutting off communications with security, health, and other necessary services..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch"
Date of publication: 2019-09-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: UN: Act to Prevent Future Atrocities
Sub-title: Myanmar Report Shows Need for Bold Action in High-Risk Situations
Description: "United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres should act to prevent future UN failures in the face of atrocities, a coalition of 16 organizations said in a joint letter to the secretary-general that was released today. The May 2019 report of an independent investigation by a Guatemalan diplomat, Gert Rosenthal, raised serious concerns about the UN’s handling of the human rights crisis in Myanmar. The secretary-general should promptly carry out reforms to prevent what the report called the recurrence of the “systematic” failures and “obvious dysfunctional performance” and to ensure individual accountability for those failures. “The UN leadership promised it would never again turn a blind eye to atrocities after ignoring massive civilian deaths in Sri Lanka a decade ago, but it happened again,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch. “The UN leadership needs to avoid another catastrophe, including by holding officials who failed to act during Myanmar’s ethnic cleaning campaign accountable.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch"
Date of publication: 2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Bertil Lintner: Little chance of Rohingyas returning to Myanmar
Description: "Even though Myanmar and Bangladesh inked a deal for repatriation of the Rohingyas, the likelihood of the displaced people’s return is minimal, opined eminent Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner. He made the remarks while speaking at a discussion on “Rohingya Exodus and Crisis” held at Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development in Guwahati on November 28. “While on the one hand, the refugees themselves are reluctant to go back to the Rakhine province of Myanmar due to insecurity, the Myanmar regime itself has also put up certain tough conditions as per the citizenship laws of 1982 which makes it difficult for the displaced persons to prove their nationality,” said Lintner. “Sending them back forcefully is not an option for the Bangladeshi government. At the same time, people in Myanmar consider them to be illegal,” Lintner added. Stating that the situation is “potentially explosive” for Myanmar and Bangladesh, the longtime Myanmar observer said that the August 25 attacks at police outputs in Rakhine by the ARSA have changed the geopolitics of the entire region. Lintner also alleged that China is trying to take full advantage of the rising tension between Myanmar and the West. By doing this, China wants to develop its proximity with Myanmar. Speaking on Aung San Suu Kyi, he said the Nobel Laureate has been made a scapegoat by the Myanmar military which still wields considerable power, even though the country is now run by a democratically elected civilian leadership..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune"
Date of publication: 2017-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar Army Says It Recaptures Village in Buthidaung from AA
Description: "A military spokesman claimed on Wednesday afternoon that the Myanmar army took control of Oo Yin Tha, a village the military said had been used as a base camp by Arakan Army (AA) troops in Rakhine State’s Buthidaung Township. Colonel Win Zaw Oo from the military’s Western Command told The Irrawaddy, “The villagers knew how long it took for us to take control of the village with our operation. The AA had established a foothold there for three days. We conducted a clearance operation in the village and took control of it [on Wednesday], at around 4 p.m.” In July, the entire population of Oo Yin Tha fled their homes after the village was targeted by artillery and mortar shells. The villagers have been taking shelter in the nearby Kyar Nyo Pyin camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) since then. The village comprises 53 households. Villager Daw Oo San Yin told The Irrawaddy, “We fled our homes two months ago after the soldiers opened fire on us like rainfall.” She said the villagers weren’t sure which troops had been staying in the villages since they left, but had recently heard that the soldiers torched the homes. “We saw the smoke and flames coming from the village. We can still see the fires today. We don’t know how many homes were burned. We dare not go and look,” she added..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: UN rights investigator on Myanmar lambasts Suu Kyi over Rohingya crisis
Description: "Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has washed her hands of the Rohingya crisis, a United Nations rights investigator said on Tuesday (Sep 3) ahead of a meeting between South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and the tarnished democracy icon. Yanghee Lee, a university professor in Seoul who is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights to Myanmar, said Suu Kyi was "terribly misguided and misinformed" about the abuses against the stateless Muslim minority in her country. The Nobel laureate was under house arrest for years when Myanmar was a military dictatorship before her party won elections in 2015 by a landslide, in the first fully free vote for generations. Hopes were high that she would usher in a new era of freedom, but more than 740,000 Rohingya have since been driven out of the Buddhist-majority country and into Bangladesh in a 2017 army crackdown..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Bangladesh bans two aid agencies from Rohingya refugee camps
Description: "Bangladesh on Thursday said it has banned two aid agencies from Rohingya camps in the country's southeast, alleging they were telling refugees to reject repatriation to their homeland in Myanmar. The move came amid growing impatience from Dhaka about the presence of the refugees in the country, two years after some 740,000 were driven over the border by a military crackdown on the Muslim minority. The latest repatriation attempt by Bangladesh and Myanmar two weeks ago, the second in less than a year, failed with not a single refugee volunteering to cross the border back home. US-based Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and local organisation Al Markazul Islami were accused by the government's NGO Affairs Bureau of "instigating" the stateless minority against the recent repatriation attempt. Mr Kamal Hossain, the government administrator of Cox's Bazar district where the refugee camps are located, said Dhaka had issued a notice for the NGOs to immediately stop their activities across the country..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" via AFP
Date of publication: 2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: 6 Myanmar Villagers, Including 3-Year-Old, Wounded in Rakhine
Description: "Six villagers, including a little girl, were injured by artillery fire on Monday in the village of Thayet Ta Pin, in Rakhine State’s Kyauktaw Township. Villagers say the shots came from the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw), though the Tatmadaw has denied responsibility, saying counterfire from the Arakan Army (AA) could just as well have caused the injuries. The AA said they were not there. Villagers told The Irrawaddy that, after an unidentified blast was heard near a passing Tatmadaw column Monday afternoon, soldiers began shooting at homes. “Yesterday afternoon, after 1 p.m., we heard an explosion outside the village, when the soldiers were near our village, coming from Kyauktaw toward Maha Muni pagoda. I do not know how it happened,” Villager U Maung Win told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. “After the explosion, the soldiers who had arrived in the village shot into the houses.” Villagers said those shots injured U Maung Than Mya, 53; U Maung San Thein, 41; Daw Ma Nyunt, 41; U Maung Than Wai, 32; Ko Maung Maung Soe, 16 and Ma Khine Thazin Nyein, 3. Additionally, four female students of the nearby Maha Nwe Boarding School lost consciousness from fright when the explosion went off. They are now being treated at Kyauktaw Hospital..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: UN experts fear Myanmar tortures suspects held incommunicado
Description: "Myanmar is holding insurgent suspects incommunicado in a practice that may be covering up torture, UN human rights experts said on Tuesday (Sep 3). Myanmar's human rights record has been under international scrutiny since a 2017 army-led campaign forced more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh. The army has said they were targeting terrorists, but the United Nations has said the campaign was executed with "genocidal intent". Since late 2018, government troops have been battling the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group that recruits from Rakhine state, where Buddhists make up the majority. The three UN experts - Yanghee Lee, Agnes Callamard and Nils Melzer - said they had grave concerns about the army's use of incommunicado detention in the recent conflict, as well as allegations of torture, ill-treatment and deaths in custody..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Bangladesh bans mobile phone access in Rohingya camps
Description: "COX'S BAZAR — Bangladesh on Monday ordered operators to shut down mobile phone services to almost one million Rohingya refugees living in camps in the country's southeast, an official said. The move follows an outbreak of violence in recent weeks at the camps, most of whose residents fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine State two years ago following a military crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority. It also comes after none of the refugees turned up in late August to return across the border to conflict-scarred Rakhine, when a fresh push to repatriate the refugees to Myanmar fell flat. Telecommunications operators have seven days to submit reports on the actions they have taken to shut down networks in the camps, said the spokesman for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Mr Zakir Hossain Khan..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" via AFP
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rights group skeptical that Myanmar’s military seeks justice
Description: "Plans announced by Myanmar’s military to prosecute soldiers for actions at a village where security forces reportedly killed as many as 400 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority drew skepticism Monday from the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch. The military announced over the weekend that investigations had determined that orders were not properly followed at a village in Rakhine state. It gave no dates or other details of the offense, but said a court martial is being convened to act “in accordance with the military discipline due to the weakness in following the instructions in some of the incidents at Gutabyin village.” The Associated Press reported in January last year that evidence indicated that security forces had carried out a massacre in the village, also known as Gu Dar Pyin, and that the victims were buried in at least five mass graves. The military -- known in Myanmar as the Tatmadaw -- denied the report, and it is unknown if the new announcement is related to the same incident..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: "Tools of Genocide" - National Verification Cards and the Denial of Citizenship of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar
Description: "The United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention warns of certain indicators that “provide an environment conducive to the commission of atrocity crimes,” including “increased politicization of identity” and discriminatory “measures or legislation” targeting protected groups. In addition to certain prohibited acts, such as killing members of a group, genocidal States often use legal and administrative tools to facilitate the destruction of a targeted group “in whole or in part.” In Myanmar, successive governments have implemented measures and legislation to erase Rohingya Muslims’ identity and rights, creating an enabling environment for genocide. This report documents how the Government of Myanmar is using discriminatory administrative measures to deny Rohingya the right to nationality. The government has forced or coerced Rohingya to accept National Verification Cards (NVCs), which effectively identify Rohingya as “foreigners,” and Myanmar authorities tortured Rohingya and imposed restrictions on Rohingya freedom of movement in the context of implementing the NVC process. This report finds that the NVC process violates customary international law as well as core human rights treaties to which Myanmar is a party, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and may have contributed to the commission of genocide and crimes against humanity. The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority group indigenous to Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Using a citizenship law entered into force in 1982, the government denies access to full citizenship for individuals who do not belong to “national” ethnic groups determined by the State. The State relies on an arbitrary and disputed list of 135 recognized national ethnic groups. As Rohingya are not among the “national ethnic groups” specified by the Myanmar government, the law effectively strips them of access to full citizenship rights. Over the years, successive governments in Myanmar also created a series of administrative “citizenship scrutiny” processes to progressively limit rights for Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 1.95 MB 10.18 MB
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Title: UN officials, INGOs acquiesced on NVCs for Rohingya, says report
Description: "Senior United Nations personnel and some international humanitarian organisations have supported Myanmar government polices against Rohingya Muslims by backing their acceptance of National Verification Cards, human rights advocacy group Fortify Rights says in a new report. The accusation is made in “Tools of Genocide: National Verification Cards and the denial of citizenship of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar”, a 102-page report released in Bangkok on September 3. The release of the report comes as the International Criminal Court is considering whether to seek a full investigation into allegations that Rohingya Muslims were the victims of crimes against humanity during a “clearance operation” by the Tatmadaw in northern Rakhine State that began in August 2017. The operation, launched after coordinated attacks on security posts by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, was accompanied by widespread reports of killings, mass rape, torture and the torching of villages and sent about 740,000 people fleeing to safety to neighbouring Bangladesh..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar says holding court martial after Rohingya grave probe
Description: "Myanmar said its military was conducting a rare court martial following a probe into mass graves in crisis-hit Rakhine State, two years after a bloody crackdown drove some 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh. In February 2018, an Associated Press report alleged at least five mass graves of Rohingya in Rakhine's Gu Dar Pyin village, a claim denied by the government, which said the bodies were those of "terrorists". But the military's official website said Saturday that an investigation had found "weakness in following instructions" in Gu Dar Pyin, and that a court martial would "proceed in accordance with the procedures of Military Justice." No additional details were provided. The report described grisly violence at the hands of soldiers and Buddhist vigilantes, who allegedly attacked villagers with guns, knives, rocket launchers and grenades before dumping bodies into pits and dousing them with acid. Estimates from survivors in Bangladesh put the death toll in the hundreds, the report said. Security forces claimed they were under attack by some 500 villagers, and that they had acted "in self-defence", according to state-run media last year..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" via AFP
Date of publication: 2019-09-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar to hold court martial after Rohingya atrocities probe
Sub-title: Army says court martial proceedings are under way after inquiry at village said to have been a Rohingya mass grave site.
Description: "Myanmar's army says rare court martial proceedings are under way following an investigation into atrocities in Rakhine state, two years after a brutal military crackdown forced more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh. In a statement on Saturday, the office of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said a military court that visited the northwestern state found soldiers had shown "weakness in following instructions in some incidents" at a village said to have been a massacre site of the Rohingya, a Muslim-majority, long-persecuted minority in Myanmar. No additional details were provided. In 2018, The Associated Press news agency reported the existence of at least five graves of Rohingya in the village, Gu Dar Pyin, in the township of Buthidaung..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of publication: 2019-09-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Video of Myanmar forces' crackdown emerges
Sub-title: Mobile phone footage of Myanmar forces' crackdown on Muslim Rohingya in 2016 could be used as evidence in court.
Description: "Mobile phone footage taken by Rohingya fleeing a killing spree in Myanmar could be used as evidence in future investigations, according to aid agencies. It has been two years since Myanmar's security forces launched a crackdown on nearly 700,000 Rohingya in Rakhine state. Yet not a single person has been brought to justice. Many of them came to the town of Cox's Bazar just over the border in Bangladesh, from where Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera"
Date of publication: 2019-09-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya refugees are humans, not footballs
Sub-title: “It’s just like a ball game. We are here to encourage … someone should kick off the ball. Otherwise the game cannot be started.”
Description: "Unfortunately, Mr Zheng Pianzhuo, director of the political division at the Chinese embassy in Dhaka, was not referring to the English Premier League or even a Chinese Super League match, when he made these remarks to journalists in Cox’s Bazar on August 22. He was referring to the process of repatriating Rohingya from Bangladesh to Myanmar, and China’s role in that process. It is a role that merits further scrutiny. Both Bangladesh and Myanmar have publicly acknowledged China’s involvement as not just an observer but also a facilitator of repatriation. China orchestrated the first failed repatriation attempt in November 2018. The latest attempt on August 22 came about because of China’s desire to break the deadlock and get the “game” started, following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Beijing in early July. China likes to position itself as a constructive partner for both countries, as an unbiased mediator and a counterpoint to meddling Western interests who don’t “get” the conflict..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-08-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: 41 NGOs withdrawn from Rohingya camps: FM
Topic: Rohingya Camps
Sub-title: Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen today said 41 non-government organisations (NGOs) have been withdrawn from all kinds of activities in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps for their wrongdoings.
Topic: Rohingya Camps
Description: "The Foreign Minister came up with the information while inaugurating waste management activities at Dakshin Surma under Sylhet City Corporation. Dr Momen also said actions will be taken against NGOs if they do something going beyond their terms and references. The NGO Affairs Bureau on Thursday suspended six different projects being run out of the Cox's Bazar branch of an NGO called Mukti - on allegations of making sharp weeding tools for distribution among Rohingyas. Some 600 of these tools were allegedly made. An official suspension order signed by the Assignment Officer of NGO Affairs Bureau Sirajul Islam Khan was issued on Wednesday. On August 29, the Foreign Minister said action will be taken against the NGOs operating in Rohingya camps if evidence is found about their activities that go beyond the terms and references..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-09-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar army says to punish soldiers in Rohingya atrocities probe
Description: " Myanmar’s army will court-martial soldiers after a new finding in an inquiry into atrocities in Rakhine state, from which more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a 2017 army-led campaign the United Nations says was executed with “genocidal intent”. On Saturday, the website of Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing said a military court that visited the northern state found soldiers had shown “weakness in following instructions in some incidents” at a village said to have been a Rohingya massacre site. In 2018, the Associated Press news agency reported the existence of at least five graves of Rohingya in the village, Gutarpyin, in the township of Buthidaung. But government officials at the time said 19 “terrorists” had died and their bodies were “carefully buried”. On Sunday, military spokesman Tun Tun Nyi told Reuters the investigation’s findings were secret..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Reuters"
Date of publication: 2019-09-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Rohingya crisis through the eyes of Al Jazeera's journalists
Description: "Today marks two years since more than 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to escape what UN investigators have called a "genocide" in Rakhine state. Al Jazeera's correspondents Mohammed Jamjoom and Stefanie Dekker reflect on the stories they heard and the suffering they saw when they visited the camps in Bangladesh where the Rohingya sought shelter..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera English"
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 31 August 2019
Description: "A team of local and foreign journalists yesterday visited the Taung Pyo Letwe Reception Centre and met with local communities in Maungtaw Township. During their visit to Taung Pyo Letwe, they interviewed the reception centre’s in-charge U Soe Tun. They also visited houses built for returnees in the Kyeinchaungtaung Village. In the afternoon, they headed to Shwezar Village and met with local ethnic Rakhine people, Hindus, and Muslims residing there. The group included mediapersons from Courrier Japon, Nishinipon Shimbun, Nippon TV, VOA, BBC, MRTV, MITV, MIR, and MNA..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 823.39 KB
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Title: Poor healthcare, prospects for Rohingya babies in Bangladesh
Description: "Health workers in the world’s largest refugee camp say they’re struggling to provide proper care for babies born to Rohingya women in Bangladesh. More than 100 babies are born every day in Rohingya refugee camps in southeast Bangladesh. That's where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have sought refuge, since fleeing violence in Myanmar in the past two years. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker reports from Kutupalong Camp in Cox's Bazar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera English"
Date of publication: 2019-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Arakan Army Raids Myanmar Military Base in Northern Rakhine
Description: "A tactical frontline base of the Myanmar military (or Tatmadaw) was raided and no less than 30 soldiers were killed by Arakan Army (AA) rebels in rural Mrauk-U Township, in northern Rakhine State, at dawn on Wednesday, Arakan Army spokesperson U Khine Thukha told The Irrawaddy. He said fighting was ongoing between the two sides as of Wednesday evening. U Khine Thukha said the AA staged the attacks on a military station at Lin Mway Taung Hill—a 30-minute drive north of downtown Mrauk-U—and occupied the base within a few hours; his troops then retreated from the hill in the morning after confiscating Tatmadaw mortars, firearms, ammunitions and some prisoners of war. U Khine Thukha said he is still waiting for updates from AA headquarters so could not provide a detailed battle report. He said that although he could not give a precise number of Tatmadaw causalities, the Myanmar military retrieved the dead bodies of its soldiers using three dump trucks and took them to Mrauk-U later on. He said two AA soldiers were killed and five were injured in the raid..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Chinese FM holds talks with Myanmar official
Description: "Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with U Kyaw Tint Swe, Myanmar's minister of the office of the State Counselor, here on Tuesday, and expected that Myanmar would make efforts to maintain peace and stability in the two countries' border area. Wang said that China firmly supports Myanmar in its efforts to advance domestic peace process, and expected that relevant parties would sustain the ceasefire situation in northern Myanmar through consultations and maintain peace and stability in the two countries' border area. The Chinese side pays close attention to the situation in the Rakhine State, and opposes multilateralization and politicization of this issue, Wang said. He expressed China's appreciation of Myanmar's positive stance and pragmatic measures on repatriation of displaced persons from Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua"
Date of publication: 2019-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Genocide and Repatriation
Sub-title: August 25th: Second Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day and Myanmar/Bangladesh Repatriation Plans
Description: " On this day, we commemorate the Rohingya genocide. On 25 August 2017, the Myanmar military launched a clearance operation to systematically remove Rohingya people from their land by burning villages, killing and harming tens of thousands of people, and enacting sexual violence against women and children. The clearance operations sparked the largest exodus of Rohingya people to date, which forced approximately 745,000 Rohingya people into Bangladesh, into an area where some 200 000 Rohingya were already located, due to previous waves of genocidal violence and persecution. The 2018 Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar’s (IIFFMM) report concluded that Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and his top military leaders should be investigated and prosecuted for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. These amount to the most serious crimes under international law. As the second anniversary of the Rohingya genocide looms and passes, we are also witnessing renewed talks of repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar from Bangladesh. In August 2019, ASEAN representatives joined a Myanmar government delegation which was visiting the refugee camps in Bangladesh with the goal of restarting repatriation talks with the Rohingya community. Myanmar and Bangladesh, with the cooperation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), will potentially start repatriating people this month, and they are currently surveying refugees to identify those who wish to return voluntarily..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Canadian Rohingya Development Initiative
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The International Community Must Speak Out Against Planned Rohingya Refoulement
Description: "The Burma Human Rights Network is calling upon the international community to speak out against the Burmese-Bangladesh plan for the repatriation of Rohingya refugees back to Burma scheduled to begin on August 22nd. Over 800,000 Rohingya fled Burma between 2016 and 2017 as the Burmese military waged a genocidal campaign, veiled as counter-insurgency, against the civilian population. Similar agreements to repatriate the Rohingya have been planned before, with massive resistance from the Rohingya population who said conditions were not safe or just enough for them to return voluntarily. This most recent announcement also seems to have been planned without input or consent of the Rohingya, and if carried out may amount to refoulement. “The conditions in Burma are not suitable for the Rohingya to return, and this view is loudly expressed by the Rohingya living in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. The Rohingya who remain in Burma are still being denied their rights and no mechanisms have been put into place to assure their safety. The Government continues to try to force National Verification Cards on the Rohingya which is used to degrade their status and erase their identity. Freedom of movement for the Rohingya does not exist. And there is still a serious armed conflict going on in the exact region that the Rohingya would be repatriated to. To move forward with repatriation at this time is unthinkable,” said BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Burma Human Rights Network
Date of publication: 2019-08-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Military Expands Donations to Non-Buddhist Religions
Description: "Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing donated to non-Buddhist religious communities because of the need for unity in the country, a military spokesperson said. Led by Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, members of the Myanmar military visited and made donations to Christian and Muslim religious groups in Naypyitaw’s Pyinmana Township on Sunday. “Now is the time that our country needs to be united. Particularly, we need political cohesion, social cohesion and religious cohesion today. [The Myanmar military] has done what is necessary for that,” Tatmadaw spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy, explaining the rationale for the Tatmadaw’s handing out of donations to non-Buddhist religious organizations. The families of Tatmadaw army, navy and air force members have made communal rice donations, as per Buddhist ritual, to Buddhist monasteries, nunneries and homes for the aged annually since 1996, but this year they also donated to 11 Christian churches, 13 mosques and an Arabic school in the township, in addition to Buddhist organizations..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar/Bangladesh: Prevent Forced Returns, Protect Rohingya Refugees
Description: "The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh should suspend any immediate plans to return Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, said Fortify Rights today. The authorities should ensure Rohingya have basic rights and protections in Myanmar and engage in meaningful consultations with Rohingya refugees before facilitating future refugee returns to Myanmar. Bangladesh and Myanmar authorities agreed to begin refugee returns tomorrow, August 22, 2019. “Repatriations now would be dangerous and reckless,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “Governments should focus on ensuring accountability for mass atrocities, restoring Rohingya citizenship rights, and ending deprivations of basic human rights that are ongoing in Rakhine State.” Myanmar reportedly added 3,450 Rohingya to a “repatriation list” derived from a list of more than 22,000 Rohingya provided by the Government of Bangladesh. In 2016 and 2017, Myanmar Army-led genocidal attacks forced nearly 800,000 Rohingya to flee from Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State to Bangladesh. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority, indigenous to Myanmar. “My house was set on fire and burned during the military operations [in August 2017],” a Rohingya refugee woman, 40, told Fortify Rights in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh. “Before we go home, I want citizenship.”..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Fortify Rights
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: No Repatriation Without Full Citizenship, Rights and Justice
Description: "Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are once again living in fear that they will be forced to return to Burma despite the Burmese government having taken no genuine steps to ensure safe return. “The international community keep saying that there must be safe, voluntary and dignified return, but are doing nothing to pressure Aung San Suu Kyi to make that a reality,” said Tun Khin, President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK. “Safe voluntary and dignified return means full citizenship, an end to discrimination, and justice and accountability, such as referring Burma to the International Criminal Court.” Bangladesh and Burma have begun the process of attempting to return more than 3,000 Rohingya refugees to Burma, just days before the second anniversary of the Burmese military’s genocidal military offensive which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh. Since that time the civilian government of Burma, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has continued with a policy of implementing a system of Apartheid against the Rohingya, implementing laws and policies which violate international law. This is an integral part of the genocide against the Rohingya, which goes far beyond the military offences against us..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "progressive Voice" via Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Threats of Repatriation Again Loom Over Rohingya Refugees
Description: "On 16 August 2019, the Bangladesh government announced their preparations to imminently repatriate 3,450 Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazar to Myanmar. The scheduled date of this repatriation is 22 August 2019. This worrying news comes as Rohingya refugees are making preparations to commemorate the second anniversary of the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar due to military violence. The repatriation announcement challenges numerous assurances by the Bangladeshi authorities that any repatriation would be done in safety, with dignity, and on a voluntary basis. APRRN is deeply concerned that there will be insufficient time to determine the voluntariness of any refugee return, given the phenomenally truncated timeline. APRRN is worried that any refugee that returns, may not in fact be guaranteed safe, dignified, and sustainable living conditions in Rakhine State. Furthermore, neither the Government of Bangladesh nor the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have access to monitor the conditions for returnees. The Deputy Chair of APRRN’s Rohingya Working Group, Chris Lewa, notes that “We have simply seen zero evidence of conditions inside Myanmar having improved. Any return of refugees at this point in time would pose a tremendous risk to personal safety and would breach the internationally agreed norm of non-refoulement.” Based on UNHCR guidelines, the core components of repatriation and reintegration are physical, legal and material safety. A sustainable repatriation plan should address these components to ensure that returnees are protected by national legal systems and institutions. The Government of Myanmar must address the lack of fundamental rights for Rohingya who are presently living in Myanmar and implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by late Kofi Annan before repatriation of refugees can be considered..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
Date of publication: 2019-08-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Two Years On: Rohingya Deserve Justice, A Place at the Table
Description: "61 NGOs warn of worsening crisis in Myanmar; call for refugees’ engagement on safe, voluntary returns: Two years after mass atrocities in Myanmar forced more than 740,000 people to flee for their lives, the Government and the people of Bangladesh continue to generously host nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees. While UN agencies and over 130 local, national, and international NGOs have supported the Government of Bangladesh to provide life-sustaining assistance, refugees require much more than basic support for survival; they need their rights, security and dignity. Many long to return but fear further violence and persecution back home. Refugees report feeling fearful and anxious following recent reports about possible expedited repatriation to Myanmar in the current conditions which do not guarantee their safety and rights. Current levels of engagement do not afford them their right to make informed decisions about their future, including voluntary return. Worsening Conditions in Rakhine State (Myanmar): Discriminatory policies in Myanmar mean that Rohingya communities in Rakhine State continue to face severe movement restrictions, as well as limited access to education, healthcare, and livelihoods opportunities. Some 128,000 displaced Rohingya and other Muslim communities have remained trapped in confined camps in central Rakhine State since 2012, unable to return home..."
Source/publisher: "Progressive Voice" via 61 Non Governmental Organizations
Date of publication: 2019-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 121.58 KB
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Title: Thousands of Rakhine State IDPs Are ‘Really Suffering’ Without Aid, Civil Society Says
Description: "Of some 60,000 people internally displaced (IDPs) in Rakhine State due to armed conflict, civil society organizations say that those in some townships have been unable to get humanitarian assistance. According to the Rakhine Ethnics Congress (REC), more than 3,000 IDPs in Mrauk-U and 1,000 in Ponnagyun, as well as a number of vulnerable communities in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships are in need of emergency aid. “IDPs in Phakywe and Ahtet Myat Lae in Ponnagyun Township and Sinbaw Kai and Chawmi in Mrauk-U Township, and on the east bank of Mayu River in Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships have been suffering because the road cannot be used in the rainy season, and the army has blocked the waterway. So they haven’t gotten any assistance. They are really suffering,” secretary of REC Zaw Zaw Tun told NMG. In Buthidaung Township, there are nearly 2,360 IDPs in five communities, and more than 630 at two sites in Maungdaw. “IDP camps which are located in the area of the army’s active movements as well as those far from municipal areas—these IDPs have suffered more than others,” Zaw Zaw Tun said. Local sources told NMG that civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations have provided assistance to displaced people in areas closer to towns and where roads remain open and accessible..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BNI Multimedia Group"
Date of publication: 2019-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: 3 children killed, 3 injured in Arakan explosion
Description: "At least three children were killed and three others seriously injured in an artillery shell explosion today at a village under Minbya township, 50 miles east of Arakanese capital city of Sittwe. The incident took place at 10 am near the Pan Myaung village hospital, when one of artillery shells fall in the village. According to village sources, Aung Zin Phyo (6 years old son of U Aung Than Mying) and Min Htet Kyaw (9, son of U Kyaw Win) were killed on the spot near their residences. On the other hand, Ma Nyo Nyo Win (15, daughter of U Kyaw Thein) died at the hospital. Few other villagers are also being hospitalized as they received serious injuries. A local villager accused that the artillery shell fall during the Myanmar Army’s exercises nearby Pan Myaung village. “I don’t know if the artillery shell could fall due to intention of the security forces. We know that an army column stationed in the mountain adjacent to our village on 21 August. Since then, they are firing artillery shells to a distant location,” he added. Several residents of the village informed Narinjara News through telephonic conversations that the artillery shell fall down as the security forces started firing from the mountain. The villagers are worried about their safety and security after the tragedy..."
Source/publisher: "BNI Multimedia Group" via Narinjara News
Date of publication: 2019-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: The Minister says military and economic competition of China and India interconnect military activities of AA
Description: "U Soe Htet, a minister of municipalities and spoke person of Chin State, told to media the construction of comprehensive project of Kalardan Port which became the main route of economic and military of India and China and with regard to the project, the activities of AA had been supported by both countries at the news conference. U soe Htet said “We have already conducted field trips over the East - Looked policies of India. The project has been turning into elven years. The field trip has been conducted after Aung San Su Kyi has met the prime minister of India. Geographically Chinese depending on voyage uses Kyauk Phyu deep-sea port project and India uses Sittwe and Paletwa deep-sea port project. Frankly speaking, both economic and military of the two-big countries were located on the route. The territory was not stable due to the military activities of AA. These activities also were interrelated with the support of the two big countries”. Military activities of AA delayed bridge and road projects. Despise challenges, the projects were expected to implement as soon as possible to be convenience for trading..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "BNI Multimedia Group"
Date of publication: 2019-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Military Helicopters Attack Rebels in Northern Rakhine: AA, Locals
Description: "The Myanmar military conducted air strikes using two attack helicopters, as well as artillery shelling, against Arakan Army (AA) rebels in northern Rakhine State’s rural Minbya and Mrauk-U townships on Thursday and Friday. U Hla Thein Aung, an Arakan National Party lawmaker in the Rakhine State Parliament from Minbya, said the fighting between the two sides lasted nearly all day on Thursday. He said two or three attack helicopters launched hellfire missiles and bombarded the Kalama mountain range, where AA guerrilla forces are believed to be stationed. The lawmaker said the battle zone is situated 3 miles northeast of Pan Myaung model village in Minbya. He said the frontline is just 1 or 2 miles from Shwe Kyin village, which is home to more than 1,800 people. Rakhine Ethnic Congress secretary Ko Zaw Zaw Tun said the air strikes caused some residents of neighboring villages like Shwe Kyin, Dai Tha and Kyaung Taung to flee their homes for safer locations on Thursday and Friday. He said his group was informed by locals that Thursday’s fighting was heavy and lasted almost the whole day..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication: 2019-08-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Asean should guarantee safe return of Rohingyas to Myanmar
Description: "Asean has a lot of work to do for the sake of its own relevancy as Myanmar and Bangladesh make another attempt to repatriate thousands of Muslim Rohingyas to strife-torn Rakhine state. The authority in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw had announced last week that Myanmar would accept 3,450 refugees from the list of 22,000 provided by Bangladesh earlier this month, as the first batch of people to resettle in Myanmar. It is not known publicly how the list was made and on what ground their names were submitted to the Myanmar authority. The repatriation of nearly one million refugees, who fled from difficulties and conflict at home since 1990s to shelters in Bangladesh, will be an uphill task, due to scarred memories of all involved. Of the 911,000 people sheltered in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, nearly 740,000 left Rakhine state following brutal violence in August 2017. This saw Myanmar’s military (Tatmadaw) reacting in a heavy-handed manner to the series of attacks by militants working under the banner of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The so-called clearance operation caused atrocities including arson, torture, gang rape, murder and massacre, acts that the United Nations considered ethnic cleansing. The UN even suggested that genocide charges be raised against those responsible from the Tatmadaw..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: For Myanmar, too much impunity and too little accountability
Description: "TWO YEARS AGO this weekend, the military in Myanmar began a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine state against the Rohingya Muslim minority. Killings, arson and sexual violence drove more than 745,000 Rohingya to seek refuge in camps across the border in Bangladesh, creating a human rights catastrophe and one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. A fact-finding mission for the United Nations reported Thursday that the military, known as the Tatmadaw, had been responsible for hundreds of gang rapes during the cleansing campaign, and that the Myanmar government was culpable “under the Genocide Convention for its failure to investigate and punish acts of genocide.” Earlier this month, the U.N. mission revealed that the Tatmadaw is bankrolled by a web of about 200 foreign and domestic companies, providing vital support to the autonomous security forces. With the Rohingya still stranded in Bangladesh, it’s time that Western governments did more to hold the military and its backers to account. Two domestic conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation, collectively own at least 120 of the companies. Both are run by top military officials. In addition, more than a dozen firms from other countries — including China, Russia and North Korea — have supplied weaponry to the Tatmadaw. The U.N. report documents how the Tatmadaw leaned on “crony companies” to make donations to the military. More than $10 million was donated at three separate fundraising ceremonies sponsored by the Tatmadaw..."
Source/publisher: "The Washington Post"
Date of publication: 2019-08-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 24 August 2019
Description: "Union Minister for International Cooperation, U Kyaw Tin received United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, ai Mr Knut Ostby, who is leaving Myanmar upon completion of his tenure in Myanmar, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nay Pyi Taw on 23 August 2019 at 10:00am. During the meeting, they exchanged views on matters related to the strengthening of cooperation between Myanmar and the United Nations, Myanmar’s efforts for commencing repatriation of displaced persons from Rakhine State, finalization of the Government–led draft “National Strategy for Closure of IDP Camps in Myanmar”, the implementation of MoU signed between the Government of Myanmar, UNDP and UNHCR and the designation of new Resident Coordinator of United Nations to Myanmar. Also present at the meeting were the officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of publication: 2019-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 909.58 KB
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Title: No way home, no way out for Rohingya refugees
Sub-title: Failed repatriation try signals a permanent and increasingly destabilizing refugee population in Bangladesh
Description: "Over 3,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were supposed to return to Myanmar on August 22, a repatriation that was supposed to mark the beginning of a process to resettle hundreds of thousands who fled Myanmar military persecution two years ago. Buses and trucks were parked outside the sprawling abysmal camps, ready to carry them back across the border. But no refugees showed up, which was hardly a surprise after UNHCR said in a statement before the scheduled return that, “So far none of those interviewed have indicated a willingness to repatriate at this time.” And there is little reason to believe that situation will change any time soon. That likely means Bangladesh is poised to shelter what is fast-becoming a permanent refugee population of over one million Rohingyas. The huge number of refugees is sprouting a host of problems, including rising resentment among the local population, environmental degradation in the areas where the refugees live and the possibility of radicalization among young, restless and desperate Rohingyas..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2019-08-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Full report: Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts - A/HRC/42/CRP.4
Description: "1. In its report to the Human Rights Council in September 20181 (hereinafter “the 2018 Report”), the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (hereinafter “The Mission”) concluded that “rape and other sexual violence have been a particularly egregious and recurrent feature of the targeting of the civilian population in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States since 2011”. 2. The Mission found that sexual and gender-based violence was a hallmark of the Tatmadaw’s operations in northern Myanmar and in Rakhine. These violations, for most part perpetrated against ethnic women and girls, were used with the intent to intimidate, terrorise and punish the civilian population and as a tactic of war. The Tatmadaw was overwhelmingly the main perpetrator. 3. Two years after the “clearance operations” against the Rohingya population in Rakhine, and one year since the publication of the Mission’s findings, accountability for these egregious acts remains elusive. The Mission felt compelled to issue this thematic report, further exposing these grave violations that the Mission considers amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. 4. In examining the situation of sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar, the Mission also reviewed the situation of gender inequality in Myanmar more broadly. It found a direct nexus between the lack of gender equality more generally within the country and within ethnic communities, and the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence. Impunity for gender-based violence in Myanmar is exacerbated by underlying gender inequality. Ethnic women and girls are doubly victimised: as women and girls and as members of ethnic minority communities. 5. In its 2018 report, the Mission found that men and boys have also been victims of sexual and gender-based violence by security forces. On 23 April 2019, in its resolution 2467, the Security Council recognized that sexual and gender-based violence also targets men and boys in armed conflict and post-conflict settings, as well as in the context of detention settings, and in the context of those associated with armed groups. Violent conflict impacts men, women, boys, girls and those with diverse gender identities differently. While there is an increasing awareness of the importance of gender in efforts to build sustainable peace, much of the focus has been on women and girls. The experiences of men and boys have not been understood well. Against this background, the Mission conducted further investigations into the situation of sexual and gender-based violence against men and boys in the context of Myanmar’s ethnic conflicts and found that they have been subjected to sexual and gender-based violence, especially in the context of detention settings. The physical and psychological consequences are severe and far-reaching, exacerbated by the stigma attached to male rape..."
Source/publisher: The United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/CRP.4)
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 736.97 KB
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Title: Myanmar troops' sexual violence against Rohingya shows 'genocidal intent': UN report
Description: "NEW YORK: Sexual violence committed by Myanmar troops against Rohingya women and girls in 2017 was an indication of the military's genocidal intent to destroy the mainly Muslim ethnic minority, United Nations investigators concluded in a report released on Thursday (Aug 22). The panel of independent investigators, set up by the UN Human Rights Council in 2017, accused Myanmar's government of failing to hold anyone accountable and said it was responsible "under the Genocide Convention for its failure to investigate and punish acts of genocide." A military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state that began in August 2017 drove more than 730,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Myanmar denies widespread wrongdoing and says the military campaign across hundreds of villages in northern Rakhine was in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents. "Hundreds of Rohingya women and girls were raped, with 80 per cent of the rapes corroborated by the Mission being gang rapes. The Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) was responsible for 82 per cent of these gang rapes," the report said..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of publication: 2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Myanmar's Rohingya | AFP Animé
Description: "Two years after the start of the influx of Rohingya refugees from Burma to Bangladesh, hostility has increased. Videographic on the Rohingyas. VIDEOGRAPHIC..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "AFP news agency"
Date of publication: 2019-08-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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