Discrimination against the Rohingya

See also Main Library > Refugees > Burmese Refugees in Bangladesh and Main Library >Administration and administrative areas > Arakan (Rakhine) State - http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1241&lo=d&sl=0 - which carries OBL's main documentation on the current crisis of the Rohingya, with links to UN, governmental, NGO and other sources.
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Individual Documents

Title: Thirty Rohingya refugees rescued from traffickers in Bangladesh
Description: ''Thirty Rohingya refugees were rescued from being trafficked to Malaysia in two separate incidents on Thursday night and Friday morning in the city of Cox's Bazar, officials said on Friday. Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), a paramilitary force under Bangladesh's Ministry of Home Affairs, also detained two traffickers. Of the 30 rescued, 17 were women, six were men and seven children, a BGB spokesman said. According to BGB director Asaduzzaman Chowdhury, the first batch of 12 Rohingya were found in the Shah Parir Dwip region, close to the Bangladesh-Myanmar border at 10:30pm. The 18 other refugees were spotted at Shilikhali, an area located near the refugee camps, at around 7am on Friday. "Upon speaking to two members of the group we came to know that these people paid the traffickers two lakh takas ($2,400) for each family," said Chowdhury. "We warned them that these kinds of adventerous moves could end up costing their lives as it is dangerous to cross the sea. After that we sent them back to their respective camps." It has been 18 months since more than 730,000 mainly Muslim Rohingya fled persecution in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar and set up camps across the border about 40 kilometers south of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh's top tourist location. The camps, sprawled over about 6,000 acres - just under half the size of Manhattan - have become more organised, but recent police activity suggested the risk of being trafficked had grown. The latest trafficking incident took place a day after Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie finished her three-day visit to the camps just ahead of a $920 million funding appeal by the United Nations...''
Source/publisher: Gulf Times
Date of publication: 2019-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Angelina Jolie concludes visit to Bangladesh, urges sustained support for Rohingya refugees and calls on Myanmar to take necessary steps to end displacement and statelessness
Description: ''Visiting Bangladesh this week, Angelina Jolie, the Special Envoy for the UN Refugee Agency, said the world must not turn away from the nearly one million Rohingya refugees who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh. She urged continued support for those who have been displaced, until the Myanmar authorities show the genuine commitment needed to end a decades-long cycle of violence and displacement. Yesterday in the capital, Dhaka, the Special Envoy held official meetings with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, in which she expressed UNHCR’s gratitude to the people and Government of Bangladesh for their generosity in receiving over 700,000 refugees since August 2017. She reiterated UNHCR’s support for collective efforts to enable Rohingya refugees to live dignified lives in Bangladesh and the pursuit of lasting solutions. She also raised concerns that without an urgent expansion and strengthening of educational opportunities, the future of a generation of Rohingya children would be at risk. While in Dhaka, Jolie also visited two museums – the Liberation War Museum and the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum – where she viewed exhibitions about the country’s history, including its own experience of large-scale displacement. Jolie began her three-day visit on Monday in Chakmarkul and Kutupalong refugee camps, where she heard testimonies from Rohingya women, children and men who have endured a lifetime of persecution and discrimination. There she witnessed some of the remarkable humanitarian response efforts to date, including a registration process, led jointly by the Government and UNHCR, that is providing many refugees with a legal identity for the first time. She also visited a transit centre for newly arrived refugees and a hospital giving much-needed care and support to women and girls...''
Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Date of publication: 2019-02-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Angelina Jolie urges end to injustices that have driven nearly one million Rohingya into exile in Bangladesh (video)
Description: ''UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie heard testimonies this week from Rohingya refugees who have endured years of persecution and discrimination in Myanmar and survived a desperate flight across the border. Speaking in Kutupalong refugee camp on Tuesday, Jolie said, “I am thankful that here in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees have their existence recognized, and are being provided by the Government and UNHCR with documentation and proof of their identity – in some instances for the very first time in their lives.” The visit marked Jolie’s 64th mission with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, since 2001, and her first mission to Bangladesh. She met with displaced Rohingya people in Myanmar in 2015 and in India in 2006. Decades of injustice have driven nearly 1 million Rohingya to flee their homes in Myanmar and seek refuge in Bangladesh – the majority of them in the last 18 months...''
Creator/author: Christopher Reardon
Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Date of publication: 2019-02-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: 'Treated like cattle': Angelina Jolie takes aim at Myanmar over Rohingya plight
Description: ''Angelina Jolie has shared the stories of rape survivors during a visit to Rohingya refugee camps and said the responsibility to let them return “lies squarely with the government and the authorities in Myanmar”. The envoy for the UN refugee agency said Myanmar must “show genuine commitment” to end violence that has driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh. The Hollywood star made the comments on the second day of emotional meetings with Rohingya in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district where 740,000 Rohingya have taken refuge since August 2017...''
Source/publisher: The Guardian via "Agence France-Presse"
Date of publication: 2019-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Canada offers role in helping Rohingya refugees
Description: ''Canada wants to play a role in solving the Rohingya refugee crisis, The Bangladesh Chronicle and New Age reported on February 5. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special envoy to Myanmar, Bob Rae, stressed during a recent visit to Bangladesh the need for productive initiatives to solve the crisis. Rae said after a meeting with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen that “talks are underway, but we don’t know whether they’ll be successful.” So far, no refugees have been repatriated to Myanmar. According to estimates by United Nations agencies and the Bangladesh foreign ministry, the number of “undocumented Myanmar nationals and registered refugees in Bangladesh is 1,116,000,” news sites reported. “This is not just a problem for Myanmar and Bangladesh, but will be an issue for other countries in this region,” Rae said...''
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Tackling Rohingya Crisis: Canada calls for 'transition plan'
Description: ''Canada wants a transition plan for the Rohingyas as the repatriation process appears slow amid the refugees' lack of willingness in returning to Myanmar due to insecurity and non-conducive conditions in Rakhine. “Not short or long-term, we need to make a transition plan for the Rohingyas,” said Bob Rae, Canadian prime minister's special envoy to Myanmar, insisting on providing education and income generating activities for the refugees. If they do not get education and jobs, they would turn to crimes and radicalisation, he said. His comments come just days before the UN launches a joint response plan and appeals for $920 million for the Rohingyas this year. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, however, called for continuous pressure on Myanmar from the international community for Rohingya repatriation. Providing education to the 400,000 Rohingya children could act as a pull factor for the refugees, he said, adding, “We need to address these pull factors.” The suggestions came at a panel discussion on potential long-term implication of the Rohingya crisis jointly organised by the Canadian High Commission in Bangladesh and Reading Club Trust at the Westin Dhaka hotel. Diplomats, academics, students and civil society members attended it...''
Creator/author: Bob Rae
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-02-06
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie begins visit to Bangladesh, host to nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees
Description: ''Angelina Jolie, the Special Envoy for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is visiting Bangladesh this week. Bangladesh has been heavily affected by the influx of more than 730,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar since August 2017 and now hosts nearly a million refugees. The majority of refugees – more than 620,000 people – live in just one area: Kutupalong, the largest refugee settlement anywhere in the world today. Jolie is undertaking a three-day mission in Cox’s Bazar to assess the humanitarian needs of the Rohingya refugees and some of the more critical challenges facing Bangladesh as a host country. The Special Envoy will conclude her in-country visit in Dhaka for official meetings with the Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, and the Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, to discuss how UNHCR can best support the current response led by the Bangladeshi Government, along with the need for safe and sustainable solutions to the plight of one of the world’s most persecuted minorities...''
Source/publisher: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Date of publication: 2019-02-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: ‘I Had No Options’: The Rohingya Man Who Smuggled Himself
Description: ''The reporting for this article was supported by The Masthead, The Atlantic’s membership program. Learn more. YANGON, Myanmar—By Kamal’s own admission, his family used to be “very rich.” His father owned a successful trading business, which sent fish and thanaka—a fragrant cosmetic paste made from tree bark—to be sold in neighboring Bangladesh. Their home in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in western Myanmar (also known as Burma), was a two-story structure in a busy quarter, and Kamal, a Muslim, taught English at a local church...''
Source/publisher: The Atlantic
Date of publication: 2019-02-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya Camps: Chickenpox outbreak causes concern
Description: ''A chickenpox outbreak in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps has raised a public health concern in the region, officials say. The number of patients with chicken pox, also known as varicella, reported last week was 5,376, which is more than double the number reported the week before, according to a World Health Organisation report published on Thursday. Chickenpox cases had earlier been reported on several occasions, but more and more cases kept coming since the second week of January. As many as 10,240 cases were reported between January 2018 and January 31 this year. Of them, 9,972 cases were reported last month...''
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-02-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya Refugee Crisis - WHO Bangladesh Bi-Weekly Situation Report #2, 31 January 2019
Description: ''The number of varicella cases reported in week 4 has increased to 5 376, which is more than double from week 3. WHO and the health sector are working in collaboration with community health working group; education sector and risk communication group for multi-prong response Partners were provided with important guidance on key issues such as temperature control storage, disposal of drugs and content of Emergency health kits were shared with partners through a health logistics meeting WHO was involved in developing a microplan for water quality surveillance in refugee camps for 2019. The health sector is actively coordinating a systematic ratinalisation process to reduce duplication of health facilities in the refugee camps SITUATION OVERVIEW There are an estimated 909 000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, according to the latest ISCG situation report (9 January 2019). This includes 33 956 previously registered refugees from Myanmar in Kutupalong refugee camp and Nayapara refugee camp. Rohingya refugees continue to arrive in Bangladesh, though the overall influx has slowed substantially since the onset of the crisis in late August 2017. Lately, new refugees have arrived from India. All refugees, including new arrivals, face compounding vulnerabilities including health. WHO has been responding to this crisis since September 2017 to date. Summary of response actions from epidemiological weeks 3 and 4 2019 are presented below; according to the WHO teams...''
Source/publisher: Reliefweb
Date of publication: 2019-02-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 750.69 KB
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Title: UNHCR: Largest ever refugee waste management facility in Rohingya camps
Description: ''The ability to treat large volumes of waste on-site at Rohingya camps, rather than having to transport it elsewhere, is a critical step to safe and sustainable disposal of such waste in emergency situations, said the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). "This will significantly reduce health risks for refugees and host communities, and the likelihood of the outbreak of disease," UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on Friday. UNHCR and Oxfam have together put into service this week in Cox's Bazar the biggest human waste treatment facility ever built in a refugee settlement, said the spokesperson. The facility, funded by UNHCR, can process the waste of 150,000 people – 40 cubic metres a day, reports the UNB. Close to a million Rohingyas live in a complex of settlements in the Cox's Bazar area. Kutupalong, the largest refugee settlement in the world, is home to more than 630,000 refugees, and managing the waste in this terrain requires innovative approaches...''
Creator/author: Mahmud Hossain Opu
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-02-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: address root causes of violations against Rohingyas
Description: ''The statement was made in an interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on his oral update on the situation, at the Human Rights Council. The statement read as follows: “The Government of Myanmar is duty-bound to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of human rights violations. Yet impunity at domestic level necessitates international action: to secure criminal accountability, to provide redress and to deter repetition of crimes under international law. In May, the government announced a new inquiry into rights violations in Rakhine State. Its mandate, composition and legal framework remain unclear – and there is no indication this will be more effective than previous national inquiries – which have not shed light on the facts, have rarely led to prosecutions and have failed to provide redress. Justice cannot be further delayed. The International Commission of Jurists supports calls for establishing an international accountability mechanism...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
Date of publication: 2018-07-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Rakhine State crisis demands full government commitment to protecting human rights of all
Description: ''The ICJ called on Myanmar’s government to act as swiftly as possible to address the root causes of violence, discrimination and under-development in Rakhine, as well as for enhanced engagement by the international community in efforts to effectively address the situation, and to take measures to ensure that security operations are conducted in accordance with international human rights standards. The military operations follow attacks by ARSA on August 25 on police posts and a military base in which at least 12 police, military and government officials were killed, along with a large number of attackers (according to government figures). In the wake of the attacks on 25 August, the military launched what it has termed as a “clearance operation,” and the government announced that parts of northern Rakhine State have been designated as a “military operations area.”''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
Date of publication: 2017-09-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Force Myanmar to take back Rohingyas
Description: ''Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday renewed her call to the international community to force Myanmar to take back its over one million Rohingya nationals from Bangladesh. “Myanmar must take back its nationals and the international community should help Bangladesh send back the Rohingyas,” she said. The PM made the comments when visiting Deputy Foreign Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Quoc Dzung, also special envoy to the Vietnam prime minister, met her at the Gono Bhaban. PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. He said the PM mentioned that Bangladesh has prepared a temporary shelter for the Rohingyas at Bhashan Char to provide them with a better living place...''
Source/publisher: The Daily Star
Date of publication: 2019-01-31
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Indian police arrest Rohingya group stuck at Bangladesh border
Description: ''Police in India's northeastern state of Tripura have arrested 31 Muslim Rohingya who were fleeing a recent crackdown by India's Hindu nationalist government. The group, which included 16 children and six women, was arrested on Tuesday after it was denied entry into Bangladesh and border officials from the two nations failed to agree on what to do with them.India regards the Muslim-majority Rohingya as illegal aliens and a security risk and has ordered that tens of thousands of them who live in scattered settlements and slums around the country be identified and repatriated to Myanmar. READ MORE Over 1,000 Rohingya flee India for Bangladesh fearing crackdown As many as 1,300 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from India in recent weeks as fears of deportation to Buddhist-majority Myanmar sparked an exodus...''
Creator/author: Tanmoy Chakraborty
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
Date of publication: 2019-01-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: India's Rohingya shame
Description: ''Earlier this month, India sparked panic among its long-suffering Rohingya refugee population by deporting a family of five to their home country of Myanmar, where they will most certainly face human rights violations and imprisonment. This expulsion came on the heels of the controversial forced repatriation of seven Rohingya men last October. For Rohingya refugees currently residing in India, who the authorities claims are as many as 40,000, this second deportation seemed to harbinger a frightful pattern, especially as India's far-right government had previously pledged to deport all Rohingya. Ruling party officials have made such threats despite international law prohibiting states from refoulement, sending persons to nations where they risk persecution. In Myanmar, such persecution is a near-certainty. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh after an army crackdown more than a year ago...''
Creator/author: Ashley Starr Kinseth
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
Date of publication: 2019-01-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: why an IIIM and Security Council referral are needed despite the ICC ruling relating to Bangladesh
Description: ''On 6 September 2018, an ICC Pre-Trial Chamber ruled that the Court could exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportation (as a crime against humanity) of the Rohingyas from Myanmar into Bangladesh, since one element of the crime (crossing a border) took place in Bangladesh, which is a State party to the Rome Statute. The Chamber noted that the same rationale could apply to other crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court “if it were established that at least an element of another crime … or part of such a crime is committed on the territory of a State Party,” citing persecution and other inhumane acts as possible examples in this case. The crime of genocide was not directly addressed. The ruling did not address other crimes allegedly committed against the Rohingya, or crimes against other minorities elsewhere within Myanmar, including in Shan and Kachin States. The proceeding is still at an early, pre-investigation, phase. If at the conclusion of a preliminary examination the Prosecutor assesses that there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, she must first seek authorization from the Pre-Trial Chamber...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
Date of publication: 2018-09-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya refugees rebuilding their lives in Chicago
Description: ''Chicago has one of the largest number of Rohingya refugees to have been resettled in the United States. More than 1,600 Rohingya are based in Chicago, having spent years in Malaysia after fleeing persecution and violence in Myanmar in the 1990s and 2000s. Rohingya are an ethnic, mostly Muslim minority who have faced decades of discriminatory policies and violence in Myanmar where the government considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago was founded in 2016 by Nasir Zakaria, a Rohingya refugee who settled in the US in 2013. The centre provides English lessons and Quran classes, as well as computer training, translation services and assistance with resettlement paperwork. It also organises football teams for the youth. Last December 2018, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution labelling the Rohingya crisis as "genocide". President Donald Trump has capped the number of refugees that can be resettled in the United States in 2019 at 30,000, the lowest ceiling a president has placed on the refugee programme since its creation in 1980...''
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
Date of publication: 2019-01-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UNICEF Boss Urges Myanmar to Enact Kofi Annan’s Recommendations on Rohingya Crisis
Description: ''The head of the U.N. children’s fund urged Myanmar on Monday to implement the recommendations of a panel on the Rohingya crisis led by former U.N. head Kofi Annan, saying it had yet to create conditions right for the return of refugees from Bangladesh. Speaking at a forum in the capital, Naypyitaw, UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore said children from the Rohingya Muslim minority, a persecuted and mostly stateless community from Buddhist-majority Myanmar, were living “a precarious and an almost hopeless existence” in camps in neighboring Bangladesh. About 730,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine state, in western Myanmar, since a military crackdown in 2017 after Rohingya insurgents attacked security posts, U.N. agencies estimate. Tens of thousands remain behind in Rakhine, where they are subjected to restrictions on movement and have limited access to healthcare and education. Fore said Myanmar’s “commitment” to enacting the recommendations of Annan’s committee – which include ensuring freedom of movement and access to education – would help mend the lives of suffering children...''
Source/publisher: U.S.News
Date of publication: 2019-01-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: What do Rohingyas think about Bhashan Char?
Description: ''The displaced Rohingya population prefers living in the cramped and squalid refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, rather than living in a potentially better-sheltered and relatively more comfortable facility on Bhasan Char. The Bangladesh government is almost at the final stage of relocating 100,000 Rohingyas who were forcefully driven away from their land in a Myanmar army crackdown. However, the unwillingness of the Rohingyas to relocate to the remote island is delaying the relocation plan. Construction has already been carried out at Bhasan Char, previously known as Thengar Char, a river island which emerged twenty years ago at the mouth of the Meghna River. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to formally inaugurate the housing complex on the flood- prone isolated island soon...''
Creator/author: Sushanto Biswas
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-01-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Delhi yet to respond to repeated requests of UN special envoy to visit India
Description: ''Delhi is yet to respond to the repeated requests from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Professor Yanghee Lee to visit India that houses around 40,000 Rohingyas from the Rakhine state. “No reply yet,” Professor Lee told the Dhaka Tribune at a press briefing in a Dhaka hotel on Friday evening. The press conference was arranged following her visit to Bangladesh from January 19 to January 25 to visit the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char Island. She had expressed concern over the deportation of Rohingyas from Saudi Arabia and pushing of Rohingyas into Bangladesh by India and urged to ensure their protection terming them as the world’s most persecuted community from Myanmar...''
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-01-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Expert offers solution to prevent conflict between Rohingya refugees and locals
Description: ''While Bangladesh may have opened its borders to Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar’s genocide, the prolonged stay has soured relations between the host country and the displaced community. A researcher from University of Singapore has opined that a strong link between the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission and the local government can help mitigate problems among displaced Rohingya people and the host community. In a lecture Sunday on “Complex Humanitarian Emergencies and Disaster Management in Bangladesh: The 2017 Rohingya Exodus” at the BRAC Centre, Dr Alistair DB Cook identified several obstacles to providing humanitarian support for all and resolve the problem. Dr Cook’s research, co-authored by Foo Yen Ne – a senior analyst at NTS Centre – was published last year by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Dr Cook is also Coordinator of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Programme at the University in Singapore...''
Creator/author: Dr. Alistair DB Cook
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-01-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya crisis: UN warns against repatriation (video)
Description: ''The United Nations is again warning that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh cannot be sent back to Myanmar, because it is not safe. The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, who has been visiting Bangladesh, says the crisis could have global consequences...''
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
Date of publication: 2019-01-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UK praises Bangladesh’s achievements, amazing development stories
Description: British High Commissioner in Dhaka Alison Blake has appreciated Bangladesh's achievements and amazing development stories, saying the United Kingdom will remain a partner in the country's development journey. ''She said this while talking to reporters after her meeting with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, reports UNB. The British envoy said: "I have congratulated the Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) on Bangladesh's achievements and the amazing development stories." The high commissioner said she shared with the minister how her government was excited about being able to work together to build stronger relationship with countries like Bangladesh. Blake also appreciated the government's fresh offer to have dialogue with other political parties. "I welcome very much the government's attempt to establish a dialogue with all the political parties, because Bangladesh has set a very ambitious target of a fully developed country status by 2041," Blake said, adding that there is enormous work before Bangladesh to achieve the goal...''
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-01-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UN expert: With Rohingyas, Bangladesh should prepare for long haul (video)
Description: ''There appears to be no chance of Rohingya repatriation in the near future as Myanmar has completely failed to create a situation conducive for the return of hundreds of thousands of persecuted people to Rakhine, a United Nations human rights expert said on Friday, urging Bangladesh to get prepared for a long haul. Instead of creating a favourable situation for the return of the Rohingyas, Myanmar is in fact on a mission to force the remaining Rohingyas in Rakhine to flee to Bangladesh through different types of crimes and intimidations, UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Professor Yanghee Lee told a press conference at a local hotel upon completion of her seven-day visit to Bangladesh. She thanked the Bangladeshi authorities for facilitating her visit on Thursday to Bhashan Char, where the government wants to relocate the Rohingyas, but urged upon Bangladesh not to hurry in sending these people to the isolated island in the Noakhali district...''
Source/publisher: Dhaka Tribune
Date of publication: 2019-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Bangladesh: Humanitarian Situation Report No. 46 (Rohingya Influx), 1 January to 31 December 2018
Description: ''In 2018, UNICEF extended lifesaving services to over 1.2 million people affected by the crisis. This included 380,000 people provided with access to safe drinking water; 20,000 children under 5 treated for severe acute malnutrition; and 1,235,475 people over 1 year old who received oral cholera vaccine. More than half of Rohingya refugee children aged 4 to 14 have now been engaged in non-formal basic education by UNICEF and the Education Sector. UNICEF reached 145,209 Rohingya children in 2018 with support from 4,028 trained teachers. UNICEF and the Department of Social Services launched an integrated case management and cash assistance programme in June 2018, benefitting 4,200 children and 3,000 foster caregivers. Comprehensive preparedness and mitigation measures taken with both government and NGO partners in advance of the monsoon in June 2018 resulted in no major epidemics or outbreaks. Actions such as chlorination of water points, intensive C4D messaging, relocating at-risk facilities and establishing mechanisms to reunite children separated during extreme rain, were some of the measures taken...''
Source/publisher: Reliefweb
Date of publication: 1970-01-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 237.57 KB
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Title: Rohingya Refugees Create Music To Memorialize Culture For Future Generations
Description: ''More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled violence at the hands of security forces in Myanmar - that's in the last year alone. Today, nearly a million of them live in refugee camps in Bangladesh, where, as NPR's Sasha Ingber reports, they're using traditional music to document atrocities and hold on to who they are. SASHA INGBER, BYLINE: Inside a dim mud house a 40-minute bus ride from Thangkali refugee camp, Mohammed Taker takes his instruments off a shelf. The 35-year-old keeps his mandolin and harmonium stashed here, coming in the morning and going back to the refugee camp in the evening. MOHAMMED TAKER: (Through interpreter) If the government finds out that I'm singing songs, they will find me. INGBER: He's worried that if he plays music in the camp, informants from Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - will send word to the government. TAKER: (Through interpreter) We have people in our community who are friends with the Burmese government, and maybe they will sell them information. It's possible to find me because I'm one of only a few musicians. (Playing mandolin)...''
Creator/author: Sasha Ingber
Source/publisher: National Public Radio (NPR)
Date of publication: 2019-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UN warns Bangladesh Rohingya long-term stay likely - (video)
Description: ''UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee has said that it is clear that Rohingya refugees cannot return to Myanmar in the near future. She has urged the Bangladeshi government to prepare to host the refugees for the long term and is concerned about the security of the refugees. Bangladesh's government plans to move around 100,000 refugees to an island in the Bay of Bengal, where the government said they will have access to education and healthcare, but the UN special rapporteur has concerns about the island's isolation. Al Jazeera's Natasha Ghoneim reports from Dhaka...''
Creator/author: Natasha Ghoneim
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
Date of publication: 2019-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Amid troop build-up in Rohingya's home state, UN appeals to Myanmar for peaceful solution
Description: ''Some 4,500 people have been displaced in the fighting in recent weeks, Mr Ostby noted, adding that the Myanmar authorities have announced that they intend to “crush” the so-called Arakan Army insurgents. “I think the situation as far as we know, has not broken out to major fighting, but there have been more troop build-ups”, Mr Ostby said, before speaking of his shock at attacks on police outposts last Friday that claimed 13 officers’ lives. Noting that humanitarian access to communities in need of help in Rakhine state “has not improved since 2017” - when some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled violence there to neighbouring Bangladesh - the UN official warned that facilities were not in place to cope with yet more mass movement of people...''
Creator/author: Ruslana Sirman
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of publication: 2019-01-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar army kills 13 in attack on Rakhine rebels
Description: ''Myanmar’s army says it killed 13 ethnic Rakhine fighters in counter attacks, after the well-armed group carried out deadly strikes on police posts earlier this month. Rakhine state has seen new levels of violence in recent weeks between the Arakan Army (AA) – insurgents fighting for greater autonomy for ethnic Rakhine Buddhists – and security forces. Many of the battles are taking place in the same region from which more than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh after August 2017, when the army launched a crackdown the UN deemed ethnic cleansing. The AA are a more formidable force than the fighters claiming to represent the Rohingya and have inflicted historically higher death tolls on the military. On Myanmar’s independence day on January 4, the AA launched pre-dawn raids that killed 13 police officers and wounded nine before the army stepped in, setting off violence that has displaced thousands...''
Source/publisher: The Guardian
Date of publication: 2019-01-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar Failing to Create Conditions Needed for Rohingya Return: UN
Description: ''The United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, on Friday said Myanmar security forces have been engaged in an intimidation campaign against Rohingya people living in border areas and camps in Bangladesh to ensure they do not return to Myanmar. “It is evident that Myanmar is not working to create conditions for return for the Rohingya but is engaging in a sustained campaign of violence, intimidation and harassment,” she told a press conference at a hotel in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Friday evening. The press conference marked the conclusion of her 11-day visit to Bangladesh and Thailand. To the contrary, she said, Myanmar security forces have continued to force Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh...''
Creator/author: Muktadir Rashid
Source/publisher: The Irrawaddy
Date of publication: 2019-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Prosecute Myanmar army chief for Rohingya 'genocide': UN envoy
Description: ''Myanmar's army chief should be prosecuted for "genocide" against the Rohingya, a United Nations' human rights investigator has said. Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, added that holding the perpetrators to account for their crimes was necessary before the refugees who fled the country could return...''
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
Date of publication: 2019-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: The Rohingya Crisis: What to Watch for in 2019
Description: ''Bangladesh and the UN must continue to work together to improve the conditions for nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees. The year 2018 was a dire and desperate year for the Rohingya minority from western Myanmar. Two-thirds of the population that had been living in western Rakhine State before the end of 2017 remain displaced in crowded camps in Bangladesh. The several hundred thousand who remain in Myanmar face serious restrictions, and what the chair of an independent, international fact-finding mission describes as an “ongoing genocide.” What will the year 2019 have in store for the Rohingya? Here are key developments to keep an eye on and some thoughts on what must be done to improve the outlook...''
Creator/author: Daniel Sullivan
Source/publisher: Fair Observer
Date of publication: 2019-01-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya in the camps seek education, a say in their future
Description: "On November 26 last year fed up of being ignored, Rohingya refugees in camps in southeastern Bangladesh did something out of ordinary: they went on strike. For three days, leaders of the Rohingya community declared, that no man or woman working in the camp as a shopkeeper, teacher, health worker, or builder – would providing their crucial manpower. The call to arms was in response to new identity cards issued by the Bangladesh authorities and the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. The ‘smart’ cards did not identify their ethnicity as ‘Rohingya’..."
Creator/author: Vidya Krishnan
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingyas in Rakhine: Myanmar still forcing them to flee homes
Description: ''Rather than creating conditions for the return of the Rohingyas, Myanmar is engaging in a sustained campaign of violence, intimidation and harassment of the ethnic minority, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said yesterday. “I spoke to one woman who arrived in Cox's Bazar a matter of days ago after her father was stabbed to death by Myanmar security forces. A man I spoke to told me that he and his entire family fled recently after his mother and sister were abducted and raped,” Yanghee Lee said...''
Source/publisher: The Daily Star via "Reuters"
Date of publication: 2019-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UN envoy: No prospect Rohingya refugees can go home soon
Description: ''A U.N. human rights envoy said Friday that hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees won’t be able to return to Myanmar soon because of threats to their safety in the Buddhist-majority nation. Myanmar has been criticized by global rights groups and many nations for state-sponsored violence against ethnic minorities. Yanghee Lee, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, also criticized India and Saudi Arabia for mistreatment of the Rohingya in those countries amid global calls for protections for Rohingya Muslims. Lee spent 10 days in Thailand and Bangladesh, speaking to refugees living in Bangladesh, authorities, U.N. agencies and international experts. More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled into Bangladesh since late August 2017. “It is clear that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh cannot return to Myanmar in the near future,” she said...''
Creator/author: Julhas Alam
Source/publisher: The Washington Post
Date of publication: 2019-01-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: China offers Myanmar support over Rohingya issue after US rebuke
Description: ''China supports the Myanmar government's efforts to protect domestic stability and approach to resolving the Rohingya issue, Premier Li Keqiang told the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after US Vice-President Mike Pence offered a strong rebuke. Mr Pence on Wednesday (Nov 14) voiced Washington's strongest condemnation yet of Myanmar's treatment of Rohingya Muslims, telling Ms Suu Kyi that "persecution" by her country's army was "without excuse". Meeting Ms Suu Kyi on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Singapore, Ms Li said China attaches great importance to its ties with Myanmar and would build on their tradition of friendship, China's Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday...''
Source/publisher: The Straits Times
Date of publication: 2018-11-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya repatriation, relocation plans pushed back to 2019 after failed first attempt and protests
Description: ''Abul Kalam, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner, told Reuters “a new course of action” needed to be adopted on repatriation that took into account refugees’ key demands. More than 720,000 Rohingya fled a sweeping army crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017, according to UN agencies. The crackdown was launched in response to insurgent Rohingya attacks on security forces. Rohingya refugees say soldiers and Buddhist civilians killed families, burned many villages and carried out gang rapes. UN-mandated investigators have accused Myanmar’s army of “genocidal intent” and ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has denied almost all the accusations, saying its forces engaged in a counter-insurgency operation against “terrorists”...''
Source/publisher: South China Morning Post
Date of publication: 2018-11-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burma Doubles Down on Repressive Policies Against Journalists
Description: ''The Yangon Region High Court has rejected an appeal by two incarcerated Reuters journalists, Thet Oo Maung (a.k.a Wa Lone) and Kyaw Soe Oo, and upheld the original seven years prison sentence passed on them by the Yangon Northern District Court. The pair were arrested on 12 December 2017 and they were sentenced on 3 September last year. The journalists were arrested after their work exposed a massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Inn Din Village, which the military was then forced to admit occurred. “These men have been imprisoned to intimidate the free press in Burma and punish those who expose the military. They should be celebrated for their work, but instead, they continue to suffer in prison unjustly for it. Burma has clearly shown the world that it will not stand for free speech if it is against their own interest,” said BHRN’s Executive Director, Kyaw Win. After their arrest, the state-owned newspapers said the reporters had approached members of a battalion of the security force to obtain information and facts related to the Rakhine region. It said they illegally obtained the information with an intention to pass it on to foreign news agencies and that they were arrested along with the documents, which include confidential information. In an interview with the NHK news agency last June, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the two journalists were not arrested because of their reporting on the Rakhine issue but for a breach of the Official Secrets Act. Her comment came a month before the court decided to indict them on a charge under the same law...''
Source/publisher: Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) via Progressive Voice
Date of publication: 2019-01-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 83.09 KB
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Title: Myanmar: Yangon Court Upholds Conviction of Reuters Journalists
Description: ''ARTICLE 19 condemns today’s decision by the Yangon High Court to uphold the conviction of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Reuters journalists who helped expose a 2017 massacre of Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State by Myanmar Army soldiers. “The court’s decision to uphold the convictions of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo is a disgraceful act of repression and an assault on press freedom,” said Matthew Bugher, ARTICLE 19’s Head of Asia Programme. “By upholding the result of a sham trial, the court has surrendered its independence and aided the government in its crackdown on expression.” Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested in December 2017 shortly after being handed a set of official documents by police officers in an apparent set-up operation aimed at obstructing their reporting on human rights violations in Rakhine State. On 3 September 2018, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted by a Yangon district court under section 3.1(c) of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The pair, who were jointly named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2018 alongside other journalists, were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment under the Act. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi later defended the judgment at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi, Viet Nam, to harsh criticism from over fifty human rights organizations. On 5 November 2018, an appeal was filed in the Yangon High Court. The journalists’ lawyers argued that the conviction should be overturned because of due process violations, the lack of consideration given to evidence of a police set-up, and the failure by the prosecution to prove the key elements of the crime...''
Source/publisher: Article 19 via Progressive Voice
Date of publication: 2019-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: SEAPA URGES GOV’T TO REVERSE CONVICTION OF REUTERS JOURNALISTS
Description: ''Any remaining shred of hope for the release of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo quickly vanished today when the court denied their appeal for an overturn of their conviction handed down in September last year. They were charged with violating the Official Secrets Act following entrapment by police who handed them documents that formed the basis of the charges laid against them. The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is deeply saddened by and aghast at today’s turnout of events. To say that the two reporters’ consequent conviction and seven-year sentence was a dark day for press freedom would be an understatement. The denial of their appeal is an appalling reaffirmation of Myanmar’s rejection of genuine democracy and sends an unmistakable signal that press freedom is in great peril in a country, once a pariah state, that had held out hope that it was making great strides toward democratic reform. SEAPA appeals to the Myanmar government to reverse the conviction of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. It’s time to deliver on its promised reform, an essential component of which is upholding and protecting press freedom and freedom of expression. Media should not be punished – jailed or killed – for reporting the truth. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo do not deserve to languish in prison for doing their job...''
Source/publisher: Southeast Asian Press Alliance via Progressive Voice
Date of publication: 2019-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Bangladesh-Myanmar: The Danger of Forced Rohingya Repatriation
Description: ''Bangladesh is poised to begin returning several thousand Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. This repatriation is unlikely to be voluntary and should not proceed. It would not only violate Bangladesh’s international legal obligations and jeopardise the safety of the refugees, but risks triggering violence and greater instability on both sides of the border. Bangladesh and Myanmar should immediately halt the plan. The UN, including the secretary-general’s special envoy and the UN refugee agency, should continue to firmly oppose it, both in public and in private, and establish a process whereby Rohingya refugees are consulted about their future. The U.S., European Union (EU), Australia, Canada and others also should press Bangladesh and Myanmar to halt the returns and instead work to create conditions conducive to voluntary repatriation...''
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group
Date of publication: 2018-11-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 362.74 KB
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Title: Why the West won’t act on China’s Uighur crisis
Description: ''Irwin, of World Uyghur Congress, compares Europe’s response over the Uighur issue to its vocal criticism of the Myanmar government, which now faces European sanctions over its maltreatment of its Muslim Rohingya population. Some in the international community have described Myanmar’s brutal clearance operations that have driven over 700,000 Rohingya over the border into Bangladesh as a “genocide.” Now, some are starting to refer to what is happening in Xinjiang as the beginning of a genocide...''
Creator/author: David Hutt
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Asia’s version of Palestine emerging in Bangladesh
Description: ''When Myanmar security forces launched its now notorious “clearance operations” in western Rakhine state in August 2017, it was not the first time the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority had fled en masse into neighboring Bangladesh. But a failed attempt to repatriate a first group to Myanmar in November and the construction of solid, concrete buildings on an island off the Bangladeshi coast signal an entirely new situation is emerging: a Palestine-like scenario with a permanent, stateless and impoverished refugee population ripe for exploitation by extremist groups in South and Southeast Asia...''
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2018-12-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Bangladesh: Poor Conditions for Rohingya Refugees with Disabilities (Accessible) - (video)
Description: ''Bangladesh’s overcrowded, hilly, and rain-soaked mega camp for ethnic Rohingya refugees is precarious for everyone, but especially for people with disabilities. More than 700,000 people reside in the camp after fleeing the Myanmar military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing more than a year ago...''
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2018-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: China seeks big-ticket payback from Myanmar
Description: "As China surges forward again in Myanmar, new pressure to restart a controversial dam project could represent a watershed moment for bilateral relations. The Beijing-backed US$3.6 billion Myitsone dam project, which if built as previously designed would flood 600 square kilometers of forestland in northern Kachin state and export 90 % of the power produced to China, was suspended by Myanmar’s previous military-dominated government in September 2011."
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: A new war rages in Myanmar
Description: "The Arakan Army, one of Myanmar’s newest and least known insurgent groups, has been hurled from obscurity to prominence after a series of escalated attacks that threaten to tilt the country’s already volatile Rakhine state towards all-out war. On January 4, Myanmar’s Independence Day from British colonial rule, the Arakan Army staged one of their most brazen and belligerent attacks after several weeks of expanded ambushes and engagements with Myanmar security forces..."
Creator/author: David Scott Mathieson
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: UNHCR visit to Rakhine State postponed
Description: ''Myanmar has postponed a planned visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, The New Age, a Bangladesh daily, reported on January 15. Myanmar authorities canceled the trip following renewed fighting between government forces and ethnic rebels in Rakhine State. Thirteen Myanmar police officers were killed by Arakan Army militants on January 4 in attacks near the border with Bangladesh. Grandi was supposed to visit areas where hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees fled from to Bangladesh in 2017. The UNHCR was supposed to oversee a repatriation of the refugees in accordance with agreements reached between Myanmar and Bangladesh, but The New Age quoted an unnamed UN Security Council diplomat as saying the Myanmar side had “done nothing at all and didn’t particularly want that to be exposed.”
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar’s Rakhine torched anew by insurgent fire
Description: "Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state has been wracked by armed conflict over the past several weeks, as escalated and expanded fighting between Myanmar security forces and the rebel Arakan Army erupts across several townships. The new clashes are destabilizing a region already wracked by the Myanmar military’s now notorious “clearance operations” that drove over 700,000 Rohingyas into neighboring Bangladesh, a campaign of violence the United Nations has reported as crimes against humanity..."
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar court rejects appeal by jailed Reuters journalists
Description: ''A court in Myanmar has rejected an appeal by two reporters of the Reuters news agency, sentenced to seven years in jail for breaking the country's Official Secrets Act, in a case that rallied press freedom advocates. Lawyers for Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, had filed the appeal in November against their conviction, citing evidence of a police set-up and lack of proof of a crime. The appeal argued that the original trial was conducted in an "unjust manner" and had called for the reporters' immediate release. But High Court judge Aung Naing on Friday said the lawyers failed to submit enough evidence to prove the pair's innocence. He said "it was not acceptable" to say that the defendants had acted according to journalistic ethics...''
Source/publisher: Aljazeera
Date of publication: 2019-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar court rejects appeal by jailed Reuters reporters
Creator/author: Thu Thu Aung, Poppy McPherson
Source/publisher: Reuters
Date of publication: 2019-01-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar rejects Reuters journalists' appeals
Description: ''Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were sentenced to seven years in September in a case condemned around the world. They exposed the summary execution of 10 Muslim Rohingyas by the security forces during the military's anti-Rohingya operation in 2017. But the judge called their terms "suitable punishment" and said the defence had not proved their innocence. Both were arrested carrying official documents handed to them by police officers. They maintain their innocence, saying the authorities set them up. When arrested the two were investigating a mass execution of Rohingyas, hundreds of thousands of whom have been forced to flee destruction and persecution in the northern Rakhine province of Myanmar (also called Burma)...''
Source/publisher: BBC News
Date of publication: 2019-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rebel attacks escalate war in Rakhine state
Description: "The war in western Myanmar’s Rakhine state is likely to intensify as more government forces have been deployed in the area in the wake of rebel attacks on police stations, The Irrawaddy, a Myanmar website, has reported. Thirteen policemen were killed and nine injured in the attacks, which took place on January 4 – Myanmar’s independence day – by the Arakan Army (AA), a local rebel group fighting for autonomy for the state. The Irrawaddy quoted AA commander Tun Myat Naing as saying that government soldiers “are coming by air and by road” and justified the raids because police units based in the area had helped the Myanmar Army attack the AA in December...''
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Reuters' Myanmar Journalists Lose Appeal
Description: ''Two Reuters journalists in Myanmar lost their appeal Friday against their conviction and seven-year jail sentences. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested in December 2017 for violating Myanmar's Official Secrets Act. The judge who upheld the conviction said the journalists' lawyers did not provide sufficient evidence to prove their innocence. "It was a suitable punishment," High Court Judge Aung Naing said of the sentence. The men say they were arrested in a setup by police intended to inhibit reporting on a massacre of Rohingya, a minority Muslim group...''
Source/publisher: VOA
Date of publication: 2019-01-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: 2019: The Year Ahead in Asia
Description: Put simply, 2018 was a difficult year for Myanmar. The fallout from the Rohingya crisis has increased as the UN and assorted parliaments and governments have labelled it genocide and applied targeted sanctions. While humanitarian access and diplomatic dialogue have improved, the situation on the ground remains dire, with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh refusing to leave. Domestically, the NLD government of Aung San Suu Kyi faces growing criticism over the lack of movement in the peace process and the slow pace of reforms, particularly economic ones. As the country struggles both domestically and internationally, many wonder if Myanmar’s historic effort to reform and democratize is being lost in transition. Nevertheless, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party remain popular overall. If she can secure greater international involvement in resolving the Rohingya crisis—for instance, through the UN and ASEAN—encourage greater economic growth, and catalyze some high-profile reforms, such as to the banking sector and local public administration, both international support and Myanmar public opinion will likely be reinvigorated...''
Source/publisher: Asia Foundation
Date of publication: 2019-01-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Atrocities as the New Normal
Description: ''This month we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To mark the occasion, we have asked Human Rights Watch experts to reflect on some of the key human rights challenges in their area of specialty. There is no more daunting challenge for the human rights movement than trying to spare civilians from the litany of abuses associated with the raging conflicts of our time, those that are claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and causing millions to flee across international borders. Where there once was outrage and demands for action, complacency has set in. How did it come to this? For a while, the world seemed determined to put an end to the most horrendous crimes facing humanity. Buoyed by the end of the Cold War, outraged by the genocide in Rwanda and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, a global movement was born in the new millennium with a powerful rallying cry, echoing that of Holocaust survivors: never again. Its ideas were radical at the time: no government was to hide behind its sovereignty to massacre its own people and no head of state was to stand above the law...''
Creator/author: Philippe Bolopion
Date of publication: 2018-12-10
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Human Rights in 2018: Ten Issues That Made Headlines
Description: ''On December 10, the world marks 70 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Regrettably, instead of the anniversary signalling the enduring impact of human rights, some are fearing the “end of human rights.” Here we highlight some of the rights challenges that captured the world’s attention this year, illustrating the struggle to secure human rights is far from over...''
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2018-12-09
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya Refugees Terrified of Being Forced Back to Myanmar
Description: ''“How can we go back?” Mohammad, a Rohingya refugee in a Bangladesh camp called to tell me. “They will kill us if we go back.” There is panic in the refugee camps, he said, after Myanmar and Bangladesh announced plans to start refugee repatriations very soon. While the Bangladeshi government accepted approximately 700,000 Rohingya refugees after the Myanmar army’s ethnic cleansing campaign, Rohingya say authorities are now pressuring them to return. Around 30 families are supposed to leave shortly. Security forces have been deployed in the refugee camps even as Bangladeshi officials said that there won’t be any forced returns. Myanmar authorities say they have verified the identities of 4,000 Rohingya to be returned, but no one quite knows who is on that list. Some, fearing that they are included, have fled from the camps. Others threaten or attempt suicide...''
Creator/author: Meenakshi Ganguly
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2018-11-14
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Beyond Devastation: Suffering and Perseverance Among the Rohingya
Description: "The suffering of the Rohingya people in 2017 is beyond superlatives. The violence and brutality in the stories of those who have had opportunities to share are difficult to fathom, but as you hear one after another, they also become sadly repetitious. Masses of humanity have been uprooted from their villages in Burma, heaped into refugee camps in Bangladesh and awaiting an unknown fate. Once again, our ability to comprehend how one person suffers is overwhelmed by the scale on which the suffering is happening. The oppression of the Rohingya people has been ongoing for years, but on August 25th, 2017, as tens of thousands of fleeing refugees turned into hundreds of thousands – it became an issue the world could no longer ignore. Displacement on this scale, happening so quickly, was an extraordinary event. The Burma Army conducted a near-eradication of Rohingya people from Burma with incredible efficiency as more than 600,000 people fled their homes in the space of three months. In the months following the initial attacks, that number would climb to 720,000 as people kept coming. The stories from the refugees paint a pretty clear picture: the Burma Army came in trucks, surrounded villages, shot indiscriminately, killing villagers as they fled and chasing them to neighboring Bangladesh. Then the soldiers burned the villages to the ground. Again and again. Satellite photos of burned villages corroborate these accounts..."
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers
Date of publication: 2018-10-20
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: FBR Rohingya Team Completes First Mission Into Arakan State
Description: "In August 2018, the newly-trained Free Burma Ranger Rohingya team completed their first mission to help the people and get the news out from their home of Arakan State, which the Burma Army heavily controls. The team crossed from Bangladesh into Burma amidst border patrols, Burma Army gunfire, and monsoon rains. Once on the Burma side, the rangers hiked for several hours through the night, finally taking refuge in an abandoned village. During the next two weeks, the team based out of abandoned villages, gathering photos and videos of villages destroyed by the Burma Army during their “clearing operations” begun in August of 2017. At times, the rangers had to hide nearby to avoid Burma Army patrols in the areas they reconned. Nearly one year later, many of the destroyed villages the rangers discovered and recorded were mostly overgrown by jungle vegetation. In this jungle environment, it does not take long for evidence of destruction to be swallowed by nature..."
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers
Date of publication: 2018-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: "PRI’s The World: Dave Eubank Discusses the Rohingya Crisis"
Description: A water collection point in a Rohingya refugee camp. The upcoming rainy season will create more problems for the make-shift living infrastructure. During a recent visit to the United States, Dave Eubank spoke with PRI’s The World regarding the Rohingya crisis, ARSA, and what the future may hold for Rohingya refugees. To listen to the interview, click the link below.
Creator/author: Dave Eubank
Source/publisher: Free Burma Rangers
Date of publication: 2018-04-25
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony (video)
Description: "The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 jointly to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad "for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict."
Creator/author: Nadia Murad, Denis Mukwege
Source/publisher: Norwegian Nobel Committee
Date of publication: 2018-12-10
Date of entry/update: 2018-12-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: where ?genocide? doesn?t really matter
Description: "It is still unclear whether Myanmar Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is more upset by a United Nations report that recommends he be charged and tried for ?genocide” for his military?s crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, or Facebook?s coincident decision to shutter his account for disseminating information the company said ?enabled serious human-rights abuses in the country.” Yangon-based observers suggest that being shunned by Facebook could be more damaging for the loss of face it caused the military in a nation where the platform is hugely popular. Min Aung Hlaing?s account, along with other military-run pages such as the Myawady television network and Myanmar Daily Star newspaper, had more than six million combined subscribers..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2018-08-30
Date of entry/update: 2018-11-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: Why the UN has a genocide case on Myanmar
Description: "Even after taking part in past United Nations human rights investigations in Sri Lanka and North Korea, nothing quite prepared former Indonesian attorney general Marzuki Darusman for the harrowing stories of the Myanmar Army?s bloody 2017 rampage that killed more than 10,000 Rohingya Muslims and drove over 700,000 into neighboring Bangladesh. As founding chairman of Indonesia?s Human Rights Commission, Darusman has an intimate knowledge of the Indonesian Army?s own record of abuse. But in the refugee camps of southern Bangladesh he and his United Nations fact-finding team (FFM) discovered the horrors of what it now calls ?genocidal intent.”..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of publication: 2018-09-10
Date of entry/update: 2018-11-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: The ?ethnic cleansing” of Myanmar?s Rohingya Muslims, explained
Description: "The Rohingya have been systematically driven out by the Myanmar government leading to the fastest growing humanitarian crisis in recent years."
Source/publisher: Vox.com
Date of publication: 2017-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2018-11-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Title: MYANMAR?S ARMED FORCES AND THE ROHINGYA CRISIS
Description: "In the wake of the 2016 and 2017 ?area clearance operations” against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar?s Rakhine State, this report explores the structure, training, and ethos of the Myanmar armed forces to clarify the implications and challenges of, as well as the prospects for, a solution and an accounting for past events. Drawing on an in-depth review of the literature, extensive field experience, and interviews, the report is produced by the Asia Center at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) as part of its effort to inform policy and strategies on managing violent conflict.... Conclusion: Myanmar has always posed very difficult challenges for the international community. For decades, successive governments in Rangoon and Naypyidaw have strongly resisted external pressures. Between 1988 and 2011, for example, public criticism, economic sanctions, and other punitive measures failed to change the core beliefs and key policies of the country?s military rulers. Indeed, such measures seemed only to antagonize the generals, encourage a bunker 38 USIP.ORG PEACEWORKS 140 mentality, and make those in power even more resistant to change.318 At times, policies of dialogue and engagement seemed to hold out greater promise, and some progress was made, but more often than not Naypyidaw took whatever inducements were on offer and continued to pursue its own agenda. The controlled democratization process that was launched in 2010, for example, faithfully follows a seven-step transition plan that was conceived by the Tatmadaw leadership fifteen years ago.319 Despite the advent of a quasi-democratic administration under Aung San Suu Kyi in 2016, there are no signs that this pattern will change in the foreseeable future. The pro-military constitution severely limits Aung San Suu Kyi?s freedom of action in key areas, notably those relating to Myanmar?s security. She also faces other constraints. However, she has demonstrated that, like the military officers who preceded her and still exercise influence over her government, she holds firmly to the nationalist position that Myanmar and Myanmar alone will decide what is best for the country and its people, according to its perceived interests and priorities at the time. She clearly does not feel an obligation to conform to her public image as a human rights icon, or to repay the debt that many in the international community seem to feel they are owed for her rehabilitation and subsequent elevation to the de facto leadership of the country. With regard to the Rohingyas in particular, domestic factors will always be of paramount concern to Myanmar?s civilian and military leaders, and at present there is no pressure from within the country to soften their uncompromising approach. Indeed, as the International Crisis Group has pointed out, there is currently a rare consensus between Aung San Suu Kyi, her government, the armed forces leadership, and the wider population that the Rohingya crisis continues to demand a very firm and consistent policy response. Given the Tatmadaw?s strength, and the government?s weakness, the popular mood can only harden Naypyidaw?s determination to decide its own agenda and timetable for any changes, regardless of external pressures. This position may come at a high price but, as so often in the past, it will be paid if that is seen to be the cost of preserving Myanmar?s stability, sovereignty, and independence.320 The international community can take a number of practical measures now to assist the refugees in Bangladesh and document the abuses perpetrated against them. It is possible that, at some stage, the Myanmar authorities may permit the delivery of adequate humanitarian assistance to those communities still suffering in Rakhine State. Several largely symbolic steps can also be taken to bring home to the Myanmar government, armed forces, and people the impact of recent developments on majority world opinion. However, unless there are significant shifts in attitude inside Myanmar, at all levels, a fair, durable, and long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis, let alone a formal, legal accounting for the events of the past eighteen months, will remain a distant prospect.
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Asia Center at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
Date of publication: 2018-08-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-11-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Security Forces Torture Rohingya Returnees
Description: "Refugees Arrested, Mistreated as Accused Militants... Myanmar authorities have tortured and imprisoned Rohingya refugees who returned to Rakhine State from Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said today. The mistreatment reinforces the need for international protection, including United Nations monitors on the ground, before Rohingya will be able to return safely to Myanmar. ?The torture of Rohingya returnees puts the lie to Myanmar government promises that refugees who return will be safe and protected,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. ?Despite Myanmar?s rhetoric guaranteeing a safe and dignified return, the reality is that Rohingya who go back still face the persecution and abuses they were forced to flee.” Six Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape the Myanmar army?s ethnic cleansing campaign told Human Rights Watch that Border Guard Police (BGP) apprehended them at different times when they returned to Rakhine State to earn money before going back to Bangladesh. Security forces tortured them during pretrial detention, they said. Each was summarily tried and sentenced to four years in prison, apparently for illegally crossing the border..." ...See follow-up in Aljazeera, 22 August 2018
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2018-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2018-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Who can protect Rohingya returnees?
Description: Very few Rohingya have returned to Myanmar, and some of those that went back were tortured and thrown in jail, HRW says..."More than 700,000,000 Rohingya fled a military crackdown in Myanmar?s Rakhine state last year to refugee camps in Bangladesh. But very few have returned, and those that have, have not been welcomed back. Human Rights Watch (HRW) says some have been tortured and thrown in jail. There are reports of interrogations at gunpoint, and of burns and electric shock treatment designed to force confessions that they were affiliated to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a group set up, in its words, to defend Rohingya against persecution by the Myanmar government and military, who have been accused of ethnic cleansing. HRW has stressed the need for international protection before the mainly Muslim Rohingya will be able to return to Myanmar safely. So, will the repatriation take place? Will the governments be able to guarantee the Rohingya?s safety? And what is at stake?"
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Aljazeera (Inside Story)
Date of publication: 2018-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2018-09-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: "Please Tell the World What They Have Done to Us" The Chut Pyin Massacre: Forensic Evidence of Violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar
Description: "On August 27, 2017, Myanmar security forces and Rakhine Buddhist civilians attacked the village of Chut Pyin in northern Rakhine state, massacring its Rohingya Muslim residents and burning their homes to the ground. The attackers perpetrated a vast array of human rights violations on the Rohingya villagers, including killings, disappearances, beatings, stabbings, rape, and forcible displacement. It is estimated that some 400 Chut Pyin villagers, including 99 children, were killed that day or are missing ? including a group of 50 men who were taken away and never seen again..."
Source/publisher: Physicians For Human Rights
Date of publication: 2018-07-19
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar Rohingya: UN says military leaders must face genocide charges
Description: "A UN report has said top military figures in Myanmar must be investigated for genocide in Rakhine state and crimes against humanity in other areas. The report, based on hundreds of interviews, is the strongest condemnation from the UN so far of violence against Rohingya Muslims. It says the army?s tactics are "grossly disproportionate to actual security threats". Myanmar rejected the report. At least 700,000 Rohingya fled violence in the country in the past 12 months. The report names six senior military figures it believes should go on trial and sharply criticises Myanmar?s de facto leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to intervene to stop attacks..."
Source/publisher: BBC
Date of publication: 2018-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar?s military accused of genocide in damning UN report
Description: "Mission concludes army has carried out ?gravest crimes? against Rohingya in Rakhine and minorities elsewhere...Myanmar?s military has been accused of genocide against the Rohingya in Rakhine state in a damning UN report that alleged the army was responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity against minorities across the country. The UN report said it found conclusive evidence that the actions of the country?s armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, ?undoubtedly amounted to the gravest crimes under international law” in Rakhine as well as in Kachin and Shan, states also riven by internal conflicts. The UN investigators were denied access to Myanmar by the government but interviewed 875 witnesses who had fled the country. They found that the military were ?killing indiscriminately, gang-raping women, assaulting children and burning entire villages” in Rakhine, home to the Muslim Rohingya, and in Shan and Kachin. The Tatmadaw also carried out murders, imprisonments, enforced disappearances, torture, rapes and used sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and enslavement ? all of which constitute crimes against humanity. I am a Rohingya refugee: we will become like animals if we stay in these camps Noor Ilyas in Jamtoli refugee camp, southern Bangladesh Read more In northern Rakhine, the mission also found evidence of mass extermination and deportation..."
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Source/publisher: "The Guardian"
Date of publication: 2018-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Report of Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (Press information)
Description: Links to the text of the report, background material, Webcast of press briefing, satellite images.
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council
Date of publication: 2018-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar
Description: Summary: "The Human Rights Council established the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar in its resolution 34/22. In accordance with its mandate, the mission focused on the situation in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States since 2011. It also examined the infringement of fundamental freedoms, including the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful association, and the question of hate speech. The mission established consistent patterns of serious human rights violations and abuses in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States, in addition to serious violations of international humanitarian law. These are principally committed by the Myanmar security forces, particularly the military. Their operations are based on policies, tactics and conduct that consistently fail to respect international law, including by deliberately targeting civilians. Many violations amount to the gravest crimes under international law. In the light of the pervasive culture of impunity at the domestic level, the mission finds that the impetus for accountability must come from the international community. It makes concrete recommendations to that end, including that named senior generals of the Myanmar military should be investigated and prosecuted in an international criminal tribunal for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Human Rights Council (A/HRC/39/64) Advance Edited Version...19 pages
Date of publication: 2018-08-27
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 256.68 KB
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Title: Don?t Expect Much from Latest Myanmar Commission - Chairwoman Declares ?No Finger Pointing? for Atrocities Against Rohingya
Description: "It?s now clear that Myanmar?s new ?independent commission of inquiry” into human rights violations committed in Rakhine State will not be a serious and impartial investigation that will identify alleged perpetrators to be brought to justice. The most recent crimes occurred during deadly attacks on over two-dozen police posts by Rohingya militants and Myanmar security forces? brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing involving murder, rape, and arson that forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh in late 2017..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2018-08-17
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Security Forces Torture Rohingya Returnees - Refugees Arrested, Mistreated as Accused Militants
Description: "Myanmar authorities have tortured and imprisoned Rohingya refugees who returned to Rakhine State from Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said today. The mistreatment reinforces the need for international protection, including United Nations monitors on the ground, before Rohingya will be able to return safely to Myanmar. ?The torture of Rohingya returnees puts the lie to Myanmar government promises that refugees who return will be safe and protected,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. ?Despite Myanmar?s rhetoric guaranteeing a safe and dignified return, the reality is that Rohingya who go back still face the persecution and abuses they were forced to flee.”
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2018-08-21
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Rohingya Identity Is More Than Words on a Card - Myanmar Needs to Recognize Rights of Refugees in Bangladesh
Description: "While changing a few words on a refugee?s ID card may seem inconsequential, for the 700,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who fled ethnic cleansing in Myanmar a year ago, it is essential. In negotiating with Myanmar for the repatriation of the Rohingya, Bangladesh recently agreed to change the wording on their ID cards from ?Myanmar nationals” to ?displaced persons from Rakhine State.” This change signals that Myanmar doesn?t intend to honor the citizenship rights of the Rohingya, nor acknowledge the causes of their displacement ? security force operations that included murder, widespread rape, mass arson, and pillage. It also suggests Bangladesh?s willingness to dismiss the Rohingya?s rights as refugees as repatriation plans move forward. Although the vast majority of the Rohingya are officially stateless, many have long and deep roots in Myanmar. Despite living in miserable, dangerous conditions in grossly overcrowded camps in Bangladesh, the refugees I visited there were unwilling to criticize their hosts because, as they frequently said to me, ?Bangladesh is not my country.” I heard this phrase so often that I made it the title of our report on their plight. Their country, they said, was Myanmar, and to their homes and homeland they wanted to return, they said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2018-08-15
Date of entry/update: 2018-08-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: International Accountability Needed for Military-Planned Genocide Against Rohingya
Description: Report finds ?reasonable grounds” for ICC arrest warrants, identifies 22 military and police officials...The Myanmar authorities made ?extensive and systematic preparations” for attacks against Rohingya civilians during the weeks and months before militants attacked police on August 25, 2017, Fortify Rights said in a new report released today. The report finds ?reasonable grounds” that crimes against Rohingya constitute genocide and crimes against humanity, and it identifies 22 Myanmar Army and Police officials who should be criminally investigated for their roles in atrocities. In order for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant, the prosecutor must find ?reasonable grounds” that perpetrators committed genocide and/or crimes against humanity. The report calls on the United Nations Security Council to urgently refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC. ?Genocide doesn?t happen spontaneously,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. ?Impunity for these crimes will pave the path for more violations and attacks in the future. The world can?t sit idly by and watch another genocide unfold, but right now, that?s exactly what?s happening.” The dominant narrative about what occurred in Myanmar?s northern Rakhine State in 2017 suggests that Rohingya militants attacked dozens of police outposts, instigating a spontaneous Myanmar Army-led crackdown against Rohingya civilians, forcing the displacement of hundreds of thousands to Bangladesh. The 160-page report, ?They Gave Them Long Swords”: Preparations for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity Against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, Myanmar, documents how the Myanmar authorities committed mass killings, rape, and arson attacks against Rohingya in Maungdaw Township in October and November 2016. When the international community failed to effectively respond to these attacks, Myanmar authorities made preparations to commit another attack that extended throughout all three townships of northern Rakhine State—Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung.
Source/publisher: Fortify Rights (Press Reslease for "TheGave them ong Swords")
Date of publication: 2018-07-19
Date of entry/update: 2018-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: They Gave Them Long Swords
Description: "Preparations for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity Against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, Myanmar...This report documents and reveals a sinister subplot: Myanmar authorities made extensive and systematic preparations for the commission of mass atrocity crimes against indigenous Rohingya civilians during the weeks and months before Rohingya-militant attacks on August 25, 2017. While the Myanmar authorities have subjected Rohingya to widespread and systematic human rights violations for decades, the Myanmar Army?s preparations for the most recent attacks on civilians in northern Rakhine State occurred between October 2016 and August 2017. On October 9, 2016, Rohingya men and boys armed mostly with sticks and knives attacked three police outposts, reportedly killing nine police and sparking a Myanmar Armyled attack on Rohingya civilians in approximately 40 villages in Maungdaw Township, displacing more than 94,000 civilians. Following that wave of brutal violence, the international community failed to act, and Myanmar officialdom evidently took note: The military, administrative, and civilian authorities subsequently made a series of decisions and enacted several measures that contributed to the commission of the crime of genocide and crimes against humanity beginning August 25, 2017..."
Source/publisher: Fortify Rights
Date of publication: 2018-07-19
Date of entry/update: 2018-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 13.42 MB
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Title: "WE WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING" - MILITARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN RAKHINE STATE, MYANMAR
Description: Executive Summary: "Early in the morning of 25 August 2017, a Rohingya armed group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) launched coordinated attacks on security force posts in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, the Myanmar security forces, led by the Myanmar Army, attacked the entire Rohingya population in villages across northern Rakhine State. In the 10 months after 25 August, the Myanmar security forces drove more than 702,000 women, men, and children—more than 80 per cent of the Rohingya who lived in northern Rakhine State at the crisis?s outset— into neighbouring Bangladesh. The ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population was achieved by a relentless and systematic campaign in which the Myanmar security forces unlawfully killed thousands of Rohingya, including young children; raped and committed other sexual violence against hundreds of Rohingya women and girls; tortured Rohingya men and boys in detention sites; pushed Rohingya communities toward starvation by burning markets and blocking access to farmland; and burned hundreds of Rohingya villages in a targeted and deliberate manner. These crimes amount to crimes against humanity under international law, as they were perpetrated as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Rohingya population. Amnesty International has evidence of nine of the 11 crimes against humanity listed in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court being committed since 25 August 2017, including murder, torture, deportation or forcible transfer, rape and other sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts, such as forced starvation. Amnesty International also has evidence that responsibility for these crimes extends to the highest levels of the military, including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services. This report is based on more than 400 interviews carried out between September 2017 and June 2018, including during four research missions to the refugee camps in Bangladesh and three missions to Myanmar, one of which was to Rakhine State. The interviews were overwhelmingly with survivors and direct witnesses to crimes. Amnesty International sought out people from different ethnic and religious communities from northern Rakhine State, including Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim group; ethnic Rakhine, Mro, Khami, and Thet, all predominantly Buddhist groups; and Hindu. In addition to survivors and witnesses, Amnesty International interviewed humanitarian aid workers in Bangladesh and Myanmar; medical professionals in Bangladesh who had treated violence-related injuries among Rohingya refugees; analysts of the Myanmar military; diplomats; journalists; and local administrative officials in Myanmar, known as Village Administrators. The report also draws on an extensive analysis of satellite imagery and data; forensic medical examination of injury photographs; authenticated photographic and video material taken by Rohingya in northern Rakhine State; confidential documents, particularly on the Myanmar military?s command structure; and open source investigations and analysis, including of Facebook posts related to the Myanmar military..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/8630/2018)
Date of publication: 2018-06-27
Date of entry/update: 2018-06-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 6.13 MB
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Title: Brides and Brothels: The Rohingya Trade (video)
Description: "Thousands of Rohingya girls continue to face sexual exploitation, forced marriage and trafficking in refugee camps.hey have survived rape and the slaughter of their families. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya girls and women fled Myanmar to escape a military crackdown... In Bangladesh?s refugee camps they thought they would be safe. But inside the tents that house almost a million Rohingya refugees, women and girls are being bought, sold and given away. Girls are being forced into marriage because relatives can?t afford to feed them, or are being lured to brothels with the promise of good jobs. We investigate the dangers still facing Rohingya women and meet the people seeking to exploit them" ...Rohingya, Bangladesh, Sexual assault, Asia, Myanmar
Source/publisher: Aljazeera (101 East)
Date of publication: 2018-03-08
Date of entry/update: 2018-03-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Human Rights Council Special Session on Myanmar, 5 December 2017
Description: This dossier contains the text of the resolution, the Statement by the Myanmar Permanent Representative in Geneva, commentary by Amnesty International and the UN press report on the session.
Source/publisher: United Nations Human Rights Council
Date of publication: 2017-12-05
Date of entry/update: 2017-12-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar?s Rohingya Crisis Enters a Dangerous New Phase
Description: Conclusion: "The actions of the Myanmar military in northern Rakhine State have created a major humanitarian catastrophe, a crisis for the country and a security threat to the region. It has strengthened an ugly strand of nationalism that will be long-lasting and could lead to the targeting of other minorities in the future. The crisis will define Myanmar in the eyes of much of the world for years to come, with hugely negative consequences across the board on trade, investment, tourism. The country has squandered its considerable reserves of global good-will just when it needed them most, as it was emerging from decades of isolation from the West. Myanmar has also put itself at much greater risk of attack by transnational jihadist groups. Priority long-term aims of balancing China?s geostrategic influence and economic dominance in the country and rehabilitating the military?s international image have been significantly set back. The abuses against the Rohingya minority have captured global public opinion, and the uncompromising posture of the government has exacerbated the situation. Western countries almost certainly will re-impose some of the sanctions that had been lifted in recent years. As they do so, they should acknowledge their inherent limitations and approach them in a manner that can maximise leverage while minimising collateral damage on Myanmar?s long-suffering population."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group (ICG)
Date of publication: 2017-12-07
Date of entry/update: 2017-12-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : htm
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Title: Myanmar: Questions and Answers on Human Rights Law in Rakhine State. Briefing Note, November 2017 (English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Description: Introduction: "More than 600,000 inhabitants of northern Rakhine State have been displaced since 25 August 2017 as a result of security operations commanded by Myanmar?s military, the Tatmadaw, which followed attacks on police posts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). This mass movement of people has substantially added to the pre-existing populations of displaced persons from Myanmar both in Rakhine State and in neighboring Bangladesh, resulting in a major humanitarian crisis, amid reports of widespread human rights violations by security forces and human rights abuses by ARSA and non-state actors. The vast majority of persons displaced are Rohingya Muslims, most of whom have crossed to Bangladesh, while tens of thousands remain displaced in Myanmar. Statements and reporting on this crisis have included the use of both legal and non-legal terminology to assess and describe the situation. The following Questions & Answers briefing note from the International Commission of Jurists clarifies some of the applicable national and international law and standards. This briefing note is based upon both independent legal research and a review of public information and reporting on Rakhine State and neighboring Bangladesh, which is a situation that is evolving on a daily basis. A draft advance version of this briefing was prepared on 18 October 2017, and subsequently updated with minor revisions. The below analysis is based upon information publicly available at the time of finalization on 7 November 2017. This briefing is available in Burmese language; the original version is in English language. The authors of this briefing note appreciate the advice and information shared by those who helped inform the development of this briefing note...".....မိတ်ဆက် ၂ဝ၁၇ ခုနှစ်၊ သြဂုတ်လ ၂၅ ရက်မှစ၍ မြန်မာ့တပ်မတော်မှ ဦးစီးကွပ်ကဲသည့် လုံခြုံရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များ၏ ရလဒ်တစ်ရပ်အနေဖြင့် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်မြောက်ပိုင်း၌ နေထိုင်သူပေါင်း ၆ဝဝဝဝဝ ကျော်တို့သည် ထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်ခဲ့ကြရပါသည်။ ပြီးနောက် အာရကန်ကယ်တင်ရေးတပ် (ARSA) မှ ရဲစခန်းများကို တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများ ပြုခဲ့သည်။ ဤသို့သော ပြည်သူများ အစုလိုက်၊ အပြုံလိုက်လှုပ်ရှားမှုသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံမှ ယခင်တည်ရှိပြီး ရွှေ့ပြောင်း ဒုက္ခသည် လူဦးရေကို ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်နှင့် အိမ်နီးချင်းဖြစ်သည့် ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ်နိုင်ငံတို့တွင် ပို၍တိုးများစေပြီး၊ ကြီးမားသော လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အကြပ်အတည်းကိုသော်လည်းကောင်း၊ လုံခြုံရေးတပ်ဖွဲ့များ၏ ကျယ်ပြန့်သော လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ၊ ARSA နှင့် အစိုးရမဟုတ်သည့် ပုဂ္ဂိုလ်၊ သို့မဟုတ် အဖွဲ့များ၏ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှု များကိုသော်လည်းကောင်း ဖြစ်ပွားစေပါသည်။ ရွှေ့ပြောင်းဒုက္ခသည်အများစုမှာ ရိုဟင်ဂျာမွတ်ဆလင်များဖြစ်ကြပြီး၊ ၎င်းတို့မှအများစုသည် ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ်နိုင်ငံသို့ ဖြတ်ကျော်ခဲ့ကြကာ ထောင်ပေါင်းများစွာသော သူများသည်လည်း မြန်မာ နိုင်ငံတွင်း၌ပင် ရွှေ့ပြောင်းဒုက္ခသည် ဖြစ်နေကြရပါသည်။ ယင်းအကြပ်အတည်းဆိုင်ရာ သတင်းထုတ်ပြန်ချက်များနှင့် အစီရင်ခံမှုများတွင် ဖြစ်ပျက်သည့်အခြေအနေကို အကဲဖြတ်သုံးသပ်ရန်နှင့် ဖော်ထုတ်မှုပြုရန် တရားဝင်အသုံးအနှုန်းနှင့် တရားဝင်မဟုတ်သည့် အသုံးအနှုန်းတို့အား အသုံးပြုထားလေသည်။ ဆက်လက်ဖော်ပြမည့် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ ဥပဒေပညာရှင်များကော်မရှင်မှ အမေး၊ အဖြေ ဆိုင်ရာရှင်းလင်းမှတ်ချက်သည် အောက်ပါမေးခွန်းများကို လွှမ်းခြုံသည့် အချို့သောသက်ဆိုင်ရာပြည်တွင်း၊ နိုင်ငံတကာ ဥပဒေနှင့် စံချိန်စံညွှန်းများကို ရှင်းလင်းစေပါမည်။ ၁။ လုံခြုံရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များအတွက် မည်သူက တာဝန်ရှိပါသလဲ။ တပ်မတော်သည် ဥပဒေနှင့် လက်တွေ့ကျင့်သုံးမှုအပေါ် မည်မျှသြဇာအာဏာ ရှိပါသလဲ။ နိုင်ငံတော်မှလိုက်နာရမည့် နိုင်ငံတကာ ဥပဒေဆိုင်ရာ တာဝန်များမှာ အဘယ်နည်း။ မကြာသေးမီက တပ်မတော်၏ စစ်ဆင်ရေးများကို သမ္မတမှ အခွင့်အာဏာ ပေးခဲ့ပါသလား။ ၂။ ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်သည် အရေးပေါ်အခြေအနေတစ်ခုအောက် ကျရောက်နေပါသလား။ ဖွဲ့စည်းပုံအခြေခံ ဥပဒေဆိုင်ရာ အရေးပေါ်အခြေအနေတစ်ရပ်သည် မည်သို့ဖြစ်ပါမည်နည်း။ ၃။ လုံခြုံရေးဆိုင်ရာဆောင်ရွက်ချက်များ၏ ပြုမူချက်ကို မည်သည့်စည်းမျဉ်းများက ထိန်းကျောင်းမှုပြုသလဲ။ နိုင်ငံတကာ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာဥပဒေသည် အကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှု ရှိပါသလား။ နယ်မြေ ?ရှင်းလင်းရေးစီမံချက်? အတွက် ဥပဒေရေးရာ အခြေခံတစ်ရပ်ရှိပါသလား။ အင်အားအသုံးပြုမှု ဆိုင်ရာ နိုင်ငံတကာစံချိန်စံည?
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists
Date of publication: 2017-11-20
Date of entry/update: 2017-11-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 330.47 KB 2.3 MB
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Title: "CAGED WITHOUT A ROOF" - APARTHEID IN MYANMAR?S RAKHINE STATE
Description: "The Rohingya people in Myanmar are trapped in a vicious system of state-sponsored, institutionalised discrimination that amounts to apartheid, said Amnesty International today as it publishes a major new analysis into the root causes of the current crisis in Rakhine State. ?Caged without a roof” puts into context the recent wave of violence in Myanmar, when the security forces killed Rohingya people, torched whole villages to the ground, and drove more than 600,000 to flee across the border into Bangladesh. The two-year investigation reveals how authorities severely restrict virtually all aspects of Rohingyas? lives in Rakhine State and have confined them to what amounts to a ghetto-like existence where they struggle to access healthcare, education or in some areas even to leave their villages. The current situation meets every requirement of the legal definition of the crime against humanity of apartheid. ?The Myanmar authorities are keeping Rohingya women, men and children segregated and cowed in a dehumanising system of apartheid. Their rights are violated daily and the repression has only intensified in recent years,” said Anna Neistat, Amnesty International?s Senior Director for Research. ?This system appears designed to make Rohingyas? lives as hopeless and humiliating as possible. The security forces? brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in the past three months is just another extreme manifestation of this appalling attitude. ?Although these rights violations may not be as visible as those that have hit the headlines in recent months, they are just as horrific. The root causes of the current crisis must be addressed to end the cycle of abuse and make it possible for Rohingya refugees to return to a situation where their rights and dignity are respected.”..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/7436/2017)
Date of publication: 2017-11-21
Date of entry/update: 2017-11-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 2.96 MB 107.86 KB
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Title: Timeline of key events concerning the Rohingya
Description: This list is copied from pp 8-9 of Amnesty International?s report "Myanmar: "Caged without a roof": Apartheid in Myanmar?s Rakhine State", published on 21 November, 2017
Source/publisher: Amnesty International
Date of publication: 2017-11-21
Date of entry/update: 2017-11-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 190.4 KB
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Title: Independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar
Description: "Experts of the Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar conclude visit to Bangladesh.....The Human Rights Council on 24 March 2017 decided (through Resolution A/HRC/RES/34/22) to dispatch urgently an independent international fact-finding mission, to be appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council, to establish the facts and circumstances of the alleged recent human rights violations by military and security forces, and abuses, in Myanmar, in particular in Rakhine State, including but not limited to arbitrary detention, torture and inhuman treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, forced displacement and unlawful destruction of property, with a view to ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims, and requests the fact-finding mission to present to the Council an oral update at its thirty-sixth session and a full report at its thirty-seventh session"
Source/publisher: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Date of publication: 2017-10-27
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: "My world is finished". Rohingya targeted in crimes against humanity in Myanmar
Description: "Early in the morning of 25 August 2017, members of a Rohingya armed group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), attacked approximately 30 security force outposts in northern Rakhine State.1 In its response, the Myanmar Army, rather than targeting ARSA, launched an attack on the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State as a whole. Often working with Border Guard Police (BGP) and local vigilantes, the military has carried out a campaign of violence that has been systematic, organized, and ruthless. In this briefing, Amnesty International presents evidence that the Myanmar military has killed at least hundreds of Rohingya women, men, and children; raped and perpetrated other forms of sexual violence on Rohingya women and girls; and carried out organized, targeted burning of entire Rohingya villages. This briefing builds on Amnesty International?s published findings since the crisis began, including on the Myanmar military?s use of anti-personnel landmines. In seven weeks, the relentless human rights violations have forced more than 520,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. More cross the border daily. The attack on the Rohingya population has been both systematic and widespread, constituting serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity under international law (see text box below). The violations and crimes have been committed within a context of decades of systematic, state-led discrimination and persecution of the Rohingya population and occasional large-scale outbursts of violence. After ARSA attacks on security force outposts in October 2016, the Myanmar military carried out ?clearance operations” marked by widespread and systematic human rights violations, including unlawful killings, sexual violence and other forms of torture, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary arrests, which Amnesty International concluded may have amounted to crimes against humanity. The current campaign is an escalation, with the targeted burning of villages on a massive scale seemingly designed to push the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State out of the country and make it incredibly difficult for them to return..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International (ASA 16/7288/2017)
Date of publication: 2017-10-18
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 4.06 MB 4.84 MB
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Title: Burma: Military Massacres Dozens in Rohingya Village. Soldiers Shot, Stabbed Men and Boys in Maung Nu, Rakhine State
Description: "Since August 25, Burmese security forces have been carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. Over half a million Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape killings, arson, and other mass atrocities. The Rohingya, effectively denied citizenship under Burmese law, have faced decades of repression and discrimination. About 120,000 remain internally displaced from waves of violence in 2012 and 2016, in dire humanitarian conditions. Human Rights Watch researchers are reporting from the field on the crisis and its global impact.....Children?s Rights ...Refugees and Migrants ...Refugee Rights... Asylum Seekers ...Internally Displaced People... United Nations... Women?s Rights... Sexual Violence and Rape ...
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2017-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Mission report of OHCHR rapid response mission to Cox?s Bazar, Bangladesh 13-24 September 2017
Description: "...Credible information indicates that the Myanmar security forces purposely destroyed the property of the Rohingyas, scorched their dwellings and entire villages in northern Rakhine State, not only to drive the population out in droves but also to prevent the fleeing Rohingya victims from returning to their homes. The destruction by the Tatmadaw of houses, fields, food-stocks, crops, livestock and even trees, render the possibility of the Rohingya returning to normal lives and livelihoods in the future in northern Rakhine almost impossible. It also indicates an effort to effectively erase all signs of memorable landmarks in the geography of the Rohingya landscape and memory in such a way that a return to their lands would yield nothing but a desolate and unrecognizable terrain. Information received also indicates that the Myanmar security forces targeted teachers, the cultural and religious leadership, and other people of influence in the Rohingya community in an effort to diminish Rohingya history, culture and knowledge..."
Source/publisher: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Date of publication: 2017-10-11
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 124.93 KB
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Title: Bangladesh Prime Minister condemns mine use in Myanmar, Mine Ban Treaty President calls for Fact-Finding Mission
Description: "Yesterday, 21 September 2017, at the United Nations General Assembly, Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, stated, ?We are horrified to see that the Myanmar authorities are laying landmines along their stretch of the border to prevent the Rohingya from returning to Myanmar. These people must be able to return to their homeland in safety, security and dignity.” "
Creator/author: bmban
Source/publisher: Mine Free Myanmar
Date of publication: 2017-09-23
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Landmines on Myanmar/Burma-Bangladesh border & the flight of the Rohingya
Description: "...Some of the current wave of refugees have stepped on landmines during their attempts to leave Myanmar. International news agencies and human rights organizations have stated that they have witness testimony of new use of landmines by Myanmar?s Armed Forces along the NRS-Bangladesh border, and this has reportedly led to the issue being raised with Myanmar by Bangladesh authorities.,, UPDATE 19 SEPTEMBER 2017 "The ICBL/Landmine Monitor has verified that recent mine victims were from newly laid mines. On 28 of August, humanitarian workers providing relief to refugees camped on the Zero line of the border witnessed an Army truck arrive on the Myanmar side and unload three boxes from which soldiers took mines and placed in the ground. This continued on that day from 10am until 3pm. The mines were laid commencing in Taung Pyo Let Yar village tract of Maungdaw Township, which is adjacent to border pillar No. 31 in Bangladesh. This area demarcates the beginning of the land border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, as south of this area the border follows the Naf River.New mine use was witnessed along about a 20km stretch of the shared border between Burma and Banladesh. This stretch lies between the two main land crossing routes between Burma (Maungdaw township) and Bangladesh (Bandarban District). Subsequent to the daytime landmine operation, the Burmese Army brought trucks at night to continue laying mines, which could be seen under the lights by which they worked. Mine laying continued during the next few days, and was witnessed progressing along the border to the northeast in Mee Taik, Nga Yant Chaung, Hlaing Thi, Bauk Shu Hpweit and In Tu Lar townships. Mine laying was last seen continuing to the east of In Tu Lar township. All mines were laid on the eastern side of the border fence."
Source/publisher: Mine Free Myanmar
Date of publication: 2017-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2017-10-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Burma: Military Commits Crimes Against Humanity - Expulsions, Murder, Rape, Persecution of Rohingya
Description: "Burmese security forces are committing crimes against humanity against the Rohingya population in Burma, Human Rights Watch said today. The military has committed forced deportation, murder, rape, and persecution against Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State, resulting in countless deaths and mass displacement. The United Nations Security Council and concerned countries should urgently impose targeted sanctions and an arms embargo on the Burmese military to stop further crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said. The Security Council should demand that Burma allow aid agencies access to people in need, permit entry to a UN fact-finding mission to investigate abuses, and ensure the safe and voluntary return of those displaced. The council should also discuss measures to bring those responsible for crimes against humanity to justice, including before the International Criminal Court..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
Date of publication: 2017-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2017-09-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Rohingya: Hate speech, lies and media misinformation - How a vicious media campaign has intensified the pressure on an embattled people.
Description: "n The Listening Post this week: behind the Rohingya crisis, a vicious media campaign has steadily intensified the pressure on an embattled people. Plus, the media black hole in Sinai, Egypt. Rohingya: Hate speech, lies and media misinformation The number of majority Muslim Rohingya forced from their homes in Myanmar is now around 400,000. The United Nations says it looks like a "textbook example" of ethnic cleansing. The country?s de facto leader - a former winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and darling of the international news media - is being seen in an entirely new light. Aung San Suu Kyi and her government are on the defensive. She has taken to talking about fake news and a "huge iceberg of misinformation". Aung San Suu Kyi?s refusal to condemn the violence is a troubling angle for many Western journalists to cover, given the way they have venerated her in the past..."
Source/publisher: Aljazeera (Listening Post)
Date of publication: 2017-09-16
Date of entry/update: 2017-09-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Scorched-earth campaign fuels ethnic cleansing of Rohingya from Rakhine State
Description: "More than 80 sites set ablaze in orchestrated campaign since 25 August... More than 370,000 Rohingya fled across border in less than three weeks... Testimonies show attacks were planned, deliberate and systematic... Amnesty International can reveal new evidence pointing to a mass-scale scorched-earth campaign across northern Rakhine State, where Myanmar security forces and vigilante mobs are burning down entire Rohingya villages and shooting people at random as they try to flee. The organization?s analysis of active fire-detection data, satellite imagery, photographs and videos from the ground, as well as interviews with dozens of eyewitnesses in Myanmar and across the border in Bangladesh, shows how an orchestrated campaign of systematic burnings has targeted Rohingya villages across northern Rakhine State for almost three weeks. ?The evidence is irrefutable ? the Myanmar security forces are setting northern Rakhine State ablaze in a targeted campaign to push the Rohingya people out of Myanmar. Make no mistake: this is ethnic cleansing,” said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty International?s Crisis Response Director..." Additional articles and images
Source/publisher: Amnesty International
Date of publication: 2017-09-14
Date of entry/update: 2017-09-15
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar conflict: Aung San Suu Kyi ?must step in? (Yanghee Lee)
Description: "The UN?s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has criticised the country?s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to protect the Rohingya Muslim minority. Yanghee Lee said the situation in Rakhine was "really grave" and it was time for Ms Suu Kyi to "step in". Her comments came as the number of Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh reached 87,000, according to UN estimates....Her sentiments were echoed by Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai, who said she was waiting to hear from Ms Suu Kyi - who has not commented on the crisis since it erupted..."
Source/publisher: BBC News
Date of publication: 2017-09-04
Date of entry/update: 2017-09-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: MYANMAR: International intervention required to stop ethnic cleansing against Rohingya people
Description: UN Human Rights Council: 36th Session - September 2017...A Joint Written Submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre and Odhikar Coalition for Human Rights... "The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and ODHIKAR ? Coalition for Human Rights wishes to bring the situation of the Rohingya community of Rakhine state of Myanmar to the notice of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The ALRC and Odhikar seek immediate, effective action from the international human rights community to protect the victims of Rohingya Muslim community from ethnic cleansing by the military and security forces of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and ODHIKAR ? Coalition for Human Rights
Date of publication: 2017-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2017-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Myanmar: Worsening cycle of violence in Rakhine must be broken urgently, UN expert warns
Description: "GENEVA (31 August 2017) ? A United Nations human rights expert has expressed alarm at the deteriorating situation in Myanmar?s Rakhine State, affecting not just the Rakhine and Muslim populations but also other communities. Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims are now reported to be fleeing towards Bangladesh. ?The humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly and I am concerned that many thousands of people are increasingly at risk of grave violations of their human rights,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee. ?The worsening cycle of violence is of grave concern and must be broken urgently.” Ms. Lee said the suffering of the Rohingya was particularly poignant this week, while the world?s Muslim communities celebrated Eid al-Adha on 1 September but the Rohingya remained in a precarious situation, not knowing their future or the fate of their relatives. Latest estimates from UN sources suggest more than 27,000 people have crossed into Bangladesh in the area around Cox?s Bazar, while 20,000 more remain stranded between the two countries. The number continues to grow..."
Creator/author: Yanghee Lee
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of publication: 2017-08-31
Date of entry/update: 2017-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: Who are the Rohingya Muslims? Why are the more than one million Rohingya in Myanmar considered the ?world?s most persecuted minority??
Description: Useful collection of material on the Rohingya and their situation.... "The Rohingya are often described as "the world?s most persecuted minority". They are an ethnic Muslim group who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims who live in the Southeast Asian country. The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is distinct to others spoken in Rakhine State and throughout Myanmar. They are not considered one of the country?s 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless..."....Analysis/description under several headings interspersed with 11 videos, texts, pictures...: Who are the Rohingya?...Where are the Rohingya from?...How and why are they being persecuted? And why aren?t they recognised?...How many Rohingya have fled Myanmar and where have they gone?...Chart showing Rohingya movement since the late ?70s...What do Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government say about the Rohingya?...What does Bangladesh say about the Rohingya?...What does the international community say about the Rohingya?...What is the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army?...
Creator/author: Al Jazeera Staff
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
Date of publication: 2017-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2017-09-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Title: "Towards a Peaceful, Fair and Prosperous Future for the People of Rakhine": Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State (English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Description: "After one year of consultations held across Rakhine State and in other parts of the country and the region, the Advisory Commission submitted its final report to national authorities on 23 August. The report recommends urgent and sustained action on a number of fronts to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation and offer a sense of hope to the State?s hard-pressed population. The final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by Kofi Annan, puts forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine State. It builds on the Commission?s interim report released in March of this year. ?Unless concerted action ? led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society ? is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalisation, which will further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine State”, said Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The final report addresses in depth a broad range of structural issues that are impediments to the peace and prosperity of Rakhine State. Several recommendations focus specifically on citizenship verification, rights and equality before the law, documentation, the situation of the internally displaced and freedom of movement, which affect the Muslim population disproportionally. An overview of the thematic focus areas of the report and its recommendations can be found here. The report is the outcome of over 150 consultations and meetings held by the Advisory Commission since its launch in September 2016. Commission members have travelled extensively throughout Rakhine State, and held meetings in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Geneva. ?The Commission has put forward honest and constructive recommendations which we know will create debate,” Commission Chair Kofi Annan said. ?However, if adopted and implemented in the spirit in which they were conceived, I firmly believe that our recommendations, along with those of our interim report, can trace a path to lasting peace, development and respect for the rule of law in Rakhine State.” With the submission of its final report, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine has completed its mandate. However, the Commission?s report recommends a national mechanism be established to ensure the effective implementation of its recommendations. ?We propose a ministerial-level appointment to be made with the sole function of coordinating policy on Rakhine State and ensuring the effective implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission?s recommendations,” says Commission Chair Kofi Annan. ?The appointee should be supported by a permanent and well-staffed secretariat, which will be an integral part of the Central Committee on Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State and support its work.”
Creator/author: Kofi Annan (Chair), U Win Mra, U Aye Lwin, Dr Tha Hla Shwe, Dr Mya Thida, Daw Saw Khin Tint, U Khin Maung Lay, Mr Ghassan Salamé, Ms Laetitia van den Assum
Source/publisher: Advisory Commission on Rakhine State
Date of publication: 2017-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2017-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf pdf
Size: 271.77 KB 9.27 MB 490.99 KB
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Title: The Rohingya: Silent Abuse
Description: "Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has a population of around 51 million people. The Burman ethnic group constitutes around two-thirds of this figure and controls the military and the government. But there are also more than 135 ethnic groups in the country, each with their own culture. Many of them have become internally displaced by government moves to exploit land, provoking long-standing friction. In fact, the conflict between Myanmar?s ethnic minorities and the ruling Burmese majority represent one of the world?s longest ongoing conflicts. One group, the Muslim Rohingya, are not recognised as an ethnic nationality of Myanmar, so they suffer from arguably the worst discrimination and human rights abuses of all. The Rohingya population is somewhere between one and two million and they are living mainly in Rakhine State in the north of the country. In this film, Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Salam Hindawi goes to Myanmar to investigate the situation surrounding the Rohingya. Myanmar has been tightly controlled for decades and Hindawi has enormous difficulties gaining access to certain areas of the country that the government simply doesn?t want anyone from outside to see."
Source/publisher: Aljazeera - Al Jazeera World via Youtube
Date of publication: 2017-08-13
Date of entry/update: 2017-08-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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