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

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Title: Rohingya refugees sent to remote Bangladeshi island after weeks at sea
Sub-title: Hundreds more refugees still stranded on boats after being turned away by Malaysia
Description: "Rohingya refugees believed to have spent weeks stranded on cramped boats at sea have been sent to a remote, uninhabited island by Bangladesh, while hundreds more remain adrift. Dozens of Rohingya landed on the coast of southern Bangladesh on Saturday, an official said, with some sent to Bhasan Char, a silt island in the estuary of Bangladesh’s Meghna River. Hundreds more refugees remain stranded on at least two trawlers between Bangladesh and Malaysia, according to rights groups, who say south-east Asian governments are using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to turn away refugees. “A small boat carrying 43 people came to shore today,” the Bangladesh government official said. It is not clear how many have been sent to Bhasan Char. Bangladesh, which hosts about 1 million Rohingya who have fled persecution in Myanmar, previously said it would house refugees on the island, which is accessible only by a three-hour boat ride. The plan has been widely opposed by Rohingya refugees, and condemned by NGOs, who warn Bhasan Char is vulnerable to rising sea levels and storm surges. Human rights groups say that relocating refugees would leave them isolated, with limited access to education and health services. Yanghee Lee, who recently stepped down as the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, previously said it was unclear whether the island was “truly habitable”. Chris Lewa, the director of the Arakan Project monitoring group, said the refugees who landed on Saturday had probably come on a small boat from one the larger vessels still at sea, believed to be carrying hundreds of people..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-04
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Title: UN Human Rights Expert Accuses Myanmar Army of Fresh Abuses
Sub-title: A UN special rapporteur took aim at the Myanmar military for targeting ethnic minorities in Rakhine and Chin states.
Description: "The U.N.’s human rights expert on Myanmar has called for a new investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during recent fighting in the Southeast Asian country as she approaches the end of her appointment. Yanghee Lee, whose formal title is special rapporteur, accused Myanmar’s military of “inflicting immense suffering” on ethnic minorities in Rakhine and Chin states, where the government is battling the Arakan Army, a well-armed and well-trained guerrilla force representing the Buddhist Rakhine minority. “While the world is occupied with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Myanmar military continues to escalate its assault in Rakhine state, targeting the civilian population,” Lee said in a statement issued Wednesday in Geneva. She accused the military of “systematically violating the most fundamental principles of international humanitarian law and human rights,” and said its conduct toward civilians “may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Lee, a South Korean whose term ends this month, has been a sharp critic of Myanmar’s military since her appointment in 2014, focusing especially on human rights abuses against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine state. Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. In August 2017, the military — known as the Tatmadaw — launched what it called a clearance campaign in northern Rakhine state in response to attacks by a Rohingya insurgent group. The campaign forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Security forces were accused of mass rapes and killings and burning thousands of homes. The International Court of Justice in the Netherlands agreed last year to rule on charges of genocide lodged against Myanmar. U.N. agencies and human rights organizations have extensively documented atrocities. Myanmar’s government says it acted justifiably and denies any major abuses. Lee linked the current situation in Rakhine and Chin to the government’s actions against the Rohingya, for which no senior officers have faced justice and token punishments were given to a handful of low-ranking security personnel..."
Source/publisher: "The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-04
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Title: AA attacks civilian vehicle in Maungtaw Tsp
Description: "...The AA group attacked a civilian vehicle with an explosive mine and small firearms in Maungtaw Township, Rakhine State, on 5 April. An aquatic product merchant from Aung Mingalar village, Maungtaw Township, transported a cargo of crabs towards Sittway and was on his was back when an explosive device exploded near Kyeekanpyin (South) village bridge around 8 pm. The vehicle he was on tumbled into a nearby creek...."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: Bangladesh blocks Rohingya camps to keep virus out
Sub-title: Cox's Bazar district put under 'complete lockdown'
Description: "Bangladesh has imposed a “complete lockdown” in Cox’s Bazar district – home to over a million Rohingya refugees from neighboring Myanmar – to halt the spread of coronavirus, officials said Thursday. Experts have warned that the disease could spread quickly through the cramped, sewage-soaked alleys where the persecuted Muslim minority are housed in canvas and bamboo shacks. No cases have been confirmed in the camps but one infection has been recorded nearby. And with the official number of cases doubling to more than 200 nationwide in the last five days, including 20 deaths, officials ordered a lockdown of the district from late Wednesday..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: EU urges armed forces in Myanmar to implement truce
Sub-title: Bloc's top diplomatic says return to peace process 'would help addressing root causes of plight of Rohingya'
Description: "The EU on Friday urged all armed forces in Myanmar to implement an unconditional cease-fire and return to the peace process. “Several hundreds of Rohingya people, including women and children, have been drifting for weeks at sea in appalling conditions, being pushed away from the shores in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in a written statement. He said the bloc urges governments in the region to carry out a search and rescue operation for stranded Rohingya. “Bangladesh granted safe landing and assistance to 400 Rohingya on one of the boats on 16 April 2020, showing continued generosity and humanity,” Borrell said, adding that it expects other countries to follow suit. Bangladesh coast guard units rescued a boat carrying 390 Rohingya who were reportedly turned back from Malaysia nearly two months ago. As many as 100 perished at sea. In the face of deadly clashes in Myanmar and the uncertainty of peaceful repatriation, the Rohingya are leaving crammed camps in Bangladesh to flee to countries like Malaysia through risky sea routes. “The EU urges all armed forces in Myanmar to urgently implement an unconditional ceasefire and recommit to an all-inclusive peace process,” he said. “This would help addressing the root causes of the plight of the Rohingya.” It added that the bloc is ready to provide further support for Rohingya refugees in the region..."
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: Fourth-year performance of Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement
Description: "...The scheme ought to be carried out in the whole of the country, but due to budget constraint, the plan has to be selected. Based on the underdeveloped index of the child, the campaign is selected to the areas such as Rakhine State; the Chin State, Naga Self-Administered Zone, the Kayin State, and the Kayah State for 2017 – 2018 fiscal year and 2018 – 2019 fiscal year. ...Rakhine issue is one among the task being involved by the Ministry to a certain extent. The Ministry has undertaken the tasks of involving in various committees such as that of Regional Resettlement and Socio-economic Development Work Committee under the Rakhine State Stability and Development Implementation Committee; the Resettlement and Social Development Committee; Implementation Committee over the suggestion on Rakhine Affairs; Acceptance of Displaced People and Resettlement Committee; and the UEHRD. [The Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development (UEHRD) is a public-private partnership mechanism formed to respond to the various humanitarian and development needs of conflict-affected communities in Rakhine].....
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: Local staff found guilty in sharing rice ration of IDPs to AA
Description: "A combined team of security forces and local authorities confiscated 150 rice bags carried by a clerk of Nyaungchaung village-tract and 14 young people on a truck which was heading to Thayettapin village from Kyauktaw Township on 4 April. The Office of Commander in Chief of Defence Services reported that the bags were taken for the internally displaced persons at Nyaungchaung camp from Kyauktaw Township Administration Office which is sharing the rice for the IDP camp every month. Former local administrator U Than Aye was reportedly asked to local clerk U Ohn Naing, aged 55, to take out the rice. However, only two-third of the rations went to the camp, and one-third of them were sent to the AA group..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: Myanmar leaves no one behind in its fight against COVID-19 in Rakhine State
Description: "..As the COVID-19 global pandemic has reached every corner of the world, Myanmar, like many other countries, is making rigorous efforts within its limited capacity and resources, to contain the outbreak of the new virus, to protect lives and to mitigate the impacts on the socio-economic life of the people under the guidance of the National-Level Central Committee headed by the State Counsellor. The Government has taken a whole-of-government approach to respond to the challenges, mobilizing the strength of the people and educating the public about the virus and seeking the public participation which is pivotal to the success of the national efforts to fight COVID-19. With a view to ensuring that no one is left uncared for, the government is launching an intensive public awareness campaign about the virus, and disseminating health guidelines and directives prepared by the Ministry of Health and Sports for all communities throughout the country, including Rakhine and Muslim villages and IDP camps. .."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: Myanmar war killing India’s ‘Act East’ dream
Sub-title: Arakan Army's winning insurgency is foiling India's grand plan to counter China's strong and rising influence in Myanmar and beyond
Description: "Against the ominous question mark hanging over Myanmar’s remarkable encounter with COVID 19 – no recorded cases to date — it’s easy to view the country’s ethnic conflicts as mere off-stage business-as-usual. In western Myanmar, an area that brings India and China’s strategic interests face-to-face, that would be a serious mistake. Whatever the toll of the virus in the coming months, the sharp deterioration of the military situation in Rakhine and neighboring areas of Chin state will shape in a far more profound sense both Myanmar’s political future and India’s plans to push back against growing Chinese influence. The gravity of the crisis was plain to see on March 10 and 11 when the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, suffered its most stinging reverse to date at the hands of the Arakan Army (AA), the most aggressive of a range of ethnic forces demanding autonomy after seven decades of centralized Bamar-dominated misrule..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: Preservation of evidence and property in areas of northern Rakhine State
Description: "...The Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar established the Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) on 30th July 2018 as part of its national initiative to address reconciliation, peace, stability and development in Rakhine. The Independent Commission was tasked to investigate the allegations of human rights violations and related issues, following the terrorist attacks by ARSA. The Commission submitted its final report to the President on 20th January 2020. .."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-03
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Title: Coronavirus is 'emboldening' Myanmar military to carry out 'war crimes' says UN human rights expert
Description: "A leading United Nations human rights expert claims the Myanmar military is carrying out "war crimes" against ethnic minorities, emboldened by special extended powers intended to help control the spread of the coronavirus. Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, accused the military of targeting ethnic Rakhine Buddhist civilians during recent clashes with the Arakan Army (AA), a separatist militant group in the western Rakhine State. Lee told CNN that houses had been burned, a monastery was attacked and people had been arrested and tortured. "And then we find bodies that have been decapitated, these are Rakhine people," Lee said Tuesday, as she prepared to conclude her six-year tenure as special rapporteur. "I am calling the situation crimes against humanity and war crimes. These are the highest, the most heinous and gravest crimes of international law," she added. CNN has reached out to the Myanmar government regarding Lee's comments but has not yet received a response. Lee said the Myanmar military has been given a "significant" political role in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, which has so far infected 150 people in Myanmar, including six who died, ​according to data published by John​s Hopkins University. Key military generals and military-controlled ministries were appointed to a new coronavirus committee in March, increasing the remit of the military under its delicate power-sharing agreement with the country's civilian-led government..."
Source/publisher: "CNN" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-01
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Title: Myanmar dismisses fresh war crimes allegations by UN rights envoy as 'biased'
Description: " A Myanmar government spokesperson on Friday (May 1) dismissed allegations by the departing United Nations rights envoy that the military was committing fresh war crimes in Rakhine state as "biased", blaming rebels for violations. "We found that her investigation has no balance and was biased," government spokesman Zaw Htay told a press conference on Friday. Yanghee Lee, special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar, said in her final statement on Wednesday the army was engaged in activities against rebels that may amount to “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Rakhine and Chin states. She said the basis for her conclusion was that the armed forces, known as the Tatmadaw, have ramped up attacks against civilians in recent weeks with air and artillery strikes. Dozens have died and tens of thousands been displaced in the region in recent weeks..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-01
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Title: Myanmar’s Rohingya: An Unwanted People
Description: "Xenophobic sentiments on social media against “the most discriminated people in the world” – the Rohingya of Myanmar – is on the rise in Malaysia. A few weeks ago, it was reported that Malaysia denied entry to a boat carrying around 200 Rohingya refugees which was spotted by an air force jet off the north-western island of Langkawi. Malaysian sailors provided the Rohingya food before escorting them out of the country’s waters. “With their poor settlements and living conditions … it is strongly feared that undocumented migrants who try to enter Malaysia either by land or sea will bring (COVID-19) into the country,” read a statement by Malaysia’s air force. To date, more than three million people have been infected with the deadly coronavirus. The pandemic has prompted governments to imposed drastic measures to contain the outbreak. In Malaysia, 100 people have succumbed to COVID-19, as of 28 April. The country has enacted its nationwide partial lockdown, also known locally as the Movement Control Order (MCO) since mid-March and is due to end on 12 May. This has led to the closure of border gates and the barring of foreigners from entering the country. "Receiving the Rohingya at times like this could open the floodgates for more foreign nationals and vessels to approach the Malaysian border and therefore hinder the government's effort to fight Covid-19,” said Mohamad Hasan, deputy president of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). He also said that the country has “far exceeded” its capacity to host refugees..."
Source/publisher: "The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-01
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Title: Outgoing UN envoy to Myanmar 'utterly disappointed' with Suu Kyi
Sub-title: Yanghee Lee says Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed to live up to her reputation as an icon of human rights.
Description: "The United Nations' outgoing human rights envoy for Myanmar has told Al Jazeera that the country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, failed to live up to her reputation as a humanitarian. Yanghee Lee's time in the role was dominated by Myanmar's bloody crackdown in western Rakhine state in 2017, when at least 750,000 people, mostly ethnic Rohingya, fled across the border to Bangladesh. More: UN envoy calls for investigation into "possible war crimes" in Myanmar as Rakhine conflict continues Eight killed in Myanmar's troubled western state of Rakhine Myanmar to release 25,000 prisoners to mark New Year festival Aung San Suu Kyi has been widely criticised for remaining mostly silent on accusations of anti-Rohingya violence, and Lee told Al Jazeera on Wednesday she believed the Myanmar leader's inaction was "utterly disappointing"..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-01
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Title: Myanmar military may be repeating crimes against humanity, UN rapporteur warns
Sub-title: Yanghee Lee says the army is ‘maximising suffering’ on Rohingya and other people in attacks reminiscent of the 2017 assault in Rakhine state
Description: "Myanmar’s military may once again be committing crimes against humanity in Rakhine state, the UN special rapporteur on human rights has warned, urging the international community to prevent further atrocities. In a damning statement issued on Wednesday, Yanghee Lee said the military was inflicting immense suffering on communities living in conflict-affected states, and called for increased efforts to “ensure that there is not another systemic failure like in 2017”. The military had also expanded its campaign against minorities from Rakhine to neighbouring Chin state, she said. Myanmar is already facing allegations of genocide over a brutal military crackdown that began in August 2017, and which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee over the border to Bangladesh. Earlier this year, Myanmar was instructed by the UN’s highest court to take action to prevent genocidal violence against Rohingya citizens and to report back on its progress..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-29
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Title: UN's top human rights envoy to Myanmar steps down
Sub-title: Yanghee Lee steps down after six years of raising the alarm on atrocities committed against Rohingya minority.
Description: "The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, is stepping down after spending six years raising the alarm on atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority. In her final report, Lee said the military's actions bore the "hallmarks of genocide" and accused the civilian government of doing nothing to change things. Al Jazeera's Florence Looi reports from Kuala Lumpur..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-29
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Title: Bangladesh Must Protect the Rights of Rohingya Muslims Stranded at Sea
Description: "Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution from Myanmar have been left stranded at sea on the Bay of Bengal following a decision by Bangladesh to refuse to bring them ashore. Rohingya refugees were trying to make their way to Malaysia; however, the country’s restrictions on receiving any boats in light of the coronavirus pandemic left them in the Bay of Bengal. Now the nearest country, Bangladesh, is likewise leaving them deserted. There are approximately 500 Rohingyas, including many women and children, stranded on two trawlers, risking starvation and in need of urgent medical assistance after having been left at sea for weeks. According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, Rohingya refugees at sea have no access to adequate food or water, leaving them in an unacceptable plight. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said, “I am opposed to allowing these Rohingya into the country because Bangladesh is always asked to take care of the responsibility of other countries.” He further added, “We have no room to shelter any foreign people or refugees.” In addition, the Bangladesh government has even denied the fact that these trawlers full of Rohingyas exist, in a bid to try to shirk further responsibility..."
Source/publisher: "The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-27
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Title: Stop the fighting, combine forces against a common enemy - COVID-19
Description: "Op-ed by UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator on the conflict in Rakhine and Chin and elsewhere in Myanmar and need for a ceasefire amidst COVID-19 On Monday April 20 my colleague Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung lost his life as he was conducting a humanitarian mission. On Monday April 20 my colleague Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung lost his life as he was conducting a humanitarian mission, and the marked United Nations (UN) vehicle he was driving came under fire in Minbya township in Rakhine State. His passenger, an official from the Ministry of Health and Sports, was seriously wounded and we wish him a speedy and full recovery. We have been touched by the outpouring of sympathy expressed by the government, member states of the UN, development and humanitarian partners in Myanmar, and beyond. Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement has condemned the attack and called for those responsible to be brought to justice. Sadly, Ko Pyae Sone Win Maung will not be the last to die in the conflict that is ravaging Rakhine and southern Chin states. Nor is he even the most recent. According to local sources, hundreds of civilians, including large numbers of children, have been killed or injured since the beginning of the year. The conflict also continues to damage and destroy civilian structures. The government reports that more than 76,000 people have been internally displaced by the current fighting - on top of the more than 130,000 internally displaced persons in camps since 2012 and the estimated one million others who have fled from Rakhine State for other reasons. Unfortunately, conflict persists in many parts of Myanmar. On any day, it brings misery to the people who live in the affected areas. It cuts the most vulnerable off from life-saving humanitarian assistance. It robs them, many of whom are the furthest behind in access to services, from development opportunities and pathways out of poverty. And now, like all in Myanmar, they are faced with a new threat, the novel coronavirus disease, or COVID-19 for the year when it was first detected, that is affecting the world around us and has also arrived in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-27
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Title: UN rights chief urges Bangladesh to accept Rohingya boats
Sub-title: Appeal made to Bangladesh after its FM said the South Asian country would not accept the boats.
Description: "A top UN official has urged Bangladesh to let two stranded boats with Rohingya refugees on board land amid mounting fears over their fate. On Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned of a "human tragedy of terrible proportions" unless action is taken to help the Rohingya on the boats. More: Do not push Rohingya out to sea amid coronavirus emergency: UNHCR Hundreds of doctors in Bangladesh infected with coronavirus OPINION: Refugees must be protected during the coronavirus pandemic "In a spirit of solidarity and at the beginning of the Holy Month of Ramadan, I appeal to you in the strongest terms to open your ports and allow the boats to land," Bachelet said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by AFP news agency. "The reportedly more than 500 men, women and children aboard these boats have been at sea for an extended period of time, and we understand that they require urgent rescue, food, medical care and other necessary humanitarian assistance." The appeal was made to the Bangladesh government after Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the South Asian country would not accept the boats..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-27
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Title: ARSA explosive kills two in Maungtaw
Description: "...TWO MEN were killed and three injured by an explosive triggered by ARSA in Maungtaw Township, Rakhine State, yesterday morning. At 8:55 am on 30 March 2020, a man identified as U San Aung Phyu, 50, and 11 Dainet residents from Mingalar Nyunt Village were on their motorbikes to go check on some bird traps. They parked their bikes near Kamaungseik Village and Aungzu Village and went into the woods on foot..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
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Title: Coronavirus and Rohingya Refugee Camps
Sub-title: The first confirmed case in Cox’s Bazar, on March 24, is a serious concern for aid workers.
Description: "As countries close their borders and ask their citizens to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, aid organizations warn that the impact of the virus on the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh “could be enormous.” On March 24, the first case was confirmed in the local community in Cox’s Bazar, and it is now only matter of time until the virus reaches the camps, exposing the most vulnerable. The so-called “social distancing” many countries are practicing to prevent COVID-19 seems a cruel joke to the million-plus Rohingyas who live in the overcrowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Most of them fled the Myanmar Army-led attacks in 2016 and 2017, and at present, are living in poor conditions without access to clean water or adequate sanitation, making them especially at risk of an outbreak. On March 11, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19, the disease caused by a novel strain of coronavirus, a pandemic. As of this writing there have been over 737,000 confirmed cases and more than 34,000 deaths in at least 177 countries. Bangladesh, home to 164.69 million people, has confirmed 49 cases and five deaths to date, but the critical believe those figures are underestimating the real impact. As has been demonstrated in more affected countries, the virus can spread rapidly and mostly undetected in the initial stages..."
Source/publisher: "The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
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Title: Face facts: Genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar is complete
Description: "As recently as two weeks ago, some of the few Rohingya remaining in Myanmar were still trying to make their way across the border to the relative safety of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. This comes 16 months after the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed Rohingya who had previously fled Myanmar would be helped to return to the country of their birth, and over two months since the International Court of Justice ruled that Myanmar must take a number of steps to protect the Rohingya, who it judged as “at risk of genocide.” It therefore seems that fears for the safety of the Rohingya remaining in Myanmar were, unfortunately, well founded. And those who made it to the border were some of the luckier ones. The situation is probably even more precarious for the majority of those still in the country, who find themselves in internally displaced people’s camps in Myanmar under the direct supervision and “protection” of the Myanmar military, who orchestrated the “clearance operations” against them in the first place. As if the background situation of the ethnic cleansing, plus the intrusion the COVID-19 pandemic, were not enough, the Myanmar military has once again ramped up attacks against insurgent groups, and any civilian who belongs to the same ethnic group as the insurgents. Presumably the calculation was that the pandemic might make the insurgent groups less organized and more vulnerable to attack. If that was the case, then it would appear that calculation was wrong..."
Source/publisher: Arab News (Saudi Arabia)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
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Title: Gov’t discusses COVID-19 preparedness in IDP camps with UN agencies
Description: "...UNION Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr Win Myat Aye held a video conference with UN humanitarian aid agencies yesterday concerning preparations against COVID-19 for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Speaking at the meeting, the Union Minister said there are 128 IDP camps in 24 townships scatteringe throughout Kachin, Kayin, Shan and Rakhine states that houses 184,333 IDPs. He said they have an action plan to combat COVID-19 for IDPs in their camps, which includes international humanitarian assistance and protection standards and an interim guideline issued by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
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Title: MSWRR initiates preventive measure in IDP camps
Description: "...THE Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement, in cooperation with relevant ministries and civil society organizations, has commenced a preventive measure to provide health education and handwashing soaps to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kachin, Shan, Rakhine, and Kayin states as part of the prevention, containment, and treatment of the Covid-19 pandemic..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
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Title: Rohingya refugees stranded at sea show urgent need for regional response
Description: "The Bangladesh authorities should rescue and welcome Rohingya refugees currently stranded at sea, Amnesty International said today. Other governments must fulfil their shared responsibility to carry out search and rescue efforts, in line with their international obligations to protect life, and allow safe disembarkation of refugees and asylum seekers at sea. Two fishing trawlers carrying an estimated 500 Rohingya women, men and children are currently in the Bay of Bengal after being pushed away by Malaysia, which has imposed restrictions on all boats in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two trawlers are headed towards Bangladesh a week after an earlier vessel carrying nearly 400 Rohingya refugees arrived there on 15 April. Monitors also believe there could be another vessel still at sea with hundreds more Rohingya stranded, further highlighting the need for governments in the region to get involved in search and rescue operations if needed. “In contrast to the cruel indifference demonstrated by other governments, who have actively pushed away boats, Bangladesh has maintained its positive record of giving sanctuary to people who have lost their homes and suffered horrific crimes,” said Biraj Patnaik, South Asia Director at Amnesty International. “We hope that Bangladesh will continue to welcome Rohingya refugees in these difficult times. The international community has an obligation to help the Bangladeshi authorities in this task, including in supporting efforts to set up quarantine centres and provide refugees the immediate medical assistance they require to recover from the journey and to protect them against the spread of the COVID-19 virus.” Amnesty International last week called on Southeast Asian governments to launch immediate search and rescue operations for potentially hundreds more Rohingya refugees languishing at sea..."
Source/publisher: "Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
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Title: Rohingya stranded at sea, Bangladesh says not its responsibility
Sub-title: Rights groups urge Dhaka to allow some 500 Rohingya stuck in the Bay of Bengal to come ashore.
Description: "The Bangladesh government has refused to allow some 500 Rohingya refugees stranded on board two fishing trawlers in the Bay of Bengal to come ashore, drawing criticism from rights groups. Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the Rohingya refugees, who are believed to have been at sea for weeks, are "not Bangladesh's responsibility." More: Do not push Rohingya out to sea amid coronavirus emergency: UNHCR Hundreds of doctors in Bangladesh infected with coronavirus OPINION: Refugees must be protected during the coronavirus pandemic "Why you are asking Bangladesh to take those Rohingyas? They are in the deep sea, not even in Bangladesh's territorial water," Momen said, adding that there are at least eight coastal countries surrounding the Bay of Bengal. "It's your duty to ask Myanmar government first because those are their citizens," Momen told Al Jazeera. The two trawlers - carrying an estimated 500 Rohingya women, men and children - are in the Bay of Bengal after being rejected by Malaysia, which has imposed restrictions on all boats in light of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, the stranded Rohingya might "have been at sea for weeks without adequate food and water." Momen said that just weeks ago, Bangladesh rescued a total of 396 Rohingya people from a vessel that had been adrift for about two months after also failing to reach Malaysia..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-26
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Title: AA armed group attacks security forces in MraukU, Kyauktaw townships
Description: "...THE AA armed group carried out landmine and arson attacks on vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and military columns in Rakhine State, according to the reports of Office of Commander- in-Chief of Defence Services. On 13 March, two military columns, which are taking security operations during the matriculation exam in MraukU and Kyauktaw townships, were attacked by remote-controlled mines at 5,000 meter southeast of MraukU Township on Yangon-Sittway Union highway. The AA group also attacked with five remote-controlled mine near Teinnyo Village and TaungU Village. They scattered triangular blade nails to block traffic on the Union highway..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: Contradicting Myanmar Army Denials, Rakhine Pays to Rebuild 528 Houses Burned in Attacks
Description: "The government in Myanmar’s war-torn Rakhine state has paid to rebuild more than 500 houses that were burned in attacks by aircraft and artillery or torched by soldiers last month, disaster officials said Friday, in a revelation that appeared to undercut the national military’s denial that the attacks took place. The state government in Rakhine, where a 16-month-old conflict between Myanmar forces and the rebel Arakan Army has killed scores of civilians, paid more than 90,000,000 kyats ($65,000) on Tuesday to replace the houses burned in Tin Ma village in Kyauktaw township on March 22, said Win Zaw Htay, the director of Rakhine State Natural Disaster Management Department. “A total of 528 houses were burned down in Tin Ma village, Tin Ma village tract, in Kyauktaw Township,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “We have provided 79,400,000 kyats ($56,000) for construction materials for 397 houses and 13,100,000 kyats ($9,200) for another 131 houses. We have given a total of 92,500,000 kyats ($65,000) via Mrauk-U Township disaster management department on April 22,” he added. On March 30, villagers from Tin Ma told a news conference that artillery fire and aerial bombardments by Myanmar forces had killed three civilians and burned scores of houses in their communities between March 12-22, amid fighting between Myanmar forces and the Arakan Army..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: The Government to Step up Efforts to Enhance Provisions of Humanitarian Assistance to Affected Areas in Rakhine State
Description: "...IN Rakhine, the destructive activities by the AA are continuing with greater intensity. These have led to clashes between the Security Forces and AA group, resulting in sizeable numbers of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from various communities. The Government is providing humanitarian assistance to the IDPs, and giving continued access to humanitarian partners, so far as security conditions allow...."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: Investigation group into Rakhine crimes holds second meeting
Description: "...THE Crime Investigation and Litigation Group held their second meeting at the Office of the Union Attorney-General in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday. First, Group Chairman Union Attorney-General U Tun Tun Oo said ARSA attacked police outposts, police stations and Tatmadaw troops in Northern Rakhine on 25 August 2017, and this was followed by clashes between ARSA and security forces..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: Japanese Govt funds upgrading Maungtaw Hospital, Medical services
Description: "...UNDER the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) by the Japanese government, the embassy of Japan signed an agreement yesterday to fund about US$ 480,000 to upgrading the Maungtaw Hospital and providing medical equipment to it. The signing ceremony was held at the Japanese embassy in Yangon yesterday, and the grant assistance was signed by Japanese Ambassador Mr Maruyama and Chairman of the Maungtaw People’s Hospital Construction Supervising Committee U Hla Min. The idea of the Project for Upgrading of Maungdaw People’s Hospital was generated when Ambassador Mr Maruy ama visited Rakhine State and met with local people and returnees from Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: MSWRR to draw project plan for COVID-19 prevention, control at IDP camps
Description: "...MINISTRY of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement held a coordination meeting yesterday on drafting a project plan for prevention, control and treatment of the Coronavirus infection at the internally displaced persons-IDP camps. Speaking at the meeting, the project plan is aimed at quickly responding to the possible COVID-19 infection at the IDP camps as the disease can spread rapidly.According to the statistics in January, 2020, there are 128 IDP camps with a total population of 184,333 in 24 townships in Kachin State, Kayin State, Shan State and Rakhine State.“Regarding the project, it is important to disseminate knowledge on prevention and control the Coronavirus infection not only to those living at the IDP camps but also for those taking administrative duty at the camps,” said Dr Win Myat Aye..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: Representative responded to the Special Rapporteur on Human Right
Description: "...During the Interactive Dialogue with Ms. Yanghee Lee, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, held in the morning of 10 March 2020 at the on-going 43rd session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Permanent Representative of Myanmar U Kyaw Moe Tun made a rebuttal statement as a concerned country......Turning to the repatriation process, while sharing concern of the displaced person from Rakhine State, he mentioned that more than 300 displaced persons returned to Rakhine State from Bangladesh on their own volition though no official repatriation has taken place. He, therefore, called for Bangladesh to strictly adhere to the bilateral agreements signed between the two countries...."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: Suu Kyi’s Backing for Myanmar Military in Rakhine State Conflict Draws Criticism
Description: "Myanmar’s State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has issued a statement saying she is happy rice is being shipped to Paletwa in Chin State, which has been isolated for a couple of months amid fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army (AA). The government has development plans to boost livelihoods when stability is restored to the township, her statement said. It also condemned the AA as a “terrorist” group for committing subversive acts in Rakhine and Chin states while the government, residents and volunteers worked together to fight COVID-19. The State Counselor’s statement praised the Tatmadaw or military for protecting residents’ lives and property. She pledged support for civilians affected by the fighting and to continue to strive for peace. Her statement drew mixed reactions. The Irrawaddy’s reporters Min Aung Khine and Zin Lin Htet asked political analysts, state government ministers and members of ethnic armed organizations for their reactions..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: Tatmadaw holds press conference on drug seizures, ceasefire, Covid-19
Description: "...THE Tatmadaw True News Team held a press conference at the Defence Services Museum in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday. Chairperson of the team Maj-Gen Soe Naing Oo, Vice Chairperson Maj-Gen Tun Tun Nyi, Secretary Brig-Gen Zaw Min Tun and officers from the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) clarified confiscations of arms and ammunitions from 28 February to 16 March near Lwal Kham village in Kutkai Township, about K 315 billion worth of narcotic drugs and related items, peace-making efforts in 2020, and thwarting AA groups in their attempts to control a military post in Rakhine over 40 days..."
Source/publisher: The Global New Light of Myanmar, 2020
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-25
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Title: Rakhine Villager Shot at Checkpoint in Latest of Myanmar Civilian Killings
Description: "Myanmar Army soldiers gunned down a villager as he returned home from fishing in war-ravaged Rakhine state, the latest in a series of civilian killings, with troops saying the man failed to follow instructions at a security checkpoint, the victim’s father said Wednesday. Tuesday’s shooting occurred a day after a local World Health Organization employee died from wounds sustained when gunmen fired on him and another health worker Monday as they drove through the same township. An employee of a pest control company also died after being shot in the head in a separate incident on Tuesday. Kyaw Win Chey, who was in his early thirties, was returning home to May Lwan village in Minbya township after fishing in a river near his community when Myanmar soldiers shot him dead, his father Kyaw Hla Oo told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “Yesterday my son went to the Kangpaing Chaung area to go fishing,” he said. “He was coming home when we heard the gunshots. He must have met the soldiers as he entered the village [because] the soldiers shot him at the edge of the village. His mother witnessed it.” Following the incident, Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief’s office issued a statement saying that security forces fired warning shots after Kyaw Win Chey failed to stop his motorbike and kept going through the checkpoint. Soldiers who inspected Kyaw Win Chey’s body found a Chinese made grenade and a knife in a toolbox on the motorbike, according to the office’s statement..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-24
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Title: Bangladesh to turn back boats with hundreds of reportedly starving Rohingya refugees
Description: "Bangladesh will not accept two boats carrying hundreds of reportedly starving Rohingya refugees, the country's foreign minister said on Thursday (April 23) as calls grew to rescue the Muslim outcasts. The new controversy over stranded Rohingya blew up just a week after dozens starved to death on a boat that was left at sea for two months before it could land. Activists are fearful that large numbers of Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, may be trapped on boats and unable to reach other countries. The two latest boats are in international waters after human traffickers had tried to reach Malaysia, according to aid groups and a Rohingya community leader. Bangladesh has ordered increased patrols in the Bay of Bengal to stop the boats entering, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen said. "Two boats carrying Rohingya are trying to get into our waters," he said, adding that the vessels could have come from Myanmar's Rakhine state following fighting between the military and rebel groups, or "somewhere else". "Our navy and coastguard are on alert and they have been instructed not to let these boats enter Bangladesh," Momen said..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-23
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Title: Coronavirus: Myanmar ships 800 freed Rohingya prisoners back to Rakhine
Description: "Myanmar shipped hundreds of recently released Rohingya inmates back to the country's restive western borderlands on Monday (April 20), after fears that its overcrowded prisons could become hotbeds for runaway coronavirus outbreaks. Men, women and children belonging to the stateless and long-persecuted Muslim minority were among nearly 25,000 prisoners freed last week by a presidential pardon to mark the country's April New Year celebrations. A Navy vessel transported the group from Yangon to Rakhine state, where most Rohingya live under tight movement restrictions and in conditions Amnesty International has condemned as "apartheid". More than 600 disembarked near state capital Sittwe, while another 200 were taken further north to townships on the border with Bangladesh, state immigration department chief Soe Lwin told AFP..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-23
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Title: Do not push Rohingya out to sea amid coronavirus emergency: UNHCR
Sub-title: Refugee advocates say fear of Rohingya refugees carrying the virus is not an excuse to refuse them asylum.
Description: "Stateless Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar by boat face a "dire, and in many cases fatal predicament" at sea, and countries in the region should allow them to disembark on humanitarian grounds despite the coronavirus health crisis, the United Nations refugee agency has said. Indrika Ratwatte, director of the UNHCR Asia-Pacific region, said on Thursday the international body is "increasingly concerned" by reports of hundreds of Rohingya refugees on board fishing boats being refused entry to countries despite the dangerous conditions on the smugglers' ships. More: Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting Students injured in shelling at school in Myanmar's Rakhine state UN urged to suspend Myanmar return plan for Chin amid unrest "We are increasingly concerned by reports of failure to disembark vessels in distress and of the grave immediate risk this poses to the men, women and children on board," Ratwatte said..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-23
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Title: Myanmar military steps up attacks as coronavirus spreads
Sub-title: Tatmadaw steps up attacks in Rakhine despite epidemic, killing more than 40 people in April alone, say rights group.
Description: "As deaths from the new coronavirus mounted in South Korea, Iran and Italy in early March, Myanmar's military called off grand plans to mark the 75th anniversary of its World War II revolt against Japanese forces. Instead, the Tatmadaw, as the military is known, deployed soldiers to disinfect hospitals and announced it would set up quarantine facilities to treat infected patients. But rights groups say the Tatmadaw is doing little where it counts - ending the long-running ethnic conflicts in Myanmar's border states, where some armed groups have called for a ceasefire to focus on the battle against the coronavirus. More: Eight killed in Myanmar's troubled western state of Rakhine Persecution of critics 'continues in Aung San Suu Kyi's Myanmar' Myanmar charges journalist under terrorism law, blocks news site "While the country is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the military is escalating its offensives against ethnic armed groups in Rakhine, Chin, Karen and northern Shan state," said Naw Hser Hser, general-secretary of the Women's League of Burma..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-23
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Title: Rohingya crisis: UN reports surge of deadly fighting in Myanmar
Sub-title: At least 32 civilians have been killed in western Myanmar since late last month, the UN says, in fighting between the military and an armed ethnic group.
Description: "The UN described the situation as “dire,” and said almost daily fighting was taking place in areas of Rakhine and Chin provinces. It is unclear whether civilians were targeted or caught in crossfire between security forces and militants. The Arakan Army militants are ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. Myanmar’s military denies targeting civilians. Countries including the UK and the US have called for an end to fighting amid the global coronavirus pandemic. More than 80 cases have been reported in Myanmar, along with four deaths. The Arakan Army declared a month-long ceasefire but this was rejected by the government. In another development, the authorities in Myanmar say they will free nearly 25,000 inmates as part of a traditional new year prison release. Among those to be released are hundreds of Rohingya jailed for breaking travel restrictions applied to them because they are not recognised as citizens. Groups monitoring the country’s notoriously overcrowded prisons have been campaigning to get inmates released early to reduce the likelihood of Covid-19 spreading in jail..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-23
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Title: US condemns attack on UN in Myanmar's Rakhine state
Sub-title: ‘Egregious act undermines efforts to protect vulnerable populations in [Myanmar],’ says State Dept. spokeswoman
Description: "The U.S. State Department condemned Wednesday a recent attack on a UN vehicle in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. "The United States condemns the April 20 attack on a clearly-marked UN vehicle in Rakhine State, which resulted in the death of one World Health Organization (WHO) employee and the wounding of a health worker," agency spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. The UN confirmed Tuesday that the vehicle carrying swabs from patients to be tested for coronavirus came under gunfire in Rakhine and the driver was killed. Ortagus said the U.S. understands Myanmar nationals were working to fight the COVID-19 pandemic when they came under attack. "This egregious act undermines efforts to protect vulnerable populations in [Myanmar] and again highlights the urgent need for a cessation of fighting in Rakhine State," said Ortagus. She underlined such attacks hinder global efforts to stop the spread of the virus and health and humanitarian workers across the globe "must be able to work without threat of violence – now more than ever." The U.S. also urged authorities in Myanmar to bring the perpetrators to justice..."
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-23
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Title: Attack on WHO vehicle that killed Myanmar driver condemned
Sub-title: Humanitarian groups urge military and rebels to heed UN's call for a global ceasefire amid the coronavirus emergency.
Description: "Top officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) and other aid groups have condemned an attack on a WHO team that killed a driver who was helping transport coronavirus tests in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the death of Pyae Sone Win Maun, the driver of a WHO vehicle, as "tragic" and "devastating news", while United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Yanghee Lee said what happened was "unacceptable" and demanded an independent international investigation into the attack..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-22
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Title: Pages with references to "Rakhine" from "The Global New Light of Myanmar" 22 April 2020
Description: "We pay tribute to the members of the Tatmadaw who have discharged their duties with courage and dedication, and sacrificed their lives to defend the lives and property of our people from the ULA/ AA terrorist group, who have been engaged in destructive activities at this time when the Government, the people and well-wishers are all engaged in endeavours for the prevention, containment and cure of COVID-19..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Ministry of Information via "The Global New Light of Myanmar"
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-22
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Title: The Rohingya from Burmese Perspective
Description: "...The conflict between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar is a multilayered problem with various interlinked causes. The disputes have spread outside the local area and become a regional problem that also involves other countries. This problem cannot be solved in the near future, not as long as the majority of Burmese citizens share the same mindset of hatred toward the Rohingya. It is impossible to fix or change the bitter history between Burmese people and Rohingya. To solve the conflict, the perspective of the Burmese toward the Rohingya must be changed – not only from the Burmese side, as the perspective of the Rohingya towards the Burmese is also hostile. The most important thing is for the Burmese government to treat the conflict seriously and sincerely. The government must find a solution to handle the situation with emphasis on humanity and human rights. I have found that the perspective and perception of the Burmese towards Rohingya depend on the education level of Burmese people. Among the well-educated, even if they believe that the Rohingya are a Bengalese migrants, they still agree that as human beings, the Rohingya should get a chance to enjoy basic human rights. The Rohingya issue is no longer just a Myanmar problem, as it already affects the international community..."
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-18
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Title: Genocide of Rohingya Muslims A Classical Model of Ethnic Cleansing
Description: "...Considerable historical evidence affirms that the Rohingya Muslims are indigenous inhabitants and rightful citizens of Myanmar, who have been living in Rakhine State not for decades, but for centuries. The Myanmar government has been systematically eradicating the Rohingya people due to their Islamic religious identity. This analysis finds that the ongoing persecution on Rohingya Muslims is a manifestation of a classical model of ethnic cleansing. The disasters experienced in Rakhine State present a complete evidence of systematic, widespread and prolific human rights violations, including heinous crimes against humanity. This article presents an academic perspective on repeated incidents, based on authentic proofs to international community of ethnic cleansing committed by the Myanmar army. This research has been carried out through various types of sources, such as recent and previously published books, articles, local and international newspapers, TV channels, magazines, documentaries, human rights organizations’ reports, and eye-witness accounts of the victims. Finally, it provides suggestions to resolve the rising problems, which may bring a permanent solution to the long-lasting humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State..."
Date of entry/update: 2020-04-05
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Title: City of London revokes honour granted to Myanmar's Suu Kyi
Sub-title: The award was granted to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi three years ago.
Description: "The City of London Corporation (CLC) on Thursday revoked an honour granted to Aung San Suu Kyi over the treatment of minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Elected representatives on the body that runs London's historic centre and financial district voted to revoke the freedom of the city granted to Suu Kyi three years ago. More: ICJ orders Myanmar to protect Rohingya Myanmar finds war crimes but no genocide in Rohingya crackdown 'Justice served': Rohingya in Bangladesh hail ICJ order This move in the United Kingdom followed Suu Kyi's appearance, as Myanmar's civilian leader, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague in December to personally defend her country against allegations of rape, arson and mass killings against Rohingya victims..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-06
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Title: Surveillance, fear: The perils of reporting in Myanmar's Rakhine
Sub-title: Myanmar is restricting media access to the far western state of Rakhine where the military is fighting Arakan Army rebels.
Description: ""I think I might have told you too much already. Someone will probably tell the government I've been speaking to journalists," the shopkeeper told me. We were in Maungdaw, a once-bustling town in the northern part of Rakhine state, Myanmar. We looked around. There wasn't anyone who stood out as secret police. After all, it's usually not difficult to pick them out. They are normally better dressed than villagers. A close-cropped haircut means they are most likely to be military intelligence. Sometimes there's a tell-tale sign- a walkie talkie. But the shopkeeper was still worried. He wouldn't tell us his name or give us his phone number. We were on a government-arranged media trip to northern Rakhine. This was where the Myanmar military had launched a brutal crackdown on 25 August 2017, targetting the mainly Muslim Rohingya, an ethnic minority in Myanmar. Soldiers and Buddhist mobs were accused of killing, torturing and raping Rohingya men and women. Homes were ransacked and set ablaze. The fires raged for days and could be seen from across the border in Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-06
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Title: Fighting in Rakhine, Chin states rages as Myanmar limits internet
Sub-title: Activists and journalists say decision to limit internet access in some parts of Rakhine is a violation of basic rights.
Description: " Continued fighting between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army armed group has left several people dead in recent days as the government continues a clampdown on the western region. Activists and journalists have decried the internet blackout the government has imposed as part of the clampdown as a violation of human rights. More: Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting Students injured in shelling at school in Myanmar's Rakhine state UN urged to suspend Myanmar return plan for Chin amid unrest Reports on Tuesday said at least 11 civilians, including five Muslim Rohingya, had been killed after being caught in the hostilities in Rakhine, a western state that is home to more than three million people. In a statement, four United Nations human rights experts also said "credible reports" showed that more than 1,000 people had been displaced in the 10 days up to February 18. The Myanmar Times also quoted the Rakhine Ethnic Congress as saying that more than 120,000 have evacuated beginning in November 2018..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
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Title: Myanmar violence: Thousands displaced by fresh fighting
Sub-title: Government forces are fighting the Arakan Army in the state.
Description: "Government soldiers are in Rakhine state again, more than two-and-a-half years after a military offensive killed thousands of Rohingya and drove out more than 700,000 others. This time, they are fighting the Arakan Army, an armed group founded in 2009 that says it is fighting for the rights of the ethnic, mainly Buddhist, Rakhine minority. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that conditions on the ground and an internet shutdown has made reaching people or gathering information increasingly difficult..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
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Title: UN appeals for 877 mln USD to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Description: "UN agencies and their partners on Tuesday launched an appeal for 877 million U.S. dollars to help Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who are in Bangladesh, as well as the hosting communities, said a UN spokesman. The aim is to help some 855,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and more than 444,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in the communities which are generously hosting these refugees, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. More than half of the money will be for vital services and assistance, such as access to food, shelter, clean water and sanitation, he said. This marks the third year of exile for most Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. They are clear that they want to return home, but only when they and their families will be safe, can access basic rights and see a pathway to citizenship in Myanmar, said the spokesman..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
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Title: Myanmar doing too little to ensure displaced Rohingya return: UN refugee agency chief
Sub-title: UN agencies together with the Bangladesh authorities have appealed for $877 million to support hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, where conditions are still not conducive for their safe return, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Tuesday.
Description: "Speaking on the sidelines of the 2020 Joint Response Plan (JRP) launch for 855,000 ethnic Rohingya, and the more than 444,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities, Mr. Grandi urged Myanmar to take quicker action to help the displaced to return home. “The solution continues to be in Myanmar”, said the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “The problem is that things that need to be done there, to create conditions for refugees to return from Bangladesh into Myanmar, are too slow or not happening yet.” In August 2017, a military operation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in response to separatist violence prompted hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya to flee. At the time, then High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, likened the episode to a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. Reporting to the Human Rights Council, he also cited reports of Myanmar authorities laying landmines along the border with Bangladesh and requiring returnees to provide “proof of nationality” - an impossibility, given that successive Myanmar governments have, since 1962, progressively stripped the Rohingya population of their political and civil rights, including citizenship rights. Longstanding discrimination At the current Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Zeid’s successor, Michelle Bachelet, noted that for over half a century, the policies of Myanmar had discriminated against religious and ethnic minorities..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-04
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Title: Myanmar: Civilians Caught in Surge of Fighting
Sub-title: Internet Shutdown, Aid Blockage Worsens Humanitarian Crisis in Rakhine State
Description: "A surge in fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State during February 2020 has killed and injured numerous civilians, adding to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the conflict-riven region, Human Rights Watch said today. The Myanmar military and the insurgent Arakan Army should safeguard civilians from the fighting, abide by the laws of war, and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. On February 29, five civilians were killed and at least eight others were injured in clashes between Myanmar forces and the Arakan Army near Mrauk-U town, according to media reports. An ethnic Rakhine nongovernmental organization estimated that at least 18 civilians were killed and 71 were injured during fighting in February, though the actual casualties could be higher because the government’s mobile internet blackout has slowed information-gathering. “The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army need to take immediate steps to minimize harm to civilians during the fighting and allow aid to reach all villages and communities in need,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director. “The government should immediately restore full internet access so that abuses can be reported, and aid agencies can do their jobs.” Since January 2019, fighting between the Myanmar military, called the Tatmadaw, and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, has resulted in numerous civilian casualties and destruction of civilian property. At least 21 children were injured on February 13, when artillery fire reportedly hit a school in Khamwe Chaung village, Buthidaung township..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-04
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Title: Myanmar pays rising price for Rohingya crisis
Sub-title: The list of countries planning economic and legal measures against Myanmar is growing
Description: "Last week, the government of Myanmar started paying a real price for its failure to provide meaningful accountability for its security forces’ widespread and systematic violence against the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority in northern Rakhine state in late 2017. Literally. On February 26, Germany’s development minister, Gerd Müller, announced that Berlin was suspending development cooperation with Myanmar because of its “ethnic cleansing” of its Rohingya minority. Müller said the suspension would remain in place until Myanmar delivered on its commitment to “guaranteeing the safe return of the more than 700,000 Rohingya who fled for their lives to Bangladesh in late 2017 and protecting the Rohingya who still live in the country.” Although Müller didn’t specify the financial cost of that suspension, he simultaneously announced an additional German government contribution of €15 million (US$16.5 million) to support Bangladesh’s Rohingya refugee population..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-03
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Title: Inside Rohingya camps: Government invites media to Myanmar
Description: "Al Jazeera cameras have been allowed on a tightly-controlled, government-organised trip to Rakhine state in northern Myanmar, where the army has denied carrying out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-02
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Title: Myanmar army clash with insurgents kills 5 Rohingya - lawmaker, residents
Description: "At least five ethnic Rohingya were killed and several injured after troops clashed with insurgents in Myanmar's conflict-torn western state of Rakhine, a lawmaker and two residents said on Sunday (March 1). Saturday's fighting broke out after Arakan Army rebels attacked a military convoy passing the historic temple town of Mrauk U, the regional MP, Tun Thar Sein, and a spokesman for the armed group, Khine Thu Kha, said. Two military spokesmen did not answer telephone calls from Reuters to seek comment, and the army did not immediately issue a statement on its website. Khine Thu Kha, the Arakan Army spokesman, blamed government troops for the civilian casualties. A government spokesman said he could not comment. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the details of the attack in the remote area, where journalists are barred and internet access curtailed. Myanmar army artillery shells hit the village of Bu Ta Lone, killing four people, the Arakan Army spokesman said in a message. The MP, a health worker who treated the injured, and a villager said at least five Rohingya, members of a persecuted Muslim minority, had died. There were conflicting accounts of the number of Rohingya injured, which ranged from six to 11, along with several members of the state's Rakhine ethnic majority. Rakhine is the state from which more than 730,000 Rohingya were forced to flee for neighbouring Bangladesh after a military crackdown in 2017 that the U.N. has said was executed with genocidal intent. Myanmar denies committing genocide..."
Source/publisher: "The Star Online" (Selangor)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-02
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Refugees afraid to return home to Myanmar
Sub-title: Afraid to return home, Myanmar's Rohingya refugees are stuck in camps in Bangladesh, three years on from a military crackdown.
Description: "Rohingya who fled a campaign of violence against them in Myanmar remain fearful of returning home, despite the government saying it is now ready to receive them. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh in 2017. A recent United Nations court ruling ordered Myanmar to protect them. Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury reports from Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-02
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Title: Education initiative reaches over 300,000 disadvantaged children in Rakhine and Chin States
Description: "A high-level Government ceremony in Sittwe, Rakhine State, marked the end of the Education Post Flood Response which ran for four years following Cyclone Komen in 2015. Led by the Ministry of Education with the support of the Government of Japan and UNICEF, the programme benefitted over 300,000 children in Rakhine and Chin states, reaching some for the first time. A major achievement of the programme was the construction, repair and rehabilitation of 78 schools in Rakhine State with a provision of 37,350 roofing sheets to a further 263 schools in both Rakhine and Chin States. In addition, over 11,000 teachers were provided with training on a more inclusive approach to teaching and learning in the classrooms in both states. This included volunteer teachers from camps for the Internally Displaced Persons receiving for the first time the government-led Child Friendly School teacher training, bringing benefits to children’s learning at temporary learning classrooms in IDP camps. The Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP) has inclusion and equity as one of the cross-cutting issues, and education is one of the priority areas. “Strong long-term partnership between the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, with both soft and hardware interventions, result in a holistic child friendly environment which goes far beyond just the construction of schools,” said the Director General of the Department of Basic Education, U Ko Lay Win. “The Rakhine State Government guidance and support to the Ministry of Education has ensured the safety and access of Government staff, UNICEF staff, and contractors involved in construction, monitoring and training activities, even in conflict afflicted areas.”..."
Source/publisher: UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (Myanmar) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-01
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Title: Expanding education for Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh
Description: "In 2020, UNICEF will enter a major new phase for education of Rohingya refugee children living in camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, together with other humanitarian actors. Following a landmark decision by the Government of Bangladesh, UNICEF will further expand access to education by introducing the Myanmar curriculum on a pilot basis in the first half of the year. The pilot will initially target 10,000 Rohingya students from grades six to nine. It will then be expanded to other grades in a phased manner. The pilot targets older children, who currently have less access to education compared with their younger counterparts. “Education takes people from the darkness and brings them into the light. “What drives me is the students’ ambition to learn,” said Rozina Aktar, a teacher for level 4 students. Rohingya community’s desire for new curriculum The introduction of the pilot follows the wishes of the Rohingya refugees and builds hope for their future by giving then access to education based on the Myanmar curriculum. It will also help Rohingya children reintegrate into the Myanmar education system and society when conditions become conducive for them to return to Myanmar in a voluntary, safe and dignified way. 315,000 children and adolescents study at over 3,200 learning centres UNICEF currently provides informal education opportunities to 220,000 Rohingya children aged 4 to14 years based on a tailor-made curriculum called the Learning Competency Framework and Approach (LCFA). However, the majority of children (over 90 per cent) are learning LCFA levels 1 and 2, the equivalent of preprimary level up to grade 2 in a formal school system. Few Rohingya students have enough learning to study at the higher levels (LCFA levels 3 and 4), equivalent of grades 3 to 8, due to the poor status of their education in Rakhine State in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) (Myanmar) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-01
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Title: OIC contact group discusses Rohingya protection with UN chief
Description: ": The contact group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), led by Saudi Arabia, met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at his office at the UN’s New York headquarters to discuss the latest developments related to the Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority community in Myanmar. The group included representatives from Turkey, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and the OIC Observer Mission to the UN. The Kingdom’s permanent representative to the UN, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, lauded the efforts of Guterres to support the legitimate rights of the Rohingya, highlighting the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) decision demanding the government of Myanmar honor its obligations to provide protection to the group. “The ICJ decision was the result of the efforts exerted by the OIC members states in New York and the Contact Group on Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar headed by the Kingdom,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "Arab News" (Saudi Arabia)
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-01
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Title: More Than 2,200 Rohingya Caught Trying to Leave Myanmar by Sea Since 2015: Detainee List
Description: "Myanmar authorities have apprehended more than 2,200 Rohingya Muslims as they attempted to illegally leave the country by sea since 2015, according to a list of the detainees obtained from a naval officer by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Nearly 1,500 Rohingya were detained in 2015, more than 500 were picked up in 2018, and roughly 250 have been apprehended so far in 2019, according to the list provided by the officer, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to give information to the media. The figures did not include Rohingya who fled by land from two military-led crackdowns in northern Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017. During the first round of violence, about 90,000 Muslims left and headed across the border and into Bangladesh, while the second, more brutal clampdown forced more than 740,000 into Bangladesh. Thousands of other Rohingya have tried to leave Myanmar in the last several years to escape institutionalized persecution, grinding poverty, and insecurity in Rakhine state. They pay human traffickers hundreds of dollars each to transport them to other Muslim-friendly nations in Southeast Asia where they hope to have a better life..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-29
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Title: Myanmar: The Rohingya crisis
Summary: "In 1948, Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from Britain, although the promised autonomy to the Rohingya people (who are mainly Muslim), as well as other ethnic groups like the Shan and...
Description: "In 1948, Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from Britain, although the promised autonomy to the Rohingya people (who are mainly Muslim), as well as other ethnic groups like the Shan and Kachin people was never granted. Instead, military-government led persecution and theft of land have been their lot. The Rohingya people were stripped of their nationality in 1982, and subsequently labelled as ‘Bangladeshis’. Since 2012, especially in 2015 and 2017, there were several outbreaks of vicious attacks on the Rohingya people by the Tatmadaw, the Myanmar military forces, which forced over 700,000 to flee from Rakhine province into refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. More than a million Rohingyas live in the squalor, disease, and poverty of the refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, having fled from appalling violence and rape or sexual abuse. According to “Physicians for Human Rights”, Rohingyas in the camps had been subject to being beaten or injured with weapons, hit by grenades or mortars, or raped or sexually assaulted. For example, in 2017, 6-year-old Abdul Wahid was shot in the head and left leg; despite surviving the attack after surgery in Bangladesh, walking is now an extreme difficulty for him. 21-year-old Rabia Basri lost five relatives when fired at by military forces, and is now unable to walk or even carry loads without the use of crutches.These examples are but the tip of the iceberg. There are currently around ten refugee camps in Bangladesh, each housing anywhere between 9,000 and 600,000 Rohingyas. The largest camp, Kutupalong, has the highest number and contains an expansion site of makeshift camps. International hypocrisy The government of Bangladesh is, of course, not a benevolent force intervening in the crisis; it previously provided the Myanmar government with tens of thousands of names of Rohingyas marked for repatriation, following a joint agreement signed in 2018. Voluntary repatriation has been refused by many Rohingya refugees over fears of further violence or sexual assault when back in Rakhine province. The government of Myanmar has also steadfastly refused to grant full citizenship to the Rohingya people, instead offering only the concession of ‘part-citizenship’..."
Source/publisher: "The Socialist" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-28
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Title: Myanmar: ‘Multidimensional and long-standing’ root causes behind rights minority abuses, says Bachelet
Sub-title: The Human Rights Council on Thursday held an interactive dialogue with UN rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, on the root causes of violations and abuses suffered by the Rohingya mainly-Muslim minority and other minorities in Myanmar. She said the Government now has a historic opportunity to counteract systematic violations, "by bringing its people together, as one".
Description: "The High Commissioner also presented her oral update, as well as country reports of the Secretary-General and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), followed by a general debate. Ms. Bachelet said she welcomed the engagement and constructive input of the Government of Myanmar in the compilation of the report. She reminded Member States that for over half a century, the policies of Myanmar had discriminated against religious and ethnic minorities. Women and girls heavily impacted Democratic deficits, entrenched impunity, weak rule of law and the lack of civilian oversight had all contributed to human rights abuses in Myanmar, Ms. Bachelet noted, adding that women and girls were especially impacted as a result of sexual and gender-based violence. Government policies “have contributed to and perpetuated violence, extreme poverty, exploitation and dispossession. Notably, the 1982 Citizenship Law rendered stateless a significant proportion of the Rohingya and other Muslims, compounding their vulnerability”, she said. She added that the “root causes of these violations are complex, multi-dimensional and long-standing. Unpacking and untangling this multi-faceted human rights challenge requires understanding the historical, political, economic and social dimensions as a prerequisite to identifying solutions.”..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-28
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Title: Narendra Modi holds talks with Myanmar President U Win Myint; India, Myanmar sign 10 pacts
Description: "India and Myanmar signed on Thursday 10 agreements with a focus on the socio-economic development of the southeast Asian nation as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with Myanmarese President U Win Myint. The Myanmarese president, who arrived in India on Wednesday, received a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He and First Lady Daw Cho Cho were welcomed by President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Modi. The prime minister and President Myint later held talks at Hyderabad House and 10 agreements were signed between the two countries. The focus of many agreements was on development projects under India's assistance, particularly in the conflict-torn Rakhine state. The agreements included an MoU on 'Cooperation for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons; Rescue, Recovery, Repatriation and Re-Integration of Victims of Trafficking'. An agreement regarding Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of Quick Impact Projects (QIP) was also signed between the two sides. Three agreements for development projects in the conflict-torn Rakhine state were also signed during the president's visit. The Rakhine state has witnessed a lot of violence in the past and scores of Rohingyas had fled the state facing persecution..."
Source/publisher: "The Economic Times" (India)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-28
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Title: UN to Myanmar: Repeal laws discriminating against Rohingyas
Sub-title: UN rights chief makes recommendations in report on Rohingyas, other minorities in Myanmar
Description: "Myanmar should repeal and review laws and policies that discriminate against the Rohingyas based on their ethnicity, religion, language and culture, said Michelle Bachelet, United Nations high commissioner for human rights. “Review and repeal laws and policies that perpetuate discrimination on the basis of ethnic, religious, linguistic or cultural identity, including, but not limited to, those on citizenship, the four ‘race and religion’ laws, and laws perpetuating economic exclusion of minorities, such as in relation to land and natural resources,” she said in her report on Rohingyas, other minorities in Myanmar submitted at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday. “The concept of ‘national races’ should be revoked to allow for self-identification on ethnic, religious and linguistic grounds for all official and legal purposes,” she added in her recommendations for the government of Myanmar, religious leaders and communities, and social media platforms active in Myanmar with respect to the Rohingya community. “Myanmar stands at a critical point in its democratic transition. The 2020 general elections, the renewed initiative for constitutional reform and the ongoing peace process present important opportunities to address the root causes of human rights violations against minorities and to shape a common vision for the future,” said the UN rights chief in her 17-page report. “Fundamentally, this requires an immediate cessation of ongoing violations, an end to systemic impunity, and comprehensive State reforms on democratic federal lines that removes the control of the military and ensures its accountability to elected civilian authorities,” she said..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-28
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Title: Amal Clooney to pursue Rohingya case at The Hague
Sub-title: Human rights lawyer will represent Maldives, which is joining the Gambia in taking Myanmar to court for alleged genocide
Description: "Amal Clooney will represent the Maldives in seeking justice for Rohingya Muslims at the UN’s highest court, where Myanmar faces accusations of genocide. The Maldivian government has said it will join the Gambia in challenging Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya people during an army crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017 that forced more than 700,000 people to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. In a unanimous decision in January, the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague imposed emergency “provisional measures” on Myanmar, instructing it to prevent genocidal violence against its Rohingya minority and preserve any evidence of past crimes. The ruling was an outright rejection of the defence put forward by Aung San Suu Kyi, who attended court in person to defend the military’s actions. In evidence to the court she urged ICJ judges to dismiss allegations of genocide and instead allow the country’s court martial system to deal with any human rights abuses. A final judgement is expected to take years. In a statement, Clooney, the human rights lawyer and barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London, said: “Accountability for genocide in Myanmar is long overdue and I look forward to working on this important effort to seek judicial remedies for Rohingya survivors.” Clooney successfully represented former the Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed and secured a UN decision that his 2015 jailing for 13 years was illegal. She also represented Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who spent more than 500 days in prison in Myanmar convicted of breaking the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The journalists had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men in Rakhine state. They were freed in May 2019..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-27
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Title: Maldives hires Amal Clooney to represent Rohingya at UN
Sub-title: British-Lebanese lawyer said she is delighted to represent the Rohingya before the International Court of Justice.
Description: "The Maldives has hired the services of prominent human rights lawyer Amal Clooney to represent the persecuted Rohingya at the United Nations court. "I am delighted to have been asked to represent the Maldives before the International Court of Justice [ICJ]. Accountability for genocide in Myanmar is long overdue and I look forward to working on this important effort to seek judicial remedies for Rohingya survivors," the British-Lebanese lawyer said. More: Will the ICJ order Myanmar to stop alleged Rohingya genocide? 'Great news': Bangladesh allows education for Rohingya children 'Justice served': Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh hail ICJ ruling Clooney is married to Hollywood actor George Clooney. The Maldives said it will file a written declaration of intervention at the ICJ supporting the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar. "In line with the decision taken at the 14th Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation [OIC], the Republic of Maldives intends to extend its support for the efforts to seek accountability for the acts of genocide committed against the Rohingya people," Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-27
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Title: Playing cat and mouse on a Rakhine reporting tour
Sub-title: The Ministry of Information regularly arranges trips to northern Rakhine State for journalists and interesting encounters occur when their minders’ backs are turned.
Description: "ALL IT TAKES is a quick turn around a corner to evade the scrutiny of the minders and get a better understanding of the whole picture. “Please, sir, you need to know that we have been lying to you all along because the government employees are listening,” the young man told Frontier. “We are afraid of repercussions if we don't say what they want us to say. We don't have a choice. I am sorry.” It would be irresponsible to publish the young man’s name or say where in northern Rakhine State that the encounter occurred. Furtive conversations with journalists are not what the government-appointed commission headed by former United Nations secretary Mr Kofi Annan had in mind when it recommended that “the Government of Myanmar should provide full and regular access for domestic and international media to all areas affected by recent violence – as well as all other areas of the state”. Support more independent journalism like this. Sign up to be a Frontier member. The recommendation is one of 88 in the final report that the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State released on August 24, 2017. In the early hours of the next day the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army launched a series of coordinated attacks on security posts in northern Rakhine, triggering a response from the Tatmadaw that sent more than 750,000 Rohingya fleeing to safety in Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-27
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Title: Authorities arrest students over Rakhine internet shutdown protest
Description: "Authorities in Myanmar have charged nine students with violating the country’s Peaceful Assembly Law after they staged a protest Sunday against the government’s suspension of internet services in restive Rakhine and Chin states, according to a report by RFA. The nine students organized and were part of a gathering of about 100 who demanded that the government reinstate mobile internet access in nine townships in Chin and Rakhine. Internet access was blocked in June of last year. In five of the nine townships, access was later reinstated, but then blocked again earlier this month, the report says. Under section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, the students could face a sentence of up to three months, because they did not receive prior permission to hold the protest..."
Source/publisher: "Mizzima" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-26
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Title: Bangladesh again postpones Rohingya refugee island relocation
Description: "DHAKA: Bangladesh has yet again shelved a controversial plan to relocate some 100,000 Rohingya refugees to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, a minister said on Wednesday (Feb 26). Authorities have long sought to relocate some of the country's million-plus Rohingya population to Bhashan Char, despite warnings the silty strip of land was prone to violent and potentially deadly monsoon storms. The move would take some pressure off the overcrowded border camps home to huge numbers of the persecuted and stateless Muslim minority, most of whom fled neighbouring Myanmar in 2017 after a brutal military crackdown. But rights groups say that some refugees had been coerced into agreeing to relocation and the plan has been staunchly opposed by the Rohingya community at large. Junior disaster management minister Enamur Rahman said Bangladesh would increase its focus on diplomatic talks aimed at returning the refugees home. "The relocation plan has been postponed," he told AFP, adding that there had been "much progress" in repatriation discussions with Myanmar with China acting as intermediary. Bangladesh and Myanmar have already signed a repatriation deal to send back some Rohingya to their homeland - but safety fears mean very few have agreed to return..."
Source/publisher: "CNA" ( Singapore)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-26
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Title: Maldives to intervene at ICJ in support of Rohingya
Sub-title: The minister made the declaration while addressing the 43rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Tuesday
Description: "Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has announced the Maldivian administration's decision to file a written declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, in support of the persecuted Rohingya people. The minister made the declaration while addressing the 43rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Tuesday. In his statement, Minister Shahid noted that the government welcomed ICJ's ruling last month, which ordered Myanmar to "take all measures within its power” to protect the Rohingya from genocide. "The Maldives intends to support the ongoing efforts to secure accountability for the perpetrators of genocide against the Rohingya people, in line with the decision taken by the OIC during the Summit held in Makkah last year," said Minister Shahid, referring to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's calls on the ad hoc ministerial committee to launch a case over Myanmar's human rights violations against the Rohingya Muslims at the ICJ..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-26
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Title: PM: Mount more pressure on Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation
Sub-title: The prime minister also particularly requested Germany to play role further in repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas
Description: "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the international community, including Germany, for mounting more pressure on the Myanmar government to take back its Rohingya nationals from Bangladesh. “Rohingyas are a huge burden for us and they are creating social problems. Myanmar should take back its nationals from Bangladesh immediately,” she said. The prime minister also particularly requested Germany to play role further in repatriation of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas, reports BSS. The prime minister made the remarks when visiting German Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Dr Gerd Muller paid a courtesy call on her at her official Ganabhaban residence in Dhaka on Tuesday evening. After the meeting, Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Zahid Tusher briefed reporters. The prime minister said the exodus of over 1.1 million Rohingyas has created a big problem for the people of Cox’s Bazar as they outnumbered the local people..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-26
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Title: Myanmar Police Charge Nine Students for Protesting Against Internet Ban in Conflict Zone
Description: "Authorities in Myanmar Monday charged nine students with violating the country’s Peaceful Assembly Law after they staged a protest Sunday against the government’s suspension of internet services in restive Rakhine and Chin states, home to fighting between ethnic insurgents and Myanmar’s military. The nine students organized and were part of a gathering of about 100 who demanded that the government reinstate mobile internet access in nine townships in Chin and Rakhine. Internet access was blocked in June of last year. In five of the nine townships, access was later reinstated, but then blocked again earlier this month. Under section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law, the students could face a sentence of up to three months, because they did not receive prior permission to hold the protest. Sources told RFA’s Myanmar Service that police officers in plain clothes ventured onto the campus of Yangon University to make arrests. Six of the nine students who were charged were in custody, Reuters news agency quoted a participant in the protest as saying. One of the accused students, Myat Hein Tun, who is the secretary of the Rakhine Students Union at the University, told RFA that he disagreed with the manner in which the arrests were made..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-25
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Title: Rohingya Displaced Since 2012 Myanmar Communal Riots Face Bleak Prospects
Description: "Rohingya Muslims displaced by communal violence with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists across western Myanmar’s beleaguered Rakhine state nearly eight years ago say prospects for the betterment of their lives look dimmer than ever as they still live in near-apartheid conditions. The wave of brutal slayings and attacks in June 2012 left more than 200 people dead and displaced about 120,000 Rohingya, who were later forced to live in squalid camps scattered around the state. Entire communities were burned down, including Narzi ward in Rakhine’s capital Sittwe, where Khin Maung, a 30-something year-old Rohingya lived with his family. During the violence, he, his relatives, and other residents escaped to the west side of town where other Muslims resided. Khin Maung told RFA’s Myanmar Service that he does not know whether his family will ever be able to return to their original ward, with restrictions still imposed on the free movement of the Rohingya in Rakhine and beyond..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-25
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Title: Is Aung San Suu Kyi guilty of covering up war crimes?
Description: "In this episode of UpFront we challenge Aung San Suu Kyi's former spokesperson on allegations of genocide in Myanmar's Rakhine state. And we debate the police response to protests in France against President Emmanuel Macron's government with La Republique En Marche MP Roland Lescure..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-24
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Title: New age rebels winning the fight in Myanmar
Sub-title: Arakan Army's highly mobile and lethal tactics have made a mockery of government's peace process
Description: "As Myanmar’s government sues for peace, its autonomous military, the Tatmadaw, faces a new type of insurgency it seems increasingly ill-prepared to counter and combat. Myanmar’s “new” insurgents are highly mobile and, unlike the country’s older generation rebel groups, maintain few fixed positions, using instead hit-and-run attacks that have rendered the Tatmadaw’s traditional frontal assaults increasingly ineffective. The situation is in many ways similar to the one the United States faced in the Vietnam War: an invisible enemy which strikes from the shadows, making counterattacks more likely to hit civilians than enemy combatants. That’s all conspiring to undermine the Tatmadaw’s leverage and clout against ethnic armed groups that rely on local population support to sustain their insurgent fights. Previously, Myanmar’s myriad rebel groups aimed to control large swathes of territory protected by fixed and often well-armed installations. The Karen National Union (KNU), long firmly entrenched on the Thai border, maintained several bases along the Moei river and a well-fortified headquarters with permanent buildings housing its civilian administration and military command units..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-24
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Title: Rohingya response: Proper planning for response could make Bangladesh economically benefitted
Sub-title: JRP 2020 stated that Rohingya response should be a real joint venture ensured by aid transparency and management that should be accountable
Description: "Demanding a single line authority for ensuring maximum benefit for the displaced Myanmar citizens (Rohingya refugees), a Cox’s Bazar based network has stated that proper planning will benefit the national and local economy at the same time. The network, Cox’s Bazar CSO NGO Forum (CCNF), was presenting its response to the Joint Response Plan (JRP) 2020 at a press briefing in the city’s press club. JRP 2020 stated that Rohingya response should be a real joint venture ensured by aid transparency and management that should be accountable. The JRP in Rohingya response is being prepared by ISCG (Inter-Sectoral Coordination Group). The Rohingya response will formally be launched in Geneva in March. The plan envisages funds to the tune of around $887 million for 2020. Barkat Mullah Maruf, joint director of Coast Trust, an NGO, said: “Localization does not necessarily mean giving response-based jobs to locals; it rather means the development of locals through using their resources.” He also stated that local traders could additionally benefit from selling necessary items to the Rohingya community..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-24
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Title: Denying genocide in Myanmar: 'Rumours and hearsay'
Sub-title: Aung San Suu Kyi's former spokesperson Nyo Ohn Myint dismisses atrocities carried out against the Rohingya.
Description: "In January the International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to prevent the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. Myanmar's government rejected the ruling, saying it was based on a "distorted picture of the situation". According to the UN, at least 10,000 people have been killed and more than 700,000 have fled Rakhine state since the Myanmar military's crackdown began in 2017. Thousands of Rohingya women and girls have been raped, and around 300 villages burnt to the ground. The former spokesman of Myanmar's de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is dismissing the allegations, describing them as "one-sided". "Most of the international people live in the rumours, hearsay," Nyo Ohn Myint said. "This is a political accusation … because you know, they just joined the bandwagon," he added. Nyo Ohn Myint also questioned the evidence gathered by the international community - which has been denied access to Rakhine state by Myanmar's government. "When I read the US State Department report that said the Rohingya women were raped by soldiers and surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, it looked like the very, you know ... third-class Hollywood movie," he said. Nyo Ohn Myint suggested that some of the women who gave accounts of their rape to Amnesty International were lying. "I don't know because if I, if I look at her eye, maybe she was true or maybe she was lying," he said. This week's Headliner, Aung San Suu Kyi's former spokesperson, Nyo Ohn Myint..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-23
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Title: Dozens of Rohingya face charges for illegal travel in Myanmar after fleeing Rakhine state
Description: "Dozens of Rohingya Muslims, including two children, appeared in court in Myanmar on Friday, the latest group to face charges after attempting to flee conflict-torn Rakhine state. The group of about 20 were among 54 people from the Rohingya minority arrested on Wednesday on the outskirts of the commercial capital Yangon while trying to leave for Malaysia, according to judge Thida Aye. “The immigration officer submitted the case because they found no identification cards from these people,” she told Reuters. Some were barefoot, others clothed in colorful head-scarfs, as they were ushered into the small courtroom in Yangon. A small boy was naked from the waist down. Defense lawyer Nay Myo Zar said they had fled Rakhine state, the western region where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya live in apartheid-like conditions and have come under increasing pressure as government troops battle ethnic rebels. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape a military-led crackdown that U.N investigators have said was carried out with “genocidal intent” and included mass killings and rapes..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-23
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Title: Myanmar Army Says it Will Try Soldiers Over Killings of Rohingya Civilians
Description: "The Myanmar military announced Friday that it will investigate and open court-martial proceedings against soldiers accused of killing Rohingya Muslim civilians during a violent army-led crackdown in the country’s Rakhine state in 2017, the third such case in a country facing international criticism for failing to hold troops accountable for widespread atrocities. In a move experts said would be unlikely to meet Myanmar’s U.N.-mandated obligations toward the Rohingya, the military said it would probe a government-appointed commission’s findings on killings in Maung Nu and Chut Pyin villages, where about 300 civilians are believed to have died at the hands of soldiers during “clearance operations.” The military said it had reviewed reports of the killings in the two communities in a report issued in January by the Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE), a Myanmar government-appointed body tasked with probing allegations of human rights violations in Rakhine. The ICOE made more than 20 recommendations in the report and advised both the military and the government to continue investigating incidents related to the crackdown. President Win Myint sent copy of the report to armed forces commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to be used in military investigations and prosecutions..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-23
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Title: Australia: Don’t Cozy Up to Myanmar’s Army
Sub-title: Suspend Military Ties; Press for Accountability
Description: "Australia should avoid dealings with Myanmar that play down its military’s egregious rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. Human Rights Watch urged the Australian government to immediately end military ties with Myanmar. A meeting on January 29, 2020 between Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar, Andrea Faulkner, and Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, overlooked the general’s responsibility for grave crimes committed against ethnic Rohingya Muslims since 2017. Min Aung Hlaing used the meeting to bolster his public image and to present a picture of normal relations between the Australian and Myanmar militaries that undercuts efforts by other governments to isolate a commander implicated in serious abuses. “Australia should be sanctioning Min Aung Hlaing, not taking photos and exchanging gifts with someone who should be investigated for mass atrocities,” said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch. “In its meetings with Myanmar officials, Australia should never give the impression that it’s business-as-usual with no repercussions for Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya.” In 2018, the United Nations-backed Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar recommended that Myanmar’s top military generals should be investigated for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The UN report named six high-ranking military commanders, including Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-21
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Title: Australian ambassador meets with Myanmar military chief accused of Rohingya genocide
Sub-title: Exclusive: Australia accused of giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities
Description: "The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s defence forces – recommended by the UN for investigation and prosecution for war crimes and genocide – has met with Australia’s ambassador and says he wants to train more of his officers in Australia. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the supreme commander of Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, which has been accused of genocide in its systematic persecution of the ethnic and religious minority Rohingya. In “clearance operations” begun in August 2017, thousands of Rohingya were murdered, women and girls were gang raped, while pregnant women were targeted for torture and murder. Other people were burned alive in their homes, and more than 700,000 Rohingya fled over the border to Bangladesh. Australia’s ambassador, Andrea Faulkner, met Min Aung Hlaing on 29 January at the Bayintnaung Villa in the capital, Naypyidaw. The pair exchanged gifts and posed for photos. Human Rights Watch has said Australia’s decision to take the meeting risked giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-21
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Title: Myanmar Arrests 49 Rohingya Muslims Attempting to Flee to Malaysia
Description: "Myanmar authorities on Wednesday arrested nearly 50 Rohingya Muslims in Yangon region as they attempted to flee the country for Malaysia, a lawmaker said, while a separate group of Rohingya detainees appeared in court in Ayeyarwady region to face charges on traveling without official permission over their earlier attempt to flee. The 49 Rohingya picked up included 28 woman, 18 men, and three children in a wooded area in Hlegu township, said Myat Marlar Tun, a lawmaker in Yangon’s regional parliament. “They were arrested last night,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “They are being interrogated. The authorities will transfer them this evening.” “I don’t know if they will be sent to Insein Prison or someplace else,” he added, referring to the detention center on Yangon’s outskirts. Thazin Myint Myat Win, an attorney representing the Rohingya, told RFA that the detainees will appear in court on Friday. “They are going through medical tests,” he said. “The authorities are preparing their case files and getting testimonies. They will go on trial tomorrow.” It was not immediately clear whether the 49 Rohingya would be charged with traveling without official permission, or with immigration offenses..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-21
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Title: Toward a Reorganization of the Political Landscape in Burma (Myanmar)?
Description: "Key figures on the national political scene and foreign specialists and observers alike have been puzzled by the rapid transformations taking place in Myanmar1 since 2011. What is happening in this country that was isolated for so long and dominated by its armed forces (or Tatmadaw in Burmese) totally resistant to change or contact with the outside world? In recent months, diplomats from the UN, Asia and the West have rushed to Naypyitaw2 and above all to Yangon to meet with the main opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been free since her (third) release from house arrest in November 2010 and has been a member of the national parliament (hereafter referred to as Parliament) since the by-elections held in April 2012. Strikes and public demonstrations, as well as unions and opposition political parties, are now perfectly legal. The censorship board has been dissolved. The Internet and cell phone industry are booming. The vast majority of the 2,200 political prisoners counted in early 2011 have been released. A human rights commission was even created in September 2011. Foreign journalists and critics have no problem obtaining visas, and tourists are flocking in. Burmese dissidents in exile have begun to return in order to take part in rebuilding an economy still on the sidelines of globalization. Foreign investors and multinational corporations have started to prospect in a “gold rush” atmosphere, as one of Asia’s richest regions in natural resources appears to be opening up..."
Source/publisher: "SciencesPo." (France)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-21
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Title: Myanmar Ministers Survive Attack on Military Chopper in Rakhine
Description: "A military helicopter carrying a Myanmar Union minister and the Rakhine State chief minister came under fire in Buthidaung Township in northern Rakhine State on Wednesday morning, according to the military. Both ministers survived the attack without injury. Dr. Win Myat Aye, Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, and Rakhine State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu were flying to Buthidaung Township when their chopper was attacked near Nyaung Chuang Village. They were on their way to visit refugees who have been displaced by fighting between the Myanmar army and ethnic armed group the Arakan Army (AA) in the area. “It happened on their way from [the state capital of ] Sittwe to Buthidaung around 10:45 a.m Wednesday. The body of the chopper was shot twice. They are safe and the vehicle is now back in Sittwe,” military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told The Irrawaddy. The spokesperson blamed the AA for the attack. “The AA tends to fire at choppers from villages. They don’t care if it reaches [the target] or not,” he said. Khaing Thukha, spokesperson for the AA, told The Irrawaddy that he hadn’t heard about the incident. However, he said that if the helicopter flew over an area where there was a battle, it would likely be shot down because the AA has been targeted by airstrikes nearly every day..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-20
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Title: UN rights experts ‘gravely’ concerned at spike in civilian casualties in north-west Myanmar following internet shutdown
Sub-title: Independent UN human rights experts on Tuesday voiced grave concern over the killing and displacement of civilians in north-west Myanmar during the intensifying conflict between the military and an armed group, the Arakan Army, amid an information blackout in some parts of Rakhine and Chin states.
Description: "“Civilians, including children, continue to bear the brunt of this escalating conflict,”said the UN rights experts, adding that “we are especially fearful for them as violence has increased in the areas where an internet shutdown was recently re-imposed.” In a joint statement, the experts said that since the beginning of February, the Mayanmr Government had imposed restrictions, including a three-month suspension of mobile internet services, in Muslim-majority Rakhine state and in Chin state, the experts explained in a statement. Further, credible reports showed that fighting and possible use of heavy weapons occurred near ethnic Rakhine and Rohingya villages. “We are gravely concerned that children are being killed and injured, and that reports suggest weapons are being used indiscriminately, and precautions are not being taken to protect civilians and civilian objects such as schools and monasteries, in violation of international humanitarian law,” the experts said. On the one hand, civilians continue to experience severe difficulties in moving around the conflict-affected area, particularly for those in need of assistance. On the other hand, heavy restrictions on humanitarian access in Rakhine state remain and access for the media and human rights monitors is extremely limited. “We call on all parties to the conflict to abide by international humanitarian law and international human rights law and protect civilians at all times,” said the experts..."
Source/publisher: UN News
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-20
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Title: China not protecting Myanmar, says envoy
Description: "Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming yesterday said his country is not trying to protect Myanmar over the Rohingya issues as his country has friendly relations with both Bangladesh and Myanmar. Responding to a question at the DCAB Talk, organised by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) at the National Press Club in the capital, Li Jiming said China wants an end to the crisis through dialogue with the intervention of China and international bodies. The ambassador said “It is often said that China is protecting Myanmar on the Rohingya issue. We have friendly relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar. We are not trying to protect Myanmar. We are trying to persuade all to settle the issue through dialogue, especially bilateral dialogue,” he said. “Rohingya crisis is a bilateral issue of Bangladesh and Myanmar. But in solving the crisis, they need helping hands, including China,” he added. Li Jiming We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added. “China made a lot of efforts as the mediator between Myanmar and Bangladesh to resolve the Rohingya crisis. China is not the main player. Bangladesh and Myanmar are the main players. China is only helping to find a solution of the crisis. We hope we can see a very concrete and sustainable result in the near future,” he added..."
Source/publisher: "The Independent" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-18
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Title: The fate of the Rohingya still left hanging
Sub-title: How likely is Myanmar to make policy changes after the ICJ ruling?
Description: "oes Myanmar have any obligation to take the world court -- the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague – seriously? The second question is whether Myanmar’s quasi-military ruler has the political will to implement the landmark judgment of January 23. Myanmar has officially rejected the International Court of Justice’s historic ruling, and accused international rights groups of making exaggerated statements about the prevailing situation. It also rejected the UN fact-finding mission’s report on the basis of being “one-sided.” It is well understood that the ICJ has no legal jurisdiction over Myanmar or any individual nation. The ICJ ordered Myanmar to implement vital measures to protect its Rohingya population from facing any further atrocities. This ruling has been hailed as an “accomplishment of international justice.” The court further ordered Myanmar to ensure protection from destruction of any evidence of “possible” genocide. The ruling means that a global body, for the first time, has officially recognized the threat of abuse against the Rohingya, and ordered Myanmar to protect the community..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-18
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Title: Drinks giant Kirin reviews Myanmar army ties over genocide funding accusations
Sub-title: Kirin has stakes in two breweries and donated directly to the military, which the UN says is ‘indefensible’
Description: "Japanese beverages giant Kirin – parent brewer of a suite of Australian beer brands such as XXXX, Tooheys, and James Squire – could pull out of the brewery it co-owns with the Myanmar military, after facing international condemnation for its business partnership with an army accused of genocide. The company’s president and chief executive, Yoshinori Isozaki, said in a statement the company recognised the “challenges of operating in frontier markets” and was working to improve its practices. “Human rights is fundamental to all of our business activities … we are reviewing strategic options for our operations in Myanmar.” Kirin’s review of its partnership with the Myanmar military is being led by its international advisory board, whose members include Australians Sir Rod Eddington and Paula Dwyer. Kirin owns a little over half of both Myanmar Brewery and Mandalay Brewery in partnership with Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL), a conglomerate of the Myanmar military, accused of committing genocide in its persecution of the Rohingya ethnic and religious minority. The business partnership with Kirin provides not only much-needed foreign currency for the isolated Myanmar military – which is subject to global arms embargoes – but also, crucially, is a source of international legitimacy..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-16
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Title: 48 Rohingyas arrested off Myanmar coast
Sub-title: 'We don't know how authorities in Pathein town will proceed'
Description: "Nearly 50 Rohingya Muslims have been detained at sea by Myanmar's navy, a local official said Friday, the latest from the persecuted minority to be caught trying to flee camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar's restive Rakhine state. It was not immediately clear where the group started their boat journey but they were likely aiming for Malaysia or Indonesia, predominantly Muslim countries with large Rohingya diasporas. Thousands of Rohingya have taken to the sea over the years in high-risk attempts to escape sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh and oppressive conditions in Rakhine. Village administrator Myint Thein told AFP by phone the navy had picked up 48 Rohingya men, women and children, as well as five "traffickers," at sea on Wednesday evening. An AFP reporter saw the group arrive Friday morning at Pathein township police station. "We don't know how authorities in Pathein town will proceed," Myint Thein said. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar's Rakhine to Bangladesh to escape a brutal military crackdown in 2017 and now languish in sprawling refugee camps. Hundreds of thousands more remain in Rakhine, living under tight restrictions with little access to healthcare, education or livelihoods in conditions Amnesty International brands as "apartheid". The group detained at sea this week is just the latest in a series of arrests in recent months as seasonal calmer waters tempt more Rohingya to put their lives in the hands of traffickers..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-15
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Title: Justice will be a long time coming for the Rohingya. But the latest ICJ ruling is a start
Description: "On 23 January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued what amounted to a “cease and desist” order against Myanmar, ordering authorities there to end genocidal practices against the Rohingya. The ruling of the so-called “World Court” has brought hope that international justice will prevail after the horrors inflicted on women, men and children in Rakhine State by Myanmar’s security forces. But while the court’s ruling was a landmark moment, there are still many lingering questions. What happens next? What effects will the ruling have on Myanmar’s domestic scene, where an election looms later this year? Will Myanmar comply with the order — and what happens if it does not? The ICJ’s ruling meant that a global legal body for the first time officially recognised the real threat of abuse against the Rohingya, and ordered Myanmar to do what it can to protect them. The ICJ also called on Myanmar to prevent further breaches of the Genocide Convention, rein in abuses by its security forces and preserve evidence of past abuses..."
Source/publisher: "Euronews" (Lyon)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-15
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Title: At least 15 women and kids drown as Rohingya refugees' boat sinks off Bangladesh
Description: " At least 15 women and children drowned and more than 50 others were missing after a boat overloaded with Rohingya refugees sank off southern Bangladesh as it tried to reach Malaysia Tuesday, officials said. Some 138 people — mainly women and children — were packed on a trawler barely 40 feet long trying to cross the Bay of Bengal, a coast guard spokesman told AFP. "It sank because of overloading. The boat was meant to carry maximum 50 people. The boat was also loaded with some cargo," another coast guard spokesman, Hamidul Islam, added..."
Source/publisher: "CBS News" (New York)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
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Title: Myanmar confident of Mrauk-U’s bid for World Heritage Site
Sub-title: Myanmar has applied for UNESCO to recognise Mrauk-U in Rakhine State as a World Heritage Site despite continuing clashes between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army (AA).
Description: "Mrauk-U, which was the capital of the powerful Arakanese Kingdom from the 15th to 17th centuries, currently restricts visitors for security reasons. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said it submitted its application for Mrauk-U to UNESCO in January. U Thura Aung, secretary of Myanmar Archaeology Research, expressed hope that peace would soon return to the area. Experts were a bit concerned about the damage caused by an artillery shell that hit a gate near the ancient Htukkan Thein temple and the west side of the ancient Mye Hte pagoda during fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA last year. The Myanmar Archaeology Association urged the two sides to declare a truce in the area because it is being considered as a World Heritage Site Archaeologists have called on the local government and people to mediate an end to the fighting. They are confident that Mrauk-U’s 80,000 pagodas and forts qualify it to be named a World Heritage Site. UNESCO is expected to decide on Mrauk-U’s application by April, and send experts to conduct a site inspection between September and January next year. Nationalists march against amendment effort Hundreds of nationalists marched through downtown Yangon on January 9 to oppose amendments to the 2008 Constitution, especially its ban on citizens who marry foreigners from becoming president or vice president. The activists accused some groups of working with foreign powers to subvert the Buddhist religion and Myanmar’s sovereignty..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
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Title: Myanmar: Lift Internet Restrictions in Rakhine and Chin States
Sub-title: Mobile internet blackout in four townships in Rakhine State among the world’s longest running
Description: "We, the 29 undersigned organizations, call on the Government of Myanmar to immediately lift restrictions on mobile internet communications in eight townships in Rakhine State and one township in Chin State. We are particularly concerned by the Government of Myanmar’s recent reinstatement of restrictions on mobile internet access in five townships on February 3, 2020, after lifting restrictions in those townships earlier. We call on the Government of Myanmar to release publicly the justification for the internet shutdown and all information related to the process by which these restrictions were imposed. The government first imposed restrictions on mobile internet communications on June 21, 2019 in Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Ponnagyun, and Rathedaung townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in Chin State. On September 1, the government lifted restrictions in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Myebon, Paletwa, and Rathedaung townships. On February 3, 2020, a telecommunications provider reported that the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered the reinstatement of the restrictions in those five townships. The company published a statement on its website saying that the Ministry referenced “security requirement and public interest” in issuing the order..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
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Title: Shelling wounds at least 19 children in Myanmar’s Rakhine: authorities
Description: "At least 19 children were wounded when a primary school was hit by shelling in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, a lawmaker and a military spokesman said on Thursday. Clashes between government troops and ethnic insurgents have intensified in Rakhine, from where tens of thousands of people have been displaced since clashes began in December 2018, bringing new chaos to the region from which more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a military crackdown in 2017. The Arakan Army, which recruits from the mostly Buddhist majority, has been fighting for greater autonomy for the western region from the central government. Artillery fire hit the school in Khamwe Chaung village in Buthidaung township on Thursday morning, Tun Aung Thein, a local member of parliament, told Reuters by telephone. He said he did not know who was responsible. “According to the health department, 19 students are injured and one is seriously injured,” the lawmaker said. A military spokesman put the number of wounded at 20, and blamed the insurgents for the attack..."
Source/publisher: "Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-14
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Title: Number of Civilian Casualties Grows in Armed Conflict in Myanmar’s Northern Rakhine
Description: "At least seven civilians, including four Rohingya Muslims, died and 30 residents were injured in the past 11 days in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state, a local aid worker said Wednesday, as the number of noncombatant deaths grows amid fighting between government forces and the rebel Arakan Army. Nyi Pu, chairman of the Phyusin Metta Social Aid Group from Kyauktaw town, said his organization helped at least 10 injured civilians in the last week. “In just seven days, a Rakhine woman from Myauktaung village and three people from a Muslim village were injured, and a Muslim woman died,” he told RFA’s Myanmar Service. “In another village, one of the five injured children died when a mortar dropped near them,” he said. “Yesterday, four more people were injured when another mortar shell dropped on Myauktaung village.” The civilian death toll in northern Rakhine reached more than 100, while the number of injured was over 250 as of December 2018 when hostilities between the two armies escalated, according to the Rakhine Ethnic Congress, a local relief group. The growing numbers come despite claims by both the Myanmar military and Arakan Army (AA) that their soldiers have been ordered to abide by the rules to avoid injuring villagers..."
Source/publisher: "RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-13
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Title: OPINION - A hard look into the genesis of Myanmar's genocide
Sub-title: Genesis of sustained, institutionalized destruction of Rohingya is anchored in group’s identity as Muslims
Description: "The International Court of Justice’s Jan. 23 interim order in a case filed by Gambia against Myanmar is designed to protect the Rohingya and preserve the crime sites. It has brought a sense of vindication to several million Rohingya victims – in the diaspora, inside Myanmar, and in refugee camps in Bangladesh. It was by far the most significant act the international community has taken since the Rohingya have been subjected to a national policy of discrimination, disenfranchisement, displacement and destructive deportation by various organs of the state in Myanmar. The case which Gambia brought before the court has focused narrowly on the violent events of 2016 and 2017. However, it is crucial to see this group destruction in the proper context which began under the false pretext of Myanmar’s attempts at cracking down on the “illegal immigration” across Myanmar-Bangladesh borders which stretch 270 miles. As a matter of fact, today (Feb. 12) marks the 42nd anniversary of the first violently genocidal purge -- centrally organized by the then military dictatorship of General Ne Win in Rangoon involving various agencies, not only the government troops and police force but also departments or ministries of religious affairs, customs and various branches of intelligence Paradoxically, this is also the date in which Myanmar celebrates “Union Day” -- when the country’s majority Buddhist Burmese public and several national minorities along the borders of colonial Burma agreed to merge their regions voluntarily to form a single federated independent nation in 1947. On the very same day, in Rakhine, a state in western Myanmar that borders Bangladesh, Myanmar launched the first-ever violent deportation of literally hundreds of thousands of Rohingya -- the majority of whom were born and raised in the region and had official IDs and documentation that proved their Myanmar nationality. The purges were carried out in two phases under military-style operations collectively known as Operation Dragon King. The first phase was launched in Rakhine state’s capital Sittwe on Feb. 12, 1978, and lasted only a week, involving 200 interagency forces that resorted to various acts of violence and terror. The second phase was carried out in the northern Rakhine towns of Buthidaung and Maungdaw with 400 interagency security forces. Myanmar troops resorted to arson, slaughter, rape and other terror methods in the region where the population was peaceful, unarmed and compliant as evidenced in the newspaper reports of the time from Bangladesh, Pakistan and other Asian regions..."
Source/publisher: "Anadolu Agency" (Ankara)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-13
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Title: At least 14 dead as Rohingya boat sinks in Bangladesh
Sub-title: At least 14 people have drowned when a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank off the south coast of Bangladesh, officials say.
Description: "The boat was destined for Malaysia and included Rohingya refugees from camps in Bangladesh, local authorities told the BBC. All of the dead bodies recovered are reportedly of women and children. An official told the AFP news agency that 70 people were rescued. Many are still missing. Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know The boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal near Saint Martin's island. In August 2017, a deadly crackdown by Myanmar's army on Rohingya Muslims sent hundreds of thousands fleeing across the border into Bangladesh. Most have been placed in refugee camps and some have tried to flee in boats to Malaysia..."
Source/publisher: "BBC News" (London)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
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Title: ICJ’s Judgement On The Rohingya And Its Challenges – Analysis
Sub-title: Political will is extremely crucial since ICJ has no jurisdiction or legal apparatus over individual nations.
Description: "In a historic judgement, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 23 January ordered Myanmar to implement vital measures to protect its Rohingya population from any further atrocities. This ruling has been hailed as an “accomplishment of international justice.” This lawsuit was brought by Gambia, a small African Muslim state backed by the 57 nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in November at the United Nations’ highest body for disputes between states. It accused Myanmar of genocide against Rohingya in violation of a 1948 Genocide Convention. The court witnessed the trial on 10–11 December where the State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi was herself present to defend her country’s honour. She emphasised that the accusations made against her government are “incomplete and misleading factual picture of the situation,” thus categorically denying the allegations of genocide and thereby requesting to dismiss the charges brought to it. Under the presiding Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf and 16 other judges present in the panel, the undisputed ruling on 23 January granted Gambia’s request for preliminary measures. According to the court, the Rohingyas face an ongoing threat that necessitates Myanmar to “take all measures within its power to prevent all acts” prohibited under the 1948 Genocide Convention, and report back to the court within four months, and then, every six months after that..."
Source/publisher: Observer Research Foundation (ORF) via "Europe-Asia Studies"
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
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Title: Legislator pushes Myanmar govt to educate children in IDP camps
Sub-title: A legislator from strife-torn Rakhine State urged the government to come up with a plan to educate children living in camps for people displaced by conflict (IDPs).
Description: "Daw Khin Saw Hla, MP for Rathedaung township, said the government must not neglect the education of the children in the camps. “Our internal conflicts were born during our struggle for independence over 70 years ago,” she said. “No one knows when they will end. The education of the children in war-torn areas should not be neglected.” She called on officials of the National Education Policy Commission (NEPC) to visit the IDP camps so it can formulate a policy on educating them. Daw Khin Saw Hla said thousands of children were among the over 100,000 people who have had to flee their homes since fighting between the Tatmadaw (military) and Arakan Army erupted in 2018. These children do not attend school, she said. In one of the clashes, a high school was closed because the Tatmadaw turned it into a temporary headquarters. “This school has more than 1,000 students from 24 nearby villages, including Kyauktan village. Now they are having difficulty learning. The Tatmadaw should not station troops in schools,” she said. She also said the programme of the Department of Alternative Education and Myanmar Literacy Resource Centre to give a second chance to children aged 10 to 12 years old who drop out of school should be extended to Rakhine..."
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-11
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