Burmese refugees in Bangladesh

For Rohingya refugees, see also the Arakan State section of "Administration and administrative areas" http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1241&lo=&sl= and the Rohingya section of Human Rights.
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Title: Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi scolds world for lacking focus on Rakhine 'terrorists'
Description: "Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has bemoaned the lack of global scrutiny on extremism and "terrorists" inside Rakhine state, where her country's army stands accused of committing genocide against Rohingya Muslims. The comments from the Nobel laureate are part of a longstanding defence of the army campaign against the Rohingya, which drove nearly three-quarters of a million of the minority into Bangladesh in 2017. That campaign brought US sanctions on key military figures and allegations of genocide by United Nations investigators. The Myanmar military has said its actions were necessary and proportionate to stamp out Rohingya militants - a defence Ms Suu Kyi reiterated in an interview with Japan's Nikkei newspaper on Wednesday (Oct 23). "There are certain extremist elements who do not want peace in Rakhine... because for many terrorists, problems are what they thrive on," she said, referencing attacks by Rohingya rebels in 2017 that sparked a scorched-earth army operation..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
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Title: No quick Asean fix for Rakhine state
Description: "When Asean's leaders meet in Bangkok for their summit on June 22-23, they will discuss a preliminary report about Myanmar by the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre). According to news reports and press releases, this report -- which remains confidential -- makes an initial assessment of the preparations for the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees. The emphasis of Asean's efforts to support Myanmar with the Rohingya repatriation will be on "low-hanging fruit", the assumption being that practical measures will contribute to creating a conducive environment for the safe, dignified return of Rohingya refugees..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Iran to mount pressure on Myanmar
Sub-title: Iran would continue their support to Bangladesh on Rohingya issue, says President Rouhani
Description: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said his country will work to mount pressure on Myanmar from international side to resolve the Rohingya crisis. “We will work to create international pressure on Myanmar (to resolve the Rohingya crisis),” he said during a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the bilateral booth of Baku Congress Center where the NAM Summit is taking place. Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque on Friday briefed reporters that the Iranian leader said they would continue their support to Bangladesh on Rohingya issue, reports UNB. Thanking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for sheltering Rohingyas, he said, Bangladesh and Iran have a cordial, cultural and historical relation. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina thanked the Iranian President for his country's support to Bangladesh on Rohingya issue. She emphasized united efforts of Islamic Ummah. “The Islamic Ummah should resolve their internal conflicts internally. If they can do this, then the Islamic Ummah can emerge as a big power in the world,” she said..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
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Title: Will ASEAN let more Rohingya die?
Description: "When the 34th ASEAN Summit concluded last month in Bangkok, Thailand, it came as no surprise that the bloc was met with heavy criticism for suggesting Rohingya refugees will repatriate back to Myanmar within two years. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee northern Rakhine state in western Myanmar during a 2017 military-led crackdown the United Nations (UN) has said included mass killings and gang-rapes executed with “genocidal intent”. Almost 400 Rohingya villages were burned to the ground during the violence. A final statement from the weekend summit said ASEAN leaders supported Myanmar’s efforts to “facilitate the voluntary return of displaced persons in a safe, secure and dignified manner”. The statement did not even include the term Rohingya. The criticism ASEAN faced in relation to the way it has been handling the Rohingya issue is nothing new. Human rights observers have often claimed that the 10-member bloc has done little to ensure the safety of the Rohingya, asserting that diplomacy between member countries, as well as its adherence to a non-interference policy, has consistently trumped human rights concerns..."
Source/publisher: "The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-25
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Title: Myanmar is 'ready' for the return of Rohingya
Description: "Myanmar wants the Rohingya refugees to return, and preparations have been made to receive them, according to the minister in charge of the process. "We will accept them back anytime," said Dr Win Myat Aye, Myanmar's Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. "Whoever wants to come back voluntarily, we can accept," he said. He also urged Bangladesh to immediately return the 400 or more Hindu refugees who have agreed to be repatriated, as this could help kick-start the stalled repatriation programme. The minister made his comments in an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, amid growing international criticism of Myanmar's repatriation efforts and Bangladesh's accusations that Myanmar is to blame for the failure of the process..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-24
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Title: The Ambiguous Plight of the Rohingya
Sub-title: The case of 30 men, women and children raise worries about the opaque treatment of the Muslim minority in Southeast Asia.
Description: "THE extended detention of dozens of Rohingya men, women and children is raising new concerns from the international community about the treatment of the Muslim minority in Myanmar, and that government’s commitment to repatriate hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled persecution. Thirty Rohingya, including nine youths traveling in the group, were arrested on Sept. 26 in the country’s Ayeyarwady Region after arriving there by boat from Sittwe, the capital of Myanmar’s conflict-stricken Rakhine state, on their way to Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, according to local media reports. A week later, a court sentenced the adults to two years in prison for breaking immigration laws for not carrying official papers, while the same court sentenced the children to a youth detention center south of Yangon. According to Human Rights Watch, a 5-year-old child was among those arrested and is currently being held in prison with his mother..."
Source/publisher: US News (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
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Title: Rohingya Shun Repatriation to Myanmar, Want Safety Guarantee
Sub-title: No Rohingya Muslims staying in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh turned up for a planned repatriation to Myanmar because they want to be guaranteed safety and citizenship first.
Description: "COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AP) — None of the thousands of Rohingya Muslims living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh turned up for a planned repatriation to Myanmar on Thursday, demanding they first be guaranteed safety and citizenship. "Not a single Rohingya wants to go back without their demands being met," Bangladesh refugee commissioner Abul Kalam told reporters. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh after Myanmar's military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against them two years ago, a campaign that involved mass rapes, killings and the burning of homes. A U.N.-established investigation has recommended top generals be prosecuted over the crackdown. Rohingya Muslims have long demanded that Myanmar give them citizenship, safety and their own land and homes they left behind. The Buddhist-majority nation has refused to recognize Rohingya as citizens or even as one of its ethnic groups, rendering them stateless, and they also face other forms of state-sanctioned discrimination. Myanmar had cleared more than 3,000 refugees from more than 1,000 families as eligible for repatriation and said the operation to return them would begin Thursday. Kalam said none of the 295 families interviewed by the Bangladesh government and the U.N. refugee agency had agreed to return to Myanmar. "I'll go to Myanmar only if I have citizenship. Otherwise they will shoot and burn us," 26-year-old Abdul Hossain told The Associated Press. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government will not force the refugees to return and the repatriation will only happen if they are willing..."
Source/publisher: "Associated Press" (USA) via US News (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
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Title: UN Mission Head Says Risk of Genocide Recurring in Myanmar
Sub-title: The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar says that "there is a serious risk of genocide recurring" against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.
Description: "The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar warned Tuesday that "there is a serious risk of genocide recurring" against the estimated 600,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority still living in the country. Marzuki Darusman told the General Assembly's human rights committee that "if anything, the situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine state has worsened," citing continued discrimination, segregation, restricted movement, insecurity and a lack of access to land, jobs, education and health care. The government of Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority nation, has refused to recognize Rohingya as citizens or even as one of its ethnic groups, rendering the vast majority stateless. Myanmar's military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against the Rohingya in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and burning of their homes. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which Darusman heads, said in its final report last month that Myanmar should be held responsible in international legal forums for alleged genocide against the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: Associated Press (USA) via US News (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-23
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Title: Abe calls on Suu Kyi to ensure Rohingya can return to Myanmar
Description: "Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday to create an environment in her country that will allow Rohingya Muslim refugees to return from Bangladesh. "With regard to the alleged human rights violations in Rakhine State, it is indispensable that the Myanmar government and military take appropriate measures promptly," Abe was quoted by the Japanese Foreign Ministry as telling Suu Kyi in their meeting in Tokyo. Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown in Myanmar and their repatriation remains a challenge. Since 2017, some 742,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh in search of safety, according to the United Nations. The Rohingya are considered stateless people in Myanmar where they have for decades faced discrimination and persecution. Suu Kyi expressed her intention to address the Rakhine issue "correctly" and take necessary steps, the ministry said. Abe pledged Japan's support. Abe kicked off a series of back-to-back meetings with foreign leaders visiting Japan to attend Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony on Tuesday. Suu Kyi is among the dignitaries from over 180 countries expected to take part in the imperial event..."
Source/publisher: "Japan Today" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-22
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Title: Bangladesh says thousands of Rohingya agree relocation to island
Sub-title: Rights groups have warned the island might not be able to withstand violent storms during the annual monsoon season.
Description: "Bangladesh's refugee commissioner has said thousands of Rohingya living in Bangladesh refugee camps have agreed to move to an island in the Bay of Bengal despite fears the site is prone to flooding. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar in August 2017 in the face of a military crackdown, joining 200,000 refugees already in makeshift tent settlements at Cox's Bazar. Dhaka has long wanted to move 100,000 refugees to the islet, saying it would take pressure off the overcrowded border camps where almost a million Rohingya live. "Approximately 6,000 to 7,000 refugees have already expressed their willingness to be relocated to Bhashan Char [the island]," the Bangladesh official Mahbub Alam told AFP news agency from Cox's Bazar, adding that "the number is rising". He did not say when the refugees would be moved, but a senior Navy officer involved in building facilities on the island said the relocation could start by December, with some 500 refugees sent daily..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
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Title: Genocide: Gambia to file case against Myanmar at ICJ
Summary: "The charges, which will be filed by the Gambian Ministry of Justice's legal team, will be the first time that the Myanmar authorities will be accused of the crimes of genocide at the International...
Sub-title: Gambia will be taking Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to face charges of genocide against its Rohingya minority, said Gambia's Attorney General and Minister for Justice Abubacarr Marie Tambadou.
Description: "The charges, which will be filed by the Gambian Ministry of Justice's legal team, will be the first time that the Myanmar authorities will be accused of the crimes of genocide at the International Court of Justice, according to Asia Justice Coalition. "I can confirm that on October 4, I have instructed our lawyersto file the case at the International Court of Justice," the Asia Justice Coalition quoted Tambadou as saying at a conclave on 'Justice and Accountability for the Rohingya' at the Hague recently. Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Cox's Bazar since August 25, 2017 amid military crackdown against Rohingyas in Rakhine State. Tambadou said, "I could smell the stench of genocide from miles away when I visited the Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. It was all too familiar for me, after a decade of interacting with the victims of the Rwandan mass rapes, killings and genocide." Tambadou previously served as a special assistant to the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh exhorts Germany to put pressure on Myanmar
Description: "In his maiden bilateral meeting with his German equivalent, Momen outlined the four points proposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the 74th United Nations General Assembly last month. He also urged the European nation and the international community to take 'effective steps' to ensure that Myanmar facilitates the safe, secure, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees. He also sought Germany’s support in ensuring accountability for the atrocities committed against Myanmar's Muslim minority group. During the meeting, Momen also highlighted the success story of Bangladesh as a 'development miracle' of the world and called on German businesses to invest in Bangladesh and take advantage of the country’s demographic dividend and lucrative promotion packages for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The whole gamut of bilateral relations between the countries were discussed in the meeting, the foreign ministry said..."
Source/publisher: "bdnews24.com" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
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Title: Bangladesh imposes more restrictions on Rohingya refugees
Sub-title: Following failed repatriation attempts and the murder of a local politician, Bangladesh authorities are cracking down on Rohingya refugees.
Description: "The government of Bangladesh has recently put severe restrictions on Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Many have had their mobile phones taken away. And some Rohingya children have been forced to drop out of Bangladeshi schools. Al Jazeera's Tanvir Chowdhury reports from Cox's Bazar..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
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Title: The Efforts of the Government of Indonesia in Negotiating Peace on the Rohingya Crisis Through Humanitarian and Political Support: A Multi-stakeholders Humanitarian Diplomacy Practice
Description: "Rohingya ethnics who are Muslim, and which are an ethnic minority in Myanmar are known, from some media sources, to get racial discrimination by the majority of Buddhist ethnic in the State of Rakhine, Myanmar. This racial discrimination it has drawn much criticism. Myanmar, which has historically been held by the military junta and is currently in the process of developing democratization, has become the spotlight of the world media with this case. Basically, the conflict in Myanmar is more likely to be known as ethnic conflict, not religious conflict. Because, unintentionally, Rohingya ethnic group are Muslims and Rakhine people are Buddhist. Rohingya people has been discriminated for years by their own country and also by the major ethnic group in Myanmar because they are seen as minority by language, religion and physical characteristics. They are not considered as ‘native’, not a part of Burma and considered have a closer relation to Bangladesh. Too many forms of discrimination experienced by the Rohingyas, such as no citizenship given, limitation of employment opportunity, human rights violations, property confiscation, forced labour, extrajudicial killings, rape, and village combustions. Many of the Rohingya people flee the country from this devastating situation seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and just recently, to Indonesia. In Bangladesh, with help from international organizations such as UNHCR, WFP, etc., the refugee camp is built in Cox’s Bazaar. In Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, they are arrived by boat and the Governments of those three countries had initial response as ‘refusing’ the Rohingya people to enter the country. However, as a commitment of humanity, the Government of Indonesia (GoI), through the Army Force Commander, executed orders to assist these refugees by delivering food and clean water to their boats that has been floating for quite some time over Malacca Straits. Because the GoI is still unable to grant permission to these boats to dock to Indonesian shores. But in the higher level of diplomacy, Indonesia is one of the countries who, oftentimes, highlights and supports solidarity for peace making process in Myanmar at Governmental level..." .
Source/publisher: Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations (Switzerland) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
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Title: Indonesia and the Rohingya Crisis
Description: "Indonesia has performed a delicate balancing act with respect to Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis. Led by the Foreign Ministry, the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has tried to demonstrate concern for the Rohingya without alienating a fellow member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It has tried to pre-empt domestic calls for harsher measures against Myanmar by embracing some Islamist groups within a moderate government-sanctioned humanitarian coalition. It has tried to engage Myanmar on other issues, including counter-terrorism, to ensure that channels to the government were kept open even as relations with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi deteriorated in late 2017. By mid-2018, Indonesia’s Rohingya policy was focused primarily on getting aid to the camps around Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. But its newly secured position on the United Nations Security Council opened the possibility that it could work for a resolution of Rohingya refugee crisis and conflict in Rakhine State more generally. If it is to have any chance of success, however, all ministries and government agencies will have to take the same line. Indonesia’s relations with Myanmar are driven by its commitment to (ASEAN); its belief – especially during the government of Thein Sein – that its own democratic transition offered models for Myanmar; its desire to be a peace broker; its efforts to ensure access for humanitarian aid; and its need to respond to domestic pressure to defend fellow Muslims under attack. The Jokowi government’s response to the 2017 violence against ethnic Rohingya and resulting refugee outflow began with highly visible diplomacy on the part of Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. As it became clear that Myanmar (and Aung San Suu Kyi in particular) did not welcome an activist Indonesian role, the Foreign Ministry focused on the provision of humanitarian assistance in partnership with a civil society coalition. The partnership, led by Indonesia’s two largest Muslim organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, serves two main purposes. It keeps the government engaged on the Rohingya issue when it has little leverage to affect Myanmar’s policies in Rakhine state, and it provides an outlet for Indonesian NGOs to put their anger at the violence against fellow Muslims to constructive use. It also appears to be a reasonably effective response to Islamist critics of President Jokowi, who at the height of the crisis in September 2017 were calling on his administration to do more..."
Source/publisher: "Institute For Policy Analysis Of Conflict" via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
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Title: Life in Everyday Death: The Rohingyas in Bangladesh and Myanmar
Description: "A 12-year-old boy in ragged clothing shoulders a child, his younger sister of 3 years, as they walk mile after mile, escaping their home, because their father was shot dead on the spot and their mother was raped in front of them and killed thereafter. They are fleeing with many others who have similar experiences. Some of them lost their parents, or brothers and sisters while others saw their entire families burn alive. Two pregnant women walk for miles with inexplicable hardship, but try their best to keep their babies inside alive. The group finally enters Bangladesh after walking one day and seven hours, crossing lands and hills, and riding by boat. Like this group, more than half a million Rohingyas have fled persecution in Myanmar to Bangladesh since the military crackdown started on August 25, 2017. Following an alleged attack on 30 police camps and one military base by the radical Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), Myanmar security forces indiscriminately fired on Rohingya civilians, burnt their houses down, raped girls and women, and killed hundreds of Rohingyas mercilessly. The intensity of atrocity was so extreme that the global community, including the United Nations, the European Union, human rights groups like International Organization of Migration (IOM), Amnesty International, and the Human Rights Watch, came forward to stand beside Rohingyas and condemn Myanmar for its deadly violence, severe brutality, and crimes against humanity. The United Nations Human Rights Council termed it as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and major international media outlets like the New York Times, ABC News, and CNN have called it genocide..."
Source/publisher: "BERKLEY CENTER for Religion, Peace & World Affairs" (USA) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
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Title: Safeguarding Rohingya Population
Description: "Torment on Rohingya minority has been once again flared up on Friday, allegedly, scores of men purportedly from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), assaulted on Myanmar security forces, killing at least a dozen of personnel. Since 1982 after the denial of Rohingya citizenship in Myanmar (former Burma) several violent attempts have been fabricated to evacuate Rohingya minority from Rakhine state withal Myanmar. Recurrence of tension in Rakhine-state of Myanmar is harrowing world community's sentiment as well. Rohingya people are an ethnic Muslim group primarily located in Rakhine state (formerly Arakan-state). Rohingya Muslims usually follow sufi trends, one of the noteworthy versions of Islam. They are estimated 1-1.5 million in number out of 50 million population of Myanmar. But irony of fate that they are treated like aliens in their own fatherland while Myanmar military junta have turned down their citizenship via new citizenship law of 1982. As human being they hardly get rights to live profoundly. To get citizenship they must provide evidence that they are living in Myanmar hereditarily since 1823. For getting married and having work they must need permission from the government by showing symbolic white cards. Very often they face torture by the security forces and local Buddhists i.e brutal beating, gang rape, abduction, molestation, arson, mass killings and so on. Even women and children do not get rid of the turmoil. After being harassed on diverse military campaigns and communal violence they seek to get shelter vastly on Bangladesh and rest on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia..."
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
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Title: Tracing the Exclusion of the Rohingya in Myanmar: Research Notes
Description: "Myanmar is a non-secular Buddhist majority country. The majority of Myanmar peoples are Buddhist, including both ethnic Burmans and non-Burman ethnic minorities. Buddhists make up 89.8 percent of the population, Christians 6.3 percent and Muslims 2.3 percent. In the contemporary climate of Myanmar, Many Buddhists see Islam as a threat to Buddhism; they use Bangladesh, Indonesia and Afghanistan as examples of Islam’s takeover of previously Buddhist majority locations. Myanmar was born out of the ashes of the murder of its integrationist freedom 5ghter leader General Aung San, the father of Aung San Suu Kyi. He was assassinated on July 19, 1947, a few months before the independence of Burma on January 4, 1948. His legacy of seeking integration and the violence associated with his murder still alludes Myanmar today. These research notes witll set forth the history of Muslims in Mynamar as in attempt to understand the contemporary exclusion of the Rohingya from the modern nationstate of Mynamar and to argue for the continued failure of Myanmar to become a multicultural society of ethnoreligious equality and plurality..."
Source/publisher: "Mahidol University" (Thailand) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-20
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Title: Ethno-Political Conflict: The Rohingya Vulnerability in Myanmar
Description: "This study has been conducted to find out the root causes and consequences of ethnic conflict regarding especially the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. As Rohingya crisis in Myanmar is a contemporary and crucial issue not only in South and Southeast Asia but also in the world; that is why, it has been selected as a research topic. This study is conducted in qualitative approach. In this study, secondary sources have been used for data collection which is based on content analysis. Text books, journal articles, reports of government and non-government organizations, television and newspaper reports are the main sources of data. In this study it has been found that the Rohingya people are considered as the world’s least wanted groups. They are the world’s most persecuted minorities. About 43 percent of the Rohingyas are still refugees and of them 87 percent are deprived from basic needs. The main objectives of the study are: (i) to examine the root causes of ethnic conflict; (ii) to analyze the current humanitarian vulnerability of the Rohingyas. Rohingya conflict begins with mainly the denial of separate identities and rejection of their citizenship. A large number of Rohingyas are now stateless refugees who are too much vulnerable. The study will reveal the current vulnerable conditions of the Rohingyas. The findings of the study may help the different global organizations of human rights in policy supports for the Rohingyas..."
Source/publisher: University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
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Title: Myanmar: Who are the Rohingya?
Description: "Shortly after Myanmar's independence from the British in 1948, the Union Citizenship Act was passed, defining which ethnicities could gain citizenship. According to a 2015 report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School, the Rohingya were not included. The act, however, did allow those whose families had lived in Myanmar for at least two generations to apply for identity cards. Rohingya were initially given such identification or even citizenship under the generational provision. During this time, several Rohingya also served in parliament. After the 1962 military coup in Myanmar, things changed dramatically for the Rohingya. All citizens were required to obtain national registration cards. The Rohingya, however, were only given foreign identity cards, which limited the jobs and educational opportunities they could pursue and obtain. In 1982, a new citizenship law was passed, which effectively rendered the Rohingya stateless. Under the law, Rohingya were again not recognised as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups. The law established three levels of citizenship. In order to obtain the most basic level (naturalised citizenship), there must be proof that the person's family lived in Myanmar prior to 1948, as well as fluency in one of the national languages. Many Rohingya lack such paperwork because it was either unavailable or denied to them..."
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
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Title: Myanmar's Crimes Against Humanity
Sub-title: State Policy to annihilate Rohingya
Description: "Apartheid, an Afrikaans word meaning “apartness,” describes an ideology of racial segregation that had been practiced in South Africa from the time of the Cape Colony’s founding by the Dutch East India Company in 1652. Keeping two different traffic lights in the black and white in the same road may damage both. Similarly, implementing the 1982 citizenship law for Muslims excluding Buddhists will never bring democracy and peace in Myanmar. This legal analysis considers persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar constitute genocide, as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Genocide Convention, 1 which was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 and entered into force in 1951, declares that genocide is a crime under international law. I will present legal point of view and historical point of view to see the clear picture of crime against humanity against Rohingya in Myanmar. Though Rohingya enjoyed citizenship right as well as indigenous ethnic right until 1965, during the dictatorship era, General Ne Win planned to annihilate Rohingya through State policy. Ne Win, changed name of Rohingya first, then, started the institutionalized persecution. Military junta, since 1988, systematically committed genocidal process against Rohingya. The 153-page report, “‘All You Can Do is Pray’: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s Arakan State,” describes the role of the Burmese government and local authorities in the forcible displacement of more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Burmese officials, community leaders, and Buddhist monks organized and encouraged ethnic Arakanese backed by state security forces to conduct coordinated attacks on Muslim neighborhoods and villages in October 2012 to terrorize and forcibly relocate the population. The tens of thousands of displaced have been denied access to humanitarian aid and being unable to return home..."
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
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Title: Myanmar’s Rohingya: Human Rights Abuses and Systemic Violence
Description: "Large scale violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state directed at the Rohingya Muslim minority group can be traced to March 1997 where allegations of the rape of a Buddhist woman by a Muslim man led to Buddhist monks instigating violence which led to the burning of entire Muslim neighborhoods in Mandalay. This coincided with the Mahamuni Buddha incident where Muslims were accused of stealing a large ruby from the sacred Buddhist site of pilgrimage (Schober 2007, 58). Alleged rapes of Buddhist women by Muslim men have led to major violence in June 2012 which left hundreds dead in Sittwe Rakhine state as well as 2013 and 2014 in other areas of Myanmar (BBC 2014). Increasing tension between ethnic groups and frequent outbreaks of violence led the military junta to create ‘safe’ villages for Rohingya Muslims. In effect this forced ethnic enclaving on the part of the government led to camps where Rohingya were sealed off from other communities and could not engage in economic, social or other activities outside of their patrolled villages. The latest round conflict erupted in late 2016 and continues at present with massive destruction of over 400 Muslim villages in Rakhine state being burned due to military operations against this minority group (Human Rights Watch 2017) and tens of thousands being displaced (Barry 2017). At present UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee is being denied access to Muslim villages in Rakhine state during her investigatory visit and is instead reportedly being allowed access to government vetted and approved individuals (Al-Jazeera 2017). The paper seeks to analyze the context of violence against the Rohingya from Galtung’s perspective of structural and cultural violence. In particular the author will detail the internal and external plight of the Rohingya and identify mechanisms which have failed to protect these people and finally provide some insight into drivers of this conflict and some possible pathways to peace..."
Source/publisher: Journal of Urban Culture Research via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
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Title: Rohingya: A Crime Against Humanity
Description: "Persecuted and oppressed in Myanmar, Rohingyas flee across the border into Bangladesh. Starving and stateless, they live in squalid makeshift camps. The recent ethnic clashes between Rohingya Muslims and the Rakhine Buddhists in the Rakhine (Arakan) province of Myanmar have attracted global attention. It is as if a veil had been lifted to reveal a hideous blemish. The terrible ethnic and religious violence recently happened in June 2012, in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine, pitted Buddhists against the mostly Muslim Rohingyas minority. The latest—when an ugly incident of rape and murder of a Buddhist woman allegedly by three Rohingyas—turned into a disaster for the Rohingya Muslims community in Myanmar. According to United Nations (UN) reports, there are more than 800,000 Rohingyas residing in Myanmar, mostly in the province of Rakhine, and many hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in other countries. Thus, Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. The ruling Junta stripped Rohingyas of all the rights of a citizen through a law called “Citizenship Law” in 1982, thus making Rohingyas the only stateless community of the world. However, the ruling Junta in Myanmar did not want to know nor let others know that the Rohingyas have a long history, a language, a heritage, a culture and a tradition of their own that they had built up in the Rakhine, through their long history of existence there. Moreover, through their “criminal propaganda”, the Buddhist majorities have been feeding so much misinformation against the Rohingya. According to Siddiqui (1999), the level of disinformation has reached such an alarming level that if some of the people were to talk with a Rakhine Buddhist, they would say that the Rohingyas are refugees in Rakhine and they do not belong to Myanmar, but that they belong to Bangladesh. However, such allegations are unfounded. Some scholars distinguished that in fact the forefathers of Rohingyas had entered into Rakhine from time immemorial (Karim, 2000)..."
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
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Title: The Slow-Burning Genocide Of Myanmar's Rohingya
Description: "“What can we do, Brother, they (the Rohingya) are too many? We can’t kill them all.” Ex-Brigadier General, formerly stationed in Arakan or Rakhine State, and Ambassador to Brunei, Fall, 2012.1 “How can it be ethnic cleansing? They are not an ethnic group.” Mr. Win Myaing, the official spokesperson of the Rakhine State Government, May 15, 2013.2 “We do not have the term ‘Rohingya.’” Myanmar President Thein Sein, Chatham House, London, July 17, 2013.3 “There are elements of genocide in Rakhine with respect to Rohingya . . . . The possibility of a genocide needs to be discussed. I myself do not use the term genocide for strategic reasons.” Tomás Ojéa Quintana, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, London Conference on Decades of State-Sponsored Destruction of Myanmar’s Rohingya, April 28, 2014.4 Over the past thirty-five years, the State in Myanmar has intentionally formulated, pursued, and executed national and state-level plans aimed at destroying the Rohingya people in Western Myanmar. 5 This destruction has been state-sponsored, legalized, and initiated by a frontal assault on the identity, culture, social foundation, and history of the Rohingya who are a people with a distinct ethnic culture..."
Source/publisher: Compilation © 2014 Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal Association via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-19
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Title: Japan continues to help Myanmar whitewash the Rohingya crisis
Description: "Braving the sweltering summer heat, more than 100 businesspeople gathered in central Tokyo on Aug. 6 to get the latest update on Myanmar’s economy. Participants were showered with promises of lucrative investment opportunities in sectors including health, education and infrastructure, and repeatedly told about the two countries’ wonderful bilateral relationship. A sobering breeze set in, however, when the keynote speaker, Myanmar Ambassador to Japan Thurain Thant Zin, was asked about the United Nations-mandated Fact-Finding Mission’s latest 111-page report on the Myanmar military’s business ties. Among the Japanese companies noted in that report are beer manufacturer Kirin Holdings, for providing financial support to the military, and tobacco manufacturer Japan Tobacco, for having a joint venture with military-operated Myanmar Economic Corp. (MEC). Kirin Holdings publicly acknowledged last year after an investigation by Amnesty International that it donated $6,000 for “humanitarian assistance” to the Rakhine state government in 2017. After an internal investigation last December, Kirin admitted it could not determine whether the donation was used for said purposes. Japan Tobacco denied having a joint venture with MEC..."
Source/publisher: "The Japan Times" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-18
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Title: World Bank under fire for Rakhine development plan in Myanmar
Summary: "Aid groups and human rights advocates have warned the World Bank that a $100m development project it is planning for Myanmar's conflict-riven Rakhine State could worsen tensions in the area. Last...
Sub-title: Rights groups are concerned that the development initiative could exacerbate divisions in the conflict-torn state.
Description: "Aid groups and human rights advocates have warned the World Bank that a $100m development project it is planning for Myanmar's conflict-riven Rakhine State could worsen tensions in the area. Last Friday, the World Bank published the first details of a proposal to fund cash-for-work programmes and support small businesses in one of Myanmar's poorest regions, with a plan to funnel these funds through the Myanmar government. "It is difficult to imagine how meaningful recovery and development are possible in Rakhine without addressing the underlying human rights issues that currently impact every aspect of life for communities," more than a dozen Myanmar-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) said in a letter to the World Bank's Myanmar office..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-18
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Title: Health access denied in northern Rakhine
Sub-title: Massive shortfalls in government services, blocks on NGOs and travel restrictions for residents continue to starve communities in northern Rakhine State of access to healthcare and flout the recommendations of the Kofi Annan commission.
Description: "In March this year, a young woman carrying twins went into labour in a village nine kilometres from the government hospital in the town of Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State. After two days in labour under the care of an untrained traditional midwife, her condition had sharply deteriorated and her family took her to the hospital, a 40-minute drive away. It was too late to save the twins, who were delivered dead, but the mother survived and was able to return home after a few days in hospital. The mother’s ordeal is just one example of the suffering and unnecessary death caused by inadequate healthcare in northern Rakhine. After the crisis of 2017, the situation become critical, but it has worsened further in northern as well as central Rakhine since fighting escalated this year between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. I have worked in public healthcare in northern Rakhine since 2017 and have seen the deterioration firsthand. Much more needs to be done, especially in primary healthcare, reproductive health services, immunisation and emergency support, for those in need. United Nations figures show that more than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh during the military “clearance operation” that followed attacks by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on security posts in northern Rakhine in August 2017. About one-third of the Rohingya population, or about 300,000 people, remained in northern Rakhine after the exodus, and along with other residents they have since been waiting for a significant improvement in access to healthcare..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-17
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Title: Fresh list of 50,000 Rohingyas handed to Myanmar: Foreign minister
Summary: "The minister disclosed this talking to a small group of reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On July 29, Bangladesh handed over a list of 25,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for verification...
Sub-title: Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen today said a new list of around 50,000 Rohingyas has been handed over to Myanmar to expedite Rohingya repatriation efforts.
Description: "The minister disclosed this talking to a small group of reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On July 29, Bangladesh handed over a list of 25,000 Rohingyas to Myanmar for verification before their repatriation to their place of origin in Rakhine State. Bangladesh has so far handed over names of around 55,000 Rohingyas to the Myanmar authorities. Turning to Abrar murder he said diplomats' comments over Abrar murder is "unnecessary " as the government has taken strong action immediately. "I think this should be stopped," said the minister noting US government's failure to arrest anybody after the recent US shooting that claimed 4 lives. "I think they (diplomats) go beyond norms." "It shouldn't be headache of someone else, " he said commenting on installation of coastal surveillance system. Bangladesh on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction regarding the UN statement on the murder of Buet student Abrar Fahad which the government sees as an internal matter of Bangladesh. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called UN Resident Coordinator here Mia Seppo at the office Director General (UN Wing) Nahida Sobhan and also explained the government position and the "prompt actions" taken so far and being taken since the killing, said a diplomatic source..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-16
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Title: Rohingya issue 'more economic than identity crisis or religious'
Description: "In Myanmar the constitutionally defined ethnic categories are often described as derive from the colonial state. But the contemporary scholarship would not support the inflexibility of such categories of the ethnic identification because it rejects the reification of ethnic distinctions and the obscuring of recesses of ethnic change. The Rohingya Muslims are living in Arakan since 1400s CE. The majority Buddhist Burmese conquered Arakan in 1785 and started to execute the Rohingya from the region. In 1826, the British took control over Arakan and encouraged farmers from Bengal to come to the depopulated area of Arakan. “The sudden influx of immigrants from British India sparked a strong reaction from the mostly-Buddhist Rakhine people living in Arakan at the time, sowing the seeds of ethnic tension that remain to this day”(Kallie S, Asian History). In the aftermath of Britain's withdrawal from Indian subcontinent, religious conflicts between Muslim and Buddhist took place in several times. In 1962, General Ne Win occupied the power of Burma and started to deny Burmese citizenship to the Rohingya people. “Since that time, the Rohingya in Myanmar have lived in limbo” (Kallie S, Asian History). The Burmese Government is always claiming the Rohingya are migrated from the British India and from the western part of Bangladesh. But the previous notes show the distinct history about their living in Burma. Rather than “during the four decades of Burmese rule (1784-1824), because of ruthless oppression, many Arakanese fled to British Bengal. According to a record of British East India Company, about thirty-five thousand Arakanese..."
Source/publisher: "South Asian University" (India) via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
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Title: Rohingya Refugees Who Returned to Myanmar on Their Own Say They Still Face Hardship
Description: "Some of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal military-led crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017 and sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh say they have not been able to go back to their original villages after returning to Rakhine of their own volition. Thousands of members of the Muslim minority group were killed during the violence, and more than 740,000 others escaped across the border, where they now live in sprawling displacement camps in southeastern Bangladesh. About 6,000 of the refugees took up shelter in a so-called “no-man’s land” near a border crossing point along Bangladesh’s frontier with Myanmar. They, along with others in camps in Bangladesh proper, have demanded that the Myanmar government grant them citizenship, ensure their safety, and rebuild their destroyed houses before they agree to return home. But about 300 refugees who returned to Rakhine state of their own volition say they still face unfavorable conditions that persecute them and prevent them from being able to live in their original villages, which were burned down during the crackdown..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
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Title: Rohingya: The History of a Muslim Identity in Myanmar
Description: "The name Rohingya denotes an ethnoreligious identity of Muslims in North Rakhine State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). The term became part of public discourse in the late 1950s and spread widely following reports on human rights violations against Muslims in North Rakhine State during the 1990s, and again after 2012. Claims for regional Muslim autonomy emerged during World War II and led to the rise of a Rohingya ethnonationalist movement that drew on the local Muslim imaginaire, as well as regional history and archaeology. To explore the historical roots of distinctive identity claims and highlight Buddhist-Muslim tensions, one must reach back to the role of Muslims in the precolonial Buddhist kingdom of Arakan and their demographic growth during the colonial period. Civic exclusion and state harassment under Burma’s authoritarian regimes (1962–2011) put a premature end to political hopes of ethnic recognition, and yet hastened a process of shared identity formation, both in the country and among the diaspora. Since the 1970s, refugees and migrants turned to Bangladesh, the Middle East, and Southeast Asian countries, forming a transnational body of Rohingya communities that reinvented their lives in various political and cultural contexts. A succession of Rohingya nationalist organizations—some of whom were armed—had negligible impact but kept the political struggle alive along the border with Bangladesh. Although Rohingya nationalists failed to gain recognition among ethnic and religious groups in Burma, they have attracted increasing international acknowledgment. For postdictatorial Myanmar (after 2011), the unresolved Rohingya issue became a huge international liability in 2017, when hundreds of thousands fled to Bangladesh following military operations widely interpreted as ethnic cleansing. In December 2017, the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights acknowledged that elements of genocide may be occurring..."
Source/publisher: "Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History" via "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-12
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Title: Abe meets Myanmar military chief
Description: "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called on Myanmar's military chief to address allegations of human rights violations against minority Rohingya Muslims. Some 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since Myanmar's security forces launched a massive sweep operation against Rohingya militants in 2017. On Wednesday in Tokyo, Abe held a meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's Defense Services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Abe said Japan hopes efforts by Myanmar's military will improve the situation. He also recognized the commander-in-chief's decision to halt military action against the minority people..."
Source/publisher: "NHK WORLD-JAPAN"
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
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Title: Five-year-old boy among 30 Rohingya arrested for travelling in Myanmar
Sub-title: Nine children sent to juvenile detention centres as remainder of group face up to two years in prison for failure to produce ID cards
Description: "Myanmar faces calls to release 30 Rohingya men, women and children arrested in September while trying to travel from Rakhine state to the city of Yangon. A total of 21 Rohingya face up to two years in jail under Myanmar’s Residents of Burma Registration Act, which stipulates that citizens must be in possession of “registration cards” to prove their identity. The act has been used against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority, who are denied citizenship of the country and are officially stateless. Nine children travelling as part of the group were sent to juvenile detention centres. A five-year-old boy’s fate is yet to be decided, activists said. Authorities told Radio Free Asia that the Rohingya, having left villages in Rakhine state where they reportedly faced violence and ethnic cleansing, were attempting to reach Malaysia. They allegedly paid traffickers between 500,000 and 700,000 kyats (£270-£380) to transport them to Yangon, where they hoped to find work or passage out of Myanmar. “It’s a cruel irony that these Rohingya will be trading what was effectively confinement to open-air detention in Rakhinestate for confinement in a state prison in Pathein,” said Brad Adams, executive director at Human Rights Watch (HRW)..."
Source/publisher: "The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
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Title: International community failed to influence Myanmar on the Rohingya crisis
Sub-title: UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Dhaka Mia Seppo said: 'UN alone cannot be blamed; there is a collective failure to influence Myanmar.'
Description: "The United Nation (UN) on Wednesday recognized the international community’s failure to influence Myanmar in taking back the Rohingyas and find a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis. UN Resident Coordinator (UNRC) in Dhaka Mia Seppo said: “UN alone cannot be blamed; there is a collective failure to influence Myanmar.” She was speaking at a press meet DCAB Talk organized by Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAP) at Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) auditorium in the Dhaka. Mia Seppo spoke about how the UN has an unwavering commitment to resolve this crisis, bringing together member states to the table to talk about the crisis and has made progress in accountability on human rights violations by Myanmar. “It is really important to keep in mind that any solution provided for the Rohingya crisis has to be sustainable. “Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Bangladesh on August 25, 2017 amid military crackdown on Muslims there,” she added..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
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Title: Myanmar facing several challenges including Rakhine issue in democratic transition
Description: "Myanmar is facing several challenges in its delicate and sensitive democratic transition with Rakhine issue being one of the most complex ones, said Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. The remarks came from the statement of Dr. Win Myat Aye submitted to the high-level meeting on statelessness, general discussions from each UN member nation held at United Nations Assembly Hall in Geneva, Switzerland on October 8. “Myanmar is facing several challenges in its delicate democratic transition. The issue in Rakhine is one of the most complex challenges. As we address the delicate and sensitive issue deeply rooted since colonial time, we cannot see and address any issue in isolation. We need to look at the issues from the multidimensional perspective. We must listen to the voices of all communities,” said Dr. Win Myat Aye. “As a result of ARSA terrorist attacks in 2016 and 2017, many people were displaced. Myanmar is ready to receive those displaced persons who had resided in Myanmar. The displaced persons now in Cox’s Bazar, who had been residents in Rakhine, have different legal status. We cannot classify all of them as stateless. Some have identity cards issued by the Myanmar government. Those who qualify for citizenship under the existing Law will be issued citizenship cards. Those who do not have any identity card will be issued NVCs immediately. They will proceed with the process to apply for citizenship, at the same time,” added Dr. Win Myat Aye..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
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Title: Rohingya refugees hesitant to return to Myanmar
Description: "Bangladesh is warning that it is no longer able to bear the economic burden of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in the country. They may be safe there but their status remains unresolved. Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker has the story from Kutupalong camp in southeast Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-10
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Title: Myanmar: Rohingya Jailed for Traveling
Sub-title: End Arbitrary Restrictions on Persecuted Muslim Minority
Description: "Myanmar authorities should immediately release 30 Rohingya Muslims detained for attempting to travel from Rakhine State to the city of Yangon, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should lift all travel restrictions on ethnic Rohingya and repeal discriminatory regulations that limit their right to freedom of movement. Police arrested the group of Rohingya on September 26, 2019. A week later, a court sentenced 21 of them to two years in prison, and sent eight children to a child detention center. The youngest, a 5-year-old, is being held at Pathein prison with his mother. “Myanmar authorities seem intent on persecuting Rohingya whether they stay at home or try to travel freely in the country,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “These 30 men, women, and children are being punished for simply seeking an escape from the daily brutality they’ve been subjected to for years.” The authorities apprehended the group for traveling without official permits and documentation after they arrived in Ayeyarwady Region via boat from Sittwe township in central Rakhine State. The group was en route to Yangon, where they planned to seek work or attempt to continue onward to Malaysia, according to media reports..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
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Title: Seoul Conference on Rohingya Genocide [Day 1] Wrap-up by Dr. Zarni
Description: "International Conference on Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide "Rape as a Weapon of Wars and Genocides, Past and Present in the Region"..."
Source/publisher: "Free Rohingya Coalition"
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
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Title: Seoul Conference on Rohingya Genocide [Day 2] Wrap-up by Dr. Zarni
Description: "International Conference on Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide "Rape as a Weapon of Wars and Genocides, Past and Present in the Region"..."
Source/publisher: "Free Rohingya Coalition"
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
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Title: UN, NGOs accused of bungling effort to educate Rohingya children
Sub-title: Questions raised over efforts to give Rohingya children and youth formal education under Myanmar curriculum.
Description: "On May 13, a group of Rohingya refugee education leaders had the rare chance to ask some of the questions that had been weighing on their minds for more than two years. For the first time, they were meeting representatives from the United Nations and international NGOs tasked with providing education to about half a million Rohingya refugee children living in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Minutes of the meeting obtained by Al Jazeera, show how the community leaders questioned the officials about the slow effort to give refugees formal education, the absence of a Myanmar curriculum in the camps, and the lack of consultation with the community. "Two years we have been living in the camp with no access to education, why is this?" said Khin Maung, a Rohingya youth activist who was at the meeting..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-09
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Title: Bangladesh plans to relocate Rohingyas to 'refugee island'
Description: "More than a million Rohingya refugees live in sprawling camps in Bangladesh. But, with the host community turning against the refugees and concerns about security, the government wants to relocate them. Last week, a renewed bid to return several thousand of them to Myanmar failed as not a single refugee agreed to sign up. Now the government is planning to relocate 100.000 of them to the remote island of Bhasan Char, possibly against their will. DW gained exclusive access to the island..."
Source/publisher: "DW News" (Germany)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-08
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Title: Myanmar is not safe for Rohingyas to return: Lee
Summary: "The UN's independent investigator on Myanmar says it's not safe for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to return because Myanmar has failed to dismantle its "system of...
Description: "The UN's independent investigator on Myanmar says it's not safe for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to return because Myanmar has failed to dismantle its "system of persecution" of Rohingyas. Yanghee Lee said in a report to the General Assembly circulated Friday that living conditions for the remaining Rohingyas in northern Rakihine state "remain dreadful", reports Associated Press. The Rohingya can't leave their villages and earn a living, she said, making them dependent on humanitarian aid whose access "has been so heavily diminished that their basic means for survival has been affected." "While this situation persists, it is not safe or sustainable for refugees to return," said the UN special rapporteur appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, adds AP. Lee also expressed concern that a household-counting exercise in Rohingya villages "is an effort to erase the Rohingya from administrative records and make their return less possible." She said the government's requirement that any refugee who returns must be issued "a national verification card" is not a solution to citizenship for the Rohingya, the news agency also adds..."
Source/publisher: "Prothom Alo" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-07
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Title: UN investigator: Myanmar is not safe for Rohingyas to return
Description: "The U.N.’s independent investigator on Myanmar says it’s not safe for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to return because Myanmar has failed to dismantle its “system of persecution” of Rohingyas. Yanghee Lee said in a report to the General Assembly circulated Friday that living conditions for the remaining Rohingya in northern Rakihine state “remain dreadful.” The Rohingya can’t leave their villages and earn a living, she said, making them dependent on humanitarian aid whose access “has been so heavily diminished that their basic means for survival has been affected.” “While this situation persists, it is not safe or sustainable for refugees to return,” said the U.N. special rapporteur appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. Lee also expressed concern that a household-counting exercise in Rohingya villages “is an effort to erase the Rohingya from administrative records and make their return less possible.” She said the government’s requirement that any refugee who returns must be issued “a national verification card” is not a solution to citizenship for the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: "The Washington Post" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-05
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Title: Myanmar Rejects Rohingya Refugee Visit to Rakhine State to Inspect Conditions For Repatriation
Description: "Myanmar has rejected an offer by China to facilitate a visit by a group of Rohingya refugees to its Rakhine state to investigate the situation there ahead of a possible repatriation from temporary camps across the border in Bangladesh, a senior Myanmar foreign ministry official confirmed Thursday. Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen told reporters on Wednesday that Myanmar’s government had dismissed the proposal, originally floated by Li Jiming, the new Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh, during talks with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar last month and formally discussed during a meeting last week between Myanmar, Chinese and Bangladeshi delegates on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Thursday, Aung Ko, the director general of the political affairs department for Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told RFA’s Myanmar Service his government had never agreed to the offer and is waiting for Bangladesh to “allow” the refugees to return to the border, whereupon they will be accepted following individual assessments..."
Source/publisher: "Radio Free Asia (RFA)" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-04
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Title: Can the ICC bring justice to Myanmar?
Sub-title: An investigation of crimes committed in Myanmar would be a historic undertaking, but many hurdles remain.
Description: "More than 700,000 men, women, and children, many identifying as Rohingya, crossed the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into Bangladesh in 2017, fleeing violence at the hands of the military and security forces. A UN Fact-Finding Mission was established to determine the facts and circumstances of alleged human rights violations, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) will soon decide whether to authorise an investigation into alleged international crimes that partly occurred in Bangladesh. Given the complexities of recent history in Myanmar and the workings of the ICC, it’s worth looking at some questions raised by this possibility. Why is the International Criminal Court’s decision important? The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s determination will be significant for those seeking justice. The Fact-Finding Mission has documented killings, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labour, forced recruitment of soldiers, and torture across Myanmar, with a particular focus on the Rohingya. That mission has now handed over materials to a UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). It commenced work in July and has a mandate to collect and analyse evidence for future national, regional, or international prosecutions. Some countries have sanctions in place against senior Myanmar military figures, but the ICC is currently the only international mechanism where judges are reviewing these allegations..."
Source/publisher: "The Interpreter"
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-03
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Title: Rohingya refugees continue to risk lives to seek safety: UNHCR
Sub-title: Rate of fatalities rises among refugees and asylum seekers who embark on sea journeys in Southeast Asia, report says.
Description: "Refugees from Southeast Asia, many of whom are members of Myanmar's Rohingya minority, continue to risk their lives to reach safety, according to a new report by the United Nations, which also highlights a much higher rate of deaths over the last year. The report released on Tuesday by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said one person in every 69 refugees and asylum seekers who embarked on a sea journey last year in the region died or went missing at sea. That is up from the one in every 81 ratio between 2013 to 2015, at the height of Southeast Asia's refugee and migrant boat crisis in the Andaman Sea. "As long as the root causes of displacement are unresolved, refugees will continue to feel compelled to undertake dangerous journeys in search of safety for themselves and their families," UNHCR Director for Asian and the Pacific Indrika Ratwatte, said in a statement..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera" (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-03
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Title: In Myanmar, underground poetry nights build bridges between Rohingya and Burmese writers
Description: "The first of three poetry readings over the summer and into the fall in Yangon, the events created space for Rohingya and Myanmar communities to share and exchange ideas in an otherwise deeply polarized society: Nearly two years earlier, the Myanmar military waged a brutal campaign against the Rohingya in Myanmar that drove over 740,000 of the persecuted Muslim minority into neighboring Bangladesh. Those who remain in Myanmar live in "urban ghettoes," a UN official said this summer. That campaign was the culmination of deep social and political tensions that have existed for decades in Myanmar, where the predominantly Buddhist country has long denied citizenship to the Rohingya along with education, healthcare, freedom of movement and other human rights. The word Rohingya itself is taboo in Myanmar, where citizens pejoratively refer to Rohingya as “Bengalis,” implying their status as immigrants from Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Public Radio International (PRI)" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-02
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Title: The Rohingya problem: Is there an ASEAN solution in sight?
Summary: "On 22 August 2019, Myanmar’s authorities launched a third repatriation attempt to facilitate the return of displaced Rohingya Muslims. The government dispatched buses to Cox’s Bazaar tasked with...
Sub-title: ASEAN’s commitment to decision-making by consensus and non-interference in the internal affairs of member states severely restricts its ability to play an effective and pro-active role in the Rohingya crisis.
Description: "On 22 August 2019, Myanmar’s authorities launched a third repatriation attempt to facilitate the return of displaced Rohingya Muslims. The government dispatched buses to Cox’s Bazaar tasked with bringing back some 3,000 Rohingya refugees to their place of abode in Rakhine State. Not a single refugee boarded the transportation provided. Unlike the first two repatriation attempts, this third attempt was of heightened significance. A team from ASEAN was at the Myanmar reception centres to witness the repatriation exercise. For Myanmar, the presence of ASEAN officials was an opportunity to validate its preparations for the repatriation exercise and to affirm that Myanmar was serious in facilitating the return of the displaced Rohingya. In this sense, the presence of ASEAN officials had good public relations value for Myanmar. Reactions to the failed repatriation attempt have been varied. The Myanmar authorities expressed surprise at the refugees’ refusal to return to Rakhine. They blamed the presence of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) for this failure, asserting that the group was active in Cox’s Bazaar, deterring Rohingya from returning home. The Myanmar government accused the Bangladeshi authorities of not doing enough to counter its activities and facilitating the return of the Rohingya Muslims..."
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-02
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Title: Bangladesh urged to speedily repatriate those expressing wish to return, ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction over Myanmar: Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe
Description: "Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe of State Counsellor Office called on Bangladesh to faithfully implement the bilateral agreement, which is the only feasible way to resolve the issue of the displaced persons and allow the speedy repatriation of those who have long expressed their desire to return, responding that ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction over Myanmar. The remarks came from Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe’s statement to the high-level General Debate on the fifth day of the74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly held on 28 September 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. “We call on Bangladesh to faithfully implement the bilateral agreement, which is the only feasible way to resolve the issue of the displaced persons. We also call on Bangladesh to allow the speedy repatriation of those who have long expressed their desire to return, including some 400 people of Hindu faith. Grand standing, introducing new elements, putting forward new conditionalities will be a futile exercise,” said Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe. “Our democratic transition is still young and as yet incomplete. As we struggle to step out from poverty’s shadow, while striving for inclusive development and peace, we must overcome a range of challenges, from imperfect Constitution to continued conflicts. The situation in Rakhine State, an issue that has deep and historical roots, counts amongst these challenges,” said Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe..."
Source/publisher: "Eleven Media Group" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-01
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Title: MPs urge strong security at Myanmar-Bangladesh border fence
Description: "U Tun Aung Thein, Pyithu Hluttaw member from Buthidaung Township, urged the security forces to guard the border fence between Arakan State and Bangladesh carefully because Muslim people in Bangladesh are entering Arakan State illegally. “Although we have border guard troops along the border fence, Muslim people got through the fence. We heard that two families entered Myanmar and a terrorist is among their group. We heard that the authorities found out only after they entered [Myanmar]. This shows why it is important to make our border fence better,” he said. On September 22, according to a report by the locals, Myanmar security forces arrested a Muslim in Maungdaw who allegedly entered Myanmar illegally from a refugee camp in Bangladesh. The incident has made residents in Maungdaw worried about their security. U Maung Ohn, Pyithu Hluttaw member from Maungdaw Township, said that the authorities should take action against those who entered through the border fence illegally. “We have to examine this kind of thing. We have to take action against them under the immigration laws. Only if we arrest them, we can reduce this kind of illegal entry. Otherwise, it is likely they will keep entering into our country illegally,” he said. Some lawmakers also urged Muslims who fled to Bangladesh because of the 2017 terrorist attacks in Maungdaw to come back Myanmar on the dates set by the Myanmar and Bangladesh governments..."
Source/publisher: "Development Media Group" via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-01
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Title: Myanmar wants controlled Rohingya return
Description: "Wary of international interference, Myanmar insisted Saturday it wants Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to neighboring Bangladesh repatriated to their former homes so they can live in a “more conducive environment” than the one they left. But it said such a relocation must take place under controlled conditions. Kyaw Tint Swe, Myanmar’s minister for the office of the state counselor, said in his nation’s address at the U.N. General Assembly that Myanmar is working with Bangladesh and the United Nations to find “long-term and practical solutions” to bring home some of the more than 740,000 Rohingya in the country’s Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh. “We fully share the concern of the international community over the violence that affects communities in Rakhine,” Kyaw Tint Swe said. “Our priority now is to expedite repatriation and to create a more conducive environment for verified returnees.” He also warned of “destructive movements in the camps aimed at preventing repatriation.” Myanmar’s military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against Rohingya Muslims in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and burning of their homes. Many of them are residing in camps in and around Cox’s Bazar, a Bangladeshi town near the border with Rakhine..."
Source/publisher: "The Japan News" (Japan)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
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Title: Over 20 displaced persons return to Myanmar from Bangladesh
Description: "Some 27 displaced persons have returned to Myanmar from Bangladesh, arriving at a reception camp in Maungtaw, Rakhine state, according to the immigration authorities Monday. The displaced people, who returned on their own wishes, made up of 14 families including some children. They were received at the Nga Khu Ya reception center last week. The Myanmar authorities managed their repatriation process, providing them with humanitarian assistance and issuing to them national verification cards after scrutiny in accordance with the immigration and security rules. A total of 3,450 verified displaced persons had been expected to be repatriated to Myanmar on Aug. 22, but the repatriation attempt failed, before Monday's announcement of the repatriation of the 27 displaced persons. Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in August 2018 for early repatriation of displaced persons from Myanmar's western state who fled to Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-30
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Title: 'Destructive movements' in Rohingya camps preventing repatriation, alleges Myanmar minister at UN
Sub-title: A senior official of Myanmar alleged at the United Nations on Saturday that "destructive movements in the camps (in Bangladesh) aimed at preventing repatriation and exploiting the plight of dispersed person (Rohingyas)."
Description: "However, Union Minister for the Office of the country's State Counsellor, Kyaw Tint Swe, did not specifically point out or clarify what did he mean by the term "destructive movement". Kyaw Tint Swe said in his speech on the fifth day of debate in the UN General Assembly in New York, US, "We call on Bangladesh to faithfully implement the bilateral agreement which is the only feasible way to resolve the issue of displaced person." "We also call on Bangladesh to allow the speedy repatriation of those who have long expressed their desire to return including some 400 people of Hindu fate," he said in his speech. "… introducing new elements, putting forward new conditionality will be a futile exercise," he said adding that exertions of discriminatory scrutinisation and political pressure with malicious intent will not contribute to our efforts in resolving the problem. Myanmar is prioritizing the repatriation of scores of people who fled violence in northern Rakhine state for Bangladesh, he said. Smooth and successful repatriation require genuine repatriation and committed efforts as well as strict adherence to signed agreements, he said at the UN assembly..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-29
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Title: Barbed wire fences for Bangladesh Rohingya camps
Sub-title: Officials frustrated by collapse of refugee repatriation attempt
Description: "Bangladesh is set to erect barbed-wire fencing, guard towers and cameras around Rohingya camps, the home minister said Thursday citing security concerns, in a move critics said would turn the refugee settlements into prisons. Dhaka has been growing frustrated with the Rohingya in Bangladesh – who number nearly a million – since the collapse of a recent repatriation attempt to encourage them to return home to Myanmar. The stateless Muslim minority live in large camps in southeastern border towns, with the majority having fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state in August 2017 after a military crackdown. “There are three large camps. We’ll fence the three camps with barbed wires,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters Wednesday. “Watch towers and CCTV cameras” would also be set up to monitor activity in the Cox’s Bazar district settlements, he added..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-28
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Title: OIC to Myanmar: Keep your commitments over Rohingya repatriation
Description: " It also urged Myanmar to shoulder its responsibility in providing indiscriminate protection to all citizens Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Dr Yousef A Al Othaimeen has urged Myanmar to honor its commitments as to its pledged full cooperation with Bangladesh regarding the repatriation of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State. He called upon the international community to keep up its support to Bangladesh over Rohingya issue as Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas. The OIC secretary general also urged Myanmar to shoulder its responsibility in providing indiscriminate protection to all citizens as well as full observance of all international human rights agreements, according to OIC headquarters on Thursday. Secretary General Othaimeen and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and discussed the Rohingya issue. Othaimeen paid tribute to the efforts made by the Prime Minister Hasina and the people of Bangladesh in their generous hospitality to over one million Rohingyas, offering them shelter and care, in addition to Bangladesh’s firm commitment to the cause of the Rohingya. The OIC secretary general has commended Saudi Arabia’s efforts for the Rohingyas and advocated support for Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-27
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Title: Rohingya Refugees Risk Going Back to Another Genocide in Myanmar
Description: "Myanmar’s government is pushing for the more than 1 million Rohingya refugees currently in Bangladesh to start returning to the country, in an effort to project an image of peace and reconciliation to the outside world. Yet as grim as the situation is for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where they live in what is now the world’s largest refugee settlement, their prospects back in Myanmar are even worse. It is little surprise, then, that few if any Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, have taken up the offer. This is Myanmar’s second attempt at facilitating the repatriation of Rohingya, after an earlier effort failed last November. Bangladesh’s government, which supports repatriation, has been making life harder for Rohingya refugees in the country. In early September, it shut off mobile internet access in refugee camps, a move condemned by human rights groups because it could make it more difficult to deliver humanitarian services. The Bangladeshi government desperately wants to close the overcrowded camps, fearing major disease outbreaks, but only if Rohingya refugees leave the country and do not integrate into Bangladeshi society. It fears the refugees’ impacts on the job market and social stability..."
Source/publisher: "World Politics Review (WPR)"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-27
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Title: Another landmine blast on Burma-Bangladesh border kills Rohingya refugee
Description: "A landmine explosion has killed a Rohingya refugee on the Burma-Bangladesh border, according to Lieutenant Colonel Ali Haidar Azad Ahmed, Commanding Officer of 34 BGB Battalion, Cox’s Bazar. The explosion occurred near the Ambagan area, at Thoyangaziri Pillar number 38/3 under Naikhyangchari in Bandarban, at around 8 am on September 23, and is the second such incident this month, according to the officer. The deceased was identified as Mohammad Abdul Mazid, 35, son of Mohammad Abdul Malek, from Block-D/1 of Kutupalong mega camp, under Ukhiya police station of the district. On receiving information, police with the help of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered the body from the zero-point area, said Anwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Naikhongchhari Police Station. It was not known why the refugee went to the border region, said Anwar Hosen. But former Ghumdum UP Member Md Farid said Rohingyas usually use these border routes to smuggle illegal goods into Bangladesh. Rohingya refugee Abdul Mazid crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar borderline on September 23 morning, but 50 yards inside Myanmar he stepped on a landmine and was seriously injured when it exploded. Later, local people rescued him from the Myanmar side and sent him to a BGB physician, according to witnesses and 34 Border Guard Bangladesh-BGB personnel. He died while under treatment due to heavy bleeding, BGB personnel said. Later, the BGB handed over the body to the Ghumdum police camp asking them to take necessary steps. Confirming the matter, Ghumdum Investigation Centre In-Charge Emon Chowdhury said the deceased’s body will be sent to the Bandarban Sadar Hospital morgue Dil Mohamed, a Rohingya community leader who lives in the makeshift camp on the tiny strip of “no man's land,” said the incident took place near their camp and was very frightening for them..."
Source/publisher: "Kaladan Press" (Bangladesh) via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-26
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Title: Three nations to jointly evaluate Rohingya repatriation progress
Description: "An informal trilateral meeting involving officials from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and China has led to the formation of a “tripartite joint working mechanism” to evaluate the situation on the ground for Rohingya repatriation, according to Dr AK Abdul Momen, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister. Myanmar agreed with the Chinese proposal after some initial objections and together with Bangladesh and China will evaluate progress jointly on the ground, the Bangladesh Foreign Minister told the media after the three nations’ joint meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, 2019. The first meeting of the tripartite working body is likely to be held in October, the minister said. Despite Myanmar taking all the necessary steps to take back their nationals, Bangladesh said Myanmar has been unable to build confidence among the Rohingyas yet. “They’ll return, only when they feel that they have safety, security and free mobility after their return,” said the minister. “The good news is that Myanmar has agreed to take their nationals back as soon as possible,” the minister added. Two attempts at Rohingya repatriation have failed as the Rohingyas are unwilling to go back to their place of origin amid lack the required conditions in Rakhine State for their return..."
Source/publisher: "Kaladan Press" (Bangladesh) via BNI Multimedia Group (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-26
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Title: World must take steps to compel Myanmar for Rohingya return: PM
Sub-title: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the world must take all measures to compel Myanmar to create conditions enabling the Rohingyas’ safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation to their ancestral homes.
Description: "“Rohingya crisis is a formidable challenge for Bangladesh … we want a peaceful and immediate resolution of the crisis. Myanmar has created the crisis and the solution lies in Myanmar,” she said. The prime minister made the comments while participating in an interactive dialogue — “A conversation with Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina” — at the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) here on Wednesday afternoon local time. The premier also placed a four-point proposal to fight terrorism and violent extremism terming the twin social menaces as a significant challenge to Bangladesh’s economic progress and humanity. She said,”I would like to propose the following steps in order to fight against terrorism and violent extremism:” Firstly – the source of supply of arms to the terrorists must be stopped; secondly – the flow of financing to the terrorists and their outfits must be stopped; thirdly – the divisions within societies must be removed and fourthly – the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes through dialogue for a win-win situation must be pursued. Sheikh Hasina said the government of Myanmar, through a planned atrocity, cleansed Rohingya minority from Northern Rakhine State. “The Rohingyas fled violence and atrocities and we opened our border to shelter them on humanitarian ground,” she said..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-26
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Title: Bangladesh, China, Myanmar to jointly evaluate progress over Rohingya repatriation
Sub-title: Bangladesh, China and Myanmar have agreed to form a "tripartite joint working mechanism" to evaluate the situation on the ground for Rohingya repatriation.
Description: "Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen came up with the development after a joint meeting with his Chinese and Myanmar counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. "On the ground, Bangladesh, China and Myanmar will evaluate the progress jointly," Dr Momen told reporters after the meeting adding that Myanmar agreed with the Chinese proposal though Myanmar had some objections initially at the meeting. The first meeting of the tripartite working body is likely to be held in October. Though Myanmar claimed that they have taken all the necessary steps to take back their nationals, Bangladesh said Myanmar could not build confidence among the Rohingyas yet. "They'll return, only when they'll feel that they've a safety, security and free mobility after their return." Dr Momen said the good news is that Myanmar has agreed to take their nationals back as soon as possible. Two attempts of Rohingya repatriation have failed as the Rohingyas are unwilling to go back to their place of origin amid lack of required conditions in Rakhine State for their return. Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas and most of them entered Cox's Bazar since August 25, 2017. Welcoming Chinese involvement in repatriation process, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson has recently said Chinese involvement has a "great deal of potential" to help bring the Rohingya crisis to an end noting that involvement of wide range of countries can resolve the crisis..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Bangladesh, Myanmar, China Call for ‘Working Group’ on Rohingya Issue
Description: "Representatives from Myanmar, Bangladesh and China called this week for enhanced cooperation in repatriating Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh back to their homes in Myanmar, saying political will is needed to move the issue forward, media reports said. Meeting informally on Monday on the sidelines of U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, Bangladesh foreign minister A.K. Abdul Momen, and Myanmar Minister of the State Counselor’s Office Kyaw Tint Swe also called for the creation of a trilateral working group “mechanism” to oversee repatriation efforts. Strong political will and improvements in the economic conditions of Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state to promote regional stability are needed for real progress to be made, said parties to the meeting, which was presided over by China’s foreign minister, with Christine Schraner Burgener – the U.N. Secretary-General’s special envoy on Myanmar – also attending. Speaking later to Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews, Hou Do Suan – Myanmar’s permanent representative to the U.N. – downplayed China’s proposed new role in the working group, saying a bilateral group already exists in promoting joint efforts by Myanmar and Bangladesh, and that only “sincere will” is needed to bring the Rohingya refugees back. “I want to clarify that the forming of this working group is not a [new] mechanism,” Hou Do Suan said, adding, “We already have a joint working group. “China is just helping us in facilitating the implementation of the agreements we already have,” he said. “Speaking frankly, if we can implement the bilateral agreement for repatriating these people with the real intention to get it done, we will succeed,” he said..."
Source/publisher: "BenarNews"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Dr M slams UN, Myanmar govt over Rohingya crisis
Description: "The United Nations and Myanmar government came under fire on Tuesday for their inaction in resolving the Rohingya crisis which has displaced more than a million people in the country. The UN’s silence on the crisis is deafening, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, adding that the 75-year-old organisation has not fulfilled its purpose of preventing such man-made atrocities. “Without Security Council's action, others must do their part to resolve the crisis and bring the perpetrators to justice,” he said at a high-level side event “Rohingya Crisis - A Way Forward” at the United Nations headquarters on Tuesday. Also present was Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. Myanmar’s military has been accused of murdering thousands of Rohingya in western Rakhine state since 2017, which has resulted in the mass exodus of these Muslim minorities to neighbouring countries, and led to the world’s largest refugee camp at Cox Bazar in Bangladesh. Dr Mahathir said what happened in the Rakhine State is genocide. “What took place were mass killings, systematic rape and other gross violations of human rights,” he said. He commended the Organisation of Islamic Conference's (OIC) effort to bring the matter to the International Court of Justice, and hopes that other countries would support OIC to ensure the perpetrators do not get away with the heinous crimes they have committed..."
Source/publisher: "New Straits Times" (Malaysia)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Myanmar military chief seeks Muslim redemption
Summary: "Myanmar’s internationally reviled military chief, widely accused of commanding “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” against the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority, has evidently now discovered...
Sub-title: Min Aung Hlaing, accused of war crimes against Rohingya Muslims, has evidently had a change of heart
Description: "Myanmar’s internationally reviled military chief, widely accused of commanding “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes” against the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority, has evidently now discovered religious tolerance. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, and several of his deputies made a rare, if not unprecedented, late August visit to a Muslim mosque in the town of Pyinmana, close to the national capital of Naypyitaw. Two weeks later, in what some see as a sort of public relations roadshow, the military chief visited the Joon Mosque in the central city of Mandalay. Then, on September 17, in the commercial capital Yangon, he visited the Muslim Free Hospital, a local clinic established in 1937 that despite its name is actually a multicultural charity. As is customary for religious shrine visits in Myanmar and elsewhere, Min Aung Hlaing made donations of rice, oil, salt, peas and cash to the mosques, offerings that were earmarked as given by himself, his family and his deputies’ families. Less familiar, the military chief also offered up messages of tolerance, inclusion and unity to his Muslim audiences, noting at one stop that all Myanmar citizens are “living in the same land, drinking from the same source and living under the same roof.” That’s, of course, unless you’re among the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya forcibly driven out of the country in 2017 by his military’s “area clearance” operations in Rakhine state, and are now languishing in abysmal refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-25
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Title: Drug trafficking and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
Sub-title: Statelessness, restricted refugee camps and lack of accessibility to basic services have acted as strong push factors for Rohingyas to take up ‘Yaba’ drug trafficking in Bangladesh.
Description: "In 2018, a major attack on drug trade, especially of ‘Yaba’, popularly known as the madness drug, took place in Bangladesh where a record 53 million methamphetamine pills were seized. Nearly 300 suspected drug dealers were killed out of which 40 were from Teknaf area near to Rohingya camps. Some 25,000 were arrested, out of which few were Rohingyas. As Reuters reports, Bangladesh has become a big market for traffickers who source the drug from factories in lawless northeastern Myanmar. Why and how these stateless people are getting involved in this crime needs to be looked at. Bangladesh currently harbours more than 900,000 Rohingyas in their overpopulated camps. Already cramped and burdened, the living conditions in these camps are appalling. Though the Rohingyas are finally getting a chance to live in a settlement, some restrictions on procuring legitimate work is paving way for new illegal ones. The men, women and children, who travelled from their war torn villages, arrived at this side of the border either without their spouses or parents or children who they lost in the brutal military crackdown. While some could carry money or clothes, most couldn’t since their villages were lit on fire. Under such harsh physical and mental conditions, they are settled in the overpopulated camps where there are restrictions to work outside the camp areas. The relief they receive from the humanitarian organisations are in kind. They are only allowed to work in occupations created by the UNHCR organisations within the camps but the money they earn in exchange is meagre in order to support themselves and their families. The food supply remain limited and thus, having extra money helps to procure better ration and other basic necessities..."
Source/publisher: "Observer Research Foundation (ORF)" (India)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
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Title: House to vote on Rohingya genocide: the time to act is now!
Description: "The House of Representatives is set to vote on the BURMA Act of 2019 (H.R. 3190) as early as tomorrow, September 24. The legislation has garnered 53 cosponsors in the House, but will need even more support to move forward. The Rohingya are in a more dire situation than ever, with those who remain in Myanmar subjected to ongoing atrocities, while those seeking safe haven as refugees in Bangladesh are being squeezed by Dhaka via a series of rights-effacing restrictions. It’s time for Washington to step up its response to this clear-cut genocide. The Trump Administration must take a much harder line with Myanmar, sending a strong message that the regime cannot get away with such atrocities and hollow sham repatriation attempts. It must also share more of the burden with Bangladesh so as to assuage the country’s mounting frustration with the continued presence and needs of the Rohingya. The BURMA Act provides a solid strategy for meeting both of these objectives by acknowledging the extent of the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military, activating counter-impunity mechanisms like robust sanctions against the top architects of the genocide, and increasing humanitarian assistance to help Bangladesh better manage the response. As a recap, in August of 2017, a brutal campaign waged by the Myanmar military apparatus, known as the Tatmadaw, triggered a mass exodus of more than 750,000 Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh — an operation that rights groups, the UN, U.S. elected officials, and even some governments have branded a genocide. It has been two years since the “final solution” against the Rohingya began, but their circumstances have not improved since the horrific crackdown. If anything, they have continued to deteriorate. The Rohingya in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, have been living in a purgatorial limbo for the past two years — caught between a homeland that yearns for their extermination and a host country that wants them out. The Rohingya are essentially being squeezed by both sides, systematically stripped of their dignity and deprived of their rights with ever-increasing severity..."
Source/publisher: "Jewish World Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-24
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Title: EU urges UNSC sanctions against Myanmar human rights violators
Description: "The European Parliament has called on the UN Security Council to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. It also called on the Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). So far, the UN Security Council has been divided over any concrete action against Myanmar for opposition of veto powers – China and Russia. The European Parliament adopted a resolution with 546 votes in favour, 12 against and 94 abstentions on Thursday on “Myanmar, notably the situation of the Rohingya”. Over 730,000 Rohingyas fled brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 2017, which according to the UN independent investigators, amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity. The Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh, and two attempts of repatriation failed as the refugees said the guarantee of citizenship and safety was not ensured. The remaining 600,000 Rohingya in Rakhine still face the threats of genocide, according to the UN investigators. They are subjected to ongoing discriminatory policies and practices, systematic violations basic rights, while there are tight military controls in place limiting access to aid agencies and media in Rakhine. On April 29 this year, the EU extended a ban on selling arms to Myanmar and prolonged sanctions against high-ranking officials over their role in the Rohingya crisis. The embargo on weapons and other equipment that could be used for repression would stay in place until at least April 30, 2020. In Thursday’s resolution, Members of European Parliament (MEPs) expressed grave concern about the ongoing and long-lasting conflict and called upon Myanmar government and the security forces to immediately stop the violations..."
Source/publisher: The Phnom Penh Post (Cambodia) via "Asia News Network" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-23
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Title: Myanmar’s Rohingya persecuted, living under threat of genocide, UN experts say
Description: "The 600,000 Rohingya remaining inside Myanmar face systematic persecution and live under the threat of genocide, an independent international UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar says in a new report. “The threat of genocide continues for the remaining Rohingya,” said Marzuki Darusman, chair of the fact-finding mission, recalling that a year ago the mission said it had found “genocidal acts” in Myanmar’s 2017 “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee for their lives to Bangladesh. “Myanmar is failing in its obligation to prevent genocide, to investigate genocide and to enact effective legislation criminalising and punishing genocide,” Darusman said. The report, published on 16 September, was to be presented the following day to the UN Human Rights Council, which created the mission in 2017. It says Myanmar’s ethnic groups have a common – but not identical – experience of marginalisation, discrimination and brutality at the hands of the Myanmar armed forces, the Tatmadaw..."
Source/publisher: "ALIRAN"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-23
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Title: Genocide of Rohingya Muslims A Classical Model of Ethnic Cleansing
Summary: "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...
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..."
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA) via "AL-SHAJARAH" (Malaysia)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-22
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Title: Rohingya: The History of a Muslim Identity in Myanmar
Summary: "The name Rohingya denotes an ethnoreligious identity of Muslims in North Rakhine State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). The term became part of public discourse in the late 1950s and spread widely...
Description: "The name Rohingya denotes an ethnoreligious identity of Muslims in North Rakhine State, Myanmar (formerly Burma). The term became part of public discourse in the late 1950s and spread widely following reports on human rights violations against Muslims in North Rakhine State during the 1990s, and again after 2012. Claims for regional Muslim autonomy emerged during World War II and led to the rise of a Rohingya ethnonationalist movement that drew on the local Muslim imaginaire, as well as regional history and archaeology. To explore the historical roots of distinctive identity claims and highlight Buddhist-Muslim tensions, one must reach back to the role of Muslims in the precolonial Buddhist kingdom of Arakan and their demographic growth during the colonial period. Civic exclusion and state harassment under Burma’s authoritarian regimes (1962–2011) put a premature end to political hopes of ethnic recognition, and yet hastened a process of shared identity formation, both in the country and among the diaspora. Since the 1970s, refugees and migrants turned to Bangladesh, the Middle East, and Southeast Asian countries, forming a transnational body of Rohingya communities that reinvented their lives in various political and cultural contexts. A succession of Rohingya nationalist organizations—some of whom were armed—had negligible impact but kept the political struggle alive along the border with Bangladesh. Although Rohingya nationalists failed to gain recognition among ethnic and religious groups in Burma, they have attracted increasing international acknowledgment. For postdictatorial Myanmar (after 2011), the unresolved Rohingya issue became a huge international liability in 2017, when hundreds of thousands fled to Bangladesh following military operations widely interpreted as ethnic cleansing. In December 2017, the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights acknowledged that elements of genocide may be occurring..."
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA) via Oxford Research Encyclopedia (UK)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-22
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Title: Rohingya: The Identity Crisis
Summary: "The people who call themselves Rohingya are the Muslims of Mayu Frontier area, present-day Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships of Arakan (Rakhine) State, an isolated province in the western part of...
Description: "The people who call themselves Rohingya are the Muslims of Mayu Frontier area, present-day Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships of Arakan (Rakhine) State, an isolated province in the western part of Myanmar across Naaf River as boundary from Bangladesh (Chan, 2005). For the past three decades, the Rohingya have been seeking to restore their unrecognised ethnic identity, for any ethnic group has the right to identify itself or decide what name it should be called. Rohingya identity crisis began when they were divested from their cultural, national and ethnic identity in 1982, while Cheesman (2017) argues that 1982 citizenship law did not affect the Rohingya though he mentioned in the abstract that ‘people who reside in Myanmar but are collectively denied citizenship – like anyone identifying or identified as Rohingya – pursue claims to be taingyintha so as to rejoin the community.’ Recently, almost all news channels and agencies, social and human right activists, journalists etc. have addressed and tackled the Rohingya crisis. Much of the focus was on the ongoing violence and systematic ethnic cleansing committed by some fanatic Buddhists and military forces. Thus, this 21st century most outrageous tragedy has nearly prevailed all social media, depicting the worst discrimination and bloodiest atrocities ever..."
Source/publisher: "Academia.edu" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-22
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Title: Estonian MEP: EU must put pressure on Myanmar to end atrocities against Rohingyas
Description: "Members of the European Parliament discussed the situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar at a plenary session in Strasbourg. Estonian MEP Urmas Paet said in his speech that due to the continued violence of the Myanmarese government and army against the Rohingya, the European Union must make new decisions as to how to put pressure on the state. "The latest UN fact-finding mission in Myanmar said that some 600,000 Rohingyas remaining in the state are living in fear of a new genocide," Paet said. "The crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmarese army and war crimes against ethnic communities are continuing, and the army and government are enjoying impunity," he noted. The Estonian MEP said that the Rohingya in Myanmar are being discriminated against and have been deprived of their basic rights. "They are facing the threat of arbitrary arrest, they have no freedom of movement and only have limited access to healthcare services," he added. Paet said that some 700,000 Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh to escape the violence of the Myanmarese army are also facing several problems. "The Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh is overcrowded. The conditions there are unsanitary and the access to healthcare is limited," he said. "Children lack opportunities for receiving an education and human trafficking is on the rise." The Estonian MEP said that the European Union and other international organizations must make an effort to gain access to the Myanmarese conflict regions in order to provide aid and monitor the system on the spot. Human rights violations in the state must be investigated in depth and the perpetrators have to be held responsible..."
Source/publisher: "The Baltic Times" (Latvia)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-20
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Title: European Parliament adopts resolution urging UNSC to impose full arms embargo against Myanmar
Sub-title: UNSC urged to refer Myanmar to International Criminal Court
Description: "The European Parliament passed a resolution yesterday, urging the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar. They also urged the UNSC to adopt targeted sanctions against those natural, and legal individuals who appear to be responsible for serious human rights violations. In a resolution titled “Myanmar, notably the situation of the Rohingya,” the members of European Parliament (MEP) reiterated their strong condemnation of all past and present human rights violations which, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity, perpetrated by the armed forces of Myanmar against the country’s minority Rohingya population. They expressed grave concern about the ongoing and long-lasting conflict, and once again urged the Myanmar government, and its security forces to immediately stop the violations. The resolution also commended the efforts undertaken by the government, and people of Bangladesh to provide refuge, and security to Rohingya refugees. It also urges the Bangladeshi side to fully respect the principle of non-refoulement, and not force Rohingya refugees back into Myanmar, where their lives could be in danger. The MEPs welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor to open a preliminary investigation into crimes under the court’s jurisdiction, committed against the Rohingya population since 2016..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-20
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Title: Landmine blast on Bangladesh-Myanmar border kills Rohingya refugee
Description: "A Rohingya refugee has been killed in a landmine explosion along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, Bangladesh officials said on September 3, 2019. The body of the deceased was recovered near the Ghumdhum border of Naikhongchhari Upazila on the Bangladesh side, an official said. BGB regional commander Ali Haider Azad Ahmed has said the dead man is believed to be a Rohingya refugee. Locals have identified him as Md Shahjahan, aged 32, resident of a Rohingya refugee camp, Bangladesh border guards said they heard a loud explosion on September 3 and saw several men leaving behind a badly wounded person at the border village of Ghumdum. The body was sent to the Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital morgue. The state of the body suggested that he was killed in a landmine explosion, as his legs were blown clean off, according to Ghumdhum police outpost in-charge Emon Chowdhury. “We suspect he was killed in a landmine explosion inside Myanmar and then these people carried the body to Bangladesh territory,” a senior Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) official said on condition of anonymity. The incident took place along the border around 7 pm on September 3, 2019..."
Source/publisher: "BNI Multimedia Group" via Kaladan Press (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-19
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Title: UN expert implores Myanmar’s Suu Kyi: “open your eyes, listen, feel with your heart
Description: "A UN human rights expert has implored Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to ‘feel with her heart before it is too late’, saying that even if refugees wished to return they have little to go back to. Yanghee Lee, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, told the Human Rights Council the situation in Myanmar was of extreme concern, and was not what she and others had hoped to see nearly four years after the election of the National League for Democracy. “I would like to ask the State Counsellor if the Myanmar that exists today is what she had truly aspired to bring about throughout the decades of her relentless fight for a free and democratic Myanmar? I implore you Madame State Counsellor to open your eyes, listen, feel with your heart, and please use your moral authority, before it is too late.” Despite international condemnation, Lee said Myanmar had done nothing to dismantle the system of violence and persecution against Rohingya, and that the Rohingya who remain in Rakhine live in the same dire circumstances that they did prior to the events of August 2017. “They are denied citizenship and recognition, face regular violence (including in the context of the ongoing conflict between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw), are unable to move freely and have little access to food, healthcare, education, livelihoods and services,” she said. “Myanmar claims to have done what is necessary for the repatriation to be successful, and continues to blame Bangladesh for any delay,” she said. “However, information I have leads me to believe that the contrary is true.” Lee noted that satellite imagery showed the development of 34 camps, but said their precise purpose was unclear. She said they may be intended to detain the remaining Rohingya population and those who decide to return..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via UNHCR (Switzerland)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-19
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Title: Has the world failed Rohingya Muslims | Inside Story
Description: "The UN warns hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims remaining in Myanmar face a "serious risk of genocide" Two years after Myanmar's military crackdown on the Rohingya, UN Investigators say conditions remain 'deplorable' for the muslim ethnic minority, 600,000 Rohingya living in Rakhine state face a serious risk of genocide and that it is impossible for hundreds of thousands who fled to Bangladesh to return. Last year, the UN fact finding mission found that military officers carried out a campaign against the Rohingya with "genocidal intent". The investigators are now calling for Myanmar to be held responsible, and army generals to face trial over rapes and killings. But would that be enough to end the suffering of one of the most persecuted minorities in the world?..."
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera English (Qatar)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
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Title: Nobel Peace Laureate Could Face Prosecution Over Myanmar Military’s Actions
Description: "Myanmar’s civilian leader, a Nobel laureate once extolled as a champion of democracy, could face prosecution for crimes against humanity because of the military’s attacks on Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups, United Nations investigators said on Tuesday. Their statement was a new sign of how far the leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, had fallen from grace in the three years since she took office, overshadowed by the military’s campaign against the Rohingya. She was first acclaimed as an icon of the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar, having won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 and endured many years of house arrest. Now she has become an international pariah for her government’s response to brutal oppressions by Myanmar’s military. In a report to the United Nations top human rights body in Geneva on Tuesday, a panel of investigators, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, said the 660,000 Rohingya people who remain in Myanmar face systematic persecution..."
Source/publisher: "The New York Times" (USA)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
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Title: Rohingya repatriation: Bangladesh likely to sit with China, Myanmar
Summary: "The trilateral meeting will be held on the sideline of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to be held in New York by this month, Lt Col (Retd) Muhammad Faruq Khan, president of Parliamentary...
Sub-title: Bangladesh is likely to sit across the table with representatives of China and Myanmar in New York this month to resolve the much-talked-about Rohingya repatriation issue.
Description: "The trilateral meeting will be held on the sideline of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to be held in New York by this month, Lt Col (Retd) Muhammad Faruq Khan, president of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs said today. The parliamentary committee today held a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Complex with Faruq Khan in the chair and discussed the latest development about the repatriation process of Rohingyas to Myanmar. During the meeting, the foreign ministry informed that representatives of the three countries will hold talks during the general assembly of the United Nations, he said. The parliamentary committee also expressed disappointment over the diplomatic efforts which have been so far to repatriate the Rohingya to their homeland in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, he said. There is lacking in the ongoing efforts and the committee asked the ministry to take stronger and more effective move to ensure the repatriation of the Rohingyas, Farook Khan said..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star" ( Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
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Title: Akter, 20, expelled from university for being Rohingya
Sub-title: Rahima Akter has become the face of the struggle of Rohingya refugees who want, but are not allowed to pursue education.
Description: "Rahima Akter hid her Rohingya identity to enrol at a private university in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, but her dreams of pursuing higher education were dashed after she was suspended by her university earlier this month. The 20-year-old from Kutupalong refugee camp has become the face of the struggle of Rohingya refugees who want to study, as Bangladesh does not allow Rohingya to enrol in schools or colleges. Last October, she was featured in a video story by the Associated Press in which she talked about being a Rohingya and her dream to study human rights so she could raise her voice for her persecuted community. Nearly a year after it was published, the video went viral after which she was expelled from Cox's Bazar International University where she was studying law. "I was in college when the video started showing up on people's phones. Suddenly, everyone was asking me, 'Are you Rohingya?' Some people started a negative campaign, saying I should be sent back," said Akter, over the phone. "I was hiding my identity only so I could study. I feel guilty but I did not have an option. Is getting an education a crime? she asked..."
Source/publisher: "Al Jazeera English"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-17
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Title: UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar: Myanmar’s Rohingya Persecuted, Living under Threat of Genocide, UN Experts Say - မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိရိုဟင်ဂျာများ ဖိနှိပ်ညှင်းပန်းခံရ၊ ဂျန်နိုဆိုက် အန္တရာယ်လက်ရောက်တွင် နေထိုင်နေရသည်ဟု ကုလကျွမ်းကျင်ပညာရှင်များကဆို။
Description: "The 600,000 Rohingya remaining inside Myanmar face systematic persecution and live under the threat of genocide, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar says in a new report. “The threat of genocide continues for the remaining Rohingya”, said Marzuki Darusman, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, recalling that a year ago the Mission said it had found “genocidal acts” in Myanmar’s 2017 “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee for their lives to Bangladesh. “Myanmar is failing in its obligation to prevent genocide, to investigate genocide and to enact effective legislation criminalizing and punishing genocide,” Darusman said. The report, published today, will be presented on Tuesday to the Human Rights Council, which created the Mission in 2017. It says Myanmar’s ethnic groups have a common – but not identical – experience of marginalization, discrimination and brutality at the hands of the Myanmar armed forces, the Tatmadaw. The report includes much new information about human rights abuses resulting from the Tatmadaw’s decades-long fight against the country’s minority ethnic groups. On the Tatmadaw’s conflict with the Arakan Army, the report says: “In an attempt to prevent civilian support to the insurgency, the Tatmadaw has cut the lifelines of ethnic Rakhine communities, restricting both people’s freedom of movement and humanitarian access” so that many cannot make a living or get food.....မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိရိုဟင်ဂျာများ ဖိနှိပ်ညှင်းပန်းခံရ၊ ဂျန်နိုဆိုက် အန္တရာယ်လက်ရောက်တွင် နေထိုင်နေရသည်ဟု ကုလကျွမ်းကျင်ပညာရှင်များကဆို။..."
Source/publisher: The United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/50)
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-17
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Title: The Bangladeshi government cracks down on Rohingya freedom of expression and movement
Description: "The Bangladeshi government has taken steps to restrict Rohingya refugees’ freedom of movement and communication. The hosts have adopted an increasingly repressive attitude towards the Rohingya Muslims living in refugee camps in Bangladesh in recent weeks. The Burmese government embarked on a campaign of genocide and murder in August 2017, prompting some 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border in search of safety. There are now around 940,000 living in makeshift refugee camps along Bangladesh’s Southeast border. The Bangladeshi government is following a playbook of repression On September 3, the Bangladeshi government cut access to 3G and 4G cellular services in the border towns of Teknaf and Ukhia. The two towns are home to 36 refugee camps. While 2G services remain, the move all but signals the complete restriction of internet access for the Rohingya refugees. Abu Saeed Khan, a senior policy fellow at the LIRNEasia think tank said the shutdown, “effectively means the shutdown of the internet. With 2G network, it will be almost impossible to access.” Mobile phone operators were given seven days to provide reports to the government outlining the steps they have taken to limit connectivity in the camps...."
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-15
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Title: ASEAN should show true leadership on Rohingya, Myanmar
Description: "Two years on, Asia is no closer to ending its worst refugee crisis in decades. Over 900,000 Rohingya are in Bangladesh alone, including 759,000 who fled a campaign of violence by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State that began in August 2017. Hundreds of thousands had already left in earlier episodes of violence to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, as well as in India and further afield. This is an Asian crisis, but Southeast Asia should show stronger leadership. Southeast Asia’s leaders will come together on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this month and during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in November. ASEAN has been one of the few actors able to engage the Myanmar government since 2017. The region’s leaders must show compassion for the Rohingya and push Myanmar to take steps to end the violence, discrimination, and persecution that forced out the Rohingya. Otherwise this tragedy will continue. As a medical humanitarian organisation providing health care to Rohingya in Malaysia, Myanmar and Bangladesh, MSF witnesses the daily struggles they face. In Bangladesh and Malaysia, the Rohingya do not have refugee status and need some form of temporary legal stay. In Myanmar, they are denied citizenship and treated as foreigners. Statelessness is the root of their vulnerability. In Malaysia, MSF treats Rohingya patients badly injured in work accidents who are deterred from seeking medical care at public hospitals due to fear of being reported to immigration. Yet recent research demonstrates that including refugees in the legal workforce could add millions to gross domestic product and tax revenue, as well as create jobs for Malaysian citizens..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via Médecins Sans Frontières
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
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Title: Bangladesh: Internet Blackout on Rohingya Refugees
Summary: "New telecommunications and internet restrictions on Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh will disrupt critical humanitarian and emergency services, Human Rights Watch said today. The network...
Sub-title: Shutdown Hinders Emergency Response, Risk Lives
Description: "New telecommunications and internet restrictions on Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh will disrupt critical humanitarian and emergency services, Human Rights Watch said today. The network shutdown imposed on camp locations in Teknaf and Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar severely limits communications and access to information for nearly one million refugees. On September 9, 2019, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission directed all telecommunication operators to shut down 3G and 4G services in the camps, media reports said. Camp residents report that high-speed service has been shut down since September 10. A week earlier, the government had ordered a shutdown of all 3G and 4G services between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. While 2G services appear to remain available, this may only allow limited calls and text messaging. The Bangladesh government should immediately lift the restrictions. “The Bangladesh government has a responsibility to ensure safety and security in the Rohingya camps, but shutting down internet access isn’t the way to do it,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Restricting communications in the refugee camps will hinder desperately needed services, worsening already dire living conditions and putting lives at risk.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
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Title: Bangladesh PM blames Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation failure
Description: "Bangladesh's prime minister has blamed Myanmar for the failure of a recent attempt to repatriate Rohingya refugees, saying its neighbouring country did not do enough to win the community's trust. The comments from Sheikh Hasina came three weeks after a fresh push to return the Muslim minority to Myanmar's conflict-scarred Rakhine state that fell flat when no-one turned up. Some 740,000 Rohingya fled their villages in Rakhine following a military crackdown in August 2017, joining nearly 200,000 already living in squalid camps across the border in southeast Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-13
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Title: Myanmar’s Hindu Refugees in Bangladesh Want to Go Home, But None Have so Far
Description: "Hindu Rohingya refugees who fled a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar have appealed to State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to let them leave refugee camps in Bangladesh and return to Rakhine state, according to a mobile phone video obtained by Radio Free Asia (RFA), a BenarNews sister service. Several hundred Hindus along with more than 740,000 Muslim Rohingyas fled to safety in southeastern Bangladesh after deadly attacks on border police outposts by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) insurgents provoked a brutal military crackdown in Rakhine two years ago. Though the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to repatriate refugees now living in sprawling displacement camps, none have returned under two previous attempts, failing to show up at the border for re-entry processing. The stateless Rohingya, who face systematic discrimination in Myanmar because they are viewed as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, have refused to return unless they are granted full citizenship, recognition as a national ethnic group, and basic rights, as well as guaranteed a safe environment. The Rohingya say they had Myanmar citizenship, but it was stripped away in 1982..."
Source/publisher: " BenarNews"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-13
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Title: Crimes against Humanity: Myanmar continues to act with impunity
Sub-title: Int’l communities’ inertia to blame, says UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Rohingya
Description: "Inertia at the international level has removed pressure on Myanmar and its allies and enabled impunity despite the country’s military being accused of crimes against humanity and genocide, said UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on the rights of the Rohingya in a report published on Tuesday. “Despite the widespread recognition that crimes, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity and genocide, were committed, the Myanmar military are yet to experience meaningful consequences either criminally or politically,” it said. Myanmar is not only unable and unwilling to investigate and prosecute international crimes, the international community are enabling them to continue to act with impunity. Members of the UN Security Council are blocking routes to international justice and enabling barriers, the report said. The report titled A New Shape of Catastrophe was published two years after the Myanmar military crackdown in Rakhine that caused an influx of over 743,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), chaired by Anne Main MP and co-chaired by Rushanara Ali MP, has called for the UK, as penholder on Myanmar at the Security Council, to lead on a Chapter VII UN Security Council resolution, setting out current conditions and the need for referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC)..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
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Title: Rohingya influx in a climate vulnerable country
Sub-title: The Rohingya refugee crisis is putting a great amount of pressure on a country that is already in peril
Description: "The geographic and socioeconomic characteristics of Bangladesh makes the country particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Around 77% of people in Bangladesh depend on natural resources and the degradation of the natural resources and biodiversity has a direct impact on the livelihood of the people. Further, sea level rise and extreme weather conditions as a result of climate change impacts will be more perilous. Threatening food security, agriculture and affecting the livelihood of the communities, as well as economic impacts would be stronger; Dhaka, the capital, attracting people around the country in search of better work opportunities, would be one of the most climate vulnerable cities in the world. A combination of factors -- poverty, oppression, safety and better opportunities -- lead to displacement of people and crossing of the national border. Migration of people to a country, which is already climate vulnerable, expands a number of problems, including the environmental concerns that eventually affect the livelihood of people. Rohingya refugees are stateless and one of the most widely persecuted minorities in the world. The violence in Myanmar led one million Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh in 2017. Though, the displacement of people from Myanmar has started since the 1990’s. From time to time environmental consequences make the safety and protection of people as well as sustainable use of the resources a massive task. The large influx of Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar District has been putting enormous stress on the local resources and the livelihood, challenging the development, infrastructure, and health care..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
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Title: Rohingya Repatriation Failure: PM blames Myanmar
Sub-title: Says Rohingyas scared of returning home as Myanmar has not created conducive environment
Description: "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Myanmar is dragging its feet on resolving the Rohingya crisis although it signed bilateral agreements with Bangladesh following pressure from the international community, including the United Nations. Referring to the two failed attempts to start the Rohingya repatriation, Hasina said, “We’ve seen that Myanmar could not win Rohingyas’ trust in creating a conducive situation [in Rakhine state] for their dignified return.” She said Myanmar should have ensured a sustainable Rohingya repatriation by guaranteeing their security, freedom of movement and work opportunities in Rakhine. Replying to a query from Awami League MP Rumana Ali in parliament yesterday, the PM also said Bangladesh sent Myanmar information about 55,511 Rohingyas for verification, but the country identified only a part of these people as their citizens.” She said, “We had full preparation, but still the repatriation did not start as the Rohingyas did not agree to return. “We have seen that the Rohingyas are scared of going back to Rakhine due to various reasons, including no improvement of the security situation there. “Myanmar is not doing a family-based Rohingya verification and uncertainty looms over Rohingyas’ getting back their homes, land and other properties.” Fleeing military atrocities, including killings, rapes, tortures and burning of houses in the Rakhine State, more than 743,000 Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh since August 25, 2017. They joined the 300,000 others who had arrived earlier..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-12
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Title: ‘A New Shape of Catastrophe’: Two years on from the 2017 Rohingya Crisis
Description: "Cross-party MPs say it is still unsafe for Rohingya refugees to return home and call for tougher sanctions on Myanmar and greater support to Bangladesh September 10th, 2019, London - A cross-party group of MPs has warned that continued violence and discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar mean conditions are still unsafe for returns, leaving Bangladesh hosting over a million refugees. They urged the UK Government to step up pressure on Myanmar, including introducing tougher sanctions and referring the situation to the International Criminal Court. The recommendations are part of a series made in a new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Rights of the Rohingya, which is published today. The APPG, chaired by Anne Main MP and co-chaired by Rushanara Ali MP, received oral and written evidence from a wide range of humanitarian and human rights organisations, Rohingya civil society groups and UK Government officials. The report condemns the impunity for the atrocities of August 2017, described by UN officials as ‘ethnic cleansing’, which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya people across the border to Bangladesh. The MPs call for measures to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the Government of Myanmar, including by working with the European Union to expand targeted sanctions to include companies run by the military. It also calls on the UK Government to use its leadership role at the UN Security Council to draft a resolution that refers the situation to the International Criminal Court. Rushanara Ali MP, co-chair of the APPG on the Rights of the Rohingya, said: “For years, parliamentarians have been raising the alarm about the atrocities inflicted on the Rohingya community in Myanmar. The events of August 2017 were the latest in a history of ongoing human rights violations and discrimination for which the Myanmar military have never been held accountable. Without justice, recognition of their rights and citizenship, the Rohingya community will remain in limbo as refugees in Bangladesh and across the region. The UK must show leadership and uphold human rights and international laws on the world stage. At the UN Security Council, the UK should work with like-minded partners to end the stalemate and refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court immediately. We must bring to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via Government of the United Kingdom
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
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Title: ‘Rohingya return to Myanmar depends on accountability of perpetrators’
Description: "The voluntary and sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar will depend partly on a process of accountability for those most responsible for the crimes that uprooted them from their homes, said the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). In its first report submitted to the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, IIMM’s head Nicholas Koumjian said that each day passes without accountability for international crimes brings concomitant sufferings for the hundreds of thousands of stranded in makeshift refugee camps outside Myanmar, and hoping and waiting to be able to safely return to their homes. “Few are likely to seek to return to a place where those that perpetrated serious crimes against them, or their families, still reside with impunity and retain the means or authority to inflict further harm,” he said. Over 743,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar amid military crackdown in Rakhine state, which was termed by the UN Fact-Finding Mission as having “genocidal intent”. The IIMM was established by the UN Human Rights Council to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse the evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It is also mandated to prepare files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings in accordance with international law standards in national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have or may in the future have jurisdiction over the crimes. IIMM Head Nicholas Koumjian, who officially began his functions in Geneva on July 1 this year, focused on putting in place a broad strategy and concept of operations for the mechanism so that it be operational as soon as possible..."
Source/publisher: "The Daily Star"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
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Title: The Bangladeshi government rallies humanitarian support for its Rohingya island relocation
Summary: "The World Food Programme and other UN agencies are preparing to facilitate Bangladesh’s plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees to the small silt island of Bhasan Char. Bangladesh is...
Sub-title: Bangladesh’s plan to relocate Rohingya refugees to a small silt island will expose them to worse threats than they already face. With repatriation still impossible, humanitarian agencies must push the government to work with communities on more sustainabl
Description: "The World Food Programme and other UN agencies are preparing to facilitate Bangladesh’s plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees to the small silt island of Bhasan Char. Bangladesh is now home to more than one million Rohingya who have fled Myanmar. The Bangladeshi government claims that relocating 23,000 refugees from Cox’s Bazar refugee camp as soon as April will relieve overcrowding issues. Humanitarian agencies and human rights groups have questioned and opposed the plan. UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee visited Bhasan Char in January and has emphasized that Bangladesh would need the full, prior, and informed consent of the refugees. But the Bangladeshi government has yet to hold any official public consultations with Rohingya refugees. Based on Yanghee Lee’s comments, it seemed that the UN wouldn’t back the plan. However, UN humanitarian agencies are now facilitating the move. They’ll be complicit in a plan that exposes the refugees to additional risks, rather than addressing problems with the current camps..."
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
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Title: Myanmar: End Campaign to Deny Rohingya Citizenship and Erase Identity - “လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှု၏ လက်နက်ကိရိယာများ" နိုင်ငံသားစိစစ်မှုသက်သေခံကဒ်ပြားများနှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာမွတ်ဆလင်များ၏ နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်ခွင့်ကို ငြင်းပယ်ခြင်း
Sub-title: Fortify Rights’ latest 102-page report exposes new details on root of Rohingya crisis
Description: "The Government of Myanmar should end discriminatory measures that deny Rohingya equal access to citizenship, said Fortify Rights in a new report today. The report exposes a systematic campaign to erase the identity of Rohingya Muslims. “The Myanmar government is trying to destroy the Rohingya people through an administrative process that effectively strips them of basic rights,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. “This process and its impacts lie at the root of the Rohingya crisis, and until it’s addressed, the crisis will continue.” The 102-page report, “Tools of Genocide”: National Verification Cards and the Denial of Citizenship of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, reveals how Myanmar authorities forced and coerced Rohingya to accept National Verification Cards (NVCs), which effectively identify Rohingya as “foreigners” and strip them of access to full citizenship rights. Myanmar authorities tortured Rohingya to accept NVCs and restricted the movement and livelihoods of Rohingya who refused NVCs. Due to a highly restrictive environment created by the government, international humanitarian agencies also effectively furthered the government’s NVC policies and erasure of Rohingya identity, according to the report. The violations documented in the report associated with the government’s NVC process and the denial of citizenship are within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to consider in its investigation into atrocity crimes against Rohingya in Myanmar, Fortify Rights said.....“လူသားတို့၏ ကိုယ်ပိုင်သရုပ်လက္ခဏာဖြစ်တည်မှုနှင့် ပတ်သက်ပြီး နိုင်ငံရေးလွှမ်းမိုးမှုများကို ဆထက်တိုးပြုလုပ်ခြင်း၊” အကာအကွယ်ပေးခံရသော အုပ်စုများအား ပစ်မှတ်ထား ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံသည့် “အစီအမံများ သို့မဟုတ် ဥပဒေများ” ချမှတ်ဆောင်ရွက်ခြင်း အစရှိသည့်လုပ်ရပ်များသည် “ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများဖြစ်ပွားစေရန် အားပေးအားမြှောက်ပြုသည့် အနေအထားတစ်ခုကို ဖန်တီးသည့်” လုပ်ရပ်များဖြစ်ကြပြီး၊ ထိုကဲ့သို့သော လုပ်ရပ်အချို့နှင့်ပတ်သက်ပြီး လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှု ဟန့်တားရေးဆိုင်ရာ ကုလသမဂ္ဂရုံးမှ သတိပေးချက်ထုတ်ပြန်ထားပါသည်။ လူအုပ်စုတစ်စု၏အဖွဲ့ဝင်များအား သတ်ဖြတ်မှုကဲ့သို့သော သီးခြားတားမြစ်ထားသည့် လုပ်ရပ်များအပြင် လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုများအား ကျူးလွန်သော နိုင်ငံများသည် ၎င်းတို့ပစ်မှတ်ထားသည့် အုပ်စုတစ်စုအား တိုက်ခိုက်ဖျက်ဆီးရန်အတွက် အထောက်အပံ့ဖြစ်စေသော ဥပဒေနှင့်အုပ်ချုပ်မှုဆိုင်ရာ နည်းလမ်းများအား “အလုံးစုံ သို့မဟုတ် တစ်စိတ်တစ်ပိုင်းအနေဖြင့်” မကြာခဏ အသုံးပြုကြပါသည်။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင်အစိုးရအဆက်ဆက်သည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာမွတ်ဆလင်များ၏ ဖြစ်တည်မှုနှင့် အခွင့်အရေးများအား ဖျောက်ဖျက်ရန်အတွက် အစီအမံများနှင့် ဥပဒေများကို အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ခဲ့ပြီး၊ လူမျိုးတုန်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုအတွက် လုပ်ဆောင်နိုင်သော အနေအထားတစ်ခုကို ဖန်တီးလျှက်ရှိပါသည်။ ဤအစီအရင်ခံစာမှ မြန်မာအစိုးရသည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအား နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်ခွင့်ကိုငြင်းပယ်ရန်အတွက် ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံသည့် အုပ်ချုပ်မှုဆိုင်ရာအစီအမံများပြုလုပ်နေကြောင်းကို မှတ်တမ်းတင်ထားသည်။ အစိုးရက ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအား “နိုင်ငံခြားသားများ”ဟု ခွဲခြားထားသည့် နိုင်ငံသားစိစစ်ရေးကဒ်များကို ရိုဟင်ဂျာများက လက်ခံလာစေရန် အင်အားသုံးခြင်း၊ အတင်းအကျပ်ခိုင်းစေခြင်းတို့ကို ပြုလုပ်ခဲ့ပြီး၊ မြန်မာအာဏာပိုင်များမှ..."
Source/publisher: "Fortify Rights"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
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Title: Rohingya crisis: Villages destroyed for government facilities
Description: "Myanmar, a majority Buddhist country, continues to deny its troops carried out ethnic cleansing and genocide. It now says it is ready to take some refugees back. But last month, a second attempt to start repatriating Rohingya refugees failed, after none of the 3,450 people approved by Myanmar to return agreed to do so. They cited the lack of accountability for atrocities committed in 2017, and uncertainty over whether they would get freedom of movement or citizenship. Myanmar blamed Bangladesh, and said it was prepared to receive large numbers of returnees. To demonstrate this they invited journalists, including the BBC, to see their facilities. Access to Rakhine is normally tightly restricted. We travelled in a government convoy, and were not allowed to film or interview people without police supervision. But we were able to see clear evidence of the deliberate eradication of Rohingya communities..."
Source/publisher: BBC News
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-10
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Title: Student suspended for being Rohingya refugee
Sub-title: Formal education in Bangladesh is forbidden for refugees
Description: "Bangladesh university has suspended a student for being Rohingya, officials said Sunday, as impatience with the refugees grows following a second failed attempt to repatriate them to Myanmar. Some 740,000 of the Muslim minority fled to southeast Bangladesh after a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in August 2017, joining 200,000 Rohingya already there. Formal education in Bangladesh is forbidden for refugees. Cox’s Bazar International University said it had suspended Rahima Akter Khushi, 20, and would investigate her case after local media said she hid her Rohingya identity to enrol. “Rohingya can’t be admitted to our university, because they are refugees,” the institution’s head Abul Kashem said. “Foreigners can study here, but they must follow a procedure.” He said the young woman had supplied documents showing she completed high-school studies in Bangladesh’s port city of Chittagong. Khushi, who was studying law, told AFP the private university’s decision had “mentally shattered” her..."
Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-09
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Title: 6 Rohingya refugees sent back to Myanmar
Sub-title: Earlier, 22 Rohingyas were also sent back by BGB when they were caught trying to enter Bangladesh within a space of two weeks
Description: "Bangladesh Border Guards(BGB) sent back six Rohingyas, three women and three children who were trying to enter Bangladesh yesterday. They were sent back to Myanmar from the Nayapara border in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf upazila, in the early hours. "A BGB team of the Hila Nayapara camp in Teknaf, led by Nayek Subedar MD Sha h Alom, detained six Rohingyas who were crossing the Hila Nayapara border near the Naf river to enter Bangladesh. Later, they were sent back to Myanmar through the same border,''said Shariful Islam Jomaddar, deputy commanding officer of BGB 2 Battalion in Teknaf. Earlier, 22 Rohingyas were also sent back by BGB when they were caught trying to enter Bangladesh within a space of two weeks. “We will not allow any Rohingyas to enter Bangladesh any more. We have beefed up surveillance along the Myanmar border to stop the influx of Rohingyas entering our territory,” added Jomaddar. The ones that remain in Myanmar are living under extreme duress and this is why they want to cross the border into Bangladesh repeatedly, explained Mohammad Alom, chairman of the Teknaf Leda Rohingya camp..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
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Title: China's fast-track solutions in Myanmar fail to take off
Sub-title: Beijing's attempt to kick-start Rohingya repatriation reveals lack of oversight
Description: "The stand-off between Myanmar and Bangladesh over the planned repatriation of tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees continues. But things have just got a bit more complicated with China's intervention. Beijing -- with all good intentions -- is now trying to soothe the troubled waters, in part, a result of their earlier misjudged involvement, having proposed a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in New York in the coming weeks -- sponsored by the UN secretary-general -- to try to find a way out of the growing impasse. But it will only succeed if China takes a realistic approach to solving the problems and if the two countries directly involved are really prepared to compromise and not just pay lip service to cooperation. Of course, it can only move the process forward if the legitimate concerns and interests of the refugees are at the heart of any future repatriation plans. The latest episode in this saga was last month's rushed attempt to start the repatriation process -- at China's persistent insistence -- which quickly turned into a fiasco when not a single refugee got in the buses that had pulled up in the camps to transport the returning refugees back to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: "Bangkok Post"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
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Title: Leaked ASEAN report shows Rohingya must determine their own repatriation process
Summary: "A leaked ASEAN report seen by AFP and others has drawn sharp criticism from Rohingya groups, civil society, and former state officials and diplomats across ASEAN. The report allegedly claims that...
Sub-title: A leaked ASEAN report ignores risks to Rohingya and violence in Rakhine, showing that plans for repatriation will need to be driven by refugees themselves.
Description: "A leaked ASEAN report seen by AFP and others has drawn sharp criticism from Rohingya groups, civil society, and former state officials and diplomats across ASEAN. The report allegedly claims that 500,000 of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will make a “smooth” return to Myanmar over the next two years. The region’s leaders will meet in Bangkok for the ASEAN summit on June 22-23 and the new report is on the agenda. ASEAN made a commitment to support Myanmar with its Rohingya repatriation efforts. To fulfil this promise, ASEAN must change the mandate of the team behind the report—the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre)—so that they specifically address violent conflict in Rakhine and the marginalisation of both the Rohingya and the ethnic Rakhine. Any viable repatriation plan must be driven by input from Rohingya in both Bangladesh and Rakhine State and must respect their right to self-determination..."
Source/publisher: "ASEAN Today"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-08
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Title: Bangladesh: Clampdown on Rohingya Refugees
Sub-title: End Restrictions on Movement, Internet; Investigate Killings of 4
Description: "The Bangladesh government should end restrictions on Rohingya refugees’ freedom of movement and access to the internet and online communications, Human Rights Watch said today. Government restrictions have intensified following a failed attempt to repatriate refugees to Myanmar, a large rally by Rohingya refugees, and the killings of a local politician and four refugees. “Bangladesh authorities have a major challenge in dealing with such a large number of refugees, but they have made matters worse by imposing restrictions on refugee communications and freedom of movement,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The authorities should take a level-headed approach instead of overreacting to tensions and protests by isolating Rohingya refugees in camps.” On September 1, 2019, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) ordered telecommunication operators to shut down mobile phone services in the camps within seven days. The next day, the BTRC ordered mobile network operators to shut down 3G and 4G services in the camps each day between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. While the authorities say the shutdown is to enhance security, they have not explained how. The 13-hour daily shutdown puts approximately one million refugees at serious risk by cutting off communications with security, health, and other necessary services..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-07
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Title: Bertil Lintner: Little chance of Rohingyas returning to Myanmar
Description: "Even though Myanmar and Bangladesh inked a deal for repatriation of the Rohingyas, the likelihood of the displaced people’s return is minimal, opined eminent Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner. He made the remarks while speaking at a discussion on “Rohingya Exodus and Crisis” held at Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development in Guwahati on November 28. “While on the one hand, the refugees themselves are reluctant to go back to the Rakhine province of Myanmar due to insecurity, the Myanmar regime itself has also put up certain tough conditions as per the citizenship laws of 1982 which makes it difficult for the displaced persons to prove their nationality,” said Lintner. “Sending them back forcefully is not an option for the Bangladeshi government. At the same time, people in Myanmar consider them to be illegal,” Lintner added. Stating that the situation is “potentially explosive” for Myanmar and Bangladesh, the longtime Myanmar observer said that the August 25 attacks at police outputs in Rakhine by the ARSA have changed the geopolitics of the entire region. Lintner also alleged that China is trying to take full advantage of the rising tension between Myanmar and the West. By doing this, China wants to develop its proximity with Myanmar. Speaking on Aung San Suu Kyi, he said the Nobel Laureate has been made a scapegoat by the Myanmar military which still wields considerable power, even though the country is now run by a democratically elected civilian leadership..."
Source/publisher: "Dhaka Tribune"
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
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Title: Bangladesh bans two aid agencies from Rohingya refugee camps
Description: "Bangladesh on Thursday said it has banned two aid agencies from Rohingya camps in the country's southeast, alleging they were telling refugees to reject repatriation to their homeland in Myanmar. The move came amid growing impatience from Dhaka about the presence of the refugees in the country, two years after some 740,000 were driven over the border by a military crackdown on the Muslim minority. The latest repatriation attempt by Bangladesh and Myanmar two weeks ago, the second in less than a year, failed with not a single refugee volunteering to cross the border back home. US-based Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and local organisation Al Markazul Islami were accused by the government's NGO Affairs Bureau of "instigating" the stateless minority against the recent repatriation attempt. Mr Kamal Hossain, the government administrator of Cox's Bazar district where the refugee camps are located, said Dhaka had issued a notice for the NGOs to immediately stop their activities across the country..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" via AFP
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-05
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Title: Bangladesh bans mobile phone access in Rohingya camps
Description: "COX'S BAZAR — Bangladesh on Monday ordered operators to shut down mobile phone services to almost one million Rohingya refugees living in camps in the country's southeast, an official said. The move follows an outbreak of violence in recent weeks at the camps, most of whose residents fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar's Rakhine State two years ago following a military crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority. It also comes after none of the refugees turned up in late August to return across the border to conflict-scarred Rakhine, when a fresh push to repatriate the refugees to Myanmar fell flat. Telecommunications operators have seven days to submit reports on the actions they have taken to shut down networks in the camps, said the spokesman for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Mr Zakir Hossain Khan..."
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" via AFP
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
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