The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By UPI.com YANGON, Myanmar, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Bangladesh will be the first country to move its embassy from Yangon to the new city and capital Naypyitaw, Myanmar's official newspaper said. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on an official three-day visit to Myanmar, formerly called Burma, unveiled the foundation stone at the site chosen for the construction of the embassy, the New Light of Myanmar reported. The country's junta pronounced Naypyitaw, around 200 miles north of Yangon, as the capital in November 2005, although the site wasn't given an official name until March 2006. The planned inner city with its wide, and mostly empty boulevards, is still being constructed and is home to many of the former ruling military leaders. The surrounding countryside and its towns and villages that make up Naypyitaw have a population of around just less than 1 million, a 2009 report said. In August, Russian media announced that a Russian firm had won a contract to construct 30

New Delhi ( Mizzima ) – Refugees living in the Nayapara and Kutupalong refugee camps and the huge number of undocumented Burmese nationals living in Bangladesh should be returned quickly, according to a joint statement by Burma and Bangladesh. The Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Teknaf, Cox’s bazar. There are 30,000 un-registered Rohingya refugees living in the camp. Photo: Bayazid Akter

Meanwhile, a prominent US congressman lawmakers said it is too early to trust the new Burmese government, given the bitter experience the international community had with the military junta in the past. “Mr. Speaker, I am deeply concerned about the international community’s recent trust in assurances that Burma is opening up to the world and becoming a true democracy in which the rights of all people in Burma are protected. There have been some positive steps taken recently by the dictators, however, until we see permanency in these changes, we would all do well to remain deeply cautious,” Congressman Joseph R. Pitts said. Speaking on the floor of the US House of Representatives, the Pennsylvania congressman said that one important issue the Secretary of State addressed during her visit to Burma regarded the attacks by government troops against ethnic minorities. “It is vital, and I cannot emphasize this enough, that leaders of the various ethnic groups be included in any and all d