Burma's Rohingyas vulnerable to abuse at home and abroad

Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will address an International Labour Organization conference in Geneva next month, on her first trip outside Burma, in 24 years.

The ILO says Ms Suu Kyi will address the final day of the conference, which is expected to discuss the issue of forced labour in Burma.

Aid groups say while the situation has improved a little, ethnic communities like the Rohingyas of Arakan state are still at risk.

The Bangkok-based Arakan Project researches and monitors the Rohingyas in Burma.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Chris Lewa, founder and director, The Arakan Project

LEWA: One shocking situation that the Rohingyas faced in Arakan, is that the fact that they have to apply for an official marriage permission for a couple to get married. And when they get that, they need to sign an undertaking that they won't have more than two children. And if a couple married without official permission, the husband can be prosecuted and spend five years in detention. And there are many people, for example, in Buthidaung jail, which is the main jail in north Arakan, who are imprisoned for this particular reason. Of course, the issue of marriage permission, I think that should be lifted and it's only imposed on the Rohingya population in Burma. No other community has to suffer this. And of course, citizenship. For me, that is a key right that the Rohingya should have and have the right to have, is to become recognised as a citizen in Burma. And of course, forced labour also should be eradicated. It's good there is a plan now, signed between the government and the ILO for the total eradication of forced labour in 2015. Well, I hope it will be implemented. So there are many issues, but that I think to me, are the main ones. There's been a little progress, but very very small. For example, recently, the government decided that the Rohingyas no longer needed to apply for travel permission, to go from village to village. But of course, they still need to get permission to travel from township to township, and north Arakan, where the majority of Rohingyas are concentrated, there're only three townships and basically, they're not allowed to go beyond these three townships. So, freedom of movement is not open to them, it's just slightly eased.

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Amnesty International's T. Kumar to Speak at the Islamic Society of North America's Convention

Amnesty International's T. Kumar to Speak at the Islamic Society of North America's Convention Advocacy Director T. Kumar to Speak on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) Contact: Carolyn Lang, clang@aiusa.org, 202-675-8759 /EINPresswire.com/ (Washington, D.C.) -- Amnesty International Advocacy Director T. Kumar will address the Islamic Society of North America's 49th Annual Convention "One Nation Under God: Striving for the Common Good," in regards to the minority community of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (Burma) on Saturday, September 1, at 11:30 am at the Washington DC Convention Center.

American Buddhists Promote 969 Movement With Website

Irrawaddy News: July 9, 2013 A group of American Buddhists has launched an English-language website promoting the 969 movement, in response to negative media surrounding the ultra-nationalist Buddhist campaign in Burma. The website aims to dispel “myths” about the movement, with a letter from nationalist monk Wirathu to a Time magazine reporter whose article about 969 was banned in Burma. “We’re not officially endorsed by Ven Wirathu at this time but will send a delegation to his monastery soon,” a spokesperson for the site said via email, adding that the group would create a nonprofit to coordinate “969 activities worldwide in response to religious oppression.”

Rohingya Activist Nominated for Human Rights Award

PHR congratulates Zaw Min Htut, a Burmese Rohingya activist, on his nomination for the 2011 US State Department Human Rights Defenders Award . Zaw Min Htut has been working for Rohingyas’ rights through the Burmese Rohingya Association of Japan since he fled Burma in 1998. Prior to that he was a student activist in Burma, and was detained for his participation in protests in 1996. In Japan, Zaw Min Htut has organized protests at the Burmese embassy and has written books on the history of Rohingya.

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