Skip to main content

Rohingya Activist Nominated for Human Rights Award

Image
By

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.

Nine people were nominated for the award, including one other Burmese who is a former political prisoner. The award is given to people who show “Exceptional valor and leadership in advocating the protection of human rights and democracy in the face of government repression.” The people of Burma have faced government repression for decades, and it is notable that two out of the nine nominees are from Burma.
The Rohingya are a Muslim minority who live in Western Burma, and are one of the most repressed groups in the country. Several groups (pdf), including PHR, have documented human rights abuses against Rohingya in Burma and in Bangladesh, where many have fled. Rohingya have long suffered the brutality of Burmese regime, including forced labor, extortion and forced migration.
Issues: Crimes Against Humanity in Burma, Mass Atrocities
Places: Burma
Source here
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

By
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. 
Post a Comment
Read more

American Buddhists Promote 969 Movement With Website

By
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.”
1 comment
Read more