Australia gives direct aid to Rakhine State homeless

Australian Foreign Secretary Bob Carr Photo: Australian gov't

Australia will give US $1 million to Burma in emergency aid to provide clothing, blankets and basic supplies to around 14,000 people left homeless by sectarian conflicts in Rakhine State.

Foreign Secretary Bob Carr said, “We're assisting with this emergency aid – helping with clothing, blankets and basics like mosquito nets, bedding and soap for 14,000 people now in temporary shelters after fleeing their homes.”
Australian aid will also support families with seeds and fertilizer to replace crops destroyed in the conflict.

The funds will be administered by CARE Australia and delivered to those in need regardless of faction or ethnic origin, he said.

Carr also welcomed a decision by Burma’s government to set up an independent commission to investigate the violence.

“I directly raised Myanmar's sectarian and ethnic tensions in talks with President Thein Sein in June, and have instructed our ambassador to Myanmar to again pursue this with the government,” Carr said.

Australia has also urged the international community to renew its efforts to assist the homeless in Rakhine State with basic food and health care.
Source here

Comments

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.

The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Search This Blog