The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar By Tomas Ojea Quintana, 5 February 2012, Yangon International Airport, Myanmar I have just concluded my six-day mission to Myanmar - my fifth visit to the country since I was appointed Special Rapporteur in March 2008. I would like to express my appreciation to the Government of Myanmar for its invitation and hospitality, and for the cooperation and flexibility shown during my visit.

By Asiancorrespondent YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A U.N. human rights envoy said Sunday that Myanmar is considering letting foreign observers monitor April elections that are viewed as crucial for gauging the nation’s much-heralded democratic reforms. The envoy, Tomas Ojea Quintana, praised the “continuing wave of reforms in Myanmar, the speed and breadth of which has surprised” Myanmar watchers around the world. Quintana ended a six-day visit to the country on Sunday. After nearly half a century of iron-fisted military rule in Myanmar, a nominally civilian government took office last March. The new government has surprised even some of the country’s toughest critics by releasing hundreds of political prisoners, signing cease-fire deals with ethnic rebels, increasing media freedoms and easing censorship laws.

By The Globe Journal Berbagai macam harapan serta kekhawatiran terasa semakin kental dan menguat, mewarnai atmosfer di seluruh negeri Myanmar belakangan ini. Kondisi itu menyusul sejumlah perubahan drastis, yang seolah terjadi bertubi-tubi, di negeri yang beberapa dekade terakhir terisolasi dan dikuasai pemerintahan junta militer. Sebagian kalangan meyakini Myanmar tengah berubah dan berupaya mereformasi diri. Hal itu tampak dan dimulai dari langkah pembebasan tokoh demokrasi sekaligus peraih Hadiah Nobel Perdamaian, Aung San Suu Kyi, yang diikuti dengan pembubaran junta militer.

By The Jakarta post Unintended destination: A group of Myanmarese take part in an identification process at the immigration office in Lhok Seumawe, North Aceh, on Thursday. They are among 55 people who claimed they were going to Malaysia only to be stranded in Aceh. JP/Hotli Simanjuntak Nurul Amin, 25, never guessed the boat he was traveling on had strayed far from its intended course and had become stranded off Aceh, the westernmost province of Indonesia. “We actually wished to go to Malaysia but in the middle of the journey the boat engine stalled and we eventually became stranded here,” said Amin. Together with 54 other Myanmarese citizens, Amin was eventually rescued by a passing fishing boat after being stranded in Bluka Teubai sea off Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, on Feb. 1. Local fishermen found the group around 1:30 p.m. in a state of hunger. According to Amin, they came from Suttwey district in Myanmar and were destined for Malaysia, where he claimed he h