The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Members of the Islamic Defenders Front and other Muslim organizations hold a rally in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Aug. 3, 2012, in protest against the reported killings of Rohingya Muslims in the Myanmar state of Rakhine. (Antara Photo/Jessica Helena Wuysang) Hot on the heels of the divergence over the South China Sea conflict, Asean is facing a new dilemma over how best to deal with the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar, without tearing apart the already fragile solidarity or further damaging the principle of non-interference.

Christians, considered an ethnic minority in Myanmar, are being forced to convert to Buddhism, rights groups say. Reports say some 650 Rohingya Muslims, also an ethnic minority group in Myanmar, have been killed in the Rakhine state in the west of the country in recent months. This is while 1,200 others are missing and 80,000 more have been displaced.