The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Myanmar Buddhist monks set fire to a mosque in Sittwe town, the capital of Rakhine state and desecrate copies of the holy Qur'an, Press TV reports.   Press TV has learned that the 800-year-old ancient mosque called “Sawduro Bor Masjid” in the western town was burnt down by extrimist Buddhist monks, with the help of  military personnel  on Sunday. The fire, which continued for two hours, also damaged several houses around the Mosque, owned by Rohingyas Muslims. 

৭ অক্টোবর (রেডিও তেহরান) : মিয়ানমারের আকিয়াব শহরের প্রধান মসজিদ "বড় মসজিদ" জ্বালিয়ে দেয়া হয়েছে। মিয়ানমার সরকারের পৃষ্ঠপোষকতায় দেশটির আরাকান প্রদেশে রোহিঙ্গা মুসলিম-বিরোধী যে অভিযান চলছে তারই অংশ হিসেবে এ জঘন্য ঘটনা ঘটানো হয়েছে। সীমান্তের ওপার থেকে পাওয়া খবরে জানা যায়, কয়েক মাস আগে মুসলিম-বিরোধী দাঙ্গা শুরু হওয়ার পর থেকেই পাঁচশ' বছরের পুরনো এ মসজিদটি তালাবদ্ধ ছিল। কিন্তু, আজ দুপুরের দিকে বৌদ্ধ ধর্মাবলম্বী উগ্র কিছু লোক তালা ভেঙে মসজিদে ঢুকে পড়ে এবং বহু কুরআন-কিতাব বাইরে ছুঁড়ে ফেলে তাতে আগুন ধরিয়ে দেয়। তারা পবিত্র কুরআন শরীফকে আবমাননা করার জন্য রাবারের ফিতা দিয়ে জড়িয়ে পায়ে লাথি মেরে ফুটবল খেলেছে। কান্না জড়িত কণ্ঠে এ কথা জানিয়েছেন কক্সবাজারে আশ্রয় নেয়া এক আরাকানি মুসলমান।

Akyab,Arakan State:  The central Mosque of Akyab( Sittwe) was set on fire by Rakhine with the collaboration of security forces – Hluntin and police, today at about 2:00 pm. The central Mosque is situated near main road and east side of U Ottama park of Akyab, according to sources from Akyab.

Teknaf,Bangladesh:  Local youths are extorting money from the Rohingya refugees afterimposing curfew against the Rohingyas along the border of Cox’sBazar district by the government, said a refugee on condition ofanonymity. “ Localyouths collect money Taka 30 from unregistered and registeredrefugees of Kutupalong camps who go to forest for collectingfirewood. The unregistered refugees live nearby official Kutupalongcamp.”

In our time there is no denying of the enormous influence of the social media employing web- and mobile-based technologies to support interactive dialogue and communication between organizations, communities and individuals. Thus, mass communication which was once a very expensive avenue to propagate one’s views is now almost a free item.  Social media are also unregulated in most parts of our world, thus, allowing every John or Jane Doe to express and share his or her views on any matter big or small whether or not he or she is qualified or knowledgeable on such matters. It is, therefore, possible that while expressing one’s unfiltered views others can feel abused, demeaned and hurt. And consequently, those feeling hurt, demeaned or abused can react either proportionately or disproportionately, which can turn into violence.

Mauungdaw, Arakan State: British ambassadors Andrew Heyn accompanied by two others visited Rathedung Township from Maungdaw October 6, morning to see the situation of refugees of Rathedaung Township, said a local villager from Shil Khali on condition of anonymity.

By M.S. Anwar   Sunday, 7th October 2012 Sittwe, Arakan- On 7th October 2012 (i.e. today), an 800-year-old ancient mosque called “Sawduro Bor Masjid” near to the National Museum and U Uttama Park was torched and burnt down by the Rakhine Extremists with the help of 500 military personnels. This historical mosque is also recorded by the United Nation as one of the many historical heritages in Burma. At the same time, many of Rohingyas’s houses and guest houses around the area were also torched by the Rakhine extremists.

                  Soldiers patrol through a neighborhood that was burnt during recent violence in Sittwe                    on June 14, 2012. Photo Reuters   KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is looking to continue its assistance to the Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar who has been facing widespread threats to their security after violence erupted last summer in the country’s Western state. 1Malaysia Putera Club’s main Humanitarian Mission team, led by President Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, left for Myanmar on Saturday.

Bakhiet and Kalla look on as a Qatar Charity official reads out the recommendations The Organisation of the Islamic Co-operation (OIC) should co-operate with other humanitarian organisations in the member-countries to gather regional and international support to permanently resolve the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. They should also work to get these people their full rights in accordance with the international conventions and agreements.