The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Financial Express 10 March 2013 Nizam Ahmed A senior official of the United States (US) is expected to visit Bangladesh, Myanmar and Japan for a week from Tuesday next to discuss issues relating to conflicts in Myanmar and exodus of refugees from the country, officials said on Saturday. US State Department Senior Advisor for Myanmar Mr W. Patrick Murphy will undertake the tour at such a time when fleeing Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have become a matter of concern for neighbouring countries. The intrusion of Rohingyas in the south and the southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh have increased following spells of communal riots between Rohingya Muslims and local Buddhists in Rakhine state, in western Myanmar since June last year. Bangladesh, which has been hosting about 400,000 unregistered refugees from Myanmar, sent back several hundred Rohingyas who wanted to take refuge in the country fleeing the recent communal riots in Myanmar. However, befo

Myanmar President Thein Sein (left) meets with Italian President Giorgeo Napolitano in Rome on March 7, the same day an Amnesty International report called on the UN to be aware of continuing rights abuses in Myanmar. (PHOTO: Myanmar President's Office) Mizzima News  March 8, 2013    Amnesty International has appealed to the UN Human Rights Council to continue closely monitoring the human rights situation in Myanmar in light of President Thein Sein's visit to Europe. In a statement released on March 7, the human rights NGO called for “the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar to be renewed” and for “the Myanmar Government to guarantee sustained international human rights monitoring to promote and protect human rights alongside national human rights mechanisms.” The release coincided with the Myanmar president's welcome in Italy where he met with his Italian counterpart Giorgeo Napolitano, who cong