The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By AP News April 8, 2013 FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Members of one of the largest U.S. communities of Burma immigrants held a demonstration Sunday to call attention to sectarian violence targeting Muslims in the Southeast Asian nation. About 100 former Burma residents who resettled in the Fort Wayne area gathered outside the Allen County Courthouse to protest the violence in their homeland, officially known as Myanmar. Ex-refugee AyeMin Zaphun tells WANE-TV the protest was called to spread awareness about the Burma government and extremist Buddhists who are targeting Muslims. Dozens of people were killed last month when violence between Buddhists and minority Muslims shook the central Burma city of Meikhtila. And a pre-dawn fire Tuesday at a religious dormitory at a mosque complex killed 13 children. Authorities blamed the fire on an electrical short circuit, but some Muslims in Burma have said the fire was set intentionally. “We want the world to know t

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Nasaka (Burma’s border security force) is using new tactics to extort money from Rohingya villagers in Arakan State, said a local villager (Abdu, not real name).  “A group of Nasaka personnel from Shilkhali Nasaka-out-post of Maungdaw south went to Khonza Bill (village) and arrested three villagers over the allegation that they crossed the Burma- Bangladesh border on April 5.” The arrested were identified as— Habib Ullah (40), son of Mohameddu, Tazumuluk (55), son of Mohamed Amin and Jaker (50), son of Abu Shama. They all belong to   Khonza Bill village under Aley Than Kyaw village tract of Maungdaw south. The Nasaka personnel forcibly entered their houses at night after breaking the doors and arrested. After arrest, they were severely beaten up on the spot. It is the normal action by the Nasaka to show their relatives to get money quickly, said a relative of an arrestee. However, they were brought to the Shilkhali Nasaka out- post under the Nasak

  Gianluca Mezzofiore International Business Times April 8, 2013 Burma Campaign UK criticises President Thein Sein for oppressive policies against minority Muslims Myanmar's government has violated at least eight international laws with its treatment of the Rohingya Muslims, one of the world's most persecuted minorities, according to a British-based advocacy group.  Burma Campaign UK  slammed the progressive president Thein Sein for policies of oppression applied exclusively to the Rohingya. The minority group is considered stateless under Burma's citizenship law of 1982.  Legal constraints render it "almost impossible" for the Rohingya to be recognised as citizens of the country. "This violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international norms prohibiting discrimination of racial and religious minorities," says the report. Many Burmese  con

English.sahartv.ir: April 8, 2012 Myanmar has a Buddhist majority. The Muslim minority in Myanmar mostly consists of the Rohingya people and the descendants of Muslim immigrants from India (including what is now Bangladesh) and China (the ancestors of Chinese Muslims in Myanmar came from the Yunnan province), as well as descendants of earlier Arab settlers. Indian Muslims migrated to Burma during British rule to fill jobs in the expanding economy, especially in clerical work and business. After independence, many Muslims retained their previous positions and achieved prominence in business and politics. According to Human Rights Watch the Burmese government has denied citizenship to any Rohingya person who cannot prove their ancestors settled in the country before 1823, the beginning of British occupation of what is now Arakan State. According to Amnesty International, the Muslim Rohingya people have continued to suffer from human rights violations under the Burmese

ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION  ARAKAN, BURMA  PRESS RELEASE   (07 April 2013)  Statement of ARNO on the news item appeared in Daily Independent, Dhaka, Bangladesh on 6 April 2013  Our attention has been drawn to the news item dated 6th April 2013 of the Daily Independent, Dhaka, Bangladesh under the caption, “180 Rohingyas arrested in Cox’s Bazar”.  We strongly reject the news which says, “Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) activists gave money to thousand Rohingyas on refugee camp of Teknaf and Ukhiya to participate in Hefazate Islam Bangladesh (HIB) long march.” This is a baseless allegation devoid of truth and evidence.  The news item further states, “Ukhiya police launched drives in Mariccha, Curt Bazar, Ukhiya Sadar, T&T area on Teknaf-Cox’s Bazar highway and arrested 180 Rohingyas who were going to participate in HIB long march.” All those 180 people who were arrested are Rohingya refugees. They were not going out of their makeshi