The Stateless Rohingya Blog

President Thein Sein at the press briefing: AP BY YADANA HTUN,  Associated Press, April 14, 2013 YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's president said Sunday his country needs to learn from the violence and instability that has wracked the Southeast Asian nation over the last two years if it is to overcome the challenge of democratization. Thein Sein spoke in a radio address broadcast to mark the  start  a day earlier of a traditional New Year holiday that is celebrated by revelers across Southeast Asia with friendly water fights. Thein Sein, a former general, took office two years ago after Myanmar's long ruling junta stepped down. He has since led an unprecedented transition toward democratic rule, releasing political prisoners, easing censorship and signing cease-fire deals with all but one of the nation's rebel groups. But the country has also been plagued by a war with ethnic Kachin rebels in the north, sectarian violence in western Rakhine state, and an

KILLING FIELDS: Right, the madrasa where more than 40 Muslims were killed on March 21. Bangkok Post April 13, 2013 Eyewitnesses to a massacre at an Islamic school say it was carried out by Buddhists, and many contend it stems from a coordinated effort with ties to the top Mon Hnin, a 29-year-old Muslim  woman  from Meiktila, in central Myanmar, spent the night of March 20 with her daughter and mother-in-law hiding in terror in the bushes on the fringes of her neighbourhood. A wave of murderous anti-Muslim riots led by Buddhist extremists had exploded earlier that day in the dusty town with a population of 100,000 people, located 130km north of the capital, Nay Pyi Taw. Like the houses of many other Muslims in the town, the one belonging to Mon Hnin, whose name has been changed for  security  reasons, had been destroyed by a Buddhist mob in the Mingalar Zay Yone quarter and she and her relatives had to take refuge in the first place they could find. The  next  day, she wi

Rohingya refugees are seen in their room at the Training Center House, Krueng Raya, Aceh on April 10, 2013 . (EPA Photo/Hotli Simanjuntak) Jakarta Globe: April 14, 2013 As ethnic and religious conflict rages against the Rohingya ethnic group in Myanmar, Indonesia has found itself taking on the role of both mediator and refuge country. Aleksius Jemadu, dean of Pelita Harapan University (UPH), said that this has now become a cross-border problem that includes Indonesia and must be addressed by Asean. Aleksius added that the conflict involving the Muslim-majority Rohingya ethnicity in Buddhist-majority Myanmar is a sensitive issue, but Asean must take the lead in solving it. According to the Asean Charter, an important pillar of the Asean community is its inclusiveness of all religions and ethnicities, he added. “If Indonesia wishes to become a leader in this instance, it must take the initiative,” he said on Saturday. Since the influx of asylum-seekers has affected Indones

Bahrain News Agency: April 13, 2013  Jeddah-April-13(BNA) The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group will hold an urgent meeting tomorrow on the level of foreign ministers to discuss the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority. The session was convened by OIC secretary-general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu following the escalation of extremist Buddhists' acts of violence targeting the Muslim minority in Myanmar. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Bangladesh, Djibouti, Turkey, Afghanistan and the UAE.