The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Al Jazeera : April 29, 2013 Commission on deadly sectarian violence last year in western state also suggests limiting births of Rohingya Muslims. A government-appointed commission has proposed to double the number of security forces in western Myanmar's Rakhine state to ease tensions there in the wake of deadly sectarian violence last year. The report, released on Monday, also recommended the introduction of family planning programmes to stem population growth among minority Muslims, cited as a reason for increased hostility from Rakhine Buddhists in the area. It emphasised, however, that if the government went ahead with a proposed family planning programme, it should "refrain from implementing non-voluntary measures which may be seen as discriminatory or that would be inconsistent with human rights standards". The long-awaited report contained responses to the violence last June and October that killed nearly 200 people and left 140,000

  Photo Eleven media The Hindu April 29, 2013 Myanmar’s 1982 citizenship law that made a Muslim ethnic minority stateless does not need to be amended, but should be applied fairly, a commission set up to assess last year’s sectarian violence in the Rakhine State said Monday. Fighting that broke out between Buddhist and Rohingya communities in the state killed at least 192 and left about 1,25,000 homeless. The government-appointed commission called for improved law enforcement, protection  of human rights and a ban on “hate language” and “extremist teachings.” It stopped short of recommending an amendment to the law that many claim is at the heart of the problem. “International organizations are trying to criticize the 1982 citizenship law regarding the Bengalis but the law is very suitable for us,” commission member Yin Yin Nwe said. “But the enforcement of the law is not clear because of the corruption of the local immigration officials,” he added. The

Associated Press April 29, 2013 YANGON, Myanmar — A Myanmar government commission investigating sectarian violence in the country’s west last year has issued proposals to ease tensions — including doubling the number of security forces in the volatile region and introducing family planning programs to stem population growth among minority Muslims. An executive summary of the report, obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, said concerns by Buddhists over the rising population of Muslims they see as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh have “undermined peaceful coexistence” between the two communities. It said family planning education should be voluntary, but “would go some way to mitigating” toward ameliorating the crisis. Two outbreaks of unrest between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims left nearly 200 people dead and forced more than 125,000, mostly Muslims, from their homes. The violence appeared to have begun spontaneously in June, but by October it

April 28, 2013 / Photography News / The endless persecution of Muslim Rohingya continues in Myanmar’s Rakhine state and now they face further hardship as the monsoon season approaches the South East Asian country. Community members in the remote river village of Inbargyi in Myanmar's Rakhine State. Locals say the village was attacked by a large group of people in October and several thousand people fled during the violence. The local Mosque was also burned to the ground. Copyright: P.Behan / UNHCR Life in such an environment is not easy at this time of year, but when also faced with the constant threat of attack, torture and life in a sprawling dusty refugee camp, it suddenly becomes intolerable. Unfortunately for over 100, 000 Muslim Rohingya this is a daily reality as thousands have been displaced from their homes since ethnic fighting between Rohingya and Rakine Buddhists broke out across Myanmar’s Rakhine State in June 2012. Verse's of the Koran burned i