The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Men offer Friday prayers in a temporary mosque after returning to a Rohingya IDP camp from a shelter from cyclone Mahasen, outside of Sittwe, on 17 May 2013. (Reuters) Aye Nai DVB News : May 30, 2013 Prosecutors in Sittwe have hit seven Rohingyas in Arakan state with myriad charges, including rioting, after they were arrested for refusing to register as ‘Bengalis’. During a hearing on 23 May, senior immigration official Yan Aung Myint charged the seven suspects from Thetkalpyin displacement camp with robbery, intimidation and disturbing officials on duty. Twenty-four individuals, who authorities claimed might be on the run, were also charged in absentia. The hearing comes after a scuffle erupted between government officials and the Rohingya on 26 April, after authorities tried to register the internally displaced persons (IDPs) as ‘Bengalis’ in accordance with a programme headed by the Ministry of Immigration and Population. Prosecutors said that around 100

Reuters © Firefighters extinguish a fire during a riot between Buddhist and Muslims in Lashio township May 29, 2013. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun Press TV has talked with Myra Dahgaypaw, with the US Campaign for Burma from Washington D.C., to comment on the ongoing systematic persecution of Muslim Rohingyas by the extremist Buddhists in the country. What follows is a rough transcript of the interview.  Press TV: Myra Dahgaypaw, let us look at the political developments.  We had the president of Myanmar who visited Washington recently and we also had Aung San Suu Kyi, who came out and made some statements.  Can you tell us if any of those two figures have addressed what is going on in Myanmar regarding what many are calling ethnic cleansing, when you see these types of violence erupt there.  Dahgaypaw: Well, at this point only the words are out there but no action has been taken.  Those who have to suffer, they are still suffering and those who persecute people