The Stateless Rohingya Blog

British Prime Minister David Cameron (L) greets Myanmar President Thein Sein at 10 Downing Street in central London on July 15, 2013. (AFP/ANDREW COWIE) By Andrew Osborn Reuters: July 15, 2013 LONDON (Reuters) - President Thein Sein, the first leader of Myanmar to visit Britain in more than 25 years, held talks with Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday as activists protested against the Asian nation's human rights record. Sein said in a statement released on his website on Sunday that he had disbanded a security force accused of rights violations against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State in the west of Myanmar, scene of deadly violence between Muslims and majority Buddhists in the past year. Sein was due to talk trade, aid and democracy with Cameron and his ministers during a two-day visit at a time when Myanmar is opening up its oil, gas and telecoms sectors to foreign investors, with further liberalisation likely. Cameron was under pressure to confron

Myanmar President Thein Sein (C) arrives at Yangon International Airport before leaving for a visit to Britain and France on July 14, 2013. Photo: AFP AFP July 14, 2013 President Thein Sein left Myanmar Sunday for a visit to Britain and France, an official said, as the former junta general looks to build on support for his much-lauded reforms. "The president left Yangon this morning to visit Britain and France," a government official told AFP without giving further details of the visit, Thein Sein's second trip to Europe in months. Another official earlier said the trip would be from July 14 to 18. Thein Sein visited several European countries in March -- although not Britain or France -- to bolster relations. The former general has surprised the international community by overseeing sweeping reforms since taking the presidency in 2011. Those changes include freeing hundreds of political prisoners and welcoming democracy champion Aung San

Seeking refuge: Muhammad Hafid, a Rohingya refugee, comforts his infant son while taking shelter at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) headquarters in Central Jakarta earlier last week. Some Rohingya refugees who were bound for a third country have claimed to have been abused by authorities. JP/Jerry Adiguna Jakarta Post July 15, 2013 In the corner of the room, Muhammad Hanif had just started to eat with his sister, Hasinah, when Jakarta Legal Aid (LBH) legal consultant came to check on them and their fellow Rohingya refugees on the third floor of the LBH office. Hanif wore a dull white shirt with a plaid sarong covering his thin, dark-skinned body. The eyes of the 38-year-old man from Myanmar seem tired and lost.  He went to sit on the floor, but the consultant asked him to have a seat on the leather couch. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I just want people to help me and my family to get citizenship,” he said. The long-standing discrimination and