The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Sittwe displaced Rohingya  Khawaja Umer Farooq Arab New: July 30, 2013   The article on Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar by Aijaz Zaka Syed was a thoughtful article. The problem of the Rohingyas is indeed historical, and the British are in large measure to blame for encouraging the uncontrolled migration of Indians — Hindus and Muslims — into Burma from the mid-1850s onward. I thought Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr got it right with his depressing comments his recent visit to Burma. There is a political dimension which is often overlooked. The British recognized that the Indian influx into Burma had created considerable problems, but it was too late to remedy these before the Japanese invaded in 1941. As James Baxter put it in 1940: “There was an Arakanese Muslim community settled so long in Akyab District that it had for all intents and purposes to be regarded as an indigenous race.” This was before the events of 1942 when the Muslims were forced to seek refuge in Nort

In this Feb. 19, 2013 photo, a Myanmar policeman, left, photographs an APTN cameraman as he conducts an interview in Shan state for a story on the country's thriving drug trade. Two years after Myanmar's new government promised its people a more open way of life, one relic of the old Myanmar remains - a vast internal intelligence apparatus that spies on journalists, activists and anybody else deemed a potential threat to state security. (AP Photo/Jocelyn Gecker)  Todd Pitman Associated Press July 30, 2013 Two years since Myanmar’s new government promised its people a more open way of life, the plainclothes state intelligence officers still come to ask where former student activist Mya Aye is and when he'll return. Politicians, journalists, writers, diplomats, too, find themselves being watched. Men on motorcycles tail closely. The occasional phone call. The same, familiar faces at crowded street cafes. ‘‘It’s not as bad as it used to be,’’ said Mya Aye

KPN News: July 29, 2013 A Rohingya couple that married without getting the required permission from Arakan state authorities were forced to pay a 50,000 Kyat bribe (US $51) to the new central police force (Hluntin).  A source close to Hluntin that recently replaced the notorious border security force Nasaka several weeks ago told Kaladan Press Network that Nurul Amin, 33; son of Abu Mosa was detained in their camp after being arrested. The man from Ngakura in northern Maungdaw was picked up in his home on the morning of July 23 and released after the extortion fee was paid the following evening, according to the source. The 1982 Citizenship Law introduced by Gen Ne Win stripped Rohingyas of citizenship. In order to marry it could take as long as 6 months to get permission and it required paying a series of bribes to Nasaka. The border guard force stopped issuing wedding permits last year. Nasaka was started in the early ‘90s and used to be stationed across the country.

Delays in processing could be causing some asylum seekers to take actions into their own hands. (Photo: AAP) Rhiannon Elston SBS Australia July 30, 2013 Bogor in West Java is a safe haven for a Rohingya refugee and his young family. But with no opportunity for work it's a temporary solution with no re-settlement option yet in sight.   The mountainous region of Bogor, West Java, is a safe haven for 33-year-old Kim* and his young family. But it’s also a temporary home, a place where the  Rohingya man  cannot work or study, where his children can’t go to school and where they’ll never be citizens. Since fleeing political and religious persecution in Myanmar in 2011, Kim has been counting the days until his family can start their life anew. Eight months after arriving in Indonesia they received UNHCR certification, the proof of their plight as “genuine” refugees. That was more than a year ago. The family now faces an indefinite wait to