Skip to main content

Rohingya meet Australian chief government whip at open forum of UWS

hlamyint-ruddock
By KPN News
April 27, 2014
Dr. Hla Myint, the coordinator of International advocacy group – Bangkok Rohingya conference held in 2013 – and other Rohingya living in Australia met the Chief Government Whip, Federal member for Berowra and Australia’s longest serving Minister for Immigration, Phillip Ruddock, MP, at an open forum in the University of Western Sydney (UWS)’s Parramatta campus on April 24, 2014, according to Rohingya advocacy group.
Dr. Hla Myint and Rohingya  with the Chief Government Whip,Phillip Ruddock, MP
The open forum which focus on the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority from the Arakan (Rakhine) State in Burma (Myanmar) and Dr. Hla Myint and Dr. Sev Ozdowski, – Former Human Rights Commissioner and Director of Equity and Diversity at UWS- organised the forum, the group said.
The Hon. Philip Ruddock, MP was the chief guest speaker at the Open Forum at the UWS, gave a very strong pro-Rohingya speech and addressed the audience that Australia along with ASEAN members can play a vital role in advocating the plight of Rohingya and impose immense pressure on Burma.
Dr Graham Thom – Refugee Coordinator with Amnesty International Australia since 2000, who has been working on behalf of individual asylum seekers as well as on broader human rights issues relating to refugees- joined at the forum where he presented the plight of Rohingya across the ASEAN nations and the agonies of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh. Dr. Thom emphasized the involvement of Malaysian and Thai government with human traffickers in trafficking the desperate Rohinya asylum seekers.
Banner of Open forum in UWS
Dr Sev Ozdowski, chaired the Open Forum – Rohingya people from Burma and said, “The situation for Rohingya refugees in the camps and in their communities in Burma where recent attacks have increased their vulnerability is critical.” The Rohingya Muslims have a long history of persecution and discrimination in Burma. They are viewed by authorities and the majority Buddhist population of Arakan (Rakhine) state as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, according to UWS website.
Recently, tensions arose again over a government census – the first in three decades – which led to anger among Buddhists that it may lead to official recognition of the Rohingyas, the website more added.
Both Dr. Graham Thom and The Honourable Phillip Ruddock are very close and good friend of Dr. Hla Myint and has primarily acknowledged the vital role of Dr. Hla Mint in facilitating this forum.
British censuses in Burma of 1872, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1921, 1931 and (what has not been lost of) 1941 make no mention of ‘Rohingya’ as an ethnic or language group in Burma, according to Derek Tonkin. But, a Rohingya researcher –Mohammed Asharff Alam- said there is also no name of Rakhine in the census at that time in Arakan.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rohingya MP U Shwe Maung undergoes questioning

Rohingya MP U Shwe Maung By Kayleigh Long Myanmar Times February 07, 2014 Union Solidarity and Development Party MP U Shwe Maung has been questioned by police in Nay Pyi Taw over comments he made to Democratic Voice of Burma about possible police involvement in a fire that broke out in a Muslim village in Rakhine State late last month. More than a dozen homes were destroyed in the blaze at Du Chee Yar Tan West village near Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State on January 28. U Shwe Maung said the February 4 interrogation came at the behest of President U Thein Sein, who sent a letter to Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann requesting permission for police question the MP. The interview lasted about 90 minutes and was conducted at his USDP living quarters in Nay Pyi Taw. It focused on allegations that U Shwe Maung, a Rohingya, had defamed the state and police by saying that residents believed security forces were involved in starting the fire. ...

ERC representatives and Dr.Maung Zarni partook a seminar in Sweden

ERC Delegation Meet Dr. Zarni Mohamed Farooq ( Mayu Press) May 7, 2013 The Stockholm University of Sweden held a seminar on “Forum for Asian Studies” at William Olsson Hall, the department of geological science on 3rd May 2013. It depicts Rohingya tragedy and Human Right Eradication in western Burma. Burma (Myanmar) is a nation with ambition to make their name and discharge their White Man’s Burden, one of the world’s hottest assignments in the world of diplomats, development consultants, NGO experts and academic researchers, a lucrative ‘frontier’ market for investors, venture capitalists and multinationals, a must-go for both citizen-tourists and global luminaries. This lecture will critically discuss the rose-tinted view of reforms in Burma against the troubling realties as lived by the people of that country, including full-scale Rohingya genocide of 40 years, the 60-years of Burmese army’s un-ending internal colonial wars against the Christian Kachins, the Kare...

রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের কোনো ভবিষ্যৎ নেই

বাংলাদেশের আশ্রয়শিবিরে বসবাসকারী রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের কোনোই ভবিষ্যৎ নেই বলে মন্তব্য করেছেন রোহিঙ্গা বিষয়ক আইনজীবী রাজিয়া সুলতানা। তিনি এই আশ্রয়শিবিরকে চিড়িয়াখানার সঙ্গে তুলনা করেছেন এবং রোহিঙ্গাদের ফেরত পাঠানোর জন্য একটি উপযুক্ত কৌশল নির্ধারণের আহ্বান জানিয়েছেন। কয়েকদিন আগে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয়ের ইন্টারন্যাশনাল ওমেন অব কারেজ এওয়ার্ড (আইডব্লিউসিএ) পুরস্কার পান রাজিয়া সুলতানা। সাহসিকতা দেখানোর জন্য সারা বিশ্ব থেকে বাছাই করা ১০ জন নারীকে এ পুরস্কার দেয়া হয়।  রাজিয়া সুলতানার একটি সাক্ষাৎকার নিয়েছে বার্তা সংস্থা রয়টার্স। তাতে তিনি রোহিঙ্গাদের পরিণতি নিয়ে হতাশা প্রকাশ করেন। রাজিয়া সুলতানা বলেন, মিয়ানমারের মুসলিম সংখ্যালঘু সম্প্রদায়ের রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের মধ্যে আশার অভাব রয়েছে। ২০১৭ সালের আগস্টে মিয়ানমারের সেনাবাহিনীর নৃশংস নির্যাতনের ফলে তারা পালিয়ে এসে বাংলাদেশে আশ্রয় নিতে বাধ্য হয়। রাজিয়া সুলতানা বলেন, এই আশ্রয় শিবিরে যত বেশি সময় শরণার্থীরা থাকবেন ততই পরিস্থিতির অবনতি ঘটতে থাকবে। ওই সাক্ষাৎকারে তিনি আরো বলেন, হ্যাঁ, এ কথা সত্য যে, শরণার্থীরা খাবার পাচ্ছে। কিন...