The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Image credit: European Commission DG ECHO By Insight on Conflict  January 15 2014:  Myanmar's Rohingya population is one of the world's most vulnerable groups. As the country transitions to democracy, Margherita Belgioioso looks at the prospects for the Rohingya. Myanmar’s (also known as Burma) Rohingya population is one of the most vulnerable ethnic groups in the world today. They have been  stripped of their nationality and subjected to extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest, and other abuses . Desperately seeking refuge and security many have fled their homes, moving to other parts of Myanmar, or leaving the country. Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and China have been preferred destinations of this community in flight, but for the vast majority, their  suffering has not ended  upon leaving Myanmar. The widespread persecution in their native Myanmar stems  primarily from the 1982 Citizenship Law . This law defined a concept of Bu

Maungdaw, Arakan State:  An office clerk from Maungdaw township administration office attacked with screwdriver his head officer –Township administration officer- U Kyi San today at about 4:00pm, according to Maung Hla Sein from Maungdaw. U San Shwe- the office clerk who is the representative for Kila Dong (Do Cheeradan) village, was angry for not giving his share which was only used by U Kyi San. He tried to get his share, but U Kyi san didn’t want to give his share, Maung Hla Sein said. U San Shwe again tried to get his share today, but U Kyi San left his office with saying anything to U San Shwe. So, U San Shwe took a screwdriver and went to his residence which is western side of office compound, said another office staff who deny his named. U San Shwe met U Kyi San in his residence where U San Shwe tried to kill U Kyi San with screwdriver. U Kyi San ran out from his residence and round his residence more than five times as he tried to escape from U Sam Shwe’s attacked. La

By RvisionTV January 14,2014 His name is Wirathu, he calls himself the “Burmese Bin Laden” and he is a Buddhist monk who is stoking religious hatred across Burma. The saffron-robed 45-year-old regularly shares his hate-filled rants through DVD and social media, in which he warns against Muslims who “target innocent young Burmese girls and rape them”, and “indulge in cronyism”. To ears untrained in the Burmese language, his sermons seem steady and calm – almost trance-like – with Wirathu rocking back and forth, eyes downcast. Translate his softly spoken words, however, and it becomes clear how his paranoia and fear, muddled with racist stereotypes and unfounded rumours, have helped to incite violence and spread misinformation in a nation still stumbling towards democracy. “We are being raped in every town, being sexually harassed in every town, being ganged up on and bullied in every town,” Wirathu recently told the Guardian, speaking from the Masoeyein monastery in Mand