Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February 9, 2014

Rohingya: Time to reflect for consultative leadership

Appeal to distinguished gentlemen and ladies regardless faith worldwide By Mohamed Ibrahim / Ibrahim Shah – Burma Times . 08 Feb 2014 - The ongoing state-sponsored silent Rohingya massacre is a catastrophe not only for Rohingya but also for the humanity at large. Thus, it is an obligation upon every individual who comes across this article to counsel Rohingya individuals and social and political parties to be unified to approach into consultative leadership to free from corrupted leadership that is the root of destruction of the unification and freedom of Rohingya people who are internationally recognized as one of the most persecuted victims; and to liberate the entire Rohingya society from long persecution. Charity begins at home; accordingly, to counsel each other amongst Rohingya to come forward to be unified is the double-obligation upon every Rohingya individuals. Let’s cogitate why it is significantly important for the consultative leadership to restore stripped rights o

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. U Shw

Myanmar politicians dodge 'assassination' in Malaysia

Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) By   Bangkok Post February 08, 2014 Two Myanmar politicians from a western state riven by deadly communal violence narrowly escaped a suspected assassination bid during a visit to Malaysia this week, a report said Friday. Malaysia's state-run Bernama news agency quoted police as saying the pair, Aye Maung and Aye Thar Aung, were fired upon by a shooter aboard a motorcycle in a busy shopping area of the capital Kuala Lumpur late Wednesday night. Several shots were fired at a car carrying them and several companions, but no one was injured, said the report. The two politicians are from the Arakan National Party, which represents the mostly Buddhist Rakhine, the largest ethnic group in Myanmar's western Rakhine state. The state has been torn by several episodes of violence since 2012 between Buddhists and Muslims that left scores dead and displaced 140,000 people -- many from the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority. Th

Myanmar: Why is the clergy angry?

By  Rajeshwari Krishnamurthy Eurasia Review February 08, 2014 A recent UN statement demanding an impartial probe into the killings of Muslims by Buddhists, in Myanmar, has once again brought the issue of the Rohingyas – widely accepted as the most persecuted minority group – to the fore. The alarming frequency, with which reports, detailing an unmistakable campaign of suppression of the community have been emerging over the past several months, is worrying. The clergy known for their non-violent values, have taken to violence in an attempt to rid the state of Rakhine, of the Rohingya Muslims. Why have clergy in Myanmar opted for violent means? Why is the government in Naypyidaw silent on this matter? Increasing Islamophobia The friction between the Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingyas began as a mild form of xenophobia in 1824. It has now evolved into a full-blown violent campaign of driving out the ‘settlers,’ who have now lived in the region for generations