The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Press Release By Fortify Rights February 25, 2014 Leaked government documents reveal severe violations of human rights of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, including restrictions on the freedom of movement, marriage, childbirth, and other aspects of daily life in northern Rakhine State, Fortify Rights said in a new report released today. The report implicates state and central government officials as perpetrators of the crime against humanity of persecution. Crimes against humanity are among the most serious crimes under international law. “The impacts of these restrictions are severe and have been well-documented for decades, but the official orders have been kept out of the public domain until now,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. “This architecture of abuse contributes to political instability and violence and must be lifted immediately.” The 79-page report,   Policies of Persecution: Ending Abusive State Policies Against Rohingya Muslims in

 Photo: AP Khin Maung Win By AP February 25, 2014 YANGON, Myanmar: An independent human rights group said Tuesday it has obtained official documents that directly implicate the Myanmar government in abusive and discriminatory policies targeting the country's long-persecuted minority Rohingya Muslim community. Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights, said analysis of a dozen leaked official and public records detail restrictions on the right to travel freely, practice religion, repair homes, marry and to have families — the only place in the predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million that has limited parents to two children. While these policies have long been known, in some cases dating back decades, this is the first time the orders have been made public, he said, describing the chilling effect of seeing them in writing. "It represents a level of planning and knowledge among Myanmar authorities that raises the abuses to the threshold of c

By   Bangkok Post February 24, 2014 Critics claim the first population-wide survey in 30 years is designed to ‘divide and rule’ and weaken ethnic minorities' political position Officially, Wut Yee Maung has a complicated background. If her Myanmar ID card is to be believed, she is a young Muslim woman who is half Burman-Pakistani and half Burman-Pathan. But the reality is different: Neither of her  parents are Burman or Pakistani, and how she came to be registered as such is a mystery to her.  When the census-taker comes around, Wut Yee Maung could register as Pathan, but to do so she will have to be listed under code 914: “Other”. The Pathan are not included among the 135 fractious and sometimes overlapping ethnic groups recognised on the Myanmar government’s official list. Instead, because of the prevailing tensions in Myanmar and on the advice of family members, she is inclined to conceal her Muslim identity and register as Burman and Buddhist. This kind of