The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By M.S. Anwar Wednesday, April 8, 2014 rvisiontv.com Ethnic Rohingyas Demonstrating in Kuala Lumpur this morning (Photo: Saifullah)  Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia- In the wake of exclusion of ‘Rohingya’ ethnic identity in the ongoing population census in Myanmar (Burma) and dire Humanitarian Crises that internally displaced Rohingyas in Myanmar’s western state, Arakan, have been facing post the expulsion of the Aid Groups from the state, Rohingya community in Malaysia appeal International Community to press Myanmar’ regime to protect the ethnic identity of ‘Rohingya’ and to quell the genocidal violence against them going on since June 2012. A demonstration by around hundred Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar was held in Kuala Lumpur at 10AM today. It was led by Mohammd Sadek, a prominent Rohingya activist in Malaysia and program coordinator of Rohingya Arakanese Refugee Committee (RARC), Mohammed Rafique, Chairman of Ethnic Rohingya Committee of Arakan and Ustaz Jaber, President

A patient is carried to hospital in Arakan State, August 2013. (Photo: Reuters) By Feliz Solomon Democratic Voice of Burma April 8, 2014 The international community has again issued urgent pleas to the Burmese government to restore humanitarian access and ensure the protection of residents — foreign and local — in Arakan State, where critical health and supply services were largely terminated in late March. “Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in Rakhine [Arakan], mainly from the Rohingya community, are not receiving vital medical and humanitarian aid,” read a joint statement issued by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for Internal Development. British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire on Monday summoned the Burmese Ambassador to the FCO to urge restoration of humanitarian access. The same day, UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana called recent events in Arakan “the latest in a long history of discrimination and persecution

Myanmar police officers stand guard near barricades as they provide security in Thandwe, Rakhine State, western Myanmar. AP By KPN April 08, 2014 Maungdaw, Arakan State: The Burmese government setup more Army Battalions in Maungdaw since the authority started the population of census in Maungdaw, Anwer, a politician from Maungdaw. The Army Battalions setup in the areas of Maungdaw are;- Waythali  Natala village (3 miles), Myothugyi village, Myoma Kayoungdan High School compound, Myinn Hlut in Maungdaw south and Nga Kurah in Maungdaw north, the politician said. “Each of the battalion station has 300-400 army personnel and they were well equipped.” The Army Battalions are suddenly setup in Maungdaw and the local peoples – especially Rohingya community – become surprised and worried for more Human Rights violation in the areas, said Halim, a Human Rights Watchdog from Maungdaw. The Battalions setup is good for Maungdaw local peoples, but the Rohingya will suff

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim - File pic  By Rahmah Ghazali The Star Online April 8, 2014 Kuala Lumpur : Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim maintained that the Government was “most humane” to Rohingya refugees although it has not signed the United Nation convention. In response to a supplementary question in Parliament by Nasrudin Hassan (PAS-Temerloh), the minister said the Government would not forcibly send the refugees, who own proper legal documentation to go back to their countries. There are 132,187 refugees with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholders in the country. “We will not send them back unless they are willing to do so. It is not our policy to send them back where their lives would be in danger,” he said on Tuesday. He added that the Government had also borne the cost of sending back the refugees who had no proper legal documentation in the pa

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tomás Ojea Quintana. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré UN News Centre April 07, 2014 An independent United Nations expert today sounded the alarm on the deteriorating human rights situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, adding that the evacuation of aid workers following recent attacks on the humanitarian community would have severe consequences for life-saving work in the area. “Recent developments in Rakhine state are the latest in a long history of discrimination and persecution against the Rohingya community which could amount to crimes against humanity,” said the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana. He warned in a news release that the evacuation of aid workers, following the recent attacks on UN and non-governmental organization (NGO) premises in the state capital, Sittwe, “will only increase the vulnerability of this community.” “These workers were in Rakhine

CR MYARF Tuesday, April 8, 2014 rvisiontv.com Some hand-made guns captured in the monastery of Allu-Daw-Byi, Myoma Kayintan, Maungdaw (Photo: CR) Maungdaw, Arakan-  Eye-Witnesses say there are many Rakhines (Maghs) going under extensive Firearms Trainings in the village of Thayet-Oak (Maangala), northern Maungdaw. The villagers are worried about a possible terrorists’ attack by Rakhine extremists. “Many stranger Rakhines (Maghs) seem to be members of 969 terrorist gang have arrived at Rakhine village of Thayet-Oak (Maangaala) recently. They are providing firearms traninings, swordsmanship and stick-fighting to the local Rakhines at the premise of a (rural) hospital in the village. Many of them keep ponytails. At the hospital, local Rohingyas were able to have medical treaments. Nowadays, the authority of the hospital oust Rohingyas saying ‘we won’t treat you Bengalis.’ We feel they are doing so lest the ongoing illegal activities at the premise of the hospital should

Mothers are pictured with their children at a Rohingya internally displaced persons (IDP) camp outside Sittwe, May 16, 2013. (Photo:  Reuters /Soe Zeya Tun) By Reuters April 7, 2014 London -- Britain summoned Myanmar's ambassador on Monday to call on the southeast Asian nation to allow aid agencies to resume their work in violence-torn Rakhine state, Britain's Foreign Office said. Aid agencies were forced to halt operations in Rakhine last month when hundreds of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists destroyed staff homes, offices and warehouses as well as boats used to transport supplies. Parts of the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist community have accused aid groups of favouring the mainly Muslim Rohingya people, who make up the vast majority of victims of ethnic and religious violence that has displaced more than 140,000 since June 2012. A spokeswoman for Britain's Foreign office said Hugo Swire, a junior minister responsible for Asia, had summoned the ambassador for

HD MYARF Tuesday, April 8, 2014 rvisiontv.com Buthidaung, Arakan- Myanmar Military gang-raped Rohingya woman at Paya-Pyin-Aung-Pa monastery of Nyaung Chaung village tract of Buthidaung township on 6th April 2014. Locals say the woman is still in critical condition. “Around 1PM on 6th April 2014, Military staying temporarily at Buddhist monstery in the village of Paya-Pyin-Aung-Pa, Buthidaung township, arrested a Rohingya woman called Gul Bahar (Age 40) hailing from the said village. She was forcibly taken to the monastery. There, they tight her hands and legs. Then, they raped her one after another until the midnight. Around 3:30AM, having extorted Kyat 200,000 (from her husand via a middle-man), the military handed her over to a 10-household-head of the village. She is still in critical condition” said a local of the village. “She was arrested and gang-raped because her husband, U Iliyaz, went into hiding. They came to arrest her husband just because on 4th April