The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By bdnews24 May 15, 2014 Bangladesh has sought the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) support for repatriation of Myanmar’s Rohingya refugees. Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali asked the UNHCR Chief in Dhaka Stina Lgungdell on Thursday to work with Burma government to this end when she met him. Ali pitched for their early repatriation as Bangladesh had been sheltering for decades thousands of Myanmar nationals who fled the Rakhine state. The minister said Bangladesh remained confident in starting the repatriation process for them at an early date through bilateral negotiations with Myanmar. He expressed his hope that the UNHCR would work with the international community in creating “a conducive condition” in Myanmar’s Rakhine State for their return. Mahmood Ali also said Bangladesh’s relations with Myanmar had never been better and the present government was pursuing “pro-active and constructive diplomatic engagements” with Naypyidaw both bilat

(Photo: European Commission DF ECHO) By Knox Thames The Diplomat May 14, 2014 Its recent opening notwithstanding, Myanmar still has a long way to go when it comes to religious freedoms. As has been well reported, Myanmar’s democratic opening has coincided with serious and alarming violence against religious minorities. These depredations often fall along ethnic lines, creating a difficult witches’ brew of issues that would challenge any government, but are ones Naypyidaw must now confront. The recent report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), where I work, recently put forward a roadmap that could address these abuses and move Myanmar forward. Myanmar’s leadership needs to understand that the assault on Rohingya Muslims must stop. In April, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power expressed deep concern for the ongoing violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Daniel Russel, the Assistant Secretary of State for Ea