The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By  Kenan Malik The New York Times May 19, 2014 LONDON  — There is perhaps no religion that Western liberals find more appealing than Buddhism. Politicians fawn over the Dalai Lama, celebrities seek out Buddhist meditation, and scientists and philosophers insist that Buddhism has much to teach us about human nature and psychology. Even some of the so-called New Atheists have fallen for Buddhism’s allure. For most of its Western sympathizers, Buddhism is a deeply humanist outlook, less a religion than a philosophy, a way of life to create peace and harmony. The Rohingya people of Myanmar take a very different view of Buddhism. The Rohingya are Muslims who live mostly in Rakhine, in western Myanmar, bordering Bangladesh. Early Muslim settlements there date from the seventh century. Today, in a nation that is 90 percent Buddhist, there are some eight million Muslims, of whom about one in six is Rohingya. For the Myanmar government, however, the Rohingya simply do no

Photo Moungdaw  highway   By KPN News May 19, 2014 Maungdaw, Arakan State : Maungdaw wheel tax collection agent is collecting more high taxes from transport vehicles since he had appointed as a wheel tax collection agent, said Nasem, a vehicles owner from Maungdaw. The municipal office called tender for wheel tax collection agent position to public every year, but U Kyaw Saw, an ex- Military Intelligence personnel of General Khin Nyunt group, is g etting every time and link with all police and traffic police department and all officials from Maungdaw, Nasem said. The wheel tax collection for Maungdaw are:- 18,000 kyat for a new motorbike from store buying and the person had to pay again 18,000kyat after three months for one year, 1000 kyats per day for truck, bus, car and 7000kyat per month for cycle taxi. It is only for wheel taxes for running on the road. The owner has to pay more taxes or fees for license to traffic department, said Harron, a member of Maungda

Ukhiya, Bangladesh : A refugee girl from the Kutupalong official refugee camp was killed by a speedy Mini bus at Teknaf-Cox’s Bazar Highway nearby Kutuplong camp, on May 18, Hasan, a refugee from the Kutupalong camp said. “The refugee girl has been identified as— Minara Akter (9), daughter of late Aman Ullah, block-E of Kutuplong official camp, under the Cox’s Bazar district.” She was killed on the spot while crossing the road yesterday at about 11:00am.  The mini bus was going to Cox’s Bazar from Teknaf with passengers, according to sources. On information, the police of Ukhiya police station rushed to the spot, but, the driver managed to escape from the police arrest, according to official. However, Mv Jalal –the uncle of Minara – had filed a case against the driver regarding the matter. The dead body was buried in the refugee cemetery yesterday evening after autopsy in Cox’s Bazar hospital, Mv Jalal from the camp told the Kaladanpress. When asked the victim’

By Legal Aid Network (LAN) Comment on the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement proposed by the Government of Burma/Myanmar Introduction Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been plagued by a complex civil war since the independence of the country in 1948. To bring this to an end, a dialogue process between the ruling regime led by President Thein Sein and the ethnic armed groups (hereafter ‘EAOs’) has been taking place for about three years now since it commenced in 2011. On November 2, 2013, a conference was held in Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization (‘KIO’), in Kachin State, with the participation of almost all the major EAOs. There, the ethnic leaders reached a common agreement for, inter alia, the establishment of a federal union coupled with a federal army, as a crucial part of a new political framework. To read full report, please click here