The Stateless Rohingya Blog

A census enumerator, right, asks a Muslim woman to collect information at Thae Chaung village in Sittwe, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, Tuesday, April 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win) By Fiona MacGregor    Myanmar Times August 04, 2014 Census results on Myanmar’s ethnic populations will not be published until after the 2015 general election, an official in charge of the census has told The Myanmar Times. The revelation, which comes following concerns that figures on ethnicity and religion could prompt further communal conflict, has prompted some observers to conclude the results are being held back for political reasons. However, those involved in the process say the delay is due to data-input difficulties after a higher-than-expected number of people chose not to identify as one of 135 set ethnic groups on the questionnaire. “The ethnic information cannot be released [as early as planned],” said Daw Khaing Khaing Soe, director of the Ministry of Immigration and Popula

By Sallam Oic ׀ Monday, August 4, 2014 Maungdaw, Arakan State ׀ Rvisiontv.com Sittwe District Police Chief is trying to use two notorious criminals as witnesses in desperate attempts to prove two Rohingya prominent leaders [in Sittwe] guilty in court, says a local source. Advocate U Kyaw Hla Aung was arbitrarily accused of inciting conflicts in IDP camps in Sittwe The two prominent Rohingya leaders of Sittwe, Advocate U Kyaw Hla Aung and U Hla Myint, arbitrarily accused of inciting conflicts in IDP camps in Sittwe, were arrested in Thakkay Pyin (also known as Sakki Fara) on April 26, 2013. They have been locked up and prosecuted since then. “Fourth August was the date of the hearing of the cases of U Kyaw Hla Aung and U Hla Myint in the Sittwe District Court. They were supposed to be proven innocent by the court and released from the prison since there are evidences for the cases charged on them. However, the Sittwe District Police Chief, U Thit San, due to reportedly so

Despite the Election Commission's (EC) efforts to prevent 'intruders' from inclusion in the voter list, reports of Rohingyas trying to become voters in Bangladesh continues to filter in. The EC, in its plan to stop this, is planning to expand the area it designates as "Rohingya-inhabited special area" . Under the ongoing nationwide updating of the voter list, voter information has been sspecially ollected from almost 400 Upazilas. Election Commissioner Abdul Mobarak said the Rohingya refugees continue their efforts to become voters. "Already we're using special forms in 14 Upazilas in three border districts. Despite all this extra supervision some people are trying to become voters," he said. He said EC officials, while inspecting a rolls updating at Patiya, Chittagong, found a Rohingya settlement there recently. Commissioner Abdul Mobarak told the EC meeting that he has learned about the presence of a Rohingya settlement i

By KPN  August 04, 2014  Maungdaw, Arakan state : Rohingya community in Maungdaw is under heavy threats and oppressions by the authority as they keep resisting a forced scrutiny by the government classifying them “illegal Bengali” immigrants, Khalil, a village elder from Maungdaw north. “The Burma Border Guard Police (BGP) of BGP headquarters and  number six commanding office arrested eight villagers on July 31,nights and August 1 because of not going to BGP headquarters for meeting which the BGP invited the elder from Borgar Bill village. BGP arrested 4 persons on night of July 13 and other were picked up in the daytime from the village.” “The elders were not gone to BGP headquarters for asking to accept census collecting or recent so called population data collecting, in which Rohingyas are identified as “Bengali” in place of “Rohingyas,” Kalil more added. On that day, some Rohingya villagers from Borgar Bill village of Kyauk Hla Khar (Dargardill) village tract of Ma