The Stateless Rohingya Blog

hlamyint-ruddock By KPN News April 27, 2014 Dr. Hla Myint, the coordinator of International advocacy group – Bangkok Rohingya conference held in 2013 – and other Rohingya living in Australia met the Chief Government Whip, Federal member for Berowra and Australia’s longest serving Minister for Immigration, Phillip Ruddock, MP, at an open forum in the University of Western Sydney (UWS)’s Parramatta campus on April 24, 2014, according to Rohingya advocacy group. Dr. Hla Myint and Rohingya  with the Chief Government Whip,Phillip Ruddock, MP The open forum which focus on the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority from the Arakan (Rakhine) State in Burma (Myanmar) and Dr. Hla Myint and Dr. Sev Ozdowski, – Former Human Rights Commissioner and Director of Equity and Diversity at UWS- organised the forum, the group said. The Hon. Philip Ruddock, MP was the chief guest speaker at the Open Forum at the UWS, gave a very strong pro-Rohingya speech and addressed the aud...

By Media release April 06, 2014 The Australian Government is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, Burma.  Violence targeting UN offices and international NGOs on 26 and 27 March has resulted in the destruction of property and relocation of international and local aid workers, including Australians, to secure locations. These organisations deliver vital humanitarian, medical and other assistance to communities throughout Rakhine State.  Many communities now do not have access to medical services, water, sanitation and food. The Australian Government urges the Myanmar Government to provide a safe and secure environment in Rakhine State so that all humanitarian and development personnel can continue providing these vital services.  We also continue to encourage it to address the underlying causes of the conflict there. I also urge the Myanmar Government to ensure the conduct of the country’s first census...

Latifar, an asylum seeker from Myanmar, with her husband Niza, their 7 year-old daughter. (AAP) By SBS News  Australia November 29, 2013   The federal government says it will not return a Rohingya asylum-seeker family and their Australian-born baby to Nauru until their case is properly dealt with. An asylum seeker family from Myanmar with a sick newborn baby will be allowed to stay in Australia for the time being. Lawyers for the family have struck a deal with the Department of Immigration to allow them to argue their case with procedural fairness. Federal Circuit Court Judge Margaret Cassidy recognised the deal in Brisbane on Friday. Listen: SBS reporter Stefan Armbruster tells Kristina Kukolja what happened in court today. The family of five was challenging a government order to send them back to a detention centre on Nauru after baby Ferouz was born in Brisbane. They will be allowed to stay in Australia until they receive a fair hearing and aft...

By  Sydney Morning Herald   November 06, 2013  A JOINT APPEAL TO THE PRIME MINISTER ABOUT THE USE OF THE TERM 'ILLEGAL MARITIME ARRIVALS' Dear Prime Minister, On behalf of the many Australians who believe in the importance of protecting people fleeing persecution, we write to voice our objection to the Australian Government's recent decision to refer to asylum seekers who enter Australia by boat as "illegal maritime arrivals". You and members of your Cabinet are well aware that seeking asylum is not illegal under Australian or international law. Article 31 of the Refugee Convention makes it clear that contracting states, including Australia, must not impose penalties on people who arrive without authorisation to seek refugee protection. This Article recognises that very few of the world's refugees get the opportunity to cross borders with prior permission and that rules which regulate normal migration flows must be suspended where those cross...

More than 90 refugees are being held at the Makassar Immigration Detention Center on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island after being pushed back from East Timor shores. (Photographer’s name withheld) By Simon Roughneen Irrawaddy News October 14, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR — Australia’s clampdown on refugees and migrants trying to reach the country’s shores by boat has prompted uncertainty among Rohingya who, facing state oppression and attacks by Arakanese Buddhists, have fled Burma in the tens of thousands in recent years. Since Australia’s now-ousted Labor government decided in July to prevent refugees traveling by sea from landing in Australia—saying that would-be arrivals would be taken to processing centers in neighboring Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG)—some Rohingya who had hopes of making it to Australia are now in a bind. “We are disappointed, we feel like we are stuck,” said Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, president of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization ...

(File Photo) World Bulletin / News Desk Australia is set to deport over 100 Rohingya asylum-seekers to detention centres coming weeks.  Australia is set to deport over 100 Rohingya asylum-seekers to detention centres in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Nauru in the coming weeks, in spite of accusations that the move would breach international human rights law, reported the Stateless.  It follows a decision by the former government in July to redirect all asylum-seekers to its poorer Pacific neighbours in an effort to stem the influx of boat people to Australia – which the newly elected Conservative prime minister has vowed to uphold. All new arrivals – of which 1,585 were recorded in August – will be sent onwards to Nauru or Manus Island in PNG where they will be resettled if successful, despite allegations of mistreatment and abuse at local detention facilities. According to a local campaign group, at least 100 Rohingyas fleeing conflict and persecution in Burma...

  An Indonesian police officer guides a Rohingya refugee from Burma to shore after his boat was intercepted en route to Australia (Reuters) By Hanna Hindstrom DVB News : September 19, 2013 Australia is set to deport over 100 Rohingya asylum-seekers to detention centres in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Nauru in the coming weeks, in spite of accusations that the move would breach international human rights law. It follows a decision by the former government in July to redirect all asylum-seekers to its poorer Pacific neighbours in an effort to stem the influx of boat people to Australia – which the newly elected Conservative prime minister has vowed to uphold. All new arrivals – of which 1,585 were recorded in August – will be sent onwards to Nauru or Manus Island in PNG where they will be resettled if successful, despite allegations of mistreatment and abuse at local detention facilities. According to a local campaign group, at least 100 Rohingyas fleeing con...