The Stateless Rohingya Blog

The blaze on Tuesday night in Duchira Dan, Maungdaw Township, left at least 16 Rohingya homes razed, although no one was reported injured. (PHOTO: DVB) By  Colin Hinshelwood Democratic Voice of Burma January 30, 2014 Shwe Maung , a Rohingya MP in Burma’s Lower House who represents Buthidaung constituency, has said that local Maungdaw police were involved in  the fire that ripped through the west tract of Duchira Dan village on 28 January , razing between 16 and 22 homes belonging to Rohingya families. Speaking exclusively to DVB on Thursday, Shwe Maung said that until the day before the fire, local Rohingya men were assigned as lookouts to guard the three village tracts since most of the residents living there were women. “On Tuesday [28 January] afternoon, the locals were informed that the police would take over guard duty at Duchira Dan-West and so the Rohingya lookouts only had to patrol the Middle and East tracts,” he said. “That evening, the houses in ...

Maungdaw officials show observers the site where, they say, the uniform, boots and overcoat of Pol. Sergeant Aung Kyaw Thein were discovered. (PHOTO: President's Office) By  Colin  Hinshelwood Democratic Voice of Burma January 29, 2014  Burmese President Thein Sein has ordered an independent investigation into allegedly fatal incidents which occurred in the village of Duchira Dan [also written Du Char Yar Tan] in Maungdaw Township, northern Arakan State, on 13 January. Speaking at a diplomatic briefing in Rangoon on Tuesday evening, Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin said the presidential order for an independent investigation team into the alleged killings would include separate probes and field trips by: the Central Committee for Peace Stability and Development of Rakhine [Arakan] State; the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission; and the Rakhine Conflict Investigation Commission. The appointment of Burma-based teams to the Maungdaw inquiry would a...