The Stateless Rohingya Blog

A Muslim woman holds her child in a Muslim quarter of Pa Rein village, Myauk Oo, Myanmar, Oct. 29. (Getty Images) By Engy Abdelkader Huffington Post December 19, 2013 "I wouldn't have to live this life if I wasn't a Muslim." -Anwar Sardad, a 10-year-old child laboring in Myanmar, October 2013 Since largely democratic elections in 2011 ushered in Thein Sein as Myanmar's president, the international community has rewarded perceived political and economic reforms with eased international sanctions, foreign business investments and enhanced public diplomacy initiatives. Most recently, in October 2013, Myanmar was awarded the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2014, in what was widely regarded as a diplomatic prize for its broad strides toward democratic reform. President Thein Sein declared the theme of Burma's incoming chairmanship as, "moving forward in unity in a peaceful and prosperous community...

Engy Abdelkader  Human Rights Attorney Huffingtonpost Post:   May 20, 2013   On Monday, Burmese President Thein Sein is due to visit the White House. The visit represents another milestone in recently burgeoning U.S.-Burma relations, and an opportunity to engage Thein Sein on the significance of respecting international human rights norms -- such as protecting its minority Muslim population's religious freedoms -- to continued Burmese democratic reform. The country's otherwise tainted record on religious freedom, including escalating communal violence, threatens to undermine its transition from one-party, autocratic military rule to more representative governance. It adversely impacts our global security as well. By way of background, more than 75 percent of the world's population resides in countries where official restrictions on religious freedom prevail. Despite laudable strides toward democratic reform, Myanmar (also referred to as Burma) is among thos...