The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Rohingya MP U Shwe Maung By Kayleigh Long Myanmar Times February 07, 2014 Union Solidarity and Development Party MP U Shwe Maung has been questioned by police in Nay Pyi Taw over comments he made to Democratic Voice of Burma about possible police involvement in a fire that broke out in a Muslim village in Rakhine State late last month. More than a dozen homes were destroyed in the blaze at Du Chee Yar Tan West village near Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State on January 28. U Shwe Maung said the February 4 interrogation came at the behest of President U Thein Sein, who sent a letter to Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann requesting permission for police question the MP. The interview lasted about 90 minutes and was conducted at his USDP living quarters in Nay Pyi Taw. It focused on allegations that U Shwe Maung, a Rohingya, had defamed the state and police by saying that residents believed security forces were involved in starting the fire. ...

Muslim refugees rest at Baw Du Pha refugee camp in Sittwe, Rakhine State, western Myanmar (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win) By Kayleigh Long  Myanmar Times January 03, 2014 Pressure is mounting for the Myanmar government to ensure full humanitarian access to the Taung Paw IDP camp in Rakhine State's Myebon Township, with several international bodies decrying the conditions within the camp as "inhumane". A joint statement issued on December 30 by the European Union delegation, along with the embassies of Switzerland, Turkey and the United States, has pointed to the "dire humanitarian situation" faced by the camp's 752 resident families. Chief among the concerns outlined were the poor living conditions within the camp, including a lack of safe drinking water, limited healthcare services, widespread malnutrition, and the restriction of access beyond camp bounds. The detrimental impact of the movement restrictions imposed on those in the camp...