The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By Mizzima News ( Mizzima ) – Fifty-four ethnic Rohingyas seeking to flee Burma were found adrift in the sea and rescued by Indonesian fisherman on Wednesday, according to the Jarkataglobe website. A Rohingya man carries mud to build a shelter at the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s bazar. Photo: Bayazid Akter Hungry and dehydrated, the seafarers were crammed into one wooden boat whose motor broke down. The leader of a fishermen’s association in North Aceh’s Dewantara subdistrict who was involved in the rescue said the Rohingyas were about 12 miles off the coast. They were taken to a mosque in Blukat Teubai village, where villagers gave them food and shelter. “Their condition was serious,” he told the newspaper. “A number of them were very weak. They saw a vessel full of passengers, just being washed back and forth on the waves. The boat’s passengers were calling out for help, food and water.”

By Jakartaglobe Rohingya refugees in Aceh’s Dewantara subdistrict on Wednesday, after being rescued by local fishermen. The Rohingya often face economic and political pressure in their native Burma. (Antara Photo/Rahmad) Banda Aceh. A total of 54 refugees stranded on the open sea off North Aceh were rescued by Acehnese fishermen on Wednesday. The rescued people are all from the Burmese Muslim ethnic minority Rohingya, and are thought to have been en route to seek asylum in Australia when the motor on their wooden vessel broke down. Jamali, a leader of a fishermen’s association in North Aceh’s Dewantara subdistrict, took part in the rescue, which was undertaken at about 2 p.m. “Fishermen from Krueng Geukueh succeeded in evacuating the Rohingya from one wooden boat, which was damaged and its motor dead,” Jamali told journalists. Once safely ashore, the asylum seekers were taken to nearby Blukat Teubai village, where they were accommodated in the annex of a mosque.

By kaladan News Ukhiya, Bangladesh: Tropical diseases -- chicken pox, pneumonia and measles-- have spread inside Kutuplong makeshift (unregistered) camp and Lada camp recently, said a refugee elder from the Kutupalong makeshift camp.

By Fayas It is indeed a matter of serious concern that Arakan north remain as dangerous as ever, courtesy of the persistent harassments being perpetrated by the Burma’s border security force (Nasaka), army, despite a number of changes in Burma after elections in November 2010. 

By Associated press MAE LA REFUGEE CAMP, Thailand (AP) — The pastor stood before more than 300 young Burmese refugees gathered for morning prayers in a weathered, jungle church. "There's a time for war, and a time for peace. Sixty-three years is long enough for killing," he told them. "Hope to see you all soon in our beautiful land."

By Monstersandcritics  Yangon - United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar arrived in the once-pariah state Tuesday on a six-day assessment mission that will include visits to rebel territories. 'This mission will take place at an important moment in the country's history,' Tomas Ojea Quintana said in Geneva prior to his departure. Myanmar, a pariah state among Western democracies for the past two decades, has taken dramatic steps towards reform in the past 10 months under President Thein Sein. Since coming to power in March, Thein Sein has opened a political dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, freed more than 600 political prisoners and initiated peace talks with four of the dozen insurgencies.

By THE IRRAWADDY Burma’s Parliament in session in the capital of Naypyidaw. (Photo: AP) Burma’s Minister of Finance and Revenue, U Hla Tun, formally presented the government’s budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year (FY) to Parliament on Tuesday. The budget reportedly allocates an increased percentage of spending to health and education and a decrease in percentage spending to the military. U Hla Tun visited Parliament on Tuesday and presented each MP with a copy of the FY 2012-13 budget for all of the government’s 34 ministries, as well as for “national projects.”