The Stateless Rohingya Blog

File photo shows residents sitting on a railway track watching buildings burning around a mosque in Meiktila, central Myanmar. Press TV : July 20, 2013 Officials in Myanmar have lifted a state of emergency imposed in a riot-hit area in March where deadly violence claimed dozens of lives. According to a notice published in the New Light of Myanmar daily on Saturday, the order was revoked “as peace and stability has already been restored” in the central town of Meiktila and surrounding areas. On March 20, extremist Buddhists attacked dozens of houses and mosques in Meiktila. The state of emergency was declared on March 22. More than 40 people were killed and 12,000 people were displaced during three days of clashes in the town. In 2012, violence against Rohingya Muslims in the western state of Rakhine left about 200 people dead. Rohingya Muslims have faced torture, neglect, and repression in Myanmar for many years. Hundreds of Rohingyas are believed t...

A scene at Te Chaung, a crowded camp near Sittwe that is home to several thousand displaced Rohingya Muslims. (Photo: Jpaing / The Irrawaddy) Radiance Viewsweekly July 20, 2013 Burma Task Force USA, in a statement on 8 July, expressed that it is “deeply troubled” to learn of the recent bombings at the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, India. “It would be tragic if this event were to further worsen the cycle of violence,” stated Dr Malik Mujahid, Chairperson of Burma Task Force USA. “To prevent this escalation let us all join together in the spirit of respect and to build trust among our communities. At this time of stress and anxiety, we invite Buddhists to respond and open dialogue with our diverse Muslim community.” The statement said that the Burma Task Force sent this message in the spirit of the Holy Month of Ramadhan, a month of mercy and forgiveness. According to tradition, Muslims are taught to revere knowledge and to seek it even if we must travel “as far...

U Kyaw Hla Aung, 73, an activist/lawyer and former administrator for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Sittwe. He is one of more than 100,000 Muslim Rohingya IDPs displaced following two bouts of sectarian violence in western Rakhine State in 2012  © Contributor/IRIN ABC Australia July 19, 2013 Human rights activists have called into doubt the Myanmar president's promise to free political prisoners following the detention of a prominent rights lawyer. President Thein Sein made the pledge during a visit to London this week. It is part of a series of democratic reforms initiated by his civilian government since taking power in 2011. However, Amnesty International says a prominent Rohingya lawyer, U Kyaw Hla Aung, was detained in Myanmar's Rakhine state on the same day as the presidents announcement. The rights group has accused Myanmar police of targeting the 74-year-old because of his work as a Rohingya human rights advocate. Shibab Ahamed, the ...

President U Thein Sein meets former British PM, Speaker of House of Common (photo President Website) By Maung Zarni  Asia Times  July 19, 2013 LONDON - Britain, the largest donor country and former colonizer of Myanmar, is effectively aiding and abetting the unfolding "ethnic cleansing" of Muslim Rohingya by helping to finance the country's controversial 2014 national census.  Ex-general and head of Myanmar's quasi-civilian government Thein Sein made an official visit to Britain this week, during which his hosts announced a new 30 million-pound (US$45.6 million) development assistance package and resumption of arms sales. One third of that amount is earmarked to bankroll the former colony's census, "which is essential to make sure support is getting to those who need it more", according to an official British government statement. Because Thein Sein's government is forcing the Rohingya people to register as "Bengali"...

A Rohingya Muslim illegal immigrant puts his hand on the railing inside the Immigration Detention Centre during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Kanchanaburi province July 10, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha By Amy Sawitta Lefevre July 19, 2013 BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's navy denied on Friday a Reuters report that its personnel were involved in a lucrative smuggling and trafficking network that exploits minority Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution and dire living conditions in Myanmar. The Reuters investigation, citing people smugglers and Rohingyas who made the journey, found that Thai naval security forces were involved in the smuggling of Rohingya Muslims. They have fled Myanmar in sharply growing numbers over the last year following outbreaks of religious violence at home. The smuggling network, centered on the west coast of southern Thailand, transports thousands of Rohingya mainly into neighboring Malaysia, a Muslim-majority c...

On a recent visit to London Myanmar's leader Thein Sein announced he would release all prisoners of conscience.© 2013 Getty Images Amnesty International : July 17, 2013 Amnesty International has called into question President Thein Sein’s recent commitment to clear Myanmar’s jails of prisoners of conscience by the end of the year.  On the same day he made this promise to delegates at a conference in London, police in Myanmar’s Rakhine state arbitrarily detained a 74-year-old Rohingya human rights defender.  “The government continues to rely on repressive laws to silence dissent and jail peaceful protesters in Myanmar,” said Amy Smith, Amnesty International’s Myanmar researcher.  “For there to be lasting change in the country, these practices need to be stopped and the laws need to be brought in line with international standards.”  During a speech at the independent policy institute Chatham House in London on 15 July 2013, President Thein Sei...

President of Myanmar, Thein Sein (L) in 10 Downing Street Photo: EPA By Michael Harris Telegraph UK : July 18, 2013 Unless the Foreign Secretary ups the pressure on Burma the apparatus of the military dictatorship will remain, writes Michael Harris If you want to know how much has changed in Burma since the much-vaulted transition, try and put on a punk gig in the capital, Rangoon. It’ll take two months and require the signatures of eight bureaucrats from varying levels of government. You may never get permission. But to punks in Burma, the idea they may even be able to play publicly at all is progress. This is transition Burma, a country full of contradictions where the military no longer hold captive Aung San Suu Kyi and have released some of the thousands of her fellow political prisoners – yet the full apparatus of the military state still exists. The worry is, while the UK and US drop sanctions and William Hague took the time to congratulate President Thein Sein i...