The Stateless Rohingya Blog

M.S. Anwar  |  RvisionTV September 4, 2013 Maung Daw, Arakan- After the rumors and false reports by some propaganda media of the supposed fighting between Hlun Htein (Security Forces) and Rohingya Solidarity Organizations (RSO) along Bangladesh-Myanmar Border [for more: click here], daily raids in Rohingya villages (in Maung Daw and Buthidaung) and subsequent arbitrary arrests of innocent Rohingyas bythe authority have become quite common nowadays. “Many villages such as Quarter 2, Quater 3, Quarter 4, Shujah (Shwe Za) and Dayl Fara of Myoma Kayindan (Shikdar Fara) in Maung Daw have been raided and plundered. They say they are raiding the village to search for the RSO operatives reported to have entered Maung Daw. In fact, they also know that there is no such RSO operative exists or has entered Maung Daw. Around 10PM on 27th August 2013, a joint force of Hlun Htein and Police raided the three houses in quarter two. The owners of the three houses a...

Photo: Internally displaced Rohingya people making a hut in Sittwe,northwestern Rakhine State, Myanmar By Outlook India September 4, 2013 India today handed over a cheque of USD one million to Myanmar for development projects in Rakhine state, which was hit by communal clashes last year. Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Gautam Mukhopadhaya symbolically handed over a cheque of USD 1 million for construction of 10 schools in four townships in Rakhine State as India's contribution towards the reconciliation process between the two communities there, an official release said here. After the clashes primarily between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State, a commitment was made by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, during his trip to Myanmar in December 2012, to earmark USD 1 million. It was India's contribution towards promotion of religious tolerance, communal harmony, peace and reconciliation between the two communities...

UN special envoy to Burma Vijay Nambiar talks with reporters after visiting a refugee camp in Meikhtila during a previous trip in March. (Reuters) DVB News September 03, 2013 The United Nations’ special envoy to Burma, Vijay Nambiar, wrapped up his tour to the country on Monday following visits to the towns of Sittwe and Sandoway in Arakan state. Aye Win, a UN spokesperson in Rangoon, confirmed Nambiar was leaving on 2 September but could not provide any further details about the envoy’s visit. Nambiar travelled to the Sino-Burmese border to meet Kachin rebel leaders; to Meikhtila, the scene of recent anti-Muslim riots; and to the restive state of Arakan where communal violence between Buddhist Arakanese and the Muslim Rohingya community over the past 15 months has left dozens dead and 140,000 displaced from their homes. According to the National League for Democracy’s Sandoway district chairman Win Naing, the UN envoy met on Monday with religious leaders and...

Photo  Nayapara check point KPN News September 03, 2013 Teknaf , Bangladesh : An official Rohingya refugee boy of Nayapara camp was hit and killed by a speedy truck at Naitong Para (village) under the Teknaf police station on September 1, at about 3:00 pm, said Jubair from the camp who went to Teknaf with the victim. The dead body was identified as Sayed Hussain (11), son of Jamal Hussain of Nayapara official refugee camp which is being supervised by UNHCR and Bangladesh authorities since 1991-92. The victim Sayed Hussain accompanied by his friend Jubair were going to Teknaf for their purposes by an auto-rickshaw (CNG). But, on the way to Teknaf, it was suddenly hit by a truck from its back side and it turned turtle, Unexpectedly, Jubair was not injured, said Monir, a relative of the victim. He also said that the driver of auto-rickshaw got seriously injured but Hussain was dead on the spot. After the incident, Jubair immediately informed to victim...

To keep expenses at a minimum, a Rohingya man lives in a small room measuring about six tatami mats. Photo: Yomiuri Shimbun By Daisuke Tomita,  The Yomiuri Shimbun Myanmar Times September 03, 2013   Since the beginning of Myanmar's democratization in 2011, the nation has attracted investment from all over the world and has been dubbed "the last Asian frontier." In April, Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the nation's largest opposition party, visited Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned the favor the following month to promote deepening bilateral ties. It was the first visit to Myanmar by a Japanese prime minister in 36 years. Under oppressive military rule, more than 3,000 people are estimated to have fled Myanmar to seek refuge in Japan. While some were able to temporarily return home, about 200 have been deprived of their nationality and forced to live a rootless life. These people are known as the Rohingya. The Rohingya are a minorit...

Dr. Maung Zarni Kyoto Review  September 02, 2013 Maung Zarni, a research fellow at the London School of Economics, argues that the best way to look at the current changes in Myanmar is through his “Three Insecurity Paradigms”, namely, national security, global security and human security. Zarni denounces the Thein Sein reforms as crude responses to the regime’s own needs and to the expectation of the world, with little account for the security of ordinary Myanmar people. Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia . Issue 14 (September 2013). Myanmar A “Three Insecurities Perspective” for the Changing Myanmar. Changes in Myanmar over the past three years have indeed been dizzying. A cursory look at the turn of events since 201 in will persuade any doubters of the genuineness of the country’s transition. The question, however, is where it is transitioning to and how best to understand the transition? After their visits to Myanmar, Thomas Carothers and Larry Diamond, two of the wor...

By Kavi Chongkittavron  The Nation September 1, 2013 BANGKOK: After a series of closed door discussions and numerous rephrasing by policy-makers including foreign experts, Myanmar has finally picked the theme “Moving forward in unity towards a peaceful and prosperous Community” for its engagement with Asean next year. Like previous Asean chairs, the title reflects Naypidaw’s agenda and priorities when it takes up the grouping’s helm in 127 days. The 10-word slogan, the longest ever in Asean history, was personally given a nod by President Thein Sein recently. Earlier a few versions were put forward for consideration focusing on the centrality of Asean, economic cooperation and community building as well as political and economic reforms taking place in the past two years. The chosen theme was neutral and encompassing. “It is very comprehensive,” said a senior Asean official who attended the Asean Economic Ministerial meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, where ...