The Stateless Rohingya Blog

M.S. Anwar |   RvisionTV.com September 23, 2013 Buthidaung, Arakan - At around 11PM on 20 th   September 2013, a Rohingya prisoner passed away in Buthidaung prison due to the tortures by the jail authority and consequent diseases. “At around 11 PM on 20 th   September 2013, Yunoos S/o Kuilla Meah (Age 65) passed away in Buthidaung prison. He was one of the victims of the arbitrary mass-arrests by the joint forces of Military, Police, Hlun Htein (Security Force) and NaSaKa (the disbanded border security force) in the village of Nurullah of Baggona village tract, Southern Maung Daw, on 6 th   July 2012. He was inhumanely tortured by the jail authority to make him say that he had involved in (so-called) burning of Rakhines’ houses and kept in bad condtion. As a result, he was afflicted with pneumonia and body-swelling. He had repeatedly pleaded the jail authority to allow him to get access to medical treatment. The authority gave criminal disregards to his pl...

Hla Win wasn’t able to plant this year Photo: David Swanson/IRIN  IRIN News September 23, 2013  PIKE SAKE, 23 September 2013 (IRIN) - Hla Win, an ethnic Rakhine farmer in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, knows all too well the impact of last year’s  sectarian violence . He used to earn more than US$2,500 a year from his 2.4-hectare paddy field, located in a Muslim village adjacent to his ethnic Rakhine community, Pike Sake, in Myanmar’s Pauktaw Township. He used to hire Muslim day labourers to cultivate his field.  “I won’t earn anything this year,” the 45-year-old father of three told IRIN. “Everything changed overnight. I lost everything.”  His story underscores the broader implications of last year’s deadly  inter-communal violence  between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, particularly in the area of livelihoods, which has been largely off the radar screens of donors.  “People of both communities, liv...

Burma Times September 23, 2013 (Burma Times) It is crucial for Bangladesh to focus watchfully the infiltration of Rakhine( Mogh) who are perpetuating several crimes including smuggling  Yaba Tablets. The Rakhine ( Mogh) who only with 2700 peoples residing in Cox’s bazar, a sister community of Rohingya  of Arakan migrated from Arakan in British colonial period whom the Bangladesh, in the year 1990, granted constitutionally as citizen of Bangladesh. The Rakhine ( Mogh), today, are shown more than 200000 populations in Bangladesh un-checked infiltration of BD government in excuse of recognition since 1990 onwards. They are holding dual citizenship, easily enjoying privileges of both side — Arakan and Chittagong — no one, never focused on their movements and activities, freely moving and working here whole Bangladesh like their own ancestor place Arakan. According to reports, during East Pakistan period, after severe persecution perpetrated by the Burmese govt. as man...

KPN News September 23, 2013   Maungdaw, Arakan State :  Burma has deployed three army battalions in Burma- Bangladesh border, according to a local politician from Maungdaw Township. Government officials said that the measures had been taken to beef up security because of political instability in Arakan State. Besides, two police battalions would also be sent later to seal the Burma-Bangladesh border, according to a security officials from Maungdaw. It is done by the government, according to the advice of Arakan conflict commission report, said a local elder from Maungdaw. Director General Major General Aziz Ahmed told that Burma has not done this with any hostile intentions -- rather internal security considerations explained the move. “Burmese police and army are taking guard its border with Bangladesh in the trouble hit Arakan State after authorities disbanded its border force Nasaka (former Burma’s border security force).”  A local villa...

Photo: The Daily Star The Hindu News September 22, 2013   With the arrest of 107 Rohingya Muslims over the past three months for illegally trying to enter West Bengal, the Border Security Force (BSF) has taken up the matter with the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). Senior BSF officers, who were part of the delegation at the Director General-level talks held in Dhaka earlier this month, told  The Hindu  here on Sunday that they had urged the BGB “not to push them” into India. Owing to ethnic violence in Myanmar, Rohingya Muslims had been moving into Bangladesh over the last few years. From there they enter India in large numbers taking the help of touts, according to Additional Director General (East) BSF, B.D. Sharma. BSF authorities pointed out that such infiltration had been occurring near the border outposts in West Bengal’s Dakshin Dinajpur, Nadia, Malda and North 24 Parganas districts.  During talks with the BGB, the BSF authorities...

By A.F.M. Khairul Basher  The Daily Star September 22, 2013 Every human being has the right to live in his birthplace irrespective of religion, colour and race. But in case of Rohingyas in Myanmar, it is different and difficult. Rohingyas have been living in the state of Arakan in Myanmar since the 8th century, but have not been recognised as citizens. After decades of oppression and marginalisation by the General Ne Win in 1962 and passing of the Citizenship Law in 1982, Rohingyas have been officially stateless. Buddhist Rakhines are carrying out repression of Rohingyas. Many cases of torture and human rights abuses against Rohingya have been documented by international organisations. The UN and OIC have the responsibility to pressurise the Myanmar government to recognise the legitimate right of Rogingyas to live in peace in their homeland. Bangladesh, having sea and land border with Myanmar, has the responsibility to give due attention to this issue through bilatera...

By UNESCO September 20, 2013 Yangon : The Ministry of Education in Myanmar has approved UNESCO’s peace education project in Northern Rakhine State. The announcement of the project’s approval aptly coincides with the International Day of Peace on 21 September with the theme of “Education for Peace.” This reaffirms the commitment of the Ministry of Education to promote peace education as a means for fostering mutual respect for cultural diversity at the school level and to jointly implement the project with UNESCO through funding support from the Belgium government. Following the recent communal violence in Rakhine State, resulting in an ongoing humanitarian situation which has affected hundreds of schools and thousands of students, the government of Myanmar and international community has identified peace education as one of the priority to address underlying causes of the communal tension. The overall aim of the peace education project is to enhance the capacity of school...