The Stateless Rohingya Blog

Myanmar polices walk along with census enumerators as they collect information at Thae Chaung village in Sittwe, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, Tuesday, April 01, 2014. — AP photo By Muhammad Zamir Financial Express BGD April 14, 2014 As Myanmar continues its efforts to roll back half-a-century of totalitarianism and usher in a comprehensive democratic process, controversy has found a new niche within its public realm. The latest nationwide census undertaken throughout Myanmar was initiated on an upbeat note. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) came forward to help the Myanmar government complete the much needed task. Frederick Okwayo, a census adviser, explained to the media that there was need for completion of the coding list of the 135 ethnic groups who are supposed to constitute the population of Myanmar. As indicated by Okwayo, such a census of the population was imperative 'for any planning - be it planning for basic education, planning for health ...

By SR Sittwe Sittwe (Akyab) | Sunday April 13, 2014 rvisiontv.com 8-month-old Supana Parveen is acutely suffering from an unidenttified fever. There is no clinic to cure her illness. (Photo: SR Sittwe)   We  have recently  reported you about  a heart-wrenching plight of a malaria-infected 8-month-old Rohingya baby boy called Sayed Noor . Yet, here is one more similar plight of a vulnerable Rohingya baby girl that has been acutely suffering from an unidentified fever since 10 th  April 2014. She is Supana Parveen, daughter of U Yunose and Daw Noor Aishah, living in the IDP camps of Thakkay Pyin (Sakki Fara) in Sittwe (Akyab) township, Arakan state. There is no hospital or proper clinic there after the expulsion of International Aid Groups. And she can’t be admitted to Sittwe General Hospital either because of the fear that Rakhine doctors and nurses at the hospital will kill her instead of curing her illness. She is now in a volunteer clinic at...

By Emanuel Stoakes The Independent UK April 11, 2014 This year looks set to be the most fraught in a long time for the already highly imperilled ethnic group       At the time of writing, Burma’s first census in over 30 years is drawing to a close. It was meant to have been the latest in a series of milestones affirming the nation’s steady progress toward democracy and away from its bitterly troubled past. Instead, it has become a high-profile fiasco; one that has underlined the burning issues that still trouble the country and threaten to drag it backwards. Chief among those issues is the plight of a persecuted Muslim ethnic minority in the country's western Rakhine state. Just prior to the start of the nation-wide population survey, a spokesman for the Burmese government announced that the ethnic group, who are stateless and regarded as illegal immigrants by both Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh, could not identify themselves by the name the...

HD MYARF April 11, 2014 rvisiontv.com Maungdaw, Arakan - Daw Than Than, wife of a Rakhine police officer in Kyeing Chaung of norrthern Maungdaw, is building properties by intruding into mosque premise. “Daw Than Than (Age 30), wife of Police Officer U Soe Chay, has been running a small shop attached to the premise of the Masjid (Mosque) of north hamlet of the village of Kyein Chaung (Bawli Bazaar), northern Maungdaw, and beside to the road of the village since 2011. Now, she has been extending the shop structure so as to make it into a shop cum house. Hence, she is now intruding into the premise of the mosque and building the house on it. Although mosque committee and the villagers complained against the intrusion to the concerned Police station and the village administration, none has taken action against it. She has been continuing to bulid the house for four days now” said a worried villager. “Hence, we request concerned authority to prevent this or anyone who’s...

At the head of the table, US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel, right, and US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell, left, speak with reporters on Thursday at the US Embassy in Rangoon. (Photo: US Embassy) By Samantha Michaels  The Irrawaddy April 11, 2014 RANGOON — The US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs has raised concerns about the humanitarian situation in Arakan State during meetings with Burma’s president and other high-level government officials in Naypyidaw. Daniel Russel said he spoke “very candidly” during meetings on Wednesday and Thursday with President Thein Sein as well as Burma’s foreign minister, information minister and deputy minister for border affairs. The discussions focused on the government’s short- and long-term plans in restive Arakan State, as well as preparations for Burma’s Asean chairmanship and US concerns about press freedoms in the country. Accompanied by US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchel...

By Sufyan bin Uzayr International Policy Digest April 11, 2014 Aung San Suu Kyi, October 22, 2013 (Claude Truong-Ngoc/Wikimedia Commons) Respected Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, Thanks to the internet, I have the luxury of putting together this open letter for you (though of course, a busy Nobel Laureate such as yourself must be having better things to do than reading this letter). Last month, at the third Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), you met the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. Both of you discussed various issues, such as the importance of providing micro-loans to rural women and the need to restrict the trafficking of meth pills in the region. It was good to hear that steps were being taken for the betterment of the entire region. However, something was missing. Yes, the plight of the Rohingya people in Myanmar. Did you forget about them? Of course you did! You are a busy lady, after all! ...

By HD MYARF April 11, 2014 rvisiontv.com Rakhine Terrorists in Action. Arakan Liberation Army runs its operation from Bandorbon of Bangladesh and some camps based in Indian territory. (Photo: parisvisionnews.com) Buthidaung, Arakan - Rakhine (Magh) terrorists have posed an open threat against the Rohingya people living in the village of Payin Latt (Fouy Mali) on 8th April 2014. “On 8th April 2014 night, Rakhine terrorists attached a threat letter on the wall of the Jameh Masjid (Mosque) of the village of Payin Latt (Fouy Mali) in Buthidaung. The threat letter reads ‘we will soon set this mosque on fire. If any of you tries to stop us, we will destroy and burn down your entire village’” said a local of the village. Local Rohingyas are extremely worried because of this open threat and any possible arson attacks on them. “Some people witnessed that more than one hundred armed Rakhine (Magh) terrorists arrived at the village of Paya Pyin Aung Pa (Natala Rakhine) ...