The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By The Daily Star August 31, 2014 Myanmar will start the process of repatriating Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh’s camps within two months in 'a breakthrough' in bilateral relations, the foreign secretary has said. M Shahidul Haque said they would start the process of taking back 2,415 of its nationals it verified earlier. The decision was conveyed at the secretary-level talks on Sunday. Myanmar’s Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw led his side to the meeting, known as ‘Foreign Office Consultation’. Foreign Secretary Haque told journalists after the meeting both sides agreed on a number of measures to take the relations forward. The meeting was held in “open, frank, and cordial” manner that he said indicated “greater understanding between the two countries”. Myanmar side was not present at the briefing. The Rohingya refugee issue has been the main irritant in the relations. Bangladesh gave shelter to thousands of refugees who fled the Rakhine province afte...

By KPN  August 30, 2014 Mangdaw, Arakan State: The Muslims minority was denied the right to identify themselves as” Rohinggyas” in so-called population data collection in northern Arakan, which was  conducted  since March 30 to April 10 and then from August to till now,  said Rahim( not real name) from the locality.   The census has been conducting with the help of the UN population Fund. The government claims they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and calls them “Bengalis” though they have been living there thousand years ago. Yesterday, on August 29, at about 8:00 pm, a group of BGP (Border Guard Police), army along with immigration officers went to Wabeg village of Pawet Chaung village tract of Maungdaw Township and tried to get so-called population data from the villagers. But, the villagers strongly refused to take part in the population data collection as the local authority tried to write” Bengali” in place of “ Rohingya” in the Form,...

By AP August 30, 2014 Figures extrapolated from last census in 1983 estimated population at 60 million, but new count finds only 51.4 million. Some isolated parts of northern Kachin state controlled by ethnic rebels were not counted [EPA] Myanmar has discovered it has only 51 million people - far less than the previously estimated 60 million, according to preliminary results of the latest census. State-run television, which announced the initial findings of the country's first census in three decades on Friday, said complete results would be released next year. The census, conducted from March 30 to April 10 with help from the UN Population Fund, counted 51.42 million people. The previous estimate of 60 million was based on extrapolations from the last census, conducted in 1983. The tally went smoothly, except in some areas of the western state of Rakhine where an estimated 800,000 members of a long-persecuted Muslim minority were denied the right t...

Photo: Anurup Kanti Das By Ananta YUSUF The Daily Star August 29, 2014 This week the Star interviews a Rohingya refugee who shares his experience of surviving the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmarese (Burmese) junta It was a cloudy night of September 15, 2012. Amidst an undulating sea of harvest and blades of tall grass, Alauddin Miah (pseudonym), a rich farmer, took shelter with his extended family. The thunder of clouds and the scream of the wounded, innocent people slowly faded away, but that frightening image remained with him as he says, “It was the third day, we were staying on the beel (wetland used as a paddy field). I can still hear the scream of the wounded. The nearby canal was flooded with blood and corpses.” In fear of ethnic atrocities, Udong, which is 12 km south to Mungdow town of Myanmar, was nearly abandoned. People left behind everything that they had at home in search of a safe place. Like Alauddin, many people took shelter in the wet lands of...

By KPN August 28, 2014 Maungdaw, Arakan State : Authority from Maungdaw district had imposed restriction on Rohingyas’ social and livelihood after denying to participate the so-called population data collection program, said Halim, a Human Rights Watchdog from Maungdaw. We are facing so many restriction on social and livelihood – work, travel, education, marriage and health- which we need daily  for our survival, said Nur Mohamed at the meeting with authority and Rohingya community in Maungdaw middle school on August 27 at about 4:30pm. The Burma Border security Police (BGP) population data collection program director Aung Soe and other immigration officers met Rohingya community from block number two, where more than 100 Rohingyas participated on it. In the meeting two Rohingyas – Nur Mohamed and Abu Taher – delivery an explanation on Rohingya and its background. They also asked the officer that the Rohingyas are facing difficult to participate the so-called populat...

By The Daily Star August 27, 2014 A five-member Myanmar delegation arrives here today for talks over issues concerning Bangladesh, including repatriation of Rohingyas, stopping Yaba smuggling, establishing a border liaison office to fast track dispute resolution, and holding regular security dialogues. The delegation, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Thant Kyaw and accompanied by two officials from the embassy in Dhaka, is likely to raise allegations of armed insurgents in yellow fatigues operating in the neighbouring country from Bangladesh, stated sources. Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque will lead the 10-member Bangladesh side at the foreign secretary-level 8th Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) on August 31, informed diplomatic sources. The delegation will afterwards call on Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali in the afternoon. It will also go on a visit to Sylhet tomorrow. Talks will also centre around human trafficking and security, economic issues inclu...

By MYARF  Rvision TV August 28, 2014 Buthidaung, Arakan State: The Myanmar Military arbitrarily arrested and severely tortured an innocent Rohingya at Paya-pyin-aung-pyaa’ village in Buthidaung Township for Ransom, say the reliable sources.Buthidaung The military arrested the Rohingya man last Friday night upon a false complaint against him by the village administrator who is Rakhine extremist named Maung Chan Thar. “Noor Ali (son of) U Islam (of age 25) is a local of Paya-pyin-aung-pyaa village in Buthidaung Township. The village administrator, Maung Chan Thar, arbitrarily accused Noor Ali of abusing him (the administrator) on August 22. Then, he beat him up. Even yet, on August 24, the village administrator complaint to the military of Battalion 263 (based in Nyaung Chaung village) that Noor Ali had abused him. Around 10:00PM of the same day, the military raided Noor Ali’s house and arrested him. He was detained and severely in the military detention. Then, the milit...