The Stateless Rohingya Blog

File photo of Rohingya boat people fleeing Myanmar By KPN September 18, 2014 Sittwe, Burma :  Three boat-people including one man and two women were dead while going to Malaysia from Sittwe (Akyab) by boat after sinking at the sea on September 11, at about 9:00 pm,  said Shaker, one of the boat people from Sittwe. “There were about 38 Rohingya boat-people including man, women and children were leaving Malaysia by boat from Ohn Taw Gyi IDP camp of Sittwe, Arkan, the capital of Arakan State.” Suddenly, a group of Hluntin (riot police) arrived to the spot and fired 12 rounds of bullet to air to stop the boat. As a result, the boat-people were terrified and jumped into water and tried to escape from the arrest of Hluntin. However, among them a man and two women were dead because of boat sinking and 25 boat-people are still missing and 10 others could reach to the bank after swimming. But, they were arrested by Hluntin and sent to No.1 police station of Sittwe....

Pankaj Karmakar, back from Cox's Bazar With a smile on his face, sexagenarian Abu Sayeed was walking to his home at the Rohingya refugee camp at Kutupalong of Ukhia on Thursday. He was carrying a shopping bag packed with rice, pulses and vegetables. “I'm happy to have the opportunity to buy most of the essentials from the shop inside our camp. Previously we could buy only five items from there, but now we can have 13 items,” said Sayeed, a government-registered Rohingya refugee, who has been in Bangladesh for around 20 years. Like him, there are over 32,000 registered Rohingya refugees in two camps at Kutupalong and Nayapara of Teknaf. They all are now entitled to have the facility as the World Food Programme (WFP) in cooperation with the government introduced digitised Food Cards at Kutupalong refugee camp on Thursday. The move aims at ensuring better food distribution among the refugees. As per Bangladeshi law, the Rohingya refugees are not allowed to go ...

Policemen walk towards burning buildings in Sittwe, capital of Rakhine state in western Burma, where sectarian violence is ongoing, June 12, 2012.  By Aung Hla Tun and Jared Ferrie Reuters September 11, 2014 YANGON  - Myanmar on Thursday lifted a curfew imposed in June 2012 when clashes between Buddhists and minority Muslims erupted throughout western Rakhine state, killing at least 192 people that year. Most victims of the violence were Muslim Rohingya, who live under apartheid-like conditions. The United Nations says almost 140,000 Rohingya remain in camps after being driven from their homes by Buddhist mobs in 2012. Sectarian tension has simmered in Rakhine and aid agencies were forced to evacuate the state capital of Sittwe in March when Buddhists attacked their offices after accusing them of favoring Muslims. But state government spokesman Win Myaing said that tension had eased. “The curfew ... will be lifted effective today, as the security...

By ICRC September 10, 2014 Five months after violence disrupted humanitarian operations in Rakhine state, the ICRI has restarted a full range of activities there for the Muslim and ethnic Rakhine communities alike. "The Muslim and ethnic Rakhine communities are both suffering the long-term effects of violence. Access to essential health care and clean water has been seriously affected, as has the capacity to earn a livelihood," said Enrique Ochoa, head of the ICRC’s office in Sittwe. Since resuming its programmes in May, the organization has been tackling a broad range of problems faced by both communities. "We are in regular contact with community leaders to help define programmes and tailor them to meet specific needs in a transparent and independent manner," added Mr Ochoa. The ICRC is carrying out 14 hospital restoration projects in Rakhine designed to enhance health-care infrastructure and services. At the same time, it sponsors the work of local he...

The UN's Assistant Secretary-General Haoliang Xu. (Photo: UNDP) By Alex Bookbinder Democratic Voice of Burma September 9, 2014 A senior United Nations delegation departed for the Arakan State capital of Sittwe on Monday to “take stock of the ongoing humanitarian and development situation in Rakhine [Arakan] State and review priorities for the UN system,” according to a statement. Assistant Secretary-General Haoliang Xu, who is also the assistant administrator for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its regional director for Asia and the Pacific, is accompanied by John Ging, the director of the Coordination and Response Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). The visit is part of a weeklong visit to the country, Xu’s first in his official capacity. Xu and Ging will subsequently meet with Burma’s vice president, Dr. Sai Mauk Kham, and other senior ministers in Naypyidaw later this week. The pair will depa...

By Kyaw Win TSR News  The inaugurated Ahesan Ullah Memorial Football Tournament held among the Rohingya in UK ended with the victory of Arakan Sunrisers 4-2 against BD3 Tigers on last 1st September 2014.  The tournament held as a memorandum of Murder Ahesan Ullah. How Rohingya Refugee can take the mirror of their past, spent in Bangladesh refugee camp and still facing. Ahesan Ullah(15?) was shot to death by police on 18th November 2004 with Mohammed Saber and Mohammed Saleh at Kutupalong Registered Refugee camp while breaking a demonstration of Rohingya Refugee against inhumanity. On that Ahesan Ullah wrote with his blood that he was shot by Bangladesh police. Even that many more innocent Rohingya Refugee were imprisoned for that fabricates case. Bangladesh government also harassed his parents.  Now his parents are living in New Zealand under the resettlement process of UNHCR. From that day on Rohingya Refugee have been celebrating 18th Novembe...

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...