U Kaung San Hla is, by his own admission, not much of a businessman. So profound is his distaste for corruption and bribery that it stood in the way of what might otherwise have been a flourishing career in logging. In 2008 he landed in Sittwe Prison for 40 days for complaining about corruption in the forestry department.
“If I was a representative in the parliament my first work would be to solve corruption and bribery,” he told The Myanmar Times in Sittwe last week.
However, he won’t be giving up his day job taking tourists around the temples of Mrauk-U yet, and he’ll have to continue expressing his frustration with graft the way he always has: writing many, many letters.
U Kaung San Hla, 50, joined the National League for Democracy in 1996, and ran on the party’s ticket in the November 8 elections for the state seat in northern Rakhine’s Buthidaung – arguably one of the tougher sells the party faced nationwide. He was defeated by a candidate from the Arakan National Party, which also came close to winning a majority in the state assembly. Still, he doesn’t feel it was all for nothing.
“I want to give knowledge to the local people, even during my electoral [campaign] time. I am very satisfied because I gave knowledge about freedom, rights and democracy. The people were very happy,” he said.
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November 25, 2015
Govt Spokesman Rejects Calls for Rohingya Citizenship
A spokesperson for President Thein Sein took to social media on Saturday to reject recommendations that Rohingya Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term ‘Rohingya’. We will grant citizenship rights to Bengali people who have stayed within the boundary of Rakhine [Arakan] State based on the 1982 Citizenship Law,” read a Facebook post shared by Minister of Information Ye Htut, using the government’s preferred term to refer to the stateless minority.
“We will not grant the right of citizenship if it is not suitable to the 1982 law, even when there is pressure on us. This is our own sovereign power. There are laws in America and Britain and other Western countries about the right to grant citizenship. If it is not suitable to the rule of law in their countries, they do not grant citizenship.”
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“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term ‘Rohingya’. We will grant citizenship rights to Bengali people who have stayed within the boundary of Rakhine [Arakan] State based on the 1982 Citizenship Law,” read a Facebook post shared by Minister of Information Ye Htut, using the government’s preferred term to refer to the stateless minority.
“We will not grant the right of citizenship if it is not suitable to the 1982 law, even when there is pressure on us. This is our own sovereign power. There are laws in America and Britain and other Western countries about the right to grant citizenship. If it is not suitable to the rule of law in their countries, they do not grant citizenship.”
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Human Traffickers Flee Leaving Rohingyas on Boats off Sittwe Coast
Around six human trafficking boats reported to have been waiting around off Sittwe (Akyab) coast for past few days were abandoned by the traffickers after hearing of a police raid, according to the reliable sources.
With already around 70 people from on the boats, the human traffickers were waiting more potential victims from the Rohingya IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps, whom (the victims) were set to be later smuggled to Malaysia via Thailand.
On Monday night around 9:30PM, acting upon an information tip, the Police in ‘Manzi’ village led by the Station Commander, Hla Myo Thu, made to the coast of ‘Ohn Daw Gyi’ village where the human traffickers were reported to be waiting.
However, the traffickers abandoned the boats and fled from the place to go into hiding before the police’s arrival. Upon so, the victims on the boats (who are) mostly from the IDP Camps – such as Bodu Pha, Thakkay Pyin, Ohn Daw Gyi, Thay Chaung and Aung Mingalar — also ran away in fear.
Later, the police came back and said “we went there but found no one.”
However, the police said that they would be looking for the human traffickers and take actions.
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With already around 70 people from on the boats, the human traffickers were waiting more potential victims from the Rohingya IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camps, whom (the victims) were set to be later smuggled to Malaysia via Thailand.
On Monday night around 9:30PM, acting upon an information tip, the Police in ‘Manzi’ village led by the Station Commander, Hla Myo Thu, made to the coast of ‘Ohn Daw Gyi’ village where the human traffickers were reported to be waiting.
However, the traffickers abandoned the boats and fled from the place to go into hiding before the police’s arrival. Upon so, the victims on the boats (who are) mostly from the IDP Camps – such as Bodu Pha, Thakkay Pyin, Ohn Daw Gyi, Thay Chaung and Aung Mingalar — also ran away in fear.
Later, the police came back and said “we went there but found no one.”
However, the police said that they would be looking for the human traffickers and take actions.
For more information - Visit here.
OIC, HRC should support Rohingya Muslims: Academic
Press TV has conducted an interview with Liaqat Ali Khan, a professor at the Washburn University from Kansas, to ask for his insight into the impact of political change in Myanmar on the fate of the country's Rohingya Muslims.
The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: It’s quite clear that Myanmar’s path towards democracy isn’t as democratic as many would like it to be.
Khan: That’s very true. I think the National League for Democracy, which is the political party of the Nobel laureate has won landslide more than 70 percent of the seats in both houses; so, one would hope that the situation of Rohingyas will change, but I would suggest that there should be two international pressures that should be brought on the government of Myanmar.
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The following is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: It’s quite clear that Myanmar’s path towards democracy isn’t as democratic as many would like it to be.
Khan: That’s very true. I think the National League for Democracy, which is the political party of the Nobel laureate has won landslide more than 70 percent of the seats in both houses; so, one would hope that the situation of Rohingyas will change, but I would suggest that there should be two international pressures that should be brought on the government of Myanmar.
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Myanmar result is a tentative move towards democracy
In what has been hailed by many onlookers as an historic breakthrough, the recent general election in Myanmar saw Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD (National League for Democracy) party win over 300 seats across both houses of parliament. For a party whose recent history vividly recalls the dogged political struggle of Suu Kyi’s father and national icon, Aung San, the result is nothing short of momentous. Cornered into political wilderness for vast periods of its short existence, the party can now operate with as powerful a mandate as has been seen in the state since it gained its independence from Britain in 1948. That a substantial proportion of newly-elected members of parliament were once political prisoners indicates the enormous strides the country has taken towards establishing a democratic state.
It is perhaps therefore surprising that optimism does not reign throughout the country. Yes, large swathes of the population appear jubilant at the prospect of a government who will not rule by brute force but by the will of the electorate, that the master-narrative of Suu Kyi’s phoenix-like journey is nearing its triumphant conclusion. But there remains an undercurrent of doubt, of an optimism tempered by anxiety that the NLD’s mission is one which exclusively serves the country’s large Buddhist population.
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It is perhaps therefore surprising that optimism does not reign throughout the country. Yes, large swathes of the population appear jubilant at the prospect of a government who will not rule by brute force but by the will of the electorate, that the master-narrative of Suu Kyi’s phoenix-like journey is nearing its triumphant conclusion. But there remains an undercurrent of doubt, of an optimism tempered by anxiety that the NLD’s mission is one which exclusively serves the country’s large Buddhist population.
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Australia's 'Rohingya' refugee in Cambodia wrongly identified, returns to Myanmar
Phnom Penh: Mohammed Ibrahim took time off selling warm roti on the crowded streets of the Cambodian capital to greet a fellow Rohingya man who was arriving in the country under Australia's controversial $55 million agreement to resettle refugees from Nauru.
Mr Ibrahim felt empathy for the single man in his early 20s who had decided to abandon hopes of reaching Australia to take a one-way ticket to one of the world's poorest nations.
"I want to help him ... life is very difficult for us here," he said, as he waited at the gate of Phnom Penh's airport on a stifling hot morning in June.
But the man and three other Iranian refugees – the first and only group so far to arrive from Nauru – were whisked past him in a van and taken to a luxury villa in a Phnom Penh suburb.
Over the following weeks 32-year-old Mr Ibrahim made repeated attempts to contact the newly arrived Rohingya, including asking the Australian embassy to arrange a meeting, but was blocked each time.
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Mr Ibrahim felt empathy for the single man in his early 20s who had decided to abandon hopes of reaching Australia to take a one-way ticket to one of the world's poorest nations.
"I want to help him ... life is very difficult for us here," he said, as he waited at the gate of Phnom Penh's airport on a stifling hot morning in June.
But the man and three other Iranian refugees – the first and only group so far to arrive from Nauru – were whisked past him in a van and taken to a luxury villa in a Phnom Penh suburb.
Over the following weeks 32-year-old Mr Ibrahim made repeated attempts to contact the newly arrived Rohingya, including asking the Australian embassy to arrange a meeting, but was blocked each time.
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From Rohingyas to India: Challenges that will test Suu Kyi’s mettle as a leader of Myanmar
Myanmar’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy swept the recent national elections, will now have to prove her credentials to those who gave her unstinted support during her days under house arrest. She has already disappointed many of her fans by refusing to speak up for Rohingya Muslims living in the Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.
Fear of turning the majority community against NLD:
One reason for her caution in condemning the deadly attacks on minorities was the fear of a backlash from the majority Buddhists Burmese ahead of the all important elections. Batting for the minority Muslims could have cost her in the polls. Now that she has already won the November 8 elections, she will not have such constraints.
Will she give the Rohingyas a better deal than President U Thein Sein? Will Suu Kyi, herself a victim of persecution, reach out to them and let them live in dignity in the land of their ancestors. Or will she again turn a blind eye, as she did before the elections? It will now be up to Suu Kyi to prove her commitment to human rights by granting the one million or so Rohingyas a just deal.
For more information - Visit here.
Fear of turning the majority community against NLD:
One reason for her caution in condemning the deadly attacks on minorities was the fear of a backlash from the majority Buddhists Burmese ahead of the all important elections. Batting for the minority Muslims could have cost her in the polls. Now that she has already won the November 8 elections, she will not have such constraints.
Will she give the Rohingyas a better deal than President U Thein Sein? Will Suu Kyi, herself a victim of persecution, reach out to them and let them live in dignity in the land of their ancestors. Or will she again turn a blind eye, as she did before the elections? It will now be up to Suu Kyi to prove her commitment to human rights by granting the one million or so Rohingyas a just deal.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar government rebuffs calls for Rohingya citizenship
Myanmar's military-backed government has rejected calls for granting citizenship to the country’s most persecuted ethnic Rohingya Muslims.
Myanmar’s presidential spokesman and Information Minister Ye Htut said on Saturday that the administration would not grant the right of citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim community.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term Rohingya,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page, rejecting calls that the Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
The comments came in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, which examines the human rights situation in all UN member states.
Myanmar’s government snubbed over half of the review’s 281 recommendations, including all those related to civil and political rights of the Southeast Asian country’s Rohingya Muslims.
For more information - Visit here.
Myanmar’s presidential spokesman and Information Minister Ye Htut said on Saturday that the administration would not grant the right of citizenship to the Rohingya Muslim community.
“Our government’s stance is that we wholly reject use of the term Rohingya,” the minister wrote on his Facebook page, rejecting calls that the Muslims be granted a path to citizenship.
The comments came in the wake of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review, which examines the human rights situation in all UN member states.
Myanmar’s government snubbed over half of the review’s 281 recommendations, including all those related to civil and political rights of the Southeast Asian country’s Rohingya Muslims.
For more information - Visit here.
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