WHEN 16-year-old Mohammad Javier was settled in Australia after a terrifying flight out of his native Burma without his family, he thought his greatest trial was behind him.
But the young man would face an even deeper trauma three years ago, which he is still trying to overcome.
Mohammad Javier is a Rohingya Muslim, a Muslim minority that has lived in the Rankhine state of Burma since the ninth century.
The Rohingya are, according to Human Rights Watch, one of the most persecuted minorities on earth and have endured abuse, statelessness and apartheid-like restrictions since the Burmese junta government took power in 1962.
In 1982, General Ne Win’s government enacted the Burmese nationality law, which denied Rohingya citizenship and banned them from participating in elections. (Courtesy of thereporter.com.au)
April 14, 2016
Rohingya Activists in Japan Held Meeting With Foreign Ministry Officials
The Japanese Foreign Minister H.E. Fumio Kishida is planning to visit to Myanmar soon where he will meet the President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Learning of this Rohingya activists in Japan visited the Foreign Ministry's high ranking officials at the Upper House Building on April 12th from 2pm to 3:30pm.
The Rohingya activists led by Zaw Min Htut were joined by Lawyer Shogo Watanabe, a Myanmar expert and journalist Hisao Tanabe (a.k.a) U Shwe Ba. Both men had visited Myanmar in February where they met National League for Democracy Patron U Tin Oo, Lawyer U Ko Ni as well as Rohingya Party leader U Kyaw Min in Yangon, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Director Ms Kanei Doi and Japan Upper House Parliament member and leader of Social Democratic Party, Ms Mizuho Fukushima. (Courtesy of Rohingya Blogger)
The Rohingya activists led by Zaw Min Htut were joined by Lawyer Shogo Watanabe, a Myanmar expert and journalist Hisao Tanabe (a.k.a) U Shwe Ba. Both men had visited Myanmar in February where they met National League for Democracy Patron U Tin Oo, Lawyer U Ko Ni as well as Rohingya Party leader U Kyaw Min in Yangon, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Director Ms Kanei Doi and Japan Upper House Parliament member and leader of Social Democratic Party, Ms Mizuho Fukushima. (Courtesy of Rohingya Blogger)
OIC Secretary-General Hopes New Myanmar Government Will Re-evaluate Dicriminatory Laws
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary-General Iyad Ameen Madani hopes the new Myanmar government will re-evaluate the country's discriminatory law towards the Rohingya population, including the recently passed four bills on the "Protection of Race and Religion."
In his remarks at the OIC Contact Group on Rohingya Muslims meeting in Istanbul, Tuesday, Madani said that among the bills that unfairly target the minority Muslims Rohingya were the Religious Conversion Bill, the Interfaith Marriage Bill, the Monogamy Bill and the Population Control Bill.
"These bills place restrictions on religious conversion as well as interfaith marriage and allows the local government to impose birthrate limits, specifically on the Rohingya," the OIC quoted him as saying in a statement.
The Ministerial level meeting chaired by Madani was held on the sidelines of the 13th OIC Islamic Summit Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. (Courtesy of Bernama)
In his remarks at the OIC Contact Group on Rohingya Muslims meeting in Istanbul, Tuesday, Madani said that among the bills that unfairly target the minority Muslims Rohingya were the Religious Conversion Bill, the Interfaith Marriage Bill, the Monogamy Bill and the Population Control Bill.
"These bills place restrictions on religious conversion as well as interfaith marriage and allows the local government to impose birthrate limits, specifically on the Rohingya," the OIC quoted him as saying in a statement.
The Ministerial level meeting chaired by Madani was held on the sidelines of the 13th OIC Islamic Summit Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. (Courtesy of Bernama)
Myanmar earthquake: Two killed, 70 injured in Assam
At least two people have lost their lives and more than 70 have been injured in Assam after an earthquake measuring 6.8 at the Richter scale rocked eastern and north eastern parts of India on Wednesday evening.
A strong earthquake epicentred in Myanmar shook parts of Bihar, West Bengal, northeastern India and Delhi-NCR on Wednesday, forcing people out of homes in panic.
The earthquake, centered in the jungle and hills northwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, was felt in northeastern India’s Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland.
The earthquake also affected power supply, communications and rail services in some pockets for sometime in the region. (Courtesy of Hindustan Times)
A strong earthquake epicentred in Myanmar shook parts of Bihar, West Bengal, northeastern India and Delhi-NCR on Wednesday, forcing people out of homes in panic.
The earthquake, centered in the jungle and hills northwest of Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, was felt in northeastern India’s Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland.
The earthquake also affected power supply, communications and rail services in some pockets for sometime in the region. (Courtesy of Hindustan Times)
US Notes Abuses in Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia in an Annual Report
Harsh restrictions imposed on Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya minority continued during the final year of that country’s rule by a nominally civilian but military-backed party, while government troops acted with impunity in abusing noncombatants in conflict zones, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday in an annual report on human rights practices around the world.
The 2015 Human Rights Report also noted that authorities in Vietnam used “politically motivated arrests and convictions” of bloggers and rights activists last year to suppress freedom of speech online and the rights of assembly, association, and movement.
In Cambodia, meanwhile, government-linked mobs physically assaulted members of political opposition parties, the report said, adding that Cambodia’s ruling party frequently used “a politicized and ineffective judiciary” to sentence activists and others critical of the government to lengthy prison terms.
Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority group experienced “severe legal, economic, and social discrimination” during the 2015 reporting period, with the government limiting their access to higher education, health care, and other basic services, the State Department said in its report.
“The government required them to receive prior approval for travel outside their village . . . and prohibited them from working as civil servants, including as doctors, nurses, or teachers,” the report said. (Courtesy of rfa.org)
The 2015 Human Rights Report also noted that authorities in Vietnam used “politically motivated arrests and convictions” of bloggers and rights activists last year to suppress freedom of speech online and the rights of assembly, association, and movement.
In Cambodia, meanwhile, government-linked mobs physically assaulted members of political opposition parties, the report said, adding that Cambodia’s ruling party frequently used “a politicized and ineffective judiciary” to sentence activists and others critical of the government to lengthy prison terms.
Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority group experienced “severe legal, economic, and social discrimination” during the 2015 reporting period, with the government limiting their access to higher education, health care, and other basic services, the State Department said in its report.
“The government required them to receive prior approval for travel outside their village . . . and prohibited them from working as civil servants, including as doctors, nurses, or teachers,” the report said. (Courtesy of rfa.org)
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