A senior UN official on Tuesday accused Myanmar's government of allowing discrimination to continue against the country's Rohingya Muslim community and warned that it could lead to genocide.
"It was our hope that the new administration in Myanmar will address the issue of discrimination against the Rohingya who are Muslim. Instead, they have continued to be denied their identity," said Adama Dieng, a special advisor to the UN secretary general on the prevention of genocide.
"If it is not halted, it could lead to a genocide," he told dpa in Addis Ababa, where he was attending a UN-sponsored meeting on the role of African religious leaders in preventing violence and extremism. (Courtesy of Daily Sabah)
May 11, 2016
Myanmar: No hope yet for Rohingya under Aung San Suu Kyi
The Rohingya people of Myanmar are regarded as some of the most persecuted people in the world. They are Muslims who live in a remote part of the northwest of the country and they are seen by many Burmese people as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, though they have lived in the country for generations.
With the accession to power of Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, revered in the West for her steadfast struggle against the regime for which she spent years under house arrest, there were hopes that their situation might find some relief. However, the new ambassador of the United States to Myanmar was asked last week to refrain from even using the term. The official Myanmar position is that the Rohingya are not among the officially recognised ethnic minorities. Scot Marciel was told that using the term was not "supportive of Myanmar's national reconciliation process".
To his credit, Marciel flatly refused. "Our position globally and our international practice is to recognise that communities anywhere have the ability to choose what they should be called... and we respect that," said Marciel, in response to a question on whether he intended to continue using the term Rohingya. (Courtesy of christiantoday.com)
With the accession to power of Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, revered in the West for her steadfast struggle against the regime for which she spent years under house arrest, there were hopes that their situation might find some relief. However, the new ambassador of the United States to Myanmar was asked last week to refrain from even using the term. The official Myanmar position is that the Rohingya are not among the officially recognised ethnic minorities. Scot Marciel was told that using the term was not "supportive of Myanmar's national reconciliation process".
To his credit, Marciel flatly refused. "Our position globally and our international practice is to recognise that communities anywhere have the ability to choose what they should be called... and we respect that," said Marciel, in response to a question on whether he intended to continue using the term Rohingya. (Courtesy of christiantoday.com)
US AMBASSADOR FLAGS POSSIBLE SANCTIONS EASE, HOLDS STEADY ON RAKHINE ROW
US Ambassador Scot Marciel has said his country remains committed to political and economic reform in Myanmar during his first official public address on Tuesday morning, while treading gingerly around a controversy arising from a recent US Embassy statement on Rakhine State.
Speaking to a small gathering of academics, civil society leaders and journalists at the American Center in downtown Yangon, the career diplomat reiterated many of the commitments made by his predecessor Derek Mitchell, regarded as one of the principal architects of the Obama Administration’s Myanmar engagement strategy.
Ahead of a major review of US economic sanctions due later this month, Ambassador Marciel said that American officials remained committed to raising human rights matters both publicly and privately with their counterparts in the Myanmar government. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Speaking to a small gathering of academics, civil society leaders and journalists at the American Center in downtown Yangon, the career diplomat reiterated many of the commitments made by his predecessor Derek Mitchell, regarded as one of the principal architects of the Obama Administration’s Myanmar engagement strategy.
Ahead of a major review of US economic sanctions due later this month, Ambassador Marciel said that American officials remained committed to raising human rights matters both publicly and privately with their counterparts in the Myanmar government. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Myanmar's new democracy is off to an undemocratic start
The Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar has long been deemed one of the world's most persecuted minorities, its plight called a “most urgent matter” by President Obama. Episodes of sectarian violence drove the Rohingya from their homes, leaving more than 100,000 in squalid camps for the displaced. Restricted in how they travel and denied educational opportunities, they are the outcasts in majority-Buddhist Myanmar, also known as Burma. Many Rohingya families have lived in Myanmar for generations, yet they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and West Bengal. And most in effect have been denied citizenship because they can't meet the nearly impossible standard set by law. (Courtesy of LA Times)
MA BA THA RELUCTANT TO PRESSURE GOVT OVER DEFAMATION CASE
A prominent nationalist Buddhist monk has said the Ma Ba Tha movement has no plans to pressure the government over the recent arrest of a nationalist provocateur on defamation charges, but he warned that authorities should tread carefully when dealing with the movement.
Thopaka, a monk who is the spokesperson of Ma Ba Tha's headquarters in Yangon’s Insein Township, said the movement would closely follow the case against Nay Myo Wai, the chairman of Peace and Diversity Party.
“We support Nay Myo Wai’s nationalist activities, but will wait and see how his case will be handled,” he said when asked whether the movement would help the staunch supporter of their nationalist cause
.Thopaka warned the NLD government to deal carefully with the nationalist forces or else there could be “dangers, condemnations and protests. This would not be good for the new government, nor for the country.” (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
Thopaka, a monk who is the spokesperson of Ma Ba Tha's headquarters in Yangon’s Insein Township, said the movement would closely follow the case against Nay Myo Wai, the chairman of Peace and Diversity Party.
“We support Nay Myo Wai’s nationalist activities, but will wait and see how his case will be handled,” he said when asked whether the movement would help the staunch supporter of their nationalist cause
.Thopaka warned the NLD government to deal carefully with the nationalist forces or else there could be “dangers, condemnations and protests. This would not be good for the new government, nor for the country.” (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
United States Urged to Renew Burma Sanctions
US President Barack Obama should renew the country’s sanctions on Burma in light of ongoing abuses against minority groups, two international human rights groups said on Monday.
“While some clamber for normalized US relations with Burma, international crimes against minorities persist and the unreformed military maintains significant political power,” Tom Andrews, a former US congressman and president of the Washington-based group United to End Genocide, said in a joint press release with Fortify Rights, which is based in Bangkok.
In a new 34-page report—“Supporting Human Rights in Myanmar: Why the US Should Maintain Existing Sanctions Authority”—the two advocacy organizations drew particular attention to Burma’s continued persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, saying that “more than 140,000 Rohingya and other Muslims [are still confined] to more than 40 squalid internment camps in [Arakan] State, while another one million Muslims in the country face severe restrictions, particularly on freedom of movement.” (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
“While some clamber for normalized US relations with Burma, international crimes against minorities persist and the unreformed military maintains significant political power,” Tom Andrews, a former US congressman and president of the Washington-based group United to End Genocide, said in a joint press release with Fortify Rights, which is based in Bangkok.
In a new 34-page report—“Supporting Human Rights in Myanmar: Why the US Should Maintain Existing Sanctions Authority”—the two advocacy organizations drew particular attention to Burma’s continued persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, saying that “more than 140,000 Rohingya and other Muslims [are still confined] to more than 40 squalid internment camps in [Arakan] State, while another one million Muslims in the country face severe restrictions, particularly on freedom of movement.” (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
US ambassador avoids the ‘R’ word
US ambassador Scot Marciel avoided using the term “Rohingya” in his first public speech as ambassador to Myanmar, but stressed that Muslims in Rakhine State have the right to self-identify.
“They get to choose what they want to be called,” Mr Marciel said in reply to a question over the usage of the controversial word. “That’s fundamental international practice and we respect that,” he said.
The ambassador made his address shortly after the foreign affairs ministry – on instruction from Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – told journalists that embassies, including the US, were asked to refrain from using the term “Rohingya”.
Mr Marciel refused to comment on whether his embassy had received such a request, saying he “would prefer not to publicly talk about private diplomatic conversations”. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
“They get to choose what they want to be called,” Mr Marciel said in reply to a question over the usage of the controversial word. “That’s fundamental international practice and we respect that,” he said.
The ambassador made his address shortly after the foreign affairs ministry – on instruction from Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – told journalists that embassies, including the US, were asked to refrain from using the term “Rohingya”.
Mr Marciel refused to comment on whether his embassy had received such a request, saying he “would prefer not to publicly talk about private diplomatic conversations”. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
The Unpeople Rohingya: Expose The Duplicity Of Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi has finally laid her cards on the table. No more bewilderment about why the holder of the Nobel Peace Prize (a worthless honorific most often awarded war criminals), the democracy icon known as “the Mandela of Asia,” the holder of dozens of international honorifics as a champion of human rights has remained dead silent on the genocide against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Media reports the conflict as primarily a religious one between Muslims & Buddhists but Rohingya have been subject for decades to violent state-sponsored persecution & discrimination conducted by the military, including denial of citizenship (though they have lived in the region for decades), religious persecution, forced labor, land confiscations, arbitrary taxation & various forms of extortion, forced eviction & house destruction, restrictions on travel for health & work, restrictions on marriage, education, & trade. The violence is so extreme & sustained going back decades that hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas flee for asylum to Malaysia & to squalid refugee camps in Thailand & Bangladesh. Myanmar now has forced nearly 150,000 to live in concentration camps.
For years, Suu Kyi dummied up when reporters asked her about the genocide or answered in platitudes urging people to get along with each other or evasions calling for rule of law. Her evasions were taken as diplomacy even though it’s really hard to be a champion of human rights if diplomacy is your schtick. Usually daring & fearlessness are essential qualities of such champions, not cowardice or talking with marbles in your mouth. (Courtesy of Just International)
Media reports the conflict as primarily a religious one between Muslims & Buddhists but Rohingya have been subject for decades to violent state-sponsored persecution & discrimination conducted by the military, including denial of citizenship (though they have lived in the region for decades), religious persecution, forced labor, land confiscations, arbitrary taxation & various forms of extortion, forced eviction & house destruction, restrictions on travel for health & work, restrictions on marriage, education, & trade. The violence is so extreme & sustained going back decades that hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas flee for asylum to Malaysia & to squalid refugee camps in Thailand & Bangladesh. Myanmar now has forced nearly 150,000 to live in concentration camps.
For years, Suu Kyi dummied up when reporters asked her about the genocide or answered in platitudes urging people to get along with each other or evasions calling for rule of law. Her evasions were taken as diplomacy even though it’s really hard to be a champion of human rights if diplomacy is your schtick. Usually daring & fearlessness are essential qualities of such champions, not cowardice or talking with marbles in your mouth. (Courtesy of Just International)
Government starts SOE review
The government is launching a review of state-owned economic enterprises to decide which ones should be restructured, a Ministry of Finance official told The Myanmar Times.
The review, which will cover all state-owned enterprises (SOEs), will help the government decide whether an SOE should be corporatised, privatised or remain government-owned, according to U Maung Maung Win, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and director of the Treasury Department.
Analysts have long identified SOE reform as a key task for Myanmar, and one that could prove an important driver for economic growth. In many cases SOEs are struggling – they are both unprofitable and overstaffed. Those in extractive industries, meanwhile, receive huge proceeds from their operations, much of which sits in poorly understood “other accounts” and which cash-strapped government ministries – like health and education – cannot access, according to a recent Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
The review, which will cover all state-owned enterprises (SOEs), will help the government decide whether an SOE should be corporatised, privatised or remain government-owned, according to U Maung Maung Win, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Finance and director of the Treasury Department.
Analysts have long identified SOE reform as a key task for Myanmar, and one that could prove an important driver for economic growth. In many cases SOEs are struggling – they are both unprofitable and overstaffed. Those in extractive industries, meanwhile, receive huge proceeds from their operations, much of which sits in poorly understood “other accounts” and which cash-strapped government ministries – like health and education – cannot access, according to a recent Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Myanmar parliament approves addition of one more ministry
Myanmar's parliament on Tuesday approved the addition of the Ministry of the Office of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi to its set-up, sources said.
The addition of the new ministry, proposed by President U Htin Kyaw, has brought the total number of the ministries to 22 under the government, Xinhua news agency reported.
Myanmar's new government, led by U Htin Kyaw, have reformed the ministries with 21 run by 18 ministers, reducing the number from 36 and 32 respectively in previous government. Some of the ministries were combined into one. (Courtesy of The New Indian Express)
The addition of the new ministry, proposed by President U Htin Kyaw, has brought the total number of the ministries to 22 under the government, Xinhua news agency reported.
Myanmar's new government, led by U Htin Kyaw, have reformed the ministries with 21 run by 18 ministers, reducing the number from 36 and 32 respectively in previous government. Some of the ministries were combined into one. (Courtesy of The New Indian Express)
THE FEDERAL STATE DEBATE
The National League for Democracy government faces a host of daunting challenges and one of the most critical is its election promise to establish a federal state.
It is a challenge closely linked to other key issues facing the country’s first democratically-elected government in decades: ending armed conflict, ethnic representation in parliament and constitutional reform.
The creation of a federal state is an issue that has been at the heart of the country’s politics long before it gained independence in 1948.
In 1947 at Panglong in Shan State, Bogyoke Aung San and Kachin, Shan and Chin leaders signed an agreement on a formula for federalism. The Panglong Agreement accepted the principle of “full autonomy in internal administration in Frontier Areas”, but was never fulfilled. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
It is a challenge closely linked to other key issues facing the country’s first democratically-elected government in decades: ending armed conflict, ethnic representation in parliament and constitutional reform.
The creation of a federal state is an issue that has been at the heart of the country’s politics long before it gained independence in 1948.
In 1947 at Panglong in Shan State, Bogyoke Aung San and Kachin, Shan and Chin leaders signed an agreement on a formula for federalism. The Panglong Agreement accepted the principle of “full autonomy in internal administration in Frontier Areas”, but was never fulfilled. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
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