The Rohingya may well be the most persecuted people on the planet, and nobody, including the United States, is lifting a finger to help.
Of all the ethnic, racial, and religious minorities in the world, wrote the Economist last year, the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic group, may well be the most persecuted people on the planet. Today nearly two million Rohingya live in western Myanmar and in Bangladesh. Inside Myanmar they have no formal status, and they face the constant threat of violence from paramilitary groups egged on by nationalist Buddhist monks while security forces look the other way. Since 2012, when the latest wave of anti-Rohingya violence broke out, attackers have burned entire Rohingya neighborhoods, butchering the populace with knives, sticks, and machetes. (Courtesy of transcend.org)
July 5, 2016
Status of women’s rights in Myanmar to be reviewed at the UN
Myanmar’s record on women rights will be reviewed on July 7 in Geneva by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which evaluates compliance with the mandates of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Adopted by the General Assembly in 1979 and described as an international bill of rights for women, CEDAW establishes vast responsibilities on states to ensure women’s equality and end all forms of discrimination against women in public and political life. Myanmar ratified CEDAW in 1997 and was last examined by the Committee in 2008. (Courtesy of mizzima.com)
Muslim leaders call on Myanmar government to take action
Muslim leaders in Myanmar have called on the government to protect their communities following two bouts of anti-Muslim violence in the Buddhist-majority country.
Kyaw Soe, secretary general of the Myanmar Maulawi Organization, said Muslim communities are currently living in fear following the destruction of a mosque by a mob in Hpakant township situated in the northern state of Kachin on July 1.
A week earlier, anti-Muslim mobs went on rampage in a village in Bago Division in southern central Myanmar where they destroyed a mosque, a school and houses on June 23. (Courtesy of ucanews.com)
Kyaw Soe, secretary general of the Myanmar Maulawi Organization, said Muslim communities are currently living in fear following the destruction of a mosque by a mob in Hpakant township situated in the northern state of Kachin on July 1.
A week earlier, anti-Muslim mobs went on rampage in a village in Bago Division in southern central Myanmar where they destroyed a mosque, a school and houses on June 23. (Courtesy of ucanews.com)
Unaccounted citizens
he rains are here, and the seas are rough, so the sails are drawn down. But once the monsoon recedes and the storms fade, the waters turn calmer in the Bay of Bengal. Boatmen will unfurl their sails to mark the beginning of another season. The fishing trawlers, shuluks, and shampans, which dot the world’s longest stretch of uninterrupted beach from Chittagong to Shah Porir Dwip, will begin carrying goods to small ports along the sea, as traders and seafarers have done for centuries, from the time when the seas and places did not have names by which they are known today.
Some of the boats will be carrying people. Some will be passengers. Some will have paid thousands of dollars to intermediaries as they seek to escape poverty. Some will be captives of people smugglers who will take them to unknown places from where their relatives will be called and more money demanded, if they are to be set free. And many will be fleeing persecution. (Courtesy of himalmag.com)
Some of the boats will be carrying people. Some will be passengers. Some will have paid thousands of dollars to intermediaries as they seek to escape poverty. Some will be captives of people smugglers who will take them to unknown places from where their relatives will be called and more money demanded, if they are to be set free. And many will be fleeing persecution. (Courtesy of himalmag.com)
Myanmar mob burns down mosque, second in a week
A mob burned down a mosque in northern Myanmar, the second attack in a little more than one week.
Several hundred villagers wielding sticks, knives and other weapons raided and burned the structure around 3:30 p.m. Friday, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar state-newspaper.
Local authorities and security forces said they tried to disperse the mob but that the mob was unresponsive and entirely beyond control.
No arrests were made and an investigation has been launched. (Courtesy of gopusa.com)
Several hundred villagers wielding sticks, knives and other weapons raided and burned the structure around 3:30 p.m. Friday, according to the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar state-newspaper.
Local authorities and security forces said they tried to disperse the mob but that the mob was unresponsive and entirely beyond control.
No arrests were made and an investigation has been launched. (Courtesy of gopusa.com)
Asean MPs urge Myanmar to protect Muslim minority
Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) urged the Myanmar government to end discrimination against the Muslim minority in Myanmar.
The call comes after repeated incidents that targeted the country's Muslim minority population, including an anti-Muslim protest by thousands of Buddhists and monks, in Rakhine state on Sunday, EFE news reported.
"The government, led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has been telling the international community to 'just trust us' to handle the situation in Rakhine state and address discrimination against Rohingya and other Muslim communities," APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago said in a statement. (Courtesy of business-standard.com)
The call comes after repeated incidents that targeted the country's Muslim minority population, including an anti-Muslim protest by thousands of Buddhists and monks, in Rakhine state on Sunday, EFE news reported.
"The government, led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has been telling the international community to 'just trust us' to handle the situation in Rakhine state and address discrimination against Rohingya and other Muslim communities," APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago said in a statement. (Courtesy of business-standard.com)
Myanmar can draw inspiration from Mandela as it seeks to heal internal rifts
Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the new Myanmar government have cautioned the international community against using “emotive terms” that could make the tensions in Rakhine state more difficult to address.
They are talking about references to the minority Muslim population that has lived for generations in the predominantly Buddhist country’s Rakhine state as “Rohingya”.
The term matters, because it symbolises recognition of a community that has long been oppressed. Denying anyone’s identity is a serious form of discrimination and neither the international community nor the government of Myanmar should compromise when it comes to recognising fundamental rights of this nature. (Courtesy of theguardian.com)
They are talking about references to the minority Muslim population that has lived for generations in the predominantly Buddhist country’s Rakhine state as “Rohingya”.
The term matters, because it symbolises recognition of a community that has long been oppressed. Denying anyone’s identity is a serious form of discrimination and neither the international community nor the government of Myanmar should compromise when it comes to recognising fundamental rights of this nature. (Courtesy of theguardian.com)
UN human rights rapporteur pushes government on plight of Myanmar’s Muslim minority
Ms Lee also pressed the government to do more to ease restrictions on the population of Muslims in western Rakhine State who self-identify as Rohingya but whom the previous government officially branded Bengalis, implying that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Her fourth official visit – during which she travelled to Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states to observe humanitarian conditions in camps for civilians displaced by conflict, as well as meeting with legislators, civil society groups and government officials in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw – ended on July 1. The 12-day assessment of the country was her first since the National League for Democracy took power in April. (Courtesy of mmtimes.com)
Her fourth official visit – during which she travelled to Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states to observe humanitarian conditions in camps for civilians displaced by conflict, as well as meeting with legislators, civil society groups and government officials in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw – ended on July 1. The 12-day assessment of the country was her first since the National League for Democracy took power in April. (Courtesy of mmtimes.com)
Global community must not mar human rights in Myanmar by rushing to forge economic ties – UN
A United Nations human rights expert today urged the international community rushing to forge or strengthen political or economic ties with Myanmar not to undermine the country's rights priorities.
“International actors must continue to prioritize human rights, particularly in business and investment relations,” said Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, at the end of a visit to Myanmar from 20 June to 1 July.
These actors should neither remain silent when confronted with human rights concerns nor become complicit in perpetuating human rights abuses, she said. (Courtesy of un.org)
“International actors must continue to prioritize human rights, particularly in business and investment relations,” said Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, at the end of a visit to Myanmar from 20 June to 1 July.
These actors should neither remain silent when confronted with human rights concerns nor become complicit in perpetuating human rights abuses, she said. (Courtesy of un.org)
China moving fast on economic corridor with Bangladesh and India
The Linchan border economic cooperation zone, the nearby Chin Shwe Haw trade post in north-eastern Shan State, and the Chin Shwe haw border check point are three areas that will be key to building the Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor, an initiative strongly endorsed by China.
The corridor will include projects such as the Kumin-Chin Shwe Haw-Kyauk Phyu rail road, the Tarli-Linchan highway and Chinyan airport, which are considered central for linking south-western China to south-east Asia.
On December 24, 2005, China laid out a budget for a special gate at the Chin Shwe Haw border crossing. The border gate is mainly opened for importing for food. (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
The corridor will include projects such as the Kumin-Chin Shwe Haw-Kyauk Phyu rail road, the Tarli-Linchan highway and Chinyan airport, which are considered central for linking south-western China to south-east Asia.
On December 24, 2005, China laid out a budget for a special gate at the Chin Shwe Haw border crossing. The border gate is mainly opened for importing for food. (Courtesy of elevenmyanmar.com)
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