February 4, 2017

A Blow to Myanmar’s Democracy

The murder of U Ko Ni, a prominent Muslim lawyer and a key member of Myanmar’s governing National League for Democracy party, on Sunday is a serious blow to the country’s fragile democracy. The brutal, public killing — he was shot at point-blank range outside Yangon International Airport after returning from a government-sponsored trip to Indonesia to discuss democracy and conflict resolution — has the hallmark of a political assassination.

Mr. Ko Ni’s murder deprives Myanmar’s civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the governing party of a talented and trusted adviser, notably on reforming Myanmar’s military-drafted Constitution. “We lost a hero,” U Win Htein, a spokesman for the party lamented, adding, “It is a bad situation here.” (Courtesy of nytimes.com)

Myanmar's Suu Kyi vows to investigate crimes against Rohingya -U.N.'s Zeid tells Reuters

The top United Nations human rights official said on Friday that Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has promised to investigate allegations of systematic and widespread violence against Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine state.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein was speaking in an interview with Reuters after his office issued a report based on accounts from 220 Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh since a counter-insurgency operation began on Oct. 9 in Rakhine.

"I did speak to Aung San Suu Kyi about an hour and a half ago. I called upon her to use every means available to exert pressure on the military and the security services to end this operation," Zeid said. (Courtesy of uk.reuters.com)

Arakan State Advisory Commission Member Describes Inhumane Conditions for Refugees in Bangladesh

An Arakan State Advisory Commission delegate who participated in a three-day trip to Bangladesh, Al Haj U Aye Lwin, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the living conditions for Muslim refugees on the Bangladeshi border were “inappropriate even for animals.”

Commission members, U Win Mra—of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission—and Al Haj U Aye Lwin—co-founder of Religions for Peace Myanmar—as well as the former UN Special Advisor to the Secretary General, Ghassan Salame, visited Bangladesh at the end of January and arrived back in Rangoon on Wednesday.

The advisory commission made an official announcement on Thursday that three delegates had traveled to Dhaka to explore Bangladeshi perspectives on the various challenges facing Arakan State. During the visit, they held meetings with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Minister, the Minister of Home Affairs, an advisor to the Prime Minister, former Bangladeshi diplomats of Bangladesh, as well as non-profit organizations, according to U Aye Lwin. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)