Persecuted Rohingya Muslims find rare refuge in Chicago

For the majority of his life, Nasir Bin Zakaria was a citizen of nowhere.

He was 14 when he was kidnapped by militants at a bazaar in west Myanmar. "Kalah," they hissed at him, a racial slur used toward Rohingya — the ethnic Muslim minority residing among the country's Buddhist majority. He spent a night at the militant camp before escaping to Malaysia. He never saw his parents again.

Now, at 45, he's among almost 1,000 Rohingya refugees who've found a new home in Chicago, the majority of whom began arriving in 2013. The local group makes up nearly a fifth of the Rohingya refugees resettled across the country since 2010, U.S. Department of State officials said. (Courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

'Cancer within Islam': Leaders urge Muslims to take a stand against terror

Leaders of some of the world's biggest Muslim countries gathered at the annual summit of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Turkey have called on fellow Muslims to criticise themselves and take a stand against terror, which they said is spreading like cancer within Islam.

Speaking to the delegates attending the meeting in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said "sectarianism and violence'" have already caused the division of the Muslim world and its continued existence ''brings more sorrows among brothers.''

"Muslims are the ones that experience the biggest harm. We cannot accept this situation. We cannot stay silent in front of such a picture,'' stressed Çavuşoğlu, CBN News reports. (Courtesy of christiantoday.com)

Bangladesh wants OIC initiative to settle internal differences of member states

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her speech read at the OIC summit in Istanbul by the foreign minister, said unity was needed to pursue the “great Islamic values of fraternity, justice and inclusion”.

Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali led the Bangladesh delegation at the 13th summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the foreign ministry said.

The two-day summit ended on Friday.

Around 30 Heads of States and governments and foreign ministers of over 20 countries joined the meet, themed on “Unity and Solidarity for Justice and Peace” in the context of the current volatile conditions in the Muslim world.

Internal conflicts and fratricidal civil wars, sectarianism, terrorism and violent extremism, Islamophobia, humanitarian and natural disasters, regression of the Muslim society, problem of Palestine, poverty, issues of development and an OIC ten year Programme of Action were discussed at the summit. (Courtesy of bdnews24.com)

Myanmar’s Mirror 10 tips: “the ASEAN Way” vs “the Suu Kyi Way”

For the first time in the history of ASEAN, there will be a Nobel peace laureate and the world’s most famous political icon in the AMM (ASEAN Ministerial Meeting or the ASEAN annual meeting) family. Myanmar’s new Foreign Minister Aung Sun Suu Kyi needs to know a few things about the organization, which she has had a dreadful relationship with. Of course, before she attends the first AMM on 22-23 July in Vientiane, she should come up with an overall policy towards ASEAN as a precursor to her future numerous ASEAN-related meetings in the next five years. Laos said that there would be at least one thousand meetings—in comparison to 2004 when Laos chaired and hosted about 400 meetings.

First, when the ASEAN foreign ministers meet, they will meet informally, say, the night before. The informal meeting, as they would like to call it, is the place where the leaders can discuss issues and concerns she wants to raise. Some of these issues would already, if they are really serious, have been addressed by ASEAN senior officials, who normally meet before their ministers gather. (Courtesy of Mizzima)

Civil-military relations critical for success of new Myanmar gov't

After months of suspense, a democratic government took the mantle to govern Myanmar. U Htin Kyaw, a long-time aid of Aung San Suu Kyi, is the new President. In reality, Suu Kyi will remain at the real center of power.

Although the existing constitution denies Suu Kyi the top post, she has been vested with key portfolios such as education, electric power, energy and foreign ministry, apart from holding the Office of the Presidency. To allow her more legroom, a constitutional amendment was made to create the position of State Advisor, effectively making her the de facto ruler. Thus, in every sense Htin Kyaw will be the rubber stamp head and Suu Kyi will act as the real face of the new government.

While the government formation was billed as a most difficult exercise, it turned out to be a smooth affair. Even the military members of parliament (MP) who raised a lot of opposition to Suu Kyi becoming advisor received an unprecedented mandate that the National League for Democracy (NLD) received in the November 2015 general elections. (Courtesy of china.org.cn)

Newsmakers: Myanmar’s Divided People “Rohingya”

In the panel discussion on The Newsmakers, Mr Tun Khin President “Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK” & Penny Green Director “International State Crime Initiative” Highlighted that how GENOCIDE ON ROHINGYA is going on in this 21st century and international community is ignoring this ROHINGYA GENOCIDE.

Mr Tun Khin said We Rohingya need to wait for two to three years to get permission to get marry, after passing all level of exams we cannot go to the higher education university. Our lands were confiscated by military this is what we face for many decades in Burma, even until today the worst situation we are facing in 21st century.

What international legal experts especially what Penny Green director International State Crime Initiative mentioned that we are facing Genocide today, we are in the worst situation in 21st century where international community is ignoring this Rohingya genocide issue. (Courtesy of Rohingya Blogger)