Finland is prioritising Education, Health, and Gender as part of its development plan for Myanmar. Mizzima’s Editor-in-Chief Soe Myint was in Helsinki at the invitation of Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. Here he was able to conduct an exclusive interview with Ms. Lenita Toivakka, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development.
You mentioned about education, health and gender and women’s empowerment as key priorities for development. When it comes to Myanmar how about support to the media specifically because we have an emerging media process in the country. Do you have any programs now?
I think we don’t have that kind of program now for supporting free media in Myanmar. We have different kinds of programs and I know that our support is going to increase and will be higher than it has been recent years so Finnish support to Myanmar is increasing in different sectors. And the main sectors we are really going to focus on includes empowering women developing cooperation with a partner country. Then there is education, quality education, how to manage your resources better, then there is support for your democratic development. (Courtesy of Mizzima)
May 3, 2016
Japan’s Kishida meets Suu Kyi, expresses full support for new government
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met Tuesday with Myanmar’s state counselor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and expressed Tokyo’s full support for the country’s new administration.
Kishida became the first Japanese Cabinet member to meet the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who also holds the post of foreign minister, since the new administration was launched in the Southeast Asian country in March.
At a joint news conference after the meeting, Kishida said both the public and private sectors of Japan will be fully behind the Myanmar government. (Courtesy of The Japan Times)
Kishida became the first Japanese Cabinet member to meet the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who also holds the post of foreign minister, since the new administration was launched in the Southeast Asian country in March.
At a joint news conference after the meeting, Kishida said both the public and private sectors of Japan will be fully behind the Myanmar government. (Courtesy of The Japan Times)
Myanmar: Everything will change
It's an unprecedented upswing for Myanmar's media. At the center: journalist U Myint Kyaw. He's fighting for imprisoned colleagues, is sitting on the newly-formed Press Council and is training a new generation.
"I remember it well. It was October 2012 and a journalist accidentally took a photo of a policeman," recalls U Myint Kyaw. "He wanted to photograph an intersection and by chance the officer ended up in the picture." But that was already enough. The reporter was arrested. From prison he called the Myanmar Journalist Network (MJN) for help. At the time, U Myint Kyaw was Secretary General of the newly founded network. He spent two hours negotiating with the police before managing to convince them that the photo was simply a mistake. The journalist was finally released. "The police refused to believe him," says the 52-year-old. "But because we're an association, we carry more weight in situations like these." (Courtesy of dw.com)
"I remember it well. It was October 2012 and a journalist accidentally took a photo of a policeman," recalls U Myint Kyaw. "He wanted to photograph an intersection and by chance the officer ended up in the picture." But that was already enough. The reporter was arrested. From prison he called the Myanmar Journalist Network (MJN) for help. At the time, U Myint Kyaw was Secretary General of the newly founded network. He spent two hours negotiating with the police before managing to convince them that the photo was simply a mistake. The journalist was finally released. "The police refused to believe him," says the 52-year-old. "But because we're an association, we carry more weight in situations like these." (Courtesy of dw.com)
‘Drug-Addicted People Should Not Be Treated as Criminals’
In 2014, a number of civil society organizations and researchers concerned over the health and well-being of drugs users and impoverished small-scale opium farmers set up the Drug Policy Advocacy Group (DPAG). The network advocates a shift away from Burma’s current, punitive drug laws to legislation that decriminalizes drug use and subsistence poppy farming, and which provides health care for users and helps farmers to gradually substitute their poppy crop.
Last month, Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham, a medical doctor and coordinator of the Rangoon-based DPAG, oversaw a public workshop organized by DPAG members, which included civil society organizations such as the Myanmar Opium Farmers Forum, National Drug Users Network Myanmar and the Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association. Members of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission and police officers of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) also attended the event.
During an interview with Myanmar Now, Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham stressed the need to reform Burma’s drug laws in order to address widespread drug addiction in northern Burma and to help tens of thousands of poor opium farmers find an alternative livelihood. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
Last month, Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham, a medical doctor and coordinator of the Rangoon-based DPAG, oversaw a public workshop organized by DPAG members, which included civil society organizations such as the Myanmar Opium Farmers Forum, National Drug Users Network Myanmar and the Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association. Members of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission and police officers of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) also attended the event.
During an interview with Myanmar Now, Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham stressed the need to reform Burma’s drug laws in order to address widespread drug addiction in northern Burma and to help tens of thousands of poor opium farmers find an alternative livelihood. (Courtesy of Irrawaddy)
India’s security concerns
Traditionally, India has had an erratic relationship with Myanmar that posited our operational requirements to cozy up with the Myanmar junta (to take on the North East-centric insurgent elements on the Myanmar side of the border), at odds with our more internationalist and avowedly diplomatic stance of supporting the pro-democracy strain of Aung San Suu Kyi’s struggle. The confusion from this moral dichotomy drove the Myanmar junta into the willing arms of the Chinese with whom it shares a 2185 km border – China suffered no such moral compunctions and with its famed realpolitik approach, prioritized the geo-political relevance of the ‘second coast’ on the Indian Ocean, captive natural resources of Myanmar and a hungry market for Chinese exports, to establish its own multihued hegemony. So, in Myanmar’slong spell of international isolation and seclusion, China became it principal partner of relevance and legitimacy.
Strategically, Myanmar made imminent sense for the Chinese with a pliant junta-regime and a geography that afforded a potential ‘pearl’port-base in Sittwe to provide logistics for the critical SLOC’s (Shipping Sea Lanes of Communication). This was part of the China’s global strategy of ‘String of Pearls’ that envisaged, intermittent ports along the Asian coastline, with the Dragon’sfirm trade/naval footprint, from the Hainan Island in the South China Sea up to Sudan in Africa. Even creative engineering solutionslike a canal through the Kra Isthmus in Thailand bypassing the restive, narrow and vulnerable Straits of Malacca was mooted by the Chinese to secure its trade and energy options, superimposing the relevance of Myanmar in the Chinese strategic jigsaw.
For the Myanmar junta, international legitimacy aside, Myanmar had the ongoing infamy ofhosting one of the world’s ‘longest running insurgencies’. There are over 135 Government recognized ethnic groups,with the predominance of the Bamars at approx. 65 per cent – leading to fears of ‘Burmainsation’,that led to armed ethnicity-based insurgent groups of various Myanmar’s minorities. These local insurgent groups imposed taxes in their respective domains and dabbled in drug trafficking to facilitate the purchase of weaponry from the black markets of Cambodia, China and Thailand. Given the lack of international support options for a junta-style-Government, it becamefertile ground for tactical arrangements, intrigues and bloody suppressions – just the kind of environment that the Chinese revel in and exploit to create a vassal nation. Chinese are past masters in the game of checks and balances to ensure perpetual control and it tactically managed covert relationships with some of Myanmar’s ethnic-based insurgent groups (especially those with shared Chinese ethnicity) to ensure a counter-lever to the Tatmadaw (as the Myanmar Military or juntais locally known). (Courtesy of dailyexcelsior.com)
Strategically, Myanmar made imminent sense for the Chinese with a pliant junta-regime and a geography that afforded a potential ‘pearl’port-base in Sittwe to provide logistics for the critical SLOC’s (Shipping Sea Lanes of Communication). This was part of the China’s global strategy of ‘String of Pearls’ that envisaged, intermittent ports along the Asian coastline, with the Dragon’sfirm trade/naval footprint, from the Hainan Island in the South China Sea up to Sudan in Africa. Even creative engineering solutionslike a canal through the Kra Isthmus in Thailand bypassing the restive, narrow and vulnerable Straits of Malacca was mooted by the Chinese to secure its trade and energy options, superimposing the relevance of Myanmar in the Chinese strategic jigsaw.
For the Myanmar junta, international legitimacy aside, Myanmar had the ongoing infamy ofhosting one of the world’s ‘longest running insurgencies’. There are over 135 Government recognized ethnic groups,with the predominance of the Bamars at approx. 65 per cent – leading to fears of ‘Burmainsation’,that led to armed ethnicity-based insurgent groups of various Myanmar’s minorities. These local insurgent groups imposed taxes in their respective domains and dabbled in drug trafficking to facilitate the purchase of weaponry from the black markets of Cambodia, China and Thailand. Given the lack of international support options for a junta-style-Government, it becamefertile ground for tactical arrangements, intrigues and bloody suppressions – just the kind of environment that the Chinese revel in and exploit to create a vassal nation. Chinese are past masters in the game of checks and balances to ensure perpetual control and it tactically managed covert relationships with some of Myanmar’s ethnic-based insurgent groups (especially those with shared Chinese ethnicity) to ensure a counter-lever to the Tatmadaw (as the Myanmar Military or juntais locally known). (Courtesy of dailyexcelsior.com)
ANP to submit urgent proposal for Rakhine war refugees
The Arakan National Party (ANP) will submit an urgent proposal to urge the government to initiate a peace process and give assistance to war refugees in Rakhine State, announced MP Khin Saw Wai of Yathetaung Constituency, who is also a member of the ANP, on April 30.
She continued that there are about 1,500 people who have become refugees due to the battles in Rakhine State between The Myanmar Defence Services (Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army (AA).
The ANP said peace is needed immediately as schools will reopen in about one month.
“We plan to submit an urgent proposal to urge the government to restore peace and to provide resources such education, healthcare and social welfare for war refugees. We will implement the plan when we arrive in Nay Pyi Taw,” said Khin Saw Wai.
The ANP released a statement on April 23 urging the Rakhine State government to cooperate with the Union government to stop the clashes in Rakhine State. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
She continued that there are about 1,500 people who have become refugees due to the battles in Rakhine State between The Myanmar Defence Services (Tatmadaw) and the Arakan Army (AA).
The ANP said peace is needed immediately as schools will reopen in about one month.
“We plan to submit an urgent proposal to urge the government to restore peace and to provide resources such education, healthcare and social welfare for war refugees. We will implement the plan when we arrive in Nay Pyi Taw,” said Khin Saw Wai.
The ANP released a statement on April 23 urging the Rakhine State government to cooperate with the Union government to stop the clashes in Rakhine State. (Courtesy of Eleven Myanmar)
A Role Reversal for Myanmar and Thailand
Rarely do next-door neighbors move as rapidly in opposite political directions as Thailand and Myanmar have in recent years. After more than a half-century of military dictatorship, Myanmar has restored democratic rule, and now has a civilian-led government led by the former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD). Thailand, by contrast, has twice reverted from popular rule to military dictatorship in the past decade, owing to coups in 2006 and 2014. What accounts for these neighbors’ reversal of political fortune?
Myanmar initiated its shift toward democracy in 2003, when the country’s military dictatorship unveiled a seven-step roadmap. At first, the plan was ridiculed as another empty promise from the country’s brutish military junta. And, indeed, the generals locked up dissidents, shot protesting monks, and kept Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders under house arrest for another six years.
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It is clear, however, that the regime’s leaders saw the writing on the wall. They knew that they could not continue to sustain their power through violence and oppression, as that would ultimately cause their regime to collapse under the weight of international sanctions and isolation. What they did not anticipate was the speed at which economic and political liberalization would gain momentum. Almost as soon as genuine economic and political reforms were launched in 2011, the costs of rolling back the effort became unthinkably high for Myanmar’s military. (Courtesy of Project Syndicate)
Myanmar initiated its shift toward democracy in 2003, when the country’s military dictatorship unveiled a seven-step roadmap. At first, the plan was ridiculed as another empty promise from the country’s brutish military junta. And, indeed, the generals locked up dissidents, shot protesting monks, and kept Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders under house arrest for another six years.
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PS On Point: Your review of the world’s leading opinions on global issues.
It is clear, however, that the regime’s leaders saw the writing on the wall. They knew that they could not continue to sustain their power through violence and oppression, as that would ultimately cause their regime to collapse under the weight of international sanctions and isolation. What they did not anticipate was the speed at which economic and political liberalization would gain momentum. Almost as soon as genuine economic and political reforms were launched in 2011, the costs of rolling back the effort became unthinkably high for Myanmar’s military. (Courtesy of Project Syndicate)
Myanmar's border trade down in first month of FY17
Myanmar's border trade was down by over $24 million in April, the first month of fiscal year 2016-17, according to official figures of commerce ministry on Monday.
The border trade for nearly one month stood at $147.433 million while that of the same period of the fiscal year 2015-16 was $171.877 million, Xinhua news agency reported.
The border trade was down due to some temporary restrictions by China on some items including rice and re-exported sugar.
Meanwhile, traffic jam on the route to Muse, a border trade zone between Myanmar and China, slowed down trade activities, Maung Aung, former advisor to the commerce ministry, said.
At present, Myanmar's officials are trying to expand the route, he added. (Courtesy of The Statesman)
The border trade for nearly one month stood at $147.433 million while that of the same period of the fiscal year 2015-16 was $171.877 million, Xinhua news agency reported.
The border trade was down due to some temporary restrictions by China on some items including rice and re-exported sugar.
Meanwhile, traffic jam on the route to Muse, a border trade zone between Myanmar and China, slowed down trade activities, Maung Aung, former advisor to the commerce ministry, said.
At present, Myanmar's officials are trying to expand the route, he added. (Courtesy of The Statesman)
Myanmar to break chill relationship with Bangladesh
Maintaining inward policy for the last five decades, Myanmar is going to outreach to the world and the regional countries to improve relationship.
The Southeast Asian country held general election in November where Nobel Laureate Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s party National League for Democracy [NLD] had a landslide victory. It took over the power on April 1 with huge expectation from the Myanmar people to change the society.
“I’m quite sure the new government wants to maintain good relations with Bangladesh,” said Secretary of Foreign Relations Committee of Myanmar parliament Bo Bo Oo.
He was of the view that the relationship between previous Myanmar governments and the Bangladesh government was ‘quite chilled’. (Courtesy of Dhaka Tribune)
The Southeast Asian country held general election in November where Nobel Laureate Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s party National League for Democracy [NLD] had a landslide victory. It took over the power on April 1 with huge expectation from the Myanmar people to change the society.
“I’m quite sure the new government wants to maintain good relations with Bangladesh,” said Secretary of Foreign Relations Committee of Myanmar parliament Bo Bo Oo.
He was of the view that the relationship between previous Myanmar governments and the Bangladesh government was ‘quite chilled’. (Courtesy of Dhaka Tribune)
AP PHOTOS: Editor Selections From the Past Week in Asia
Colorful lanterns in Seoul for Buddha's birthday, an anti-Rohingya protest in Myanmar and sumo wrestlers holding babies were among editors' picks of images from around Asia last week.
Mar Roxas, one of five presidential candidates in the Philippines, greeted supporters with a week to go in the country's May 9 elections.
In Myanmar, a maroon robe-clad Buddhist monk wore a sticker saying "No Rohingya" during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Yangon. Myanmar nationalists believe the long-persecuted Muslim minority who live in the western part of the country are illegal immigrants and refer to them as "Bengalis."
Most parents try to keep their babies from crying. But in the ancient Japanese ritual of "nakizumo," sumo wrestlers holding babies make noises and faces to try to get the infants to cry. The baby who wails first — or longest and loudest — is deemed the winner. The tradition is based on the idea that crying babies will ward off demons and grow healthily. (Courtesy of ABC News)
Mar Roxas, one of five presidential candidates in the Philippines, greeted supporters with a week to go in the country's May 9 elections.
In Myanmar, a maroon robe-clad Buddhist monk wore a sticker saying "No Rohingya" during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Yangon. Myanmar nationalists believe the long-persecuted Muslim minority who live in the western part of the country are illegal immigrants and refer to them as "Bengalis."
Most parents try to keep their babies from crying. But in the ancient Japanese ritual of "nakizumo," sumo wrestlers holding babies make noises and faces to try to get the infants to cry. The baby who wails first — or longest and loudest — is deemed the winner. The tradition is based on the idea that crying babies will ward off demons and grow healthily. (Courtesy of ABC News)
All neighbours ‘same’ to new Myanmar government
Experts at the Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies (MISIS) said the de facto President was also “genuinely interested” in solving all outstanding problems with neighbours.
Suu Kyi, who could not be the President due to constitutional restrictions imposed during the military regime, is the foreign minister.
Exchanging views with a group of Bangladeshi journalists visiting Yangon, the MISIS experts on Monday said Bangladesh and Myanmar could come “closer”, by neutralising irritants.
“To her (Suu Kyi) all the neighbours are same,” said former Ambassador U Wynn Lwin, a member of the MISIS.
The chairman, former Ambassador Nyunt Maung Shein, said MISIS would send a team to Dhaka next week to discuss energy sector cooperation, as well as security issues with the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI). (Courtesy of bdnews24.com)
Suu Kyi, who could not be the President due to constitutional restrictions imposed during the military regime, is the foreign minister.
Exchanging views with a group of Bangladeshi journalists visiting Yangon, the MISIS experts on Monday said Bangladesh and Myanmar could come “closer”, by neutralising irritants.
“To her (Suu Kyi) all the neighbours are same,” said former Ambassador U Wynn Lwin, a member of the MISIS.
The chairman, former Ambassador Nyunt Maung Shein, said MISIS would send a team to Dhaka next week to discuss energy sector cooperation, as well as security issues with the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI). (Courtesy of bdnews24.com)
Displaced villagers return home in Myanmar's Rakhine state
Being able to sit once more in a bright and airy room – and in her own home – makes a welcome change for Amina.*
She and her family were among 145,000 people displaced during inter-communal violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine state four years ago. Around 20,000 homes were destroyed, Amina's among them.
Last year she was among some 25,000 of the internally displaced people, or IDPs, who were able to leave their temporary shelters and rebuild their homes themselves – through a process led by the Myanmar Government.
"I'm glad that we're living here now – this is a good house, much better than the temporary shelter," she said, sitting in her home on raised stilts near the sandy banks of one of the many rivers and waterways that weave their way through the coastal state, and flow on to the Bay of Bengal.
During their displacement, Amina and her young family lived in a shared longhouse with seven other families. Cramped and often dark, the temporary shelters have a short lifespan and deteriorate over time, worsening conditions for its inhabitants. (Courtesy of UNHCR)
She and her family were among 145,000 people displaced during inter-communal violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine state four years ago. Around 20,000 homes were destroyed, Amina's among them.
Last year she was among some 25,000 of the internally displaced people, or IDPs, who were able to leave their temporary shelters and rebuild their homes themselves – through a process led by the Myanmar Government.
"I'm glad that we're living here now – this is a good house, much better than the temporary shelter," she said, sitting in her home on raised stilts near the sandy banks of one of the many rivers and waterways that weave their way through the coastal state, and flow on to the Bay of Bengal.
During their displacement, Amina and her young family lived in a shared longhouse with seven other families. Cramped and often dark, the temporary shelters have a short lifespan and deteriorate over time, worsening conditions for its inhabitants. (Courtesy of UNHCR)
Myanmar to promote, protect labour rights
Myanmar has pledged to promote and protect labour rights, including ending forced labour and stronger enforcement of child labour law in the country, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population said on Monday.
In a statement, the ministry invited all interested partners to join with the government in its efforts to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on labour-related issues, Xinhua news agency reported.
Labour Minister U Thein Swe called on the employers to respect the rights of workers in accordance with the Labour Law while pursuing their own interest, urging them to maximise their workplace efficiency and hone their skill in their chosen areas of work. (Courtesy of Business Standard News)
In a statement, the ministry invited all interested partners to join with the government in its efforts to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on labour-related issues, Xinhua news agency reported.
Labour Minister U Thein Swe called on the employers to respect the rights of workers in accordance with the Labour Law while pursuing their own interest, urging them to maximise their workplace efficiency and hone their skill in their chosen areas of work. (Courtesy of Business Standard News)
Nationalists plan another rally outside US embassy
The nationalists, supported by the Committee for the Protection of Race and Religion – commonly known as Ma Ba Tha – object to a recent statement by the US expressing condolences for victims of a boat sinking in Rakhine State. The statement said local reports alleged the victims were Rohingya – who are called “Bengalis” by those who don’t recognise them as one of the 135 official ethnic groups. As The Myanmar Times revealed, those who drowned in the accident were mostly Muslim Kaman.
Members of the Peace and Diversity Party, a nationalist political party which is closely linked to Ma Ba Tha, said they will join the May 5 demonstration.
U Thiri Maung, one of the leaders of the demonstration and vice chair of the Peace and Diversity Party, said yesterday that the nationalists will reconvene outside the US embassy on University Avenue Road. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Members of the Peace and Diversity Party, a nationalist political party which is closely linked to Ma Ba Tha, said they will join the May 5 demonstration.
U Thiri Maung, one of the leaders of the demonstration and vice chair of the Peace and Diversity Party, said yesterday that the nationalists will reconvene outside the US embassy on University Avenue Road. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
Reintegration needs many years, Rakhine chief minister says
Rakhine State’s chief minister says it will take more than one five-year term under the NLD-led government to bring the state’s divided Buddhist and Muslim communities together again.
“It is impossible to unite them at once. We will have to do it step by step,” U Nyi Pu told The Myanmar Times in an interview in Sittwe.
“So we need to give the process a lot of time. Therefore we cannot say it can be accomplished in our five-year term,” he said.
Although his comments appeared to represent a desire by his administration to end policies of enforced segregation, they reflect a reluctance to move quickly because of pressures the National League for Democracy is facing in Rakhine State where the party is leading a minority government. More widely across Myanmar, nationalists – including prominent Buddhist monks – have also shown they do not intend to give up their anti-Muslim platforms used for attacks on the NLD.
There is also the issue of how much latitude U Nyi Pu has been given by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in setting policies as critical as reintegration. The state counsellor has said little in public on the issue. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
“It is impossible to unite them at once. We will have to do it step by step,” U Nyi Pu told The Myanmar Times in an interview in Sittwe.
“So we need to give the process a lot of time. Therefore we cannot say it can be accomplished in our five-year term,” he said.
Although his comments appeared to represent a desire by his administration to end policies of enforced segregation, they reflect a reluctance to move quickly because of pressures the National League for Democracy is facing in Rakhine State where the party is leading a minority government. More widely across Myanmar, nationalists – including prominent Buddhist monks – have also shown they do not intend to give up their anti-Muslim platforms used for attacks on the NLD.
There is also the issue of how much latitude U Nyi Pu has been given by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in setting policies as critical as reintegration. The state counsellor has said little in public on the issue. (Courtesy of Myanmar Times)
A year on, Rohingya trapped in desperate limbo
One year after struggling ashore during Southeast Asia's human-trafficking crisis, hundreds of desperate Rohingya migrants remain in limbo, forgotten footnotes as record numbers worldwide flee violence and persecution.
Sonamia was among about 400 starving people plucked to safety off Indonesia from an overloaded green boat that became emblematic of the crisis, its emaciated passengers pleading for help as countries in the region rejected them in an impasse that triggered global outrage.
Under pressure, Indonesia and Malaysia eventually allowed Rohingya boat people to land, pending resettlement within a year.
But none have been resettled, hundreds are stuck in camps and detention centres, and some have once again risked their lives by taking to the high seas at the hands of people-smugglers. (Courtesy of rappler.com)
Sonamia was among about 400 starving people plucked to safety off Indonesia from an overloaded green boat that became emblematic of the crisis, its emaciated passengers pleading for help as countries in the region rejected them in an impasse that triggered global outrage.
Under pressure, Indonesia and Malaysia eventually allowed Rohingya boat people to land, pending resettlement within a year.
But none have been resettled, hundreds are stuck in camps and detention centres, and some have once again risked their lives by taking to the high seas at the hands of people-smugglers. (Courtesy of rappler.com)
Fire destroys Rohingya’s shelters in Myanmar camp
Fire has broken out at a Rohingya Muslim camp in western Myanmar, burning hundreds of homes and leaving over 2,000 people homeless.
The fire broke out at the Baw Du Pha camp near the state capital, Sittwe, in Rakhine State on Tuesday, destroying the homes of nearly 450 families.
“About 2,000 people are affected,” said an aid worker, whose name was not mentioned in reports. “They will have no roofs over their heads tonight.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown but it is a stark reminder of dire living conditions of Rohingya Muslims confined to bleak camps in Rahkine state.
Some 140,000 people, mainly Rohingya, have been trapped in the grim displacement camps since they were driven from their homes by waves of Buddhist violence four years ago. (Courtesy of Press TV)
The fire broke out at the Baw Du Pha camp near the state capital, Sittwe, in Rakhine State on Tuesday, destroying the homes of nearly 450 families.
“About 2,000 people are affected,” said an aid worker, whose name was not mentioned in reports. “They will have no roofs over their heads tonight.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown but it is a stark reminder of dire living conditions of Rohingya Muslims confined to bleak camps in Rahkine state.
Some 140,000 people, mainly Rohingya, have been trapped in the grim displacement camps since they were driven from their homes by waves of Buddhist violence four years ago. (Courtesy of Press TV)
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