'What kind of hatred could make a man stab a crying baby?'

THE Rohingya have been described as people struck by tragedy. They have been persecuted for decades by Myanmar, a country they call home.

But they are unloved abroad and suffer from the geopolitics of powerful neighbours India and China, and overshadowed by the refugee crisis in Europe. In short, they have nowhere to go.

And to underline their worsening plight, the United Nations has just issued a damning report detailing an unprecedented “devastating cruelty” against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

In the report, the UN says human rights violations against the Rohingya by Myanmar’s security forces indicate “very likely commission of crimes against humanity”. Rohingya children had been subjected to “devastating cruelty” during a military campaign against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority since Oct 9. (Courtesy of nst.com.my)

'Food Flotilla For Myanmar' Not Just A Humanitarian Mission But A Message To Stop Atrocities Against Rohingyas

The 'Food Flotilla For Myanmar' on board the 'Nautical Aliya' which departed from Malaysia for Myanmar is expected to arrive in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 8.

The mission organised by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islam Organisations (Mapim), Kelab Putra 1Malaysia and Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi Foundation (TDV) from Turkey will see the vessel 'Nautical Aliya' carrying 200 volunteers and 2,300 tonnes of food and medical supply for the ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar.

The mission is not just to provide humanitarian aid but accompanied by a message - that of to stop the atrocities against the ethnic Rohingya.

Following is the transcript of an interview with MAPIM President Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid by BERNAMA journalist Anis Nabilla Md Wazilah who is part of the mission.

BERNAMA : What is the 'Food Flotilla For Myanmar' mission about? (Courtesy of bernama.com.my)

Painful voices of Rohingya’s Muslims are not heard?

According to a UN report Babies and children have been slaughtered with knives during a military campaign on Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

An eight-month-old, a five-year-old and a six-year-old were all reportedly stabbed to death in their own homes during so-called “area clearance operations” by Burmese security services, which are reported to have killed hundreds of people since 9 October, in a Rohingya-dominated area in northwest Rakhine State.

One mother recounted in the report how her five-year-old daughter was trying to protect her from rape when a man “took out a long knife and killed her by slitting her throat”, while in another case an eight-month-old baby was reportedly killed while his mother was gang-raped by five security officers. (Courtesy of baaghi.tv)

Asean and the Rohingya crisis

The worsening plight of Muslim Rohingya communities in the Rakhine state of Burma (Myanmar) could soon imperil the country’s government, as well as the reputation of its leader, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The crisis has been escalating since last October, when Burma’s military launched an offensive in which 130 Rohingya were killed, and dozens of their buildings were torched. At the time, the military’s leaders claimed that the attack was part of an effort to locate unidentified insurgents who were thought to be responsible for the slayings on Oct. 9 of nine policemen at three border posts in the district of Maungdaw.

According to a Human Rights Watch analysis of satellite images, more Rohingya villages were destroyed over the course of nine days in November, bringing the number of buildings razed to 1,250; meanwhile, 30,000 people have reportedly been displaced.

The United Nations considers the stateless Rohingya to be among the world’s most persecuted minorities. (Courtesy of opinion.inquirer.net)

Bangladesh calls for support with Rohingya relocation plan

Bangladeshi authorities urged the international community Sunday to back a controversial plan to relocate tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to a remote island despite warnings it is uninhabitable.

Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali called on representatives from 60 diplomatic missions and several United Nations agencies to take "meaningful measures" to relocate the refugees.

The scheme would see the Rohingya resettled on Thengar Char island in the Bay of Bengal, where Ali said the displaced would have "better access to humanitarian assistance". (Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk)

Burma: Security Forces Raped Rohingya Women, Girls

Burmese government forces committed rape and other sexual violence against ethnic Rohingya women and girls as young as 13 during security operations in northern Rakhine State in late 2016, Human Rights Watch said today. The Burmese government should urgently endorse an independent, international investigation into alleged abuses in northern Rakhine State, including into possible systematic rape against Rohingya women and girls.

Burmese army and Border Guard Police personnel took part in rape, gang rape, invasive body searches, and sexual assaults in at least nine villages in Maungdaw district between October 9 and mid-December. Survivors and witnesses, who identified army and border police units by their uniforms, kerchiefs, armbands, and patches, described security forces carrying out attacks in groups, some holding women down or threatening them at gunpoint while others raped them. Many survivors reported being insulted and threatened on an ethnic or religious basis during the assaults.

“These horrific attacks on Rohingya women and girls by security forces add a new and brutal chapter to the Burmese military’s long and sickening history of sexual violence against women,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, senior emergencies researcher. “Military and police commanders should be held responsible for these crimes if they did not do everything in their power to stop them or punish those involved.” (Courtesy of hrw.org)