Aung San Suu Kyi met Myanmar's influential parliamentary speaker Thursday for key talks as the country moves from decades of military rule toward democracy after landmark polls this month.
Uncertainty surrounds the handover of power in the Southeast Asian nation, after Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy swept to victory in the November 8 polls, the fairest elections in 25 years.
She held a closed-door meeting in the capital Naypyidaw with Shwe Mann, a former general with whom she has an amicable working relationship.
The pair agreed to a number of shared goals that were later released in a statement by the NLD, including national reconciliation, peace and the smooth running of parliament during the country's political transition.
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November 22, 2015
Transition In Myanmar: What's Next?
A Situation Briefing teleconference on the recent elections in Myanmar, and the historic victory of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, the National League for Democracy, against the pro-military establishment.
After a half century of military control, Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement swept Myanmar’s first competitive poll in 25 years. In his concession speech, President Thein Sein vowed to “respect the will of the people” and a “smooth transfer of power." Although Suu Kyi is considered the de-facto leader of Myanmar, she is legally barred from the presidency due to a clause ratified by the military establishment, which still holds considerable government control. There are rising concerns that comprehensive political change will be marred by deadlock and reversion to pro-military policies. In 1990, the military annulled Suu Kyi’s electoral victory and placed her under house arrest. The future of her political authority is far from certain.
What will Aung San Suu Kyi do to ensure an orderly transition of power? What are the possibilities of a relapse to a top-down, pro-military government? How will U.S.-Myanmar relations change following the election?
For more information - Visit here.
After a half century of military control, Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement swept Myanmar’s first competitive poll in 25 years. In his concession speech, President Thein Sein vowed to “respect the will of the people” and a “smooth transfer of power." Although Suu Kyi is considered the de-facto leader of Myanmar, she is legally barred from the presidency due to a clause ratified by the military establishment, which still holds considerable government control. There are rising concerns that comprehensive political change will be marred by deadlock and reversion to pro-military policies. In 1990, the military annulled Suu Kyi’s electoral victory and placed her under house arrest. The future of her political authority is far from certain.
What will Aung San Suu Kyi do to ensure an orderly transition of power? What are the possibilities of a relapse to a top-down, pro-military government? How will U.S.-Myanmar relations change following the election?
For more information - Visit here.
'I can't be Mad at Allah' wins accolades, awards for documenting Delhi's Rohingya refugees
New Delhi: For a number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Burma, India has been as a preferred place to start a new life. But while this country might be more peaceful than Burma, life in Delhi's refugee camp is an ordeal nevertheless; and the constant fight to sustain themselves, a hard reality.
Moved by the plight of the refugees living in Delhi, four students of the MA Convergent Journalism programme of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI): Muhammad Faisal K, Naureen Khan, Vatsala Singh and Shabeela Rashid, have made a documentary titled ‘I can't be Mad at Allah’ which narrates the ordeal of Rohingyas in Burma followed by the conditions at the refugee camps in Delhi.
For more information - Visit here.
Moved by the plight of the refugees living in Delhi, four students of the MA Convergent Journalism programme of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI): Muhammad Faisal K, Naureen Khan, Vatsala Singh and Shabeela Rashid, have made a documentary titled ‘I can't be Mad at Allah’ which narrates the ordeal of Rohingyas in Burma followed by the conditions at the refugee camps in Delhi.
For more information - Visit here.
Obama visits refugees in Malaysia to highlight global crisis
U.S. President Barack Obama visited a refugee centre in Malaysia on Saturday to highlight his call for more compassion at home to deal with a global migrant crisis, as Republicans seek to block U.S. acceptance of Syrian refugees.
Speaking of the children he met at the Dignity for Children Foundation in Kuala Lumpur, Obama said "that's the face of not only children from Myanmar, that's the face of Syrian children and Iraqi children".
Many of the children at the centre were Muslim Rohingyas who have fled persecution in Myanmar.
Alluding to Republican critics who are trying to halt the flow of Syrian refugees to the United States, Obama said: “The notion that somehow we would be fearful of them, that our politics would somehow leave us to turn our sights away from their plight is not representative of the best of who we are.”
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Speaking of the children he met at the Dignity for Children Foundation in Kuala Lumpur, Obama said "that's the face of not only children from Myanmar, that's the face of Syrian children and Iraqi children".
Many of the children at the centre were Muslim Rohingyas who have fled persecution in Myanmar.
Alluding to Republican critics who are trying to halt the flow of Syrian refugees to the United States, Obama said: “The notion that somehow we would be fearful of them, that our politics would somehow leave us to turn our sights away from their plight is not representative of the best of who we are.”
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‘In Canada, it’s freedom for us’
They had been adrift at sea for more than a month and the food and water had long ago run out.
The hunger was unrelenting. The 129 men, all young Rohingya fleeing state repression in Myanmar, were at the limit of their endurance. They lay listlessly in the open boat as the sun sapped their will. Some drank seawater, some chewed shards of wood from the deck to remind themselves what it was like to feel food in their mouths.
At night, Mohammed Rafiq, a shopkeeper from rural Myanmar, rarely slept. He sat in the moonlit darkness and waited for the sound of a splash, the signal that yet another of his companions had thrown themselves upon the mercy of the sea.
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The hunger was unrelenting. The 129 men, all young Rohingya fleeing state repression in Myanmar, were at the limit of their endurance. They lay listlessly in the open boat as the sun sapped their will. Some drank seawater, some chewed shards of wood from the deck to remind themselves what it was like to feel food in their mouths.
At night, Mohammed Rafiq, a shopkeeper from rural Myanmar, rarely slept. He sat in the moonlit darkness and waited for the sound of a splash, the signal that yet another of his companions had thrown themselves upon the mercy of the sea.
For more information - Click here.
Rohingyas' uncertain fate post-polls
This column has frequently spoken of the drama of the people of Myanmar. It has many times described how, in the wake of the clashes in 2012, Rohingya Muslims were exposed to genocide, abandoned on the high seas while trying to escape the country in rickety boats, had their Myanmar citizenship taken away and were deprived of their human rights.
Those aware of the drama of the Rohingya Muslims will realise what the general election in Myanmar last week will mean to these people.
Myanmar has recently emerged from a junta regime lasting some 50 years. Although elections in 2010 in theory put an end to the military regime in question, the presence of a junta that backed the ruling party could still always be felt. Last week’s elections, however, resulted in a major success for the National League for Democracy (NLD), under opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. However, that success does not mean that the country is now fully democratic.
For more information - Click here.
Those aware of the drama of the Rohingya Muslims will realise what the general election in Myanmar last week will mean to these people.
Myanmar has recently emerged from a junta regime lasting some 50 years. Although elections in 2010 in theory put an end to the military regime in question, the presence of a junta that backed the ruling party could still always be felt. Last week’s elections, however, resulted in a major success for the National League for Democracy (NLD), under opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. However, that success does not mean that the country is now fully democratic.
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There's An Asian Refugee Crisis, Too, And Obama Plans To Spotlight It
As Europe grapples with its refugee crisis, another one has been unfolding in Southeast Asia. That's where members of a stateless minority called the Rohingya have been taking dangerous journeys by sea in pursuit of a better life. As President Barack Obama swings through Malaysia this weekend, he's putting a spotlight on them.
"I have no passport, I have no citizenship," 28-year old Mohammed Rayas tells us, when we meet him in a rundown office in Kuala Lumpur. He's an ethnic Rohingya, born in Myanmar. Even though Myanmar is home for generations of his family and his people, Rayas isn't afforded basic rights.
Habibullah, a longtime Aung Mingalar resident who goes by one name, holds his 4-year-old son Mohammed Harris at his home. He says his son, lacking adequate nutrition and running a fever for four weeks, has become too weak to walk.
The majority Buddhist government denies the one million Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar rights to citizenship, education, work and marriage. Many Rohingya are sent to squalid, crowded internment camps where food is scarce and disease is common — but Rohingya are often turned away from hospitals, too.
"I have no passport, I have no citizenship," 28-year old Mohammed Rayas tells us, when we meet him in a rundown office in Kuala Lumpur. He's an ethnic Rohingya, born in Myanmar. Even though Myanmar is home for generations of his family and his people, Rayas isn't afforded basic rights.
Habibullah, a longtime Aung Mingalar resident who goes by one name, holds his 4-year-old son Mohammed Harris at his home. He says his son, lacking adequate nutrition and running a fever for four weeks, has become too weak to walk.
The majority Buddhist government denies the one million Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar rights to citizenship, education, work and marriage. Many Rohingya are sent to squalid, crowded internment camps where food is scarce and disease is common — but Rohingya are often turned away from hospitals, too.
For more information- Click here
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