Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan will arrive in Burma on Sunday and visit Arakan State on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, to introduce his role as chair of the new Arakan State Advisory Commission to local Buddhist and Muslim stakeholders, according to Arakan State government secretary U Tin Maung Swe.
Kofi Annan is expected to meet the Arakan National Party (ANP), the largest party in Arakan State, which represents the interests of the Buddhist majority and has taken a hard line against the largely stateless Rohingya Muslim community, which suffered from anti-Muslim violence in 2012 and 2013 and remains largely segregated from Buddhist communities in the state, with restrictions placed on their movement.
However, ANP general-secretary U Tun Aung Kyaw, who is currently attending the Union Peace Conference in Naypyidaw, told The Irrawaddy over the phone that the party had not yet received a formal request for a meeting with the new commission. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)
September 1, 2016
Ban Ki-moon Opens 21st Century Panglong Conference in Myanmar
Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon opened today the 21st Century Panglong Conference in Myanmar, which seeks a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict in that country.
Before nearly 800,000 participants, he described the summit as a breakthrough for peace in that country and reiterated the UN support for the process, said the Vietnamese news agency VNA.
Known as the Federal Peace Conference, the summit brings together representatives of the Government and the national army, as well as the armed opposition groups, made up of ethnic minorities.
Members of political parties and international organizations also participate in the summit, said VNA. (Courtesy of plenglish.com)
Before nearly 800,000 participants, he described the summit as a breakthrough for peace in that country and reiterated the UN support for the process, said the Vietnamese news agency VNA.
Known as the Federal Peace Conference, the summit brings together representatives of the Government and the national army, as well as the armed opposition groups, made up of ethnic minorities.
Members of political parties and international organizations also participate in the summit, said VNA. (Courtesy of plenglish.com)
Rights group calls on Myanmar to investigate Rohingya woman's death
Human rights advocates have called on Myanmar to investigate the death of a young woman from the country's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, who died this month after being found naked and unconscious near a military base.
The woman, identified as Raysuana, 25, was found by a road next to an army compound in Sittwe, the capital of the conflict-torn Rakhine State in western Myanmar, residents and rights group Amnesty International said.
She had gone missing while walking in an area where more than 100,000 Rohingya have been living in camps since Sittwe was roiled by communal violence in 2012, Amnesty said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Most of the displaced are Rohingya Muslims, a group that many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar regard as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The stateless Rohingya are prevented from moving freely and their access to healthcare and education is restricted. (Courtesy of reuters.com)
The woman, identified as Raysuana, 25, was found by a road next to an army compound in Sittwe, the capital of the conflict-torn Rakhine State in western Myanmar, residents and rights group Amnesty International said.
She had gone missing while walking in an area where more than 100,000 Rohingya have been living in camps since Sittwe was roiled by communal violence in 2012, Amnesty said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Most of the displaced are Rohingya Muslims, a group that many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar regard as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The stateless Rohingya are prevented from moving freely and their access to healthcare and education is restricted. (Courtesy of reuters.com)
August 31, 2016
Will New Burma Commission on Rohingya Stop Genocide?
In an important move that is being cautiously welcomed by human rights organizations who work on Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi has announced the creation of an Advisory Commission to find “lasting solutions” to the manifold issues affecting Western Rakhine State.
Much of the coverage of the creation of the commission has focused on the appointment of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which provides it a semblance of independence and neutrality. What hasn’t been commented upon is the fact that not a single Rohingya Muslim leader or representative has been appointed to the commission.
Instead, the true purpose of the commission has been called into question, as Suu Kyi has made two controversial choices to represent the Rakhine: U Win Mra and Saw Khin Tint. Both Rakhine representatives have “engaged in denial of mass atrocity crimes committed by extremist Buddhist nationalists.” (Courtesy of chicagomonitor.com)
Much of the coverage of the creation of the commission has focused on the appointment of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which provides it a semblance of independence and neutrality. What hasn’t been commented upon is the fact that not a single Rohingya Muslim leader or representative has been appointed to the commission.
Instead, the true purpose of the commission has been called into question, as Suu Kyi has made two controversial choices to represent the Rakhine: U Win Mra and Saw Khin Tint. Both Rakhine representatives have “engaged in denial of mass atrocity crimes committed by extremist Buddhist nationalists.” (Courtesy of chicagomonitor.com)
UN Chief Addresses Rohginya Issue Ahead of Peace Talks
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Burma to improve living conditions for its Rohingya Muslim minority on Tuesday, ahead of peace talks between leader Aung San Suu Kyi and many of the country’s ethnic armed rebel groups.
Burma’s 1.1 million Rohingya will not be represented at the conference starting on Wednesday, but the fact Ban raised their plight—and used the term for the group that is divisive in Burma—may add to international pressure on Suu Kyi to address the issue.
“The government has assured me about its commitment to address the roots of the problem,” Ban told a news conference in the capital Naypyidaw. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)
Burma’s 1.1 million Rohingya will not be represented at the conference starting on Wednesday, but the fact Ban raised their plight—and used the term for the group that is divisive in Burma—may add to international pressure on Suu Kyi to address the issue.
“The government has assured me about its commitment to address the roots of the problem,” Ban told a news conference in the capital Naypyidaw. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)
Ban Ki-moon tells Myanmar world concerned about Rohingya
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Myanmar on Tuesday that the world is very concerned about the tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees who have been living for more than four years in camps in northern Rakhine state after fleeing violence from the Buddhist majority.
“They deserve hope,” Ban said at a joint news conference with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “All of Myanmar’s people, of every ethnicity and background, should be able to live in equality and harmony, side by side with their neighbors.”
Ban is in Myanmar to attend peace talks aimed at ending half a century of conflict between the government and the country’s many armed ethnic minority groups. The talks begin Wednesday in Naypyitaw, the capital. About 2,000 delegates and guests are expected to attend the opening ceremony. (Courtesy of wtop.com)
“They deserve hope,” Ban said at a joint news conference with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “All of Myanmar’s people, of every ethnicity and background, should be able to live in equality and harmony, side by side with their neighbors.”
Ban is in Myanmar to attend peace talks aimed at ending half a century of conflict between the government and the country’s many armed ethnic minority groups. The talks begin Wednesday in Naypyitaw, the capital. About 2,000 delegates and guests are expected to attend the opening ceremony. (Courtesy of wtop.com)
Myanmar group targets Kofi Annan; uses Morgan Freeman photo
A prominent anti-Muslim group of Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar is criticizing former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on social media, and accidentally taking actor Morgan Freeman down with him.
Myanmar’s government announced last week that Annan will lead an advisory panel aimed at finding “lasting solutions” to the conflict in Rakhine state, where human rights groups have documented widespread abuses against minority Rohingya Muslims. The group Ma Ba Tha, led by Buddhist monks, has been accused of helping to incite violence in the region that left hundreds of Muslims dead in 2012.
Ma Ba Tha condemned Annan’s involvement in a Facebook post Monday that called him “a funny-looking and disrespectful person cannot talk about our own issues in the country.” It also called Annan, who is from Ghana, a “kalar,” a slur used in Myanmar against Muslims and Indians. (Courtesy of wtop.com)
Myanmar’s government announced last week that Annan will lead an advisory panel aimed at finding “lasting solutions” to the conflict in Rakhine state, where human rights groups have documented widespread abuses against minority Rohingya Muslims. The group Ma Ba Tha, led by Buddhist monks, has been accused of helping to incite violence in the region that left hundreds of Muslims dead in 2012.
Ma Ba Tha condemned Annan’s involvement in a Facebook post Monday that called him “a funny-looking and disrespectful person cannot talk about our own issues in the country.” It also called Annan, who is from Ghana, a “kalar,” a slur used in Myanmar against Muslims and Indians. (Courtesy of wtop.com)
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