Nine Myanmar police officers were killed in coordinated attacks by insurgents on posts along the border with Bangladesh early Sunday, an official and police said.
No-one has claimed responsibility but a senior local Myanmar official pointed the finger at a militant group from the Muslim Rohingya minority that has been dormant for years.
The assaults hit three border posts around 1:30 am near Maungdaw in the impoverished western state of Rakhine, simmering with tensions between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas, who are forced to live in dire conditions. (Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk)
September 21, 2016
Demolition of Religious Buildings in Myanmar's Rakhine State Set to Start
Rakhine state government officials are moving to demolish more than 3,000 allegedly illegal buildings, including a dozen mosques and more than 30 other religious buildings, in the Maungdaw District, RFA’s Myanmar Service has learned.
During a meeting in the state capital of Sittwe, a committee of village elders was convened to take stock of illegal buildings that need to be razed, Rakhine State Security and Border Affairs Minister Col. Htein Lin told RFA.
Those buildings include 12 mosques, 35 religious school buildings and more than 2,500 houses and other structures that were constructed over the years without permission from the authorities, he said.
Maungdaw area village chiefs were notified of the decision on Sept. 18, he said. It was unclear exactly when the demolitions would occur, or precisely how the buildings were chosen.
Tensions between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in various parts of the country flare up from time to time over the building of religious structures. (Courtesy of rfa.org)
During a meeting in the state capital of Sittwe, a committee of village elders was convened to take stock of illegal buildings that need to be razed, Rakhine State Security and Border Affairs Minister Col. Htein Lin told RFA.
Those buildings include 12 mosques, 35 religious school buildings and more than 2,500 houses and other structures that were constructed over the years without permission from the authorities, he said.
Maungdaw area village chiefs were notified of the decision on Sept. 18, he said. It was unclear exactly when the demolitions would occur, or precisely how the buildings were chosen.
Tensions between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in various parts of the country flare up from time to time over the building of religious structures. (Courtesy of rfa.org)
September 20, 2016
Political parties rail against Rakhine State commission
Further buttressing complaints about the Rakhine State Advisory Commission, 11 political parties put out a joint statement calling for the disbanding of the “illegitimate” new body.
On September 16, the political parties – including the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party and the Arakan National Party – met in Yangon to discuss objections to the newly formed commission.
Eleven of the 13 parties present at the meeting agreed to support the Rakhine State parliament’s vote to reject the committee, a symbolic decision made last week.
The commission was formed by the state counsellor last month as an impartial body with a mandate to propose concrete measures for improving the welfare of all people in Rakhine State. The crux of opposition to the nine-member commission, amplified by nationalist protests, has hinged on its inclusion of three foreigners, including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. (Courtesy of mmtimes.com)
On September 16, the political parties – including the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party and the Arakan National Party – met in Yangon to discuss objections to the newly formed commission.
Eleven of the 13 parties present at the meeting agreed to support the Rakhine State parliament’s vote to reject the committee, a symbolic decision made last week.
The commission was formed by the state counsellor last month as an impartial body with a mandate to propose concrete measures for improving the welfare of all people in Rakhine State. The crux of opposition to the nine-member commission, amplified by nationalist protests, has hinged on its inclusion of three foreigners, including former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. (Courtesy of mmtimes.com)
Deadly clashes in Myanmar threaten rebel peace bid
At least eight people have been killed and thousands displaced by clashes in southeast Myanmar, rebels and border forces said Monday, violence that threatens to undercut the new government's push for peace.
Fighting broke out this month between government troops and an ethnic rebel splinter group known as the DKBA in Karen state, near the border with Thailand.
More than 4,000 people have fled the violence so far.
Video footage sent to AFP showed dozens of women and children packed into a monastery, some handing out food packages from aid groups while others rifled through piles of donated clothing.
The clashes come just weeks after Aung San Suu Kyi's government held a landmark summit aimed at ending almost seven decades of ethnic insurgencies. (Courtesy of au.news.yahoo.com)
Fighting broke out this month between government troops and an ethnic rebel splinter group known as the DKBA in Karen state, near the border with Thailand.
More than 4,000 people have fled the violence so far.
Video footage sent to AFP showed dozens of women and children packed into a monastery, some handing out food packages from aid groups while others rifled through piles of donated clothing.
The clashes come just weeks after Aung San Suu Kyi's government held a landmark summit aimed at ending almost seven decades of ethnic insurgencies. (Courtesy of au.news.yahoo.com)
Chinese paper calls opposition to Myanmar dams ‘extreme’
Opposition to Chinese-invested hydropower schemes in Myanmar is being orchestrated by “extreme” groups in the country and has been extremely damaging to joint investment projects, an influential Chinese newspaper wrote on Monday.
The suspension in 2011 of the $3.6-billion Myitsone megadam project by former president Thein Sein remains a sore point between the two countries.
Myanmar suspended the project citing environmental worries, but the decision was also seen as an attempt to distance itself from Beijing. Uncertainties arising from that controversy have held back other Chinese investment plans.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party swept to power Myanmar’s first free national vote in 25 years last November, said on a visit to China last month that her new government was willing to look for a resolution that suits both countries. (Courtesy of oann.com)
The suspension in 2011 of the $3.6-billion Myitsone megadam project by former president Thein Sein remains a sore point between the two countries.
Myanmar suspended the project citing environmental worries, but the decision was also seen as an attempt to distance itself from Beijing. Uncertainties arising from that controversy have held back other Chinese investment plans.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party swept to power Myanmar’s first free national vote in 25 years last November, said on a visit to China last month that her new government was willing to look for a resolution that suits both countries. (Courtesy of oann.com)
September 19, 2016
Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi Receives Award As Students Protest
The Harvard Foundation named Nobel laureate and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi its 2016 Humanitarian of the Year in a ceremony Saturday, while students from the Harvard Islamic Society stood outside to protest what they consider her silence toward the country’s persecuted Muslim minority.
Suu Kyi, elected head of Myanmar’s government in April, was placed under house arrest in 1989 for protesting against the country’s dictatorship and served 15 years in detention. During her early years, Suu Kyi was held in solitary confinement and could not see her husband Michael V. Aris—at the time a visiting professor at Harvard—or her two sons. In 1991, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her "non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights." (Courtesy of thecrimson.com)
Suu Kyi, elected head of Myanmar’s government in April, was placed under house arrest in 1989 for protesting against the country’s dictatorship and served 15 years in detention. During her early years, Suu Kyi was held in solitary confinement and could not see her husband Michael V. Aris—at the time a visiting professor at Harvard—or her two sons. In 1991, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her "non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights." (Courtesy of thecrimson.com)
Chup… why does Malaysia want to build a wall along the border of Thailand?
If you’ve been following the US Presidential Election, you would have heard that Donald Trump announced that if he were to become president, he would build a wall between the borders of the USA and Mexico, and make Mexico pay for it. It’s still a hot topic of conversation in the US, but it doesn’t seem very relevant to us here in Malaysia doesn’t it?
Well how about this then, Malaysia may soon be replicating what Trump proposed, by building a wall along the border of Malaysia and Thailand! (Courtesy of cilisos.my)
Well how about this then, Malaysia may soon be replicating what Trump proposed, by building a wall along the border of Malaysia and Thailand! (Courtesy of cilisos.my)
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