A heart-wrenching photograph of the lifeless body of a 16-month old boy, washed up on the shore of the Naf river, was recently published on CNN. The headline read, “'The Rohingya Alan Kurdi': Will the world take notice now?” The name of the boy in the picture is Mohammed Shohayet, a Rohingya refugee, who drowned along with his mother, uncle and three-year-old brother. The image of Mohammed lying face down on the seashore is a dead ringer for Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy whose riveting photo made global headlines more than a year ago.
While Alan and Mohammed hail from different countries, the circumstances which led to their premature deaths are very similar, and sadly, all too frequent. Both the Syrian war and the Rohingya tragedy see no end in sight. The Syrians and the Rohingya who have lived in their respective homelands for generations are being forced to make a journey across dangerous terrains and seas to seek refuge. To add to their dehumanising plight and sufferings, both the Syrians and Rohingya are being demonised by the West and Myanmar respectively—the Syrians for fleeing to countries which created the crisis in the first place, and the Rohingya, who, despite having lived in Myanmar for centuries, are being told they don't belong to the place they call home. (Courtesy of thedailystar.net)
January 7, 2017
UN rights envoy to probe Myanmar Rohingya violence
The United Nations on Friday (Jan 6) said its human rights envoy for Myanmar will probe escalating violence in the country, including a military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, when she visits next week.
UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee's 12-day trip, starting on Monday, will also take her to Kachin state, where thousands have been displaced by fighting between ethnic rebels and the army.
Intensifying clashes between Myanmar's military and ethnic minorities has undercut Aung San Suu Kyi's vow to bring peace to the country following her party's elevation to government last March.
The Nobel prize winner has also faced strong international criticism for failing to rein-in a months-long military crackdown on Rohingya villagers in northern Rakhine State. (Courtesy of straitstimes.com)
UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee's 12-day trip, starting on Monday, will also take her to Kachin state, where thousands have been displaced by fighting between ethnic rebels and the army.
Intensifying clashes between Myanmar's military and ethnic minorities has undercut Aung San Suu Kyi's vow to bring peace to the country following her party's elevation to government last March.
The Nobel prize winner has also faced strong international criticism for failing to rein-in a months-long military crackdown on Rohingya villagers in northern Rakhine State. (Courtesy of straitstimes.com)
US official: In Myanmar crackdown, abuses appear 'normal'
buses appear "normal and allowed" in Myanmar's response to an armed uprising by Rohingya Muslims, a senior U.S. official said in an interview, casting a pall over one of President Barack Obama's legacy foreign policy achievements.
Obama and his advisers have long held up the former pariah nation's U.S.-backed shift from military rule as a breakthrough for American interests and democratic values in Southeast Asia. But the situation in strife-hit Rakhine State makes the transition no straightforward success story.
Rakhine has been largely closed off to foreigners, including aid workers, since a deadly insurgent attack against police in October. Subsequent "clearance operations," led by the military and reminiscent of its decades of junta rule, have left at least dozens dead. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have escaped to neighboring Bangladesh. (Courtesy of chicagotribune.com)
Obama and his advisers have long held up the former pariah nation's U.S.-backed shift from military rule as a breakthrough for American interests and democratic values in Southeast Asia. But the situation in strife-hit Rakhine State makes the transition no straightforward success story.
Rakhine has been largely closed off to foreigners, including aid workers, since a deadly insurgent attack against police in October. Subsequent "clearance operations," led by the military and reminiscent of its decades of junta rule, have left at least dozens dead. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have escaped to neighboring Bangladesh. (Courtesy of chicagotribune.com)
January 6, 2017
Burmese government dismisses images of 'Rohingya Alan Kurdi' as propaganda
Images have emerged of the body of a baby boy, reported to be a Rohingya Muslim child who drowned while fleeing violence in Burma’s Rakhine state.
Non-state media are banned from entering the north of Burma – making it difficult to verify the the photograph – and the government has dismissed the image as “propaganda”.
Despite documented evidence by human rights organisations, Burmese authorities on Wednesday released a report denying allegations of human rights violations against the country’s Rohingya minority and warning readers against believing “fabricated news and rumours”. (Courtesy of independent.co.uk)
Non-state media are banned from entering the north of Burma – making it difficult to verify the the photograph – and the government has dismissed the image as “propaganda”.
Despite documented evidence by human rights organisations, Burmese authorities on Wednesday released a report denying allegations of human rights violations against the country’s Rohingya minority and warning readers against believing “fabricated news and rumours”. (Courtesy of independent.co.uk)
Genocide or Not, Time to Act on Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis
The word genocide is a loaded term. Lawyers, human rights advocates, governments and militaries often spend too much time arguing the finer points of law over whether this crime had actually occurred in areas where there is no doubt that great atrocities took place.
In Cambodia, at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, where Pol Pot’s former henchmen are facing charges of genocide, such arguments are being hotly contested. The expulsion of ethnic Chinese at the point of a gun by the Vietnamese in the late 1970s is another example.
The debate of what constitutes genocide continues to this day in regards to the massacre of communists by Indonesian authorities in the mid-1960s or their treatment of Christians in East Timor during its occupation three decades later.
Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. (Courtesy of thediplomat.com)
In Cambodia, at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, where Pol Pot’s former henchmen are facing charges of genocide, such arguments are being hotly contested. The expulsion of ethnic Chinese at the point of a gun by the Vietnamese in the late 1970s is another example.
The debate of what constitutes genocide continues to this day in regards to the massacre of communists by Indonesian authorities in the mid-1960s or their treatment of Christians in East Timor during its occupation three decades later.
Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. (Courtesy of thediplomat.com)
Myanmar to Send Diplomatic Team to Bangladesh to Discuss Rohingya Refugees
The Myanmar government said it hopes to send a special diplomatic team led by the deputy foreign minister to Bangladesh later this month amid increasing tension with the neighboring country over the tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar following violence that began in northern Rakhine state in early October.
“It is possible that a Myanmar special diplomatic team will travel to Bangladesh this month when the Bangladesh prime minister and foreign affairs minister are available to meet them,” said Kyaw Zayya, director general of Myanmar’s foreign affairs ministry, on Thursday.
“We will arrange it through discussions with their government,” he said. “The deputy foreign affairs minister will possibly lead the team. The team will have only three or four members, but it is difficult to say the exact date of the travel.” (Courtesy of rfa.org)
“It is possible that a Myanmar special diplomatic team will travel to Bangladesh this month when the Bangladesh prime minister and foreign affairs minister are available to meet them,” said Kyaw Zayya, director general of Myanmar’s foreign affairs ministry, on Thursday.
“We will arrange it through discussions with their government,” he said. “The deputy foreign affairs minister will possibly lead the team. The team will have only three or four members, but it is difficult to say the exact date of the travel.” (Courtesy of rfa.org)
Rohingya Muslim crisis in Myanmar: The warning signs of a possible ‘genocide’
Myanmar has been under severe attack from the international community in recent times for what is being considered as ‘genocide’ against the Rohingya Muslims. Considered by the United Nations as the “most persecuted minority group in the world”, the Rohingyas are a stateless group of people concentrated in western Myanmar, and facing brutal assaults from the Burmese state and military. Since October, frequent reports have come in of the Burmese army burning down Rohingya villages, rapes and murders of the nature of ‘ethnic cleansing’.
Faced with the savagery, about 10,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar have rushed into Bangladesh for refuge. This is not the first time that this group has been seeking shelter from the Bangladeshi government on account of being brutally persecuted at home. Last time a mass exodus of the Rohingyas happened was in 2012 when communal clashes erupted between them and the Rakhine Buddhists who were later represented by the Burmese Army. While Bangladesh remains their favourite destination for decades now, they have been seeking out refuge in other neighbouring countries as well. According to a UN report, at present around 5,500 Rohingya refugees have been registered in India and are living in makeshift camps under precarious conditions. (Courtesy of indianexpress.com)
Faced with the savagery, about 10,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar have rushed into Bangladesh for refuge. This is not the first time that this group has been seeking shelter from the Bangladeshi government on account of being brutally persecuted at home. Last time a mass exodus of the Rohingyas happened was in 2012 when communal clashes erupted between them and the Rakhine Buddhists who were later represented by the Burmese Army. While Bangladesh remains their favourite destination for decades now, they have been seeking out refuge in other neighbouring countries as well. According to a UN report, at present around 5,500 Rohingya refugees have been registered in India and are living in makeshift camps under precarious conditions. (Courtesy of indianexpress.com)
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