Kuwaiti bank hands 100 Rohingya girls university scholarships

MENA FN

4/18/2021

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Arwa Al-Wugayan

KUWAIT, April 18, (KUNA) -- Kuwait Finance House will fund four-year university scholarships for 100 girls from the Rohingya refugee community in Bangladesh, Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) said on Sunday.

The move was put in place after an agreement singed between the Kuwaiti-based relief organisation and the Asian University of Bangladesh, based in Dhaka.

MYANMAR CRISIS: Stand with the people and protect them, urges UN rights expert

UN News
Peace and Security

19 April 2021

Unsplash/Matteo Massimi Two women pray at a temple in Yangon, Myanmar. (file photo)

The international community has a responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar, under attack from their own military, the UN independent human rights expert on the country argues, in the second part of our in-depth interview, calling also for refuge to be given to those who have fled for their lives to neighbouring countries.

Over 700 people are reported to have been killed in the crackdown on peaceful protesters by security forces since the military takeover on 1 February. There are also reports that several hundred people have fled areas hit hard by violence, including many who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Myanmar’s Civil War Has Already Begun

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Philipp Annawitt

April 19, 2021

Min Ko Naing, a veteran political activist, and a leading figure behind Myanmar’s Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), the legitimate interim government opposing the junta, has put it clearly: Activists opposed to the junta should go to territories held by allied ethnic armed organizations in the southeast. “These territories will become ‘free zones’ where they can continue the fight against the military together with ethnic minorities. Those who remain in the cities will continue their fight by guerrilla protests,” he told Radio Free Asia.

Rohingya issue should be dealt properly to avoid further influx of refugees, says Foreign Minister

malay mail

Monday, 19 Apr 2021

File picture shows Rohingya refugees wearing protective masks keep a social distance while waiting to receive goods from volunteers, during the movement control order due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, in Kuala Lumpur, April 7, 2020. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, April 19 — The issue of Rohingya have to be dealt properly under the current situation in Myanmar to avoid further influx of refugees into Malaysia and neighbouring countries, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

“In Malaysia, we have 200,000 Rohingyas...can you imagine if the situation in Myanmar worsens and we have influx of more Rohingyas into our shores.

WFP Bangladesh | Rohingya Refugee Response Situation Report #48 - March 2021

Situation Report
Source း WFP
19 Apr 2021
Link : Here

ရိုေနဆန္းလြင္ ရဲ့ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာအြန္လိုင္းဆႏၵျပပြဲ အမွာစကား

ရိုေနဆန္းလြင္ ရဲ့ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာအြန္လိုင္းဆႏၵျပပြဲ အမွာစကား

#whatshappeningnowinmyanmar
#rolocaust
#Rohingya
#MyanmarMilitaryCoup
#RohingyaGenocide

How to Defeat Myanmar’s Military

The New York Times

By Zin Mar Aung

April 16, 2021

Ms. Zin Mar Aung, a former political prisoner, is an elected member of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (Parliament) of Myanmar and the acting foreign minister of the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. 

Elected legislators deposed in the February coup have a plan for building a new federal democratic union. We need help.

Protesters prayed in Yangon, Myanmar, in March for demonstrators who died during demonstrations against the military coup.Credit...Theint Mon Soe/SOPA Images and LightRocket, via Getty Images

The people of Myanmar have been fighting for the life of our nation since the military, or Tatmadaw, seized power on Feb. 1. We have been protesting peacefully, risking our lives to protect neighborhoods, cities and towns — fighting not for any---one political party, ethnic group or leader, but for freedom and a genuine federal democracy.

This is why those of us who were duly elected to office by the people of Myanmar, and who continue to act for their interests, are now asking for direct help.

Opponents of Myanmar coup announce unity government

Aljazeera

16 Apr 2021

Win Myint designated as president, deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi named as state counsellor.

Announcement comes as protests against military coup and violence continue across the country [Handout photo/Facebook via AFP]

The committee representing Myanmar’s dismissed parliament has announced the formation of a new “unity government” which includes removed lawmakers, members of ethnic groups and figures in the anti-coup protest, saying their aim was to root out military rule.

The announcement was made on Friday by Dr Sasa, who has been designated by the dismissed parliament as representative to the United Nations.

Refoulement, Rohingya and a Refugee Policy for India

THE WIRE

Devika Nair and Sangram Chinnappa

17/APR/2021

India may continue to take cover under the fact that it is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention of the UN. But, at a time when it seeks to be a major global power, it cannot shy away from the humanitarian responsibility.

Representative image of Rohingya refugees. Photo: Reuters

On March 31, 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) issued a statement calling all countries neighbouring Myanmar to offer refuge and protection to all those fleeing the country for their safety. This came in response to the escalation in violence towards protestors in Myanmar since the coup led by the Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government.

UN Urges Bangladesh to Move Rohingya to Bay of Bengal Island Gradually

Radio Free Asia
2021-04-16

Rohingya walk by houses built for them by the Bangladesh government on Bhashan Char Island in Noakhali district, March 13, 2021.

The United Nations refugee agency is urging Bangladesh to slow down its relocation of Rohingya to a low-lying island because measures to protect residents from storms and flooding are not fully in place, UNHCR in Dhaka told BenarNews on Friday.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister said, international agencies must help foot the cost of housing what could eventually be 100,000 refugees on Bhashan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal. So far, Bangladesh’s government has covered that cost.

US Senators introduce bill to probe whether Myanmar attacks on Rohingya constituted genocide

JURIST

Valeria Negron | U. Pittsburgh School of Law, US
APRIL 17, 2021 

A group of 10 US senators led by Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require Secretary of State Antony Blinken to investigate Myanmar’s military attacks on the Rohingya minority and decide whether they constitute genocide.

Since 2017, more than 750,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh hoping to escape the military’s systemic killing of their people, says the legislation. The bill points to the documented history of the attacks, which have been investigated by the UN, the Department of State and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (IIFFMM). In 2018, the IIFFMM stated that they “ha[d] reasonable grounds to conclude 5 that the evidence that infers genocidal intent on the part of the State, identified in its last report, has strengthened that there is a serious risk that genocidal actions may occur or recur.”

US, China clash at UN meeting on combatting racism

NATIONAL HERALD

PTI
Published: 20 Mar 2021

The United States accused China on Friday of committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uighur Muslims and other minorities.

The United States accused China on Friday of committing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uighur Muslims and other minorities, and China accused the US of discrimination, hatred and even savage murder of people of African and Asian descent.

The clash came at the UN General Assembly's commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and was sparked by one line in the speech by US Ambassador Linda Thomas Greenfield, who talked about being a descendent of slaves, growing up in the segregated South, and surviving racism including being called an N-word.

Why Don’t More People Know About the Atrocities in Myanmar?

JEWISH JOURNAL

Tabby Refael
April 16, 2021

I’m waiting for the day when the plight of the Rohingya appears on the front page of every major American newspaper and is championed by every leader in the Muslim word.

Residents of the Tamwe area protest against the military coup while shouting slogans during a candle light vigil on April 03, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. (Photo by Getty Images/Getty Images)

Myanmar (also known as Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation that borders Bangladesh, Laos, Thailand, China and India. This February, the Burmese military junta staged a coup and nullified election results from November 2020, in which the civilian political party National League for Democracy, won 83% of the seats in parliament. Since then, the military has brutally suppressed peaceful protests, arresting hundreds of people (including politicians and civil society activists) and killing over 700 people, including children. Last Friday, the military butchered over 80 protestors near Yangon. Thousands of others have disappeared.

A Rohingya Girl Stuck Between Three Countries

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Rajeev Bhattacharya
April 15, 2021

The 14-year-old was about to be deported to Myanmar from India when authorities refused to admit her back. Meanwhile, she wants to be reunited with her parents in Bangladesh.

On April 1, Indian authorities were greeted with a surprise when their request to deport a Rohingya girl was turned down by Myanmar.

Immigration officials in Myanmar refused to accept the 14-year-old girl on the ground that the border gate between the two countries had been shut for the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the situation in their country was not suitable for the proceedings to take place.

Myanmar Fast Facts

abc 17 News

By CNN Newsource
Published April 15, 2021

Here’s a look at Myanmar, a country in southeast Asia formerly known as Burma.

About Myanmar

(from the CIA World Factbook)

Area: 676,578 sq km (slightly smaller than Texas)

Population: 57,069,099 (July 2021 est.)

Median age: 29.2 years

Capital: Naypyidaw

Ethnic Groups: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%

Religion: Buddhist 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, Other 0.2%, None 0.1% (2014 est.)

Unemployment: 4% (2017 est.)

Myanmar Junta Forces Shoot Man Dead in Mandalay Mosque Compound

The Irrawaddy
THE IRRAWADDY

15 April 2021

Ko Ko Htet, 20, suffered a fatal gunshot to the chest at the hands of junta forces on Apr. 15.

A man was shot dead and four others were wounded in a mosque compound when regime troops raided a Muslim neighborhood in Mandalay on Thursday morning.

Ko Ko Htet, 20, was struck in the chest when five soldiers randomly opened fire in the compound of Sule Mosque in Maha Aung Myay Township. His disabled brother-in-law Ko Min Min Latt was shot in the hand.

The shooting comes during both Myanmar’s Thingyan traditional New Year holiday and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Rakhine State – Southeast Asia’s Next Marawi?

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Jasminder Singh
April 15, 2021

Myanmar’s political crisis has created the conditions for a possible widening of the jihadi theater in Southeast Asia.

What has distinguished jihadist groups and their appeal from other anti-state non-state actors has been their ability to construct a paradigm and narrative that the “land” in which a struggle is taking place is the “Land of Allah” and, hence, that jihadists need to join them in the struggle for the cause of Allah and Islam. This was what drew thousands of jihadists to Afghanistan in the 1980s, to Iraq and Syria from 2003 to 2018, and in the Southeast Asian region, to Marawi in the Philippines from May to October 2017.

Rohingya relocation: UN positive about Bhasan Char

The Daily Star  

Star Digital Report
April 16, 2021

This file photo showing the aerial view of Bhasan Char shows a portion of the housing facilities that has been built on the island to relocate the Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar. Photo: Star/File

The UN has expressed its positive attitude on the Bhasan Char project, which is meant to relocate 100,000 Rohingya from the camps in Cox's Bazar.

The UN delegation, which visited Bhasan Char on March 17-20, has already submitted a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently.

For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

"Overall, UN is positive about Bhasan Char," a diplomatic source told The Daily Star today.

SKorean steelmaker to end partnership with Myanmar military

Coast Reporter

The Canadian Press

April 16' 2021

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — A South Korean steelmaker on Friday said it plans to end a joint venture with a military-controlled firm in Myanmar following criticism that its business has benefited military leaders who have violently suppressed pro-dem

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — A South Korean steelmaker on Friday said it plans to end a joint venture with a military-controlled firm in Myanmar following criticism that its business has benefited military leaders who have violently suppressed pro-democracy protests there.

POSCO Coated & Color Steel said it has decided to discontinue its partnership with Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited, which is about 40% owned by Myanmar’s Defence Ministry. However, the South Korean company said it would not pull out of Myanmar.

UN: 'refer conflict-related sexual violence to ICC'

MEM

MIDDLE EAST MONITOR

Published in: Africa, ICC, International Organisations, Iraq, Libya, Middle East, News, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, UN, Yemen
April 16, 2021

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recommended the Security Council to refer cases of conflict-related sexual violence in a number of countries to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The countries in question include six members of the Arab League: Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Somalia.