Myanmar: New evidence of attacks in Rakhine state

AA

SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh
13.10.2020

UN Security Council must urgently refer situation in Myanmar to International Criminal Court, says Amnesty International

Human rights organization Amnesty International announced Monday that it has gathered fresh evidence of indiscriminate attacks on civilians in western Myanmar amid an escalation in an ongoing armed conflict between the country’s military and the Arakan Army.

The evidence suggests that the Myanmar military burned villages and wounded and killed civilians in Rakhine in early September.

Rohingya refugees face continuous violence

NEW FRAME 
Friday, 2 October 2020

Two Myanmar soldiers have confessed to committing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, giving more evidence of the genocide against the minority group.

Two personnel in Myanmar’s military have confessed to “exterminating” Rohingya Muslims. Human rights defenders believe that this public acknowledgement could substantiate the ongoing international genocide investigation at the International Court of Justice against Myanmar’s military establishment.

Myo Win Tun, 33, and Zaw Naoing Tun, 30, who belong to separate light infantry battalions, claimed they were given orders to “shoot and rape villagers” while raiding “kalar” villages – “kalar” is a derogatory term for Muslim Rohingyas.

Coronavirus and security issues cast a pall over Myanmar polls

DW
30.09.2020

Political parties in Myanmar are calling for the postponement of a national election amid rising COVID-19 cases. Continued unrest in the country's northeast also threatens to keep people from voting.

Political parties in Myanmar have urged the Union Election Commission (UEC) to postpone November's election, saying the "COVID-19 restrictions will hinder their election campaigns."

But the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, headed by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has decided to go ahead with its election campaign on social media.

MYANMAR: ROHINGYA DROWNING IN BLAME FOR SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19

ASIA MEDIA

September 26, 2020

SARA ALTUWAIJRI WRITES — Myanmar is facing a second wave of COVID-19, new cases are skyrocketing and, with general elections coming November 8, officials are accusing Rohingya of spreading the second wave of COVID. Why the blame? So that those aiming for election or re-election can gain people’s support. As elections get closer, politicians are spreading hate against the Rohingya. As stated by Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin, “Politicians in Myanmar are always trying to take advantage of the situation we are in. Although there were no Rohingya victims in the second COVID-19 wave, some politicians began propagating against us.” She adds that despite the fact that the first two new cases of coronavirus involved Rakhine Buddhists, Muslim Rohingya are blamed for the second wave and accused of bringing the virus from Bangladesh.

Riyadh’s pressure on Dhaka unfair

The Daily Star
Porimol Palma
September 25, 2020

Analysts, activists say about insistence that 54,000 Rohingyas in KSA be issued Bangladeshi passports; Momen says no passport without proof

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen. File photo

The Saudi Arabian pressure on Bangladesh to issue passports to 54,000 Rohingyas and bring back 462 others is unacceptable and unfair, analysts and Rohingya activists have said.

They said if the kingdom was really to send back the Rohingyas, they should mount pressure on Myanmar. They questioned as to why Bangladesh, which had taken in over a million Rohingyas, should take the 54,000 more.

Racism Is Fueling Myanmar’s Deadly Second Wave of COVID-19

THE I DIPLOMAT
By Andrew Nachemson
September 11, 2020

Anti-migrant — and especially anti-Rohingya and anti-Rakhine — sentiments are undermining efforts to control the pandemic.

This article is freeThe Diplomat has removed paywall restrictions on our coverage of the COVID–19 crisis.

As COVID-19 cases surge in Myanmar, the country’s famously serene State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be getting flustered. In a severe speech delivered September 2, she castigated “reckless and unsympathetic” nightclub owners, admonished Yangon residents for flouting COVID-19 restrictions, and threatened legal punishment against uncooperative citizens. On August 24, a week after the second wave began, she also warned against potential racial tension in Rakhine state, the epicenter of Myanmar’s renewed outbreak, reminding Burmese that recent violence there has made Myanmar a global “embarrassment.”

Racism Is Fueling Myanmar’s Deadly Second Wave of COVID-19

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Andrew Nachemson 

September 11, 2020

Anti-migrant — and especially anti-Rohingya and anti-Rakhine — sentiments are undermining efforts to control the pandemic. 

A man walks past while local residents gather near a blocked street in a lockdown area to help control the spread of the COVID-19, Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, in Yangon, Myanmar. Credit: AP Photo/Thein Zaw

As COVID-19 cases surge in Myanmar, the country’s famously serene State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be getting flustered. In a severe speech delivered September 2, she castigated “reckless and unsympathetic” nightclub owners, admonished Yangon residents for flouting COVID-19 restrictions, and threatened legal punishment against uncooperative citizens. On August 24, a week after the second wave began, she also warned against potential racial tension in Rakhine state, the epicenter of Myanmar’s renewed outbreak, reminding Burmese that recent violence there has made Myanmar a global “embarrassment.”

Rohingya diaspora take determined steps to regain their rights

DAILY SABAH
BY ANADOLU AGENCY ANKARA
ASIA PACIFIC
AUG 24, 2020

A Rohingya man carries bricks up a hill for contruction works in a Jamtolia refugee camp near Ukia, Bangladesh, Aug 23rd 2020 (AFP Photo)

Neither repressive regimes nor the coronavirus pandemic can hold back the persecuted Muslim community from seeking a dignified and respectful return to their homeland

It was three years ago that Myanmar's military unleashed history’s worst aggression toward the Rohingya in the country's northern Rakhine state on Aug. 25, 2017; however, the displaced people are determined to regain their rights as citizens.

Myanmar’s Policy on Rohingya and their struggle

လင့္၊https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn3glzOTWLk

Experts urge Rohingya-Rakhine Buddhists reconciliation

AA
Md. Kamruzzaman
DHAKA, Bangladesh
17.07.2020

Changing attitudes to Rohingya by Buddhists, media paving way for reconciliation, Rohingya rights worker says

Experts at the first Rohingya-Rakhine online seminar Thursday urged reconciliation of minority Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists to restore sustainable peace in Rakhine state in Myanmar.

“Interestingly we are seeing many Rakhine brothers and sisters, and Rakhine media changing their attitude towards us. It gives us an opportunity to start contemplating and aspiring to a Rohingya - Rakhine reconciliation,” Ro Nay San Lwin, co-founder of Free Rohingya Coalition said at the conference.

What Future for Rakhine?: End Games for the Arakanese (Rakhine, Rohingyas and Other Co-habitants)

Co-organised by SOAS, FORSEA & Free Rohingya Coalition
 

Reconciliation between Rakhine and Rohingyas is essential before repatriation: Experts

THE BUSINESS STANDARD

16 July, 2020, 

 

The discussions also addressed the status of the genocide of Rohingyas, the limitations of international law and accountability mechanisms (such as ICJ and ICC) 

 

Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar. File Photo: Salahuddin Ahmed/TBS 

 

Experts on Thursday said in a special online seminar there are possibilities for reconciliation between the two largest co-habiting ethnic communities of Rakhine – Rakhine and Rohingya.

They also opined that reconciliation is a must before repatriation of Rohingyas in Myanmar.

The seminar titled "What Future for Rakhine?: End Games for the Arakanese (Rakhine, Rohingyas and Other Co-habitants)" was jointly organised by Free Rohingya Coalition, Forces of Renewal Southeast Asia and SOAS School of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Covid-19 And The Rohingya: Hunger, exploitation, hate crimes and xenophobia

The Daily Star
C R Abrar
 July 14, 2020

“What these youth want is to thrive as human beings, to realise their innate potentials, not merely to survive.” Photo: Anisur Rahman 

"We are the same human being like you and need the same basic rights which you enjoy. Please don't hate us. We don't want to be a burden. Allow us to study and work, and stand by us. We will surely return home."

This was the ardent appeal of Sharifah Shakirah, who fled to Malaysia from Buthidaung township in Myanmar at the age of six. Sharifah was joined by four other Rohingya youth at an eSymposium on June 9 to share their experiences of the Covid-19 situation in their respective countries of asylum.

Covid-19 pushed Rohingyas towards hunger, malnutrition: Experts

UNB

UNB News
Dhaka
July 10, 2020,

File photo

Experts at an e-symposium on Thursday said the lockdowns and economic slowdown for Covid-19 pandemic in different countries have robbed Rohingya refugee communities further of their livelihood opportunities and pushed them into hunger and malnutrition.

They made these remarks at an e-symposium titled ‘Hunger, Exploitation, Hate Crime and Xenophobia! Rohingyas on Land and at Sea’ organised by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in collaboration with Free Rohingya Coalition.

Covid-19 exposed Rohingyas to hate, xenophobia: Experts

THE BUSINESS STANDARD
TBS Report
09 July, 2020

Lockdowns, economic slowdown in different countries robbed the Rohingyas of their livelihood opportunities and pushed them into an abyss of hunger 

Rohingya refugees at the Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh/Reuters 

 

The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately harmed refugees, asylum seekers and stateless people such as the Rohingyas, said speakers at an online event jointly organised by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) and Free Rohingya Coalition.

The lockdowns and economic slowdown in different countries have robbed the Rohingyas of their livelihood opportunities and pushed them into an abyss of hunger and malnutrition. It has also exposed them to exploitation, hate and xenophobia, they added.

Global economic slowdown robbed Rohingyas of livelihood: Rights activists

The Financial Express
FE Online Report
July 09, 2020

The lockdowns and economic slowdown in different countries have robbed Rohingyas of their livelihood opportunities and pushed them into an abyss of hunger and malnutrition, according to rights activists.

They came up with the opinion at a virtual symposium on Thursday, organised by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in collaboration of Free Rohingya Coalition.

Rohingyas facing more xenophobia amid the Covid-19 pandemic: activists

The Daily Star
July 09, 2020
Star Online Report

Rohingya refugees walk towards the Balukhali refugee camp after crossing the border in Bangladesh’s Ukhia district, on November 2, 2017. Photo: Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP

Rohingya activists have urged the host countries to stop hatred against them and treat them as human beings, saying the refugees, who have fled genocidal acts in Myanmar, are now facing a higher level of xenophobia amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Stating that countries like Malaysia and Thailand had refused entry to Rohingyas who tried to go on their shores citing fears of coronavirus infection, they said it was not their choice to take such risky journeys but the grave rights violations back in Myanmar had forced them to do so.

Brands Declare Black Lives Matter, but Activists See a 'Double Standard' in Asia

VICE
Andrew Nachemson
July 2, 2020


Despite public shows of support for the movement for racial justice taking place around the world, some corporations have been complicit in racial violence in the world's most populous continent.

Arsenal's German defender Shkodran Mustafi (C) takes a knee to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement and as a protest against racism before kick off of an English Premier League football match on June 20, 2020. (Photo by Gareth Fuller / POOL / AFP) 

As countries around the world reckon with widespread protests against centuries of systemic racism, high-profile companies have found themselves scrambling to adjust to the new paradigm.

Some have scrubbed long-overlooked offensive mascots, while many others have used the platform afforded by major brand recognition to voice their support for the movement.

Malaysia Is Planning to Send a Boat Full of Rohingya Refugees Back Out to Sea

VICE
by Sammy Westfall
Jun 19 2020,

"Sending them back out to sea is just throwing them into a killing field."

A Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh. Photo courtesy of UK DFID.

Once their damaged boat is fixed, 269 Rohingya refugees now docked in Malaysia will be sent back out to sea if officials follow through with their current plan, sparking an outcry from rights groups.

Reuters, citing two security sources, reported on Thursday that Malaysia had previously asked Bangladesh to take back the refugees, who have been detained since their June 8 arrival, but Bangladeshi officials rejected the request. The sources said authorities have drawn up plans to push the refugees back out with food and water, but “no decision has been made yet.”

Stop Drug Addiction and Smuggling

Rohingya Vision
Jun 7, 2020
Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPPDLr7uYXA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3rVSgITtgHN2PesVPlObVSnEm2iPQ2RzCrw8_wL_mIpXDXHGSoog5jn_U