Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi faces first legal action over Rohingya crisis

The Guardian
Agence France-Presse
Thu 14 Nov 2019

Case launches in Argentina under ‘universal jurisdiction’ demanding justice over ‘existential threat’ to minority

Aung San Suu Kyi has been named in a court case seeking ‘criminal sanction’ over the treatment of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA 

Aung San Suu Kyi is among several top Myanmar officials named in a case filed in Argentina for crimes against Rohingya Muslims, the first time the Nobel Laureate has been legally targeted over the crisis.

Rohingya and Latin American human rights groups submitted the lawsuit in Argentina on Wednesday under the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” a legal concept enshrined in many countries’ laws.

Global leadership, S Asian partners urged to act for quick return of Rohingyas

The Daily Star  

November 06, 2019 

UNB, Dhaka 

 Photo: Reuters. 

Bangladesh today said the global leadership, especially South Asian partners, needs to do more to ensure quick repatriation of Rohingyas to their place of origin in Myanmar.

"It's the responsibility of the global leadership, especially our South Asian partners, to do more to ensure their quick return to Myanmar," the Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said.

Rohingya Crisis: Asean leaders for durable solution

ANN
Written by Daily Star
November 5, 2019

The Rohingya crisis has divided members of ASEAN. 

Asean leaders have reiterated the need to find a comprehensive and durable solution to the Rohingya crisis by addressing the root causes of the conflict in Rakhine State.

They laid emphasis on the efforts to create a “conducive environment” so that Rohingyas, now sheltered in Bangladesh, could rebuild their lives, according to a 52-point statement issued on the Asean Summit.

Right now, Rohingya crisis bigger than China’s treatment of Uyghur - Dr M

malaysia kini
6th November 2019

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia will only join the world in protesting China’s alleged ill-treatment of the Uyghur Muslims if it resulted in a mass emigration of Uyghurs fleeing the country.

ASEAN leaders voice concern about Rohingya crisis, South China Sea

The Manichi
November 4, 2019
Mainichi Japan

Performers take part in the opening ceremony of the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi province, Thailand, on Nov. 3, 2019. (NurPhoto/Getty/Kyodo)

BANGKOK (Kyodo) -- Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reiterated their willingness to see the bloc play a prominent role in helping Myanmar with the safe return of Rohingya refugees who fled the country, according to a statement issued Sunday.

【Related】Abe departs for Thailand to attend ASEAN-related summits

In the chairman's statement released after their weekend summit in Bangkok, the leaders said they were updated on the latest situation from Myanmar while welcoming the progress of needs assessment teams.

Rohingya crisis: UN chief warns refugees must be repatriated to Myanmar safely

sky news
Sunday 3 November 2019

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar in 2017, after security forces began a campaign of murder in the area.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees fled Myanmar for Bangladesh

The head of the UN has called on Myanmar to take responsibility for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees and work towards their safe return to the country from Bangladesh.

A wave of refugees began fleeing Myanmar in late August after its response to an attack by Rohingya militants on more than 20 police posts that the government said left 12 members of the security forces dead.

UN chief 'deeply concerned' over Rohingya crisis

Aljazeera
3rd November 2019

Guterres addresses ASEAN summit, where leaders try to salvage progress towards what could be world's biggest trade bloc.

 Myanmar is responsible to 'ensure a conducive environment for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation of refugees', Guterres said [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has expressed "deep" concern over the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, urging Myanmar to assume responsibility by dealing with the "root causes" of their flight and work towards their safe repatriation.

A brutal army campaign in August 2017 forced more than 740,000 members of the mostly-Muslim minority to flee Myanmar's Rakhine state, most seeking refuge in overcrowded camps across the border in Bangladesh. During its crackdown, which was launched in response to attacks by an armed group, the military carried out mass killings and gang rapes with "genocidal intent", according to United Nations-mandated investigators.

Rohingya crisis: Dhaka accuses Naypyidaw of misleading int’l community with false info

Dhaka Tribune

Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan
October 30th, 2019

File photo of Rohingya refugees walk towards a refugee camp after crossing the Myanmar-Bnagladesh border Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

Myanmar should concentrate on fulfilling its obligations to take back its forcibly displaced people, says a Foreign Ministry statement

Bangladesh has accused Myanmar of misleading the international community with made-up information regarding Rohingya repatriation, asking the latter to stop making false accusations against its neighbour.

In a strongly-worded press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, Dhaka has said Naypyidaw should, instead, be fulfilling its obligations by taking back its own people.

How the Rohingya crisis destroyed Suu Kyi’s legacy

Dhaka Tribune
Rubiat Saimum
October 28th, 2019

Photo: AFP

Is she the only one to blame?

It seems that Suu Kyi is on the receiving end of most of the criticism relating to the Rohingya genocide. Considered to be one of the most respected world leaders even a few years ago, she has now become an international pariah.

But can she alone be blamed for the Rohingya genocide?

Most people aware of the civil-military dynamics in Myanmar know that the Tatmadaw is still the most powerful political force in the country. The military’s hold on power was weakened after the 2015 election, in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory.

East Asia Summit draft statement skips over Rohingya crisis

Bangkok Post
27 Oct 2019
writer: Kyodo News  

 Rohingya refugees gather at a market inside a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, March 7, 2019. (Reuters file photo) 

A draft of the statement to be issued after the East Asia Summit in Bangkok early next month makes no mention of the exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar's Rakhine state, according to a copy of the communique seen by Kyodo News on Sunday.

According to diplomatic sources of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Myanmar strongly pressed that the issue not be included in the statement, which was drawn up by Thailand and will be issued after the Nov 4 summit, which includes major Asian nations as well as others such as the United States, Russia, China and Japan. 

Iran Ready to Help Resolve Rohingya Refugee Crisis: President

Tasnim News Agency
October, 26, 2019

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani highlighted the importance of efforts to resolve problems facing the Rohingya Muslims living in Bangladesh refugee camps and said the Islamic Republic is ready to help the South Asian country in this regard.

 

Speaking at a meeting with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the margins of the 18th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in the Azeri capital of Baku on Friday night, Rouhani pointed to the plight of Rohingya people and said Iran is ready to help Bangladesh resolve the crisis.

Dhaka has been increasingly frustrated with the stateless minority in Bangladesh since the collapse of a recent repatriation attempt to Myanmar, and have enacted several measures making life harder for the refugees.

The roots of Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis

The Daily Star
October 23, 2019
John Quinley III

Rohingya refugee children fly improvised kites at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox’s Bazar. PHOTO: REUTERS

The UN General Assembly in New York just ended recently, and while there was much talk of the Rohingya crisis—including important discussions on ongoing efforts to hold perpetrators of genocide accountable—the root of the crisis in Myanmar continues to receive inadequate attention: the denial of citizenship rights of Rohingya in Myanmar.

Rohingya crisis: Bangladesh exhorts Germany to put pressure on Myanmar

bdnews24.com

  Published: 19 Oct 2019

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has urged his German counterpart Heiko Maas to exert pressure on Myanmar to create a conducive environment for the return of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas.

 

In his maiden bilateral meeting with his German equivalent, Momen outlined the four points proposed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the 74th United Nations General Assembly last month.

He also urged the European nation and the international community to take 'effective steps' to ensure that Myanmar facilitates the safe, secure, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya refugees.

UK pledges a further £87m

The Daily Star  

Diplomatic Correspondent

October 10, 2019

The UK has pledged further support of £30 million for mitigating the Rohingya crisis, to help with food, healthcare, sanitation and counselling for victims of sexual violence.

The UK’s International Development Minister Baroness Sugg announced the aid support, on top of the UK’s recent pledge of £87 million in this regard during a visit to Bangladesh last week.

UNHCR: Solutions urgently needed for Rohingya, million others

Dhaka Tribune
BSS  

October 7th, 2019 

 File photo of Rohingya women and children in a camp in Cox Bazar Mahmud Hossain Opu/ Dhaka Tribune

#IBelong campaign aimed at ending statelessness by 2024

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has said solutions are urgently needed for millions without citizenship or at risk of statelessness around the world- including Myanmar’s Rohingya, and

Int’l community must come forward to end Rohingya crisis

The Daily Star
October 03, 2019
Star Online Report

Law minister Anisul Huq says

Law Minister Anisul Huq speaking at a workshop on “Doing Business and Investing in Bangladesh” in Singapore on October 3, 2019. Photo: Collected

Terming climate change and Rohingya crisis are major threats for Bangladesh, Law Minister Anisul Huq today said both the challenges pose colossal multidimensional consequences and would potentially impact its whole security architecture.
“While climate change is a global issue that needs global ownership and cooperation, the Rohingya crisis and the other hand is an artificial one that has been imposed on us unfairly – as it is a problem between Myanmar and its people.

World, ASEAN must do more to resolve Rohignya crisis - Activist

Bernama.com  

03/10/2019

By Nabilah Saleh

President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, 
Tun Khin during the interview at Wisma Bernama.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 -- The international community must put in more effort and cooperation in pressuring the Myanmar government to tackle the Rohingya issue.

President of Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Tun Khin, told Bernama International News Service recently that much more must be done even as the crisis was addressed by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during the recently-concluded 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

US issues strong new warning to Myanmar on Rohingya amid growing concerns

KSRO
September 27, 2019
National News

(WASHINGTON) — The United States’ top official for foreign aid issued a firm and emotional warning Thursday to Myanmar about the lack of progress over how it treats the Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups.

Two years after violent attacks by Myanmar security forces and local militias against the Muslim ethnic minority killed thousands and sent more than 750,000 across the border as refugees, little has changed on the ground in Myanmar’s northwest Rakhine state. Critics say it’s because the U.S., the United Nations and others have not done enough to pressure the government.

At UN, Dr M blasts international community over continued inaction on Rohingya crisis

malaymail  

25 September 2019 

BY JOSEPH RAJ

 Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speaks during an event at the 74th United Nations General Assembly in New York September 25, 2019. — Picture via Twitter

NEW YORK, Sept 25 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad criticised the United Nations for its “deafening silence” on the Rohingya crisis.
“It is clear that the Myanmar government is unwilling to take any action to resolve the crisis.

“Therefore, it is left up to us — the international community — to do something about the situation.

“For a start, the UN should play its role, taking into account that it was established in hopes of preventing future human-made miseries. Its silence is deafening,” he said during a high-level side event entitled “Rohingya Crisis — A Way Forward” at the 74th United Nations General Assembly here today. 

PM to place 4-point proposal at UN to solve Rohingya crisis

The Daily Star
BSS, New York
September 25, 2019

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Photo: File/Collected

Putting emphasis on a long-term solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said she is going to place a four-point proposal at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to this end.

“Let me reiterate the following points which I shall be presenting to the (current) 74th UNGA Session,” she said.

The proposals, she said, are:
1. Myanmar must express clear political will manifested by concrete actions for sustainable return and reintegration of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

2. Myanmar must build trust among the Rohingyas by discarding discriminatory laws and practices and allowing “go and see” visit to the Northern Rakhine by the Rohingya representative

3. Myanmar must guarantee security and safety of the Rohingyas, among others, by deploying civilian monitors from international community in the Rakhine state.

4. International community must ensure that the root causes of Rohingya problem are addressed and atrocity crimes committed against the Rohingyas are accounted for. OIC initiative to take the issue to ICJ is indeed a significant step towards that direction.