Another 1008 Rohingyas on their way to Chittagong for Bhasanchar

Prothum Alo------  
Own reporter
RepresentativeCox's Bazar and Teknaf
Published: 18 February 2022,

A convoy of Rohingyas on their way to Chittagong from Ukhia in Cox's Bazar to Bhasanchar. Today is Wednesday noonPhoto: Prothom Alo

Another 1,006 Rohingyas have left for Chittagong from Ukhia in Cox's Bazar to Bhasanchar in Noakhali. The law enforcers are taking the Rohingya bus convoy to Chittagong for the first time through tight security at around 1:15 pm on Wednesday. They are scheduled to reach Chittagong at night. Besides, more than five hundred Rohingyas will be sent to Chittagong in the second phase in the afternoon. They will be transferred to Bhasanchar from Chittagong on Thursday.

Earlier, 21,505 Rohingyas from various camps in Ukhia and Teknaf were shifted to Bhasanchar. A total of 22,511 Rohingyas were sent to Bhasanchar. Rohingya relocation activities in Bhasanchar are being conducted by the Office of the Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation (RRRC), various law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including the Armed Police Battalion (APBN).

Myanmar junta, ousted government fight for recognition at top U.N. court

REUTERS
By Anthony Deutsch
and Poppy Mcpherson
February 18, 2022

Soldiers cross a street as people gather to protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar, February 15, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

A general view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, December 9, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File Photo 

Summary

• Part of ICJ case on alleged genocide against Myanmar's Rohingya
• Two members of Myanmar junta legal team on U.S. sanctions list
• Ousted government says it, not junta, should represent Myanmar
• Court declines comment on how legal agents are accredited
• Hearings set to begin Monday, a year since military coup

AMSTERDAM/BANGKOK, Feb 17 (Reuters) - (This Feb. 17 story corrects to "government" from "National Unity Government (NUG)" in paragraph 4; restores reference to NUG in paragraph 8)

Myanmar junta’s role in Rohingya case at ICJ is troubling

ASIA TIME

Parvej Siddique Bhuiyan
February 17, 2022

By allowing the coup regime to present a defense at upcoming genocide hearings, the court risks legitimizing the junta  

The Palace of Peace in The Hague, the official residency of the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Photo: AFP

 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently announced that it will hold a fresh round of hearings from February 21-28 into the Rohingya genocide case.

After the military-led “clearance operation” that forced 750,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, the West African nation The Gambia in November 2019 brought a case to the ICJ accusing Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.

Why Sri Lanka And Cambodia Shouldn’t Support Myanmar Junta’s Defense In Rohingya Genocide Case At ICJ? – OpEd

eurasiareview

Parvej Siddique Bhuiyan*
February 17, 2022

Rohingya refugees. Photo Credit: Tasnim News Agency

Following the military-led “clearance operation” that forced 750,000 Rohingya to flee neighboring Bangladesh, Gambia, a West African nation, in November 2019, brought a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Myanmar of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.

In response to the court’s unanimously indicated legally binding provisional measures to protect the Rohingya from further atrocities, on January 2021, the then NLD government filed a preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the Court and the admissibility of the Application. In this context, the ICJ recently announced that it will hold a fresh round of hearings from Feb. 21–28 in the Great Hall of Justice in which the regime’s leaders will be potential defendants, sparking speculation that the Court is implicitly taking a position in the ongoing civil war and legitimizing the unrecognized military regime. It is worth noting that the Junta-formed State Administrative Council (SAC) and the National Unity Government (NUG) have been struggling for recognition from the international community since the coup d’état in February 2021.

Rohingya Militancy: Myth or Reality?

THE I DIPLOMAT

 Shafi Md Mostofa
February 15, 2022


Rohingya refugees have so far proven surprisingly resistant to the siren call of global jihadi ideology.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya militant group, came to global attention once again last year after unknown gunmen killed Mohibullah, a prominent Rohingya leader, in one of the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Mohibullah’s brother Habibullah claimed that ARSA might have been responsible, angered by his advocacy of a peaceful non-violent approach to solving the Rohingya crisis, even though ARSA denied any involvement with the killing.

THE I DIPLOMAT

By Sebastian Strangio

February 03, 2022

Assuming responsibility for the ICJ case is a means for the National Unity Government to assert its position as Myanmar’s legitimate government.

Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government (NUG) says that it has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hear claims that the country committed genocide against the Rohingya minority group, after formally withdrawing “all preliminary objections” in the case.

Myanmar shadow government says junta should not take stand in genocide trial

RFA
Radio Free Asia
2022.02.03

The NUG says it wants to defend the country against charges because it represents the people.

The International Court of Justice hears proceedings in a trial on charges of genocide against Myanmar in The Hague, Netherlands, Dec. 10, 2019. Reuters

A decision by Myanmar’s shadow government to withdraw preliminary objections to charges of genocide against ethnic Rohingyas at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was made to ensure the case is not fought by a party that does not represent the will of the people, its foreign minister said Thursday.

The National Unity Government (NUG) said in a Feb. 1 statement that it would withdraw all preliminary objections in the ICJ case over Myanmar’s military operations against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017, a scorched-earth campaign that forced 730,000 Rohingya to flee Rakhine state, mostly to neighboring Bangladesh.

The NUG asked that it and not the ruling military junta that took over Myanmar in the Feb. 1, 2021, coup represent the country before the court.

'We recognise the human rights and citizen rights of the Rohingyas'

Prothum Alo ------ 
Altaf Parvez,Ashfaq Rony,Shafiqul Alam
Published: 02 Jan 2022, 13:11

Interview
Interview: Arakan army chief Twan Mrat Naing

General Twan Mrat NaingReuters file photo

The Arakan or the Rakhine state of Myanmar is a close neighbour of Bangladesh and has been so in the past. With the influx of the Rohingyas, this state has placed Bangladesh in a worrisome predicament. The Arakan Army is a significant political and military factor there. General Twan Mrat Naing is the commander in chief of the Arakan Army. On 19 December, he spoke over Zoom from the Chin state to three journalists and researchers of Bangladesh on the situation in Arakan and Myanmar.

Boat carrying Rohingya refugees stranded off Indonesia's Aceh

CNA

28 Dec 2021 

Rohingya refugees on a boat. (File photo: AFP/Handout) 

 

JAKARTA: A boat carrying scores of Rohingya refugees including women and children broke down and was stranded in waters off the coast of Aceh province on Indonesia's Sumatra island, local authorities and humanitarian groups said on Monday (Dec 27).

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have for years sailed to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia between November and April when the seas are calm.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday the boat carrying the Rohingya was spotted on Sunday in waters off Bireuen, Aceh and it was working with local authorities to rescue the group.

Rohingya lawsuit against Facebook a 'wake-up call' for social media

Eco-Bussiness
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Dec. 14, 2021

Will the landmark suit, which argues that the spread of hate speech on the platform facilitated the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, be a turning point for Big Tech?

Rohingya refugees sit on a makeshift boat as they are interrogated by the Border Guard Bangladesh after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, at Shah Porir Dwip near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh November 9, 2017. Image: REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar/File Photo

A landmark lawsuit by Rohingya refugees against Meta Platforms Inc, formerly known as Facebook, is a “wake-up call” for social media firms and a test case for courts to limit their immunity, human rights and legal experts said.

The $150 billion class-action complaint, filed in California on Monday by law firms Edelson PC and Fields PLLC, argues that Facebook’s failure to police content and its platform’s design contributed to violence against the Rohingya community.

British lawyers also submitted a letter of notice to Facebook’s London office.

Rohingya lawsuit ‘wake-up call’ for social media

GULF TIMES

Rina Chandran and Avi Asher
Schapiro/Bangkok/Los Angeles
December 14 2021

FINDINGS: United Nations human rights investigators said in 2018 that the use of Facebook had played a key role in spreading hate speech that fuelled the violence against the Rohingya 

 

A landmark lawsuit by Rohingya refugees against Meta Platforms Inc, formerly known as Facebook, is a “wake-up call” for social media firms and a test case for courts to limit their immunity, human rights and legal experts said.

The $150bn class-action complaint, filed in California last Monday by law firms Edelson PC and Fields PLLC, argues that Facebook’s failure to police content and its platform’s design contributed to violence against the Rohingya community.

Rohingya refugees seek Facebook action over hate speech

RTE

By Colm Ó Mongáin

Deputy Foreign Editor
Thursday, 9 Dec 2021

 

The complaint has been made by young people who live in Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh

 

A group of young Rohingya refugees have submitted a complaint about Facebook Ireland to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The 16 men and women are also seeking reparations from the social media platform, which is now known as Meta, for carrying material inciting hatred against Rohingya people.

The inflammatory material was posted during a period of violent attacks by the country's army and armed militias from 2017.

Can Facebook be blamed for pogroms against Rohingyas in Myanmar?

THE ECONOMIC
Dec 11th 2021 edition

 

Lawsuits in America and Britain seek billions of dollars in damages

THAT FACEBOOK was used to spread rhetoric that incited carnage in Myanmar is hardly up for debate. According to the lead author of a UN report published in 2018 the firm’s platform played a “determining role” in the violence inflicted on Rohingya Muslims by marauding Buddhists. Facebook acknowledges that it did not do enough to prevent its services from being abused. But whether it is liable for what happened is a trickier question.

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It may soon be answered. A legal campaign is under way on both sides of the Atlantic. It claims that Facebook, now renamed Meta, should be held liable for allowing users to spread such content during the Rohingya genocide. A letter delivered to Facebook’s London offices on December 6th gave the firm notice of intent to sue it in the High Court. That suit will be on behalf of Rohingyas living everywhere in the world outside America, including Bangladesh, where 1m or so dwell as refugees.

Arsa is being used to destabilize the Rohingya camp

Dailyhover
Marc Barman
December 9, 2021

Former Foreign Secretary and North South University South Asian Institute of Policy Governance Fellow Professor. Shahidul Haque said many believe that the Myanmar army is using the terrorist group Arsa to destabilize the Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar. If the Rohingyas do not unite now, Arsa’s dominance will expand. This will weaken the efforts to establish the rights of the Rohingya.

Shahidul Haque made the remarks at a webinar on Thursday to establish justice for the Rohingya.

The talks were held on the sidelines of the 20th General Assembly of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The webinar was jointly organized by Bangladesh, Gambia and Brussels-based human rights group No Peace Without Justice. The discussion was moderated by Alison Smith, Director of No Peace Without Justice.

Rohingyas denounce ARSA

NEWAGE
Staff Correspondent
Published:Dec 08,2021 

 

Twenty two Rohingya organisations in a statement on Tuesday denounced the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army for the latter’s recent activities and criminal associations along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

In the statement, they branded the ARSA, also known as Harakah Al Yakeen, as a criminal group.

They also appealed to the Bangladesh government and to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to work together to respond promptly when refugees report imminent threats, to provide immediate and effective protection to those in danger, and to ensure effective protection for those who report incidents.

Rohingya genocide: Facebook faces massive $200 bn legal action in UK, US

Ahamedabad Mirror
06-12-2021

Rohingya genocide: Facebook faces massive $200 bn legal action in UK, US 

 

Lawyers in the UK and the US on Monday initiated coordinated legal campaigns against Facebook, now known as Meta, on behalf of Rohingya Muslims for its alleged role in facilitating the genocide perpetrated by the Myanmar regime and extremist civilians against the Rohingya people.  

 

According to the lawyers, Facebook contributed to the 2017 genocide of Rohingya Muslims by allowing hate speech against the persecuted minority to be propagated in Myanmar. The United Nations had described the violence as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".

By the principle of “universal justice”, Argentina will investigate crimes against humanity against the Rohingya community in Myanmar

oicanadian

HELEN HERNANDEZ

28th November 2021

Refugees crossing from Myanmar into Bangladesh (REUTERS file / Jorge Silva)

The news came late due to the time difference. The six women of the Rohingya community, living as refugees in Bangladesh and who dared to tell that they had been raped by the military of their country while murdering their family, felt “relief and hope”. It is that they had just heard how thousands of kilometers away the Argentine Justice had resolved open a criminal case to investigate the crimes to which they and their community were subjected.

Argentinian judiciary to open case against Myanmar military over Rohingya genocide

Dhaka Tribune
UNB
November 28th, 2021

File photo: Unidentified men carry knives and slingshots as they walk past a burning house in Gawdu Tharya village near Maungdaw in Rakhine state, in northern Myanmar on September 7, 2017 AFP

The Gambia in 2019 launched a case against Myanmar for violating the Genocide Convention with ICJ

The Argentinian judiciary has taken a step to open a case against the Myanmar military – including Min Aung Hlaing and much of the current junta’s senior leadership – over the genocide against the Rohingyas, Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK) has said.

Argentina court to investigate Myanmar war crimes against Rohingya Muslims

The Guardian 

Agence France-Presse
Mon 29 Nov 2021 

The case, which the UN says could amount to genocide, was brought under the legal premise of universal justice.

Protesters show support for the Rohingya outside the Peace Palace in the Netherlands on 10 December 2019. Myanmar is facing legal challenges from all over the world, including Argentina. Photograph: Sem van der Wal/EPA

Argentina’s justice system will investigate allegations of war crimes committed by the Myanmar military against that country’s Rohingya minority under a court ruling upholding the principles of “universal justice”.

The appeals court decision, which Agence France-Presse has seen, overturns a lower court ruling rejecting a request for an investigation by the British-based Burmese Rohingya Organisation (BROUK).

They Warned Their Names Were on a Hit List. They Were Killed

bdnews24.com
Hannah Beech, The New York Times
Published: 15 Nov 2021

The Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, June 19, 2019. Adam Dean/The New York Times

At night in the refugee camps, with only a thin tarpaulin wall as protection, Mohammed waits for the men to come and kill him.

In less than a month, assassins have killed at least eight people in the Rohingya refugee settlements of southeastern Bangladesh, silencing those who have dared to speak out against the violent gangs that plague the camps. As with Mohammed, the militants threatened their victims before they killed, leaving their targets in a perpetual panic.

“I am living under the knife of a fearful and depressing life,” said Mohammed, a community organiser whose full name is not being used because of the documented risks he faces. “I came to Bangladesh from Myanmar because I would be killed there. Here, also, there are no guarantees for a safe life.”